Chief Celestial Taoist.
Yes.
Careful.
Chief Celestial Taoist.
These are the damages done by Sinister Pleasure.
We will contact All-In-One Insurance and file a claim.
Okay.
Zhang Chulan.
What secret lies in Tianshidu?
Is there something about my past?
Tianshidu…
Chulan, come here.
Ms. Bao, wait for me here.
ADAPTED FROM THE WEBCOMIC YI REN ZHI XIA
THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION.
ALL ACTIONS AND ABILITIES PERFORMED SHOULD NOT BE IMITATED
Chief Celestial Taoist.
I'm Feng from Sinister Pleasure.
I'm Kun from Sinister Pleasure.
Greetings, Chief Celestial Taoist.
Good.
Can we go now?
Rest well.
-Yes. -We can leave now.
You did such a great job.
Why don't you stay here
and take care of me?
Why not express your gratitude to Chief Celestial Taoist right away?
It's such an honorable position.
I would die to stay here.
I'm so jealous of you.
We shall pack our things.
Stop shoving. You should get your braces changed.
Congratulations, Grandmaster.
You have two more assistants now.
You said you were jealous of them.
Why don't you stay here then?
Grandmaster.
Well,
the presence of Sinister Pleasure here has been eradicated.
Xu San lamented the lack of foresight
and promised that this would not happen again.
Don't change the topic.
I'll ask you again.
Will you accept Tianshidu or not?
Grandmaster,
you haven't answered
my question from back then.
If you give me Tianshidu,
what will happen to you?
You
must have guessed the answer already.
Grandmaster,
will I see you again?
Talking to you is like talking to a wall.
As long as you do not stray from your path,
I will always be your grandmaster.
Mount Longhu will always be your home.
Sorry, Grandmaster.
Forget it.
You know my answer.
You should know why I did all that.
Descend the mountain tomorrow.
Find someone for me.
Test him and see if he's qualified
to inherit Tianshidu.
You have to win the contest.
You'll know once you're the champion.
Most importantly,
once you become Chief Celestial Taoist,
Sinister Pleasure won't be able to lay their hands on you.
Grandmaster,
I don't want
Tianshidu.
You're too smart to not have figured it out.
I set up the contest for you!
Take good care of yourself.
You,
Lingyu,
and that Wang Ye,
the world
will be yours in the future.
The burden
will be a heavy one.
But you're here, Grandmaster.
No harm will come to me, right?
Cheeky rascal.
I bet that lady is waiting for you out there.
Go back now.
Ms. Bao?
You hold her dearly, don't you?
-Help! Somebody! -Don't run!
Chief Celestial Taoist, you lied to me.
Save us.
-Who did this? -He did.
Master,
are you all right?
Why are you here?
Aren't you supposed to protect Jinzhong?
It's very quiet over there.
There was no invader whatsoever.
On my way here,
I ran into these two scoundrels.
Why are you here? Answer me!
Where is Jinzhong?
He's in his room.
Master?
Master Tian.
Master is here.
Master.
Master Tian?
Master Tian!
Chulan,
who did this?
Everything about him has been wiped clean.
Lyu Liang…
Check if there are any clues.
Chief Celestial Taoist,
please stand aside.
This is a specialist from my company.
He can reenact past scenes from the ambient qi.
But of course,
if the incident took place a long time ago,
the amount of ambient qi will be too faint
for a proper restoration.
Is it plausible?
It took place less than 40 minutes ago.
I can do it.
I was there.
Master Tian.
Rong Shan.
What's the matter, Qing?
You're shaking.
Celestial Taoist Mansion…
Sinister Pleasure is attacking Celestial Taoist Mansion.
Those scums!
I heard Chief Celestial Taoist is fighting too,
Sinister Pleasure is numerous.
Chief Celestial Taoist is old.
I fear that he might be outnumbered.
Rong Shan, go now.
Help your master.
No, Master Tian.
Master told me to protect you.
This place is far from the battlefield. No one will come here.
Go.
This is an order.
Yu, Qing.
Protect Master Tian.
Yes.
Worry not, Rong Shan.
You fool.
See how easy they lured you away?
What do we do?
Is Sinister Pleasure
going to destroy Celestial Taoist Mansion?
Don't worry.
They are not strong enough.
And they don't want to destroy Celestial Taoist Mansion anyway.
Qing.
You have never met Sinister Pleasure.
They will use every means
to advance their goal.
Qing.
What are you doing?
You say Sinister Pleasure uses every means to advance their goal.
I am aware of that.
Because I told them
to destroy the unimportant parts of Celestial Taoist Mansion.
You see, I've been here for three years now.
This place has sentimental value to me.
I am the Interim Leader of Sinister Pleasure, Gong Qing.
Pleased to make your acquaintance.
INTERIM LEADER OF SINISTER PLEASURE, GONG QING
THIRTY MINUTES AFTER THE ASSASSINATION OF TIAN JINZHONG
He's here.
Finally, you show up.
Interim Leader Gong.
They are on high alert now.
Tianqian has been sealed by NDT.
This warehouse looks abandoned.
I don't think they will come here.
Let's spend a night here for now.
We can merge with the crowd and leave this place
during the funeral tomorrow.
Funeral?
Whose funeral?
Mr. Yuan.
How's everything on your side?
You see,
I managed to keep Chief Celestial Taoist occupied.
But so many people died
for you.
Even though they were just fodders,
they're still members of Sinister Pleasure.
Do you know what awaits you
if you return empty-handed?
Stop squeezing it.
Enough!
Mr. Yuan.
You asked me whose funeral it'd be.
It'd be Tian Jinzhong's.
It's Master Tian's funeral.
Tian Jinzhong is dead?
I killed him.
"Don't you pride yourself on knowing Sinister Pleasure the best?"
So why does my double identity
as your disciple and the interim leader of Sinister Pleasure
surprise you that much?
I'll be frank with you.
I am interested in Jiashen Calamity.
Especially Zhang Huaiyi.
I found out that he stayed in Mount Longhu
so I infiltrated this place.
However, your security is airtight.
During my sojourn here,
I found nothing.
But I got lucky.
When I was about to give up,
I stumbled upon a lead.
And so I was waiting for an opportunity.
An opportunity like today.
To ask you the question.
What question?
You once left Mount Longhu with Zhang Zhiwei
and went your separate ways.
No one knows why.
But I do.
You two were looking
for the traitor of Mount Longhu,
Zhang Huaiyi.
What I want to know is,
was your search
a fruitful one?
How did you obtain that information?
That incident
was only privy to my master, Zhiwei, and me.
You are right.
The secret is only privy to the three of you.
But it isn't too hard to deduct it.
I have seen your scars.
They were inflicted by torture.
Why were you interrogated?
Because someone wanted to know
why you made the trip.
It was for Zhang Huaiyi.
Is my theory
sound and logical?
Did you theorize all that?
I did.
At this point,
I don't mind telling you that I launched this invasion
to test my theory.
If my hypothesis is wrong,
my peers will kill me.
What a shame.
Because you're right.
We did leave Mount Longhu
to look for Huaiyi.
My kidnapper
wanted to get Huaiyi's whereabouts from me too.
Failing to find Huaiyi
is my deepest regret.
If Huaiyi were with me,
they wouldn't be able to lay their hands on me!
So they got nothing
from you?
You see.
They reduced me to a cripple but I still refused to give in.
What makes you,
Gong Qing,
think you can fish information
out of me?
Master Tian,
you are as stubborn as a mule.
Indeed, I can't extract information from you.
Come in.
Will you remain stubborn
or should I continue guessing?
After all,
I have been taking care of you
for the past few years.
And during these few years,
I found out many times,
that you, who claimed that you needed no sleep,
almost dozed off.
Grandmaster.
Is Master Tian that powerful?
Does he need no sleep at all?
Yes.
It's called mindfulness.
That's incredible.
Since when?
A long time ago.
After he was injured,
his body was too weak
to practice anything
other than static qigong.
You have no idea
how excited I was at this discovery.
Because it gave me
another explanation.
You are not unwilling to sleep,
but unable to do so.
Or perhaps, you don't dare to.
I theorized
that your kidnappers
couldn't get anything out of you.
And you never mentioned it
to anyone in Mount Longhu.
It was around that time
that you began to be afraid of sleeping.
Why?
Because when we're asleep,
our inhibition is lowered.
You are afraid of sleep-talking.
After your rescue,
there is a secret
inside you.
And that secret is
you
met Zhang Huaiyi.
Not only that,
you talked to Zhang Huaiyi
and obtained information
that cannot be revealed to your master.
You would bring it to your grave.
Young lad.
You're so creative.
But you got it wrong
this time.
I did not find Huaiyi.
Even if my limbs were chopped off,
and my meridian system was destroyed,
a fact is a fact.
Whatever situation I'm in, whoever asks me that question,
my answer will not change.
Master Tian,
I know how stubborn you can be.
I wasn't planning to make you confess anyway.
Lyu Liang.
Stay back
foul beasts!
Hurry.
Extract his memory from back then.
Then delete all memories from that incident
as well as memories containing you and me.
He had held onto them for far too long.
Let's release him from his agony.
I can't.
He has the most resilient
primordial spirit I have ever seen.
Count yourself lucky
that I can check his memory.
To extract specific memories,
it'll take months.
We won't be able to get anything
from him now.
Go.
Guard the door.
I will do my best
to make a copy of all his memory.
I'm done.
Let's go.
It's dangerous to stay here.
Qing.
I need you.
Come. We're done here.
What are you waiting for?
What are you doing?
Are you crazy?
I'm leaving you.
Qing.
Not bad.
You weaved your intricate plan patiently for three years
and it paid off.
I won't be able to convince you to give up,
will I?
Are you going to leave now?
Yes.
To think that Sinister Pleasure was once a virtuous organization.
Look how far you have fallen.
You're nothing but a motley band of criminals,
scumbags!
You think the world is your oyster
but you're destroying it.
Irresponsible morons!
Master Tian, this is unbecoming
of you.
Don't call me that!
You're dirtying my name.
You're the ringleader.
Minister in Black?
Wu Gensheng?
All of you are the same.
You are cowards who turn away from their responsibilities!
I see.
You're so right.
NEFARIOUS NEEDLE
Let me take charge
of your life.
You finally grew a pair.
Do you want to kill me?
I might be a cripple
but here in Celestial Taoist Mansion,
my power is second only to Zhiwei's.
Quit threatening me.
What if I chicken out?
Are you sure about it?
YEAR OF JIASHEN
Are you sure about it?
Even so,
are you still trying to force me to say it?
Is that right, Jinzhong?
Yes, unless you explain why
I won't stop pestering you.
And that is our duty.
What epiphany did you receive?
The finality of all things
is Qi Apotheosis.
Dummy.
Let's go. We're running out of time.
Jinzhong.
Don't return.
Come with me.
I can't. Master is waiting for me.
I have to go back to him.
Fine.
I know you far too well.
Be proud of yourself now
because you're the sole keeper
of this secret.
Jinzhong.
Take care.
All the best.
May we never meet again.
You're awake.
Master.
Zhiwei.
I did not find Huaiyi.
But they wouldn't believe me.
They wouldn't…
Jinzhong.
I will track your kidnappers down
and avenge you.
Jinzhong.
What are you doing?
Master.
Just let me die.
Please,
Master!
You fool!
Have you learned nothing
from years
of cultivation?
Remember.
You are no ordinary man.
Like me, we seek enlightenment.
We celebrate life.
No cultivators
kill themselves
upon encountering a setback.
The path is arduous
but you will endure it.
Remember this.
Hardship
means you're making progress.
Master…
Sorry, Master.
Come.
-Do you like it? -You made it?
Did I improve?
Not bad.
Zhiwei.
I don't care what assignment Master gives you.
Even when you become a Celestial Taoist,
you have to cook for me.
I had a deal with Huaiyi.
He'd travel for a year.
Then it'd be my turn.
In the end, he never came back.
Here.
Take another bite.
Zhiwei.
Thank you so much.
Jinzhong.
Don't feel bad at all.
You got injured on a mission.
You did not fail our sect
nor did you fail your peers.
And to be honest,
when everyone takes turns
to take care of you,
we actually get to skip
some of our training.
I don't feel that guilty, you know?
Maybe I do when others are here. But you?
You ought to take care of me.
Anyway, you were talking in your sleep last night.
"Sorry, Master."
"Sorry, Zhiwei."
What else did I say?
You also said,
"finality",
and,
"qi".
Hardship means I'm making progress.
Huaiyi.
I regret it so much.
I shouldn't have asked you to explain.
And now, I have to carry
this burden.
When you told me what you were doing,
I should have done it.
Even though I would betray my doctrine
in the process,
I should have died a long time ago.
I'm sorry.
I should have died a long time ago.
Master Tian.
Goodnight.
Lyu Liang did his best
and extracted Master Tian's memory.
Brilliant!
So your theory
is right.
Three years ago,
you wagered your life
to convince us.
You said you'd find the whereabouts of our former leader, Wu Gensheng.
Your wager paid off handsomely.
Don't tell anyone the fact
that we have Master Tian's memory now.
I trust you to circulate
what I'm about to say to everyone.
Another operation right after
we invaded Celestial Taoist Mansion?
Do you know
how heavy the casualties are?
Tell all our members
to be in mourning for seven days.
We will all mourn for Master Tian.
Those who refuse to comply
will be killed.
I did everything I could to reenact the past.
But Master Tian's memory
is in Lyu Liang's possession.
I have no way to retrieve his memory either.
Thank you.
You did a good job already.
Thank you so much.
Chief Celestial Taoist, my condolences.
Rong Shan.
Death is inevitable.
Accept it.
Rong Shan.
Rong Shan?
Rong Shan.
Rong Shan!
Master Tian…
LONG LIVE TAOISM
-Zhang… -Baobao.
Don't say anything now.
Ms. Bao.
Xu San said your mood hasn't been good lately
and asked me not to ask you anything for now.
Is it because you are sad?
I think I can understand
what sadness is now.
When a long-time friend dies,
you feel sad.
When a family member dies,
you feel sad.
When your loved one dies,
you feel sad too.
You have only met Master Tian a few times.
He isn't your family.
Do you love him?
Why are you in love
with someone you barely met?
Ms. Bao.
I refused to inherit Tianshidu.
So I cannot get the answer you want from Chief Celestial Taoist.
I'm sorry.
Ms. Bao.
I think
you should give up on the past.
It has been so many years after all.
Maybe they already…
Ms. Bao.
You're not alone.
I also no longer have a home.
But I can promise you
that I will stay by your side
like Mr. Xu or Doggy did.
You can boss me around.
You're lying.
You have a home.
You have it.
All of you have it.
It's in here.
Ms. Bao.
You will have what we have.
I will help you find the truth.
I will find your home.
Grandmaster Tian.
Thank you for keeping my grandpa's secret for years.
Jinzhong.
You must be tired
from all these years.
Sleep well now.
Master.
Don't dwell in grief.
Your health is important.
Jinzhong.
You will not die in vain.