"Senior, you are too modest," Li Ximing replied. He did not pursue the topic further, but merely peered through the Great Void.
Li Zhouwei and the others had clashed with Duxian Dao's direct disciples, and both sides had sustained injuries. Once Ye Gui departed, Duxian Dao ceased hostilities and retreated to garrison the few peaks remaining under Miyun Cave's control.
'Taking roughly seventy percent of their territory isn't a bad haul.'
Leaving the aftermath at Miyun Cave to Li Zhouwei and the rest, Li Ximing rode his divine ability away. He remained silent the entire journey, subtly revealing his displeasure. Changxi naturally noticed and gave an inward sigh. When the two touched down on Mount Zhijing, the aged master spoke in a gravelly voice:
"Ye Gui hails from the Eastern Sea. Though he possesses an orthodox inheritance and great fortune, someone who has cultivated to his current level cannot be trusted in word or deed. Please do not take his remarks to heart, Zhaojing."
A tangle of unresolved thoughts weighed on Li Ximing's mind. Ye Gui's attempts to sow discord were obviously not to be taken at face value. If this Duwei Violet Palace master truly intended to partition Xuanyue, wouldn't it have been far more logical to send someone early with gifts to curry favor and make his goodwill plain?
Thinking along those lines only deepened his suspicion.
'Why didn't he?'
Even if Changxi died, the Xuanyue territory could never entirely fall into Ye Gui's hands. The Li family stood right beside it. If anything happened to Xuanyue, the Li family would arrive under the banner of aid, whereas Duxian Dao would come as invaders; the speed at which either could absorb the land differed like heaven and earth.
From Li Ximing's perspective, if Ye Gui wanted to seize more of Xuanyue's territory, he should never have pushed Xuanyue into the Li family's arms. Even if he bore the Li clan no genuine goodwill, he ought to have feigned friendship for the time being, professing disinterest in Xuanyue so that a future betrayal and sneak attack would be far easier.
'Yet by acting like this, my family will dispatch men to help defend the border before Changxi even dies. He will face a border guarded jointly and with unified purpose by Xuanyue and Wangyue—the difficulty is a world apart from before!'
'Either he has some other card up his sleeve... or he isn't plotting to take Xuanyue's land at all...'
Even now, Li Ximing could not fathom what Ye Gui truly wanted, and that was the most perilous part. No matter how arrogant the man's words sounded, Li Ximing treated them all as smoke screens meant to confuse him.
While he was lost in thought, Changxi spoke once more. The old man said, "Zhaojing, Ye Gui withdrew only because he is unwilling to clash with us at this moment..."
Frowning, Li Ximing asked, "Since Ye Gui is so insolent, is he truly not afraid of your retaliation, Senior? If you know something, please make it entirely clear to me. If you withhold anything, disaster may well ensue."
Earlier, Changxi had concealed that Kong Haiying had a blood feud with Ye Gui over the murder of his wife. That was no trivial matter. What Ye Gui coveted in the future was not just Xuanyue's territory and heritage, but the very lives of Kong Haiying's lineage! The grudge had escalated to another tier entirely.
Changxi did not have much lifespan left, and Ye Gui was already an enemy. Li Ximing had refrained from pressing him about Kong Haiying, but now that the cards were on the table, Changxi could only nod and sigh.
At this juncture, he no longer held anything back. He said, "There is something you do not know, Zhaojing. He possesses two spell divine abilities and one body divine ability. My Yu Ganshan can neither suppress nor entangle him. While staking my life might at least wound him, matters cannot be reckoned that way.
"Years ago, Real Person Chonghe of Wuzhu Gate, then in the mid Violet Palace realm, pursued Yanque of Hengzhu. Yanque's body divine ability dragged him through the Great Void of Wu and Yue for six whole years without Chonghe ever laying a hand on him. How much worse is our current disparity?
"I am no Ning Tiaoxiao; I have no ancient spirit artifact to pin down my foes. If I were truly to fight him with reckless disregard for my own life, he would simply refuse to engage—unless... an ambush is laid in the Great Void."
Having attained the Violet Palace realm himself, Li Ximing naturally knew how difficult it was to kill a Violet Palace cultivator when their divine abilities were comparable. Yet he had not meant for Changxi to throw his life away against Ye Gui. Duxian Dao was still situated north of the river. A monk may run, but can his temple run with him?
Before Li Ximing could even hint at this, Changxi continued:
"As for underhandedly harming their juniors... I still have a heritage to pass down. I cannot commit atrocities that would leave my name reeking for ten thousand years, nor can I condemn my descendants to die without a burial place while bearing infamy...
"As for attacking what he must save—striking the mountain gate at Baiye... Zhaojing, think carefully: who watered the soil north of the river?"
Li Ximing understood at once and replied, "The struggle between North and South... Could it be the will of the Fruit Statuses?"
"Precisely!"
A wistful look crossed Changxi's face as he answered, "How many people from every sect perished in the struggle between North and South? Only then was the land north of the river nurtured into its current state... Though it mostly came from carving flesh off Qingchi and drinking the blood of demonic and rogue cultivators, that land is absolutely untouchable...
"The moment I set foot in Baiye, Ye Gui would burst out laughing. He would certainly appear to receive me, and once we traded blows, the spiritual energy of the Baiye region would suffer immense damage. That would be an intolerable offense.
"Before the two of us could even start fighting, the various factions would inevitably step in to break it up. Yuanxiu from the south, Qiushui from the west, Yuming and Shanbai from the north, Sumian from the east... even the Buddhists would intervene to stop me."
Changxi looked at him deeply and said in a hoarse tone, "His mountain gate stands north of the river; therefore, he has nothing to fear!"
Only then did Li Ximing realize why Ye Gui held Changxi in such contempt. After a moment of silence, having nothing more to say, he ventured, "Does Senior have any plan? If your measures remain limited to this, I fear it will be difficult to withstand the enemy."
After all, judging from the current state of affairs, unless Duxian Dao crossed the river to launch an invasion, Changxi was genuinely powerless. Seeing Li Ximing troubled, Changxi took a sip of tea, the wrinkles on his face deepening further.
The old man finally spoke:
"Zhaojing, after I pass away, if the situation truly becomes as precarious as a pile of eggs and beyond saving, you may cede Shanji Commandery to Ziyan Gate in exchange for their protection... So long as our mountain gate remains intact, that is enough."
Li Ximing breathed a sigh of relief and said solemnly, "Very well! With these words from you, Senior, many matters will be much easier to handle. I only hope you will leave a letter or written authorization to serve as proof."
Generations of the Kong family had cultivated Shanji Commandery, and they did not enforce a divide between immortals and mortals. Not only was the area teeming with Kong bloodlines, but the vast majority of the populace was deeply intertwined with the cultivators of the mountain gate. Li Ximing had no desire to play the savior only to shoulder the blame of a thief; he wanted the agreement set down in plain black and white.
Changxi craned his neck and nodded. "This matter must not be broadcast, or the entire Xuanyue Sect will lose the will to fight. In truth, I wrote a final decree long ago, hidden beneath the seat of honor in Xiyue Hall on the main peak. I shall write another copy for you here, Ximing, so the two may corroborate each other."
Li Ximing produced a piece of spiritual cloth for him. Using his divine ability as a brush, Changxi penned two lines of characters and handed it to Li Ximing. The cloth had already grown as heavy as a massive boulder, weighing well over a thousand jin.
Placing the item in his hands, the old man appeared even more withered as he said respectfully, "My thanks to you, Zhaojing!"
With that, he dispensed with pleasantries, cupped his hands in farewell, and vanished into the Great Void atop his divine ability.
Li Ximing turned the cloth over to read it:
*"I entrust Fellow Daoist Zhaojing to watch over Xuanyue on my behalf. Should circumstances turn dire, he may freely grant Shanji Commandery to another sect in exchange for aid."*
Though Changxi's divine ability was not suited for battle, its miraculous subtleties were by no means inferior. As he wrote, anomalous phenomena had manifested: the calligraphy resembled stone carvings, looking as though it might tumble right off the cloth. Li Ximing nodded to himself in appreciation.
His own divine ability was a spell divine ability as well, yet it brushed against the edge of a dharma body. Fire rose in his heart, pure yang permeated inside and out, the Mingyang purple flame burned in his Juque Court, heavenly light shone from between his brows, and the rest lay in the Audience at the Heavenly Gate. While by no means weak in combat, it lacked versatile, subtle transformations.
When the Li family moved Mount Qingdu, they had invited Kong Yu, who had used a sheet of Changxi's calligraphy to assist in shifting the mountain. Though the words Li Ximing inscribed above his own lake's six gates could mirror heavenly light, they could not be employed as talismans like Changxi's.
'Once the matters here are settled, I can make a trip to the Cui clan in the Eastern Sea... There should be a dao complement I can cultivate there, and I can also inquire about a Violet Palace array on the way... It must at least envelop Mount Zhijing.'
'As for Ye Gui... who knows what that fellow covets... Real Person Chuting might not even be at Xianyou. We have no kinship or longstanding bond, so I cannot trouble him time and again... Hai... if only Brother Jun were here!'
Reining in his thoughts, he mused inwardly:
'On the road, I should also press Changxi a bit more to see if I can pry out the technique for crafting a spirit artifact embryo!'
***
In the region of Baijiangxi.
A brocade light rippled atop Mount Hongfu, resolving into an arc-shaped halo that hovered over the peak. Strands of soft, cloud-like light drifted through the air. Viewed from afar, it resembled less an immortal sect and more the estate of an immortal clan.
Li Zhouwei and his companions descended upon rays of light. Miaoshui hurriedly emerged from the array to greet them. When the Duxian Dao cultivators from Baiye had arrived earlier, she had been so terrified that she hid within the formation, clutching the array disk in trembling hands and pretending to know nothing. Fortunately, no one had paid her any heed.
Now that Li Zhouwei had flown down, Miaoshui presented the multicolored array disk with both hands, saying respectfully, "Greetings, Patriarch. This is the array disk for Hongfu Peak's Mianyun Qixiao Array, a low-grade Foundation Establishment array."
"It can keep an early Foundation Establishment cultivator at bay. Not bad."
Li Zhouwei took it with some delight. The Li family had only recently risen to become an immortal clan, and their Foundation Establishment arrays were limited to Hanyun Peak and Mount Qingdu. Though the Mianyun Qixiao Array could not compare to arrays like Yunlong Tiannan or Wushui Yuqian, it was nonetheless the most valuable asset on this entire mountain. Had it not been for Duxian Dao, Wenhu would never have possessed the means to lay it out.
He inspected it closely. Beside him, Li Chengkun stepped forward to receive it, observing, "It belongs to the path of Auspicious Qi. This array might offer a modest boost to concocting pills and forging tools."
"Indeed!"
The Li cultivators had exchanged fewer than a hundred blows with the Duxian Dao disciples, and holding the advantage in numbers, none of them had suffered severe wounds. Only Qu Bushi had hurt his hand, while An Siwei had taken a palm strike; a few months of convalescence would see them fully recovered.
He immediately sent the two up the mountain to choose cave dwellings and tend to their wounds, then stepped into the main hall and turned to Li Chengkun and the others, asking, "The two elders fought all the way here. How does the Miyun territory look? Are the local prominent families cooperating?"
Li Minggong answered, "We have secured the various peaks. The Foundation Establishment cultivators of Miyun Cave have all fled, and quite a few Qi Refinement cultivators were captured. Mortals and immortals live side by side throughout Baijiangxi, so the locals likely bear little fondness for us. As for the prominent families, you will have to ask Weizeng."
Hearing his name called, Ding Weizeng stepped forward at once and bowed with cupped hands. "Reporting to the Patriarch: the Baijiangxi territory is home to four major surnames—Wang, Zhou, Huang, and Ding. Several centuries ago, they were all aristocratic families of the State of Xu. Through their rises and falls, only the Wang and Ding families still possess Foundation Establishment cultivators... I have already entered our peak, while the Huang family resides in the territory of Fanyun Cave."
"Oh?"
Li Zhouwei was quick on the uptake and countered, "The Wang family's Foundation Establishment cultivator... is that Wang He, Wenhu's subordinate?"
"Precisely!"
Ding Weizeng replied, and Li Zhouwei finally grasped why Wang He could serve as Miyun Cave's second-in-command; evidently, Wenhu had also needed to secure the backing of the local gentry.
"Now that Wang He has thrown in his lot with Duxian Dao and departed, has the Baijiang Wang family made any moves?" Li Zhouwei asked.
Li Chengkun replied, "The common folk have not stirred, but the direct lineage has likely already branched off to Baiye."
One did not need hard evidence to know this; it was an inevitability. Li Zhouwei leafed through the roster presented to him and discovered that this land had produced quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators over time. Though most were demonic cultivators, it was ample proof of the area's potential.
The Miyun territory was unlike other places. It held a staggering population of a million mortals, and there had never been any rule separating immortals from mortals. The bloodlines of the prominent families were deeply intertwined, and picking out any one of them revealed a local power with a clan numbering in the tens of thousands.
These people had their hands in many dirty dealings, and with a bit of pulling and prodding, they could tie themselves to multiple factions. After all, the spiritual energy north of the river was exceedingly potent at present. While Fuyun lay on the periphery and was somewhat subdued, Miyun was genuinely rich in spiritual materials, relying on these local powers to export them.
Because of this, even Miyun Cave, which killed without compunction, had found governing this place an enormous headache—to say nothing of the Li family, bound by far stricter rules. Li Zhouwei looked over the records once before speaking in a low voice:
"It is unwise to establish a Prefectural Peak in Baijiang... The conditions here simply do not support it. If we rush to set one up, we will invite at least a century of unrest. The revenue would fail to cover official stipends, and it would stir up widespread public resentment. We must primarily rely on self-governance."
It had taken the Li family over a century to bring Lake Wangyue under control. Even now, their true foundational strongholds were merely the ancestral lands on the southern shore and the dense forest on the eastern shore. The more distant hundred-plus families on the eastern shore were merely loosely bound vassals, while the various large and small families on the western shore remained stubbornly attached beneath the Prefectural Peak—to say nothing of the Fei family still lingering on the northern shore.
Moreover, land north of the river might be won today and lost in a few years. Li Zhouwei would never squander effort in vain.
Li Chengkun agreed strongly and reminded him, "However, the Ding family belongs to the Fuyun territory, and nine out of ten homes in Fuyun are now abandoned. We must still resettle Weizeng's family."
The Ding family was also a prominent clan. No matter how highly Li Zhouwei regarded Ding Weizeng, he would never release this local powerhouse back into its old stomping grounds. Now that the Fuyun territory was cleared, leaving it empty was far better. Li Zhouwei smiled and said:
"Weizeng has worked hard on this journey. Yet the times are turbulent, and we may not be able to hold Fuyun in the end. The common mortals of the Ding family had best be relocated to the eastern shore's Prefectural Peak, while Weizeng's immediate kin will be safest on our family's island."
This was an order to move the Ding clan to the lakeside. Ding Weizeng's very life had been saved by the Li family, and his entire clan had been liberated from Mount Hongfu. What could he say? He could only bow and offer his humble thanks.
Li Zhouwei valued him, after all, and took his feelings into account by not scattering the Ding family piecemeal across various Prefectural Peaks; otherwise, the clan would have been broken apart until Ding Weizeng stood alone.
Once Ding Weizeng finished his bows of gratitude, Li Zhouwei picked up a brush and said:
"Though we will not establish a Prefectural Peak or rotate appointed officials, that does not mean we will let them run wild. First, station the Jade Court Guard along the boundaries of each peak and leave them out in the cold for a few days. Then, release a few quotas and invite the direct descendants of their families to cultivate in the dense forest."
Li Chengkun voiced his assent, and Li Zhouwei added casually:
"First, we take a few direct descendants of these local powers and raise them ourselves. Even if the situation shifts in three to five years and our family withdraws from this land, as long as these direct heirs come into their own, reunifying this territory when we return north of the river will take nothing more than a single thought."
As his words fell, both of his elders nodded.
"I fear they might not send their true direct heirs, but rather some side branches born of concubines to Lake Wangyue... That is an old trick every family has grown tired of playing," Li Minggong remarked.
Li Zhouwei chuckled. "It makes no difference. Our family invited their authentic direct line. Once we bring them over, we will parade them through the streets to the clatter of gongs and drums, making three circuits to congratulate them, and then spread word of a juicy bloodline secret. Everyone loves listening to such tales. They will not dare deny it, nor will they have any way to deny it.
"If our family says they are the direct line, then the direct line they are."
He did not hide these words from Ding Weizeng. Hearing them made cold sweat break out across the burly man's back. He hurriedly took his leave and waited outside the hall while the details were ironed out within. An indescribable emotion churned in the man's heart:
'So it turns out demonic cultivators act without scruples, but the righteous path calculates far deeper.'
Chapter 716