Chapter 21: The Treasure in the Void

  Mei Chuan An's descent into madness was, to many people, a predictable outcome. Initially, he ignored his mother's pleas and the advice of his fellow disciples of the same year, resolutely accepting the invitation of Zuosheng Ying, the first seat of the Left Stream, to become a disciple of the Secret Department. He said: "The strongest are destined to stand at the peak, just ask for another step forward, even if it means falling into madness and destruction, I will never regret it."

  Years later, people who knew Mei Chuan'an all said that his arrogant declaration had already had a magical meaning.

  The Forbidden Arts are the easiest to fall into demonic possession, yet they still attract top-notch disciples because the Forbidden Arts are indeed at the forefront of the Nine Great Dao Unities. Only they are allowed to come into contact with those ambiguous, demon-like spells and browse through the most ancient, profound, and mysterious books.

  As a disciple of the Secret School, the greatest honor is to create a new and extremely powerful spell. Many people have spent their entire lives studying but have achieved nothing, while others have become lost and fallen into evil ways. Only a select few are able to achieve success, and from then on, their names will be remembered for eternity in the annals of Taoist history.

  Ten years ago, Mei Chuanan claimed to have come up with a brand new spell and brazenly requested the nine major sects' masters to gather together. He wanted to demonstrate it in public. Zuo Liu Ying, the head of the Forbidden Arts Department, had been observing this proud disciple for a long time and didn't hesitate to use his magical tools to conduct a thorough examination on him - for those with strong magical powers, evil thoughts could be hidden extremely deeply.

  The test results confirmed that Mei Chuanan had gone mad.

  Master Ning Qiwei and the other First Seats conducted another examination, with the same conclusion as Zuo Liuliang. Fortunately, they discovered it in time; Mei Chuanan's demonic thoughts had just begun to emerge and hadn't yet attracted any demonic energy. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable: a powerful disciple of Mount Pong, even if invaded by the weakest demonic energy, would cause immeasurable destruction.

  The demonic thoughts of a cultivator are like the smell of fish that attracts cats, and even if there is only a hint of it, they cannot escape the invasion of the demon kind. This invasion can even transcend the isolation of time and space, and even the strongest spells find it difficult to completely prohibit.

  Mei Chuanan lost everything in an instant.

  The dazed and confused Mei Chuan'an was still very arrogant. Every time he slightly regained consciousness, he would talk endlessly about how he had come up with new magic techniques. If there were listeners, he would become even more excited. Of course, most of the time, his only listener was his mother. The villagers quickly avoided him after witnessing the destructive power of the crazy younger brother.

  Grandma Mei felt very uncomfortable and whispered to Xia Qiu and Fang Fang, "He's always like this, don't mind him, he's talking about 'picking treasures from thin air', nobody has ever seen it, just empty talk."

  "But he said tonight is going to... be 'free'." Xia Qiu had a bad premonition.

  "It's about time, anyway." Old Mrs. Mei wiped away her tears, "He's been saying things like that for days now. Sigh, ten years, it's time. Thank you all, you can go now, let me listen to his nonsense alone."

  "I'm not in a hurry, and we don't have anything else to do," said Xiao Qiu, who was carefully observing, trying to find evidence that Zuo Liu Ying controlled Mei Chuan An, but so far had found nothing.

  Grandma Mei nodded gratefully and said, "I'll go get some fruit."

  Mei Chuan'an had long since disconnected from the real world, he couldn't even feel the coarse grass rope tied around his waist, his body straight, while his mother and guests were talking, he kept looking up at the night sky, as if waiting for instructions from heaven or listening to commands in the void.

  After a while, he opened his mouth again. At first, his speech was very slow and cautious, but then it gradually accelerated, faster and faster, as if time was not enough.

  "In the beginning of the Great Way, three ancestors were born. The three ancestors passed on the fire and divided it into nine branches, establishing the Nine Great Ways. At that time, the Daoist fire was just ignited, and there were only about 300 magical techniques. The ancestral masters made a vow: 'If we do not reach 100,000 (disciples), our bodies will not move.' Thus, the Daoist sect prospered, with many disciples, and could contend with the demonic tribe. The demonic tribe was cruel and tyrannical, slaughtering living beings, swallowing human bones, drinking human blood, seizing people's property, and exterminating their clans. Our ancestral master personally led 3,000 disciples down the mountain, fighting five battles in total, ultimately annihilating the demonic tribe, destroying its physical form, cutting off its retreat, driving it into the void, and sealing its gate. After these five battles, the Daoist fire greatly declined, the ancestral master abandoned the world, and not one of the 100,000 magical techniques remained..."

  Grandma Mei brought over a small bench and table with a few pears and lychees, saying in a very low voice: "If you can ask him some questions, he will be even happier."

  "Question..." Xia Qiu scratched her head, "Méi Dào Shì, Dao Huǒ... why call it Dao Huǒ?"

  "Ah, the Fire of the Way," Mei Chuan'an said, nodding repeatedly at Xiao Qiu. "Its subtlety cannot be put into words, its application cannot be known. It is not transmitted to those without a foundation in the Way, nor does it ignite for those without an encounter with it. This fire is neither the ordinary natural fire of the mundane world, nor the Five Elements fire of the Daoist school. It is the fire of profound meaning, the fire of wisdom. Reduce it and reduce it again, yet it will not be diminished; increase it and increase it again, yet it will not be excessive. The heavens and earth are small because of it, while dust and ashes are great because of it..."

  Xiao Qiu looked at Fang Fang, hoping she could think of other questions.

  "Is the Secret Department specifically looking for those lost spells?" Fang Fang asked.

  "Rebuilding ancient spells is just one aspect." Mei Chuan'an changed his tone, slower and less profound in his words, "The most important thing is to build even more powerful spells. As early as the 11th generation of ancestors, the Nine Great Dao had already possessed 200,000 spells, which have been accumulating day by day since then, and now there are over a million."

  "One million spells." Xia Qiu exclaimed, "How long will it take to master them all?"

  "Although there are many spells, those that can be used are not many. The commonly used ones are only a few thousand, and the extremely useful ones are only a little over a hundred. All the rest are not enough to make a way."

  "Then the magic you've figured out must be the strongest?" Xia Qiu had just asked and regretted it, this was touching someone's sore spot. Mei Po had said before that Mei Chuan An's "picking treasures from thin air" was just talk.

  Mei Chuanan slightly narrowed her eyes, "It's not the strongest, it's different from others, it..."

  Mei Chuan An's breathing suddenly became heavy, his right hand covering his chest, his face showing a painful expression. Old Lady Mei hurried over to support him, but he waved his hand, indicating that she didn't need to come over.

  "It's just a message." Mei Chuan'an's voice returned to normal, but the passion and enthusiasm were gone, replaced by a hint of despair and confusion. "I still don't understand, far from it."

  "Is Left Flowing English helping you?" Xia Qiu decided to ask directly, he didn't come here to listen to some new magic technique.

  Mei Chuan An seemed to have not heard the question, and had no reaction to the three words "Zuo Liu Ying". He took a deep breath of the night air, walked to the front of the stone pedestal, sat down on the ground with his legs crossed, quietly adjusted his clothes, using the hem to cover his legs. Then he raised his head and said, "Listen to me - Wrong or weak, don't."

  "What?" Xia Qiu hadn't heard clearly, this string of similar sounds was really not pleasant to the ear, Mei Chuan'an read extremely fast, and it was over in an instant, as if there was only one word.

  "Grandma Mei was shocked, 'He... he never said those words before. He always told people that he had come up with new magic techniques, but...' The old man became excited, 'He didn't deceive anyone, did he? My son didn't deceive anyone! Master Pongshan was wrong, the Head of the Forbidden Arts Department was wrong, and all the villagers were wrong!'"

  "Uh..." Xia Qiu didn't know what to say.

  Mei Chuan An's left hand rested on his knee, while his right hand grasped the hilt of his sword with a finger pointing towards the sky. He said calmly, "The Dao fire will not be extinguished."

  "The way of fire will never be extinguished." Xia Qiu and Fang Fang replied in unison, and a sense of solemnity involuntarily arose in their hearts.

  Mei Chuan's face showed a relieved expression, and then he didn't move again.

  Grandma Mei's excitement slowly dissipated, and she walked to her son's side, gently removing the long hairpin from his head, holding it in both hands and presenting it to Xia Qiu and Fang Fang, "Please accept this gift from me."

  "How can this be? We didn't do anything." Xia Qiu protested.

  "You can make my son happy, that's the greatest kindness. I'm just a lonely old woman with nothing to repay you. This hairpin is a token of transmission from An Dao, ten years ago when he was 28, he had already reached the Starfall Realm, in the past three hundred years, his speed is the fastest among the nine major paths."

  In the end, Granny Mei's voice also revealed a hint of pride, then she sighed and said, "It's useless to keep it now, so I'll give it to you as a toy. The old lady wishes you both a smooth journey in your cultivation, early attainment of the Taoist fruit, and longevity of ten thousand years."

  Xiao Qiu and Fang Fang exchanged a glance, and finally Xiao Qiu took over the hairpin.

  "I'll send two people back to the lodge."

  "No need, we know the way," said Xiao Qiu. Mei's mother still saw them off for over a dozen steps before turning back home.

  The night was deepening, and the villagers of Jinghu Village had already rested. There were no lights or fires around, only the stars and moon shining above their heads. Fangfang took three quick steps forward, and the two walked shoulder to shoulder.

  "He's dead, is he?"

  "Uh-huh, I think so."

  The two fell silent for a while. Xia Qiu didn't want to indulge in sorrow and asked again, "Was what Mei Chuan'an said really an incantation?"

  "I don't know either, but it seems that Grandma Mei really believes in it." Fangfang paused for a moment and whispered those few words, "Wrong or fallen weakly."

  "You can actually remember? Wrong or weak... it seems useless, Old Lady Mei is probably going to be disappointed."

  "Ordinary spells must be based on spiritual power, we haven't even started cultivating yet, of course reciting them is useless."

  Xiang thought of Grandma Mei mentioning her son's cultivation, and Xiao Qiu asked: "Fang Fang, you read books every day. What is 'Starfall Boundary'? It seems to be very powerful."

  "In the "Nine Chapters of Inherited Classics", it is introduced that in order to cultivate the Tao, one must first open the seven apertures, then pass through the three gates, and after laying the foundation, one can absorb energy to condense the inner elixir. The method of absorbing energy progresses slowly, and higher-level Taoists can eat clouds, then swallow smoke, and further up is the Starfall Realm. Taoists who reach this realm can absorb the essence of the stars, and their inner elixir will be very powerful. Further up are the realms of Annotating the Spirit, Wearing the Monthly Halo, and Wearing the Daily Halo, which are nine levels in total. Each level is also called a Dao Fruit, as stated in the book."

  "It's just ninth grade, doesn't sound too difficult."

  "It's tough, the book says that just by being in a state of pure absorption, you can block out almost half of all cultivators. Many people, despite having innate spiritual roots, are unable to condense their internal elixir throughout their lives, and it gets even harder as you progress, often with only one success in ten thousand attempts."

  "I think Zhang Daoshi hasn't reached the level of absorbing energy." Xiao Qiu took out that hairpin.

  The hairpin was six or seven inches long, with a hard texture that was neither wood nor iron. On its surface, something was faintly engraved. When held up in the air, a flash of light revealed three star patterns on the hairpin. "This thing is a bit special, Fangfang, you take it."

  "No, this is what Grandma Mei gave you."

  Xiao Qiu stuffed the hairpin into Fang Fang's hand.

  The two of them chatted casually along the way, both thinking that Mei Chuanan didn't seem completely like a madman. Before they knew it, they had already walked back to their residence.

  "Wrong or fall weak Mo." Fang Fang said in front of the courtyard, speaking to the empty air, afraid that she would forget these few words.

  "Wrong or weak, no." Xia Qiu repeated after him, taking it as a farewell phrase.

  "Have you two gone to Mei's house?" a voice asked from behind. Zhang Lingsheng walked out of the room, looking annoyed.

  Xiao Qiu and Fang Fang hastily turned around, just at that moment, the two had once faced the direction of reciting the spell, a small block of air about four or five feet above the ground trembled slightly, as if it was just a twinkle in the stars' eyes, or a faint stir of wind out of thin air.

  Neither the person reciting the incantation nor those who vaguely heard it noticed that it had actually taken effect.

  (Collection needed, recommendation needed)