Chapter 227: Immortal Palace, Heavenly Peach Wood
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
“This is the Immortal Palace?!”
Junior Leopard was looking at a distance, eyes filled with confusion.
There was no palace before him at all, but a piece of ancient Chinese landscape painting.
The towering black mountains in the horizon stretched endlessly, shrouded by clouds and mist. Birds could be seen flitting through the mist now and then.
A few simple pavilions were scattered on the mountains, carving a secret path within. One could feel a burst of refreshing breeze traveling down the path.
This was the Immortal Palace!
“Out of your expectations, isn’t it? The Immortal Palace is actually such a shabby place!”
“Shabby? I don’t think so. It’s pretty good actually!” Looking around, Junior Leopard’s smile was sincere.
They were standing opposite the mountains. They stayed in the small village at the foot of the mountain.
The village was similar to the village Junior Leopard was born in, underneath the Misty Mountain, yet was also quite different.
It was as harmonious and innocent as the village he was born in. The only difference was that everyone here knew martial arts and had Internal Qi Even even if not all of them had a good cultivation.
For instance, the farmer carrying the two buckets of manure also had a Level Three cultivation. The man ploughing the land had a Level Five cultivation of Level Five. The farmwife feeding pigs by the hedge also turned out to be a Level Four expert in the Bone-Forging Realm. What surprised Junior Leopard most was that the farmwife was using a technique of concealed weapons to feed the pigs.
“Stop looking around. Everybody here has practiced martial arts since young, but they don’t do it to compete with others like those in the martial arts world. They only practice to keep fit!”
“So all these people are from the Immortal Palace?”
“Correct. They’re all from the Immortal Palace!” Jin Yuquan smiled. “In the beginning, the Immortal Palace was just this tiny village. Right now, those staying here were all relatives to members of the Immortal Palace. I grew up here as well.”
As Jin Yuquan talked, he heard someone calling him. “Junior Quan, why did you leave so long this time? You even missed your father’s birthday! I bet a good chiding is awaiting you at home.”
Junior Leopard could feel the speaker was gloating over what awaited Jin Yuquan ahead. He raised his head toward the source of the voice and saw two elders seated before a simple stone desk under a huge tree at the village entrance, playing chess. With the game coming to its climax, many villagers had gathered around the elders to watch. The speaker was a middle-aged man who smiled merrily at Jin Yuquan, with a hoe in hand.
Upon closer inspection, Junior Leopard found the man to also have a Level Three cultivation.
“There’s too many things to do outside so I’ll be obviously busy. How can I be as relaxed as you?” Golden Rooster cursed, laughing. “Is Elder Qing at home?”
“Yes. He has already prepared a golden rooster for you when he heard you’ll be back soon. Hahahaha!”
Laughter reverberated from where the man stood.
Golden Rooster flushed in the face and cursed in a low voice, but didn’t argue. Instead, he smiled to Junior Leopard in embarrassment and said, “Leave them as they are. None of them are nice people!”
Junior Leopard smiled without replying, only following Golden Rooster straight toward a house situated west of the village.
The farmer’s house was quite ordinary, just like other house in the village. The yard appeared even smaller than others. In the yard, a few chickens and ducks were wandering around, looking for worms to eat. Gold Rooster and Junior Leopard’s arrival spoked them and they flew away. In a moment, sounds of flapping wings filled the yard and their escape finally alerted the person inside the house.
“Is it Yuquan? Come in!”
The voice seemed aged but full of energy and pleasing to the ear.
“Elder Qing, I brought Zhou Bao here!” Junior Leopard followed Jin Yuquan into the house. With full respect, he greeted the old man who was appreciating tea and enjoying sunflower seeds.
The old man nodded gently before turning his focus to Junior Leopard. He smiled satisfactorily and said, “You’re awesome, young lad. You’ve achieved so much at such a young age. What a promising lad!”
Being in his 60s, the elder’s eyesight was poor. His cultivation was surprisingly low for someone who looked strong like him. He only had a Level Two cultivation.
Placed in Jianghu, a man with a Level Two cultivation wouldn’t have any status at all. He would merely be an ordinary guy. But Jin Yuquan, a Level Seven expert, was being very respectful to him. Most importantly, when he looked at Junior Leopard, Junior Leopard’s initial curiosity and impatience soon became tranquil. Junior Leopard was now feeling much better.
His heart soon felt a tick and he immediately understood that the elder wasn’t as useless as he appeared to be. Realizing the fact, he hastily saluted the elder after Jin Yuquan.
“Don’t feel so unfamiliar. Since you’ve decided to join the Immortal Palace, we’re now a family. My name is Fang Qing and they call me Elder Qing because I’m a few years older than them. And of course, you may also call me Lao Fang.”
“My name is Zhou Bao. Those close to me always call me Junior Leopard. From now on, I’ll have many things to learn from you!” replied Junior Leopard.
“Junior Leopard? Hehe. Is it because there’s the word ‘Leopard’ in your name that you chose the Water Leopard of Winnowing Basket?”
“One of the reasons!” Junior Leopard nodded and answered, “Frankly speaking, I hadn’t thought that much then. It is only because I think the name of Water Leopard of Winnowing Basket sounds good to me.”
“According to the rules, you’ll get the item belonging to the constellation you choose. There haven’t been any exceptions since the establishment of the Immortal Palace.” His eyes revealed signs of surprise as he spoke when he looked at Junior Leopard again. “Different constellations have different items including secret skills, special techniques, martial arts, mental cultivation methods, and celestial device cultivating methods. Normally, if the constellation you choose has a celestial device, we’ll usually prepare all the necessary materials ready for you. But…”
“But what?” asked Junior Leopard.
“But because no one has chosen the Water Leopard of Winnowing Basket in the past 50,000 years, we didn’t prepare the materials for cultivating the Air-frozen Bead. I can only tell you the way to refine it and the materials you need.”
“What?!” Junior Leopard was shocked for a while, his face turning blue. Before he learned about this, Golden Rooster clearly told him the Immortal Palace would not only tell him the way to cultivate the celestial device but also provide enough materials for him if the constellation he chose has a gift of a celestial device. Now that he was here, they didn’t give what they promised? His expression soon turned gloomy.
Jin Yuquan wasn’t happy either. Though it was Wang She who recommended Junior Leopard, he himself found the young man to have great potential after meeting him several times. Therefore, he had used all complimentary words he knew to praise the Immortal Palace to get Junior Leopard to join them. He never expected things would go awry as soon as they arrived. Now he felt like he had lost his face. It was as if it was him who had cheated Junior Leopard.
“Elder Qing, why would this happen? Didn’t you say…!”
“But I didn’t expect you to choose the Water Leopard of Winnowing Basket!” Elder Qing sighed. “You also know there’s an unwritten rule in our Immortal Palace. If the constellation is related to cultivating a celestial device, then the person who chooses that has the obligation to collect the materials needed for a celestial device after successfully refining the celestial device. It’s prepared for the descendants, but unfortunately, 50,000 years have passed and we still haven’t gathered all the 28 constellations. And no Water Leopard of Winnowing Basket has shown up during that time. The last one we know of can be traced back to 50,000 years ago. It’s such a long time that everything has changed. Even if the last one didn’t collect all the materials, we can’t find where they are now!”
“This…!”
Golden Rooster had no more to say after hearing that. Elder Qing was right. Though the Immortal Palace had lasted for so long, they still couldn’t make sure things from thousands of years ago were well stored. Hence, he looked at Junior Leopard feeling embarrassed and said, “Junior Leopard, I’m truly sorry for the hassle, because I have never thought of this issue. How about you choosing another constellation?”
“Choose a new one? Can I?” Junior Leopard was astonished.
“We typically don’t allow anyone to change it, but your situation is unique. Of course, you can maintain your choice. I’ll tell you how to practice the Air-frozen Bead and give you another celestial device that doesn’t belong to the 28 constellations as a way to make up for your loss.”
“Ah? There’s something that nice?” Junior Leopard was gloomy earlier, but he once again regained his high spirits.
“You’re one of the 28 constellations. Surely you deserve treatment as such!” Elder Qing smiled. “In our millions of years of history, we’ve never allowed our own people to suffer any loss. There are also many of our things accumulated during the years. They’re of no use even if I leave them here. By the way, I heard you’re a sword practicer and have successfully cultivated a Flying Sword?”
“That’s right. I’m a sword practicer but it’s only pure luck that I managed to cultivate a Flying Sword,” replied Junior Leopard. He didn’t intend to hide this and there wasn’t any reason to either. Therefore, he took out his Emerald Pearl Flying Sword and said, “This sword was originally a Genuine Weapon refined over 100 times, but I incidentally discovered its material had some intelligence. I happen to know a little bit about the refining method of a Flying Sword, so I tried to cultivate it. I’m surprised I succeeded as well!”
“It’s really a good Flying Sword!” Elder Qing said, scrutinizing the sword. “During the Middle Ages, it’s common to practice swordsmanship but it’s also during that time that sword practitioners almost used up all the materials that could be used for refining a Flying Sword. Naturally, the practice finally decayed after its popularity over thousands of years. But it surprised me that you can obtain a Genuine Weapon refined by a material with inborn intelligence. And you’re lucky enough to cultivate it into a Flying Sword!”
“Yes, I’ve always enjoyed good luck!” said Junior Leopard.
“It seems your sword practicing method is pretty good. This sword is good enough even in the medieval period, let alone now!” Elder Qing glanced at Junior Leopard’s Emerald Pearl sword with a smile. “When sword practitioners prevailed, Flying Swords were once categorized into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. Though your sword was refined preliminarily, you knew well about how to refine swords and thus this one can be considered a Yellow Level Flying Sword.”
“Only Yellow Level?!” Junior Leopard blurted out, dissatisfied.
“That’s already quite an achievement, boy. When swordsmanship prevailed, there were more than 80,000 Flying Swords, but only less than 10,000 can be included in the four levels!” said Elder Qing. “Take back your sword. I’ve prepared the refining method of the Air-frozen Bead for you.”
“Thank you very much!” Junior Leopard took back his sword and walked into the inner room after Elder Qing with Golden Rooster.
The inner room was as simple as the outer one. It was a small study room with a desk and a footstool. Some books were stacked randomly on a bookshelf behind the footstool. Nothing was eye-catching there. An old scroll sat on the desk.
“Eh?” Junior Leopard was surprised to see the old scroll as it reminded him of the one he received from Xue Wuya. He couldn’t understand this.
“This is the way to refine the Air-frozen Bead!” Not knowing Junior Leopard’s thoughts, Elder Qing walked straight to the desk and passed him the scroll.
Junior Leopard took the scroll and unfolded it. He was once again astonished for the characters on it were the same as those in the scroll from Xue Wuya. He could understand none of it.
“Elder Qing, the words…”
“They’re all characters from the medieval period!” Elder Qing smiled. “Few people can read these now, rest assured we’ll make sure you can comprehend them since we’ve given you the scroll. However, it takes time to do it. And you have two options. One, you can learn how to read the characters yourself or, two, we can translate it for you. But there’ll be a second person who knows how to refine the Air-frozen Bead if you choose the second option.”
“I think I’d better learn it.” Junior Leopard smiled bitterly but was thrilled deep inside. He had obtained the scroll from Xue Wuya a decade ago and had also looked up countless materials, but he had never found out what was written on the scroll. Now the Immortal Palace had immediately solved the problem that had troubled him for ages.
“That’d be best!” Elder Qing seemed to be agreeing with Junior Leopard. “Come to the third house near mine tomorrow. There lives an old teacher who is proficient in all kinds of characters from the Antiquity Ages to the Middle Ages. You can learn from him. The words look difficult, but they’re actually not complicated. With your aptitude, it’ll take you at most three months to master it!”
“Thank you, Elder Qing!”
“Here’s the other thing!” Elder Qing took out a pea green wood and handed it to Junior Leopard. “This is the Wood Core of the Heavenly Peach Wood, formed when the Heavenly Peach Wood was struck by the Heavenly Thunder for thousands of times. Thus it’s named the Heavenly Peach Wood. Hard and solid, even wizard weapons can’t break it down. Now it already has some intelligence with a string of the Heavenly Thunder Genuine Soul. Hence, it’s the ideal material to refine a Flying Sword. Maybe it can be merged with a Flying Sword to improve the level of the sword. I know that you’re a sword practitioner who has cultivated the Jade Original Power technique. Therefore, the power of your sword will improve dramatically if you successfully merge it with the Heavenly Peach Wood. So will its level. After it reaches the Mysterious Level, it’ll probably be refined into the Heaven Level.”
“It seems you do have a profound study of sword practitioners, Elder Qing.” Lowering his head, Junior Leopard asked the question casually.
“I won’t call myself well-versed. I just like reading all sorts of books. The Immortal Palace had lasted for millions of years. If nothing else, it has left us plenty of books.” Elder Qing smiled warmly.
“I see. If so, I wonder if I can get some advice from you about sword practicing. I’m not afraid you may laugh at me. Frankly speaking, I only picked up a sword practicing technique unintentionally and practiced it without much thought. It’s merely luck that I’m a sword practitioner. But I know nothing about sword practicing in fact!”
“I’d love to.” Elder Qing smiled. “It already surprises me that you’ve achieved so much by merely following a sword refining technique without any guidance from a master. Nonetheless, just like you, I only learned my knowledge from the books. So I can only guide you on your problems based on common sense. For other problems, I’d better not mislead you.”
“That’s good enough!” said Junior Leopard. He didn’t plan on becoming purely a sword practitioner in the first place. It was simply because it would be safer for him to be a sword practitioner now that he was using the Xiao identity, or more precisely, Water Leopard of Winnowing Basket. If he managed to improve his cultivation through hard work, that would be even better.
However, the fact was 10,000 years had passed and no sword practitioner existed in the world anymore. It was a rare occupation. Besides the Silver Moon Sword Technique, he had to discover all practices himself. Hence, it would be difficult for him to practice swordsmanship. Though he had some achievements, those weren’t enough to satisfy him. Now that he found Elder Qing who seemed adept at swordsmanship, he naturally wanted to learn from him.
Elder Qing didn’t decline Junior Leopard’s genuine request for help. He immediately began to talk about it with Golden Rooster around, though the latter appeared uninterested and bade them goodbye. He went on to prepare food, while Junior Leopard listened attentively to the new knowledge.
Swordsmanship was rather simple. The only difference was the sword refining technique.
A Flying Sword, in essence, was a kind of celestial device. Many martial artists focused on practicing this sword because it was easy to use and also powerful. After putting in the effort to practice the sword for generations, the Immortal Palace finally managed to enhance and glorify the celestial device. Then their line could compare with traditional martial artists. In certain situations, their way of practicing even prevailed traditional ones.
There were two essentials for sword practitioner: the sword refining techniques and the Flying Sword.
The so-called sword refining technique wasn’t a sword skill. There were also non-sword practitioners who wielded the sword and some even possessed sophisticated sword techniques. There were also cases where the sword techniques of the non-sword practitioners proved to be even more sophisticated. Sword refining technique was actually a way to transform the Internal Qi belonging to ordinary practitioners into sword qi and make use of it.
That was the sword refining technique.
What was Sword Qi then?
Though Sword Qi and Internal Qi sounded like two separate things, they were, in fact, one and the same. Sword Qi was only a unique form of Internal Qi. It was just like Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Internal Qi and Green Jade Qian Yuan Internal Qi that Junior Leopard practiced and Bloodfire Gang Xue Wuya practiced.
The difference lied in that Sword Qi could only exert its greatest power when combined with a Flying Sword. And of course, things would be different if a person’s cultivation reached Level Seven and Sword Gang was formed. However, even a person with Sword Gang would be defeated in the hands of a person with lower cultivation but held a perfect Flying Sword.
Sword Gang’s advantage lied in its offensive force. When it came to defensive power, it was much weaker than other Gang Qi. But the offensive force of a perfect Flying Sword would be strong enough to break Sword Gang and other Gang Qi.
Hence, to some extent, nearly half of the power of a sword practitioner lied in his sword.
That was why sword practitioners had many rules. Words had it that they existed when the sword existed. They were merged with the sword and had their sword in mind though not in hand. Anything could be a sword or the Supreme Swordplay. All these things were made up by sword practitioners.
And its essence was the sword!
Who could declare himself a sword practitioner without his sword?
And it was precisely because of this that sword practitioners paid so much attention to the celestial device of the sword. It was also the reason why they categorized swords into four levels of Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. Swords outside of these levels were all considered rubbish.
There were mainly three standards for categorizing the Flying Swords. The first was its offensive force, the second was solidity, while the third was speed.
This was also the biggest advantage for sword practitioners compared to ordinary martial artists. Not only was its offensive force powerful but its attacking and flying speeds were also very impressive. In the medieval period, an ordinary sword practitioner would be able to fly with his sword when his cultivation reached Level Four in the Bone-Forging Realm. Meanwhile, other artists could only have the chance to cultivate Gang when their cultivation reached Level Seven. Even if they managed to cultivate Gang successfully, their flying speed was only half of that of a Level Four sword practitioner. On top of that, their Gang Qi could be easily broken if their opponent possessed a quality sword. Therefore, what was the point of spending so much effort achieving a Level Seven cultivation?
Naturally, everybody flocked to refine the Flying Swords to be sword practitioners when materials for the refinement of the swords were sufficient. It didn’t mean the sword practitioners in the early Middle Ages were all short-sighted. It was a result of having no other choices. Everybody practiced martial arts or refined Qi to live for eternity. However, once one began to practice martial arts, they invited endless fights too. So capability was also important, or one without techniques would be easily killed even if he was an immortal. That was why people all scampered to be sword practitioners.
Everyone finally became at ease after the materials for swords refinement, along with the swords practitioners, disappeared. After all, they could still achieve immortality through other cultivation methods.
Meanwhile, Junior Leopard also discovered the huge gap between him and the sword practitioners in the Middle Ages. He may have inherited a complete set of swordsmanship and a decent Flying Sword, he was much weaker compared to his peers in the past.
“When it comes to the sword, you only yield it to use it. That means you only know how to refine the sword and treat it as a mere weapon. You’re like those ordinary martial artists who practice swords skills. And now you’re even trying to try using the Flying Sword with sword skills! If you were studying in the school of sword practitioners in the Middle Ages, you would’ve been long kicked out!”
Elder Qing smiled, amused by Junior Leopard’s show of sword refinement. “Junior Leopard, you must remember the sword technique is only useful when you hold the sword in your hand. Once it’s out of your hand, the principle to command it is to be quick, precise, and ruthless. Only when two sword practitioners fight together and the speed and power of their Flying Swords are equal will they compare sword techniques with their Flying Swords in hand. Typically, they wouldn’t need to fight with their sword techniques at all!”
“Thank you for your guidance!” Junior Leopard was suddenly terribly embarrassed when he thought about how proud he had looked when he flew upward with his sword and used his Silver Moon Sword Technique. His face burned red and he only wanted to find a hole in the ground to hide.