Chapter 71: What He Seeks

The Brightnight Sect disciples guarding the boundary marker didn’t dare to dismiss him, but neither could they simply let a visitor see the sect master on demand. They turned their eyes toward Ding Songyan standing behind them to the side and raised their voices.

"Junior Brother Ding."

Ding Songyan had just followed a sudden impulse to use a finger as a sword and prod at the column of ants, thoroughly disrupting their march, when he heard someone calling his name.

Somewhat at a loss, he looked up and turned toward the boundary marker.

"Junior Brother Ding, this young hero is Pan Yunzhou of the Pan family of Bao Province’s Eastern Plains Prefecture. He has urgent business with the sect master. Mind troubling you to announce his request for an audience?" The disciple relayed the situation.

Ding Songyan gathered his wandering thoughts, rose to his feet, and smiled.

"Right away!"

He shook out his hands and set off toward the stone steps leading up to the mountain peak.

The disciple guarding the marker turned to Pan Yunzhou.

"The one who just left is the sect master’s newly-recruited direct disciple. I’ll take you to the Lampwarm Pavilion to wait."

The Lampwarm Pavilion was the Brightnight Sect’s guest hall, staffed by several welcoming attendants.

Pan Yunzhou gave a small nod and handed over the blade at his waist.

Ding Songyan climbed the rain-damp stone steps, scattered with fallen leaves, all the way up to the Hall of Myriad Stars near the mountain’s peak, where he found his master Tao Wenshu in the Purple Forbidden Chamber.

A steward of about forty had just taken his leave.

"Steward Gao, who oversees the ironworks west of the city." Tao Wenshu, wearing her iron crown, rubbed her temples on both sides and said to Ding Songyan, "There are External Affairs Elders to handle the various mundane matters, but as sect master, I cannot simply wash my hands of it all."

Dingjiang Prefecture had long held a reputation for rich ore, fine iron, and superior weapons. The unbroken line of ironworks stretching west of the prefecture city either belonged directly to the Brightnight Sect or had long since come under its patronage. It was one of the sect’s most important sources of income.

"Those with ability carry the burden." Ding Songyan offered his habitual flattery, then reported what had happened at the boundary marker.

Tao Wenshu brushed a loose strand of hair at her temple with her fingers, thinking it over.

"I have not heard of the Pan family of Eastern Plains, but if Pan Yunzhou took the trouble to emphasize it, he would not do so without reason...

"Could he be a descendant of the Pan clan, one of the great surnames of the realm from centuries ago?"

The Brightnight Sect master, clad in her star-scattered black robe, rose to her feet and paced a few steps.

"I should see him."

She at once instructed a disciple standing watch outside the Purple Forbidden Chamber to fetch Pan Yunzhou, then turned to Ding Songyan with a smile.

"As it happens I have a moment to spare. Have you run into any difficulties in your training recently?"

After raising several questions about his martial cultivation, Ding Songyan said with mild puzzlement, "Master, I was reading a book last night that mentioned the Sage-Severing Way. It said that every practitioner of the Sutra of Celestial Heart Wisdom within the sect must sever mortal bonds. Does that not mean there is often master patricide? Why must it be that way?"

"I have never read the Sutra of Celestial Heart Wisdom, so I cannot say why they do it." Tao Wenshu thought back for a moment. "But apart from Demoness Ji, practitioners of the Sutra of Celestial Heart Wisdom for the past two or three hundred years do not appear to have killed their own masters."

Ding Songyan was a little stunned.

He had assumed it was standard practice within the Sage-Severing Way.

Tao Wenshu deliberated and said, "Practitioners of the Sutra of Celestial Heart Wisdom most likely have an entire set of methods to reshape a disciple’s loves and hatreds, grudges and desires, and their whole approach to the world. By the time the disciple completes their training, they feel nothing but tearful gratitude toward their master for giving them this opportunity—not the slightest desire for revenge.

"When Yan Yong disappeared in his search for Kunlun, Ji Hanyi may not yet have reached maturity. It is no surprise the conditioning was never completed. She subsequently emerged victorious from the killing contests among young fellow disciples, was rewarded with the last remaining flesh of Taowu, and rose to the top in a single leap. She made her debut in the jianghu at seventeen as a Grandmaster at the perfected Dharma Realm."

Incomplete brainwashing is not the same as no brainwashing at all. It’s no wonder Master Yan knew without asking a single question that he was done for the moment he saw it was Ji Hanyi... Still, a cultivation art that demands the right state of mind, yet requires its practitioners to be deceived and brainwashed from childhood, is that right? Ding Songyan nodded, lost in thought.

Before long, Pan Yunzhou arrived at the Purple Forbidden Chamber.

He faced Tao Wenshu and moved to perform a full prostration.

"Young Hero Pan, I cannot accept such a grand greeting." Tao Wenshu quickly stepped aside.

Ding Songyan stared in bewilderment.

Is he trying to take her as a master?

Nobody asks to be taken on as a disciple the moment they meet someone. Even shameless as I am, I’ll never dare go that far!

Seeing this, Pan Yunzhou rose with a bitter smile.

"Senior, I truly have something to ask of you."

"Even more I can’t accept your bow." Tao Wenshu’s brow creased slightly. "I never make careless promises about things I cannot do."

Pan Yunzhou drew a breath and let it out slowly.

"Sect Master Tao, I understand as a junior that you keep your word, and you have never made empty boasts."

He steadied himself and continued, "Long ago, Emperor Zhuanxu commanded Zhong and Li to divide heaven and earth, severing the passage between gods and men. Li descended to the earth and begat Ye, and Ye’s descendants bore the three surnames Xiong, Qu, and Pan. They cultivated the Myriad Stars Canon and the Twelve Resolutions of Time."

At this, the corresponding passage from the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas surfaced naturally in Ding Songyan’s mind.

"Ye: the result of consuming it? Summon the myriad stars, assist the sun and moon, divide time and fix the hours, establish order and clarify sequence."

Seeing that Tao Wenshu had not interrupted him, Pan Yunzhou went on.

"When the hundred clans rose in rebellion and the dynasty made its southern migration, our three surnames also suffered the calamity of extermination. The Xiong and Qu lines both had their lineage cut off entirely. Only a branch of the Pan family escaped south of the great river and took refuge in Eastern Plains Prefecture of Bao Province."

This is very much like the Brightnight Sect—nearly wiped out in that catastrophe more than two hundred and fifty years ago... Ding Songyan’s brow shifted slightly, and he couldn’t help glancing at his master. As it happened, Tao Wenshu was already looking at him.

The same question had occurred to both of them.

The Brightnight Sect fell from the top ranks because its arts were special and it was targeted by heretic factions. It had only barely managed to rebuild. But you—the Pan, Xiong, and Qu clans—why were you exterminated?

As one of the great surnames of the realm in those days, they could not have come to such an end without being deliberately targeted and besieged.

Was there something special about their arts as well, or some other reason entirely?

Noticing their expressions, Pan Yunzhou said bitterly, "Our Pan family forebears also never understood why this calamity befell them, and were already powerless to seek out the truth.

"After reaching Eastern Plains Prefecture, the Twelve Resolutions of Time were lost entirely. Only the first half of the Myriad Stars Canon survived, and even that is missing the viscera installation methods and the aperture forging methods for a number of corresponding apertures in the Great Proliferation Realm. As a result, for more than two hundred years no descendant has been able to reach the Dharma Realm, and completing it has proved equally impossible."

Even worse off than the Brightnight Sect... I had just been thinking the Twelve Resolutions of Time sounds like a fine art and was hoping to have a look at it... Ding Songyan felt a pang of regret.

His foundation was not yet solid, and he had not spent much effort on the Dividing the Four Seasons trait. A reference like the Twelve Resolutions of Time would certainly have been of great benefit.

Tao Wenshu had already formed a rough guess as to what Pan Yunzhou was seeking. She listened to the rest while turning the matter over in her mind.

"Since reaching the Great Proliferation Realm, I have wandered the jianghu continuously, seeking a way to complete the Myriad Stars Canon." Pan Yunzhou’s expression grew increasingly grave. "By a stroke of fortune I came to know several disciples of your sect and noticed that the Celestial Stars Scripture and the Myriad Stars Canon bear a strong resemblance to each other. Later, through them, I learned of your sect’s work passing the flame from generation to generation to restore the Celestial Stars Scripture and the Candlelit Nocturne Sutra.

"Hearing this, my heart surged with excitement and longing, and greed took hold in me, one that I had no right to feel."

With a thud, Pan Yunzhou dropped to both knees again and drew a book from his robe.

"I am willing to offer up the Myriad Stars Canon to help your sect perfect the Celestial Stars Scripture. I ask only to be accepted into the sect, to be permitted to use the Celestial Stars Scripture to complete the Myriad Stars Canon, and to teach my clanspeople after the Myriad Stars Canon is completed.

"Should I ever leak the Celestial Stars Scripture to outsiders, I will accept death by the sect master’s sword."

Offering up the Myriad Stars Canon outright? He’s going all in... Ding Songyan looked at Pan Yunzhou and felt the force of an absolute, unshakeable resolve.

Tao Wenshu gave a soft sigh.

"Young Hero Pan, please rise. If you find that the Celestial Stars Scripture cannot complete the Myriad Stars Canon after joining the sect, then what?"

That was the crux of it.

Pan Yunzhou rose to his feet. Several expressions crossed his face before he said in a low, steady voice, "I will have no regrets."

He exhaled and continued, "For more than two hundred years our forebears tried again and again, and every attempt ended in failure. By now every member of my clan has accepted their fate. I alone refuse to. Even if I were to walk to the ends of the earth and die by the roadside, I would have no regret.

"Your sect may be the only hope I will ever have in this life. Even if I come away empty-handed, I am willing to call myself a disciple of your sect and render whatever humble service I can."

Tao Wenshu considered for a moment.

"This is not a decision I can make alone. I must consult the Grandmasters within the sect. Please stay at the Lampwarm Pavilion for a few days, Young Hero Pan."

"Sect Master Tao, please look through this manual first. It contains every Chapter of the Myriad Stars Canon from body-tempering through aperture refinement. With your martial insight, you may be able to identify the similarities between the two arts." Pan Yunzhou held out the book.

He was afraid that mere words would not be enough to convince them.

The Brightnight Sect would need to provisionally confirm that the Myriad Stars Canon could improve the Celestial Stars Scripture before any further discussion could take place.

With the sect’s succession and the obsession of generations of forebears at stake, Tao Wenshu did not decline. She accepted the book and began reading through it carefully.

Her face was bathed in the golden sunlight streaming through the window, her expression intensely focused.

Pan Yunzhou waited in anxious suspense. A full quarter-hour passed before he saw Sect Master Tao pass the opening portion of the Myriad Stars Canon to the disciple standing beside her.

"Take a look as well," Tao Wenshu said quietly to Ding Songyan.

With her abilities, determining whether the qi-circulation and aperture refinement methods of the Myriad Stars Canon were compatible with the Celestial Stars Scripture was not overly difficult, but it would take a month or two of analysis and experimentation. Yesterday, however, she had heard from her martial uncle, Wang Zhou, that Ding Songyan had achieved full aperture refinement in two hours.

In that light, Manifesting the Way and its Virtue was exactly what the present task called for.

When the master has need, the disciple does the work!

Under Pan Yunzhou’s puzzled, bewildered, and astonished gaze, Ding Songyan accepted the book as though there was nothing at all unusual about it.

He quickly leafed past the body-tempering and qi-cultivation Chapters and turned his attention to the visualization charts, which ran to a full twenty-eight pages.

The hazy "seed" within his sea of consciousness turned, and his mind split in two at once.

He turned the pages of the visualization charts with focused attention, committing them to memory, while simultaneously performing the visualization.

In less than than the time to drink two cups of tea, all 360 apertures in his body were circulating according to the method described in the Myriad Stars Canon, clear starlight transforming into true qi.

The Celestial Stars Scripture first cultivates the unique qualities of individual stars, then derives the underlying principle to gather them into a full starry sky. It moves from chaos to order, a perfect match for me... The Myriad Stars Canon, by contrast, emphasizes the orderly movement of the sun, moon, and stars from the very beginning of aperture refinement, and stresses the connections between apertures. It’s no wonder its true qi is called Star-Sequence True Qi... Whether the Great Proliferation Realm Chapter of the Celestial Stars Scripture can be completed remains to be seen, but it must be of use to the Celestial Stars Formation, which is missing critical parts. Being a formation technique, it surely places even greater emphasis on principle and sequence... With that thought, Ding Songyan raised his right hand.

He pressed a slow palm toward his master.

Though puzzled, Tao Wenshu met it with her Myriad Star True Qi.

The moment their palms met, she felt the strange beauty of the sun, moon, and stars moving in accordance with their natural principle.

This true qi was different from Myriad Star True Qi yet closely related to it, a character entirely its own!

Songyan has already cultivated Star-Sequence True Qi? Tao Wenshu’s gaze froze for an instant.

Pan Yunzhou, watching from nearby, grew more and more bewildered.

Is the master... consulting the disciple?

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