Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 303 - Pre-Qin Energy Refiners

The term Pre-Qin refers to the historical era of ancient China before the Qin dynasty, beginning from the emergence of humankind in remote antiquity and lasting until 221 BCE, when the First Emperor of Qin unified the six kingdoms.

Bronze inscriptions, also called bronze inscriptions, were inscriptions carved onto Shang and Zhou dynasty bronze vessels. These characters were used from the early Shang dynasty down to the time when Qin destroyed the six states, with their peak usage occurring during the Zhou dynasty.

Inside the Daoist temple, the mottled, timeworn walls were carved with rows of bronze inscriptions. The strokes were vigorous and majestic, their rhythm and spacing well-measured, imbued with a heavy, solemn air.

Ye Fan studied them intently, carefully discerning their forms. In total, there were 215 ancient characters. The brushwork was powerful and taut, as if the characters themselves were alive.

Out of them, he recognized sixty-nine characters. The remaining 146 he could not identify, no matter how hard he pondered their meaning.

Even among the sixty-nine he could read, nine were guessed at through context. This ancient script was far too old.

Even true antiquarian scholars of Earth could not fully recognize bronze inscriptions. On the far side of the starry sky, later generations were able to identify only parts of it.

“Pre-Qin Energy Refiner…” Ye Fan’s heart trembled. So it was true, these inscriptions were left behind by an ancient figure from the other side of the stars.

He read them carefully. Though he could not recognize most of the characters, he still gained a rough understanding: this person undoubtedly belonged to ancient China’s Pre-Qin era.

But as to exactly who it was, or whether they had held a prominent place in history, he could not infer. Nearly one hundred and fifty characters remained unknown to him.

“Energy Refiner…” This was the first time he had ever encountered such a term.

Those three characters stirred endless imaginings in Ye Fan’s mind. It was as if he glimpsed a mysterious age, one that predated known antiquity, filled with hidden secrets.

Yet the sixty-nine recognizable characters were not connected into a continuous text, making it difficult to piece together the meaning. He studied for a long time and could only gain a hazy understanding.

The Pre-Qin Energy Refiner had not crossed the void by his own power. The inscriptions stated there was another reason, but Ye Fan could not decipher it.

“Could this be some kind of secret art?” the big black dog asked impatiently.

“No!”

“Boy, don’t be selfish. We discovered this together. Hurry up and decipher it for us!” the dog pressed.

Ye Fan ignored it, instead turning to Tu Fei, “Beyond this world, could there be other worlds? Have you ever heard of such a thing?”

Tu Fei looked puzzled, shook his head, and said: “Never heard of it.”

“What do you know…” The big black dog suddenly seemed startled. “These strange characters… are they records about that?”

Ye Fan suddenly realized: this dog was extremely mysterious. Perhaps it knew many secrets unknown to others. He asked, “Have you heard of it before?”

“I… have heard a little,” the Black Emperor replied, then hurriedly pressed: “What exactly do those inscriptions say?”

Tu Fei also looked over, just as eager. He too wanted to know the origins of this Daoist temple.

“The inscription records something unbelievable. It speaks of another world beyond the stars…”

“What?!” Tu Fei cried out in shock. “Could it be that immortals truly exist?”

The big black dog’s eyes flickered as he demanded: “Tell us more. Translate all the characters, so we can understand clearly.”

“The people of that place called themselves Energy Refiners. This was a Pre-Qin Energy Refiner. He crossed the endless starry sky, came here, and left behind this carving.”

“That… how could it be? Is it true?” Tu Fei was dumbstruck, almost unable to speak. “Could Pre-Qin Energy Refiners really be that powerful? Comparable to a Grand Emperor?”

Ye Fan replied: “He did not come on his own. He traveled along a path left by the ancients and somehow ended up in this world.”

“The ancients… what kind of people were they, able to walk between the Starfields?” Tu Fei’s heart surged with endless speculation.

Sharp beams of light shot from the black dog’s eyes. “Where did this fellow go? If we could capture him, we’d obtain priceless treasures.”

“No one noticed someone coming into this world?” Ye Fan was disappointed. He had hoped to glean clues from them.

“If he was not of this world, of course he would take care to conceal himself. And after so many years, if he still lives, he would long since have reached the level of a Sacred Lord.” Tu Fei speculated that this temple was at least two thousand years old.

Ye Fan nodded. Someone from the Pre-Qin era would be over two millennia old at minimum. If still alive, they might well be the grand elder of some Sacred Ground.

“Boy, how did you recognize these strange characters?” The black dog’s eyes glowed with suspicion as it stared at Ye Fan.

Tu Fei too had long been curious and now looked over with confusion.

“I once read an ancient text. It contained some of these characters, with rough annotations. That’s how I know a little.” Ye Fan answered calmly.

“Teach me. This script is mysterious. I want to learn it.” the black dog demanded.

Ye Fan agreed without hesitation: “Fine. I’ll teach you one character, if you teach me one Dao Rune.”

The dog immediately rolled its eyes in frustration. Dao Runes were its most guarded secrets. Ye Fan had been eyeing them for a long time, but had never succeeded in obtaining any.

“Black Emperor, you still haven’t said, about another world beyond the stars. Haven’t you heard more?” Ye Fan pressed.

“I know too little. Long ago, a Grand Emperor mentioned a little, but no details.”

“Can you be more specific?” Ye Fan wanted to beat him.

“How specific? I only know that Emperor often gazed at the stars deep into the night. That’s all.” The black dog shook its head.

“Damn mutt, are you deliberately hiding something?” Ye Fan demanded.

“Woof!” The dog bared its teeth, pretending to bite.

“You really don’t know?” Ye Fan was suspicious.

“If I knew, would I still be asking you? This was the Grand Emperor’s secret. Outsiders could never know.” the dog snapped.

Night fell. The blazing desert grew ever colder. By midnight it was bone-chilling; an ordinary person would have frozen solid.

Ye Fan gazed up at the stars, searching for a path home.

“If the ancients could cross the void, then so can I. One day, I’ll return…” He was convinced that his homeland’s ancient times hid many secrets.

“Boy, you think you’re an Emperor already?” The Black Emperor yawned, lying beside the temple.

“Did the Emperor truly gaze at the stars every night?” Ye Fan asked calmly.

“Not every night. But sometimes he would sit in a trance all night long,” the dog replied with another yawn.

“How do you know that so clearly?” Ye Fan suddenly pressed.

Tu Fei, who had just woken up against the temple wall, added: “This mutt has many secrets, but never shares them. All it does is greedily steal from others.”

“Woof!” The dog barked, breaking the night’s silence.

“Enough. Stop biting.”

“All this I only what I have heard. A Grand Emperor’s secrets aren’t easily known. Others begged me, and I still didn’t tell them.”

“Which Starfields did that Emperor like to gaze at?” Ye Fan asked.

“Plenty, Violet, Supreme…” The dog casually listed a few names.

Ye Fan returned inside the temple to once more study the inscriptions. He traced the characters carefully, and finally guessed two more characters, Violet.

The Pre-Qin Energy Refiner had mentioned these in the inscriptions. This stirred Ye Fan’s heart, and he continued tracing along the wall.

Rustle…

Suddenly, the stone wall crumbled like powder. The inscriptions all vanished, and a large section of the mottled wall collapsed.

Was it simply age, or another reason? Ye Fan ran his fingers across the surface. Stone dust scattered. The carving was gone, buried under a thick layer of debris.

Ding!

With a soft chime, a dull metallic box was revealed within the decayed wall. It was dim, unadorned, and plain.

“A treasure unearthed!” the black dog barked, lunging forward to snatch it.

But Tu Fei yanked its bare tail, holding it back.

“Woof!”

The dog’s tail was as untouchable as a tiger’s backside. It whipped around furiously, snapping its jaws.

Ye Fan split open the wall and pulled out the metal box. It was long and narrow, cast from bronze, over three feet in length and a palm’s width, sealed tightly shut.

The bronze box was heavy, radiating faint coldness. Traces of godpower lingered on its surface.

Ye Fan immediately understood: the wall had been a seal. But over time, the godpower had leaked, causing the stone to crumble away.

“Woof!”

The black dog finally let go of Tu Fei after biting him several times, then rushed forward to examine the long bronze box.

“Stay put. Don’t snatch it!” Ye Fan warned.

“Relax. I only want to look. Would I steal from my own people?” the dog said, tail raised.

“Damn mutt!” Tu Fei cursed, limping forward with fresh bite marks on his leg.

The three of them, two men and one dog, watched with great anticipation. This was, after all, a relic left by an Energy Refiner from beyond the stars. Ye Fan himself was even nervous.

He summoned his cauldron, suspending it above his head. Threads of primordial motherly energy flowed down, shielding him. Then, carefully, he opened the bronze box.

The lid lifted. No dazzling light shone forth, no rainbow hues, not even the faintest godpower.

Inside the box lay a wooden whip. Ancient in appearance, covered in countless Dao Runes, it exuded profound mystery, drawing the eye irresistibly towards it.

It was over three feet long, composed of more than twenty segments. Each segment bore several intricate patterns, deeply imprinted, natural and enigmatic.

“A wooden whip, from the far side of the stars… what kind of treasure is this?” Ye Fan murmured in surprise.

He wracked his brain, trying to recall if any known Pre-Qin figure was said to have wielded such an item.

The black dog, an experienced connoisseur, nearly drooled when it saw the whip. Each segment was etched with Dao Runes, it was extraordinary.

“Could this be a supreme treasure? But why do I sense no godpower?” Tu Fei wondered.

Buzz!

The whip quivered, floated out of the box, and flew toward the black dog.

“You thieving mutt, you really are trying to steal it?!” Ye Fan barked.

“This treasure is fated for me! I’ll give you all the source I stole from that Daoist, but this whip is mine!” The dog wrapped its claws tightly around it.

“That greedy mutt, it always snatches whatever it sees!” Tu Fei cursed.

“Awroo!” Suddenly the black dog howled, throwing the whip to the ground. It reared up on its hind legs, clutching its head in pain, mouth gaping wide.

“What’s wrong with you, mutt?” Ye Fan asked.

“Damn it, my soul was attacked!” the dog yelped.

“Serves you right, greedy beast!” Ye Fan had no sympathy. The last time it had seized the fruit within the stone mill, it had collapsed in the same way.

“Could this really be a treasure?” Tu Fei circled the whip, wary of touching it. He found nothing unusual.

“Aah!” Suddenly, he too cried out, clutching his forehead.

“Tu Fei, are you alright?” Ye Fan asked in alarm.

“Don’t probe it with your spirit. This whip attacks the mind!” Tu Fei warned.

Ye Fan’s heart stirred. He picked up the whip and muttered: “Could this be a divine whip, one that strikes directly at the spirit?”

The God-Whip left behind by the Pre-Qin Energy Refiner, hailing from beyond the stars, was truly a treasure. It might well have belonged to one of the most renowned Energy Refiners of that distant age.