Daning Palace.
The sky within Daning Palace hung heavy and dark, cloaked in gloom on all sides. The lake, once clear and beautiful, was now completely dried up, its bed cracked and parched. Occasional wisps of mist drifted across the air, only to quickly dissipate into nothingness.
The crag at the very center had collapsed, tumbling down to fill more than half of the dry lake. Countless palaces and pavilions lay shattered and in ruins, littering the ground in a desolate expanse.
Something had happened within Anhuaitian, drawing a throng of Violet Palace masters inside to battle. They had begun clashing right within Daning Palace, shaking the entire realm with earth-shattering force. In less than half a quarter of an hour, they had reduced this place to ruins. Had there not been people actively suppressing the fallout throughout the fray, it might very well have been pulverized entirely.
Now, every last Violet Palace cultivator and Maha had entered, and the pillar of light bridging heaven and earth had been shattered from the inside by some hidden technique left behind by a Violet Palace master. Daning Palace had thus been cast aside like worthless trash, visited by no one, left in dim, somber gray.
Silence reigned over the ruins. Li Xuanfeng strode down from the remnants of the palace, walking across shattered rubble. Resting a hand on a stone step several feet wide, he hauled it free and tossed it aside, sending up a heavy, echoing crash.
Trapped here for some time, Li Xuanfeng had not remained idle. The collapsed palaces might hold plenty of spiritual objects, which could be collected and put to use.
Looking closely, he pulled a bright silver lamp from the rubble and brushed away the soot and dust. On the square base were inscribed large characters:
"Xi clan of Gaoping."
The lamp was merely a Qi Refinement rank object. Li Xuanfeng examined it; its craftsmanship was undeniably exquisite and elegant. Beside him, Si Yuanli’s voice drifted over:
"Back when the State of Wei fell, various cultivators fled south all the way to the riverbanks. At that time, most of the land south of the Great River belonged to the State of Chu. The King of Chu ordered the cultivators to halt north of the river and forbade them from advancing further south."
"The Sima, Su, Xi, Xiao, and various other families met north of the river for several days of secret talks. With the Li and Jiang families along the banks of the Jia River at the head, they established the State of Daning, acknowledged Wei's legitimate calendar, and honored the immortal sect as the Wanling Supreme Sect."
Perched atop the tilted ridge of the collapsed hall's roof, Si Yuanli sat cross-legged, resting his chin on one hand with an air of leisure.
"Back then, factional divisions were faint, and all cultivators strove their utmost for the state. The State of Ning made the King of Chu exceedingly wary, and he always harbored great hostility toward the clans that crossed over afterward..."
Listening to this history, Li Xuanfeng watched the words "Xi clan of Gaoping" gleam on the lamp base in his hand. He said softly, "I hear the founding patriarch of Chunyi Dao was from the Xi clan..."
"Indeed, the Xi clan of Gaoping," Si Yuanli replied. "That venerable one had only audited lectures outside the Chongming Hall, which effectively gave him only half an orthodox heritage. Yet the more one lacks something, the more one fixates upon it. It is said he proclaimed himself of Qingsong Abbey's lineage his entire life, and Chunyi Dao is no different, obsessing over it day in and day out."
Li Xuanfeng gave a slight nod. Si Yuanli hesitated a moment, then murmured, "Fellow Daoist guessed correctly. My Si clan was originally surnamed Sima, a prominent northern clan. We had already produced Violet Palace cultivators during the Zhou era. When Wei fell, we fled all the way south, finally settling in Jiangnan."
"So your lineage runs that deep..." Li Xuanfeng replied.
Si Yuanli sighed softly. "Looking across all the clans of the north and south that have endured to this day, whose ancestors weren't princes, dukes, generals, or chancellors? Leaving it unmentioned is one thing, but whenever it is brought up, one can only sigh—it all comes down to... unworthy descendants."
Li Xuanfeng fell silent. At the very least, his clan was recognized by Yuansu as the Wei Lis.
Si Yuanli paused for a moment, then spoke softly: "My ancestor once garrisoned the riverbanks for Wei, which was how we obtained this scroll of the Huai River Chart. It was painted by True Monarch Shangyao, Cui Yan, at that time... a top-grade ancient Violet Palace spiritual tool."
Li Xuanfeng was slightly taken aback and asked softly, "An ancient spiritual tool... and it appears to be one for defense and suppression. How does it compare to the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal?"
"Well..." Si Yuanli pondered for a while, then shook his head. "There is no comparing them. Besides, different spiritual tools manifest differently depending on whose hands they are in. In any case, both possess terrifying might."
Li Xuanfeng suddenly recalled the Halting Warfare and Cloud Dispeller that Yu Muxian had wielded back then. Seeing that Si Yuanli was in the mood to talk, he casually asked, "How do they compare to Halting Warfare and Cloud Dispeller?"
"Hahahaha!"
Si Yuanli burst into hearty laughter, his eyebrows arching disdainfully. "Fellow Daoist must be joking! Halting Warfare and Cloud Dispeller are imitations crafted by Yuanwu. Halting Warfare mimics the Xiuyue Sect's Buyue, while Cloud Dispeller copies the Xiukui Abbey's Tianxiu. They fall short even compared to ordinary spiritual tools, so how could you compare them to ancient spiritual tools?"
He hesitated for a couple of breaths upon the ruins, seemingly searching for an apt analogy. Pulling an ordinary dharma sword from his storage bag, he pointed at it and said:
"This thing also came from Yuanwu Peak. Though labeled Foundation Establishment rank, one look tells you it was ground out bit by bit day and night by Qi Refinement disciples. It barely touches Foundation Establishment, possessing only the appearance and material quality of one, without a shred of profound wonder."
The item in his hand was something direct disciples of immortal sects would refuse to touch. Li Xuanfeng inspected it carefully; it was indeed just as he described, so he nodded. Si Yuanli smiled and continued:
"If you compare this thing to Fuchen Peak's Bi Water Elixir, that is roughly the difference between those two replicas and ancient spiritual tools!"
Li Xuanfeng turned those words over in his mind like lightning, keenly seizing upon a single sentence:
"Halting Warfare mimics the Xiuyue Sect's Buyue..."
Back when Yu Muxian unleashed Halting Warfare, Tang Shedu had mocked him relentlessly, angering Xiao Yongling until his face changed color. Li Xuanfeng remembered that remark vividly: Xiao family ancestor Xiao Xianyou, once hailed as a Golden Core seed, had been slain by a dharma artifact resembling Halting Warfare!
'Setting aside whether Tang Yuanwu had such strength back then... Halting Warfare had not even been forged yet. In that case, it must have been the spiritual tool Buyue...'
'Xiao Xianyou was killed by the Xiuyue Sect! Was it Shangyuan? Or someone else?'
Li Xuanfeng was not indulging idle curiosity. Xiao Chuting's actions were inscrutable and his allegiance impossible to deduce. If Li Xuanfeng could glean information about Xiao Xianyou, he might well infer Xiao Chuting's general stance, giving his own clan a basis to judge the situation going forward.
'These direct lineages already possess talent and resources a hundred times beyond ordinary men, and most of their temperaments are far from lacking... Moreover, they hold a monopoly over these geopolitical situations and ties, leaving ordinary people completely in the dark, manipulated at whim...'
Li Xuanfeng pondered deeply, while Si Yuanli seemed equally stirred by mentioning the Huai River Chart. The two fell into silence. The sky overhead had turned pale blue, and faintly, bright rays of light could be seen filtering through, shining clearly above as though they were at the bottom of a lake.
"Deprived of Master Qiushui's divine ability and ravaged by all those Violet Palace masters, Daning Palace can finally hold out no longer!" Si Yuanli let out a breath and said with a chuckle, "Just a little longer, and we can leave this godforsaken place!"
……
Rumble!
Purple lightning coiled and surged in the sky with terrifying momentum. Li Qinghong's mana and lightning had both turned vivid purple, every feather on her robe glowing with brilliant luster.
She had fought her way here heedless of cost or exhaustion, relieving multiple ferry crossings along the way and accepting wounds merely to save time. This had promptly activated the Perilous Sparrow of the Vast Sky within her.
Now, mana churned within her, stirring tempestuous thunderstorms across her lightning pond. A hazy purple glow filled her eyes as her silvery-white spear leveled forward. Radiance flared, and silvery-white lightning erupted from the six tokens in her palm, crashing down with a deafening boom.
Around Li Ximing were four northern cultivators: three practiced the Violet Palace Golden Core Dao fueled by blood qi, while the remaining one was an orthodox demonic cultivator of the "different palace, same furnace" path. As the silvery-white lightning detonated, agonized shrieks instantly erupted.
The three Violet Palace Golden Core cultivators who had consumed blood qi fared relatively well, merely jolted into immobility. But the remaining orthodox demonic cultivator seemed to plunge alive into boiling oil. His robes blasted open, and blisters of all sizes bubbled across his skin. Blood vessels ruptured, belching billowing black smoke.
His eyeballs popped from their sockets like two rotten fruits, bursting in midair with a loud pop, the bloody spray vaporized instantly. His body melted like wax, exposing the stark white bones of his elbows.
"Xuan Thunder!"
Li Ximing watched in shock. Although this cultivator had also been the most suppressed while clashing with Li Ximing—frequently drenched in sweat and constrained by his radiant light—lightning was inherently the supreme bane of demons, and Xuan Thunder reigned supreme among all lightning. Naturally, it was incomparable.
Having encountered numerous demonic cultivators on her way, Li Qinghong glanced with her almond eyes and understood at once: nine times out of ten, this man's flesh had been forged through demonic sacrificial methods, rendering him imperviously tough under normal circumstances. But against Xuan Thunder, he was like tofu, easily shattered in two strokes.
Riding lightning, she closed in. A purple spear silhouette plunged into the demonic smoke. Seizing the moment while the silvery-white lightning still reverberated in the air, purple light swept in alongside the silhouette of a sparrow. Yet she did not strike at the melting demonic cultivator, turning instead to knock someone else out of the air.
Having relieved several ferry crossings, Li Qinghong had long understood the mindset of these people. There was no rush to execute severely wounded demonic cultivators; letting one slip away easily drew numerous greedy cultivators to chase and hunt him down, thereby lightening the pressure on the defensive formation.
While she calculated this, the targeted cultivator cried out in misery. His internal mana was still reeling, yet he was forced to hurriedly maneuver his dharma artifact to defend himself, his heart trembling in shock:
'These southern demonic factions... actually have a lightning art lineage? Why would they work for demonic sects?!'
He pinched an incantation gesture and cast his spell, sending a round shield whirring through the air. Though shimmering with light, its quality was truly mediocre. No sooner had it arrived before him than the purple-and-white spear struck:
Clang!
Purple lightning blasted against the round shield. The artifact was struck so violently that it nearly flew back, glowing scalding hot and emitting a plume of black smoke. Yet Li Qinghong's spear did not pause for an instant, lunging forward once more.
Just then, a sheet of brilliant radiance showered down, and a familiar suppressive force descended once more. Atop the vault of heaven, wave upon wave of clear light rose as the magnificent, stately white pass manifested again.
Fighting a cultivator of such formidable presence and surging lightning was already a nerve-wracking ordeal where the slightest distraction meant death. Suppressed like this, the northern cultivator lagged by a mere half-beat—and a bolt of lightning flared, expanding in his pupils.
Pfft!
Li Qinghong had fought hundreds of battles and possessed vast combat experience. With a flash of her spear, the man's protective robes tore through like a layer of thick hide with a loud rip. The spear drove straight through his chest, drawing out a spray of blood.
Only now did the other demonic cultivators' dharma artifacts strike one after another, only to be suppressed by the Huangyuan Pass. Pierced through the chest by the spear, the man's face turned deathly pale. Vomiting blood, he suppressed the lightning raging inside his body and retreated frantically.
Li Qinghong drew back her spear. Driving the Perilous Sparrow of the Vast Sky within her, purple lightning stepped across empty air beneath her boots. Her spear slanted outward, her gaze sharp as lightning, she barked coldly:
"Begone!"
Silvery-white lightning rippled out with her words, knocking the several cultivators back a few paces. Li Ximing timely eased the suppressive weight of the Huangyuan Pass, allowing their three dharma artifacts to scramble free. As though granted amnesty, the three hastily retreated.
As for the demonic cultivator whose body had begun melting earlier, how could he dare linger? He had long turned into a wisp of black smoke and fled several li away, fleeing for his life into the northern depths while pursued by several streaks of demonic light.
Li Qinghong retrieved her spear and stepped forward. With a muffled rumble of thunder, the purple lightning landed beside Li Xizhi. When she looked back, terror struck the watching cultivators, who pulled back in unison.
That Li Xizhi had managed to hold off five opponents for so long spoke volumes of his exquisite mastery over spells. Seizing this chance to regulate his breathing and recover his qi, he saw Li Qinghong return alone, his expression dimming slightly.
Li Qinghong's purple lightning shielded him behind her. The Xuan Punishment Tokens circled above, the Duruo Spear gleamed silver-white, and her sparrow green plumes shone with dazzling luster. Lightning was terrifying enough on its own, but backed by her years of late Foundation Establishment cultivation and amplified by the Perilous Sparrow of the Vast Sky, it became all the more dazzling, causing everyone's faces to pale.
"A lightning cultivator..."
The female cultivator practicing the Wood Virtue lineage shuddered in disbelief. Having besieged their quarry for so long without reaping any reward, she lingered with reluctance until the Xuan Punishment Tokens in Li Qinghong's hand flashed with radiant light, sending the crowd scattering in disarray.
Li Qinghong exhaled softly and looked further out. Streaks of light were rapidly congregating, and an ever-growing array of radiance flowed across the distance. Stepping beside her, Li Xizhi said softly:
"Aunt, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out."
The situation was growing increasingly clear. Even though the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sky had reservations and were not fighting all out—most were even killing one another—the Embryonic Breathing and Qi Refinement cultivators swarming below were multiplying by the minute...
What was more, those arriving right now were rogue cultivators from the north without backing. Those with decent strength were still watching from the sidelines, biding their time and itching for action.
"The formation the Qingchi Sect set up here is hardly anything formidable. Even if these Foundation Establishment cultivators don't act, if each demonic cultivator heading south casts just a single spell... it will still tear these grand formations to shreds."
Once the formations beneath their feet fell and the horde of cultivators swarmed downward, standing guard here would lose all meaning. Li Qinghong nodded silently and said softly:
"I learned some information. Let us do our best to hold out a little longer... there may yet be a turn of events."
Having said this, she turned her gaze toward the north. The purple glow in her almond eyes faded, but the vivid purple lightning across her robes continued to leap and crackle, deterring the demonic throngs in the air.
Yet a patch of black cloud gradually emerged from the demonic smoke, drifting closer. It did not exude a sinister demonic chill; instead, it carried a distinct and profound aura.
Li Ximing frowned slightly. His immortal foundation surged into the air, manifesting as a colossal, radiant pass. As its searing light shone across, it revealed a black-robed man.
He was dressed in neat, capable attire, his complexion slightly pale. Standing with hands behind his back and sharp brows, his gray eyes looked on calmly. Treading upon two trails of black clouds, he drew near at an unhurried pace, holding a white talisman in his hand before coming to a halt before them.
"Fellow Daoist, we meet again."
Chapter 604