A Hundred Li of Cinnabar

The water ape's fur rippled. Having reached a sudden realization, it felt a great epiphany dawn upon it: "No wonder a mere pipsqueak cultivator could steal my treasure... I thought he was just some ignorant whelp from an aristocratic clan... As it turns out... it was an entanglement of karmic mandate! From the moment I made up my mind to take my treasure back, I was already walking toward a dead end." This water ape possessed a rather uncommon bloodline. Since youth, it had served as a gatekeeper in the Water Palace, and later was dispatched to garrison a sea domain. In its heart, it still constantly thought of its old master. Now brought to such a pass, it pondered: "Milord cannot even protect me, so he must be cornered... And I was just doomed to bad luck... blinded by my own two eyes, unable to distinguish a person bearing karmic mandate. Ah well, so be it..." It concealed its figure, darting swiftly through the seawater. Li Xuanfeng had long anticipated this move. Seeing the water ape vanish, he did not panic in the slightest. With a gentle tap on his belt, a palm-sized azure mirror flew out—it was none other than Wen Liuguang. Bright azure radiances flowed from the small mirror, slowly sweeping across the sea surface. Far faster than when searching for Zhong Qian, it swiftly revealed a blue trail of exhaust in the depths. Li Xuanfeng nocked another arrow and drew his bow: 'This monster has lost all will to fight... It has come to its senses... What a pity that its late Foundation Establishment cultivation must be wasted here for nothing.' Not far away, having only flown a single li, the water ape felt a chill throughout its body as its grayish-white fur bristled. It was not surprised, spitting out several mercury-white jade tokens from its mouth once more to hover and circle around its body. 'This person is steeped in thick murderous intent; surely many monsters have perished by his hand. He is a blade in the hands of those Real Persons! I...' A buzzing rang in its ears. Another golden gleam leapt across the sky, piercing straight through its body before gradually fading into the distant horizon. An intense, piercing pain surged outward. The water ape gave a furious roar and, enduring the agony, dashed aimlessly across the sea. After riding the wind for several li, the immortal foundation circulating within jolted it into awareness. Only then did the water ape realize: "I was struck by someone's spell!" It had barely exchanged a few moves with this man, yet it had lost the initiative and felt overwhelming terror and unease, lacking even the courage to turn back and fight desperately. Something was truly wrong! Fear gripped its heart. Yet barely had it come to this realization when another golden ray flashed across, shattering a mercury-white jade token and reducing it to drifting specks of flying light. Waiting until the arrow passed, the ape seized the moment to form hand seals and cast an art. Grayish-white streaks of light appeared before it, intricate in pattern, intertwining and coiling into a triangular five-sided shape inscribed with streaming talismanic scripts. 'Precious Lot White Inquiry!' The Secret White Quicksilver it cultivated was an ancient immortal foundation of the Quandan nature, which excelled above all in spells. Once the divination art was deployed, the remaining three mercury-white jade tokens took flight, pointing straight in one direction. Riding the wind, the water ape charged headlong in that direction. The wound on its abdomen squirmed rapidly, slowly knitting closed. Secret White Quicksilver conferred numerous enhancements to the dharmic body; though struck by several arrows, its injuries were not as severe as they appeared. In the sea, its wounds healed continuously with each breath. Riding the waves with great speed, it absorbed yet another arrow before finally locating the gold-armored man amidst the surging waves and oppressive, dark clouds. The man's dark gold armor was clearly extraordinary, radiating a dazzling luster amidst the drizzling rain. A visor now covered his face, concealing his features. The water ape uttered no threats. Instead, it charged forward in silence. Its two hands rapidly expanded amidst the waves into the size of doorways, clawing toward the gold-armored man. Seeing the ape seek him out, Li Xuanfeng gave a slight nod. The water ape commanded numerous spells and boasted balanced abilities in all aspects with no glaring weaknesses; naturally, it would not be slain so easily. He calmly watched it reach out, casually hooking one hand around the lower limb of his longbow. Seeing that he neither dodged nor parried, the water ape felt a chill in its heart: "It seems he has something to rely on... But no matter what, I cannot let him keep shooting me like this!" It could only brace itself and clench its grip forward. A silvery-white glow surfaced in its palm, evidently augmented by its immortal foundation and spells. Li Xuanfeng showed no fear whatsoever. His dark gold armor blazed with bright light as he drove a fist directly into the ape's palm. "Boom!" A thunderous blast erupted in the sky, echoing back and forth amidst the dark clouds. Taking the blow head-on, Li Xuanfeng stepped back half a pace, recoiled slightly, and swung the longbow with his other hand, smashing it brutally toward the water ape's head and face. The clash of fists had nearly been an even match. Seeing that the man had retreated only half a pace, the water ape was somewhat bewildered, unable to comprehend it in the moment: 'What immortal foundation is this... to possess such terrifying strength... Or could it be... he is not human, but some kind of monster...' Although it was not adept at close-quarters combat, it was still a monster. In its momentary disarray, a mercury-white shield of light surfaced before its face, emitting a thunderous roar under Li Xuanfeng's heavy blow. Knocked down into the sea by the strike, the light shield flickered wildly before shattering and dissipating. "Hummm..." The moment it halted its descent, a golden gleam struck head-on. The water ape let out a mournful wail as yet another mercury-white jade token shattered with a crash, and it coughed up a mouthful of white blood. Breaking through the sea surface, it saw that Li Xuanfeng had already dwindled to a distant speck of gold. The water ape's sole remaining eye narrowed slightly as it caught sight of the longbow, spread wide like the giant wings of a golden bird, and yet another piercing golden ray rushing toward it. Despair filled the water ape's heart, and it cursed with hatred: 'Had Azure Painting Sky Screen not been taken by that brat, I would never be in such dire straits... without a single protective magical artifact to defend myself!' In this brief clash, the water ape realized that the man's archery, magical artifacts, cultivation method, and spells worked together to an almost unmatchable degree. Unless one had magical artifacts capable of warding off his attacks, or possessed enough speed to leave him far behind... or at least found a cave dwelling to hide in, one would inevitably be worn down to death by his hand. It had no choice but to brace itself and take flight on the wind, hurtling toward that distant golden dot. Holding its last two jade tokens before its chest, it formed seals with both hands. From the surrounding seawater emerged mercury spheres of various sizes, resembling jade beads. "Precious Lot Horizon Escape Technique..." It could neither win in a fight nor flee without being whittled away; its only hope lay in an escape art. As its two palm-leaf-sized hands snapped together to activate the technique, Li Xuanfeng noticed from afar and drew his bow once more. "Bzzzzzz..." The buzzing in its ears reached a crescendo, causing blood to stream down both of the ape's ears. A streak of golden light followed closely behind, cleaving the water and descending before it like a golden comet. "Not good!" A golden flash exploded violently before the water ape, sweeping aside its jade tokens. The surging astral qi and clear light coiled around, suppressing its arts, followed immediately by five streaks of light arriving in rapid succession. "Rumble!" A white waterspout erupted from the sea straight into the sky, interspersed with silvery-white droplets of mercury that pitter-pattered onto the water surface. Dark blue steam billowed in every direction with a rustling hiss. "Awoooo!" The mercury-white jade tokens protecting its front were pulverized like dry weeds. A violent agony tore through its internal organs; its limbs shattered like shards of a mirror, flying in all directions only to be instantly ground to dust in the boiling astral qi. *Splash.* The seawater that had soared into the sky fell back into the ocean, and silence gradually settled over the expanse. Only the patter of rain striking the sea surface created a faint, murmuring sound. Li Xuanfeng did not cease his forward movement. Bow in hand and arrow nocked, he waited silently for something. Accustomed to slaying monsters, he knew full well whether a creature was truly dead. Sure enough, before long, a white streak of light vaulted out of the sea, soaring high like a petrel spreading its wings to flee into the open world. Yet an anticipated golden ray flew straight toward it, blasting the white light into pieces. *Whoosh...* Li Xuanfeng rode the wind closer as a red rain poured down from the sky. The white light had exploded into countless swirls of rising red mist, blanketing heaven and earth in crimson. The red was incomparably rich, diffusing rapidly like blood dropped into water. Against the backdrop of black clouds, it appeared especially horrifying, smothering the airspace over this entire sea region. "Boom!" A bright silver streak of lightning flashed across the sky. Li Xuanfeng reached out his hand, where the dark gold vambrace caught the red pigment, making it look all the more menacing. "Cinnabar..." The vast expanse of cinnabar powder covered a hundred li in circumference. A considerable amount even fell upon the market island. Crimson enveloped everything in sight, blotting out the sky and sun, dyeing the seawater like blood as countless fish leapt and tumbled relentlessly. The water ape had tried to protect its head with dharmic powers and flee using an escape art, only to be shot dead by his arrow. It had dissolved into a vast expanse of cinnabar spanning a hundred li, veiling heaven and earth. Under the influence of dharmic power, droplets of mercury resembling beads of jade flew nose to tail through the air, grayish-white and crystalline. As far as the eye could see, points of silver light sparkled amidst the red mist. Li Xuanfeng paused briefly amidst the strange spectacle. Heading down into the sea, he thought to himself: 'Calcined and refined into vapor, cinnabar turns to quicksilver... Secret White Quicksilver leaving behind a hundred li of cinnabar upon death is only reasonable.' He descended into the sea, where this stretch of water was already dyed red, presenting a view of pure vermilion. Retrieving Wen Liuguang for an inspection, he saw the coral reefs and gleaming precious metals across the seabed unobstructed, and then drew the scattered items back one by one. By the time he broke through the waves and flew upward, the skies above were already bustling with activity. Many cultivators were riding the wind, some holding leather bellows to fan the clouds, others holding jade bottles to draw in seawater, noisily competing for the spoils. Seeing the Daoist in dark gold armor burst out of the sea, the area instantly fell dead silent. Everyone ceased their clamor, bowing their heads in fear of meeting his gaze as they bowed one after another: "This humble cultivator greets the Daoist!" Though the water ape's strength was inferior to his, its cultivation was profound. The spiritual materials it dissolved into upon death were likely at the Qi Refinement level, leading to this scramble. Li Xuanfeng paid it no heed. Glancing around, he rode the wind and departed. The crowd erupted into excitement once more, some fanning the winds, others harvesting water, while people marveled from time to time: "An old monster of the late Foundation Establishment stage, fallen here just like that!" ... Li Xuanfeng's dharmic power had been heavily depleted by the fight, but he was not as fatigued as the last time. Slaying the monster had been done at close range—no more than five or six li away. Both his dharmic power and physical stamina consumption were far lower than when he had killed that monk from several dozen li away. Stepping down from his flying shuttle into the market, he found that the cinnabar covering the island had already been divided among the crowd. Everyone gathered respectfully to welcome him, with only flecks of crimson on roof beams and stone hollows bearing witness to the earlier scramble. Yuan Hu'e stood at the very front, his reverence now entirely genuine. He bowed courteously and said respectfully, "We pay our respects to the Daoist... Congratulations to the Daoist on successfully exterminating the monster... The Daoist's divine abilities and dharmic powers are astounding. We are filled with admiration and gratitude for this lesson." Li Xuanfeng nodded slightly, waved for the others to step aside, and beckoned to Zhong Qian, saying in a low voice, "Disperse. Zhong Qian, follow me." In the corner, Zhong Qian hurried forward to catch up, showing considerable reverence as he cupped his hands. "Many thanks, Daoist... for slaying the monster and saving my life..." Li Xuanfeng walked slowly into the grand hall, stopping before the lavish, ornate spring altar built inside. Gazing at the ceaselessly bubbling spiritual spring within, he shook his head. "Forget about saving your life. My purpose on this journey was to slay it; consider it your good fortune." Zhong Qian now seemed rather restrained, standing respectfully to the side. "Junior's luck has always been good... but Senior truly saved my life, and Junior will remember it in his heart... Otherwise, Junior would sooner or later have been dragged off the island by that monster..." 'How could your luck not be good...? Stealing the treasure of a Foundation Establishment monster, walking away in broad daylight, and having someone make a special trip to clean up your mess...' Li Xuanfeng waved his hand. "Observing your cultivation... you are about to break through as well." Zhong Qian paused, then answered, "Senior has keen eyes. Junior was just looking for a place to enter seclusion and break through to Foundation Establishment." Li Xuanfeng remained impassive and nodded. "Say no more. Having succeeded on this mission, I will travel to Fenkuai Island to report back. If you are willing, you may break through to Foundation Establishment on this island and then leave on your own." Zhong Qian was slightly taken aback and wished to say more, but seeing Li Xuanfeng wave his hand, he could only bow slightly and reply, "Thank you, Senior!" He then swiftly withdrew. Watching him leave, Li Xuanfeng pondered for a moment: 'Zhong Qian is a vigilant sort. Forming good karma in this seemingly unintentional manner puts people at ease. If made into some grand debt of salvation... it would instead arouse suspicion. Entanglements that run too deep will inevitably breed trouble.' The water ape's body had been blasted into a sky full of mercury blood, its belongings scattering across the ocean. Most of the pills had tumbled into the sea, benefiting the creatures on the ocean floor, and even more spiritual items had been destroyed in the blast, leaving behind only some metallic and mineral objects. A glowing, shining white Zuowu Stone, several heavy pieces of Haiying Dark Mercury, and two azure pieces of Jiu Jade—all materials for crafting magical artifacts. Aside from these few, which could still be considered valuable, the rest were trivial trinkets not worth mentioning. Perhaps it had also carried some talismans, but since it had not used them in a life-or-death moment, their grade could not have been high, and they had likely been shredded to pieces. 'A pity this monster carried no cultivation methods on it... Then again, who carries cultivation methods when traveling about?' Li Xuanfeng had slain many monsters, and this water ape's strength was first-rate. Its immortal foundation bore an ancient air and was well-balanced in every aspect: it could conceal its form, preserve life, kill enemies, and, even more remarkably, possessed numerous spells. What a pity his family could not obtain it. "That such a monster had no Foundation Establishment magical artifact to protect itself..." Li Xuanfeng considered it for a breath. Perhaps it had been stolen by Zhong Qian, which was why the water ape was so anxious. That youth had far too many schemes; he claimed to have stolen precious herbs, but what he truly stole was known only to him and that water ape. He casually put the items away and summoned Yuan Hu'e to give a few instructions. In his heart, he only wanted to leave the vicinity of Zhong Qian as quickly as possible to avoid being dragged into any trouble by him. Soon, he took flight on the wind, transforming into a streak of flowing light and flying southward.