CH 14

Chapter 14 – Mere Shackles

Questions and Truths

TL: There are a good number of Chinese distance units used in this chapter, so here’s a reminder that 1 li is 500 meters, or half a kilometer. So 100 li would be 50 kilometers. Also, 1 zhang is around 3 meters (3.3m to be exact), so 3 zhang is 10 meters. While translating, I did my best to convert to real world units (m, km, etc.) where possible.

The Jianggong, Shenque, and Baihui acupoints were the three most important acupoints on the body. The Jianggong Sea of Qi was also known as the lower dantian, while the Shenque Temple and Baihui served as the heart and sea of consciousness, respectively. The Jianggong Sea of Qi, the Shenque Temple, and the Baihui Sea of Consciousness were extremely important to cultivators of profound energy.

At this moment in time, Xu Disheng was still not aware of this fact, but the Soul Song cultivation method that he had been diligently cultivating for the last five years had always been automatically storing Soul Force inside his sea of consciousness.

The Nourishing Soul Mantra in Xu Disheng’s accompanying cultivation method allowed him to absorb the essence of the sun and moon to nourish his Soul Force. In this manner, like spinning silk one thread at a time or moving mountains one shovel at a time, Xu Disheng’s soul was slowly being strengthened.

This Soul Force, which was black in color, was the core foundation of the Nourishing Soul Mantra, and had many incredible uses. Internally, it could strengthen the meridians or slowly expand the sea of consciousness. It also provided night vision and far-sight, and even strengthened the awareness of his surroundings such that he could still roughly perceive the situation around him even with his eyes closed.

His sea of consciousness was forcefully established by the cyan jade flute, but it didn’t resemble an ordinary Xiantian martial artist’s sea of consciousness. Xiantian martial artists could project their sea of consciousness outward in an area about 3 meters around them, allowing them to slaughter across space within that domain, which was why the Xiantian stage was also sometimes referred to as the Transcendent Realm.

However, the Nourishing Soul Mantra was fair and mild, and wasn’t oriented towards slaughter. Xu Disheng had tried many times to comprehend the second mantra of Soul Song, but every time he tried to do so, he began to feel dizzy and light-headed. He didn’t manage to make any progress, so he could only give up.

Youyang City was the capital city of the You Province, and the massive city spanned a radius of around 100 li. This city was at the very core of the entire You Province, and its city walls towered at a height of more than 100 meters tall, looming over the city in an imposing manner.

The city gates, which were more than 10 meters tall, were wide open. Beneath the enormous city gates, people were coming and going. There were rich and powerful-looking horse carriages, handsome young men, and noble ladies. Traveling merchants and martial artists carrying swords could also be seen moving about.

Two rows of armored soldiers, each wearing a solemn expression, lined both sides of the road. They all held halberds in their hands, diligently watching over and guarding the city gates.

If one looked closely, they would realize that among these people coming and going, about two or three out of ten were actually martial artists! In the Ruyang Region, it was rare for someone to have Dao Channels, so every one of them was a prized talent. Out of several hundreds of people, there might only be one. Even the most inferior Grade 9 talents were recruited into the clan that presided over the area so their cultivation could be supported. But in Youyang City, the capital of the You Province which oversaw the 19 Regions, there were this many martial artists with Dao Channels!

In the center of Youyang City was the Youyang Palace complex which spanned a radius of about 30 li, consisting of marvelous, ornate palace buildings that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Crown Prince Xing and his wife, children, and clan members, as well as his subordinates’ clans, all lived in the Youyang Palace, where they ruled over the You Province. The rear of the palace complex was a restricted area that was approximately 5 li in radius, and within it was a massive Dao Palace and 10 pagodas. The Dao Palace was divided into 9 layers, and was more than 30 meters tall, while the pagodas were each around 20 to 25 meters tall.

Above the main gate of the Dao Palace was a signboard with the three characters, “Shangqing Path”, engraved in calligraphy style writing. The characters were encompassed by streams of roaming clear qi, making it look extremely profound and mystical.

Xu Disheng was still sitting in the carriage. Although he didn’t get off to look, he could hear the sounds of the city from within. Just by taking a peek out of the window curtain, he could tell how bustling and prosperous Youyang City was.

Although Youyang City was in a corner of the Grand Chu Dynasty, the Province still consisted of tens of thousands of li of land. Youyang City, which was in the center of such a Province, would definitely be hundreds of times more prosperous than the likes of the Ruyang Region. This massive city alone was comparable to over 20 Zhenhai Cities.

The procession entered the city and followed the main road for more than 10 kilometers. After passing about 30 major streets, the surrounding buildings started to look more luxurious. Once they continued further, a large river several tens of zhang wide became visible in the distance. The river encircled an expansive area with a complex of magnificent palace buildings. This area was none other than the Youyang Palace.

Xu Disheng was still sitting in the carriage when the curtain to his side was pushed aside. He lifted his gaze and saw the white-robed youth, Zhang Shichuan, but he wasn’t looking back at him.

Zhang Shichuan addressed Daoist Lord Qingxin in a respectful tone, “Martial Grandfather, we have arrived at Youyang Palace.”

Zhang Shichuan was the second son of Crown Prince Xing, and Daoist Lord Qingxin was the martial uncle of Crown Prince Xing. He had to behave with absolute respect to this Martial Grandfather of his, who was also a peak Profound Law Xiantian.

After a whole day of riding on the bumpy carriage, Xu Disheng was already feeling somewhat tired. But on the other hand, Daoist Lord Qingxin was still seated upright just as before, not affected in the slightest.

He slowly opened his eyes and said, “Okay, you can go on ahead with Zhang Kemu to report in. I will bring him to the Dao Palace. Tell Yu’er to make a trip to the Dao Palace in the evening.”

“Understood, Martial Grandfather,” Zhang Shichuan assented, bowing his head.

Was the one he referred to as “Yu’er” actually Crown Prince Xing, Zhang Keyu? Xu Disheng shuddered inwardly, realizing all over again just how high Daoist Lord Qingxin’s status was.

After Daoist Lord Qingxin’s horse carriage crossed over the river and passed through the gates of Youyang Palace, the building directly ahead was Youyang Palace’s main hall, Taihe Palace. But the carriage didn’t stop there. Instead, it went around Taihe Palace and continued onward through the palace complex for another 5 or so kilometers, arriving at the Dao Palace in the restricted area, where it stopped in front of the Shangqing Palace Hall.

“The Daoist Lord arrives at the Dao Palace!” one of the guards of the carriage announced respectfully.

When Daoist Lord Qingxin stood up, the guards bent over, allowing him to step on their backs and descend from the carriage.

Xu Disheng hopped down from the carriage and saw the magnificent Dao Palace in front of him. He craned his neck to look up at the three characters, “Shangqing Dao”, written above, and he examined the clear qi roving about those characters. He discovered that there was a strand of power affecting his gaze, causing the board to seem blurry, as if it were both real and illusory at the same time.

Xu Disheng revolved his Soul Force and looked again at the signboard. But before he could completely see it clearly, he felt that strand of clear qi from earlier pierce into his mind and give his consciousness a jolt, causing him to nearly fall over.

“Stop looking and come in.” An immensely loud and brilliant sound was transmitted next to his ears, rousing Xu Disheng from his stupor and allowing his mind to clear up.

When he looked up again, he saw that Daoist Lord Qingxin had already reached the top of the stairs, and was standing at the entrance to the palace hall, peering down at him.

“Yes.” Xu Disheng began to slowly climb up the flight of steps, and he happened to look over at the orderly guards who had their heads lowered as they stood on each side of the staircase. He thought of the words that Daoist Lord Qingxin mentioned only to him just now about certain magical methods, and he started to feel increasingly excited for the future.

In the temple on the first layer of the Dao Palace, Daoist Lord Qingxin was sitting on a prayer mat. He pointed to a prayer mat at his side and said, “Sit.”

Xu Disheng followed suit and took a seat.

“Are you willing to enter the Shangqing Path?”

Xu Disheng didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I am.”

“Since you came from a barren land, there are many things you don’t know. There is only one thing you must remember now that you are part of the Dao Palace. In terms of influence, the power of the Dao Palace reigns above the Grand Chu Dynasty. In the future, you must never lose face for the Dao Palace!” Once Daoist Lord Qingxin spoke up to the latter half of his words, his usually plain way of speaking became somewhat strict.

Power above the Grand Chu Dynasty? This statement was earth-shattering to Xu Disheng. His expression changed as he quietly agreed.

“With the Grand Chu Dynasty’s 11 Provinces being split into fiefdoms with strictly fixed statuses, this land rarely sees the chaos of war. The entire Grand Chu Dynasty has had peace for tens of thousands of years. Although the Dao Palace’s influence is above all, the enfeoffed clans under the Zhang imperial family do well in maintaining order within their realms. Do you know why the ranks are clearly separated?”

“I don’t know,” Xu Disheng replied.

“You came from a small clan. If a gifted martial artist appeared in your clan’s territory, what would you do?” Daoist Lord Qingxin asked.

“Recruit them into the clan and nurture them, then use them to manage the fiefdom,” Xu Disheng answered.

“What if that person was someone with Upper Third Dao Channels?”

“Naturally, report it to the provincial seat of power. We wouldn’t dare to monopolize them.”

“Then do you understand now?” Daoist Lord Qingxin clapped his hands with a light smile.

Xu Disheng frowned, and a lightbulb suddenly went off in his head. His expression changed as he blurted out, “Could it be…!”

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Daoist Lord Qingxin lightly waved his hand, cutting him off. “This evening, you will be formally admitted into the Shangqing Path as my second disciple.”