After divvying up the spoils of their fight, He Yu left Li Heng to cultivate and set off to pay a visit to Yan Shirong. He wanted to learn what the eight-sided mirror they’d taken from Wang Xiaobo could do. It was clearly a divinatory treasure of some sort. Mirrors were frequently used for divination, and the trigram inscriptions around the frame were another strong clue. If there was anyone He Yu knew and trusted that could she some light on a treasure like this, it was Yan Shirong.
On his way to Yan Shirong’s home, he passed through the plaza where the fight had taken place. Although night had fallen in the time since, it was easy to see the sect had been busy. The damage had been repaired, and He Yu wouldn’t have known the plaza had been all but ruined just hours prior if he hadn’t been a part of ruining it.
When Yan Shirong ushered him inside, He Yu couldn’t help but notice the changes to his presence.
“Fourth Realm?” he asked, as they each took a seat in the courtyard.
“Not quite,” Yan Shirong said. “Close, though. Half a step, if I might brag a bit.”
Ever since forming his Wayborn Seed, Yan Shirong’s presence had become far more defined. As much as He Yu wanted to be excited for him, the changes were unsettling. The most prominent effect was that Yan Shirong seemed to be a bit blurry if He Yu wasn’t looking directly at him. Like he was made of smoke and shadow rather than flesh and blood. He also felt as though he was being watched—like dozens of pairs of invisible eyes peered at him from every little nook or cranny that could hide some umbral watcher. It was more than a bit unsettling.
“Anyway,” Yan Shirong said, “I take it this isn’t a social visit? I expected you and Li Heng would either be half-passed out from your celebrations or sequestered in your cultivation chambers after today’s excitement.”
“No, it isn’t.” He Yu didn’t comment on the fact Yan Shirong already knew of what had happened that afternoon. Word would have traveled quickly regardless—an unofficial fight like that among four Golden Core disciples wasn’t anything that happened frequently. Less so one where two talented juniors emerged victorious in the way He Yu and Li Heng had.
Withdrawing the mirror from his storage treasure, He Yu placed it before Yan Shirong. “I need to know what this is, and what it can do. I have my suspicions, but I want to be sure.”
Yan Shirong picked up the mirror and turned it over in his hands. “Clearly a device for scrying. Divination. That much I’m sure you’ve guessed already.”
He Yu said he had.
“It’s well made. And powerful,” he said. “Give me a moment.”
Two pairs of eyes manifested above either of Yan Shirong’s shoulders and peered down at the mirror as he turned his full concentration towards it. He Yu could sense the flows of shadow qi around both Yan Shirong and the mirror as he worked whatever technique or talent he had to discern the treasure’s secrets. It only took a few moments. Yan Shirong handed the mirror back to He Yu with a nod, and the eyes above his shoulders puffed away to smoke.
“Nothing particularly notable about it, at least not in its function,” Yan Shirong said. “As you suspected, it is a divinatory treasure. The only thing remarkable about it, aside from the craftsmanship that went into it, is its power.” He turned the mirror over, showing its reverse side to He Yu. After sending a trickle of qi into the mirror, the previously blank back side glowed with an intricate formation script. “This here is the real prize, so to speak. The script allows the mirror to pierce concealing techniques. Efforts to evade the mirror are more or less pointless. Once the mirror is attuned to someone or something, it’s nearly impossible to hide from it.”
The mirror could be the key to finding the court’s Emissary, Kong Huizhong. The potential was obvious—the only question was how. He Yu didn’t have any talent for divination himself, and he didn’t think Yan Shirong would be of much help either. As impressive as his abilities were, Yan Shirong was still only at Body Refining. But the sect must have someone who could use a treasure like this. Assuming, of course, they didn’t already have something similar.
“This could be what we need to finally strike a death-blow to the Sunset Court,” He Yu said.
“I was afraid you’d say something like that,” Yan Shirong said.
“What do you mean by that? I thought you wanted to see them gone from the empire, too.”
“I do,” Yan Shirong said. “But you remember what happened in the west. And at the workshop.” He fell silent for a moment, and when he continued, there was a gravity to his voice that He Yu had never heard from him before. “I can’t help but feel we’re in over our heads. I know you’re all set on becoming a legend, but how many up-and-coming legends never make it? How many put themselves in situations they can’t deal with? I feel like we’re in one of those situations rather than something more, I don’t know, manageable.”
“You don’t have to stick around if you don’t want to,” He Yu said.
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Yan Shirong waved him off. “That’s not what I’m saying. I told you before we even went to the wilds that I was in. I swore to Elder Cai just like the rest of you. Despite my misgivings, I have a duty to you and the others, the sect, my family. The empire. I guess I just want you to be careful, is all I’m saying.”
“I will,” He Yu said, taking the mirror and standing.
“Sure,” Yan Shirong said with a laugh. “Anyway, congratulations on dealing with Wang Xiaobo and Xin Lu. I’m sure now that you’re not being choked out of resources, you’ll reach the Fifth Realm inside a year, or something equally absurd.”
“I’m a long way from Nascent Soul,” He Yu said as he left. “I’ll let you know what happens with the mirror.”
It took him a bit to figure out how best to handle the next steps. He wandered through the inner sect as he turned over the possibilities in his head. Eventually, he settled on taking the mirror to Zhang Lifen. She knew far more of the workings of the sect than he did, and she could ensure the mirror got into the right hands. He supposed that he could have taken it to Yi Xiurong all the same, but he honestly didn’t like the first-ranked core disciple all that much. He’s rather not deal with her if he didn’t have to.
Thankfully, Zhang Lifen was home. She admitted him with a knowing smile. Of course she’d already know about the fight.
“I hadn’t expected you to challenge them so soon,” she said once they’d taken their seats and she set out tea for them both. “Impressive, pulling out a victory against them.”
“Do you think they’ll leave me alone now?” he asked. This wasn’t why he’d come, but since she’d broached the subject, he may as well make use of her familiarity with Wang Xiaobo and Xin Lu.
“They’ll certainly need to spend some time licking their wounds after today. Whether they cause trouble for you in the future,” she shrugged, “who can say? Now, I suspect that you’re here for some purpose other than to gloat.”
He withdrew the mirror from his storage treasure and placed it before her. After he’d explained what it was, she picked it up and turned it over briefly.
“You were right to bring this to us,” she said. “I’ve no guess where Wang Xiaobo could have gotten such a treasure, but this should prove most useful.”
“Do you think it will allow us to finally track down the Emissary?”
“It will certainly allow us to do something. If the mirror functions as Yan Shirong says, the first challenge will be to attune it to Kong Huizhong. I’m no expert in divination, but I imagine Yi Xiurong will find some use for this. Here, give me your stamp.”
He Yu produced the jade stamp that tracked his contribution points. Zhang Lifen pushed some of her qi into it before handing it back to him. When he checked his total, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
“The mirror is worth that much?” he asked.
“Surely,” Zhang Lifen answered. “Even if it doesn’t allow us to find the Emissary, it’s quite the treasure. The sect will benefit from it greatly. I don’t think anyone in a position to disagree would say otherwise.”
“So what’s next?” he asked.
“We wait. I’ll have to turn this over to Yi Xiurong, and she’ll figure out what we do with it. If it allows us to find the Emissary, I imagine you’ll have even more contribution points coming your way. My guess is that Yi Xiurong will want to deal with the Emissary herself. As far as you’ve come, I’m not sure you’ll be of much use against him.” She gave him an appraising look, as if she were making her mind up about something. After a moment, she continued. “I could, however, try and convince her to let you come along. It’s not uncommon for lower-ranked disciples to act a support in these types of situations. It would be like bringing Third Realms along on your own strike teams.
“Of course, you’d more or less be on your own. She wouldn’t be able to spare any attention to protect you. If you got caught in an exchange of techniques, you’d almost certainly die. But,” she said, giving him a knowing smile, “the opportunity to witness such a fight could provide a tremendous amount of insights you could then meditate on. It would certainly ease your path to late Golden Core, and may even help you when it came time to form your Nascent Soul.”
“Would she really let me come?” He Yu asked, almost unable to believe that Zhang Lifen would offer him an opportunity like this.
“She might,” Zhang Lifen said. “I may have to trade some favors, but it’s a small price to pay for my only disciple.” She took on a more serious mien then, her eyes changing from their typical shifting cerulean to the color of the darkening sky just after nightfall. “It would be dangerous,” she said. “I meant what I said about a stray technique killing you. Kong Huizhong was approaching the late stage of Nascent Soul when I faced him. Ren Huang and I could only drive him off, and I suspect he held back a significant portion of his power when he faced us. Given his inclination towards secrecy, he likely didn’t want to attract undue attention. If he’d used the full extent of his power against Ren Huang and I, he may have brought notice from the other core disciples. Or perhaps an elder.”
“If I may ask, what exactly is Ren Huang’s advancement?”
“He is in the late Fifth Realm.”
He Yu considered for a moment. Zhang Lifen had been at the peak of Golden Core, and half a step into the Fifth Realm back then. As the sect’s rising star and peerless talent, she was a considerable portion of the sect’s strength, even back then. She’d advanced immediately after the fight, and was now herself in the middle stage of Nascent Soul. That the two of them together had only driven Kong Huizhong off didn’t bode well. Especially if her suspicions were correct and he hadn’t fought with his full strength.
But the opportunity. Zhang Lifen was right—merely witnessing such a battle would provide him with practical demonstrations of higher realm techniques. Anything he witnessed would be something he could learn from, and would thus ease his path forward. He’d be a fool not to take the opportunity.
“If you can convince her,” he said, daring to hope.
She gave him an approving smile. “I’ll see what I can do. Now go home and cultivate. You still haven’t fully recovered from your struggle against Wang Xiaobo and Xin Lu. You’ll need to be in peak condition if you’re to come along.
Wasting no time, He Yu headed home. Over the next days he threw himself into training and cultivation, burning through a good portion of the resources he’d taken from Wang Xiaobo and Xin Lu. The only real break he took was to make a trip to the sect market. Most of the advancement resources he’d looted weren’t suitable for him, so he needed to sell what he couldn’t use and buy elixirs that would be of greater use.
A week passed in a flash. A messenger arrived from Yi Xiurong. The First Disciple had summoned him to a meeting the following morning. It seemed Zhang Lifen had made good on her word.