Chapter Seventy-Four: Transmission of the Dao—The Art of Guiding Stars Across the Seas, and the Sword of the Five Emperors’ Golden Coins

No wonder everyone only refers to Master as Old Mister Shen, and no one knows his true name, Shen Yuting. The God of Wealth’s Shen family never changed their surname, yet they have always been evading their enemies. If Master’s identity were to be exposed, it would immediately cause a tremendous uproar throughout the southeast coast, and even the entire Great Zhao. The commotion would far surpass the revelation of my own identity as the heir of the Prince of Sea Pacification.

After all, those truly watching me are limited to the nobleman who has cultivated the Dragon Vein, Pu Shouying and his lackeys, along with the traitors and ambitious men among the Five-Peak Banners on the Eastern Sea. But those coveting the unfathomable wealth of the Shen family are simply countless!

If someone else were to learn this secret, they would undoubtedly be devoured by uncontrollable greed. Choosing to keep the secret means shouldering the risks together with the Shen family, possibly ending in utter destruction. But standing on the opposing side is an entirely different matter. Even if they dare not lay hands on a direct official of the Hall of Years, merely selling this information would bring them immense reward.

Having enjoyed the best things in life, Wang Cheng felt not the slightest temptation toward his Master’s treasures; on the contrary, he let out a deep sigh of relief. “Now, even if my own identity is exposed, I need not worry that Master will be caught between the shadows and the law, torn between black and white, and thus strain the precious bond between us as master and disciple. He, as head of the Shen family wedged between black, white, and gray, faces far greater difficulties. Perhaps we could even form a group—call it the Avengers?”

Wang Cheng returned to his usual composure. With so many threats already, a few more made little difference; he even had the mood to joke about it. Little did he know—

The words Shen Yuting once said to him, praising his discerning eye, were never empty boasts. After years of living in hiding, he had perfected the Thunder Listening skill, inherited from the second phase of the Spring Division—so refined he could hear the intense inner voices of people, animals, even objects. Especially when his cultivation surpassed others, he could easily detect any trace of malice in their hearts and strike back with thunderous force.

Wang Cheng passed the test of greed, so Shen Yuting remained unaware that one of his deepest secrets had inadvertently been revealed to his disciple. He continued to give commands to the stewards of the Mountain and Sea Society:

“The taboo of the Flesh-Tailor: once stitched together, the flesh will be forever fused within half an hour and can never be separated again. Have Manager Xing, the Cobbler of the Rongchangxiang Tailor Shop, go support the locust blossom alley in the west of the city, and all of you coordinate with him.”

“The Hungry Ghost’s taboo is that the hungrier it gets, the stronger it becomes. It eats anything—earth, stone, bronze, iron—and before it’s full, most attacks are useless. Fetch Master Bian the Shadow Chef from the mortuary to prepare a meal for the dead to drive it away if possible. If not, wait until it’s full, then surround and obliterate it with thunder bombs.”

“The Life-Stealing Kowtow comes from folk custom: when elders kowtow to their juniors, or those of higher status to those lower, the latter’s lifespan is shortened. This evil spirit exploits the desperate will to survive, possessing elderly people unwilling to die and stealing the longevity of their descendants—a tenth of what’s lost goes to the old person, the rest to the spirit. As long as the junior sees it kowtow, the effect takes place. Disperse the Zhang family’s juniors and don’t let it possess another elder. Handle the rest as you see fit…”

This direct official of the Hall of Years was like a living encyclopedia of the occult, familiar with the taboos of every evil spirit. With just a few words, he cleared the confusion and set the stewards of the Mountain and Sea Society at ease.

Once he provided strategic direction, the execution was left to the stewards and officers, who adapted swiftly and got to work. Looking down from the top of Baoshan Signal Tower, he could see violent fluctuations of spiritual energy in some parts of the city, but these quickly subsided—the overall situation was still under control.

With the urgent business finished, Shen Yuting sipped his tea to moisten his throat, then looked up and down at his youngest and most similar disciple with a smile: “Fourth child, you’re anxious, aren’t you? Just like your master in his youth—impatient to learn special skills from my old man, even before the ink had dried on his appointment. Don’t worry, I’ve long prepared for you. But our Mountain and Sea Society has its rules—even from father to son, there are limits. As my personal disciple, you can choose one special skill, one unique art, and one orthodox method. If you wish to learn more, you’ll have to pay or earn merit—cough, cough…”

With that, he handed Wang Cheng the second volume of the secret manual “The Palace of Jade Treasures.” This volume contained most of the spells collected by the Mountain and Sea Society, though not the full versions—only a catalogue of options. Partly because “what you dwell on will echo back”—learn too much and misfortune may follow; partly for practical reasons.

On the doctrinal level, the Society was happy to spread its teachings far and wide, welcoming all to learn their methods. But when it came to practical application, they raised the threshold, restricting the spread of their arts. The reasoning was simple: free math and physics can be found everywhere, but how many can use them to build deadly weapons, or even create economic value? Every practical art was encrypted, barriers set in place to maintain their lineage’s advantage.

Too eager to advance? No problem—bring merits in exchange; it’s all fair and just.

“Thank you, Master.”

Wang Cheng accepted the book respectfully and began leafing through it page by page in detail. This secret manual contained even more skills and arts than the “Smooth Sailing Guide” of the Wang family. The lower- and mid-level skills and arts were easy to choose from. Wang Cheng already possessed the most compatible one for a Whiteshirt: “Beast Gathering and Bird Taming, Transmutation of All Kinds.” Picking another would be wasteful.

Thus, he chose a skill that Shen Yuting had specially marked in red—clearly reserved for the “Society for the Study of Soul-Returning Incense at Cockcrow and Fifth Watch”—the “Divine Transmission Incense Manual.” With Shen Yuting, an expert in knockout incense, as his master, this manual was enriched with many additions. It allowed the practitioner to control smoke at will, transforming it into snakes, hands, flowers, birds, or fish, making it impossible to guard against. The core method was to use Descending-True Incense to perform “Bridging and Summoning”—ideal for those with powerful backers.

The required unique art was the talisman-drawing technique “Ghostly Script,” which harnessed the power of spirits to inscribe talismans. The stronger the spirit, the better the cooperation, and the higher the quality of the talisman.

He happened to have an evil spirit attached to him—a free labor force he would be foolish not to use.

He continued browsing until he reached the highest-ranked orthodox methods—those that could be used all the way up to the top three grades without being outclassed. Suddenly, Wang Cheng exclaimed in surprise: “The ‘Star-Linking Ocean Crossing Art’? Isn’t that one of the three orthodox methods in the ‘Smooth Sailing Guide’? Our Mountain and Sea Society has it, too?”

Shen Yuting smiled at this: “Everyone who’s seen the ‘Palace of Jade Treasures’ in recent years says the same. But let me correct you—your ancestor in the Wang family didn’t invent this method. He merely took advantage of his position as boatmaster and fire captain to include this secret method in your family’s manual. With the rise of the Prince of Sea Pacification, the aura of this Star-Linking Ocean Crossing Art naturally became associated with your family. In truth, the Mountain and Sea Society, also descended from the treasure ships, kept its own copy.

“But such high-level orthodox methods are never for sale; no outsider could buy them, no matter the price. If you weren’t my personal disciple, you wouldn’t obtain this even after thirty years of free service. So, interested?”

Wang Cheng did not decide immediately but continued looking at the other four orthodox methods suitable for an attendant official, wondering if any of them were secret techniques of the God of Wealth’s Shen family.

There was the “Six-Line Golden Coin Divination,” unmatched for augury; the “Seven-Treasure Wishful Heart Mantra,” for collecting and refining treasures; the “Celestial Market Equilibrium Order,” which drew down starlight from the Celestial Market for cultivation and unleashed a powerful finishing strike; and then a most formidable-sounding art, the “Five Emperors’ Coin Sword”—one of the flying sword techniques. First, forge a sword embryo from divine metal, then collect coins from the five greatest dynasties, drawing out their golden energy, dragon energy, and wealth to forge the sword. The stronger the dynasty that issued the coin, the sharper the sword. The greatest challenge was obtaining enough “Five Emperors’ Coins.”

These ancient coins were so widely used in the magical world, every lineage had methods that consumed them. Their rarity made practice nearly impossible—a brilliant cook cannot make a meal without rice. At least sixty years had passed since anyone last forged a Five Emperors’ Coin Sword.

Seeing the sighs of those who came before, Wang Cheng had a sudden thought: “Others have failed because they were fixated on the classic Five Emperors’ coins—those of Qin Shi Huang, Han Wudi, Tang Taizong, Song Taizu, and the founding emperor of Great Zhao—truly non-renewable resources. But if I change my perspective and use Great Zhao coins as the foundation, supplementing them with those of four successive Western powers—East and West Francia, the Netherlands, Britannia—among them are several empires upon which the sun never sets. Is it possible I might forge the world’s most formidable ‘Five Emperors’ Coin Sword’?”