There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 20 A Word is Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold

Chen Qing followed the shopkeeper up to the second floor, thinking to himself, "Since this person knows about the past of the Immortal Dynasty, I might be able to find out a thing or two, but I need to be wary of a scam, or perhaps it's a trick to swindle him..."

Just then, he saw a young man in brocade robes sitting by the window, engrossed in reading a book.

The shopkeeper said respectfully, "Young master, the person has been brought."

"Old Zhou, you can go down now." The young man then raised his eyes and sized up Chen Qing: "I am Bai Shaoyou, how should I address you, fellow Daoist?"

"Hidden Star Sect, Chen Qing."

"Fellow Daoist Chen just mentioned the Primordial Immortal Dynasty?" Bai Shaoyou put down his book. "Where did you hear that from?"

Chen Qing calmly sat down and replied, "I came across this in an ancient book by chance."

"Ancient books?" Bai Shaoyou leaned forward. "Would you be willing to transfer them? Name your price."

“It’s been lost.” Chen Qing shook his head. “But I still remember some of the contents.”

"Bring tea!" Upon hearing this, the young man beckoned someone to serve tea, and then took out three pieces of spiritual marrow from his sleeve and pushed them over: "I would like to hear the details."

What incredible financial power at the start!

Chen Qing's gaze swept over the spiritual marrow, his eyelids twitching. He suppressed the urge to accept it and asked, "Didn't you go to listen to the storytelling?"

"Ha!" Bai Shaoyou chuckled. "That group of people are always hanging around me, just for a reward. It's so annoying, and they even disturb my reading. I had Old Zhou spread the word that they wanted to listen to a story, and naturally they all went to the teahouse to wait." He patted the book in his hand. "As for that fellow Daoist Yu, although he also came for profit, at least his story is fresh."

This young master is a shrewd man; he's not easily fooled!

Chen Qing pondered for a moment, then said, "How about this: I'll tell you some secrets of the Immortal Dynasty, and if you find it interesting, you can tell me about any old stories you know. Let's share what we know, shall we?"

"Excellent!" Bai Shaoyou's eyes lit up. "Fellow Daoist, please elaborate."

"This story begins in the early years of the Primordial Immortal Dynasty..."

Chen Qing lowered his voice and recounted his dream experiences in detail, from the destruction of the Star Pivot Sect to his escape from the Xuan Prison, from his cultivation in Listening Wind City to his meeting with the Tenth Princess, only concealing that this was his own personal experience.

Bai Shaoyou listened intently and even summoned his servant to take notes.

When Chen Qing finished speaking about Chen Xu's enlightenment on the key to cultivation, he deliberately paused, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

Bai Shaoyou had been listening intently. Seeing Chen Qing stop, he asked anxiously, "What happened next? Now that Chen Xu has gained some insights, he should be valued by that elder, right? And that Xu family girl, according to the usual tales of the strange and supernatural, she should be looking at Chen Xu differently and secretly in love with him, right? Did she just climb through the window and enter his room at night?"

"Cough cough cough-"

Chen Qing nearly choked, but forced himself to remain calm and asked, "What do you think of this story?"

"Excellent!" Bai Shaoyou slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "The details are so detailed, it's as if I experienced it myself! And the key points, such as the abolition of the Hundred Sects and the suppression of the Xuan Prison, are exactly the same as the system of the Immortal Dynasty recorded in my family's ancient books!"

Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Does your family really possess ancient books from the Immortal Dynasty?"

“Of course I have it,” Bai Shaoyou said with a mysterious smile. “I have a copy of ‘The Lost Tales of the Immortal Dynasty’ that I brought from Nanyan Continent. It contains many secrets of the Primordial Immortal Dynasty. If you are interested, after you finish telling the story, I will have someone go to my home to fetch it for you to read.”

"We'll talk about it later." Chen Qing was very interested, but he didn't show too much enthusiasm. Instead, he told Chen Xu about his subsequent experiences. However, when he mentioned the title of the tenth princess, "Xi Yao," Bai Shaoyou raised an eyebrow and suddenly interrupted him!
"You mean the tenth princess's title is Xi Yao?"

"Exactly."

Bai Shaoyou recalled for a moment and said, "How strange! In the fragment of my family's ancestral book, 'Chronicles of Nanyan,' a person named 'Xi Yao' is mentioned. However, she is not a princess of the Immortal Dynasty, but a nine-tailed celestial fox who was suppressed after causing chaos in one area. However, the name Chen Xu is not mentioned in it."

"what?"

Chen Qing immediately asked, "When did the troublesome Heavenly Fox you mentioned happen?"

Bai Shaoyou shook his head and said, "There is no specific time record."

Chen Qing immediately frowned.

Can the events in dreams actually be traced back to reality?

But could the Heavenly Fox Xi Yao that Bai Shaoyou mentioned be Princess Xi Yao?

Nine-tailed Celestial Fox... Qingqiu Bloodline...

Just as he was deep in thought, Bai Shaoyou suddenly said, "Fellow Daoist Chen, I'll buy out your stories for fifty spirit marrows! Just write them down today."

Chen Qing's fingers trembled, and the teacup nearly slipped from his grasp. Fifty pieces of spirit marrow!
In the mortal realm, this would be worth over ten thousand gold pieces! Enough to cover the Hidden Star Sect's expenses for half a year!

But at this moment, what he cared about more was the phrase "Tianhu Xiyao".

He suppressed his thoughts and asked, "What are the details of that celestial fox?"

Bai Shaoyou squinted and chuckled: "Fellow Daoist Chen is particularly interested in this Heavenly Fox."

Chen Qing replied calmly, "Strange tales and anecdotes are naturally of my curiosity."

"Alright, let me take a look." Bai Shaoyou took out a broken jade slip from his pocket, unfolded it and read, "Tianhu Xiyao, possessing the bloodline of Qingqiu, once broke the seal three times, stirring up vast blue waves and freezing thousands of miles, and was finally sealed by someone using the Five Dragons Dismemberment Technique!"

Five dragons tearing him apart?!
Chen Qing's pupils contracted slightly.

"that's it?"

"That's all." Bai Shaoyou put away the jade slip. "The past is like a long river. No matter how talented a person is, they are just a drop in the ocean. In addition, with the erosion of the long time, it is already very difficult for even a sentence or two to survive."

Chen Qing listened and agreed that it made sense.

“However,” Bai Shaoyou suddenly lowered his voice, “there is also an item related to the Celestial Fox hidden in my Bai family’s secret vault.”

Chen Qing immediately asked, "What is it?"

“Then I don’t know, I haven’t inquired about it in detail,” Bai Shaoyou said, then changed the subject: “Once you finish writing the story, I will send someone to ask, how about that?”

Chen Qing pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I only know the first half of this story. If I can find the rest in the future, I will definitely share it with you."

Bai Shaoyou sighed regretfully, but took off the jade token from his waist and said, "In that case, I will give this Five Qi Token to you, fellow Daoist. You can come to me at any time with this token. If you have any new stories, the price will double."

Chen Qing took the token and saw that the front was engraved with the character "白" (white), while the back showed the image of five elements rotating.

"it is good!"

When Chen Qing walked out of the Five Qi Pavilion, he had five pieces of spiritual marrow, one piece of earth marrow, and half a piece of lightning-struck wood in his sleeve. This was the deposit that Bai Shaoyou had insisted on giving him.

However, Chen Qing's mind was on "Tianhu Xiyao" at the moment.

Is the tenth princess in my dream the same person as Tianhu Xiyao?

If so, is the ending really that tragic?

In a private room on the second floor, Bai Shaoyou stood by the window, watching Chen Qing's figure disappear around the street corner.

"Old Zhou," he called out without turning his head.

The innkeeper in brocade robes quickly stepped forward: "What are your orders, Seventh Young Master?"

“Investigate the background of this Fellow Daoist Chen.” Bai Shaoyou pointed outside, “especially whether the Hidden Star Sect behind him is related to the Immortal Dynasty’s heritage.”

Old Zhou frowned slightly and said, "Seventh Young Master, the Lord sent you to Nanbin to familiarize yourself with the trade routes and people..."

“I know,” Bai Shaoyou interrupted, turning around. “But these ledgers and invoices are really boring.” He picked up the book on the table. “If I could find the inheritance of the Immortal Dynasty and cultivate the Great Dao of Immortality, wouldn’t that be better than fiddling with an abacus all day?”

Old Zhou hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Don't worry, I won't delay important matters." Bai Shaoyou waved his hand. "Also, go to the ancestral home and ask what the Heavenly Fox artifacts in the treasury are. If they're not valuable, send them to me."

Old Zhou sighed and was about to leave.

Bai Shaoyou then remembered something and instructed, "Also, check if the name 'Chen Xu' appears in the records of the Immortal Dynasty."

Old Zhou said helplessly, "This is obviously a fictional character. That person must have known something about the Immortal Dynasty and made up a story based on that."

Bai Shaoyou's smile faded, and he said, "Go ahead and ask."

"Here."

　I had some things to do at home today, so the update is a little late.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)