Immortal Mortal

Yan Qiren’s eyes blazed as he said, ”This rascal actually brought three half moon keys…”

”What?” Most of the people seated in the Yan Clan hall stood up in shock. Yan Pingzhi gasped.

”Patriarch, has it been confirmed that the half moon keys can be used in the Half Moon Immortal Palace?” Yan Pingzhi tried to calm himself down, struggling to sound polite.

Yan Qiren nodded, ”Yes, they were the half moon keys from the Half Moon Immortal Palace. In other words, those were the very keys that the Yan Clan obtained 3000 years ago.”

When he finished speaking, Yan Qiren addressed the now standing elders once more, ”Everyone, please be seated. This concerns the future of my Yan Clan. We must not panic.”

Even though they all followed his instructions, they continued to breathe heavily. Evidently, nobody was calm.

How did the three big clans of Star King Mountain come about? They certainly didn’t just appear out of nowhere along with Star King Mountain. They only existed because of the Half Moon Immortal Palace.

The Half Moon Immortal Palace appeared once every 3000 years. It was said that there were 99 doors in the palace. Other than the last door, each one of the other 98 doors could be opened with a half moon key.

That was the reason that 100 half moon keys appeared in the Half Moon Immortal Palace. Any two of such keys could be joined together to form a full moon. But out of all of them, two keys in particular, when combined, would melt together to form a permanent full moon. No amount of strength could then force them apart. This key could then be used to unlock the last door in the Half Moon Immortal Palace.

Behind each door in the Half Moon Immortal Palace lay valuable treasure. Sometimes, it was one and other times, it was many. 3000 years ago, the Yan Clan, the Xia Clan and the Mou Clan each obtained a half moon key. They entered the Half Moon Immortal Palace and each unlocked a door. The three clans of Star King Mountain formed because of those three half moon keys.

As the years went by, the number of doors that were unlocked in the Half Moon Immortal Palace increased. There were fewer and fewer that remained locked. At the same time, fewer and fewer half moon keys remained.

That was the reason that everybody was so agitated upon hearing that Yan Yangdong had three half moon keys. That was also the reason that Yan Qiren’s blood was now boiling.

Yan Pingzhi sucked in a breath, steadied his voice, and asked, ”How did Yangdong obtain three half moon keys? And since he had three half moon keys, why did he want to go to Universal Hall so soon?”

Only big clans knew of the Half Moon Immortal Palace. Small sects, and ordinary people would not have heard of such a place.

Yan Pingzhi was confused. It would be years before the Half Moon Immortal Palace would be opened once again. Even if Yan Yangdong wanted to keep those half moon keys for himself, he wouldn’t have been able to enter the Half Moon Immortal Palace now.

Yan Qiren exclaimed, ”A few years ago, Yan Yangdong gained an excellent opportunity, and inherited a considerable legacy. At the time, we didn’t think much of it…”

Yan Pingzhi knew what Yan Qiren was referring to. Yan Yangdong had killed a rogue cultivator and had obtained a legacy place. However, the Yan Clan hardly interfered in affairs like these. Their only rules were that these matters had to remain low-profile, and that whatever treasures the Yan Clan’s disciples obtained belonged also to the clan.

It was these rules that ensured the Yan Clan’s prosperity, and which allowed them to slowly rise to be top amongst the three clans.

”Other than obtaining the legacy from the Legacy Cave, Yan Yangdong also obtained a half moon key. He obtained the other two half moon keys from the Jing Clan of Ardent Sun City.”

Yan Pingzhi was not surprised by what Yan Qiren was saying. There was a woman from the Jing Clan, Jing Xiaoxiao, who married the Yan Clan’s Yan Yuyang.

”You mean, Yangdong went to look for the rogue cultivator on the Universal Board to get to Yan Clan’s spiritual jade pool? That wouldn’t have worked either, I remember Yangdong was only at True Lake Stage Level 5. Even if he had managed to enter the spiritual jade pool, it would still be impossible for him to get to Nihility God Stage in a mere few years, right?” Yan Pingzhi said, frowning. He knew that in order to get to the Half Moon Immortal Palace, one had to leave his spiritual will outside of the doors. That meant that even if one possessed a half moon key, he would still have to be in Nihility God Stage to be qualified to enter.

The Yan Clan always took things step by step; they never rushed. No matter how much of a genius Yan Yangdong was, he would still need two to three years to get from True Lake Stage Level 5 to True Lake Stage Level 9. Moreover, someone like Yan Yangdong had to get to True Lake Stage Level 10 before he would be allowed to progress to Nihility God Stage. This was to ensure that he would have a solid foundation. Using the Yan Clan technique, it would take at least three years to progress from True Lake Stage Level 9 to True Lake Stage Level 10.

For Yan Yangdong, this would have meant at least another six years. After six years, the Half Moon Immortal Palace would have long been opened. That was why Yan Pingzhi felt so confused.

Yan Qiren exclaimed, ”You’re right. There are only two chances to get into the Yan Clan’s spiritual jade pool. One is when a Nihility God has completely progressed to True God Stage. The other is when one has made it to the Universal Board, or has defeated someone whose name is on the Universal Board. Yan Yangdong challenged that Mo Wuji because he had wanted to enter the Yan Clan’s spiritual jade pool and rush to Nihility God Stage. His true level of cultivation wasn’t the middle of True Lake Stage. It was True Lake Stage Level 9. I know this only because Grand-Elder’s spiritual will once chanced upon him while he was training. Later, after he was beheaded, we looked into this and discovered that he had inherited a half moon key. Together with the two half moon keys from the Jing Clan, he had a total of three half moon keys on him.”

There was utter silence in the hall. Yan Yangdong was highly tolerant – he was indeed a rare genius of the Yan Clan. It was a pity that he was so selfish. That was his downfall. He ended up dying at the hands of a mere rogue cultivator on the Challenge Battlestage.

”Patriarch, our clan has to get those three half moon keys back. Why don’t I send some men out to search for it?” Yan Pingzhi suggested. He was sure that it would be a big blow to the Yan Clan if other clans were to find the three half moon keys.”

Yan Yang, the grand-elder who was silent up till that point, suddenly said, ”It will be enough to send a few Nihility Gods and a True God to settle this issue. Remember not to send any Earthly Immortals. Otherwise, we might attract unwanted attention.”

”Grand-Elder, a genius cultivator from our Yan Clan has just been murdered in the Universal Hall. It’s perfectly reasonable to send people to investigate the matter,” Yan Qiren explained.

At that moment, a ray of red light shone upon Yan Pingzhi’s hand.

Yan Pingzhi frowned and, without waiting for Grand-Elder to speak up, shook his head. ”Patriarch, I agree with what Grand-Elder said. According to the news I just received, the rogue cultivator who’s Rank 9951 on the Universal Board is not ordinary. He excelled in the recent Star Wars. He not only made it onto the Universal Board, but also obtained Mou Lanhan’s order flag and invitation.”

Once he had learned that Yan Yangdong was beheaded, he immediately sent out an order to look into Mo Wuji. In that short time, a portion of the investigation outcome had returned to him.

Yan Pingzhi’s words stunned Yan Qiren for a moment. He was most afraid that Mo Wuji would collaborate with other clans. Now, his greatest fear was coming true.

Yan Pingzhi continued, ”This rogue cultivator Mo Wuji is extremely tolerant. He didn’t use Mou Lanhan’s order flag despite being challenged by Yan Yangdong. I presume the Mou Clan knows of this. I’m afraid they would think even more highly of this Mo Wuji now. If I approach him because of what happened to Yan Yangdong, they will surely defend him.”

This realisation left the entire hall in complete silence once again. Among the three major clans, the Yan Clan ranked just above the Mou Clan.

However, everyone knew that the Yan Clan had stronger cultivators. When it came to actual skill, the Mou Clan was comparable to the Yan Clan.

Of the ten space armies in Zhen Mo, the Yan Clan controlled the Nebula Army, which ranked sixth place.

The Mou Clan, on the other hand, had some say in the Northern Star Army and the Star Trace Army. The Northern Star Army was first place. Even the Star Trace Army was close behind the Nebula Army at seventh place.

”The Universal Hall will be organising a huge auction soon. I think we can use this as an excuse to go there. As for Mo Wuji, let’s focus on getting him under control first. If this person can get his name on the Universal Board while in True Lake Stage, and even defeat Yan Yangdong – who was at True Lake Stage Level 9 – he could very well be as skillful as a Nihility God. We must not underestimate him,” Yan Qiren concluded after listening to Yan Pingzhi.

As if he wasn’t satisfied, he said, ”Even if we have to fight the Mou Clan, we have to get those three half moon keys back.”

…

Mo Wuji picked up Yan Yangdong’s ring and studied it. However, he did not begin cultivating immediately. Instead, he kept it again. Yan Yangdong belonged to the Yan Clan, and he was a genius disciple. The ring definitely contained many good things. Even if it contained nothing at all, Mo Wuji was still interested in his halberd technique.

He decided not to cultivate now because he was afraid that the Yan Clan would come after him. Once the Yan Clan did come after him, he would have to escape to space. He was afraid that Yan Yangdong’s ring had a spiritual will imprint.

As for the ”fair law enforcers” that Universal Hall apparently had, Mo Wuji paid no regard to them. He, a mere rogue cultivator, would not be able to deal with the Yan Clan no matter what.

The ban at the door shook. Opening the door, Mo Wuji saw the Chu Qianlou and the rest had returned. But he was puzzled. Following the group was a man that Mo Wuji had never met before.

”Brother Mo, here is your universal token. We also earned 9000 contribution points. That would be useful for us,” Rong He grinned and handed the universal token over to Mo Wuji.

”Thank you,” he chuckled and reached out for the universal token, hanging it around his waist. He had already swept up the contribution points on the universal token. The total amount of contribution points they could use now was over 90,000.

He once again turned his attention to the middle-aged man behind Chu Qianlou. He looked friendly, and his eyes carried some humour. However, Mo Wuji had seen too many people and experienced too many things. He knew that this man was not as friendly as he seemed. Chu Qianlou quickly introduced him, ”Wuji, this is Shopkeeper Peng from Star Searching Merchant House.”

Before Mo Wuji could speak, the smiling man greeted him, ”I am Peng Zimai, from Star Searching Merchant House. I heard that Dao Friend Mo intends to go to the auction that Star Searching Merchant House will be organising in about five days. Thus, I have come to discuss something with you.”