Cursed Fire

Li Ximing cultivated within the earth vein for a time, temporarily whittling away nearly half of the black flames within his Juque Court. The bright purple flame of Mingyang once again gained the upper hand, yet he had no choice but to stop. For no other reason than that as he slowly expelled the fire from his Juque Court, the invisible and deep-black flames around him grew ever fiercer, melting layer after layer of the stone walls around him and diffusing into the earth vein. If he did not stop now, the earth vein would transform into a fire vein, spawning a molten volcano upon the island. ‘No matter how stable this place is, it cannot withstand the burning of flames at the Purple Mansion level… When the time comes, not only would it attract swarms of onlookers, but it would also boil all the ten thousand-odd people on the island alive.’ Li Ximing stayed his hand. Fortunately, his cultivation today was no longer what it was in the past, and having just walked the boundary between life and death, his comprehension of Mingyang and the Great Void seemed to have deepened. He immediately brought out the Mountain-Driving Sea-Crossing Tiger and channeled his divine ability. The entire earth vein rumbled and shifted several inches to the left. Only then did he flick his fingers; with a crisp chime against the stone wall, a torrent of chilly water burst forth. *Sizzle!* He linked the earth vein to a water vein, instantly allowing a torrent of subterranean water to rush in. The water vein around him promptly vaporized into billows of steam, and the fiendish qi within the earth vein subsided in an instant. The dense flames still inundated the cavern, instantly boiling the subterranean water away. ‘This subterranean water naturally cannot do much against Purple Mansion divine abilities or arts, but its inexhaustible flow can keep the fiery fiend from accumulating and affecting the surface, preventing abnormal signs on the island that might draw unwanted attention.’ Sure enough, the steam produced by the water vein immediately rushed through the subterranean fissure toward the surface. The remaining subterranean water surged in to fill the void but could not approach him in the slightest, leaving behind only a domain of pitch-black flames and the ceaselessly tumbling steam ascending to the surface. ‘Now, what ascends to the surface is no longer fiery fiendish qi; as the vapor condenses back into water, it will merely become a large spiritual spring. Such shifts in earth veins are commonplace and leave virtually no trace, nor will it harm the people on the island.’ A feat that would have been virtually impossible during his Foundation Establishment days was now accomplished with a flip of Li Ximing's hand. Reinforcing the earth vein slightly with the Mountain-Driving Sea-Crossing Tiger, he sat cross-legged once more. Calculating the time on his fingers, he realized that several months had already passed. "The family has not shattered the jade pendant, so nothing overly critical must have happened. "Moreover, with me out overseas… and not critically injured beyond cure, retaining much of my strength, the family can remain secure. No matter how much Changxiao holds a grudge against me, he most likely won't trouble my clan… "Secondly… this matter was mediated by Ziyan after all. Had I perished, that would have been the end of it; if Changxiao had struck me dead on the spot, Tinglan and Sumian could have feigned ignorance and stayed out of it. But since I didn't die, Tinglan and Sumian would lose face if they did nothing, so they will have to protect my family to some extent. "Only Zhouwei… is in danger now. Fortunately, he had already entered seclusion to cultivate beneath the lake, though I have no idea how he is faring now. "The Sangyu Canjiu Mysterious Method… is growing harder to deal with." Li Ximing had been afflicted by the spell for a long time. While he had expelled much of the fire from his Juque Court, his body's surface had been baked by the increasingly violent flames until glazed light flowed across it, turning increasingly fragile. ‘Gu Feng Yin Huo is not wondrous enough to seize another's flame for my own use; it can only control my own flame… or masterless flames. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to suffer this hardship…’ Li Ximing was still somewhat troubled, yet the relief of escaping Changxiao's grasp allowed him to find a bit of humor in his misery: "If I, Li Ximing, could seize others' flames for my own use, people might even believe it if I claimed to be the reincarnation of some Fire Virtue True Monarch…" It was not merely the bottleneck in expelling the fire from within his body; the negative effects of the Sangyu Canjiu Mysterious Method on his Dharmic body were becoming increasingly pronounced. He felt a stinging pain in his brow, and with twin layers of fire burning inside and outside his body, both his divine abilities and Dharmic power felt chilled and difficult to resolve. His only recourse was to suppress the flames, yet the stinging in his brow and the deepening chill in his Dharmic power could not be easily dispelled. "At least Audience at the Heavenly Gate drove most of the fire out of the Juque Court first. That is fortunate." With the Juque Court stabilized, his Dharmic body would at least not collapse. Although the flames burning on his body's surface were troublesome, Li Ximing could still move about and cast spells while enduring the Sangyu Canjiu Mysterious Method. ‘It's just that in this state… I'm not suited to wander about… and going back carries the risk of bumping into Changxiao.’ Having narrowly escaped in that torrential storm, Li Ximing surmised that the dragon kind had likely intervened, perhaps due to some unforeseen circumstance or pawns that intercepted Changxiao on his behalf: "Xiao Chuting spends his days in the North Sea, so it shouldn't be him. The others have even less inclination to get involved, and Senior Tulong is in the South Sea… It could only be a dragon. Alas… I still ended up using the favor Zhouwei had with the dragons. I have failed him." Li Ximing understood all too well how much this favor would have aided Li Zhouwei once he attained the Purple Mansion; having reached the Purple Mansion himself, he knew the majesty of the dragon clan even better. He could only sigh in silent guilt. He tried hard to distract himself for a long time. Sitting in place for a few days, he repaired his Juque Court, but the flames on his surface burned fiercer and fiercer, cracking his Dharmic body piece by piece until anxiety finally seized him. "What a vicious spell! The Diwang bloodstone is back in the family vault… but even if I had it in hand, it would likely be a mere drop in the bucket against a Purple Mansion-level wound." If he wanted to protect his Dharmic body, he would have to suppress the surface flames, which meant ceding ground back into the Juque Court—wasting the suppression of the past several months. But if he did not suppress the flames, his Dharmic body would grow weaker as it burned, likewise showing signs of collapse. Li Ximing could also feed it spiritual items, but the Sangyu Canjiu Mysterious Method was not like Ye Gui's true fire before. Such Foundation Establishment materials only treated the symptoms rather than the root, merely granting a few more years of lingering survival while squandering his savings for nothing. ‘If I don't want to sit here waiting for death… my only choice is to risk going out to search… But in my current state, wrapped in a vast swath of fire, I am like a bright beacon whether in the Great Void or the mundane realm. Who wouldn't spot me?’ He pondered for a long time, then silently raised his head. Li Ximing's gaze swiftly pierced through layers of reefs, landing upon the ten thousand-odd savages on the island—a tribe of barbarians even more primitive than the Shanyue. Ever since ascending to the Purple Mansion, Li Ximing had comprehended numerous mysteries of divine abilities. Like every Purple Mansion cultivator before him, he knew intimately how to consume blood and qi, just as he knew how to mold a body, how to possess a Dharmic body with rising yang—as natural as eating and drinking. Not to mention, he, Li Ximing, was an alchemist. With a mere thought, his alchemical craft could effortlessly refine a suitable pill to resolve his current predicament. With a pill to suppress the injury in concert with his divine ability, he could purge the flames without taking any risk or paying any price. Li Ximing stared somberly for a moment. His ears twitched slightly, and at last he closed his eyes. He produced a stone box from his sleeve, opened it with a flick of his finger, and revealed the crystal-clear spiritual water within. He took two sips, then went into deep seclusion to suppress the flames.