82 I Must Go Back
In the tomb, the items on the table were scattered and covered in dust.
However, there was one item that was completely spotless. It was placed in an open wooden box, and it was emitting a faint crystalline light.
It was a bright yellow pearl the size of a thumb. It was clear and transparent, like a crystal.
The yellow crystal pearl did not have an aura, but Jiang Ming could tell at a glance that this thing came from the same source as the yellow crystal shards that he had dug out from Shi Junwei’s body.
“I thought it was a spirit stone from the immortal cultivation world or something. I didn’t expect it to be this.” Jiang Ming was surprised. He picked up the pearl and squeezed it hard, but it did not budge.
He did not know how the crystals in Shi Junwei’s body had shattered like that. Perhaps only a Grandmaster would be able to destroy it.
“However, it seems that this unknown yellow pearl is indeed related to the secret of the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest. Even the Shi family could find some fragments, so it’s normal for an invincible Grandmaster to have such an item.”
Jiang Ming put the yellow crystal pearl into his pocket and then looked at the animal skin and books on the table. Many books had decayed due to the passage of time. Many words on the animal skin were blurred, but fortunately, some were still vaguely legible.
Jiang Ming flipped through a few pages, and his eyes finally stopped on a piece of animal skin with neat handwriting.
“The Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest.”
“The slumbering immortal.”
“An immortal’s token.”
“Becoming an immortal.”
It seemed like this Grandmaster had summarized some topics.
It turned out that there was a legend circulating in the world that an immortal was sleeping in the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest and would wake up every few hundred years.
“When an immortal awakens, as long as you have the immortal token, you can step into the immortal’s slumbering chamber and ask for a great opportunity.”
Some people obtained treasures, some sought martial arts techniques, and some even sought longevity.
The yellow pearl was the token of the immortal. It was named the Yellow Jade Pearl. They were scattered all over the world.
However, one had to have this Yellow Jade Pearl and happen to encounter the awakening of the immortal before they could enter the place where the immortal was sleeping.
Almost no one could wait for such an immortal encounter, so this legend was becoming less and less credible.
“No wonder Zhou Jingyu couldn’t find it. Li Tai also died waiting.” Jiang Ming observed a moment of silence for the two Grandmasters who had failed to achieve this goal.
This was the tragedy of not having a long enough life.
“The undercurrent in Great Cloud City is surging. Is it time for the immortals to wake up again?” Jiang Ming suddenly became suspicious and felt that something was wrong.
First of all, even if this uncertain legend was true, according to the legend, the immortal did not wake up at regular intervals. No one could tell how many hundreds of years would pass before the immortal woke up again. How did the Liang family and the other forces know that it was time for the immortal to wake up?
To be able to make a Grandmaster family like the Liang family believe the news without a doubt meant that the informant was credible.
“It can’t be that the old emperor is causing trouble, right? After all, the emperor seems to be very interested in the immortal encounter in the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest.”
Jiang Ming shook his head. “Maybe I’m overthinking it. The Grandmaster family has been passing down this information for hundreds of years. Maybe they really do have the immortal’s schedule.”
Just as he was about to tear the animal skin apart, he suddenly had an idea and put it in his bag.
Then, Jiang Ming began to check the other objects in the tomb. Almost all the books and animal skins were related to the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest. Only a few were left intact.
As for the martial arts techniques and battle skills that he wanted, there were none. The entire tomb seemed a little simple and poor without any gold, silver, or jewelry to accompany the burial. An invincible Grandmaster had just died so calmly and quietly in this mountain forest.
According to Li Tai’s diary, he did not even have a lover or children. He had been obsessed with martial arts all his life.
Jiang Ming had a sense of respect for this Grandmaster whom he had never met before.
After covering the stone coffin again, Jiang Ming jumped out of the tomb and sealed it again.
“Let me, an immortal, help you find the path that you have yet to complete.” Jiang Ming bowed and cupped his hands before he turned around and strode down the mountain.
He had to celebrate breaking through to first class.
A swallow that was slightly longer than a palm suddenly flew from a distance and landed on Jiang Ming’s shoulder. It started chirping.
Jiang Ming looked at Master Si, who quickly took out a paper book and a pencil to translate what the bird said.
A moment later, Jiang Ming took the book and read what was written.
“Two humans entered the mountain. They’re not even thirty years old. Their clothes had the Liang family’s emblem. There are no other humans within a ten-mile radius. They said the following, ‘Thanks to the Liang family’s information, we managed to ambush the Li family in the country of Jing and got another Yellow Jade Pearl. I heard that the Li family is the descendant of the once peerless Grandmaster, Li Tai. However, they’ve really declined now. They only sent a Dao Master to find the immortal. Let’s search in the mountains. Maybe we can find the Yellow Jade Pearl and make a great contribution.’ That was all they said.”
Jiang Ming’s body stiffened as he read the contents of their conversation. “Didn’t Grandmaster Li Tai have no descendants? Where did this Li family come from? Could it be that someone was lying?”
Why would they do that just to give the Liang family a Yellow Jade Pearl and let the Liang family fight for the immortal encounter?
“It doesn’t feel right no matter how I think about it.” Jiang Ming’s eyelids kept twitching. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest was like a bottomless pit.
“I’d better run first!”
Jiang Ming rushed back to the wooden house, packed up a wave of things, and then slipped down the mountain.
After all, he had Master Si and the fat tiger to keep an eye on things. No matter what happened in the mountain, he would be the first to know.
Jiang Ming was more and more certain that someone had deliberately leaked the news to the public.
“What exactly are they after?” Jiang Ming could not figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.
No matter who got the immortal encounter, he just had to wait behind them. At most, in a hundred years, he would wait for this old crone to die and dig his grave.
“I’m finally back.” Seeing the smoke from the straw house in the distance, Jiang Ming was also relieved and decided not to go up the mountain for the time being.
“Eh? You’ve finally changed your name?”
Jiang Ming looked at the entrance of the town. There was a newly erected stone tablet with the words “Peace County” written on it.
“It seems like the emperor is about to make a move.”
Thinking of the time when he laughed and talked with Guan Feng about the immortal encounter, Jiang Ming also felt that the world was unpredictable. Who would have thought that there was really an immortal in the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest?
“However, whether this is real or fake is still unknown.” Jiang Ming shook his head and walked into the county with the herb basket on his back.