Chapter 225: The 28 Constellations in the Immortal Palace (2/2)
His performance today had fallen far behind Junior Leopard. If Junior Leopard had not unleashed that final blast, they both probably would have died in that smoke ball. This realization made Jin Yuquan gloomy.
”I'm fine. I just consumed too much power!” Junior Leopard said with a shake of his head. As he slowly calmed down, the green-glowing sword light under his feet started resynchronizing with the pulse of his Dantian. He started to recover his strength.
Yes. He was recovering his pneuma.
Although Junior Leopard's Dragon Chimera skull was currently broken, he could fashion a functional equivalent to an External Elixir by combining his crushed skull with his Flying Sword Infusion. This improvised Elixir would inherit all the properties of the Dragon Chimera's External Elixir, including the self-practicing Green Jade Qian Yuan Skill, which could provide him with the equivalent to 24-hours of non-stop practice.
The only difference between this jury-rigged Elixir and the Dragon Chimera's Inner Elixir was that the Flying Sword offered an additional procedure: it could transform the Internal Qi of the Green Jade Qian Yuan Skill into Silver Moon Sword Qi.
Practicing with this jury-rigged Flying Sword infused Elixir would take longer than with the pure Dragon Chimera's External Elixir, but this was neither here nor now.
”Would you like to head down there again, Golden Rooster?!”
”No way,” Golden Rooster said, shaking his head. He brushed away some of the cloud vapor near him and glanced down through the gap. ”Look for yourself,” he said. ”All of the barracks are on high alert and Ma Tianchang had already returned to the central camp. We wouldn't stand a chance!”
”It seems you're quite scared of Ma Tianchang!” Junior Leopard asked with some curiosity. ”He may be the Governor of Yunzhou, but he's just a Governor. There are few masters of martial arts around him. Aren't you...!”
”He's a Level Nine expert!” Golden Rooster said, interrupting Junior Leopard. With a brittle laugh, he continued: ”Ma Tianchang had a master with a mysterious background. His cultivation has already reached the peak of Level Nine, the same level as the three Grandmasters of Northern Yuan. Why do you think the three Grandmasters are too afraid of the risks involved in killing Ma Tianchang?!”
This was the first time that Junior Leopard had heard about this.
The Yunzhou Governor in Great Jin was actually a Level Nine expert!
All this time, he had assumed a Level Nine expert was assisting Ma Tianchang; he never thought that Ma Tianchang himself was the Level Nine expert. No wonder he was able to cause such a ruckus in Yunzhou over the years with nary a peep of opposition!
Seeing the surprise on Junior Leopard's face, Golden Rooster said, ”Actually, you don't need to worry. Though we failed to steal the Clear Glass Jade Bottle, we did learn that Ma Tianchang's wife was the Moon Vixen of Heart. That's more than enough for our purposes!”
”I have a question about that: are you sure that lady was from your Immortal Palace?!”
”She must be the previous Moon Vixen of Heart from the Immortal Palace!” Golden Rooster said. ”I know the current Moon Vixen of Heart; she has a high cultivation, but hasn't yet mastered the Free Will Demonic Smoke, let alone to the level of proficiency we saw!”
”Is 'Moon Vixen of Heart' just her code name, then?!”
”Correct. 'Moon Vixen of Heart' is just a code name. Every member of the Immortal Palace has a code name; mine is 'Sun Rooster of Hairy Head', while Wang She's code name is 'Winged Fire Snake'. The Moon Vixen of Heart called you 'Little Fire Snake' because she noticed the ring Wang She had lent you!”
”Moon Vixen of Heart, Sun Rooster of Hairy Head and Wing Fire Snake. They are all part of—”
”––the 28 Constellations!” Golden Rooster replied. ”However, there are currently openings among the 28 Constellations. Your strength and skill qualify you to be one of the 28 Constellations; you could become a full member of the Immortal Palace whenever you wished!”
”Do you have to join the 28 Constellations in order to be counted as a full member?” Junior Leopard asked.
”Yes. To be regarded as a full member of the Immortal Palace, you must join the 28 Constellations. However, members of the 28 Constellations must have at least a Level Seven cultivation!”
”I haven't reached Level Seven yet!”
”As a sword practitioner, your attack force is far beyond that of an ordinary Level Seven expert, and you have your Poison Cold Shield to protect your body. You've already surpassed the power of an average 28 Constellation member; even I don't know whether I could vanquish you in a fair fight. If you aren't qualified, then neither am I!”
”You're too modest!” Junior Leopard said with a laugh, staring down at the ground. ”So, your Immortal Palace actually does want to recruit me. If they weren't, you wouldn't be saying all this, would you?”
”Certainly. Any organization worth their salt would want an expert like you, and we know a bit more about you than others!” Golden Rooster said with a grin. Indeed, the Immortal Palace knew one thing the other organizations did not; they knew Junior Leopard's second identity, Xiao.
They knew Junior Leopard's true value and cherished him all the more for it.
”There are still 14 vacancies left among the 28 Constellations; you can take your pick!”
”Take your pick? What do you mean?” Junior Leopard asked with some confusion. ”What difference is there between the vacant Constellations?”
”Each Constellation is associated with different martial arts, secret skills, special techniques and celestial devices. Inheriting one Constellation position may grant you access to a special martial art, while others let you inherit secret skills, special techniques or celestial devices. Take me for instance: my constellation, Sun Rooster of Hairy Head, corresponds to the Four Golden Claw art; Moon Vixen of Heart corresponds to celestial devices such as the Free Will Demonic Smoke. As Flying Fire Snake, Wang She practices the Snake-like Breath Holding Skill, one of the Seven Wonderful Techniques.”
”And the other constellations?” Junior Leopard asked. ”What do the remaining 14 constellations correspond to?”
”Those are secrets of the Immortal Palace that I cannot reveal. However, if you're willing to join the Immortal Palace, they will no longer be secrets!”
Temptation. This was a naked act of temptation!
The Immortal Palace enticed experts to join them with the lure of martial arts and secret skills!
If anyone else was so invited, they would have joined up without a second thought. Only Junior Leopard, a person who knew several secret skills and special techniques already, had a resistance to these kinds of lures.
”Ha-ha, Golden Rooster. I need more time to consider such a big decision!”
”What's there to consider? There's no downside to joining the Immortal Palace! The management in the Immortal Palace is hands-off. The privacy of members is respected. We have few restrictions in times of peace and offer decent wages. If you wind up regretting your choice, you can resign any time you please. Members can come and go as they wish, just like the Moon Vixen of Heart did. There's no better organization out there!”
”As I please?!” Junior Leopard asked, giving Golden Rooster a weird look. ”Just to be clear, I can come and go as I please? I can quit the Immortal Palace even if I wind up training in their martial arts?”
”Oh, that wouldn't do at all!” Golden Rooster promptly explained. ”You see, after entering the Immortal Palace, you can only resign if you pay a price equal to the gifts you gain from the Immortal Palace. For example, I learned to practice the Four Golden Claw from the Immortal Palace; if I wanted to resign, I would have to offer something the Immortal Palace does not yet possess -- for instance, a martial arts skill or celestial device no less valuable than the Four Golden Claw.”
”Are there any other benefits? For instance, rewards for taking on assignments?”
”Of course there are!” Golden Rooster said, ”Oh, one more thing: if you joined, you would be forbidden to reveal the secrets of the Immortal Palace!”
”What about the martial arts skills I learn in the Immortal Palace? Can I pass them on to others?” Junior Leopard asked, thinking of the Snake-like Breath Holding Skill that Wang She had bequeathed to him.
”Beyond a few exceptions, you can if you want to!” Golden Rooster replied.
”Really?” Junior asked, feeling surprised.
”Would you share your hard-earned, unfathomable martial arts skills with other so easily?” Golden Rooster asked with a scornful laugh. ”People in this world are selfish; they cling to their riches, hunger for even more advantages, and pay no mind to others!”
Hearing this, Junior Leopard had a moment of enlightenment. He himself knew many profound martial arts skills. He had just recently imparted the Seven Swirl Hack Skill he had learned in the prairie to Wang Tianlei, his brother-in-law; he had kept all his other martial arts skills secret from the world.
”It seems that the Immortal Palace preys on people's weaknesses, luring in experts to join them by offering such favorable terms!” Junior Leopard thought. Through the information gained from his chat with Golden Rooster, Junior Leopard had figured out the basic methodology of the Immortal Palace. The more he understood, the more he came to admire them.
To a certain degree, the Immortal Palace was a loosely structured service organization. Its purpose was to bring experts together in the pursuit of profit and thereby assemble a great deal of power.
Even if someone wished to resign from the Immortal Palace, they would not lightly share the benefits they'd gained there with others.
In an organization like the Immortal Palace, an injury to the profit of the organization was an injury to everyone's profit; the rank and file of the Palace would rebuke any individual member who deprived their organization of profit. What's more, there was no strict class division in this loosely structured service organization. Even the superiors of the 28 Constellations probably only received and assigned missions and did not directly manage the 28 Constellations. As a result, conflicts and power struggles would rarely arise between members of the Immortal Palace.
They had no positions of authority to claw after, so any profit they acquired would be through their own strength.
More importantly, the Immortal Palace provided various kinds of services to assist members with their various affairs.
Once these experts got accustomed to the services provided by the Immortal Palace, they would grow more dependent on their organization. In this way, this seemingly lax organization maintained a cohesion stronger and more unbreakable than the authority some barons could maintain among their families.
It was a mutual-aid fraternity for experts above Level Seven, filled with a powerful vitality and explosive force. There were no downsides to joining!
Once he figured this out, the decision was easy.
Junior Leopard realized he could not resist this temptation.
”Well then,” he said to Golden Rooster with a smile, ”Now that you've told me so much, I have no more reservations. Count me in!”