Chapter 66: Looking Up
Song Jixin stood atop the mountain, his view was wide and open. After spending so many years in Mud Vase Alley, where looking around only revealed mud walls, the youth relished this feeling. Ascending high and gazing far, thousands of miles of mountains and rivers lay entirely beneath his feet.
Song Changjing adjusted his precious yet old fox-fur cloak. This vassal king was uncharacteristically talkative today. He raised his hand and pointed to a tall mountain in the west. "That mountain is called Piyun Mountain. In the future, it might be decreed by Great Li as one of the ten major true mountains beyond the Five Sacred Peaks. According to the old rules passed down by our ancestors, a mountain god would appear, recorded at the forefront of the genealogy, worthy of a golden statue, dignified and proper, enjoying the incense offerings of the mortal world, and suppressing the qi fortune of Great Li in that region so it doesn't disperse elsewhere, lest it benefit neighboring countries. Only by standing atop Piyun Mountain could the townspeople possibly see this Dragon Head Mountain beneath our feet. Because Dragon Head Mountain is protected by a grand formation, ordinary mortal eyes cannot see the scenery here. This can also be considered a stroke of fortune. According to the confidential records of the government office, in history, several people have ascended Dragon Head Mountain by this means and successfully left this realm."
Song Jixin asked, "So did all those people rise to prominence? Did they become men above men in our Great Li or in Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent?"
Song Changjing laughed. "Two of them did quite well in Great Li. Within a span of thirty years, one civil and one military, they were hailed by later generations as the Twin Gems of Great Li. The civil one was posthumously granted the title 'Wenzheng,' and the military one won hereditary honors as Pillar of State for his descendants. Although I have a very poor impression of their descendants, I have to grit my teeth and acknowledge the bond of incense and fire between those two families and Great Li. After all, if they hadn't joined forces to turn the tide back then, the Song clan of Great Li wouldn't have survived that crisis."
Song Jixin felt the clear wind on the mountaintop and had a sensation of feathery transcendence. He asked, "What about the others?"
Song Changjing exhaled lightly, feeling even more refreshed. He suppressed the restless surging in his qi sea, like using one hand to forcibly hold down a rising sun. At this moment, Song Changjing was absolutely certain that as soon as he stepped through that gate, he would immediately break through to the Tenth Realm, the realm known as the ultimate pinnacle of martial arts!
Against all qi refiners below the fifth upper realm, a grandmaster who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts would have almost no chance of losing—only crushing and obliterating them.
Song Changjing calmed his mind and gave the youth a truth that was not very warm: "They all died. I personally killed one of them myself. At the time, I was only a Seventh Realm martial artist, and that man was a relatively troublesome sword cultivator, right in the prime of his life. We chased each other back and forth over seven or eight hundred li. Finally, in a small place called White Fox Pass on the southern border of Great Li, I caught up to him. After smashing all his protective artifacts and his natal flying sword, I snapped his neck. There was no other choice. If he wouldn't serve Great Li, this was his only fate. The Song family has always treated qi refiners generously, but the prerequisite is that these qi refiners must be willing to fight for the Song family, even if it's just for show."
During the second half of that duel, Song Changjing had entered the Eighth Realm.
Song Jixin was not interested in this vassal king uncle's legendary experiences; he was merely curious. "Did other dynasties offer higher prices? Was that why they were willing to betray Great Li?"
Song Changjing smiled. "Before that sword cultivator, most of them were like that. Great Li is remote and remote, with a fierce folk custom. It has always been a martial-worshipping nation, with martial geniuses emerging in droves, worthless. But gentle and soft qi refiners were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. So whenever a few appeared, every Great Li emperor would treat them like bodhisattvas. The current Son of Heaven—well, that imperial brother of mine—was no exception. Once, that sword cultivator entered the palace to pay respects to my brother, wearing his sword on his back and holding his nose in the air, looking like he deserved a beating. He had just happened to come across a suitable protective treasure, and his fame was at its peak both in court and among the people. When he saw me, he didn't even greet me. Just like that."
Song Jixin asked, "And then?"
Song Changjing glanced sidelong at his nephew as if looking at an idiot. "And then he died, didn't he?"
Song Jixin looked incredulous. "Uncle, just because he didn't greet you, you cruelly killed a great cultivator who could have been a pillar of the nation?"
Song Changjing said calmly, "Some people, you just can't spoil them."
Song Jixin's eyes were suspicious, as if he couldn't understand how such a unruly, imperious member of the Great Li royal family, who ignored the bigger picture, had survived to this day.
Song Changjing laughed. "You might not know one thing. On the entire Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent, there is only one dynasty where qi refiners, regardless of their background or backing, must go to the border battlefields to serve the emperor, fighting for a full three years. If their military merits are insufficient, they stay on the border drinking the northwest wind until they earn enough to go home and enjoy themselves."
Song Jixin was even more puzzled. "Uncle, didn't you just say that Great Li most highly esteems qi refiners? How can there be such a rule? And setting that aside, isn't Great Li afraid that these people will perish on the battlefield?"
Song Changjing laughed heartily. "This unwritten rule was established after I took command of the military."
Song Jixin suddenly understood. "That sword cultivator refused to go to the battlefield, which made you lose face? And other qi refiners followed suit, invisibly damaging Great Li's military morale and public sentiment? So you had to choose the lesser of two evils?"
Song Changjing shook his head. "That sword cultivator joined the army on the border when he was young. Within a single year, he had accumulated enough military merits, and his reputation in Great Li was quite good."
Song Jixin flushed with anger. "Then what was the reason?! Was it jealousy over a woman, or did he violate some taboo of the Song clan, or was he secretly colluding with the enemy and betraying the nation?"
Song Changjing's answer was simple. "Although cultivators and martial artists walk different paths, and the former are indeed more... well, to use the words of that Embroidery Tiger, more 'golden branches and jade leaves.' The Tenth Realm of martial arts is the end of the road, but qi refiners still have the five upper realms to climb. The difference between the two is indeed significant. If you take the cream of the crop from both sides, a qi refiner in the upper five realms is like standing on the summit here, while someone like me, a martial artist, can only stand on the summit of Piyun Mountain. Of course, a martial pinnacle grandmaster can still fight against cultivators of the Eleventh or Twelfth Realm. But in the end, in the eyes of the secular world, martial artists are just roughnecks who only know how to fight and kill, looked down upon by cultivators. So that time in the palace, although he didn't greet me, he deliberately squinted at me with a twisted mouth—very provocative. I wanted to teach him how to behave."
Song Jixin was dumbfounded.
Teach someone how to behave? Then at least leave them a way to live! Did he have to snap his neck?
Song Changjing didn't want to talk about that dead man anymore. "Are you curious about the middle-aged man who fought me to the death?"
Song Jixin swallowed unconsciously and said nothing.
Although the three carriages had gone ahead, the clash between the two behind them was earth-shattering. Once, Song Changjing fell from the sky, smashing a large crater a dozen yards from the carriage. Another time, Song Changjing retaliated. The youth had climbed onto the carriage roof and witnessed firsthand how that sturdy man, whose aura was like an earthly dragon, was punched by Song Changjing into a small hill, sending up a spectacular plume of dust.
Inhuman.
That was the only impression the youth had at the time.
In fact, the fight between Song Changjing and that sudden appearance of a man was not at all ethereal or celestial. It was like fist meeting flesh, trading wound for wound, life for life! It was a contest of who was more unreasonable.
Song Changjing suddenly rubbed the youth's head, his tone surprisingly warm for the first time. "Your father, the emperor, has great ambitions. While the Sui Emperor was still only staring at Great Li, your father had already set his sights on Old Dragon City at the southernmost tip of Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent. Are you wondering why I, as both a legitimate prince of Great Li and a vassal king with military power, unparalleled in prestige among the military and the people, can still maintain brotherly harmony with your father?"
Song Jixin smiled slyly. "Uncle, if you want to say it, just say it."
Song Changjing withdrew his hand and said gravely, "Because the only thing I want is to see the martial scenery beyond the pinnacle. Only by reaching that point will my life, Song Changjing, not have been lived in vain."
At that moment, a torrent surged in the youth's heart. He asked in a trembling voice, "If I devote myself wholeheartedly, can I reach the height you have today, uncle?"
Song Changjing shook his head and smiled. "You? If you practice martial arts, you'll be stuck at the Eighth Realm at most. No future. Best be a qi refiner instead. Your achievements will definitely be greater."
Song Jixin was unconvinced. "Why can I only reach the Eighth Realm of martial arts?"
Song Changjing smiled meaningfully. "Only?"
Song Jixin's face reddened.
Song Changjing didn't mind the youth's ignorance of the heavens and earth. He squinted into the distance and said slowly, "Qi refiners rely on heaven's favor. Whether fate treats you well is important. You might encounter a stroke of fortune here today, find a magic treasure there tomorrow, accidentally run into a hidden immortal the day after, and gain enlightenment while watching scenery the day after that. It seems everything can increase your cultivation. As for us martial artists, it's very different. There are no shortcuts. We have to walk step by step. Very boring."
Song Jixin's mood was complicated, tinged with disappointment.
Song Changjing ignored his nephew and turned to walk toward the carriage. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the silhouette of the maidservant. He hesitated, then walked over to her and together they looked up at that gate.
Song Changjing muttered to himself, "True dragon qi, condensed into a pearl. All dragon-kind in the world value pearls as much as cultivators value their natal primordial spirit."
The maidservant Zhigui did not turn her head, but she showed a trace of tension.
Song Changjing smiled. "For the sake of the four characters 'Wind Rises, Water Surges' inscribed on the corridor bridge plaque, the price our Great Li paid is unimaginable to outsiders. Wind rises, water surges. Why water surges? Isn't it to ensure that when a flood dragon walks the river, it can do so unimpeded? I, truth be told, don't care much about these things. It's all the will of your master's ruthless father. After you leave this small cave heaven, except for that Embroidery Tiger in the capital, no one else will be able to boss you around."
Song Changjing turned to look at the maidservant's profile. "Although your fate is tied to my nephew, intimately linked, sharing honor and disgrace, don't become too spoiled by favor. Don't give me a reason to act. Well, out of consideration for the Great Li empire and my nephew Song Jixin, I will make an exception and give you two chances to court death, which just fits the old saying 'three strikes and you're out.'"
The maidservant suddenly flared up. She turned around first, then stepped back two paces, glaring fiercely at this Great Li vassal king who struck terror into her heart. "I am not human to begin with, yet you want to bind me with the rules of mortals. Who is being unreasonable here? What do your golden laws and ironclad rules have to do with me?!"
Song Changjing laughed heartily. "Don't misunderstand. I will never be harsh on you over trivial matters. On the contrary, I am your greatest protective charm."
Song Changjing stared at the maidservant, whose eyes had taken on a strange golden hue. He said finally, "After that fight, I and you are actually allies on the same boat. Remember these words. Especially in the future, when you are qualified to make major decisions, think back on this."
Song Changjing turned and left.
Beside the carriage, a middle-aged coachman, rough from the battlefield, couldn't help but laugh out loud as he looked at the vassal king's eye-catching white fox-fur cloak. "Your Highness, when are you going to get a new fur cloak? It's been so many years. You might not be tired of wearing it, but we're tired of looking at it."
Song Changjing climbed onto the carriage, bent over to lift the curtain, and retorted testily, "We'll talk after we conquer Great Sui."
The coachman driving the horse laughed heartily. Facing this vassal king who held power second only to the emperor himself in Great Li, he showed not the slightest restraint.
Song Changjing had spent twenty years on horseback. Although as a general and commander, he couldn't always lead from the front in every great battle, more often planning strategies in the main tent, whenever Great Li's borders were engulfed in flames of war and decisive battles broke out, Song Changjing was invariably on the front lines. A vassal king, in his daily life, had never indulged in fine wine or beautiful women. He could almost be described as "having no possessions beyond his person."
After Song Changjing sat down in the carriage, he crossed his legs and frowned deeply. "That man told me that after leaving Li Zhu Cave Heaven, I shouldn't rush to the capital. 'Might as well wait at the foot of the mountain and look up.' Wait for what? Look at what?"
———
Song Jixin and the maidservant Zhigui also entered the carriage. The carriage was ready to pass through that gate.
Song Jixin noticed Zhigui curled up in a corner, shivering. He asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"
Zhigui said in a trembling voice, "I can sense it. Over there, beyond the gate, there are countless terrible things."
Song Jixin smiled and comforted her. "My uncle is here. What are you afraid of? Don't be scared. Even if the sky falls, he can hold it up."
Unexpectedly, Zhigui only became more terrified. She huddled desperately in the corner and said in a tearful voice, "Even he can't hold it up!"
———
A rare guest came to the town's largest tavern.
A teacher with graying temples ordered a jug of wine and a few plates of appetizers. He drank and ate alone, enjoying himself heartily.
It turned out that today this schoolteacher had not been teaching.
The schoolchildren had all gone home joyfully.
When he finished his last cup of wine and ate his last bite of food, he gently set down his chopsticks.
After a snap.
In the small cave heaven of the thousand-mile landscape, all fell silent. Everything froze.
This realm instantly shattered.
At that moment, all the mountain gods and mortal people on the entire Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent involuntarily looked up.
But in the next moment, as if an immortal even above the immortals had used a great divine power to alter heaven and earth, the entire scene of Li Zhu Cave Heaven was concealed.
High in the sky over northern Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent, rolling seas of clouds for ten thousand miles slowly descended.
There sat a figure, entirely white, with billowing wide sleeves. His height seemed immeasurable—thousands or tens of thousands of zhang. He sat upright, and before him floated a broken bead the size of his palm.
This person's dharma appearance was so enormous that it seemed to treat the entire Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent as a private school.
Above the boundless sea of clouds, voices as majestic as heavenly thunder exploded one after another.
"Qi Jingchun, how dare you!"
"Treason!"
"Turn back from the precipice!"
That scholar gazed down at the bead, slowly retracted his gaze, and finally looked up, proclaiming in a clear voice, "The heavenly backlash accumulated from three thousand years of this town—I, Qi Jingchun, will bear it all on my own shoulders!"