Chapter 917 - Mysterious Golden Parchment

Liu Wuxie was deeply curious about Han Feizi's identity. He was confident the latter wasn't from an ordinary clan but belonged to one with an ancient and powerful lineage. Despite his young age, he possessed remarkable cultivation and extensive knowledge and was even versed in divination.

"Brother Han, do you know anything about the Golden Cauldron Pavilion?" Liu Wuxie asked.

Seated across from him, Han Feizi stood up, his playful demeanor vanishing and replaced with a solemn gaze. Even Liu Wuxie followed suit and rose to his feet. He wondered if Han Feizi knew anything about the Golden Cauldron Pavilion.

"How do you know of the Golden Cauldron Pavilion's existence?" Han Feizi asked; his reluctance was evident.

"Brother Han, you know the Golden Cauldron Pavilion's origin?" Liu Wuxie grabbed Han Feizi by the shoulders, eager for answers. To defeat their enemy, he had to understand them first.

Though he was a disciple of the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, he knew the academy couldn't offer him any help with the Liu Clan's matters, and he had to rely on himself.

"I know a little, but not much," Han Feizi replied with a shrug. "I overheard my father discussing it in his study when I was three, but I was discovered and thrown out shortly after."

That was all he remembered about the Golden Cauldron Pavilion. However, one thing stood out clearly—his father's solemn expression when the name was mentioned. It was the look of someone genuinely afraid.

The Liu Clan was mighty, but it was still far from Han Feizi's clan. Many hidden clans in the Central Plains rarely exposed themselves to the outside world, and only the Four Great Clans were known to everyone.

"It looks like the Golden Cauldron Pavilion is formidable!" Liu Wuxie said, convinced that Han Feizi wasn't lying.

"Brother Liu, how did your clan get entangled with the Golden Cauldron Pavilion?" Han Feizi asked.

The Golden Cauldron Pavilion seldom revealed itself to the outside world, and few knew about its existence. But that didn't mean it didn't exist. Instead, it was omnipresent, capable of controlling others to do its bidding.

If the Liu Clan's Grand Elder and Liu Xiaotian had been under the Golden Cauldron Pavilion's control, how many other clans and sects might they have infiltrated in the same way?

Liu Wuxie shuddered at the thought. He couldn't imagine how terrifying the Golden Cauldron Pavilion was and if it had reached the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy's level.

After all, one would be forced into absolute submission by planting the imprint into one's soul sea, and defiance would mean death.

"Brother Liu, I advise you not to provoke the Golden Cauldron Pavilion," Han Feizi warned, feeling compelled to speak as a friend.

He knew Liu Wuxie was strong, but he and the Liu Clan were nothing compared to the Golden Cauldron Pavilion.

"I didn't go looking for them—they're the ones targeting my clan," Liu Wuxie said, his gaze sharp.

He didn't care who it was; anyone who threatened his loved ones or friends would be met with death, even if it meant going to war against the entire True Martial Continent.

After their brief conversation, Liu Wuxie figured his grandfather's meeting must have ended by now. He hurried back to the main hall, where Liu Xiucheng was waiting.

"Wuxie, let's go to the secret chamber," Liu Xiucheng said. Not many people knew about the golden parchment, not even Liu Dashan.

He knew his three sons well. Liu Dashan excelled in management, Liu Dazhi excelled in cultivation, and Liu Dayue had a balanced set of skills. But none of them was capable of leading the clan.

Liu Wuxie's emergence, however, had given him new hope—perhaps he could become the clan's guiding star for the next generation.

As long as Liu Wuxie continued to grow, supported by Liu Dashan's administrative talents, the Liu Clan's rise would be only a matter of time.

They took a secluded path and entered Liu Xiucheng's private chamber, which was rarely visited by others, including Liu Dashan.

When Liu Xiucheng placed his hand on a hidden mechanism, the stone wall slowly cracked open, revealing a passageway—a secret chamber.

"Come on in!" Liu Xiucheng said, stepping into the secret chamber first, with Liu Wuxie following behind before the stone wall sealed itself shut.

The interior wasn't as dark as Liu Wuxie had imagined. Luminous pearls were embedded in the stone walls, casting a soft glow.

They descended the stone steps and entered a vast circular hall filled with countless treasures. These were precious items Liu Xiucheng had collected throughout the years, and they were too valuable to store in the interspatial ring as they might fall into the enemy's hands if there was danger.

They were kept in the Liu Clan, which meant they wouldn't be lost unless the Liu Clan was wiped out.

Liu Wuxie's eyes gleamed as he stared at the collection before him. He had been searching for several rare materials to reforge the Heretic Blade. Currently, it remained at the level of a heavenly artifact, which could no longer keep up with his strength. It needed to be reforged into a Dao artifact immediately.

A heavenly artifact corresponded with the True Profound Realm, and a dao artifact corresponded to the Spirit Profound Realm. With the density of Liu Wuxie's current true essence, it was already comparable to the high levels of the Spirit Profound Realm.

Liu Xiucheng naturally noticed his grandson's excitement.

"Wuxie, you can take whatever you need. Everything here is from my collection," Liu Xiucheng said.

"I won't be polite with you then, grandfather!" Liu Wuxie beamed with excitement as he toured around. These were all from his grandfather's collection, and each was invaluable.

He wasn't greedy and only planned to take what he needed.

"Astral Stone!"

"Aquatic Golden Silkwood!"

"Terranian Purification Soil!" Liu Wuxie said. Each name was tied to a story, a treasure his grandfather had gone to great lengths to acquire.

After selecting over a dozen materials, Liu Wuxie finally stopped, as he had obtained the materials required to reforge the Heretic Blade. However, he had only gathered almost everything except for the primary material.

Meanwhile, Liu Xiucheng retrieved a box and took out a palm-sized golden parchment that was about an inch thick. It had become dull, and the golden radiance was long gone.

"Wuxie, this is the golden parchment we found from the ancient world," Liu Xiucheng said, placing it on the table.

The inscriptions were faint and blurred. If the text had been clearer, it might have been decipherable, but in this state, it was impossible to make any sense of it.

Liu Wuxie gently picked up the parchment and observed it. If the Liu Clan had suffered so much because of this parchment, this meant there must be a secret hidden within.

Suddenly, the Heavenly Dao Book gave off a faint radiance. Liu Xiucheng wasn't surprised by this scene, as it had appeared once when Liu Wuxie had reforged the Heretic Blade.

When the golden radiance shone on the parchment, a bizarre scene unfolded. Tadpole-like symbols flew out from the parchment and merged into the radiance before entering Liu Wuxie's soul sea.

"This..." Liu Wuxie was dumbfounded.

Even Liu Xiucheng was stunned. The Liu Clan had studied this golden parchment for decades, but there wasn't any reaction from it.

The golden parchment wasn't made of pure gold but a rare type of wood. The scene before him felt reminiscent of the ancient tower as golden texts had reappeared on the parchment again.

However, the characters had burrowed into Liu Wuxie's body this time. The process lasted about a minute before the sacred light returned to Liu Wuxie's body once the last character vanished.

Liu Wuxie closed his eyes to focus on the characters, and Liu Xiucheng didn't disturb him.

The golden parchment slowly disintegrated into dust after the ancient texts entered Liu Wuxie's body.

Liu Wuxie stood motionless while Liu Xiucheng left the secret chamber. He left only a paper with instructions on how to leave.

It was clear that Liu Wuxie had unlocked the secret of the golden parchment—though he had yet to understand what that secret was.

He stood motionless in the sealed secret chamber, his mind focused inward. When his divine sense entered his soul sea, he saw countless golden characters hovering above the Heavenly Dao Book.

The characters shimmered with sacred chants that resonated softly in his soul sea.

"They're the Buddhist Clan's scriptures!" Liu Wuxie gasped in astonishment. The golden parchment wasn't a relic of mankind but the treasure of the Buddhist Clan.

The universe was home to countless races, and humanity was merely one among the many. There were the Buddhist Clan, the Dragon Clan, the Ghost Clan, and the Abyssal Race.

Among them, the Buddhist Clan was the closest to humans, as a human could become a Buddha, but a Buddha could never become a human.

Buddhism was practiced within the Buddhist Realm, where they preached on karma and advocated good deeds.

Liu Wuxie recalled that there was a divine art used by the Buddhist Clan—the Great Divine Karma Art.

Once executed, it was rumored to be capable of entangling one's past and present lives. However, he had never personally witnessed it before to know the actual effects.

He wondered if the Great Divine Karma Art was recorded on the golden parchment. He observed the text for a long time before concluding that it was not connected to the Great Divine Karma Art, but it was a Scripture of Faith.

The Buddhist Clan saw it as their duty to enlighten all beings—in simpler terms, to spread their faith.

If there was any race that Liu Wuxie detested the most, the Buddhist Clan was among them.

While the Buddhist Clan seemed to stand for truth, kindness, and beauty on the surface, countless lives had been ruined because of their faith. People's faith in Buddhism had unknowingly made them the source of the Buddhist Clan's power, continuously feeding them with the power of faith.

Faith was an intangible force, but it truly existed. It could be harnessed to fight or convert others.

The Buddhist Clan often proclaimed, "If I do not descend to hell, who else shall?"

However, this phrase carried a deep contradiction. On the surface, the Buddhist Clan advocated virtue and compassion—principles Liu Wuxie had no reason to question. But their true nature was far from what the others believed.

The more suffering there was, the easier it was for the Buddhist Clan to spread their faith and convert masses into devotees.

Liu Wuxie had once read an ancient text describing a once-flourishing world that was suddenly struck by an unforeseen calamity, leading to widespread destruction. On that day, the Buddhist Clan appeared, offering salvation and earning the deep gratitude of those they saved, many of whom became their devoted followers.

However, they didn't know that the Buddhist Clan had orchestrated the calamity to present themselves as saviors. Few people knew about this truth—perhaps only a handful across the True Martial Continent.

Liu Wuxie now held the Scripture of Faith from the Buddhist Clan. If he could master it, he could also convert others into his devotees.