Chapter 36: The Celestial Master of Infinity, The Inheritance!

"Feng'er, test the sharpness of this sword and see how it fares," Mu Ruxue asked with great curiosity.

She was eager to learn the power of a weapon forged over a century from the core trunk of a peach tree demon and tempered with extraterrestrial meteoritic iron.

"Very well!"

Qin Feng walked up to a large tree, thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around. With a gentle stroke, he felt no resistance whatsoever as a gash over two feet deep appeared in the trunk. Fortunately, the tree was massive enough that it did not topple over.

"So sharp!" Qin Feng raised an eyebrow, secretly relieved that he had chosen to dodge during their earlier encounter. Had he tried to take that blow head-on, he might have been split in two.

"I never imagined that a weapon refined for a hundred years by a peach tree demon would end up serving you, Feng'er. With this longsword, your strength has increased significantly." Mu Ruxue beamed with joy.

Even she was secretly taken aback by the blade's sharpness. With the inherent strength of a zombie combined with Qin Feng's mastery of swordsmanship, he would likely be a match for even the most formidable Taoist masters of the Spirit Communication Realm. Only those in the Out-of-Body Realm could hope to contend with him.

"Feng'er, put the sword away; we should find a place to shelter," Mu Ruxue suggested.

Qin Feng nodded, sheathed the sword, and led Mu Ruxue back the way they came. He stripped the clothes off the previously deceased zombie to wear himself and then, accompanied by his six zombies and Mu Ruxue, continued through the forest.

Before long, they found a cave. Three characters were carved above the entrance: Qianyuan Cave.

The cave was about twenty or thirty meters deep and quite spacious, covering a good three or four hundred square meters. In the center stood a stone statue of a man with a majestic expression, holding a longsword, dressed in white robes, and gazing into the distance. Beside it lay a stone bed and a meditation cushion. The cushion, however, was thick with dust, clearly indicating that this had been a place for a Taoist practitioner to retreat and cultivate—and judging by the dust, it had been abandoned for a very long time.

"Feng'er, come and look at this," Mu Ruxue called out suddenly while standing beside the statue.

Qin Feng walked over and looked down.

Beneath the statue, a line of text was engraved: "I am Wuji. Feeling my end approaching and regretting that my lifelong Taoist arts have no successor, I have erected this statue to wait for a fated person to enter and become my apprentice. One need only kowtow three times to the statue at the 'Li' position to become my successor and inherit all of my magical arts."

"Feng'er!" Mu Ruxue’s breathing quickened. She gripped Qin Feng’s arm tightly, her face filled with disbelief. "Am... am I dreaming? The Celestial Master Wuji... it’s actually Celestial Master Wuji."

"You aren't dreaming, Aunt, it's real," Qin Feng said, puzzled. "Is Celestial Master Wuji that incredible? You're so worked up."

"Incredible doesn't even begin to cover it. I once saw a description of him in an ancient text back at the White Cloud Monastery. Celestial Master Wuji lived five hundred years ago. It is said that in his youth, he was exceptionally gifted and eager to learn. Unfortunately, the various sects were plagued by insular prejudices. So, he donned disguises and joined the Longhu Mountain sect, then the Maoshan sect, and eventually joined every major Taoist sect, mastering all their magical arts. He went on to cultivate the supreme Taoist secret techniques: the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends. He commanded the flow of Yin and Yang, understood the changes of fate, possessed knowledge of astronomy and geography, and was a scholar of immense depth.

"Later, for reasons unknown, his identity was exposed, and the major sects learned the truth. They sent dozens of top-tier celestial masters to surround and kill him. According to records, that battle lasted only half a day. In the end, twenty masters from the various sects were killed, ten fled, and the battle made Wuji a legend. He vanished after that; I never expected we would encounter his inheritance here," Mu Ruxue explained.

"He's that powerful? Aunt, hurry, you must become his apprentice!" Qin Feng was incredibly excited. This kind of heaven-defying luck was like winning the lottery. To stumble upon the inheritance of a super-celestial master in a random cave—as for whether it was a scam, such a powerful master wouldn't play such games, and no one else could have set this up. Even if it were a trick, it was only three kowtows; he had nothing to lose.

"Feng'er, why don't you do it? You have a photographic memory, after all. Once you master the techniques, you can teach them to me later," Mu Ruxue pondered, deciding to let Qin Feng have the opportunity. It was a rare chance, and since Feng'er wanted to learn Taoist skills, mastering Wuji’s inheritance would be equivalent to mastering the arts of all the major sects. Even if he couldn't perform them himself, it was always good to have more knowledge.

"Aunt, what nonsense are you spouting?" Qin Feng reached out to touch her forehead. "You don't have a fever. I'm a zombie; how could I accept the inheritance of a Celestial Master? If Wuji left behind countermeasures specifically to deal with demons and ghosts, I'd be walking right into my own death."

"That makes sense," Mu Ruxue agreed with a nod.

She took out a Bagua mirror and, based on the cave's layout, used it to pinpoint the 'Li' position—exactly three meters in front of the statue. Mu Ruxue walked to the spot and knelt, kowtowing three times.

As she bowed, a 'click' sound echoed; the floor beneath her sank slightly, triggering some kind of mechanism. Immediately, a Yin-Yang Bagua diagram appeared beneath her, glowing with black and white light.

"That was close. Thank goodness you didn't kowtow, Feng'er. If the Yin-Yang Bagua had sensed the corpse qi on you, it would have melted you into a puddle of pus in an instant," Mu Ruxue said, looking at him with relief.

"It's a Taoist inheritance. As a zombie, I certainly wouldn't dare accept it," Qin Feng replied with a grin.

*Whoosh!*

At that moment, a beam of golden light shot from the eyes of the stone statue. It struck the center of Mu Ruxue’s forehead and vanished into her mind. A golden lotus mark appeared on her brow, glowing brilliantly. The lotus had nine delicate petals, echoing the celestial alignment, each covered in patterns that seemed forged from heavenly light. As Mu Ruxue breathed, the golden lotus flickered, appearing like an eternal seed of Tao in the void. Mysterious, profound seal scripts seemed to shift within the petal patterns, lending a sense of nobility and icy elegance to Mu Ruxue, who was already breathtakingly beautiful. She truly looked like a goddess descended from the heavens, untainted by the dust of the mortal world. Even Qin Feng was stunned, his heart racing, and he found himself swallowing hard.

"Hoo..." Mu Ruxue exhaled slowly, her alluring eyes opening to reveal a flash of golden light. The lotus returned to a calm, plain appearance.

"I didn't expect Celestial Master Wuji to use the method of 'direct transmission' to force his entire repertoire of skills into his successor's mind using the Golden Light Technique," Mu Ruxue said, filled with pleasant surprise.

"Does that mean you've mastered all of Celestial Master Wuji's skills, Aunt!?" Qin Feng asked excitedly. If his aunt had them, she could teach them all to him. They didn't distinguish between 'yours' and 'mine' anyway. With his photographic memory, he could quickly master everything the Celestial Master had to offer.