Chapter 214: Echoes of the Past

Qian Ye’s thoughts wandered, some of the old man’s words sinking in, others slipping past his ears. Piecing together the fragmented images, he roughly understood the past events concerning Lao Lu from the Song clan. In his prime, Lao Lu broke through the Heavenly General threshold early and was considered a promising figure. However, after he took on a pseudonym and entered the Song clan, he made no further progress.

But that wasn’t all. Lao Lu, upon learning that his brother planned to enter the great vortex for training, forced him with fraternal affection to agree to help the Song clan guard the Celestial Grandson pasture.

Having such a brother left one speechless.

As Qian Ye thought, his emotions naturally surfaced on his face. The old man noticed and said, “It’s hard to say if this is gain or loss. Inside the great vortex, I utilized countless natural treasures, eventually breaking through the Heavenly General threshold and advancing deep, only to encounter a bottleneck ten years ago. This breakthrough was largely due to this medicinal wine. Yet, it is both a blessing and a curse. I relied on this wine to advance, but now I can’t take another step forward without it.”

Qian Ye understood: the key to breaking through a bottleneck lay in the purity of origin power. The old man’s medicinal wine provided extremely pure origin power, enough to break through the Heavenly General threshold. But it hadn’t reached absolute purity, preventing him from reaching the pinnacle of the Heavenly King realm.

The old man, burdened by his brother, had guarded the Celestial Grandson pasture for fifty years, a rather melancholic tale. It was no wonder the Song clan had never let the Celestial Grandson pasture fall into other hands over the years.

The old man plucked the string of the East Peak, saying, “There are many mysteries in this sword I don’t understand, but it doesn’t seem like the work of my incompetent brother. What’s the reason?”

Qian Ye didn’t hide anything, telling the old man about the East Peak being refined and modified in the Zhao clan’s Artisan Mansion.

The old man remained silent for a long time before saying, “Hmph! Artisan Mansion, Artisan Mansion. The Zhao clan truly has foresight to build such a place. No wonder they have prospered since the founding of the nation.”

He returned the East Peak to Qian Ye and handed him a crystal bottle. Inside, a purple orb floated, clear and radiant.

“This sword still has potential. The bottle contains the marrow of a void beast that fell here, something I stumbled upon. Once you reach the Pool of All Life, apply the marrow to the East Peak and immerse it in the water. You can then harness the pool’s regenerative power to add more materials to the sword. Use any good items you have. Just how much it can improve, I do not know.”

Qian Ye accepted the crystal bottle, expressing his gratitude solemnly.

At this point, the East Peak was no longer the same as when he first acquired it, sweeping everything away. As Qian Ye’s enemies grew stronger, more and more weapons could rival the East Peak. Some were even of a higher grade, surpassing it. Inside the great vortex, even a four-armed warrior’s weapon was not far off from the East Peak.

Only further improvement would make the East Peak match Qian Ye’s current combat prowess.

The old and young walked toward the small house. On the way, Qian Ye suddenly asked, “We’ve never met, and you don’t even know my name. Why show me such kindness?”

The old man smiled faintly, “Do you know why I recognized the East Peak as my brother’s work?”

“No.”

“I recognized the sword not by its style or craftsmanship, but by the material. He once found a rare piece of iron with unusual properties, and he cherished it greatly, reluctant to use it lightly. But the East Peak contains much of that rare iron, meaning he used it all. If he gave the sword to you, he must hold you in high regard. Otherwise, how could you have gotten it from just the Song clan’s minor test?”

As they approached the small house, Ji Tianqing was already seated in the courtyard, sipping tea with Li Kuanglan. The old man sniffed the tea and immediately paled, wailing, “My Flowing Spring Aromatic Tea!!”

Ji Tianqing smiled, “I once stole half a cup of Flowing Spring Aromatic Tea from my grandfather. I didn’t expect to see two cups here. Only three or four cups of this tea are produced annually. How could I miss this opportunity?”

The old man’s face changed, his mouth twitching. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, “This is only one cup, where’s the other?”

“Here.” Ji Tianqing revealed an inconspicuous clay jar.

The old man reached for it, but as his hand moved, Ji Tianqing exerted force, stopping his hand mid-air. Such premium tea required meticulous storage; any damage to the jar would ruin its taste.

Clearly, Ji Tianqing was well-versed in this, seizing the old man’s weak spot.

The old man sat down, glaring at Ji Tianqing, “Don’t go too far, little girl! Even your great-grandfather treated me with respect.”

“Only because he needed your help?” Ji Tianqing’s words were sharp.

The old man’s face alternated between green and white, wanting to deny it but unable to lie. Zhi Ji Wang was once a prominent figure in the empire, and unless the old man had unique skills, there was no need for such respect. Zhi Ji Wang was known for his fiery temper, which mellowed out after a major change. However, this made him even more terrifying.

To put it bluntly, most who dared to challenge Zhi Ji Wang ended up dead.

After their exchange, the old man knew he couldn’t win verbally and with his treasure in Ji Tianqing’s hands, he couldn’t reclaim the upper hand.

Qian Ye watched, concerned about Ji Tianqing’s condition. Seeing her aura slightly weak but her origin power more pure and active, he relaxed, believing the Star Cherry fruit was indeed beneficial.

Finally, the old man conceded, “What do you want?”

“First, about what happened between us, whether you noticed anything or not, you mustn’t tell anyone.” Ji Tianqing pointed at Li Kuanglan.

The old man nodded, “That’s easy. Plus, I rarely see anyone here, so who would I tell?”

Ji Tianqing breathed a sigh of relief, her tension easing, and continued, “Second, you seem to know a lot about my grandfather’s past. Tell me everything, don’t omit a single detail. Also, why have you been guarding this place for fifty years?”

The old man’s face changed, “Little girl, don’t push it!”

But Ji Tianqing raised the jar, forcing him to calm down, “Ah, these things are related to you. Telling you wouldn’t matter. Few in the empire remember me now, so my reputation won’t suffer much.”

Composing himself, the old man began, “Back then, Ji Wentian was extraordinarily talented, mastering countless difficult divine techniques and secret arts. With imperial blood, he had many supporters. Who would he have cared about then?”

The group listened intently, even Qian Ye, who knew some of the later events, paid close attention.

The old man continued, “But in this world, the smoother things go, the more likely they are to go wrong. Why did Ji Wentian have to fall for her?”

Who was she? Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan were eager to know, while Qian Ye thought of the Heart Burial blade.

The old man didn’t keep them in suspense, “She was the younger aunt of Princess Haimi.”

Not just Qian Ye, even Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan were baffled. They knew Princess Haimi, a key figure in the empire’s political changes, who later retired. But who was her younger aunt?

The old man sighed, “She was once famous, but after the incident, the imperial family tried to cover it up. Plus, everyone knew it was a sad affair for Ji Wentian, and no one dared to bring it up. Over time, few remembered her.”

Qian Ye recalled that Zhi Ji Wang’s remnant thoughts had warned him not to mention this past.

“Who was she?” Ji Tianqing asked.

“She… how to describe her, an indescribable woman, utterly indescribable…” The old man sighed, lost in memories, “When I first saw her, my mind went blank. To this day, I remember the feeling, just blank, even her appearance.”

“She was ill, for a long time, and even the best doctors were helpless. So, Ji Wentian came to me. I was barely known, not even a Heavenly General, with limited medical skills. But he was desperate, trying anything.”

“By chance, I knew some obscure knowledge and had a natural sensitivity to origin power. After thorough examination, I found she wasn’t sick, but poisoned and injured. The poison was almost undetectable, mixed with a strand of frigid origin power. She practiced ice-cold origin power, and only my unique skill in examining origin power allowed me to detect the foreign strand within her.”

“The combination of origin power and poison made it nearly undetectable. It worked slowly, consuming her vitality to strengthen itself. The culprit was highly skilled, unlike anything I’d ever seen. If not for witnessing it, I wouldn’t have believed it possible.”

“I found the cause but couldn’t help. Even if I was at the edge of the Heavenly King realm, I couldn’t solve it. I told Ji Wentian everything. After a day and night, he vanished with her. When he returned, he was completely different. There was no more Ji Wentian, only Zhi Ji Wang.”

The trio felt a suffocating tension. Someone had dared to harm Zhi Ji Wang’s beloved, likely a mastermind in the empire.

Their motive was more than just hindering Ji Wentian’s path to the Heavenly King realm, likely tied to the supreme throne.

Even the usually rebellious Ji Tianqing fell silent, merely sighing deeply.

The old man also sighed, “You should guess by now. I hid in the Celestial Grandson pasture for fifty years, not because of my useless brother, but because, from the moment I saw her, I could think of no one else.”