Chapter Forty-Four: The Jade Talisman of Peerless Isle

Having formed an idea, Zhou Yi pondered for a moment, his heart stirring. He looked at Daoist Qiufeng and, with some uncertainty, tentatively asked, "I wonder, what does the term 'false pill' mean?"

"Hmm?" At his words, not only Daoist Qiufeng but also Huang Yue were taken aback. They exchanged glances, then turned to stare at Zhou Yi together.

"You don't know?"

Both asked in unison, their voices laced with surprise and astonishment.

Zhou Yi shook his head honestly.

The two then looked to Song Hai, who also shook his head.

"You... Are you really disciples of Mount Keshan Blade Sect's true lineage?" Receiving the same answer from both, Daoist Qiufeng couldn't help but laugh.

Huang Yue, too, was amused.

"What do you mean?" Seeing their expressions, Zhou Yi blinked and asked, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly thought of the reason.

"Could it be that this is information every true disciple knows?"

"Exactly! It's common knowledge!"

"These things are recorded in the sect's classics; haven't you read them?" Huang Yue looked at them oddly.

"This..." Listening to their words, Zhou Yi and Song Hai exchanged bewildered glances, then turned to face the pair. "While in the sect, the two of us spent all our time cultivating in the secret realm. We only glanced at a few books during our free moments, but as for the matter of the false pill, we never came across it!"

"What?"

"You mean you two have always been cultivating in the secret realm?"

As soon as Zhou Yi finished speaking, both Huang Yue and Daoist Qiufeng exclaimed in shock, their faces full of disbelief.

"What is it?" Zhou Yi was startled by their reaction and asked, puzzled.

...

A secret realm! That was a secret realm!

Even the lowest grade of cultivation secret realm has strict entry requirements. Normally, most people only qualify at the age of fifteen or sixteen.

But according to this young man's account, the two of them had been cultivating in the secret realm since they first entered the sect. What prodigious talent, what extraordinary aptitude!

It made sense, then, why the two could attain such strength at their age, and why they had such power yet had not broken through to the innate realm.

All previous doubts were dispelled in an instant; Huang Yue and Daoist Qiufeng understood everything.

Having figured it out, the way Huang Yue and Daoist Qiufeng looked at Zhou Yi and Song Hai subtly changed.

Now, when they gazed at Zhou Yi and Song Hai, their eyes were different. Daoist Qiufeng's look, too, had transformed; it was no longer as before. Now, their eyes were filled with the respect one might show a master. In their hearts, Zhou Yi and Song Hai had become the leaders.

Such talent, such aptitude—no wonder Leng Feng had eyes only for these two, ignoring the rest of them entirely!

"May I ask your names?"

"Zhou Yi."

"Song Hai."

"Huang Yue."

"Qiufeng."

After exchanging greetings, Huang Yue, with a gentle demeanor, shared all the information he had about the false pill.

...

On Bodhi Mountain, in the great Bodhi Courtyard, an elderly monk with white hair and beard sat cross-legged upon the ground. Behind him stood a Bodhi tree with a canopy like a parasol; before him sat a pair of bald monks, their eyes filled with reverence as they gazed at the elder.

"Take a look at this," the elder said, his face expressionless. Though his hair and beard were snowy white, his skin was rosy and smooth as an infant's, without a single wrinkle. He reached out and produced a white jade talisman, handing it to the monks.

Their faces were fervent. The bald monk sitting at the front rose, took the talisman with both hands, and slowly retreated, sitting down again with a rhythmic grace.

Once fully seated, he glanced respectfully at the elder, then lowered his head and pressed the talisman to his forehead, moving his spiritual mind.

"What?" As a string of characters flowed into his mind, his once calm expression vanished. It was as though struck by lightning; he cried out, his voice filled with astonishment, joy, and disbelief.

Seeing this reaction, all present except the elder frowned, their eyes full of displeasure as they glanced at the bald monk. How could one lose composure before the ancestor? Even if the sky fell or the earth collapsed, one must remain tranquil; all those years of cultivation, wasted.

"You all take a look as well," the elder said softly, barely sighing in his heart as he observed their expressions.

"Yes!"

At his words, the monks responded together. The bald monk to the right gently took the talisman from the stunned monk's hands and, unconcerned, pressed it to his own forehead, activating his spiritual mind.

"What?" As the characters flowed, the second monk too cried out in shock upon seeing them.

This time, there was no longer any room for dissatisfaction. Two monks, seasoned practitioners, had both lost their composure upon seeing the contents of the talisman. Clearly, it was not a matter of inadequate cultivation; the information within was simply too astonishing.

All the monks felt an itch in their hearts. The first two to see the talisman were heads of the courtyard, their minds cultivated to a high degree—while perhaps not unmoved by the collapse of Mount Tai before them, they were not far from it!

...

If only one had been moved by the talisman, it could be attributed to insufficient cultivation. But with both reacting so, that explanation no longer held.

Unable to wait, a monk beside the talisman reached out almost snatching it from the hands of the now dazed monk, pressing it to his forehead.

"What?"

Next to him, another grabbed it.

"What?"

...

One after another, every monk who received the talisman and saw its contents was left stunned, crying out in amazement, their former composure lost.

Much time passed before the first monk who had viewed the talisman regained his senses. With utter disbelief, he asked, "Ancestor, is this true?"

The other monks gradually recovered as well, gazing at the elder with hopeful eyes upon hearing the question.

"A jade talisman from Peerless Island—how could it be false?" The elder sighed inwardly but replied gently.

"Then it is true?"

At his words, the monks were filled with joy, unable to contain themselves, their former tranquil demeanor as high monks vanished.

"But who are Zhou Yi and Song Hai?" After a moment of joy, one monk suddenly asked.

"Yes, who are these two, to possess the power to resolve this centennial demonic calamity?"

"How did they offend Peerless Island, to the point that Peerless Island issued such an order—that by taking their lives, one could bargain with Peerless Island and dispel this calamity?"

"No matter who they are or what their status, if their deaths can end the centennial calamity, then they must die!"

"Indeed!"

"Regardless of who they are, they must die!"

The discussion swiftly shifted from the identities of Zhou Yi and Song Hai to their fates.

Listening to their words, the elder shakily rose, saying nothing more, and slowly walked away.

The monks were in the midst of heated debate, but suddenly saw the ancestor stand. They wished to call out and persuade him to stay, but in the blink of an eye, before the words could leave their lips, the ancestor had already vanished.