Dawn broke in a brilliance of radiant light.
The sun’s glow cast itself along the lakeside, where bright lanterns flanked a long avenue. Stone steps painted with wave motifs stretched all the way here, with cultivators rising and descending, while carriages and swift steeds came and went along the thoroughfare.
*Clop, clop, clop...*
The sound of hooves drew near, revealing a youth riding up on horseback. He was clad in a white robe with cuffs traced in patterns of crescent moons and lake ripples. Though his attire was modest, he carried himself with an imposing, dignified bearing. A brocade pouch was tied at his waist. Halting here, he beheld a gate before him.
This gate possessed seventy-two radiant roof ridges and stood one hundred and twenty feet high, adorned with elaborate carvings. It was none other than the Changxi Gate, the gateway to Milin Commandery.
Mount Milin was the most celebrated immortal mountain across all of Lake Wangyue. Below it lay a market town; though modest in scale and desolate from years of turmoil, the Changxi Gate, serving as the portal to the market, connected north and south and was of vital importance.
Li Suining drew rein here. Just then, he saw a caravan passing beneath the gateway. The moment they spotted him, they hauled on the reins. An old man with Shanyue features stepped down from a carriage, directing the retinue aside to clear the path, and bowed respectfully:
“Greetings, my lord!”
The Shanyue had never enjoyed high standing in the State of Yue, and the lake was no exception. Even though this old man was at Qi Refinement and certainly held a prominent position among the Shanyue, he dared not block the way upon seeing Li Suining's garb. Not knowing whether the youth bore the surname Li, he dared not address him as “Young Master,” choosing “my lord” instead.
A century of acculturation had left them little different from the common folk of the lake, save for thicker hair and distinctive facial features. Li Suining merely asked:
“Which guest elder do you serve?”
The old man was well advanced in years, yet he remained kneeling, resting his pale hands on the ground as he smiled deferentially:
“I would never dare... This humble one is merely a garrison guard serving under Mount Yuting. Originally a Shanyue native, I was fortunate enough to take orders under the Dahe Mingfang, and later obeyed the commands of Lady Minggong. My humble name is Du Dou.”
Li Suining froze for a moment, then replied:
“So you are her ladyship's attendant. You are far too courteous. Please, get up quickly.”
Li Suining actually held a favorable impression of these Shanyue. Even now, they maintained a shamanic faith worshipping the “Dahe Mingfang”—who was none other than his own family's King of Wei.
This was not difficult to understand. First, when the King of Wei was young, his karmic mandate had not yet converged, and his deeds as the White Qilin held greater significance than his personal identity; his campaigns against the Shanyue had left an indelible, radiant impression of sunlight upon them. Second, it was also a means for the Shanyue nobility to boast and elevate their own status.
Yet everything had two sides. After Tingzhou fell, these Shanyue continued to worship him in secret, refusing to mend their ways despite repeated warnings. The surrendered clans ultimately failed to keep it hidden, and the Shu general Ni Zan uprooted the unhallowed shrines and erected corpse mounds.
“When you ascend the mountain, guard, please mention to my Eldest Great-Uncle that Li Suining has finished visiting his relatives and is waiting in the mountains to return to the lake with him!”
Hearing this, the old man looked up in mild surprise, scrutinized him closely, and then nodded respectfully before turning to leave.
*The elixir the clan gave me was remarkably potent... In just half a month, I broke through to the sixth layer of Embryonic Breathing...*
Li Suining was already at the pinnacle of Embryonic Breathing. This cultivation speed was far faster than he had anticipated, putting him in high spirits.
*By this reckoning, by the time the Yang clan establishes their state... my cultivation should reach the second or third layer of Qi Refinement. At the very least, I'll be able to take flight, contend with minor cultivators, and construct ordinary formations.*
After waiting at the foot of the mountain for a while, he soon saw a streak of light speeding toward him—it was Li Zhoufang!
The middle-aged man stroked his beard with a smile. Behind him followed a bowed youth clad in coarse hemp, with the old Shanyue man bringing up the rear. The three landed ahead of Changxi Gate, walked nine paces through the gateway, and only then did Li Zhoufang say with a laugh:
“Suining, you arrived quickly!”
*Li Chengzai saw that I'm rising in the world now and could barely force a smile for me, but I couldn't be bothered to humor him... How could I not come quickly! If I had indulged him with even a few more words, he would have tried to borrow spirit resources from me!*
Li Suining sighed inwardly and smiled without speaking. Li Zhoufang understood at once and shifted the topic, gesturing toward the youth behind him with a beam of delightful surprise:
“Come! Meet each other... This is a prodigy of the Pu clan, named Xinya.”
His expression turned solemn as he continued:
“The Pu clan possesses a modest heritage. When I met the Pu family and questioned them closely, I found that Xinya is a rare prodigy unseen among them for several generations... Heaven truly blesses Wangyue; another great fortune!”
Only then did he turn back and smile:
“Xinya, this is Suining, a formation prodigy of our family unseen in a century. You can consult him often!”
The youth bowed hurriedly:
“Greetings, Young Master!”
Suppressing a smile, Li Suining nodded:
“No need for such formality.”
Pu Xinya had been his close friend in his past life, so he knew him intimately. While the boy's talent in formation arts was remarkable, his talent in cultivation was even more formidable; his cultivation speed had once caught up to Li Suining's, and only after Suining switched to a superior cultivation method did he pull ahead. At this moment, his talent had simply yet to reveal itself.
Having spent so much time together in his past life, Li Suining knew Pu Xinya still harbored pride and considerable ambition, along with that mindset typical of minor clans around the lake—envying the master family while longing for autonomy.
Later, when the Old Master saw through those thoughts, Pu Xinya was sent to Simin to run a shop for two years. After seeing how the world truly worked, he became thoroughly obedient upon his return, realizing that outside Lake Wangyue, the Pu clan was nothing more than a dainty morsel. They had no other path forward than to climb higher within Lake Wangyue.
Seeing that he still possessed his pride, Li Suining did not engage him much. Instead, he furrowed his brows and asked:
“Great-Uncle, how are things on the Shi cultivators' side?”
“Sigh! Who knows what the Dayu Dao is up to!”
At the mention of Shi cultivators, Li Zhoufang's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a grave expression:
“That Mohe passed through the wilderness and reached Lixia a few days ago. He did not engage in mass slaughter, nor did he even enter the commandery capital. He merely dispersed the Lianmin under his command to establish temples in the mountains and wilds, expounding scriptures and preaching the teachings, sending people down the mountains to spread their doctrine. The populace began to waver, watching from within the commandery, and most have already secretly donned the attire of Shi cultivators...”
He sighed wistfully:
“Furthermore, they raised twelve great mountains outside the commandery and planted the Great Good Golden Lotus. A hundred streams of silver water flowed down through the peaks. If commoners left the commandery capital, took off their shoes, rolled up their trousers, and waded through them, they would behold all manner of supreme bliss, forgetting father and mother, failing to recognize brothers. Over a dozen of our men went to investigate, and five never returned.
“Jiangzong then abandoned the matter, only driving nearby rogue cultivators to take a look from a distance. It is said the mountains outside Lixia Commandery have turned into mountains of desire, where men and women lie entwined, stark naked, reveling in licentious pleasure through endless nights, completely lost in indulgence...
“The few clans there—the Wu family, the Lu family, and the like—have suffered terrible misfortune. Fortunately, having been conquered previously, quite a few of their younger generation were conscripted by the Yang clan, allowing some of their bloodlines to be preserved.”
The middle-aged man sighed:
“Now... word is that the Dayu Dao has passed beyond that region and marched south. Who knows how things stand now.”
Li Suining could not help but sigh. In his past life, he had been in secluded cultivation with low status, so he had not known much about these events as they unfolded, but he knew plenty about the aftermath. He secretly corroborated the details in his mind:
*The Dayu Dao... I heard they parted ways with the Damu Dharma Realm in ancient times... Though they also proclaim a Shi land in this present world, their tenets are vastly different. Proclaiming that 'a world without suffering is a Shi land,' they do not require the people under them to endure torment before entering the Shi land; one need only revel in pleasure from birth until reincarnation... With the Great Good Golden Lotus gathering away grief and pain, there is truly not a single shred of suffering beneath it...*
Even more bizarre and tragic, among the seven branches, the populace under the Dayu Dao perished the fastest yet produced offspring the most prolifically. After all, all pain was absorbed by the Great Good Golden Lotus; giving birth to a child was seen as bringing a person into the world to enjoy bliss, a deed of great merit. Everyone vied to do so, fearing only that they were not women.
Yet no matter how absurd this was, he knew in his heart that once the Dayu Dao departed, these people would become an endless, intractable mess:
*This disaster ravaged the entire north of the State of Yue. If the Emperor of Song uproots the Great Good Golden Lotus, it will likely drastically reduce the lifespans of millions, leaving them with less than a decade to live. No wonder he had to seal the mountains, ban illicit sacrifices, and sever this thing's influence first before promulgating scriptures and spending years gradually untangling the hearts of the people.*
After pondering repeatedly, he calculated:
*In my past life, when I emerged from secluded cultivation, this turmoil was nearing its end, and the family suffered few losses. This matter shouldn't pose too much trouble... I must first go see the Old Master.*
Riding the wind stirred by his Great-Uncle Li Zhoufang, he soon descended upon the isle. The elder shook his head and said with a smile:
“Let's not dwell on this... You're bustling about the isle, so how could you not have someone to run errands for you? What's more, your daily study of formation arts makes your time all the more precious. I have a person here whom you happen to have met, so let him run errands at your side.
“The family does have a rule that an attendant's cultivation usually cannot exceed that of a direct lineage member, but seeing as you'll soon reach Qi Refinement, this isn't premature!”
Seeing Du Dou kowtow fearfully on the ground, Li Suining knitted his brow and was about to decline, but he heard Li Zhoufang transmit his voice:
*Just take him for now. Aunt Minggong arranged this. Uncle Chengzai has no head for management, and the crowd in the Eastern Residence is utterly shameless. Armed with the Lady's orders, he can shield you from them on the outside. Otherwise, turning them away one by one will only sour familial relations.*
*She is terribly busy and couldn't wait for you, so she entrusted me to handle this matter.*
Li Suining's expression grew somewhat complicated. In his past life, he had not risen so swiftly, so there had been little profit to be had, and Li Chengzai had held back out of face. Now things were clearly quite different. He could only cup his hands and say:
“Thank you, Great-Uncle!”
With Du Dou leading the way, Li Zhoufang had no need to accompany him further. Li Suining made his way toward the high loft. As his gaze absently swept across the pavilion corridors, his pupils dilated slightly.
A man in gray robes was hurriedly ascending the steps. Arriving before the loft, he knocked on the door with trepidation, and only then stepped inside.
*Fourth Great-Uncle...*
This person was none other than his Fourth Great-Uncle, Li Zhouluo!
Li Suining felt his breath hitch slightly.
*Was Fourth Great-Uncle at the lake in my past life?*
This Fourth Great-Uncle, Li Zhouluo, was no ordinary figure. He had been heavily favored and relied upon by the Emperor of Song, serving as the Intendant of Jingzhao from the day of the Emperor's accession. As the Li clan declined, his position only rose higher... After the King of Wei passed away, though he was not granted a noble title as the King's brother, he had at one point entered the Purple Gold Hall as Bearer of the Arcane, accompanying the imperial presence and enjoying endless honor and favor, exceedingly prominent.
Had Fourth Great-Uncle Li Zhouluo not persistently pleaded on behalf of the Li clan throughout its troubles, Li Suining still would not know what to feel toward him. Yet even so, his heart remained fraught with complexity.
*Perhaps... once Uncle Jiangchun died, this Great-Uncle had no grandsons left beneath his knees, and serving as Bearer of the Arcane in the Purple Gold Hall under the Emperor's watchful eye while attending at his side, he was elevated and put to high use...*
Li Zhouluo's branch played an exceedingly bizarre role in the overarching course of events. Among the Four Xis, the elder Li Xizhi had stepped forth during the Turmoil of Changhe, startling north and south with a technique of rainbow radiance, yet he vanished abruptly after the great battle, never to be seen again.
As for Li Zhouluo's father, Li Chenghuai, he was a figure whose name was heard but whose person was never seen! In those years, Li Suining had never given thought to this elder, and the entire family had grown accustomed to his roaming abroad without a trace. Looking back now, it was undeniably strange.
Yet it was undeniable that this Fourth Great-Uncle had benefited greatly from the King of Wei and his grandfather. When the imperial decree appointing him as Bearer of the Arcane in the Purple Gold Hall was promulgated, it contained this very sentence:
*“Father and elder brother showed utmost devotion, cleansing evil and pacifying the commandery.”*
*On this Fourth Great-Uncle... there must be clues...*
His gaze turned somber as he heard the court guard ahead stop him:
“The Lord is currently granting an audience to another. Young Master, please wait a moment.”
……
Inside the loft, the light was dim. The old man set down the scroll in his hand, looked closely at the gray-robed man kneeling in the hall, and seemed to have a sudden realization. Raising his brows at once, he stepped down to help him up.
Li Zhouluo felt overwhelmed by the favor and somewhat uneasy. Guided by the old man, he sat down at the side. Li Xuanxuan did not return to the high seat, but instead sat close beside him, took his hand, and asked:
“How are things now?”
When Li Zhouluo had returned to the lake years ago, he had stayed to keep Li Jiangchun company. Later, when Qingchi issued a conscription, he escorted Pang Yunqing back to Simin. Rushing back to the lake now was clearly taking a great risk. Lowering his head, he replied in some bewilderment:
“I don't know what the situation is either. Qingchi suddenly collapsed, and Yunqing was assigned to the mountains. Worried about the clan, I made the journey back.”
Li Xuanxuan shook his head repeatedly, speaking in an aged voice:
“It has been fifteen or sixteen years since your grandfather went to Mount Xiashan. In the early years, there was still news, but letters grew fewer as time passed. Five years ago, his reply stated he was entering seclusion to verify his orthodoxy, and there has been no word since... Has your grandmother written to you? Is there any news of your father?”
Li Zhouluo was momentarily at a loss for words. Leaving his seat, he bowed and murmured:
“A few letters did arrive... but they only told me to cultivate diligently, and that Grandmother's family wished to provide me with resources, all of which I declined... It's just that several relatives from Grandmother's side occasionally sought me out to offer some guidance on cultivation...”
Li Xuanxuan nodded. Li Zhouluo said respectfully:
“However, I received news from the south. That Lord Yang granted me one or two fiefs in prime locations in Simin...
“This junior thought they could serve as a foothold for our family, allowing us to open a small market town there, thereby extending our reach further south.”
Li Xuanxuan withdrew his gaze from him, sipped his tea, and replied:
“You are mistaken in this. It was bestowed upon you by the Lord, so how could you push it onto the clan? Aside from Jiangliang, who takes orders under the Lord, no one in our family has received such an honor. You ought to cherish it properly.”
Li Zhouluo did not know how to answer. Li Xuanxuan, however, asked in a low voice:
“Is there any news from the south? How are they to deal with this surging karmic fire?”
Li Zhouluo rose from the floor at once, his expression solemn as he replied:
“That Que Liyu will arrive in Simin at any moment. Whatever happens, a lord will have to step in! Rumors and whispers abound in Simin, but in this junior's view, Que Liyu won't be able to run rampant for long!
“Our family need only be cautious. The moment Que Liyu withdraws from Simin, we must seize the opportunity to reclaim our territory.”
“Oh?”
The old man raised his brows to look at him, pondered for a moment, and smiled:
“Is this the Yang clan's intent?”
Chapter 996