Chapter 1141: Shaohui (II)

Palace of Radiant Purity Supreme Yin.

White snow was piled high beneath the moonlit lampstand. Lu Jiangxian sat at the table as the many illusions before him slowly faded away.

Chi Buzi... quite the capable one indeed.

Lu Jiangxian, of course, no longer possessed the ability to draw others fully into the world within the mirror or take things directly from it. The formation Chi Buzi had used to link himself to the Exalted Immortal Mirror was, in essence, no different from the techniques employed by Maha Jinlian and the five-eyed Merciful One. It was akin to stepping into a great illusion.

Yet Chi Buzi differed from Jinlian and the five-eyed in that he came with intent. He had not trembled and kneeled below, but freely moved within the illusion! He could even take or place items as he pleased. If Chi Buzi wished to retrieve something from his storage pouch, Lu Jiangxian could indeed manifest it... but what then?

Chi Buzi is cunning. I can't control his storage pouch. Even if I manifest the object here, the moment he hands it to Dangjiang or sets it down in this place, he'll check his pouch afterward. If he still finds it there, he'll immediately grasp the truth.

The Immortal Mirror still lacked the ability to truly transfer objects between realms, which was an obvious and fatal flaw. Hence, Lu Jiangxian had preemptively sealed Chi Buzi's storage pouch. Yet Dangjiang’s mere words had already stirred suspicion in him. Believing the place to be an illusion, Chi Buzi had tried to take something as a keepsake. Once he left and checked his sleeve, he would immediately know whether it was real or not.

Lu Jiangxian could, of course, have arranged for Dangjiang to fabricate celestial rules to block him, making it impossible to take anything. But Chi Buzi was not one to be easily fooled. The claim that his true self had arrived was meant to dispel the lingering doubt from their last encounter. Using the same trick twice on a cultivator of the Purple Mansion Realm would only deepen their suspicion.

Thus, Lu Jiangxian had deliberately allowed Chi Buzi to 'take' a Supreme Yin spirit item back with him. It was the only item Lu Jiangxian could truly condense in the manifest world, and would temporarily veil the flaw.

But this method can only be used once. Let's first exploit it to obtain what he has and pacify his suspicions with that priceless Supreme Yin treasure... If he dares to expect another response in the future, he can forget about getting any more Purple Mansion Realm demonic creatures!

That these demands could even be met was thanks to Dangjiang. Only he could openly converse with Chi Buzi and weigh pros and cons without restraint. Had Lu Jiangxian fabricated a puppet to deal with him instead, Chi Buzi would never have spoken so candidly, nor would the outcome have been as successful.

This, however, poses another problem. Chi Buzi is sharp. Though he will no longer beg for cultivation techniques, his attention will soon turn toward the path of the Golden Core Realm. If I cannot offer him enough, trouble will surely follow.

Chi Buzi was a double-edged sword; he was immensely useful, perceptive, cautious, and exceptionally strong. His standing in Jiangnan ranked just beneath Qiushui and Yuan Xiu. His death would bring no small amount of trouble, and for now, Lu Jiangxian still had great need of him.

However, those were problems for later. Lu Jiangxian’s brows lifted as he looked down. Upon the jade tiles at his feet lay a massive blue-and-white sparrow, its body the size of a table. Its tail feathers spread like pale gauze, forming a circular veil upon the floor.

This Lesser Yin demonic creature differed greatly from those previously sacrificed. The Li Family's rituals were based on incense offerings. They used sacrificial blades to slay the creature, sending its soul, blood qi, and Immortal Foundation together into the mirror. By the time they reached Lu Jiangxian, all that remained was a fused lump of energies.

This creature, however, had been offered directly, without undergoing the incense-burning phase of the Sacrificial Ritual Method. Its entire Immortal Foundation, blood qi, and mystical dharma body, along with its Shenyang Mansion within the great void, had all been presented intact, without the slightest loss.

Even more remarkable was that a Purple Mansion Realm being's soul resided within its Shenyang Mansion, remaining undestroyed even after death. Thus, the spirit sparrow's soul had flown into the mirror and still retained awareness. In a sense, this demonic creature was the very first living being to ever enter the mirror!

Lu Jiangxian's eyes gleamed with fervor; this was a laborer comparable to Dangjiang himself! He lifted the creature's soul with a thought and swept it with his divine sense, quickly grasping the whole picture.

This demonic creature was born in the Northern Sea with an ordinary bloodline. By sheer fortune, she once consumed a treasured panacea and thus stepped upon the path of cultivation. For the first two centuries she devoured both flesh and grain, keeping several tribes as livestock. Gradually, she attained sentience while in the northern deserts.

After awakening, she read two books and realized the human race now flourished. She changed her ways and became the guardian spirit beast of a tribe, striving to devour pure qi and expel murky qi. Taking the tribe's name as her own, she called herself Fuyu.

When this demonic creature emerged from seclusion after breaking through the Foundation Establishment Realm, the Fuyu Kingdom had already fallen. The lands were now under the Shilou Family's rule, so she wandered the world and even encountered several great fortunes.

This one possesses an extraordinary innate ability for arts and techniques. She created many spells on her own and, by currying favor with the luan-birds, made a pilgrimage to Mount Taishi, thus achieving the Purple Mansion Realm...

Lu Jiangxian studied closely and found that most of the spells she used in her battles with Chi Buzi were her own creations. Unfortunately, demonic creatures could never cultivate as deeply as humankind. Though her talent was high, she lacked the breadth of Dao lineages Chi Buzi had studied, and having only just entered the Purple Mansion Realm, she was no match for him.

He flipped through her memories and found them curiously sparse. Upon closer inspection, someone had clearly tampered with them. The recollections concerning the luans were entirely gone, and even the events tied to a Golden Core affair centuries ago had been deliberately erased by her own will, leaving only fragments of cultivation methods gained by chance.

Since she had no real background, it was no wonder she had fallen into Chi Buzi's hands. After a second look, understanding dawned upon Lu Jiangxian, and he frowned slightly,

This is all well and good... but using this soul here means the Green Talisman will lack one Purple Mansion Realm spirit. The incense energy is sufficient for now, yet with this gone, the Green Talisman will fall short.

He pondered for a moment, then calmed down as he thought,

But there are still five years until the next sacrificial rite, and Li Zhouwei is currently in seclusion. Time is ample, so it's best to observe for now. After all, this creature's aptitude in spell arts is remarkable. Having her within my mirror will be a tremendous advantage.

Raising his sleeve, he summoned a gleaming radiance of Supreme Yin into his palm, then picked up the jade jug upon the table and flicked his finger.

The spirit sparrow on the ground instantly dissolved into a skyful of Lesser Yin light, which streamed into the jug. In moments, the jug brimmed with a blue-and-white radiance like a starlit sea with waves of divine ability. When he opened the lid again, a tiny palace floated within the vast ocean, the sparrow's own Shenyang Mansion.

A faint phantom lingered on the floor; the remnant soul of the demonic creature. With a flick of Lu Jiangxian's sleeve, the soul attached itself to the descending radiance, shining brilliantly.

Within the mirror, where Lu Jiangxian's divine ability resided, he summoned a wisp of Lesser Yin light which coalesced into the form of a petite woman clad in pale tea-white robes. She held a pipa in her arms, and a faint white mark gleamed between her brows. Her bearing was ethereal and refined.

The woman stood dazed at first, as though unable to comprehend how she had come to be there. As her soul's memories gradually fused, she lifted her gaze in confusion. The moment her eyes met the figure above, the haze and emptiness in them were swiftly replaced by awe and fear.

She bowed softly and said, "Lesser Yin attendant of Wu[1] and Gui[2], Shaohui[/ref], Shaohui[3], greets the Palace Lord!"

1. 戊 (wù) is the Yang Earth (阳土) stem. It represents firmness, stability, and centrality. ☜

2. 癸 (guǐ) is the Yin Water (阴水) stem. It represents subtlety, hidden flow, and adaptability. ☜

3. 少 (shǎo) means "lesser" or "young," and 翙 (huì) means "sound or motion of wings." ☜