The Journey of Flower - Chapter 6

Hua Qian Gu continued up the mountain. She did not encounter any more problems, but strangely, she began to feel something was not right. Not a single person or bird can be seen. To her horror, she finally realized there were no signs of life on the mountain. The smell of death lingered in the air.

Finally, Hua Qian Gu reached Jiu Xiao Wan Fu Palace on top of Mount Mao. The main hall was magnificent and imposing but completely empty. It seemed like a destructive battle had occurred, and fires still burned.

Hua Qian Gu walked everywhere until she reached the main square. There was a giant hole in the ground, as if a huge meteorite had dropped down from the sky. When she stepped closer, the acrid smell of blood was evident. She looked down into the hole and screamed in terror.

The hole seemed like hell on earth. It was filled with hundreds of dead bodies, all of them wearing Taoist clothes, from the old to the young. The bodies were missing arms, legs, intestines, eyes, fingers and soaked in blood. On top of the abundance of dead bodies laid an old man with his arms chopped off and a large hole in his chest. He weakly called out to Hua Qian Gu.

He said he was Taoist priest Qing Xu. Unknown to him, his eldest disciple Yun Yi had turned demonic. Yun Yi secretly linked up with demons to destroy Mount Mao, and they had stolen the Shuan Tian chain. They sealed off the mountain with spells so no one can know what had happened. Hua Qian Gu was able to walk up the mountain probably because of Tian Shui Di. Taoist priest Qing Xu asked Hua Qian Gu to go to the Qun Xian feast on Mount KunLun and alert the immortals there so they will carefully guard the other 15 holy instruments. All caution must be taken to prevent the Demon God from being born or the world will descend into chaos.

Taoist priest Qing Xu transferred his internal energy to Hua Qian Gu to thank her for carrying out his last requests. He cannot teach her anything because he was dying. He thought the best place to study would be Chang Liu. He whispered into the snail’s shell Luo He Dong had used, asking Chang Liu’s esteemed immortal Feng Shuang Yi Jian Bai Zi Hua to take in Hua Qian Gu. Bai Zi Hua had achieved the highest level of enlightenment amongst the immortals. If she can become his disciple, she would be most fortunate. However, Bai Zi Hua was very strict and might not agree to the request.

Taoist priest Qing Xu made Hua Qian Gu his successor, telling her to take the white, palace feathers worn on his hip. The feathers symbolized the position of sect leader of Mount Mao. Hua Qian Gu refused because she did not feel she was worthy, but he said she can relinquish the position to his trusted disciple Yun Yin later if she chooses. In addition, he told her the hiding place of two manuals – the first one would always be given to the new leader of Mount Mao and the other one consisted of information he collected over the years about the six realms.

Hua Qian Gu climbed out of the hole. Taoist priest Qing Xu’s body burst into a cool fire, growing steadily until it engulfed everything. The ashes turned into glowing, white sparkles and floated to the sky.

Hua Qian Gu knelt and bowed two times before the hollow hole. She found the manuals, tucked them inside her shirt and set out for Mount KunLun. Her goals were clear: go to the Qun Xian feast on Mount KunLun, tell everyone there that a traitor from Mount Mao had stolen the Shuan Tian chain, turn over the position of sect leader of Mount Mao to Yun Yin, then beg Bai Zi Hua to take her in as a disciple so she can follow him to Chang Liu……