Quandan

Li Yuanqin cupped his hands and said softly, "Brother Fupo might not be aware, but although that Shanyue tribesman, Feiluoya, serves the Ning family and claims the Li clan seized his territory, he still secretly harbors old sentiments toward my father. That was why he deliberately revealed his whereabouts to me in private..." He laid out the clues he had observed from start to finish in methodical detail, each point supported by sound reasoning. Chi Fupo smiled with an enlightened look on his face, yet remained noncommittal in his heart. After hearing the entire account, Li Yuanqin lowered his voice and added: "Among the various Violet Palace masters, there are still those well-disposed toward us... Real Person Changxiao is especially skilled in such matters. Who is to say this was not the master's own intent?" Only after he said this did Chi Fupo show a trace of contemplation. Li Yuanqin then continued, "In the end, it is likely that some Violet Palace master took this opportunity to show me a lead, hoping we would step in and take down the Si family a peg or two. "These matters have only just begun to surface, and many things have yet to be investigated thoroughly. Everything rests on Brother Fupo's decision!" Li Yuanqin cupped his fists and withdrew. Chi Fupo nodded to see him off, then turned back and slumped beside the table. 'This is no easy affair to manipulate. I fear there is deceit involved. And even if one takes ten thousand steps back... why would Si Yuanli concede? Round and round it goes... Yuanqin still wants to take the reins of the Li clan...' Chi Fupo felt a touch of anxiety, yet bore no resentment toward him. It was not just Li Yuanqin; elders like Chi Zhihu, and even Chi Fupo's own numerous brothers and sisters, had long harbored the urge to take action. They had merely been kept in check by his sole efforts. "It is simply too early." Reaching his present position, Chi Fupo found it increasingly difficult to satisfy the demands of those around him. Yet whether it was Li Yuanqin or Chi Zhihu, neither of them could wait much longer. 'It is like a wild horse slipping its reins. If I cannot rein it in, I fear we will plunge off the cliff, and I will be smashed to pieces instead!' Li Yuanqin's proposal made him realize the precariousness of his own situation, and his heart grew cold. "I have read through the ancient records and always felt that the ancients were mostly rash and foolish, often lacking prudence and acting hastily. Only now, when conducting affairs myself, do I realize how constrained one can be from every direction. Perhaps it was truly out of necessity all along." Panic crept further into his chest. He downed several cups in succession, and Chi Xuxiao's face surfaced before his eyes once more. His grip on the jade cup tightened, a dark resentment stirring within him. 'Curse this ill fortune... Why did he have to be such a sharp child! If only he had feigned stupidity, or were truly a fool, I would not be placed in such an awkward position now.' *** Pingya Islet. Golden morning sunlight spilled across the lake's surface. Li Zhouwei rode the wind southward, arriving at the boundaries of Lijing Mansion. The buildings here were the oldest around the lake, built of bluestone and grey tiles. The disciples who once filled the alleys were nowhere to be seen, yet several large bluestone houses remained under strict guard. Light and shadow dappled the stone steps as Li Zhouwei made his way inside. Monk Kongheng followed behind. Glancing at the clear pool at the center, Li Zhouwei proceeded toward the back hall, where a rhythmic rattling of iron chains reached his ears. *Clang... Clatter...* The back hall was grim with iron cages, and the faint bleating of a sheep echoed within. Li Zhouwei stepped into the chamber. A completely naked boy lay prostrate on the floor, his face covered in white scales, sucking blood from the neck of a sheep. The animal lay on the ground, its bleats growing fainter. Li Zhouwei watched with lowered brows, remaining silent as the boy tore into the sheep and devoured it raw. He stood motionless for a long time, not uttering a word. Kongheng could hardly bear the sight, closing his eyes and repeatedly chanting mantras. On the second day after Li Zhouwei attained Foundation Establishment and returned to the lake, he had come to see this eldest son of his. He and Kongheng had examined the boy thoroughly, yet were still left helpless. Li Jiang'ao was not suffering from some delusion clouding his mind, nor had his spirit-soul been disturbed. At the fundamental level, he simply lacked the intellect of an ordinary human being. There was no cure. Perhaps after several hundred years of cultivating into a demon beast, he might birth a sliver of monstrous spiritual sense. "Looking at him now, he cannot even read a word, let alone receive a talisman seed..." Li Zhouwei had even contemplated finding an expanse of mountains and lakes to let him live freely on his own. Yet there were far too many taboos, and he could not let him roam free. He could only keep his eldest son imprisoned in this cage year after year. Only he or Li Xuanxuan would occasionally come by to see him. "Jiang'ao is like a beast. Jiangqian, though intelligent, has an extreme temperament and harbors a deceitful heart... I fear none of the sons under my knee are benevolent sorts." Li Zhouwei's third son had been born just a few days ago, though publicly he was acknowledged as the second son, named Li Jianglong. He, too, possessed a pair of golden pupils. Li Zhouwei no longer felt much joy over it; looking elsewhere, yet another concubine was pregnant. "Master." He called out softly. Kongheng hurried his gaze over, and Li Zhouwei lowered his voice: "Master mentioned previously using the Jueyin method for suppression. I wonder if we might try it to see if a child without golden pupils can be born... I have heard that all the sons of Bright King Shengming Jin were demonic fiends who had to be subdued one by one. These children have golden pupils like mine; if their blessings and virtue are not deep, it will only invite fatal calamity." Kongheng looked at him thoughtfully and said softly, "This humble monk shall do his utmost to try." Li Zhouwei nodded. Casting a final glance at this eldest son, upon whom he had pinned so much hope while the boy was still in the womb, he turned and walked out. Moving down the stone steps, the last sliver of hope in his heart vanished. Riding the wind back to the hall on the islet, Kongheng tactfully withdrew. Li Qinghong and Li Xuanxuan were waiting inside. Seeing him return empty-handed, Li Qinghong lightly shook her sleeve and cast out the Chongming Dongxuan Screen, concealing everything before asking softly, "Where is Jiang'ao?" For this bestowal of talisman seeds, Li Xuanxuan had hoped to let Li Jiang'ao pay his respects as well. Even if he could not recite the incantations, they wanted to see if he might encounter some fortune. Who would have thought Li Zhouwei would go and return alone? Li Zhouwei said in a heavy voice, "He possesses no intellect whatsoever. I fear he might offend the treasure. It is better to let it be." Seeing that Li Zhouwei had no intention of bringing Li Jiang'ao, Li Qinghong could only nod and ask, "How many children are eligible to receive talisman seeds this time?" Li Zhouwei paused for a moment before replying softly, "I fear quite a few." There were not many cultivators in the Li family's Zhou generation, with only two having fathered children. Yet after several generations of accumulation, the mortals of the Zhou generation numbered extensively. The Jiangque generation had quite a few spirit aperture bearers, though their specific talents had not yet manifested, making it impossible to distinguish between high and low. Gathering all these people into the hall, distributing incantations for each to memorize, and testing them one by one was no longer as convenient as before. Furthermore, the clan's scale was expanding continuously; once an affair reached the point of mobilizing so many people, prying eyes would inevitably come looking for the truth. Li Xuanxuan voiced his concerns, and Li Zhouwei answered, "Now that the Immortal Mirror can roam the Great Void, we could try altering the prayer. It might prove far more discreet." *** The Great Void. Lu Jiangxian's divine consciousness roamed for a time, lingering over the territory of Ziyan Gate for a long while. Ever since he gained the ability to roam the Great Void, he had never been willing to probe directly into the mountain gates of the immortal sects, choosing mostly to observe from the sidelines. Now, with a Violet Palace breakthrough occurring within Ziyan Gate, it was his most detailed and complete observation to date. He had even spotted that figure from the Netherworld Court from afar, taking in every word of the pair's exchange. 'Zipei has perished.' Contrary to the speculations of many Violet Palace masters, Real Person Zipei, Kan Xuyu, had already met her demise, her spirit-soul shattered, leaving no possibility of reincarnation! 'The Shen family and Ziyan Gate dispatching people everywhere to search for Zipei's reincarnated self is likely nothing more than a bluff...' After all, Zipei had possessed formidable strength. Having a figure endowed with a gold nature who had departed into reincarnation and vanished without a trace loomed over the world as an immense asset for both the Shen clan and Ziyan Gate. 'The other peak Violet Palace master, Real Person Zimu, disappeared long ago. If Ziyan Gate wishes to maintain its current standing... it must rely on a few schemes and maneuvers.' Yet Lu Jiangxian had watched the Netherworld Court cast its arts from beginning to end, and he could be certain there was no trace of that "True Qi" gold nature. In other words, Real Person Zipei had never used that item from start to finish! 'Just where could such a treasure be...' For a moment, Lu Jiangxian could find no clue, so he could only shelve the matter and keep a mental note. Instead, another affair crossed his mind. 'The dragon race swallowing thunder...' Lu Jiangxian had kept an eye on the dragons swallowing thunder all along. He had even watched from the side when Dongfang Heyun met Li Xizhi in the Eastern Sea... The Taiyin Mysterious Light had been trained on that spiritual cloud the entire time; had Dongfang Heyun tried to stir up trouble, Lu Jiangxian would have simply struck him dead first. Though nothing had ultimately happened, many doubts lingered in his mind: 'It is truly strange. Dongfang Heyun seems to hold considerable goodwill toward Li Xizhi, and he has always treated Li Xuanfeng with courtesy. Just where did this come from? That dragon prince Dingjiao fawned over Li Zhouwei even more... It seems the entire dragon race holds goodwill toward the Li family. 'Could it truly be because of Emperor Gong of Wei?' Lu Jiangxian did not believe Dingjiao's words in the slightest. The Li clan had seen its rises and falls; if the dragon race truly possessed such deep affection for the Wei-Li lineage, protecting a few mortal clans would hardly have been difficult given the dragons' status. He completed a circuit through the Great Void, confirming that no Violet Palace or Golden Core masters were spying nearby, and made his way back down toward Mount Wu. Observing within the array for a while, he saw Li Ximing cultivating the secret art, [Precious Steps]. "The Li clan of Lake Wangyue respectfully prepares clear wine and various delicacies, along with cold-food sacrificial rites, to reverently pray for the Xuanming wondrous method on behalf of our descendants, to govern life and settle the spirit, following the Dao in cultivation... In due time merit shall be proclaimed, and the covenant of devotion shall not be betrayed; as the talisman burns to ash, our bodies offer thanks to Taiyin." Voices from the mortal world reached his ears. His divine intent returned from the Great Void to the lake. Within the great hall on Pingya Islet, screen light masked the interior, murmurs of prayer arose, yet no figures could be seen. Lu Jiangxian called upon the records of his divine consciousness, instantly comprehending the situation. Sweeping swiftly across the lake, he felt a great relief in his heart: 'After waiting for so long, the Jiangque generation has finally arrived. I can now bestow those Violet Palace methods...' Among the various Violet Palace cultivation methods, Lu Jiangxian undoubtedly favored those of the Quandan nature most. The *Houshu Golden Scripture* was a bona fide Rank 6 method, a grade higher than the Li clan's *Scripture of Minghua Huangyuan*! 'The *Scripture of Minghua Huangyuan* is truly an oddity...' The *Scripture of Minghua Huangyuan* boasted nine full secret arts, yet merely reached Rank 5, the baseline for Violet Palace methods. In the outside world, this made no sense at all; how could a method that developed nine secret arts be a mere Rank 5? It was only because Lu Jiangxian had cheated by relying on immortal arts and a gold nature to write it into existence. When it came to secret arts for breaking through to the Violet Palace, the *Houshu Golden Scripture* naturally could not compare to the *Scripture of Minghua Huangyuan*, which was composed from the Mingyang gold nature and immortal incantations. Even so, it was by no means inferior, possessing five full secret arts that, when fully cultivated, added a two-and-a-half-tenths probability of reaching the Violet Palace. 'Moreover, Quandan belongs to the Binggu lineage. While not adept at combat, a cultivator who masters it can accomplish countless times more things than peers of the same realm—let alone one produced by a Rank 6 method.' Whether in transformations, healing, breaking arrays, or concealing one's presence, the Dao of Quandan surpassed contemporary magical arts by far. Qiushui of the Jinyu Sect cultivated this very path; her divine abilities were exceedingly wondrous, earning her respect from all quarters. The sole drawback was that this method drew too much attention. Fortunately, by the time future generations could cultivate it to a certain level, the Li clan would have produced its own Violet Palace masters, making it far easier to conceal. 'As for the recipient of the talisman seed...' 'The eldest is fierce, the second is vicious. Li Jiangqian's talent is naturally not low, so he must be given a talisman seed to restrain this vicious beast. If he is not given one, he will surely stir up great trouble later on!' Even in an empire as vast as the Wei-Li, with several Golden Core masters presiding, court intrigues still spilled blood within the palace walls. How could Lu Jiangxian not take precautions? He had long earmarked a talisman seed for him, placing a tightening hoop upon this ferocious beast. 'I already have someone selected for the Quandan method; he is unsuited for it... Nor should he cultivate Mingyang any further. I fear the more he cultivates it, the more wicked he will become, until one day he attains sudden enlightenment, sees through the mortal world, and a red-eyed white cicada bursts from his chest... fluttering its wings into the sky. That would be no laughing matter...' Lu Jiangxian was not daydreaming; this was an entirely plausible outcome. As Li Zhouwei's cultivation rose higher and eventually breached the Violet Palace, the influence upon Li Jiangqian as his second son would only grow heavier. In contrast, the eldest son, Li Jiang'ao, possessed no intellect and could not cultivate; any changes would be a matter of centuries later, warranting little concern for now. With the lessons of the State of Wei before him, Lu Jiangxian had paid immense attention to the brothers Li Jiang'ao and Li Jiangqian, having considered every possible scenario from the moment they were born. 'It is best to give him this Lihuo method obtained from the grotto-heaven. It is a Rank 6 Lihuo scripture; Mingyang and Lihuo are inextricably intertwined, complementing one another. Nothing could be more fitting!' This Rank 6 Lihuo scripture was formally titled the *Tianli Rize Scripture*, yielding the immortal foundation 'Dali Shu.' For it to be preserved in the Daoist collection of Anhuai Heaven, its might and grade went without saying. 'It has four secret arts, adding two-tenths probability, surpassing the vast majority of Violet Palace methods in Jiangnan.' He placed the *Tianli Rize Scripture* into the talisman seed intended for Li Jiangqian, yet did not bestow it immediately. His divine consciousness traveled outward, circling along the lakeshore, and soon located a household in Lijing Town from his memories. The residence was sizable; its ancestors had clearly been prosperous. Yet the red lacquer on the gates had almost entirely peeled away, exposing mottled brown wood, and the two stone lions before the entrance were weathered with dust, looking as though they had gone uncleaned for a long time. Though the residence lacked any present glory, the family discipline appeared exceedingly strict. Everything was arranged with neatness and decorum, showing that the master of the house had always held himself to exceptionally high standards. Lu Jiangxian's divine consciousness drifted past the gates and quickly found a young girl in the courtyard. With red lips, white teeth, and dressed in a padded jacket and skirt, she appeared to be six or seven years old. 'Counting the days, the timing is just right.' This child was the very person Lu Jiangxian had chosen to receive the talisman seed, and the Li clan descendant selected to cultivate that Quandan method! From the day of her birth, Lu Jiangxian had noticed her, merely waiting for the Li clan to pray for the methods. Within his divine consciousness, a spirit aperture was slowly taking shape between the girl's brows, resembling a third eye, quietly inhaling and exhaling spiritual energy. Lu Jiangxian praised inwardly: 'The aperture sits between the brows, her spirit-soul far surpassing ordinary people. At last, a child capable of cultivating the *Xuanwu Daoist Arts* has appeared... It pairs perfectly with this Rank 6 *Houshu Golden Scripture*... Ancient Binggu Quandan is intimately close to shamanic arts; nothing could be a better match!'