Deep night, Taoyuan Square.
The lights in the corridor on the seventeenth floor flickered on and off, constantly flashing.
At the furthest end, only the light in Night Not Bright Culture Co., Ltd. was still on.
"Old Yu, you're getting up there in years now—why bother playing these kinds of pranks on a kid?"
At this moment, Bai Buran's lazy voice drifted out. He was sprawled on the boss chair, legs crossed, facing an old man with graying hair—none other than the old security guard Zhang Fan had seen during the day.
"Is he the kid Zhenwu Mountain asked you to look after?" Yu Fu said in a deep voice.
"I'd been planning to find a chance to check on him these two days, but who'd have thought Wen He would take him back first…" Bai Buran tilted his head back, gazing at the ceiling.
"Is this destiny?"
"Did the Zhenwu Jade Scroll really…" Yu Fu couldn't help but ask.
"Old Yu, I really shouldn't be telling you about this, but since I'm often not around, you should at least know how important that kid is," Bai Buran said gravely.
Yu Fu forced a smile, quickly saying, "I'm just curious—if that kid is so important, why would Zhenwu Mountain have you, a Zhenwu Discard, look after him?"
"Never forget I'm still your boss. Show some respect when you speak."
"Zhenwu Discard isn't exactly a flattering title." Bai Buran shot him a sideways glance, speaking blandly.
"I heard, back then on Zhenwu Mountain, you did quite a few unscrupulous things…"
Yu Fu's smile grew wider: "I remember when Liu Nanxu was advancing to the Celestial Master Position, undergoing the Thunder Tribulation up on the mountain, you were secretly practicing Thunder Attraction nearby—almost got him struck dead."
At this Yu Fu could barely keep from laughing; had that really happened, the three famous Celestial Masters of Zhenwu Mountain would've been short one.
"Who hasn't done a few absurd things in their youth? It's all ancient history now!" Bai Buran leaned back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling, eyes distant as if sunk into memory.
"So… back then, what exactly got you expelled from Zhenwu Mountain?"
At these words, Bai Buran's eyes narrowed, a flash of cold light like a flickering sword, and even though their gazes didn't meet, Yu Fu's withered face suddenly twitched, his brows furrowing as he fell silent.
"Precisely because he's so important—they gave him to me to watch." Bai Buran said abruptly.
"Because I can break the rules!"
He said this with a shadowed gaze, expression utterly unreadable.
"Old Yu, you must've noticed—the kid's nothing but trouble. Our good days are pretty much over."
As he spoke, Bai Buran leaned back, slowly closing his eyes.
"The Zhenwu Jade Scroll concerns an entire sect's lineage—how did it end up in that kid's hands? He's not even really a disciple of your Zhenwu Mountain."
Yu Fu frowned, still unable to stop himself from asking.
"The Zhenwu Jade Scroll is about the transmission of the Daoist tradition, it's always been handed down through the Zhenwu Sect Leader," Bai Buran said seriously. "But there's another, enormous secret hidden within it."
"What is it?" Yu Fu asked.
"The Great Daoist Calamity, eighty years ago." Bai Buran's voice grew low.
Just those eight characters made Yu Fu's face change.
Eighty years ago, Middle Earth fell into disaster, all living beings suffered, and the Daoist masters of the world gathered at Dragon Tiger Mountain for the Universal Sacrifice.
You should know: there are three supreme rites in the Daoist sect—these are the Grand Sacrifice to Heaven and Earth, the Circulation Rites, and the Universal Sacrifice.
In ancient times, these could only be performed under imperial decree or by order of the imperial court.
The Grand Sacrifice to Heaven and Earth is to invite one thousand two hundred celestial gods.
The Circulation Rite invites two thousand four hundred heavenly deities.
The Universal Sacrifice, the most prestigious, invites three thousand six hundred gods. Because of this, in all Daoist history, the Universal Sacrifice has only ever been held seventeen times.
The most recent was eighty years ago, when Daoist masters from across the world gathered at Dragon Tiger Mountain, and the gods and immortals descended to earth, granting blessings to ensure peace and prosperity in the mortal world.
But who would have imagined that what was meant to be a blessing ceremony for the human world would turn into a great Daoist calamity!
After that day, the world's Daoist masters were decimated, countless dharma lineages were severed, and a whole generation of elites from Zhenwu Mountain was lost there.
Even Dragon Tiger Mountain, one of the world's Ten Great Taoist Sects, closed its gates after that, incense offerings ceasing for eighty years!
"That year, only one person came down alive from Dragon Tiger Mountain."
"You mean…"
"Chu Chaoran!" Yu Fu blurted out.
That year, Chu Chaoran was a mere youth, untested and proud; he emerged from Dragon Tiger Mountain carrying a severed, blood-soaked hand—in its grip, the Zhenwu Jade Scroll.
"So this thing's connected to that old case?!" Yu Fu showed a look of realization.
"I heard at last year's Jiangnan Province Daoist Alliance conference that Dragon Tiger Mountain is going to reopen. When that happens, the world's Daoist sects will gather—prime time for newcomers to make a name for themselves." Bai Buran's tone shifted.
"Zhenwu Mountain… so many eyes are on it. White Crane Temple's been suppressed for years—likely they'll be the first to step on Zhenwu Mountain's shoulders to seize the top spot."
"That kid's taken the Zhenwu Jade Scroll—doesn't that make him Zhenwu Mountain's inheritor? You think he can hold on?" Yu Fu couldn't stop himself from saying.
Bai Buran shook his head. "Word is, White Crane Temple has an extraordinary talent in this generation—someone who's already mastered one of the legendary Nine Great Inner Elixir Methods: Heaven and Earth Stealing Fortune. Who could stop them?"
"Even if the Jade Scroll fell into Xia Weisheng's hands, I doubt she could stand against them."
Hearing this, Yu Fu's face changed involuntarily.
Nine—an especially significant number in the Daoist sect.
Legend has it, since ancient times, there have been nine supreme Inner Core Techniques in the Daoist world—towering above all others, titled King of Ancient Pill Scripture, spoken of only in legend.
Heaven and Earth Stealing Fortune is one of them.
"Could a kid really master a Nine Great Inner Elixir Method?" Yu Fu was skeptical, unable not to ask.
"I heard, twenty years ago, someone did manage to cultivate the Divine Demon Holy Embryo—the turmoil they stirred up in the southeast rocked seven provinces, hailed as invincible. But they vanished without a trace soon after."
"That's just rumor, but this time the talent is for real." Bai Buran sighed.
These past years, Zhenwu Mountain had pinned all their hopes on Xia Weisheng. She knew the weight she bore and worked diligently, never slacking in her cultivation.
But who would've guessed, in the end, the Zhenwu Jade Scroll didn't go to her.
"So as I said, that kid is nothing but trouble." Bai Buran lamented.
"Strange, that those two brats from the Qian Family—pests, really—could upend the Zhenwu inheritance?" Yu Fu said with a heavy voice.
"A ripple on the river brings forth the destined tide!" Bai Buran exclaimed.
Such is fate—it never bends to men's will. Even without the Qian brothers, things would have played out another way.
"Pure Yang Wuji Realm—that's already reached the Celestial Being level. Maybe the Qian brothers were being observed from the moment they stepped off the plane."
"So you mean…" Yu Fu's heart skipped, suspicion written on his face.
"Old Yu, let me think… let me think." Bai Buran rubbed his temples.
Yu Fu slowly stood, took a long look at Bai Buran, then walked out and closed the door behind him.
In the dim office, only Bai Buran remained. He immediately pulled up his computer—a password-protected folder opened up, with "Secret Files" blazoned in blood-red characters. Turning the page, it was all Zhang Fan's personal data.
Name: Zhang Fan
Age: 22
Status: Great Night Tribulation
Danger Level: S+++
...
Bai Buran's face was expressionless as he flipped to the end, opening a video: crimson radiance flooded the screen, showing the scene on Zhenwu Mountain when Zhang Fan awakened his Samadhi True Flame.
Bai Buran had watched this video more than once.
He closed the video, eyes dropping—the screen showed nine additional videos, but they were locked, marked top secret—even with his privileges, they were inaccessible.
"Zhang Fan!!"
Bai Buran sat in his chair, swiveling slightly, gazing out the window at the clear sky, the stars brilliant, the moon high. His face betrayed neither joy nor anger.