mijobooks Chapter 28 Suzaku Feather
Chapter 28 Suzaku Feather
"The first two items are rare, but there's still a chance of finding them," Editor-in-Chief Qin said after listening. "But Xuanwu scales... the real Xuanwu disappeared a thousand years ago, how could that be..."
"Perhaps there is a substitute," Su Yan suddenly said. "The records of the Departure Array Core mention a treasure called 'Vermilion Bird Feather,' which is a feather left behind by the ancient Vermilion Bird and contains pure fire elemental power. Theoretically, if a relic with the corresponding attribute is found, it might be able to replace the Black Tortoise Scale."
"The Kan position corresponds to water, so what's needed is a water-attribute relic." Editor-in-Chief Qin frowned. "But among the Seven Star Relics, the water-attribute one is the 'Kan position relic'—which is the damaged Xuanwu Seal. This is a vicious cycle."
Li Shancheng suddenly realized something: "Wait, if the Seven Star Relics are interconnected... and the Book of Light is integrated into my bloodline, does that mean I can use the power of the Wen Shu Relic to repair the Kan Position Relic?"
This bold conjecture stunned all three of them.
Theoretically, the seven relics share a common origin, and their powers should be interchangeable. However, in practice, there has never been a record of this happening. Each relic has its own characteristics, and forcibly mixing them could lead to unpredictable consequences.
"That's too risky," Editor-in-Chief Qin objected first. "Your understanding of relics is still too shallow. Trying to do it rashly could destroy two relics at the same time."
"But if we don't try, the Kan position crystal will shatter completely in three days," Li Shancheng insisted. "Rather than watching it disappear, we might as well take the risk. Besides..."
He stretched out his hand, and the spiritual mark on his palm lit up: "The Book of Light seems to support this idea. I can sense that it is 'expecting' something."
Just then, Liu Wei's exclamation suddenly came from the direction of the guest room: "Old Jiang! Old Jiang, what's wrong!"
The three rushed into the room. Jiang Han was already sitting up in bed, clutching the Kan-position crystal tightly in his hand, staring blankly ahead, muttering to himself:
"The water flows eastward... never to return westward... Xuanwu slumbers... the seven stars shift... they've come... they've all come..."
"Mr. Jiang, who's here?" Editor-in-Chief Qin stepped forward, trying to calm him down.
Jiang Han abruptly turned his head, his eyes suddenly focusing as he stared intently at Li Shancheng: "The Seven Stars have shifted... the celestial secrets are in chaos... the traitor is not human... the traitor is..."
Before he could finish speaking, he coughed violently, coughing up not blood, but a black, sticky liquid. The liquid landed on the sheets and began to corrode the fabric, emitting a pungent odor.
"This is... a backlash from a curse?" Su Yan exclaimed in shock. "Old Jiang is under a curse?"
Bishop Qin quickly examined Jiang Han's condition, his expression changing drastically: "It's not a simple curse, it's a 'Bloodline Tracking Curse.' Someone is using his bloodline to track everyone with a blood connection to him. Including... the other guardians."
"Can it be unblocked?" Li Shancheng asked.
"We need to find the caster, or... sever Elder Jiang's bloodline connection." Bishop Qin's voice was deep. "But severing the bloodline connection would mean crippling his cultivation, and he might never be able to cultivate again."
"Then let's find the caster," Su Yan decided decisively. "Who cast the curse? Zhao Feng? Or Lin Han?"
Jiang Han's condition stabilized slightly, and he said weakly, "It wasn't them... it was 'her'... the woman in the white robe... she was holding... fragments of the Tianquan relic..."
"Fragments of the Tianquan Relic?" Li Shancheng's heart tightened. "The relic is already broken?"
"No...it was intentional..." Jiang Han gasped for breath. "They dissected the relics...implanted the fragments into the modified body...creating a 'pseudo-carrier'...so that they don't need the complete bloodline...to activate the node..."
This information came as a bolt from the blue. If Cold Mountain Technology had already mastered the technology to divide relics and create pseudo-carriers, then they might have already activated multiple nodes, and might even have found more than one relic.
"That woman...she knows me..." Jiang Han continued, "She calls me 'Uncle-Master'...but I've never had a niece-disciple like that before..."
"What does she look like?" Su Yan pressed.
Jiang Han closed his eyes, seemingly recalling: "Young... in his twenties... in a white robe... his left eye was golden... his right eye was normal... he was holding a jade ruler... the ruler had a seven-star pattern on it..."
Upon hearing this description, both Editor-in-Chief Qin and Su Yan gasped in shock.
"The Seven Star Measuring Ruler...that's the magical artifact of the previous guardian of the Displacement Array Core." Su Yan's voice trembled. "Three years ago, the previous guardian, Su Qing—my aunt—disappeared during an investigation mission, and the artifact vanished with her. We always thought she had met with an accident..."
"If she were still alive and working for Hanshan Technology..." Editor-in-Chief Qin interjected, not finishing his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
"But Aunt Su Qing is one of the most steadfast protectors, how could she..." Su Yan shook his head, refusing to believe it.
Just then, the Kan-position crystal in Jiang Han's hand suddenly burst forth with a strong blue light. Within the light, an image appeared: a woman in white stood amidst ruins, her jade ruler pointing to the sky. Beneath her feet was a complex magic circle, with a modified entity standing at each of the seven corners, each with a glowing fragment embedded in its chest.
The woman turned her head, as if she could see this side through the screen. Her left eye was indeed golden, but it had no pupil, only a rotating star map.
"Uncle-Master, I'm sorry to say goodbye in this way." The woman's voice resounded directly in their minds, cold and mechanical. "The destruction of the Kan position is a necessary sacrifice. The Seven Stars need to be rearranged, and the world needs to be restarted. Join us, or... be eliminated by the new era."
The image disappeared, the crystal's brilliance dimmed rapidly, and another crack appeared on its surface.
"She's communicating in reverse through the crystal." Bishop Qin's face was ashen. "The power of the Celestial Relic allows her to do this."
Su Yan clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms: "I need to find her. Whether she's Aunt Su Qing or not, I need to find out what really happened."
"But her warning is clear," Li Shancheng reminded him. "'The Seven Stars need to be rearranged'—this may mean that Hanshan Technology's plan is not only to activate the relics, but also to change the position and function of the seven array eyes."
"Worse still, if she has already mastered the ability to communicate remotely through the fragments of the relics, then she may already know our current location and status," Bishop Qin said. "Qingyun Lane may no longer be safe."
Almost as soon as the words were spoken, the purple dragon tree in the courtyard suddenly began to shake violently. It wasn't the wind, but some kind of energy surge. The runes on the trunk lit up simultaneously, activating the protective barrier of Qingyun Alley. A semi-transparent light shield appeared above the alley, blocking several dark red energy beams shooting in from the outside.
"They've found us here!" Xu Qingqing rushed in from outside, holding an energy detection compass. "At least twenty energy sources are approaching; eight are modified beings, and twelve are cultivators. They're setting up a sealing barrier to trap us inside."
Bishop Qin quickly made a decision: "Su Yan, you take Elder Jiang and evacuate through the secret passage. Qingqing, you assist her. Shancheng, Liu Wei, you come with me, we need to buy some time."
"Where is the secret passage?" Su Yan asked.
"Beneath the Purple Dragonwood." Bishop Qin walked to the tree and pressed a series of runes at specific locations on the trunk. The ground beneath the roots cracked open, revealing a downward entrance. "It leads to the Kyoto City sewer system. Although it's unsightly, it avoids most detection."