No sooner had the young Daoist finished speaking than the pearl in his hand completed a full revolution, gushing forth a haze of murky grey light that billowed upward like clouds and mist.
Before either of the others could make a move, the grey mist swirled outward, sealing above and below to shut off the Great Void and prevent other divine abilities from peering inside.
"Oh?"
Jiang Boqing's gaze rested on the grey light surrounding them for a breath. In a low voice, he said, "I know nothing of *Answers to the Beggar Beneath the Mulberry Tree*... Within the Qingchi Sect, I was familiar only with Bu Zi. As for Xiao Chuting, he is merely a capable junior whom I have never met. How would I know anything? Your Mount Changhuai... plots after the immortal book and sees my present ruin, so you take me for an easy target...?"
Jiang Boqing glared with blood-red eyes, his features twisted in fury as he rasped coldly, "Even a broken boat still holds three jin of iron nails. When I, Jiang Boqing, roamed unhindered across the lands, you were nothing more than a petty Daoist in Wu's regional office! Are you not afraid that I will turn and snap at you, cutting short your path of cultivation at the very least?"
"Senior must be joking."
Qing Jifang gave a gentle smile. Sheltered behind this magical tool, he had no fear of detection by the Purple Mansion cultivators of the State of Yue. He took his time, answering unhurriedly, "Senior claims to have no acquaintance with Xiao Chuting, yet the massacre of Lixia Commandery was orchestrated by your hand alongside the Qingchi Sect. To claim you have no ties with Xiao Chuting is something this junior simply cannot believe!"
At these words, Jiang Boqing's expression changed drastically. At his side, Jiang Yan listened in a daze, looking up in disbelief. Jiang Boqing forced himself to remain calm under Jiang Yan's piercing gaze and answered, "That was Xiao Chuting's scheme with the Qingchi Sect. This old man merely borrowed their momentum..."
To achieve the Purple Mansion, Qing Jifang was naturally a person of keen perception. Immediately noticing the fluctuation in Jiang Boqing's emotions, he understood at once. Turning toward Jiang Yan behind him, he said softly, "Young master, this man used a divine ability to lure your father and brought disaster to kill your mother, refining you into a living talisman. Yet you still call him Master with every breath? What an absurdity."
Seeing his hypocritical display, Jiang Boqing instead regained his composure and said in a heavy voice, "What does Fellow Daoist mean by this?"
Seeing that Jiang Yan remained silent, Qing Jifang turned his gaze back to Jiang Boqing and said softly, "I will not waste words trading quibbles with Senior. *Answers to the Beggar Beneath the Mulberry Tree* is an immortal book. In Jiangnan, aside from Duanmu Kui, you alone know it best. Now that Mount Wu is destroyed, every eye is fixed upon you. Setting aside our State of Wu, even among the three True Monarchs of Yue, two have their eyes on you. Did Senior truly believe you could escape anywhere?"
Qing Jifang's voice echoed through the air. Blood dripped down Jiang Boqing's face as he stayed silent. Qing Jifang's words seemed to shatter Jiang Boqing's self-deceiving dream, causing his expression to contort into a hideous grimace.
The Purple Mansion cultivator shifted his gaze back to Jiang Yan, speaking gravely, "The father alive for Yang, the Three-Nine True Talisman; the mother dead for Yin, the Shamanic Path's Blood Talisman. This is indeed an exquisite vessel. If Senior is willing to accompany me to the State of Wu, I can spare his life and leave you an opportunity. We only wish to inquire about the situation of those in the State of Yue and obtain the fragments of *Answers to the Beggar Beneath the Mulberry Tree* from Senior's memory. Once that is done, we will allow Senior to reincarnate."
Qing Jifang smiled faintly and said warmly, "When that time comes, our State of Wu will have the clues, while Senior will have lost those memories, stripped of value and no longer watched by the True Monarchs. With such a fine vessel awaiting you, to cultivate once more for a lifetime of roaming freely across heaven and earth—would that not be wonderful?"
Jiang Boqing stared at him coldly and replied, "I have already attained a wisp of golden nature. There is no need to beguile me with divine abilities."
Qing Jifang's expression did not waver. He smiled and said, "Then this junior has made a fool of himself before an expert. Yet the condition was offered in all sincerity, and it stands."
"Fine."
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Boqing finally answered in a low voice, "First send away this vessel of mine."
Qing Jifang was instantly delighted and replied, "Senior has great boldness! Jifang will never go back on his word!"
With that, he flicked out a wisp of colorful light, gently reaching out to pull Jiang Yan over. Jiang Yan had only been able to resist Foundation Establishment through Jiang Boqing's power; how could he withstand the might of the Purple Mansion? He was effortlessly hoisted into the air.
"Hold! I will do it myself!"
Jiang Boqing barked an interruption. Qing Jifang came to a sudden understanding, sensing Jiang Boqing's sincerity even more, and nodded. "Quite right, quite right. It is best that this junior does not touch him."
With that, the grey mist parted to reveal a narrow slit, allowing Jiang Boqing to send Jiang Yan away. When a Purple Mansion cultivator's spirit roamed the Great Void, even if they could not cover ten thousand li in an instant, a hundred li was effortless. With his golden nature, Jiang Boqing was fully capable of sending Jiang Yan a thousand li away, severing all traces.
Jiang Boqing seized that multicolored light and spurred his golden nature, unceremoniously wrenching control from Qing Jifang's hands, causing the Purple Mansion Daoist's eyelid to twitch.
Unable to speak, Jiang Yan gazed at him quietly. Jiang Boqing reached out to tear open a streak of black light and cast Jiang Yan into it, sending him away. Only then did he turn back, smiling faintly at Qing Jifang.
"Senior?"
Qing Jifang watched him warily. Jiang Boqing fixed his eyes on him and said softly, "Mount Changhuai holds the shamanic heritage. If your sect can obtain *Answers to the Beggar Beneath the Mulberry Tree*, your True Monarch will surely ascend another step."
"And what of it?"
Qing Jifang faintly sensed something amiss, the pearl in his hand bobbing up and down, when he saw Jiang Boqing smile.
"Guess whether Lushui would rather see the immortal book vanish without a trace within the borders of Yue, or see the clues fall into your country's hands, leaving Yue restrained at every step?"
"Not good! Have you gone mad?!"
Seeing Jiang Boqing's physical body burst apart with a resounding bang, shattering into flesh and blood that filled the air, Qing Jifang was horrified. Without hesitation, he reeled in the magical pearl, preparing to escape into the Great Void and flee for his life.
*Clang—!*
Yet from that shattered body emerged a beam of golden light, which surged toward the Purple Mansion cultivator as though guided by eyes of its own. In an instant, brilliant radiance erupted. Beneath the mountain, myriad frogs croaked in unison, and the river waters surged into roaring waves.
His face drained of color in utter disbelief, Qing Jifang watched the golden light crash down upon him as the surrounding Great Void was sealed tight by the golden nature. He could only scream furiously, "You don't even want your life?!"
***
The eleventh month brought heavy snow.
The snow lay thick and white over Mount Wutu, piling high upon the stone tables and cloaking the courtyard's bluestone tiles in a seamless expanse of white. A youth dressed in fine brocade and a white fur cloak sat leaning back in a large mahogany chair, holding a jade cup between two fingers in silence.
"Zhi'er."
Seated above him, a woman with willow-leaf brows and phoenix eyes wore robes of red. Fatigue shadowed her features as she asked gently, "Are your belongings all prepared?"
"Yes."
Li Xizhi gave a soft reply, then asked, "Where is Father?"
"Your father went to Lijing Town. The immortal master will arrive soon, and there are many things to prepare. In a short while, a carriage will come to fetch you."
Xiao Guiluan perceived the grievance in his heart and offered a gentle explanation to comfort him. Li Xizhi's expression remained unchanged as he stared intently at the cup in his hand, murmuring, "Qingsui Peak is sparsely populated, possessing only an empty reputation. As the eldest brother of the peak, I will likely face endless trouble from now on."
Though he voiced this concern, bitterness filled his heart, a weight he dared not confess to his mother.
Upon hearing that Yuan Tuan was soon to arrive, Li Yuanjiao had ultimately allowed his eldest son to read the clan's Inner History. Li Xizhi had spent the entire night reading, his expression shifting through countless emotions. The entanglements among Chi Wei, Chi Zhiyun, and Yuanwu Peak, along with Li Chijing's desolate end, weighed heavily on his mind, leaving him speechless:
*So many factional struggles within the sect... Burdened with this illustrious name, I will likely become a pawn crushed between opposing forces.*
He quietly gripped the sword at his waist, set down the jade cup, and replied, "Since I am entering the sect, I can only do my utmost and leave the rest to fate."
As Li Xizhi brooded, a figure hurried up from below. Clad in simple clothes with snowflakes dusting his shoulders, he looked rushed.
He hastily brushed the snow from his garments, first bowing to Xiao Guiluan above before calling out in a clear voice, "Brother Zhi!"
Li Xizhi rose at once, stepping forward to greet him. "Brother Cheng, what brings you here?"
Li Xicheng was travel-worn and clad in thin garments, lacking even a single piece of jewelry. Grinning broadly, he took out a jade pendant from his breast and smiled. "I heard you are about to enter the sect, so I went and found something nice for you!"
He had not received a talisman seed, nor did he know of the clan's many hidden secrets. To him, joining the Qingchi Sect was an unmitigated blessing. Presenting the jade pendant, which shimmered with green light, he pressed it into Li Xizhi's hands and explained with a grin, "This is an Embryonic Breathing magical tool. It gathers spiritual energy. Consider it a congratulatory gift from your elder brother!"
Li Xizhi was momentarily stunned. His father was Li Yuanjiao and his grandfather was Li Xuanxuan, generation after generation of clan heads; he lacked for none of these small trinkets. Yet seeing Li Xicheng's radiant smile, a knot of sadness tightened in his chest.
Li Xicheng's father possessed no spirit apertures, and his grandfather had died early, making his life far more difficult. In this elder brother's eyes, this jade pendant was already an exceptionally rare treasure, which he kept thrusting into Li Xizhi's hands.
Seeing his brother dressed so plainly, devoid of any magical aura yet looking at him with such warmth and affection, the jade pendant felt like a burning ember in Li Xizhi's hand, searing him to the point where he did not know what to say. His voice rasped slightly as he said, "Brother Cheng... you spent far too much!"
"Ah, nonsense."
Having spent the past few months overseeing the spirit rice in the Shanyue lands, Li Xicheng had broadened his horizons, and his manner of speaking was far more generous. He smiled and said, "Your elder brother now holds an office in the clan and receives a clan stipend. Do not be so polite with me!"
His tone was warm, which only made Li Xizhi feel more uneasy. Taking his hand, Li Xizhi had a bellyful of words he had long wanted to say, murmuring, "I heard that your expenses are tight, your pockets empty, and that you have half-given, half-lent the family resources and your distributed clan stipend to the clan brothers. Is this true?"
"Well..."
Li Xicheng paused, then muttered awkwardly, "I only helped out a few brothers... Life has been tight for the clan these years, and everyone has it rough."
"Oh, you."
Caught between laughter and tears, Li Xizhi pulled his elder brother close, giving him a tight embrace against his broad chest, and smiled as he cautioned, "You had better be more frugal. Mind that the clan rector doesn't record you for reckless squandering and excessive charity."
Li Xicheng chuckled softly, though it was hard to say whether he took it to heart. Below, a servant approached and spoke respectfully, "Young Master, the carriage has arrived."
Hearing this, Li Xizhi gave a slight nod. Glancing at Li Xicheng's beaming face, the gloom that had weighed on his chest vanished entirely, replaced by fighting spirit and anticipation.
***
Lijing Town.
Li Yuanjiao stood quietly in the snow, dressed in black robes with his sword at his waist. Snowflakes settled upon his form only to drift off in broken fragments. Beside him, Li Xizhi stood looking blankly toward the horizon.
The members of the Li clan waited for a time before a green-robed cultivator arrived riding a deer amidst the swirling snow. She appeared to be in her thirties, glowing and radiant.
The deer beneath her possessed snow-white fur speckled with verdant green, agile and swift, its eyes bright with intelligence. The figure atop the deer wore fluttering green robes, carrying an otherworldly grace. Tied at her waist was a long ribbon of green silk that fluttered constantly in the wind.
The silk ribbon was patterned with intricate motifs, sheer and weightless, clearly a fine magical tool in its own right.
"We of the Li clan pay our respects to the Peak Master!"
The gathered members of the Li clan called out in respectful unison. Yuan Tuan smiled and nodded. The moment the white deer touched the ground, it kicked its four hooves and dissolved into a patch of white snow, vanishing completely.
This miraculous display left the Li clan members and guest elders momentarily stunned, silently marvelling. Yuan Tuan replied, "No need for courtesy."
Yuan Tuan was close in age to Li Tongya. She had achieved Qi Refinement at eighteen, initially outpacing even her senior brother Xiao Yuansi. Yet for reasons unknown, after reaching Qi Refinement, she had devoted herself to talismans and spirit flora, causing her cultivation to lag behind.
Back then, her master Si Yuanbai had been imprisoned, and her fellow disciples were all in the Southern Border. Qingsui Peak had been left to Yuan Tuan alone to sustain, and she had suffered many hardships. Fortunately, over the past decade, she had broken through several bottlenecks in succession to achieve Foundation Establishment, and life had finally become easier.
"Immortal Master, please come inside..."
Yuan Tuan nodded gently and walked lightly over the snow. The guest elders and outside surnames all withdrew, leaving only a few core lineage members to enter with Yuan Tuan.
Her gaze lingered for a breath upon the sword at Li Yuanjiao's waist. She turned her head slightly with an unnatural stiffness and asked softly, "Is that the Qingchi Sword?"
"It is!"
The Jiaopanying at Li Yuanjiao's waist had long since been swapped for the Qingchi Sword. He had deliberately removed the outer cloth sheath, discarding his usual low profile to display it openly.
"This sword..."
A complicated expression surfaced on Yuan Tuan's face as she murmured, "I accompanied Master to request it for him. At that time, the peak was strapped for resources, so it was only refined into a peak Qi Refinement magical tool. Yet Jing'er was still overjoyed, thanking us repeatedly... To think that as it followed him to slay demons and vanquish monsters, nurtured by sword intent, it quietly broke through on its own to become a Foundation Establishment magical tool."
The Li clan members listened in silence. Yuan Tuan raised a brow, looked at Li Yuanjiao, and asked, "You wear this sword at your waist. Are you the head of the Li family?"
Li Yuanjiao had rehearsed his words many times in his mind. He bowed respectfully and replied, "Lord Chijing left no descendants. This humble cultivator was adopted as Lord Chijing's grandson in the ancestral lineage. Of the Yuan generation, my name is Jiao, and thus I wear this sword."
"Ah, no descendants..."
Yuan Tuan strained to maintain her expression, standing frozen in place for two full breaths. Only then, under Li Yuanjiao's guidance, did she take the seat of honor. Scanning the faces before her in silence, she asked gently, "Why do I not see Fellow Daoist Tongya?"
Li Yuanjiao lowered his head and said in a heavy voice, "The old ancestor entered secluded cultivation and has not yet emerged."
"I see."
Yuan Tuan nodded. Li Yuanjiao gave a signal, and Li Xizhi stepped forward from below, bowing respectfully. "Junior Li Xizhi greets Senior!"
"Good."
A smile finally returned to Yuan Tuan's face. Sweeping her spiritual sense over him, she scrutinized him for a time, carefully inspecting his Qihai aperture, Shengyang Mansion, and Jujue Court, before closing her eyes in silence.
Her closed eyes cast a quiet tension over the hall. Li Xizhi forced himself to remain calm, his heart pounding as he felt the Black Pearl Talisman Seed within his Qihai aperture.
After a dozen breaths, Yuan Tuan opened her eyes and nodded. "Not bad. You should enter my Qingsui Peak!"
Then she broke into a radiant smile and said to Li Xizhi, "Good child, there is no need to be nervous."
At these words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts finally settling. Li Xizhi voiced his respectful thanks. Yuan Tuan watched him with a smile and said softly, "Raise your head!"
Li Xizhi looked quite similar to Li Yuanjiao. When his eyes were lowered and his demeanor obedient, he held a trace of gentle calm; but once he looked up, that ambitious sharpness emerged once more. Seeing this, Yuan Tuan chuckled and said, "His features certainly take after you—quite fierce and imposing enough to command a crowd, just the makings of a head disciple. To think I truly picked up a bargain."
"He is indeed my son. Senior flatters him..." Li Yuanjiao responded, adding in a low voice, "To enter Qingsui Peak is my Li family's great fortune."
"Mm."
Yuan Tuan nodded, then asked, "I hear your family has produced a little alchemist. Is he here?"
Chapter 331