Chapter 111 – Shennong

Zhan Changfeng didn’t care who had died, nor did she care about any rumors. She was contemplating whether to discard this inexplicable booklet.

She knew it might be a stroke of fortune, but she also understood what karmic cycles meant. The consequences brought by a single Dragon Scale Divine Scripture were already more than enough for her to handle, and now the matter of Medicine Mountain had surfaced as well.

Zhan Changfeng believed there was a hidden realm within Medicine Mountain that had now been breached by intruders. The child had no choice but to entrust the booklet to her. On its cover, the characters “Shennong” faintly shimmered.

Her intuition was correct—this Shennong text was a legacy of medical arts. It aligned perfectly with her interest in medicine and might also contain methods to repair her physical body.

Yet she couldn’t shake a feeling of unease. There were certainly people in this world blessed with great fortune, but were there any quite like her?

Besides, she had already inherited two lineages—the Nine-Cycle Rebirth Art and the Dragon Scale Divine Scripture. Adding a third, setting aside whether she could even split her attention to cultivate it, the sensation of being manipulated was unmistakably clear.

The Dragon Scale Divine Scripture was the Founding Emperor’s scheme against her, saddling her with the fate of the Yin Dynasty.

The Shennong text was entangled in Medicine Mountain’s power struggles. Judging by the heaven-destroying, earth-shattering aura on that mountain alone, this was clearly no easy matter to take on. Who could say what would happen afterward?

As for the Nine-Cycle Rebirth Art, she sensed it was the inheritance most suited to her, yet she could no longer remember who had given it to her.

Zhan Changfeng spent the entire afternoon in Zuowang meditation, stilling her thoughts and focusing her spirit. Behind every windfall there might lurk a trap. What appeared to be singular good fortune could just as easily be a fleeting bloom before the inevitable decline.

Once she had made her assessment, her mind was no longer swayed by the booklet.

Zhan Changfeng cultivated quietly for several days before Teacher Yangming came to visit.

Teacher Yangming got straight to the point. “What is the matter with your body?”

He said forthrightly, “The day you were unconscious, I discovered it when I brought a physician to examine you.”

That day, Zhan Changfeng had intended to sink herself to the bottom of the pool, yet for some reason she had been pulled back up. She had known then that her physical condition could no longer be kept secret. When Teacher Yangming never brought it up afterward, and seeing that he was a man of upright character, she hadn’t said anything more about it either.

“Since you’ve already consulted a physician, then you should know that I’m currently sustaining my body’s life through external means.”

These external means could sustain her vital force, which spoke to their extraordinary value. But Teacher Yangming hadn’t tried to seize them then, and naturally wouldn’t now. “Yes, I know.”

His only concern regarding her had been the condition of her body. Now that she had confirmed it herself, he was at ease.

“I know the murder case has nothing to do with you, but the winds outside are blowing unfavorably. I’ll arrange for someone to escort you to the Wuti Daoist Temple to receive ordination—it will also serve as a refuge for the time being.”

Ordination typically required visiting a Daoist temple.

Zhan Changfeng deliberated for a while. “I’m grateful for Teacher Yangming’s help. However, before that, I’d like to make a trip to the Bureau of Patrol.”

Teacher Yangming agreed without asking why.

The day Zhan Changfeng and Teacher Yangming set foot on the road to the city, the earth shook violently and the sound of collapse thundered from the horizon.

Everyone gazed toward Medicine Mountain in alarm. The vast mountain was engulfed in white mist, and through the haze, an enormous jade toad of incomprehensible size could be seen crouching atop the peak, blotting out most of the sky. Wherever its tongue lashed, clouds surged and boulders crumbled.

“Look! Isn’t that a person up there too?!”

Everyone strained their eyes and recoiled in shock.

Indeed, there was someone amid the clouds and mist. Sword light blanketed the heavens like a vast net enclosing the jade toad. Suddenly, the figure raised a hand, and a titanic palm tore through the clouds, slamming the jade toad beneath five colossal fingers. In that instant, heaven and earth collapsed, and Medicine Mountain was annihilated in the blink of an eye!

Waves of destructive aftershock rippled outward. Trees were uprooted, rooftops were torn away, and people were knocked staggering by the hurricane-force winds.

“This—” Teacher Yangming’s perpetually refined expression was replaced by sheer horror.

Within moments, several streaks of light shot in from all directions, vanishing into the epicenter of the collapse.

The powerful cultivators of Cangyun Ravine must have come to investigate!

“I never imagined I’d witness such power in my lifetime.”

“What are you sighing about? Move, quickly! Those high-ranking cultivators will soon seal this place off tight. Watch you don’t lose your life over it.”

“There must be some treasure or hidden realm in there.”

Some of the bolder cultivators crept toward Medicine Mountain. Cultivators walked the path of the Dao, yet what they truly vied for was fortune. Without fortune, what could one possibly cultivate?

And even without a great opportunity, one might still pick up some scraps. Who knew if they might stumble into blind luck and soar to greatness?

Even Teacher Yangming felt a tremor of temptation.

Zhan Changfeng said, “With this upheaval, the Community School must have been heavily affected. Teacher Yangming, please go back and handle the school’s affairs. I can go to the Bureau of Patrol on my own.”

“Very well. I’ll head back to the school first. Let Heitie accompany you.”

Zhan Changfeng was, after all, someone he had helped extricate from the Militia. Having Heitie accompany her wasn’t exactly surveillance—it was simply a way to account for things to the Militia.

Zhan Changfeng could hardly refuse.

After Heitie escorted Zhan Changfeng to the Bureau of Patrol, he was shown to a side hall for tea.

The one who received Zhan Changfeng was Zhang Rusong, the same officer who had recorded her case before.

Zhang Rusong assumed she had come to inquire about the progress on finding her would-be assassin. “Of the suspects you identified, we’ve only apprehended one so far. We had you confront him last time as well, but the man is quite obstinate and categorically denies any involvement in the assassination attempt.”

He said with some difficulty, “There wasn’t enough evidence, so the Gongsun Family’s people managed to get him released a while ago.”

“I’m aware.” Zhan Changfeng didn’t seem particularly concerned and replied casually.

Zhang Rusong was puzzled. “You knew?”

They certainly hadn’t notified her about this!

Zhang Rusong’s expression sharpened. “Have you encountered him since?”

Could it be that the man had gone straight back to another assassination attempt the moment he was released? How relentlessly persistent would that be?

Zhan Changfeng shook her head. “I’m not here about the Gongsun Family today. I’ve come to file complaints on behalf of Green White Mountain.”

“What complaints?”

Zhan Changfeng launched into her story without hesitation. “First, a few days before the murder case, my residence was subjected to unexplained destruction. Second, six people died in the murder case, all of whom had participated in the wolf pack hunt. By rights, I should have been a target as well, yet I was inexplicably branded as a wolf demon instead. I believe these two incidents are connected—someone is deliberately trying to harm me.”

Zhang Rusong’s eye twitched. “You’re not going to say this was the Gongsun Family’s doing, are you?”

Zhan Changfeng replied with utmost seriousness, “It’s entirely possible.”

“…” The deaths on Green White Mountain were indeed real, and the gruesome manner of death had caused a terrible impact. Zhang Rusong didn’t dare take this lightly. “Let me get paper and ink. In a moment, tell me everything you know in detail.”

“Mm.”

Zhan Changfeng closed her eyes. A few days ago during Zuowang meditation, her spirit had been seized by a sudden jolt of foreboding. She had then cast a qimen divination for herself, and the reading showed that something threatening her safety was imminent. The turning point lay in a place of righteous and noble energy.

A place of righteous and noble energy—only the Bureau of Patrol’s main headquarters fit that description.

Just as Zhan Changfeng arrived at the Bureau of Patrol, three cultivators in ordinary Daoist robes strolled into the rear courtyard of the Assembly Hall as if there were no one around to stop them.

A short-bearded Daoist holding a feng shui compass stopped before one of the wing rooms. “According to Master’s instructions, our sect’s fortune lies right here.”

“But there’s nothing noteworthy here, and no one either.” A female Daoist extended her spiritual sense and frowned. “I can’t find any traces. They seem to have been deliberately erased.”

“We’ll know once we ask.” Another Daoist, one with double pupils, reached out a hand. In the front hall, Wuhe—who had been organizing a team to investigate villagers injured by the mountain collapse—suddenly felt as if someone had grabbed him by the back of his collar. He went flying backward through the air, terrifying the militiamen around him!

“What’s happening?!”

“Heavens, there really are evil spirits! Quick, go summon a Foundation Establishment master from the Community School!”

Wuhe barely managed to suppress a scream. After crashing through a stool, some flower pots, and a small tree, he was abruptly dropped to the ground.

“You—you people—” Wuhe scrambled to his feet, but facing the three cultivators whose spiritual radiance was contained within, he began stammering. He asked cautiously, “Might the three of you be Daoist masters?”

A cold gleam flickered in the double-pupiled Daoist’s eyes. “Who was staying in this room before?”

Wuhe hesitated for only a few breaths before a wave of oppressive pressure bore down on him, making his legs tremble uncontrollably. “Reporting to the Daoist master—it was a student from Green White Mountain.”

“Where is this person now?!”

“Gone—gone to the Bureau of Patrol.”

The short-bearded Daoist’s expression was composed, though it tightened slightly. “There is no room for error in this matter. We go to the Bureau of Patrol immediately.”

(End of Chapter)