Wei Yuan already carried more karmic ties than he could count, so he did not particularly care whether he picked up one more or one less. Besides, this karma belonged to Eldest Senior Sister; he could hardly turn away from it. Even knowing that intervening would bind him to this karma, Wei Yuan still would have done it.
Still, he harbored many questions. Manifesting the scene of the ancient mansion on that rainy night, he asked, "Eldest Senior Sister, I sense an entirely different aura from these scenes. Have you ever been inside? What is in there?"
Ji Liuli replied, "I don't know either. I only know it leads to a terrifying place. Every time I dreamed of this place, something would push me toward the courtyard. Instinct told me I couldn't go in, so I fought back with everything I had. Fortunately, I managed to wake up in time each time, or else I don't know what would have happened.
"However, that was years ago. Later, as my original soul grew stronger, those dreams gradually stopped. If not for Dream Eater this time, these scenes wouldn't have been drawn out either."
Wei Yuan nodded and confirmed one last time, "Then is your heart tribulation considered resolved, Eldest Senior Sister?"
"Yes. I plan to return to the Northern Mountain Gate and advance to Dharma Manifestation as soon as I get back."
"So fast? You won't temper your spiritual nature a bit more?"
Ji Liuli shook her head. "A premonition has stirred within me; the opportunity to attain the Dao is right before my eyes. But Qingming is not the place for me to attain the Dao, so it's better to return to the Heavenly Mechanism Hall, report to the Patriarch, and make my breakthrough by his side."
Wei Yuan said, "Then I wish you swift success, Eldest Senior Sister!"
Ji Liuli burst into laughter. "If my Dharma Manifestation turns out well and puts me in high spirits, maybe I'll let you see some of that paywalled content."
Wei Yuan broke into a cold sweat once again.
Ji Liuli glanced at the sky and said to Wei Yuan, "Are you busy over the next couple of days? If not, escort me back to the Northern Mountain Gate. That modular magical artifact of yours is fast."
Wei Yuan nodded. Scanning the territory and finding nothing to worry about, he brought out the modified flying craft and asked, "Do you want a comfortable ride, or a fast one?"
"I want it fast and comfortable."
A moment later, the flying craft shot straight into the clouds, paused briefly, and then blasted forward like an artillery shell, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
They arrived at the Northern Mountain Gate a day later.
As was customary, Wei Yuan paid his respects to Patriarch Xuanyue and True Monarch Yanshi, then took out the demon blade Qiyue for the two patriarchs to inspect.
The moment Qiyue appeared on the table, it yelled, "The old master here just found a kindred spirit and was having a grand old chat! Why did you brat drag me out?"
Wei Yuan replied, "Your origins are suspect. I need the two patriarchs to examine you."
The demon saber scoffed, sneering, "Those so-called patriarchs of your Palace of Grand Beginning are nothing more than True Monarchs! Not only has the old master seen True Monarchs, I've hacked down plenty of them! With just what little stuff those few have, they think they can see through my origins?"
The demon saber spoke so fast that Wei Yuan couldn't stop it in time, blurting it all out in an instant.
Wei Yuan sighed. "Back when you said you had drifted through half your life without finding an enlightened master, your attitude wasn't like this!"
The demon saber sneered. "Back then, I had only just left the mountain with shallow worldly experience and accidentally got bluffed by you. Only after talking with Fellow Daoist Crimson Night did I learn that you're merely a mount! But don't worry, the old master's word is as good as nine cauldrons. If I said I'd help you, I'll definitely see it through to the end. But how I help depends on my mood."
Wei Yuan's expression turned somewhat peculiar. "Which Fellow Daoist Crimson Night are you talking about?"
"That immortal sword of yours, the red one. Fellow Daoist Crimson Night possesses profound cultivation, vast knowledge, and unique insights into the Great Dao. Even this old master admires her deeply."
"Did she tell you that the patriarchs of the Palace of Grand Beginning aren't anything special?"
"She merely said the patriarchs of the Palace of Grand Beginning are all True Monarchs, and only the two palace masters are Immortals. Human True Monarchs—aren't they just about the same as Nether Shamans, the same soup in a different bowl? As if this old master doesn't know what kind of virtue those Nether Shamans possess! Either way, True Monarch or Nether Shaman, neither can withstand a slash from me."
Wei Yuan took out a crimson immortal sword, placed it on the table, and said, "Is this the Fellow Daoist Crimson Night you're talking about? Do you see it speaking?"
The demon blade Qiyue looked closely and was suddenly dumbfounded. "Th-this... Where did Fellow Daoist Crimson Night's spirituality go? She was just having a delightful conversation with this old master! How could she have become like this? Th-this is impossible!"
Wei Yuan had a rough idea of what had happened. Some immortal plant had likely possessed the immortal sword to shoot the breeze and boast with the demon blade, and upon realizing the blade had stirred up trouble, it had long since pulled out and played dead. By now, even Wei Yuan couldn't tell which immortal plant was responsible.
The Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World processed massive volumes of tasks daily, all routed through various immortal plant nodes. Day after day, the spirituality of the immortal plants grew in tandem.
Every immortal plant had read countless records and historical texts. Wei Yuan estimated that the once young and ignorant Jianmu and the honest, simple Langya were probably quite sly and calculating by now.
In contrast, the demon blade had slept in the mountains for all those years, and after emerging, had followed someone like Lei Dong. Its worldly knowledge was roughly on the level of a rustic old bumpkin from the countryside; any random immortal plant could easily dupe it into a daze and wrap it around its finger.
While the demon blade was still puzzling over where Fellow Daoist Crimson Night's spirituality had gone, it suddenly heard someone beside them speak: "This little thing was forged from an innate spiritual material into a weapon, naturally developing spirituality over endless years. Rather interesting."
Another voice said, "Though born of innate spiritual material, its spirituality is low and its temperament crude. Personally, I don't see much worth in it. In my view, we might as well toss it back into the furnace to smelt anew; at least we could obtain a fine forging blank."
Only then did the demon blade realize that two Daoists were standing beside the table. One was a young Daoist with delicate features, eyebrows like distant verdant peaks, eyes deep like still waters, possessing the grace of a pine and the elegance of a crane, exuding an immortal aura. The other was an elderly Daoist who was also dignified in appearance, yet radiated murderous intent so dense it had turned a blackish-red; countless lives had surely ended by his hand.
For some reason, the demon blade simply hadn't noticed them earlier. Only when the two spoke did it startle to realize there were other people right there.
The elderly Daoist, reeking of murderous aura, stroked his beard. "This blade spent half the day chatting with an immortal sword blank; it truly doesn't seem very bright. It seems likely its spiritual sense suffered damage. How about tossing it back into the furnace after all?"
The young Daoist shook his head. "We must not! Such crude simplicity would be a shameful waste of a divine treasure."
Only then did the demon blade sense that both Daoists were at the Scenery Command realm. When masterless, it was also equivalent to Scenery Command. Yet despite being at the same Scenery Command level, the demon blade felt a freezing chill seeping relentlessly into its blade. Far from violently lashing out to injure someone, it couldn't even move!
The two Daoists suppressed it beyond any ability to resist purely through their qi dynamic! Such cultivation was already not far from that former master who had forged it into a demon weapon in the first place!
"Th-these two are..."
Expressionless, Wei Yuan introduced them: "This is Patriarch Xuanyue, and this is Patriarch Yanshi."
True Monarch Yanshi chuckled. "The two of us are those petty Scenery Command cultivators you can hack down as you please."
The demon blade fell completely silent, uttering not a single word.
Having teased it, True Monarch Yanshi turned to Xuanyue. "This blade is tainted with the primal chaos qi of an immortal heaven; it likely tumbled out of some shattered immortal heaven. Once I extract its spirituality and slowly refine it through an array formation, I might be able to locate the remnants of that immortal heaven. If we can pull it over, it would add to the sect's foundation."
Xuanyue replied, "There is that angle too? I hadn't thought of that. Then take your time refining it!"
Unable to speak, the demon blade's body began to tremble faintly.
Wei Yuan spoke up then: "This blade originally followed Lei Dong of the Shaman race's Leize Tribe. Later, this disciple discovered traces showing Lei Dong had calculated against us during the attack on Shu Li's kingdom. I do not know if a Heavenly Shaman left any hidden ploys on this blade. If so, it would be best to purge all lingering troubles at once."
The moment they conquered Shu Li's kingdom and he saw Hongye, Wei Yuan knew the source of intelligence Lei Dong had provided him definitely had issues—not that it was wrong, but that it was far too accurate.
Wei Yuan had originally assumed nothing was wrong with the demon blade, but after going through Dream Eater's bizarre dream game, he realized there were countless methods in this world. He couldn't be certain whether any hidden ploys left by Hongye, or even a Heavenly Shaman, remained on the blade, so taking advantage of escorting Senior Sister back to the mountain, he asked both patriarchs to look it over.
True Monarch Yanshi lifted the demon blade and examined it carefully for a while before saying, "I couldn't spot anything. Old Chunqiu... ah, could you take another look?"
Xuanyue glared at Yanshi, took the demon blade, and sensed it closely for a while before saying, "Its spiritual glow is dim; it is indeed not very bright. But there should be no hidden ploys."
Yanshi looked at Wei Yuan. "You may use this blade with peace of mind, but you need to discipline it more. A wild immortal weapon of this sort, lacking experience and possessing a foul temper, will easily cause trouble if not properly restrained."
Wei Yuan assented, stowed away the demon blade along with the Crimson Night Immortal-Slaying Sword, bowed to take his leave of the two patriarchs, and hurried back to Qingming.
Once Wei Yuan had departed, Xuanyue asked, "What is really going on with the child Liuli? With so much trouble clinging to her, why did you send her to Qingming? Did you think Wei Yuan didn't have enough entanglements on his plate already?"
Seeing Xuanyue's qi dynamic climbing with signs that he was about to strike, Yanshi hurriedly said, "Hold on, don't hit me yet! Wasn't I just worried about Liuli's future and hoping to tie a red string between them?"
"Tie whatever strings you want, just don't tie them to my Sky Azure Hall! My Sky Azure Hall can resolve its own issues!"
"I tied it to Water Moon Hall!"
Xuanyue said, "I won't trade verbal barbs with you. First explain clearly what is on the child Liuli. Otherwise, don't blame this old Daoist for turning hostile!"
Yanshi sighed and said, "Actually, the matter isn't complicated. When Liuli was small, the spirit of an immortal weapon tore through the void and fell into this realm, where Liuli happened to pick it up.
"That immortal weapon had escaped from who-knows-which secret realm and had already undergone a great battle. Its physical body was utterly destroyed when crossing the void, leaving only the remnant soul of the artifact spirit, which attached itself to Liuli.
"It gave the treasure of karmic luck it carried to Liuli, elevating her karmic luck to the peak. Just then, I was traveling down the mountain, so I took her as my disciple. I kept the immortal weapon's spirit sealed, originally intending to wait until Palace Master Pei advanced another step, after which we would join forces to pull over the immortal heaven secret realm where that immortal weapon originated. But unexpectedly, Palace Master Pei met with an accident along the way.
"Liuli is an unyielding child by nature. Once she learned the karmic luck didn't truly belong to her, she refused to accept it no matter what, insisting on carving out a path with her own true ability. Without karmic luck protecting her body, bearing the attached immortal weapon's spirit all on her own proved too much over time, and a small problem arose.
"So I had Wei Yuan resolve the matter, conveniently shifting the karma onto him. Liuli couldn't bear it, but Wei Yuan has no problem doing so."
Xuanyue's brows furrowed slightly. "Even after Liuli ran into trouble, you still wouldn't let go, and instead shifted the karma onto Wei Yuan. Could it be... you want to..."
True Monarch Yanshi said, "That's right. Once I ascend the immortal mountain, I will set about dragging out that old fellow hiding in the secret realm. When that time comes, I will still need Brother Xuanyue to lend me a hand."
Xuanyue snorted. "Then what about my Sky Azure Hall..."
"You can build it as high as you want!"
Chapter 658