Surrounded by respectful farewells from the Cui family, Li Ximing departed the island. Cui Jueyin stood bathed in celestial light, looking somewhat wistful, but Li Ximing had no time to spare for him. He read through "Recurve Hundred Formations Trapping Formation Body" again and again, gaining an ever deeper comprehension of this secret art.
"It looks as though someone took an excerpt from Recurve, omitting eight words out of ten. Though broken and incomplete, it echoes the contents of the Precious Scripture of Body Guarding Tiger Pass, allowing one to barely cultivate it to completion.
"If it were applied to a different immortal foundation... say, to Yetian Gate, it almost certainly could not be mastered."
Calculations were already running swiftly through his mind.
"Recurve Hundred Formations Trapping Formation Body cannot be applied to Yetian Gate, but our family's Recurve can likely be used across all immortal foundations. Now that these nine secret arts are in our hands, no matter what Mingyang cultivation method comes our way, my clan will have nine secret arts ready to cultivate!
"Even the imperial clans of antiquity were hardly more than this!"
He gave an awkward smile at the thought of how he had grumbled earlier about the secret art being overly terse. Reaching into his robe, he drew out a jade slip. His expression turned solemn and contemplative, as if he were pondering the crucial arrangement of some momentous divine ability. Seeing this, Cui Jueyin did not dare speak, though he murmured inwardly, *What could that be?*
Recorded within that jade slip was Li Ximing's own comprehension of the Yangyuan secret art. It stretched to nearly a hundred thousand words. Compared to the ancient texts, it was no longer a matter of grinding wheat and baking pastries; it had reached the point of teaching a person how to swallow without choking to death.
Now, looking at it only filled him with embarrassment. He grumbled inwardly, *Years ago, our family's daoist heritage was incomplete, and my attainment in the Mingyang Dao was hardly superior to that of a rogue cultivator. If this secret art were placed in the clan archives, I wouldn't even dare sign my name to it... I'd die of shame if later generations saw it. How could the dignified Zhaojing, the Li family's first Real Person, write nearly a hundred thousand words of foolish prattle over and over?*
He was tempted to toss it aside, yet felt that would be a waste. So he found the place for the signature and casually inscribed the title "Real Person Gufeng" before slipping it back into his sleeve. Seeing his serene expression, as though he had reached some firm resolve, Cui Jueyin sighed inwardly, *How difficult it is to fathom the thoughts of a Real Person... Having the assistance of our family must have given him even greater confidence.*
With this little interlude over, Li Ximing finally began contemplating the origin of the Scripture of Minghua Huangyuan.
"Nine secret arts, yet it is only a fifth-rank manual! Why on earth did the Immortal Mirror bestow such a technique?"
The Scripture of Minghua Huangyuan had been bestowed upon Li Zhouwei. That white qilin, born to the Li family after a century of waiting, was naturally destined for extraordinary greatness. The nine secret arts were clearly granted on his account, yet the Scripture of Minghua Huangyuan was only of the fifth rank.
"Judging from the examples of Jiangqian and Quewan, cultivation methods and secret arts seem to be bestowed separately... Minghuang possesses a different karmic mandate, which is why his secret arts reach the ultimate number of nine..."
For now, he could only guess. Having formed a rough estimate in his heart, he flew back the way he had come. The wind and waves over the sea grew increasingly violent. Schools of fish darted across the water's surface, and occasional monsters surfaced, only to be reduced to ash the moment they brushed against the celestial light beneath his feet.
Li Ximing was no longer who he used to be. The celestial light between his brows stirred, linking with the Great Void as he quietly sensed shifts in the spiritual essence, calculating within:
"The farther southeast one goes, the more violent the shifts in spiritual essence become...
"The matter of water receding and thunder rising belongs to the True Sovereigns. Prying into it will surely invite disaster. Even having mastered a divine ability does not mean one can go anywhere one pleases."
He estimated the coordinates from afar; it seemed to be near Shiqi Island. The Eastern Sea was dragon territory, and without full assurance, he had no interest in wandering aimlessly. Riding the wind, he made his way back toward the inland domain of Lake Wangyue.
"Still, the spring water of Shiqi possesses some miraculous properties. Once matters are settled, I could pay it a visit."
Turbulence surged throughout the Great Void. Seeing the Great Void of legend for the first time, Cui Jueyin observed his surroundings with great curiosity. Having gained a capable subordinate and renewed his dao path, Li Ximing was in high spirits. Not wanting to waste time, he took out Changxi's Refining Divine Abilities in Fire of Guanxie and began reading.
A name like Refining Divine Abilities in Fire of Guanxie was plainly not the masterpiece of contemporary cultivators. Its incantation-like, meditative style of nomenclature closely resembled the arts in the Six Chapters of Seeking Immortality, which his clan's elders had retrieved from the Qingsong Grotto-Heaven. It likely dated back at least to that ancient era.
Li Ximing flipped through it. Most of it discussed profound arts and wondrous techniques: using raised platforms for sacrificial rites, an assortment of spiritual materials, Lihuo, and fiendish qi, with multiple cultivators of cultivation helping forge the spiritual embryo over months and years to refine it to completion.
Looking closer, he saw that the description of a "cultivator of cultivation" read: *A sea of qi floating with light, yet to ascend the sun; possessing slight marvels, falling short of divine abilities.*
"That's just a Foundation Establishment cultivator... Ancients certainly liked their grand phrasing."
Li Ximing grumbled inwardly for a moment. From the looks of it, twelve Foundation Establishment cultivators were required, divided into two alternating shifts of six. Furthermore, their immortal foundations could not conflict with the spiritual embryo. If one were refining a Mingyang magical artifact, the participants could not possess Jueyin or Xi Qi, and it was best to avoid Kanshui among the Water Virtues as well.
"Fortunately, my family does not practice those first two paths."
Li Ximing paused, his attention caught by Kanshui. If anything could cause a conflict, Kanshui was the only candidate. His family possessed quite a few Kanshui cultivation methods and had members practicing them. Logically speaking, Mingyang and Kanshui held no principle of mutual generation or restraint. With his current attainment, he guessed silently:
"Lihuo and Mingyang belong to the same path, and Lihuo opposes Kanshui. That is likely the reason."
Setting the thought aside, he turned his mind to selecting a spiritual embryo.
He did not possess many Foundation Establishment magical artifacts. The Jianyang Ring was difficult to fathom and bore the name of a Qingsong Abbey cultivator, so it naturally could not be brought out. Setting aside a few useless items, the only ones qualified to serve as a spiritual embryo were the Chongming Dongxuan Screen, the Yangli Red Sparrow Banner, and the Mystic Pattern Bottle.
The Chongming Dongxuan Screen was difficult to decipher, but in all likelihood, it was fundamentally rooted in the Great Sun Dao. It was one of the few confirmed ancient artifacts belonging to his clan. Li Ximing had always felt there was something extraordinary about it, something profound, and had treasured it dearly.
The other ancient artifact was the Mystic Pattern Bottle. While it lacked overwhelming destructive might, the Li family had always prized it for its miraculous adaptability. Aside from this bottle, the Li family had never encountered an artifact that shifted according to its owner. Its wonders seemed inexhaustible, displaying the pinnacle of ancient craftsmanship.
"Since the Mystic Pattern Bottle is an heirloom of the Wei-Li, it could very well be used as a Mingyang artifact. I can certainly give it a try. Even if this artifact fails, the Qingchi Violet Palace once entered the Dongli Grotto-Heaven; trading with them for a top-grade Mingyang artifact wouldn't be overly difficult."
***
Within the realm of the mirror.
The Taiyin Mansion of Huasu Yuanming Shengqing.
Taiyin qi surged through the profound palace, where golden-pistiled laurel motifs, bright-moon lampstands, and piles of cold snow could be seen everywhere, alongside depictions of jade hares and toads. A few snowflakes drifted down as a figure walked over with sleeves gathered.
The youth possessed a broad forehead and thick beard and hair hanging down past his cheeks. His face was fair, his eyes a pale jasper, and the sleeves of his robe were patterned with rolling waves. Rounding a corner into a courtyard, he sat down. Seeing someone from the mansion sit beside him, he asked:
"Master Liu, do you have any connections in the lower realm? When will Master Li return?"
The person addressed was a white-robed immortal officer. Hearing the question, he merely shook his head repeatedly and answered:
"Time flows differently in the lower realm, blind to the passing years. If he is cultivating the Dao, hundreds or thousands of years could pass in a blink. He will not return so quickly."
"Alas! Hundreds or thousands of years? This will work me to death!"
Hearing this, grief welled within the youth, and he sat in a daze.
This person was naturally Dangjiang. He had been compiling techniques here for who knew how long, researching day and night until his mouth was parched and his throat raw. Yet jade slips continued to pour endlessly from the cabinet without cessation.
Dangjiang had never been of an industrious temperament, and compiling techniques was grueling labor with no rest day or night. Having finally caught a momentary breather, he had come out to ask about Master Li, only to be struck by this bolt from the blue.
He sat blankly for a while, in no mood to appreciate the drifting snow in the mansion. Beside him, Immortal Officer Liu suddenly leaped to his feet and said respectfully:
"Greetings, General!"
Dangjiang hurriedly looked up and saw a cold-faced immortal general in silver armor standing at the edge of the courtyard. His facial features were sharp as if chiseled. The youth scrambled to his feet at once, letting out a long sigh:
"Greetings, Immortal General!"
This was naturally Zhengao, Immortal General of Taiyin Suming! Ever since Dangjiang arrived, Zhengao had dumped him in this cursed place to toil incessantly day in and day out. Worse yet, there were precious few people here; each came and went without a trace, and none were fond of speaking. Finding Zhengao was entirely out of the question. Dangjiang had long been suffocating from boredom.
Finally seeing his superior, he was overwhelmed with excitement and exclaimed:
"It has been so long, General!"
Zhengao said indifferently:
"A single journey to the lower realm can hardly be called long."
Aside from Dangjiang, everything within the realm of the mirror was an illusion. Zhengao was naturally controlled by Lu Jiangxian at will, as was Immortal Officer Liu beside him. The reason they were taciturn was purely that Lu Jiangxian could not be bothered to humoring this chatterbox.
During Li Ximing's breakthrough and subsequent travels, he had visited several factions one after another: Qingchi, Xianyou Peak, the Sword Sect, Xuanmiao Abbey, Xuanyue Gate, and the Cui family on Chongzhou Island...
Lu Jiangxian had not monitored every single moment, but the illumination of the Immortal Mirror had shadowed him through the Great Void. Any spell or secret art that could be collected had been gathered. However, every sect had protective ciphers locking their arts away, making them difficult to decipher. The harvest could only be called modest.
Chongzhou Island, the Sword Sect, and Qingchi each had dedicated secret ciphers securing their manuals. For high-grade cultivation methods, the ciphers seemed to be handed down through the lineages of their respective peaks and branches rather than recorded in jade slips, yielding little.
As for that old fox Xiao Chuting of Xianyou Peak, he had locked every single method with ciphers from beginning to end. Across the vast Xianyou Peak, nothing at all could be gleaned.
Only Xuanmiao Abbey and Xuanyue Gate lacked deep foundations and grand origins, recording their deciphering keys directly on jade slips. Xuanyue was slightly better off; the cipher for their Violet Palace method was likely kept in Changxi's storage bag, while everything else was laid bare. As for Xuanmiao Abbey, having been established north of the river for barely over a decade, its institutional systems were incomplete, and the cipher for its Violet Palace method was hidden right behind the statue of its patriarch, True Sovereign Xuxiang, allowing Lu Jiangxian to sweep it all up in one go.
*Mostly minor spells and Foundation Establishment arts. The Sword Sect yielded quite a few third- and fourth-rank sword manuals. Xuanmiao Abbey actually had the fewest manuals, yet yielded a fifth-rank Violet Palace cultivation method, the Scripture of Baoxiang White Earth... a rare path of Baotu.*
These were all harvests within expectation. Yet as Li Ximing flew across the Eastern Sea, Lu Jiangxian had inadvertently scanned an immortal's cave, seemingly left behind by an ancient cultivator.
The cave's formations were intact. Even placed right before Li Ximing, he would not have noticed it. Lu Jiangxian did not bother exerting unnecessary effort; he merely sent his divine sense sweeping through the formations. The space inside was considerable, though it held nothing particularly noteworthy. He simply read the formation plate and recorded it in passing.
The rest of the cultivation methods flooded into the scripture pavilion atop the mountain, where they sat untouched. The hallmarks of their respective sects were too distinct; without being modified by Dangjiang or himself, they could not be used carelessly and could only serve as reference material.
Now, however, an idea began to take root in his mind. He did not want Dangjiang to spend every day merely tweaking spells. The spells in the pavilion were becoming far too numerous; bestowing them one by one upon the Li clan was simply too inefficient. He wanted to find a way to let the Li family choose for themselves using the connection between the talisman seeds.
*If so, someone must guard the pavilion and guide them. That will also make it much easier to reveal more things to the Li clan in the future.*
*Take that cave dwelling just now. If there were someone to act as an intermediary, an excuse could be concocted to bestow it upon them, rather than letting it sit wasted in the sea.*
In any case, Dangjiang had to work regardless of where he was stationed. If he was not in this mansion, Lu Jiangxian would no longer need to constantly conjure puppets to humor him. Armed with memories of past lives, Lu Jiangxian had no intention of meeting the Li family in person, choosing instead to plan ahead.
Thus, attaching his consciousness to Zhengao, he had sought Dangjiang out. He nodded and said:
"Though I was away in the lower realm, I heard from Immortal Officer Liu that you have been diligent and conscientious, burning the midnight oil. I also reviewed the methods you modified; most are quite useful. Though some were rejected, your dedication is plain to see."
"This... Many thanks for the General's understanding!"
Dangjiang was overjoyed, casting a grateful glance at Immortal Officer Liu. Zhengao continued:
"Since you work so hard and possess no small ability, I shall arrange an official post for you in the heavens. What do you think?"
Had Dangjiang not toiled away precisely for this moment? He was immediately elated and bowed deeply:
"The General's grace... is engraved upon my heart... I..."
Before he could finish, Zhengao waved a hand and said:
"I inquired with the Merit Officers and found a pavilion for you at the edge of heaven. Manpower in heaven is scarce, and that pavilion has long lain derelict. It was originally Master Li's post. Now that he has returned from the lower realm, he will surely receive a higher office, leaving this position vacant. Since you are adept in daoist methods, you shall be dispatched to that pavilion to oversee daoist arts and cultivation methods, holding the post in his stead for now."
*Huh?*
Hearing that he was still saddled with this backbreaking labor, Dangjiang nearly choked on his words. He lamented inwardly:
*What do you mean, 'adept in daoist methods'? Do I even have any other choice? Even dispatching me to meet people, patrol the pavilions, stand guard in heaven, or descend to the lower realm to slay demons would be wonderful... How did it turn back into being 'adept in daoist methods'?!*
Lu Jiangxian knew well that Dangjiang was a restless, verbose soul who had never been inclined to settle down and revise techniques. But where in this place was there a sky to patrol or demons to slay? He merely asked with feigned doubt:
"Could it be you find the post too lowly?"
The moment those words left his mouth, Dangjiang was backed into a corner. How could he dare argue? He shook his head repeatedly, pouring out words of gratitude. Lu Jiangxian found it amusing and, controlling Zhengao, turned away, saying:
"Pack your things. I will take you to the edge of heaven."
Once Zhengao left the courtyard, Immortal Officer Liu was no longer standing in rigid deference. Coming alive at once, he cupped his hands in congratulation:
"Congratulations, congratulations!"
Dangjiang was torn between joy and dismay. He was glad to finally hold an official post in heaven, yet troubled that he would have to continue this exhausting work—perhaps with an even heavier workload. Inhabiting Immortal Officer Liu, Lu Jiangxian brought forth the corporate platitudes of his past life and comforted him:
"Having this post is quite fine; you are our colleague now! Which of the immortal officers didn't make their way up like this? Work steadily and diligently! Keep at it until the clouds part to reveal the bright moon!"
Dangjiang gritted his teeth and replied:
"Once I make a name for myself and get the chance to descend to the lower realm, I must have a serious talk with Fellow Daoist Li... This is hundreds of years of toil!"
Chapter 721