Bashu had long held the reputation of being a Land of Abundance, and among its many claims to fame, none shone brighter than the Tang Sect.
The Tang Sect was situated in a mysterious place. Most people knew only that it lay partway up a mountain, and the peak of that mountain bore a terrifying name — Gui Jian Chou.
Drop a stone from the cliffs of Gui Jian Chou, and you would have to count a full nineteen seconds before hearing the echo of it striking the bottom. Such was its height — and it was precisely because those nineteen seconds surpassed the eighteen layers of hell by one that the place had earned its name.
A young man in grey stood at the summit of Gui Jian Chou. The biting mountain wind could not make his body so much as sway. The large character "Tang" emblazoned across his chest marked him as a member of the Tang Sect; the grey robes identified him as an outer disciple.
He was twenty-nine years old. Having entered the Tang Sect shortly after birth, he ranked third among the outer disciples by seniority, which was why they called him "Third Young Master." Among the inner disciples, of course, that became simply Tang San.
Since its founding, the Tang Sect had been divided into two branches: the outer sect, made up of those who bore different surnames or had been granted the Tang name, and the inner sect, the direct bloodline — the family that passed the tradition down through the generations.
At this moment, the expression on Tang San's face was remarkably complex — sometimes smiling, sometimes on the verge of tears — but no matter what, it could not conceal the excitement that rose from the very depths of his heart.
Twenty-nine years. From the day, twenty-nine years ago, that Elder of the Outer Sect, Tang Lan Tai Ye, had plucked him from his swaddling clothes and brought him into the Tang Sect, the sect had become his home, and its Hidden Weapons had become his entire world.
Suddenly, Tang San's face changed — then just as quickly, he relaxed, a trace of bitterness in his muttered words: "What must come will come after all."
Seventeen figures. Seventeen white-robed figures, leaping toward the summit from the mountainside like shooting stars. The youngest among their owners was past fifty, and every face bore a grave expression. The white robes they wore marked them as inner sect members, and the golden character "Tang" upon their chests was the emblem of Tang Sect elders.
The Inner Elder Council of the Tang Sect, Grand Master Tang included, comprised seventeen elders in all — and all seventeen were now ascending the mountain. Not even a martial arts grand assembly could have compelled every Tang Sect elder to mobilize at once. The eldest among these elders had lived well past two full cycles of sixty years.
Every one of these Tang Sect elders had cultivated to a realm beyond compare. In the span of a single breath, they had arrived at the summit.
When outer disciples encountered inner sect elders, the only proper course was to kneel in greeting. But Tang San did not move. He simply stood watching as these solemn-faced elders came to stand before him, blocking every path — and behind him lay the abyss of Gui Jian Chou.
Setting down three Buddha's Fury Tang Lotuses, Tang San cast one last lingering glance. A faint smile of satisfaction crossed his lips. He had succeeded, after all. Twenty years of tireless effort, and he had finally completed the pinnacle masterpiece of the Tang Sect's outer branch hidden weapons. That sense of fulfillment — words could never capture it.
In this moment, Tang San felt that nothing else mattered. Violating the sect's rules, life or death — all of it seemed to draw to a close before the three blooming lotuses. The Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, the most fearsome hidden weapon under heaven, had been born in his hands. What could possibly thrill a man who had devoted his entire life to hidden weapons more than this?
"I know that sneaking into the inner sect and stealing our ultimate techniques is an unforgivable offense — the sect's rules will not permit it. But Tang San swears by the heavens: I have never leaked a single fragment of those techniques to the outside world. I say this not because I hope for the elders' leniency, but only to make one thing clear — Tang San has never forgotten his roots. Not in the past, and not in the future."
Tang San's voice was remarkably calm — perhaps the calmest he had ever been in his entire life. Gazing at the sprawling, ancient courtyards of the Tang Sect far down the mountainside, breathing in the very air that belonged to the sect, his eyes grew moist. From the day he had first understood the world, he could say that he had been born for the Tang Sect. And now, it was time to leave it behind — to fulfill the pursuit of a lifetime, even if that meant leaving the sect for good.
The elders said nothing. They had not yet recovered from the shock of the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus. Two hundred years — a full two hundred years since it had last appeared, and now it had resurfaced in the hands of an outer disciple. What did that mean? This unrivaled weapon, which even the Tang Sect's own people could not withstand, heralded nothing less than another glorious peak for the Tang Sect.
Seeing the elders standing with bowed heads in silence, Tang San smiled brightly. "Everything Tang San has was given by the Tang Sect — my life, my abilities, all of it. At all times, in life I am a person of the Tang Sect, and in death I am a ghost of the Tang Sect. I know the elders would never permit the corpse of an outer disciple who violated the rules to remain within the sect. If that is the case, then let my bones dissolve into the nature of Bashu."
Tang San's voice, calm and almost exuberant, finally jolted the elders from their stupor. When they raised their heads to look at him, they saw a layer of milky-white qi spread outward from his body in an instant.
"The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record — you even learned the supreme internal cultivation technique from the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record?!" Grand Master Tang blurted out in disbelief.
With a thunderous boom, the elders simultaneously retreated to guard against the unexpected. But what they saw was Tang San, completely bare.
Tang San smiled. His smile was brilliant. "I came naked, and I leave naked. The Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus is the last gift Tang San leaves for the sect. Now, apart from myself, I have taken nothing from the Tang Sect. The secret manuals are all beneath the first brick inside my room's door. Tang San returns everything to the sect starting now."
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha..." Tang San threw his head back in wild laughter, then took a sudden step backward. In that instant, every Tang Sect elder realized, with alarm, that not one of them had managed to stop him. His body, shrouded in white light, shot forward like lightning toward the abyss of Gui Jian Chou — that tall, unbowed figure soaring into the air, striding into the mist that filled the mountain chasm.
"Wait!" Grand Master Tang finally reacted — but by then, anything he might say had come too late.
The mist was thick, heavy with moisture. It swallowed the sunlight, and it swallowed Tang San, the man who had given his entire life to the Tang Sect and its hidden weapons.
Time seemed to have frozen. Grand Master Tang lifted the three lotuses before him with trembling hands. His eyes were wet. "Tang San, oh Tang San — why did you have to do this? The astonishment you've given us is far, far too much..."
"Brother." The Second Elder stepped forward. "Why grieve over a traitor?"
Grand Master Tang's gaze turned cold in an instant. A chill radiated from his entire body as he fixed the Second Elder with a stare. "Who did you call a traitor? Have you ever seen a traitor steal the sect's supreme secret arts and then refuse to flee? Have you ever seen a traitor prove his conviction through death? Have you ever seen a man who possessed a weapon powerful enough to annihilate any expert in the Tang Sect — and chose to leave it behind as a final gift? Tang San is no traitor. He is the most brilliant genius this sect has produced in two hundred years."
The Second Elder was stunned. "But he stole our sect's—"
Grand Master Tang cut him off. "If you could forge a Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, I wouldn't care what you stole either. You were wrong. And so was I. Just a moment ago, we watched helplessly as the chance for the Tang Sect to shine once more slipped through our fingers."
The elders gathered around, their expressions complex — confusion, sorrow, sighs, and above all, regret.
"You all need say nothing further. Relay my decree: command all sect disciples to mobilize and search below Gui Jian Chou for Tang San. I want him found alive, and if not, his body must be recovered. Furthermore, from this moment forward, Tang San is promoted to inner sect disciple. If he still lives, he shall be my sole successor to the position of sect leader."
"Yes, Grand Master." The elders bowed in unison and obeyed.
Had Tang San still been standing on that cliff — had he heard Grand Master Tang's words — even in death, his heart would have been at peace. His efforts had not been in vain after all.
But all of it had come just a little too late.
Gui Jian Chou — that place where even dropping a stone meant counting nineteen seconds, a place that seemed to surpass the eighteen layers of hell itself — how could it possibly release a living soul back through its mists?
Tang San was gone. He had left this world forever. But another destiny was only just beginning.
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Our Soul Land animated adaptation is now airing on Tencent Video — has everyone seen it yet? I'm very pleased with it, and I'm sure you'll all love it too.
(End of Chapter)