Chapter 14

“Why is Ming Xiao Fazun here?” A woman’s voice called from behind, pulling Ming Xiao Fazun back to reality.

He turned his head slightly and glanced at Xu Manman.

“Looking for some old things.” He said that, then walked into the house. With a wave of his sleeve, he brushed away the dust and found a rotten wooden box under the bed. When he opened it, it contained some toys for children, many of which had decayed.

Xu Manman immediately recognized them as the things she had given to Xu Shenzhi years ago.

Ming Xiao Fazun sighed softly, put the items away, and then turned to Immortal Lang Yin, saying, “On that day at Xianyun Hall, I didn’t arrive in time and only heard about those absurd events later. Both of you claimed to have feelings for Xu Manman, but I think you might be mistaken. She has always been kind-hearted, giving her all to everyone. She has only one life, but she wishes to save thousands. Even if she could sacrifice her life for you, it doesn’t mean she holds you in her heart.”

Xu Manman could clearly see that Immortal Lang Yin’s back stiffened upon hearing these words, and his hand behind his back was involuntarily clenched.

“Ahem…” Xu Manman coughed to interrupt Ming Xiao Fazun, “You are mistaken; people do change…”

Ming Xiao Fazun smiled faintly, “People don’t change; they just deceive.”

Xu Manman gave a dry laugh. She had to admit that Xu Shenzhi knew her quite well.

“Are you also heading to Tiandu? Do you plan to go to Huizhou first?” Xu Manman changed the subject.

Ming Xiao Fazun nodded.

“If that’s the case, it’s on the way. Immortal Master, should we also get going?” Xu Manman asked.

Immortal Lang Yin looked at the dilapidated thatched cottage in front of him, lost in thought, and after a long pause, he responded.

“Let’s go.”

Due to this delay, it was already dusk when they arrived at Huizhou.

Li Que and Ao Xiu had been waiting in front of the Cardinal Tower for more than an hour. They were initially a bit impatient, but seeing Ming Xiao Fazun arrive with the two others, their impatience turned to confusion.

In front of the Cardinal Tower was a large square, still crowded with people despite the setting sun. Li Que and Ao Xiu stood out with their extraordinary looks and demeanor, attracting many curious glances and whispers. Everyone knew that the higher the cultivation in the realm of cultivation, the more outstanding the appearance. These two were clearly not ordinary people, and no one dared to provoke them. Now, three even more extraordinary people appeared, stunning the onlookers.

Before the crowd could regain their composure, someone hurried out of the Cardinal Tower, bowing respectfully to the three individuals.

“Isn’t that the tower master? Why is he so respectful to them?”

“Who are those people?”

“Those are the robes of the Shen Xiao Sect. The only person who could make the tower master so respectful, besides the late Lian Yue Daozun, must be the leader of the Shen Xiao Sect, Ming Xiao Fazun.”

Upon hearing this, the crowd was in an uproar, looking at Ming Xiao Fazun with even more reverence.

Li Que and Ao Xiu followed Ming Xiao Fazun into the Cardinal Tower, led by the tower master. Li Que had lived in the Radiant Vermillion for centuries without entering the world, and Ao Xiu had lived underwater, rarely coming ashore. Seeing the Cardinal Tower was a new experience for both of them. The tower master, being perceptive, noticed their curiosity and discreetly introduced the Cardinal Tower, taking the opportunity to praise Lian Yue Daozun and Ming Xiao Fazun.

The seven nations and fourteen regions each had a Cardinal Tower. Since the collaboration between the Siyi Sect and the Shen Xiao Sect a century ago, these fourteen Cardinal Towers have transformed the world.

For over ten thousand years, cultivators were reclusive, rarely interacting with ordinary people. Occasionally, stories of cultivators’ deeds in fighting evil and seeking immortality would circulate in teahouses, but they were too distant for commoners to imagine or aspire to. Cultivators were not gods, but they were close enough.

A century ago, Lian Yue Daozun, leader of the Siyi Sect, initiated the largest reform in the history of the cultivation world, integrating cultivators into society. She made an agreement with the rulers of the seven nations to establish Cardinal Tower in fourteen major cities, benefiting all people.

The Cardinal Tower, shaped like a tall tower, covers dozens of acres and stands five stories high. The first floor, the General Affair Hall, is specifically for ordinary people. The hall is divided into the Transmission Hall and the Array Master Hall. The Transmission Hall replaces the old postal system, allowing people to send messages and small packages anywhere within a day using teleportation arrays.

The Array Masters’ Hall is particularly special, with hundreds of array masters from the Shen Xiao Sect and Siyi Sect available to engrave various arrays onto objects. Common farming tools can be engraved with a force-gathering array, making it easy to plow and plant fields with minimal effort. Carriages engraved with a swift wind array can travel as light as a feather, covering eight hundred miles in a day. Ordinary people can own a low-level artifact for a small amount of silver. Arrays engraved by low-level cultivators typically last only thirty days before their spiritual energy dissipates, but this is sufficient for common folk. For higher demands, one can hire a Golden Core cultivator to engrave the array, although the cost would be higher.

The Array Masters’ Hall also sells various low-level talismans, such as the Dust-Free talisman for cleaning rooms, the Spring-Well talisman for converting moisture into a hundred buckets of clean water, the Sleep talisman for aiding sleep, and the Light talisman for repelling evil spirits.

While these items are insignificant to cultivators, they greatly enhance the lives of ordinary people. Every day, many people come to seek help and buy talismans. Over the past century, as Cardinal Towers have flourished, vast tracts of wasteland have been transformed into fertile fields. The once-war-torn and desolate world has returned to prosperity.

The cultivation world has also greatly benefited from this. Not all cultivators can achieve the Golden Core stage; about eighty percent remain at the Foundation Establishment stage and cannot advance further. These cultivators, unwilling to live and die like ordinary people, sometimes develop inner demons, causing trouble. Others, seeking profit, are recruited by evildoers to aid in their misdeeds. Lian Yue Daozun, overseeing the Cardinal Towers, provided a better path for these low-level cultivators. As members of the Cardinal Towers, they hold respectable positions and earn generous monthly wages, ensuring their and their descendants’ prosperity. Given such good options, fewer cultivators fall into the inner demon or join the ranks of evildoers.

As they chatted, the group arrived at the Preaching Hall on the second floor.

The Preaching Hall was much less crowded, mostly filled with cultivators. A few were dressed in Shen Xiao Sect robes and, upon seeing Ming Xiao Fazun, immediately came forward to pay their respects.

“Greetings, Sect Leader!” Seven or eight Shen Xiao Sect disciples said it in unison, visibly excited.

Ming Xiao Fazun nodded slightly and said, “No need for formalities; continue with your work.”

“Yes.”

The disciples responded, but were reluctant to leave. The Shen Xiao Sect had expanded its doors in recent years, training many array masters. Ming Xiao Fazun’s followers had grown, and it was not easy to get a chance to see him.

“The Preaching Hall is set up for cultivators. Here, high-level array masters can repair artifacts, and alchemists and pharmacists can provide healing. Cultivators can exchange important information and complete transactions under the Cardinal Tower’s supervision,” the tower master explained as they walked.

“If you go further up, you’ll reach the Fuyao Array. Where would you like to go?”

Ming Xiao Fazun said, “I’m going to Tiandu.”

Xu Manman said, “We’re going to Youzhou.”

The tower master replied, “The Fuyao Array activates every half hour and operates for three hours each day. The next departure to Tiandu is in a quarter-hour. However, there are fewer travelers to Youzhou, so the next departure is at chen hour (7-9 a.m.) tomorrow.”

“Chen hour tomorrow?” Ao Xiu frowned.

“That long?”

The tower master smiled apologetically, “You might not know, sir, but activating the Fuyao Array requires considerable manpower and resources, so the schedule is based on demand. Tiandu and Yujing are the top cities among the fourteen regions and have the most departures, while Youzhou is in the far west and has fewer travelers. There’s usually only one departure every two days. It’s fortunate there’s one at chen hour tomorrow.”

Li Que smiled, “The Sea Emperor rarely comes ashore, so he might be unfamiliar with the mainland.”

The tower master was stunned, realizing that the handsome man with a jade-like face before him was the Sea Emperor…

Ao Xiu gave a cold smile, not bothering to argue.

The tower master continued, “The fourteen regions are vast, with thousands of miles between them, not to mention the dangers of bandits and monsters along the way. Many people spend their entire lives in one region. The Fuyao Array has made inter-region travel more accessible, thanks to Lian Yue Daozun and Ming Xiao Fazun’s establishment of the Cardinal Towers, which brought about today’s prosperity.”

Xu Manman nodded approvingly, “The tower master is right.”

As one of the founders of the Cardinal Towers, Xu Manman knew this well but couldn’t reveal her knowledge. Throughout the journey, she spoke as little as possible to avoid arousing Xu Shenzhi’s suspicion.

The tower master added, “Youzhou is in the west and Huizhou in the east. Flying nonstop would take ten days and nights, not to mention the dangers along the way. Even high-level cultivators prefer to use the Fuyao Array. It’s best to rest in Huizhou City tonight and come back at noon tomorrow. I’ll arrange seats for you.”

Li Que and the others instinctively looked at Xu Manman, having unconsciously accepted her as their leader. Ming Xiao Fazun felt somewhat surprised by this realization. Despite the presence of Immortal Lang Yin and the evidently more distinguished figures like Ao Xiu and Li Que, Xu Manman had become the central figure.

However, with pressing matters at hand, Ming Xiao Fazun didn’t have time to ponder this further. After bidding farewell, he ascended the stairs and departed. Xu Manman and the others, escorted by the tower master, temporarily left the Cardinal Tower.

As they walked to the square, the four of them heard several loud bell tolls. Turning around, they saw the Cardinal Tower suddenly emit a towering red light, radiating a tremendous spiritual energy wave that soon faded.

“This is the Fuyao Array…” Li Que, seeing it for the first time, couldn’t help but be amazed.

Xu Manman explained, “The Fuyao Array is the greatest array in history. It’s spherical, covering the upper and lower three floors, and can teleport nearly a thousand people at once.”

This was the result of many years of research by her and Xu Shenzhi. They made numerous improvements based on earlier arrays, aiming to maximize capacity while minimizing spiritual energy consumption, making it affordable for more people.

Previously, teleportation arrays could only transport three to five people at a time, with vague positioning and significant energy loss. Xu Shenzhi discovered the effective range of teleportation arrays, noting that the covered area resembled a sphere, leading to the proposal of constructing tower-shaped arrays to maximize coverage.

The then head of the Shen Xiao Sect was right in recognizing Xu Shenzhi’s genius; his array of expertise was unparalleled for centuries. Xu Manman, deeply engaged with the mortal world, had formed countless good relationships over her hundred-year journey. Hundreds of years ago, when the mainland’s empires collapsed into seven warring nations, she managed to win the favor of all seven rulers, persuading them to open their nations to build the Cardinal Towers.

To the public, Ming Xiao Fazun was the closest person to Lian Yue Daozun. The recent widespread rumors of Lian Yue Daozun’s romantic exploits didn’t involve Ming Xiao Fazun, leading many to suspect something unusual.

Only the people involved knew the purity of their relationship.

The world always assumes that male and female cultivators can’t just be close friends and that female cultivators can’t be daoist partners with other female cultivators. Such narrow-mindedness reveals their ignorance.

Huizhou City was still bustling at night, its brilliant lights outshining even the stars.

The four strikingly attractive young people became the center of attention wherever they went.

Immortal Lang Yin was extraordinary and otherworldly, and he looked like an immortal in the painting. Li Que was dressed in a bright red robe, with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, full of heroic spirit. Ao Xiu was elegant and distinguished. The only woman in between was no less beautiful, with a face as white as a lotus and smilling eyes that were as bright as spring water, which made people naturally draw to her.

Li Que, having stayed in Radiant Vermillion for over eighty years after being found by Li Ying, had rarely ventured out. This time, the Radiant Vermillion used thousands of high-grade spirit stones to set up a teleportation array, sending a few people to the Siyi Sect. Yet today, in the Cardinal Tower, he noticed that just one low-grade spirit stone could teleport someone from Huizhou to Youzhou, a vast improvement over traditional teleportation arrays.

Li Que looked up and saw dragon-shaped airships passing through Huizhou’s night sky, laden with goods and lanterns bearing the character “Cardinal” hanging from the bow and stern.

“That’s a Cardinal Tower airship. The three-layered airship can carry both goods and people. Goods sent through the Fuyao Array to Huizhou regions are then distributed to over a hundred affiliated towns by airship. Youzhou residents only need to pay a few taels of silver to ride the Cardinal airship,” Xu Manman explained to Li Que with a smile.

As Li Que pondered, Xu Manman suddenly pulled his arm, causing him to stumble to the side. He turned to see a two-zhang-long carriage pass by, the bells hanging from it jingling.

(T/N: 1 zhang is about 3.58 meters, and 2 zhang is equal to about 7.16 meters)

“What’s that?” Li Que frowned.

Xu Manman pointed to two white lines on the road, explaining, “See those two lines? That’s the carriage track for public carriages. The wooden carriage that just passed by is the public carriage developed by the Cardinal Tower. The copper bell hanging on the carriage is to warn passersby to get out of the way.”

Li Que was astonished, “That wooden carriage doesn’t seem to need oxen or horses to pull it?”

“Like the airship, it is driven by an array. The carriage is also inscribed with lightness and wind spells, so it moves quite quickly. One such carriage can carry up to forty or fifty people.”

After examining the track for a moment, Ao Xiu suddenly remarked, “This track seems to be made up of an array as well?”

From a distance, it looked like two broad, two-inch-wide white lines, but on closer inspection, it was clear that they were made up of numerous interconnected arrays.

“Correct, it’s a directional array that keeps the public carriage on track,” Xu Manman explained. As she spoke, another public carriage approached from a distance, allowing everyone to get a clearer look.

The public carriage was less than one zhang wide and two zhang long, with two windows on each side. Through the windows, several people could be seen sitting inside. The carriage stopped beside a wooden sign, whereupon the middle door on the right side opened. Four or five people disembarked, and two or three others boarded.

In no time, the public carriage jingled away.

Ao Xiu, with his sharp eyes, observed, “There is no driver on the carriage.”

“Twenty or thirty years ago, there were drivers, but now they are no longer needed. These public carriages run along the tracks, and city residents are used to it, knowing to avoid the tracks. Moreover, the front of the carriage is inscribed with various arrays. If it encounters an obstacle, it stops and rings the bell loudly to clear the way.”

Li Que was somewhat dismissive, “This public carriage moves slowly and isn’t very useful; it’s just a minor trick.”

Xu Manman smiled, “You venerable ones have extraordinary cultivation, capable of stirring up storms with a wave of your hand and traveling thousands of miles in a day. Naturally, such minor tricks are beneath your notice. However, very few in this world possess such abilities. Billions of ordinary people exist, many of whom may never leave their city in their lifetime. For these people, the vast world means nothing. What is trivial to you can significantly change their lives.”

Ao Xiu lowered his eyes in deep thought. His handsome face fell into shadow, making it hard to read his expression. After a moment, he sighed, “The pursuit of cultivation is immortality and invincibility. Arrays have always been seen as minor arts, but Lian Yue Daozun managed to turn the mundane into the extraordinary. No wonder she has won the hearts of the people.”

Lian Yue Daozun had recently passed away. Even now, many shops along the bustling streets still hang white silk as a sign of mourning.

Immortal Lang Yin suddenly spoke, “This is Xu Manman’s Dao. She does not seek the Dao of immortality but the immortality of the Dao.”

What the immortals dismissed as minor arts could benefit countless people and bring prosperity to generations. In thousands of years of cultivation, no one had ever looked down to see the vast, mundane world and its billions of inhabitants.

Only one young girl had traveled countless days and nights, nearly wearing out her feet. When she looked up at the sky, she thought of the immortals she had seen, hoping that one day she too could be like them. Later, when she soared through the sky, she looked down at the world and remembered her past self.

She couldn’t go back to save her past wounded self, but she still had the chance to help countless others like her. She wanted to become an unceasing wind, lifting up billions of people. This was her Dao.

Even if she died, as long as the Cardinal Tower existed, the torch she lit would never be extinguished.

Not seeking the Dao of immortality, but the immortality of the Dao.

The words she had spoken to Immortal Lang Yin a century ago were still remembered by the immortal master.