Chapter 60: Passage behind the broken wall, how can the legacy be easily obtained?

第六十节：影灭壁破现甬道，魔道传承岂易

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The night sky of early summer is beautiful.

初夏的夜空是美丽的。

There was not a single cloud floating in the sky, and the stars flickered like crystals, shining with emotionally moving radiance.

天上没有一朵浮云，晶莹的星星闪烁着动容的光芒。

Sandalwood crickets appeared on stage to take over the place of the dragonpill crickets, and they sang their emotional songs in the grassy bushes, creeks and tree branches.

檀香蟋蟀粉墨登场，取代了龙丸蛐蛐的位置，它们在草丛中、山溪边、树枝上唱着一曲曲抒情的歌。

The Gu Yue Village was radiantly lit, as if it was reflecting the bright starry sky.

古月山寨中亮着点点的灯光，似乎在和星空遥相辉映。

One by one the dark green bamboo houses stood in the night wind, and beneath the star dome it had a tranquil and peaceful ambience.

一座座碧绿的竹楼在夜风中挺立，星空之下别有一番祥和静谧的悠然氛围。

Fang Yuan was not in the village now, but he had snuck into the secret cave among the rock cracks.

方源此时却不在山寨中，而是潜进了石缝秘洞。

He half-kneeled on the ground, his hand caressing the image wall, his palm emitting a lump of blue-coloured moonlight.

他半跪在地面上，右手都抚上影壁，掌心中散发着一团蓝色的月光。

On the image wall, the original scene was already gone, and it was now no different from the other surrounding stone walls. If Fang Yuan did not remember this position, who else would know that hidden under this image wall was Flower Wine Monk’s strength inheritance?

影壁上，原先的画面早已经消失，和周围的石壁别无二致。若不是方源清楚地记得位置，谁会知道这影壁下藏有花酒行者的力量传承呢？

On a night over a month ago, the image wall transformed and the Flower Wine Monk’s secret hideout appeared. The image wall first showed a video of Flower Wine Monk bathed in blood, but proclaimed he was leaving his inheritance. Next was a line of bloody words, hinting for the discoverer to break the image wall and the cave opening would appear. Then the words vanished, and the image wall’s Photo-audio Gu’s strength was depleted, and the image wall went back to being an ordinary wall.

一个多月前的夜晚，影壁发生了异变，突然出现了花酒行者的密藏。影壁上先是现出了花酒行者浑身浴血，扬言要留下传承的影像。然后是一行血字，提示后来人打破影壁，就会出现洞口。再之后血字消失不见，影壁上留影存声蛊的力量完全耗散，影壁也就还原成了普通的山壁。

Although he knew about the Flower Wine Monk’s inheritance, Fang Yuan did not have the time to explore it.

虽然知道了花酒行者的传承，但是方源一直没有时间，对此进行探索。

As it was an unexpected occurrence, he had to kill Jia Jin Sheng on the spot and was busy that night getting rid of the evidence. Towards the impending interrogation, he had to plot carefully and had restricted his activities inside the village.

因为这个意外，他当场杀了贾金生，那天晚上就忙着处理现场。而后为了应对即将到来的审讯，精心设局，活动范围一直局限在山寨之中。

Until when Jia Fu left and after the academy elder stopped his investigations, about ten days later, the attention had waded and Fang Yuan could finally sneak back into the cave.

直到贾富离开，学堂家老撤销暗中调查，如此过了十多天，风声渐渐消停，方源这才秘密地潜回这里。

In the aperture, the green copper sea was reducing as Fang Yuan deployed his primeval essence into the Moonlight Gu on his right palm.

空窍中的青铜海在缓缓地下降，方源调动着一股股的真元，不断地涌入到右手掌心中的月光蛊中。

The Moonlight Gu emitted a gentle moonlight and flickered continuously. Under its effect, the rock wall was shaved off slowly, and large amounts of rock powder fell on the ground.

月光蛊散发着一团柔和的月光，月光微微地闪烁不停，在它的作用下，石壁不断被削减，大量的石粉洒落而下。

This was Fang Yuan’s extensive control of the Moonlight Gu, the same method he used to open the gambling rocks.

这是方源对月光蛊的精微操控，当初他解石时就是用的这一手。

Compared to opening rocks, this method was more coarse, but in breaking this thick rock wall, this method seemed a little too gentle.

相对于解石，这种手法还是显得相当粗犷的。但是对于破开这厚厚的石壁，这手段又显得太温柔了些。

This was the sixth day that Fang Yuan was using the Moonlight Gu to shave the rock wall.

这已经是方源连续第六天，动用月光蛊在碾磨这石壁了。

On the floor was a thick pile of dark red coloured rock powder.

在地上，已经堆了一堆厚厚的暗红色石粉。

Logically speaking, Qing Mao Mountain’s soil was all green-coloured. But here, the soil were strangely bright red and emitted a dark glow.

按道理来讲，青茅山的土都是青色的泥。但是这里的山土却古怪地显现出赤红，还散发着暗光。

But fortunately so, because of this source of light, Fang Yuan did not need to prepare a torch.

不过也幸亏如此，有了这光源，方源才不用准备火把。

In order to avoid being suspected, Fang Yuan did not use any tools. Steel hammers and pickaxe were undoubtedly better for breaking the rock wall, but if he did, the sound of the wall breaking would reverb all over the area.

为了尽最大可能不引起怀疑，方源没有动用任何的工具。铁锤和铁镐无疑更方便他破开石壁，但是这样一来，破壁的声音就会在夏夜中回荡。

Regardless of whether the outside world would hear a faint or loud noise, Fang Yuan wanted to eliminate all such possible suspicious points.

不管从外面听起来，这声音微弱或是响亮，方源都要杜绝这些疑点的出现。

Fine details often decided in one’s victory or defeat.

细节往往决定成败。

To Fang Yuan, being cautious is not just his good point, it was more like a habit to him.

对于方源来讲，谨慎与其说是优点，倒不如说是习惯。

In his past life he had been careless and carefree, but he quickly paid a hefty price. There is a saying that goes, ‘people get more cowardly when they age’. Yet actually this is not cowardness, but patient cautiousness. 500 years of experience ingrained the word caution into his soul.

前世他大大咧咧过，但很快就受到惨重的教训。常常都说，人越老胆越小。其实不是胆子小，而是谨慎耐心。五百年的时光，更是将谨慎二字沉淀到他的骨子里了。

“Puff…” Taking in a deep breath, Fang Yuan slowly stopped the transmission of his primeval essence.

“呼……”喘了一口粗气，方源慢慢停止了真元的灌输。

He plopped onto the ground, extremely exhausted.

他一屁股坐到了地上，实在是有些累了。

He had dug around three inches of thickness out of the entire slab of image wall that was the height of half a man.

整片半人高的影壁，已经被他整整磨去了三寸的厚度。

Fang Yuan wiped the sweat off his forehead while exercising his shoulders and stretching his legs. Due to long hours of squatting, a sense of numbness was felt from his legs.

他擦了擦满头的汗，一边活动肩膀，一边舒展双腿。因为长时间蹲着，此时一阵阵酥麻的感觉从他的腿上不断传来。

‘Knock, knock, knock’.

咚咚咚。

Fang Yuan bent his fingers and knocked on the rock wall.

方源扣指，又敲了敲石壁。

Hearing the sound, he was slightly happy in his heart, as he could tell the wall was getting thinner.

听着这个声音，他心中微微泛喜，知道这石壁越来越薄了。

Closing his eyes to meditate, he checked the situation inside his aperture once again.

再闭目安神，感受了一下空窍中的情景。

The green copper primeval essence had less than 20% left.

青铜元海还剩下两成不到。

“Continue working hard!” Fang Yuan grit his teeth and stretched out his right hand again on the rock wall.

“继续努力！”方源咬咬牙，再度伸出右手，抚上石壁。

The water-blue coloured moonlight sustained a glow for around fifteen minutes, then Fang Yuan suddenly halted his actions. He took out his right arm and found out that the rock wall had a small hole in it already.

水蓝色的月光持续闪亮了一刻钟，方源忽然动作一顿。他拿开右手，欣喜地发现石壁已经破开了一个小洞。

He immediately stood up and kicked.

他当即站起身来，用脚一踹。

With a thunderous noise, the hole expanded and became as big as a bamboo basket.

哗啦一声，洞口顿时扩大，形成竹篮一般大小。

Fang Yuan cautiously took a few steps backwards. He felt a sense of staleness emitting from the hole and permeating into this secret cave.

方源谨慎地后退几步，感觉到一股沉闷的郁气，渐渐从洞口中散发出来，然后弥漫到这秘洞当中。

The secret cave’s ventilation was not good. Fang Yuan thought about it for a moment and decided to leave the rock crack, returning to the outside world.

秘洞的通风效果并不好，方源想了想，便选择钻出石缝，回到了外界。

Only after a while did he return.

过了好一阵子，他这才回转。

The stale feeling in the cave was slightly better than earlier, and Fang Yuan continued to expand the size of the hole, sometimes using the Moonlight Gu, and at other times using his hands to dig, or his legs to kick. After a while, he finally expanded the hole into a size that he could fit into.

秘洞中气闷的感觉，比先前舒缓了许多。方源继续扩宽洞口，时而用月光蛊，时而用手扒拉，时而用脚踹。片刻后，他终于将洞口扩宽到自己能从容进入的尺寸。

Looking from the hole, there was a diagonal path downwards.

从洞口望去，里面是个斜向下的笔直甬道。

The path was initially narrow, but the deeper it was, the wider it got. A person must lower their head when entering at first, but towards the latter half of the path, they are able to take large strides with straightened backs.

甬道初始时不宽，但是越往下越是宽敞。人刚刚钻入涌动，必须弯腰低头，但是走到后半段就能直起身子，大跨步地走了。

The cave’s walls were a weird red soil colour, emitting a faint red glow. This caused the passage’s interior to be visible.

这洞口四壁也是古怪的赤土，散着一层略显昏暗的红光。这使得甬道中的景象清晰可见。

But the path was very long and extended beyond what the eye could see. Due to the angle, Fang Yuan could not see what was at the end of the path.

但甬道很长，延展到视野之外，因为角度的原因，方源也看不到甬道的尽头是什么。

He stood at the cave entrance and did not immediately step in, instead squinting and standing on the spot.

他立足在洞口，没有立即就跨进去，而是双目眯着，站在原地。

A strength inheritance was not like a legacy inheritance.

力量传承，不同于遗藏。

Legacy was when a Gu Master died and left behind his belongings. Those who find this legacy can find the items on the corpse.

遗藏是指一名蛊师死了，遗留下来的东西。发现遗藏者，往往一下子就得到了尸体上所有的东西。

A strength inheritance is when a Gu Master who is on the verge of death and reluctant to let his legacy go extinct, or to benefit the future generations, or wants to leave behind his last trace of existence in the world, purposely set hurdles to test the people who arrive.

力量传承，则是蛊师将死之前，不想自己的流派灭绝，或者福泽后人，或者想在世界留个最后的印记等等原因，主动设下关卡，考验后来之人。

Taking the Flower Wine Monk for example, he set up this inheritance with a clear objective – it is to nurture an avenger, to take revenge on the Gu Yue clan!

拿花酒行者来讲，他之所以设立这个传承，目的很明确，就是为了培养一名复仇者，替他想古月一族复仇！

If the person who comes along is able to pass these trials he(she) would obtain all sorts of benefits. The person who gets through the final test would obtain the entire strength inheritance.

后来之人若能通过这些考验，就能获得种种好处。通过了最终考验的人，就意味着他（她）获得了完整的力量传承。

According to the two factions, strength inheritance is split into the righteous inheritance and the demonic inheritance.

按照力量传承者的阵营划分，力量传承自然就分为正道传承和魔道传承。

Righteous inheritances often had exquisite design, to test the nature and character of the person. Those who fail midway, would not be in any mortal danger.

正道传承通常设计精巧，考验后来人的心性品德。中途失败的人，也不会有性命之忧。

Demonic inheritance was more complex.

魔道传承就复杂了。

Those demonic cultivators were often insane and persistent, cold-blooded, or a mass murderer, unable to be assessed by normal standards.

魔道中人，往往疯癫执着，或者冷酷无情，或者杀人如麻，不能以常理判断。

Some demonic inheritances had trials that tested the mind. With lots of mind-boggling decisions to make, a lot of people would fall into deep and painful thoughts without getting a single result.

有的魔道传承，设计得极考验心智。谜题重重，很多人一生都陷在其中，苦苦思索不得结果。

Some demonic inheritances were extremely simple, being a secret room with Gu worms and primeval stones inside.

有的魔道传承，简单至极，就是一间密室，里面直接摆放着蛊虫和元石。

Some demonic inheritances were extremely cruel, and failure midway often spelled death.

有的魔道传承，关卡残酷至极，中途失败往往就意味着死亡。

Some were more extreme – a few demonic cultivator’s inheritances were a huge lie, being a giant trap itself. They followed the rules of ‘bringing someone down with them’, and even right before dying, they would set up this trial and trick others.

更有甚者，一些魔君魔头的传承根本是个谎言，本身就是个巨大的陷阱。他们遵循着损人不利己的行事原则，临死之前都要奋力设计，坑别人一把。

“Which type does Flower Wine Monk’s inheritance belong to?” Fang Yuan thought deeply.

“花酒行者的这道传承，会是哪一种呢？”方源思索着。

With his previous life’s memories, he was clear of any future famous demonic inheritances. But this one in particular, no one discovered it in his lifetime, and Fang Yuan was left unaware of the details.

他有前世的记忆，未来很多著名的魔道传承，他都一清二楚。但是偏偏这道传承，前世并没有人发掘，他对此毫无所知。

“By right, the chances of a trap isn’t high. Otherwise the Flower Wine Monk would not design this image wall. But is there a hidden mechanism?”

“按照道理来说，陷阱的可能性并不大。否则花酒行者也不用设计这道影壁了。不过是否会有机关呢？”

Fang Yuan picked up a rock and threw it into the cave.

方源拾起一块扒拉出来的石头，朝着洞中扔去。

The rock rolled in the path and quickly rolled out of Fang Yuan’s sight; he could hear a series of colliding sounds echoing in the cave.

石头在甬道中磕磕碰碰，很快就滚出了方源的视野，只听到一阵一连串的声音，在通道里回响。

Fang Yuan fell into deep thought. The rock testing results showed that it was safe.

方源若有所思。投石问路的结果，看来是安全的。

But he did not enter the path yet, and instead took out some rock powder and spread it around the entrance of the secret cave. At the same time, he spread a layer on the rock crack entrance.

但是他仍旧没有进入甬道，而是取出石粉，均匀地洒在刚刚开出的甬道洞口附近。同时在秘洞的石缝入口处，也洒了薄薄的一层。

Next, he squeezed out of the narrow rock crack and left the place.

然后他钻出入口处的狭窄石缝，离开了这里。

Around a few hundred meters from the river in a hidden bush, he found the green bamboo wine that he had brought along this time. Opening the seal, he drank a huge mouthful and purposely spilled some of the liquor, getting it on his clothes and making him smell of alcohol.

在距离河滩数百米外的一处极隐蔽的草丛中，他找到了此次随时携带来的青竹酒。他拍开酒坛，狠狠地灌了一口，又故意洒出些酒液，沾湿衣裳，弄得一身酒气。

Carrying the wine, he went back to the village, and upon reaching the school hostel, it was exactly midnight.

拎着酒坛，他回到山寨，到了宿舍，刚刚好是午夜时分。

If he did not return at night often, people would get suspicious. This was better, going out early at night and returning late at night.

常常一夜不归的话，是会惹人怀疑的。这样就很好，上半夜外出，下半夜归来。

When finding the Liquor worm, Fang Yuan already did this, and with that background, such behaviour was not peculiar.

在寻找酒虫那会儿，方源就已经这么做了，有了前科，如今这种行为倒也不算突兀。

The stars fade and the sun appears, a night of silence.

星消日出，一夜无话。

《蛊真人》中英文对照版 第六十节：影灭壁破现甬道，魔道传承岂易

《蛊真人》中英文对照版第六十节：影灭壁破现甬道，魔道传承岂易