The two conversed in midair. Lu Jiangxian was present only as a wisp of divine sense; though he could not intervene, neither of them detected him in the slightest. He drifted past Chang Yun and Master Qiushui, casting his gaze up toward the sky.
He did not linger here long. His divine sense shuttled through the area, sensing bursts of divine abilities colliding with one another. Many familiar faces had revealed themselves, all of them Violet Palace Real Persons. These cultivators hailed from south and north, primarily composed of Violet Palace masters and Lianmins. His divine sense surveyed the surroundings before ascending into the sky. Looking across the expanse, countless dark green-and-black palaces were arranged in picturesque tiers—some clustered around lakes, others built row upon row across the mountain ranges. Billowing mists and interwoven formations of every color formed a breathtaking vista.
Several grotto-heavens had opened in the south before. Donghuo Heaven had been breached by Chu Yi alone, leaving no restrictions intact. Jiangnan's orthodoxies all possessed ancestral ties granting entry into Shenjing Heaven. But as a complete, unopened grotto-heaven, Anhuai Heaven was the very first. Most of the formations in Anhuai Heaven were not established independently; instead, they were hung as sub-formations upon the grand formation at the lowest level of Anhuai Heaven. This entire grand formation was carved directly into the grotto-heaven itself, and while the shifting tides of time had weakened it somewhat, it remained exceedingly stable.
These matters were naturally headaches for that group of Violet Palace cultivators. Lu Jiangxian came and went freely, able to observe scenes across more than half the grotto-heaven. He frowned slightly.
"Where did... the Lotuses go?"
The strength of those Mahas was not to be underestimated. Their leader, Jinlian, was a Seventh-Life Maha; in Jiangnan, likely only Zipei could contend with him. The actions of these Mahas influenced the shifting dynamics of the entire grotto-heaven and were of utmost importance.
He searched two rounds and did not find the figures of those Mahas. Growing slightly suspicious, he paused his divine sense at Anhuai Hall, situated at the highest point of Anhuai Heaven. The Grand Elixir rested undisturbed upon the immortal throne. Due to the various divine abilities of the Golden Core cultivators, it flickered slightly with shifts of light and dark, yet bore no trace of having been tainted.
'How could the superior sect, Mount Luoxia, fail to pay attention to such an event? The southern immortal sects are fundamentally gathering Grand Elixirs. Could they be watching from the Great Void right now? Perhaps some agreement has granted these Golden Core cultivators a chance to contend for it... but if I were to seize this Grand Elixir like this, it would undoubtedly bring swift death.'
To take it, he would first need to manifest his true form to retrieve the Grand Elixir.
Though his divine sense could not transport spiritual items, he practiced that immortal art—the Tongzhen Wonder Method from Shenjing Heaven—so drawing the Grand Elixir would be effortless.
Yet he had no intention of claiming the item. Flying swiftly through the grotto-heaven, array after array proved useless against him, allowing him to pass through unimpeded. He quickly swept past numerous immortal palaces, gliding over item after item of radiant treasure, until he came to a stop before a tall, circular, altar-shaped round palace.
Wendao Palace was circular, rising taller toward the center and roughly divided into three tiers. The outermost tier stretched beyond the horizon, revealing only countless starlike, crystalline lusters adorning endless, towering brown shelves.
Bright spiritual lamps illuminated the hall. Jade slips hung high, sustained by several formations, quietly floating above the shelves. The jade slips were spaced evenly and arranged in neat order, extending along the ornate brown shelves deep into the great hall.
Hung overhead was a brilliant plaque with flourishing calligraphy, evidently a Dharma treasure as well, inscribed with several ancient seal characters reading "Wendao Palace," along with the words:
"Having heard the Dao, one sees the void as emptiness; unorthodox and heretical ways are nearly one and the same."
He glided across the dense carpet of shining jade slips beneath his feet and landed at the center. The platform where he landed displayed a faint gray hue, its crystalline patterns brightening and dimming in a rhythmic, breathing pulse.
The central tier was only the size of an ordinary room, using tables to display jade slips. Three silver tables stood loosely encircling a cylindrical jade dais at the very center, where a crystalline, translucent immortal slip quietly hovered.
A profound formation clearly operated upon the raised dais, functioning faithfully even after thousands of years without detecting any intruder. Lu Jiangxian entered leisurely and looked toward the immortal slip at the center.
His divine sense stirred gently and settled upon it. Sure enough, restrictions lay hidden within. The royal house of the State of Ning had been exceedingly cautious; even after laying down a formation upon the central dais, they remained uneasy and placed restrictions within the immortal slip itself.
The restriction emitted crystalline radiance, with wisps of divine abilities and Dharmic power coiled around it, subtly linked to the circular altar below, and even connecting all the way to the array that encompassed the entire grotto-heaven.
Lu Jiangxian paused for a breath. In the end, he did not force a trial of its contents. Instead, he swept his divine sense around and let it fall upon the surrounding tables, reading carefully.
He surmised that the immortal slip at the center was nine times out of ten a formula for True Qi as well, which instantly dampened his interest. He quickly cast his gaze down toward the vast sea of cultivation methods and spells below.
Fortunately, the remaining methods had clearly been meant for ordinary cultivators of Anhuai Heaven to practice. As long as one possessed sufficient merits or permission, dispelling the formations allowed one to read them; several encrypted spells were fairly shallow and easily deciphered.
"The State of Ning."
"All the surviving cultivation methods of the State of Ning's orthodoxy in Anhuai Heaven are right here!"
Lu Jiangxian browsed with a slight furrow of his brow. Three of the manuals belonged to the path of True Qi, exceedingly high in grade and forming a complete set. Their qi-gathering methods were exceptionally profound and demanding to the extreme, even requiring the cooperation of many architectural structures within Anhuai Heaven.
The True Monarch who founded this grotto-heaven had practiced the path of True Qi. Amid the colorful clouds in the sky, one could faintly discern the tracery of the previous formations flowing downward from above, appearing magnificent.
Fine though Anhuai Heaven was, the Ning clan had slowly declined. Their Golden Core ancestor disappeared early, and Anhuai Heaven gradually detached from the mortal realm. Even before the last Golden Core cultivator fell, the Ning family had been forced to withdraw from Anhuai Heaven, leaving only that final Golden Core able to enter and leave.
When that last Golden Core met a violent death, Anhuai Heaven vanished into complete seclusion. The treasures valued by Golden Core cultivators had long since been mostly exhausted; the truly useful items were merely those few spirit artifacts and spiritual items. Had the aura of the Grand Elixir not been discovered now, it never would have devolved into such chaotic turmoil.
By this point, gathering qi was utterly out of the question; he could only collect them for reference. Still, they were several Golden Core cultivation methods after all.
***
Elsewhere, Yuanxiu wore a dark expression, hovering suspended above a grand hall. A faint golden glow flickered ambiguously in his hand, held in reserve. Before him stood a cultivator from Mount Changhuai with clasped hands, speaking in a low voice.
That Golden Core cultivator from Mount Changhuai stood in midair, watching him quietly. Yuanxiu's grimness did not stem from coveting the items within the hall. If the Grand Elixir were inside, the disturbance caused by opening it would never be concealed by a mere Golden Core, nor could whoever found it first simply carry it off.
Nor was it merely because the Mount Changhuai cultivator had disregarded his pride without hesitation, but because Yuanxiu caught a troubling message beneath it: as his old friends fell one by one, Yuanxiu, surviving alone, was now isolated and weak, no longer held in regard by these juniors.
'In ordinary times, Yuansu and I bickered constantly and disliked each other, but if a Golden Core from Mount Changhuai dared say such words to my face, Yuansu would have slapped him across the cheek right then and there and cursed him to his face!'
Yuansu's face surfaced in his mind for an instant before Yuanxiu swiftly dispelled it. Glaring darkly at the Mount Changhuai cultivator before him, he ultimately uttered not a single word, flicking his sleeves and departing in silence.
He had taken only two steps when the divine ability Jianchayu within his body stirred faintly. He immediately took half a step back as the golden talisman in his hand leaped, slamming outward to block an incoming spray of golden light.
Two Dharma bodies suddenly lunged before him, both shimmering with golden radiance. One had four arms and four legs, with two faces upon its neck—one grinning, one weeping—brandishing an assortment of Dharma implements.
The Nuzi Lianmin before him seemed entirely devoid of temper. So many faces squeezed out smiles simultaneously, speaking in a low murmur akin to chanting an incantation:
"Fellow Daoist Yuanxiu, do not be hasty..."
"We can have a proper talk. As long as the almsgiver agrees to wash your hands of Li Xuanfeng's affairs... fulfilling my intention of deliverance... I shall never come to bother you again within this grotto-heaven!"
Yuanxiu was already nursing smoldering fury, as if a spark had been struck. His eyes darkened, dense incantations as minute as grains of sand surfacing within them, flowing through his vision like river water. His voice resonated in overlapping tones:
"Do two bald donkeys like you have such nerve? Who else is behind you?!"
"Keep dreaming!"
The golden talisman in his hand leaped abruptly, casting a shimmering veil of light like falling golden rain. Complex incantations flew forth—it was none other than the Huangdao Mysterious Talisman upon which his fame was built. Yuanxiu muttered under his breath:
"The mysterious talisman ever nourishes the belly, guarding the primal mystery; by decree, the divine ability is named Conceal!"
In an instant, the radiance on the two Lianmins seemed draped in a veil of gray. The halos of colored and golden light behind their heads dimmed, the air turning gray and drained of hue as streaks of multicolored light were sucked into that mysterious talisman!
The spell in Nuzi Lianmin's hands flickered twice and clutched at empty air; the golden blade that should have manifested failed to materialize. Fury showed across both his faces at once as he sneered, "What a formidable divine ability!"
The three eyes upon Seven-Eyed Lianmin's chest blinked. He tried twice, yet found he had completely forgotten how the spell was cast. Inwardly shocked yet delighted, he nonetheless cried out loudly with curses:
"Nuzi! How is this man so terrifying?! You promised me a mere spiritual fruit to trick me into fighting him to the death! What kind of sense does that make?!"
"I'm not fighting! I'm not fighting! This old monk quits!"
'Why act so tough?! How could anyone who attained the golden nature in that era be simple? Yuansu, Yuanxiu, and Qiushui were all figures who commanded the wind and clouds! If they lacked fame, it was only because Duanmu Kui and Donghua were pressing down on their heads!'
How could Seven-Eyed Lianmin have entered these muddy waters for a mere fruit? Yu Mujian had perished at Lake Wangyue, and Seven-Eyed Lianmin, half out of his wits, had cast divination haphazardly, nearly doing himself in! He had finally found a turning point, yet remained plagued by anxiety.
He had made bold promises before that exalted lord to resolve this matter properly, yet on the surface he was forced to seek vengeance against Li Xijun... otherwise, if anyone noticed something amiss, that lord's reaction was uncertain, but he himself would be doomed.
After racking his brains, he finally devised a plan. When Nuzi Lianmin came seeking aid, they hit it off immediately. On the surface, Seven-Eyed Lianmin appeared greedy and acted with hesitation, but inwardly he wished nothing more than to rush to the very front and let Yuanxiu knock his head off, giving him a swift excuse to flee back north and hide away.
'I heard long ago that this man was an outstanding figure among Golden Cores, his talismanic dao often wounding opponents unexpectedly... Who knows how much damage he can deal me? It would be best if he battered me within an inch of death so I could turn around, find a secluded spot, and cultivate in peace.'
'Fortunately, this fool urgently needs a spiritual fruit... this matter is set!'
Nuzi Lianmin shook his arm and managed to shake free that golden blade. Half of it remained lodged in his Dharma body, biting into his arm like a venomous serpent. Seeing Seven-Eyed Lianmin idling on the sidelines, he hurriedly sent a voice transmission:
"Seven-Eyed! Join me in striking him down! As long as we wound him, it serves the same purpose... Once it is done, that fruit will be yours!"
"If you want to add, then add more!"
Seven-Eyed Lianmin knew the situation full well; he was merely taking advantage to extort another sum.
Nuzi Lianmin naturally understood what he was thinking and replied coldly. The two Lianmins appeared united on the surface while haggling behind the scenes. How could Yuanxiu fail to see through it? He let out a cold laugh.
***
Meanwhile, back at the grand hall, the Golden Core cultivator from Mount Changhuai was channeling a divine ability when three violet-cyan rays of light shot straight toward him. His face instantly drained of color. He was forced to turn his hand and cast another divine ability.
As his palm turned downward again, a cluster of gleaming white qi appeared within it. When the three violet-cyan rays of light landed upon it, his brows knitted slightly. With a forceful twist and wrench, clenching his palm into a fist, he hurled it outward, neutralizing the spell in an instant.
"What a formidable divine ability!"
Sensing something, he suddenly looked up, and a figure appeared before his eyes.
The newcomer was a young man clad in green robes, his garments fluttering and long hair drifting loosely in the wind. His eyes were a pale green, and numerous shimmering pure shadows mirrored one another around him.
He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking utterly composed in his broad sleeves and loose robes. Casting an indifferent gaze toward the Mount Changhuai cultivator, he said softly:
"Uncle, truly it has been many years since we last met!"
"This place belongs to Qingchi."
The Mount Changhuai cultivator's expression froze. He stood with his hands behind his back, uttering not a single word.
Chapter 595