Chapter 1387: Golden Qi Soaring Into The Heavens (II)

Li Ximing didn’t wait for Li Xinghan to say more. He sipped his tea and suddenly asked, “I heard... Zhuang Cheng has a legitimate son... who seems to have some interest in you. How is the matter now?”

Li Xinghan seemed slightly uneasy as she answered, “He sent over a Jade True spirit item when I broke through. However, it was very valuable, and I declined it. He remains at the eastern shore and often seeks me out to discuss sword techniques. I have accepted nothing more from him...”

Li Ximing raised a brow and asked, “What do you think? Do you like him?”

Li Xinghan did not care much for marriage itself and simply answered, “He seems deeply devoted to me, and the family considers him suitable. As for whether I like him, I cannot truly say. Yet he treats me exceedingly well. It is difficult not to feel some goodwill. If I cannot say I dislike him, then at this stage it seems only natural to proceed. After all... it is not right to keep him waiting.”

Li Ximing sipped his tea and looked at her in mild surprise, unsure how to advise her. He had heard from Li Xuanxuan that Zhuang Pingye possessed top-tier looks and decent innate ability. After a moment’s thought, he said, “This is not such a grave matter. If harmony fails with time, it may be discussed again.”

He poured more tea and said, “Since you have made up your mind, I will have Jiangqian give them a hint.”

Li Ximing was now a Purple Mansion Realm Daoist Master and had no need to consider whether Zhuang Cheng agreed. With a single command from him and a word from the Li Family, even a famed figure of the desert like Zhuang Cheng would have to personally come from the west to the foot of Zhijing Mountain and bow in thanks before Li Ximing.

Li Xinghan quietly expressed her thanks. Li Ximing simply said, “Cultivate diligently. Do not concern yourself overly.”

He took up his brush and personally wrote several lines, instructing Chu Minglian to prepare the spirit embryo and refine the artifact for Li Xinghan. Only then did he dismiss his junior. Li Jiangqian, who had been waiting at the foot of the mountain, came up.

Li Jiangqian bowed again and respectfully said, “Daoist Master, during your year-long seclusion, the lord has already consolidated the north and nearly executed all the cultivators of Locust Soul Hall one by one. There were almost monthly phenomena over this past year, but they have now been eradicated entirely, root and branch.”

Li Ximing was not surprised and merely replied, “The arrangements on both sides were well made. So many cultivators wished to flee yet failed to escape; they were forced to remain in place and be slain by the lord.”

Li Jiangqian respectfully said, “Daoist Master speaks rightly. The last few leaders have all died, and the lord has largely vented his anger. The remainder finally entertained thoughts of escape and scattered into the Eastern Sea. The lord did not establish a force of his own, but instead elevated several families. He has even granted a few mountains to his trusted subordinates.”

“The lord has proclaimed himself the true successor of Mifan and distributed countless dharma artifacts and Artifact Spirit items. Song Yunbai and Xiao Yuan have each gained benefits. Recently there has also been a man under Xiao Yuan... using a false name. Privately it is said that he is connected to Li Quantao.”

Li Ximing raised a brow as Li Jiangqian continued reporting, “As for the surrounding forces... Many have died within the Capital Immortal Dao. Guan Gongxiao was nearly beaten to the point of falling. The territory of Xuanmiao Temple has been almost entirely ruined by Yaosa Chengmi. However, Yaosa Chengmi had already fled north by the time the lord arrived. It is said the lord now has intentions of heading north as well...

“It is also said that the Situ Family of Golden Tang Gate has no one presiding over it at present, leaving only a group of low cultivation juniors overturning matters back and forth. In the end they even began exchanging glances with several monks, and it is said those monks have been invited into the mountain gate.”

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Li Ximing shook his head and sneered. “Currently, none of the major families bother with him. It is merely a group of ignorant lower cultivators below. It depends only on whether the Golden Feather Sect chooses to intervene.”

He then asked the matter he cared about most, “What of Master Baiyin?”

Li Jiangqian lowered his voice and replied, “I inquired for a long time without finding any traces. In the end, I repeatedly questioned the Zhuang Family, then investigated several rogue cultivators, marking out several mountain ranges and examining them one by one. At last we determined a certain range. The rogue cultivators there recognized the description. It should be fifty kilometers north of the riverbank, west of Mount Tangdao. He’s most likely there!”

Li Ximing nodded in satisfaction. This had nothing to do with divine ability or mana. It relied purely on information and manpower to investigate, which had saved him considerable effort. Li Jiangqian added, “However, such a mobilization has drawn observant eyes. Fortunately the dharma sword is in his hands, giving proper justification.”

He presented a jade slip with both hands. “His current location, as well as several suspected but excluded sites, have all been recorded in case of contingencies.”

Li Ximing accepted it lightly. After hearing further about family affairs, he returned to the jade pillar, preparing to cultivate. Yet just as he seated himself, the spiritual energy of Zhijing Mountain surged like a tide. He abruptly opened his eyes, shock appearing upon his face.

Within his spiritual sense, the great void was linked with the spiritual energy of reality. It was normally calm and steady, seldom undergoing major changes. Even when a Foundation Establishment Realm breakthrough occurred, unless one was very near, the great void would only give the faintest indication...

At this moment, however, the great void seemed struck by repeated shocks, turning into oceanic waves that surged southward in successive swells, rising into strange peaks before collapsing into valleys...

“What is this... an upheaval of the earth veins?”

Perhaps the fluctuation of spiritual energy within the mountains was not obvious, but Li Ximing saw something utterly extraordinary through the great void.

Boom!

A thunderous roar echoed across the sky. Li Ximing instantly traversed the great void and appeared upon the northern bank as he gazed northward.

A pure golden radiance shot upward, thick as a mountain and rising straight into the heavens. In a heartbeat, the entire sky was covered in pure golden qi.

Boom!

An extremely terrifying tremor and roar erupted from the north. The golden qi lasted only for an instant, colliding with the clouds in the sky and transforming into autumn dew that fell drop by drop. Yet the soaring golden qi in the north did not cease. The earth shook and the mountains trembled. The great void quaked like raging waves, surging again and again from the north.

Li Ximing rode upon heavenly light, his expression filled with disbelief as he thought,

A Purple Mansion Realm cultivator has fallen? Yet it does not quite seem so...

He stepped forward and lightly crushed the jade talisman in his hand. Soon he found Ning Wan not far away, likewise gazing northward. Her eyes too were filled with astonishment and faint shock.

Upon seeing Li Ximing, Ning Wan’s eyes brightened and she said, “Congratulations, Zhaojing!”

Li Ximing waved his hand and asked in confusion, “This is...”

Ning Wan’s expression was complicated as she replied, “This scene is far from ordinary. The golden qi soaring into the sky is exceedingly pure. It must be connected to the Purple Mansion Realm. Coupled with the upheaval of the earth veins, I fear... something has happened at Golden Tang Gate.”

“Golden Tang Gate?” Li Ximing had never considered that particular mountain gate. Only now did he connect the trembling earth veins with the surging golden qi, and realization struck him with horror. “The Purple Mansion Realm grand formation of Golden Tang?”

“Exactly!” Ning Wan seemed somewhat at a loss too. Gazing at the scattered autumn rain in the north, she appeared momentarily unsure of herself. Clearly this turn of events had exceeded her expectations.

She said softly, “This is the shattering of the Golden Tang Gate’s Purple Mansion Realm grand formation. The mountain-guarding spirit formation established by Situ Tang in those years, together with the one or two fine treasures at its core, have all sublimated at once. They first shook the earth veins, severing the foundation of the grand formation, and then transformed entirely into golden qi that surged into the sky...

“Three generations of the Situ Family, father and son both Purple Mansion Realm cultivators. Once proclaimed the illustrious orthodoxy of Xu State, the Golden Tang Dao lineage that stood peerless in glory... is fated to be exterminated today...”