Chapter 56, Deciphering the Spiritual Book

Translator: StarReader

 

Su Chen carried a basket of herbs and left the Medicine King Estate, heading to another county for an errand. He journeyed away from bustling Gusu County City, reaching about twenty miles into rugged mountains where few ventured due to frequent tiger and wolf sightings.

 

Entering the dense, deep mountains, he found a rock to sit down on in the vast and quiet forest.

 

He pulled out from his chest a heavy jade slip book that he had been carrying all along. This jade slip book was made of eighteen exquisite jade pieces, strung together with delicate gold threads, resembling a bamboo scroll but without any inscriptions.

 

A month ago, Su Chen had investigated Han Mountain Daoist Temple at night but failed to find the stolen items from Daoist Qinghe and pirate Ding Shisan. Instead, in a hidden cabinet of the temple’s secret room, he discovered this mysterious jade slip scroll, which turned out to be an unexpected treasure.

 

But when Han Mountain Daoist Temple had called upon the county constable to search the entire city and mobilized their disciples across the vast expanse of the Wu Region, setting up a formidable encirclement, it was clear evidence that this lost treasure book held extraordinary importance for the Daoists. Its value might even surpass the ten heavy chests of gold, silver, and jewels stored in the secret room.

 

“Could this be the rumored wordless Heaven Book, containing the secrets of Grandmaster cultivation?”

 

Su Chen examined the jade scroll with curiosity.

 

Among the numerous random books in the library, there were records of martial heroes’ legendary feats. These stories often mentioned the existence of a Book of Heaven containing no words. It was said to contain the secrets of first-rate martial arts experts or even Grandmaster techniques, capable of transforming an ordinary practitioner into an unparalleled martial artist.

 

Of course, these were just legends, and one had to take them with a grain of salt.

 

Writing invisible characters wasn’t hard. Special techniques could hide the content on a book’s pages.

 

Su Chen witnessed once how a senior pharmacist concealed their secret correspondence by writing with rice water on white paper, leaving no trace once dried. Only when treated with a special solution would blue or purple text appear.

 

If the recipient saw the blue words, he’d know the letter was intercepted. This was but a common little trick of the martial circles for secure delivery of confidential letters, to prevent the messenger from peeking at their contents. Having seen such invisible missives before, Su Chen had grown accustomed to them and no longer found them unusual. Most so-called mysterious, wordless Heaven Books in martial circles were actually just regular books with their text hidden through various secret methods.

 

“This jade slip scroll is likely just like the pharmacists writings—using secret techniques to hide their mysteries. If I can figure out how to make them reveal themselves…” As Su Chen pondered this, excitement began to stir within him. Cracking the secret of this jade slip scroll was a rare thrill for him. Since it was jade and not paper, there was no way they could have written on it with rice water like usual.

 

Su Chen pondered for a moment before holding up the jade slip under the intense sunlight, projecting its surface to see if there were any carved words. However, despite his sharp eyesight, he could find nothing.

 

He followed by immersing it in clear spring water, but that also yielded no results.

 

Since water had failed, he decided to try fire—perhaps burning it might reveal some traces. The open wilderness and the jade slip’s natural resistance to heat made it an ideal candidate for such a test.

 

Su Chen tried burning it with small, controlled flames first, slowly roasting the jade slip. There was no reaction. He got bolder, building a roaring campfire and throwing the jade slip into the inferno. The eighteen pieces turned fiery red in the blaze but remained unchanged.

 

Unable to comprehend what was happening, Su Chen gave up on boiling it as well.

 

He tried all sorts of strange methods, but nothing worked. The jade slip showed no reaction whatsoever.

 

“That’s strange. Could it be that these eighteen pieces of white jade are just pure jade and not Grandmaster treasure books at all?

 

“This doesn’t make any sense! The hidden compartment in Daoist Qinghe’s secret room was even more hidden than the ten heavy chests filled with gold. Why would Daoist Qinghe go through all that trouble if it’s all for nothing? And why would the Daoist temple make such a big fuss, involving the constables to seal the city and even mobilize the martial groups across the entire Wu Region to chase after me?

 

“If this isn’t a Heaven Book of the Grandmaster realm but merely a dozen jade pendants, then the jade itself wouldn’t be particularly valuable. It wouldn’t be worth all this trouble.”

 

Su Chen held the jade slips, unable to unlock their secrets. He spent several hours studying it, trying to figure out what kind of trick could unravel its mysteries.

 

After deep contemplation, he finally clenched his lips tightly.

 

He wondered if soaking the jade slip in blue water might trigger some special reaction.

 

His blue water was made by grinding down a bluestone tear into powder and dissolving it. It could rapidly grow herbs, granting them a year’s worth of growth in just one night.

 

However, he only had fifteen tears left. Each one was precious. He didn’t want to waste even a single one unless absolutely necessary.

 

But after trying all sorts of methods without success, Su Chen decided to give it a try.

 

Why not? If it didn’t work, what was the point in holding back? The bluestones were rare but unused; it was just a pile of worthless pebbles—nowhere near as valuable as cracking open the jade slips to uncover their secrets.

 

Su Chen retrieved a blustone tear from his small pouch and chose a recessed section of rock to grind it into powder. He mixed it with some water, dissolving it, and then he submerged the jade slips within it.

 

Su Chen sat vigilantly by its side, eyes wide open for any signs of change. Hours passed and nothing happened, but Su Chen’s gaze remained fixed, his eyes beginning to sting from strain.

 

As night fell, the sky gradually darkened.

 

The jade slip scroll had been immersed in the blue water all this time. The blue water lost its color, and the jade slip seemed to have absorbed something—its surface now bore faint, hazy characters, densely covering it.

 

These characters were as tiny as fleas.

 

Su Chen’s vision was exceptionally sharp and could make them out clearly.

 

On each of the eighteen jade slips, there appeared lines of minuscule text, some even accompanied by patterns.

 

“Ha! There are indeed faint markings on these jade slips—the blue water is truly miraculous!”

 

Su Chen was thrilled.

 

He had only risked the cost of a single bluestone to give it a try, but to his astonishment, this method had worked.

 

He couldn’t figure out why his tear was able to decipher the jade slip scripture. Maybe there was some connection between them. Regardless, all that mattered was that he unlocked its secrets.

 

Su Chen quickly examined the writings on it closely. The first jade slip revealed Wanderer’s Journey: Mayfly Chapter and a brief introduction stating that this spiritual text contained an incredibly profound cultivation method for the Qi Refining Stage of immortal cultivation, along with some common spiritual arts and methods for crafting talismans.

 

The second jade slip detailed the extremely intricate and profound cultivation method, The Mayfly Chapter. The remaining sixteen jade slips were less extraordinary; eight of them each contained a single spiritual art, while the other eight each held a method for crafting talismans.

 

“Qi Refining Stage immortal cultivation method, along with spiritual arts and talisman crafting?! Is this a scripture to become an immortal?”

 

Su Chen looked at the introductions on each jade slip, overwhelmed with disbelief.

 

This jade slip dared to claim it recorded immortal arts; it had to be an exceedingly rare treasure in the world. If this jade slip was found in the Medicine King Group’s library or at some bookshop in town, Su Chen would likely think it was a random compilation by some rural Daoist. However, since he stole it from the secret chamber of the Han Mountain Daoist Temple, Su Chen’s imagination ran wild.

 

“That’s why Han Mountain Daoist Temple treats the loss so seriously, as if they lost their souls. It turns out it’s a book on immortality.

 

“This scripture must be beyond Qinghe’s capabilities to obtain. Daoist Han Shan must’ve found it during his travels. I wonder where! And what is this Wanderer’s Journey? Another immortal cultivation method?

 

“The loss of such a treasure would certainly bring misfortune upon Qinghe. But since he consorted with the pirate Ding Shisan, harming the people, maybe it’s just his due punishment. Although I didn’t gather evidence of their collaboration, losing this scripture is worse than cutting off his arm. He’ll undoubtedly face Daoist Han Shan’s wrath.

 

“If this jade slip scroll truly contains immortal cultivation, does that mean there are beings more powerful than Grandmasters in the world?”

 

Su Chen was thrilled, his face flushed with excitement.

 

Since throwing himself into the martial world, Su Chen remained but a lowly figure in the Medicine King Group’s Errand Hall. Though he was recognized as a second-rate martial artist, his status in the vast Wu Region martial scene was nothing more than a negligible speck—neither his presence nor absence made a difference.

 

He never imagined that one day, he would find himself in possession of a miraculous immortal cultivation scripture. Su Chen had often listened to wandering storytellers in Gusu County City charming their audiences with tales of immortals and their extraordinary deeds, but they were dismissed as mere legends.

 

Now, the possibility arose that these fables might actually exist—albeit far removed from the martial world. It was likely only figures like Daoist Han Shan, the esteemed martial expert from the Wu Region, could ever come into contact with such mystical knowledge.

 

Su Chen’s excitement was palpable as he eagerly examined the jade slips, their engravings and symbols sparkling with arcane energy. His expression shifted upon noticing one particular slip adorned with a flame pattern.

 

It felt incredibly familiar.

 

Back when he first barged into Daoist Qinghe’s quarters, he found the same mysterious flame symbol on the desk. He had held it in his hand and used his perception to probe it, only to nearly scorch himself before hastily tossing it back onto the table out of fear. But upon returning later, intending to study it further, the talisman was gone, leaving no trace behind.

 

Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat.

 

“Could this be related to that enigmatic symbol? Perhaps Daoist Han Shan and his five disciples, including Daoist Qinghe, managed to unravel the secrets of this jade slip and attempted to craft their own talismans.”