Chapter 1402: Realm Of Sun And Moon Radiance (I)

Li Ximing studied the command token. His pupils widened as he examined it for quite some time. His heart felt as if it were suspended over a sheer abyss, leaving him unable to find words.

There seems to be no great void here... I cannot ride the wind to rise either. There must be restrictions in place... Even my spiritual sense is suppressed to the area around my body. I am likely within a terrifying formation.

He closed his eyes and offered a prayer to the Immortal Mirror. After completing the incantation and receiving no response, his suspicions grew stronger. He did not dare to move or leave. After hesitating for some time, he stepped back, bowed, and only then reached out to take it.

The command token felt cool in his hand and was smooth to the touch. Divine ability did not stain it, and spiritual sense could not penetrate it. Just like all the Immortal Mirror fragments and the Immortal Mirror itself over the past hundred years, it seemed no different from an ordinary object.

No unusual phenomenon had appeared despite picking it up. He carefully turned and carried it to the jade desk in the pavilion. After a brief moment of thought, he finally picked up the jade bottle.

The jade bottle differed from those commonly seen in Jiangnan. Its neck was slightly longer, with no stopper or lid. The bottle itself was pure white, faintly marked with several vertical lines. Spiritual sense could not pass through it. He could only stand the bottle upright and look into it from above. Inside, layers of mist drifted, some sinking and some floating, with a vivid greenish hue.

After sensing it carefully, Li Ximing found it strangely familiar. He closed his eyes slightly, and his heart trembled,

Talisman qi...

Though he had never seen it in this form before, it felt extremely familiar. Li Ximing hesitated for a moment as the incantations of the Sacrificial Ritual Method appeared in his mind. A shock ran through him like thunder,

A Purple Mansion Realm green talisman.

Li Ximing had considered such a thing long ago. Yet Purple Mansion Realm demonic creatures were hard to find. The Li Family had only encountered that cunning and treacherous white elephant. They had never found any easy to obtain Purple Mansion Realm demonic creatures.

With this, could Zhouwei's talisman qi finally be resolved?!

Although Li Ximing had already received a talisman before reaching the Purple Mansion Realm, he had come to understand how slow the cultivation of Purple Mansion Realm divine abilities could be. He still remembered the powerful effect of a single strand of talisman qi elevating one's level during the Foundation Establishment Realm. It was no longer useful to him, but now that Li Zhouwei was in seclusion attempting a breakthrough to the Purple Mansion Realm, this green talisman could turn their hopes into reality!

With it placed before him, he drew an excited breath and nearly trembled. After carefully inspecting it, he hurriedly set it back on the table, afraid of tainting the spirit item. Reluctantly, his gaze left the porcelain white bottle. He then looked at a purple black scroll resembling sandalwood and gently opened it. It contained nothing but smooth blankness.

Li Ximing quickly set it down. After much thought, he picked up the command token, growing bolder. He searched through the long cabinets, small chests, and cases in the pavilion, leaving no place unchecked.

He found nothing else except for a small box at the bottom of a cabinet. Inside were five bottles of unused pale blue white qi. He did not know what it was, but after probing it with spiritual sense, it seemed to be a form of spiritual qi rather than a spirit material.

He carefully returned it and made one more round before finally returning to the white jade lampstand. He studied its moonlike cool radiance. After a moment of hesitation, he did not dare lift the cover to see what oil burned within. Pretending indifference, he walked past it to the pavilion door.

Through the gap in the door, he could see a long corridor outside the courtyard. Six white jade lamp pillars cast a cool glow. The corridor split into two at the far end, both sides hidden within layers of drifting clouds.

Creak.

Li Ximing pushed the door open and stepped out. The clouds beside the door and windows were swept aside, revealing gray steps. The sound of the door echoed through the silent immortal palace, reverberated in the mist, and faded into the layered clouds.

So quiet.

Tap.

He stepped out and looked down at the gray steps beneath his feet. He noticed faint formation patterns upon them, dim and nearly imperceptible. It was unclear whether they were active, though a pale white glow flowed through them.

His footsteps echoed as he walked down the corridor. At its end, another pavilion emerged from the mist. It resembled the previous one, though taller, with what appeared to be three levels. Upturned eaves rose sharply, and a plaque hung above, bearing the inscription,

Upper Firmament.

Li Ximing pushed the door open and entered. The first floor was empty, save for a stone platform in the center. A white jade lamp stood at each corner. The stone platform reached no higher than the waist. It was carved with a design of the falling moon of the Supreme Yin and patterns of drifting clouds. At its center was a long rectangular recess, emitting a faint cool glow within the dim pavilion.

A staircase to the second level stood nearby. Li Ximing ascended while deep in thought. His Purple Mansion Realm vision was keen. He could see traces of formation restrictions between the first and second levels, though for some reason they were inactive, standing idle.

The second level was almost identical to the first, though slightly smaller. An open window allowed in a bit more light. After a brief glance, Li Ximing continued upward. The highest level was even smaller. The light from four lamps intertwined to highlight a jade meditation cushion with a blue base in the center. Before it rested a square bronze incense burner layered with a thin bed of ash.

Here, the command token in Li Ximing's hand finally emitted a faint glow, as if responding.

Li Ximing hurried forward. Countless tiny characters covered the blue based jade cushion. From afar they resembled patterns. Though written in ancient script, his spiritual sense grasped their meaning instantly upon contact.

Talisman Opening Immortal Ascension Art.

A torrent of technique content followed. The first part he saw was the spell he had read long ago, the Reception Method. The spell for obtaining talisman seeds passed in a flash. Next came the Sacrificial Ritual Method for obtaining talisman qi. As this spell swept past, a third part emerged. It was the Immortal Ascension Method!

This technique was unprecedented. Li Ximing had never seen anything like it. It described how to use this jade cushion to elevate one’s talisman seed, open the profound clarity, ascend to the heavens, and present one's merits according to ritual in pursuit of the Dao.

The talisman seed must be bestowed by the Immortal Mirror!

With a single glance, Li Ximing saw that the practitioner must not only possess a talisman seed but also first inscribe upon the profound talisman and ascend to the true name before opening the profound clarity and reaching Heaven with the soul.

This was something Li Ximing knew well. Before entering, he had already inscribed upon the profound talisman and ascended to the true name. This meant he could now perform the final Immortal Ascension Method of the Talisman Opening Immortal Ascension Art.

The immortal art that led to our rise must have originated from here!

He immediately knelt and offered a prolonged bow before the cushion as if to a teacher before rising. The flood of information forced him to steady himself. He then looked at the incense burner and saw several small engraved words upon its square bronze surface.

Hidden Pavilion of Profound Seven within the Sacred Purity Palace

Li Ximing pondered,

This should be the Upper Firmament Pavilion. I do not know its relationship to the Hidden Pavilion of Profound Seven within the Sacred Purity Palace. Perhaps this incense burner came from there. It may be connected to the heavens...