Jade Buckle

A multitude of cultivators paid their tributes in Milin Commandery. Radiant with vibrant colors, the Rosy Cloud Boat trailed long plumage of light as it moored high in the sky, casting an orange-red glow across the heavens below. At the Li residence. Inside a dark chamber shrouded in white mist, the greenish-gray mirror slowly rose into the air. It buzzed and trembled incessantly, unleashing bursts of dazzling white light. Suppressing the mirror body's violent trembling with his divine sense, Lu Jiangxian felt a wave of shock and bewilderment in his heart. *This... this!* All manner of visions surfaced before his eyes. At one moment it was a swift, crystal-clear stream; at the next, a treasure vault sparkling with shifting magical light; and then it shifted into the tender face and fair arms of a youth. A peak piercing into the clouds, swarming with immortals darting back and forth; a cave dwelling rich with surging spiritual springs and dense spiritual energy; and finally, the image halted upon the brilliant Rosy Cloud Boat. *A mirror fragment... is aboard the Rosy Cloud Boat!* This was not the first time Lu Jiangxian had experienced such a reaction. In the past, both the jade stone by the lake and the jade pendant in the old Daoist's hand had stirred his heart to violent tremors. Now that the magical mirror's power was gradually recovering, this impulse had grown even more intense. *Who is it...* The magical mirror hovered in midair, its twelve seal characters lighting up one by one. Had Lu Jiangxian not suppressed it with all his might, it likely would have broken through the void long ago, drawing the shard across the distance to fuse into one. This throbbing resonance even spilled out from the mirror's body, dashing back and forth within the sealed dark chamber and transforming into all kinds of wondrous manifestations. Upon the patterned floor, osmanthus trees suddenly took shape, their golden-white blossoms drooping downward. With golden stamens and an enchanting fragrance, they appeared exceptionally dazzling amidst the misty moon essence. The rustling sounds grew louder and louder. From the dim corners bounded several moon-hares, lively and nimble, trampling the fallen osmanthus blossoms across the floor. Upon the greenish-gray mirror surface, a translucent jade buckle was reflected. *Yu Muxian! It was on Yu Muxian all along!* Though visions swirled before Lu Jiangxian's eyes, he recognized the face amidst them—ethereal and carrying an immortal air, yet bearing considerable resemblance to Yu Mugao. Who else could it be but Yu Muxian? *Rumble!* The sunlight above the Li family slowly dimmed. Within the mirror, the world trembled, churning up and down. This tremor traced back through the connection between the talisman seeds. Outside the mirror, the talisman seeds shook violently, emitting blossoms of white light. In the Lijing Great Hall, Li Ximing was the closest. He was obediently reading an elixir scripture when an earth-shattering upheaval erupted in his Qihai acupoint. Blinding light flared, accompanied by a twisting, unbearable agony, forcing a sharp cry of pain from his lips. "Ah!" He curled into a ball instantly, breaking out in a cold sweat. Seated at the head of the hall, Li Yuanping had been reading a secret missive from the Clan Rectory. Startled out of his wits by the child's scream, he leaped from his seat and rushed before the boy without even putting on his shoes, his voice trembling with anxiety: "Ming'er! Ming'er!" Li Ximing was Li Yuanping's only son and currently the treasured darling of the Li family. His sudden state threw Li Yuanping into disarray. Reaching out to wipe the child's forehead, he found it icy and clammy, scooping up a handful of transparent, viscous liquid. "This..." The fluid was bone-chillingly cold. With two soft drips, the moment it left his hand, it turned into golden-white petals and scattered across the floor, leaving Li Yuanping stunned. The petals were strikingly golden-white. The moment they hit the ground, they disintegrated, rising into wisps of yin qi as clear and bright as the moon. The sight struck Li Yuanping's mind like a clap of thunder. Dou Yi, standing at the very foot of the hall, was scared out of his wits by the scene. Li Yuanping did not have many years left to live, and Lady Dou was cold and ungenerous; the entire Dou family's future rested on this young master, Li Ximing. He immediately hurried up the steps. "Young Master?!" As the Li family rose to prominence as a prominent clan, more and more rogue cultivators came to visit, and their standards had been reconstructed along the lines of the prominent clans of Yue. The staircase leading to the dais had over twenty steps, and it took Dou Yi several breaths to climb up. Dou Yi surged up more than a dozen steps to reach them, only to see Li Yuanping whip around. Li Yuanping's grayish-black pupils were dilated, glittering sweat covered his forehead, and all his usual gentleness was gone, replaced by a sinister, fierce expression. He barked: "Step down!!" Dou Yi had served him for nearly ten years, yet he had only ever seen such an expression on Li Yuanjiao's face. Li Yuanping had always been far milder; when had he ever displayed such terrifying fury? Paralyzed with terror, Dou Yi missed his footing and tumbled down the dozen steps. *Thud!* Following Li Yuanping, Dou Yi had lived a luxurious life in recent years and grown corpulent. He tumbled all the way to the foot of the stairs with a loud thud. Not daring to look up, he hitched up his robe and scrambled out of the hall in sheer panic. At the top of the dais, Li Yuanping's body trembled slightly. Not daring to move, he used his wide robe to conceal Li Ximing in his embrace, commanding in a heavy voice: "Everyone, withdraw!" Only when the cold clatter of armor faded away and even the clan soldiers on both sides of the stairs had fully retreated did he hurriedly pick up the elixir scripture from the table. His movement was so frantic that he swept the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to the floor with a clatter. Li Yuanping seemed oblivious, slapping frantically like a madman at the moonlit streams of glowing qi beneath him. Not until those wisps of Taiyin moon essence vanished entirely and the entire hall turned chilly did a faint blush of color return to his paper-pale face. "Father..." Beside him, Li Ximing sat up amidst the scattered osmanthus petals. Li Yuanping quickly pulled him into his arms, and only upon finding that the child was unharmed did he mutter under his breath: "The immortal mirror... it's the immortal mirror..." * * * Mount Wutu. Li Xizhi looked up abruptly, staring at the petals scattering from between his hands. In the Guanyun Peak Market a thousand li away, Li Xuanxuan, who was haggling with a customer, stopped mid-sentence, faintly hearing a rustling sound... Yishan City... Milin Commandery... Everyone who had received a Black Pearl Talisman Seed looked up together, gazing thoughtfully into the distance. Gradually, an ethereal face carrying an immortal air emerged before their eyes, along with a translucent, smooth, and rounded jade buckle. * * * Li Yuanjiao looked up abruptly. The Black Pearl Talisman Seed in his Qihai acupoint trembled violently. A speck of white light rose in the depths of his eyes as an intense pull washed over him, fixing his gaze unwaveringly on Yu Muxian's white robes. *Yu Muxian... the jade buckle...* Seeing Yu Muxian look up as if sensing something, Li Yuanjiao slowly lowered his head. He had once read in the Inner History that when Li Tongya was still a mortal, he had ventured into the reed marshes by night and managed to find that jade stone, something that had seemed utterly miraculous to him at the time. The reed marshes were vast; searching for a single jade stone among them was like looking for a needle in a boundless ocean. How could a mere mortal have found it? He had simply attributed it to Li Tongya being blessed by fortune, unlike ordinary men. Only now, when truly facing a treasure capable of being consumed by the magical mirror, did he understand the wondrous mystery behind it. Even without looking at Yu Muxian, he could sense that jade buckle held in the man's hand. Up on the dais, Yu Muxian felt an inexplicable wave of apprehension. A sudden tremor gripped his heart, yet by the time he came to his senses, it had vanished without a trace, as if it had never occurred. Having established an immortal foundation, a Foundation Establishment cultivator already possessed certain supernatural perceptions. A sudden premonition was no small matter. He examined himself thoroughly but found nothing, leaving him no choice but to sweep a suspicious gaze across the crowd below. "Yu family of Milin!" The sect servant behind him began calling out names. Putting aside his stray thoughts, Yu Muxian watched quietly as his elder brother bowed and retreated before straightening up. His gaze lingered on Yu Mugao's hollow cheeks and haggard frame. Anxiety and scheming were threatening to crush the man; for a cultivator at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement to be reduced to such a state spoke volumes about the intensity of the Yu family's internal strife. Yu Xiaogui was severely injured and in secluded cultivation, causing the various branches of the Yu family, who were already dissatisfied with Yu Mugao's suppression of the clan, to erupt into chaos and operate independently. Were it not that there was still no confirmation of Yu Xiaogui's death, coupled with Yu Mugao's ruthless methods, the clan would have fallen into total turmoil long ago. "Sixteen stalks of autumn moon grass, two thousand jin of purple jade spirit rice, ninety Tanqing origin stones, seven Changhai pearls..." Crate after crate of spiritual items was carried up onto the platform. Stroking the jade buckle in his hand, Yu Muxian reflected with deep emotion: *If I hadn't picked up this treasure in my youth, allowing me to perceive my true nature and sever mortal ties, I too would likely have been broken here upon Lake Wangyue, entangled in clan infighting... only to meet a miserable end.* "Li family of Lijing!" While Yu Muxian was lost in thought, the servant behind him called out another name. A young man in black stepped forward, broad-shouldered with prominent brows. His demeanor carried an air of fierce ambition; at first glance, he did not look like someone to be trifled with. "Li Yuanjiao of the Li family greets the emissary!" Li Yuanjiao responded neither servilely nor haughtily, his gaze remaining fixed on Yu Muxian's robe. Yu Muxian gave a slight nod and said warmly: "I have long admired the sword immortal's great renown." With that, he cupped his hands slightly and smiled. "The Azure Ruler Sword worn by the sword immortal was personally forged by my master. Yuanwu Peak has always maintained good relations with Qingsui Peak. Fellow Daoist need not be so polite." At these words, not only did Li Yuanjiao's heart stir, but the members of the various lake clans also glanced over sideways, deep in thought. Yu Mugao slowly closed his eyes and remained silent. "So there is such an origin between us." Yu Muxian was polite to a fault, leaving Li Yuanjiao momentarily unable to fathom the man's intentions. He gave a vague response. Yu Muxian said no more, clasping his hands behind his back as he stood. After crates of spiritual materials were carried up and each family presented their tribute, the servants completed their inventory. A blue-robed cultivator stepped forward and spoke respectfully beside Yu Muxian: "Senior Brother, the tributes from Lake Wangyue's three prominent clans, sixteen surname families, and forty-one small households have all been tallied. Please look over the roster, Senior Brother." Taking the roster from his hand, Yu Muxian softly read out the names of several marked families. They had either fallen short on weight or provided sub-par spiritual items. Several blue-robed disciples immediately stepped forward, unceremoniously dragging them out. *Thud.* The representatives of those families dropped to their knees, trembling. Yu Muxian chuckled softly and asked: "Junior Brother, what is the customary punishment?" The reporting blue-robed disciple cast a contemptuous glance across the families below and replied: "Depending on the extent of the shortfall, punishments are meted out accordingly: behead the clan elders, erase their clan name, and exile them to Yishan." The people below began shivering in terror, crying out for mercy in unison. Yu Muxian swept his gaze over them and saw that these families were all under the jurisdiction of Daoist He on the western shore; most likely, they simply could not afford two heavy rounds of taxes. He said mildly: "Simply confiscate their storage bags to make up the difference. If we eradicate these families, Senior He would have to take the trouble of reappointing others, which would disrupt his affairs." "Understood!" No sooner had he spoken than several blue-robed cultivators snatched the storage bags from the culprits. Ignoring their tearful pleas, they handed the bags over. Yu Muxian tucked them into his sleeves with composure before speaking: "The prominent clans, please remain; the rest may disperse!" As if granted a royal pardon, the small clans offered their thanks and scattered like the wind. In the blink of an eye, only the Qingchi cultivators and the three families—Fei, Li, and Yu—remained atop the vast mountain summit. Although the Fei family had lost Fei Wangbai, they were still registered as a prominent clan within the Qingchi Sect, so they did not withdraw. Their representative was Fei Tongyu, who had only recently advanced to Qi Refinement. His aura fluctuated, indicating that he had relied on elixirs to make the breakthrough. Flicking his sleeve, Yu Muxian stepped forward. He first cupped his hands toward Fei Tongyu. Handsome and bearing an immortal poise, he spoke with regret: "You must be the young master of the Fei family. I have heard about Senior Wangbai's misfortune. After all, Senior Fei was a cultivator under our sect's jurisdiction. When the news reached the sect, it caused quite a stir, and men were sent to investigate." He shook his head regretfully and said in a low voice: "Unfortunately, the culprit came and went without a trace; we were unable to uncover anything." "We trouble the immortal sect..." Fei Tongyu put on a touched expression, exchanging superficial pleasantries with Yu Muxian. Then Yu Muxian said: "The Fei family has paid tribute for many years, yet our sect was unable to glean any news of the culprit. The sect wishes to make some amends..." Fei Tongyu's eyes lit up, realizing that the crux of the matter had arrived. Yu Muxian smiled and continued: "My master has made the decision: the next disciple slot shall be granted to your noble clan!" At these words, all three of them were stunned. Silence hung over the mountain peak for several breaths, broken only by the howling of the northern wind. "What?!" Yu Mugao was utterly aghast, looking as if an absurdity had just occurred. Li Yuanjiao grew thoughtful, while Fei Tongyu cried out in sheer disbelief, dumbfounded: "May I ask which peak?!" "Naturally, our Yuanwu Peak!" After his initial shock and doubt, Fei Tongyu felt a surge of profound delight. Fei Wangbai's greatest regret in life had been his inability to install a clan member within the Qingchi Sect. Now, even though he knew Yu Muxian likely harbored ill intent, Fei Tongyu could not bring himself to utter a word of refusal. *Our clan still needs to send younger generations into the sect; how could the Fei family possibly refuse? How could they dare refuse...* Standing to the side, Li Yuanjiao silently stared at Yu Muxian's ethereal profile. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, leaving him choked for words. He thought to himself: *This Yu Muxian... is truly formidable. With this single move, he restores the tripartite balance on the lake and drives a wedge between the Fei family and ours... Even if the Old Ancestor were alive, there would be no altering this...* *However, he keeps that jade buckle hidden close to his chest within his robes. It undoubtedly possesses many wondrous abilities. Getting hold of it will definitely be no easy task... I must take my time and plan carefully.* After settling a few details with Fei Tongyu, Yu Muxian turned back to address Yu Mugao and Li Yuanjiao, saying softly: "Greetings to you both, fellow Daoists!" Yu Muxian was a Foundation Establishment immortal cultivator, a status far above them; neither of them could bear being addressed as 'fellow Daoist.' Before they could decline the honor, Yu Muxian continued: "The sect's various peaks rotate jurisdiction over territories every seventy years. Lake Wangyue currently falls under the management of our Yuanwu Peak. In past years, affairs within the peak caused delays, and only my junior brother came in my stead. He failed to establish proper agreements with all of you, leading to considerable turmoil on the lake in recent years. This is our peak's fault." How could Li Yuanjiao dare let him apologize? He quickly demurred, while Yu Mugao stared at him in confusion and distress, as though trying to discern something, seemingly unable to recognize this younger brother of his. Yu Muxian then went on: "Therefore, I reported to my master. Taking into account the current situation, Yuanwu Peak has redrawn the borders and brought them for you today." With a light tap on his pouch, three pale green jade seals appeared in his hand and floated into their respective grips. A hint of warning finally appeared in his eyes as he said coldly: "Now that the borders are set, the peak will not meddle in disputes among the small clans. But the prominent clans must not engage in conflict again! This is also my master's will..." Li Yuanjiao received the pale green jade seal and gently brushed his fingers across it. The seal slowly glowed with golden light, revealing several prominent golden characters: *Under Qingchi Jurisdiction.* Immediately after, an outline of the borders shimmered into view, gleaming silver. Lijing, Huaqian, Huazhong, Yuting, Mount Wutu, and even Eastern Shanyue were thoughtfully included within it. The Li family had once possessed such a jade seal left behind by Si Yuanbai, but that one had only marked the four towns of Lijing, falling far short of what this one encompassed. Now that Yuanwu Peak had acknowledged the legitimacy of the territory held by the Li family and extended them face, Li Yuanjiao could only feel a sense of relief in his heart. He replied: "We respectfully obey the Perfected Cultivator's decree!" Fei Tongyu was overjoyed. Among the three prominent clans on the lake, his was the weakest; he responded with great warmth, immensely relieved. Seeing both Li Yuanjiao and Fei Tongyu voice their assent, Yu Muxian nodded. "I thank you for your trouble, fellow Daoists."