Chapter 124: The Eightieth Birthday Celebration

Qi Ruolan was flipping through the latest list of auction items when she saw Yang Xing walk in. A faint smile touched her lips. "Junior Brother Yang, you never visit without a reason. Tell me, what brings you here this time?"

Having spent so much time together, she understood his character well. She knew he was a martial arts fanatic who would never come to the Tianyuan Pavilion unless there was a pressing matter.

Yang Xing also smiled and said, "I have two reasons for coming today. The first is to thank you, Senior Sister Qi."

"Thank me?" A look of confusion crossed Qi Ruolan's beautiful eyes.

Yang Xing nodded and continued, "The second thing is that I would like to purchase an inner armor from you."

Inner armor is worn close to the body, designed to provide defense against common blades, spears, and even fire toxins. Because it is worn under one's clothing, it must be thin and lightweight, allowing the wearer to move with agility and flexibility. Consequently, the materials used for such armor are extremely precious.

The Tianyuan Pavilion did not only auction off "offerings"; they also held regular auctions for martial arts manuals, weapons, inner armors, and medicinal pills.

Qi Ruolan blinked and said, "Inner armors are exceptionally rare. Even the most ordinary one costs over a thousand taels of silver."

Yang Xing pondered for a moment before asking, "Do you have anything around two thousand taels?"

When he had exchanged his credits for the *Azure Dragon Scripture* last time, he had spent most of his silver. Much of the money he had acquired from Yuan Feizhang and Wu Dali had been given to Huang Zhen, leaving him with less than three thousand taels currently.

Qi Ruolan nodded. "There is a piece of soft silver armor. It can deflect ordinary weapons and reduce the impact damage to internal organs, though it might melt under intense heat..."

Yang Xing said, "I'll take it."

"Very well, I'll go get it for you. Have some tea while you wait."

Qi Ruolan liked straightforward people like Yang Xing. Before long, she returned with the soft silver armor. It was a shimmering, silvery piece of kit, its surface as smooth as silk, weighing only about two or three jin.

Yang Xing’s eyes brightened. "Excellent, though the price is not cheap."

"It’s not considered expensive," Qi Ruolan said, shaking her head. "Inner armor requires not only refined craftsmanship but also special materials, so the price is naturally high. You know Luo Shan, the Second Elder of the Sky River Sect? The 'Heavenly Silk Garment' he wears is worth hundreds of thousands of taels."

Yang Xing’s eyelids twitched. "Hundreds of thousands of taels!?"

Qi Ruolan continued slowly, "Exactly. That garment is woven from the silk of the Snowy Mountain Heavenly Silkworm. These silkworms are an incredibly rare species found only on the snowy peaks. Currently, the Snow Mountain Sect only possesses two of them. The silkworms only produce silk in the winter, yielding only two taels a year, and it takes seven jin of that silk to craft one Heavenly Silk Garment."

"The garment is reputed to be impervious to swords and spears, fire and water. While that may be an exaggeration, it possesses one astonishing trait: it can absorb internal energy."

"Imagine if someone struck you with a palm; the Heavenly Silk Garment could absorb twenty percent of that force..."

Yang Xing suddenly understood. So, the garment could absorb internal energy; no wonder it was worth hundreds of thousands of taels.

Qi Ruolan sipped her tea and added, "There are other world-famous inner armors that command similarly high prices. After all, consuming pills doesn't guarantee an increase in cultivation, but possessing a top-tier inner armor will surely save your life at a critical moment."

"Experts always value their lives, because it is not easy to become one, and they naturally do not wish to die easily."

Yang Xing nodded. "I will take this soft silver armor."

"That’s the right choice." Qi Ruolan smiled slightly. "Junior Brother Yang, when you have free time, you should come out and walk around. The path of martial arts requires a balance of tension and relaxation; only then can you accumulate strength and progress by leaps and bounds."

Yang Xing nodded, silently agreeing with her words. It seemed he needed to find his own way to relax.

"By the way, Junior Brother," Qi Ruolan asked, suddenly remembering something, "I have some Four Absolutes Pills here. They are cheaper than those at the Pill Hall. If you buy a large quantity, I can give you a better price..."

...

Sky River Sect, Listening Rain Hall.

Standing at the head of the great hall was an old man in white robes, his face etched with the wrinkles of time. This was none other than Song Yang, the eldest of the Seven Sons of the Sky River.

Below him, all the Seven Sons of the Sky River were present, except for the fourth and seventh, who were away from Hezhong Prefecture.

Song Yang surveyed the room and spoke in a booming voice, "My brothers—the sixth, fifth, third, and second—I have called you here today to inform you of something."

The second brother, Luo Shan, asked, "Eldest Brother, what is it?"

Song Yang must have a major announcement to gather them all. The others also looked on with curiosity.

Song Yang smiled slightly. "Xi Yanzheng has met with me privately. He has agreed to hand over Floating Cloud Mountain in three months."

Gasps echoed through the hall, and it fell into sudden silence.

The sixth brother, Bai Ziyun, had a flash of light in his eyes. "Brother, is this true?"

Song Yang laughed. "Absolutely true. These were Xi Yanzheng’s own words."

Even though the men present were all deep-thinking individuals, they could not hide their surprise. Floating Cloud Mountain was a treasure trove in every sense.

Because of its unique soil, it could cultivate rare medicinal herbs. The Four Absolutes Sect had developed so rapidly precisely because Floating Cloud Mountain provided a steady supply of herbs to refine Four Absolutes Pills. The Sky River Sect had long coveted the mountain, but as the deadline had not yet arrived, they could only watch with envy.

The third brother, Zhou Feng, asked gravely, "Brother, did Xi Yanzheng really agree? Could there be a trap?"

If the Four Absolutes Sect truly handed over the mountain, it would be akin to cutting off their own arms.

"He may not want to agree, but he has no choice," Song Yang sneered. "With the head of the Xie family, Xie Hua, Magistrate Ouyang, and Commandant Zhen all as witnesses, and the contract in place, can he really go back on his word?"

Song Yang reeled off one name after another—all of them pillars of Hezhong Prefecture, the true titans and powerful backers of the region.

"Indeed," Luo Shan nodded. "Xi Yanzheng certainly doesn't want to hand over Floating Cloud Mountain, but what can he do? The agreement was notarized by the imperial court. If he fails to honor it, he will not only be shunned by the martial arts community of Hezhong Prefecture but will also face liquidation by the court."

Even the cautious Zhou Feng nodded. In that case, the Four Absolutes Sect had no choice but to comply. After all, cutting off one's arms was better than losing one's head.

"Next month, I will send out invitations across the martial arts world to celebrate my eightieth birthday," Song Yang said, taking a deep breath. "I shall use this opportunity to bolster the prestige of our Sky River Sect."

In the world of martial arts, reputation was paramount. Having a name not only avoided trouble but also brought many benefits. This was true for any sect. Once the Sky River Sect possessed Floating Cloud Mountain, it would be equivalent to opening a new source of wealth, allowing them to recruit disciples and greatly expand their influence.

As one fell and the other rose, the Four Absolutes Sect would surely be crushed to the bottom, never to recover.