Longwei stared impassively at the leading immortal boat. He stood on the immortal boat sent by the Bright Ascension Sect, and around him were several beauties. However, compared to when he first appeared and dazzled everyone with his dignified aura, Longwei exuded an almost frost-like aura. Even the beauties who endlessly flaunted their sense of presence were unusually silent and sullen.
“…Buzhou Immortal Sect.”
Longwei spoke those words in a whispering tone as if reminiscing, but the hatred within those three words was deeper than the ocean ravine. The beauties next to him, although not having comprehended the words spoken, all silently shivered.
“Junior Brother, is this the place?” Su Wanyu asked, the immortal boat having arrived at an underwater mountain with the tip peaking and forming a steep island.
Tianyi inwardly released a sigh of relief. The journey wasn’t long, just a few days. But the number of people who attempted to talk to him made him tired. “Yes, the entrance is slightly obscured and can’t be accessed from here. We will have to descend on foot.”
Su Wanyu nodded. Unless a force guarded it, most inheritance sites were hidden and would only reveal themselves to those with fate. Compared to the hundred or so number from the Buzhou Immortal Sect, adding the members of the other four sects, including the servants, increased the overall number to a thousand. Just that, with so many people, Tianyi had a headache.
“Sister Su, although I don’t know the exact limits of the inheritance site, a thousand people going in at the same time is too much,” Tianyi said.
Tianyi couldn’t see Su Wanyu’s lower face, but he got the distinct impression that she was smiling.
“No worries. We already discussed this the other day. We have decided to have a total of two hundred people entering this time. After removing the spots from our sect and our guests, we still have about seventy slots. We will take thirty slots to distribute to promising subordinates and distribute the rest of the forty equally between the four sects.”
“Sister Su is very thorough,” Tianyi said, praising Su Wanyu for her foresight.
“Brother Xi overpraises. I’m simply used to such matters.” Su Wanyu said.
“Oh right, is Dong Chifan among the people selected?” Tianyi asked.
“He is,” Su Wanyu said. She remembered it quite clearly since San Jiuling even caused a small argument to break out because of it. “You and Brother San both seem to have high expectations for him.”
“Being able to use a spatial technique at the Core Formation Realm, I’m naturally quite interested. Unfortunately, it was Brother San who met him. I possible, I wouldn’t mind referring him to join the Buzhou Immortal Sect.” Tianyi said, causing Su Wanyu surprise at how high Tianyi rated Dong Chifan.
“Why don’t you invite him then. I’m sure Dong Chifan would be elated.” Su Wanyu suggested.
“Haha, don’t joke with me, Sister Su. Isn’t this sowing enmity with Brother San? He already claimed him. I don’t want to steal from other people either.” Tianyi rejected.
Not long after, two hundred people gathered in front of Tianyi. Even with two hundred pairs of eyes staring at him, Tianyi didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. He was used to it as long people didn’t swarm him. Wanting to get it over as soon as possible, Tianyi immediately led them towards the inheritance site’s entrance. He didn’t remember the exact location, so Tianyi released the Mountains and Seas Formation with a flip of his hand.
Anything within the formation would be within Tianyi’s eyes. So if there were an anomaly within the formation, Tianyi would be able to discern it. As he expected, Tianyi found a strange location within the Mountains and Seas Formation. Taking down the formation, Tianyi led the group towards an area that was so densely packed with trees that it did not seem possible to traverse.
It only looked impossible to traverse without chopping down the trees. With Tianyi in the lead, he walked through the densely populated trees. After a certain point, the area became a cavern, with the trail leading downward. The journey was silent. Despite Tianyi guaranteeing safety, they were still venturing into the unknown after all. There were incidents where immortals setting up false inheritance sites that were actually traps to lure in victims. So the group did not let down their wariness.
But their wariness turned for naught as the group entered exited out of the cavern and into a wondrous scenery like out of a painting. It was similar to when Tianyi entered Immortal Riverrat’s inheritance site, but unlike the dull and almost pressuring location, Immortal Ironword’s inheritance site was like that of a paradise.
The sky did not seem to be within a cave and seemingly stretched out endlessly with a sun shining down. The only sign of the falseness of the sky was the stationary clouds. The land wasn’t any less impressive. The rivers, the grassy plains, the green forests, and the sloping hills all generate a pleasant sensation to those that viewed them. And in the center of it all was an eight-story tall pagoda.
Those skilled in formations were able to detect that these seemingly random landscape features composed a complicated and powerful formation. Even Tianyi was only able to discern a few mechanisms that composed parts of the formation but not the whole.
“From my information, the surrounding area here should contain some natural treasures. As long as you can attain them, they should be yours. But the inheritance is contained within the pagoda at the center. I won’t lead you anymore; I’ll be traversing to the pagoda.” With his advanced knowledge, Tianyi had a massive advantage in terms of information. Naturally, he knew what treasures and resources were located here, but honestly speaking, there was nothing that caught his eyes. The items in his spatial ring had more value than anything combined in the inheritance site. Of course, he wouldn’t say such words and attract aggro.
Dong Chifan didn’t go to the pagoda in the center and instead sought out treasures with San Jiuling. As a loose cultivator who had not yet joined the Leakless Sect, he still had the mentality of seeking as much wealth as possible. Su Bojing also joined surveyed the landscape. The treasures of an immortal were very appealing to direct descendants of Immortal Elders, much less a person like Su Bojing, who was not directly descended from an Immortal.
Longwei also did not venture towards the pagoda and instead sought out the resources within the inheritance site. But not before giving Tianyi one last glare. Tianyi naturally noticed but just internally rolled his eyes in response. If you have the guts, come and attack me, what use is glaring? Unless you cultivate a special eye technique, glares won’t kill anyone.
Aside from Tianyi, practically all of them left to gather treasures. He looked towards his left. “Sister Jian, do you not need any of the treasures here?”
“I do, but they are just material matters. How can it compare to accompanying Prince Xi for even a single moment? Once we returned to the sect, I’m afraid I won’t have the chance. Ah, if I can just accompany Grand Elder Xi just once, I could die happy.” Jian Wuyan said with eyes of delight.
Tianyi sighed, once more underestimating a fanatic’s dedication. “Then keep up.”
Without saying another word, Tianyi began to run towards the pagoda in the center. The formation in the inheritance site greatly restricted a cultivator’s flight capabilities, so Tianyi just ran. But he paced himself so that Jian Wuyan wouldn’t fall too far behind. By the time they arrived, Jian Wuyan’s face was flushed red, but not to the point of keeling over right then and there.
Allowing Jian Wuyan to recuperate from her exertion, Tianyi and Jian Wuyan walked into the pagoda, one after the other.
What entered Tianyi’s sights was the unaccountable number of books lining the walls and shelves. If possible, perhaps Ironword would have directly constructed this pagoda with books. The air within pulsed with power as a figure began to emerge out of thin air. There was no sensation of life from the figure, but emotion filled his eyes to the point of obsession. His soft green robes and refined air made him resemble a great scholar, but his gourd-shaped head conflicted against the image.
Tianyi almost quelled the impulse to shout Megamind and stared at the recreation of the immortal.
“Junior, what do you think separates us from common beasts?”
The figure started speaking, but his eyes looked straight ahead without any signs of recognition of Tianyi or Jian Wuyan. Tianyi already knew it was something of a recording left behind by Immortal Ironword that would play whenever someone came into the pagoda.
“It is our ability to communicate and write! Through words, we are able to create anything. Through writing, we are able to recreate anything: past, present, and future! Words give names, and names give meaning. Nothing is more powerful than this!
After coming to such a realization and embarking on the Dao of Linguistics, I created the Eight Strokes Word Arts.
Don’t judge how simple it sounds. If used correctly, you can replicate the power of other Daos. If you master this Dao, you instantly master all other Daos!
But in consequence, the more difficult it is to learn the Eight Strokes Word Arts. I spent my whole life creating this art, but I have not completed it. It is an incomplete art. Oh, how I regret my uselessness. Perhaps I should have risked it all and entered into the Vast Void and researched the language of the other cosmos.
But what use is this regret? I can only hope one of you can succeed where I fail.
The requirements to learn my Magnum Opus is taxing. You must have knowledge concerning all sorts of techniques, such as alchemy, formations, sword arts, saber arts, spells, and many more.
On each level of the pagoda, there are numerous manuals that I have collected over my lifetime in order to create my Eight Strokes Word Art. On each floor, you must learn a certain number of techniques before being tested on how much you learned. If you pass, you can enter the next level, repeat until you reach the eighth floor, where my Eight Strokes Word Arts remains.
If you can elevate it to the pinnacle, surpassing the Immortal Realm and becoming a Divinity is a certainty. Oh, how I wished I could have reached the pinnacle, unfortunately, I could not and stalled forever on a bottleneck.”
The recording sighed in endless regret before dissolving into nothingness, leaving Tianyi and Jian Wuyan to their thoughts.
“Prince Xi, I feel that that the Eight Strokes Word Arts is very similar to your Nine Strokes Sword Arts.” Jian Wuyan said.
Tianyi nodded and didn’t deny it. “They’re similar and shared the same inspiration. I substitute my sword as a brush and write words to replicate the effect of numerous techniques. Eventually, it should reach the level of replicating Daos, but I am far from that level as I am now.”
“Wow, so this should be easy for Prince Xi to learn, right?” Jian Wuyan asked.
“No, although our arts share similar foundations, Immortal Ironword’s technique is broader and encompasses far more.” Tianyi also suspected that Ironword’s Eight Strokes Word Arts was far more incomplete than the Immortal imagined. Back on Earth, there was a significant difference between the two major types of languages: Eastern and Western. Not to mention all the numerous languages that did not contain the same origins as those two.
“Well, there’s no harm in learning these techniques. Who knows, we might find some obscure techniques among them.” Tianyi said as he began to look for books that might interest him. Jian Wuyan followed suit. As long as it did not hinder them, learning more techniques wasn’t a bad thing.
Within the Buzhou Immortal Sect, Immortal Redseal sat in a lotus position. He had been sealed in an isolated chamber, but it was nothing like a jail. Bright sunshine, clear skies, vast greeneries, and the chatter of animals who have not opened their spirituality surrounded him. Just standing there made one feel one with nature and increase their perceptivity towards the Dao.
But Immortal Redseal sat in contrast against all this as if in disconnect with nature.
Sporting a dark smile, he muttered to him. “Xi Mengfei, oh Xi Mengfei. You can say that your spawn isn’t a Dragon Emperor Clone, and even I believe it. But there will always be some who don’t. For the Dragon Emperor’s enemies who hated his very existence, just because you say he isn’t, do you think they will care? Killing a thousand innocent rather than letting a single sinner go, do you not understand such a thought process?”