With Jiang Yuanhua safely lodged in the armory, Shen Yi didn’t linger. He turned and left.
Grand as it was, housing the accumulated treasures of the entire Great Qian dynasty, for a Mixed Origin Grandmaster, the vast majority of what sat in that vault held no real meaning.
The genuinely valuable items — high-grade treasure artifacts, Mixed Origin techniques — were kept under strict control. Even the Demon Suppression Division’s Inspector couldn’t simply take however much he pleased.
“One step at a time.”
Shen Yi walked back up the long staircase and touched his spiritual sense to the jade token in his hand. Ripples spread across the relief wall, and it quietly returned to its original appearance.
He’d barely gone any distance at all before the constable from earlier came hurrying over — the man had apparently been waiting there the whole time.
“Inspector, this lowly one is Liu Kun, stationed at the central offices. You’ve only just arrived in the capital — if there’s anything you’d like to know, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Liu Kun’s manner was respectful without the slightest hint of fawning, inoffensive to a tee.
“Good. Much appreciated.”
Shen Yi nodded and followed the man toward the spacious courtyard directly behind the War Temple’s main hall.
“Commander Shen, the courtyard is divided into four sections — Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding — and houses gifted practitioners from across the Nine Provinces. Some serve the court, others come from wandering martial families or sects of their own, and the web of connections between them is rather tangled.”
Liu Kun explained as they walked. “That said, everyone who enters any of the rear three sections considers themselves a War Temple disciple. Trouble rarely breaks out in ordinary circumstances, and if anything does come up, you only need to report it — the War Temple handles its own discipline. The Demon Suppression Division doesn’t get involved.”
He was being tactful. The truth was that ever since the Inspector had left Great Qian and both Deputies had met their ends, the central offices had long since become an empty shell. Processing merit reports from Demon Suppression Divisions around the provinces and handing out rewards — clerical work like that was manageable enough. But if it ever came to actual force, more than a few of those so-called “disciples” in the courtyard were Core-Nurturing cultivators at Perfection.
He brought Shen Yi to the location Wu Dao’an had designated in advance.
Liu Kun cupped his fists and withdrew. “I’ll leave you to it.”
Before him stretched a row of traditional quadrangle courtyards, one alongside the next, fallen leaves drifting past every now and then, the whole place quiet and unhurried.
It didn’t take long for people to notice the unfamiliar figure.
For all that the War Temple’s disciples seemed numerous, spread out across the vast Nine Provinces, they were rarer than phoenix feathers. Many years might pass without a single new addition.
Not to mention… the young man looked so young. If you went purely by appearance, he couldn’t even be thirty.
Before long, a powerfully built man came strolling over, smiling as he cupped his fists. “The name’s Jiang He, from Song Prefecture. Might I ask where you hail from, Brother?”
This man carried a heavier air of the wandering martial world about him than most court-affiliated cultivators did.
“Qingzhou. Shen Yi.”
Shen Yi returned the gesture. Aside from Li and Tan Prefectures, he now finally had another place to add to his mental map.
He filed it away quietly. He’d probably end up going for a look there eventually.
“Qingzhou — I’ve been there myself.”
Jiang He, clearly a naturally easy-going sort, launched into conversation. “Does Brother Shen know Jiang Qiulan? I’m nothing special, but back when I was wandering the Nine Provinces, I did cross hands with her a time or two — she holds a longsword, and the swordsmanship she wields with it is simply sublime. Brother Jiang here fell far short! A fellow from Qingzhou like Brother Shen must be no slouch either, I’d wager!”
“…”
Shen Yi gave him a sideways glance. Jiang Qiulan was supposedly Qingzhou’s sharpest blade… the problem being, she never actually used a sword.
Was casual boasting just a trait that came with being a wandering martial artist?
He was suddenly reminded of Zhang the Butcher — a man who’d ranked himself alongside Condensate-realm powerhouses like Yan Xingkong and Zhang Hengzhou as one of Qingzhou’s famous names, back when he’d barely scraped his way to the Threshold realm.
Quite the time-honored tradition, apparently.
Shen Yi looked away, gave a nod. “Decent enough.”
“Brother Shen is too modest.”
Jiang He let out a hearty laugh.
Seeing the young man’s reluctance to say more, he formed a rough assessment in his mind — this fellow probably had some talent, but given his youth, his cultivation wasn’t anything to write home about, which was why he hadn’t had much contact with a powerhouse like Jiang Qiulan, and was simply too proud to show it.
He smoothly changed the subject. “You’ve also come to join the War Temple? Why are you standing out here and not going in?”
“I’m waiting for someone.”
Shen Yi glanced off into the distance. Since Jiang He had walked over to chat, another seven or eight people had drifted closer, quietly straining to listen — and having heard the exchange between the two of them, every one of them had halted, and quietly thought better of introducing themselves.
“Waiting for who? Should I help you find them?”
Jiang He made no move to leave. The world was a dangerous place, and another friend meant another road open to you.
He looked cheerfully toward the courtyard, only to find all his fellow disciples quietly turning around and filing back inside. “…”
Tch. What a bunch of people too proud for their own good.
Before he’d even finished silently complaining about them, a low, gravelly voice sounded from behind him.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?”
Jiang He instinctively drew his neck back and laughed awkwardly, not turning around at all. “Master Wu, this student is heading off to cultivate right now.”
He broke into a near-trot back into the courtyard, and stole one look back — only to find Wu Dao’an, who was ordinarily cold and indifferent toward everyone, actually wearing a somewhat decent expression for once.
“Kept you waiting, have I.” The old man had clearly just finished another round of refinement for someone.
“I only just arrived myself.” Shen Yi shook his head.
“Come along.” Wu Dao’an said nothing further, stepped into the courtyard, and led Shen Yi deeper inside.
Jiang He watched the two of them walk off until they passed out of the Ding section entirely. “Huh…”
That quiet one who’d barely said a word — he turned out to be someone significant?
If Wu Dao’an personally came to receive him, he had to be at least a Yi-section prospect.
The further they went, the more sharply the number of people dwindled.
Wu Dao’an made no move to introduce anything. He simply walked ahead in silence.
“Master Wu.”
A middle-aged man in white robes rose to greet him, a woman in matching white at his side — a pair that gave off a distinctly immortal-couple sort of impression.
Wu Dao’an gave a casual wave and walked straight past the two of them.
He’d never had much patience for these rough-and-tumble martial types.
“…”
The woman in white raised an eyebrow, her gaze going to the young man trailing along behind the old man.
Someone new was being added to the Yi section?
And one this young, at that.
Of the Yi section’s thirty-odd residents, Core-Nurturing at Perfection was the entry threshold.
The husband and wife exchanged a glance, both reading the same surprise in each other’s eyes.
Only once Shen Yi had followed Wu Dao’an out the other side of the Yi section did the two of them give a helpless smile. “Gave me a scare — so it’s a divine-spirit cultivator.”
Unlike martial cultivators, within the War Temple there was a rather blunt method for gauging a divine-spirit cultivator’s realm: you looked at the body.
The more withered the body, the higher the cultivation.
Because that meant the person had already shed the body’s constraints, and naturally stopped putting any effort into so much as a mortal frame.
The Jia section held the highest status, yet that didn’t mean the greatest strength — it placed more weight on talent.
A divine-spirit cultivator with a genuine shot at condensing a golden dharma form was somewhat easier for people to accept than a martial cultivator at Core-Nurturing Perfection before even reaching thirty.
“You’ll be living here.”
Wu Dao’an brought Shen Yi to a small courtyard with a faintly austere air about it.
On the surface, it looked empty and uninhabited.
Shen Yi looked quietly toward the gate, and with a single glance made out three divine spirits — three old figures who gave him small nods in acknowledgment.
“The Jia section doesn’t have many rules, but try to avoid drifting in through your senior brothers’ and sisters’ doors as a divine spirit. Everyone has their own eccentricities, and it’s an easy way to start quarrels. No one will enter your courtyard either.”
“Also — this building’s doors and walls are all constructed with a secret method. Your cultivation is on the lower end, so if you accidentally run into them, it could damage your divine spirit.”
Wu Dao’an walked him into the room and offered the warning.
Generals who’d spent their whole lives in small places were used to no one being able to see them — they’d drift through doors and seep through walls without a second thought, and in a place like the Jia section, that was a quick way to get beaten.
He drew a jade slip from his sleeve. “This is the Three Origins Immortal Ascension Method. Keep it safe. Although we all cultivate the same technique, our understandings of it differ entirely, so this old man won’t try to sway yours. Once you’ve cultivated your way to the upper tier of Martial Immortal, go pick out a suitable Golden Body method from the armory.”
“My thanks.”
Shen Yi accepted the jade slip, feeling a faint flicker of novelty.
“No need for that.” Wu Dao’an smiled, shaking his head. “The War Temple doesn’t lack for techniques, and it doesn’t lack for accumulated faith… what we lack is people.”
If anything, it was the War Temple that ought to feel glad about this young man joining them, not the other way around.
“When there’s nothing pressing, don’t go wandering around outside. Cultivate here at ease. If anything comes up, just send one of the other three sections’ people to handle it — and if any of them dare refuse you, come find this old man, and this old man will deal with them for you.”
Shen Yi rose noncommittally and saw Senior Brother Wu to the door.
Then he closed it behind him.
He sat on the edge of the bed, affecting the air of a perfectly inert block of wood, and only then allowed the divine spirit to drift free of his body.
“Go on. Test whether the door and walls are warded.”
He gave Lady Qinghua her instructions inwardly. The divine spirit drifted toward the door without a moment’s hesitation and came to a stop about an inch away.
“Master, going any closer would cause a problem.”
Her voice, low and melodious, sounded within Shen Yi’s mind. He directed her to test the walls as well, confirming everything was exactly as Wu Dao’an had said.
Even then, he made no move.
Who knew what other methods these Martial Immortals might have in place. Caution never hurt anyone.
Shen Yi reached his spiritual sense into the jade slip.
A new line of text appeared swiftly on his panel.
【Martial Immortal · Three Origins Immortal Ascension Method: Not Yet Begun】
He recalled the divine spirit to his qi sea and drew Lady Qinghua back into the panel.
Only then did he take out the Golden Wolf jade token and hold it in his palm, drawing on what remained of his four-thousand-odd years of banked demon lifespan and slowly pouring it into this new technique.
【Year 1 — You open the Three Origins Immortal Ascension Method, read through the preface, then close it again. This method requires a lower-tier Martial Immortal before it can be cultivated; your divine spirit is still quite a distance from that realm】
The reserves that had run short when he’d shattered his inner core all needed rebuilding from scratch now.
Shen Yi felt the vast white mist surging toward him from all sides, warmth flooding through every part of him.
The divine spirit in his qi sea grew rapidly more solid, until, like the path infant, it had taken on a vividly lifelike human form.
The realm that an entire province’s worth of accumulated faith ought to have produced had now taken shape — and yet the white mist flooding in showed not the slightest sign of tapering off.
This, after all, was the foundation built up since the dynasty’s founding… and it really was something.
Worth remembering, too, that this was still only the Demon Suppression Division’s share.
【Year 56 — You are now a lower-tier Martial Immortal, and have at last earned the right to study this method. You open it once again. Having mastered the Heaven-Devouring Core-Consuming Art, you’ve gained a degree of familiarity with these abstruse passages — what was once an utterly incomprehensible scripture has finally, at least, become something slightly less so】
【Year 123 — You commit the entire contents to memory, then sink into thought. In your eyes, it has gone from an incomprehensible scripture whose characters you couldn’t read, to a scripture whose every character you can recognize — and yet you have absolutely no idea what any of it is actually trying to say】
【Reading the same passage, you and Lady Qinghua between the two of you manage to arrive at forty-eight different interpretations】
【A demon knows nothing of the ways of a divine spirit. After a moment’s deliberation, you decisively discard her interpretations. That still leaves forty-seven】
(End of Chapter)