"You've got it wrong," Yun Que said. "The real danger isn't wandering ghosts; it's mining through the night. No one can withstand that kind of exhaustion—accidents happen easily."
"Midnight is when yin energy is thickest, and there are plenty of wandering ghosts down here. Besides, we're deep underground. If left too long, they easily congeal into malignant spirits. Isn't that dangerous?" Mu Qingyao countered.
"Theoretically, yes, but this place is different. As far as I know, quite a few people have died in this jade mine, but not once has a malignant spirit ever harmed anyone."
"Could it be that there's a Daoist aura or a Buddhist artifact suppressing the ghostly entities here?"
"Nothing like that. The reason the ghosts here don't hurt people is because they carry no resentment. In life, they were all poor folk who came here to labor of their own free will—to put food on the table, to provide for their wives and children. Even if they worked themselves to death, they did so willingly, harboring no hatred for anyone. That is the philosophy of the poor."
Mu Qingyao paused.
As a talented woman of Dajin, the well-read Princess Lingyun had always believed there was no principle in the world she did not understand or know.
Today, Mu Qingyao learned that there were indeed principles in this world she had never known.
The young princess caught up with Yun Que's stride.
"Last year, the mine was plagued by evil entities. I thought it was malignant spirits or vicious ghosts, but it seems not. What on earth was it?" Mu Qingyao asked.
"Sand," Yun Que uttered two simple words that sounded thoroughly bizarre.
"Sand?"
Puzzled and astonished, Mu Qingyao said, "I have seen many spiritual entities—spirits of flora and fauna, souls of demons, wronged ghosts and vicious spirits, as well as artifact spirits, mountain spirits, and river spirits. The only thing I have never seen is a spirit born of sand. The sand you speak of—could it be a living thing?"
"It doesn't look like anything living, nor does it look dead. That pile of sand acts as if it has a life of its own. I'd never laid eyes on such a thing before either."
"The strange pile of sand is what you wanted me to identify?"
"Not the sand. When I came here last year, I hacked that freakish thing a few hundred times and smashed the sand to bits."
As he spoke, Yun Que stepped into a narrow fork in the road.
Such branching paths were common in the mines, usually offshoots of the main tunnels.
And this one ended in a dead end.
Just as Mu Qingyao was wondering about it, she saw Yun Que extend his arms and grip the rock faces on either side.
To her astonishment, Yun Que actually shifted the rock wall that appeared to be a dead end!
After a muffled rumble, a brand-new path appeared before them.
Mu Qingyao looked closely.
The massive boulder Yun Que had moved was exceedingly heavy.
A stone of this weight used as a blocking gate would be nearly impossible to budge even if discovered.
"The hidden door you made must weigh at least three thousand catties," Mu Qingyao said.
"If we're counting it as mine, you've underestimated the weight. At least thirty thousand catties." Yun Que dusted the dirt off his hands.
Mu Qingyao parted her lips slightly, filled with envy for the physical might of a martial artist.
Strength was what distinguished martial practitioners most from other cultivation systems.
Practitioners of the Dao, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Witchcraft could summon wind and rain, utter incantations that became reality, radiate Buddha light, or kill enemies in dreams.
Yet all these cultivators shared a fatal flaw: relatively fragile physical bodies.
Of course, this "fragility" was only relative to martial artists; compared to ordinary mortals, they were still vastly stronger.
In contrast, martial artists dedicated themselves to tempering their vital energy and blood to cultivate their physical forms. Their strength and speed were terrifying, making them the only cultivation system in the world that dared to engage beasts in close-quarters combat.
Once a martial artist closed the distance, practitioners of other systems had only to await death.
This was the origin of the proverb circulating through the cultivation world:
*"Strike a martial artist first; be a second late and you're sent off."*
As she passed the massive boulder, Mu Qingyao cast a curious glance at it.
The stone's surface was entirely composed of tiny grains of sand and gravel, quite unlike ordinary stone.
"It doesn't seem to be made of stone," she noted.
"Of course not. Finding a boulder this big wouldn't be easy. This is that pile of sand that haunted the mine last year," Yun Que replied.
Startled, Mu Qingyao instinctively stepped back.
Thud, thud.
Yun Que tapped the boulder, and it actually emitted a hollow sound.
"The inside is hollow. These strange grains of sand are extremely heavy. If they weren't such a pain to haul, I would have carried them out to sell," Yun Que said.
Mu Qingyao was shocked once more.
A hollow block of sandy rock that weighed a staggering thirty thousand catties—each individual grain must possess an astonishing density!
Yun Que pressed onward.
Passing through the stone gate, they entered what resembled a natural fissure in the mountain, wide enough for only a single person to squeeze through.
Mu Qingyao could tell the terrain was naturally formed, certainly not dug out.
"How on earth do those grains of sand move? Like quicksand?" she asked curiously.
"Pretty much. They gather together and slither around like a sand python. Whenever they couldn't beat me, they'd start running. I chased them the whole way, hacking at them. When we reached this spot, that clump of sand suddenly stopped, turned back to me, and said—"
Walking in front, Yun Que suddenly turned his head and said, "Still chasing me? I'm home!"
Mu Qingyao froze in place, staring blankly at Yun Que with a completely expressionless face.
Yun Que scratched his head. "Scholars really do have high thresholds for humor. I thought that joke was quite funny."
A bitter smile gradually surfaced on Mu Qingyao's face.
In any other setting, Yun Que's joke might indeed have been funny.
Given the current environment and atmosphere, the fact that Mu Qingyao hadn't shrieked in terror was a testament to her strong composure. Any ordinary young girl would have been frightened half to death.
After walking another hundred paces, the path ahead suddenly opened up into a spacious underground cavern.
Yun Que stepped up to the cavern wall and held the torch high.
Mu Qingyao's eyes instantly flared with intense shock!
Chapter 13: Beyond Rank One
Before Mu Qingyao lay a wall of jade stone over ten zhang long.
Three zhang high, it resembled a magnificent mural.
Mysterious patterns were carved into the stone wall.
Studying them closely, Mu Qingyao quickly grasped the full picture.
It was a painting.
There were clouds in the sky, and mountains, rivers, and lakes on the ground.
Aside from the landscape, there were five figures in the painting—or rather, five mysterious powerhouses.
Four of them were suspended in mid-air:
A thousand-handed jade Buddha, a short-haired Daoist with a sword strapped to his back, a long-sleeved Confucian scholar holding a book, and a bizarre, three-headed, six-armed monstrosity.
On the ground stood a single person.
A martial artist holding a single saber, his figure slender, yet his gaze fixed unwaveringly toward the heavens, the blade in his hand pointing straight up into the air!
This massive mural struck Mu Qingyao with an indescribable sense of awe!
With her vast learning, Mu Qingyao understood the painting's meaning at a glance.
The five figures in the mural represented the five cultivation systems of the world.
The thousand-handed jade Buddha represented the Buddhist Sect, the short-haired Daoist represented the Daoists, the long-sleeved Confucian represented the scholars, and the three-headed, six-armed freak represented witchcraft.
As for the person on the ground, he was a martial artist—despised by practitioners of all other schools!
The most looked-down-upon martial artist in the world, dwelling at the very bottom of the cultivation hierarchy, was actually fighting four opponents at once in the mural!
The mural made it clear that the four figures in the sky were by no means ordinary cultivators.
For four powerhouses to join forces against a single martial artist—such a scenario was utterly unimaginable to Mu Qingyao.
This defied the fundamental laws of the cultivation world!
Yun Que gazed up at the jade stone wall and said, "I stumbled upon this place last year while chasing that pile of sand. Her Ladyship is deeply learned; help me identify it."
Suppressing the shock in her heart, Mu Qingyao said, "I have never seen such a scroll before. The Dajin Imperial Palace preserves many paintings, including many from previous dynasties. But judging by the art style, this isn't from the Jin or Yan eras. This style is extremely ancient, and the carving technique is so exquisite that calling it 'workmanship that rivals nature' is no exaggeration."
"In my estimation, this mural likely dates back to an era even more ancient than the Yan State, the painstaking masterpiece of numerous master artisans."
"The five powerhouses depicted in the mural may be connected to some hidden secret of the cultivation world. The martial artist on the ground can fight four opponents at once without losing the upper hand—which shows martial artists are nowhere near as weak as the rest of the cultivation world imagines."
Mu Qingyao's gaze lingered just behind the martial artist in the mural.
In the blank space behind the warrior, a bizarre vertical pupil was carved. It was twice the size of the martial artist's body, utterly grotesque and radiating an uncanny, eerie aura.
"As for what this vertical pupil represents, I cannot tell..."
Frowning slightly, Mu Qingyao finished sharing her insights and fell silent.
She had a vague, uneasy sense that the vertical pupil felt malignant; staring at it for too long made one profoundly uncomfortable, giving the unsettling illusion of being targeted by a venomous snake.
Tap, tap, tap.
Yun Que tapped the stone wall. "Her Ladyship must have misunderstood. I'm not interested in what's painted here; I just want to know if this thing is worth any money."
"It's priceless," Mu Qingyao offered a helpless evaluation.
Rubbing his hands together gleefully, Yun Que said, "Since that's the case, I'm not a stingy person. Finders keepers, we'll split it fifty-fifty and cash out later! This thing is buried too deep, and digging it out is too much work—I couldn't manage it all by myself. If I hadn't been unable to hack through it, I would have chopped it up and carried it out ages ago."
Hearing this, Mu Qingyao was left with nothing to do but offer a bitter smile.
Yun Que's plan was no different from that of a prodigal son cutting up famous paintings to sell as scrap paper.
To treat a heaven-sent priceless treasure as something to be hacked apart and carted away was sheer sacrilege.
Even more absurd was the fact that he actually had tried to hack it!
On second thought, however, Mu Qingyao's resignation returned.
If one sat atop a mountain of treasure and couldn't take it away, how was that any different from being worthless?
Mu Qingyao understood Yun Que's mindset.
After all, martial cultivation consumed exorbitant amounts of wealth; to achieve anything, one had to rely on piles of rare treasures.
"Once I return to the Imperial City, I can set this in motion. I will send men to help you excavate this jade wall."
Mu Qingyao smiled faintly. "As for its value, it's all yours. I won't take a single cent."
"It's better to split it evenly down the middle. I don't want to risk my neck escorting you back to the Imperial City just for half a jade wall. If Her Ladyship dies on the road, I can find someone else to partner with. Greedy as I am for money, I value my life even more," Yun Que said.
"Very well, as you wish. I'd like to take a closer look at this painting."
Mu Qingyao felt no disappointment; she knew Yun Que wouldn't fall for such petty scheming.
Taking the torch from Yun Que, Mu Qingyao walked closer to the stone wall, studying the figures in the mural carefully.
The warrior on the ground was clearly a young man, carved with lifelike precision, though his features were entirely unfamiliar.
Yet when Mu Qingyao swept the torchlight toward the upper section, Princess Lingyun's expression shifted, inch by inch.
From calm, it turned into bewildered astonishment!
"This is... the Confucian Sage!"
Mu Qingyao blurted out in an uncharacteristic cry of shock, her hand holding the torch trembling involuntarily.
She had finally recognized them.
Among the four figures in the sky, the long-sleeved scholar holding a book was none other than the legendary Supreme Sage of Confucianism, the founding patriarch of the Confucian school!
She recognized him because whether in the Star-Gazing Pavilion of the Tianshu Bureau or the Hall of Scholars in the Tianqi Academy, statues of the Confucian Sage were worshipped.
The long-sleeved scholar in the mural bore a form and appearance identical to the statues of the Confucian Sage!
From a distance earlier, with the surroundings so dim, Mu Qingyao hadn't noticed at first, but now that she stood close, she could confirm it instantly.
The scholar in the painting was the Confucian Sage!
"The one holding the book is the Confucian Sage?" Yun Que asked.
"There is no doubt. I have seen statues of the Confucian Sage many times at the Academy."
With her emotions surging, Mu Qingyao said in bewildered shock, "If one of them is the Confucian Sage, then the thousand-handed jade Buddha must represent the Buddha! The short-haired Daoist is the Dao Lord, and the three-headed freak is the Witch God!"
Figures capable of appearing in the same mural had to be of equal status.
"The Confucian Sage, the Buddha, the Dao Lord, the Witch God—what kind of existence could force four Super Grade powerhouses to join forces against them..." Mu Qingyao looked intently at the martial artist on the ground, murmuring, "Then who on earth is he?"
From the Ninth Rank to Rank One, the cultivation systems of the world had remained an absolute law for tens of thousands of years.
Yet a few legendary powerhouses had broken through the shackles of this system, reaching a realm beyond Rank One.
Above Daoist Rank One was the Dao Lord!
Above Buddhist Rank One was the Buddha!
Above Confucian Rank One was the Confucian Sage!
Above Witchcraft Rank One was the Witch God!
As for martial artists beyond Rank One, the cultivation world possessed no records whatsoever—only a blank space.
Every cultivation system had supreme existences; even the demon clan boasted powerhouses beyond Rank One. Only martial artists remained capped at Rank One as their absolute ceiling.
This was one of the reasons martial artists were so frequently looked down upon.
Yet this jade mural deep underground shattered the law the cultivation world had guarded for tens of thousands of years.
With a mixture of shock and doubt, Mu Qingyao said, "So among martial artists, there are also existences beyond Rank One! The secrets contained in this painting may be even more valuable than the mural itself!"
Yun Que said nothing, his gaze complicated as he stared at the martial artist in the painting.
He wasn't looking at the warrior himself, but at the vertical pupil behind him.
"Maybe someone just painted it blindly. You actually believe that? I can paint a hen that slaughters immortals and slays gods, too," Yun Que said.
Vulgar as the words were, Mu Qingyao felt there was some truth to them.
After all, it was merely a jade carving; its contents originated from the sculptor and could not be taken as absolute truth.
"Let's go. We'll talk when we're strapped for cash again."
Taking back the torch, Yun Que turned back from the stone wall with the young princess.
As the torchlight receded, the stone wall was once more swallowed by darkness.
In the shadows,
the vertical pupil on the stone wall gave an imperceptible, silent twitch. Its pupil slowly contracted, fixing a deadly, living stare upon the retreating backs of the two figures.
As they walked, Mu Qingyao suddenly felt the hair all over her body stand on end!
A wave of overwhelming terror suddenly enveloped her, as if she were being watched by a vicious dragon, making it hard to lift her feet.
Such a terrifying sensation was something Mu Qingyao had never experienced in her entire life. She froze in place, her body shivering uncontrollably.
She even felt as though she were about to be swallowed by an invisible, gaping maw!
It wasn't until her trembling little hand was grasped by Yun Que's large palm that Mu Qingyao regained her senses.
Daring not look back, she allowed herself to be pulled away from the cavern by Yun Que.
As the sand-hardened boulder slid shut, the mysterious underground grotto was sealed once more.
Emerging from the mine into the fresh air above ground, Mu Qingyao felt as though she had escaped the jaws of death and been reborn.
Night had completely fallen.
A bright moon hung high in the sky.
Yun Que's expression turned solemn. "You felt it too. What did you notice just now?"
"It turns out you weren't asking me to look at the mural's contents, but the stone wall itself," Mu Qingyao said. "Just as we were leaving, a terrifying feeling suddenly washed over me. In the face of that terror, I felt as insignificant as an ant."
"That stone wall is alive," Yun Que stated.
"There is no life aura inside the jade, nor are there any signs of wandering spiritual entities. It doesn't act like a living thing."
"It's not that there's a living thing *inside* the jade; the entire block of jade *is* the living thing—or rather, a special entity somewhere between living and dead. What exactly it is, I can't say for sure. But that pile of sand I hacked to death last year definitely has something to do with the stone wall."
"Sand made of stone... Could it be that the bizarre living sand came from the jade wall?"
"It's possible. Keep the stone wall a secret for me. You'd best not come here alone, or I won't guarantee you'll make it out alive."
"Rest assured on that count. I won't covet your things, let alone publicize them outside. How do you plan to deal with the jade wall? Leave it be, or dig it out if the chance arises later?"
"Leave it for now. We'll talk when we're broke."
"My advice is to stay away. The feeling I had just then is unlike anything I've encountered in my life; even Master Supervisor doesn't radiate an aura that terrifying. That jade wall is dangerous—no, *extremely* perilous!"
"We poor folks have cheap lives. If we're about to starve to death, we'd go up and take a bite out of even a manifesting god or Buddha, let alone a jade wall."
Mu Qingyao was momentarily stunned, unable to refute Yun Que's logic.
Yun Que's reasoning was always so blunt and direct.
The vulgar philosophy of survival.
To live is to have everything; to die is to leave a blank slate.
The night was deep.
Upon returning home, Yun Que collapsed straight onto the bed, clutching his saber, facing the wall, and yawning. "If Her Ladyship finds it inconvenient, you can pay to stay at an inn instead."
Mu Qingyao looked at the only wooden bed in the room. After a brief hesitation, she lay down fully clothed on the outer edge.
Staring at the bright moon filtering through the lattice window, the young princess found herself unable to sleep for a long time.
"You recognized the painting deep underground, didn't you? You knew those in the painting were the Confucian Sage, the Dao Lord, the Buddha, and the Witch God," Mu Qingyao said.
"You could tell that from here?" Yun Que asked.
"Mm. Because when I named the Confucian Sage, though you acted surprised, the degree of shock on your face was far from enough," Mu Qingyao replied.
"Being able to see spirits is impressive enough, but you can also read people's minds? Women who are too clever had better watch out, or they won't find husbands."
"I'm not as clever as you think. I have my moments of weakness too; I'm simply used to being strong... Yun Que, do you recognize who the martial artist in the painting is? I'm quite curious about his origins."
Chapter 14: Red Swallows Flying South
After a brief silence, Yun Que uttered only three words.
"Don't know him."
Gazing dreamily at the moonlight, her thoughts drifting with the night, Mu Qingyao said softly:
"Everyone knows martial artists reach at most Rank One, that no Super Grade powerhouses exist among them. Daoists, Confucians, Buddhists, and Witches all look down upon martial artists, dismissing them as low-tier cultivators. I suspect the bottleneck capping martial artists at Rank One may have been broken long ago, just unknown to the world.
Anyone capable of fighting four of the world's supreme powerhouses in a portrait must be a martial powerhouse beyond Rank One. He must be a mysterious and extraordinary figure. His origins likely hold the secrets of what lies *above* a Rank One martial artist. Yun Que, as a martial artist, aren't you curious?"
"Not curious. I'd rather sleep a bit longer and save my energy than waste it on that. Besides, that guy wasn't human." Yun Que's voice drifted from the dark.
"What was he?" Mu Qingyao's clear eyes gradually widened.
"A monster," Yun Que dropped two heavy syllables.
Recalling the gigantic vertical pupil behind the martial artist in the mural, Mu Qingyao's breath hitched for a fraction of a second, and a heavy sense of oppression welled up from the depths of her heart.
She desperately wanted to press him further, but beside her, Yun Que's steady snoring had already begun.
That night, the young princess pondered much. Long afterward, she finally drifted into a deep sleep.
Dawn broke.