Person in Jade

“Li Xuanfeng.” Li Xuanfeng’s eyes flashed faintly with the light of an ocular technique. He could not discern the other’s true form, but hearing his surname was Dongfang, he figured it was mostly related to the dragonkind. He nodded and replied, “Could Fellow Daoist be of the Heshui dragonkind?” Dongfang Heyun was dressed in blue and white garments, appearing elegant, with an appropriate smile upon his face. He said politely, “Indeed. Thanks to the blessing of the Dragon Lord, I was born of cloud qi to act on behalf of the dragons of the Eastern Sea, and was bestowed the surname Dongfang.” Li Xuanfeng did not know what medicine he was selling in his gourd and listened in silence. Dongfang Heyun sat down opposite him and said warmly, “It is quite a coincidence. While patrolling near the Qunyi Strait, I saw a junior of your noble clan riding the rosy clouds, looking quite carefree. Having strayed into our dragon territory, I took action to invite him out.” Li Xuanfeng thought of Li Xizhi. These past days in the Southern Border, he had only heard that Li Xizhi had gone out on business for Xuanyue Gate, never imagining he had entered dragon territory. His eyes opened slightly, and he replied, “Oh? Then my junior was the one who offended.” Dongfang Heyun shook his head with a smile and said in a low voice, “There was indeed such an occurrence. I merely injured him, and have come to ask after his injuries. If his injuries are mostly healed, he is welcome to visit the Heshui Sea.” Li Xuanfeng could not tell whether he meant well or ill and could only respond noncommittally. Only then did Dongfang Heyun rise, cupping his hands rather politely, before transforming into wind and rain and vanishing without a trace. Li Xuanfeng stared at his retreating back and pondered for a moment. Fixing his gaze on the wind and snow outside the cave, he mused, ‘How did he stray into dragon territory? There seems to be something amiss with Xizhi’s affair. When there is a chance, I must go seek him out.’ The news obtained from this person was completely different from what he had gathered from the Ning family. He keenly perceived the anomaly, understanding that the young man was a deep thinker. Fearing he might rashly disrupt his plans, he decided to personally ask Li Xizhi when the time came. For Foundation Establishment cultivators, a bit of meditation and alternating days and nights passed quickly; more than half a month went by. Li Xuanfeng waited and waited, but Yuansu was nowhere to be seen, far exceeding the three days he had promised. He sat cross-legged for another three days. Only then did Yuansu shuttle out from the void, looking somewhat pale as he paused in mid-air. One hand was clasped behind his back, while the other held a severed arm. That arm was sealed by magic power, yet it still moved slightly, trembling continuously. Yuansu held up the arm and said in a low voice, “That old thing could hide in whatever godforsaken place he liked, yet he dared to come to the North Sea! Leaving behind one of his arms... as a lesson. “Situ Huo, listen well. If you have the ability, stay in the Southern Sea forever. Puyu and Yuming are both looking for you; do not return carelessly.” Having said this, he snapped off a joint of the finger and threw it into the sea, letting it find Situ Huo on its own. Only then did he put the arm away. The sky was already dotted with countless stars. Li Xuanfeng listened to these words and roughly understood why the Situ family’s Purple Palace master had vanished without a trace over the years—it turned out he was guarding against Yuansu dragging him down with him as his lifespan neared its end: ‘It seems Yuansu’s strength is indeed formidable; that Situ family member could only flee for his life.’ He hesitated for a breath and murmured in a low voice, “The Situ family’s Purple Palace master hid for so long, yet Yuansu still caught him.” The aura around Yuansu fluctuated, the splashing sound of spring water ringing out loudly. His brows were tightly knit, his expression even somewhat sinister. The mountain peak was almost entirely devoid of people. Pulling Li Xuanfeng onto the clouds, Yuansu continued flying north. He spoke not a word, taking Li Xuanfeng higher and higher. The north wind here grew increasingly fierce, to the point of being able to knock down ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. The mountain peaks beside them were interspersed with black and white, appearing rather solemn. Li Xuanfeng stood on the clouds, feeling the biting cold wind kept at bay by the cloud qi. Waiting for a few breaths, he suddenly heard a rustling sound, accompanied by fine, clicking impacts. Because he was shielded by Yuansu’s cloud qi, his spiritual sense could not penetrate outward to investigate. He could only look up, noticing that amidst the snowflakes were fine, shattered white specks that made crisp, fracturing sounds upon striking the ground. Beside him, Yuansu had calmed down considerably. He reached out a hand, gathered a handful of snowflakes, and shook them lightly, revealing sparkling flecks of pure white crushed jade. Yuansu remained silent for a dozen breaths before saying in a somber tone, “『Person in Jade』.” Just then, an old man descended from the sky, carrying a fishing rod on his shoulder, with another person standing beside him—middle-aged in appearance, quite solemn, wearing a thumb-sized jade on his chest that faintly glowed. Seeing this scene, Li Xuanfeng immediately understood: it was Xiao Chuting of the Xiao family, an old friend of Li Tongya, dressed in white. As for the other person, just taking a guess, he was most likely that Real Person Changxi, who differed quite a bit from what he had imagined. Li Xuanfeng promptly stood up, bowed, and said softly, “Greetings to the two Real Persons.” Xiao Chuting nodded and said in an aged voice, “Li Xuanfeng, wait a moment.” “It has been long since I last saw Senior.” “Since your strike at the Qingsong Temple cave heaven, we haven’t seen each other. Your murderous aura has grown much heavier.” The attitudes of Xiao Chuting and Changxi were fairly gentle. To Li Xuanfeng, Xiao Chuting looked no different from before, appearing even more transcendent; but to Xiao Chuting, Li Xuanfeng was entirely transformed: the youth once full of childish innocence had now become a fierce, unyielding veteran. Xiao Chuting seemed to have been waiting here for some time. Stroking his beard, he sat down to the side, followed by a woman in yellow-orange robes who smiled demurely and said, “Kong Tingyun of Xuanyue Gate pays respects to Senior.” Li Xuanfeng naturally knew of the friendship between Xuanyue Gate and his family, and had heard this name before. He nodded slightly. The three sat down upon the snow peak, and Li Xuanfeng shook his head with a smile. Listening from the side and noticing Kong Tingyun pause, Li Xuanfeng softly added: “In earlier years... there were also the Longdi Li and Cui clans, Real Person Donghua’s Ning State Li clan, and the Jingji Yang clan of Jiangnan—either declined or extinct, their voices have gradually faded away.” Kong Tingyun paused slightly and replied, “Among the world’s True Monarch immortal clans, other than the Wang and Xie clans, how many are left? “In antiquity there were many, but now those confirmed to survive are fewer than five... The Wang and Xie families are already the most prominent. “The rest, such as the Danshan Li clan of Wu, the Chen clan of Jiangnan, your Xiao clan, and the Shen clan of Jiangbei... can only be counted as a tier below, barely possessing some renown. “If our guesses are not mistaken, your noble clan should be northern survivors, descending from Li-Tang nobility, and tracing further back to the Longdi Li clan.” Li Xuanfeng’s expression dimmed slightly. After pondering for a moment, he said softly, “It is merely an erroneous rumor. If our family were truly descendants of the Li clan, how would we have fallen to our present state? “If that were truly so, why was not a single word passed down? Why did we decline into generations of mortals...” Seeing the change in their expressions, Kong Tingyun made some guesses and merely consoled them: “Rise and fall are common occurrences, often defying expectation, so do not think too much of it. Back then, everyone thought highly of the Chang family, but who could have foreseen today? And who could have imagined that from a tiny village would emerge a Li family with four Foundation Establishments in three generations? Even Purple Palace masters cannot see through fate! “Didn’t your family’s Old Man of the Brook foresee it early on? It made everyone feel it was incredible.” Xiao Chuting nodded slightly. Li Xuanfeng smiled and agreed, while laughing inwardly to himself. The two of them spoke very logically, yet Li Xuanfeng could not be certain. Others did not know, but he understood that his family had actually originated as farmers. From Li Mutian on down, they were all mortals, and the genealogy recorded only mortals who had drifted here... The so-called phenomenon where the brothers all possessed spirit apertures when Mount Lijing rose had entirely been granted by the talisman; the increasingly high talents of subsequent generations were also due to the enhancement of talisman seeds and immortal techniques. Without those two things, their cultivation would still be as slow as ordinary people—they were no descendants of an immortal clan! Only Li Zhouwei aroused slight suspicion in Li Xuanfeng, making him feel something was eerie... Yuansu had divined that they were of Li-Tang bloodline, but Li Xuanfeng felt they could at most be considered a collateral of collaterals among the Li clan. After all, the Great Tang had ruled for a millennium, expanding from a few commanderies to dominating the north; who knew how many descendants had been spawned? Be that as it may, Li Xuanfeng was envious after all. As long as the Li family possessed sufficient strength, Li-Tang likewise had a legacy, traceable even to antiquity; it was not merely a title, but something running in the blood. The three soon fell silent, merely regulating their breath quietly. Glancing to the side, he gestured toward Xie Zhanchang standing on the peak and murmured, “That one is a descendant of a Golden Core, a figure of the North Sea Xie family. I know not what lineage he cultivates, but it is rare to see a direct descendant.” “I have heard that whenever members of the Xie family fight, they can command spiritual opportunities, tread mist, and ride clouds. They are masters of applying spells, and are even capable of concocting talisman water to heal wounds.” The phrase “concocting talisman water” seemed to touch upon certain memories of Li Xuanfeng, causing him to pause slightly. After chatting on the peak for a bit, looking north, Li Xuanfeng asked softly: “This Beihuan Sect is rather interesting. With the heroes of the immortal path gathering here from all quarters, they are unwilling to lay out even a single table or chair, opening only this tiny cave dwelling and having people sit on the ground.” Kong Tingyun replied, “The Beihuan Sect is a fairly ancient lineage as well. It still preserves many old rules of the past, rarely venturing out into the world, and has few disciples—no more than several dozen.” Looking closely, Li Xuanfeng saw a man with an unsightly complexion, clad in gold and white robes—someone from a familiar sect! That person was none other than someone from Tangjin Gate. Although Li Xuanfeng did not recognize his specific identity, the garments on his body were exceedingly familiar. Having personally killed the young master of Tangjin Gate—even subjecting him to a thousand cuts—he naturally would not mistake it. “A man of Tangjin Gate... Even though so many years have passed, there are still plenty of enemies around. Claiming to be of the Li clan might sound grand, but the trouble is just as great...” The two took their leave of him and boarded the clouds one after another. Li Xuanfeng looked back to see white snow fluttering over the mountain peaks; only Xie Zhanchang remained on the peak, sitting cross-legged in cultivation with hand seals formed, and in the corner, another white silhouette sat amidst the snow. They reached the highest ice field, in the middle of which was a small lake. A host of Purple Palace masters stood quietly upon the clouds. On an ice platform in the lake sat a single person, his eyes quietly closed, a wooden sword hanging from his waist. A full twenty-three days passed before various colorful lights gradually emerged, mingled with the pitch-black of the Great Void... “It is over…” Li Xuanfeng came to a realization. Sure enough, Shangyuan on the platform opened his eyes, cast his gaze around, and swept his eyes over everyone one by one, speaking: “Everyone!” White mist still enshrouded Shangyuan’s face, the wooden sword at his waist swaying gently. Looking not far off, where two clear silhouettes were slowly emerging, Shangyuan smiled faintly, clasped his hands, and said, “Fellow Daoists, please wait a moment.” The two clear silhouettes seemed to have waited for a long time and dared not be negligent. One spoke in a shrill voice, “Fellow Daoist is too polite! Once your endeavor succeeds, we hope for your great support!” Shangyuan paid them no heed, merely exhaling a breath of white qi gently. No sooner had his words fallen than a magnificent, elegantly lined pure white feather robe manifested upon his body, its two sleeves trailing long streams of white qi like silk. Shangyuan usually dressed plainly, but now, graced by this splendid feather robe, he looked like a celestial immortal. Li Xuanfeng found it familiar. Having read the Baishou Kouting Jing, he felt this feather robe was quite similar to the description in the scripture, only infinitely more wondrous. He thought to himself: ‘It shouldn’t be the 『Jade Court General』, perhaps an even higher immortal scripture.’ Surrounded by numerous phenomena, steps of white jade emerged beneath Real Person Shangyuan’s feet. Wearing the sword, he stepped calmly upward. With every step he took, surging white qi billowed forth, and the wooden sword at his waist also began to glow faintly, revealing a jade-like luster before transforming into the color of white jade. Real Person Shangyuan said in a clear voice, “I, Shangyuan, break through to Golden Core today. In accordance with the pact of the immortal cultivators of the seven states and diverse seas, I have invited you all to witness the ceremony. Look closely, each of you, and perhaps you may derive some benefit.” He spoke in a calm, measured tone. The figures in the air nodded in return one after another. This was quite different from their silence out of fear before Duanmu Kui or their cold mockery before Chi Wei. Even if some Purple Palace masters disliked his character, they still barely nodded in acknowledgment at this moment. Shangyuan chuckled softly and rose slowly into the air. Yet he did not perform any overt divine abilities; instead, he gently pressed down on the sword at his waist. In an instant, countless spiritual swords and immortal blades present trembled, breaking free of their masters’ restraints with ringing clangs, faintly showing signs of unsheathing themselves—a truly magnificent sight! Those in the sky had long been watching his movements. Almost simultaneously, nearly all the Purple Palace masters stepped back, on guard. Only a few, including Yuansu, remained motionless where they stood. On the other side, a playful smile appeared beneath the mist on Real Person Shangyuan’s face, and his hand relaxed once more. Everyone stood awkwardly in the air, having lost face before the many juniors following behind them. Yet none dared speak out; at most, their expressions darkened slightly, and the vast majority did not even dare let their expressions change. Li Xuanfeng looked up. Yuansu’s face was full of mocking amusement, as if Shangyuan’s actions suited his temperament perfectly, standing there with arms crossed. At the same time, white qi billowed and rose rapidly into the air, spreading outward into all kinds of wondrous forms. Under the illumination of a massive white jade disc rising high into the sky, zithers were plucked and pipes played, white-robed figures wielded spears and danced with swords, animals galloped upon the crescent moon, and silk like cascading waterfalls unfurled, flowing continuously through the air into the lake...