darknovel Chapter 21 The Former Dynasty Princess
Chapter 21 The Former Dynasty Princess
Yan Chixia took the jade pendant, examined it for a moment, and frowned slightly.
"This jade pendant... is extraordinary." He returned the jade pendant to Zhou Ning.
"The dragon pattern on it was a design reserved for royalty in ancient times. This jade pendant is very likely a token of royalty."
Zhou Ning was taken aback:
"Royalty? How could there be such a thing in Baihe Village?"
Yan Chixia shook his head:
"I don't know about that. Keep it safe, it might come in handy later."
Zhou Ning nodded and carefully put the jade pendant away.
"Master, has the matter of Baihe Village been resolved?" he asked.
Yan Chixia glanced at him:
"You're lucky that the Corpse King left on its own. But its resentment is only temporarily resolved; if it's stimulated again, it will coalesce once more. You must find a way to completely destroy it within ten years."
Zhou Ning's heart tightened, and he solemnly said:
"Disciple understands."
"And another," Yan Chixia added.
"Just keep the 'Black Mountain' the old man mentioned in mind. With your current strength, you're not yet capable of reaching that level. Lay a solid foundation first, and we'll talk about the rest later."
Zhou Ning nodded:
"Your disciple obeys."
In the days that followed, Zhou Ning continued his cultivation on the mountain.
In addition to practicing swordsmanship, meditating, drawing talismans, and controlling objects every day, he has an extra task.
Investigate the origin of that jade pendant.
He held the jade pendant in his hand and used his divine sense to probe into it, trying to perceive its secrets.
At first, the jade pendant did not react.
But after several days of repeated attempts, he finally sensed a very faint fluctuation of consciousness deep within the jade pendant.
It was a woman's voice, broken and indistinct, and it was impossible to make out what she was saying.
"Who are you?"
Zhou Ning tried to communicate with her using his divine sense.
The fluctuations in consciousness disappeared.
Zhou Ning did not give up and tried to establish contact with that voice every day.
Finally, on the seventh day, the voice rang out again.
This time, it was much clearer than before.
"Help me..."
"Save you?" Zhou Ning asked.
Who are you? Where are you?
"I...I am...a princess...trapped...in the jade..."
Princess?
Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat.
Is the soul of a princess trapped inside this jade pendant?
"How did you end up in the jade pendant?" he asked.
The voice spoke intermittently:
"It was...a Taoist priest...he...he harmed me..."
Before the words were finished, the fluctuation of consciousness disappeared again.
Zhou Ning held the jade pendant, his brows furrowed.
The jade pendant contains the soul of a princess, there are royal relics in Baihe Village, and General Chen's tomb is also nearby... Could there be any connection between these clues?
He decided to investigate.
The next morning, Zhou Ning asked Yan Chixia for leave and went down the mountain to Qingshan Town.
He was going to find someone.
Manager Zhao.
Manager Zhao has lived in Qingshan Town for decades and knows a lot about what's happening in the area.
Sure enough, when Zhou Ning showed the jade pendant to Manager Zhao, his expression changed.
"This...isn't this the family heirloom of Old Li's family in Baihe Village?" Shopkeeper Zhao said.
"I heard my father say that this thing was a relic of a princess from the previous dynasty."
"The previous dynasty?" Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat.
Manager Zhao nodded:
"It is said that at the end of the previous dynasty, the world was in chaos. A princess fled to Baihe Village and died there. Before she died, she gave a jade pendant to the local villagers, saying that it was to repay their kindness in saving her life."
Zhou Ning seemed to be deep in thought.
"How did the princess die?" he asked.
Manager Zhao shook his head:
"I don't know. Some say he died of illness, some say he was killed by pursuers, and some say... he was murdered by a Taoist priest."
Taoist priest!
Zhou Ning felt a chill run down his spine.
"Manager Zhao, do you know who that Taoist priest is?"
Manager Zhao thought for a moment and said:
"My father said that the Taoist priest's surname was Wang, and he was a wandering Taoist who specialized in helping people with feng shui and fortune telling. Later, for some reason, he disappeared."
Zhou Ning nodded and put the jade pendant away.
"Manager Zhao, thank you. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
He left the inn, wandered around Qingshan Town, and found the residence of the Taoist priest Wang from back then.
It was a dilapidated little house that had been abandoned for many years.
Zhou Ning pushed open the door and went inside.
The room was covered in dust and cobwebs.
On a worn-out table, piles of yellowed papers lay.
Zhou Ning picked up a sheet of paper, which was covered with dense writing.
Those were Wang the Taoist's notes.
He quickly flipped through the pages and finally found the crucial information on the last page.
"...The princess's soul has been sealed within the jade pendant. This jade contains the royal family's fortune and can aid my cultivation... The day I succeed will be the day I ascend to immortality..."
After reading it, Zhou Ning was filled with rage.
That Taoist priest, in his pursuit of cultivation, actually killed a princess and sealed her soul in a jade pendant.
Does this kind of person deserve to cultivate Taoism?
He put away his notes and left the cabin.
It was already late when we returned to Lanruo Temple.
Yan Chixia was meditating in the main hall when he saw him return and said calmly:
"You found it?"
Zhou Ning nodded and handed Wang Daoshi's notes to his master.
After reading it, Yan Chixia remained silent for a moment, then said:
"This kind of scum deserves to die."
He stood up, hands behind his back, and paced back and forth:
"The princess's soul has been trapped in the jade pendant for many years and is extremely weak. If it is not rescued as soon as possible, it may completely dissipate."
Zhou Ning's heart tightened: "Master, how can we save him?"
Yan Chixia said:
"We need a 'Breaking Seal Talisman' to shatter the seal within the jade pendant with pure Yang energy. But this requires extremely high spiritual power, which you probably can't do with your current cultivation level."
Zhou Ning gritted his teeth: "This disciple is willing to give it a try."
Yan Chixia glanced at him and nodded:
"Alright. I'll teach you how to draw a 'fortune-breaking talisman.' Whether you succeed or not depends on your own fate."
The "Breaking the Forbidden Zone Talisman" is more complex than any talisman Zhou Ning has ever drawn.
The rune has as many as 108 strokes, and each stroke requires precise infusion of spiritual power; the slightest mistake will render all previous efforts futile.
Zhou Ning spent three days and ruined hundreds of talisman papers before he could barely draw the first "barrier-breaking talisman" that was barely usable.
"The spiritual energy is still not evenly distributed." Yan Chixia looked at the talisman and shook his head.
"With the power of this talisman, I'm afraid it won't be able to break the seal in the jade pendant."
Zhou Ning gritted his teeth and continued practicing.
Two days later, he finally drew a "forbidden-breaking talisman" that was full of spiritual light and of excellent quality.
"That's fine." Yan Chixia nodded.
"Tonight at midnight, the yang energy is at its weakest and the yin energy is at its strongest, making it the best time to break the seal."
Zhou Ning nodded, prepared the jade pendant and the "restriction-breaking talisman," and sat cross-legged on the boulder on the back mountain, waiting for midnight to arrive.
The moon rose to its zenith.
It's midnight.
Zhou Ning took a deep breath, placed the jade pendant on the stone slab in front of him, affixed the "Breaking Restriction Talisman" to the jade pendant, formed hand seals, and poured all the internal energy into the talisman.
"break!"
The talisman lit up with a dazzling golden light, illuminating the entire back mountain as if it were daytime.
The jade pendant vibrated violently, emitting a buzzing sound.
"Snap!"
A tiny crack appeared on the surface of the jade pendant.
Immediately afterwards, a phantom figure floated out from the jade pendant; it was a beautiful young woman dressed in palace attire.
She looked around blankly, finally fixing her gaze on Zhou Ning.
"You...you are..."
Zhou Ning said softly, "Princess, you are free now."
The princess's spirit stared at him blankly, tears welling in her eyes.
"Thank you... thank you so much, my benefactor."
She bowed deeply to Zhou Ning, then transformed into specks of golden light and vanished into the night sky.