Dongli

The skies above Chongzhou churned with billowing wind and clouds, hues weaving together as the mottled stone door trembled, showering streams of dust. “A divine ability formed!” As the boundless sea of the Great Void surfaced in his spiritual sense, Cui Changfu nearly wept tears of joy! ‘How many years! How many years has it been! Our Cui family has lived under others’ roofs… Year after year, we lived watching the moods of every passing divine ability master, and even if one or two monsters merely trod by, we had to receive them with utmost reverence…’ ‘Even within our prefecture, we finally have a divine ability master to call our own… No longer must we borrow Yangya’s swagger day in and day out, only to be reviled and cast aside by him!’ The old man closed his eyes. Like every newly ascended Violet Palace, he experienced the Great Void recorded in ancient texts with fresh wonder. In boundless ecstasy, he took a step forward and crossed into the Great Void! In an instant, Cui Changfu emerged from the brilliant celestial light. Gazing at the glorious radiance across the sky born of his breakthrough, he felt smug and deeply satisfied. He halted before the hall’s golden steps, only to find the area before the hall deserted, as if all attendants had long been dismissed. “Hmm?” Unease and doubt rose in his heart. Resting his hand against the hall doors, he gave a gentle shove. Creak… The dull sound echoed through the great hall. Cui Changfu stepped inside, and the first person to meet his gaze was none other than his clan brother, Cui Changyan. When Cui Changfu entered secluded cultivation, he had harbored a resolve to die. He had entrusted clan affairs to Cui Xianye, with this elder Cui Changyan assisting from the side. Yet this old man was now seated humbly at a side seat; what was more, a youth stood respectfully on the other side, even one step higher than him. ‘That must be the second brother of the Jue generation back then…’ Cui Changfu had a deep impression of Cui Jueyin. Back then, it was he who noticed the boy’s sharpness and instructed Cui Xianye to nurture him well. Though several decades had passed, he recognized him at a glance. And at the far end of this bright hall, seated upon the host’s seat, was another young man. He looked relaxed and casual, the gold-embroidered cuffs of his sleeves draped over the armrests, revealing powerful wrists steadily cradling a teacup. His face was imposing and fierce, shifting between light and shadow under the celestial rays filtering in from the hall’s flank. A pair of golden pupils gazed straight across the vast space, locking onto the eyes of this newly ascended Real Person! Cui Changfu’s mind went blank in an instant. Though the young man sat so nonchalantly, the reflection in his eyes was already awash in brilliant celestial light and the dense hues of a divine ability, blending into a sheet of gold and white. ‘A Violet Palace!’ ‘A Violet Palace of the Mingyang path!’ Beside them, Cui Changyan was already weeping old tears, looking at him across the hall yet refusing to speak first. Cui Jueyin stepped down and moved aside so as not to block the two Real Persons’ line of sight. Clink… The porcelain cup was set gently upon the table, its crisp chime ringing through the hall. The youth nodded. “Congratulations, Fellow Daoist.” By reason, even if Cui Changfu had been a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator a moment before, now that he had broken through to the Violet Palace and was the master of this domain, any other Violet Palace visiting and sitting in the host’s seat in advance ought to greet him with a smile and graciously yield the seat to the master of the house. Yet this youth did not rise at all. Instead, he calmly invited him in, which was undeniably a breach of etiquette. Yet Cui Changfu felt not the slightest displeasure. Trembling with fear, he stared into those golden eyes, his mind flashing with realization. ‘It’s the White Qilin who has come…’ Whether by reason or sentiment, Li Zhouwei had every right to sit in that seat. Cui Changfu showed no trace of anything amiss. He naturally performed a salutation, his hoarse voice sounding: “Cui Changfu of Chongzhou greets Your Highness!” He stepped forward, coming before the youth’s seat, lifted his robes, and bowed. “Forgive me, Your Highness, for failing to welcome you from afar!” “Rise.” The golden-eyed youth motioned for him to take a seat to the side, appearing entirely unruffled as he smiled and said, “Back then, when a Real Person of my family visited your noble clan, he took quite a liking to Cui Jueyin and brought him along to nurture him carefully. Little did I expect that Real Person Yangya of your family would call him back. Today, I came to the sea on some business and dropped by to see him on the way.” These words struck the old man like a bolt from the blue. Advanced in years as he was, how could Cui Changfu fail to grasp the meaning? A landslide shook his heart: ‘Cui Yushan! Taking our lineage, demanding our spiritual items, taking away our talents… As if that wasn’t enough, you still want to sacrifice our family to pave your own way to stay safely uninvolved! You… you!’ Regardless of whether the Cui family wished to sever ties, how much autonomy did they truly possess under the dragon kind? Yangya clearly cared nothing for Chongzhou’s survival! Fury surged within his chest, and he ground his teeth, declaring, “That Yangya… Yangya acts solely for himself! For the sake of his West Sea Cui Clan… he stops at nothing to dredge everything from Chongzhou! Never mind our lineage, our geniuses, or our spiritual items—we dare not utter a single word of complaint… When common folks ask, I still have to put on a smiling face and say he is our own clan’s Real Person… Yet when others ask him… he lounges freely, not even caring where Chongzhou is… And now, he actually interferes!” Cui Changfu lowered his head, gnashing his teeth, and sighed. “To tell Your Highness the truth, when Your Highness’s elder came to the island back then… inquiring about Mingyang spiritual items, our clan could not produce even a single one!” Perhaps because their standings were once worlds apart, whatever Yangya did had seemed only natural. But now, as a Violet Palace master of the territory, many of those past actions became detestable. The rage on Cui Changfu’s face was so genuine that Cui Changyan beside them was momentarily stunned, at a loss: ‘So that was what Eldest Brother thought all along… It turns out he was enduring humiliation for the greater good; we were the ones who saw too shallowly…’ Cui Changyan quickly took over the conversation: “Later, when Real Person Zhaojing visited Chongzhou again and likewise asked about spiritual items and resources, our family still had none at all… That was why!” “Those things had first been handed over to the Dragon King early on. What scraps remained were also taken away by Real Person Yangya under the pretext of safekeeping… Nothing was left on the island!” Listening to his words, Li Zhouwei was not surprised. He had met Yangya in the grotto-heaven and had long known what kind of person he was. He did not pursue that topic, but suddenly asked: “The revival of the Wei destiny bears ample witness to your noble clan’s loyalty. I wonder, what kind of origins does Dongli possess?” Cui Changfu held his tea and stayed silent. Cui Changyan, however, did not hesitate, answering respectfully: “The Dongli Sect was established by the two Cui Clan lords, Dongli and Donghuo. The sect master bore the single personal name Mu… This lord… once cultivated in the immortal mansion and later served as Grand Tutor in the imperial court. His status and standing were supreme… towering above the entire dynasty!” “Hmm?” Li Zhouwei murmured, “Cui Mu?!” This name could not be more familiar to the Li family. The Golden Hall Huangyuan Formula that their family first obtained was penned by this very cultivator! Back then, it was marked with Zhaoyuan Immortal Mansion… meaning it was written before this cultivator left the mountains to enter the imperial court! And the Golden Hall Huangyuan Formula had been bestowed by the mirror! For over a century, this was the first time their family had ever found a trace of a Mingyang method bestowed by the mirror! Li Zhouwei instantly became alert, his vigilance surging to the maximum. Frowning slightly, he asked, “That cannot be right. If Sect Master Dongli was a figure from the Wei era, how could he have survived across such vast spans of years to become the master of Dongli? Could he have been a True Sovereign?” “Dongli’s Cui Mu… what cultivation did he possess?” At these words, Cui Changyan looked toward the Real Person with some hesitation, while Cui Changfu spoke up: “If Your Highness asks in this manner… then prior to the fall of the empire, he held a pseudo-True Sovereign status; after the fall of the empire, he was a Real Person.” Li Zhouwei looked up slightly, his pupils dilating. Having heard descriptions from the dragon kind, he understood what the words meant. He asked: “The methods of the celestial realm… can support and sustain a True Sovereign?!” Cui Changfu hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “The sect master was a once-in-a-century genius of our Cui family. He was selected to enter the mansion to cultivate, and by the time he entered the court, he had already achieved perfection in divine abilities.” “At the pinnacle of the Great Wei Celestial Dynasty, there were two supreme positions. They differed with each emperor… yet their functions were similar. During Emperor Gong of Wei’s reign, one was the Zhentai Chongwen Pivot Official, and the other was the Shouyi Demon-Suppressing Luan General. When vested with these positions, for internal governance, the Pivot Official held pseudo-golden status, and for external campaigns, the Luan General held pseudo-golden status… Both possessed the might of a True Sovereign…” Li Zhouwei listened with a furrowed brow. Cui Changfu continued: “The final Pivot Official of the Great Wei was none other than the sect master. Precisely because he had once possessed the might of a True Sovereign, he was able to enjoy heavenly longevity and migrate to the State of Yue to found the sect.” “These two positions were prestigious, but they came with many cumbersome restrictions. Not only did one have to cultivate to perfection in divine abilities before even attempting to ascend to the position, but once one assumed it, the Dao path was severed. There was no longer any chance of truly becoming a True Sovereign, and one’s life and soul were bound to the fate of the nation…” “When the Great Wei collapsed back then, the esteemed Luan General fell in Mobei. Although the sect master survived by relying on the Cui family’s bloodline oath and his own cultivation methods, and thereafter possessed unorthodox methods superior to perfection in divine abilities, he was already severely wounded, living a fate worse than death. He could no longer roam the world freely, and in combat, he was no match for a peak Violet Palace.” A touch of bitterness surfaced on Cui Changfu’s aged face. “This was only learned later… When Dongli established its sect, his divine might was boundless, and the world believed he had broken through and re-established himself, securing a certain seat of Mingyang…” Li Zhouwei neither affirmed nor denied it: ‘Who knows how much truth there was to what “the world believed”? Perhaps the north intentionally let it slide—three strikes to round up and wipe out all those in the world who remained loyal to Wei-Li… all to pave the way for their subsequent grazing of Mingyang…’ Cui Changfu then sighed faintly: “Now that Dongli has fallen, everything has crumbled to dust… After all, only grotto-heavens that have never fallen and heritages from which benefits can still be extracted will draw people’s attention…” Li Zhouwei pondered: ‘Dongli…’ He asked, “How did this lord perish?” Cui Changfu’s expression turned solemn as he replied, “We have no detailed records… but our Chongzhou ancestors through the generations pieced together various Wei texts and made a conjecture: this lord… likely died of lingering wounds that never healed, ultimately sitting in meditation until his passing!” He sighed. “Although the Donghuo Grotto-Heaven produced talents in great numbers, its relations with the various paths on the sea were strained at the time, even reaching the point of attacks on the mountain gate. That lord refrained from showing himself for so long that the overseas lineages pushed their advantage step by step… Another Taiyang lineage had also established a foothold in Jiangnan, growing its wings, leaving us troubled both within and without.” “Right then, Real Person Donghuo, who had been guarding the sea all along, perished near the Xiuzhu Reefs. That Real Person cultivated the path of Lihuo, possessing staggering divine abilities, and had once reached perfection in divine abilities… The celestial phenomenon at the time was world-shaking; the nearby waters boiled, and endless fire-fiend fell… Even to this day, Lihuo remains vigorous in that region, where countless salt reefs stand.” “With the fall of Real Person Donghuo, Dongli Sect could no longer contain its plight. The cultivators stationed in Chongzhou were recalled one after another, and several ancestors sent by our clan also perished in succession, leaving no further news from then on…” Having listened to this, Li Zhouwei felt somewhat moved. “It truly was not easy for your noble clan to guard the East Sea for so many years!” Cui Changyan, however, misconstrued his meaning and hurriedly said, “Our Chongzhou branch originally hailed from Zhaoyuan. But when the national catastrophe struck, news from the Zhaoyuan Immortal Mansion was severed, and Weihuang Heaven was sealed… We could not even contact the Wei cultivators within the realm, so naturally all contact was lost…” “Later… when the Qi… the Qi rebels established their state and brought turmoil to the north, it was not that we did not want to return… we simply dared not!” Li Zhouwei took a sip of tea, a hint of doubt surfacing in his gaze. He replied: “Tell me about the time before and after the Qi dynasty’s rise.” Cui Changyan paused, just about to speak, when Cui Changfu gave a light cough and interjected: “He is merely at Foundation Establishment; it is improper for him to discuss ancient matters. Allow me to explain to Your Highness…” He sighed. “The Qi Emperor Qiji Tanluo, whose Han name was Shi Chang, was born in Mobei. He was a general under the Wei, skilled in archery and horsemanship, valiant and fierce in battle. When an elder of our clan pacified Mobei, Lord Shi achieved distinguished merit and was enfeoffed as General Pacifying the North… even guarding Hetao for a time.” “At that time, the Helian family… was merely a tiny Xiongnu tribe. It was precisely because he promoted their ancestor, Helian Bo, while guarding Hetao that the later Tiefu royal lineage came to be.” Cui Changfu observed his expression, hesitated again and again, and only then continued: “Back then… an ancestor of our clan served in the same tent alongside him. He appeared remarkably compliant and humble. Because the commander-in-chief was also surnamed Cui, he deliberately curried favor with our ancestor. Whenever a carriage set out, he would hold the whip in attendance; at times, he even addressed himself… as a humble slave…” Li Zhouwei raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. “I wonder which ancestor that was?” Cui Changfu looked slightly embarrassed, yet a look of melancholic realization at the vicissitudes of time washed over his face as he replied: “Someone completely obscure… who didn’t even cross into the realm of divine abilities… A man who once held the whip out front and called himself a slave ended up becoming an emperor. One can see how mercurial the affairs of the world are!” Li Zhouwei said nothing, and Cui Changfu quickly added: “Thus, our family still knows a bit… Back then… a young man often went in and out of his tent. His cultivation was not high—merely Foundation Establishment—yet he carried an elegant, graceful demeanor, known as Daoist Shanqing.” “Later, when the Qi established their imperial realm, he became the Imperial Preceptor of the state, reaching the very pinnacle of divine abilities. Yet when the Great Qi collapsed, he vanished without a trace, never to be seen again…” “Daoist Shanqing…” Li Zhouwei pondered the name for a moment as Cui Changfu continued: “Indeed… That man’s methods were terrifying in the extreme!” A look of hatred surfaced on the old man’s face as he answered, “Our former nation maintained exceptionally strict surveillance over regional territories. Not only were powers divided, but immortal masters from the immortal mansion were also dispatched to oversee local affairs. Although Mingyang lost its luster overnight and government troops suffered defeat, the numerous cultivators from the mansion stationed across the lands swiftly took charge, suppressing the uprisings in the capacity of cultivators, and a semblance of stability was already taking shape…” “Yet this Daoist Shanqing drove the common people like cattle and sheep, breached three strategic passes, opened Guanlong, and rounded up the people of Wei, having the Qi Emperor bury them alive. After breaching the palace, he gathered the members of the Li clan and veiled the celestial light with magical arts, allowing the Qi Emperor to humiliate Mingyang at leisure… Imperial scions either died like cattle and sheep or were boiled and eaten from cauldrons; their pitiful cries shook the heavens.” “Even though he veiled it with magical arts, Mingyang is ultimately an overt path that manifests before the world. Whenever a great figure perished, the heavens would illuminate for three breaths of time—brightening then darkening, darkening then brightening, in numbers beyond count…” Li Zhouwei listened intently, his cup suspended motionless in midair. Suddenly, he asked: “What lineage did that Imperial Preceptor cultivate?” Cui Changfu lowered his voice: “Duijin!”