Ning Wan sat quietly upon the jasper seat, seemingly unmoved by Si Boxiu’s words. This matter could not be settled simply by the old man saying it was not in his hands. The Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal was an exceptionally precious spirit treasure, a celebrated artifact even in antiquity, sufficient to make any Violet Palace cultivator cast aside their pride.
She merely glanced at the old man’s hand resting upon the jade throne and said softly, "Back then, when the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal fell into the hands of you seniors, it proved most convenient for scheming against others and reaped no shortage of benefits. In any case, this object is a spirit treasure of Qingchi. For a dignified Taiyang lineage, even if its master is temporarily away, it should hardly be snatched away like this."
Ning Wan was plainly skeptical. Si Boxiu hunched his back and replied, "Ordinary people would not dare, which only proves that the one who took it was no ordinary person. Yuansu's things are his; what belongs to him is his, and I would not hoard it."
His words gave Ning Wan pause. A touch of doubt truly arose in her heart, and she asked, "Senior refuses to say. But if it has truly reached a point where it cannot be spoken, why come to retrieve it today? If it is because the Great One is beyond the heavens, why did he not put it away safely long ago?"
Si Boxiu stood by his seat like an ancient withered tree and said in a deep voice, "The Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal is the imperial seal of the Winged Serpent, and the Winged Serpent is the ancestor of Swimming Water. This artifact is more useful than you imagine. The reason it was in Ning Tiaoxiao's hands was that the Great One nodded his approval. Once he died, the item would naturally be lost.
"The Great One failed to consider only one thing: even if Real Person Donghua, Li Jiangqun, left behind treasures for Ning Tiaoxiao's reincarnation within the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal, Ning Tiaoxiao would rather die than use them. He was just that kind of person—even if he gritted his teeth and swallowed blood until he died, he would never nourish his enemy."
Ning Wan's expression shifted gradually as she listened to the old man speak calmly:
"When Ning Tiaoxiao perished back then, Zipei thought I was greedy, scheming to seize this treasure from the Ning family, and insisted on handing it to Ning Heyuan... She underestimated me. As long as that object remained in the hands of the Ning family, the instant my gaze turned away, it would immediately be wrested away by someone's schemes... I was a Great Real Person of Qingchi, so they did not know whether I acted with the Great One's instruction. But Ning Heyuan was different; to him, it was a death warrant.
"Had he known his place back then, he might not have died."
Ning Wan hesitated, on the verge of speaking, but Si Boxiu continued:
"Nor can I blame her. How could such matters be told to someone outside the lineage? She was fiercely protective of Yuansu in her heart. Had I insisted on taking it by force, she would surely have fought me to the bitter end. I had no choice but to leave. As I departed, I saw Puyu performing divinations; his Penglai lineage is profound, so perhaps he had long harbored suspicions."
Ning Wan fell silent upon hearing this. The old man said, "I watched you grow up as well. Out of consideration for the ties between our two families, let me give you a piece of advice: the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal is not something you can touch. Once I am dead and you sit alone atop this Lukui Pool, only then will you know how much trouble it brings."
He gave a raspy chuckle and replied, "When that time comes, you will no longer be the master of the Ning family—you will be the master of Qingchi! Whether you wish it or not, it will no longer be the Ning family of Qingchi, but Qingchi of the Ning family."
Ning Wan's expression grew conflicted. Sect cultivators like her, bearing the Qingsong Taiyang lineage and raised cultivating within Qingchi, had long been indelibly branded with Qingchi's mark. With Luyu Heaven watching from above, leaving was out of the question even if she wished to! At most, she could emulate Chi Buzi, feigning a wandering journey to abandon the clan and venture abroad; she had none of the power that aristocratic clans possessed to break away and establish independence.
'Chi Buzi, that cold-natured lunatic who has neither father nor mother...'
Her expression darkened slightly, but Si Boxiu paused in contemplation before speaking. With his lifespan near its end, the usually stiff and severe old man displayed rare flickers of emotion as he said leisurely, "The Cold Qi divine ability, Ruqingting... Back then, to secure this fine cultivation technique for you, Yuansu went so far as to join forces with Tianwan. Tianwan mastered it decades ago, and now you, too, have refined this natal divine ability. As for the northern affairs, you will need to make a trip."
Seeing Ning Wan frown, Si Boxiu casually outlined the sequence of events and smiled. "You probably do not know yet... The Li family is now a Violet Palace immortal clan, the Wangyue immortal clan! If you pass through that territory, you can pay your respects as well."
A look of doubt crossed Ning Wan's face, and she asked, "A Violet Palace immortal clan... Is it not Li Xizhi?"
Si Boxiu's gaze grew complicated as he replied, "It is Li Xizhi's younger brother, named Li Ximing. Originally an utterly unknown figure, who would have thought he concealed his talents, striving in quiet diligence until he formed a Mingyang divine ability. He is known as Zhaojing, and he is an alchemist as well, though his true caliber remains unknown.
"From his appearance, Mingyang is hardly an art suited for alchemy. He cannot compare to Qing Tangyin, so he is likely someone on the level of Hengxing."
Hearing this, Ning Wan raised her willowy brows, a look of delight appearing on her face. Geographically, the Li clan was a good friend to Qingchi; what was more, the ties between the Li clan and the Ning clan had always been cordial. There had been bonds forged by predecessors in the past, and marital alliances in later years—how could Ning Wan not be pleased? Back then, Ning Wan had helped Li Chijing and spared Li Xuanfeng; these were all auspicious karmic ties! She thought to herself:
'Except for that madman Ning Hejing, my Ning clan's relationship with the Li clan isn't bad at all. Li Yuanqin was even a driving force behind the Chi family's downfall. This couldn't be better.'
After pondering for a moment, not knowing whether his temperament made him suitable as an ally—since the world was never short of eccentric people—she could not resist asking, "What is this Real Person Zhaojing's temperament like?"
Si Boxiu narrowed his eyes and said, "Gentle and kindhearted, yielding and slow to hold grudges. His Mingyang cultivation is introspective rather than violent, resembling the ancient cultivators of the Cui clan. Soft-eared and tenderhearted, benevolent and compassionate, he places the ancestral dictates of his clan above all else."
Ning Wan nodded repeatedly as she listened. Si Boxiu did not have many days left to live, so there was no need for him to deceive her on such matters. This Real Person's eye for judging people had always been razor-sharp, well worth taking note of. She replied, "To have such a Violet Palace cultivator is truly Qingchi's good fortune."
Si Boxiu let out a grunt and sneered, "If not for Chi Wei, Qingchi would have had far more good fortune...
"My lifespan is almost spent. In the past, I forced Li Xuanfeng to swallow that pill, cutting off his path to the Violet Palace, so Li Ximing does not trust me either. For you to take charge of Qingchi is far more suitable than me. Currently, the one governing the sect is Yuandao's junior—the Jiuqiu Dantai clan. Qingchi will not lack Violet Palace cultivators hereafter; it will fall upon you to take the lead."
Ning Wan knew full well she could not break free of Qingchi's fold. Yet serving as the leader of this generation for the Taiyang lineage of Qingchi was an identity exceedingly advantageous to her lineage. With her status now shifted, her perspective also changed accordingly, so she said, "Senior Yuandao? That too is a karmic bond... Though Jiuqiu is a Taiyin lineage, it shares the same roots as Qingchi. In those days, Senior Yuandao studied at Qingchi, and now he repays Qingchi with a Dantai clansman; that satisfies both sides."
Speaking of Yuandao, Si Boxiu's emotions grew tangled. Lowering his head, he asked, "Have you asked? Qing Tangyin... has he truly reincarnated?"
Ning Wan nodded silently. Si Boxiu's gaze turned cold, and he replied, "Zhang Tianyuan has perished as well. Back then, he was a minor figure whom nobody bothered to spare a second glance, capable only of bullying clan cultivators; Yuansu didn't even remember him."
Ning Wan did not wish to get entangled in their grievances. This generation of Violet Palace cultivators had ascended in close succession because of the Immortal Abode inheritor; they were all familiar with one another, and the feuds and entanglements among them were intricate and tangled. She simply rose from her seat and took her leave: "I shall go oversee the affairs in the north at once."
Si Boxiu said, "My breakthrough will be at Shitang."
She dissolved into frost and snow, coalescing before the cave dwelling's doors. Her white garments fluttered as she was about to depart, but she felt there was something wrong with his words. Behind her came the rumbling, whistling roar of the wind, accompanied by a muffled commotion:
*Whoosh!*
From behind came the rustling of trees. Ning Wan froze in her tracks, casting a glance back over her shoulder.
A moist scent of woodland washed over her face, and the chirping of crickets grew louder and louder. She saw the old man upon the throne struggling to stand. Both his hands gripped the armrests tightly, and his chest arched forward with all his might, as if an endless tempest was surging up behind him, blowing him outward.
Yet Ning Wan could not feel the slightest breeze.
*Chirp, chirp...*
All the clothing on the old man's body was pulled forward by the fierce gale behind him, the loose garments hugging Si Boxiu's thin, withered frame. His knees drew inward and pressed together, the flesh taking root and sprouting, fusing his two legs tightly into one, while his feet elongated abnormally, creeping relentlessly along the ground.
He suddenly threw his head back, guttural bubbling sounds gurgling in his throat. Only then did Ning Wan realize something was dreadfully wrong.
A dark brown, glistening cricket was perched right inside Si Boxiu's pupil.
Its two black-and-green antennae protruded from his eye socket, swaying leisurely. Si Boxiu seemed completely oblivious to the insect in his eye; he was focused entirely on keeping his lips pressed tightly shut, though between them, strange insectoid limbs repeatedly thrust out before shrinking back as if in pain.
Ning Wan's pupils dilated slightly.
Si Boxiu's normal eye caught Ning Wan's gaze, and an ember of hope actually kindled within it. More and more leafy branches sprouted from his left hand, gripping the armrest tenaciously, while his right hand suddenly let go.
With that release, most of his body floated into the air, fluttering powerlessly like an ancient tree in a storm with only a lone stub of root clinging to the soil. His freed hand finally found space to wave toward Ning Wan.
Ning Wan still felt no wind at all. Whether through spiritual sense or divine ability, the aura within the cave dwelling felt perfectly serene, and the pool beneath showed not a single ripple. Yet Si Boxiu was utterly exhausted; that freed hand had reverted to its normal shape, covered in wrinkles, displaying every mark of decrepitude.
He gestured toward Ning Wan, curling four of his fingers inward and leaving only his index finger extended, indicating the number one. Immediately following that, the old man abruptly opened his mouth. In an instant, countless jade-green insects scattered outward, fluttering their wings and taking flight. Ning Wan saw clearly that the inside of his mouth was covered in prominent wood grain, appearing exceedingly stiff.
Yet he bared snow-white teeth and, like a pouncing beast of prey, seized the chance to bite down viciously, mercilessly severing his own index finger.
*Boom!*
The physical divine abilities of the Upright Wood path were exceedingly durable; this bite struck like a clap of thunder, sending sparks flying and purple lightning spewing forth. The old man raised his head. His only normal palm was still held toward Ning Wan, but the index finger was gone.
Even with Ning Wan's composure, she could not help taking two rapid steps backward. She watched as Si Boxiu revealed a profound, meaningful smile. The severed index finger still rested in the old man's mouth, but his left hand loosened bit by bit.
"Ah?"
Ning Wan finally felt the roar of the wind, rumbling louder than the preceding thunder. Her garments whipped about, while the old man, light as a sparrow, shot out of the cave dwelling with a *whoosh*.
Ning Wan didn't even have time to react. She turned her head blankly, watching Si Boxiu soar into the sky.
Si Boxiu flew higher and higher. His flight did not head straight south; instead, like an agile bird, he circled and spiraled, gliding diagonally toward the south.
The old man used neither magical power nor divine abilities. He merely held both arms flat at his sides, carefully maintaining his balance, until he gradually faded into a dark speck against the horizon.
Emerald-green rain fell from the sky.
Ning Wan stood in the billowing wind and rain, her dress fluttering. She held out a hand, palm upward, catching the green rainwater. Fear still lingered in her eyes, yet a deepening look of confusion crept across her face.
The rainwater soon pooled into a small puddle of green liquid in her palm. The woman stared blankly at it and murmured, "Swimming Water... How is this possible... This is Qingxi Rain. Why is rain falling... Why is Qingxi Rain falling?
"This is Upright Wood!"
Yet she had no time for doubt. Qingchi Sect's Violet Palace Great Real Person, the master of the Upright Wood path in this world, and Jiangnan's foremost master of talismans, Si Boxiu—was seeking his fruit station today!
She raised her hand and flicked her finger. The grand bell nearby began to swing immediately.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!...*
A rapid, urgent toll echoed throughout the entire Qingchi Mountain Range. Flurried footsteps drew nearer and nearer. Ning Wan remained standing at the peak, gazing at the drifting emerald rain. Sect Master Dantai Jin practically scrambled on hands and knees before prostrating himself in front of her. Without the slightest hesitation or confusion, he cried out in panic, "Greetings, Real Person!"
Ning Wan lowered her gaze and instructed, "You are the Sect Master. Whether it is to see Senior off or to broaden your experience, it is only right that you accompany me."
...
The South Sea, Beidan.
Across the Ten-Thousand-Li Shitang, waves surged tumultuously. When Ning Wan breached the Great Void and descended here, winds howled and clouds roiled in the sky, thick with dark clouds.
She raised her head and could see the circling dark speck in the sky. Flocks of cultivators stood suspended in midair, gazing up at the dome of heaven in awe and dread.
The waters of the entire sea churned violently. Layers of rolling waves swirled upon the sea's surface. The sky was overcast, and the dharmic winds grew increasingly hard to navigate, forcing cultivators to descend one after another. Every color grew dimmer and dimmer, save for brilliant beams of divine ability radiance shuttling forth from the Great Void, hovering suspended in midair.
Ning Wan stood where she was as the tempest swept past. Beside her, Dantai Jin's expression was shaken; staring at the dark speck circling on the horizon, his mind was an utter blank:
'Senior Yuanxiu? He's about to attain the Dao?'
'Why so fast?!'
Before he could think further, the snowy cloud beneath his feet began to rise, and thunder crashed violently across the sky. Gazing into the distance, Dantai Jin saw resplendent hues rising within the gale and dark clouds—several dozen Violet Palace cultivators encircled this sea of Shitang, keeping pace with one another as they ascended toward the upper heights together.
Densely woven, whispering sounds arose around their ears, chaotic in the extreme. Dantai Jin noticed the sky was shedding emerald rain. Having ascended to an immense height near the vault of heaven, he finally saw the old man flying in circles in the air.
'This... Old Senior...'
The Si Boxiu that Dantai Jin had known had always been meticulous and stern. Now, however, he was hunched over, soaring through the air with arms outstretched. His eyes were terrifyingly large, several black crickets crawling within his pupils, and his entire body was covered in sprouting branches and leaves, striking terror into any who beheld him.
"Senior Yuanxiu!"
Dantai Jin watched in silence.
Dantai Jin had not been dispatched on a whim; Si Boxiu and Yuandao had reached an agreement long ago. Arrangements had been made when Dantai Jin was just six years old, taking Si Boxiu as his master. He revered and loved this old man far more than his own father, who spent year after year in closed-door cultivation.
Yet that old man who had lifted him up from among all the children of the Dantai clan seemed to have vanished long ago.
Dantai Jin felt dizzy and overwhelmed looking at the figures of divine abilities filling the sky. Ning Wan, however, snapped her head up, looking nearby where two indistinct silhouettes had landed one after the other upon the clouds.
Ning Wan knew the people of the Nether Office had arrived. Given Si Boxiu's abnormal state, naturally no one was there to greet them. Yet the two paid it no heed at all, watching the circling Si Boxiu from afar. One of them remarked, "What audacity!"
The other sighed, his voice shrill: "Heaven truly favored him as well. Who would dare to ride on Lord Du's Swimming Water status like this? It is only because several Great Ones are currently beyond the heavens, with no leisure to look elsewhere, that he managed to borrow the power of Swimming Water.
"Were it not so, how could he be called bold? But bold courage is all it is."
Ning Wan listened quietly, only to hear a gentle voice ring out from the other side: "He too was driven to a dead end. Were it not so, how could he pursue the Dao?"
"Huh?"
Ning Wan startled in fright. She was now a dignified Violet Palace cultivator; how could someone have slipped right up to her side without her noticing? Her form instantly dissolved into ice and snow, paused for a fraction of an instant, and then condensed back in place. Somewhat flustered, she greeted, "Greetings, Martial Granduncle."
The man beside her wore green robes adorned with gold tassels. His face was turned sideways toward her, appearing untamed and otherworldly, while his pupils gleamed with a faint cyan-green light, exuding far more malice than immortal grace. He smiled slightly and replied, "Chougui Concealment."
This was a man Ning Wan had seen in her youth—none other than Chi Buzi, who had been missing for years!
Ning Wan nodded awkwardly. Chi Buzi was clearly explaining how he had materialized beside her so suddenly. He was now a Great Real Person; aside from waiting respectfully by his side, there was truly nothing else Ning Wan could do.
'The entire Chi family was exterminated root and branch, and Chi Zhiyun's cave dwelling was excavated and desecrated, yet not even that could make this Great Real Person budge an inch. Only when Great Real Person Si makes his breakthrough—without the slightest prior warning—is he already here waiting in the South Sea.'
Chi Buzi did not spare so much as a glance for the two Nether Office emissaries beside them, treating them completely as thin air, and said in a faint voice, "Ning Wan... Not bad. You've become a Violet Palace cultivator too. It seems Senior Yuansu's spiritual wealth was exceedingly bountiful, enough to benefit you as well."
Hearing those words, Ning Wan felt the hairs on her neck stand on end, almost turning to flee on the spot. Yet she saw Chi Buzi chuckle softly. Though cold-blooded, detached, and ruthless on the Grand Dao, his laughter was rather pleasant to the ear. He said, "You need not fear. I do not covet those few scraps from Senior.
"Do you know the true name of the Upright Wood path?"
Ning Wan naturally dared not leave. Unable to fathom his intentions, she hesitated and shook her head. A smile appeared on Chi Buzi's face as he answered, "Dui Metal is the upright station of Shen-You Metal, and Upright Wood is the upright station of Jia-Yi Wood. Its full name is the 'Dedicated Station of Upright Mao-Xun Wood.' Just from the name, one knows it is completely orthodox and upright. If one seeks this station, hoping to piece it together with substitutes or unorthodox shortcuts? That is nothing but a fool's dream.
"Yet as fate would have it... very little of the Upright Wood path has been passed down in this world. Never mind five divine abilities; even gathering three is exceedingly difficult... The Sima family has clutched their one path for so many years, yet no one has ever attained a fruit station.
"Thus, Senior Yuanxiu could only seek an intercalation. Though I do not know where he obtained his Swimming Water, he wished to harmonize Upright Wood with Swimming Water to pursue a certain Wood virtue."
Only then did he raise his brows, a tinge of melancholy lingering between them as he murmured, "With neither certainty nor a method to seek the Golden Dan, relying on nothing more than a wisp of conjecture, he had no choice but to throw his own flesh and blood into this path."
Ning Wan lowered her head in silence. The tempest stirred by the old man in the sky grew ever more terrifying. He raised his head, his two eyes bulging as he glared straight toward the horizon.
His lips quivered, and at last he spat out that index finger.
As soon as the finger flew from his mouth, it transformed into an infant. In an instant, it became a youth, and in another, a valiant young man. His features were seventy percent similar to Si Boxiu's, almost certainly him in his youth. Both stirred their divine abilities and sat facing each other, Wood and Water converging in the sky with violent tremors.
After a long while, the blurry figure nearby finally pulled his gaze away, shook his head in disappointment, and brought out an object—seemingly some kind of net—concealing it in his hand as he said, "What a pity. He did not know that thing could only be spat out after it was accomplished."
The other watched coldly and replied, "How could he know? He is not Lord Du. How many people of that caliber even exist? Even Lord Du's success was achieved by following the methods of predecessors. Without an orthodox lineage of Daoist methods, merely borrowing a wisp of Swimming Water is already quite remarkable.
"Even if he did know, what could he do? He lacks the ability to spit it out after accomplishing it anyway. If he truly had such skill, he wouldn't be unable even to greet us."
With one hand, he grasped something out of thin air, and with the other, took it and scattered it outward. While Ning Wan noticed nothing at all, Chi Buzi had already taken a step back, gazing with a complex expression at the seeker of the Dao in midair.
Si Boxiu was rapidly withering away. His hunched frame curled like a woodlouse into a pitch-black ball, his fine-quality robes drawn in and torn into shreds. Meanwhile, the young man on the other side grew increasingly tall and imposing. A triumphant smile appeared on his face as he extended a fair hand and snapped his fingers in midair:
*Snap!*
The wind, wood, and water of heaven and earth surged toward his body.
His attire grew increasingly magnificent and noble, while black veins surfaced across his face. His height continued to shoot upward until he no longer resembled his original appearance.
Looking all around, the man suddenly reached out, hoisted the dying, breath-barely-hanging Si Boxiu into the air, and laughed: "Having followed the dedicated station, why seek an intercalation?"
The cricket in Si Boxiu's pupil finally burst free, crawling down his cheek. His lips parted and closed in a silent murmur, until the final wisp of life force flowed from his body into the other's.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Though noble and splendid in appearance, a shrill, terrifying burst of laughter erupted from the man's throat. The nearby Violet Palace cultivators all took a step back in unison. The two indistinct silhouettes beside them vanished immediately, and the last ray of sunlight in the world dissipated.
"Fiend!"
*Boom!*
Thunder crashed throughout heaven and earth, swept along by the raging wind. Sheets of lightning illuminated the sky, and amidst the blinding glare piercing the darkness, a shadowy figure could be faintly seen standing in the east.
The figure had the appearance of a young man, extraordinarily tall, with a demonic countenance and slightly reddish pupils. He wore a dark robe with a white-and-green silk sash tied around his waist, his long black hair bound behind his head.
*Boom!*
By the time the next flash of lightning lit up the sky, the man was already gone. Upon the churning sea, all the brilliant lights of divine abilities vanished simultaneously, leaving behind only endless darkness and the man laughing madly in midair.
Chapter 832