Li Xuanfeng had been personally summoned and rewarded by the two Zifu masters of Qingchi and Jinyu, who urged him to strive further. Everyone knew that the one guarding Baixiang Valley was his junior, so under his sweeping gaze, no one was willing to raise their head.
On the other side, Tang Shedu, the "Changtian Halberd," though bearing some grudges against him and fancying his own strength not much inferior, was glad to see some disturbance. Unwilling to stand out at this moment, he turned his head toward Yu Su, the "Brocade Black Mouse."
Ning Heyuan continued, "Baixiang Valley has fallen. Surrounding areas such as Mount Qunyuan and Mount Nu have been looted clean. A large host of demonic cultivators swept southward, pouring through the wilderness as far as Salt Lake, and south toward the Xiao family of Lixia Commandery and the region of Yushan and Yuyuan."
"The cultivators at Baixiang Valley failed in their defense, suffering grievous losses. Li Xizhi of Changtian Peak fled into Mount Chengdu, Yu Yuwei of Panqi Peak escaped into Salt Lake, and Quan Yi of Linghe Peak was slain by Tuoba Chongyuan, his Dao extinguished in death. None of the other cultivators survived."
"Both peak lords are standouts among Foundation Establishment cultivators, managing to escape with their lives while facing the pursuit of a host of demonic cultivators. As for the other cultivators, unable to enter the protective arrays, all died along the way."
As he finished reading the news, murmurs rippled through the gathering. Li Xuanfeng paused, showing no trace of anger, but suddenly spoke up, "Salt Lake is rather far... and Baixiang Valley is well over a thousand li from Mount Chengdu, with several intact arrays along the way. Why did they only manage to escape after fleeing so far?"
Ning Heyuan knew his brother-in-law was asking what he already knew. Tang Shedu sneered at the side, and seeing him about to cut in, Ning Heyuan hastily answered first, "The two peak lords passed through the various passes, but the cultivators feared the might of Tuoba Chongyuan and dared not open the gates to receive them."
Li Xuanfeng nodded and said naturally in a heavy voice, "The cultivators who lost Baixiang Valley must naturally be punished... it is only a pity that casualties were so severe, hardly anyone can be found."
Chi Zhiyan had a throbbing headache; how could he fail to understand his meaning? Seeing the hesitation among the cultivators, he only soothed in a low voice, "What Xuanfeng says is true... The guards at the passes must be punished as well. But the urgent task at hand... is still to send someone to Baixiang Valley to rebuild the grand array."
Li Xuanfeng's words elicited varying expressions from the cultivators. Who wanted to face Tuoba Chongyuan? It was a thankless task that would offend the Tuoba family. With Li Xuanfeng's injuries yet to heal, ten to one, someone would be picked from among these long-established cultivators to go. And Tang Shedu was the most renowned among them—not only had he been famous for years, but he had been personally trained by Yuanwu.
Chi Zhiyan looked across the crowd and called out softly, "Senior Shedu?"
Tang Shedu could only cough and step forward. But what room did he have for tactful evasion now? He could only say in a low voice, "Yuanwu Peak is short of hands at present. I alone can hardly sustain it..."
A middle-aged man stepped forward from the crowd and cupped his hands in response. He was plain-looking, with two bulging gourds tied to his waist, dharma light shimmering across his rattan armor. He was Lingu Rao of the Lingu clan of Jiachuan, who in past years had guarded the South Sea for Qingchi, known by the moniker "Raozi Scorpion."
A hundred years ago, Lingu Rao had been a renowned cultivator, and his father Lingu Xia was even more illustrious. However, Lingu Rao had always guarded the South Sea and rarely returned inland; after a century, few remembered his name.
"Fellow Daoist Lingu..."
Chi Zhiyan was just about to issue orders when he suddenly paused. The Great Void before him tore open, and a gleaming golden talisman leaped out, landing in his palm.
Chi Zhiyan closed his eyes for a breath, taking in its meaning, and instantly burst out laughing. Opening his eyes brimming with joy, he laughed, "Rejoice, fellow Daoists! Tuoba Chongyuan's dharma robe has been torn, his dharma body shattered, and he died violently at Mount Chengdu! Leaving behind only a wisp of soul, he has likely returned to Shengle Heaven for reincarnation!"
Caught off guard, everyone was stunned. Tang Shedu let out a great sigh of relief. Happy events lift the spirit, and unable to hold back his curiosity, he asked, "Subordinate congratulates My Lord! Might I ask which senior cultivator slew him?"
Chi Zhiyan laughed heartily and replied, "It was the Eastern Sea dragon race! Perhaps one of the dragon princes was drawn by the situation in the State of Xu, and somehow crossed ten thousand li to enter inland waters."
Chi Zhiyan nodded with a smile. With Tuoba Chongyuan dead, nine times out of ten the Tuoba family would not dare linger. The threat from the east was resolved, so how could he not be pleased?
He was now also in the mood to say leisurely, "Right now, the spiritual mechanism in Xu is in turmoil, and the Great Void is crowded with Zifu masters and Mahas, making it impossible to divine anything clearly! That is why the various Zifu masters are locked in this game of chess... But how did Tuoba Chongyuan run headlong into a dragon?"
Chi Zhiyan looked around and said, "Back then, to forge his Hehou Profound Pearl and Bishui Precious Pill, Tuoba Xuan slew Dongfang Tianye, the first son of True Chi. The dragons loathe them to the bone! Now that they have caught someone of the Tuoba family, flaying him and ripping out his tendons would hardly be excessive."
Someone cautioned, "Everyone had better still call him True Monarch Tiancheng Suiqi Suxuan or Emperor Wu of Liang... After all, he was at the True Monarch level; though his Dao has ended in death, calling him directly by name might easily shorten one's lifespan."
Chi Zhiyan said beamingly, "The State of Xu is so vast, yet he happened to bump right into Tuoba Chongyuan! How could the dragons let a member of the Tuoba family go? They beat him to death by sheer force and even seized his natal seal, perhaps taking it back to decorate a dragon palace!"
Li Xuanfeng stared heavily at the jade table, the image of a youth suddenly rising before his eyes. He had specifically inquired about Li Xizhi's affairs and had also seen Dongfang Heyun in the Northern Sea.
On the surface he chimed in casually, but inwardly he secretly guessed, 'Could it be...'
'Perhaps he made the move... Dongfang Heyun was born of the Dragon Lord's first exhalation upon forming the core, so his origins could certainly not be deduced. Touching upon the Dragon Lord, let alone a Zifu master, even several Mahas gathered together could not fathom it.'
Chi Zhiyan felt immensely refreshed. Never one to turn away from excitement, he tossed out a couple of mocking remarks.
In his words, he made no mention of the relics that had fallen near Mount Chengdu. Presumably, they had already been divided up in the Great Void. Qingchi had just suffered a major defeat and their share had shrunk drastically; it barely sufficed for the Chi family, with none left to distribute among the rest.
As things stood, the several cultivators naturally had no share in the relics near Mount Chengdu. Going there would merely be offending the Tuoba family for nothing. Moreover, who knew how many trump cards Tuoba Chongyuan possessed, and whether one might throw away one's life?
Lost in thought, Li Xuanfeng did not reply further. The crowd gradually took their leave, and the grand hall emptied.
***
Ning Heyuan and Li Xuanfeng walked back together to the cave dwelling, each nursing their own thoughts. Ning Heyuan asked first, "Brother-in-law, how are your injuries now?"
Li Xuanfeng was concerned about Li Xizhi's condition, but found it awkward to ask too much, waving his hand as he replied, "I took the precious herb sent over; the effect was very good, no need to worry. It is indeed strange. Yet the rules of the various sects remain intact, so it certainly wasn't Qingchi making a move..."
Ning Heyuan nodded and whispered, "Brother-in-law, there is something fishy about Tuoba Chongyuan's death! What's more, Shengle Heaven is no ordinary power. There must be Tuoba fiends in the Great Void. Although the Great Void in Xu currently obscures the mortal realm, they should still be able to sense the vitality of their junior, right?"
Li Xuanfeng naturally understood, and merely said in a heavy voice, "Of course there is something fishy. Perhaps even the Zifu masters did not foresee it. Master Yuanxiu abruptly replying with this talisman was clearly unexpected as well; perhaps the dragons played this move brilliantly, catching both the Zifu masters and Mahas by surprise."
Deducing the truth was useless at this point. Li Xuanfeng asked, "How is the forging of the magical artifact coming along?"
"That heavy armor of the Murong family bears many traces of demonic cultivators. It is difficult to smelt, and will still require more than half a year."
Ning Heyuan answered, and picking up where he left off, said, "The Chi family and Ning family have repeatedly inquired after your injuries, and even sent such a precious herb, hoping you would heal quickly and take the medicine early... to contribute to Qingchi."
Having been injured this time, Li Xuanfeng had been granted an audience with the Zifu masters, and the Ning family had personally brought out a precious herb to heal him—a stalk of Mengze Grass, far more precious than the Huashang Fruit Li Tongya had received back then.
Taking this medicine had made Li Xuanfeng look several years younger. Ning Heyuan could see it and felt much relieved, soon taking his leave.
***
Having seen Ning Heyuan off, Li Xuanfeng returned to his cave dwelling, sat down cross-legged, and retrieved a jade bottle from his robes.
Inside that jade bottle was precisely the Gengjin Eight Qi Pill bestowed by Yuanxiu. Even through the precious jade bottle, holding it in hand still felt like gripping the blade of a knife.
"If I were to take it out for even a moment, everything in the cave dwelling would turn into metal and stone."
Li Xuanfeng paused, then shook the pill out of the jade bottle.
A beam of golden light leaped eagerly from the bottle, dazzling and brilliant, illuminating the surroundings in gleaming white. The immortal pill hovered gently in the air, seemingly observing the environment around it.
Golden-white radiance flowed continuously along the patterns across the pill. A fragrant aroma filled the cave, accompanied by a resounding clatter of metal and stone. Reddish-brown earthen patterns surfaced on the walls, and a rustling shower of gold and silver powder swept over the ground.
He showed no hesitation, picking up the pill and gently placing it into his mouth.
Li Xuanfeng felt a buzzing in his head, his vision whirling. The moment the pill entered his mouth, it vanished, turning into golden light that coursed through his body and rapidly transferred into his Qihai acupoint.
Foundation Establishment cultivators could likewise consume pills to add a dao complement to their Qi Sea... thereby gaining many marvelous abilities. Yet it was a measure akin to pulling up seedlings to help them grow; not only would it affect one's temperament, but advancing to Zifu would henceforth become exceedingly difficult.
Li Xuanfeng had refined Lou Jinshi, and his Qi Sea had originally been a boundless golden expanse mingled with strands of golden-red radiance. Now, as this completely distinct golden light plunged into it, waves instantly surged.
'The so-called Gengjin Eight Qi Pill is actually an art of supplementing dao complements!'
In the path of Zifu and Golden Core, the golden nature has many dao complements. These complements can supplement one another; after mastering a Zifu divine ability, one must cultivate dao complements of the same system.
Naturally, cultivating them on one's own was nowhere near as fast as swallowing another's, which was why in Jiangnan, Zifu masters often swallowed Foundation Establishment cultivators. Xiao Yuansi had mentioned this long ago.
Yet once this pill was swallowed, the path to Zifu would be forever beyond reach. Li Xuanfeng felt a wave of shock and anger in his heart. Thoughts swirled, and Yuansu's face gradually surfaced before his eyes.
Yet he dared not show resentment.
Li Xuanfeng discovered that his cultivation, which had reached an impasse with nowhere left to advance, was slowly circulating and continuing to climb, breaking through the boundary of the peak of Foundation Establishment, recongealing—
Dao Foundation 'Tianjin'!
Li Xuanfeng felt a chill in his heart. He had never entertained thoughts of Zifu; after all, his follow-up cultivation method, the Tianxu Zengjin Classic, was in the hands of the Tangjin Sect. Leaving aside whether he had any chance, allowing him to break through to Zifu did not align with the interests of Qingchi or any other party...
'Master Qiushui undoubtedly wants what is best for the Ning family. Having me cultivate this art is without question the best outcome... Whether Ning Wan succeeds in her breakthrough or not, this move brings immense benefit to the Ning family.'
'As for Master Yuanxiu, with superior strength at this time, I can naturally strive for more benefits for Qingchi. It was because the two masters' interests aligned that they summoned me together.'
'Such are the calculations of Zifu masters...'
More epiphanies slowly welled up in his heart.
Although the Dao Foundation had congealed, the medicinal potency within the Gengjin Eight Qi Pill was still being continuously refined and poured into that 'Tianjin' Dao Foundation, gradually forging it to completion.
What had appeared in his Qi Sea was none other than the dao complement to his own Dao Foundation 'Lou Jinshi', one of the Dao Foundations of the Gengjin system—Tianjin!
'Tianjin'—its qi is chilling and sharp, adept at swallowing and exhaling metal qi and channeling golden rays. Once this Dao Foundation is activated, it condenses the Tianjin Cuirass across the body's surface, turning the entire form into the colors of metal and stone.
When clad in this Tianjin Cuirass, one can tear apart tigers and leopards with bare hands, unharmed by water or fire, and even more immune to poison. One can use metal and stone to repair wounds, and even regenerate severed limbs.
Long ago, Li Xuanfeng had tempered Lou Jinshi to the utmost. That Dao Foundation itself could reinforce the physical body, making the entire form like metal and stone while marshaling baleful qi. Complementing his divine ability Tremendous Strength, baleful qi surged from his spirit apertures, which was what had forged his renown today.
Now, the metal qi in his Qi Sea blended into a single mass, rising and floating. The lighter metal qi ascended, while the slightly denser metal qi sank to the bottom. The golden light reconnected, and the Gengjin Eight Qi Pill reconstituted itself.
Li Xuanfeng's cultivation continued to climb. As he quietly experienced the change, the clouds and mist in his Qi Sea parted as if something had been stirred, and another object leaped up.
This object was gleaming white and round, shining so brilliantly that the golden light in his Qi Sea stilled, the golden pellet retreated, and the various energies congealed. Li Xuanfeng's heart skipped a beat:
"Buzz!"
'This pill has triggered the talisman seed!'
Sure enough, the Gengjin Eight Qi Pill in his Qi Sea slowly shifted shape, transforming into an immense golden talisman covered in intricate patterns, radiating waves of multicolored light.
The magic power emerging from the Tianjin Cuirass was slightly dim, coursing along his meridians and making the golden patterns across his skin denser and denser.
His aura took another step forward, a cuirass etched with golden patterns manifesting over his body. Yet his expression gradually darkened, and he thought coldly to himself...
Chapter 560