Chapter 11

Zong Zi Heng was startled, and he squatted down to examine the corpse's fatal wound carefully. Due to the decay, the exact location could no longer be determined, but it was undoubtedly in the abdominal area. For the first time, he saw a cultivator who was rumored to have had his core stolen. He had little experience, but these two brothers have walked the Jianghu and had seen a lot. He asked, "How did you know that he had his golden core dug out?"

Huang Hong said, "Your Highness, as you saw, his abdomen had such a large hole. Although it's decayed, at that time of death, there must have been a large wound at this area. In addition, other than the dantian* area, there are many wounds elsewhere, yet they are not fatal, as if deliberately trying to keep him alive. The cultivation level of this cultivator is not shallow. Any fighting techniques that underestimated the enemy will most likely be shooting oneself in the foot*. To take such a risk, most likely the person must be kept alive in order to dig out the golden core. Once a person is dead, followed by the dispersion of spiritual power, the golden core would be useless. Finally, this corpse specialized in digging out people's bellies and intestines. It is obviously caused by strong resentment. Core thieves killed repeatedly and endlessly, so we've seen a few before. The way the murdered cultivators died is similar to the way he died."

"These demonic cultivators really deserve to be hacked into pieces." Zong Zi Heng gritted his teeth and said, "Stealing people's lifelong cultivation and still killing them."

Huang Wu sighed: "It's because the temptation of the human core is too great. The more powerful the cultivator refining the human core, the more effective the human core. I heard that the top human core can even change a person's roots."

"Aren't roots determined from birth?" Zong Zi Xiao looked at the corpse and shuddered at the thought of the despair of having the golden core ripped out of one's body while one was alive.

"The golden core condenses one's innate qualifications and acquired cultivation. Eating this kind of human core is equivalent to eating a part of the cultivator's essence. It is said that those who have had their golden cores dug are unable to form cores again even after reincarnation."

"Since the evil Tianshu Sect who had specialized in this path was exterminated, the demonic cultivators who stole cores have rarely been seen in the immortal cultivational world. Such demonic cultivators will be punished if they are encountered, but I never thought that they would still be so daring." Zong Zi Heng looked at the cultivators who died in vain and felt compassion for them in his heart.

"After the Tianshu Sect was eliminated, such demonic cultivators were indeed reduced in numbers, but it is impossible to get rid of them completely. In fact..." Huang Wu wanted to say something but stopped.

"What?"

"Ten years ago, there was a tragic case related to the theft of cores in Yanzhou. I am not sure whether Your Highness heard of it before."

"I haven't."

"Your Highness was young at that time, so it’s normal that you have not heard of it. It was a small sect, but it was also a righteous immortal sect. That master had cheated and killed his best friend of thirty years in order to change his own son's roots."

The Zong brothers were frozen.

Huang Hong's expression was gloomy: "He got that cultivator drunk, dug out his golden core and destroyed the corpse to get rid of the evidence. Later, when the matter was revealed, vengeful people slaughtered the whole sect."

Zong Zi Heng listened until his scalp tightened*. The evil in people is far worse than evil spirits.

"So, it is not only the demonic cultivators who specialize in stealing golden cores. There are special 'core hunters' in Jianghu. The golden cores are extremely expensive. Ordinary people cannot afford them. In the end, no one could say for sure who ate those cultivators' golden cores."

Huang Hong's left out a few points, but how could the people present not understand? Have those righteous cultivators never been tempted by human cores before?

Zong Zi Heng looked at that cultivator’s corpse which was too horrible to look at, and he thought that he must have had sentiments of saving people during his lifetime as well as the idea of pursuing immortality. Since the day he became sensible, he learned to cultivate diligently regardless of rain or shine. But just like that, his lifetime of work was ruthlessly plundered. In the end, he couldn't even be buried in peace and was reduced to a walking corpse that harmed people. As an immortal cultivator, it was impossible not to empathize with such a tragedy.

Zong Zi Heng was flustered, and he said: "Since we passed by here and just happened to run into him, it can also be considered as a kind of fate. He is also a victim. To help others to the end, this matter should not end this way. Huang Hong and Huang Wu, it's dawn. You guys go to the Chunyang Sect and the Wuyun Sect respectively. Order them to investigate the cause of death of this cultivator. One of them is to find the murderer and stop him from committing evil again, and the other is to find out the identity of this cultivator and send him back to his hometown to be buried."

"Got it."

"Big brother." Zong Zi Xiao tugged at the corner of his big brother's clothes, "Why would someone want to practice cultivation in such a harmful way?"

"...Because there are bad people in this world."

----

This time, the ones who hosted the Jiaolong assembly was the Wuliang Sect of Mount Shu. The two brothers had been riding their horses since they set out from Daming Mansion, stopping every now and then along the way. They were supposed to have plenty of time, but now, in order to investigate this case of core theft, they were going to be delayed in Gutuo Town for a few days and planned to go directly to Mount Shu by sword flight.

Later in the evening, Huang Hong and Huang Wu came back. Their expressions did not look very good.

"How was it?"

Huang Hong said, "Chunyang Sect and Wuyun Sect both made a promise, but they tried to shift their responsibilities to each other with their words. I don't know if they will investigate seriously."

Zong Zi Heng frowned and said, "This is not acceptable, I will go there personally."

"Your Highness, you'd better not go." Huang Wu had a difficult look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Chunyang Sect is known for its old-fashioned thinking and stubbornness. They refused the government decree of Daming Mansion several times and were impolite to the emperor. On the surface, the Wuyun Sect is much more sophisticated, but it has not paid taxes for two years and has been looking for various excuses to delay payment. I am afraid Your Highness will get frustrated if you go."

Zong Zi Heng became silent.

The ancestor of the Zong Clan once relied on the Zongxuan Sword Technique to make a name for himself in Jiuzhou and aspired to be the best in the immortal cultivation world. He laid the foundation for a hundred years afterwards but failed to produce a supreme talent for three consecutive generations. It was already difficult to maintain its former glory, and the resistance from various immortal sects and families was becoming more and more apparent. These were the things that Zong Zi Heng had learned from his travels. And now that the Chunyang Sect and the Wuyun Sect would not regard him as the eldest prince, he could understand why his father wanted him to win the championship at Jiaolong assembly, which was to show the world that the Zong Clan had a successor.

"As the immortal sects who are stationed in the local area, they didn’t care about the death of the cultivators who got their cores stolen and ignored the people's request for help against the evil spirits. What kind of path were they cultivating by being so indifferent and negligent in their duties?" Zong Zi Heng looked irritated, "Transcending the world of mortals is not the same as retiring from the world. By just focusing on your own ascension and ignoring the suffering of the people, isn't it against the original intention of cultivation?"

"Your Highness is absolutely right."

Zong Zi Xiao said, "Big brother, if they don't investigate it, we will investigate it."

"Okay, we'll investigate it."

---

The four of them spent two days visiting several villages and towns near Mount Gutuo and made some discoveries. In line with their description, there was only one cultivator who appeared in Gutuo town more than a year ago. He was about 40 years old. His skin was very dark, and he had no obvious sect marks on his body. He walked alone and might have a Minnan* accent. Other than that, there were no useful clues.

Although they didn’t come out completely empty-handed, but just relying on this to find the identity of the cultivator, required more than a few days of work.

Two days later, Chunyang Sect dispatched somebody. One of them greeted the Zong brothers, and the other reported some clues that they have found while investigating. Although it seemed like they were slacking and shifting responsibility, at least Chunyang Sect did some investigations. Unfortunately, their abilities were limited, but at the same time, they sent a letter to the Huaying Sect to request assistance in the investigation. Huaying Sect was the largest immortal sect in the Jianzhou territory.

Huang Wu said: "It seems that this Tongnan* [virgin] sect is still better than the Wuyun Sect."

Zong Zi Xiao asked curiously, "What Tongnan [child-boy] sect? Is there a sect full of children? "

Zong Zi Heng almost spat out the tea that he was drinking.

Huang Hong glared at his own younger brother: "You’re shooting your mouth off in front of Ninth Highness."

Huang Wu was slightly embarrassed.

"Big brother?" Zong Zi Xiao looked at Zong Zi Heng in confusion.

Zong Zi Heng coughed lightly: "They are talking about the Chunyang Sect. Chunyang Sect is mainly based on martial arts cultivation, and they cultivate the body of Chunyang. This so-called body of Chunyang is...cultivating yuan yang*, and then..." He trailed off at the end and didn't know how to give an appropriate explanation. He gave a sideways glance at Huang Wu, feeling annoyed and amused at the same time.

"The body of Chunyang? What exactly do you mean?" Zong Zi Xiao was at the age where children were curious, so naturally, he couldn’t be placated.

"It means if you want to cultivate their technique, you can't get married." Huang Hong said euphemistically.

Chunyang Sect cultivated the body of Chunyang. The profound meaning of the technique was to keep the yuan yang intact. Once the yuan yang leaks, the technique is immediately broken. Unless they practice other techniques from scratch, there is no possibility for further improvement. Therefore, one must have a pure heart, few desires, and cannot lust. Although the Chunyang technique had achieved great success, it always had a crucial position in the immortal cultivational world. However, not many people are willing to practice this technique. After all, the outsiders looked at them as if they simply lost all interest in life.

Zong Zi Xiao wasn't sure if he understood: "Big brother, why don't you cultivate this technique?"

Zong Zi Heng couldn’t help laughing: "Why should I cultivate it?"

"If you cultivate the Chunyang technique, will you not get married?"

"Hmm?" Zong Zi Heng was puzzled, "Don't you want me to get married?"

"I don't want you to."

"Why?" Zong Zi Heng pinched his face and teased him, "Don't you want to have a gentle and beautiful sister-in-law who might cook even better than big brother?"

"I don't want you to." Zong Zi Xiao said seriously, "Second brother said that I can't sleep with you after you become a married man."

"Hahahahaha." Zong Zi Heng couldn't help but laugh, "Do you want to sleep with big brother for the rest of your life? You'll also get married in the future."

Zong Zi Xiao's little face was wrinkled into a ball, "Then I won't get married. Can’t we stay like this without getting married?" He didn't understand the real meaning of marriage yet. He only knew that if another person appeared, he and his big brother couldn't be like this anymore. That wouldn't be right, and he wouldn't allow it.

Huang Wu laughed, "Ninth Highness, it's fine if you don't want to get married, but His Highness has reached the age to get married. I heard that at this Jiaolong assembly, the emperor is intending to find a girl* for His Highness."

Zong Zi Heng laughed, "Really? How come I didn't hear about it?" He was at the beginning of his youth and had fantasies about love, but he did not think about his future wife. After all, it was not his decision to make.

Zong Zi Xiao was stunned and stopped talking.

"The Emperor and Consort Shen are worried that you would get distracted, so they didn't say anything. I heard it from Elder Hui Neng." Huang Hong said, "If Your Highness won the championship at the Jiaolong assembly and set a marriage contract with a wealthy family's daughter, that would be two joyous occasions."

Zong Zi Heng was slightly embarrassed, but his heart was slightly looking forward to it.

Zong Zi Xiao fiercely pushed Zong Zi Heng, turned his head, and ran away.

"Hey..." Zong Zi Heng staggered from the push, almost falling off his chair, "I spoiled this child too much. He has no manners at all."

Zong Zi Xiao got angry and refused to eat or sleep with Zong Zi Heng at night. He insisted on renting another room. Zong Zi Heng just thought that he was throwing a childish tantrum and didn't take it to heart. He asked the shopkeeper to keep the food in case he was hungry and went looking for food in the middle of the night.

In the middle of the night, Zong Zi Xiao never stepped out of his room. Zong Zi Heng was just next door. He was hesitating on whether if he should go and coax him, but he started to feel tired and fell asleep instead.

He was unsure how long he slept, but Zong Zi Heng suddenly woke up. He felt a burst of spiritual pressure mixed with a murderous aura. Their Zong Clan's Guiyuan Heart Technique can make one's perception of danger very keen.

Zong Zi Heng rolled over and got up. He didn't care what it was, but his first priority was to ensure Zong Zi Xiao's safety.

 

----

dantian* [丹田]---acupuncture point 3 inches below the navel

shoot oneself in the foot* [搬石砸脚] --- you carry the stone and smash your own foot, basically trying to do something that will hurt yourself

scalp tightened* [头皮发紧] ---feel terrified

Minnan* ---Southern Fujian in China

Tongnan* aka virgin boy [童男]--- In this novel, all Chunyang Sect's disciple have to remain virgin, so the characters came out with a nickname for this sect, called virgin boy sect xD But our cute innocent SZX thinks that they are saying "children" sect. SZH isn't that pure...since he almost puked his tea, LOL.

yuan yang* [元阳] --- from my POV, it should mean semen. Basically, when a woman and man have intercourse, the male will release his yuan yang, which results in breaking the Chunyang [纯阳 means Pure Yang] cultivation. Kindly refer to the phrase "Once the yuan yang leaks, the technique is immediately broken" in one of the paragraphs.

girl* [千金]---it’s an honorable way to call other people’s daughter.

 

Editor's Thoughts: 

Took a little break yesterday~ work this week is tough T.T anyone else doing coding who knows my pain? 😢 

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Edited on 11 Mar. 21 (Emzie)

Edited on 9 Jul. 21 (Ari)

Edited on 29 Jul 21 (Limit)

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