Chapter 81 Red Pine Immortal

“Ah!” Yan Chixia couldn’t help but exclaim, “That ancient immortal was truly overbearing! To think he carved out an underground palace beneath the most splendid part of the ‘Valley of Certain Doom’—the ‘Five-Colored Spirit Stone’ mine… I could die of envy! Let me see what scale the ancient immortal’s seclusion palace has attained.”

With that, he released his spiritual sense, probing beneath the mine.

She Meier, seeing this, immediately stopped him. “Yan Chixia, don’t waste your energy. With our current Golden Core cultivation, there’s no way to perceive an underground palace a hundred zhang deep. When we first arrived, I quietly tried to probe with my spiritual sense; not to mention a hundred zhang, even ten zhang down, my sense couldn’t reach.”

“Hmm, Meier, you’re right—it’s just as you say… Our Golden Core level is truly too low!” Yan Chixia withdrew his spiritual sense, mind swirling with thoughts. “Meier, I suddenly have a question. This ‘Valley of Certain Doom’ is protected like an iron fortress by the ‘Everlasting Barrier’—how did the ancient immortal in the underground palace enter the valley? Or perhaps he was here first, and only later the barrier was established? Or is it possible that the ‘Everlasting Barrier’ of this valley was set by the very immortal in the underground palace? Maybe he did so to cultivate here undisturbed?”

She Meier raised her thumb in praise. “Yan Chixia, impressive! Your mind grows sharper by the day. Looks like keeping company with the clever and beautiful She Meier wasn't for nothing. You guessed right—the ‘Everlasting Barrier’ of this valley was set by the ancient immortal over two thousand years ago, precisely so he could cultivate in seclusion here without interruption.”

“Really?” Yan Chixia asked eagerly. “Meier, how do you know this?”

“My master told me, of course.” She Meier broke into a smile. “Yan Chixia, since we’ve come this far, I’ll just tell you everything. Earlier, when you asked who placed the valley’s barrier and why, I said I didn’t know. In truth, I knew perfectly well, but I was keeping the secret. Now, I’ve decided not to keep it from you: The one cultivating in seclusion in the underground palace is none other than the world’s only Hunyuan Da Luo Golden Immortal—Immortal Chi Songzi!”

“What?” Yan Chixia drew in a sharp breath. “Immortal Chi Songzi? Meier, according to my master, Chi Songzi vanished from the world more than two thousand years ago—so he’s been hiding here in seclusion! But how did your master know it was Chi Songzi in the underground palace?”

“My master deduced it from the motto within the palace,” She Meier replied. “Yan Chixia, when my master used her spiritual sense to glimpse Immortal Chi Songzi, she saw him sitting motionless, and beside him lay a large green stone, inscribed with his motto: ‘At the peak, lonely beyond bearing, what more could I seek? Seclusion eternal, life to end here, barrier to shield the valley. Left by Chi Songzi, inscribed in the first year of Shang Tang, fifth month.’”

Yan Chixia’s face changed in astonishment. “Meier, your master was right—it truly is Immortal Chi Songzi in seclusion! ‘At the peak, lonely beyond bearing, what more could I seek? Seclusion eternal, life to end here, barrier to shield the valley…’ So after reaching the Hunyuan Da Luo Golden Immortal level, with no higher peak to climb, he was overcome by loneliness and could no longer endure it. He resolved to remain in seclusion until his life ended. To remain hidden from the world, he chose this remote, beautiful valley, named it the ‘Valley of Certain Doom,’ erected a stone stele at the entrance, and cast the ‘Everlasting Barrier’ to shield it!”

Yan Chixia paused, sighing deeply. “Time flies like a fleeting horse’s shadow—just like that, Immortal Chi Songzi has been secluded here for over two thousand years. Who knows whether, at this very moment, his life has already ended? But in truth, whether he yet lives or not no longer matters, for from the day he entered the underground palace, he had already ended his worldly existence. No wonder, before coming here, he left his ‘Wish-Fulfilling Alchemy Furnace’ in the outside world…”

“What? Yan Chixia, what did you just say?” She Meier cut in urgently, not letting him finish. “‘Wish-Fulfilling Alchemy Furnace’? Tell me quickly—how do you know about Immortal Chi Songzi’s alchemy furnace?”

“Of course I know!” Yan Chixia blurted out. “Because the Wish-Fulfilling Alchemy Furnace is right—ah?!” Realizing halfway through he’d misspoken, he bit his tongue in regret and quickly changed tack. “Meier, what did I just say?”

“Really now!” She Meier’s face fell. “Yan Chixia, I’ve shared my deepest secrets with you, yet you’re playing dumb and hiding things from me! Clearly you know the whereabouts of his alchemy furnace—why won’t you say?”

Yan Chixia flushed with embarrassment. Hesitating, he met her expectant gaze, recalling her countless kindnesses to him, and could not bear to keep it from her any longer. “Meier, don’t be upset—if you want me to tell you, I will.”

“Good!” She Meier’s face brightened immediately. “Yan Chixia, you’re a true friend!”

“But Meier, you must promise me—if I tell you where the Wish-Fulfilling Alchemy Furnace is, you must keep it a secret, never telling another soul—not even your master, the Celestial Lord of the Nine Heavens!”

She Meier nodded solemnly. “No problem, Yan Chixia! I swear on my honor as a disciple of Lishan’s Palace of Purple Clouds: I’ll never breathe a word, not even if I die. Now, hurry up and tell me!”

“Very well.” Yan Chixia nodded gravely. “Meier, to tell you the truth, the Wish-Fulfilling Alchemy Furnace of Immortal Chi Songzi… is in my possession.”