Chapter Fifty-Nine: A New Investiture

“I think that belonged to Grandpa and should go with him,” I said. At the time, grief overwhelmed me, and that was truly how I felt.

“This is bad. If you want to save your grandfather, it’s impossible without the Mountain Spirit Token,” Li Nanhua replied. It seemed this Mountain Spirit Token was indeed essential for saving Grandpa.

Regret and frustration gnawed at me—I scolded myself, wondering how my hand could have been so reckless, throwing away the one thing that mattered most.

“Senior Li, since that’s the case, please help protect this last remnant of Grandpa’s soul. I’ll go down to the Broken Soul Cliff and retrieve his Mountain Spirit Token!” I declared, for there was no other way.

“Absolutely not! You don’t understand your grandfather’s strength. His mastery of formations is unmatched. The formation beneath Broken Soul Cliff is the fruit of his life’s work; it’s extraordinary. Any one of us who descends would struggle to escape unscathed, let alone retrieve the Mountain Spirit Token. Especially you, Lin Yi—if you go down and suffer severe injuries, even if you manage to bring back the token, you may still be unable to save your grandfather!” Li Nanhua warned.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you yourself are also crucial to saving him. The Mountain Spirit Token is important, but it’s merely a catalyst—it represents your grandfather’s divine status. He was the mountain god of Old Boundary Ridge, officially enshrined as the true spirit of the mountain dragon vein, granting him a thousand-year lifespan. Strictly speaking, although your grandfather’s body is gone, his mountain god destiny remains.”

“When a person lives, there is destiny, soul, body, and longevity. Destiny is the foundation of existence. True gods earn their title by possessing something extra—a divine nature, which is called a divine status. Without it, one is no different from a mortal. The fact that your grandfather’s soul fragment returned proves his mountain god destiny still exists—the root of his existence persists.”

“‘Soul dispersal’ refers to the dissolution of a person’s three souls and seven spirits into the world’s yin and yang, returning to nature, perhaps as clouds, perhaps as mountain mist—anything is possible. Your grandfather is no exception. Yet, since he left behind a soul fragment and still possesses divine status, with it he can reconstruct his soul, so long as this last remnant endures, there is hope.”

“If so, why do you say I am the key?” I pressed.

“Because only you have the right to re-enchant him as a god,” Li Nanhua answered, shocking me. Enchanting someone as a god was a thing of legend to me.

“Lin Yi, don’t be surprised. In this world, only you possess this qualification. To save your grandfather, you must restore his divine status—re-enchant him—but in doing so, you openly oppose the Heavenly Dao. It is extremely dangerous; you may provoke a heavenly tribulation.”

Li Nanhua’s explanation laid bare everything about saving Grandpa. I understood clearly—even if it was dangerous, as long as I could save him, I wasn’t afraid of tribulation.

But first, I needed to find the Mountain Spirit Token.

Without it, if I tried to restore Grandpa’s divine status with my current strength, the only result would be death from exhaustion, and even then, the godhood would likely fail.

No matter what, I had to make a trip beneath Broken Soul Cliff.

Without delay, I stood up. Weiyang immediately blocked my way, saying, “Lin Yi, let me go instead. Trust me, I will bring back the Mountain Spirit Token!”

“No! Miss Weiyang, you are a soul entity and already gravely injured. That formation will surely destroy souls!” Niu Dahuang interjected.

He knew Grandpa’s formations well—his warning was not mere alarmism.

“Stop arguing. I should go. Regarding formations, I have studied the Daoist scriptures at Dragon and Tiger Mountain and achieved some mastery—I can find a way to break the formation!” Li Nanhua said.

“No, I should go. None of you understand Old Lin as I do. I know a thing or two about his formations,” Niu Dahuang insisted.

As we debated, the bamboo hat on the table suddenly fell to the floor.

I hurried over and picked it up. Its fall was surely Grandpa’s attempt to convey a message, but with only a soul fragment, he could not communicate, so we had no idea what he meant.

At this moment, Li Nanhua put a soul-locking talisman to his lips, chanting, and affixed it to the hat.

“Lin Yi, it seems your grandfather’s soul fragment has weakened further. Even with the soul-locking talisman, it may last only two days. It’s strange—even for a soul fragment attached to the hat, it shouldn’t fade so quickly!” Li Nanhua puzzled.

“Only two days—we mustn’t delay any longer. Over the years, Old Lin and I always set up formations together; I know their secrets well. I am the best candidate for this task—no more arguments!” Niu Dahuang declared, and strode out of the temple.

He went alone, braving immense danger.

I wanted to chase after him, but as soon as I took a step, the temple doors slammed shut.

I heard Niu Dahuang chanting outside—he had sealed the temple with an incantation, trapping us inside so he could descend the cliff alone and seek the Mountain Spirit Token for Grandpa.

Just then, the bamboo hat in my hand trembled again, falling to the floor and rolling to the temple entrance.

Grandpa must have sensed that Niu Dahuang was risking his life for him and reacted accordingly.

I picked up the hat and said, “Grandpa, don’t worry—I believe Niu Grandpa will return safely!”

Li Nanhua moved to the temple doors, attempting to break the seal. But this place belonged to Grandpa and Niu Dahuang; for someone unfamiliar with the temple, breaking their incantations was impossible.

“Don’t waste your efforts. The spell cannot be broken during the day; after nightfall, it will naturally unravel. Rest assured, I will bring back the Mountain Spirit Token!” Niu Dahuang called, and his footsteps faded away.

I tried to call after him, but he ignored me.

The sound of the temple doors closing and being sealed followed. Helpless, we waited inside.

The day felt endless, every moment like an eternity. Outside, all was quiet—Niu Dahuang had not returned.

Fortunately, dusk finally fell. Li Nanhua tried the doors—they opened. We couldn’t simply wait; Weiyang and Flower Maiden stayed in the temple to watch over Grandpa’s soul fragment, while Li Nanhua and I set out for Broken Soul Cliff.

Outside, the bright moon hung in the sky, mountain winds howled, and the forest stirred with restless noises, uncertain in origin.

Worry gnawed at me for Niu Dahuang’s safety—I cursed myself for having thrown away the Mountain Spirit Token, forcing Niu Grandpa to risk himself.

“Lin Yi, the virtuous are watched over by heaven. Trust that Master Niu will return unharmed,” Li Nanhua said, perhaps to comfort me in my distress.

I nodded.

Just then, I heard the sound of a rattling drum not far off.

Li Nanhua immediately grew wary. In the wilds of the mountain, the sound of a rattling drum was rare. He recalled the previous peddler and said, “Careful, the underworld envoy has returned!”

I nodded, knowing it was the peddler. “Didn’t Niu Grandpa send him away? Why has he come back?”

“I don’t know. Best to be cautious—let’s take a detour and avoid unnecessary trouble,” he advised. But I worried the peddler might go to the temple and trouble Weiyang and the others. “Can we divert him somehow? I’m afraid he’ll head to the temple.”

Li Nanhua nodded. “That’s easy.”

He drew a black talisman from his sleeve, pure black with gold powder lines, depicting a child.

I had never seen such a talisman.

Li Nanhua folded it quickly into the shape of a little paper figure. Then, on the ground, he drew several strange lines, placed the paper figure in the center, chanted, and commanded, “Go!”

The paper figure ran off. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a human-sized shadow. The spell astonished me.

The dark figure sped through the mountain forest with a rustling sound. Li Nanhua and I hid nearby, holding our breath, and saw the peddler, sensing movement, immediately chase after the shadow, carrying his load.

The trick worked.

Once the peddler was gone, Li Nanhua and I made our way to Broken Soul Cliff. I remarked on the wonder of his spell and asked him to teach me someday. He dismissed it as a trivial trick.

As he spoke, a strong wind rose around us.

Leaves whirled through the air, and I could barely keep my eyes open in the gale.

I felt weeds and leaves cover me, but as I brushed them off, I realized they weren’t leaves or grass at all—they were round white paper coins with square holes.

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