Chapter 49

In the heavy rain and wind, a winding road runs through a thick forest; its end point is nowhere to be seen.

No one has passed through here for a long time. Under the heavy rain, the road becomes muddier, making it even more difficult to travel.

A youth of about sixteen or seventeen years old supports an old man as they walk wobbly through the forest. They wear tattered travelling cloaks that aren’t really up to the task. After travelling more than half the night, every spot that can be wet on their bodies is soaked. The old man seemingly has some problem with his leg. In the cold, he has to stop from time to time to massage his knees.

He squints his eyes, which are already blurry from old age, to try and look ahead to see what was in the distance, unable to keep from sighing.

The youth by his side says, his voice full of dissatisfaction, “Where the fuck are those immortals? They regularly take our offerings, but when we need to ask for help, we have to go through this shit. What use is it for the communities around here to put aside food and money to worship them?”

Terrified to hear such words, the old man hastily says, “Watch your mouth!”

The youth glares like a young tiger and continues to speak without any reservation. “Am I wrong though? They are the so-called guardians of this regions, who are to ensure we’ll have good weather. Do we ever skim on our offerings when there is drought or flood? Back then, Prince Anping rebelled. All three districts and fifteen towns suffered disasters. Bandits were everywhere. People had to leave their homelands. Did they ever show up? Fine, let’s consider it mortal affairs that aren’t under the purview of immortals. But now, evil ghosts have been plaguing the villages, eating and drinking human flesh and blood, but they don’t seem to be aware of it. Do they want us to come begging?”

As his legs hurt so much that he can’t stand up straight, the old man says, “The immortals cultivate in serenity, away from worldly affairs. If we need their help, of course we have to come to them and ask. Don’t be like this!”

The youth angrily says, “But isn’t it the case. This is the road to Mingming Valley, and it’s difficult to travel through. And then there is the condition that only people with a sincere heart may pass! Why don’t they move as carefully when receiving offerings? Why do they demand a sincere heart now of all times...”

“Liu Lang, shut up!” The old man taps his walking stick harshly on the ground. “If you continue to yammer like this, then you should scram! Don’t be insolent in the presence of the immortals and cause trouble for everyone in all fifteen towns!”

Seeing that his grandfather’s face is darkened with anger, the youth dares not say anything else. Taking the opportunity when his grandfather turns away, he sneers with disgust and mutters under his breath. “What’s so good about those immortals?”

At that moment, an extraordinarily fierce ray of lightning strikes at the ground not very far away from them. The youth doesn’t expect that, so his face is pale with fear. He immediately puts aside his rancour. Waiting for the thunder to die down, he hastily asks, “Grandpa, why does the lightning feel so wrong today?”

Before the old man can reply, the lightning falls down as thickly as the rain, casting a pale white light on the night sky. Terrified, the old man hastily pulls his grandson to prostrate on the ground next to him. They dare not even move, completely submissive to the heavenly might. All wild animals in the forest hide in their dens. Even the trees and plants shake.

It takes a long while for the thunder to subside, but its echo lingers as the ground seemingly continues to shake.

Hearing nothing else for a long while, the youth is shaken to the core. He dares not show any more disrespect.

It isn’t until the strong rain stops and the black clouds disperse, revealing the pale moonlight from the sky, that the youth fearfully helps the old man to stand up and continue their journey.

The youth named Liu Lang asks, “Grandpa, there must have been a dozen rounds of thunder back there. Mingming Valley won’t be stricken down, will it?”

“Stop talking,” The old man rebukes his grandson in a low voice. As he wobbly walks on the muddy trail, he says softly, “Probably it was an immortal undergoing a tribulation.”

“Tribulation?”

“It isn’t easy to cultivate. An immortal has to undergo countless tribulations. I heard that heavenly tribulations like this are the toughest. Many immortals fall during such tribulations, but if they survive, they will make a great progress in their cultivation, and get closer to true immortality alongside the heaven and earth.” At this point, the old man looks a bit puzzled. “I heard it from my grandpa that he once witnessed an immortal undergoing a tribulation, but at that time there were only nine rounds of lightning from the heaven. Why was it so harsh for this immortal? Can it be that the immortal undergoing the trial is someone as powerful as the lord of the valley?”

While they talk, the winding trail has a sharp turn, leading into a wide open space, which gives them the whole view of Mingming Valley.

The valley between the mountains glistens from afar like crystal. After the refreshing rain, the flowers bloom everywhere. Under the pale moonlight like a thin screen of fog, the valley indeed looks like paradise on earth.

The youth happily says, “Grandpa, look, we’ve…”

Before he can finish his speech, he stands dazedly on the spot.

Close to the mountainside full of flowers, there is a large, flat ground lined by a ring of spells, which a normal person wouldn’t be able to understand. In the present, the ground has been scorched by the lightnings, making a stark contrast with the area outside the ring of spells: outside the flowers are blooming, inside not a single blade of grass survives.

Someone is standing on that scorched ground.

That person is dressed in a tattered robe, a sleeve of which has been burnt into ash. From behind, the person has a tall figure, likely to be a man’s.

That person seems to be able to hear Liu Lang from a considerable distance. He turns and looks at grandfather and grandson. Although his clothes are tattered, this man is very handsome. Under the moonlight, he seems to be carved from jade. However, his eyes look like they contain white permafrost. Meeting that gaze, Liu Lang feels cold all over. He is so scared that he dares not move.

Liu Lang is immediately pulled down by his grandfather onto the ground. As they prostrate themselves, the old man repeatedly kowtows to that person, saying, “Greetings to you, Lord Immortal, this lowly one is from the fifteen towns outside the valley. Begging your pardon, we come here to ask you a favour, my Lord, not to trespass.”

The man seems surprised, then he waves his arm. Liu Lang feels a chilly breeze surround him. It carries the cold of late autumn, enough to make one shudder but not freeze. Suddenly he feels light all over, as he and his grandfather are lifted up by that breeze.

This immortal is surprisingly easy to talk to. He doesn’t make it difficult for them. On the contrary, he politely says. “No need for that. Affairs outside the valley aren’t under my purview. Let me summon someone for you.”

Having said that, he points and shoots out a ray of white light at the horizon. Shortly after, a dot of light like a firefly flies in their direction. As it comes near, Liu Lang realises that it’s a servant riding on a sword.

Landing and withdrawing his sword, the servant respectfully greets this man in tattered clothes. “Elder Cheng, please let me congratulate you for passing a major heavenly tribulation, and progressing further in cultivation.”

“Nothing to congratulate me. I nearly got burnt to ash,” The man replies blandly, then points to the travel-worn grandfather and grandson. “They’re from outside, likely in need of something. Take care of them.”

After these simple lines, he nods in farewell to Liu Lang and his grandfather. Then there is a flash, and he disappears.

This casual display of teleportation stuns Liu Lang. As the servant invites them to get in the valley, his head is still full of the image of that person standing on the scorched ground and turning back to look at them.

Liu Lang distractedly thinks, that guy doesn’t seem to be older than me, but he is already an elder of Mingming Valley? He can’t help but feel a touch of admiration. However, as he recalls the freezing gaze of the person, he hastily suppresses his admiration. Respect mixed with fear in his heart, he dares not let his thoughts wander anymore.

The servant pulls out from his robe a leaf and plays a short melody with it. There is the sound of a horse neighing in the air. Then a white horse pulling a carriage lands from the sky. Its nostrils flaring, the horse stands neatly on the ground.

With a friendly expression, the servant says, “If it weren’t for you two’s luck, I might not have the chance to talk to him. Please get in.”

The two mortals shyly enter the flying horse carriage. With the boldness of youth, Liu Lang asks, “Brother Immortal, is he an elder of the valley?”

Worried that he would say something unwise, the old man hastily pulls him back, and says fearfully, “Lord Immortal, please forgive us. This boy…”

“No need for you to worry,” The servant cheerfully says as he urges the flying horse to start running, “In our Mingming Valley there is an extremely cold ice lake. Even I dare not go there. I heard that normal water would already freeze from a short distance to that lake, but the sacred ice water in there still flows. I don’t know when that gentleman moved in there, just that he uses the area right next to the lake as his cultivation abode, and seals off the cold of the entire lake inside. Then he cultivates inside that place of extreme cold. As you can see, this valley is so lively thanks to him taking control of that ice lake. He doesn’t appear around here normally. We secretly call him ‘the Elder of the Dark Lake’.”

Liu Lang is amazed to hear that. He can’t resist asking. “How cold is that place? Isn’t he afraid of it?”

The servant smiles. “A cultivator needs extraordinary patience. If he doesn’t have such determination, how can he reach the end of the Way?”

While they talk, the carriage goes up and down several times. As they reach the middle of the mountains, the carriage gradually lands.

As Liu Lang gets off the carriage, he can see that the valley has elaborate buildings that are in harmony with the beautiful scenery. Serenity reigns over the place. No one is around, except for some immortal cranes flying around. As soon as he enters this place, Liu Lang feels light all over. Startled, he looks down and sees that the mud on his clothes from the all-night travel has disappeared, as warmth fills his body.

The servant leads them into a pavillion, and pours them tea amidst the effusive thank-yous. Then he asks what business they have.

The old man sighs. “About that… It’s a long story. Usually we dare not disturb the immortal lords over our trivial affairs. However, recently a monster has appeared outside the valley and caused great harms to the villages. Its victims are exclusively children. In less than ten days, four or five boys disappeared from the towns and villages. After a few days, their bodies were found in the wilderness. The animals had nearly finished them all. We already informed the local official. A coroner was sent to investigate, and said that those children died from having their blood bled dry.”

Hearing that, the smiling face of the servant becomes serious. “What? Bled dry? How old were those boys?”

Muttering “what evil”, the old man replies, “They were all less than ten years old. After that happened, everyone kept watch outside for several nights. After that… after that, we all saw a white shade, that looked like a piece of white silk in the wind. In just a second, it reached us. Before we could react, someone screamed. Then we saw that a person had a hole on his chest, because his heart was ripped out by that thing. The official was terrified too, saying that the local government couldn’t handle such evil demons. So I was sent here to ask for help from the immortal lords.”

After hearing everything, the servant carefully asks for some clarifications, then says, “I’ve a general idea of the issue now. Please don’t worry. You should rest tonight at our valley with this young friend. I will inform the seniors of the valley. Tomorrow you’ll receive an answer.”

That night, the old man and his grandson Liu Lang stay at Mingming Valley amidst their worry. In the valley, the breeze is pleasant, and the air is filled with floral fragrance. It’s a wonderful place, but Liu Lang can’t find sleep. His mind is filled with that elder who looks so young yet already undergoes trial by lightning. He is in a half-dream like that until after midnight, when he suddenly hears the sound of people talking outside. They are quite far away, so Liu Lang can only hear a small incoherent part of the conversation.

A male voice says, “Indeed, I heard about it on my way here. Still, it may not be that difficult a case, if that one just causes troubles in mortal villages. Well, maybe you can ask Cheng Qian to have a look on his way through there.”

An older male voice says, “That works. He has passed seven rounds of heavenly tribulations. He can be considered to be reborn from trials by now. It’s time that he leaves.”

Liu Lang has been unable to sleep, but for some reasons, his eyelids become heavy as he hears these words. In a few seconds, his mind becomes blurry and he doesn’t hear anything else.

The two people walk by the window of his room in the direction of the ice lake in the valley. The old man in the front has white hair but a lively face. His body is round as a ball. He has a wide smile that makes his eyes crinkle, and richly dresses in a brocade robe, the belt of which has all kinds of accessories like pouch or jade medal. He looks just like a mortal wealthy man. That is the lord of Mingming Valley, Nian Mingming.

Behind Nian Mingming is a middle aged man, who dresses like a scholar. This man has a pleasant face. On closer look, he turns out to be Tang Zhen, whose primordial mind escaped the Soul Consuming Lamp back then.

Whether by possession or some other magical technique, Tang Zhen has a body again. However, this body doesn’t seem to be good. It looks sickly and full of a deathly aura.

Tang Zhenren carries a white lantern. There is no candle in the lantern; its paper covers a gentle sphere of light, which is probably some kind of cultivational artifact. He says, “This was my idea. No one has ever done it yet. I myself didn’t really believe he could succeed.”

Nian Mingming smiles. “His flesh and blood body died young; that’s the tribulation of the human realm. As he was about to die, he had an enlightenment, which helped his soul to enter the Spirit Collection Jade. That Jade is a sacred artifact, which can gather the essence of nature inside it. A human soul shouldn’t have been able to enter it. Yet this boy, despite his young age, could keep his soul and the mind of his self intact, while he stayed in the Spirit Collection Jade forty nine1 years. Even without a flesh and blood body as the base, he formed his primordial mind in the jade. That is the tribulation of the earthly realm. Forty nine years ago, you took the Spirit Collection Jade he took shelter in to my Mingming Valley. Then he used the Jade as the foundation and cultivated for forty nine years more. Besides the extreme cold, he had to suffer seven rounds of heavenly tribulations. Alas, he isn’t yet a hundred years old, but has gone through tribulations of all three heavenly, earthly, and human realms. I have a long life, but I’ve never seen such determination like his.”

As Nian Mingming speaks, he taps his belly with a complicated expression. “If I had just half of his determination, I would certainly had a trim waist.”

Tang Zhen: “…”

This powerful and highly venerable cultivator can already live without food. However, he still craves food. It can be said that this round body of his is the result of accumulation from many years.

Tang Zhenren is stunned speechless for a moment. Then he says solemnly, “My lord, I’ve been remiss in my courtesy and forget to thank you for lending the ice lake.”

Nian Mingming waves his hand and says, “Nah, don’t talk about ‘lending’. Thanks to him taking control of the ice lake, my useless disciples are saved from the cold, so we benefit from him being here. Not to mention, it’s an honour to have someone of his calibre as an ‘elder’ in this lowly Mingming Valley.”

“This young friend did me a great favour. Back then, when Wen Daoyu brought the Spirit Collection Jade to me, I had to find a way to help him,” Tang Zhen says, “The problem is, although he had the luck of forming his primordial spirit in the Spirit Collection Jade, it was unprecedented that the jade could be transformed into a flesh and blood body. I wasn’t completely sure it would work. Fearing that he would be too impatient if the process got too long, I took away his memory. Now, he has passed the seven heavenly tribulations. His body has been successfully forged. I should return to him what is his.”

They arrive at the ice lake as they talk. Tang Zhen can’t handle the cold, so he hastily makes a hand sign, as the aura of death on his face gets a little thicker.

As they walk forward, there is the sound of water pouring. The owner of this place has just finished bathing and is getting out of the frozen lake. Nian Mingming raises his voice, “Cheng Qian my young friend, am I disturbing you?”

This is not the first time this fat geezer disturbs Cheng Qian’s peace. For whatever reason, everyone in Mingming Valley, no matter their station, is incredibly talkative. Cheng Qian already gets used to it.

He casually walks out of the white fog over the ice lake, picks up the frozen robe by the lake, and puts it on. After just a few steps, his hair, which is full of ice, dries up; the robe also thaws out. His highly cultivated body soundlessly makes a beautiful view.

Cheng Qian nods at the two of them and says, “My lord, Tang-xiong, I was about to look for you two. Do you want to come in? It’s a bit cold.”

It’s in the middle of summer, but the cultivation abode next to the ice lake isn’t hot at all. On the contrary, inside it is the realm of deep winter. The chairs are all frozen and stuck to the ground, a layer of frost covers them. Cheng Qian makes a small sign with his finger; a gentle fire appears from his fingertip and falls onto a chair. In a second, the frost on the chair melts completely, while the chair isn’t burnt at all.

Cheng Qian says, “Tang-xiong, your body is weak. Please find somewhere warm and sit down.”

He pays no mind to the lord of the valley Nian Mingming. That geezer has lots of fat; he should withstand the cold pretty well.

The water in the teapot on the table has long frozen. Cheng Qian shakes it a little. The block of ice melts under the power of his spiritual energy. In a few seconds, the warm steam wafts up. He pours out for each of his guests a cup of warm water.

Receiving the hand warmer, Tang Zhen places the lantern in front of Cheng Qian and says, “My young friend, it’s time to return this to you. It was a risky solution, where the chances of death were nine out of death. After such hardship, you should be careful in the future.”

Cheng Qian isn’t surprised at all. He obviously is aware that Tang Zhen took away his memory of the past. He nods and waves his hand; the small flame in the lantern flies into his sleeve. Then he solemnly says, “Tang-xiong, you helped me to come back to life. In the future, if you need me for anything, I’ll do it, even at risk of death.”

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1. 49: 49 days is traditionally the time period in which a deceased person's soul fully leaves the realm of the living.