Lihuo surged like a torrential flood, spewing from eight apertures. Various divine abilities converged beneath a white radiance in a hazy, heavy deluge, churning the crimson sea below until five beams of scarlet light leaped forth, as if calling to companions.
Withdrawing his spiritual sense from his Qi Sea, the Real Person felt a swell of joy.
"All six are gathered!"
Six seeds of the Great Li Vermilion Splendor Light. Only a fraction of the effort remained to reach all nine. Factoring in the one condensed from talisman qi, crossing the threshold of this cultivation method was close at hand. Rejoicing quietly, Li Ximing slowly opened his eyes.
The purple-gold light before him still flickered, but looking through the Great Void, the Zhuosha Mound below had completely changed its appearance. Heaps of bleached bones were buried under the broken walls and ruins of celestial palaces and shrines. Dense, opulent, and resplendent, the wondrous patterns intertwined in brilliant harmony, looking breathtakingly beautiful. The suffocating resentment was utterly masked beneath the immortal radiance.
It was as if millions of people had never undergone dissolution here.
Residual formations and warding barriers mingled with all manner of light, twisting and shifting before stabilizing. Soon after, lesser secret realms and spirit halls tumbled down one after another. The entire Zhuosha Mound grew complicated beyond words, yet countless beams of light risked life and limb to weave through the chaos, seizing treasures before the warding restrictions could steady, clashing violently and scattering minced flesh across the earth from time to time.
Brilliance surged through the Great Void as the purple-gold secret realm slowly closed. Li Ximing sighed inwardly.
"The third one already!"
Tianhuo had estimated correctly. As Wanling Heaven drew closer to the mortal realm, three major secret realms had fallen in succession.
All three ended the same way: first, the direct descendants sent in advance by the Purple Palace experts gorged themselves, after which entrances opened to the mortal realm, allowing clans and independent Foundation Establishment cultivators to swarm inside and scavenge for scraps.
Finally, the dregs of the broth crashed down upon Zhuosha Mound with a thunderous roar, provoking a mad scramble among Qi Refinement cultivators, while the accompanying lesser secret realms rained down like shooting stars to sweeten the pot.
These three secret realms were Nanxiang Hall, Huanjing Tower, and Yushan Palace. Descending in strict sequence, they not only filled the lands of the three Mifan caves along Baijiang Stream from years past, but a large portion of Huanjing Tower even spilled over onto Mount Xiaoshi. Once Yushan Palace finished descending, it would claim a substantial share of Duxian Dao's territory. Calculated carefully, they formed a ring encompassing the entire Zhuosha Mound.
Watching the curtain fall on these three spectacles, Li Ximing was at a loss for what to feel.
"Truly well-ordered!"
Both Huanjing Tower and Yushan Palace were smaller than Nanxiang Hall, and the competition within them had been far fiercer. Even so, the Li clan's haul in Huanjing Tower was considerable—at the Purple Palace level, they secured two spirit pills and one spiritual resource. Yushan Palace, however, had been an embarrassing affair; valuable treasures were scarce to begin with, and Su Yan had nearly swept the place clean! The Li clan only managed to retrieve a collection of magical instruments and a spirit pill discovered through Li Ximing's scouts...
One could hardly fault the juniors. Yushan Palace was, after all, the sole secret realm in the north where their faction had suffered a misstep, and the Li clan members were thoroughly exhausted, unable to match the numbers fielded by the other parties.
The three spirit pills were a dose of Hundred Nights Heart-Seeing Medicine to dispel delusions, two Baoxing Tishen Pills to treat physical body injuries, and a Hong Fire spiritual resource called the Shengyu Stone, which was highly likely usable for artifact crafting. It was a gratifying harvest.
After all, with his inspecting obscurity ability and the earlier gains from Nanxiang Hall, the Li clan's rewards were among the best. Ding Weizeng had even made a name for himself as the Dianyang Tiger. Tianhuo had offered congratulations several times, declaring outright that Ding Weizeng was a blessed general. Li Ximing, however, knew better. A gap still remained between Ding Weizeng and the true direct descendants of major lineages. Against truly formidable figures, his greatest strength could not match their shortcomings, while his weaknesses were seized upon and battered ruthlessly. Fortunately, escaping amidst chaotic melees was easy enough for him.
*Blessed general or not... if his cultivation weren't rock-solid and the Dianyang Tiger didn't possess the wondrous ability to slip from cages, how could he have held out to the end instead of dropping his treasures and fleeing early?*
As the Foundation Establishment cultivators withdrew, various phenomena manifested across the Great Void, yet no further secret realms descended. The expressions of the Purple Palace experts gradually grew solemn. Li Ximing touched the jade pendant at his waist without crushing it, carefully observing the Great Void.
*Hum!*
Time passed in the blink of an eye. After only a few months of rest, an arc of light gradually emerged from the Great Void. Surrounding spiritual energy churned violently, and Zhuosha Mound quaked and shook!
Water and fire intertwined in the sky alongside shifts of metal and earth, giving birth to all manner of spiritual objects out of thin air. Several streaks of light approached from afar, lingering in the distance. Li Ximing frowned and looked over, spotting many familiar faces. Even that demonic cultivator, Real Person Luo, was winking and grinning at him from afar.
*That devil... at least knows better than to come over...*
While he hesitated, a woman flew in through the Great Void. She wore a light green Daoist robe and possessed a tall figure. The corners of her eyes held a lovely charm, her nose was softly rounded, and her features were gentle. Even her cool makeup could not conceal her tender air. She smiled:
"Fellow Daoist Li!"
Li Ximing looked at her and recognized her, quickly smiling back.
"So it is Fellow Daoist Kuangyu!"
This woman was none other than Real Person Kuangyu, who had acquired the Xinyu Reefs. Back then, Li Ximing had enjoyed an agreeable conversation with her, never expecting they would cross paths again so soon. She giggled:
"The other day I obtained a pool of Bichen Water, and it just so happens I brought it for you."
From her sleeve she produced a small sky-blue pot. It was merely an ordinary magical instrument and not particularly precious. Placing it in his hand, she exchanged glances with Tianhuo nearby, and an awkward smile crossed her face.
In the past, Hengzhu and Jinyu had been on bad terms, and Kuangyu had always followed Hengxing. Now that Hengzhu had shut its gates in seclusion, running into a colossal behemoth like Jinyu was more than a little awkward for her...
Li Ximing had a good impression of her, but sensing the awkward tension between the two, he found it difficult to speak. Just then, celestial flowers scattered, purple-gold light flooded the Great Void, and a tremendous vibration that pierced straight through spiritual sense thundered in their ears:
*Rumble!*
The shock left his ears ringing and nose stinging, forcing him to raise his brows. The heavens and earth before them burst into brilliant splendor. The Purple Palace experts exchanged glances, and several immediately transformed into light, soaring toward the purple-gold colors. Li Ximing glanced sideways—Tianhuo was already gone!
"The cave heaven has opened?!"
Yet he was in no hurry. Looking carefully, many people from the north still stood in the Great Void with dark expressions, motionless. Kuangyu whispered beside him:
"A quarter of an hour or two before the cave heaven reveals itself, those with Great Void traversal arts or spiritual instruments can sneak inside early... Those factions have the divine abilities and skills to take the lead."
"Oh? Won't they claim everything first?"
Li Ximing frowned inwardly. Kuangyu spoke softly:
"It does not matter much. Slipping inside isn't that simple. There is still about a quarter of an hour left, and it will take them a long while to sense their way in through tricks. At best, they will be faster by half a quarter of an hour, usually even less."
*That is still not a short time...*
Just as Li Ximing thought this, Kuangyu choked beside him as if a sharp blade were thrusting straight at her face. A wave of heat surged toward them, and she snapped her head up, snapping coldly:
"Who is it!"
An arched bridge of true fire spanned the Great Void, flanked by armored soldiers marching like swimming dragons. Everywhere the eye could see was a deep crimson. A middle-aged man strode atop the flames holding a sword, its point aimed straight ahead. The patterns on his golden-red royal robe rippled slightly, his gaze brimming with chill.
He was launching an assault!
Though he uttered not a word, the blazing weapon's edge almost pierced Li Ximing's eyes, sending a chill through his heart!
"Shilou Yingge?!"
This person was none other than the mid-stage Purple Palace true fire cultivator of the northern Gao family—Shilou Yingge!
*What madness has taken him?!*
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, while all the Purple Palace experts were waiting to enter the cave heaven, he had waited for Jinyu to depart before suddenly lashing out! His blade bore sharp true fire divine abilities, thrusting forward with unreserved murderous intent. The Purple Palace cultivators all turned, watching coldly.
Shocked, Li Ximing instinctively lit the heavenly light between his brows. Junheng manifested out of nothingness, ripples of blue and yellow mountain-and-river patterns spreading outward. Yet golden light swirled within his opponent's pupils, and the deep red arched bridge carved a path through the Great Void, shattering the mountain-and-river patterns so the sword reached him unimpeded!
*Boom!*
A burst of heavenly light exploded in the Great Void. Audience at the Heavenly Gate emerged against a torrential cascade of true fire, instantly drawing every gaze. Shilou Yingge pressed forward aggressively, shaking a golden-red true fire seal from his sleeve that swelled to the size of a mountain, smashing mercilessly down onto Li Ximing's divine ability.
Shilou Yingge was in the mid-stage Purple Palace realm. The strike made Li Ximing's chest tighten, moving him to exasperated anger. He glared coldly at the falling golden seal.
*Your divine abilities may be far superior to mine, but no matter how high they are, you are Shilou Yingge, not Wei Xuanyin! You expect to shatter the Mingyang Audience at the Heavenly Gate in a few strikes? Do you truly take me for clay to be molded at will?!*
As the two clashed, Kuangyu's expression changed. Shilou Yingge's mountain-sized golden seal had encompassed her as well!
"What is the meaning of this!"
Clasping her hands before her chest, she lifted them gently, breaking free of the golden seal's lock and vanishing. Yet that gentle lift held power not to be underestimated, causing the seal to wobble slightly.
With that wobble, Li Ximing clearly felt a fleeting instant where the entire seal seemed temporarily shifted out of the Great Void. Seizing the opportunity in a flash, his divine ability dispersed on the spot, turning into heavenly light that rushed back into his body.
Using the momentum, he took a step back with a dark expression. Shilou Yingge's face remained entirely unchanged. Ignoring the retreating Real Person Kuangyu, the longsword in his hand was fully charged with true fire divine abilities, turning a pure, vibrant red. He pressed two fingers of his other hand against the pommel.
"Strike!"
The surging true fire divine ability flared instantly, and the golden seal suspended in the Great Void moved swiftly. Facing this Gao family Real Person, Li Ximing sneered coldly, utterly unafraid.
Light was born from the shadows. A beam of heavenly light illuminated the void, flickering with crescent-like kaleidoscopic brilliance. With a crisp clang, it parried the sword, causing the blade's true fire to erupt prematurely and ripple in all directions.
*Boom!*
Those golden eyes were reflected deep within Shilou Yingge's vision. Even thicker true fire danced behind the youth, framing him like a living fire god. With a flick of the halberd, a sheet of true fire was swept away, its sharp tip gleaming brilliantly in the bright radiance.
Treading on white light and purple flames, draped in dazzling heavenly light, the golden-eyed youth wore a cold expression. His fingers gripped the shaft steadily, the razor-sharp point aimed straight at Shilou Yingge's throat like a singular bead of light.
"If the Shilou family is so eager to display their loyalty, settle it inside the cave heaven. There is no need to bark before all the factions."
Shilou Yingge looked furious, yet his eyes remained cold. In an instant, gazes converged from every direction—some sneering, some measuring—amidst countless whispered exchanges:
*It's that Mingyang prodigy...*
...
The Great Void was vast and boundless, filled with purple qi. Where ordinary eyes could not see, a massive purple-gold arc quietly emerged. Intertwined blue and white light reflected the diverse sights of this world.
The hues that could blind divination and obscure divine abilities were fading, giving way to layers of overlapping radiance. Passing downward through the light revealed rows of palaces and shrines.
Long feathers beneath the eaves swayed gently, and the great halls stood vast and empty. Compared to the grandeur of Anhuaitian, the palaces here did not appear towering, but rather exquisite and brimming with immortal grace.
*Immortal sects are different after all!*
Unlike the imperial layout of Anhuaitian, peaks stood tall and varied in height. Each mountain peak was separated by vast distances, their highest points crowned either by immortal thrones or prayer mats, as well as jade tables, lotus pedestals, and meditation couches. Those farther apart exhibited entirely distinct styles.
Lu Jiangxian drifted as a white light, having observed the area for a long time. Divine intent was far more formidable than spiritual sense, and the immortal mirror now possessed the ability to roam the Great Void, allowing him to inspect Wanling Heaven in detail.
He wandered freely. Nearly every immortal peak was deserted, devoid of human presence, though strewn with skeletons and immortal husks—almost all having succumbed to incurable wounds or the exhaustion of their lifespans...
*Completely empty here as well.*
He walked forward, revealing himself beneath the highest mountain peak. This place was conspicuous; even the nearest neighboring peak stood a hundred li away, leaving a vast plain in between.
Passing through the great formation, the plain was already a field of ruins. The once exquisite Daoist palaces and towering platforms had all been crudely demolished, covered in sharp sword scars, leaving the entire plain in broken walls and rubble.
Lu Jiangxian stopped and gazed upon it with a complex expression.
What made him pause was not any treasure among the debris, but the countless skeletons kneeling across the ruined expanse!
Unlike the scattered, varied, and resentment-laden bones upon Zhuosha Mound, these skeletons knelt packed tightly together. Every single one maintained the exact same posture—kneeling on both knees, hands pressed against their legs, bowing deeply in utmost reverence. Every inch of white bone emitted a crystalline luster. Yet looking upward past distinct ribs revealed that none of these skeletons possessed heads.
Across the entire plain knelt an unknown number of skeletons, numbering in the tens of millions, arranged in concentric circles with their necks all facing the same direction, seemingly bowing toward the central mountain.
Some wore armor, some wore Daoist robes, and some still held weapons. Lu Jiangxian said nothing as he passed through the dense thicket of corpses.
Venture deeper, and he began to see remains clad in spiritual robes, dressed in opulent garments adorned with thirty-six spiritual feathers—evidently the husks of high-cultivation direct descendants. Reaching the foot of the central mountain, he finally saw the only standing figure.
This person stood guard at the mountain's base, wearing a deep red down-lined crane cloak embroidered with golden scriptures that spread like bird wings. A cloud-patterned cape hung behind his tall, quiet frame.
His neck bore a clean, neat sword cut, but his head was missing.
A severed head rolled discarded on the ground nearby, featuring a high nose and long brows. Its features were cold and handsome, though with eyes tightly shut, its former glory was impossible to discern.
The headless corpse held a longsword pointed diagonally at the ground. Traces of scarlet blood flowed along the blade, congealed at its tip into decorative patterns that brimmed with terrifying divine abilities.
It, too, was a corpse.
He glanced at it. Though the spirit sword in the corpse's hand showed no outward brilliance, its quality was exceedingly high, likely at the level of a spiritual treasure, to say nothing of the numerous first-rate spiritual instruments on his person.
*At least a late-stage Purple Palace expert, perhaps even someone at the peak of the Purple Palace realm...*
A breeze rose, whistling shrilly along the sword blade. The robes upon the surrounding skeletons fluttered powerlessly in the air, echoing with dense sword intent.
*Sword intent imbued within him... judging by this, he was far beyond the level of Chi Buzi or Wei Xuanyin.*
Lu Jiangxian stepped past the bones and ascended the stairs. His divine intent had already swept through every corner, comparing the sword marks upon the ruins, and understanding gradually formed in his heart:
*The one who destroyed this place, slaughtered everyone, and even killed this person was this very sword.*
*This cultivator likely took his own life.*
Lu Jiangxian had seen no trace of living souls on his way here. Piecing together the clues alongside the swirling divine abilities and sword intent, a careful deduction made everything clear:
*The core of the Wanling Superior Sect was an alliance of many small Daoist shrines, famous for not having a centralized territory. When Wanling Heaven's time to seal itself arrived, this cultivator's lifespan was nearly spent. Fearing the many factions within the cave heaven might lead descendants to open it prematurely and compromise with the True Monarchs outside... he used divine abilities to lure everyone here, slaughtered them, and then committed suicide.*
*Ruthless indeed... wiping out every single person in one fell swoop. No wonder not a whisper of the orthodox Wanling heritage has surfaced all these years, leaving only a few lineages of the Four Secrets circulating outside...*
He ascended the mountain. Upon entering, four towering treasure pagodas stood facing the four cardinal directions, corresponding to the four divine abilities of the Capital Guards. Within the pagodas lay various spiritual items; mundane resources aside, each pagoda suppressed a spiritual treasure!
Sweeping his divine intent through them, he identified Fushui, Combined Fire, Baotu, and Gathered Wood.
*Truly extravagant to the extreme!*
This was distinctly different from the State of Ning's seclusion in Anhuaitian. Back then, the various families of the State of Ning had drifted away, and the royal bloodline had appeared in the outside world. Anhuaitian had effectively been stripped of treasures by those families beforehand, significantly reducing its worth; only those three strands of gold nature were so precious that cultivators cast aside all shame to fight over them. Wanling Heaven, on the other hand, had shut itself off abruptly, sealing sixty to seventy percent of its treasures inside the cave heaven!
Even these four spiritual treasures were kept in the pagodas only because of their ancient heritage. Other mountain ranges also housed spiritual instruments. By Lu Jiangxian's estimate, there was almost enough for every Purple Palace expert outside to have one.
He glanced over them casually, crossing several platforms woven with blue and white patterns, and stopped before a heavy gate of white jade—the mountain gate of Wanling Heaven! Flanking it were two columns of archaic characters. One read:
*Pill sacrifices must obey me,*
And the other:
*The Two Modes bestow the profound of their own accord.*
Looking up, four golden characters were inscribed on the plaque above:
*I Govern the Heavenly Canon.*
These four characters exuded an inviolable majesty. Beneath the golden light, traces of purple and white lightning lingered, faintly evoking the awe-inspiring might of the Thunder Palace's messengers commanding principles, driving thunder, and subduing the world in days of old.
"I Govern the Heavenly Canon..."
His gaze turned profound. Taking another step, he passed through the gate and arrived at the most sacred, secret sanctuary of the Wanling Sect.
Lingyang Buyi Palace.
Behind the doors, layers of color and silver light intertwined into an overlapping expanse of golden white. Ninety-nine white arches overlapped in interlocking harmony, resonating with the entire palace—this entire palace complex was an integrated unit, a magical treasure in its own right!
Yet Lu Jiangxian did not linger on this magical treasure for even an instant. Instead, he raised his brows and stared quietly at the silver radiance locked within by the ninety-nine Lingyang gates.
This silver radiance resembled fine threads erupting from a single point in the void, stretching out into continuous wisps. All the light converged at the same point, trembling with an urgent pulse and exuding an intense pressure.
Around this silver radiance, illusions cascaded like waterfalls—at times purple light dissipated as cave heavens plummeted, at times water and fire merged while metal and earth stretched on, and at times blood-light surged as divine abilities fell, as though offering a perpetual warning.
Yet Lingyang Buyi Palace was completely empty.
The intimately familiar radiance leaped gently, exuding wondrous mystery. With a complex gaze, he recognized the silver light at once:
"The Great Derivation Heavenly Mystery Talisman!"
This was the very origin of Liu Changdie's belief in his own reincarnation, the Great Derivation Heavenly Mystery Talisman that had aided Lu Jiangxian countless times in the early days! Something he had longed for years ago had finally appeared before his eyes—it truly was inside Wanling Heaven!
"Talisman qi at the Golden Core level!"
It was not as though Lu Jiangxian had never encountered clues regarding Golden Core-level talisman qi. When he traveled to Shanyue years ago, he had sensed a strand of Golden Core-level talisman qi from afar. Later, when his divine intent expanded and the Li clan occupied Shanyue, that Golden Core aura had already vanished. Yet from that brief glimpse, he knew it was not the Great Derivation Heavenly Mystery Talisman...
Now, he was beholding the true substance of talisman qi—the Yellow Talisman among talisman qi—for the very first time!
"So it was suppressed and guarded here by Lingyang Buyi Palace. No wonder nothing was ever found in all of Jiangnan!"
He watched for a long time without disturbing the magical treasure, carefully sensing the shifts within the talisman qi, but suspicion gradually grew in his heart:
"This talisman qi... seems to have cultivated its own true form..."
The Great Derivation Heavenly Mystery Talisman before him gave him an exceedingly strange feeling. Unlike the unbestowed talismans in his hand that lacked grounding, this felt solid and firmly anchored, like a divine pillar stabilizing the sea...
As if... it already had a recipient!
His cultivation today was far beyond what it once was. Even without taking the talisman qi into his hand, he narrowed his eyes slightly and sensed it with care. Soon, various anomalies surfaced in his mind.
"It has been tampered with too much... Perhaps some True Monarch obtained this item, studied it in secret, and used various methods, wondrous arts, and spiritual items—even incorporating gold nature—to refine it into a magical treasure! That is why it possesses such stability, to the point of requiring another magical treasure to suppress it!"
His deductions grew clearer. As expected, he sensed the aura of gold nature within. Unlike the lineages he had encountered before, this gold nature originated from Binggu and was exceedingly rare...
It was called Sitian.
The lineage of the fox clan of Mount Dali!
*All these methods were forged entirely around this talisman qi and gold nature. Such exquisite craftsmanship is rare in this world!*
Chapter 966