Probing

Li Zhouwei thrust his halberd clean through Wenhu's midriff. With a snap of power from his forearm, he hoisted the weapon upward, flipping his foe over. Blood bathed Wenhu's face, making his pallor seem even starker. Yet the spells in his hands never ceased; blood-red light surged forth as he clearly prepared to fight to the death. Li Zhouwei raised his other hand, calling down the brilliance of the grand sun. The radiant glow gathered over Wenhu's face, firmly pinning him down. The Solar Yingli Technique was, after all, a fifth-rank spell, prized for subduing enemies with its ever-shifting nature. Wenhu's Juguinyin foundation feared pure yang to begin with, but it dreaded the grand sun most of all. Under this concentrated illumination, his magic scattered completely, and blistering heat rushed into his mind, driving him to the very brink of consciousness. Even so, Wenhu ground his teeth together, forcing his eyes open with a final surge of breath. Though his pupils were seared milky white by the sun's glare and his face was charred black, he still reached out toward his storage bag. ‘Impressive! Such willpower.’ Li Zhouwei simply wrenched his halberd free. Calling forth Shangyao Fuguang from between his brows, he sheared off both of Wenhu's arms, then bound him tight with sunbeams until the man could not twitch a muscle. On the other side, Ding Weizeng had already beaten his two opponents into utter disarray. His immortal foundation was exceptionally formidable, capable of bolstering his own body; crimson light flowed across his skin, and his irises glowed a brownish-yellow. The weaker demonic cultivator had lost more than half his life to him and could barely hold on, leaving only Vice Cave Master Wang He struggling desperately to survive. Having subdued Wenhu, Li Zhouwei swept his gaze across the field. The look alone made cold sweat drench Wang He's back, filling his heart with dread. Just as he was about to speak, a beam of white light flared across the horizon. The white light flashed in the distance and arrived before them an instant later, trailing a tail of flame as it plunged to the ground beside Wang He and resolved into a human form. "I am Song Yunbai of Duxian. Greetings, fellow Daoists." The figure materialized into a woman forming hand seals and clutching talismans. She had a slightly rounded face, sharp brows, and crisp white robes, her features bearing the distinct look of Jiangbei. Her sharp gaze pierced forward, fixing upon Li Zhouwei and Ding Weizeng. Clearly, she recognized neither of them. Her eyes swept over Ding Weizeng, paused for only a breath, and then settled upon Li Zhouwei. Song Yunbai froze. Looking up at him, a bizarre expression crossed her face, and she took half a step back in sheer hesitation. Her bright gaze quickly darted away, and she spoke in a slightly muffled voice: "Miyun Cave was enlightened and taken under the wing of our Duxian Dao. Why has your noble clan brought arms against it without cause... What is the meaning of this?" Wang He and the others retreated behind her as one. Halberd in hand, Li Zhouwei replied: "So you are a fellow Daoist from Duxian Dao. Wenhu of Miyun Cave deceived our Real Person and offended the majesty of the Violet Palace. I came specifically to apprehend him. Now that he is captured, I am about to take him away." Seeing that Song Yunbai was polite, Li Zhouwei did not immediately resort to harsh words. He merely held his captive and confronted her. In the span of just that single exchange, thunder rumbled from behind, accompanied by the flow of true fire, as two figures arrived in rapid succession. The woman was striking and poised, holding an oil lamp in her hands. The man had eyes as dark as polished lacquer, riding upon crackling lightning. It was the sister and brother, Li Minggong and Li Chengkun. Before the two could even speak, two more streaks of light sped in from the north and south, halting close by. These two streaks condensed into human forms. On the left stood an exceptionally tall woman in a colorful skirt, clutching a jade streamer with an indignant sneer. On the right was a man in a bamboo hat and brown clothes, a saber slung at his waist, scrutinizing the scene with great care. "What is the Li clan playing at!" The woman in the colorful skirt showed no courtesy whatsoever. Launching the first verbal strike, she gripped her streamer tool and pointed straight at Wenhu, fuming: "This cultivator was enlightened by Daoist Master Chidu of our Dao! Your noble clan is an established Jiangnan family—do you not know that Miyun Cave is a vassal of our Duxian Dao? Allowing your clan to take the territory of Fuyun Cave was already the height of courtesy! Who knew you would push your luck and actually raid Miyun Cave!" "Laughable!" Li Chengkun naturally could not allow Li Zhouwei to step down and bicker directly. Stepping forward, he said coldly: "Since you know Miyun Cave is your loyal follower, did you bother to keep your subordinates in line? Miyun and Fuyun raided the northern shore of our Lake Wangyue for ten whole years—did we ever hear a single word from you? Only today do you finally show up late, and now you suddenly care?" "You!" Fury surged in the woman's chest, twisting into a cold sneer. At last, the man in the bamboo hat spoke, cupping his hands in greeting: "I am Gongsun Baifan of Duxian Dao. Greetings to the three noble scions of the immortal clan. Now that your clan's esteemed senior has attained the Violet Palace, such trivial matters should have been wiped clean... Even if past grievances could not be dismissed, the Violet Palace masters should have spoken together to settle the grudge, rather than launching an abrupt strike to seize our sect's interests." As he addressed the three, Li Minggong answered: "Very well. Since your holy Dao still remembers that our Real Person achieved his breakthrough, do you know whom your sect sent, and what gifts you offered as congratulations? How did Fuyun and Miyun provoke my family before? Did our Real Person never give you a chance? Now that matters have reached this state, does your holy Dao truly not know where it all came from?" Li Minggong's tone was not harsh, yet her words silenced Gongsun Baifan entirely. There were things he had no right to answer for, so he could only lower his head in silence. Watching the brief exchanges, Li Zhouwei had already begun to piece together the situation. No faction was truly monolithic, especially since Duxian Dao had only been in Jiangbei for a little over ten years. Song Yunbai, who had arrived first, held the lowest status among the three and possessed modest strength. She had arrived earliest merely because she lived nearby. She actually represented the local tyrants of the Baiye region, the Baiye Song family, holding a position in Duxian Dao much like Li Xizhi once had in the Qingchi Sect. Naturally, she would not put on a hostile face; she carried an air of detachment, speaking with utter politeness. As for Gongsun Baifan, he undoubtedly held a position akin to a guest protector, much like An Siwei to the Li family. Though he defended Duxian Dao, he possessed no true authority to make decisions, so he kept his speech as courteous as possible. Only the woman in the colorful skirt was truly enraged; she had to be a genuine direct descendant of Duxian Dao. Sure enough, once Gongsun Baifan fell silent, the colorful-skirt woman grit her teeth and snapped: "If you wish to incriminate someone, an excuse is never hard to find! If your noble clan covets territory, just say so—why bother inventing high-sounding pretexts? We reside in Jiangbei and you in Jiangnan; there was never any need to congratulate your family in the first place, so where do all these demands come from!" Seeing her brush aside Miyun Cave's past offenses and harp only on what favored her, Li Chengkun's face hardened. One had to remember that Chengyun Gate, another Jiangbei power, had sent its very sect master to offer congratulations! Having sorted out the trio's backgrounds, Li Zhouwei finally spoke, declaring: "Enough talk. Miyun Cave harassed my family for ten years, repeatedly forcing our direct descendants into peril. This grudge will not be left unsettled. Mount Hongfu has already been taken by my clan. Go back to wherever you came from!" Li Zhouwei had long since dispatched Miaoshui to claim Mount Hongfu. Armed with the entry token, she had already entered the mountain. The woman in the colorful skirt had evidently anticipated his words, sneering: "Do you truly think you have us cornered?" The moment the words left her mouth, swords were drawn and bows bent. Li Chengkun's hand dropped instantly onto his Six Thunder Xuan Punishment Tokens, Gongsun Baifan gripped the saber at his waist, while Wang He and the others broke out in cold sweat, exchanging panicked glances. Strictly speaking, Li Zhouwei had no fear of the three. Earlier, before Ding Weizeng arrived, he might have had to weigh his options, but now, with that burly man and Li Chengkun beside him, dealing with these three would be more than manageable. ‘The only concern is Duxian Dao's reinforcements...’ There was no need to wonder: a confrontation between Violet Palace masters was undoubtedly unfolding in the Great Void right at this moment. If Li Zhouwei engaged these three now, winning would be fine, but if they lost, it would put Li Ximing at a disadvantage in the Great Void, tying his hands. As he weighed the matter, he kept his long halberd raised, his eyes narrowing unpredictably as he said coldly: "You are welcome to try!" Suddenly, hearty laughter rang out across the horizon as a voice boomed: "Fellow Daoist Minghuang, I have come to assist you!" Everyone looked up together to see a brownish-yellow Xuan-stone spirit boat hurtling through the sky, parting the air in sweeping waves. Standing at the prow was a clean-shaven man in robes woven with dark, swirling patterns, looking somewhat hurried. It was none other than the Sect Master of Xuanyue, Kong Guxi! The colorful-skirt woman's face instantly shifted. Finally understanding what was happening, she laughed out of sheer fury, snarling: "So that's it! So that's how it is! The two of you have crawled into bed together! No wonder you had the gall to pull this!" Kong Guxi arrived in the blink of an eye. Four cultivators disembarked from the spirit boat behind him—three men and one woman, two of whom were at the mid Foundation Establishment stage. Once the five of them took their stance beside the Li clan, the balance of power reversed in an instant. Yet the woman in the colorful skirt appeared entirely unfazed. Her gaze pierced straight toward Kong Guxi as she barked: "Kong Guxi! How much lifespan does your Real Person have left? How dare you scheme against our Duxian Dao!" Kong Guxi met her with a chilling glare. Though Kong Guxi had always been all smiles toward the Li family, when this clean-shaven man furrowed his brows and turned cold, he carried a ruthless edge that sent a shiver down one's spine. He cursed: "This Daoist master has been sick of your face for ages! Cultivating that wretched, headless ghost path of yours, yet flaunting that ghostly mug more arrogantly than a dragon princess!" His tirade came down like a slap to the face, sounding entirely unlike the man's usual demeanor. The woman in the colorful skirt was stunned, her cheeks flushing red with rage. Just as she was about to lash out, Gongsun Baifan yanked her back, shouting: "Careful!" The woman looked back instinctively, only to discover that the halberd-wielding man's forehead had erupted into blinding radiance, releasing a vast, billowing wave of pure yang light. Shangyao Fuguang! Li Zhouwei had planned this all along, waiting for the very instant she turned her head before unleashing the beam to smash straight into her. In that lightning-brief moment, a sharp clang rang out as cold light flashed. Gongsun Baifan drew his saber and lunged forward, throwing up a shield of Gengjin light before the colorful-skirt woman. In a single breath, stillness turned into violent motion across the sky: thunder crashed, true fire surged, craggy peaks materialized, and sharp Gengjin qi stirred the heavens. *** In the Great Void. Li Ximing stood with his hands behind his back, clad in white-and-gold Daoist robes, his forehead gleaming with radiance as the colorful light of his divine abilities rose around him. Beside him, Changxi had pushed his divine abilities to the limit, manifesting the appearance of a middle-aged man with a white jade pendant hanging at his chest. Facing them was a man in deep blue Daoist robes. He had a short face and a slightly pointed chin, looking rather handsome and possessed of a refined spiritual air. He cradled a sword in his arms, his long hair tied behind his head. Beneath him sat a scaled avian beast that resembled a crow, its eyes pitch-black. The Daoist remained silent, watching them coldly. "Fellow Daoist Ye Gui," Changxi called out in a chilling voice. Cradling his slender, graceful dharma sword, Ye Gui finally spoke: "Zhaojing, what is the meaning of this?" Ye Gui wore an unmistakable look of surprise. He seemed not to have expected the Li family to strike so suddenly, nor had he anticipated that they would take up the messy mantle of the Xuanyue Gate. Stroking the edge of his blade, he said softly: "I thought you were merely placating this old man, waiting until he dropped dead so the two of us could split Xuanyue half-and-half. Without any grand commotion or need for a confrontation between Violet Palaces, wouldn't that have been wonderful?" The blade in his hands appeared not to be a true sword-path weapon, but rather some ritual implement used for casting arts, radiating halos of dharmic power. Ye Gui chuckled: "Afterward, you and I could deliberate and divide the spoils at our leisure. Wouldn't that satisfy both sides? We could claim Xuanyue's territory based on our own abilities; Xuanyue's people would follow you, and the mountain gate would belong to me... "To think that before I even made a move, you reached out to touch my things first. Now we've escalated this before the Violet Palaces of both clans, spawning all this needless unpleasantness. What was the point?" The mirth gradually drained from Ye Gui's tone, and he sighed: "Must you truly make an enemy of me... A mid Violet Palace cultivator in the prime of his life versus a masterless wreck of a sect... Which holds more weight, can you truly not see?" He disregarded Changxi entirely, acting as though no such person existed in the Great Void, speaking solely to Li Ximing. Changxi's expression darkened, his voice turning grim: "Ye Gui!" Ye Gui cast him a sideways glance and asked: "Is the senior planning to stake his life against mine? You are but a single strand of divine ability; what would putting your life on the line even accomplish? A man with one foot in the grave, yet you still refuse to rest quietly, coming here to sow discord." Changxi fell silent, offering no further reply. Li Ximing then spoke: "There is no need for such hypocrisy, Fellow Daoist. Miyun Cave harmed my family repeatedly, and Chidu was utterly lacking in courtesy. If your holy Dao possessed even a shred of goodwill, matters would never have reached this point." "Hahaha!" Ye Gui laughed aloud and replied: "Even if that were true, what of it? What friendship or goodwill can there ever be between Violet Palace masters? If Zhaojing cannot see through that, you will suffer for it sooner or later..." Seeming entirely unwilling to waste words, he continued: "Since Wenhu offended your clan, you may take that rogue cultivator if you wish. I will not hold the damage done to Miyun against your head either. Withdraw back to Fuyun, and there is still room for our two clans to negotiate!" "Withdraw?" Li Ximing's hand tightened slightly beneath his sleeve. He did not believe a single word out of Ye Gui's mouth. Splitting Xuanyue half-and-half, taking their time to divide the spoils later—it all sounded enticing, but it was nothing more than one-sided rhetoric. Besides, saving Xuanyue did not mean having to defend every inch of their borders. Li Ximing had a good impression of the Xuanmiao Temple and now possessed greater confidence, not to mention Mount Jingyi across the sea. He said coldly: "Since you were unwilling to offer me congratulations, Fellow Daoist, I shall accept the territory of Miyun Cave as your celebratory gift!" Ye Gui knitted his brows, locking eyes with him across the void. Bursts of spiritual light seemed to billow through the Great Void, and the dharma sword in his hands began to tremble. Changxi stood unyielding in front of them, his stance even clearer. Li Ximing certainly had no fear of trading blows with Ye Gui right now. Setting aside the fact that Changxi stood beside him with little regard for his own life, the moment their two sides fought, the first to suffer would undoubtedly be Duxian Dao's direct lineage down below. By the time the three of them finished battling for several days and nights, Li Zhouwei might well have pushed the front line all the way into the Baiye region. "Good, good, good." Ye Gui merely nodded and said: "Consider this territory yours for now. But remember this: you did not win Miyun Cave through any brilliant scheme of yours, Li Ximing. Once that old man dies, I want to see how you handle the fallout!" "You need not trouble yourself with that, Fellow Daoist!" Li Ximing smiled in response. Sneering, Ye Gui faded into the Great Void and vanished, leaving behind only a parting barb: "Senior, Xuanyue will inevitably be torn apart by the various sects! That day is not far off!" Changxi said nothing. Li Ximing watched Ye Gui depart in the distance without offering any words of comfort. After all, the old Real Person had concealed the matter regarding Kong Haiying, which was indeed wrong. With lingering displeasure in his own heart, how could Li Ximing bring himself to console him? The two merely steered their divine abilities back toward the lake. Changxi sighed: "I have made you witness something disgraceful, Zhaojing..."