Hu Jin let out a sigh of relief internally. Now that the other guy was done with the rant, he would have to continue the conversation. But just as he thought, the voice continued.
"Not much is known about Song Fa, or as he was more famously known as the Blood Step Immortal. Though there were rumors that he was a degenerate who enjoyed the company of men. Even that might just be propaganda from his enemies, of which he had many. The Song Clan didn't get any benefits from him, except perhaps for the mindset that cruelty could get things done easier and faster."
Okay, now Hu Jin really had no idea why the old guy was going on this rant. Next, he might explain the Song Clan's history in compulsory detail—something Hu Jin didn't care about.
Most of the major clans and sects were related to one immortal or another, perhaps even two or three. In that essence, the Song Clan wasn't particularly special. Like many other renowned clans, they were all one bad leader away from making the wrong enemy and writing their own end.
Even though Hu Jin had yet to learn who the old guy was talking about, he had the distinct feeling that he was unsatisfied with many things.
But just as he was about to zone out the rest of this long speech, he felt the coin in his pocket shaking.
His master was trying to send him a message, he thought. Hu Jin quickly reined in his excitement.
"I even went through all this effort, creating a barrier that only Body Tempering Cultivators could enter. It was to keep the Song Clan and that Shan bastard from desecrating my body," the voice said before it grew quiet again.
Snow-like white things began falling from the roof, and they slowly gathered toward one place, just in front of the golden throne. What began forming was a humanoid, ghost-like translucent construct. It was an old man with sword-like eyebrows and a thick, long white beard that reached his hips.
The ghost turned toward Hu Jin, its eyes piercing into his, and the ghost said, "Kid, I can't force you to do anything. I had to put a rule in place where I couldn't go out to keep this array up, and I wouldn't be able to come with you. But can you promise me to take revenge, and I will give you the full inheritance as a Nascent Soul Cultivator who reached the peak of power!"
When he heard "Nascent Soul Cultivator," Hu Jin's heart jumped. Those people were god-like beings who ruled the Western Continent since the immortals rarely appeared. An inheritance from that was bound to be very lucrative; there was a chance that with that inheritance, he might become a Nascent Soul Cultivator himself! He already has his master, with this guy's inheritance on top of it. Wouldn't he have a very high chance of becoming a Nascent Soul Cultivator?
"Tell me what I need to do," Hu Jin smiled.
"I need you to destroy the Blazing Sun Sect. It is no longer the image the Blazing Sun Immortal imagined. Nowadays, it is just a cave to hide demonic cultivators and corruption," said the man with a chillingly cold voice for a ghost.
Deliver justice and get rewarded for it. What more could an honest man ask for? Hu Jin was overjoyed!
But before he could utter a word, a mist came out of his pocket and took the form of his master. The two ghosts stared at each other. It was a strange scene, and his master no longer looked like the friendly old man who knew something about everything. Instead, his demeanor had turned cold as ice, and his eyes were sharper than any blade. He looked like a true cultivator who had lived long and would forget more things than many people would ever know.
"How disappointing. I thought you knew better than to fall for mummery, Hu Jin," his master addressed him, never taking his eyes off the other ghost. "If you think the Blazing Sun Sect is special in any way, look at every other great sect or clan. There is corruption at the top. It is the only truth in common between both mortals and cultivators. If you think the other sects are any better, look again."
"Are you calling me a liar?" Song Wen inquired. His voice no longer held that uncontrollable fury; it was soft as silk, eerily calm for someone in his position.
But his master chuckled, unperturbed. "I'm just teaching my disciple here that there is no good or evil when it comes to cultivation. All that matters is how high one can soar."
Song Wen was quiet at first, but Hu Jin's master continued, "But we both know that, don't we?"
"I assumed that the spirit in the coin was hidden, and you wouldn't appear so recklessly. Who would have thought that a ghost and a human would work together," Song Wen confessed.
Hu Jin felt as if something had pierced the back of his head when he heard that. He had been tricked...
"Here is another lesson for you, my disciple," his master turned around and stared Hu Jin in the eyes. His gaze was colder than ice, and his demeanor was frightening. "There is no way a Nascent Soul Cultivator would act so emotional unless it was to sell the image to a victim and make them think a certain way."
"True. Since you will likely be taking my inheritance, you will technically become my disciple too. So, here is another piece of advice," Song Wen said. "There is no good or evil on the road to immortality; there are only results. Only the weak-willed and the weak-minded fall for something like you almost did."
It was shocking to see someone so emotional before now acting cool as a cucumber. He didn't look angry at all!
"I know how these things work, and you might save some better treasures for someone more suitable to come and inherit your will," his master said with a cunning glint in his eyes as he turned to face the other ghost. "How about we make a deal instead?"
"I bet you were more of an assassin and less of a schemer when you were alive," said Song Wen, a strange gaze settling in his eyes. "But I will take that deal. However, you will be disappointed to find out that I was close to death when I made this lackluster array. So I had no time to create an extra secret room. Also, an absolute rule of the barrier that would hide it from even fellow Nascent Soul Cultivators was that I would dissipate after giving the first person to enter my inheritance."
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Hu Jin and his master stayed quiet as the image of the ghost began crumbling away like broken plaster.
"Destroy the Blazing Sun Sect, and my inheritance is under my corpse's cloak," Song Wen said with a melancholic look. "I was so close to reaching that stage... But these bastards had to betray me, and the Sect and Clan ended up turning into my shackles. I should have never become a Sect Leader; I should have concentrated on my own cultivation instead of bothering to take a disciple who betrayed me."
After that, his body crumbled into wisps of Qi and nothingness.
Hu Jin wondered whether the man was still acting or if these were his genuine emotions. He had no real reason to act during the last moments of his life, but having been tricked once, it was hard to tell what these Nascent Soul Cultivators thought.
Hu Jin glanced toward his master.
What could he be thinking about?
He had thought that he knew his master quite well. But it seemed there was more to him than just being a teacher and a convenient helper.
What was his master's end goal? Sure, it had to do with getting the ingredients for a physical body. Hu Jin knew that much, as his master had told him. But what about after that?
Hu Jin didn't let his mind wander for too long. Since his master was saying nothing about danger nearby, Hu Jin confidently walked toward the throne chair where the skeleton was sitting.
He stared at the bleached skeleton, observing every crevice, and from a certain angle, it looked like the skeleton was laughing at him.
Hu Jin searched around its robe and felt nothing, so he pulled the robe open and saw a book inside the chestplate ribs of the corpse. There were also some spirit stones at the hips, but nothing major. However, there was also a bone-white storage ring on the skeleton's wedding finger.
First, Hu Jin put his hand under the ribs and took out the book. Surprisingly, it wasn't dusty and looked almost brand new.
"Dancing Flame Mantra," Hu Jin read the title and opened the book. The first page was filled with messy handwriting as if someone was rushing to write it down. He scrolled through the other pages, and it was the same thing.
"This is going to take a while to read," he said.
"Well, it is a Sky Grade Technique, so you should take care and read it very carefully," his master's voice rang out as he peeked over Hu Jin's shoulder, startling the young man.
"Sky Grade Technique?" Hu Jin looked at the cover of the book and its descriptions. There was no mention of it being a Sky Grade Technique.
"It is surprising how stupid you are sometimes," his master shook his head, like a disappointed parent whose son failed the imperial scholar exams. "Sky Grade Techniques use laws… You know what, I won't even bother explaining them. You're too dumb to understand either way."
"Hey, I just asked a simple question!" Hu Jin retorted.
But his master was having none of it and ignored his complaints. Instead, he pointed at the ring on the skeleton's finger.
"Check what is inside there," he pointed out.
Hu Jin followed his master's instructions and took the loose ring off the bony finger. Then, he quickly put it on his own, and the master did the rest by guiding his Qi. Soon enough, Hu Jin was in some subspace. Despite having his eyes open, he was in an empty space with nothing in it.
"Empty?" Hu Jin was confused. He had expected some treasure.
"It seems like he was telling the truth. He probably used everything he could to survive and set up his array," his master concluded. "Still, a Sky Grade Technique… perhaps…"
His master mulled over something and stared at Hu Jin intently. There was something in his gaze as if trying to see something deeper than the physical form.
"My disciple, you have unnaturally good luck," his master finally said.
"You say it as if that is a bad thing," Hu Jin replied, looking around the ruby temple for other treasures. At least he got a new storage ring that was really big. Though if he used it, that would put a target on his back, as a Body Tempering Cultivator having something only a Nascent Soul Cultivator had was just asking for trouble.
"The heavens never give out things for free. No one is ever too lucky or too unlucky unless the heavens themselves have a hand in things," his master explained. "Of course, some people make stupid decisions that bring bad things upon them, but that has nothing to do with luck."
"I don't understand what you mean by this, master," Hu Jin said as his search proved futile. There was nothing else in this ruby temple. "Also, should we go out?"
His master ignored his inquiry, saying, "The more you take from the heavens, the heavier the punishment will be when you go against their will… or when they're finished with you."
Hu Jin thought his master might be a bit too paranoid about this. It wasn't like they could change his luck either, so what was the use of worrying about it?
"You are a person with a fate planned by the heavens. Until you complete said fate, most people will have difficulty eliminating you. But when you learn of your fate and try to fight against it, the heavens will show their wrath," his master cautioned him.
"That…" Hu Jin didn't know what to say; he was a bit intimidated.
Usually, his master was never quite this grave. If he was warning him so seriously about something that could happen, then it was a dangerous thing!
Hu Jin wanted to cry, but thankfully, he had a Sky Grade Technique to cheer him up. Deep down, he hoped that his master was wrong and that this was really just a branch of good luck.
After all, he had found all those Earth Grade Techniques. Why was a Sky Grade Technique so unique that it warranted a warning?
Hu Jin left the temple and put the book in the storage ring. However, as soon as he stepped outside the temple's ruby-like ground, he didn't feel any of the expected blistering heat. Instead, he was suddenly just before the ruins of the ruby temple.
He looked down at the bone-white ring on his finger… Yeah, that wasn't a dream.
"Fucking arrays," he grumbled under his breath before hurrying away, just in case someone might see him there.
When he was far enough, he breathed a sigh of relief and casually strolled through the forest. The greenery was a nice change of pace from the bright ruby temple and the tense atmosphere that followed it.
As he thought back to what happened, he noticed a sensation… Oh, he could sense the Qi inside himself now?
As soon as he became aware, it was like a dam was broken. Suddenly, the rampant Qi quieted down, and he sensed the foreign influence of his master inside his body. But Hu Jin stayed focused and hurriedly sat down to prepare for a breakthrough!