Chapter 1287: Precursor (II)

Li Jiangqian shook his head heavily as he watched Wang Quwan leave. Qu Buzhi reported from below in a low voice, "Family head, a letter has arrived from the north. They have already set out for Floating South."

Li Jiangqian gathered his thoughts, nodded silently, and instructed, "White Ape..."

He had only spoken halfway when he raised his head thoughtfully and saw a bright sheet of firelight descend outside the hall. It flickered as a woman stepped through the air toward them.

This female cultivator wore a long red dress. Her features were outstanding, bright and captivating. She rode blazing True Fire and carried a hexagonal lantern in her hand, within which glimmered a plume of downlike flame. She had a slight smile on her face, and prompted Li Jiangqian to rise quickly.

He called out, "Greetings, great aunt. Congratulations on emerging from seclusion and advancing another step."

Li Minggong returned the smile. She was followed by a tall white-haired old man clad in stone armor, clearly none other than White Ape.

With two pieces of good news arriving together, Li Jiangqian let out a slight breath. Li Minggong waved for Qu Buzhi to withdraw and said seriously, "There was no need for such a long period of recovery. My cultivation is well refined, and encountering this flourishing Fire Virtue and the Dwelling Heart that Charges Profundity, which is beneficial for breakthroughs in seclusion, I felt an inspiration and broke through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment Realm. I benefited from a measure of luck, but my foundation was unstable, so I spent time stabilizing my cultivation."

"So that is how it was!" Li Jiangqian offered a few words of congratulations.

Li Minggong said solemnly, "However, this is not the time for congratulations. After leaving seclusion, I first paid my respects to the old elder and heard him speak of the current troubles. I came to find you at once. How have you arranged the manpower going to the riverbank?"

Li Jiangqian contemplated for a moment and replied, "Dharma Protector Ding harbors considerable dissatisfaction toward the Capital Immortal Dao, so I have kept him on the north bank. Protector Cui is stationed on the eastern shore. The rest will cross the river with me to exchange a few moves with the Capital Immortal Dao. Those at the Embryonic Breathing Realm do not need to go. Qi Cultivation Realm cultivators may follow along for combat, which can count as a round of tempering.

"Both sides have been instructed that this is only a probing standoff for now. No fatal blows are to be dealt to avoid bloodshed and greater trouble..."

Matters concerning the True Monarch naturally could not be spoken of freely. This pretext was acceptable enough. Li Minggong nodded and considered, "It is best that Ding Weizeng does not participate. The Ding Family was persecuted by Wenhu back then, with most of them killed and the rest uprooted. Although the entire family has since relocated, there may still be bloodlines left in Jiangbei. It would be unwise to touch that. Miaoshui and Qu Buzhi are rogue cultivators..."

As Li Minggong was thinking, Li Jiangqian reminded her, "There are also two devil cultivators on the eastern shore whose cultivation has been sealed. Their surname is Wen. They moved from the Eastern Sea and have been firing furnaces on the mountain for many years now. Being from the Eastern Sea, they are of no great concern. If you have any misgivings, great aunt, I will handle it."

Li Minggong shook her head. The hexagonal lantern in her hand swayed slightly as she replied, "That will not be necessary. I did not expect so many things to happen, only to end up having to join forces with the Capital Immortal Dao. If their household truly is at odds with Changxiao, then so be it. I fear instead that this Daoist Master is cunning, deliberately saying such things to seize upon our family's current moment of weakness and scheme some other plot."

A contemplative expression surfaced on Li Jiangqian's face, yet the palace-robed woman before him said, "Thinking too much now is of no use. You and I will go to the river together."

————

White vapor shrouded Azure Pond Peak, with clouds and mist drifting about. This was the hub of the Azure Pond Sect's Heavenly Essence Dao Spirit Formation. It should have been a region where spiritual energy remained constant day after day, yet now it carried an added chill.

Frost and white snow came rushing in, landing before the cave dwelling and transforming into a woman in white robes. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, and a faint scent of pine spread outward.

She stepped forward slightly and called out clearly, "This junior Ning Wan seeks an audience with Senior Si."

Ning Wan was a cultivator of the Azure Pond Sect. Her breakthrough had not been made openly known, nor had she summoned the assembled cultivators to celebrate. Instead, she had come straight to this main peak to pay her respects to Yuanxiu.

She waited only a short while before an aged voice rang out, "I see that Wan'er has emerged from seclusion. Please come in."

Ning Wan's figure dispersed into white snow, then reappeared above the vast Pristine Water pool. It was as green and lustrous as a gemstone, with six splendid jade seats carved from green jade gleaming even more brightly amid the cold snow. To one side sat a decrepit old man, his face covered in dense, overlapping wrinkles. He was as unsightly as old tree bark, with somewhat vacant eyes.

Ning Wan did not sit beside him, but instead took the third seat from the end. One did not sit in the main seat, while the other sat in an offset position on the same side, making the arrangement feel rather awkward, as though each of the six jade seats had its own rightful owner.

Unlike other Purple Mansion Realm cultivators who often concealed their aged appearance, Yuanxiu made no attempt to hide his age and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Truly, congratulations. I told my senior brother back then that you had entered seclusion too soon. The spirit pill that Si Yuanli and Li Xuanfeng obtained in Anhuai Heaven would not be of use to you, which was a real pity. Yet he ignored me. It seems you were already completely confident."

The relationship between Yuanxiu and his senior brother Yuan Su was complicated. They had been close in their early years, only to part ways later on. Ning Wan found it difficult to comment and simply replied, "The Daoist Master still had a spirit pill obtained in earlier years and allowed me to take it. My fortune was good, and so I succeeded."

Yuanxiu let out a snorting laugh and replied, "When Chi Wei questioned him, he replied with a cold face that he had gained nothing. It was indeed false. If Yuan Su did not have a spirit treasure in his possession, and if Chi Wei were already facing death, who knows how he might have acted."

Dense spiritual energy mingled with dharma light illuminated the entire cave dwelling in a dazzling brilliance and cast Ning Wan in a radiant glow as well. She asked gently, "Did anyone ever pursue the matter of Cen Lufu's false pill? When he was about to die, everyone yielded to him. After his death, it was dust returning to dust, earth returning to earth. No one cared."

Her words were hardly pleasant and seemed to carry an implied meaning. A gurgling laugh rose from Yuanxiu's throat. The five fingers of his exposed left hand were stretched straight, then slowly separated from the middle. There were more than ten fingers upon his palm, like the tangled roots of an old tree, clenched around the jade seat, as he laughed and said, "Exactly so. Exactly so."

The dim Pristine Gui Pool was reflected in his eyes as the smile on his face grew ever wider. He suddenly said, "You may not believe it, but the Xinyou Pristine Marsh Seal is not in my possession."