Archfiend

174: The Eight Outer Sects (2)

The scene was a stretch of deathly stillness. The area behind Chief Hu’s door was morbidly quiet. Everyone was rendered foolish.

“This is the young lord?! Lin Chaofeng?!” Chief Hu gasped coldly: “He’s actually bowing towards someone?! And even a bow at ninety degrees? Even taking the initiative to apologize? Make amends? This is the young lord I know?! The underworld emperor of the three northeast provinces?!”

He was dazed. A bodyguard at the side was also staring blankly.

What heck is going on?! Qian Qi looked at Xu Yangyi and Zhao Wuye in amazement, his complexion already changed in its entirety. From the start of his career to this day, regardless of past or present, the Young Lord Lin Chaofeng had never acted with great courtesy towards anyone!

This was the first time! Furthermore… the two Lin Family grand uncles behind were doing so, as well! The same posture!

“What kind of frickin’ people are they?!” Qian Qi foolishly looked at the duo who had their hands beared behind them: “In martial arts, the grand uncles are top-ten grand masters in the northeast provinces! The northern helm of Beitong Fist and Xingyi Fist! T-they’re a-actually bowing to these two people, as well?” [1]

Concerning their surprise, Xu Yangyi and Zhao Wuye hadn’t felt anything whatsoever.

Zhao Wuye snorted coldly. The Azure Dragon Group? Who were they? Perhaps… they possessed quite the status in the northeast provinces… but what of it? Even if they were killed, the government fundamentally wouldn’t care for such an underworld power. In the cultivation world, it furthermore wouldn’t even draw the slightest breeze of a wind or the crest of a wave.

Xu Yangyi saw the killing intent in Zhao Wuye’s eyes and made a motion to form a Dao-seal with his fingers, too. Shaking his head, he faintly released his spiritual pressure: “Stop while you’re at it.”

Zhao Wuye took a deep breath and nodded: “Since Fellow Daoist Xu has spoken, I will cease.”

As the young lord’s prideful head was hung low, the light of his eyes flickered. As the dark prince of the three northeast provinces, what kind of experienced person was he? From these words, he made out a relationship of master and servant. What caused him to be astonished… was that this handsome young man was unexpectedly the master!

“Go, don’t be an eyesore.” Zhao Wuye waved his hand, yet his gaze suddenly fell on the hand gestures of the three people in front of him and the tattoo on the web of their thumb and forefinger. His expression stirred, and he wordlessly nodded: “Slow down… Stand up first, alright.”

Young Lord Lin Chaofeng and the two elderly men straightened their figures.

“The Eight Outer Sects.” Zhao Wuye used a faintly inaudible voice to pass on to Xu Yangyi: “A pack of bad fellows, buncha ox demons and serpent gods… passed down for several thousand years. I didn’t expect they would still have descendants in the world.” [2]

“If the immortal masters do not mind, may I invite you upstairs for a chat?” An old man asked, using a voice that neared piousness. Zhao Wuye didn’t say anything, yet involuntarily glanced at Xu Yangyi.

“No need.” Xu Yangyi laughed apathetically and looked thoughtfully at the blood-drop imprint: “The Eight Outer Sects? I seem to have heard of it.”

“I dare not.” The young lord cupped his hands again: “In the ancestor’s records, he had a section on immortal fate with an immortal master. I always believed it to be a fallacy, but I didn’t expect I would actually be able to see it with my own eyes. It is a supreme honor!”

“If you have business, just do it here.” Xu Yangyi walked into a room: “If you have words just speak. But I’ll remind everyone.” He laughed calmly, and the people in the entire room felt as if their skin had been pricked by a needle: “Mortals and us cannot have too many crossings. Our time is very valuable. For the sake of your ancestor, I will grant you this opportunity.”

Mortal!

There wasn’t a shred of discontent on each person’s face. On the contrary, they beared joy! This was the other admitting his own status from his own mouth! Entering the room, Xu Yangyi and Zhao Wuye sat down straightforwardly, but Lin Chaofeng and the two elderly men didn’t sit.

“Sit, alright.” Xu Yangyi used his sight to brush an eye over the sofa, but no one sat.

Lin Chaofeng could still be considered cool and composed, but the other two elderly men were already ill at ease, as if they were clay figurines or wooden carvings. Learning from what he had just saw, he cupped his hands and said: “Eight Outer Sects, the inheritance of the northeast’s Deathsworn Sect. This generation’s Sectmaster Lin Chaofeng pays respects to the two great immortals.”

If someone was present to hear Lin Chaofeng’s words and see his attitude, they would certainly be so scared that their teeth would fall to the ground!

Zhao Wuye grunted noncommittally and looked at Xu Yangyi, sending a smidgen of an inquiring look and laughing: “This world is divided into exterior and interior, known as light and dark. Outside of the countless trades and crafts, there exists the Three Religions and Nine Schools. Everyone is well acquainted with this light. As for the dark…” He glanced at the respectful Lin Chaofeng and the others and followed: “There are the Eight Outer Sects.” [3]

“In the mortal world, they are the rulers in the darkness.”

“The Thousand Deceptions Sect, Gu Sect, Bandit Sect, Stratagem Sect, Red Handkerchief, Spirit Harmony Sect, Deathsworn Sect, and Orchid Sect. Jointly called the Eight Outer Sects. In the olden times, they undertook some professions that couldn’t see the light of day.”

“Although gambling methods are open without tricks, deceptive cheating cannot see the light. The Bandit Sect need not be mentioned. Every person of the Gu Sect is a natural danger. The Stratagem Sect is a heretical Dao, and the Spirit Harmony Sect was known in ancient times as shamans. The Orchid Sect deals in prostitution, legal or otherwise. The Red Handkerchief are martial entertainers. The only one that can be regarded as passable is probably the Deathsworn Sect.”

“It is a pity. In the past, the Eight Outer Sects truly produced Foundation Establishment cultivators. To no avail, the sects are too intermingled with good and bad. For example, the Deathsworn Sect can be classified within the Dao of Killing. Their ancestors are Yao Li and Zhuan Zhu, outstanding and famous great assassins. But within the long development of history, the Deathsworn Sect began to carry the creed of ‘taking wealth to vanquish calamities’. Even passed down to now, I’ve heard they’re all around in international mercenary corps. Thus, cultivators cannot tolerate them.” [4]

Zhao Wuye spoke trivially, yet the three present mortals didn’t feel it to be improper whatsoever. From the instant they understood the other’s status, they already realized their own positions.

Xu Yangyi nodded. It wasn’t surprising that Zhao Wuye recognized their identities. With or without inheritance, and even if they had been reduced to mortals, a slight discerning eye was still left on them.

“What’s the matter?” He wasn’t too interested in understanding more about their background. Since they were mortals, how could their intersections be many? As for wanting to borrow this history to go into cultivation, that was purely much to wish for. He wasn’t any charitable person, and his own hatred still hadn’t been revenged. How could he possess the effort to teach a disciple?

Lin Chaofeng sharply caught onto the impatience in Xu Yangyi’s words and cupped his fist with resolve in his heart: “Ancestor… once left an item. He wanted me to hand it over the first immortal master I saw and said… this immortal master would agree to my request.”

“Che…” Zhao Wuye sneered without the slightest concealment. How could a mortal’s item be fancied by a cultivator’s eye?

In his mind, Lin Chaofeng was likewise nervous. Before his father approached death’s door, he had constantly warned him over and over that this had to be done. He was moreover informed that this was the Lin Family’s great opportunity to rise to prominence! He simply wouldn’t be so servile! However… that item… was truly too cheap! So cheap that one would think it to be a street good at a glance!

He didn’t know what a cultivator was, but there were many on television and movies. Leaping onto rooftops and vaulting over walls? No, they could move mountains and fill seas! How could such people possibly take to the item in his hands? But now that an arrow had been nocked on the bowstring, there was no choice but to fire it!

“Please… look it over, immortal masters!” He clenched his teeth and stretched into his white shirt. In the wake of a soft rustling sound, a silver chain bearing his body warmth appeared in his hand. As for the pendent attached, it was a fine metal product.

Xu Yangyi gently beckoned and the necklace flew over. The three mortals who saw this minor action held an incomparable scorching fire in their hearts!

THIS was an immortal master! Their ultimate hope was the the item left behind by the ancestor was able to stir the hearts of these two immortal masters!

The necklace entering his hand, Xu Yangyi softly flicked and the pendant gently opened following a click. Inside, there was a flat white object. Stretching out his hand to easily pinch it, his was already grumbling in his heart. It was a piece of white pelt roughly the size of a palm, however, it merely begun to fold. There wasn’t any qi at all and should’ve been cut apart from something…

Wait a second… His eyes quickly sparked and saucered in disbelief! Zhao Wuye who was at the side saw Xu Yangyi’s expression and likewise looked at the pendant in astonishment. He didn’t believe a mortal held an item that could move a cultivator’s heart!

As for Lin Chaofeng, his breathing became rushed and urgent in a flash! Even now, the two old men were only holding in their breaths!

Xu Yangyi used his fastest speed to take the pelt and roll it open. In a daze, he studied the unfolded fur, not daring to believe in his eyes a bit.

Searching for her countless times in a dream. With a sudden turn back at sunset, one finds her where the lantern light dimly wanes!

This severing curve… This texture…

In his hand now, THIS was the final piece of the pelt that the eighteenth-ranked successor of God Ming had originally called on Jadewave to identify!!! It also allowed him to confirm that the mysterious ancient pelt scroll was about the lotus sea below Danxia Temple! He softly swiped and another pelt came flying out from his storage ring. Both parts… seamlessly combined together!

“This… is actually it!” Xu Yangyi’s vision exploded with light! At the moment, the final jigsaw piece of the Danxia Temple excursion was totally complete! This part was the missing piece—the entrance! Danxia Temple’s true entrance! On the surface of this piece, there was only a single phrase, yet it thoroughly jolted him from his reverie!

“Brightness falls to the Death Gate, a death yet return to life!” He suddenly turned his head and looked at Zhao Wuye: “The Bright Gate Palace falls to the Death Gate, what’s the explanation?” [5]

“No doubt a certain death.” Zhao Wuye replied prudently: “Fellow Daoist, why ask this? Isn’t this the Zhao Clan’s speciality field?”

Xu Yangyi looked at him for a long while and laughed abruptly: “Give me a projection of honeycomb wall. As fast as you can.”

“Alright!”

If… his guess was correct, the honeycomb wall… should’ve been that scenery… All clues had finally converged into this jigsaw piece here. Were it not for him having went to the lotus sea, he wouldn’t have even imagined in his dreams that the ancient pelt scroll of God Ming’s eighteenth-ranked successor drafted Danxia Temple’s underside!

If he hadn’t slain a scion of God Ming and if he hadn’t read the sheepskin scroll, how would he have discovered this scene of Danxia Temple’s entrance?!

Perhaps… Zhao Wuye didn’t know… but after the honeycomb… wasn’t Danxia Temple’s true entrance at all… rather… their suicide squad had already excavated to the front of Danxia Temple’s main door! The honeycomb wall seemingly dotted with endless cavities was Danxia Temple’s real entrance!

Fortunately, Xu Yangyi and the others hadn’t entered yet… After entering and treading into Danxia Temple’s true domain, they would lie between both sides of life and death! However, there were hundreds of entrance paths! But only a single road to survival!

Brightness falls on the Death Gate! A path to certain death! Extreme evils turn to spring joy, reversing to a path of life! This was the ominous and awe-inspiring Danxia Temple, the true way of entering one the eight great deadlands!

“I have come… I have come!” Xu Yangyi shut his eyes and took a deep breath. As he opened his eyes, they were already brimming with fiery ardor. An unexpected harvest… Originally, he had only planned on exploring the surroundings of Danxia Temple, but with the Zhao Clan and this map, he could go straight before Danxia Temple’s true door!

He swiftly calmed his emotions and looked at Lin Chaofeng. After long time, he finally nodded: “Very good.”

“I can agree to a single one of your requests. However, I have a stipulation. This request cannot be for me to massacre mortals, so clearly consider what you want to say. You only have this opportunity.”

“Thank you, immortal master!” Lin Chaofeng restrained the wild joy in his heart and immediately cupped his hands.

“Good.” Xu Yangyi said firmly: “Tell me… who is your ancestor!”

Who was it that could predict the pelt scroll was in his hand?!

And who knew... that this pelt scroll could combine to form Danxia Temple’s true map?!

[1] Beitong Fist (quan) and Xingyi Fist (quan) are both northern martial arts styles.

[2] “Ox demons and serpent gods” - the tricky thing about this phrase in this book is that it can be taken literally, but this phrase was brought to use by Chinese communist leader Kang Sheng to refer to gangs. Original phrase comes from Daoism/Buddhism to refer to Ox demons who guard hell and a serpent demon in Buddhist myth known as Mahoraga.

[3] The Three Religions: Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism. Nine Schools: Confucian, Daoist, Yin-Yang, Legalist, Logistician, Mohist, Agriculturalist, Eclectics, and Political Strategists.

[4] Yao Li is a famous assassin from the State of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period. Killed his mother and wife to be labeled as a criminal to get on the same boat as his target, Prince Qingji, and killed his target. Zhuan Zhu is another assassin in the same period (roughly 500 BCE). Assassinated King Liao of Wu with a dagger he hid in a fish.

[5] “Bright Gate Palace/Death Palace” This is very difficult to explain, but is related to ancient Chinese divination called Qimen Dunjia. Qimen Dunjia is used in all kinds of things for divination: business, marriage, Fengshui, etc