The pair of White Shadow Gold Buckles had not suited him, but Li Cheng showed no regret. He spoke:
"Across the circuits of Jiangnan, lightning-attribute magical artifacts are rare. Even after cultivating for a hundred years, our clan's elders have barely seen a few. The Six Thunder Xuan Punishment Tokens are enough for me. This item suits Zhouluo well; we can leave it to him."
Li Zhouwei had no choice but to put away the pair of White Shadow Gold Buckles. The lights in the hall were dimming. With a solemn expression, he said:
"Bring up those cultivators from Floating Cloud Cave so we may inspect them. We are short-handed ourselves, and once we cross the lake to watch over Jiangbei, we can pick a few to put to use."
Wenhu and Pingwangzi had brought along the core members of Floating Cloud Cave and escorted them to Qingdu Cave Dwelling long ago. Kept busy by the Dharma assembly during this period, the clan had not yet dealt with them.
"I'll go right away."
Li Minggong nodded and withdrew. Li Zhouwei looked toward Li Cheng and said, "The White Ape and An Siwei are watching the northern shore. Please take some men to the territory of Floating Cloud Cave, Clan Uncle, and take it over first, lest any unexpected mishap occur."
Li Cheng likewise withdrew. Li Zhouwei waited in the seat of honor for a while before Li Ximing manifested from midair, standing at the head of the hall. In an instant, the entire hall brightened considerably.
"Greetings, Real Person."
Li Zhouwei rose and yielded his seat. Li Minggong was leading the prisoners from Floating Cloud Cave into the hall. Every one of them shrank back, eyes brimming with terror.
There were around eighteen or nineteen people in the group, mostly late-stage Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment cultivators. Disheveled and thoroughly destitute, many bore injuries, their faces as pale as golden wax paper.
Li Minggong reported respectfully, "Reporting to the Real Person, the scoundrels of Floating Cloud Cave are all gathered here: thirteen Qi Refinement cultivators and five Foundation Establishment cultivators—three demonic cultivators and two immortal cultivators."
Li Ximing raised his eyebrows as he looked them over. The Qi Refinement cultivators fared relatively better, having merely had their cultivation sealed. The Foundation Establishment cultivators were in a far more wretched state: their hands locked behind their waists in heavy gray shackles, and their necks clamped shut by white iron covered with array formations. Unable to turn their heads, they could only stare straight ahead.
Li Zhouwei cast a glance over them. The auras of nearly half the five Foundation Establishment cultivators were murky and unstable, revealing that they rarely engaged in righteous deeds. The man in the center was particularly tall, with a rather handsome face, but his eyes had been gouged out and iron spikes pierced his collarbones. Prostrate on the ground, he clearly could not stand.
"What sort of figures are they?"
Li Ximing took a seat. Having remained in closed-door cultivation for years, he naturally did not recognize any of them, but Li Minggong had dealt with Floating Cloud Cave for so long that she knew them well. She first unsealed the restriction on one of the prisoners.
This person was a tall, gaunt old man with white hair and a youthful complexion, though a palm print was stamped into his chest, sinking more than half of it inward and exposing his thumping heart. Paying no mind to tending his wound, he merely smiled obsequiously:
"This humble cultivator greets the Real Person! I am Qu Bushi, originally a cultivator from the East Sea. A few years ago, I accepted an invitation to cultivate in Floating Cloud Cave. Who could have foreseen that Fudou would be so treacherous and ungrateful as to offend your noble clan? This old man is truly innocent..."
His words were fluent enough, but terror had already driven his wits away. Where in the East Sea would he ever have stood face-to-face with a Violet Palace cultivator? He kept his head lowered, not daring to look.
Li Minggong sneered and introduced him, "This man is an East Sea cultivator who cultivates the Earth Virtue Cangna Palace. He is utterly vicious yet exceptionally cunning. Over the years, he came up with one wicked scheme after another, but never dared to fight our clan personally."
Upon hearing this, the celestial light at Li Ximing's brow flickered slightly. He perceived that this man practiced a demonic art and was from the East Sea, yet the turbid qi clinging to him was the lightest among the five. Thus, he said:
"I shall not dwell on past affairs, but my clan has upheld the righteous path for generations; we cannot harbor demonic cultivators."
To Qu Bushi, this sounded like a pardon. Hastily falling to his knees, he answered:
"Reporting to the Real Person! Though this humble one's Cangna Palace is a demonic art, my daily cultivation takes nourishment from bodies that died of old age and have lain buried in earth for a hundred years. Across these several centuries, the worst I have done is dig up ancestral graves—a wicked deed, perhaps, but I have never committed atrocities against heaven or reason!
"This old man's Dao Foundation is ill-suited for battle, nor do I have a taste for living flesh and blood. Though my yin virtue is ruined... my yang virtue remains intact!"
He wailed this at the top of his lungs, making Li Ximing frown. Demonic arts came in countless varieties; such a method might indeed exist. Li Minggong glared at Old Man Qu and demanded:
"Are you not going to write out your technique from memory?!"
Old Man Qu hurriedly produced a jade slip from his robes. Although he never carried cultivation manuals on his person, a Foundation Establishment cultivator's spiritual sense could inscribe things with remarkable speed. In mere moments, he presented the jade slip.
Li Ximing skimmed through it. The method was titled Scripture of Cangtu Nagong. He could not tell which branch of Earth Virtue it belonged to, but it was indeed a cultivation technique that eroded yin virtue and could not touch too much blood qi. Yet in his heart, he noticed something peculiar:
Looking at it this way, can this even be considered a demonic art? It bears far too much resemblance to the path of the Violet Palace and Golden Core.
The earliest demonic art the Li clan had encountered was the Xuemo Dharma Book, one of the few high-grade demonic manuals widely circulated throughout Jiangnan. Its toxicity had spread far and wide; traces of it could now be found even in Jiangbei, the Central Plains, and the Southern Border.
Demonic arts were also known as the Dao of Different Cauldrons, Same Furnace. The Xuemo Dharma Book was the prime example: upon reaching Qi Refinement, one first merged the three palaces—Shengyang, Juque, and Qihai—into a different palace. From then on, the physical body became a vessel across the sea of suffering, and all subsequent cultivation took place within that different palace.
Having attained divine abilities, Li Ximing viewed cultivation techniques from a completely transformed vantage point, perceiving the marvelous truth that myriad changes never departed from the fundamental source.
Back then, studying the manual had left little impression on him; he had only known that the Xuemo Dharma Book instructed one to cultivate Suomo Ridge within the different palace to achieve demonic Foundation Establishment. But looking at it now in comparison, he gained a flash of insight:
The Xuemo Dharma Book strives to sever all ties with orthodoxy, yet once one's cultivation reaches a certain level, it becomes obvious: in terms of the Violet Palace and Golden Core path, it simply forms a Dao Foundation called Suomo Ridge.
The Scripture of Cangtu Nagong was far older and made this even more apparent, concealing virtually nothing. Although it also required merging the three palaces into one, the subsequent path differed little. Li Ximing estimated that if a Violet Palace cultivator of Earth Virtue were here, they might even be able to modify this method into an immortal scripture.
No wonder the north refers to the Violet Palace and Golden Core Path as the Violet Gold Demonic Path, and the Dao of Different Cauldrons, Same Furnace as the Heavenly Embryo Demonic Path, grouping them together... In truth, they are hardly different!
If I devoted myself to studying the technique of merging the three palaces, I might even be able to convert the Scripture of Minghua Huangyuan into a demonic cultivation method!
A sudden realization dawned on him, and his brows furrowed:
Then for the demonic path, breaking through to the Violet Palace means thrusting the different palace into the Great Void! Furthermore, because the Dao Foundation already resides inside the different palace, there is no need, as in the immortal path, to first push the Dao Foundation into the Shengyang Palace... Could it be that breaking through to the Violet Palace is actually simpler?
If the demonic path has no other obstacles, then presently, only my Shengyang Palace resides in the Great Void while the rest of my body can be cast aside... That is practically identical to a demonic Violet Palace... The only difference is that one is called Shengyang and the other a different palace.
In other words... if the methods for merging the three palaces did not require blood qi, then following the Heavenly Mutation, the technique of different cauldrons, same furnace would actually be a more advanced... superior method of cultivation... vastly reducing the resources consumed to elevate an immortal foundation into the Shengyang Palace.
He read through the Scripture of Cangtu Nagong and felt almost certain it dated back to the Heavenly Mutation, brimming with traces of how the Heavenly Embryo Demonic Path had emerged and parted ways from the Violet Gold Demonic Path.
If only I had a Violet Palace cultivation manual of the Heavenly Embryo Demonic Path...
The insight gained was monumental. Li Ximing felt as though a fog had cleared, his thoughts growing luminous:
Which means seeking a dao complement technique need not be constrained by immortal or demonic boundaries. As long as it is a Mingyang demonic art... I can cultivate it just the same and forge another divine ability.
Other Violet Palace manuals were far out of reach, so it was merely a fleeting hope in Li Ximing's heart. He simply spoke:
"Though the Scripture of Cangtu Nagong is ancient, it cannot strictly be considered an outright demonic art; you all merely failed to see it clearly... Minggong, unbind him first."
Old Man Qu was taken aback at first. This technique was something he had obtained in the East Sea; any practice with a different palace was deemed a demonic art, and he had never heard of anything 'not strictly an outright demonic art.' But a Violet Palace master's words were greater than the heavens. Wild with joy, he bowed and shouted:
"Thank you, Real Person! To think I have been wronged for over a hundred years! Had the Real Person not enlightened me, this humble one would have died a wronged man!"
These were pure pleasantries, and Li Ximing did not bother humoring him. Glancing closely at the remaining two demonic cultivators, he saw that they indeed practiced the Xuemo Dharma Book. Their bodies reeked of billowing turbid qi, suggesting their intake of blood qi had never ceased. They knelt on the ground, trembling violently.
Li Ximing merely directed his gaze toward them. Before he could speak, one of them—whose face appeared rather honest and earnest—was already streaming with tears and snot, crying out mournfully:
"Please, Real Person, hear me out!"
He kowtowed and said:
"This humble one is Wen Yi, and this is my younger brother, Wen Shan. We two brothers were born in the East Sea. Our parents practiced demonic arts, and from age six, we were made to cultivate demonic methods, eating and drinking rice flesh, with bowls brimming with blood qi... Only when we grew a little older and achieved Qi Refinement did we learn what those things were. But living in demonic lands and taught by our parents, we never thought anything was amiss.
"Not until we came inland did we realize that not everyone in the world cultivates like that."
Seeing death at hand, Wen Yi broke into a cold sweat, his thick eyebrows drenched and tears streaming:
"It is not that this humble one did not wish to do good, but that I never knew there was a righteous path! Nor is my heart malicious. I supported my parents above and showed fraternal love to my brother below; I never considered myself a wicked man. But... born into demonic lands with no one to guide us, how could we know it was a sin? I beg your lordship to see clearly and grant us a chance to turn over a new leaf!"
These words made Li Minggong frown, while the other demonic cultivator, Wen Shan, was dumbfounded. He had never expected his elder brother to say such things. Thinking carefully, it was indeed true, so he hurriedly kowtowed:
"We only beg the Real Person to grant us a path to live!"
Li Minggong paused, hesitating before saying:
"Whether you knew it was a sin is one thing... but whether you are guilty is another..."
Li Ximing listened closely, and some heavy memory seemed to surface within him. He pondered for several breaths, then looked at their cultivation again. Both had barely reached Foundation Establishment and were of little use. He brought two fingers together, conjuring a bright golden gleam of divine ability.
"Go."
He drew out two wisps of Mingyang divine ability, which darted like slithering snakes into their different palaces, locking their immortal foundations. Li Ximing merely said:
"Mount Jiumen on the West Shore, where we forge artifacts, is often short of cultivators. I will spare your lives; go to the mountain for now to dredge the fire veins and supply magic power."
Both strands of divine power bore the wearing and suppressing force of the Yetian Gate. Not only could they disperse the two men's spells, but they could also shatter their different palaces at any moment, causing instant death.
As it stood, they could only output magic power and use their spiritual sense—ideal for supplying magic power and flames for artifact forging. Moreover, the fire veins on Mount Jiumen raged fiercely, proving difficult for Qi Refinement cultivators to manage; having the two dredge the fire veins day to day would save plenty of effort.
"Thank you, Real Person!"
Sweat pouring off them, the two scrambled up. Though their freedom was gone henceforth, being alive was better than dying. They obediently knelt off to the side.
As for the remaining two who practiced the path of the Violet Palace and Golden Core, Li Ximing's gaze first fell on the closer of the two. It was an old crone, quite hideous in appearance, her robes tightly wrapped around her, surrounded by metallic qi. In a gravelly voice, she said:
"This old woman is Jiang Huzi. Greetings to the Real Person..."
Li Minggong hesitated slightly before reporting, "Reporting to the Real Person, this person is also a Floating Cloud Cave cultivator, but she remained inside the sect all day and was never seen venturing out; we have no intelligence on her."
Jiang Huzi's voice was aged as she murmured softly, "This old woman was merely a talisman crafter from the State of Zhao who settled in Jiangbei. I am already over two hundred years old, with one foot in the grave..."
She smiled, baring withered yellow teeth. "The two sects would never leave anything good for your noble clan. Those few who were young and talented were slaughtered to the last. Those left behind... who held some status, are all old, weak, sick, or crippled..."
This old woman was somewhat unusual. Not only was she draped in clear qi, but she was also a native of the State of Zhao and carried herself with noticeable composure. Li Ximing paused briefly. Not wishing to invite trouble, he said softly:
"Since Daoist Sister is an orthodox cultivator from the north, you may do as you please. You can craft talismans for our family, stroll about the lake... or depart on your own."
Jiang Huzi voiced her acknowledgement. Li Ximing's gaze naturally fell upon the brawny, handsome man whose eyes had been gouged out and whose collarbones were pierced. Li Minggong caught his meaning at once and explained:
"This is Ding Weizeng of Floating Cloud Cave. Though he achieved Foundation Establishment only in recent years, he possesses considerable strength. His immortal foundation is the rare Dianyang Tiger, belonging to the Hengzhu lineage."
"The Hengzhu lineage?"
Li Ximing frowned immediately. Practitioners of the Hengzhu lineage across the world were few and far between. In the north they were slightly more common, but in the south they were concentrated entirely within Hengzhu Dao... That immortal sect possessed complete techniques for all five elements, which was why it dared name itself Hengzhu.
Now that an adept of the Hengzhu lineage with considerable strength had surfaced, it was impossible not to feel suspicious. Li Ximing looked him up and down, then asked:
"How did he end up like this?"
Old Man Qu immediately chimed in, saying respectfully:
"Reporting to the Real Person, this man cultivates the Dianyang Tiger. This immortal foundation is adept at battle, capable of slipping out of confinement, shattering cages, surging past yin and traversing karma, and striking enemies with a glare... Earlier, he was shackled just like the rest of us, but he was stubborn and refused to submit, repeatedly attempting escape...
"He also had some grievance with Wenhu, so his eyes were gouged out, his collarbones pierced and shackled, and his Qihai Palace was nearly pierced through... He was on the verge of being completely crippled."
As Li Ximing listened to the detailed explanation, his heart stirred. With a flick of his divine ability, the iron spikes in Ding Weizeng's collarbones clattered to the floor, and his many bindings fell away.
The burly man was half-dead. In an indistinct voice, he muttered, "Greetings, Real Person."
Having stood beside them for a long time, Li Zhouwei finally spoke:
"Real Person, this man is a valiant warrior."
Li Zhouwei had crossed hands with Ding Weizeng. For Li Zhouwei to offer such praise meant the man was certainly extraordinary. Li Ximing looked upon him with a degree of fondness, but Ding Weizeng stirred his magic power and said stiffly:
"This humble one's Qihai is severely damaged, and my death is near. I only hope the Real Person will let me return to the mountains to die in my homeland of Jiangbei."
Stroking his beard, Li Ximing did not answer him. The Mingyang divine ability circulated in his hand and flew into Ding Weizeng's body, using divine power to regenerate and mend his flesh and skin, while sealing his Qihai Palace so his cultivation would not bleed away.
While Ding Weizeng stood dazed, Li Minggong took out a medicinal pill from her sleeve and fed it to him. As the man stood puzzled, Qu Bushi, quick to trim his sails to the wind, grinned and called out:
"Weizeng, what are you waiting for? Thank the master!"
Chapter 701