CHAPTER 249: CHAPTER 249: SECRETS OF THE PAST

Jiang Yuan’s face was full of confusion, accepting disciples? What’s happening here?

The subplot mission requires investigating the phenomenon at Wangting Mountain. The old beggar described the process in detail yet nothing matches, indicating that what happened back then is not the truth seen from a common person’s perspective.

If that’s the case, then I have to find someone who really knows the truth to complete the mission. Hearing the village soldiers mention the word "cultivator," I wanted to come and see, but before I could gather any clues, someone wanted to become my apprentice.

"Seventeen years ago at Wangting Mountain, a woman died!" Zheng Lang started with a bombshell, "I was the first and last person she saw before she died. Not only was she a cultivator, but she was also from the most prosperous immortal cultivation family, the Lin Family, in Central Province!

All that thunder and storm were caused by cultivators fighting. Since Immortal has come here, you must have some connection with that woman. As long as you’re willing to accept me as your disciple, I will tell you everything I know!"

I knew it! My disciple couldn’t possibly be an ordinary person; he must be the chosen one!

[Subplot Mission 2: Valid Information Collected - 25%]

The system finally responded, probably extracting the keyword, at least linking Wan Mingchuan’s background to the Lin Family.

"Old man, the path of cultivation requires both opportunity and talent. It’s not that I can ensure your cultivation just by accepting you as an apprentice." Jiang Yuan helped him up and patiently explained, "First, tell me what exactly happened back then, and then I will see if you have the talent for cultivation.

If you do, giving you a cultivation technique as goodwill is no big matter; if you truly lack talent, I can give you some silver coins to ensure you live carefree."

After a moment of hesitation, Zheng Lang nodded in agreement, raising his cloudy eyes toward the ceiling to recall the past.

Back then, Zheng Lang was in his thirties and had risen to the position of squad leader.

Since childhood, he was fascinated by tales of cultivators. He was exceptionally devoted to the Water Virtue Star Monarch worshipped in town, hoping that one day a true cultivator would take him as a disciple so he could be a great figure controlling rain and storm!

So when the phenomenon occurred at Wangting Mountain early in the morning and no one dared to approach, Zheng Lang, eager for opportunity to start his cultivation journey, ran excitedly to the mountain.

"I remember very clearly, midway up the mountain, I saw three people in the dark clouds. They were not thunderclouds, but extraordinary means of fighting among cultivators. Among them was a woman in her twenties, very beautiful and dressed in lavish attire, struggling to fight one against two..."

Recollecting old events, Zheng Lang could still feel the shock of that moment, somewhat helplessly saying, "Sadly, I was too impulsive at that time, trying to get closer for a clearer view, and was struck by lightning unconscious on the ground.

Before passing out, I saw that the beautiful woman blocked some of it for me; without her intervention, I would have died then.

When I woke up, the dark clouds were thick, and the downpour was pelting down. The two had disappeared, leaving only the beautiful woman, her body covered in blood, lying not far away. I was shivering, crawling over and found she was still alive.

She said she was the wife of the Lin Family’s Young Patriarch, Lin Shuo, from Central Province’s cultivation family. They were traveling with their barely one-year-old child when they encountered enemies. The battle scattered their entourage and forcibly separated the couple. She fought fiercely to kill those two and was at the end of her strength.

She gave me a keepsake, saying if a cultivator came looking for her, I should hand it over to them. She also said as long as they saw the keepsake, the cultivator would not mistreat me!"

At this point, Zheng Lang pulled open his clothes to show the shocking scars left on his aged body, "I kept this secret for years, never mentioning a word about Wangting Mountain. But I’m getting older! If I don’t actively seek, I’ll really miss the chance for cultivation once I die of old age or illness.

After subtly releasing the information, nobles wanted to know my secret; these marks are what they left on me. If I wasn’t steadfast in my desire for immortal cultivation, during the repeated tortures, I might have confessed then."

Emotionally agitated, he grabbed Jiang Yuan’s arm and yelled incoherently, "I did not confess. I didn’t tell them a single word! Later they thought I went mad with the desire for cultivation, imagined some facade based on the phenomenon at Wangting Mountain, thus letting me go.

The village head even said the phenomenon at Wangting Mountain drove people insane and was ominous. He consulted a monk who divined and renamed it Thundercloud Mountain. I’m no longer allowed to be a squad leader and can only be a minor soldier...I have the keepsake, evidence proving that what I said is true!"

This was the first time Jiang Yuan met someone so fanatical and resolute, holding onto such an elusive idea for years. He felt both shocked and respectful.

Moreover, he was not exaggerating; the system showed that only 15% remained to complete the mission, probably needing the "keepsake" he mentioned.

"I can give you a chance to attempt cultivation, but I truly can’t accept you as my disciple." Realizing need for a fair exchange, Jiang Yuan said helplessly, "Conditions for accepting disciples are stringent; at least, for me, it’s not just a matter of saying yes. Also, even if you have talent, the suitable cultivation techniques vary for everyone, and I may not be able to teach you."

Most crucially, the system remained silent. When Wan Mingchuan and Lin Chunsheng expressed their desire to apprentice and learn, the system promptly provided a hint.

Ultimately, even if I now wanted to accept Zheng Lang, without the system’s recognition, we couldn’t form a system-certified mentor-disciple relationship.

"Then I want a cultivation manual!" Seeing the opportunity slipping away, Zheng Lang was anxious, but then, realizing it was inappropriate, he changed his request, "Manuals are precious; Immortal just needs to give me one that I can study for some time, and I will return it to you!"

Now that the request was made clear, Jiang Yuan, not the sort to bully someone for advantage, reluctantly took out the Panacea "Heaven-Burning Scripture," saying, "Know that immortal cultivation techniques involve celestial knowledge, so they are unlike mundane books. If you can decode it, you’ll prove your cultivation affinity; if not, there’s nothing to be done."

Old Li as a witness, having seen the cultivator conjure a crane out of paper, was deeply impressed, and seeing the manual indeed presented, he stepped closer to catch a glimpse of the "Celestial Book."

Zheng Lang’s lips were dry with excitement and he eagerly looked, seeing a crude, child-like drawing that stunned him.

He dared not doubt the Immortal’s celestial book, yet could not accept that he spent most of his life without any cultivation talent, his hands trembling as he tried to flip a page hoping for luck.

However, the page wouldn’t turn, pressed firmly by a tiny paw.

Only then did the three in the cramped room notice the small yellow sparrow, focused intently on its Spirit Fruit earlier. Its eyes, like black beans, glaring at the first page of the Heaven-Burning Scripture, its wings forming poses, appeared bizarre yet showed serious commitment.

"The divine bird understands it!" Old Li was both excited and disappointed.

The former because the celestial book proved genuine, even the divine bird was drawn to it for study; the latter because he understood nothing, less than a bird!

Zheng Lang knew the divine bird bestowed by the Water Virtue Star Monarch was formidable, and dared not touch the pages, sitting down in despair, red-faced, exclaiming, "I’ve waited so many years and sacrificed so much; being old with nothing, I’m unwilling! I must have an immortal technique in exchange; otherwise, even in death, I’d never hand over the keepsake!"

He knew full well, Immortal could easily seize the keepsake from him. But he was unwilling; a lifetime’s persistence seemed hopeful yet stopped suddenly, and Zheng Lang nearly went mad thinking even if it provoked Immortal’s wrath leading to death, he’d embrace it!

[Detected transaction request: Need to impart acquired skills in exchange for mission-required items. Proceed with transaction?]