Chapter Nine: The Land of the Jade Pendant

Zhang Xiao sent his divine sense into the jade pendant, and half of a map appeared in his mind. He carefully compared it to the labyrinth before him and, as expected, the map matched exactly the maze he had traversed. Beyond the labyrinth, the map extended for quite a distance, but that part was blank. Retracting the pendant with a sigh, Zhang Xiao felt a bit helpless—why was there only half the map? Still, even with only half, it was enough to shake off those old monsters behind him.

The map also contained methods to control various mechanisms and arrays, and it noted specifically that any who entered the labyrinth without Daoist cultivation would have their strength suppressed by thirty percent, and the deeper one went, the greater the suppression. Without the map, anyone entering the maze would never hope to find their way out—no wonder those three old fiends were so wary of it. Hmph! They wanted to use me as a pathfinder? Let them wander in circles. Smiling, Zhang Xiao strode up to a stone wall and, following the method described in the map, swiftly tapped several points on the strange pattern in sequence. With a thunderous boom, what had seemed a dead end suddenly opened into a passage. Zhang Xiao stepped boldly inside.

The stone wall rumbled shut behind him, sealing seamlessly without a trace. He had thought this disaster would be inescapable, yet it had turned into a tremendous opportunity. Though he did not know who had constructed this cave, given the effort required, it surely was not built just to deal with those ancient monsters. There must be a great treasure within. With this thought, Zhang Xiao’s heart stirred, and he raced through the maze, guided by the map.

“Wait! Something’s wrong. According to the spirit mark, that boy passed through here, but this is a dead end!” At that moment, Karosius and the other two old monsters had reached the spot where Zhang Xiao had activated the mechanism. Facing only a blank wall, Karosius’s face darkened. “See? I told you we should have killed that boy, but you insisted on being clever. I have a premonition he’ll become a fearsome enemy one day,” Han Meng said with murderous intent, recalling Zhang Xiao’s actions along the way and increasingly regretting not stomping him to death the moment the gate opened.

“Enough. Complaining is useless now. How did he get through? Is there some kind of mechanism?” Karosius was growing impatient as Han Meng, instead of helping, stood by and carped. For a long time, the three searched every inch of the stone wall for possible mechanisms, but found none. They did not realize that not only did one need to know the location of the mechanism, but also the exact sequence of activation—without this, a hundred years of searching would be in vain.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiao was nearing the end of the maze. Facing the final stone wall, he was in no hurry and sat down to meditate, calming his mind. According to the map, beyond the maze awaited a series of formidable arrays. His strength was far from recovered; to charge in recklessly, even with the map’s guidance, would be suicide. Though his golden core was shattered, fortunately his master had given him a Reincarnation Pill; otherwise, even if he escaped the labyrinth, he would have been stopped by the arrays ahead.

Three whole days passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Xiao rose, a sharp gleam in his eyes—his cultivation was fully restored. He approached the stone wall and activated the mechanism in sequence; the wall rumbled open, revealing a narrow path. Looking back at the maze, he sneered, “I hope you make it out—then I’ll have my chance for revenge.” This was no idle threat, but a genuine wish.

If the three old monsters made it out, they would face ruthless suppression—not only would sixty percent of their strength be sealed, but their hope of resurrection would be lost. Though he did not know if these ancient monsters, awakened after the upheaval, could truly revive, Zhang Xiao nonetheless hoped they would escape, for with the two treasures in his possession, slaying them was no longer a pipe dream. After leaving the maze, Zhang Xiao slowed his pace—there was no map for this area, so he proceeded with utmost caution.

The scenery gradually changed along the way. Towers of gold and jade appeared everywhere, rare spiritual herbs grew in abundance, and even miraculous plants were in sight. Yet Zhang Xiao paid them no heed. It was not that these treasures were false, but the area was thick with arrays; if he slipped up and was trapped, escaping would be nearly impossible. Unless he could break the arrays—something beyond his current power, and even if he could, he would not waste his strength here. After all, this was only the beginning; surely greater treasures lay ahead, and so his anticipation for the final destination on the map grew ever stronger.

Yet the further he went, the more difficult it became. Eventually, arrays filled his vision—he no longer knew which step to take, and frustration overcame him. Rummaging through his bone ring again, his expression suddenly changed—inside, there was another jade pendant identical to Song Qing’s. For a moment, Zhang Xiao was bewildered.

Examining it, he sent his divine sense inside and discovered it contained the second half of the map. Overcome with joy, Zhang Xiao recalled its origin: when he had first descended the mountain to find Lan Fang, she had been pursued by disciples from Mount Longhu, and this pendant had come from Lan Fang, who had acquired it after slaying Shang Ziqiu’s brother. It had been forgotten in his bone ring until this moment—a stroke of fate indeed.

With the full map, the path ahead became much easier. Even so, despite following the indicated route with care, some arrays were unavoidable and could only be breached head-on. As Zhang Xiao stepped forward, the world around him changed in a flash—he found himself deep within a volcano, beset by creatures formed of flame. “Fire spirits!” Seeing the myriad animals shaped from fire, Zhang Xiao was startled. Such beings only arise where spiritual fire energy is abundant, and even a single fire spirit is a rare treasure for forging magical artifacts—especially those of the fire element. Yet here there were so many! While fire spirits are prized for refining artifacts, a gathering of such numbers is more deadly than enticing. No one would dare attempt to capture them—it would be suicide. But Zhang Xiao had no choice but to forge ahead.

According to the map, this formation was called the Fire Spirit Array—a self-contained space with its core, or array eye, being a seventh-grade magic treasure, the Flaming Cloud Banner, buried in the magma below. Only by retrieving it could the formation be broken. With a wave of his hand, Zhang Xiao summoned the Five-Colored Cloud Banner. Instantly, the surging fire spiritual energy parted, provoking the fire spirits’ wrath as they attacked in a frenzy. Yet no matter how many swarmed him, they were blocked by the Five-Colored Cloud Banner, unable to come near. Relieved, Zhang Xiao pressed onward—this banner was the very treasure over which the nine sects had fought during the grand competition. Unlike the Buddha’s Golden Wheel, the Five-Colored Cloud Banner possessed almost no offensive power, but its defense was astonishing, especially against the five elements, to which it was nearly immune. This was his trump card in accepting Karosius’s mission.

He had thought Karosius’s task would be to slay some unusual monster or the like—never imagining he would be used as a key to open the way, forced to travel with not one but three old monsters, all eyeing him hungrily. Though the Five-Colored Cloud Banner was powerful, his own cultivation was far too low to wield its full strength—not even a tenth of its power. Against those three ancient fiends, it was hardly worth mentioning, which explained his earlier predicament. As for this Fire Spirit Array, its core was only a seventh-grade treasure, yet its power rivaled that of a ninth-grade artifact. This was why, even with a powerful treasure, he could not unleash its full might without sufficient cultivation.

Nevertheless, while Zhang Xiao could not draw out all the banner’s power, it sufficed to deal with the fire spirits. With a gentle wave of the banner, the fire spirits were kept at bay. Moving quickly, he plunged into the magma. The heat was unimaginable; anyone else would have perished instantly, but protected by the Five-Colored Cloud Banner, Zhang Xiao was unconcerned. In moments, he reached the bottom. The surrounding flames had turned a purplish red, and Zhang Xiao silently marveled: without the banner’s protection, even the strongest physical body would be reduced to ashes in an instant.

Waving the banner, a gust of wind swept the flames aside, revealing the bottom of the magma. There! Zhang Xiao’s eyes narrowed as he spotted a blazing red banner planted not far ahead, surrounded by dense fire spirits. He strode forward, plucked the Flaming Cloud Banner from the ground, then stowed it away. Instantly, the space began to fracture—a series of spatial rifts tore open with a deafening boom. Zhang Xiao darted into one and, in a flash, escaped from the Fire Spirit Array. Looking back at the crumbling formation, he smiled—this place was indeed a treasury. Just one formation used a seventh-grade treasure as its core, and there were thousands more such arrays ahead. If he broke them all, the bounty would make anyone envious. Yet Zhang Xiao could only indulge in this fantasy—at another time, he might have tried, but with the main treasures still unclaimed and the task of founding a nation still pressing, he had no time to linger. With this thought, he continued forward.

Meanwhile, Karosius and Han Meng were arguing fiercely. “We should go this way—that path is surely a dead end!” Karosius insisted, pointing resolutely at the eastern fork. “Hmph! I believe we should go this way—I trust my intuition,” Han Meng retorted, pointing at the opposite fork. The two were at an impasse, neither willing to yield. Were it just the two of them, they might have gone their separate ways, but there was a third: Minel, caught in the middle and struggling to mediate. Minel knew all too well that, trapped as they were, only unity could offer hope of escaping this damned labyrinth.