Li Ximing strode through the Great Void, the purplish-black vapor dense and heavy all around him as he sped forward. The mountain of white vapor materialized once more, and Ye Gui was still mounted upon that scaled avian beast, its massive beak golden yellow and pupils pale white.
From the beast's back, he cast a glance at Li Ximing, gathering divine abilities in his hand as he spoke:
“For Zhaojing to be willing to take this step back, give up Xuanyue's mountain gate, and sacrifice Kong Haiying—you truly are a person who understands reason. I, Ye Gui, acknowledge this favor and offer my thanks here.”
Li Ximing watched him with a solemn gaze. The smile on the man's face was courteous. When facing Li Ximing, Ye Gui never displayed the cold mockery and sneering sarcasm he directed at Changxi; even when deploying divine abilities in battle, he always maintained a veneer of decency.
His attitude had always exuded a sense of detachment—how the people below fought was their business; your chariot captured my cannon, I put you in check—all of it was merely a game of chess. Holding a grudge would just mean you were not magnanimous enough!
It was precisely this attitude of his and Li Ximing's caution that left some leeway between their two factions at the Violet Palace level. Now that they had arrived in the Great Void, Ye Gui was even offering thanks, leaving Li Ximing with no choice but to reply:
“Fellow Daoist, what words are these? Since you intended to move against Xuanyue's mountain gate, I had no choice but to act.”
Ye Gui gave him a profound look, seemingly weighing something in mind, and replied:
“Fair enough. Today, I shall properly experience the divine abilities of Mingyang.”
With those words spoken, violent fluctuations detonated through the Great Void. A vast, surging expanse of purple water descended to envelop the surroundings, human-headed fish darting and leaping within, while the mountain peak of white vapor surged up once more, its snow-crowned summits standing erect.
Behind Li Ximing, brilliant light immediately arose. Gorgeous heavenly luminescence soared upward, staining the Great Void as 'Yetian Gate' appeared again. The bright white heavenly gate, etched with intricate patterns, rose towering from the Great Void. Dragon banners and simurgh carriages shuttled through it, treasured tallies and pennants drifted and danced, and golden armor and golden raiment all emerged.
In an instant, battle cries erupted into a deafening roar as golden-armored soldiers and horses charged out from the heavenly gate. The human-headed great fish roved through the purple water amidst shimmering waves of divine ability and magical power. The white mountain atop the heavenly gate suddenly plummeted, pressing down onto the gate; Li Ximing felt the pressure multiply, his divine ability shuddering.
Riding the purple waters, the human-headed great fish no longer dispersed upon impact as before; instead, they firmly blocked the charge of the golden-armored soldiers and horses, forcing them back inch by inch. The mountain of white vapor no longer remained motionless either, swelling up as though inflated by breath.
Previously unaware of his opponent's full circumstances, Ye Gui had been cautious and hesitant. Now that they had agreed to exchange blows, he boldly unleashed his divine abilities without hesitation, going all out from the start, suppressing the entire 'Yetian Gate' until it violently shook.
With this single clash, Li Ximing realized that Ye Gui's previous efforts had merely been skirmishes; only now was he displaying his true prowess. The illusory luster of the purple tide thickened severalfold, compressing the heavenly light within three zhang, unable to advance an inch.
His cultivation over the past year or two had brought only imperceptible improvements to 'Yetian Gate', causing him to rapidly fall into a disadvantage. Li Ximing had no choice but to kindle the heavenly light between his brows and channel his divine ability with all his might to resist 'Nanchou Water'. Yet, he saw the tides part on both sides to reveal Ye Gui's figure.
The Real Person was clad in a deep blue Daoist robe, his face compact and squat. He still cradled that sword in his arms, which now gleamed brightly, and behind him, a pair of treasures actually emerged.
To the left was a round, flat jade disc, its intricate patterns resembling a jade talisman, barely palm-sized. To the right was a long and wide strip, black with white markings, resembling an elongated register. The moment they appeared, they scintillated with dazzling brilliance.
Forming an incantation gesture, Ye Gui chanted:
“Calming the wind and stilling the water, dharma manifests the Primordial.”
That pair of talisman and register vanished in an instant. A chill rushed straight to Li Ximing's heart. Taking a step back, surging purple flames rose beneath his feet beneath the illumination of the heavenly light, and he thought:
‘Having inherited the Douxuan lineage, he truly does possess spirit tool treasures!’
He had just raised the purple flames when he sensed a rumbling vibration ringing near his mind. With a resounding clang, the round, flat jade talisman was ensnared by the heavenly light. Aimed squarely at his face, the jade talisman instantly hurled a deluge of thunderbolts crashing down.
These thunderbolts were silver-white, each one ferociously striking and churning the purple flames around him into tumultuous waves. Li Ximing suppressed the urge to summon the Mountain-Driving Sea-Crossing Tiger, pinching his fingers to cast a spell. A beam of bright solar light rose from his hand, rushing to intercept the thunder.
Yet no sooner had he formed the gesture than the elongated profound register of deep black with white patterns leapt out from the other side. Amidst a muffled sound, a torrent of crimson true fire surged downward like a vicious bird of prey. Having barely parried the lightning with great difficulty, how could Li Ximing have the leeway to block the fire? Moreover, 'Yetian Gate' was pinned down by Ye Gui's two divine abilities, immobilized.
Gritting his teeth, he reasoned that with his Mingyang nature, roasting in fire was far more tolerable than being struck by thunder. He could only focus on deflecting the thunderbolts, while the heavenly light between his brows flared once more as bright white Shangyao Fuguang gushed forth to resist the true fire.
Just as he expected, his hastily cultivated Fuguang was no match for the power of the other's spirit tool. Though the true fire was split to both sides by the bright light and its potency was slightly weakened, it still showered down across the sky, crashing onto his body.
Li Ximing now possessed a Violet Palace dharma body, by no means a mortal frame of flesh and bone! When struck, the scorching true fire split like boiling water, flowing over his dharma body and raising plumes of white smoke wherever it passed.
Having taken a hit from the true fire, blazing flames raged across Li Ximing's dharma body, illuminating it with the luster of colored glaze. This thunder was no ordinary thunder, nor was this fire an ordinary fire; they could not be extinguished by merely pressing down with a divine ability, nor could another's artifact fire be controlled by talisman qi. Meanwhile, Ye Gui had already raised his dharma sword, its tip pointed straight at Li Ximing's face, chanting an incantation under his breath.
Li Ximing could no longer care what murmurs and incantations were spilling from the man's mouth. He only felt a flash of yellow light leap before his eyes, stinging them with soreness. To the west, numerous halos emerged, one clustered against another—plainly nothing easy to deal with at a glance.
‘This old geezer is playing for keeps!’
Taking advantage of the fact that the other's spellcasting was not yet complete, he forcefully mobilized his divine ability at the cost of his origin qi. Behind him, 'Yetian Gate' blazed with magnificent light, and purple flames detonated, violently breaking free for a single instant and sweeping everything back for a heartbeat. His figure immediately vanished from the spot.
The purple waters instantly regained their calm, and the mountain of white vapor struck empty air. With the fading of the brilliant light that had struggled to hold ground in the Great Void, the halos behind Ye Gui slowly dimmed. He let out a soft sigh and gave chase across the Great Void.
Having escaped in an instant, Li Ximing still had flames raging over him. Fortunately, Mingyang excelled at fire, so this bit of true fire posed no major threat for the moment, nor was it Combined Fire that burned fiercer the longer it raged, so there was no rush to dispel it. Burying his head, he fled into the distance, his mind filled with vigilance:
‘Ye Gui was truly intent on fighting, quite possibly to show off his strength... If he got the chance to inflict some minor wounds on me, he certainly wouldn't mind!’
The sudden appearance of the two spirit tools earlier had truly startled Li Ximing. Now, with Ye Gui pursuing from the west, and lightning and flames threatening to emerge from him once more, Li Ximing had no choice but to flee east.
Yet Ye Gui's speed in traversing the Great Void was still faster than his—even noticeably faster than before. 'Nanchou Water' surged forward, purple waters rippling beneath his feet and casting his reflection. Li Ximing cursed inwardly, hesitating slightly.
They had already left the territory of Xuanyue. The directions he could go now were only a few: Sword Sect, Xuanmiao, Xiukui, or continuing all the way east toward the East Sea. Sword Sect and Xiukui were merely bystanders... To go brawl on someone else's territory and shuttle through the mortal realm would inevitably invite displeasure.
As for the remaining Xuanmiao Temple, Li Ximing felt no need to be polite. Guiding his light, he subtly shifted direction toward the domain of Xuanmiao Temple.
‘Heading toward Xuanmiao Temple at least offers a way out... If Ye Gui truly intends to harm me, there is still Sumian... If Sumian refuses to intervene, I will descend into the mortal realm. Xuanmiao Temple belongs to Jiangbei; would Ye Gui dare fight here?’
Descending into the mortal realm of Jiangbei was an absolute last resort when cornered and facing mortal peril. For one, although the cultivators would certainly intervene to stop it, alarming every Violet Palace in both Jiangbei and Jiangnan would severely ruin his reputation and goodwill. For another, this ultimately touched upon the Perfected Sovereigns' grand layout, and that was no laughing matter...
He merely rushed onward, alternately shuttling between the Great Void and the mortal realm to throw off the rapidly closing Ye Gui. Crossing the borders of Xueji, several more streams of fire latched onto his body, yet he heard Ye Gui's calm voice from behind:
“Fellow Daoist Zhaojing! A duel is a duel; heading toward Jiangbei would take the fun out of it!”
‘Who knows whether you're just dueling or trying to kill me!’
Li Ximing answered in his heart, only to see the Great Void before him suddenly shift, abruptly turning perilous and steep. Snow faintly began to drift, and in the distance, a boundless gale bearing falling snow actually materialized.
When the wind blew near him, though light cyan, it carried a murky grayish cast. It dimmed the heavenly light beneath his feet, while white snow accumulated half a finger thick. Li Ximing's expression gradually chilled.
This wind was exceedingly familiar; Li Ximing himself had encountered similar arts—the 'Chongyuan' on the Chongming Dongxuan Screen belonged to this very path.
‘A divine ability of the Chongyuan Great Gale lineage!’
He went silent for an instant, a realization dawning in his heart:
‘The Duwei divine ability, "Xitianyuan"!’
What did 'Xitianyuan' signify? It naturally referred to the Great Xiyuan west of Longshu—atop those endless lofty mountains, the origin of the Chongyuan Great Gale, a desolate land where spiritual energy was severed and the Great Void could not be traversed!
The moment this divine ability was unleashed, Li Ximing's speed slowed almost instantly. Influenced by the divine ability, the Great Void beneath his feet became rugged and arduous to traverse. At the same time, white vapor puffed from Ye Gui's mouth as he drove 'Mount Dongyu'; the white vapor seemed to weigh a thousand jin, solidifying the entire expanse of the Great Void alongside it.
With 'Xitianyuan' and 'Mount Dongyu' superimposed, his control over the entire Great Void reached a whole new realm in an instant. Li Ximing was startled, a dark, gloomy suspicion welling up in his heart:
‘Could Ye Gui be trying to kill me?!’
‘The three Daoist arts divine abilities of the Duwei path... every single one of them is lethal... Why had I never heard of "Xitianyuan" before!’
His thoughts flashed like lightning for an instant as the white vapor descended from above. The surrounding Great Void solidified, almost completely severing connection with the mortal realm. Trapped in a dilemma with no way forward or back, Li Ximing had no choice but to halt and summon 'Yetian Gate' once more.
The technique of 'Mount Dongyu' was neither unfamiliar nor particularly overwhelming; its impact on the Great Void was not on the same level as 'Xitianyuan', being merely solidification and suppression. Li Ximing's own 'Yetian Gate' could achieve the same. Moreover, Ye Gui had already used it during their first battle, and back then, Li Ximing had used purple fire to shatter the solidified Great Void and flee into the mortal realm.
Yet now, a talisman and a register had already emerged by his flank; thunder and true fire descended in tandem, the white vapor mountain plunged from above, and 'Nanchou Water' surged violently forward. With purple flame held in his mouth, what was he to do?
Li Ximing had only two choices right now. He could either use the purple flames to fend off the thunder and true fire while summoning 'Yetian Gate' to withstand the white vapor and purple waters—remaining trapped here to await developments and shake the Great Void once more—or he would have to endure the fire and thunder directly, using the purple flames to break through the divine ability and return to the mortal realm.
‘In the mortal realm lies Xueji Gate; Ye Gui will naturally pursue. I would still have to cross the Salt Lake, and being injured would slow me down even further. Even trading injuries wouldn't guarantee an absolute chance to escape...’
‘Use the Mountain-Driving Sea-Crossing Tiger? Right now divine abilities loom overhead, pressing down from both sides, and the sword is at my throat. The Mountain-Driving Sea-Crossing Tiger cannot escape immediately either... it might just waste effort that should go into defense.’
In the span of a snap of fingers, 'Yetian Gate' broke through the air, blocking the white mountain and purple waters in the sky. The purple flame from Li Ximing's mouth had already collided with the thunderbolts, and he once again used Shangyao Fuguang and his dharma frame to weather the true fire, which crackled and popped against his dharma frame.
This time, the true fire sizzled violently against his dharma body, unlike before. Though the glazed sheen remained, faint scorched marks began to show. Li Ximing abruptly raised a hand, unleashing the Solar Yingli Technique he had only recently mastered once more to brush aside the black, white-patterned long register above, while his other hand formed a seal.
‘Should I use it or not?’
If Li Ximing unleashed the Genhu Dao of the Mountain-Driving Sea-Crossing Tiger, although he could break out, the Genhu Dao possessed the ability to bypass blockades and conceal stealthily, yet lacked the wonder of boosting escape arts or assisting Great Void traversal; its speed was not fast.
Most crucially, the true fire upon his body had not been extinguished, glowing bright as a beacon, and he was so close to this man—he wouldn't be able to flee far, and it would simply be a waste!
At present, he used his divine ability to resist the purple water and white mountain, channeled purple flames to block the lightning, and used the Solar Yingli Technique along with Shangyao Fuguang to fend off the true fire. Having no surplus strength to care about Ye Gui's incantations and hand seals, he slapped his storage bag, causing a stone box to fly out.
This stone box was brought back by Li Zhouwei, containing Huiyuan Spirit Water—a full box of it, which could be said to be the most plentiful spirit water the Li family possessed. In this dire emergency, only this spirit water was abundant enough; he could not afford to care about waste!
Fortunately, Ye Gui did not seem to realize that he intended to purge the true fire to facilitate concealment; he only chanted his incantation faster and faster. Li Ximing urgently struck the stone box, splashing out an expanse of clear, transparent spirit water onto his dharma body while driving his divine ability with all his strength.
Sizzle!
The flames flickered reluctantly several times before finally dying out. Before Li Ximing could rejoice, a hazy yellow luminescence emerged behind Ye Gui nearby, and he heard Ye Gui chant:
“Sanxu Sesu Profound Light... Go!”
Having finally extinguished the true fire with great difficulty, how could Li Ximing care whether it went or not? The moment the other began chanting, he had already summoned a white pearl engraved with a tiger looking back from his Shengyang Mansion. Beams of multicolored light shone like fine hairs, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a spirit tiger resembling carved stone, grayish-black all over, its eyes full of spiritual vitality.
Li Ximing mounted this tiger, and the brownish-yellow Mountain-Driving Mysterious Screen immediately materialized, winding around his body like threads and wisps of silk. Pushing aside the purple waters and white mountain with his divine ability, he indeed found the Great Void before him slackening; in an instant, he tore through the Great Void and fled at full speed.
The Sanxu Sesu Profound Light simultaneously vanished into the Great Void, leaving Ye Gui cradling his dharma sword as the purple river flowed beneath his feet. The man let out a breath, clearly having expended no small amount of energy. He did not pursue further, merely standing in place and withdrawing his divine abilities.
As the white mountain and purple waters dispersed one after another, Ye Gui gazed into the distant Great Void, seemingly hesitating over something. After a moment, he steeled his mind and departed atop the purple waters.
Chapter 755