Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Many years ago, after the Headmaster ended his travels and returned to Chang’an, he locked Ning Que inside the cliff cave at the back of the mountain. In the long days of his imprisonment, Ning Que learned many things in order to get out of there. Parti of it included keeping his Great Spirit concealed. That was why he had initially thought that the precipice would not pose much of a challenge to him.
But he had forgotten the Isolated Array on the precipice. Other than sensing the subtle fluctuations in a cultivator’s Psyche Power and the changes in the Qi of Heaven and Earth, it could also sense one’s peeking. As long as one looked at the precipice, it would enter the person’s eyes. What was more interesting was that even if you closed your eyes and not looked at it, the precipice would still think you were looking at it, if you did not erase all thoughts of looking at the precipice in your subconscious. It would be like a fallen peak, knocking straight into your eyes, and then barging into your brain, causing countless waves.
Ning Que’s eyes were pierced by countless sharp Taoist Swords and he was in immense pain. His face paled drastically. And then, his subconscious was hit by the precipice, causing several tall waves and bringing him pain.
The pain was too intense, and even Ning Que’s whose will was very strong could not withstand it. His world turned black; he loosened his fingers and fell downward.
There was a swirling night fog under the precipice and an abyss below it. Daylight did not shine through it and no one knew what was at the bottom. The crux of the matter was that the fall was too high.
No matter how powerful the bodies of cultivators in the Devil’s Doctrine were, they could not completely ignore the power of the earth. The Empress had died after jumping off Chang’an’s city walls. Even Yu Lian, who was the Devil’s Doctrine’s Grandmaster, the Twenty-Three-year Cicada had shattered bones in her leg after falling from the blue sky. Ning Que’s current position on the precipice was not much higher than the blue sky. If he really fell into the abyss, he would definitely die.
His body rubbed against the cliff walls, causing a rustling sound. The cold wind howled in his ears and he started to fall even faster. It was an extremely dangerous situation and he was about to die.
Throughout the descent, Ning Que thought of many things. They were not any sweet or bitter memories, but cultivation skills that he had mastered. He wanted to find a way to escape death.
However, both the Academy and the Devil’s Doctrine’s methods required him to use his heart or his Psyche Power. But should he use his Psyche Power, the Isolated Array on the precipice would continue its attack on him. He could not bear the pain while scaling the cliff rocks.
How could he act without using his heart or his Psyche Power? No matter how one looked at it, it was impossible. How could somone control his body if one did not have thought?
Anyway, his eyes hurt even if they were closed, so hemight as well open them. If he were to die, he wanted to die looking at the world. He stared at the cliff walls that quickly flashed by in front of his eyes. He did not feel despair but instead mocked himself because of his impending death.
The walls on the precipice were not smooth, but there were not too many crevices. The lines passed quickly in front of his eyes and gradually turned into fuzzy color patches, which seemed to float in the night wind.
Ning Que felt as if he had seen such an image somewhere. The attire swaying in the breeze and the soft lines, and it was also carved on the stone.
He recalled that it was the stone statue in the Buddhist Hall under the Wanyan Tower in Chang’an.
Some of the stone Buddha statues in the side hall of the Lanke Temple were also similar.
His eyes brightened slightly, and his hands which had been stuck on the cliff walls suddenly became gentle. Not as gentle as cotton like before, but his hands had become so gentle it was as if they did not exist.
In the fall, in the howling night wind, he suddenly put his palms together. He flexed his right index finger slightly in the air while placing his left index finger at the back of the right hand, making an Emblematic Gesture.
The gentle pair of hands and the Emblematic Gesture that looked as if it could not hold on to the precipice had a magical effect. He suddenly stopped falling and was suspended between the precipices.
A long time seemed to have passed, but it was just a moment. He slid down the precipice for about ten feet, and his legs looked as if he were stepping on the clouds covering the stone windows.
When he was in the Lanke Temple, he had looked at the stone statue of Buddha for an entire night in the autumn rain. He had understood the four Emblematic Gestures of the Buddhism Sect, “Fearless, Dhyana, Surrendering Evil and Indifference.”
He had used them several times while fighting against powerhouses in the Buddhism Sect and then had never used them again. Because compared to the Great Spirit and the Primordial Thirteen Arrows, the Emblematic Gestures of the Buddhism Sect were not as powerful.
It wasn’t until tonight, just as he was about to die on the precipice, when he thought of them again.
He hovered between the cliffs and felt some strange aura moving slowly in the clouds beneath him. His sense of perception was still whipping up crazy waves.
Without any hesitation, he closed his eyes again, and at the same time, he spread out his hands that had been placed together. Silently, he made the “Dhyana” and “Indifference” gesture with his right hand, and landed gently on the precipice. He no longer looked at the things of the world nor did he think of them. He had completely forgotten himself and the heavens and the earth. With the first idea that had appeared in his mind, he began his ascent.
He entered an absolutely empty state, even forgetting himself and the existence of the precipice. Naturally, he did not know he was climbing the precipice. He moved up slowly like an ignorant leaf.
He did not know how much time had passed, but he finally climbed up the precipice.
The Emblematic Gesture on his hands dissipated after his hands landed on the flat ground. He opened his eyes and awakened to discover that he was already standing on the cliff platform. He turned around to look at the dark abyss, and his calm features gradually paled; his clothes were soaked through with sweat.
In his lifetime, he had encountered numerous dangers and tests of life and death, but today’s encounter between the precipices of the Peach Mountain had frightened him badly. Climbing a precipice might look simple, and he did not even have any recollection of it. However, if he had not learned the skills of both the Buddhism Sect and the Devil’s Doctrine, he would have long fallen to his death. One could even say that had he been a different powerhouse in the Knowing Destiny State, he would definitely have died falling off the precipice.
He respected the West-Hill Divine Palace and thought that he had made sufficient preparations. Only until he had truly entered the Peach Mountain did he realize that he had underestimated Haotian Taoism.
This was the lowest cliff platform at the Peach Mountain, inhabited by ordinary priests and deacons as well as the cavalry of West-Hill Divine Palace. The stables of the war horses were also located here. Ning Que went to the stables through the cover of night. He did not release this Psyche Power to subdue those horses that had woken up. Instead, just like how he had subdued the Big Black Horse back then, he used the bloody aura that he had from killing countless horses to scare the war horses into submission. They did not make a single sound.
He stood on the eastern face of the stable because this was where the imperial court spies at the West-Hill Divine Palace had discovered the remains of half a pot of porridge. He could only wait here if he wanted to find the stupid fool.
There wasn’t a single sound even after a long time. The warhorses that had awakened chewed on the night grass while assessing Ning Que. They wondered who he was waiting for.
Ning Que did not worry but waited in the stables quietly until the clouds dissipated and the moon sank. He waited until the sun was about to rise before he was certain that his wait for the night was futile.
He stretched out his hand and rubbed some dirt on his neck and sprinkled it on the straw at the east end of the stable. Then, under the disdainful gazes of the war-horses, he went to the cliff platform. He made a Buddhist Emblematic Gesture before the first rays of daylight could shine on the Divine Hall, and followed the precipice back to the clouds into the forest of peach blossoms.
That night, he continued the risky journey of climbing the precipice. He waited in the stables for an entire night, but the stupid fool did not appear.
He went again on the second night and was disappointed.
On the third night, he was still disappointed.
By the fourth night, he was already very familiar with the Isolated Array on the precipice and had learned more about the Emblematic Gesture of the Buddhism Sect. The journey that had seemed perilous once was now an ordinary process. That was why he could even hum a tune or two when he walked to the eastern part of the stables.
It was the song the old man at the town’s Sweet Potato Shop had hummed.
Then, he saw a pile of hay on the eastern end of the stables, and on the pile of hay, was the Big Black Horse lying on its back, rubbing its back against the hay. It looked extremely funny, and Ning Que laughed.
The Big Black Horse smelled a familiar smell. It rolled around and stood up, looking around vigilantly. Its eyes were opened widely, and it did not know which hoof to step forward with.
Ning Que walked over and hugged the horse’s neck. He stroked the horse’s hair and patted it strongly.
The Big Black Horse opened its mouth and licked its lips, butting at Ning Que’s head.
Ning Que released the horse and swept the hay off its back, saying, “Where did you learn these dirty habits? You’re not Youngest Uncle’s donkey.”
The Big Black Horse thought to itself, that its dream was to become something like the donkey who could control the Wilderness. It wanted to be an important horse, but had become a horse imprisoned by the West-Hill Divine Palace.
It wanted to cry out loud thinking about what it had gone through, but did not dare to. It only opened its teary eyes widely and looked at Ning Que, looking extremely aggrieved.
Ning Que sighed and patted its head. He said, “I know she’s changed, she’s not who she was. Try to hold on a little more, and I’ll try to see if I can change her back.”
When it heard that, the Big Black Horse felt slightly better. Then, it seemed to have thought of something and kept winking, as if telling Ning Que to be more vicious when the time comes.
Ning Que went up to the horse’s ears and told it his plan.
The Big Black Horse’s eyes glistened as it listened and nodded frantically. It thought to itself that Ning Que was indeed its master to have thought of such a shameless plan. However, its mistress was simply too powerful right now, and no matter how shameless Ning Que was, he was doomed to fail. However, just thinking about it made it happy.
After the discussion, Ning Que and the Big Black Horse made plans to meet again and then parted for the time being.
He walked to the edge of the cliff and jumped down against the precipice. Now that he had mastered the Emblematic Gesture, he could be slightly distracted while climbing the precipice. He glanced at the top of the Peach Mountain.
The glance was imbued with Indifference, so he was not worried that it would ignite the precipice array. However, he had forgotten that there was more than one definition to Indifference.
Which was why when his gaze landed on the dark Divine Hall of Light, he could no longer suppress the longing he felt for a certain someone. There was nothing there, but he seemed to have seen her.
He felt a ray of light shining on him at the same time.
