Chapter Fifteen: What Year Is This Tonight?
“Jade Capital…”
Tuoba Dao muttered these three words, chewing them over in his mind. He reflected on his long life but could not recall ever having heard of such a mysterious place within this vast realm.
He had visited the foremost peaks inscribed on the Xuanmen Stele, the Great Rest Palace, the Great Qian Qiansheng Mountain, witnessed countless magnificent sights, and encountered many enigmatic places, yet never once had he heard of Jade Capital.
A doubt crept into Tuoba Dao’s mind: had the years of warfare muddled his thoughts, causing hallucinations? Or had he fallen victim to some northern sorcery?
But then he recalled his cultivation, the countless nights of blade-wielding raids, the countless heads of northern warriors he had severed…
Though aged and decrepit, he was far from senile.
His divine visage still stood tall and proud, his cultivation remained formidable, not so feeble as to be silently controlled by some arcane art.
Moreover… he found himself within this palace, sensing its ineffable mystery…
Even glimpsing… a further glimmer of hope!
Tuoba Dao’s thoughts flickered; perhaps because of newfound hope, his heart was no longer as calm as before. He took a deep breath and asked once more, “May I inquire, sir… I have never heard of this Jade Capital—where exactly is it? And why have I come to this place?”
Chen Zhi’an sat upon a high seat, as if the entirety of the Kaiyang Pavilion was under his command. He could clearly perceive every flicker of Tuoba Dao’s gaze, every subtle twitch of his expression, and naturally, he detected the gradual clarity returning to his eyes.
“Morning breaks with purple light, dawn descends upon the Yellow Court…”
“Kaiyang Pavilion is an exceptional place for studying martial classics. The purple light and the Yellow Court permeate it; the stronger one’s cultivation, the deeper the realm, the more potent the effect.”
Chen Zhi’an’s appreciation of the extraordinary nature of the Nanliu Jing Kaiyang Pavilion deepened.
“The celestial Jade Capital painting is truly profound; this Kaiyang Pavilion is indeed precious to all kinds of powerful beings.”
His thoughts were myriad, yet he sat upright on his throne, silent.
Within the palace, Tuoba Dao extended a hand and gently clenched it. Suddenly, the void in his palm twisted.
At this moment, Chen Zhi’an seemed to merge with the Kaiyang Pavilion itself, which felt alive, sensing a unique force emanating from Tuoba Dao’s palm.
This power was so arcane that even the equally mysterious Kaiyang Pavilion could not clearly analyze it.
“This armored elder’s cultivation must have reached an extraordinary realm…”
Chen Zhi’an recalled the eight major stages of cultivation that Shen Haohuo had once told him about.
Perhaps this armored elder had perfected the Jade Pavilion stage, or even reached the fabled Realm of Creation…
“But… this armored elder seeks to test Nanliu Jing, to probe Kaiyang Pavilion with his own strength.”
Suddenly, an idea struck Chen Zhi’an: “I reside within Kaiyang Pavilion, seated on this throne, merged with the pavilion itself. Could I then harness the mysterious purple light and Yellow Court energy of Kaiyang Pavilion?”
As this thought arose, Chen Zhi’an, seated high upon the throne, gently extended a finger.
Tuoba Dao had just gathered divine essence, intending to release it to explore this mysterious hall and the world beyond.
But when the divine essence coalesced in his palm, transforming into countless threads ready to flow like water—
The war-hardened king who had conquered the Eternal Plains beheld the figure on the throne bathed in golden light, his face indistinct, pointing a finger toward his hand’s void.
In that instant—
Tuoba Dao felt the void in his palm twist and then an indescribable, immeasurable force surged forth. The myriad divine essences he had gathered vanished completely in that single gesture, disappearing without a trace.
Though his cultivation was sufficient to proudly gaze upon the world through the Heavenly Stele, here within Kaiyang Pavilion, under the mysterious man’s finger, he found himself utterly unable to resist, forced to watch his gathered divine essence dissipate.
Yet Chen Zhi’an’s heart blossomed with joy.
“Indeed effective. Here in Kaiyang Pavilion, seated on this throne, even such a formidable being cannot resist me.”
His joy was tempered, however, by the realization that this armored elder’s presence in Kaiyang Pavilion was but a projection of consciousness; his physical body remained in the real world.
Since this elder’s consciousness alone had arrived, he could only gather divine essence, not blood energy or true essence.
“If his physical body came to Jade Capital, to Kaiyang Pavilion, I wonder if Kaiyang Pavilion’s power would surpass his.”
Chen Zhi’an’s pride diminished slightly.
Meanwhile, Tuoba Dao remained silent, increasingly astonished.
“A single finger can erase my divine essence—what level of cultivation must this person have? How high does he rank on the Creation Stele? Or is he the one who inscribed the Ninth Stele?”
Tuoba Dao’s experience was vast; the long years had let him witness countless powerful figures, yet he racked his brains and could not recall anyone matching this description.
Suppressing the storm raging in his heart, he was about to speak again.
Finally, the figure on the throne spoke.
His deep voice echoed through Kaiyang Pavilion, the entire pavilion trembling, the vibration reaching Tuoba Dao’s ears.
“What year is this tonight?”
Hearing the question, Tuoba Dao ceased guessing and answered, “According to the era name of Great Rest, this year should be the eighty-eighth year of Shenwu. But Great Rest no longer exists; each nation has its own era name. May I ask… which nation’s era name do you mean?”
“Eighty-eighth year of Shenwu in Great Rest?” The mysterious man on the throne pondered the era name, his tone laced with many questions. “The Great Plain has fallen? When was Great Rest founded?”
Tuoba Dao felt every hair rise on his body; his gaze finally changed.
Years of warfare, ascending the heights of cultivation, scaling the pinnacles of the realm… Tuoba Dao had thought himself privy to countless secrets, believing he understood the world.
Yet when the mysterious man in Kaiyang Pavilion asked when Great Rest was founded, Tuoba Dao felt this figure on the throne was beyond all reach.
He was old now, having lived a hundred and twenty years; countless wounds were like death talismans seeking to claim his life and divine visage.
Among all the long-lived in this realm, only the ancestor of the Great Dream, who lived eight hundred springs, was recorded.
Great Rest was founded thirteen Jiazi cycles ago, its reign lasting over seven hundred years.
That this man before him had never heard of Great Rest meant he had lived at least close to eight hundred years!
And this “Great Plain” mentioned by the mysterious man… Tuoba Dao had never heard of it.
Scanning through more than ten dynasties before Great Rest, there was no record of the Great Plain.
Could it be that the Great Plain existed before those ten or so dynasties?
Could it mean this man before him had achieved true immortality?
Could it mean that this Jade Capital, this Kaiyang Pavilion, was truly a “place where immortality could be attained”?
Tuoba Dao thought of his decrepit body, his unfinished ambitions, of Shachi River, Green Jade City beyond Wusu, of the blood spilled by the Jade Calabash people. His straight and upright figure finally bent.
He clasped his fists and bowed, “Honored… elder, Great Rest was founded thirteen Jiazi ago but has since disintegrated, split into three kingdoms.”
“And the Great Plain—Tuoba has never heard of such a kingdom or dynasty.”
The mysterious man on the throne fell silent. Silent for a full dozen breaths. The seasoned Tuoba Dao could even hear his own heartbeat.
At that moment, a trace of nervousness stirred within him, for he sensed a peculiar aura flowing through Kaiyang Pavilion, brimming with potent energy.
It was this aura and power that cleared his thoughts.
Within his heart, a single thought grew stronger.
“If I could cultivate here in Jade Capital, in Kaiyang Pavilion, even if only by consciousness, I could nurture divine essence, study the Great Immortality Repentance… If I advanced further in the Great Immortality Repentance, I might eke out another twelve years of life.”
His thoughts focused on that mysterious aura and power.
Suddenly, beside Tuoba Dao, a stone stele rose.
The stele was pure white as jade, only three zhang tall.
“The world is but a traveler’s inn for all things; time is a passing guest of a hundred generations.”
The mysterious man’s voice remained thick and resonant: “I have tended this Jade Capital for many years, seeing neither heaven nor earth, neither time nor light. Only the Way and the Law bear witness to the azure sky and the thick yellow earth!”
“Why don’t you write for me a treatise on the Way and the Law of the present world? Let me see where the world’s changes have brought us.”
“All things are travelers’ inns, time but passing guests…” Tuoba Dao thought again of the Jade Calabash people’s thousand-year homeland, Green Jade City, of the lone pearl in the Gobi. His heart stirred, and he felt the mysterious man’s depth was unfathomable.
Stepping forward, Tuoba Dao prepared to write a classic, a treatise on martial arts.
As he gathered divine essence once more, the mysterious man’s voice sounded again: “The Way and the Law need not be lofty; only in the weaker realms can the passage of time be truly seen. Write only the Way and Law achievable by true essence.”
Tuoba Dao’s hand paused briefly, then divine essence scattered, engraving secret texts upon the white jade stele.
“It is the Great Rest Chi Tiger script… fortunate indeed.”
Chen Zhi’an, seated aloft, felt pleased.
“Do not write anything too profound. I have just begun cultivation; if the methods or martial arts are too advanced, practicing them would backfire.”
“Better to write a true essence cultivation method, and then a martial art stronger than the Tiger Fist.”
Though thinking this, his expression remained unchanged, calmly watching the white jade stele.
Divine essence, like a sword, fell upon the stele.
Until the stele was inscribed with two entirely new methods.
The Way and the Law—detailed, comprehensive, even accompanied by matching beginner pills—relieved Chen Zhi’an greatly.
“The Jade Cicada Shedding Chapter.”
“Eight capitals northward, twelve layers.”
“One true essence cultivation method, one blade technique.”
Chen Zhi’an could not help but feel a thrill; the characters on the white jade stele were exquisitely profound, yet not unattainably so.
Indeed, the hidden marvels within made Chen Zhi’an clearly aware that these cultivation methods and blade techniques were exceedingly precious.
“When my Great Snow Mountain Qi Cultivation reaches perfection, I can switch to the Jade Cicada Shedding Chapter and truly enter the true essence realm, thoroughly advancing on the path of cultivation.”
“And this blade technique…”
Chen Zhi’an took a deep breath: “Filled with murderous intent, it is a thoroughly lethal art, surely honed through countless battles.”
“Excellent, truly excellent!”