Chapter 1290: Why Seek The Intercalary (I)

Darkness pressed down between heaven and earth as the great void flickered. Ning Wan flung Tantai Jin into Northern Dan and flew a hundred kilometers in one stretch. Only then did the unease in her heart ease somewhat, yet cold sweat still broke out all over her body, leaving lingering fear behind.

So that is a Metallic Essence demon. No wonder the ancient records say that Metallic Essence ran rampant after the immortal-devil war. Even Purple Mansion Realm cultivators could barely protect themselves. Grand cultivators bearing divine abilities died just like that. I thought it was an exaggeration, yet it is truly terrifying.

The demon that Si Boxiu transformed into most likely belonged to the Orthodox Wood Dao, though it was unclear what other Dao lineages were mixed within it. It was extraordinarily terrifying. Its dignified and razor-sharp Orthodox Wood aura carried wind, rain, and thunder as it surged straight toward the heavens, its presence stronger than anything ever seen before.

That demon was born to live within the great void. There was no way to outrun it. At first, Ning Wan did not feel much, but when she realized that she would not last more than a dozen moves before it, cold sweat burst out. Only then did she realize that the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators around her were fleeing faster than each other, and even Chi Buzi was nowhere to be seen.

No wonder the Metallic Essence in Anhuai Heaven could seize an opportunity and swallow a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator in a single bite. A Metallic Essence demon formed from Senior Yuanxiu's failed Dao attainment is already terrifying. The Metallic Essence left behind by a True Monarch is likely little different from a True Monarch's incarnation.

Still shaken from the fright, she focused completely and stayed as vigilant as she could. At last, she noticed a light azure figure stepping out of the great void. She kept several meters between them as she called out, "Who is it?!"

Splash!

A sheet of Pristine Water condensed before her as Chi Buzi stepped from the great void into the manifest world. He was already within three meters of her. It had to be the Chougui Hidden Form. Ning Wan felt her scalp go numb as she thought,

The divine ability of the Pristine Water Dao is truly bizarre. Even the spiritual sense of a Purple Mansion Realm can be deceived at will. If Chi Buzi wants to kill someone, anyone who has not crossed the Purple Immortal Threshold would likely suffer.

Chi Buzi smiled at her and replied, "Fellow Daoist Ning, I have come to ask; where is the Xinyou Pristine Marsh Seal?"

Chi Buzi had no complicated intentions. With Yuansu dead, and the Xinyou Pristine Marsh Seal being an excellent treasure capable of trapping others, borrowing it would greatly aid him in capturing demons. Yet the speaker had no such intent, while the listener took it to heart.

Yuanxiu had only just warned her before his death, and Ning Wan was still very aware of those words as she answered, "Senior, I was still in closed cultivation when my master fell back then. Senior Yuanxiu was also in Anhuai Heaven at the time. That item was lost soon after."

"Oh?" Chi Buzi glanced at her with a smile. "What, has the name of the Azure Pond Sect lost its weight, or was Si Boxiu simply too incompetent to even find out who took it?"

But a moment later, he reacted differently. His expression sank as he said coldly, "There is a problem with this seal."

Ning Wan lowered her head and remained silent. Chi Buzi’s eyes narrowed as he took a step back and examined her. He continued, "Your master lost the seal, the Feathered Serpent's seal. Is someone trying to make use of this matter, using the methods left behind by the Feathered Serpent to shake the Pristine Water Dao?"

Say less...

That question truly made sweat pour down Ning Wan's back. She neither nodded nor shook her head, standing in place as if she had not heard it at all.

But how could Chi Buzi be described as pleasantly surprised? In the past, he might have been tempted to change his mind and give his life in service to Du Qing, but now he only wished for both sides to grow more chaotic, so that Du Qing would have no time to come looking for trouble with him.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

As for approaching the side that was deliberately obstructing Du Qing, he did not even consider it.

Given Du Qing's temperament, the fact that the Xinyou Pristine Marsh Seal has leaked out must mean it has little real impact on him, at most causing some minor trouble. If I really tried to follow some faction to shake the Pristine Water Fruition Attainment, I would be the first to die on the spot.

As for Ning Wan before me, she still needs to stay alive. At the very least, Du Qing will be kept from thinking of me if several Purple Mansion Realm cultivators stir up trouble for Pristine Water at the Azure Pond Sect.

He ordered, "Do not touch it. Be careful with your life."

Ning Wan started nodding repeatedly. Satisfied, Chi Buzi rose on the wind, letting out a cold laugh in his heart,

I have seen everything that needed seeing. Fine, fine, an azure-eyed ghost, is it? Mongrel chicken... Your Lord Chi will send you to become a ghost together with Yuse.

————

Within the mirror.

A radiant hall rose through pure white clouds. The white bricks gleamed, and a jade platform stood in the center of the courtyard. A woman dressed in tea-white garments stood guard nearby. She had a pale white circular mark painted at the center of her brows, and her expression was respectful.

Beside her sat an immortal in white robes, one hand resting on the jade platform. A circular light screen, the size of a washbasin, hovered before him. Within it, winds roared and clouds surged, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Faint, indistinct roars were reduced to subtle vibrations.

On the other side of the jade platform, six jade slips glowing softly stood upright on the desk, arranged in a circle.

Lu Jiangxian intently watched the transformations within the mirror. He watched as the handsome young man was bound by a gray dharma relic, gradually turning into dark green points of light that were dragged into the great void. The wind and rain over Stone Pond slowly subsided, yet the once clear and lightly clouded weather had turned into a humid and rainy heat, the warmth almost rushing toward one’s face.

He withdrew his gaze, pondered for a while, then drew out a jade slip and reflected,

He cultivated four Daos of Orthodox Wood. According to the Dao collections in the residence, they are Back Facing South, Position Following Exclusivity, Words of Hidden Perception, and Wood Forms Square.

For the remaining Dao, he cultivated Falcon Finds Its Roost of Gathering Wood

[1]

. Perhaps he wished to rely on the ancient descriptions of Gathering Wood as cultivators gathering like flocks of birds roosting together and hoped to gain acceptance that way. This line of thought is not wrong.

Lu Jiangxian's cultivation was extremely profound. He quickly analyzed where the problem lay and let out a soft sigh as he murmured, "Among the Five Virtues, the Daos of Dui, Orthodox, Pit, Radiant, and Stable are the Orthodox Positions. These so-called positions of utmost fullness are naturally inclined toward surplus and unwilling to someone seek the Intercalary Position. However the Daos of Unified, Gathering, Converging, Merging, and Returning are position of accumulation and accommodation. Its nature favors the intercalary, yet does not easily gain surplus.

"A good idea. Pairing it with Falcon Finds Its Roost also likens Orthodox Wood to a suddenly arriving vicious falcon, roosting within the Intercalary Position of Gathering Wood."

He lightly waved his hand, and the mirror once again reflected scene after scene as he sighed. "Unfortunately, the four Daos of Orthodox Wood were too dominant, while the Gathering Wood Fruition Attainment was empty, with no branches to rely on. The method of seeking Metal was also a tangled mess. Naturally, it could not succeed."

Although Si Boxiu failed, his struggle and deliberation left him ranked among the foremost of the many Purple Mansion Realm breakthroughs, leaving one full of regret.

Lu Jiangxian dispersed the Clear Dusk Rain jade slip in his hand, yet a trace of doubt remained,

But how did the Pristine Water come about? He had hidden a portion of Pristine Water within his body beforehand, but that alone should not have caused heaven and earth to bring rain, let alone Clear Dusk Rain, which represents the Pristine Water Fruition Attainment. He must have used some method to borrow Du Qing's inherent rank.

He lowered his head in thought for a while, glanced at his own palm, and more of Si Boxiu's actions surfaced in his mind.

Could it have been the Pristine Gui Pool? That bird-like circling was merely embellishment, a symbol of achieving Gathering Wood, and should have nothing to do with Pristine Water. As for swallowing the finger...

Lu Jiangxian was almost certain that this method was not a sudden inspiration of Si Boxiu. It must have been borrowed from some predecessor's method of breaking through to the Golden Core Realm.

To comprehend the Gathering Wood and Orthodox Wood method without a teacher is worthy of praise, but to inexplicably draw Clear Dusk Rain from heaven and earth must indicate a problem.

To even conceive of Orthodox Wood ascending into Gathering Wood was already his limit. But this finger-swallowing method left even Lu Jiangxian stunned. It was not a symbolic substitution within a Fruition Attainment, but an imitation of the actions of some ancient Golden Core Realm cultivator, or even a Dao Embryo Realm cultivator.

1. One of the five Wood Virtues. ☜