Chapter 1280: Forming Pills In A Hundred Days (I)

Li Ximing’s eyes met hers for a few breaths, and a sudden thought stirred in his heart,

What does this mean? Could Purple Smoke Gate have a lead on Radiance Under Heaven, but they are suspicious and do not dare produce it?

When the Eastern Fire Grotto Heaven of the Dongli Sect fell, countless Bright Yang Dao lineage inheritances scattered and were taken by the various Green Pine families. The Li Family had not yet risen at the time, and had only obtained a portion of the Yang Nourishing Technique through Tulong Jian. They continued to benefit from it to this day.

Yufu Prefecture and Mount Dongli both lay along the border between Purple Smoke Gate and the Azure Pond Sect, so those two families had gained far more. It was very likely for Purple Smoke Gate to have obtained traces of the Fate Divine Ability, Radiance Under Heaven back then.

His heart started to pound, yet given Li Ximing's nature, it was just as impossible for him to make solemn, confident promises, so he considered for a moment and said, "Divine abilities differ from one Dao lineage to another. Whether one can hold it, in my view, first involves temperament, and second involves the Dao lineage itself. I have not read the cultivation method, so I cannot make a firm judgment. Radiance Under Heaven is its ancient name, but this Fate Divine Ability is also called Bright And Clear Heart. It was revised over time by the emperors of Wei State, the Zhaoyuan Immortal Mansion, and the Dongli Sect. I imagine there are parts that can be cultivated toward openness and uprightness."

Tinglan broke eye contact as if she had long expected Li Ximing's cautious attitude, and said quietly, "There have indeed been many improvements. The Cui Family cultivated the self through ritual propriety and founded the Dongli Sect. My Purple Smoke Gate was not flourishing back then, but we had some ties with them. The cultivation method for this Fate Divine Ability has always been kept sealed. One may only seek this path after reaching the Purple Mansion Realm, and one is not permitted to use this path to become a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator."

A stiff, awkward smile surfaced on her face, as if the words were difficult to say, yet she continued, "This Dao lineage... Purple Smoke Gate understands it fairly well. If Zhaojing is interested in the Dao lineage of Radiance Under Heaven, then after you achieve your second divine ability... you may come visit the Purple Smoke Blessed Land."

So there truly is news of a Fate Divine Ability!

Li Ximing nodded slowly. Though he was puzzled by the hesitation and bitterness in Tinglan's words, his heart brightened. Nevertheless, his expression showed little excitement.

He had already made some headway with the Heaven Venerating Gate. If he took the pill refined through Supreme Yin, the speed of cultivating the Heaven Venerating Gate would advance by leaps and bounds. This spirit herb also had the effect of breaking through bottlenecks, and the Body Divine Ability, Sovereign In Peril, was within reach.

So long as Purple Smoke Gate was willing to provide Radiance Under Heaven, and once he brought Sovereign In Peril to completion, Li Ximing would gather the three orthodox Bright Yang arts, the very finest essence across his life and body. Once cultivated, with the Heaven Venerating Gate added on top, he could immediately leap into the ranks of the foremost among Purple Mansion Realm cultivators.

Purple Mansion Realm cultivators of other Dao lineages were not so fortunate. The involvement of the Cui Family and the Dongli Sect laid the Dao lineage bare before him. He had to chase clues on one side, and nurture a great medicine on the other. Li Ximing had always been worried about the Fate Divine Ability, and now he had unexpectedly found a lead. How could his heart not be filled with joy and brightness?

The Purple Mansion Threshold is hard to cross, and I ask for nothing more. If I can wield divine abilities, cultivate the body, and command my fate in this life, then this journey will not have been in vain.

Now even the Heavenly Quintessence-Expelling Pill in his hand seemed far more precious. The carriage soon came to a stop. The rabbit demon in purple stepped forward to invite them outside, and the two of them disembarked from the immortal carriage together. Seawater churned in a rolling boil before them while white sands lay in heavy stretches and thick smoke billowed over the mountain range on the island.

Li Ximing swept the area with heavenly light from the center of his brows and immediately sensed how intricately the fire veins and water veins were intertwined. The entire island was either molten lava or hot springs, a truly peculiar place. It also seemed to be occupied by a demonic faction. Many disciples in black hurried back and forth across the island, but the two of them ignored them outright.

Li Ximing nodded to himself, and Tinglan said with a smile, "Finding a place for alchemy on short notice is truly difficult. I looked over several nearby seas, and only this place is barely suitable."

She turned her palm upward and invited him inward. Li Ximing walked forward with ease. When the two of them peered into the mountain at the island's center, they found a dark formation shrouded in thick Qi Cultivation Realm blood. It could be considered decent, with a vast coverage.

This was the outer-sea, and the Dong'a King Sea was already the edge of the edge. Anyone capable of building such a formation was surely a well known demonic sect in these parts.

However, the formation might as well not exist to the two of them. With a light touch of the great void, they slipped through without anyone noticing, and their feet landed in a lavish council hall. Two Dharma Protectors steeped in demonic qi stood before the doors.

Two radiant Daoist Masters had appeared right before them, yet the two late stage Qi Cultivation Realm Dharma Protectors seemed blind and saw nothing at all. They allowed the pair to stroll into the hall at their leisure. When he walked in, Li Ximing found the place was already in an uproar.

"We finally caught the Han Family people! They are on Changdu Island! They are already trapped by the grand formation!"

"We should mobilize everyone at once and wipe out the Han Family first!"

A sinister voice cut in at once and cursed, "Han Li is cautious and treacherous. After Han Shihai died, how many times has he already slipped away? We should all go to the island together and exterminate him!"

"Nonsense! A mere Qi Cultivation Realm, what is there to fear?!"

Li Ximing raised an eyebrow as he listened. Tinglan, however, had no interest in the grudges of this pack of small fry, and she said casually, "I will do it."

She lifted her sleeves and pushed the doors open with a creak. Inside, a burly man with an overbearing air sat on a pitch black demonic throne of white bone. Li Ximing could not be bothered to look closely. Tinglan puckered her lips and blew gently, as if blowing out a candle.

Whoosh...

A purple wind swept through the entire hall. The sinister and domineering Island Master above, and the imposing Dharma Protectors at the sides, all seemed like illusions as they scattered like a gust of sand. Scale armor that gleamed with black light, blades and weapons flashing with cold radiance, and every dharma artifact in the room were all sliced into neat round pieces no bigger than a fingernail. The fragments clattered as they spread across the floor.

Yet the candle flames in the hall were not affected in the slightest. They gave off a faint glow, shining upon the now empty seats. The once clamorous hall was emptied in an instant, with not a single figure left. It was so silent that even a pin drop could be heard.

No one knew how many Foundation Establishment Realm and Qi Cultivation Realm cultivators had died with that single breath. Tinglan looked as relaxed as if she were brushing dust from her clothes, and she said offhandedly, "What a pity none of them are of the Orthodox Dao, otherwise a few could have been left alive to run errands."

She tapped lightly on the ground, and the entire hall shook violently. A small round opening appeared at the very center, and surging baleful fire erupted upward. Li Ximing also circulated Mountain Charging Sea Pacing Tiger, stabilizing the mountain's earth veins.

Tinglan turned back and instructed the rabbit demon, "Zegui, clean it up thoroughly. Do not disturb the Daoist Master."

Zegui immediately withdrew with respectful obedience. Li Ximing glanced at the shadows in the hall. The two Dharma Protectors at the entrance remained completely unaware as they stood guard at the door with unwavering loyalty.

This shows how wondrous the Purple Smoke Gate's Dao arts are, and how profound Tinglan's cultivation has become...

thought Li Ximing.

Though he did not know what kind of divine ability Tinglan cultivated, it certainly was not a Fate Divine Ability. Purple Essence not only lacked any particular control over fire veins and earth veins, it also had no trait that could bewilder others. Everything she had done from start to finish had been achieved through spell arts, not through a divine ability.

He relaxed his divine ability, and the Treasure Elephant Furnace rapidly swelled, dropping onto the baleful fire with a thunderous crash. Boundless Water-Fire surged up again. Tinglan simply beckoned lightly, and a small furnace appeared in her palm.

The furnace was purple above and black below. The black was not the usual bronze black of ordinary pill furnaces, but closer to the hue of a deep black cloth. Crows and owls were painted on it, and it was a rare five legged furnace.

A Purple Mansion Realm spirit artifact, the Profound Owl Crossing Scene Furnace.

There was no need to speak of the furnace's status. Purple Mansion Realm spirit artifacts were already rare, let alone a Purple Mansion Realm spirit furnace. When Li Ximing set both hands upon it, profundity arose of its own accord, and a feeling of awe appeared in his heart,

What a fine spirit artifact...

Yet his expression soon stiffened when his spiritual sense found two imposing ancient seal characters on the bottom of the spirit furnace.

Yue Cultivating.

Great Xiukui Temple is truly capable... Perhaps this was a gift the Yue Cultivating Sect sent over. It cannot possibly have been seized from the north... True Monarch Taiyue is a True Monarch who has already manifested in the world.

Tinglan seemed to notice nothing. She solemnly and carefully took out an azure jade box and opened it. It was filled with pale white spirit water, and a surge of spiritual energy rushed toward them. The water engulfed a pure white object about the size of a walnut. It looked like water yet was not water, brimming with spirituality as it rolled about. From time to time it even lifted its head above the surface, as if observing its surroundings.

Li Ximing's eyes heated up.

Heavenly Origin Essence!

This was precisely the pill body of the Heavenly Quintessence-Expelling Pill. It was also the exceedingly rare Purple Mansion Realm spirit water, the Heavenly Origin Essence!

If one spoke of the most famous Purple Mansion Realm spirit item, the Heavenly Origin Essence stood in a class of its own, because it possessed the wondrous effect of purifying one's Dao foundation and correcting it back to the Orthodox Dao!

On the path of cultivation, what art one cultivated and what qi one swallowed determined one’s future gap with a clarity like a heavenly chasm. For rogue cultivators with no way out who had to ingest various unrefined qi, their lives were already written from beginning to end. Even their dreams were hard to dream. That was why, whenever storytellers spoke of tales in the streets, nine out of ten would mention this spirit water. The protagonist would suffer grievous injuries, then either receive the water from a beauty or seize it from an enemy. With a single gulp, their wounds would heal, and from that moment on they would rise with a grand, reborn splendor.

Such stories were everywhere. Thus, across the ages, from Purple Mansion Realm direct descendants down to Embryonic Breathing Realm rogue cultivators, none had failed to hear this object's great name. The Li Family had heard of it back when their family was founded, yet today was the first time one of their own had ever seen it.

This was precious even to Tinglan. She cradled it carefully in her hands and said, "Purple Mansion Realm spirit water, the Heavenly Origin Essence. It's preserved with the Mansion Water, White Partridge Origin Spring. Fellow Daoist Zhaojing, please!"

She explained the preservation of the spirit water clearly, obviously afraid it might affect his alchemy. Since what followed involved another person's Dao lineage, it was not appropriate to watch further. She immediately withdrew, shut the hall doors tightly, and sat cross legged outside.