Chapter 1372
Yi Qi
Chapter 1372 Yi Qi
Upon hearing this, Lü An slightly raised his head and said solemnly:
"Of course it's powerful!"
Li Ximing waited for a while before letting the golden energy in the box dissipate. He saw a pale white talisman at the bottom, with golden ink marks drawn on it. Under his gaze, the talisman manifested and displayed a single character:
【兑】
The characters were very elegant, as if they were about to leap out of the talisman paper, causing everyone in the room to flinch slightly. Yu Heng whispered:
"Back then, the True Lord went to the Qingsong Temple to seek the Dao. After achieving success in his cultivation, he was about to seek the Golden Rank. That's why he made a special trip back to his hometown. Seeing that his descendants were incompetent, he thought about what would happen after his death and left behind four talismans..."
He hesitated for a moment before saying:
"This talisman is [Dui], and it uses [Geng] and [Qi]. The one in the vast plain is [Ku]... It must be preserved in this jade box made of Qingxuan, with the [Yihua Qingshi] of Taiyin inside. These are all things that are now lost."
"Back then, when the world was in turmoil, my ancestor went to the East Sea carrying a great treasure. He was harmed by some mysterious supernatural being from who-knows-where. I heard that the being was called Xiangxiao, so my ancestor used the Qi Talisman. In just a moment of dazzling golden light, the immortal was decapitated and fled in panic. He died not long afterward."
Thus, it seems that there are five types of Jin De, yet this Taihong Zhenjun has not written "Xiao" (逍). He doesn't know why, but Li Ximing has no time to ponder these questions. He straightens up and thinks to himself:
'I see… What a pity.'
Things didn't deviate too much from their predictions; what could be placed on this beam was naturally something left behind by the True Lord.
'This item was left by the True Lord, intended for his own family to protect their lives, and also serves the important purpose of displaying the handwriting of an ancestor. My Li family has no connection with Jin De whatsoever, and even if Long Kangyao were here, I doubt he would take what belongs to someone else without cause…'
'However… since Xu Jiaoyan was able to borrow this item, why can't I, Li Ximing, borrow it?'
After all, he didn't need the item at all; all he wanted was the fragment in the jade box. If taking the box wasn't so abrupt and making such a fuss so obvious, Li Ximing could have simply taken the item and left, returning the talisman!
If this talisman is one of the [Ku] or [Qi], then it would be perfect for Li Ximing to borrow it in Liu Changdie's name. However, nothing in life goes smoothly. Li Ximing was prepared for this; if he couldn't use Liu Changdie, he had someone else who was more suitable.
So he raised an eyebrow, nodded thoughtfully, and said:
"This talisman... is truly a treasure."
So Li Ximing composed himself, as if remembering something, and turned his head with a complex and somewhat moved expression, a hint of unease in his eyes, and said:
"Do you two fellow Daoists know... True Person Ling Mei?"
After the great battle on Salt Lake, Cheng Xun's reputation had already spread far and wide. Although Lü An knew this, he was suddenly stunned and couldn't understand his meaning for a moment. Chang Yun frowned and looked up, secretly watching him.
Li Ximing sighed deeply and said:
"To be honest, when I was young, I was short-sighted and acted rashly. I once put my clan in danger and caused the Qilin to flee to the Jianghuai region. It was this sword immortal who stepped in to help, and through the kindness of our ancestors, preserved my family's reputation..."
He shook his head and said:
"Later, he went into seclusion and was rarely seen. He was unable to repay the kindness shown to him. Moreover, as a Sword Immortal, he had no interest in worldly things. When he saw this ink brush with its golden aura, he realized it was his destiny. He had already considered it, but he was afraid that such a precious treasure could not be easily taken out..."
Lü An had already understood, and after stroking his beard in thought, Li Ximing hesitated and said:
"Now that I've heard of the Yu family's great kindness and righteousness, and their precedent of lending out talismans for consultation, I'll inquire about it..."
Although he was polite, his attitude was very clear, which immediately put Lü An in a difficult position.
Logically speaking, even if Yu Xixin was outside, there was absolutely no reason for him to use the ancestral property of a True Lord in a way that would allow a Great True Man to bypass someone else's family. However, there are too many descendants of True Lords who have fallen into decline, and there are many who are the lackeys of Mingyang outside. Even the dignified Wen family was captured by the King of Wei like a dog, smashed, and locked in that small urn.
'That's secondary now, after all, it's just a talisman, not those important paintings. But if Li Ximing really takes the talisman back... and obtains the handwriting of this True Monarch Taihong before his breakthrough, then Cheng Xunzhi might actually advance even further...'
Cheng Xunzhi is no ordinary person! As a sword immortal from the south, a great master who suppresses the entire Jianghuai defense line and protects the capital, if this talisman really allows him to advance further and break the situation, who should be responsible for this?
Not wanting to offend either side, Lü An remained silent, stroked his beard, nodded, and smiled at Yu Heng:
"I'm afraid we should report this to the higher authorities and ask them about it!"
Seeing his posture, Li Ximing felt much more at ease!
Yu Heng?
What advice can someone at the Foundation Establishment stage give?
Sure enough, as his gaze fell upon them, Yu Heng was slightly taken aback.
This matter should not have been decided by him; it should naturally have been decided by the True Person of his own family. However, one True Person had already gone to the grotto heaven, and the other pillar of the clan, the ancestor Yu Xixin, was serving under the command of the King of Wei!
He could only lower his head and say respectfully:
"This junior is merely a cultivator and cannot possess supernatural powers. I can only ask that you, Master, take me away. Once we reach the West, we can discuss this with my Grand Master!"
Li Ximing immediately understood.
Clearly, neither Lü An nor Yu Heng were concerned with whether the item could be lent out, but rather with whether it could be lent to Cheng Xunzhi so that this sword immortal from the south could advance further!
This reassured the True Man Zhaojing, but Lü An, seeing his expression, asked with suspicion:
"or…"
"That's settled!"
Lu An clearly wanted to report it and ask, but Li Ximing wouldn't give him that chance. He only needed to take him out; why would he let this person cause any unforeseen complications? He simply smiled and said:
"It's alright. I'll go back and ask Master Yu. If he's unwilling, we can put it on him to ensure his safety."
'Once we take him back and ask, the deed is done, what reason would Yu Xixin have to disagree? This Zhao Jing does have some skill…'
These words effectively shut down Lü An, who could only nod in agreement. He watched as Li Ximing respectfully bowed and tucked the items into his sleeve before saying:
"please!"
Li Ximing smiled calmly, but all the emotions in his heart were gathered in his throat. He suppressed his joy, like a person who had not eaten for three nights and had just eaten a big meal. He was already satisfied and didn't even care much about Long Kangyao's promises!
However, still deep within someone else's territory, he had to be extremely careful with every move. As he rose, he composed himself, deliberately putting the object out of his mind, appearing genuinely interested in retrieving the talisman for the sword immortal. He said:
"This is…"
But then they heard someone outside say:
"The Great Master invites you!"
Li Ximing and his group wandered around inside, pondering for a long time, naturally spending a considerable amount of time. The sky was already bright. Lü Anben had some questions to ask, but was somewhat rushed at the moment. While escorting Li Ximing back to Long Kangyao's residence, he whispered:
"Mr. Lü... has an adopted son..."
Upon hearing him mention border incursions, Li Ximing chuckled softly:
"The King of Wei sent me here specifically to instruct me to plead for him!"
Lu An was overjoyed.
You should know that Long Kangyao's anger a couple of days ago really scared him. To put it bluntly, his words, "It's not like anyone will stand up for me; instead, they're trying to scheme against me," were practically an insult directed at everyone present!
Lu An remained silent, but he was naturally guilty—the border incursion was far too conspicuous; how could it not harm this Grand Master?!
The face of the Lü family is both immense and thin as paper. Over the long course of history, the Lü family has long since learned the lessons of survival. Unlike Long Kangyao, whose dignity is solid and flows in his blood, their dignity is superficial and rests on their surname.
No matter what, Longkangyao is the place where Zhenjun's incense burns, but Lü An and Lü Fu have caused a major incident, and there is a time when they can no longer represent the Lü family!
Li Zhouwei, though far outside the city, had considered things so sensibly, even offering Long Kangyao a way out, as if deliberately trying to reconcile the two families. At this moment, he was truly moved, and murmured a few words, saying:
"The Lü family is deeply grateful for the King of Wei's kindness and protection."
"It's nothing..."
Li Ximing was somewhat surprised, but before the two could say anything more, he had already returned to the vermilion hall. He looked inside and saw that there was still some noise. Pang Yi had disappeared somewhere. A person stood in front of the hall, carrying two swords on his back and holding a small banner.
Gu You!
Li Ximing had heard about the remarkable feat of Master Gu's return on the way, and gained a deeper understanding of the man's madness. Not only him, but also Lu An and Chang Yun on his left and right showed some apprehension!
He steeled himself and stepped forward, only to find that Master Gu's face was also somewhat stiff. He stood there reluctantly, taking half a step to meet him, and said curtly:
"Fellow Taoist Zhaojing!"
"Oh...Master is joking!"
Li Ximing dared not be his fellow Daoist, showing him even more respect than Gu You. Only then did Gu You breathe a sigh of relief and say:
"I have come to thank King Wei for his leniency in pardoning me."
These words were like a bolt of lightning flashing through the conversation, gone in an instant. The Great Master, his gaze sharp, followed up with:
"I'd love to challenge Qilin to a duel sometime—his magic is insidious, and his magical treasures are just too boring; I lost unwillingly..."
Li Ximing nodded in agreement, and Gu You raised an eyebrow and sneered:
"Please tell them well that I will bring a jar next time. If we underestimate them, who knows who will come and kill whom?"
After saying this, he laughed and turned away. Li Ximing didn't think he could cause any trouble—Li Zhouwei was only a hundred years old. If he was overtaken by him today, he would be even less capable tomorrow. He just muttered to himself:
'It's fine if you beat me, but if you lose, you'll have to follow Mingyang...'
"Zhao Jing!"
As he was pondering, a long call suddenly came from beside him. Only then did he see the Grand Master in red standing in the hall, his crimson eyes like raging flames, standing with his hands behind his back, and speaking softly:
"How is it?"
Li Ximing quickly raised his hand and said sincerely:
"Chuncheng is a treasure land everywhere, truly worthy of being called a place of immortals and nobility."
Long Kangyao was already used to these words, and while leading him forward, he said calmly:
"I've heard... that Master Zhaojing has possessed two supernatural powers... for some time now?"
Li Ximing, not knowing what he was up to, sighed:
Thirty-five years!
Li Ximing spent a full thirty-five years cultivating his second supernatural power. In reality, that wasn't a long time; it was just the normal time for cultivating supernatural powers. However, he simply didn't have time to condense his immortal foundation to try out the next supernatural power, so his cultivation was basically stagnant.
Long Kangyao, however, was unaware of this. He quickly calculated that the resources on the lake wouldn't be less than those of an ordinary grotto-heaven cultivator, and guessed that Li Ximing had tried at least twice. He whispered:
"I've often heard of the extraordinary abilities of Master Zhaojing, who lived to be over a hundred years old. He's quite a genius; he must have diligently practiced alchemy, which caused him to lose his supernatural powers..."
Before they knew it, they had arrived in the courtyard, where a jade box was placed on the jade platform. Long Kangyao smiled and said:
"Let's see for ourselves."
Li Ximing lowered his head slightly and discovered that there were already four jade bottles in the box. Each one had a long neck and a big belly, with mysterious patterns. When he peered into them with his spiritual sense, he found that they were sealed with layers of purple energy!
Li Ximing was slightly taken aback; the familiar scene made his heart skip a beat.
Listen to the Purple Qi!
His words of refusal caught in his throat, he was speechless and stunned, unable to utter a single word.
What is 【Listening to Purple Qi】?
This item is an extremely top-tier immortal artifact, a rare treasure that can assist in the achievement of supernatural powers. It fell into the hands of a monk back then, but it wasn't very useful. It was used by Minghui as a life-saving money. Li Ximing's "Bright Under Heaven" was achieved with the help of this item!
This item is extremely useful, even more miraculous than the Mingzhen Heshen Pill that the Li family has carefully collected. Li Ximing and Li Zhouwei have noticed it before, but they have not heard a word about it from Luoxia to Chuncheng. Encountering one of these is a great joy. And there are four of them on the table in front of them!
He then understood what Long Kangyao meant, and suddenly looked up. The Great Master, however, simply stood with his hands behind his back, unconcerned, and said calmly:
"This is for the True Person himself. He has four left over, which should be enough for him to break through to the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion realm."
Such a treasure would be kept by ordinary people who obtain it and used to break through to the Ginseng Purple Realm. Li Ximing's actions back then were already due to time constraints and had no choice but to do so, which can be described as extravagant. However, in the mouth of this Great True Man, it seems to be just an ordinary pill!
'What a big deal!'
Li Ximing was deeply impressed by his calligraphy, and a sudden realization dawned on him:
'These people...they're not dealing with ordinary spiritual resources...their food, clothing, and daily necessities are probably things that have long since disappeared from the outside world!'
This was a completely different kind of luxury—a treasure with such miraculous effects as the [Listening to Purple Qi] was something one could never have too many of, just like Tianyi Chunyuan. He originally thought he was already satisfied with the fragments, but now, seeing these four streams of purple qi, he was suddenly extremely excited:
'If we can bring those four strands of purple qi back… Que Wan and Jiang Qian's supernatural abilities… will surely be more useful than any elixir. We can succeed in one fell swoop and have nothing to worry about!'
Overjoyed, he readily agreed, bowed deeply, and exclaimed:
"Thank you for your kindness, Great Master!"
Since it was a thank-you note, he had to consider the other party's feelings, so he deliberately avoided mentioning the great battle between the two sides, only saying it was a great favor. Long Kangyao shook his head, seemingly helpless yet also admiring his tact. The Great Master Honghuo said calmly:
"This is nothing... Master Zhaojing is too kind. The King of Wei's gift of gratitude cannot be compared to these one or two spiritual items!"
(End of this chapter)