174: Chapter 174 The Whole Story, Fragments of the Secret Realm
{My name is Liang Shanzhong. By the time you see this letter, I will already be dead.}
Although the words on the silk cloth were written in blood, there were many of them, and each was clear and orderly. This indicated that when the person wrote this, although they knew their time was short, they had quite a bit of time.
Aside from the opening sentence, the following lines explained why he had died here.
{In the year 938 of the Great Qian, within the Dragon Snake Sect, the Black Dragon and Divine Snake lineages suddenly launched an attack and revolted. My Mountain Snake Lineage was ambushed, the Secret Realm shattered, and the spiritual items were all destroyed.}
{Afterward, the Secret Realm shards scattered. The one I was in fell to this place, though I know not where it is. Just as we were planning to leave, we discovered a group of Divine Snake Disciples had found this location. We could only proceed along a natural underground passage, but unexpectedly, we encountered a Thousand-Sting Scorpion King. I was already heavily injured at the time and was defeated when a poisonous sting pierced my abdomen, though I barely managed to repel the Thousand-Sting Scorpion King.}
{Fortunately, I possess the innate 'Snake Bone' Physique; my neck is long, and my chest and abdomen are very far from my head. It takes longer for the poison to spread, giving me enough time to write this suicide note...}
{The Thousand-Sting Scorpion King has been heavily injured by me. As long as Your Excellency kills the Thousand-Sting Scorpion King, you can obtain the dead golden ring ginseng I have hidden inside the Mountain Snake stone statue.}
{If Your Excellency can take this letter and the golden ring ginseng to the Dragon Snake Sect in Canglong Prefecture, Jiao Province, I will be eternally grateful. The Sect will surely grant a great reward.}
{Furthermore, on the back of the silk cloth is the location where a live golden ring ginseng is still kept. If it can be handed over to the Sect, becoming a Disciple under a Gang Strength Elder would surely be a simple matter...}
Once everything that needed to be said was finished, the final part was his life story.
{I am the second son of the Liang Family from Longshan City in Canglong Prefecture, Jiao Province. If possible, please inform my relatives and friends of what I have experienced.}
After finishing, Li Qing flipped to the back of the silk cloth, but there was nothing on it.
Li Qing thought for a moment and infused it with his strength. Sure enough, a route outlined with black lines appeared, but he couldn't tell where it was.
The time the letter was written was the year 938 of the Great Qian, and now, it was already sixty years later, the year 998 of the Great Qian.
Li Qing felt somewhat emotional. Liang Shanzhong didn't know until he died that he was only two hundred li away from Huanglin City, which was originally a city under the jurisdiction of the two Earth-element lineages.
What made him sigh even more was that Liang Shanzhong possessed an accidentally obtained concealment secret technique, the 'Qi Concealment Art'. He could have left alone, but to protect the other Disciples, he preferred to fight the Thousand-Sting Scorpion King.
Although he died in the end, it seemed the Disciples had been killed by the Thousand-Sting Scorpion that Li Qing had slain.
However, his character of caring for his subordinates made Li Qing admire him immensely. At the very least, Li Qing asked himself and knew he probably couldn't do the same.
The iron rule he strictly adhered to in his heart was: 'Better a Fellow Daoist die than I.'
"So, after a Secret Realm shatters, it turns into shards of various sizes that randomly fall to unknown places—sometimes a thousand li away, sometimes right before one's eyes."
Within the Dragon Snake Sect, there were three large Secret Realms and ten small Secret Realms.
The three large Secret Realms were named Yuqing, Shiqing, and Yueqing. Many elderly Elders in the Sect Cultivate in seclusion there, and it is also a place where only some Genius Disciples can enter.
The ten small Secret Realms belonged to the Five Elements and Ten Lineages, nurturing their respective spiritual items for entering the Dao, as well as countless precious materials.
This was the foundation of the Dragon Snake Sect and the reliance that allowed it to stand for a thousand years without falling.
The so-called spiritual items for entering the Dao were actually no different from ordinary spiritual items. For example, the spiritual item for entering the Dao for the Spirit Snake Lineage, the azure jade lotus, was no better or worse than the huanyou lotus in Li Qing's hands.
However, if Li Qing used the Fundamental Law, Dragon Snake Refinement, to refine the azure jade lotus, he could naturally Cultivate the Cultivation Technique of the Spirit Snake Lineage, and from then on, there would be hope for his Martial Dao.
But if he used Dragon Snake Refinement to refine the huanyou lotus, the two were not compatible, and the quality of his True Qi would naturally become inferior.
Martial Artists with such inferior True Qi not only find the path of Martial Dao incredibly difficult, but their combat power is also inferior to an orthodox Core Formation; therefore, they are called 'Mixed-Qi Martial Artists'.
And for a Mixed-Qi Martial Artist, trying to Breakthrough to the Core Formation Middle Stage is extremely difficult.
Sixty years ago, after the 'Jinshui Change', the spiritual items in the Black Dragon and Divine Snake Secret Realms were either taken away or destroyed, resulting in the Dragon Snake Sect now having the Cultivation Techniques but no spiritual items. Naturally, the Legacy was broken in this way.
But at least these two Secret Realms were still relatively intact and could still serve the purpose of growing precious materials.
The Mountain Snake Lineage was the most tragic; its Secret Realm shattered directly and scattered everywhere, and it has not been recovered to this day.
If the Dragon Snake Sect knew about this Secret Realm shard, they would have probably come looking for it long ago.
"In that case, the huanyou lotus I possess, along with the matching Fundamental Law, Nine Serene Meanders, is of very high value!"
If it were just the huanyou lotus, the value wouldn't be so great, but with the Nine Serene Meanders, his Breakthrough would count as an orthodox Core Formation. If he could find the subsequent Cultivation Techniques, he could continue down the path of Martial Dao.
"In the future, I can keep an eye out to see if there are any Cultivation Techniques preserved in the Scripture Pavilion."
At this point, only about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea had passed since Li Qing killed the Thousand-Sting Scorpion.
Li Qing dug a few holes on the spot, buried everyone, and then, carrying a large bundle of long sticks and holding that zhang-long black iron staff, he walked outside.
"Although I didn't smell the Demonic Qi of the Thousand-Sting Scorpion King, there's no guarantee that a Core Formation-level Yao Beast doesn't have some special abilities. Now that I've killed this Thousand-Sting Scorpion, I'd better leave quickly."
As for the golden ring ginseng hidden inside the Mountain Snake stone statue, Li Qing was powerless.
It would take considerable effort just to chisel a hole in it, let alone enter it to search. With the Thousand-Sting Scorpion King lurking outside, it was better to leave quickly.
Chirp!
Seeing Li Qing, Xiao Jin's eyes flashed with golden light, even illuminating the cave for an instant.
"Let's go. We'll find a place to hide you and these things first."
He certainly couldn't stay here; the initial commotion wasn't small, and there was no guarantee no one would come looking.
The man and beast soon disappeared, leaving behind a dead silence.
An hour passed.
Shhh!
In the cave where Liang Shanzhong and the others had died, a roar rang out, the sound identical to the original Thousand-Sting Scorpion.
...
After a long while, a group of dozens of people appeared at this location.
Every one of these people was a Huajin-level Martial Artist, but most were dressed differently, wearing the attire of various martial arts halls in Huanglin City.
Among them, three people had auras significantly stronger than the others; they were top-tier experts among those with Huajin Major Achievement.
The leader was a sturdy young man wearing the clothing of the Dragon Snake Sect's Yellow Dragon Lineage. He tilted his head in a signal.
A person nearby immediately stepped forward, took out a torch, lit it, and threw it down the giant pit.
The young man squinted to look. When he saw that scaled stone, his whole body shook, and he said in a trembling voice, "Quick, go inform my father! Tell him... tell him it is the remains of the [Mountain Venerable]!!!"
He turned back to look at the various Martial Artists. None of them dared to meet his gaze, and they all lowered their heads.
The young man said coldly, "Before my father arrives, will you all stand guard with me to prevent any lowlifes from intruding?"
The crowd looked at each other. Some of them did not belong to the young man's faction, but seeing his unprecedentedly excited reaction, this matter was of great importance.
A local official is more powerful than a distant superior; if they angered this man now, their masters behind them might not necessarily protect them!
They all cupped their fists and said, "We shall follow Young Master Ding's orders!"