Chapter 85: Pure Qian Taiyi

After consuming the Vermilion Fruit, the four felt their cultivation soar and thanked Little Gold one after another. Little Gold waved his hand. “Enough, you can go now. I should rest for a while. Oh, Shi Qi, come here for a moment—I have something to tell you.”

With that, Little Gold turned and entered the cottage. Shi Qi nodded and followed him inside once more.

Little Gold was the first to speak. “Shi Qi, I know you must have many questions now—about your master, the Immortal Egret, and about the Four Friends.”

Shi Qi nodded. “I do have many questions. Can you answer them for me?”

Little Gold pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly. “I cannot.”

Shi Qi spread his hands. “There it is—I always feel like you’re all hiding secrets from me: my master, you, the Four Friends. I don’t understand why. What’s the secret about the Baili Sword? About the Divine Thunder? The Thousandfold Shield? Why do all of you from ancient times seem so familiar with these things, yet keep silent with me?”

Little Gold shook his head. “No one wishes to keep anything from you, Shi Qi. In the end, it’s because your strength is not yet sufficient. When you are strong enough to touch the truths behind these matters, you won’t need to ask—these things will come to you on their own. Then, you will know.”

Shi Qi nodded. “Let it be, then. I know there’s a long road ahead of me.”

Little Gold sighed, and after a few moments’ thought, said softly, “There is much I do not understand myself, though I, too, wish to seek the answers.”

Shi Qi asked, “Senior Jin, why do you not leave this cave? The Vermilion Fruit is ripe—why are you still here?”

Little Gold replied, “Me? It’s not that I don’t want to leave, but that I still have an unfinished duty here. Besides, even if I wished to, I could not leave.”

Shi Qi was surprised. “Cannot leave?”

Little Gold nodded, then said, word by word, “You must have seen the Baili Sword.”

Shi Qi frowned, took out the Baili Sword from his spatial pouch and placed it before him. “The Baili Sword is right here. Of course I’ve seen it.”

Little Gold shook his head. “No, I mean the sword’s spirit.”

Sword spirit?!

Shi Qi was shocked. “You… how do you know about the Old Madman?!”

Shi Qi had told no one about the Baili Sword’s sentience. How could Little Gold know this?

Little Gold chuckled. “Old Madman? Ha! That’s quite the fitting name.”

Shi Qi pressed on. “Senior, you haven’t told me—how do you know about the Old Madman?”

Little Gold stopped laughing and suddenly grew solemn. He looked at Shi Qi seriously and said, “Shi Qi, what I’m about to tell you—promise me you’ll never speak of it to anyone. This is for you alone to know. Do you understand?”

Seeing Little Gold so grave, Shi Qi knew what was coming must be of great importance. He nodded solemnly. “I promise, what you’re about to tell me will be kept to myself, even unto death.”

Little Gold nodded and sighed. Then, slowly, he said, “The Old Madman and I are the same in essence. He is the Baili Sword; I am Little Gold.”

Shi Qi was stunned.

Shi Qi stammered, “Senior… you mean… you are also…”

Little Gold nodded. “That’s right. I am also a magical treasure.”

Shi Qi’s eyes widened. “But the Old Madman said…”

Little Gold nodded. “Yes. Divine weapons may have spirit, but not consciousness. If a divine weapon gains consciousness, it will be punished by the Heavenly Dao.”

“You must be wondering why I have not been struck down, but exist just fine.”

Shi Qi nodded repeatedly.

Little Gold smiled bitterly. “That is precisely why I cannot leave this cave. This cave was created by my master, set apart from the Twelve Provinces, free from the Heavenly Dao’s control. Here, I am outside the laws, and the Heavenly Dao cannot punish my existence.”

“But the moment I set foot outside the cave, onto the lands of the Twelve Provinces, my consciousness would scatter instantly, and I would revert to being just a treasure.”

“Strictly speaking, I am not a true divine weapon. But like the Baili Sword, I was granted awareness thanks to my master.”

Shi Qi asked, “Who is your master? Is it the last of the Four Friends?”

Little Gold nodded. “It is, but I cannot say his name. In truth, I cannot even utter it.”

Shi Qi was puzzled. “Cannot utter it?”

Little Gold replied, “Correct. My master’s name was shrouded from the Twelve Provinces by a supreme art. We know his name, but we cannot speak or write it.”

“I was once Three Needles: Swift, Shadowless, and Soldierbane, a family heirloom entrusted to my master by his father.”

“Later, my master obtained the great fortune of the Sword-washing Pool and placed me within it. The three needles merged into one, and so I became this Golden Needle. But my master… was never good at naming things, and so I was called Little Gold.”

Shi Qi wore a look of sudden understanding. No wonder the name was so odd.

Little Gold continued, “Shi Qi, I didn’t call you here just to tell stories. Now that I’ve said so much, I actually wish to ask you for a favor.”

Shi Qi nodded. “Please speak, Senior Jin.”

Little Gold said, “My master’s treasures are not limited to the Baili Sword and myself. There is another, the most important and the most powerful sword.”

He looked at Shi Qi intently. “Its name is the Pure Qian Taiyi Sword!”

Shi Qi exclaimed, “The Tai Chi and the Eight Trigrams—Black is Qian, the source. Immortals transcend, returning to the primordial beginning, and the beginning is Taiyi. What kind of sword dares bear such a domineering name?”

Little Gold replied, “It is my master’s mightiest sword. Before my master subdued it, it was a vicious blade called the Black Fiend, stained with countless lives. After it was refined in the Sword-washing Pool like me, it became the Pure Qian Taiyi Sword.”

Shi Qi asked, “Senior Jin, by telling me this, do you mean that the Pure Qian Taiyi Sword still exists in the Twelve Provinces?”

Little Gold nodded. “The Baili Sword has already surfaced, and I awakened centuries ago. I believe the Pure Qian Taiyi Sword has, like us, developed a consciousness, but I cannot track it now.”

Shi Qi said, “So you wish me to search for the Pure Qian Taiyi Sword in the Twelve Provinces?”

Little Gold nodded. Shi Qi replied, “Of course—I won’t refuse. But what distinguishing traits does it have?”

Little Gold thought for a moment and said, “It is heavy with murderous aura.”

“Though refined in the Sword-washing Pool, the sword killed too many. Its murderous energy remains potent. Under my master’s control, it was fine. But now, with my master missing and his treasures scattered, I fear the Pure Qian Taiyi Sword may again be consumed by killing intent. If so, it will slaughter wantonly—something my master never wished to see.”

Shi Qi nodded. “Very well, Senior Jin. I understand. I will be careful in this search.”

Little Gold smiled and reached into the void, drawing out a golden needle.

“This needle is a part of my essence. Keep it on you. If you discover the Pure Qian Taiyi Sword committing wanton slaughter, use this needle. Though I may not be able to defeat the sword, perhaps I can awaken its true awareness.”

Shi Qi nodded and accepted the golden needle.

Little Gold then produced one last Vermilion Fruit and handed it to Shi Qi.

“In total, five Vermilion Fruits have ripened. You and your three companions have each taken one. This last one I give to you.”

“But remember: one Vermilion Fruit is a spiritual medicine; two are a deadly poison. Never eat two, or your cultivation will plummet, and you may even die.”

Shi Qi swallowed. “I was just about to eat it, but after hearing that, I think I’ll pass. Senior, why don’t you take it?”

Little Gold smiled. “I am a treasure—this sort of thing is useless to me. Better to gift it and earn some goodwill. Do with it as you see fit.”

Shi Qi took the Vermilion Fruit and thanked him.

Little Gold waved him away. “Go on.”

Shi Qi bowed, then left the cottage to rejoin his companions.

Shi Qi raised his token and tossed it into the air. The portal of the cave mansion opened once more.

The four of them stepped through the portal together. Shi Qi looked back at Little Gold, who smiled and called out, “Be careful in all things…”

Shi Qi turned away. The four entered the portal, and in the next instant, they found themselves on Egret Beach.

By now, dusk had fallen on Egret Beach. The setting sun cast a rosy glow over the sand, and the rising tide sent waves crashing again and again onto the shore.

The four glanced back at the closed portal.

Bai Qiu patted Shi Qi. “Hey, what did Senior Jin say to you in there?”

Shi Qi patted Bai Qiu back, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, “He said… it can’t be told.”

Bai Qiu shoved Shi Qi’s head aside. “Tch!”

Sun Fanbai sighed, “This journey was like a dream.”

Bai Qiu summoned a ball of true energy to his palm. “But this surge in power tells us it was no dream.”

Yuanwu put his palms together. “Amitabha—every time I travel with Daoist Shi, there is fortune to be had. Truly, Daoist Shi is a man of destiny.”

Shi Qi turned to gaze at the burning sunset and smiled. “In ancient times, the Four Friends roamed the Twelve Provinces, leaving behind countless tales and amusements. Surely you all have some thoughts?”

As Shi Qi looked at them, the four exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

Shi Qi declared, “Let the name of the Four Friends resound across the Twelve Provinces once more!”

The four soared into the air, flying toward Yongzhou.

Inside the Egret Cave, Little Gold sighed. “Alone again…”

He walked to the door of another cottage, swept away the barrier with a wave of his hand, and gently pushed open the door.

The interior was identical to the cottage Shi Qi had just visited: a table, a few stools, and a bed.

But on the bed sat a woman in meditation, her face utterly expressionless. She was beautiful—her skin lustrous as jade, delicate brows and refined features, a faint dimple at her cheek, her beauty unrivaled.

Her eyes were closed; it was clear she breathed no more.

Little Gold looked at her and murmured, “Sigh, my master has made me guard you for ten thousand years, and still you have not awakened…”

“But perhaps it is better you have not…”

“For if you did… I would have to kill you…”