Chapter 51: The Hilt of the Xuanyuan Divine Sword

“No, no, this is impossible.” Du Gu Ming muttered to himself in terror.

“Big Brother, are you alright?” Zhang Liming, startled by Du Gu Ming’s expression, hurried over to check on him.

Du Gu Ming was truly shaken this time. “I’m fine, nothing’s wrong with me. I need to step out for a bit. You should all get some rest, it’s getting late.” With that, Du Gu Ming threw on a coat and left the dormitory.

He couldn’t hold back any longer—he had to find Li Yunren and get a clear answer.

Someone who had supposedly been dead for who knows how many years now appeared to be alive, at least according to the investigation. If he really wasn’t dead, if what Li Yunren said was also true, just imagine—a person who could, by sheer force, raise Mount Everest by over eight thousand meters… how terrifying must such a man be? If he still lived, wouldn’t this world become a living hell?

He’d always thought the stories about Xiang Yu, who could “pull up mountains and dominate the world,” were just exaggerated tales. But now, maybe they weren’t so far-fetched after all. If it was real, could such a person still be called human? Even a god would pale in comparison, Du Gu Ming thought.

Stepping out of the dormitory building, Du Gu Ming intended to seek out Li Yunren. Yet he suddenly felt lost—he only knew Li Yunren’s office, not his home, and it was much too late for Li Yunren to still be at work.

Never mind, he thought, I’ll just ask someone. As he walked along a shadowy path in front of the building, a figure slipped out from behind a tree. Du Gu Ming instinctively dropped into a fighting stance, but as he looked closer, he saw it was Li Yunren himself. What was he doing here so late, instead of at home?

“Are you looking for me?” Li Yunren stood there, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses and speaking in a low, mysterious tone.

“I want to know who you really are. I want to know all the secrets.” This time, Du Gu Ming was calm as he spoke.

Li Yunren regarded him, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that you understand who you are. Come with me—this is not the place to talk.”

And in a blink, Li Yunren vanished. Du Gu Ming gazed at the spot where he’d disappeared, then, gathering his strength, quickly followed. The two sped away, one leading, one following.

Gradually, they left the city far behind, venturing deep into the mountains, dozens of kilometers from Ningxia University.

“Why have you brought me here?” Du Gu Ming asked. He could tell that Li Yunren knew his late father and was not his enemy.

“Just follow me. Trust me, I won’t harm you,” Li Yunren replied without looking back. They had come to the foot of a great mountain.

“There’s no road ahead. Where exactly are you going?” Du Gu Ming saw only a barren, pitch-black mountainside.

“We’re here,” Li Yunren announced, stopping.

“Here? Where is here?” Du Gu Ming asked, shivering a little in the chilly summer night wind of Ningxia.

“Do you know where we are?”

“How would I know?” Du Gu Ming thought, rolling his eyes. What, am I supposed to know the name of every random mountain you point at? I’m not an encyclopedia.

“He Lan Mountain. Have you heard of it? This is He Lan Mountain.” Li Yunren’s voice trembled with excitement as he gazed up at the mountain.

“He Lan Mountain? The same one Yue Fei vowed to break through?” Du Gu Ming asked in astonishment.

“Yes, that’s right.” Li Yunren didn’t even glance at Du Gu Ming, drawing in a deep breath before saying, with barely suppressed excitement, “Now, let me show you what it means to break through He Lan Mountain.”

Li Yunren’s fingers pressed together, his palm forming a blade, and he struck the mountain wall with a fierce chop.

There was a thunderous rumble. Dust filled the air. Du Gu Ming covered his nose with his left hand and waved away the dust with his right. As the dust settled, he saw a man-sized cave in the mountainside—a cave clearly carved by human hands, stretching back into darkness.

Du Gu Ming was suddenly reminded of the top-secret Pentagon files he’d uncovered—descriptions uncannily similar to this scene: a cave within a mountain, the remains of Chi You inside. According to Li Yunren, after Chi You was quartered by five horses, his remains were scattered across continents. Asia’s share, his torso, was hidden beneath Everest. But then, what was this cave for?

A strange thought flashed through Du Gu Ming’s mind. Chi You was a man, and men have a “third leg,” so maybe he wasn’t just quartered by five horses, but by six? Could this cave be where Chi You’s “third leg”—his little member—was hidden? The idea made Du Gu Ming smirk wickedly.

Li Yunren lit a windproof lighter and strode into the cave. If he’d known what Du Gu Ming was thinking, he’d probably have died of anger on the spot, roaring, “You think I went through all this trouble just to show you Chi You’s little thing?”

Shaking his head to clear away such unhealthy thoughts, Du Gu Ming followed Li Yunren into the cave, his demeanor suddenly serious.

The cave was long, with many branching passages. Du Gu Ming stuck close behind Li Yunren, afraid of getting lost.

He had no idea how long they walked; he’d long since lost his bearings. Watching Li Yunren confidently navigate the maze-like passages—each intersection nearly identical to the last—Du Gu Ming couldn’t help but admire him. Even with his intelligence, he’d be hopelessly lost, yet Li Yunren led them forward unerringly. Did he truly know the way, or was he just bluffing?

Suddenly, at what seemed a dead end, the path opened into a vast chamber.

Du Gu Ming stared in awe.

“We’re here?” he asked.

Li Yunren nodded.

The immense cavern was the size of a small villa. Strange, faintly glowing creatures clung to the walls, casting enough light for Du Gu Ming to see clearly even without the lighter.

Li Yunren snapped the lighter shut, pointed ahead, and said, “Draw it out.”

“Huh?” Du Gu Ming followed his gesture. Not far away, a stone pedestal stood, and atop it, an incomplete sword hilt was embedded.

“You mean you want me to pull that out?” Du Gu Ming asked, puzzled.

Li Yunren looked at him and nodded firmly.

Trusting that Li Yunren meant him no harm, Du Gu Ming approached and reached for the broken hilt.

The instant his hand touched it, a dazzling light burst forth from where his palm met the grip, illuminating the entire chamber.

Seeing the radiance, Li Yunren murmured, “So, it really is you.”

Du Gu Ming felt a strange force guiding his arm. Gripping tightly, he wrenched the hilt from the stone.

The moment he held the incomplete hilt, an aura of kingly dominance erupted from his body. He felt as though power flowed through every vein.

Gradually, the light faded until the hilt looked like any ordinary fragment.

“What just happened?” Du Gu Ming asked in astonishment, turning to Li Yunren.

“Now, I will tell you all my secrets. Listen carefully.” Li Yunren smiled, clearly satisfied.

Du Gu Ming nodded eagerly. He was desperate for answers; his mind was tangled with questions.

“I used to be an ordinary man. When I was twenty, still in university, I loved to explore. With a few friends, I came to climb He Lan Mountain. Everything was fine at first, but then, for no reason, a chilling, wailing wind arose and I lost my way. I wandered into a place I’d never been before.” At this point, Du Gu Ming shivered—Li Yunren’s story felt almost supernatural.

“I walked on until I suddenly fell into a cave and blacked out. When I awoke, I was in a hospital,” Li Yunren said quietly.

Du Gu Ming stared in amazement.

“Yes, and standing beside me was your father—Du Gu Yang. I have no idea how he found me. He said he was an archaeologist, working on He Lan Mountain, and he’d stumbled upon me, half-dead in that cave, and brought me to the hospital. Then he left.”

“What? That’s it? You only knew my father because he saved your life?” Du Gu Ming couldn’t believe it.

“Yes. Your father is my savior. I wanted to thank him, to repay his kindness, but he refused. He only said, ‘One day, I’ll need your help. Consider this an advance payment.’ Looking back, your father was truly mysterious. The place I fell was so remote—how could he have found me?” Li Yunren mused.

“How could this be…” Du Gu Ming murmured. The man who had raised him, whom he’d always seen as a feckless old man, now seemed shrouded in mystery.

“In truth, all that strange wind and misfortune was caused by this book.” With that, Li Yunren drew out an imperial jade seal from within his body.

Du Gu Ming stared in shock. The jade seal merged into Li Yunren's body, just like his own Pisces jade—an utterly incredible sight.

“This is what you call ‘The Royal Code of Righteousness.’ I call it ‘The Heavenly Book,’” Li Yunren declared.

“What? This is the Royal Code of Righteousness?” Du Gu Ming had heard of it, but never seen it before.

“Yes. Everything that happened that day was orchestrated by it. It chose me as its successor and used those tricks to draw me to it. But it was a mischievous thing, unable to control its power, and nearly killed me. If not for your father, I would have died because of it,” Li Yunren said with a laugh. Despite his words, he seemed quite content with the book—he must have grown fond of it.

“The Heavenly Book now only has the spirit’s embryo, not a true spirit. It has its own mind, but not a physical form. If it evolves into a true spirit, it will have a body of its own. When that day comes, if it wishes, you’ll be able to see what it looks like,” Li Yunren said wistfully. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of being the book would become—perhaps a mischievous and adorable child.

“Incredible,” Du Gu Ming said. He’d never heard of such things as artifact spirits or their embryonic forms.

“But the Heavenly Book is incomplete,” Li Yunren sighed.

“Why?” Du Gu Ming asked.

“In ancient times, the Heavenly Book was whole—it was the scripture cultivated by the Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan. After Xuanyuan defeated Chi You and had him quartered by five horses, he still couldn’t destroy him completely. So he split the Heavenly Book into six parts, giving five to suitable successors to guard Chi You’s remains in secret across the world. The sixth part, mine, was kept here to watch over this incomplete sword hilt.”

“On that day, when Xuanyuan and Chi You fought on Mount Everest, the Yellow Emperor gained the upper hand with the Xuanyuan Divine Sword and quartered Chi You. Then, by supernatural power, he raised five mountains and hid Chi You’s remains within them. Everest, hiding Chi You’s head, became the tallest peak.”

“Even then, Xuanyuan was uneasy. He struck the earth with his palm, splitting the continent into five parts, so Chi You’s remains could never reunite,” Li Yunren explained.

“Wait, aren’t there six continents now? Why five?” Du Gu Ming asked.

Li Yunren couldn’t hold back. “Are you stupid? I said at the time—back then, there were five continents. Over the ages, things changed. North and South America were once joined, so there were only five. Satisfied?”

“After that, the world became what it is today. Though Chi You was quartered, that battle left Xuanyuan gravely wounded, and his Divine Sword shattered, its pieces scattered across the globe. Only this hilt remained.”

“Knowing his end was near, Xuanyuan left this hilt, declaring that if Chi You ever awakened again, the hilt could guide its wielder to the other fragments and defeat Chi You once more,” Li Yunren said, his voice trembling with excitement.

“What?” Du Gu Ming stared in disbelief at the hilt in his hand. He’d never imagined it had such a storied origin.

“That’s right. The hilt you hold is the Xuanyuan Divine Sword’s own.” Li Yunren’s words were slow and deliberate.