The architectural layout of the Sun Light Sect on the Dan Cliff is actually quite simple. From the base of the mountain to its middle, it consists of residences for servants and their families. Over hundreds of years, it has developed into a small self-sufficient town.
The main manor of the Sun Light Sect is built from the mountain peak, following the natural terrain, and includes many perilous areas that are not suitable for ordinary people to live in. However, this is not a problem for cultivators. Yu Ci observed clearly that this layout was not because the cultivators of the Sun Light Sect were devoted to self-torturing practices, but because the builders aimed to enclose the most valuable spiritual veins and apertures of the cliff with the architecture to facilitate cultivation.
Therefore, these perilous buildings have become Yu Ci’s favorite places to visit. Here, he can always find the prominent figures of the manor, observe their cultivation practices, and watch their various activities with endless interest.
However, before doing so, he needed to ignore the ugly spot that was gradually forming in the Divine Map.
The spot appeared somewhere deep in the Dan Cliff. It was described as a spot, but it was actually a blurred area about a mile in diameter. Within this area, the internal conditions were not invisible but were distorted by some enormous force, causing severe distortion of all light and shadow images, making it impossible to discern the details.
Seeing this, Yu Ci was not surprised at all, as similar feelings had already dissipated two days ago. He was very clear about what was hidden within this distorted light and shadow.
The old guy was still cultivating—the blurred area was indeed the private meditation chamber of the Sun Light Sect’s chief elder, Tu Du.
Most people in the manor knew that this legendary old monster, who had lived for three hundred years, often secluded himself for three to five years to extend his life. Some servants in the manor might never have seen him in their lifetime, naturally placing him as the most mysterious figure in the manor. The legends about him were never-ending and even spread beyond the manor, becoming increasingly bizarre.
The most powerful cultivator in Cliff City was undoubtedly Jin Huan, the lord of the Sun Light Sect, but the most mysterious cultivator was certainly the chief elder, Tu Du. This was a consensus among the residents of Cliff City.
However, for Yu Ci, meeting the mysterious chief elder only required a bit of patience.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the distorted light and shadow area began to move.
It started to rise, always maintaining a radius of about a mile, with no intention of spreading to the surroundings. It moved very quickly, flashing once to reach the ground, and flashing again to reach a height of a hundred feet. At this point, the full view of the meditation chamber became visible, revealing a very simple interior, with the only eye-catching feature being the figure lying still with closed eyes on the bed.
This person was Tu Du.
No one would believe it if told, but the chief elder of the Sun Light Sect was such a dry, almost zombie-like, and frail old man. His small stature, wrapped in a black robe like a quilt, made him appear almost invisible. Without the Divine Map’s clear depiction, Yu Ci might not have noticed his breathing at all.
After several days of observation, Yu Ci believed that what was in the meditation chamber was merely the old man’s physical shell, while the distorted light and shadow were likely caused by the old monster’s Yin spirit. The old monster was probably at the end of his lifespan, with his physical body weakened to the extreme, hence the need for constant seclusion to preserve himself. Daily activities were simply replaced by the Yin spirit leaving the body.
Yu Ci had learned about the appearance of the Yin spirit leaving the body from him, gaining new insight. The meditation chamber itself had nothing interesting, so Yu Ci turned his attention to the sky. Despite his efforts, he could not break through the layer of distorted light and shadow to see the details within.
This was the limitation of the Divine Map.
Through days of observation, Yu Ci discovered that when probing a master like Tu Du, whose cultivation was extraordinary, the Divine Map was subject to very strong interference, causing the images to become unclear. This had already been anticipated; a few days ago, in the Sky Rift Valley, the range of the Divine Map’s reflection had shrunk by more than forty percent at night. Considering that night was the active period for terrifying predatory beasts, this was likely a more thorough interference.
And this… was excellent!
This is certainly not self-comforting; Yu Ci is not afraid of such changes. On the contrary, if the Talisman Sword were truly unchanging, he would be genuinely unsettled. Things that do not change lack spirituality, and without spirituality, there is no possibility for further development. What he sees now is that the Talisman Sword is restricted, yet within these limitations lies infinite potential!
Only through change can he uncover deeper secrets of the Talisman Sword, and this also helps to stabilize his expanding thoughts.
Yu Ci does not plan to waste time here. He temporarily ignores the spot in the sky and shifts his focus elsewhere. The Talisman Sword clearly shows that, twenty zhang below the middle of Dan Cliff Mountain, there is a large alchemy chamber with a metal sphere about a zhang in diameter placed in the center of the room. The sphere is covered with complex patterns, appearing intricate yet beautiful, and is surrounded by a circle of steel brackets conforming to its outer contour. The metal sphere hovers and rotates slowly, which is quite marvelous.
When Yu Ci returned, he already knew this device was called the “Water Elixir Furnace,” distinguished from ordinary alchemy furnaces by its use of medicinal liquid soaked with Shrimp Whisker Grass.
Timing is just right; the store that purchased the Shrimp Whisker Grass has delivered today’s only harvest, which is over a thousand stalks of Shrimp Whisker Grass, to this location. After verifying the quantity in the alchemy chamber, someone climbs up the bracket with a stone box and finds the medicinal input port of the Water Elixir Furnace to pour all the Shrimp Whisker Grass into it.
Nearby, eight pharmacists form a circle, their expressions serious, as they start to perform hand seals to activate the complex runes on the furnace and stimulate the medicinal liquid’s efficacy.
After several days of surveillance, Yu Ci finally understands that the Sun Light Sect cannot control the production of Dragon Fish Grass; they can only use their unique medicinal liquid to stimulate the activity of Shrimp Whisker Grass. Like rolling dice for a big win, they passively wait for some of the Shrimp Whisker Grass to “suddenly awaken,” absorbing the life force of other similar plants to eventually form Dragon Fish Grass.
Therefore, the Sun Light Sect must have a sufficient amount of Shrimp Whisker Grass to ensure a high probability of producing Dragon Fish Grass, but it still depends on luck. It is said that last year the mansion had very bad luck; nearly 300,000 Shrimp Whisker Grass collected only produced eight successful plants, falling short of the minimum “ten plants” standard, leading to dissatisfaction from Mansion Lord Jin Huan.
Exchange? Indeed, this is Yu Ci’s greatest gain from monitoring the Sun Light Sect for several days. In the end, the Sun Light Sect does not know the true use of Dragon Fish Grass. They produce it only to exchange it with others for something Yu Ci has heard of before: the “Cold Jade Heart Cleansing Pill.”
From this perspective, the high-ranking cultivators of the Sun Light Sect are no different from the lowly herb gatherers whose lives are as insignificant as ants.
Aside from the differences in status, today, the Sun Light Sect has a bit of luck. Shortly after the over a thousand stalks of Shrimp Whisker Grass are added to the furnace, the medicinal liquid inside suddenly begins to bubble. This is a reaction to a certain stalk of Shrimp Whisker Grass being activated, rapidly absorbing the life force of its peers. The surrounding pharmacists and servants are first surprised, then become flustered. Some swift servants run out to report the good news to the senior immortals above.
For them, each Dragon Fish Grass produced is precious because luck is not in their hands; every success is a gift from the heavens.
Yu Ci takes one last glance inside the Water Elixir Furnace. The thin metal walls are almost invisible in the Talisman Sword. Inside the furnace, the medicinal liquid maintains its initial coolness but bubbles continuously as if boiling. Among the intertwined Shrimp Whisker Grass, three stalks are slowly expanding, quickly thickening from hair-like to the thickness of wheat stalks. Fine, fragmented scales are rapidly spreading over them, and the grass leaves twist in the churning medicinal liquid, resembling living creatures.
“This is it!”
With a slight shift in his thoughts, Yu Ci watched as the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror before him once again displayed shifting light and shadows. The Sun Light Sect naturally had rapid means of transmitting messages, but even so, it could not match the speed of his mental transmission. Soon, his attention was focused on an independent courtyard below the peak on the eastern side of the Dan Cliff.
This was the residence of Lu Yang, the chief steward of the Sun Light Sect. His position was second only to Sect Master Jin Huan and the Grand Elder Tu Du, making him undoubtedly the third most important person in the sect. He was responsible for all daily affairs, effectively serving as the chief steward of the Sun Light Sect. Any report on this matter would inevitably need to go through Lu Yang first.
However, as soon as his attention shifted, he saw Lu Yang hastily coming out while giving instructions to his disciples. Yu Ci was slightly surprised. The Sun Light Sect was indeed a dominant force; even their method of message transmission was impressive. But soon, he realized it was a misunderstanding. The door of the courtyard made a noise as a servant rushed over, kneeling on the ground. From his mouth movements, it was clear he was exclaiming, “Master Lu, great news—the Dragon Fish Grass has succeeded!”
Lu Yang, short and stout with a square face and thick lips, looked stern and unamused, giving off an air of authority. Yet upon hearing this news, he was overjoyed, and his face lost some of its sternness. He smiled at his disciple and said, “As soon as the Sect Master returns, there is such good news. Your matter has more hope now… But don’t be too pleased yet. Focus on your training; I will assess your work when you return.”
The disciple responded eagerly.
Jin Huan is back? Yu Ci deduced this from the mouth movements. He had known for a few days that Jin Huan had been away for months. Over the past few days, he had seen almost all the important figures in the Sun Light Sect, except for the Sect Master. He hadn’t expected his return to be so timely.
Yu Ci had seen alchemists before. With the likes of the Immortal Zi Lei and Chi Yin, he had served them closely for years and was quite accustomed to it. Now back in Cliff City, he observed the reclusive Tu Du through the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror, but the image of the old, withered man was somewhat disappointing. So, what would a practitioner said to be just a step away from the Void Stepping Realm look like?
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Yu Ci raised his perspective and switched to a panoramic view of the Sun Light Sect, searching for Jin Huan’s whereabouts.
What he saw was another “spot.” Similar to the situation with Tu Du’s Yin Spirit’s influence, but with nearly fifty percent more range. This “spot” slowly moved from the front courtyard to the central courtyard, eventually stopping in the largest meeting hall in the sect, remaining stationary. This caused the surrounding buildings to twist and form an irregular vortex of light and shadow, making it quite dizzying to look at.
At this moment, Yu Ci clearly saw several stewards of the sect, led by Lu Yang, gathering from all directions and entering the distorted light and shadow.
Yu Ci confirmed that the center of the spot must be Jin Huan, the Sect Master of the Sun Light Sect! Wasn’t this the procedure for a post-return meeting?
Realizing this, Yu Ci decided not to waste time and withdrew his mental focus from the meeting hall, preparing to check other places. He planned to try and gather more information after the high-level meeting of the Sun Light Sect was completed. However, at that moment, he saw someone emerging from the blurred light and shadow, walking briskly.
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Thanks for translating but translation quality is poor.. U keep calling the divine map, talisman sword
Thank you for reading! Can you please specify the places I made such errors. I will fix them. I am always trying to improve. I hope you will help me. Honestly, translating AM is quite hard. There are tons of complicated terms and I sometimes struggle to keep track of them. I have created a note of the terms, so there should be less issues in the recent chapters.