‘Qingchi’s Violet Palace must have negotiated with the dragon clan and made some sort of promise. A Foundation Establishment cultivator searching here has violated a taboo.’
Li Xizhi arrived at this deduction in an instant, though now was hardly the time to dwell on it. He nodded in silence and said softly, “Factional strife within the sect makes such things inevitable. My master’s life hangs in the balance, and I could not simply stand by and watch.”
The Violet Palace cultivator stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes carrying a semblance of a smile as he dangled the two severed heads. “Well said! What courage! What guts!”
Li Xizhi lowered his gaze, composed his expression, and heard the Violet Palace cultivator ask coldly, “Do you know my title?”
Li Xizhi knew this was the final test, and a deduction had already formed in his mind: ‘A high-bridged nose and narrow eyes, hair and beard loose and flowing, draped in golden scales, a voice roaring like a tempest—he is undoubtedly a dragon! His divine ability is deep blue, the manifestation of unified water, which does not match any of the dragon portraits preserved in Qingchi… He must be a newly ascended great demon who profited from the demise of Dongfang You…’
He bowed slightly and replied, “This junior greets the Great Demon of Muhai.”
The Violet Palace cultivator’s emerald-green eyes blinked, and he laughed heartily, exposing long, slender, snow-white teeth that gleamed crystal-clear beneath the water. “You blundered into this place, and you cannot go unpunished. Now run for your life!”
“Many thanks, Senior!”
Li Xizhi bowed in farewell and swiftly flew south riding the rosy clouds. The demon dragon waited a moment, then worked his lips and tongue, releasing a puff of chilly qi.
The cold qi spun through the air, condensing into deep blue water droplets that bobbed and danced ceaselessly. He lifted the two severed heads and gave a sharp flick, sending a water droplet into each corpse’s mouth. Their flesh and blood boiled instantly, stretching and shifting like yellow clay before soon transforming into the figure of a youth. The Violet Palace chuckled, his sharp teeth glinting as he waved his hand lightly. “Heyun, you have only one shichen.”
The moment his words fell, the youth came alive. His eyes turned agile and bright, his demeanor elegant and natural. He adjusted his clothes, bowed deeply, and vanished toward the south like a bolt of lightning.
Dongfang Heyun naturally understood his master’s intent. If this truly were the scion of a Muhai immortal, then whether through magic treasures, talismans, or other hidden cards, he ought to be able to hold out for one shichen.
The Violet Palace cultivator stood with his hands behind his back. The Great Void beside him split open, coalescing into a silhouette that asked, “Dongfang Changmu, what happened?”
Dongfang Changmu smiled, stroked the crimson beard above his lip, and replied, “Qingchi wanted to kill with a borrowed knife and deliberately sent a Foundation Establishment cultivator over. But I suspect he has quite the background. Father said that Sui Guan looks inhuman, so it is better to be careful.”
The silhouette nodded, slowly transforming into the dignified figure of a narrow-eyed woman. Her robes fluttered as she said in a low voice, “Father and Dragon Lord Xiyang will arrive shortly. Make your preparations. With two Dragon Lords striking together, they should be able to take Leiyun Temple and fulfill what the Qingxuan Prophetic Book foretold regarding commanding thunder and lightning.”
Dongfang Changmu nodded and smiled. “We are merely taking advantage of Shangyuan’s breakthrough and the infighting among the humans to seize this secret realm… Besides, who knows how many tens of thousands of years ago that Qingxuanzi lived? What worked back then may not necessarily work today.”
The dragon woman shook her head slightly, seemingly filled with melancholy, and merely said, “He is an Immortal. He cannot be wrong.”
***
Li Xizhi sped away riding the rosy clouds, carving a deep trail of brilliant color across the sea surface. Talismans were clutched in his hands, and cold sweat drenched his back.
He was among the foremost of the Li family’s current generation in both talent and resolve. Having cultivated on Qingsui Peak for years, studying diligently every day without the slightest laxity, his execution of the Rosy Glow Evasion Steps was testament to his skill. These evasion steps were far superior to the River-Crossing Torrent Steps; widening the distance by more than ten paces in a single breath was enough to decide the outcome of a battle.
Before he could fully think through the causes and consequences, a chill crept up from behind. Looking closely at the water, he saw fine, shattered ice flakes floating upon the surface.
Li Xizhi had flown only a few li when patches of frost suddenly crept along his flank. Observing carefully, he immediately knew to halt. White mist converged before him, and the face of Dongfang Heyun reappeared in his sight. The seawater rose, taking the shape of a youthful figure with neatly bound hair, delicate brows, and large eyes. Adjusting his sleeves with an elegant, natural air, he smiled and said, “By my lord’s immortal command, I have come to slay you, Fellow Daoist. Forgive my offense… I am Dongfang Heyun. Greetings, Fellow Daoist.”
Hearing the surname Dongfang, Li Xizhi understood this was the handiwork of the Muhai dragon clan. He returned the greeting, and his hand was already pressed against his hilt. At those words, the green blade leaped from its scabbard, blazing with white light as he unleashed the Lunar Crescent Sword Arc.
Clang!
In sword talent, Li Xizhi was not inferior to Li Xijun, and he was older than him. Yet because he practiced many spells that divided his energy, the sword arc before him was not quite the match of his younger clan brother’s.
Dongfang Heyun was still casually smoothing his sleeves. Freeing a hand, he caught the sword light between two fingers and ground it to powder in an instant. Then he looked up and strode forward.
‘He cannot be fought head-on!’
The thought flashed through Li Xizhi’s mind. A round shield sprang from his sleeve, hurtling forward at high speed to strike at Dongfang Heyun.
Qingsui Peak was impoverished to begin with, and the magical weapon shaken from his sleeve was merely a mid-grade Qi Refinement tool. Dongfang Heyun raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “And here I thought you were a scion of a Muhai immortal!”
Evidently, Dongfang Heyun had finally recognized Li Xizhi’s background from this exchange. Yet though he spoke lightly, his hands did not slow in the least. Striking with his palm, the seawater instantly turned into an undulating steel wall, throwing Li Xizhi’s spellcraft into disarray. He shaped his palm into a blade, smooth as jade, cleaving through the air. Li Xizhi only had time to execute half an evasion step, shifting his body sideways by several feet.
The feather robe Yang Xiao’er had given him was no ordinary item. Its golden patterns blazed to life, unleashing several bursts of dazzling golden light that rained down toward Dongfang Heyun.
A flicker of surprise crossed Dongfang Heyun’s eyes. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glare, and fine, dense little holes pitted his palm.
Li Xizhi advanced his sword and spells in tandem, and his cultivation was considered superior; his only deficiency lay in magical weapons. While cultivating on the peak, apart from that single portion of Morning Glow Colored Qi, he had never asked the clan for any resources. But the opponent before him was exceedingly strange: he possessed top-tier intellect and methods, yet used inferior spells; his feather robe was bizarre, yet the weapon he used was utter garbage. The sight left Dongfang Heyun briefly stunned.
From this single clash alone, Li Xizhi deduced a great deal: ‘This person did not use the technique he previously used to appear right before me; there must be restrictions on it. If he were a true Violet Palace, I would already be dead. He is neither like a standard Foundation Establishment nor like a true Violet Palace. Rather, it seems like… it seems like the divine ability empowerment of that dragon! Just as an Esoteric Master relies on a Maha and thus stands a cut above Foundation Establishment, he depends on the Muhai great demon, granting him the empowerment of divine ability… allowing him to shift spiritual energy, manipulate talismans, and scatter or coalesce at will.’
Reflecting on the sea and sky in the distance and recalling the moment Dongfang Heyun had materialized, Li Xizhi thought to himself, ‘Wind follows the tiger, clouds follow the dragon.’
To perceive what was amiss with Dongfang Heyun, he also had to thank Yuanwu Peak’s “Brocade Mouse” Yu Su. Yu Su possessed a golden cage called the Changfeng Cage, an ancestral heirloom of the Yu family. It imprisoned five wind fiends that obeyed commands, each at the peak of Qi Refinement, capable of merging into a Foundation Establishment demon wind—truly miraculous. That artifact was an immortal-grade treasure among Foundation Establishment implements, and Li Xizhi had studied it thoroughly, which made Dongfang Heyun feel familiar now.
Ever since he realized his family would eventually clash with Yuanwu Peak, Li Xizhi had been paying close attention. Following his father’s teaching of planning before acting, he had probed the people of Yuanwu Peak thoroughly, from their implements and cultivation methods to their temperaments and preferences. Combining this with the demon’s name, he understood that this was ten to one a spiritual cloud. ‘This person is neither of dragon descent nor human… but a spirit demon born of the world’s wind and rain… How extraordinary!’
Having reached this conclusion, Li Xizhi made an immediate decision, his mind remaining cool: ‘How can I tangle with clouds and mist in the air? I must drop into the water to plan my next move!’
He cast six talismans. His figure drifted apart like colored mist, leaving six dazzling streaks of light in the air before reappearing more than ten paces away. Flapping his sleeve, he released a shroud of rosy clouds that slowly dispersed like smoke and wool, rippling in a small ring.
If Li Xizhi lacked other things, he had talismans in abundance. His grandmaster, Si Yuanbai, had been one of Qingchi Sect’s foremost talisman masters and had left behind numerous talismans before fleeing west. Yuan Tuan had also left a batch before departing, most of which were in Li Xizhi’s possession.
The talismans clasped in his hand flew out, turning into streaks of golden light in the air. A full six Foundation Establishment talismans unleashed their brilliance simultaneously, descending like flowing liquid and interweaving into a barrier.
Dongfang Heyun drifted in the wind. With a hook and snap of his fingers, the golden array formed by the six talismans shifted a foot sideways, allowing him to step out with leisurely, weightless strides. He advanced, leaving the golden array glittering behind him, while Li Xizhi had already sped several li into the distance. Dongfang Heyun dissolved into a wisp of misty rain and gave chase.
Li Xizhi, guiding his rosy light, faintly sensed the disturbance among the six golden talismans. His heart jolted slightly as he calculated rapidly.
Sure enough, the moment Li Xizhi entered the water, Dongfang Heyun’s speed slowed by a fraction, though it was barely noticeable. Li Xizhi plunged headlong into the deep, and the light before his eyes rapidly dimmed. Dongfang Heyun seemed concerned about his robes; frowning, he released magic power to part the seawater before descending, trailing a string of bubbles as he sank swiftly.
Behind him, Dongfang Heyun narrowed his eyes slightly, watching Li Xizhi enter the water, and nodded faintly. ‘Ordinary people would assume I am of dragon stock and dare not enter the water to fight, never imagining that this rosy-cloud cultivator possesses such quick wit.’
Trailing behind, Dongfang Heyun retrieved a glowing blue bead from his sleeve, cradled it between his palms, and blew lightly upon it.
Li Xizhi suddenly spun around, his fingers forming an incantation seal: the middle and ring fingers bent into the palm while the others stood upright, shaping a tripod. Overlapping illusory shadows enveloped him, coalescing into the indistinct form of a great cauldron. His figure multiplied into several forms that did not scatter, but instead overlapped in layered succession.
These Rainbow Shadow Clones were meant to confuse enemies, yet Li Xizhi knew Dongfang Heyun was a master of transformation and could never be deceived. Even so, he spurred a streak of rosy light onward.
“An illusion technique? How could that deceive me?” Dongfang Heyun frowned slightly, conjured another jade bead in his hand, and flicked his finger.
The jade bead crashed into the shadows with a tremendous roar. Li Xizhi’s illusory doubles shattered all at once, his breath hitching, and he struck back, hurling the force straight at Dongfang Heyun’s face. Methods had no fixed form; though the clones could not fool Dongfang Heyun, they served as vessels for the Heart Tripod resolution art, absorbing part of the backlash to withstand his spell.
Dongfang Heyun smiled with gentle politeness, watching him deflect the spell back, while his own figure blurred and dissolved into sky-filling clouds.
Behind him, the feather robe on Li Xizhi surged with radiance, flecks of gray light bursting forth. His face turned pale, and he abruptly spat out blood. Having formed the incantation seal in his hands for some time, he brought two fingers together and said in a low voice, “Strike!”
The feather robe on Li Xizhi let out a piercing screech. Crimson blood instantly exploded into the deep sea, and his right arm was severed clean off at the shoulder, bursting into a cloud of rosy mist.
“Pfft!”
Li Xizhi’s face turned deathly pale. The blood spilling from the wound continuously transmuted into rosy clouds, fueling the evasion technique behind him. His attainments in spellcraft were far beyond ordinary cultivators; this blood-evasion art did not genuinely burn away his vital essence, but utilized the fresh wound and flowing blood to drive the technique.
When Dongfang Heyun regained his focus, all that remained before him was a stretch of seawater swirling with colored light and blood vaporizing into rosy mist. Li Xizhi was already far away, and the severed arm had vanished as well. The rainbow light Li Xizhi trailed carried flecks of red, showing he had resorted to a secret art. Doubt surfaced on Dongfang Heyun’s face, and he murmured, “Just whose scion could this be…?”
He paused to ponder for an instant, then quickly broke into a smile, tidied his sleeves, and took flight, turning into a streak of white light to give chase.
Ahead, Li Xizhi grew paler by the moment. His thoughts raced, his pulse pounding against his chest, yet his direction drifted further and further away, widening the distance from Zongquan Island.
‘If it truly reaches a desperate moment, I can only turn this arm into a spell.’
The seawater here was gradually turning an azure-red hue. Li Xizhi calculated the distance; Zongquan Island was no longer far off. Dongfang Heyun had hesitated in the water for several breaths for some reason, granting him the opportunity to accelerate, and the great array atop Zongquan Island could already be glimpsed in the distance.
Though trapped in mortal peril, Li Xizhi’s mind remained crystal clear, turning over the words of the Violet Palace demon dragon again and again: ‘Punishment.’
‘Punishment… punishment… A Violet Palace cultivator’s words are absolute. If I hide inside someone else’s array, wouldn't that punishment become a farce? If I damage the Violet Palace’s prestige, Dongfang Heyun will slaughter without mercy, and I must never implicate Aunt Qinghong!’
The dragon loathed Qingchi’s scheme of using him as a borrowed blade, yet Li Xizhi had strayed into dragon territory, which amounted to a provocation that could not simply be dismissed. Pondering the dragon’s thoughts, Li Xizhi reached a swift deduction: ‘Dongfang Heyun’s strength far exceeds mine; in a drawn-out pursuit, I am certain to die… If he does not truly wish to kill me, there is either a time limit… or I must pay a sufficient price to appease their dignity!’
‘No matter what, I must never hide in our family’s array!’
He gritted his teeth, gradually veering his flight path away from the south. ‘Less than half a shichen remains…’
Only when the leakage of his vital qi slowly subsided did he take the severed arm he held in his embrace and set it back against the wound on his shoulder.
Chapter 513