"Fine... Fine..."
Guo Hongyao's lips trembled with fury. Li Qinghong gripped her spear, purple light coursing over it. Sweeping a glance to her left and right, she replied offhandedly, "Yes, very fine."
"Bitch..."
Guo Hongyao repeated the same curse over and over. Li Qinghong had no patience to indulge her. Thrusting her spear out in a swift strike, she conjured multiple light-purple spear silhouettes that surged forward with ferocious momentum. Guo Hongyao could only raise her jade medallion to block, shrieking:
"You ruined my plans! Just you wait! I swear I will slaughter you, you wretched maid!"
Li Qinghong suddenly found herself missing Kong Tingyun's golden mountain, wondering when her family might forge a magical artifact like that of their own. She cast a cool glance at Guo Hongyao.
Li Xijun and the others had long dispersed in all directions, leaving behind the hook snake glaring hungrily. The demon snake had been manipulated and toyed with repeatedly, failing to take down even a single Qi Refinement cultivator. His pride utterly shattered, and having been treated with open contempt by Guo Hongyao, he was already gnashing his teeth in silent fury.
Guo Hongyao had just taken a direct hit from Li Qinghong's Profound Thunder while off guard, leaving her internal organs injured. Only her advanced arts allowed her to circulate qi and hold on. Yet watching the hook snake slither through the air toward her with a sinister glare, she had already begun to feel fear.
Freeing a hand to form an incantation gesture, Guo Hongyao suddenly heard Li Qinghong let out a soft cry. A barrage of violet light erupted before her, battering her jade medallion until it trembled violently. A wave of numbness traveled up her arm, snapping her spell midway through its invocation.
Guo Hongyao panicked. She had never imagined a mere minor clan would possess such a formidable cultivator. Forcing herself to stay calm, she yelled:
"This matter... was your family's fault! You ruined my plans! How dare you blame me instead?!"
Li Qinghong grew fiercer as she fought, sheets of violet light radiating from her jade armor. She murmured softly:
"A native of the Eastern Sea talking about right and wrong? How laughable..."
Driven to wit's end, Guo Hongyao had no choice but to activate a talisman to fend off Li Qinghong's assault. Only then did she manage to free a hand, beckoning outward as she chanted an unbroken stream of incantations and formed hand seals.
The Six Ding Combined Fire Medallion, which had slipped from Xu Xiao's corpse and fallen into the lake, finally soared upward, drifting into her hand.
When the Six Ding Combined Fire Medallion landed in her grasp, Guo Hongyao showed little joy. She held it like a scorching potato, daring only to pinch it between two fingers as she chanted the incantation to summon its flames.
"Edict!"
A burst of greyish-red fire shot forth, barely the size of a palm—paling in comparison to the vast sea of flames Xu Xiao had unleashed with a mere flick of his sleeve. Yet it made Li Qinghong raise her brows. Like an ashen gale billowing from a furnace, the grey-red flames swept a swath of purple lightning completely clean in an instant.
Li Wushao's face darkened instantly. His demonic power poured forth unceasingly, yet before this fire, it served as nothing more than kindling, stoking the flames to burn even hotter and causing his entire body to ache faintly.
'What kind of spiritual fire specifically counters demon beasts like this...?'
Guo Hongyao used the technique to regain her footing, the heat warping the surrounding air. Yet her expression grew uglier by the second. The grey flames flowed back, reconverging into the medallion. Her internal organs throbbed with dull pain as the wounds inflicted earlier by the Profound Thunder made themselves felt ever more acutely.
She had no choice but to manifest her Dao Foundation. Flames enveloped her entire body, draping from the hem of her robes like fluttering ribbons. Guo Hongyao clasped her hands together to form a seal, and a beam of crimson light burst from behind her head.
The moment the crimson light emerged, it illuminated the surroundings so brightly that neither Li clan member could keep their eyes open. Even their spiritual senses felt as though submerged in mercury, growing sluggish and dull. Forcing the two back with fire, Guo Hongyao hurriedly rode the wind aloft, her hands already covered in blisters. She thought to herself:
'The Six Ding Combined Fire Medallion is a Purple Mansion spiritual artifact. It drains one's lifespan and injures the body—it cannot be used lightly. I have no choice but to retreat for now...'
Although she had cultivated on the island since childhood and possessed little combat experience, she could still read the situation. The two had already moved to encircle her. If she fell into their hands, even if they dared not kill her, they would surely flay a layer of skin off her back.
And so she hurled a parting threat:
"You... don't you ever let me catch you!"
With that, she rode the wind away at top speed. Flying some distance without seeing either of them pursue her, she stowed the spiritual artifact away, gnashing her teeth:
"If not for... if not for the Six Ding Combined Fire Medallion inexplicably delaying its descent from the Great Void by a century, how could there be any Li family... Damn it!"
She had originally been delighted to find such a prodigy during a mere journey into the inland waters. Now that this lightning cultivator had ruined everything, although Guo Hongyao had secured the spiritual artifact and would receive rewards on the island, her mood was thoroughly ruined.
'Once I'm back, I'll find out... what that bitch's name is.'
Silently riding the wind, she crossed the Salt Lake and landed on a minor island subordinate to Chijiao Island. She seized several dozen mortals to stabilize her injuries, when someone came forward to report:
"Fairy... A few days ago, a masked male cultivator raided several of our merchant vessels..."
Guo Hongyao was still furious and snapped with great impatience:
"Explain clearly!"
The servant trembled:
"This cultivator was at the peak of Qi Refinement, wielded a golden hammer, and followed the Immortal Dao, yet he used many demonic magical treasures... He was alone, exceptionally powerful, and destroyed the entire spirit ship single-handedly... He killed the people, took the treasures... and rode the wind away."
"Useless trash!"
Guo Hongyao would normally never bother with such trivial matters, but having been thoroughly enraged by the Li family, she was itching for slaughter to vent her wrath. She barked:
"When you set out to sea tomorrow, notify me!"
The servant acknowledged and withdrew. Having consumed the vital blood, Guo Hongyao felt her internal organs gradually recover. She shut the door to her cave dwelling and sat cross-legged.
She retrieved the Six Ding Combined Fire Medallion to examine it closely. Its black patterns were elegant and exquisite; the more she looked at it, the more beautiful it seemed. She could not help but praise in awe:
"What a fine treasure! Truly worthy of a Purple Mansion spiritual artifact. One can tell it is extraordinary just from its appearance alone."
Treasuring it dearly, she put the spiritual artifact away and silently regulated her breath. As she sank into meditation, the Six Ding Combined Fire Medallion at her waist silently emitted a red glow, flickering without end, as if it were breathing.
...
Mount Qingdu.
Having driven Guo Hongyao away, Li Qinghong rode the wind back down to the mountain. Li Xijun came up carrying a storage bag and a small gold-and-red ring, Hanlin already strapped across his back.
In the crisis after Li Qinghong struck with her Profound Thunder, Guo Hongyao had not managed to put the sword away, merely tossing it aside into the air. Hanlin possessed its own spirituality and had drifted back to find Li Xijun.
Li Chengliao respectfully excused himself and stepped down. Listening to Li Xijun recount the entire sequence of events, Li Qinghong broke into a cold sweat and praised him:
"You did well... As for your claim that this man might bear a karmic mandate, how certain are you? From what I see... he merely acquired that Purple Mansion spiritual treasure. In your account, his sanity didn't seem particularly impaired."
Li Xijun pondered for a moment before answering with certainty:
"There should be one. I couldn't perceive it at the time, but looking back now, the moment this person appeared, I felt immense hostility toward him... I never even considered speaking openly... or having a proper talk."
He thought for a moment, feeling as though the events that unfolded overnight were veiled in mist. He murmured:
"Yet Chengliao... spoke kindly and tried to reason with him at first. If Chengliao hadn't summoned Old Man Liu, our clan's leads might have ended right there. If the karmic mandate was exerting influence, its effect on Chengliao seemed much smaller..."
"Or perhaps something else was influencing Chengliao..."
The two pondered for a while, and Li Qinghong said in a low voice:
"If we look at it from another angle, could it be... Xu Xiao's death was also destined by a karmic mandate? To use his death to deliver the Six Ding Combined Fire Medallion into Guo Hongyao's hands? But even if he hadn't died, he might not have been able to keep this spiritual artifact anyway."
Li Xijun reflected on the events from start to finish and asked:
"Aunt... did you bring back the Immortal Mirror?"
"Of course I did. Leaving it overseas for an extended period made Yuanjiao uneasy."
Li Qinghong retrieved the Immortal Mirror. Li Xijun nodded:
"If we view it this way, had Xu Xiao possessed a karmic mandate, he should not have died here. It was only because Aunt arrived carrying the mirror—an element outside destiny—that the interference of the karmic mandate was disrupted, allowing him to be forcefully slain here."
Li Qinghong was slightly puzzled and asked softly:
"Only... if that Six Ding Combined Fire Medallion is so formidable, why didn't the Purple Mansion cultivator from Chijiao Island come in person? How much time does it take to tear open the Great Void..."
Li Xijun lowered his gaze:
"According to my guess, Guo Hongyao was probably the closest Chijiao Island Foundation Establishment cultivator around. The situation drifted too far off course and slipped beyond the control of that karmic mandate."
"What puzzles me a bit is... why Xu Xiao rose so meteorically, jumping an entire major realm in merely a year or two. Even Chu Yi cultivated for over ten years before achieving Foundation Establishment. No matter how strong Xu Xiao was, there was no way he surpassed Chu Yi..."
The two looked at each other in silence. Though they had slain the man, it had thrown the entire household into chaos. Li Qinghong took the storage bag and sorted through a pile of pills and talismans from beyond the seas.
"It seems that Six Ding Combined Fire Medallion contains its own storage space, which is how Xu Xiao acquired this fortune."
She had no interest in those items. She only took out the small gold-and-red ring, about the thickness of a little finger. Its material was neither gold nor silver, and even with her knowledge, she could discern nothing peculiar about it. It had a misty red glow, and engraved upon it was a line of small characters:
'Jianyang Ring, Lu Jiangxian of Qingsong Abbey.'
"To think it belongs to the ancient immortal sect, Qingsong Abbey. This is far too ancient; it's probably best not to show it to outsiders."
Li Qinghong praised it. She could not tell the grade of the ring, but it seemed to be nothing more than a peculiar flying shuttle. Just as she was about to put it away, the Immortal Mirror on the table suddenly blazed with brilliant golden light.
The light was dazzling and clear, like the sun illuminating the earth—ten thousand rays of radiant dawn, the bright sun over a vast desert. It was completely unlike the mirror's usual moonlike coolness. The tables and chairs in the cave dwelling began to tremble, and the scent of gardenia blossomed into the air all around.
"This...!"
Li Qinghong cried out in astonishment. Hurriedly clapping her hands together, she invoked the magical mirror, only to see the Jianyang Ring trembling violently, as if weeping tears, yet also as if roaring with joy. A tremendous force tore it from Li Xijun's arm as it leaped into the air, likewise casting forth ten thousand rays of radiant light.
In an instant, scorching heat filled the cave dwelling. Yellow sand showered down head to toe across the floor, while the faint cries of warblers, the calls of deer, and the chiming of camel bells could be heard in the distance.
Clang!
The moment this golden light appeared, the vegetation across all of Mount Qingdu sprouted anew, birds and beasts mated, and all living things pulsed with vibrant life. In the subterranean cave dwelling, golden radiance shone resplendently. In a meditation chamber, Li Ximing, drenched in sweat, suddenly showed a look of relief as his aura surged violently.
Seeing the golden light spreading rapidly, the Jianyang Ring on the table rolled slightly, and the invisible force swiftly receded and vanished without a trace.
...
Within the Realm of the Mirror.
Lu Jiangxian had accompanied Li Qinghong all the way back. His divine sense spanned an immense range; by the time he laid eyes on the Li clan, Guo Hongyao had only just landed. Sweeping his gaze around, he found no sign of any Purple Mansion cultivator.
Meanwhile, the insufferably arrogant Xu Xiao had been enveloped in a faint layer of golden light, which looked as thin as water and was constantly waning. Conversely, the Six Ding Combined Fire Medallion emanated subtle fluctuations, lively to a degree unfitting an ordinary spiritual artifact.
A single glance was enough for Lu Jiangxian to understand:
"Something is wrong with that spiritual artifact... It most likely harbors some bizarre method. Xu Xiao... was merely the prey it fed upon. Perhaps he truly bore a karmic mandate at the start, but after this ordeal, it has been almost entirely consumed by this sinister artifact!"
Seeing this, Lu Jiangxian understood it all with utter clarity. The Purple Mansion artifact—or perhaps the master behind it—had forcibly catalyzed Xu Xiao, using spirit medicines to artificially boost his cultivation, only to drain him dry through some unknown means. Now that Guo Hongyao had taken it away, she likely wouldn't meet a good end either.
'A Purple Mansion spiritual artifact is already capable of traversing the Great Void. If it truly wanted to return to Chijiao Island, it would have done so long ago. Roaming outside, it was simply dodging other Purple Mansion cultivators!'
The artifact could manipulate the mind; carrying it all the way back, Guo Hongyao would likely die en route. Lu Jiangxian cast only a single glance, paying it no further heed. Instead, while Xu Xiao had not yet fully breathed his last, he closely observed the changes in the man's body.
"A pity it was difficult to let him touch me. Otherwise, by searching his memories, I could have gleaned a great deal of information—at least the cultivation methods of the Combined Fire lineage."
He had already drafted most of the Purple Mansion chapter of the Golden Hall Huangyuan Formula. Yet because he had not cultivated it personally, his understanding of the path fell short of the original author's; the Purple Mansion chapter did not appear particularly brilliant and could only be said to barely reach the passing mark.
Lu Jiangxian paused. Outside, Li Xijun carried the gold-and-red ring over. Lu Jiangxian swept his divine sense over it and read the small characters inscribed inside with crystal clarity, freezing in astonishment:
"Lu Jiangxian of Qingsong Abbey!"
"I... I am someone from Qingsong Abbey?! This...!"
In the realm within the mirror, the endless layers of gloom finally dispersed, replaced by the saturation of ten thousand rays of rosy light. He stared blankly at the golden radiance in the sky, turning the artifact's name over in his mind.
"Jianyang Ring?"
As the golden light of the Jianyang Ring bounded inside, fragments of memory surfaced in Lu Jiangxian's mind—hazy, veiled in an overcast obscurity. Vaguely, he saw a towering mountain covered in green pines and an endless, fertile plain.
'The ruins of Qingsong Abbey are clearly out at sea... situated on an island. Why is this a vast plain...?'
A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, only to be swiftly submerged beneath more hazy memories that followed.
"Qingsong Daoist Abbey... Yingze..."
He froze for a breath. Yet like smoke, these memories rapidly dissolved from his mind, as though forcibly wiped away by some power. Lu Jiangxian cursed under his breath, a wave of heat flushing over his face.
Then he saw the golden light in the sky growing increasingly dazzling until it turned pure white. Even with his divine sense body, he was stung so fiercely by the golden radiance that he could hardly keep his eyes open. The Jianyang Ring transmitted a feeling of buoyant excitement, like a three-to-five-year-old child, tossing out a patch of gold.
This wisp of gold drifted and fluttered, coming to rest in his palm like a bird. From all around came waves of languid, bewitching sounds, the songs of warblers, and the cries of deer.
The golden light was wondrous, as if slowly seeping out through a pinhole, radiating outward in a conical shape. Its tip was so bright it had turned white. Looking closely, Lu Jiangxian saw that the white section was linked to the Great Void, undulating continuously.
Staring at this wisp of golden light, Lu Jiangxian was struck speechless with shock. In a daze, he murmured:
"Mingyang golden nature?!"
Chapter 427