Chapter 1837: Passing Guilt (I)
Chapter 1837: Passing Guilt (I)
Huyi Mountain, Great Xiukui Temple.
Weathered stone bricks lent the temple an ancient air. Daoist banners fluttered, and snow lay everywhere. The Great Xiukui Temple, once renowned throughout the world, now stood deserted amid the mountains. Even the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators who had swept the summit like menial servants were nowhere to be seen. Withered yellow leaves lay scattered through the snow, leaving the grounds in disarray.
A black-robed Daoist Master stood silently in the courtyard. A young man knelt at his feet, tears streaming as he haltingly recounted what had happened. Now and then, he struck the ground, overcome with grief.
Lin Chensheng felt as though he had emerged into another world.
"Am I the only one left?"
What had Great Xiukui Temple been like before Lin Chensheng entered seclusion?
They had a sword immortal of the present age, the last Xiukui Dao Scion to have entered Yue Cultivating's Profound Truth Mountain. Presiding over the temple's outward affairs had been a middle stage Purple Mansion Realm Daoist Master, vigorous, highly accomplished, and in his prime. There was also a rising talent, a brilliant star who had reached the Purple Mansion Realm at a young age!
Even if its might did not overawe all of Jiangnan, it had at least held a firm place as the third-ranked Supreme Yang Dao lineage in Yue State, keeping Crimson Reef in check to the east and Thunder Island to the south. Lin Chensheng himself had been a prodigy of Xiukui. When he slew Guo Hong'er at sea, even Daoist Master Tianwan had scarcely dared object!
He had entered seclusion to break through, overcome the Ignorance stage, and emerged full of spirit, carrying the divine abilities of his lineage into a third generation. Yet all he found was a dilapidated courtyard and lingering snow scattered across the grounds.
The sword immortal Dao Scion, slain by Qinling Temple. The Temple Master of [Merging Owl], seized by a talisman and slain. Both fell on the same day... Only my uncle struggled on, yet they still refused to relent... They are determined to wipe out every divine ability cultivator of our Dao!
Lin Chensheng kept his eyes closed for a long time. Wiping away his tears, he said, "Take me... to see uncle."
Lin Ya hurriedly rose, his face deathly pale, and led him into the [Hall of Passing Guilt]. Only after going around the spirit treasure pill furnace did they reach a passage. Far within it lay a dark chamber.
The chamber was little more than three meters across, built of dark wood. A palm-sized wooden coffin rested on a small stand at its center. On the floor stood an incense burner holding three partly burned sticks.
A small brown patterned pouch lay in a corner.
Lin Ya dared not enter. Weeping, he said, "Simply light the incense, Daoist Master! I will wait outside!"
Suppressing his grief, Lin Chensheng lit the incense with his divine ability. He waited, but no sound came. Looking up, he called through his tears,
"Uncle... Chensheng has attained a divine ability! Uncle!"
Only after a long while did a sound emerge from the wooden coffin, as though something inside were turning over. Then came the faintest whisper, "Good..."
The voice was hoarse and trembling, as though its owner were enduring terrible pain. Yet Lin Chensheng could faintly recognize his elder's voice. His hands shook, unsure whether to lift the coffin or leave it alone, as he murmured, "Uncle..."
Then Houfu's voice gradually grew louder. "Has the Lingu Family succeeded?!"
An ominous feeling stirred in Lin Chensheng's heart. He answered through tears, "Lingu Lanying has fulfilled your trust!"
The man inside the wooden coffin cried out in pain, his voice laden with sorrow. "Chensheng... Clinging to our allegiance means death. Changing sides opens a way forward. Leave Huyi and join the Yang Family at once!
“Chensheng! The Lingu Family must heed you... In this flourishing age of True Essence, Xiukui's many treasures will make you useful to them. You must chart your own course!
“How fitting! Old Daoist Master, only now do I understand your intent!"
Lin Chensheng could not believe that words such as 'Clinging to our allegiance means death. Changing sides opens a way forward' had come from his uncle's mouth. Yet all he felt was pain.
His tears flowed ceaselessly as he pleaded, "Uncle, take care of yourself... I still need your guidance. Whatever medicine or pills you need, I will obtain them for you!"
But the wooden coffin fell silent. Lin Chensheng knelt on the floor, overwhelmed by dread. He did not know how long he remained there. Just as he was about to ask again, he heard Houfu's low voice.
"For twenty-five years, I have suffered the affliction of Clearcliff Majestic Earth. For ten years, the pain was like being sliced by knives and hewn by axes, burned by fire and drowned in water. For another ten, it was like sharp blades grinding my bones and lightning crushing me to pieces. In the remaining five, it stripped away my souls and spirits and ravaged my mind.
"I feared Xiukui would not survive its tribulation, so I endured it all."
The little wooden coffin rocked faintly, as though something inside kept turning over. Amid the drifting incense smoke, Houfu spoke again. "When I was born, snow filled the sky, its white streaks like immortal cords, yet moonlight still shone like flowing water. My father was overjoyed. Following the ancient custom, he asked the sword immortal to bestow a title upon me.
“The elder was discussing the Dao at Profound Truth Mountain and consulted Daoist Master Shangmiao... Her divination was extraordinary. After considering it for a long time, she replied, 'The Supreme Yang lineage has now reached [Guang], while the Xiukui Dao lineage stands at [Hou]. He may be called [Houfu].'"[1]
"'Fu' is the spirit cord of a great coffin. Those who assist at a funeral must take hold of it. Thus I, Lin Wei, am the cord of Supreme Yang's coffin. We of Xiukui often deal with matters of life and death, so we saw nothing inauspicious in it, and I bore the title without concern. Thinking back now, Daoist Master Shangmiao had been kindhearted. She was quietly offering a warning."
Lin Chensheng stared blankly at the wooden coffin before him. The man within had only a trace of his true spirit and divine ability remaining, yet he still possessed the pride of Great Xiukui Temple's Houfu of old.
"The north seeks to use my lofty principles to keep Xiukui in check. They think that if they leave me alive, I will continue clinging to the Supreme Yang Dao lineage as a fig leaf. They want to force me to choose between my integrity and my lineage. But they can consider me, Lin Wei, dead at Xuanmiao Temple! Dead these past twenty-five years!
"A cultivator of Great Xiukui Temple may be slain, but never humiliated. Supreme Yang has lost its radiance. Today, I die with it!"
Lin Chensheng felt everything sink into a murky haze. Colors blurred before his eyes, and a rapid succession of faint cracks filled his ears. As though it had been baked beneath the sun for ten days, the wooden coffin splintered apart with a crackling sound.
Gleaming stones and gray earth poured out in a rush, then lost their force and collapsed into a heap that spread to his knees.
Clatter!
Daoist Master Houfu, Lin Wei, had exhausted the last trace of his life. A dignified Purple Mansion Realm Daoist Master, accorded countless honors in life, he had died without any great phenomenon filling the heavens or any shared lament from his Dao lineage.
A handful of dust and ash. Nothing more.
Lin Chensheng knelt in a daze for an unknown length of time. Only when he heard Lin Ya frantically kowtowing outside did he come to his senses. He picked up the cloth pouch from the corner and retraced his steps, utterly desolate.
Outside the hall, heavy snow filled the sky beneath the clear moonlight. Leaving a footprint with every step, he walked through the fine snow and withered leaves until he stood where he had before. The youth followed him out and knelt before him. Seemingly having anticipated what had happened, he merely kowtowed.
Lin Chensheng glanced back at the great hall, finding it strangely unfamiliar and frightening. As the moon rose, the plaque above it gradually began to glow.
[Hall of Passing Guilt].
1. Guang (广) and Hou (后) are generation characters prescribed by the respective lineages' naming sequences. Houfu (后绋) combines Hou with fu (绋), the cord used to pull a coffin during a funeral, giving his Daoist title a funerary meaning. ☜