The East Sea.
Among the four seas, the East Sea was the vastest. Its rolling waves surged with clear, emerald waters, and across its surface, all manner of demonic beasts frequently rode the winds and strode the crests of the waves.
Demonic beasts flourished most vigorously in the East Sea. Led by the dragon kind, they built deep-sea palaces and came into their own, making it the most vibrant of the four seas.
Islands lay scattered like stars upon a chessboard. The closer one drew to Lin'an Commandery of Yue Country, the larger and wider the islands became. Rogue cultivators and sects dotted the land everywhere, alongside even greater numbers of demonic cultivators, eccentric masters, and shamanic practitioners, rendering the region an utter den of chaos.
Moreover, with monsters and fiends so plentiful in the East Sea, slaughter played out day after day. Sixty percent of the beast materials throughout the inland realm were sourced from the East and South Seas. Meanwhile, the vast inland cultivated spirit rice on a massive scale to export overseas, forming a mutually beneficial trade that had lasted for a millennium.
Sects across the East Sea constantly yearned to relocate inland. Among Yue Country's Three Sects and Seven Gates, many had achieved the Purple Palace realm out on the East Sea before moving to the continent.
Deep beneath the heavy ocean waters, through layer upon layer of profound and restrictive grand formations, lay a sunken precipice on the sea floor. Corals carpeted the ground amid crumbled walls and ruined foundations, strewn with submerged tiles and shattered debris.
Xiao Chuting sat cross-legged in a grey robe, his expression placid and unruffled as he faced a glowing stone wall. The cliff face was crystal-clear and translucent, shimmering with pure light, across which lines of small golden characters surfaced one by one:
"The Nine Arts of Totality reside within the azure sky; the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations are originally bestowed by Heaven. The wind and fire of the Great Void—spiritual opportunity is qi..."
Xiao Chuting watched intently. Once the characters had fully emerged, another row of large characters appeared anew:
*Hunyi Golden Core Wonderful Method*
Line after line of small characters surfaced once more. Xiao Chuting remained silent, observing quietly. Trapped here for several years, he had stared at the stone cliff day after day without showing the slightest trace of impatience.
"Fellow Daoist Chuting, you still refuse to speak?"
To one side, Zhang Tianyuan stood robed in gold with his hands clasped behind his back, saying softly, "This wonderful method is an inheritance from before the Heavenly Change of the near-ancient era. Even if you read it, you will only forget it entirely. Do not waste your efforts!"
Seeing Xiao Chuting remain silent and continue staring at the stone cliff, a trace of impatience finally flitted across Zhang Tianyuan's brow. He said in a deep voice, "Beneath the Hunyi Immortal Cliff, even the True Monarchs cannot probe within. Only you and I know what is said here. What reservations do you still harbor?"
"Back when the Wrathful Maha struck, which Purple Palace master was it that took action?!"
Xiao Chuting paused, finally turning to look at him, and said in a gentle voice, "Fellow Daoist Tianyuan, I have met that senior only once. I recognize only the senior's divine ability, and know nothing else."
"Heh!"
Zhang Tianyuan sneered and said heavily, "Could it be that this person took on eight foes with a single lifebound divine ability just to save Li Tongya's life? The Li family is merely a minor Foundation Establishment clan—whence would they possess such immense face?!"
"Since he is the mastermind behind you and masters a lifebound divine ability, he must have some greater scheme!"
He fixed Xiao Chuting with a piercing gaze and said softly, "Since you refuse to speak, you and I can continue this stalemate. Let us see if that fellow daoist is willing to help you escape. The Xiao family has vast properties and businesses; without you to prop them up, I doubt they can endure for long."
"You overstate the matter, Fellow Daoist."
Xiao Chuting paid his words no heed at all. He saw through Zhang Tianyuan's bluster at a single glance, sitting with complete composure, and even smiled. "You and I may be able to sit tight, but Qingchi cannot. If my deductions are correct, now that Chen Taojing is dead, the demonic calamity has already swept toward the territories of the Seven Gates."
At the mention of Chen Taojing's death, a flicker of regret crossed Xiao Chuting's eyes. He continued, "If I am not inland, relying solely on Chi Buzi and Yuansu, their Ru Zhongzhuo and Sound of the Cavern Spring will hardly entice so many Foundation Establishment cultivators. If the True Monarch's affairs are ruined, you will not be able to shoulder the blame either, Fellow Daoist Tianyuan."
Xiao Chuting's words darkened Zhang Tianyuan's face. His golden robe rustled slightly as he said harshly, "You truly know how to scheme... No wonder you hid for five years before showing yourself—you were waiting for this very moment! Good! Fine!"
Zhang Tianyuan gritted his teeth. "First you set up my Zhang family, then you exploit the Qingchi Sect. Splendid! Tread your perilous cliff-edge path then; I shall see how long you can hold out!"
With a flick of his sleeve, his figure vanished into the distance. Densely covered in restrictive grand formations left behind by ancient immortal sects, this place forbade escape into the Great Void; even a Purple Palace cultivator could only fly by ordinary means.
Once Zhang Tianyuan departed, Xiao Chuting also rose to his feet, clasping his hands behind his back.
To preserve the hidden piece that was the Li family for that Purple Palace master, Xiao Chuting had racked his brains, using faint traces and clues to point all suspicions of the Li family's backer toward himself. Now he had thoroughly offended Zhang Tianyuan.
"I can only hope that senior... has his own plans and arrangements."
***
"Chen Mufeng."
Li Yuanjiao quietly picked up the short letter in his hand. After finishing the words upon it, he looked down at the youth half-kneeling before him. "Peak Embryonic Breathing before thirty years of age—you truly are a talent!"
Chen Mufeng lowered his gaze and bowed his head, saying clearly, "Clan Brother is the one blessed with an immortal constitution and a Dao physique. Mufeng is merely the light of a firefly, unfit to be compared with your bright lunar radiance."
Chen Mufeng meant these words from the bottom of his heart. Li Yuanjiao was only six or seven years older than him, yet was already at Qi Refinement Seventh Layer. It naturally left him with no thought of comparison.
Hearing the address "Clan Brother," Li Yuanjiao was momentarily taken aback. Only then did he remember that Chen Mufeng was the son-in-law of his clan uncle Li Qiuyang—the husband of his clan sister. That made Yuanjiao his elder brother-in-law, a close relative of sorts.
"Have you decided which cultivation method to practice?"
Chen Mufeng bowed again and answered, "I leave it entirely to the clan's arrangement!"
"Very well."
Li Yuanjiao nodded. "Then let it be the *River Unity Qi Formula*!"
"Thank you, Clan Brother! Thank you, Clan! Mufeng will gladly lay down his life for the family..."
Chen Mufeng had been listening attentively, eagerly awaiting these words. Overjoyed, he prostrated himself in excitement and rattled off a string of oaths. Li Yuanjiao merely waved a hand and said softly, "Go to Yuanping for the scripture, pills, and spiritual qi. There is no need to report back here!"
The Li family's promotion of cultivators of external surnames was remarkably generous. Li Yuanjiao himself practiced nothing more than the *River Unity Qi Formula*, and a method of higher rank yielded significantly greater combat prowess. Chen Mufeng hastily expressed his gratitude and hurried out.
Watching the youth leave, Li Yuanjiao turned to Li Xuanxuan beside him and said softly, "How does this person compare to Uncle Donghe?"
Li Xuanxuan held a talisman produced by the Qingchi Sect, carefully studying the brushstrokes upon it, and replied, "He is not as steady as Donghe. Having suffered fewer setbacks, he is inevitably somewhat impetuous, unlike the children of our house."
The direct descendants of the Li family knew that their house harbored a great treasure, and they understood the ruthless methods of the superior sect. They had always educated the younger generation with the constant dread that a single moment of carelessness could bring ruin to the entire clan. Consequently, Ximing and Xijun were both restrained and reserved in temperament, starkly different from the triumphant young Chen Mufeng.
Coupled with the clan's strict rules, the general atmosphere of the family had always been somber. Li Yuanjiao also feared going too far, so he chuckled and remarked softly, "So long as he is useful. The clan will always need one or two with vigor."
While the two were conversing, Xiao Guiluan returned riding the wind, her face filled with bewilderment. Descending upon the wind, she bowed to Li Xuanxuan and greeted respectfully, "Father."
Li Xuanxuan waved his hand in acknowledgment, gazing at her intently, and asked hurriedly, "What did Xiao Guitu say?"
Xiao Guiluan hesitated for a breath, then relayed her brother's words. Both Li Yuanjiao and Li Xuanxuan were struck dumb, staring at her in disbelief, looking at each other.
"A Purple Palace in our house?!"
Li Yuanjiao froze for several breaths, then knitted his brows, raised his head, and said in a heavy voice, "Where would our family get a Purple Palace? If our Li family had a Purple Palace, how could we still be in our current state!"
Li Xuanxuan put away the talisman in his hand, completely at a loss. Xiao Guiluan was equally baffled. Seeing that Li Yuanjiao's reaction was not feigned, she said hesitantly, "Perhaps it is a good thing! It is just that my heart has been in a state of constant panic, and I do not know why."
Li Yuanjiao silently turned the teacup in his hand and said in a low voice, "No wonder Xiao Guitu was so courteous afterward."
"What should we do now?" Xiao Guiluan asked.
Li Yuanjiao was surprisingly calm. The image of the Immortal Mirror flashed through his mind for a brief instant before he spoke: "Act as if nothing happened. Proceed as we normally would."
He harbored his own private guess: the family's Immortal Mirror possessed an exceedingly exalted standing, yet excelled at concealment. Perhaps Xiao Chuting had failed to divine its origins and misunderstood.
Moreover, it was impossible for him to send someone to the Xiao family to offer explanations. Leaving aside whether Xiao Guitu would believe it, if word reached other ears, it could bring disaster.
"If Xiao Chuting can return safely in time... all will be well. But if he cannot..."
Though Li Yuanjiao said this, in his heart he felt that Xiao Chuting was by no means someone who would rashly charge ahead and get trapped. With his title 'Old Man on the Brook' and his remarkably bizarre methods, he was usually the one laying ambushes for others.
He shook his head and continued, "Xiao Chuting would never put himself in mortal peril; this must all be part of a calculated trade. Do not worry about the Xiao family; let us prepare to deal with the demonic cultivators first."
Seeing Li Yuanjiao brush the matter aside so lightly, Xiao Guiluan could only nod. Suddenly, a wave of clarity washed over her mind, and she felt a sudden sense of absurdity, crying out in a low voice, "Oh no!"
The two looked over to see Xiao Guiluan's face pale as she murmured, "No wonder my heart was in such turmoil! Brother... was struck by a divine ability... It's Bu Zi! No wonder! I understand now! I understand! Bu Zi met him intentionally—no wonder he came in person as a Purple Palace master; he was forcing Brother to grant him an audience!"
"Brother has only Qi Refinement cultivation, while Bu Zi is already in the mid Purple Palace realm. He simply used a divine ability to bewilder him, shake his mind, and drive him to seek help—perhaps to smoke out the Xiao family's hidden cards!"
Xiao Guiluan had only interacted with her brother briefly, yet she had been influenced into a daze and panic. This showed just how deeply Xiao Guitu himself had fallen under the spell. Had it been someone of weaker will, they would likely have broken down in tears long ago, kneeling to beg for mercy and spilling every secret.
"What?!"
Li Yuanjiao was taken aback for a mere moment before reacting, his face turning pale with fright as he exclaimed, "What grade are the Xiao family's formations?! Does the Xiao family possess means to isolate the interior from the exterior? If the conversation between you siblings was overheard by Bu Zi, wouldn't his next step be to come straight to our house?!"
Bu Zi was no ordinary Purple Palace cultivator. If he learned that the Li family had a Purple Palace master, he was entirely capable of paying a personal visit. Not only did their house lack a Purple Palace, but they also harbored a secret treasure upon the mountain. If a Purple Palace master laid eyes upon it, it would surely spell the clan's extermination!
*If Bu Zi saw that treasure breathing Taiyin moon essence, why would he care about the Qingchi Sect or Mount Dali? He would slaughter my family on the spot, seize the treasure, and flee far away!*
"Impossible!"
Having broken free from the influence of Bu Zi's divine ability, Xiao Guiluan was far clearer in mind, and replied resolutely, "Our Xiao family's main hall was personally consecrated by our ancestor! It maintains a barrier against the Great Void. Even Bu Zi would have to lower his dignity, alight on the mountain peak in person, and step through the doors; he could never eavesdrop from without."
"Once severed from the Great Void, even if someone dies inside, their soul lamp within the sect will not extinguish immediately, let alone allow any eavesdropping means to linger!"
Li Yuanjiao glanced at her, yet still felt the hairs all over his body stand on end. He murmured, "I hope so..."
***
The waters of Lake Wangyue rippled gently as a green-robed cultivator descended upon the wind, alighting on a small island within the lake.
"Wangyue Marsh."
He silently gazed upon the clear, green lake waters. Counting the days, it had been over a hundred years since he had last visited this place.
In the records of the Qingchi Sect, this place once possessed the foremost spiritual opportunity in all of Yue Country—a treasured land of an Immortal Mansion, wreathed in white mist, with ten thousand li of lakes and marshes. Five hundred years ago, its fortune suffered a disastrous plunge. Later, during the siege and slaughter of Li Jiangqun, the spiritual opportunity here was struck once more, reduced almost to a spiritual void.
Master Bu Zi looked into the distance. His grandfather and uncles had all died in that great battle. Now hundreds of years old himself, as he looked upon these lake waters, he still felt that beneath the green lurked a tinge of red.
"With Jiangqun dead, the bright moon rose from the east, its color like frost; snow fluttered softly throughout the commandery, and thousands of brilliant colors intertwined in crimson and azure across the lake..."
The number of Purple Palace cultivators who died from that battle was beyond count. Even after returning to their sects, some could never grind away his sword intent, only slowly awaiting death. Yet the wondrous phenomena over the lake alone were more magnificent than those of a century before and after combined.
Li Jiangqun naturally had no time to transform into a spiritual object. The Three Sects divided his physical body and carried it away like a priceless treasure, followed by the purging of Lingyu Gate and the extermination of several immortal clans.
Waking from his reverie, he shook his head, withdrew his gaze, and extended his spiritual sense to search the lake bed again and again.
"I shall search only three times. If there is nothing, I leave."
Beneath the surface of Lake Wangyue, the undercurrents surged amid treacherous terrain, home to numerous beasts. Among them were no few Foundation Establishment monsters that usually acted with tyrannical arrogance, but now, upon sensing a Purple Palace master, every one of them hastily tucked in their heads, cowering in the mud and shivering violently.
Bu Zi could not be bothered to acknowledge them. He searched meticulously three times, finding nothing. Unable to resist the temptation, he added two more sweeps, only to shake his head in the end and let out a long sigh.
"No fated affinity after all! How could it be so easy to find?"
In truth, the various sects had long abandoned the notion of searching for Taiyin moon essence on Lake Wangyue; it was far better to explore the ruins within the East Sea. It was only after hearing Li Xizhi's account that Bu Zi had been unable to resist making a trip.
"The Purple Palace cultivator aiding the Xiao family was not flushed out either... Perhaps it was an old favor owed to Xiao Xianyou. Regardless, I should let Xiao Chuting return first, so as not to derail our plans."
Bu Zi cast a glance toward Mount Dali, flicked his sleeve, and stepped into the Great Void.
Watching Bu Zi depart through the Great Void, Lu Jiangxian finally let out a long breath of relief.
"Thank heavens... he wasn't coming for me."
The moment Master Bu Zi passed the Ding family and stepped into Lake Wangyue, Lu Jiangxian had been alerted. Seeing the man arrive with such imposing momentum, Lu Jiangxian had genuinely believed for a moment that he had been exposed.
He had been quietly calculating whether he could escape from the clutches of a mid Purple Palace cultivator who had condensed three divine abilities, only to realize that Bu Zi had merely stopped by on his way to search for Taiyin moon essence.
*I must not let the Li family reveal any more Taiyin moon essence in the future... If another wisp appears, Purple Palace masters will be flocking back and forth over this lake every day... The Three Sects might even go to war over the ownership of Lake Wangyue.*
Just as he was pondering in silence, a ripple stirred within the Great Void. Clad in green robes, Bu Zi stepped out of the void once more, startling Lu Jiangxian into a daze.
*This man! What trick is he trying to pull now?!*
With a faint smile, Bu Zi quietly alighted upon the lake and looked toward the shimmering golden grand formation upon Mount Lijing.
*Is there not still that Li family? That Li Xizhi is merely a green youth and may not know the clan's private secrets. Since that cave dwelling contained something as precious as Taiyin moon essence... perhaps there are other treasures as well!*
Chapter 352