Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

"Now come here and let me check what kind of seal has been imprinted on your dao tower. We cannot leave such a huge risk unexamined," Xuan Zi said with a relaxed expression, beckoning Xuhan forward.

Han Xuhan felt a smirk forcing its way onto his face. It was quite hard to keep the feeling of victory down when the hook he had thrown out got him his target so smoothly. This rarely happened.

Han Xuhan had experienced first-hand how much of a greedy money-grabber the authorities of the sect were. If he had kept that detail of the seal a secret and tried to remove it secretly, it would have definitely cost him a small fortune. Downplaying the threat the seal posed would bring him no benefits at all. Even though there was a chance that the seal might not be removable and the sect might try something brutal to cut off such a threat, it was the best decision to come clean and confess, pleading his innocence instead of ending up getting caught red-handed if the seal resulted into something troublesome.

Who knew how insidious the usage of the seal could get? If the holy child Jin Tuyi managed to find a way to remotely control his mind too, it'd spell the end for Han Xuhan. Getting it examined as fast as possible was the best course of action for now.

But this was not even the biggest perk his current scheme offered. It was the fact that over-exaggerating the threat of the seal would make the sect take the challenge of removing the seal seriously, making them feel like they were dealing with a bigger issue than just Xuhan's personal safety.

Would the sect originally care so much for the trashiest outer court disciple, to the point where the sect master himself would take the responsibility of removing a semi-dangerous seal from his dao tower?

Of course not!

But right now, Han Xuhan had managed to make that situation come true, completely skipping the arduous process of saving up spirit stones for the removal of the seal and looking for an expert who'd take on the task with utmost seriousness.

Now with his honest admission, coupled with his apparent reliance on the sect, could be used as a super effective propaganda material for the sect in order to brainwa-no-cultivate the minds of the fresh-faced young disciples.

Han Xuhan could already visualize the scene in his mind.

Sect master Xuan Zi would stand majestically in front of the new generations of the disciples, briefing them of Han Xuhan's experiences masterfully, after the end of which he would shout something along the lines of-

'See children? Apes together, apes strong! So trust your sect and always be honest with the authorities! Do not hide secrets from your elders! Your sect will always back you up as long as you maintain an attitude similar to our model disciple Han Xuhan!'

It was unnecessary to say that he would not need to pay for his treatment now, and the three of them might even receive some rewards to be displayed as an example. It was simply far too alluring a maneuver to the authorities. As long as any single one of them used their brain cells, they'd be able to make use of this opportunity.

As sect master Xuan Zi put his hands on Xuhan's temples and a strand of his qi entered his meridians, his consciousness seemed to sink into his body with it. A foreign sensation of being observed filled Han Xuhan's senses immediately. It was an inexplicably creepy feeling.

A couple of mind-numbing, tense minutes later, Xuan Zi withdrew his hands with a frown on his face. Han Xuhan's heart sank.

"Child, the seal was linked directly with the knowledge you've learned, which has already become a part of your Dao tower. Without directly harming your cultivation and memories, it isn't possible to remove it," explained Xuan Zi worriedly.

"But..."

Xuhan wanted to protest, insist that there should be another way. But he knew he had never been the lucky sort.

"Do you want it gone even with those risks involved?" Xuan Zi asked.

"...No."

Han Xuhan didn't want his already weak cultivation and messy memories to be damaged further.

"Ah, you don't need to look so glum, boy. I've examined the seal closely. And if my experiences are worth something, then I can say for sure that the seal has no way to affect your mind or body negatively. It is more similar to a cause-and-effect type technique that relies on certain conditions. In your case the trigger should be harmful intentions toward the Holy Land of Laws. Just do your best to cultivate a feeling of intimacy toward that place, and you'll be fine."

Han Xuhan's heart happily skipped a beat. So it wasn't that bad! There was still hope for him!

"As for removing the seal, the safest way for now is to cultivate hard and break through to the soul reformation level. The heavenly tribulation has various types of tests. During the tribulation, your dao base will undergo a refinement. Any impurities, unwanted, underdeveloped techniques, and infiltrations would be destroyed at that time. So I suggest you focus on your cultivation and strive to do your best."

The sect master's constantly shifting aura was hard to keep track of. He had gone from being super cool to unreliably pessimistic to a reliable senior within the span of a minute. He gave off the impression of a slippery eel rather than an old uncle.

But Han Xuhan was very satisfied with the results. Other than the possibility that an overpowered villain might come looking for them, there was nothing to be worried about temporarily. He just had to lie low for a while, which was something he was hoping for anyway. A break would be quite a treat.

"You two, is there anything else that you would like to add?"

Looking at Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou who were standing behind Xuhan calmly, Xuan Zi gestured at them to speak.

"No, sect master. Our situations are more or less similar to martial brother Han Xuhan," Yuen Zhou answered him immediately, following the script they had devised together earlier.

"Then you may take your leave. Return to your residences and rest for a while. I'll send a message to the task administration authorities to re-evaluate your rewards. Your performance was exemplary. You deserve better," Xuan Zi nodded with an understanding smile.

"Do we really not need to worry about the Pine Town incident ?" Mu Ran asked hesitantly. Among the three, he had the biggest secrets, as well as the least amount of time on his hands. He couldn’t wait for the danger period to pass before he set his foot out of the sect again. He needed lots of resources, for which completing risky tasks was a must. Wasting his time hiding in the sect was not an option for him.

Xuan Zi gave him a piercing look, as if he was aware of Mu Ran's impatience brewing under his calm expression.

"It doesn't matter whether you worry about it or not. If the expert is sufficiently powerful, they'll find a way to remove your memories regardless of the consequences of messing with our sect. But now that you’ve informed the rest of us, don't you think he would find it a pointless endeavor to keep hounding you? Rest assured, child. What's done is done. I doubt an expert would go through that much trouble at this point."

Xuan Zi's lighthearted attitude was rather difficult to trust. But it was evident that Elder Mu believed in him, judging by the man's approving expression. Mu Ran decided to take the leap of faith and set aside his worries.

"Then there is nothing else for me to say," he said to Xuan Zi with a short bow.

At this moment, Han Xuhan cleared his throat and attracted the sect master's attention.

"Master Xuan Zi, We have a small request."

Mu Ran's eyes wildly shifted about, making contact with Yuen Zhou's amused gaze. He was not particularly sure of what to feel about this part of Xuhan's plan. It felt distinctly wrong to him for some reason.

"Oh? Do tell," Xuan Zi answered curiously.

"My martial brother Mu Ran managed to win a cultivation manual from the test grounds. We wanted to verify it and see if it has similar effects of invading the practitioner's dao base. If sect master would do the honors..."

Han Xuhan trailed off with an innocent smile. This was the most important part of the script to him. The previous conversations and actions had all laid the groundwork for this one moment.

Sect master Xuan Zi did not refuse, and held his hand out to Xuhan. Han Xuhan reached into a pocket of his robe, taking out the manual Mu Ran had written down from memory in the boat ( What the fuck was up with everyone memorizing these manuals word by word? Was he the only one who didn’t delve into this horrific practice? ).

There were hundreds of different symbols written down on the stack of papers, as well as their explanations and lots of diagrams that explained how to create, detect and use force-type law fragments.

The entire stack was thicker than any manual Han Xuhan had seen in his short life of being a cultivator. But Xuan Zi finished studying it within ten minutes. It did not even look like he was seriously trying to examine it, but Xuhan had learned to look past his lackadaisical attitude by now. Moreover, it didn’t matter to him whether there was a trap or not, because the next part of his plans would dump the entire responsibility on Master Xuan Zi smoothly, whether the sect master liked it or not.

"Nope. As far as I can tell, it's impossible for a mere cultivation manual to create external seals linked to a physically existing place or object. The dao tower is made mainly using your imagination and spiritual powers. The Holy Land of Laws, which is a fragmented world, cannot just link itself to you via a technique. The reason your dao tower was infiltrated back in there is because there were hidden fragments in the circle of laws that worked under the condition that anyone who used its sources to fuel their law fragments would activate them and make them place a seal on the cultivator. I'm not trying to brag, but I have lots of experience in creating similar entrapment mechanisms," Xuan Zi remarked, his expressionless face finally showing a crack of amusement.

Was the last part of the sentence really something to be proud of?

Han Xuhan shook his head and decided to reel his hook in now that the fish had caught the bait. This was no time for distractions.

"That's splendid, sect master! If I might add, we want to contribute to the sect wholeheartedly and sell this cultivation manual to the disciples of the sect. Now that we've gotten your assurance, our hearts can be free of any worries while we do so. Thank you so much! We shall immediately head to the sect's archives and file an application to let this be displayed on the appropriate floor of the pavilion. Please do approve of it when your signature is required on the application!"

From the start, this was what he had been aiming for. It did not matter whether the sect master was deceiving him when he said that there was nothing wrong with the cultivation manual. If this cultivation manual found its way to the sect's archives, then the sect master would be forced to make sure that his assurances held true. After all, it would be ridiculous if the cultivation manual turned all the disciples who practiced it into slave disciples of the land of laws...

Han Xuhan had always wondered why protagonists in cultivation novels were so stupid, keeping their numerous cultivation techniques secrets when they could just sell them and become rich as hell. He, Han Xuhan, would never waste such an awesome business opportunity!