Chapter 1304: “Ancestral Tablet”
Chapter 1303: “Ancestral Tablet”
True Person Zhuge saw Old Master Xun’s familiar, strict handwriting, and his scalp went numb.
It gave him the feeling of having graduated for many years, only to suddenly dream of returning to his disciple days, back to being tightly lectured by an “instructor,” filled with tension and unease. Holding Old Master Xun’s reply, he stood there for a long time without moving.
The Heavenly Pivot Pavilion administrator urged him: “What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and see what Venerable Elder Xun replied to you.”
True Person Zhuge pressed his lips together, still doing some mental preparation.
In his entire life, the only person who had ever truly kept him in check was Old Master Xun.
Old Master Xun’s rigorous, earnest temperament clashed directly with his own naturally carefree and unrestrained nature.
“So slow and wishy-washy…”
The Heavenly Authority Pavilion administrator grew a bit impatient. He snatched the jade slip from the dazed True Person Zhuge, glanced at it, then lifted his head to look him over, sighing:
“Venerable Elder Xun really cares about you…”
“He says that although you’ve cultivated to the realm of True Person, your foundation is still shallow and not solid enough.”
“Your problem is still that you’re too lazy.”
“Your aptitude and temperament are sufficient, but you’re just too lazy.”
“Your Zhuge clan’s saying, ‘Without detachment, one cannot clarify one’s resolve,’ is correct, but you can’t only be ‘detached’ without clarifying your resolve.”
“Don’t spend every day waving a fan and doing nothing.”
“Study more. Comprehend more.”
“Clarify your mind. Establish your resolve.”
“The world speaks of gradual enlightenment and sudden enlightenment, and people always favor sudden enlightenment—believing that with one moment of insight, right and wrong become clear, the mind is illuminated, one directly points to the Great Dao, and the immortal path becomes unimpeded.”
“That’s just lazy people comforting themselves.”
“Those who experience sudden enlightenment have also undergone years of ‘gradual enlightenment’… keeping heaven and earth in their hearts at all times, sensing all things and all laws. Seeing more, learning more, thinking more, when a certain trigger is reached, things naturally fall into place, and only then does ‘sudden enlightenment’ occur.”
“If you don’t study, don’t practice, don’t think, don’t comprehend, and yet expect sudden enlightenment… that’s nothing but a fool’s dream.”
“If you want to enter the Profound-Hollow-Void, you still must calm your mind and properly contemplate the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, the laws of the Great Dao.”
“Heaven may not necessarily reward diligence, but those who are not diligent, who have not been tempered by worldly affairs, have no way to refine their temperament and don’t even possess the qualifications to ask about the Dao…”
The Heavenly Authority Pavilion administrator knew that True Person Zhuge feared Old Master Xun’s “nagging” the most, so he had originally read the letter aloud with a playful intent. But as he kept reading, his tone gradually softened, and his attitude became solemn.
After finishing, he fell silent in thought for a moment, then looked up at True Person Zhuge, half emotional and half envious:
“Venerable Elder Xun treats you… truly well.”
True Person Zhuge also put away his usual nonchalance. After pondering briefly, he let out a deep sigh. “Yes…”
These were teachings aimed at the Profound-Hollow-Void—containing insights into laws, as well as lessons drawn from life itself.
To cultivators at the lower realms—especially those below Foundation Establishment, or even Golden Core cultivators—this kind of “nagging” might look like empty, lofty nonsense, seemingly without any practical meaning.
Foundational realms require a focus on the “solid.”
But once one’s realm gradually rises, once one stands at a higher vantage point, sees more of worldly affairs and human hearts, and reaches the level of “comprehending the Dao,” only then does one understand how profound this knowledge truly is.
Back when they were still at Foundation Establishment, studying at the Great Void Sect, hearing these words would probably have left them unmoved.
But now, they had left the sect, undergone over a hundred years of tempering, reached the peak of Golden Core. The next step was to break into Feathered Ascension and glimpse the realm of True Person—and even further, to transform from the solid into the void and perceive the “Void” realm.
Hearing Old Master Xun again at this moment, they could not help but feel a deep sense of emotion.
An ancestor was, after all, still an ancestor…
Many times, an ancestor may seem long-winded, conservative, or stubborn—but it’s not that the ancestor is wrong; it’s that the disciples simply don’t understand.
And for this very reason, no matter how scatterbrained True Person Zhuge might be, he held profound respect for Old Master Xun in his heart.
In the entire Zhuge clan, no one could control him… but Old Master Xun could.
Whatever Old Master Xun said, he could only listen.
Because he knew that no matter what Old Master Xun taught, he always practiced it himself first—saying it and doing it—before teaching others. Old Master Xun’s instruction was impartial and without selfish motives.
Perhaps it was precisely for this reason that True Person Zhuge’s grandfather had not sent him to a higher Dao academy, but instead sent him thousands of miles away to cultivate at the Great Void Sect, starting from Foundation Establishment.
Foundation Establishment has a profound impact on the path of one’s entire life.
For a moment, all three fell into a daze.
After a short while, they suddenly snapped back to their senses. The Heavenly Authority Pavilion administrator flipped through the jade slip letter and said, “And then?”
“When we wrote the letter, we weren’t asking about any of this…”
“What about the Jade Certificate? What was the ancestor’s reply?”
The three of them searched through it for a long time, but couldn’t find even a single word of reply hidden between the lines.
The entire letter was filled with admonitions and reminders about True Person Zhuge’s cultivation, just like usual.
It seemed that regarding the matter of the “Jade Certificate,” Old Master Xun didn’t care at all and didn’t mention it even once.
But all three knew that Old Master Xun would never fail to reply.
So, at the very end of the letter—after Old Master Xun’s signature—they found a very, very small drawing, almost like a seal. Without careful inspection, it was impossible to make it out.
The drawing itself was simple: an incense burner with curling smoke, and above it, enshrined, a spirit tablet.
“What does this mean?”
The three frowned.
“Is the Jade Certificate fake?”
“No. If it were fake, the old ancestor would’ve just replied with a single ‘No’ and been done with it. He wouldn’t waste words, much less draw a picture.”
“He didn’t say it outright, which means this Jade Certificate… is probably not fake?”
“The reason he didn’t state it clearly is because that kid’s identity is unusual. This isn’t something that should be publicized, let alone given a clear answer…”
“Then what about this picture? What does it mean?”
“The incense burner, the incense smoke… does it mean this kid is connected to the Great Void Sect’s lineage and inheritance?”
“Then what about this spirit tablet?”
“Is this… a Great Void Sect memorial tablet?”
The Heavenly Authority Pavilion’s administrator looked at True-Person Zhuge. “Zhuge, you’ve knelt in the Great Void Sect’s ancestral hall before. Take a close look, does this look like a Great Void Sect memorial tablet to you?”
True-Person Zhuge’s expression darkened. “You haven’t?”
The Heavenly Authority Pavilion administrator nodded. “I’m not qualified yet. I haven’t been punished by Venerable Elder Xun to kneel in the ancestral hall.”
True-Person Zhuge sighed, glanced at the Jade Certificate, and said, “It’s a Great Void Sect ancestral tablet, but one size smaller.”
This was something Venerable Elder Xun knew True-Person Zhuge would be able to recognize.
But that only made the matter even more intriguing.
“Could it be that the Venerable Elder Xun is implying… that this kid called Mo Hua is connected to the Great Void Sect’s incense fire and inheritance?”
“So this drawing is a kind of metaphor?”
“This ancestral tablet refers to the kid himself?”
“Is it literal, saying this kid is a descendant of the Great Void Sect’s founding ancestors?”
“Or is it figurative, implying that this kid holds an extremely high status within the sect… so high that he could have an ancestral tablet set up?”
One of the three was a Consecrator of the Imperial Celestial Bureau; the other two were administrators of the Seven Pavilions. All of them had spent years in the Dao Court, each possessed formidable powers of “interpretation.”
And yet…
“Is this interpretation really correct?”
“Isn’t this a bit too absurd?”
“But if this Jade Certificate is real—if elders, sect masters, and even the ancestors of the three sects personally signed it—then it might be… not absurd at all…”
They recalled the Jade Certificate, with its long lists of names, row upon row, densely packed, neatly written elder signatures.
And those heavy, weighty titles of the sect masters and ancestors.
All three felt their scalps go numb.
“This is really… treatment fit for a crown prince…”
“The crown prince among crown princes… more like a little ancestor, one jointly owned by three sects…”
“This is outrageous…”
“So what do we do now?”
“This person… we have to protect him, right?”
“Not just ‘protect’ him,” the Heavenly Authority Pavilion administrator said, pointing at the small ancestral tablet and sighing. “Judging by the ancestor’s meaning, we need to ‘enshrine’ him…”
It was already a memorial tablet, how could it not be enshrined?
And there couldn’t be the slightest mistake.
The three frowned deeply, falling silent, each feeling somewhat unsettled.
After a moment, the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion administrator spoke:
“I still don’t quite understand… he’s just at Foundation Establishment. How can his status be this high?”
“Lifting a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator to such heights? That doesn’t feel like the Great Void Sect’s style at all.”
“And it doesn’t seem like something Elder Xun would do either…”
“I feel the same… but now’s not the time to dwell on that.”
“Quick, figure out a way to bring this ‘tablet’ back and enshrine it first,” the Heavenly Authority Pavilion administrator said helplessly.
A Great Void Sect memorial tablet couldn’t possibly be enshrined in the Huá Clan, after all…
All three slowly let out a sigh.
True-Person Zhuge and the two administrators deliberated through the night.
…
The next day, True-Person Zhuge personally went to the Huá Clan’s encampment to retrieve the “Ancestral Tablet”.
But only he himself knew that he was there to retrieve a “tablet.”
On the surface, he showed no hint of anything unusual, still wearing that indifferent, half-lazy expression.
He even cast a “displeased” glance at Mo Hua.
As if he thought the kid was a “walking troublemaker,” a “disaster magnet.”
Those present weren’t just from the Huá Clan; True Person Qingmu, the Golden-Robed Young Noble, and several scions of powerful Clans were also there.
Since it concerned Mo Hua’s “stay or departure,” there were quite a few people.
“I went back and checked,” True-Person Zhuge said. “This kid does seem to have a bit of a connection to my Great Void Sect. I…”
He sighed lightly, gave Mo Hua another “displeased” look, and said slowly, “In the end, there’s at least some old sentiment involved. Ignoring it entirely wouldn’t be right…”
“…So I’ll have to take this kid with me for now.”
He didn’t present Mo Hua as someone important, only as a matter of sect ties forcing him to meddle reluctantly.
True Person Huá didn’t suspect anything.
Or rather, he might have suspected that Mo Hua’s identity was unusual… but he could never have imagined just what kind of status this seemingly “Divine-Shaman-like” Foundation Establishment kid he’d captured from the wilderness actually held within the Great Void Sect.
“His Jade Certificate… is it real?” True Person Huá asked.
True-Person Zhuge nodded.
“May I take a look?” True Person Huá said.
True-Person Zhuge replied, “A sect’s Jade Certificate is internal sect business. It’s not appropriate to show it to outsiders.”
True Person Huá insisted, “I need to see it. Only then can I confirm that he truly is a disciple of the Great Void Sect.”
True-Person Zhuge deflected a few more times, but in the end couldn’t refuse any longer. He handed the Jade Certificate to True Person Huá.
On the Jade Certificate, there were indeed several elders’ signatures.
And it was indeed a Great Void Sect Jade Certificate.
All the seals, marks, and credentials were flawless down to the smallest detail.
Yet True Person Huá couldn’t help suspecting that True-Person Zhuge had “forged” it overnight… he just lacked proof.
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And he also wasn’t entirely sure whether someone like True-Person Zhuge—a detached, worldly-unconcerned True Person—would really lower himself to forge documents for a mere Foundation Establishment disciple.
Stereotypes really do kill.
Still, Mo Hua’s matter concealed too many unknown secrets, and True Person Huá was unwilling to let go.
“This child may be a Great Wilderness Divine Shaman…”
True-Person Zhuge shook his head. “It should be a misunderstanding.”
True Person Huá’s gaze sharpened. “I captured him from the Great Wilderness. If he’s a Great Void Sect disciple, why would he appear in the Great Wilderness at a time like this?”
True-Person Zhuge’s heart sank slightly as he looked toward Mo Hua.
Mo Hua immediately spoke up. “I went there for training.”
“Training?”
“Yes!” Mo Hua said righteously, because he truly wasn’t lying.
True Person Qingmu frowned and asked in confusion, “With the famine spreading, why were you in the Great wilderness?”
Mo Hua replied, “When I went, there was no famine yet. After I reached the depths of the wilderness, the famine suddenly broke out, and I got trapped inside.” Mo Hua sighed, his face full of hardship.
“In that savage place, I was an outsider and had a very hard time surviving. I was hunted everywhere by the barbarian tribes. Later, during a tribal conflict, I accidentally killed a few people and was immediately wanted by the tribes. My portrait was circulated everywhere, many tribes wanted me dead, eager to eat my flesh and drink my blood.”
“Left with no choice, I went through countless hardships to find a remote little place, hoping to lie low and attempt Core formation, so I’d have more means to protect myself and survive in the wilderness.”
“And then…”
Mo Hua pointed straight at True Person Huá. “This man suddenly rushed in—not only ruining my Golden Core formation, but also capturing me, forcing me to admit I was some kind of Divine-Shaman. Otherwise, he said he’d torture me… even dismember me by lingchi…”
Mo Hua smoothly dumped the blame in one clean motion.
True Person Huá—a dignified True Person—was pointed at by Mo Hua and, for once, found himself at a loss for words.
He could sense that the truth might not be like this.
Yet everything Mo Hua said sounded reasonable.
And just like that, many things suddenly became explainable.
True-Person Zhuge also looked at Mo Hua in surprise, thinking to himself that this kid’s tongue was truly sharp, sharp enough to leave even True Person Huá speechless.
True Person Huá took a deep breath, his gaze icy, and retorted, “Then why don’t you explain why, out of everyone else, I specifically went after you?”
Mo Hua sneered. “How would I know? You captured me, wasn’t that your own problem? You did something wrong, ruined my Golden Core formation, and now you still want me to find excuses for you? Shouldn’t you be reflecting on yourself instead? You people of the Huá Clan really are thick-skinned.”
True Person Huá felt a surge of blood rush to his head.
Mo Hua’s eyes flickered as he seized the opportunity and continued, “Who knows what schemes you Huá Clan people are plotting? Maybe you already knew I was from the Great Void Sect, and deliberately came to capture me, forcing me to admit I was a Divine-Shaman, so you could frame me and implicate the Great Void Sect!”
Mo Hua looked furious.
True Person Huá’s expression changed.
True-Person Zhuge’s gaze turned cold as he looked at True Person Huá.
The expressions of the others suddenly grew heavy as well, their looks becoming meaningful.
From beginning to end, this matter did indeed feel strange…
If one said this boy was a Divine-Shaman, it felt forced at every turn.
But if one said he was merely a Great Void Sect disciple, and that the Huá Clan had long known the inside story, captured him from the wilderness to force him to admit he was a Divine-Shaman, thereby shifting the blame onto the Great Void Sect… That actually sounded somewhat reasonable.
The Huá Clan did seem like the type to do such a thing.
And it was indeed their style, so much so that even lying about it would sound convincing unless one knew the Huá Clan extremely well.
But only True Person Huá himself knew the truth in his heart: he truly had been wronged. At least in this matter, he genuinely had no intention of framing the Great Void Sect.
Great clans acted according to interests. At present, the Huá Clan had no conflict with the Great Void Sect.
Moreover, the Great Void Sect was no longer what it once was, it had already become the number one sect of Qianxue, not some small sect that could be casually manipulated.
Even before this, the Great Void Sect had been an ancient, orthodox grand sect devoted to transmitting the Dao. Over so many years, it had cultivated countless cultivators, who might now be scattered throughout the cultivation world, occupying who-knew-what kinds of positions.
If the Great Void Sect were simply weak, or had fallen on hard times itself, they might not say anything.
But if the Great Void Sect were deliberately framed, slandered, and “defamed,” that would be tantamount to defaming the “sect background” of every cultivator who had come from the Great Void Sect.
That could easily provoke public outrage.
True Person Huá’s heart sank, his expression turning ice-cold.
Seeing this, True-Person Zhuge spoke slowly, “This matter… should indeed be a misunderstanding. Since this child is a disciple of our Great Void Sect, it is absolutely impossible for him to be a Divine-Shaman of the Great wilderness.”
Though his tone was calm, he was delivering a conclusion in the voice of a True Person.
Otherwise, what would their Great Void Sect become?
If Mo Hua were a Divine-Shaman, wouldn’t their Great Void Sect be the mastermind behind the Great wilderness rebellion?
A breeding ground for cultivating major rebels against the Dao Court?
Wouldn’t their Great Void Sect then become a ‘den of traitors’ to the Dao Court?
This stigma was something the Great Void Sect absolutely could not bear.
And in front of so many people, no one truly dared to pin such a “stain” onto the head of the number one sect of Qianxue.
True Person Huá fell silent for a moment, then could only say, “This matter… may indeed be a misunderstanding.”
True-Person Zhuge nodded. “Then it’s settled. This boy… I’ll take him with me first?”
True Person Huá glanced around.
True Person Qingmu, along with the scions of various powerful families, all remained silent, but their attitudes were obvious.
True Person Huá said slowly, “In that case… that’s fine.”
Mo Hua was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected the Huá Clan to relent so quickly.
True-Person Zhuge beckoned to Mo Hua. “Come with me.” Then he led Mo Hua toward the outside of the grand hall.
After they had taken just a few steps, True Person Huá suddenly said, “Since he’s a disciple of the Great Void Sect…”
He looked at Mo Hua. “He should at least have a name, right?”
True-Person Zhuge didn’t speak, turning his gaze to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua had originally planned to make something up, to casually brush it off, but after thinking about it, he felt it was pointless. So he said to True Person Huá: “My name is Mo Hua.”
“Mo Hua…”
True Person Huá looked at Mo Hua deeply, then nodded. “Good. I’ll remember it.”
Not only True Person Huá, True Person Qingmu, the gold-robed noble young master of the Xuanyuan Family, and all the nobles filling the hall, upon hearing this, all showed different expressions, silently repeating that name in their hearts.
Mo Hua.
Some gazes were filled with surprise.
Some were thoughtful.
And some hidden figures, after a brief moment of astonishment, gradually let their eyes turn cold and sinister.
“So it’s…”
“Mo Hua.”