Chapter 1746: Profound Box (II)
Chapter 1746: Profound Box (II)
When the two entered the mountain, Li Ximing found Lingdu still sitting quietly beside the table, reading a volume of Daoist manuals attentively. He seemed not to have moved since Li Ximing's departure, as if he had simply waited for the two of them to return together.
Yan Dushui bowed respectfully before the table and said with a smile, "My lord... Linyi has come to pay his respects... I have retrieved the object for you."
Li Ximing had known that the Nine Mounds Dao lineage held an exalted position, but he had never imagined it was this exalted. He was secretly astonished by Yan Dushui’s words, while Lingdu appeared entirely accustomed to it.
The old man invited them to sit with a smile, set the jade box down securely, and said, "Thank you both for your efforts."
However, Lingdu did not open it. Instead, he took a ceramic coin from his sleeve. It was only two fingers wide and as thin as a cicada's wing. He placed it atop the jade box, revealing a glossy black face inscribed with a few words, [Serve the Dead as the Living]
Only then did he release it. Driven by some invisible force, the ceramic coin flipped by itself, turning its underside upward and revealing the words, [Utmost Obscurity Becomes Sacred]
Clearly, once removed from that ghostly residence, the jade box could no longer be opened. Lingdu had used a special method to determine whether it truly contained a spirit item.
Satisfied with the result, he put the coin away and said to Yan Dushui, "I personally made inquiries. In addition to the portion of Pure Origin promised to you, Zhiyan Peak is willing to form this connection and provide for three of your descendants. Whether any of them can attain a divine ability will depend upon your family's fortune."
Yan Dushui nodded silently and repeatedly expressed his thanks, but said nothing for a long time. Lingdu turned to Li Ximing with a smile and said, "Congratulations, Zhaojing!"
Li Ximing had gained tremendously from this journey. Although he had lost a considerable amount of cultivation, it could eventually be restored with pills. A piece of [Soul-Tuning Mulberry Wood] as large as a tabletop, however, might never be found again.
His thoughts had been wholly preoccupied with the jade box, but now that Lingdu reminded him, delight welled up in his heart, Zhouwei... myself... Jiangqian... Quewan... There is more than enough for all our soul lamps, and that would consume only a tiny fraction of it. Even after cutting off two palm-sized pieces to repay Minghui, the remainder will still be plentiful... We could even research expendable items for preserving lives and creating split forms...
[Soul-Tuning Mulberry Wood] was exceedingly precious. It was only known to exist within a handful of Supreme Yang Dao lineages, passed down from their ancestors exclusively for Purple Mansion Realm cultivators.
Even Changxi of the Profound Peak Gate had used a soul lamp with a jade base and gold-and-silver patterns. It had been created through the resonance of Stable Earth and jade treasures, and was essentially an enlarged life jade. However, because divine abilities could endure for a long time, it did not require constant nourishment, so it was not troublesome for a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator to use.
Li Ximing was in high spirits, but Yan Dushui remained melancholy and silent. Li Ximing therefore repeated his earlier tactic and asked about the Profound Box again.
Lingdu shook his head with a smile, though his expression gradually turned solemn as he replied, "Strictly speaking, this object should have belonged to True Monarch Taixu."
Li Ximing froze. Even Yan Dushui raised his head, his face filled with disbelief as he exclaimed, "It has such an exalted origin!"
Lingdu sighed softly and explained, "At the time... True Monarch Taixu had not yet attained the Dao and was cultivating in the Mirrored Mirage Grotto Heaven, commonly known then as the Green Pine Mirage Realm. After all, the Green Pine lineage rose and fell three times, with many successors carrying it on, so there is no telling which Green Pine Temple any particular reference denotes.
"According to legend, there were several seats within it. It is said that the immortal left jade boxes for his disciples at each seat. They corresponded respectively to the Yue Cultivating Sect, Changhuai Gate, Hengzhu Dao Gate, Sword Gate, Purple Smoke Gate, and the Azure Pond Sect.
"This object is one of those boxes. It was the one belonging to True Monarch Taixu."
He gave Li Ximing a meaningful look and said, "Members of your family have also entered that place before. They should have seen it."
Green Pine Island! Li Ximing was even more shaken as he thought, If that is the case, which of the seats did the one in my family's possession belong to?!
Countless thoughts raced through Li Ximing's mind as he nodded silently. Lingdu continued, "When the True Monarchs opened this realm, there were six boxes inside. Those of Changhuai Gate and Hengzhu Dao Gate were empty, those of the Azure Pond Sect and Purple Smoke Gate were lost, Sword Gate's was recovered, and the Yue Cultivating Sect's went to Xiukui..."
He had deliberately said Xiukui and paused briefly. Seeing that Li Ximing showed no surprise, he understood that Li Ximing also knew about Xiukui's past.
Stroking his beard, he continued, "One of the lost boxes fell into the hands of a cultivator who was blessed with the fate of Fire Virtue and possessed exceptional talent. Our Grand Daoist Master thought highly of him, so he gave him considerable assistance and guidance. He then acted as an intermediary to allow the return of Purple Smoke Gate's box. Grand Daoist Master Zimu accepted the object inside, while entrusting our Dao lineage with the jade box for safekeeping."
Hearing this, Li Ximing was so startled that he momentarily lost the power of speech.
The Li Family had been involved in the matter of the jade box back then! The person Lingdu spoke of was almost certainly Tulong Jian, who was now hiding in the outer-sea to keep himself safe!
It was actually Senior Junjian!
Senior Junjian actually has deep ties with the Nine Mounds Dao lineage! Not only that, it was even under Grand Daoist Master Yuandao's guidance that he left Jiangnan early and went to the Northern Sea!
As all the clues connected in his mind, Li Ximing fell silent, his expression grave and his heart shaken.
When exactly did all this happen... Could it mean that he had long been a piece placed on the board by the Nine Mounds Dao lineage? When those Daoist Masters joined forces to seal the great void, how did he manage to escape? It was probably this Grand Daoist Master who helped him! Only someone with his divine abilities and Dao conduct could have quietly saved Senior Junjian from right beneath the other Daoist Masters' noses!
And was this Grand Daoist Master's motive precisely to obtain this jade box?
He hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. His immediate reaction was to wonder whether the Nine Mounds Dao lineage's goodwill toward him stemmed from Senior Tulong! Yet when he lowered his eyes toward Lingdu, the old man appeared completely unaware of his thoughts and gave him no meaningful look after mentioning Tulong Jian.
The old man continued naturally, "This object cannot truly be called extraordinarily precious. It was originally an ordinary item. However, it witnessed the True Monarchs' attainment of the Dao, and because the box also symbolizes a master's teachings being passed down to a disciple, it drew in a trace of an Exalted Position's aura. From then on, it transcended the mundane, so naturally it can contain rare and wondrous treasures without difficulty."
Lingdu appeared somewhat emotional as he shook his head and said, "Purple Mansion Realm cultivators have already attained divine ability, so nearly everything permitted to remain in this world cannot escape their discerning eyes. If even a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator cannot identify an object's material or determine its origins, it is almost certainly connected to a True Monarch. Of those objects, nearly all are merely items once used by True Monarchs..."
He sighed with emotion. "These objects never truly caught those great figures' attention, so they possess no particular mystics. They are useless in the hands of lesser cultivators and are, at most, somewhat more durable. Even in the hands of someone with heaven-shaking Dao conduct like a Grand Daoist Master, such a box can do little more than hold a Banished Essence spirit item."
After hearing so many secrets, Yan Dushui's mood had eased considerably. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "What if an object did catch their attention and acquired mystics?"
Lingdu turned toward him and laughed. "You could never outrun it, and by then, your life would be forfeit. What else could you do but kneel and kowtow? You should first ask whether you are fated to survive, yet you still dream of picking such a thing up!"