“You mean to say that they were deliberately led astray back then, and that place was disguised by a formation to look exactly like this cliff, so that anyone searching later would be misled here?” Bi Zhen asked in astonishment.
“Precisely. If my guess is correct, the person who set up the formation must have known about this cliff beforehand, and recreated its appearance and the surrounding paths exactly within the illusionary formation. At that time, my father-in-law’s cultivation hadn’t reached its peak, so he didn’t realize it. Later, when he came to investigate, he assumed the entrance had simply been hidden here, never considering that it might not be here at all, but somewhere else entirely!”
“That makes it hard to find,” Bi Zhen said with some concern. “If that’s the case, who knows where Mei Valley might be? Even considering the immediate vicinity, hundreds of miles around are all mountains. Surely we can’t possibly scan each inch with our spiritual senses? Even if we could, the chances of finding it would still be slim.”
Bi Zhen’s concerns were not unfounded. Since the other party had deliberately hidden the Mei Valley, its entrance would certainly be heavily protected and difficult to detect. Even if they did find the entrance, there would be no way to confirm whether it actually led to the Mei Valley. If they accidentally broke into someone else’s cultivation site, it could cause serious trouble.
Mei Qing shared this concern. After all, the Mei Valley he was searching for would have no identifying markers. The entrance seen by Lu Bing and others back then had been an illusionary formation, which couldn’t be trusted. Now, how could they possibly locate it? Mei Qing felt a wave of frustration and floated gently into the air, scanning the surroundings. Seeing this, Bi Zhen grew a little worried and urged her spirit crane to fly up beside him. Before she could speak, Mei Qing had already shaken his head and said, “I’m fine. I was just thinking that if the other party disguised their entrance to look exactly like this cliff, there must be a reason for it.”
“What kind of reason could there be?” Bi Zhen looked around. “There’s nothing particularly special about this place.”
Mei Qing pondered deeply and said, “Why did they specifically choose to disguise it as this cliff, rather than any other location?”
“Coincidence?” Bi Zhen thought for a while, then shook her head, giving up.
“Perhaps this place holds some significance for them, or maybe they’re simply more familiar with it. I think it’s more likely the latter,” Mei Qing explained. “If this place had special significance for them, they probably wouldn’t appreciate others repeatedly investigating and searching here.”
“So you’re saying that his residence must be nearby?” Bi Zhen began to understand.
“Exactly. Also, didn’t you notice? Back then, my father-in-law and the others walked there. Although the illusion could mislead their vision, it couldn’t change the actual distance they walked. So, the real entrance to Mei Valley must be relatively close by,” Mei Qing said confidently.
“Then we should search around here,” Bi Zhen said excitedly. “Maybe we’ll find something.”
Mei Qing, however, smiled bitterly. “It won’t be easy. Cultivators have abilities far beyond ordinary people. Although ‘close by’ might mean within the Bai Zhao Mountains, that still covers dozens of miles. Besides, this area has been your family’s long-time residence. If there really is a cultivation cave dwelling nearby, it’s practically your neighbor. Using too aggressive a method would be impolite.”
“Then let’s go ask my mother. She still has some friends who might know something,” Bi Zhen suggested, her eyes lighting up.
“My clever wife,” Mei Qing grinned. “Let’s go back and ask Master Tai’an for help.”
On their way back, the talismans they had sent to Master Ku and Zhang Shisan returned one after another.
Zhang Shisan seemed to know quite a bit about the Plum Blossom Sect. According to him, the sect’s movements had always been shrouded in secrecy. There were many different accounts regarding when Mei Hua Dao Ren first appeared. However, it was generally believed that about a hundred years ago, he began challenging various major sects.
“The first time, it’s said that Mei Hua Dao Ren challenged the Northern Quanzhen Sect, but was defeated and returned. Very few people knew about this. Later, he appeared before the Zhen Da Sect and the Southern Quanzhen Sect. What was strange at the time was that Mei Hua Dao Ren was always alone, and mainly active in the north. Since the north wasn’t under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Masters, details were scarce, and it was mostly just rumors.”
“Thirty years ago, Mei Hua Dao Ren started targeting southern sects, visiting sects like Qing Jing and Wu Yi one after another. By then, he was no longer alone but accompanied by several disciples. When challenges occurred, it was always his disciples who fought. In fact, Mei Hua’s disciples weren’t as invincible as the rumors suggested. However, most battles were preceded by agreements to keep the results secret, so few people knew the truth.”
“As for Mount Longhu, the sect had never received any challenges from the Plum Blossom Sect. This was quite strange. The Celestial Masters sect even assigned people to investigate thoroughly, but found nothing. About twenty years ago, Mei Hua Dao Ren suddenly disappeared, leading to many rumors. Some even claimed that the Mei Hua Dao Ren from a hundred years ago and the later one who appeared with disciples were not the same person. Whether this is true remains unknown.”
“As for external alchemy practitioners nowadays, they are extremely rare. The northern sects focus solely on internal alchemy, considering external alchemy as heretical, so there are no known practitioners. However, the Ge school techniques once existed within the southern sects, particularly the Gaozao Sect. According to people from the Shangqing Sect, even those practitioners have disappeared in the past hundred years. However, about ten years ago, there was a wandering cultivator known as Master Liu, who was said to have produced external alchemy. Additionally, there are rumors that a certain Taoist priest at court, Dian Zhenren, gained favor with the current Emperor due to his skill in alchemy.”
Receiving this information from Zhang Shisan, Mei Qing couldn’t help but feel foolish. Since the Emperor was so fond of external alchemy, there must be external alchemy practitioners around him. Yet, upon further thought, since everyone knew this, wouldn’t Lu Bing have thought of it too? Moreover, since Lu Bing was very close to the Emperor, he must have had much contact with Dian Zhenren. If there were anything suspicious about Dian Zhenren (Tao Zhongwen), it would likely have already been discovered.
As for the information from Master Ku, there was also no news about external alchemy practitioners. After all, the Buddhist sects would have even less contact with such matters. Regarding the Plum Blossom Sect, his information was roughly similar to Zhang Shisan’s. However, Master Ku mentioned that there were rumors in the cultivation world suggesting that the death of the previous Celestial Master Zhang Yu fifteen years ago might have been related to the Plum Blossom Sect. However, this claim was considered too bizarre, so most people didn’t believe it.
“No way?” Bi Zhen doubted. “Didn’t the old master say that the Plum Blossom Sect disappeared twenty years ago? Besides, Zhang Yu was said to have been demoted by the previous Emperor for failing to bring rain, and died of anger.”
“Rumors often contain the truth,” Mei Qing said. “Throughout history, it’s always been like this. We should still ask my master to look into this matter. However, since he is a member of the Celestial Masters sect, he might have some reservations out of respect for his superiors. You saw that his message didn’t mention this theory at all.”
“Maybe he just doesn’t believe the rumors,” Bi Zhen disagreed slightly.
“Even if he doesn’t believe them, the way Zhang Tian’s death occurred is still strange. Regardless, even if his own cultivation was poor, how could the Celestial Masters sect lack high-level cultivators? Although bringing rain seems miraculous to ordinary people, you and I both know that even with our modest abilities, we could manage a small rain shower to fool people. The Celestial Masters have been practicing this for a long time. How could they fail at something like this? Moreover, Zhang Yu was under a hundred years old. Even if his cultivation was poor, he should at least have reached the Foundation Building stage. Unless there’s some hidden reason, his death must have some secret behind it,” Mei Qing speculated.
“If that’s true, there’s actually another thing that’s equally strange. I hadn’t thought of it until you mentioned this,” Bi Zhen said thoughtfully.
“What is it?”
“Shortly after Zhang Tian’s death, the imperial court’s most favored Taoist priest, National Master Shao Yuanjie, also passed away. At the time, there were many rumors about his death. If Zhang Tian’s death was suspicious, then Shao Yuanjie, being a highly cultivated master, how could he have died?”
Mei Qing was startled. Since he didn’t know much about these matters, upon hearing this, he felt everything was confusing and couldn’t sort it out clearly.
“Regardless of the reason, we must investigate thoroughly,” Mei Qing said firmly.
“This will be difficult. Even if their deaths were suspicious, they were former Celestial Masters and National Masters. Who are we to investigate them?” Bi Zhen said with concern.
“We might not be able to do it, but my father-in-law and my master can definitely help,” Mei Qing winked. “The problem is whether they’ll be willing to help. That’s the tricky part…”
“You’re up to something again, aren’t you?” Bi Zhen, understanding Mei Qing well, laughed as she saw his expression.
“Buddha said: It cannot be spoken, it cannot be spoken… Oh no, why are you hitting me again?” Mei Qing dodged while grabbing Bi Zhen. “Looks like I need to discipline you a bit, or you won’t know who Ma Wangye with three eyes is!”
In any case, Mei Qing still sent a sound transmission talisman to Lu Bing, informing him of their deductions and asking about the Emperor’s current studies in external alchemy. He also subtly inquired about Shao Yuanjie’s background.
As for Zhang Shisan, Mei Qing said they needed to wait a while before seeking his help. No matter how much Bi Zhen pried, he remained tight-lipped and revealed nothing.
“Second Auntie, Second Auntie, think again, think again,” Bi Zhen kept pestering her second aunt.
The “Second Auntie” Bi Zhen referred to was one of her mother’s attendants. According to Bi Zhen, she had been raised by this aunt since childhood.
Compared to the “First Auntie” who had been with Bi Zhen’s grandmother, this Second Auntie was much younger, looking to be around forty years old. Her smiling eyes always showed affection when looking at Bi Zhen. Perhaps out of affection for Bi Zhen, she was also very kind to Mei Qing.
“There are definitely only these two places, no third one,” the Second Auntie said firmly. “Our family has been practically half the masters of this Bi Mountain. If we can’t figure this out, it would be a laughingstock.”
“No way,” Bi Zhen said confidently. “A Qing wouldn’t make a mistake. There must be something we haven’t figured out yet!”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage