Yu Yufeng had already flown off on the wind. Blood pooled in Yu Mugao's mouth; the impact of Yu Yufeng's single strike had caused his magic power to stagnate. He formed a couple of hand seals, yet failed to take flight. Shouting a few times in vain, he had no choice but to halt in his tracks.
"Pah!"
Yu Mugao spat out the mouthful of blood until it was cleared, splattering red foam across the ground. Turning around to look, he realized he had already run to the bluestone terrace below the hall. With his hair disheveled, covered in dust, his lapels stained with blood, and his bare feet planted on the stone, not a trace of his former dashing young master demeanor remained.
Yet he did not care in the slightest. He stood dazed upon the open ground, overwhelmed by endless bewilderment. He looked up at the overcast sky; on the horizon, the pitch-black night drifted amidst the undulating mountain peaks. Hollow and numb inside, Yu Mugao simply stood there barefoot.
Behind him, the crowd of uncles, cousins, and brothers finally ambled over, like swarms of buzzing hornets, crying out with affected concern:
"Mugao! This is a joyous occasion—how could you speak like that!"
"The ancestor is benevolent, the ancestor is truly benevolent! Brother Mugao isn't seriously hurt!"
Yu Mugao's frame trembled forlornly. Rage and anxiety gnawed at his chest, but he could only grit his teeth and bear it. Letting out a long sigh as two trails of tears streamed down his face, he threw back his head and howled into the sky, lamenting:
"This is beyond human power! What can be done? What can be done...!"
The people behind him continued their clamor. His eyes widened in fury, and with a metallic hiss, he drew the sword from his waist. Turning back, he glared like a tiger at the crowd of Yu family members. Terrified, the whole lot fell silent, lowering their heads, not daring to meet his gaze. Yu Mugao's lips trembled. Only after dozens of breaths had passed did he drop his sword with a clatter and roar in fury:
"Get lost!"
Instantly, the uncles and brothers of the Yu family scattered like a whirlwind—some gathering up their robes to run, others taking to the wind—leaving Yu Mugao standing dazed where he was. Covering his face, he wept:
"Muyuan... Now that I've lost you, who else can rein in this pack of fools!"
----
On the low hill, Li Tongya and the other three landed. Nanshan Weng produced twelve formation flags and several jade slips, distributing them one by one with a smile.
"Brother Taojing and I will plant the formation flags at the Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li positions. The two of you will place the flags at Zhen, Xun, Gen, and Dui. The hand techniques and incantations are all recorded in these jade slips."
Xiao Chuchou and Li Tongya both nodded in agreement, turning and rising upon the wind. Li Tongya gripped the jade slip and read it for a short while. Following the techniques detailed within, he located the Zhen position and thrust the formation flag into the ground. Xiao Chuchou also flew over on the wind, and the two worked together casting their arts to anchor the flag. Forming an incantation seal, Xiao Chuchou glanced at Li Tongya and asked in a low voice:
"Does Fellow Daoist Tongya have any doubts?"
"Naturally."
Li Tongya nodded, releasing an incantation seal as he replied, "In the presence of the ancestor, it was not my place to inquire, but for the life of me, I cannot fathom how Yu Yufeng, with his immovable habit of seclusion, would ever come west."
Li Tongya had in fact already made a guess, but he spoke courteous words to draw out Xiao Chuchou's desire to talk. Xiao Chuchou chuckled and said:
"The divine ability Zhenren cultivated originates from the 'Old Man on the Stream'. In the entire State of Yue and across Jiangnan, our family is the only one who possesses it. It is his lifebound divine ability, endowed with all manner of wondrous feats. One of them is stirring up greed and wrath, conjuring various enticing illusions that compel Yu Yufeng to come. He has been obsessed for so many years that he fell deeply under the technique. Unless someone had the strength to hold him off for a couple of hours and give him a resounding slap across the face, only then might he gradually wake up..."
A chill immediately ran down Li Tongya's spine. Such a miraculous ability to toy with others in the palm of one's hand was merely one of this divine ability's effects. Letting out a long sigh, he marveled:
"Compared to the Purple Mansion, we truly are as insignificant as hounds and horses beside the couch, or fish and shrimp within a cave..."
Xiao Chuchou shook his head gently and replied:
"Stirring greed and wrath and conjuring tempting illusions is merely a subtle application of this divine ability. Yu Yufeng's own mental obstructions blinded him and his spiritual platform was murky, which is why he fell into the trap so easily. If applied to ordinary situations, it can only make someone unconsciously lean in a certain direction, or violate taboos in a fit of blinding rage."
Li Tongya nodded slightly, terrified to the core. His apprehension deepened, his heart jolting in profound shock. He pondered:
*Guiding someone's inclinations... Aside from a Purple Mansion cultivator, who could ever detect it?! Who knows how many matters, big and small, Xiao Chuting has secretly orchestrated and influenced over these past ten-plus years?!* A massive knot of doubts surfaced in his mind as he secretly reflected:
*The Yu family wasted twenty years meddling with the eastern families, facing one crisis after another. Even if the Fei family was constantly stirring up trouble, how much shrewder could Fei Wangbai truly be than Yu Mugao? Yet time and again, they managed to extricate themselves cleanly...*
*Lu Sisi spent the rest of his life laboring to prepare numerous fallback plans, laying arrangements across the Ding, Li, and An families, and even on the Xunlin Plain. Why did he die overnight, with all those precautions turning to ash without leaving a trace? It was as if the three families had reached a prior agreement, attacking the Lu family simultaneously without giving the slightest thought to the consequences...*
The hand Li Tongya kept tucked inside his sleeve trembled faintly, and even his facial expression distorted slightly. He quickly lowered his head to conceal his emotions. Strictly speaking, it was merely possible that Xiao Chuting had pushed all these events forward; one could dismiss it entirely as Li Tongya's suspicious nature conjuring baseless speculations. Yet there remained an indelible deduction in his heart that convinced him Xiao Chuting was responsible.
*Back then, after the An family seized the Lu family's stronghold of Mount Tiaoyun, An Jingming surrendered Mount Tiaoyun to the Ding family without a second thought, drawing Ding Xiding into Lake Wangyue...*
Where was Mount Tiaoyun located? Right at the border between Lake Wangyue and the Xunlin Plain! Occupied by the Ding family, it neatly blocked any path for the An and Li families to push eastward along Guli Road, meddling in the Xunlin Plain and Lixia Commandery and sharing a border with the Xiao family.
The Ding family was, moreover, the generational guard dog of the Yuan family. The Yuan family boasted quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Yuan Tuan from their clan was Li Chijing's senior martial sister—who was now the peak master of Qingsui Peak, under whom the Li family was about to send a disciple to apprentice! As long as the Li family had not taken the initiative to occupy Mount Tiaoyun, it was virtually impossible for them to clash with the Yuan family over a battered Mount Tiaoyun. The Xiao family could rest easy from then on, never having to worry about geopolitical conflict with the Li family...
*No wonder... No wonder he told our family to send a disciple to apprentice in the Qingchi Sect. So that was another crucial link...*
The schemes interlocked link by link, chilling Li Tongya to the marrow and filling him with profound dread. For a moment, he lost himself in thought...
*Looking back even further, the Shanyue's eastern invasion, Jianihexi's suicide, the destruction of the Lake Wangyue market—every single one of them had points of suspicion... Xiao Chuting... Xiao Chuting... What an Old Man on the Stream, what a Xiao Chuting!*
"Fellow Daoist? Fellow Daoist Tongya?"
Xiao Chuchou called out twice, jolting Li Tongya awake. Offering repeated apologies, Li Tongya said raspy-voiced:
"I was daydreaming about the wonder of the Purple Mansion and how alluring such divine abilities are, and my mind wandered for a moment. I am truly ashamed!"
As Li Tongya spoke, an epiphany washed over his heart, and he mused inwardly:
*That day when I breached the Lu family and learned that Jianihexi's affair was a Purple Mansion sacrificial rite, I felt only that the sky had darkened, devoid of light anywhere, leaving us at the whim of the Purple Mansion cultivators. Over these years, as my cultivation gradually grew and I remained detached from worldly affairs, I felt an inkling of freedom. Little did I know I was still just a shrimp in a cave, merely full of self-importance!*
Even though Xiao Chuting was implicitly helping their family, it still made Li Tongya deeply uneasy. He could only suppress these thoughts, watching as Xiao Chuchou chuckled and answered:
"The Purple Mansion is naturally wondrous! In ancient times, it was called Spirit Refining, derived from the meaning of refining divine abilities, and was famed precisely for its manifold marvels!"
"Spirit Refining..."
Li Tongya chimed in, quickly steadying his demeanor, and smiled as he asked, "To think such secrets existed!"
"Indeed."
Xiao Chuchou cast the final incantation seal into the formation flag, completing the setup of this formation eye alongside him. Taking to the wind with Li Tongya, he headed toward the next position, Gen, to plant the flag. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to gain information, Li Tongya followed the thread of conversation as they flew:
"Senior is well-traveled and knowledgeable. I wonder how the other realms were referred to?"
"Hoh."
Xiao Chuchou nodded slightly and replied, "In ancient times, Embryonic Breathing was called Wheel Cultivation, Qi Refinement was known as Qi Ingestion, the Purple Mansion was called Spirit Refining, and Golden Core was referred to as Seeking Nature. These descriptions were far closer to the reality of cultivation."
"As for today, following the War of Immortals and Demons, not only have cultivation methods evolved numerous secret codes and specialized jargon to prevent others from stealing legacies, but even the realms have become vastly different—far more obscure and difficult to grasp."
As the two conversed, the final formation node was duly prepared. They flew toward the low hill, where the bladesman Chen Taojing and Nanshan Weng were already waiting. The four concealed their figures, quietly awaiting Yu Yufeng's arrival.
Chapter 237