"Can our family profit from this?"
No sooner had Li Xuanxuan asked than his heart began to drum with apprehension and swell with longing in turn. On one hand, he feared being toyed with by the Violet Palace masters; on the other, he coveted the potential gains. He lowered his voice:
"Back in its day, the Dongli Sect was a renowned immortal sect. Never mind what lies inside the grotto-heaven—even the spiritual water, spiritual fire, and spiritual qi outside it are exceedingly rare treasures, aren't they?"
"Could we send a few guest elders and cultivators outside the clan to the vicinity of the abode to compete with those rogue cultivators? If we could seize even one or two such treasures, it would be of immense benefit to the family's future development!"
Li Qinghong listened until he finished speaking, her willow-leaf brows arching slightly as she replied softly:
"Hard to say. If our family is truly dragged into this, whether we send outsiders or guest elders makes little difference from sending direct bloodline members..."
She continued:
"Furthermore, if these outsiders or guest elders were to obtain natural spiritual water or fire, would they honestly hand them over? Making a clean getaway to roam free between heaven and earth would already be the best-case scenario..."
Li Xuanxuan was left speechless. Li Qinghong then said:
"Naturally, our family cannot throw ourselves into danger. Although Chu Yi has entered the grotto-heaven, who can guarantee we could just have a taste of the scraps on the periphery and leave unscathed? Who is to say one wouldn't lose one's senses the moment one stepped onto Mount Dongli..."
"Rogue cultivators have little to lose; they are merely taking a gamble. But our family is different."
Li Qinghong pondered for a couple of breaths and said softly:
"Our family cannot risk entering Mount Dongli, but there are plenty who will... When a bear hunts a deer, sparrows steal scraps. Even if a sparrowhawk cannot rashly dive into the fray, can it not reap a reward from the sparrows?"
She retrieved a map from her storage bag and pointed to Mount Dongli:
"Mount Dongli lies on the border of Yufu Commandery. To its west, south, and north are large commanderies teeming with aristocratic clans and sects. Fleeing or pursuing anyone in those territories will not end well."
"If rogue cultivators secure treasures and emerge from the mountains, they certainly won't head west, south, or north. Their best option is east, fleeing straight into the territory of Ziyan Gate, where control is lax."
"Ziyan Gate is weak to begin with, and right now they are busy carving up treasures inside the grotto-heaven. Their territory is empty, short of hands..."
Feeling seventy to eighty percent confident, Li Qinghong voiced her thoughts:
"If I were a rogue cultivator who had seized a treasure, I would definitely flee eastward. Once out of Ziyan territory, I would slip along the edge of Shanji Commandery, enter the river estuary, and take an assumed name on the East Sea to establish my own sect..."
Li Xuanxuan stroked his beard in silence for a moment, then murmured:
"Qinghong, do you mean we should lay an ambush in Ziyan Gate's territory?"
"No."
Li Qinghong's brows radiated excitement, and she smiled.
"At the river's mouth to the sea! Ziyan Gate is far too close to Mount Dongli, making it excessively dangerous. If I take the mirror and journey down the great river, the Immortal Mirror can peer across ten thousand li. What Foundation Establishment cultivator could catch me? What Qi Refinement cultivator could defeat me?"
"Right now, the eyes of the Violet Palace masters are all fixed on Mount Dongli. The estuary is winding and falls under the jurisdiction of the Xiuyue Sect. If we stand guard nearby, waiting and catching someone is pure gain; even if no one comes, we lose little—it would only be a matter of a dozen days..."
Li Xuanxuan knew it sounded like a good plan, yet he was old and decrepit, timid and mediocre at heart. What little courage he had once possessed had long since been ground away during the calamity at the market. His lips twitched twice, but he remained silent.
Li Qinghong glanced at his face and instantly understood, merely pressing her crimson lips together and keeping quiet.
'Uncle Xuanxuan has grown terribly aged, and having wandered at the edge of life and death several times, he is long exhausted... He likely has no stomach for taking initiative.'
As she thought this, Li Xuanxuan indeed spoke after two breaths of silence:
"Jiao'er is in seclusion, his life and death still uncertain. If anything should happen to you, our family's pillar would snap! What's more... using the family's heirloom treasure to travel far from home is probably unwise."
"Very well... I accept your guidance."
Li Qinghong smiled with a trace of disappointment, replying:
"There is no rush anyway... I hear the grotto-heaven has yet to open, and who knows how many people are waiting..."
Li Qinghong cupped her hands gently, preparing to withdraw. But just then, the clear, murmuring water welling from the ground settled into stillness. A fierce northern wind surged across the sky, sweeping away every trace of dark clouds above the courtyard.
Boom!
A muffled rumble echoed through the clear sky, and the heavens abruptly darkened. The clear water in the courtyard leaped from the ground, burrowing into the cracks between the stone pavers and vanishing.
"Brother! Brother has broken through!"
Li Qinghong froze for a breath. The stone doors of the cave dwelling rumbled open, and a blast of northern wind blew out with a roar, kicking up a mist of bluish-gray water. Li Xuanxuan also rose to his feet in excitement, taking several steps forward.
Sure enough, a young man clad in black stepped out from the hazy mist, a sword strapped to his back. A broad smile graced his face, and his brows beamed with joy.
"The Vast Sea is formed!"
Li Yuanjiao's voice was filled with rare delight and vigor. The emotions suppressed for so many years were finally vented, mingled with the gratification of not having failed his family's trust. Looking upon his father and younger sister in the courtyard, he chuckled and said:
"I have forged my immortal foundation and become an early Foundation Establishment cultivator!"
Seeing his appearance, Li Xuanxuan burst into hearty laughter and stepped forward in delight.
"My Jiao'er reaching Foundation Establishment was practically guaranteed! Now that our family has gained such strength, many things we didn't dare do before can finally be set in motion."
Li Yuanjiao shook his head gently, relief evident on his face. Recalling the myriad tribulations he had encountered over the past years of seclusion, cold sweat faintly beaded on his back as he answered:
"Father makes it sound easy, but that was hardly the case. I escaped death by a hair... Had it not been for good fortune and my youth, I might never have survived this life-and-death ordeal."
Every elder in the family who had established their foundation had seemed to do so effortlessly, so Li Xuanxuan had assumed Li Yuanjiao's breakthrough would at least come naturally. He had not expected him to look as though he had barely survived a catastrophe, and answered blankly:
"How could that be... If even you found it so difficult, how many others in the clan could ever hope to establish a foundation?"
"There weren't many to begin with. Father, do not think Foundation Establishment is simple... Just look at how many people from the Fei and Yu families have died trying to establish theirs..."
Li Yuanjiao shook his head. Beside them, Li Qinghong did not find it discouraging; looking her elder brother up and down, she smiled and asked:
"How does Brother feel? How does it compare to Grandfather back then?"
Li Yuanjiao reined in his smile and spoke solemnly:
"That is precisely what puzzles me..."
Having said that, he slowly extended his hand. His black robe fluttered gently in the wind as the immortal foundation within him stirred, and the roar of a crashing waterfall instantly filled their ears.
Splash!
Bluish-gray spring water surged from the flagstones and cracks, circling their feet before creeping up Li Yuanjiao's robes. In a flash, it coalesced into a fanged and clawed flood dragon serpent, its layers of scales vividly distinct, coiling at his side.
Li Yuanjiao said softly:
"Having formed my immortal foundation, I did not obtain the ability to condense talisman water. Instead, I gained a different mystical wonder, which ought to be called Flood Dragon Knows Lakes and Seas..."
His expression was peculiar as he continued:
"This mystical wonder allows me to understand the speech of water beasts, gain affinity with aquatic demons, summon clouds and rain, and stir water veins..."
Li Qinghong was stunned. A name inexplicably surfaced in her mind, and she murmured:
"Jing Dragon King?!"
Li Yuanjiao nodded in agreement and said in a heavy voice:
"I too feel this path is closer to the Jing Dragon King rather than the Vast Sea... Yet everyone knows that was merely an alternate name for the same immortal foundation! Jing Dragon King is the ancient name for Vast Sea..."
"What is more!"
Li Yuanjiao's brow furrowed slowly as he voiced the issue that troubled him most:
"I compared it to Granduncle's descriptions from back then. After condensing the Vast Sea, I did not receive the boost he spoke of. My true essence recovery speed and the capacity of my qi ocean are barely half of what Granduncle had..."
That Li Tongya had possessed such overwhelming dominance among those of the same cultivation realm was not due solely to the Moon Crescent Sword Scripture; his astonishing true essence recovery speed had played no small part.
Even his ability to endure swallowing that precious herb, the Huashang Fruit, without exploding to death had likewise relied on the deep reserves of the Vast Sea...
Now that these two crucial mystical wonders fell far short of Li Tongya's, Li Yuanjiao's excitement diminished sharply. After pondering for a while, he sighed:
"Perhaps this is the true Jing Dragon King! In the end, there is a difference between it and the Vast Sea!"
"Could it be that medicinal pill?"
Li Qinghong asked in a low voice. The three fell into collective silence.
Seeing Li Yuanjiao emerge from seclusion, Li Qinghong felt newfound confidence in her plan. She briefed him on the changes within the family, then related her previous scheme with a faint smile and asked:
"What does Brother think?"
Li Yuanjiao nodded and said softly:
"This plan is feasible. However, divine abilities are bizarre and unpredictable; how can we know whether your thought was subtly influenced or arose truly from your own heart?"
Li Qinghong hesitated.
"Given our family's talisman seeds... we shouldn't be affected..."
"Not necessarily..."
Li Yuanjiao was suspicious by nature and had clearly given the matter deep thought. He said in a low voice:
"In my view, while the talisman seed can resist divine abilities, it activates only when a divine ability is directly applied. If someone subtly tugs at fate from afar amidst the rolling mortal dust, it cannot be guarded against."
"If that were not so, why did Granduncle always say he was repeatedly guided by divine abilities? Why did Uncle Xuanling inexplicably decide to head to Mount Luoxia? It must be linked to fate!"
Having broken through to Foundation Establishment and comprehended various mystical wonders, Li Yuanjiao possessed a vastly different perspective. Matters he previously failed to grasp now surfaced one by one in his mind. Li Qinghong's brows knitted tightly as she listened, and she asked:
"If so, with everyone being tugged along by fate, is there anything under heaven one would dare do?"
"Indeed... Violet Palace cultivators shouldn't possess such vast divine abilities, or else a family like the Xiao clan would never have arisen. It is just that our family was tormented twice by Violet Palace figures, so fear is inevitable."
Li Qinghong glanced at the two men and gritted her teeth.
"Without reaching the Violet Palace, one remains an ant after all!"
Li Xuanxuan sighed, the weariness on his aged face deepening. Li Yuanjiao lightly adjusted the sword at his waist. Having just broken through to Foundation Establishment, the pent-up frustration of many years had been swept away in a single day, and he replied:
"Still, there is no need to be so terrified that we give up eating for fear of choking."
Li Qinghong quickly looked over, and Li Yuanjiao answered:
"We can pray to the magical mirror to clear our minds. If nothing is amiss, we may go."
Li Xuanxuan listened, but he could not set his worries aside. His hands trembled violently, and scenes of the flames and demonic qi at the market kept resurfacing in his mind, drawing endless sighs from him.
The catastrophe at the market back then had left him utterly exhausted in body and spirit. Over the years, he had lived in constant dread, often dreaming of Li Tongya and Li Mutian, frequently jolting awake during cultivation with palpitations.
Watching the two younger cultivators pray before the magical mirror and confirm that nothing was amiss, Li Xuanxuan sat blankly in his seat and murmured wearily:
"Let Qinghong stay behind. It will suffice for Jiao'er to go alone."
***
Mount Dongli.
Mount Dongli was a rare prominent mountain in the north of the Yue Country, covered mostly with maple trees. At this time of year, the mountain was blanketed in brilliant red, dotted with streaks of light drifting past from time to time—a magnificent sight.
There were few demonic beasts on Mount Dongli. The Qingchi Sect had cordoned off the mountain a century ago, entering it at regular intervals. When the Dongli Sect fell, it had left behind numerous restrictive barrier formations, making the mountain an excellent testing ground for disciples of the Three Sects and Seven Gates; even peak lords would occasionally venture inside in search of spiritual items.
At this moment, streaks of light flickered everywhere around the mountain. Though the grotto-heaven had not yet fully descended, numerous rogue cultivators and demonic cultivators were already roaming about. From time to time, a streak of light would plunge directly into the mountain to explore amid the restrictive formations.
Above Mount Dongli, the sky was cloudless and clear. A figure stepped forth from the Great Void, clad in pale-golden armor, holding a great halberd in his hand, a jade seal hanging from his waist.
After this Violet Palace cultivator stood in the sky for a moment, another figure broke through the void. Dressed in golden robes that hung loosely yet still revealed a feminine figure, she wore a veiled hat with hanging white gauze that obscured her countenance.
"Tiaoxiao," the female Violet Palace cultivator called out.
Yuansu turned his head, casting a nonchalant glance, and replied:
"So it is Master Qiushui. Congratulations to Master on refining another divine ability and breaking through to the late Violet Palace realm."
The female cultivator remained silent. The two Violet Palace cultivators stood quietly, both gazing at the grotto-heaven drifting in the Great Void. Yuansu said softly:
"Senior Dongli took great pains to keep it hidden for so many years, yet it was dragged down in the end. It was Mount Luoxia, after all. Among all Daoist sects in the world revealed today, only Luoxia holds the reins..."
The female Violet Palace cultivator listened quietly, then added four succinct yet forceful words:
"The Daoist sects within the seas."
As the two Violet Palace masters conversed idly, the Qingchi Sect's Rosy Cloud Ship pierced through dense layers of clouds and slowly descended over Mount Dongli, casting radiant rosy dawnlight all around.
Standing aboard the vessel, Li Xizhi looked down at the crowd of cultivators below and said in a low voice:
"Another storm of blood and slaughter. Who knows how many cultivators died in the demonic calamity? In this state, who knows how many cultivators will be left in the Yue Country..."
"Brother Zhi, there is something you don't know."
As Li Xizhi stared below, Yang Xiao'er looked at him with a smile:
"For the Three Sects and Seven Gates, there is never a shortage of rogue cultivators. How vast is the East Sea? As long as the cultivators guarding the coast slacken their vigil just a little, hundreds or thousands of East Sea cultivators, coveting the Yue Country's prosperity, will rush in headlong to become rogue cultivators here."
Yang Xiao'er glanced at those around them and transmitted her voice with spiritual sense:
"When cultivators in the Yue Country obtain treasures, they want to leave. The East Sea has no Three Sects and Seven Gates suppressing them, making it natural to establish a sect of their own. Meanwhile, East Sea cultivators are accustomed to poverty and want to enter—after all, not everywhere allows crops to grow just by scattering a handful of spirit rice seeds..."
Hearing this, Li Xizhi nodded and said softly:
"I have heard that Changxiao Gate migrated here only in the past two hundred years. The Seven Gates can increase or decrease, migrate or disperse, but only the Three Sects have consistently held sway."
Yang Xiao'er seemed to suddenly remember something and asked curiously:
"By the way... Brother Zhi, was your ancestor named Li Mutian? I hear he followed our family's ancestor on the campaign against the Shanyue..."
Alarm bells immediately clanged in Li Xizhi's mind, but a nonchalant expression surfaced on his face, and he replied breezily:
"That is correct."
Chapter 377