After Ning Heyuan finished speaking, both understood where things stood. Li Qinghong inquired about the treasure in the cave dwelling. Hearing her description, Ning Heyuan said softly, "I will send someone to look into it right away."
Li Qinghong nodded. Ning Heyuan hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Brother-in-law, news has arrived from the sect."
Hearing the unspoken cue, Li Qinghong clasped her hands and took her leave. Li Xuanfeng looked toward him, and Ning Heyuan said, "The sect's market over in the Hetian Sea... has been attacked by that water ape again. Brother-in-law, would you like to gauge the timing and head over yourself first, or should I send men to deal with it...?"
This water ape was something Yuansu had mentioned, so Li Xuanfeng naturally could not let Ning Heyuan handle it. He replied, "I will enter closed-door cultivation for half a month, then depart immediately."
Ning Heyuan had only been asking out of courtesy; even with several times the courage, he would never dare interfere with the True Person's arrangements. He nodded in agreement. Li Xuanfeng placed the Changmu Spirit Pills into his hands and said softly, "Trade these for some other pills for me, also meant to assist Foundation Establishment cultivation."
He fixed him with a stare and said in a low voice, "Make sure they are clean."
Ning Heyuan paused, lowered his brows, nodded, and answered, "Heyuan understands."
Ning Heyuan organized his thoughts, withdrew a small mirror from his sleeve, and handed it to Li Xuanfeng. "That water ape is cunning and excels at concealing its form, making it difficult to deal with. This is Wen Liuguang, a magical artifact left here years ago by the True Person, specifically for discerning true forms."
Li Xuanfeng took it and looked closely. The mirror was azure-blue, palm-sized when opened, crystal-clear, and suffused with flowing magical light. It was a Foundation Establishment magical artifact, exceptionally lively and clearly out of the ordinary.
Ning Heyuan explained, "Nurtured within this artifact is a wisp of a divine ability capable of piercing illusions. Under its illumination, almost all concealment techniques below the Violet Palace will have nowhere to hide."
Li Xuanfeng scrutinized it and nodded. "A fine artifact."
Ning Heyuan quietly withdrew, leaving Li Xuanfeng alone in the cave dwelling, holding a jade cup, lost in silent thought.
Waiting until the stone door closed, Li Xuanfeng pondered, 'A late Foundation Establishment water ape... and he wants me to travel tens of thousands of li for it... Yuansu's intention certainly isn't that simple. Is this a test... or an opportunity?
'The opening of the Qingsong Temple ruins is drawing near... If Yuansu wants to send someone, then aside from Ning Wan, I possess the highest combat strength among his subordinates. He would never let Ning Wan take risks, so it will most likely be me...'
Li Xuanfeng had just listened to Ning Heyuan's explanation regarding Qingsong Temple, which had brought him clarity. Perhaps one of the reasons True Person Yuansu had taken him under his wing years ago was for this very Qingsong Temple...
Calculating the timing, it seemed quite close. Li Xuanfeng fell silent for a moment, withdrew several healing pills from his storage bag, selected two suitable ones, swallowed them, and quietly entered closed-door cultivation.
Li Qinghong stayed in the market for only a few days before members of the Ning family came to call. Ning Heyuan, dressed in a brocade robe, arrived for a visit accompanied by two guest elders.
Li Qinghong had been practicing her spear arts these past few days, her hair tied up and wearing light armor, looking thoroughly crisp and capable. Ning Heyuan chatted briefly without dawdling, then took several red jades from his sleeve, lined them up from left to right, and said softly, "Take a look, Qinghong. Which one matches best?"
The Ning family was wealthy and powerful, bringing a sample of every plausible spiritual material. Having visited the cave before her departure, Li Qinghong pointed to the one on the far left without hesitation. "Second Uncle showed it to me. This is indeed the one."
Ning Heyuan said with regret, "As expected. From Fellow Daoist's description, it had to be this Diwang bloodstone. It can barely be counted as a Foundation Establishment spiritual material. A thousand years ago, it was exceedingly precious—even to the point that Violet Palace masters coveted it...
"As for nowadays... though rare, its value is not high. Given your description of it being the size of a table, it can pass as something of a treasure, I suppose."
Li Qinghong pondered for a moment. "I would like to hear the details."
Ning Heyuan cleared his throat and explained, "Diwang bloodstone is very effective at mending deficiencies and supplementing vital blood. It can heal severed limbs and assist in cultivating certain special magical arts... In the past, many arts could not be mastered without it.
"Nowadays, though... vital blood can be bought in ordinary markets. With cheap substitutes available, there has long been no need for such spiritual materials... At most, it is just vital blood of exquisite quality."
"I see."
A faint smile appeared on Li Qinghong's face as she thought to herself, 'This may be useless to you, but to my family, it is exceedingly precious.'
Ning Heyuan continued, "As for that palm-sized metallic stone, it should be the associated Tanjin stone. It is very sturdy and is actually a Foundation Establishment material of respectable grade! It can be used to forge defensive shields and similar artifacts; it is just a pity that it is on the smaller side."
He chuckled. "Still, this is fairly common. After all, the three Metal fruits are all within the inland borders, so many spiritual materials are accompanied by metallic ore. I imagine over fifty percent of your noble clan's mineral veins are metallic ore!"
'More than fifty percent? All three of our family's mineral veins are metallic ore! Even the Xiao family's Cuiyuan copper essence nearby, which barely grazes our borders, is metallic ore...!'
Li Qinghong muttered inwardly, but only smiled and nodded outwardly.
She then asked Ning Heyuan for the extraction methods for the ore, waiting only for Li Xuanfeng to finish the matters at hand so they could head to Zongquan Island together.
***
The injuries on Li Xuanfeng's hands healed quickly. Though they had looked terrifying, most of the tearing had come from his body bearing too much strain. With the support of his talisman qi, such wounds were of little consequence.
"Thousand-Jun Might has progressed so much over these years."
As Li Xuanfeng's cultivation grew, the boost provided by Thousand-Jun Might had grown greater with every passing year. Having consumed many treasures of the Southern Border, his physical strength now rivaled that of a Foundation Establishment monster beast, which was how he could unleash such devastating power with the Jin Geng longbow.
After giving instructions to Ning Heyuan, he rode the wind, stepping onto a golden shuttle, and flew toward the northeast. Riding several water currents, the seawater beneath him soon turned deep azure.
"Hetian Sea."
The Hetian Sea and the Zhulu Sea lay at opposite ends. The Hetian Sea was even larger, serving as the home territory of the dragonkin. Its waters were closer to a deep azure, with waves stretching across ten thousand li, few islands, and immense depth.
Under ordinary sunlight, the sea and sky of the Hetian Sea blended into one, making for a wondrous spectacle. However, his arrival was ill-timed; right in the midst of the East Sea phenomenon, the world was as dark as ink, pitch-black so that one could not see one's own outstretched fingers.
Li Xuanfeng flew over the waves, the golden shuttle beneath his feet hovering gently. At last, he spotted an island. It was not very large, roughly the size of a town, surrounded by an earthen-yellow grand formation standing tall in full battle readiness.
"According to the directions, this should be the market."
He rode the wind and came to a slow halt. Sure enough, the shoreline was in shambles, scarred with signs of destruction. He murmured in wonder, "What madness has seized this water ape? The Qingchi Sect is renowned both inland and beyond the seas. It must be tired of living..."
Scarcely had Li Xuanfeng halted when an old man flew out from the market. Looking at him, the old man asked hesitantly, "Could you be General Li...?"
This was the first time Li Xuanfeng had been addressed that way outside the Southern Border. He nodded. "Indeed."
He brushed his large hand over the dark-gold tiger head at his waist and produced a white token. The old man inspected it briefly and blurted out, "At last, Your Excellency has arrived!"
The two lowered their winds and descended. Li Xuanfeng paused slightly before the formation. Taking the hint, the old man produced a formation medallion from his waist that radiated earthen-yellow light; the grand formation seemed to be operating at full capacity.
Li Xuanfeng took control of the formation and casually deactivated it, saying softly, "With me on the island, there is no need for such stringent defense."
"Yes!"
The old man ushered him down, bowing respectfully. "This one is Yuan Hu'e. Greetings, General."
Li Xuanfeng glanced at him and asked, "The Xunlin Yuan clan?"
"Precisely!"
Li Xuanfeng nodded slightly. Given the friendly history between their clans, he wasted no time and asked directly, "What is the situation with that water ape?"
Yuan Hu'e shook his head and sighed. "This... this monster beast is a subordinate of the dragonkin... It has background and standing, so it does not fear us in the least. Its strength is formidable as well, beating us back so badly that we dare not leave the island... This has dragged on for nearly half a year, disrupting much of our business. By now, all unrelated people on the island have been dispersed."
"A subordinate of the dragonkin?"
Li Xuanfeng was somewhat surprised, but remembering Yuansu's instructions, his first thought was, 'Could Yuansu be using me as a pawn to offend the dragonkin, only to throw me out as a scapegoat in the end?'
Running the possibilities through his mind, doubts arose and shook his earlier assumptions. But then he thought, 'No... This market doesn't belong to the Ning family; it is property of the sect, which at most makes it the Chi family's asset. Why would Yuansu go out of his way to benefit someone else?'
Reassured, he asked, "Why is this water ape troubling you without cause?"
Yuan Hu'e had not dared to speak while Li Xuanfeng was lost in thought, but now he lowered his voice and said, "We asked earlier as well. It claimed someone stole its precious herb and hid inside the market... It demanded that we open the formation and let it search... But how could we open it! Once the formation was opened, we would be entirely at its mercy..."
Li Xuanfeng paused, then said in a low voice, "Let us head down first. Compile a report on the water ape's immortal foundation, magical artifacts, and magical arts, and bring it to me."
Yuan Hu'e led him down, vacating the most luxurious hall, and presented a small missive. Seeing Li Xuanfeng wave his hand, he tactfully withdrew.
"Water ape... violent nature, fond of eating humans. Dao foundation: Secret White Quicksilver... That is rare... Able to conceal its form, lurk in the sea, with a body like white silver, and proficient in magical arts... No wonder it caught the dragonkin's eye."
'Yuansu's exact words were to eliminate this water ape. That means no matter what, this water ape must die on this trip; there is no room for reconciliation.'
Holding the missive, Li Xuanfeng remained silent, still turning Yuansu's arrangements over in his mind. He deduced, 'The water ape likely misjudged the situation, but the claim that someone stole its precious herb and hid on the island is probably true... That makes things clear.'
He flew out of the hall into the sky above the island and took out a palm-sized azure mirror from his robes—Wen Liuguang.
'To find the water ape? I think not.'
Li Xuanfeng activated the mirror and closed his eyes. Bright blue radiance flowed across the surface of the small mirror, sweeping over the island. Naturally, this mirror could not compare to his family's magical mirror. He surged his magical power into it, and only after several breaths did the scene below gradually become clear.
The island had long since been emptied of all but Qingchi Sect cultivators. Amidst the sea of green robes, there was indeed the figure of a youth sitting cross-legged where the spiritual energy at the island's center was densest, quietly cultivating.
'Peak Qi Refinement cultivation...'
If nothing unexpected had occurred, this person was certainly the one the water ape was pursuing. Gauging his cultivation, Li Xuanfeng murmured, "Peak Qi Refinement? Stole a precious herb? He undoubtedly bears a karmic mandate!"
Pondering further, clarity struck Li Xuanfeng. 'It seems this water ape was ignorant of the truth, senselessly entangling itself and trapping this youth on the island! It delayed the plans of the Violet Palace masters. Yuansu sent me to kill it in order to clear the way for this youth!'
He nodded slightly. As for the water ape... perhaps due to karmic entanglement, the dragon scion backing it refused to intervene, or perhaps it had unknowingly offended someone, or perhaps it was caught in factional strife following the Demon King's fall. In any case, it had become a sacrificial pawn.
His gaze fell back onto the mirror in his hand, and doubt arose in his mind. 'There was no need to give me this mirror... Telling me to eliminate the beast would have been enough... Yuansu's intention... is probably to give me an opportunity.'
With this thought, the dark-gold armor slowly surfaced over Li Xuanfeng's body, and his ferocious golden bow appeared. Riding the wind, he descended and landed beside the youth.
'He certainly knows how to pick a spot; this is one of the best cultivation places on the island.'
Without making a sound, Li Xuanfeng stood quietly beside the youth with his hands behind his back.
The youth possessed delicate features and practical attire. While not strikingly handsome, his bearing was remarkably prominent. Li Xuanfeng studied him for a moment and thought, 'To think a karmic mandate could be so wondrous... Just what kind of miracle is it that allows one to repeatedly turn danger into safety?'
The youth's eyelids soon fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was deep, but he froze in disbelief, his face draining of color in an instant as terror gripped him.
'What?!'
He had only been doing a bit of routine cultivation, yet out of nowhere, a middle-aged man clad in dark-gold armor stood before him—robed in armor, with hawk-like brow and eyes, radiating the unmistakable aura of the mid Foundation Establishment realm. It frightened him so much that he leaped up on the spot, his composure shattering for a fleeting moment.
Almost the very next moment, thoughts whirred through his mind. Dropping to one knee, he said respectfully, "Junior Zhong Qian pays respects to Senior! Having strayed into this treasured land... I beg Senior's forgiveness!"
Having secretly occupied someone else's cultivation grounds and been caught red-handed, the situation was exceedingly awkward. Zhong Qian could not think of any pretty words and could only state the plain truth. Beneath his sleeve, two fingers slowly pinched a talisman while his spiritual sense warily swept back and forth.
'This is trouble... This formation can provide shelter... but it can also trap me within.'
Li Xuanfeng looked at him calmly and said softly, "No need to be nervous... As for that talisman, there is no need to clutch it so tightly. I am not one of those useless Foundation Establishment cultivators; even an ancient talisman would not last two exchanges before my arrows."
Exposed, Zhong Qian felt a pang of shock and said respectfully, "Junior was truly driven to a dead end and had no choice but to seek shelter in this treasured place... Junior is willing to offer spiritual items as compensation..."
'Quite vigilant.'
Seeing that the youth remained wound tight, ready to burst into flight at any moment, Li Xuanfeng said, "You did well... For that water ape to encounter you, it was destined to face this calamity."
'It seems he is that beast's enemy! No wonder!'
Zhong Qian finally relaxed slightly, though he found Li Xuanfeng's words intriguing. He said respectfully, "Junior is no disciple of a prominent sect... merely a rogue cultivator of the East Sea. That water ape devours humans daily; Junior stumbled into its cave dwelling, took its precious herb, and hid in Senior's market, never expecting it to track me all the way here... and so I have been unable to leave..."
Chapter 446