Chapter Seventeen: Seizing the Cauldron

As shouts echoed from within the great hall, each time a name was called, the young apothecaries would raise their jade boxes high and step inside. Time slipped by, minute after minute, until at last, the voice that Zhang Xiao had long awaited rang out from the hall: “Sakura Path Concealed.” At the summons, Zhang Xiao promptly lifted his jade box and, imitating the others, walked at a measured pace into the hall.

“Master, the spiritual medicine I offer at this Sacrificial Ceremony is the Sevenfold Concord Pill, crafted according to an ancient alchemical prescription. It is refined from the hearts and brains of seven-year-old girls, each born at the most yin year, month, day, and hour; before the refining, they must be tortured in myriad ways to amplify their resentment. The refining is painstaking: their tendons must be drawn, their skin flayed, herbal poultices applied, and they must be cast alive into the furnace for forty-nine days and nights, all the while ensuring none of the seven perish in the flames, so that only at the final hour can their full wrath be channeled into the pill.”

Upon hearing Muraki’s words, Zhang Xiao nearly flung his jade box aside. He considered himself quite adept at alchemy but had never heard of such a cruel and venomous pill. Though Muraki spoke lightly, for those seven girls, the torment was unimaginable. Not even demonic sects would dare attempt such savagery. Were it not for his quest for the Celestial Cauldron, Zhang Xiao would have gladly torn Muraki to pieces then and there. But he knew this was not the time. Though fury burned in his heart, outwardly he maintained a respectful demeanor, raising the jade box above his head and scanning the hall for any sign of the Celestial Cauldron. Yes, it was here in this very hall, yet for some reason he could not sense its exact location.

Just as Zhang Xiao’s mind wrestled with confusion, the elder seated upon the throne burst into laughter. “Ha ha ha! Muraki Shusei, you truly are my good disciple. For shikigami, this Sevenfold Concord Pill is a rare and potent tonic. My own shikigami has recently encountered troubles—this pill I shall accept.”

Muraki Shusei’s face lit with joy at the elder’s words, and he hurried to pull Zhang Xiao down in a kneeling bow. Zhang Xiao felt a surge of irritation—he was no one’s subject, and even in normal times would at most offer a salute, never a deep bow. Yet now he had no choice. “Damn it, for the Celestial Cauldron, I’ll risk everything,” he cursed silently, and knelt with Muraki, swallowing his indignation for the sake of his greater purpose.

Just as they were about to perform their bows in gratitude, a man burst in from outside, falling to his knees and shouting, “Elder, come quickly to the Yamato Hall for council! The Ho clan’s shrine has somehow assembled thirty thousand ninja, and their intentions are unclear. The Grandmaster requests your immediate presence in the Yamato Hall!”

At this, the elder’s expression darkened. In a swirl of dark mist, he vanished from the hall. The other disciples gathered uneasily, whispering, unsure what to do. Amid the confusion, a single figure slipped away unnoticed—Zhang Xiao, seizing this heaven-sent opportunity, did not hesitate. Guided by his senses, he hurried behind the throne and discovered a secret door, so well hidden that, though he searched for some time, he found no mechanism to open it. Anxiety crept in, but he kept his composure, summoned his Bronze-armored Corpse, and watched as it silently tore open a gap in the concealed door.

But just then, a flash of spiritual light exploded from within the secret door. Zhang Xiao’s face changed instantly; he withdrew the Bronze-armored Corpse and, turning his palm, produced a circular formation plate—the very one he had wrested from Tianlong’er during the Nine Sects Competition. The formation sealed within had its own space; though not of the highest grade, Zhang Xiao had no better option. He tossed the plate at the door, and a blood-red formation instantly sealed the entrance behind him. With the formation in place, he called upon his Divine Footsteps Technique and sped down the passage.

He could feel the Celestial Cauldron just ahead. At that moment, the guardians and experts of the Ise Shrine had already received the alarm and were rushing toward him. Suddenly, a surge of black smoke poured from the passage. Zhang Xiao’s face darkened; he summoned the Five-Colored Cloud Banner to shield himself. A muffled boom sounded as something struck the banner, and Zhang Xiao’s heart pounded—there was a hidden Ghost King here, whose mere shriek nearly gravely wounded him. Without the Five-Colored Cloud Banner, a treasure of unparalleled worth, he might have fled on the spot. The Ghost King’s strength rivaled that of a Spirit Refiner; ordinarily, Zhang Xiao would have retreated at once, but now the arrow was nocked and could not be drawn back.

Bracing himself, he retrieved a jade box from his bone ring, swiftly broke its seal, and a pale golden talisman floated out, exuding a terrifying pressure. This was one of three compensations given by his master, the Ethereal Daoist, who had said it could annihilate even a Spirit Refiner in an instant—what harm could a Ghost King pose? Were it not for the urgency, Zhang Xiao would never have expended such a treasure. The Ghost King sensed the talisman’s power and attacked in a frenzy, claws battering the Five-Colored Cloud Banner. With each blow, Zhang Xiao paled further; it would not be long before the banner gave way. Yet he remained calm, pricked his finger to drop a bead of blood on the talisman, and with a gesture, activated it.

A thunderous pressure erupted. The talisman became a golden sword that shot at the Ghost King. The Ghost King crossed its arms and spat black mist in defense, but as a mere shade, it could not withstand the sword’s might. With a hiss, the sword pierced the Ghost King’s form, scattering it to dust. In that instant, a streak of black light shot out—the ghost infant. Zhang Xiao’s eyes lit up. The Ghost King’s cultivation was at the level of a Divided Spirit master; its ghost core had already become a ghost infant, just as a human cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage forms a nascent soul. Such a prize Zhang Xiao would not let slip.

Unlike a nascent soul, a ghost infant was merely a mass of yin energy, far less wondrous, yet elusive—ungraspable for most. Ghost infants could not teleport, but could dissolve into yin mist and escape; ordinary people could never catch them. Unfortunately for this one, its opponent was Zhang Xiao. A golden light flashed at his brow, and his avatar sprang forth, accompanied by a chorus of Buddhist chants. With a hand shimmering in sacred sound, the avatar seized the ghost infant, rendering all its struggles futile.

Under the resonance of Buddhist mantras, the ghost infant dared not dissolve into mist, for a single tremor would destroy it utterly. Zhang Xiao pulled out a jade vial, stuffed the infant inside, drew a seal, and tossed it into his bone ring. At that moment, an explosion sounded behind him—the formation he’d set had been breached. Swiftly, he recalled his avatar and the talisman, and raced toward the Celestial Cauldron.

At the end of the passage was a secret chamber, lined with treasures of every kind. Aside from the Celestial Cauldron, there were many artifacts from Huaxia. Zhang Xiao wasted no time: with a sweep of his sleeve, he collected everything into his bone ring.

“Ding! You have completed the second stage of the Nation-building quest. Would you like to begin the third stage?” The prompt on his wrist made Zhang Xiao curse aloud—there was a third stage? Did they want to work him to death? Just as he considered activating the next stage and teleporting away, a cold laugh sounded from the side.

“Who would have thought I’d misjudge so badly. I haven’t heard of any Ho clan ninja so adept at formations. Are you not of the Ho clan?”

Startled, Zhang Xiao spun to face the elder before him. He hadn’t expected his opponent to arrive so quickly, and his heart sank. Quietly, he readied his talisman, while forcing a smile and replying, “Ha ha ha, our Ho clan’s ninjutsu is vast and profound—how could your Ise compare? Do you know why we’ve gathered thirty thousand ninja this time?”

With no other recourse, Zhang Xiao stalled for time, as activating the talisman required at least a minute. Since the elder had mistaken him for a Ho clan ninja, he played along. Sure enough, the elder’s face changed. “What, are you truly planning to wage war on Ise?”

Zhang Xiao sneered. “Though we’ve competed with you Ise for years, the Ho clan would not start an all-out war lightly. This time, the assembly of thirty thousand ninja… If you let me go, I’ll tell you.”

The elder paused, then snorted. “So you think you can walk away with my treasures? I’ll tear out your soul and cast it into the ghostfire, so you’ll never find rest!”

With that, a cloud of black mist burst from the elder’s body, shooting toward Zhang Xiao. He started in alarm—“Cursecraft!” As an outer elder of Maoshan, Zhang Xiao was well-versed in such arts. The mist was clearly a spell—strange and deadly; without a specific counter-talisman, even the Five-Colored Cloud Banner wouldn’t suffice.

But Zhang Xiao was not so easily cowed. He rapidly traced the Seven Arts of Maoshan, weaving a black mist of his own, which collided with the elder’s spell. For a moment, both clouds hung in the air, motionless. Yet Zhang Xiao felt the other’s curse devouring his own, soon consuming it entirely and surging toward him. Now, however, a smile played on his lips—the teleportation talisman in his hand was ready.