#1097 - Jiuqiu Road
Hearing this, Li Ximing felt a doubt in his heart: 'Since... the six jade boxes of the Six Sons of Chongming are all in the cave, where did this thing come from outside? Moreover, the timing is far from right... When Lake Island Continent shattered, Qing Song Guan's cave was only at what stage... How could it have been scattered outside...'
He then looked up at Ling Du, pondering as he asked:
"I wonder where these many jade boxes have ended up, and what was placed in them... Furthermore, I remember that many treasures under the futon in Chongming Hall back then were all wondrous, how were they dealt with?"
"Qing Chi's was lost, Zi Yan is here, and the rest are in the hands of various Daoist lineages—as for what's inside... actually, the valuable ones are all empty, and the ones with things are just small items commemorating the patriarch."
"The truly valuable one is a treasure in the main hall, called the [Bell of Silence]."
Ling Du raised his eyebrows, a look of longing on his face:
"I've heard that this thing can be large or small, as large as a mountain, the supreme of magical treasures, as small as a cup or a bell, looking like only a spiritual tool or magic item, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator could use it! When it encounters a magical treasure concealing itself, transforming into an ordinary object, even a True Lord can easily be mistaken..."
"Within it are written all kinds of profound Daoist techniques, which can communicate with heaven and earth, and interact with the changes of things... In the end, it fell into the hands of that Golden One lineage's master, who spared no effort to obtain this thing, just for the sake of True Man Qiushui's breakthrough!"
Seeing Li Ximing thoughtful, Ling Du seemed unsurprised, only smiling:
"As for your thoughts, all the Purple Mansions back then had considered them, it was precisely because they considered that these things used by the masters might have great wonders that so many Purple Mansions would divide them together... Otherwise, things of Foundation Establishment level, or even ordinary objects... why would so many Purple Mansions take action."
"It's just... later they were greatly disappointed. If the True Lord was still alive, the things from back then would naturally be taken back by their Daoist lineage, and some small trinkets that were scattered out were of little use, only one or two were refined into spiritual embryos."
He poured tea, sighing:
"True Lords won't leave any wonders in the world, most like to restrain their aura, obscure their position, if things are held in the hands of small cultivators, wouldn't it be blatantly flaunting their names? Not to mention being watched and used by the True Lords, it's also constantly displaying the state of their own position—this is not a good thing."
Li Ximing nodded secretly, he deeply understood this point, these people who have formed the Golden Core and achieved fruition never reveal a trace, and many traces will also be erased... Thinking about it, he suddenly had an idea:
"Qing Song Guan... has only been opened once? I vaguely remember that Guo Shentong, Chang Xiao, and the like, also came out of the cave back then..."
Chang Xiao was a long-standing concern of the Li family, Li Ximing saw that the old man in front of him knew a lot, and was polite and easy to talk to, so he took the opportunity to ask two birds with one stone, seeing Ling Du take a sip of tea and smile:
"Guo Shentong, Yan Jianxiao... and even Li Mei of the Sword Gate, came out of the same Dou Xuan Daoist lineage's cave... Back then... I was cultivating in a market in the East Sea, and I heard a word or two, this cave is called [Chu Yi Cave], the biggest beneficiary among them, in fact, is not Chang Xiao."
His expression was solemn, and he said:
"The first to enter it were the Miao family and Situ Tang, and there was also a powerful character, called Qu Tan, who is now the Xuan Yi True Man of Jingyi Mountain's grand-master, the three of them were the first to go there!"
"In the [Chu Yi Cave] there is a [Dou Xuan Mountain], the mountain has three layers, I don't know how many treasures are mixed in, mostly of earth virtue, the highest [First Layer Mountain] even has spiritual treasures..."
Li Ximing listened for a long time, suddenly remembering the [Listening Wind White Stone Mountain] from back then, and suddenly realized:
'So I had heard of this cave long ago... When Zhu Gong mentioned [Listening Wind White Stone Mountain] back then, he said it was a treasure under the Dou Xuan First Layer Mountain, what Senior Ling Mei obtained from it... is indeed earth virtue... Could the [Pure Corner Merit Bottle] in the hands of that Xuan Yi True Man also be obtained from it...'
But Ling Du didn't stop much, but said faintly:
"And in this mountain there is a spring, connecting to the clear qi, cultivating inside, you can ask for supernatural powers! Even if you can't cultivate in peace, drinking some of the water in it is also very good."
These words made Yan Dushui's eyes light up, while Li Ximing raised his eyebrows, with a look of surprise and doubt, Ling Du nodded heavily:
"I asked the Great True Man, it is indeed the [Wu Guan Legacy], the few people back then all drank the water, especially Qu Tan, although his strength was strong, his aptitude was not good, he was the least likely Purple Mansion among them, relying on this spring to gain the Dao, leaping over the dragon gate..."
The old man changed the subject:
"[Chu Yi Cave] has been opened more than once, Qing Song Guan is the same, there are extremely many talented people in the world, a batch also secretly went in back then, belonging to Zhang Cuotian, Guo E, and the like..."
Hearing this, Li Ximing's heart suddenly became clear:
'It really is Zhang Cuotian! That fake identity of Chen Taoping, the master of the market! This thing must have come out of the cave... Then... where are the things inside?'
He pondered in silence, but Yan Dushui had lived overseas for a long time and didn't know anything about Qing Song Guan, his mind was full of thoughts about [Chu Yi Cave], and he somewhat hoped:
"Is there still a chance to enter that cave...? I only ask for a drink of the spring for my juniors!"
Ling Du glanced at him somewhat emotionally, and replied:
"It's hard to wait for... Moreover, not everyone can get to that place... Even if they can get there, they must have capable juniors."
He spoke politely, but Yan Dushui understood that he probably wouldn't be able to wait for the remaining lifespan, and he didn't have the ability to win such an opportunity for his descendants, he sighed silently, bowed, and left silently.
Li Ximing watched for a long time, seeing that only the two of them were left in the mountain, he soon had the intention to say goodbye, but suddenly remembered something before leaving:
'True Man Yuan Dao and Kong Que have a close relationship, and he helped me back then just to collect that karmic fire... Now... the [Light Scarlet Drought Fire] in his hand was obtained from a Buddhist cultivator, wouldn't it be just right to ask about it.'
So he chatted and laughed for a while, took out the treasure bead from his sleeve, for a time the golden light was dazzling, the colored glaze was psychedelic, Ling Du raised his eyebrows and looked, Li Ximing smiled:
"Is Jiu Qiu interested in this thing?"
Ling Du took it with both hands, staring at it carefully, after a dozen breaths, he seemed somewhat uncertainly:
"This thing is not unvaluable, but the spiritual resources needed to resolve it... are really a large expense, let alone the amount of energy that would be spent..."
At this moment, a gust of hot wind blew from the mountain, and a young man with an extremely tall figure had already manifested beside the desk, with a dignified black robe, a silk ribbon tied around his waist, and a smile in his eyes.
'True Man Yuan Dao!'
Li Ximing immediately left his seat, bowing with some trepidation, and said respectfully:
"Junior pays respects to the Great True Man!"
When Li Ximing came here in his early years, he understood that the other party's supernatural powers were profound, but he had no idea just how terrifying they were. Now, having witnessed so many heroes and great cultivators from the North and South, he finally understood the true weight of the person before him's perfected supernatural powers.
‘This is a perfection of supernatural powers!’
‘This True Man Yuan Dao is the most skilled cultivator I have ever seen in my life! I'm afraid even the Lord of Zhixuan Pavilion is three points weaker than him!’
In addition, now that he had cultivated the 'Worldly Clarity', his perception of all things was even deeper. The person before him stood there, yet stirred the aura of the entire mountain range. The red, hazy fire virtue was draped over this young man like a robe, causing Li Ximing to be secretly horrified:
‘His life and fate are both complete… he has hope for the path…’
He was even more respectful than before, but True Man Yuan Dao didn't seem to have changed much. He smiled slightly, invited him to sit down, and praised:
“Your progress in supernatural powers is quite fast!”
Li Ximing repeatedly said it was undeserved praise. True Man Yuan Dao didn't say much, took the precious pearl, pinched it with three jade-like white fingers, and said faintly:
“It's the Murong family of the Compassionate Dao… No wonder you're in trouble.”
His eyes were quite handsome, and he looked at Li Ximing with a subtle meaning, smiling:
“Another smoldering fire. Besides Li, Zhen, and Mu, it's really difficult to deal with.”
Li Ximing immediately understood, and was ashamed for a moment, not knowing how to answer him. He suddenly realized that this little secret he had hidden for many years had probably been known by this great True Man for a long time.
‘The "Runyang Method" was originally obtained from Senior Tulong. Since Senior Tulong had close ties with Jiuqiu, this method was probably known by the Great True Man long ago, so it's not surprising… I'm afraid he knew it the first time I came.’
However, this method was precious, and he didn't understand the reason, so he would never open his mouth first. He continued to pretend to be stupid and nodded, hurriedly saying:
“This time, I came to ask the Jiuqiu Dao lineage to help me resolve the Buddhist techniques within. I will pay for the equivalent value of the spiritual resources myself… When this smoldering fire is refined… I hope to exchange it for a wisp of separation fire from the hands of an immortal…”
His eyes were full of hope:
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“I'm from a small family, and it takes many years to collect the spiritual resources used to resolve it, let alone extract them little by little. I don't know how long it will take. The Jiuqiu Immortal Sect is a large family… proficient in this way…”
Yuan Dao listened for a while, took a cup, and said softly:
“Okay… but the quality of this separation fire cannot be guaranteed to be very good.”
Li Ximing was slightly stunned, realizing that the other party was not in a hurry to take this flame, but was just doing him a favor. He repeatedly agreed. Yuan Dao then turned his hand and put away the precious pearl, and said quietly:
“You wait on the lake. This is not the work of a day. When things are done, True Man Ling Du will contact you.”
Li Ximing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Calculating the time, he had already delayed a lot. This True Man Yuan Dao didn't mean to say much, so he called Li Quewan up, instructed her well, and wisely took his leave.
Li Quewan was not surprised. When she came to Jiuqiu, she estimated that her True Man had found her a refuge. She thanked Yuan Dao and the two of them, and obediently retreated.
Only True Man Yuan Dao and Ling Du remained in the mountain for a while, and the master of Jiuqiu, whose supernatural powers were perfect, showed a bit of appreciation and said:
“This girl's Taoism is rare. I see that she also has Witchcraft. Qiushui back then was only like this… Not bad.”
His words were actually referring to Li Quewan who had just come up. Ling Du showed a bit of surprise, as if he rarely heard True Man Yuan Dao have such a high evaluation, and replied:
“I think it's a pity… There's already a Qiushui ahead…”
True Man Yuan Dao smiled slightly and shook his head:
“You should say… it's good that there's a Qiushui ahead. She's not young, and she's only now seeking supernatural powers. Otherwise, with the mind of the adults of the Jin Yi Dao lineage to win the Quan Dan at all costs, she would definitely be broken—the Great True Man Miao Qi of the West Sea back then… was neither a candidate for enlightenment nor had the heart for enlightenment, but merely because he had crossed the Canzi, he lost his life…”
“I think that among the Li family, besides Li Zhouwei, who was descended from Mingyang, only her talent is commendable. Senior Xuan An was willing to let her cultivate Quan Dan because he calculated that it was too late to interfere with Qiushui, and he could even borrow Qiushui's light to get close to the Jin Yi Shang Qing lineage.”
Ling Du gradually showed a thoughtful look, understood, and said:
“So she is still a girl.”
True Man Yuan Dao smiled without saying a word, took a sip of tea, and said:
“He probably already knows about Tulong's affairs. He knows what's good for him and doesn't ask, but he probably already guessed seven or eight out of ten in his heart.”
Ling Du lowered his eyebrows:
“The Great True Man is helping him like this… How can he not guess.”
True Man Yuan Dao got up and put his hands behind his back, and replied:
“Master entrusted Jiuqiu to me, and I sometimes worry that I'm not doing enough, and sometimes I worry that I'm doing too much. Since it is the layout of the fox clan and the legacy of the Yuan Mansion, it is a very close relationship. If it were not for the pressure of the world situation, we should warmly welcome a few of his family's children to sort out the Taoist lineage for his family…”
His deep eyes looked into the distance:
“Now there is also the friendship of Tulong, so naturally we have to help. We shouldn't have given him hints, but the descendants of Mingyang are suspicious. If there is no reason, in the end, even if you help him, he will not accept it. It's just that you must not mention the name of Tulong. We will also repay his favor, and don't let him get too deep into the Mingyang situation…”
Ling Du seemed worried and sighed, hurriedly followed and stood up from beside the desk, standing beside him, and said in a low voice:
“But… but when the Mingyang affair is over, the Donghua Heaven falls, and Senior Xuan An's affairs will not be easy to deal with… This Li Quewan… Does the Great True Man want to stretch out his sleeves… and protect her?”
Yuan Dao tapped the desk lightly:
“If I succeed, and Lord Xuan An and the adults of the Jin Yi Dao lineage discuss it well, protecting her should not be a problem.”
Ling Du breathed a sigh of relief and replied:
“I think… in any case, Jun Qian will find it difficult to stand idly by, not to mention… there is still one on the mountain.”
The 'in any case' in Ling Du's mouth actually refers to the situation after Yuan Dao's failure. It's just that it's unlucky to say it in a hurry. Great cultivators often avoid such words, so they speak euphemistically, but Yuan Dao understands very well.
This great cultivator, who has always been calm, actually looked a little worried, and said faintly:
“There is no one in this world who is innocent. Everyone is born with something to fail. Tulong is a righteous person. Wanting me not to fail anyone is definitely not a good thing. It was okay when his cultivation was low, but now he is also a prominent figure in this world, and he still holds a clear heart. I'm afraid he will ruin his great path.”
Ling Du was silent for a long time and replied:
“Whether it's ruined or fulfilled, it's hard to say.”
Main characters in this chapter
—
Li Ximing [Early Purple Mansion]
Li Quewan 『Hou Shenshu』 [Peak Foundation Establishment]
Ling Du [Mid-Purple Mansion]
