Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Whose Ancestral Tomb Are You Digging Up?
The martial arts families want to remain forever at the top, while civilian martial artists aspire to rise strongly. Both sides compete for the exotic treasures emerging from the Grotto Heaven Secret Realm, making the conflict difficult to resolve.
Ye Qingzhou sees this as clear as day, yet he doesnât plan to take sides.
Although by background division, Ye Qingzhou belongs to the civilian martial artists, Ye Xiangyangâs experience has already shown that the civilian martial artists are not united internally. Joining in might just get him stabbed in the back.
In Ye Qingzhouâs view, on the path of martial arts, the only reliable person is oneself.
"Brother Wen."
"What?"
"Do me a favor."
"Letâs hear it."
"Thereâs a treasure Iâm not convenient to retrieve. Help me excavate it."
"What the heck! Are you trying to dig up someoneâs ancestral grave?"
"Iâm not asking you to tomb raid, just to dig something out of the soil. I sent you the location."
"All secretive, what exactly are you up to?"
Huang Liwen complained a lot, but he didnât refuse to help.
...
Xu Mansion, within its lavish courtyard, the birds sing, and flowers bloom, with pavilions and towers.
After an intense battle at the pier district, Xu Yunxi was exhausted. Now, sheâs resting at home, and taking advantage of her rare downtime, she called Xu Yuebing over to inquire about the whereabouts of the Divine Sword Jade Scroll.
"That day at the Martial Arts Association, I couldnât ask much. Where exactly did Ye Qingzhou hide the item?"
Xu Yuebing had promised Ye Qingzhou to keep it a secret, so even when Xu Yunxi asked, she pursed her lips and didnât reveal it.
"Alright, a grown girl canât be kept at home, you said earlier that there wasnât a boy to your liking at First High School, and now your elbow turns outward?"
"Sis!"
"Nevertheless, not bad, my sister sure has good taste."
Ye Qingzhouâs talent and insight impressed even Xu Yunxi, but because Ye Qingzhou was too excellent, she couldnât help worrying: "Facing a desperate situation, he still dares to fight bravely, his actions decisive, capable of slaying Professional Fifth Rank experts with a sword. Such a ruthless mentality, Iâm a bit worried you might not be able to handle him."
"Sis! What are you talking about, my relationship with Ye Qingzhou isnât what you think."
"Hehe, now even deceiving your sister, right? Your Flying Frost Sword is in his hands, do you think Iâm blind? Actually, you donât have to be worried, our Linjiang Xu Clan is always led by women, you can like whoever you want, and even if it means marrying him, itâs no big deal. His family background is clean, talents outstanding, heâs qualified to be my brother-in-law."
Xu Yunxi not only didnât intend to break up the pair but rather supported them.
Linjiang Xu Clanâs Bone Forging Secret Technique is called Ice Skin Jade Bone. The cultivation technique formed is the Profound Yin Infinite Body, which can only be cultivated by women, hence resulting in the Xu family being led by females.
Thus, Xu Family daughters never marry outside, Xu Yuebing doesnât have to accept any arranged family marriage, and she can freely love whomever she wants.
"Sis, stop asking. I promised him I wouldnât say a word."
Xu Yunxi, seeing this, did not blame her. She herself practiced a High-Tier martial technique known as "Formless Sword Scripture," with the Sword Qi being formless and shapeless, infinitely mutable, divine and wondrous, hence she wasnât particularly envious of the Divine Sword Jade Scroll in Ye Qingzhouâs hands.
She merely reminded Xu Yuebing, "The Divine Sword Jade Scroll comes from the ruins of the Divine Feather Sword Sect and usually records a High-Tier martial technique, itâs invaluable, many are likely coveting it. Ye Qingzhou should hand it over soon, or it might bring trouble upon himself."
"Ah? Is it that serious?"
Xu Yuebing listened to the inherent risks and showed distress for Ye Qingzhou.
Xu Yunxi sighed helplessly, "Otherwise, you really think Iâm after your little stuff?"
Then, Xu Yunxi couldnât help but be curious, "This Ye Qingzhou guy is really clever. I heard Hee Zhongyang sent people to the site to dig three feet deep, almost leveling a mountainside, yet they couldnât find it. Where did you guys hide it?"
Xu Yuebing remained silent, only she and Ye Qingzhou knew the Divine Sword Jade Scroll was buried under the corpse of Blood Crow. Before the Martial Arts Association people arrived, Ye Qingzhou deliberately dug a deep hole and buried it, then used the blood from the corpse as cover, so no one thought the treasure was hidden right under their noses.
...
Hee Zhongyangâs people kept surveillance on Ye Qingzhou for three full days, all to no avail, and finally, they cursed as they withdrew.
Jiangshan Imperial View, Villa No. 168.
Huang Liwen arrived on a bicycle to see Ye Qingzhou, and as soon as he entered, he threw a backpack to Ye Qingzhou: "Here, the thing is inside."
Then he adeptly grabbed a can of soft drink from the fridge and gulped it down: "Ah~ Thatâs refreshing, totally exhausted me."
Seeing the jade scroll, Ye Qingzhouâs face blossomed with joy: "This time you really worked hard, Brother Wen."
"What the heck is this youâve got here? I canât understand a single word on it."
Huang Liwen could not help but complain. If it were not for the jade scrollâs seemingly valuable material, he would have thought Ye Qingzhou was dumb enough to get duped by fake antique vendors.
"This is a Divine Skill Manual of inestimable worth."
Ye Qingzhou gently stroked the surface of the Divine Sword Jade Scroll, the light blue jade scroll felt warm and smooth to the touch, yet it had a slightly "prickly" sensation, like a mild electric shock.
"To inscribe Sword Intent onto the jade stone â truly a masterpiece! No wonder it attracted people from both the Divine Gang Dao and Heart Evil Stream to compete for it. If I hadnât, in a life-threatening moment, gathered all my essence, Qi, and spirit to slash with that all-out forgetting sword, I might have been unable to trigger the Sword Intent resonance within the jade scroll."
In fact, the Divine Sword Jade Scroll isnât a cultivation technique, or perhaps the technique isnât recorded in the scrollâs text contents.
If any scholar from the Dongji Kingdom tried to decipher the writing on the scroll, he would only find it telling a legendary story about the Divine Feather Sword Emperor.
The true inheritance is actually a piece of Sword Intent information left by the Divine Feather Sword Emperor on the jade scroll.
And this piece of Sword Intent can only be inherited through the "Mutual Understanding" method, meaning that only if the practitionerâs own Sword Intent can trigger the Sword Intent left by the Divine Feather Sword Emperor on the jade scroll, he may acquire the martial technique inheritance within.
Huang Liwen saw Ye Qingzhou engrossed in the jade scroll and couldnât help but wonder, "Since when did you learn Oracle Bone Script? You can read the text on it?"
"No, I canât read it."
"Dang, how come youâre so absorbed if you canât understand it?"
"You donât understand; Iâm not reading the text, but the Sword Intent."
Ye Qingzhou held the Divine Sword Jade Scroll, his gaze entranced, truly infatuated with the mystical Sword Intent left by the Divine Feather Sword Emperor on the scroll.
Meanwhile, the Heart Sword Secret Technique contained within the Sword Intent by the Divine Feather Sword Emperor was also obtained by Ye Qingzhou.
Under the reflection of his heart, Ye Qingzhou quickly completed the interpretation of the information, with lines of text emerging in his mind, revealing the heart method outline of a super-tier martial technique.