Chapter 1227: Old Tales Of The Peacock (I)

Tinglan is still looking for me...

Li Ximing did not believe Tinglan's concern was out of care. Almost certainly, she was only anxious to use the pill and worried that he might stay in seclusion for over a decade.

After all, I have already studied the Heavenly Quintessence-Expelling Pill, and the matter of Profound Peak Gate has been settled. She took away the Purple Mansion Realm formation, but with the materials in her hands, she probably feels embarrassed to ask others to refine it...

He sat down with the two and asked, "I promised Fellow Daoist Tinglan I would discuss an important matter with her. I was away for several years, delaying things, so she came looking for me."

Li Ximing helped Tinglan cover up the alchemy matter and brushed it off casually. Houfu merely nodded and brewed tea, while Lingdu was much more enthusiastic. The old man laughed and said, "Zhaojing is highly skilled in alchemy. Perhaps she seeks you for pill refinement; either way, it is a good thing. I thought Zhaojing was gravely injured earlier and in seclusion, so I only told her I would look into it. Now that I see Zhaojing safe and sound, I no longer know how to reply to her."

Lingdu had no wish to get involved in Purple Smoke Gate's affairs and wanted a definite answer from Li Ximing. Understanding his intent, Li Ximing replied, "There is no need for you, senior, to trouble yourself with replies. If I can return to Jiangnan, I will naturally seek her out myself."

Tinglan belonged to the Supreme Yang Dao lineage, and the Great Xiukui Temple was no minor power; it had once been under an Immortal Mansion. The Nine Mounds Immortal Mountain lay in the outer-sea, and none of these factions cared to curry favor with her. Their relations were purely personal, and since no one had close ties with Tinglan, the matter was allowed to pass.

Li Ximing took the chance to ask, "I have been recuperating in the Eastern Sea for several years and heard little from Jiangnan. I wonder how things stand now..."

Houfu disliked speaking much, fearing that too much explanation would lower his stature. He sipped his tea in silence, so Lingdu answered, "Zhugong has entered Shanji Prefecture and established a new mountain gate called Grace Covenant Gate, also of the Tongxuan Dao lineage. As for your family's Li Zhouwei, he fled into the sea, and I heard your family lost a cultivator skilled in thunder arts."

Li Ximing lowered his gaze, set down his teacup, and unconsciously rubbed his hands against his robe before answering, "Oh

... sigh...

"

The joy he had felt from recovering his injuries instantly faded, leaving an emptiness within,

Chenghui left behind no heirs... all because I planned poorly. He should have been the one to uphold our family's fortune, yet due to my lack of foresight, he died so meaninglessly.

There were only a few true pillars in the family, and even fewer without selfish motives. Li Ximing knew every one of them clearly. Bitterness welled within him; the fact that he did not lose his composure was already commendable, yet he could not speak for a while.

Lingdu, an experienced man, could tell at a glance that the junior that had perished had been cherished. He shook his head slightly and said, "Whether it's inheritance or bloodline, it's always the same. Out of ten descendants, six are mediocre, three are wastrels, and the one outstanding must drag the rest forward. That alone is exhausting enough, but the more gifted they are, the more we push them into peril to temper themselves...

"As teachers and elders, we all hope that the one gifted child can turn the tide when disaster strikes. If they die in glory, it can at least be called a worthy death. But more often, they perish suddenly or die in vain accidents, leaving us stifled, powerless, and filled with both grief and fury."

He stomped his foot and said, "When I was young, I had a junior with excellent innate ability and an honest temperament. If he was still alive, he could have already attempted to reach the Purple Mansion Realm. Yet he let his guard down during a simple trip to a seaside market and died on a woman's belly, without even using a single talisman or protective treasure.

"Later investigation showed it wasn't because the boy lacked wit. That woman was merely a rogue cultivator, not under any divine ability; she simply turned love into hatred, hating his fickle heart. It shows that even we elders, with all our divine abilities, are helpless when fate runs out."

Li Ximing said softly, "Senior speaks true. My child, too, is rather fond of romance. It may not be a bad thing; one must see whether he's clever or not. But his innate ability is not high, so his path ahead will be harder."

Among the three, only Houfu was still young and childless. The Great Xiukui Temple was far from his concern, so he should have had little to worry about. Yet when the topic arose, his brows furrowed tightly as he replied, "Daoist Master Cao[1] only has to worry about his own juniors, but my Dao lineage has troubles of its own. The inheritance in our hands has grown unsteady. Not only do the disciples resent their senior brothers, they have even started resenting their teachers. There are over fifty factions among the thirty-six peaks, each busy promoting their own kin. It's more than a tangled mess... after so many years of cultivation, even my own disciples have split into six factions."

The other two offered a few words of comfort. Li Ximing, sensing further grief would be impropriety, composed himself. Houfu glanced at Lingdu, and the elder of the Nine Mounds Dao lineage spoke with a smile, "Since Zhaojing is here, it must be destiny. Zhaojing, how fares your Dharma Body after your duel with Changxiao? Have you met the silver bottle?"

Lingdu was not especially close to Li Ximing, and speaking of one's Dharma Body was generally taboo. A more temperamental cultivator of the Purple Mansion Realm might have turned hostile on the spot. But given Lingdu's status and Li Ximing's mild disposition, the latter merely frowned and said, "There are still minor injuries, and I have met the silver bottle; formidable indeed."

Lingdu spoke in a deep tone, "The Douxuan Dao lineage is formidable. Since the silver bottle was involved, Zhaojing must not return to Jiangnan for the time being... Changxiao will surely sense it."

Li Ximing's heart trembled, and his pupils widened slightly,

Why did I sense nothing?!

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Li Ximing had suspected earlier that Changxiao's divine ability had left a mark, yet he had found no trace whatsoever... He had even used the Immortal Mirror to investigate!

Impossible... there must be something strange. How could it escape the Immortal Mirror's detection? That sinister thing might have guessed I possess a probing ability and deliberately refrained... blending truth and falsehood...

Lingdu glanced at him and said, "None of us possess an Eye Divine Ability, so we cannot see clearly. However, my Nine Mounds Dao lineage has a technique called the Hidden Refinement Pool, which can purify one's Dharma Body..."

He paused slightly, and his intent became clear, "However, there is one matter I wish to discuss."

Li Ximing raised his head slightly as Lingdu said softly, "The Purple Mansion Realm spiritual flames... I wonder if Zhaojing might be interested?"

A faint spark lit in Li Ximing's heart, though his face remained calm as he said, "

Oh?

I wonder which one it is?"

The most advanced art of the Li Family was undoubtedly the sixth-grade Great Li White Radiance. This spell art was highly demanding; it could only be cultivated by those possessing the Radiant Fire of the Purple Mansion Realm. Li Ximing had coveted it for a long time.

When he asked about it, Lingdu was momentarily stumped and replied in a low voice, "I'm not sure which one exactly... but it is neither Virile Fire nor Dry Fire."

Having just escaped great danger, Li Ximing hesitated and asked, "Perhaps you should explain it in detail."

Lingdu nodded. "Zhaojing must have heard that something has happened at the Great Boon Bronze-Color Temple, and unrest is spreading everywhere. Before my Grand Daoist Master departed, he speculated that one of the temple's Merciful Ones had fallen."

Li Ximing had indeed found this puzzling. The Grand Daoist Master of the Nine Mounds Immortal Mountain was a cultivator of the late Purple Mansion Realm, equal in strength to a Maha, and had no reason to show deference to the Great Boon Bronze-Color Temple. Yet from the sound of it, he seemed to have been summoned there.

Li Ximing remarked, "The Great Boon Bronze-Color Temple is quite imperious."

Lingdu immediately caught the tone and replied, "The peacock ancestor of the Great Boon Bronze-Color Temple had ties with our Dao lineage in the past. The previous master of the temple had also offered guidance to our mountain lord. He feels obliged to honor that relationship with the peacock clan."

1. Referring to Daoist Master Lingdu. ☜