After traversing the Great Void for a time, Ye Gui returned to his Mount Baiye. Guan Gongxiao was kneeling before the stele at the mountain peak, his forehead pressed tightly against the ground as he spoke respectfully:
"Greetings, Real Person! Your disciple handled things poorly, suffering casualties, losing generals, and losing magical artifacts. I beg Real Person to punish me!"
"Shut your mouth."
Ye Gui raised a hand to stop him, frowning.
"This matter cannot be blamed on you. The objective has already been achieved. Xuanyue also suffered grievous losses, and we haven’t taken any less territory than we were supposed to reclaim. It’s merely three magical artifacts, and none of them were ancient artifacts anyway."
Guan Gongxiao kowtowed repeatedly, about to say more, but Ye Gui waved his sleeve and swept him away, leaving not a trace of his shadow behind.
"A pity about Guan Kan... He was an old hand as well, yet he was beaten to death by Li Zhouwei. Fortunately, he served whatever purpose he was meant to, so it can't be called a loss."
Ye Gui poured himself tea by the table. After waiting for half a quarter-hour, a figure paced out from the Great Void.
This Real Person was clad in Daoist robes patterned with clouds. His features were kind and gentle, making him look like a generous elder of a clan, though his eyes were somewhat narrow. Sitting down by the table, he appeared to be in an excellent mood.
‘After twisting and turning for so long, this old bastard finally got his way.’
Though Ye Gui harbored no kind thoughts toward him, a smile rose to his lips as he greeted, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Changxiao!"
This man was none other than the master of Changxiao Gate, the famous Changxiaozi, who had once carved his way through the Three Sects and Seven Gates to achieve the Violet Palace!
Changxiao smiled faintly and replied, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist. How is your third divine ability progressing? The threshold of the Third Violet is hard to cross; you must be careful."
Ye Gui smiled without answering, then asked, "I have not seen Fellow Daoist Chengyan in many years. I wonder how he is doing these days?"
Ye Gui had arrived in Jiangbei at a later date and had taken no part in the affair of Anhuai Heaven, but he had heard bits and pieces of it. Ye Gui bore no grudge against Chengyan; he simply despised fools and insisted on bringing him up.
Changxiao understood what he meant and answered offhandedly, "Him? A few years ago, he nurtured a promising seed, and it seems there are signs of a harvest. In recent years, he has refused to leave the sect, waiting only to cultivate his second divine ability to completion..."
Ye Gui hesitated for a moment before finally turning the topic to business, saying, "Having spent so much effort, my side made quite a few sacrifices. But now that it is finally done, did you see clearly, Fellow Daoist?"
"I saw clearly."
A peculiar look surfaced on Changxiao's face, subtly tinged with excitement. He nodded and said, "Li Zhouwei is indeed connected to the karmic mandate of the golden nature. I observed from the side with a destiny divine ability, and it was unmistakably the form of a white qilin... All these years of suspicion were grounded after all. At last, there is a way forward!"
Ye Gui seemed uninterested in Changxiao's affairs, only speaking in a measured tone: "To help you verify this, I provoked the Li clan for no good reason, lost an elder, lost face, and failed to divide Xuanyue, leaving room for unforeseen changes... I paid a heavy price..."
"I have truly troubled you, Ye Gui!"
Changxiao appeared to be in high spirits. Laughing heartily, he cupped his hands and said, "Sima Boxiu is always wary of me, and the families surrounding the Divine Lake harbor grievances against me as well. Without your righteous assistance, Fellow Daoist, it would have been exceedingly difficult for me to investigate this matter relying solely on my own power!"
Seeing how he danced around the point, Ye Gui lost his patience. Offering a polite smile, he asked, "Fellow Daoist Changxiao, can the Crimson-Headed Dark Soul be given to me now?"
"Ah... no need to rush!"
Changxiao gave a couple of laughs and replied, "This matter is not over yet... Fellow Daoist, your third divine ability is not fully formed either, let alone how difficult it is to reach the Third Violet?"
He paused, then shifted the topic: "'Descending Soul Audition' is a destiny divine ability after all. Jiangnan has plenty of lineages of that sort, yet you haven't cultivated one for so many years. Presumably, you look down on those in Jiangnan and have something better in hand, even bringing out a fine treasure like the Crimson-Headed Dark Soul... Its difficulty must be quite high, requiring at least forty or fifty years. Why the rush? Once this matter is properly settled, I will naturally hand the item over to you."
‘The old bastard offers nothing but empty words.’
Though dissatisfied in his heart, Ye Gui merely nodded in agreement on the surface, only for Changxiao to say, "Fellow Daoist, you may not know, but I received word that the Beihai Dragon King has made no move for many years. The thunder is about to subside, and the situation then will only become more complicated. You and I would do best to settle our business swiftly while we can, so we can hide away in seclusion in a few years."
Ye Gui was himself a cultivator of the Eastern Sea; how could he not know? He merely replied, "That hardly counts as news."
Changxiao was also well aware of the other's sour temper and simply said, "Yet there is a piece of good news I must share with you."
He smiled and continued, "Xuanyi and Chunyi Dao came to blows, fighting until the sea churned, so much so that the Reef Sea Dragon King came out to intervene. If this holds true, there will be no need to factor in Mount Jingyi for any matters going forward."
This finally drew a nod from Ye Gui. After all, Xuanyi was no pushover. If the cultivators of Mount Jingyi came inland, his Duxian Dao might not truly be a match for them. Now that Xuanyi had run into trouble, it was a pipe dream for Mount Jingyi's main lineage to venture out into the world. How could that not be good news?
After exchanging a few more words with Changxiao, Ye Gui politely saw him off. Returning to the table, he stared gloomily in the direction of Changxiao's departure before muttering in a low voice after a long silence:
"If not for the Crimson-Headed Dark Soul being so difficult to find, with this old bastard being the only one who obtained a portion of it in Douxuan... I wouldn't have to be subjected to his coercion like this.
"A pity for my Douxuan lineage... far too many spells have failed and the spiritual energy has withered away; otherwise, I wouldn't have ended up in such a state today... Douxuan Grotto-Heaven opens so rarely, who knows when the next time will be? It's impossible to wait for it."
Exhaling a breath, he rubbed the space between his brows and gritted his teeth.
"As for this old bastard, it's definitely deliberate... Now the enmity with the Li clan has only deepened. When the day comes that all pretenses are publicly shattered... even if this old bastard gives me nothing... I'll still have to help him deal with the Li family!"
In all honesty, Ye Gui had no desire to target the Li clan. Having a Li family around to shield against Qingchi and Jinyu was no bad thing. Yet Changxi had relentlessly caused trouble from within, and Changxiao had kept pressing him. Ye Gui felt deeply displeased, yet had little room to back down:
"Some things must still be done. Stall Li Ximing and ease tensions as much as possible. As long as Si Boxiu isn't dead yet... I must not push him too hard..."
The Li clan was wary of Ye Gui, unaware that this Violet Palace Real Person of Duxian Dao harbored just as much wariness toward them... In fact, he hadn't even exerted his full strength in the recent fight, merely going through the motions to appease Changxiao and fulfill his mission of buying time.
"Once Li Ximing is pushed over to Si Boxiu's side and the Li family is forced back into Qingchi's fold, I won't be able to lay a finger on Jiangnan... Si Boxiu will surely do everything he can to make the Li family rely on Qingchi and will intervene forcefully. Once that fellow steps in, I can forget about laying a hand on the things at Mount Xiaoshi!
"Besides... I came to Jiangbei to establish a sect, not to make enemies! Li Ximing is not even a hundred damn years old, and if Li Zhouwei isn't handled properly... that will be even more unsettling..."
Ye Gui pondered for a long time before finally setting down his jade cup and drawing out his ritual sword:
"Resolving Kong Haiying can only be done through Xuanmiao Temple. Eliminating him will not only remove my future troubles, but also drive a wedge between Xuanmiao and Wangyue... Sumian is someone who prefers to smooth over conflicts. This matter will not be difficult."
Chapter 733