Xia Shouyu fell to her knees on the ground. The monster general squirmed in the dirt, screaming at the top of his lungs:
"Master… Master, have mercy…"
Finding him too noisy, Li Ximing sent out a thought, and the sound was muted and shut out as if through a thick haze. He smiled and said:
"Little Friend Xia, you picked with great accuracy. This fellow is undoubtedly of Pin Water. Does he have any background, kin, or friends? We cannot cause too great a stir and draw outside attention."
Xia Shouyu caught his drift at once, understanding that this old monster wanted to lie low and heal his wounds. An old monster like this was bound to have enemies out in the world—nine times out of ten, enemies on the level of supreme leaders of the righteous path. If trouble really broke out, she would fare little better than a bedbug. Nodding repeatedly, she answered:
"Master! This fellow is a monster general from the Cape, known as Great King Qiu. Our land is simply too remote; even the dragons pasturing the sea never venture here. There have only ever been a few Foundation Establishment monsters over the years who had some connections with the local minor demons. Even if every one of these monsters were killed, it would hardly cause any stir…"
Li Ximing did not place much faith in the words of a mere Qi Refinement cultivator. He mused:
*This little monster has some brains. Though he didn't march here with great fanfare, he still brought a cohort of trusted subordinates. If they all perish here together, it will inevitably draw quite a few eyes. It is best to keep the disturbance to a minimum.*
Seeing his silence, Xia Shouyu feared he might have other designs and use her as a pawn again. Anxious for him to maintain a low profile, she said in a hushed voice:
"This monster is of little account, but I have heard that if one travels due west from here across the waters, one reaches the Peacock Sea in the outer waters. In that sea sits Mount Jiuqiu, where a mighty figure possessing boundless divine abilities resides. He can make the dead speak and elevate the living to immortality. An immortal emissary from that mountain came to the Cape sixty-odd years ago to take disciples… So you see, people are still keeping watch."
"Oh?"
From the sound of it, Li Ximing gathered this was a Violet Palace cultivator whose domain bordered the Cape, likely the closest one around. He asked in a low voice:
"What is his surname? What path does he cultivate? What else is he known for?"
Xia Shouyu hastily kowtowed and said:
"This lowly one does not know! I only heard that great figures with divine abilities often travel back and forth to that immortal mountain. That great figure possesses a gourd. More than ten years ago, golden talismans pierced the heavens above the Cape, silk light rained down, and the gourd grew as massive as a mountain peak. It must have been him sparring with another mighty being."
Li Ximing had never heard of any such gourd. Making a mental note of the direction to stay on guard, he waved his hand to silence Xia Shouyu and looked down at the sea worm on the ground. He spoke:
"You beast, since you stumbled into my hands, tell me—which faction do you belong to?"
The monster general wailed mournfully:
"My lord! Master, I am from the Zhunan Water Palace! I had no intention of offending you, My Lord! For the sake of the Water Palace… please spare this small monster's life!"
Even as he cried out, the creature had already unfastened the storage bag at his waist and tipped out a great heap of items with a clatter. It was a gaudy, meager, and impoverished assortment, mostly blood-qi items. Its sheer shabbiness was astonishing—not even matching the personal wealth of a direct-line Qi Refinement disciple from Jiangnan's immortal sects.
Trembling, he fished out a jade bottle from the pile and pleaded:
"This was obtained by this lowly one by chance. I offer it to you, Master!"
"Haha!"
Li Ximing cast a brief glance at it; it was an ancient art pill, though whether it was still usable was another matter. Finding it laughable, he had intended to hear the monster's defense and make some use of him, but he had no patience for such clumsy lies. Lifting the mass of flesh, he slightly loosened his divine ability to let him take human form again, then scolded:
"Fabricated nonsense! The Zhunan Water Palace lies far south of Zhulu, while this place is the Cape of the East Sea. It would take you half a year to a year just to fly from there to here. How dare you spout rubbish before me!"
Li Ximing's own family possessed Zongquan Island right by the Zhunan Water Palace, so he understood the details far better than this monster. Breaking into a cold sweat of terror, the effeminate man trembled and said:
"Reporting to My Lord, this small monster was once a subordinate of high official Yunxiaozi in the Zhunan Water Palace. Later, I ventured out to seek my fortune and traveled all the way to the Cape…"
"Enough!"
Hearing this, Li Ximing wore a half-smile and said:
"Summon your subordinates down. Tell them you must study the array thoroughly, and order them to disperse and return to guard your manor. Leave two behind to guard the island, and do not let outsiders learn of this."
Though thousands of thoughts and schemes raced through the monster's mind, he knew his death was imminent yet was utterly helpless. Even if he wished to knit his brows or twitch his lips a little more before his subordinates, under the suppression of the divine ability, he could not muster a single extra expression.
He could only issue low instructions to the monsters above. With the aid of the Immortal Mirror and the supervision of his divine ability, Li Ximing saw everything clearly, preventing him from stirring up the slightest commotion. The group of monsters departed together without suspecting a thing.
After using the Immortal Mirror to observe from afar and confirming that the monsters displayed no abnormalities, Li Ximing returned into the cavern. From his storage bag, he retrieved a pitch-black pill cauldron. It landed with a heavy thud, resting on three legs, its body intricately carved with sea waves and ferocious beasts.
The Jiangzhong Cauldron.
In truth, now that Li Ximing had ascended to the Violet Palace, whether he used a cauldron or not made little difference for refining this pill. What was more, the Jiangzhong Cauldron was not even a Foundation Establishment magical artifact. Yet because he was refining a life-saving medicine, Li Ximing exercised exceptional caution.
His face deathly pale, the monster reverted to his original form within moments. Li Ximing hoisted him up and remarked offhandedly:
"Still invoking Yunxiaozi? That old cloud octopus has been dead for how many years!"
The gap between a Violet Palace cultivator of Jiangnan and a Foundation Establishment monster of the Cape was simply too vast; the most astonishing secret the monster general thought he held was nothing more than a joke before Li Ximing. Seeing the monster's magic power churning violently and emitting wisps of gray qi, Li Ximing could not help but click his tongue:
*A fine Pin Water constitution, yet never properly cultivated. To think he piled up his cultivation with so much blood food.*
After deliberating for a moment, he set aside the Huiyuan Spirit Water he had originally intended to use and replaced it with Earth Fiend Cold Spring, neutralizing it further with Qingming Spirit Flower to purge the evil qi from the monster's body. Many of the Li family's valuable spiritual items were in his possession, so he gathered both in no time.
He opened the cauldron to begin the refinement. Purple flames raged fiercely, casting his dancing shadow across the stone walls. Xia Shouyu grew increasingly uneasy, her eyelids twitching incessantly, unsure of how great a sin she had committed:
*How long will this old monster take to refine his pills… If he buries his head in refinement for ten or twenty years and misses the window… I'll be trapped to death down here.*
She knelt amidst the bright flames for two days and two nights when, to her astonishment, the fire before her began to dwindle. While Xia Shouyu was gripped with shock, the old monster abruptly struck the cauldron and shouted:
"Rise!"
Instantly, a refreshing fragrance billowed outward. Xia Shouyu felt she had never smelled such a wonderful aroma in her life; the medicinal scent flooded her senses and rushed into her mind, leaving her drifting in a daze, unsure of where she was. Then came a dull thud:
*Thump!*
The cauldron's lid flew open, and seven pills shot out in succession. Blue-white in color and traced with radiant purple veins, they obediently settled into Li Ximing's palm one after another, clinking against each other with the crisp chime of colored glaze.
"It is done!"
Surging joy welled in Li Ximing's heart. Seeing seven pills in total, he could not resist letting out a laugh. With a flick of his finger, all seven pills rolled smoothly into a jade bottle.
*An unexpected delight!*
One had to understand that the pill Li Ximing had just refined was no preexisting formula. Rather, using the Xuanque Heart-Channeling Medicine as a foundation, he had incorporated the profoundly wondrous Pin Water spiritual pill art known as Tianyi Essence Extraction—which he had read about at Ziyan—and tailored it specifically to his own injuries! Being able to produce seven pills in a single batch proved that his mastery of alchemy had broken free from the Xiao family's heritage; he could truly be called a Violet Palace alchemist.
"Good… With the Xuanque refinement method as the root and Tianyi Essence Extraction to form the pill, it shall be called the Xuanque Essence-Accumulating Pill!"
As he laughed heartily, Xia Shouyu was terrified and kowtowed like a pounding pestle, shouting:
"Congratulations to the Master on the completion of the divine medicine! Felicitations to the Master on taking another step forward!…"
Hearing this, Li Ximing felt a strange awkwardness and found it grating. Ceasing his laughter, he did not spare the woman another glance. Silently, he took out a pill and held it in his hand; the purple veins across its surface still glowed faintly, extraordinarily resplendent.
Swallowing the pill, the pure power of Pin Water began to circulate. Guided by Li Ximing, it surged straight toward the Juque Court. Taking Juque as the valley, the latent nurturing power of Pin Water unfurled in an instant, bringing a wave of cool clarity to his Juque Court.
A torrent of gray water immediately surged from the Juque Court, encircling the technique fire. Seizing the opportunity, Li Ximing suppressed the external flames. As the Sangyu Nine Mystery Method resonated between inside and out, the black fire within his body flared vigorously.
Sitting cross-legged, he watched as the technique fire that had burned ceaselessly across his Dharma body finally vanished without a trace, drawn back entirely into the Juque Court and locked down by the Xuanque Essence-Accumulating Pill, unable to spread outward.
At this sight, Li Ximing finally let out a deep breath. Slowly opening his eyes, a radiant light of divine ability flickered within them. Exhaling a breath of air, he smiled:
"Suppressed at last!"
The pill's success meant Li Ximing no longer had to walk beneath a blaze visible to all; he could finally move about freely. The Xuanque Essence-Accumulating Pill was still slowly consuming the flames within his Juque Court. Though a single pill could not suppress it indefinitely, Li Ximing had six remaining, which would sustain him for half a year to a year. He might not even need to refine subsequent pills before the technique fire was thoroughly extinguished with the aid of his divine ability and the Xuanque Essence-Accumulating Pills.
*Rumble!*
With the flames gone, the cavern was left pitch-black and desolate. The black water vein on the ground continued to gush outward with a thunderous roar, while spring water from above poured back down, weaving black and azure in a rather splendid display.
Li Ximing picked up Xia Shouyu and flew out of the cavern. The lake's surface temperature had already dropped, and the azure hue swiftly turned to black, transitioning from Lu Water to Fu Water.
The two monsters were still standing dumbly on guard by the lake shore. Li Ximing knew that leaving these two here would inevitably lead to them capturing humans for food. With a single glance from him, the heads of both monsters fell to the ground. Tossing Xia Shouyu down, he instructed:
"Gather the belongings, and transport the mortals on the island away as well."
Xia Shouyu was somewhat bewildered. Now that this demon had emerged from seclusion, devouring every human and monster on the island would take no more than opening his mouth. She could only pack up the remains of the two monsters and say respectfully:
"There are so many barbarians here that I cannot move them alone… I will have to return and summon people to transport them."
Li Ximing was impoverished himself, lacking even a single spirit boat, so he could only wave his sleeve and say:
"Forget it, then! Lead the way…"
*Lead the way where… Where else could it be… Naturally to my sect, the Qingxu Temple…*
Xia Shouyu felt uneasy. Raising her eyes, she noticed that the old monster's facial features had fully reformed. The light between his brows shone brightly, giving him an appearance like an immortal. His features were upright, his brows gentle, and his eyes held a pale golden hue, commanding sheer awe.
What could she possibly say? Since she was the one who had released this terrifying wielder of divine abilities, did she have any other choice now? Silently, she led the way, her expression fraught with panic and dread she could barely control.
Li Ximing, on the other hand, felt completely refreshed. Standing in the wind, he had never found the sea breeze so invigorating. Reaching into his sleeve, he took out a jade bottle—the very pill the monster had offered.
Examining it for a moment, Li Ximing's heart gradually settled:
"Until my injuries are healed, I will never return to Jiangnan! This Cape retains an ancient atmosphere. I'll wander a circle or two, and find a way to inquire about news from home along the way."
Armed with the Immortal Mirror, in a desolate place like the Cape where some regions did not even connect to the Great Void, Li Ximing feared no one. If Changxiao dared to pursue him here, facing the Immortal Mirror would take no more than a single exchange, giving him ample confidence.
As for the medicine in his hand, it was nothing extraordinary, but the refinement technique carried an ancient flavor, seemingly hinting at gathering the essence of heaven, earth, sun, and moon. Seeing through it clearly, Li Ximing felt a spark of interest:
*The refinement method for this item… I wonder if any trace of it remains in the Cape. If I could obtain a refinement method that gathers moon essence into pills, that would truly be an inexhaustible, endless supply of resources…*
A method that turned moon essence into pills naturally could not rely on moon essence alone. But Li Ximing considered himself a Violet Palace alchemist now; once a formula fell into his hands, he had countless ways to improve it. If he could substitute moon essence for one or two spiritual ingredients in ordinary recipes, that alone would be an immense gain.
Xia Shouyu dared not stall. After flying over the sea for a while, a solitary peak faintly loomed over the waters, upon which sat a vast expanse of shrines and temples. Li Ximing raised his brows, glanced at it, and said softly:
"Oh? A Buddhist temple?"
A chill rushed straight into Xia Shouyu's mind. The figure before her was plainly a great demon who most likely could not tolerate Buddhist cultivators. Fearing a misunderstanding, she hurriedly explained:
"Reporting to the Master, this lowly one's lineage is the Qingxu Temple. It once worshipped a great being of divine abilities known as Xuxiang, which is why it is styled a temple… It has little connection to either modern or ancient Buddhism… May the Master discern the truth!"
*Xuxiang of the Tongxuan Palace!*
Li Ximing was no stranger to this name. Su Mian's Xuanmiao lineage revered Xuxiang of the Tongxuan Palace as its founder. He nodded slightly and replied:
"So it is the lineage of Precious Earth True Monarch. A rare sight indeed."
Xia Shouyu had clearly not expected Li Ximing to actually recognize Xuxiang. Her heart skipped a beat as she committed "Precious Earth True Monarch" to memory. Then she saw the demon raise his brow and ask:
"You also know of ancient and modern Buddhism?"
Xia Shouyu answered respectfully:
"Reporting to the Master, there are still ancient Buddhist lineages at the Cape, but modern Buddhists rarely set foot here. Most of the sects at the Cape are temples, yet they all worship ancient figures of great divine abilities; few actually cultivate the Buddhist path."
Li Ximing nodded, a strange look flickering in his eyes. He wondered whether those modern Buddhist cultivators, notorious for plucking feathers from every passing goose, disdained to come or simply could not. He chuckled:
"Modern Buddhists are mostly shameless cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong. Since you worship an immortal dao True Monarch after all, I doubt they would dare to go too far."
Standing among the clouds, he surveyed the layout below with keen interest. Xia Shouyu waited respectfully by his side, only to hear the demon laugh and say:
"Would you like to go down first to make preparations? If I descend straight from the sky and frighten everyone in your sect into fainting, that would hardly be a good thing."
***
Lake Central Islet.
Li Zhouluo, clad in black robes, leaned over a desk with brush in hand beneath the dimming lamplight of the hall. Dili Guang stood below the dais without uttering a word.
An elderly man was ascending the steps. His back was rod-straight, his features upright, but his hollow cheeks made him look exceptionally frail and aged. His expression was solemn, and at his waist hung a dark-hued precious sword that commanded awe at first glance…
Chapter 784