Vexation

The instant the sword spirit of the Palace of Grand Beginning's Fourth Generation Palace Master took up residence in the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, Wei Yuan felt as though the Sword Palace Master and Immortal Zhao Li had shrunk several inches, no longer towering as high as before. This was no illusion. Wei Yuan truly felt they were not as tall as they used to be; no matter how he looked at them, that was how it appeared. Wei Yuan had no idea what was amiss and was trying hard to readjust his senses when the young maiden's voice, icy as a sword's edge, suddenly echoed at the bottom of his heart: "These so-called immortals were merely born a few years earlier and walked ahead by a single step. Now that I am here, from this day forth, whomever you face—from immortal venerables above to the common folk below—you need only meet their gaze as equals." Wei Yuan was startled beyond measure. Look an immortal in the eye as an equal? Such a treasonous notion was something he had only dared contemplate in secret before, and rarely ever put into practice. The girl spoke again: "My name is Xihe. You may call me by name hereafter; there is no need to address me as 'Senior.' The Fourth Generation Palace Master of the Palace of Grand Beginning is me, yet I am not the Fourth Generation Palace Master. Mm, you have rather a lot of clutter here. In a moment, I will tidy things up for you." A dreadful foreboding welled up in Wei Yuan's heart, but when his divine sense swept through the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, he could not detect the slightest trace of the Fourth Generation Patriarch's sword spirit. At this moment, around the embryonic Fourth Grotto-Heaven, Han Li, Jun Weizhi, Fuyao, and Lei Ling stood in place, quietly looking up at the colossal sword that radiated immense terror without ceasing. Through great hardship and mutual support, the group had barely managed to fly near the Fourth Grotto-Heaven to observe at close range this great sword suspended between the Sword of True Tribulation and the Origin of a Single Sword. At this very moment, the Dao of the Sword was like a bridal veil lifted slightly at the corner, revealing just a fleeting shadow of its face... The great blade continually shifted through cycles of destruction and renewal, demonstrating the Great Dao of rebirth born from ruin. The four watched, enraptured, until their dharmic powers were exhausted and the void began to erode them, forcing them to return to the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. On the journey back, all four remained silent, none of them in the mood to speak. Only upon stepping into the Battle Saint Hall did Han Li speak up: "Beyond the celestial vault, the void truly holds immense terror. With our current strength, could we really have flown beyond the firmament and approached the true meaning of the sword dao?" Jun Weizhi's gaze narrowed. "You mean..." Han Li looked up toward the vault of heaven and said, "It must have been the Creation Immortal Venerable who lent us a hand, allowing us to draw near the true meaning of the sword dao." Jun Weizhi's expression grew somewhat complicated as he murmured slowly, "To nurture us, the Immortal Venerable has truly taken great pains." Fuyao suddenly chimed in, "Could there be another possibility—that the Immortal Venerable simply wanted to show off how formidable he is?" The others froze, lost in thought, and found to their surprise that this possibility was remarkably high. Right at that moment, Dugu Cangqiong came running over. Having overheard fragments of their conversation, he asked, "The Creation Immortal Venerable sent you up? I was near the firmament with you earlier—why didn't the Immortal Venerable give me a lift?" Looking at his earnest expression, the four silently swallowed their answer: *Because you aren't worthy.* Outside the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, the wealthy elder looked at Wei Yuan with mixed emotions in his eyes. Immortal Zhao Li walked over and let out a deep sigh. "Old Bai, truly, you're something else! I just don't understand how you dared. If I were from the Sword Palace, I definitely wouldn't..." A gleaming sword qi halted right at Immortal Zhao Li's lips, the threat as obvious as could be. Then the wealthy elder held out his hand. "Hand it over!" "Hand what over?" Immortal Zhao Li seemed utterly bewildered. The Sword Palace Master barked, "This old man dares to love and hate, to weep and laugh! Today I spoke words kept hidden for a millennium; I fear no mockery from the world, nor do I have any regrets. But I will not allow someone with ulterior motives to run wild! Hand over the shadow-recording orb!" Immortal Zhao Li snorted. "What shadow-recording orb? I don't have any!" The Sword Palace Master sneered. "Little Li-zi..." Immortal Zhao Li took fright, and a gleaming flash of karmic luck plugged the Sword Palace Master's mouth! The wealthy elder snatched the karmic luck, casually pinched it into a jade pendant, and tossed it to Zhang Sheng. "Crafted from a million strands of karmic luck. Wear it; it can ward off a calamity." Then he glared at Immortal Zhao Li once more. "This bit isn't enough. Hand over the shadow-recording orbs, and then perform the Xuanji Sky Refining Art yourself, or else I'll make your true name known across the entire world!" Immortal Zhao Li's face shifted through various expressions. "You're ruining my Dao path!" "Who told you to rattle my Dao heart first?" "You clearly knew that wasn't her, yet you still said it. And besides, that wonderful stunt your Sword Palace pulled back then... Forget it, let's not bring that up. Still, although I admire your courage, I must ask: do you even have a Dao heart left to speak of?" The Sword Palace Master glared with wide eyes. "You understand nothing!" Immortal Zhao Li suddenly sighed. "Indeed, I do not understand. If only I had understood back then..." With a wave of his robe sleeve, he poured out seventy or eighty shadow-recording orbs, handing them all over to the Sword Palace Master. The Sword Palace Master was truly shocked and furious, gaining a completely new appreciation for Immortal Zhao Li's methods. With a swift flick of his fingers, thousands of sword qi erupted, utterly obliterating every last shadow-recording orb. Immortal Zhao Li turned to Wei Yuan, cleared his throat, and said solemnly, "Down to business! Using the Xuanji Sky Refining Art to refine Liumiao's remains is best done right here in his immortal heaven—the original broth digests the original meal. To drive this art, one must introduce different immortal catalysts according to the target of refinement, aligned with the seasons of heaven, earth veins, and timely fortunes, to achieve the optimal result. "Today, using the fortune of ten million people, I will refine a strand of primordial chaos qi to serve as the catalyst; no matter what is being refined, the effect will be the finest. Old Bai, come help carve a formation." The Sword Palace Master flicked out thousands of sword qi, which settled like frost upon the ground, instantly forming a grand formation. Immortal Zhao Li reached out and drew Liumiao's remains across the empty air, placing them into the formation. Then he said to Wei Yuan, "Place your hand at this spot in the formation, and think of whatever comes to mind." Think of whatever comes to mind? Wei Yuan was somewhat puzzled. What should he think about? With immortals before him and standing within an immortal heaven, he couldn't let his thoughts wander wildly, nor could he dwell on things that shouldn't be touched upon—such as his teacher, or the sea of bitterness... Wei Yuan jolted in alarm and hurriedly reined in his mind, settling into a state void of sorrow or joy, chanting within his thoughts as if reciting scripture: *In this present age, the realm is in great turmoil, surrounded on all sides by foreign foes...* "That will do. Open your eyes!" Immortal Zhao Li said. It was done already? Wei Yuan opened his eyes to see Liumiao's remains at the formation's core melting away, turning into a pool of mercury-like substance. Countless motes of light darted through the void as though exchanging something. In the blink of an eye, two objects dropped from the mercury, gradually solidifying. In the end, they formed two palm-sized stones: one entirely pale silver, the other translucent and swirling with five vibrant colors. The moment the two objects took shape, information naturally surfaced in Wei Yuan's mind, names bestowed by heaven and earth itself. One was named "Mirror Lake," and the other "Shenghua"—both turned out to be realm stones! A smile surfaced on Immortal Zhao Li's face. "To yield two realm stones—not bad, you've done remarkably well!" With a gentle flick of his sleeve, Immortal Zhao Li sent the two realm stones into Wei Yuan's hands. He then said to the Sword Palace Master, "I shall take this immortal heaven; shall the eight golden corpses go to you?" The Sword Palace Master nodded. "We happen to lack research into the Dao of Corpse Puppets. Many thanks, Daoist Li." With that, matters were finally concluded, and in an instant, Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng were returned to Guantun County. ... The young maiden Xihe stepped into the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and stood before the small temple. Monk Liandeng had just walked out of the small temple when he caught sight of the girl. Instantly horrified, he spun around intending to hide inside, but after taking only a single step, he froze in his tracks. Slowly turning back around, he plastered on his sunniest, most brilliant smile and said, "Fourth Generation Elder Sister, what brings you here?" The little monk Honglian also walked out of the temple, merely cast a glance at Xihe, and went about sweeping the courtyard. Xihe gazed into the temple and saw three sticks of incense burning in the censer, one of which was ethereal and faint, exceedingly difficult to detect. The girl beckoned to Liandeng. Steeling himself, Liandeng walked up before her to await her commands. The girl snorted softly and said, "What immense audacity you have!" Sweat beaded on the tip of Liandeng's nose. Subservient and fearful, he could not utter a single word. The girl said coldly, "Kneel first. I have another matter I need your help with." With a thud, Liandeng dropped to his knees. The girl said, "Lend me the power of the Blue Lamp Before the Buddha." Liandeng immediately beckoned with his hand, summoning the blue lamp into his grasp, and held it up respectfully before the girl. The girl did not take it. She merely gave the lamp's flame a gentle flick, sending a speck of faint light flying from the fire. Catching the wind, it swelled rapidly, in an instant transforming into a terrifying river of swords that bridged heaven and earth. Crossing the void like the Heavenly River plunging into the mortal world, it slashed straight toward an ordinary-looking young woman within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World! In an instant, that maiden revealed peerless, matchless beauty. Her pupils turned one black and one white, and two streams of yin-yang qi, each a thousand zhang thick, soared into the sky, transforming into true yin-yang dragons that crashed head-on into the plunging river of stars! The Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World was overturned in an instant, and on the outside, Wei Yuan's eyes rolled back as he collapsed backward onto the ground. The violent, chaotic Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World suddenly fell deathly silent for a fraction of a breath, and then every sentient being heard a crisp crack. On the bird egg embedded in the earth, a fissure appeared across the shell, slowly spreading...