Five-Eyed Lianmin pinched his fingers in divination, seizing Xu Mu's karmic mandate to calculate. Mist swirled before his eyes, and soon a vast lake emerged, its azure ripples outlining the shape of a crescent moon.
Peaks towered all around. The islets scattered across the lake were either barred by roaring thunder or carpeted in lush fragrant grass, beneath a bright sky and crisp breeze. He observed it carefully and thought to himself, "This should be Wangyue Marsh of the ancient Seven Lakes and Four Marshes... Now it is Lake Wangyue... Among the Five Water Virtues, the Prefecture Water that governs lakes and marshes does not manifest, which is why it has languished to this state."
Pushing his calculation further, he suddenly caught sight of a youth in white. The youth possessed sword-like brows and starry eyes, cloaked in frost and snow, wielding a chilling cyan-white sword light. In his ears came a greeting: "Li Xijun!"
Five-Eyed Lianmin examined his physiognomy, feeling both shocked and covetous before his expression turned to sheer delight. "This... splendid... A face chiseled like stone, adept at severing mortal ties, sharp between the brows, an icy heart and snowy bones, cold as freezing frost, utterly unfeeling! This person is far more suited to my Form of Void than Xu Mu! A bronze sword was snapped, but a frosty edge was gained!"
Joy welled up in his heart, leaving him thoroughly pleased. "It so happens that this person killed the Arhat beneath my seat! Slaying and creating negative karma is the foremost great karmic affinity! I will not even need to go out of my way to sever ties and convert him; a pretext has already landed right in my hands!"
Five-Eyed Lianmin dispersed the calculation, forming seals and chanting incantations. Colorful radiance streamed from behind his head as he observed carefully within the Great Void. Reaching a gold-lacquered arm into his garments, he pulled out a tiny bronze sword.
The bronze sword was already snapped in two. Placing it in his palm, he chanted:
"Foremost within this realm, the Unfettered Great Emptiness and Great Void deliver sentient beings. Five Eyes seeks the cause of the broken sword to fulfill the fruit of my lineage... delivering all living beings..."
He was experienced and knew well the taboos of this art. First, he used Xu Mu to calculate the Yu clan, then divined selectively within Lake Wangyue. Aside from Li Tongya, who had slain a Mahasattva and whose parents were obscured, the other members of the Li family were ordinary figures whose faces could be seen simply by drawing their names.
Divining him so effortlessly meant this was truly someone without powerful background or deep entanglements—splendid!
Golden qi rose over Five-Eyed Lianmin's face, his eyes grew misty, and Li Xijun's face soon emerged. The youth was pale, his eyes shut tight, clearly having suffered considerably at Xu Mu's hands. Five-Eyed Lianmin found this entirely reasonable. His finger, which had rested on his middle finger, lifted slightly.
***
World within the Mirror.
Lu Jiangxian manifested his form in the air, the cyan sword in his hand humming softly. His mind eased considerably.
"That puts me at ease!"
"To think that in just this brief span of time, a Shakya cultivator has already attacked the Li family..."
Xu Mu—or rather, Yu Mujian—did not possess extraordinarily deep swordsmanship, yet he had a unique focus. Clinging to Li Tongya's words from decades past as an obsession, he had kept that sword concealed for decades. When drawn, its sharp murderous aura was complete, its might rivaling Li Xuanfeng striking with full power, reaching the pinnacle of Foundation Establishment.
Had Lu Jiangxian not employed immortal arts, he could never have achieved something so seamless. After all, Foundation Establishment was petty skirmishing; striking when inspired was something that left no traces behind.
Thus, he had driven the Black Pearl Talisman Seed with all his might to calm Li Xijun's mind into a state of pristine clarity, combining it with the cyan sword intent Li Chijing had left behind all those years ago to achieve something akin to possession, allowing him to perceive and swing the blade.
Lu Jiangxian had originally been compiling and modifying techniques in the mirror. Qingchi had an abundance of manuals and spells. Cultivation methods were relatively easy to alter—trimming the beginning and end, disguising their origins, and bestowing them would suffice.
Chi Buzi and the water mansion immortal official had provided many Foundation Establishment manuals, interspersed with affiliated spells. For instance, Li Xizhi's *Morning Glow Dew Plucking Incantation* came with six internal arts, six secret arts, movement techniques, evasion arts, magical spells—everything one could ask for.
Yet spells were simply too conspicuous. Most were created by Qingchi, bearing heavy personal hallmarks or even widespread fame; a single glance would give them away.
He had no choice but to take out several spells of suitable rank, cross-referencing and synthesizing them while carefully modifying them. Though he had read vast numbers of manuals and spells, composing them was not a matter of a single day.
Just then, the Lianmin's divination traced back, probing cautiously. Lu Jiangxian watched coldly.
"Finally here!"
"What is more, in the eyes of the Shakya cultivators, Xu Mu died at Li Xijun's hands. Five-Eyed Lianmin would naturally not let this slide so easily. If Li Xijun remained unharmed, that in itself would be bizarre..."
Though several Golden Cores had gone beyond the heavens, after seeing so many schemes of Real Persons and True Monarchs, this could well be a ploy to lure snakes from their holes. Lu Jiangxian did not believe for a moment that Yue Country was left unwatched. If he could avoid using the Taiyin Mysterious Light, that was naturally for the best.
"This Lianmin's body still resides in the Great Void. If I kill him rashly, and he dies before everyone's eyes during a divination, who knows how many traces it would leave behind? There might even be True Monarchs watching..."
"A Lianmin... yet not one stationed right beside a Mahasattva. If anything unusual happened to him, it would be noticed instantly! Any hidden trap left behind would hardly work then and would instead leave a trail of clues."
"Either this fellow must meet a swift, sudden death without a trace, or he must be made utterly obedient..."
"This is already the least risky method I can think of."
The question was how to deal with him.
"Erasing his memories would be letting him off too easily..."
"I need only wait."
Sure enough, within a few breaths, Five-Eyed Lianmin boldly pushed his divination. Lu Jiangxian's mind stirred, and a plan formed. Tapping upon the desk, he instantly conjured the boundless grand hall forged of white jade from years past!
The immortal seat upon which he sat was also somewhat different. Modified from the altar, it was magnificent and grand, towering high above. Below, countless wisps of white qi streamed forth, shifting into myriad forms.
This white qi had also been derived from observing Violet Palace breakthroughs and Golden Core clashes in recent years, combined with immortal arts to genuinely encompass the marvel of golden nature. Even a True Monarch would likely be taken aback upon seeing it.
The intricate incantations inscribed in all directions were no longer the mere ornamental facades of the past; they were true incantations deduced through golden nature and immortal arts, enough to entrance anyone who looked upon them.
Having arranged all this meticulously, he sat down quietly, bright radiance emanating from his visage.
***
Five-Eyed Lianmin felt as though heaven and earth were crumbling beside his ears. A burst of golden-white sparks exploded before his eyes, tearing into his heart with agonizing pain. In the space of a breath, an icy chill gripped the back of his head, as if an enormous hand had plunged directly into his soul and violently yanked upward!
Rumble!
He felt as if both flesh and spirit were pulverized. A hazy veil scattered across his face, sapping all strength from his limbs. His soul seemed torn from his body yet confined within it. Illusions flickered before his eyes, light and dark alternating until he lost consciousness.
This was the second time someone had divined Lu Jiangxian's true form. Yet today, Lu Jiangxian was far beyond what he had been back then. Nor was the intruder a Mahasattva of the Lotus of Reform who could only be trapped for a moment; it was merely a Lianmin of the Form of Void, falling into his grasp like a fish on a chopping board.
Five-Eyed Lianmin's consciousness gradually returned. What met his eyes was a gleaming white floor, smooth and translucent. Through the white surface, bright patterns could be seen, a single glance leaving his head spinning and throbbing.
He slowly realized what had happened, and the terror in his heart reached its peak. He did not dare look up, watching the white qi weave around his legs. A biting chill engulfed his heart, freezing him until he was dizzy and his teeth chattered uncontrollably.
Five-Eyed Lianmin shuffled on the floor for a moment, pressing his legs together and inching backward. Inside the great hall, aside from the radiance, there was no change of scenery, deathly silent without a sound. He felt as though he had crept back for a long time, but when he looked carefully, up, down, left, and right had not shifted in the slightest; he was still kneeling in the exact same spot.
Hearing no sound, Five-Eyed Lianmin slowly raised his head, only to be scared out of his wits. Boundless, pristine jade pillars reached into the clouds, and at the highest seat sat a figure in white!
The white-robed figure's countenance radiated blazing illumination, white, scorching, and dazzling, stinging his eyes. His garments fluttered with immortal aura as he leaned upon the towering white jade throne. Endless radiance cascaded down, morphing into the myriad forms of living beings upon touching the ground, lifelike and vibrant!
Five-Eyed Lianmin felt as if his eyes were turning to bloody water. Gazing upon that immortal seat reaching into the clouds, his mind went blank, leaving only a single thought:
*An immortal?!*
Five-Eyed Lianmin was a veteran Lianmin who had attempted reincarnation twice. His arts of divination originated from the prognostication arts of the late Zhou Dynasty. Extremely effective though they were, if a divination miscalculated into the realm of a True Monarch, it would cost him his old life!
Tsunamis crashed through Five-Eyed Lianmin's heart. He opened his mouth to beg for mercy, only to find he could not make a sound. He had no choice but to kowtow like pounding garlic, smashing his head against the floor repeatedly.
Rhythmic thuds echoed through the vast hall. Lu Jiangxian watched for a moment, feeling that this fellow was somewhat like a chicken rib—tasteless to eat, yet a pity to discard.
Lu Jiangxian remained silent, as if in seclusion. Five-Eyed Lianmin shivered on the ground for a time, terror long having breached all limits. Looking up only met the dizzying, vast radiance of the immortal seat, so he could only fix his gaze on the floor.
At last, a voice rang out—cool, cold, and resonant, echoing deeply through the hall:
"Five Eyes!"
With just this call, a thunderclap exploded in Five-Eyed Lianmin's heart, and he immediately deduced:
*He didn't search my soul, so he must belong to the orthodox immortal path. And asking about the state of the world means he is an immortal from before the Heavenly Change! Possessing such divine abilities yet ignorant of secular affairs, there must be a flaw—eight or nine out of ten chances he is sealed within this hall! Only then would he ask such a question!*
Five-Eyed Lianmin put on a display of utmost terror and shock, weeping piteously:
"This humble cultivator greets the Upper Immortal! Having defiled the immortal hall... I am filled with terror and shame."
"I await only the Upper Immortal's command!"
Lu Jiangxian looked at Five-Eyed Lianmin on the ground, lightly resting his hand on the jade seat, sitting unhurriedly. His voice drifted down, cool and distant:
"This Seat has resided in this hall for many years... Though you are a heretical evil disciple... you have your uses."
"What era is it in the mortal realm today?"
Five-Eyed Lianmin instantly felt his tongue unfreeze, able to speak. Weeping tears of joy, he prostrated flat against the floor, wracking his brains to rapidly review and scrutinize his intended words like lightning before trembling:
"Reporting to the Upper Immortal, it has been over one thousand one hundred years since the fall of the Wei Dynasty. This humble cultivator has relied on the method of reincarnation to live longer, already over one thousand one hundred years old! When I was young, it happened to coincide with Fu Qiyan governing the country, so I heard many rumors."
He finished trembling. Having heard this, Lu Jiangxian asked casually:
"Where is Li Qianyuan?"
Five-Eyed Lianmin bowed in sheer dread, replying:
"Emperor Taizu of Wei attained immortal demise long ago. The True Monarch of Mount Luoxia is merely one step away from the Mingyang fruit position."
Lu Jiangxian listened quietly, forming a rough estimate of the northern Shakya faction's strength in his heart, and the voice above fell silent for a breath before asking again:
"I see that the former fruit positions are all vacant. Where have they all gone?"
Five-Eyed Lianmin's lips trembled as if locked in an internal struggle, words shifting before he answered:
"This humble cultivator's knowledge is shallow... Back then... back then I heard that among the Merged Ancient Arts, 'Xiuyue' was obtained by True Monarch Taiyue when Liang crushed Zhao. The one of 'Yuzhen' relinquished the fruit position and departed. The one of 'Gold Core' was grievously wounded and died at the hands of Dongfang Weiming and Dongfang Weixi..."
"Other great events are truly beyond my knowing..."
The voice asked:
"How fares the Shakya path today?"
"How many World-Honored Ones are there?"
This finally touched upon Five-Eyed Lianmin's forte. Breathing a long sigh of relief, he replied with utmost reverence:
"Upper Immortal! Since Suxikong and Shijiali, the last two World-Honored Ones, parted on bad terms after their discourse on the Dao and each departed beyond the realm, the Shakya path has long been fractured. Today it is divided into seven paths..."
"Namely: Form of Void, Bliss, Wrath, Great Desire, Precepts, Compassion, and Dharma Realm."
"Their sacred titles?"
"It is said... one has already responded."
"Dazhi Zen Heaven Ali..."
He did not dare speak the name in full, pausing deliberately in the middle. After uttering these words, his mouth trembled uncontrollably. Like a tiny ant, he lay dazed upon the white tiles as the voice above slowly drifted down:
"Oh?"
"Dazhi Zen..."
"Could it be that the World-Honored position attained by Dazhi Zen is..."
That slight murmur of surprise carried a hint of a rhetorical question, yet it sparked boundless reverie in Five-Eyed Lianmin's heart. Though he dared not think further, he felt a spine-chilling excitement at having glimpsed an ancient secret.
*Why answer like that... why answer like that? Could it be that Dazhi Zen... the World-Honored position he attained is...*
Five-Eyed Lianmin was stunned, realizing in secret: *The immortal truly knows!*
Lu Jiangxian watched him quietly for two breaths, his voice growing cold as he said softly:
"Aside from the Form of Wrath suffering schemes before and after, its dharma appearance failing to respond and its Mahasattvas all perishing... the rest are all overseen by dharma appearances..."
Five-Eyed Lianmin's lips quivered as though wrestling with himself: "Upper Immortal..."
The golden radiance in Lu Jiangxian's hand was already complete. Five-Eyed Lianmin's memories were firmly in his grasp; there was no longer any need to have him speak, nor did he ask further.
With a gentle flick of his wrist, a sheet of golden brilliance materialized in his hand, morning mist shifting within it amidst myriad thoughts. Five-Eyed Lianmin's memories emerged bit by bit, every thought from his mind surfacing one after another.
Chapter 551