Chapter 1604: What Is Cultivation For (I)
Chapter 1604: What Is Cultivation For (I)
Yehui had mentioned the matter with Hengzhu Dao back then as well, so Li Ximing already had some understanding of the matter. After a brief silence, Xiao Chuting said gently, "Sometimes something is clearly within reach, yet if the timing is wrong or the identity is wrong, it still cannot come to pass. Do you remember Duanmu Kui?"
Li Ximing nodded silently. An indescribable expression crossed Xiao Chuting's face as he said, "What cannot be attained... The [Shamanic Talisman Dao] cannot be attained... The master of the house may leave the hall and go about his affairs, only returning from time to time to take a look. But how could anyone else be allowed to take it? A seat belongs to whoever it belongs to.
"On the other hand, there are seats that every family is trying to shake loose. Those are the ones worth fighting for."
Li Ximing's heart tightened. He could not fully grasp what Xiao Chuting meant, and a chill briefly ran through him as the man before him continued, "Whether it is that [Purple Essence] of Purple Smoke Gate, that [Whole Pill] of Golden Feather Sect, or even the Tantai Family of the outer-sea, Huangyu[1] of the Northern Sea, Hengli of Hengzhu Dao, or Yuanshang and his disciple of the Eastern Sea, all of them are waiting for the day of [True Essence]. All of them are waiting for the outcome that True Essence will bring."
His pupils widened slightly as he added in a voice scarcely above a whisper, "Of course... that includes Chi Buzi as well."
Li Ximing murmured, "Chi Buzi..."
He had not thought of that name for many years. Even now, merely recalling it sent a shiver down his spine.
He gradually pushed aside the thoughts in his mind, raised his head, and said quietly, "I'm afraid that includes senior as well..."
Xiao Chuting chuckled but offered no reply.
After asking a few more questions, Li Ximing soon made his intention to leave clear. Xiao Chuting looked at him and, after a long moment, finally said, "Be cautious in both friendship and patronage."
Li Ximing promptly acknowledged the advice and rose into the air on a ray of light. Having just left Baier Mountain, he was about to enter the great void for his return journey when he caught sight of a flash of green atop a distant icy peak.
The streak of green seemed to possess a strange allure that instantly drew his attention. As he watched more closely, the green figure suddenly leaped and plunged downward like a falling meteor, followed by a dull, heavy sound of flesh striking stone.
Thud!
Finding the scene bizarre, he flew over to investigate. Only then did he discover a green-furred ape lying on the icy mountain. Its body had been smashed open by the fall, with blood splattered everywhere. White bone protruded through torn flesh, and it was quite dead.
The ape appeared to have possessed considerable cultivation. Even in death, its jaws remained tightly clamped around a vibrant green herb. It had likely climbed the peak in search of medicine, only to lose its footing high above and plunge to its death.
Li Ximing examined it carefully. A moment later, alarm flickered across his heart. He immediately looked away, lowered his eyes, and wiped any emotion from his expression. Without touching the corpse, he tore open the great void and departed at once.
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Wanlin Heaven.
The heavens were dim, and the earth broken and incomplete. Pale white storms swept across the world. Whether magnificent palaces or drifting feathered ornaments, all color had long since faded away, leaving behind nothing but a vast expanse of white.
"Wanlin Heaven... has already become linked to the Underworld..."
This world was slowly breaking apart. Vast sections of land fell away, carrying shattered mountains with them as they tore free from the dying realm. Emerging from the gray-white expanse into the great void, they then plunged down to the world below, becoming new ruins scattered across the Turbid Slaughter Mausoleum.
However, a man in white could still be seen upon the pale earth. Tiny as an ant against the endless landscape, he moved among the mountains, stopping from time to time to survey his surroundings.
"The Profound Foundation has been shattered. Unless the original master of Wanlin Heaven returns from the dead, no one can save it now!"
Lu Jiangxian stepped across layer upon layer of bones. His divine sense swept through the ruins, instantly collecting the crystalline jade slips buried deep beneath the wreckage. Yet he had no interest in studying the techniques and arts recorded within.
Continuing forward, he gazed into the gray-white Banished Wind and sighed inwardly, A grotto heaven is nurtured by Pure Essence in life, and when it falls, it submits to Banished Essence. It is a fitting beginning and end.
When a grotto heaven was left without a master and its Fruit Position no longer manifested, it could remain hidden beyond the great void, escaping the notice of True Monarchs. This was partly due to its connection to the Inherent Rank of its Fruit Position, while another part stemmed from its alignment with the symbolism of [Banished Essence], the domain of that obscure and shadowy sovereign. This concealment made it exceedingly difficult to discover.
Yet once the grotto heaven began to collapse and the support of its Fruit Position vanished, [Banished Essence] would bare its fangs. Resonating with the realm, it would drag the entire grotto heaven downward step by step until it finally plunged into the Underworld.
Once this process began, gray-white [Directional Banished Winds] would emerge, draining all color from the world. Even Purple Mansion Realm cultivators could not endure for long, and would be forced to leave. By the time they returned to search again, the path back would already be lost, and the ruined grotto heaven linked to [Banished Essence] would no longer be found.
All they would see were shattered mountain peaks falling from the [Directional Banished Winds] into the great void. With nothing left to support them, those mountains would soon crash into the mortal world.
This was the first time Lu Jiangxian had witnessed such a catastrophic fall of a grotto heaven. Back when Anhuai Heaven had fallen, no True Monarch had intervened. Its Profound Foundation had remained largely intact, and the realm had descended quietly into the Underworld, leaving little debris behind.
Wanlin Heaven was similar to the Eastern Fire Heaven of old, yet its fate was far more tragic. The True Monarchs had wielded their Dharma relics without mercy, shattering the entire Profound Foundation. No one could say how many new mountains would be added to the Turbid Slaughter Mausoleum as a result.
A complicated look entered his eyes. He raised his head and spotted something amidst the surging Banished Winds. Though wrapped within layer upon layer of divine abilities, it still twitched faintly.
"[Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture]..."
The True Monarchs were joining forces in a grand working. Taking advantage of Wanlin Heaven's connection to Banished Essence, they were willing to abandon the Exalted Yang Immutable Palace altogether if necessary, all so they could send the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] into the immeasurably distant [Banished Essence] that lay within the Underworld itself!
The master of [Heaven-Governing] is a figure capable of stirring the winds and clouds of the world, and the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] is an instrument for manipulating all under Heaven. They can never allow this thing to return to the Fruit Position.
Once that Fruit Position gains a master, it will be enough to disrupt every arrangement currently in place! The only option is to suppress it. Then, even if [Heaven-Governing] returns to its rightful position, there will still be ample time to keep it in check!
But these True Monarchs understand perfectly well that the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] cannot truly be suppressed. Even when Wanlin Heaven stood outside and the Exalted Yang Immutable Palace stood within, Liu Changdie still emerged...
Lu Jiangxian's expression remained icy. The matter was perfectly clear to him. He pondered, It wasn't just Liu Changdie. There were others like him. The contingency left behind by Wanlin Heaven's master was the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] itself.
Aside from the parts I influenced, there should be other arrangements as well. Lin Hengjiang was inspired by both the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] and the [Heaven-Governing] Fruit Position merely from Wanlin Heaven's collapse, giving rise to Shengyang out of nothing... And beyond him, several streaks of silver light appeared across different regions and descended into the world.
Although Lin Hengjiang is no longer the person he once was, now only a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator, and even though none of these developments can yet stir up any great storm, they are still variables.
And in the end, the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] surpasses the Exalted Yang Immutable Palace. If they rely solely on that palace to suppress it, the Scripture will eventually calculate its flaws and turn the suppression back upon its suppressor. These variables will become more numerous and more powerful, until they finally give birth to the master of [Heaven-Governing]!
Whether it is Luoxia, the dragons, or the Underworld's judiciary, none of them like variables. That goes double for the many True Monarchs, great and small, who once plotted against Wanlin Heaven... For now, these variables remain tolerable. They can even use them to uncover more of Douxuan's legacy. That is why they allowed Lin Hengjiang to continue, and why they permitted so many Purple Mansion Realm cultivators to enter. But no matter what, they cannot simply let matters run their course unchecked!
Lu Jiangxian had been standing here the entire time, and naturally saw the situation more clearly than anyone. He watched coldly and muttered, "Not a single True Monarch is willing to sacrifice their future and stake their own position solely to suppress this thing. That is why they intend to send it into the Underworld. Only the [Banished Essence] Fruit Position can completely suppress the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] of the [Heaven-Governing] Order without anyone's assistance, while also preventing it from escaping!
"If such an action is being carried out, then the Underworld's judiciary within [Banished Essence] certainly knows of it, and certainly supports it."
During the days Li Zhouwei and the others had fought within the grotto heaven, Lu Jiangxian had already used the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] to deduce one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one possible futures!
One of the reasons he remained here was to use these final moments to continue those deductions. Across those one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one futures, Lu Jiangxian quietly intervened and experimented again and again.
Yet each attempt had ended in silence. Even when the dharma relic was finally lifted away by the assembled True Monarchs, all that remained before him was still silence. In one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four of those futures, all he saw was a sea of blood. The Li Family was exterminated to the last member.
There were, broadly speaking, three possible paths.
The first was to align with Luoxia. There were eight hundred and seven variations of this path. Though the details differed, the overall course remained largely the same.
Li Zhouwei would be trapped in the Weidu Prefecture of Zhao State. Surrounded by vast armies, he would be forced to attempt the Fruition Attainment. The Second Manifestation would then immediately appear between Heaven and Earth. Three days later, he would perish. Heavenly light would rain from the skies, celestial radiance would fall into disorder, and the Supreme Yang would remain bright yet gave off no light... Bright Yang itself was shaken, and the world underwent tremendous upheaval.
That same year, Shu forces would capture Moongaze Lake. An immortal decree would soon follow, and three lineages of the family would be exterminated. The number of living Li clansmen left breathing would be fewer than before Li Mutian had even joined the army.
1. The first appearance of this name. ☜