Chapter 1426: The Scheme

It all depended on how much Tan Hao knew about Pure Sea Sect. Qin Sang put the questions to him.

Reading his intent, Tan Hao was privately astonished. He had not expected Qin Sang to actually dare set himself against the Chaotic Devil Elder.

He hesitated, then refrained from talking him out of it. He trusted Qin Sang. Reaching his present height was no accident, and he would not act without purpose or walk knowingly into death, or he would have become a wandering ghost in the Yin Malevolent Abyss long ago.

And Tan Hao had to admit he harbored a measure of hope himself, that Qin Sang might win back one astra for him. Better that than leaving empty-handed and watching his own treasures pass into others' hands.

"Where did you come in?" Qin Sang's first concern was a line of retreat.

Without a word, Tan Hao led him back to the cave dwelling. He felt along the rear wall, and to a grinding of stone the wall slid apart to either side, revealing a stairway that descended at an angle.

A wave of dry heat rolled out. The whole of Pure Sea Sect lay smothered in crimson flame qi.

Tan Hao started down. Qin Sang left the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet outside to track the Chaotic Devil Elder's movements and followed him into the passage.

The tunnel should have been cool. Instead the walls on both sides glowed a deep red, as though on the verge of melting. Fortunately Buddhist barriers within the stone still braced the passage, and it had not collapsed.

"This leads to several meditation halls. That area originally held the densest spiritual qi and was likely where the sect's eminent monks entered seclusion. It's always been possible to leave the Pure Sea Sect directly from there. Senior Ghost Mother found this stretch to be the array's weakest point and broke in near the halls," Tan Hao explained as they walked.

After a brisk stretch, Qin Sang stopped him. "Wait. Where do these two passages lead?"

They had entered a dark chamber, the station where the meditation halls' guards had once kept watch. Behind it stood a stone door opening onto the halls themselves. At the front were three identical passages, all converging on the chamber and apparently running off in different directions.

"To the scripture repository and to the peak where the golden roof stands," Tan Hao replied.

Tan Hao knew the sect well, and he pointed at the other two passages as he explained. "These three sites are the Pure Sea Sect's three cores. Where we came in isn't just the herb garden. The alchemy room, the artifact room and the rest are all there as well.

"The scripture repository was originally a wooden tower standing alongside the thirteen-story pagoda. It was destroyed in the calamity, and only the base remains. This passage's exit lies in the cave behind the two towers, and its barrier is still intact. When Senior entered the pagoda, she didn't fully destroy its barrier. If their attention is drawn to the pagoda, they shouldn't find the passage any time soon.

"The third passage runs directly to the golden roof, though its exit is likewise sealed off by the roof's barrier."

Qin Sang's eyes brightened. He looked toward the passage leading to the golden roof. "So this passage could get me into the golden roof without the Chaotic Devil Elder seeing?"

Tan Hao answered hesitantly. "In theory. But the golden roof's barrier is such that pulling one thread moves the whole cloth. The moment you start breaking it they'll certainly notice. And the passage runs right alongside that mountain pass. If breaking the barrier collapses the seal and the crimson flame qi bursts through, that passage takes the brunt of it. You'd be sealed in there."

Qin Sang fell silent and had Tan Hao take him on to see the exits.

He weighed the possibilities in his mind.

The Ghost Mother had already visited the pagoda, so little of value likely remained. Beyond that, several other sites in the sect had some provenance, and a thorough sweep might turn up a treasure with luck, but nothing to match the golden roof. Tan Hao had intended to strip them all once he formed his Spiritual Infant.

The astras arrayed beneath the golden roof were the most valuable things in plain view. Which meant contesting them would also be the hardest task of all!

Still deep in thought, Qin Sang followed Tan Hao to the meditation halls' rear door. Everything was in order.

"I nearly forgot. Do you know what astras are inside the golden roof?" Qin Sang asked.

Seeing that Qin Sang truly had plans for the place, Tan Hao suppressed the urge to counsel against it and cast his mind back. "Some sit on the offering table before the Buddha statue and others lie scattered on the floor, with skeletal remains beside them. Seven or eight in all. There's a pair of golden forks, an Empowerment Vajra, a jade sword the size of a finger, an astra resembling a mirror armor, a Wishing Pearl, a wooden Buddhist shrine, a flower basket, a Lingzhi Ruyi..."[1]

He added, "There may be more on the remains themselves, or in places the statue blocks from view. Through the barrier I couldn't determine those astras' functions or grades either. I can only guess."

More than Qin Sang had expected.

He mulled it over, then asked, "Which one have you got your eye on?"

Given the chance, Qin Sang would not mind seizing one for Tan Hao as payment for the intelligence.

"The Empowerment Vajra!" Tan Hao answered without hesitation.

His progress refining his life-bound astra lagged behind, and after forming his Spiritual Infant he would lack a powerful offensive astra. The Vajra was both the one he wanted most and the safest choice. The other Buddhist astras might not suit him, and some might require a Buddhist cultivator to activate at all.

Qin Sang nodded and drew a deep breath. "Let's go up!"

***

Within Pure Sea Sect, five figures alighted together on a hilltop, every gaze drawn to the pagoda and the golden roof.

Of them all, the Chaotic Devil Elder's aura was the faintest, and yet he was the one they all watched most warily and feared most.

The Precept-Keeping Sage stood at his side, fingers working ceaselessly over the ring on his hand, excitement banked in his eyes.

On the elder's other side stood a woman of graceful bearing. Her face was lovely, yet her hair was entirely silver, leaving her age impossible to judge. She was also the only middle-stage Spiritual Infant cultivator among the five.

Her Dharma name was the Feathered Robe Primordial Lady, the foremost expert in the region around Ethereal Sea. She was known for keeping male companions, though she never coerced anyone and was notoriously particular, and her reputation ran far better than most devilish cultivators'. She kept a low profile and rarely left her cave dwelling.

The Precept-Keeping Sage kept his composure while glancing at her sidelong. He had not expected this "demoness" to be roused as well.

Her eyes were limpid as water and a smile touched her lips. She appeared to be studying Pure Sea Sect, but her attention rested entirely on the Chaotic Devil Elder, and her guard was quietly raised.

Behind the three stood two men, one tall and one short, both early-stage Spiritual Infant cultivators. The tall one stood behind the Chaotic Devil Elder and seemed somewhat detached. The other wore a look of open anxiety.

"The seal seems to be in even worse shape than you two described! And that uninvited guest you mentioned doesn't appear to have come in yet." The Feathered Robe Primordial Lady surveyed their surroundings, her voice carrying an enchanting lilt that set the mind adrift.

"Don't take him lightly, Fairy. He's a middle-stage Spiritual Infant cultivator himself. We searched his companion's soul and learned he seems to have some means of obtaining guidance within the array. Unfortunately, searching a Spiritual Infant cultivator's soul is no easy matter, and the one surnamed Mu stopped us at the critical moment at the cost of his life, so we never learned what method he uses."

The Precept-Keeping Sage offered the warning, then paused and added, "Still, the man is alone. Five of us breaking the array faster than him is only natural."

1. Leaving a note here to explain some of the astra names. Mirror armor, sometimes referred to as disc armour, is a type of cuirass that was used mainly in Asia and Eastern Europe, including India, Iran, Tibet, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. Lingzhi is actually a type of funghi. Both Vajra and ruyi were explained in previous chapters. ☜

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