The Mirror Legacy - Chapter 1414: Northward Advance (I)
Chapter 1414: Northward Advance (I)
The sword immortal departed in a flash of light, leaving everyone standing in the mountains as Kuiqi’s voice rang out, subdued.
“Farewell, master!”
Everyone bowed together and said respectfully, “Farewell, Grand Daoist Master!”
Green Pine Supreme Yang…
Li Ximing sighed inwardly. Though he was not deeply familiar with the Supreme Yang Dao lineage, the difference in strength was obvious at a glance. Now that Louxing had departed, who else could display such sword immortal majesty?
The group sat down again. Daoist Master Houfu appeared somewhat sorrowful. Holding his cup, he took out spirit tea from his storage pouch and began preparing it with hot water.
Kuiqi said in a deep voice, “Today we slew thirteen Merciful Ones, forcing six to death[1]. It can be called a great victory. We have suppressed the ferocity of the Buddhist cultivators and cut off the hand the Great Desire Dao was extending toward us. We have also secured our position at Mount Tangdao, so our strength can now be focused in one direction.”
Tinglan said softly, “The Emptiness Dao was already weak to begin with. Back then, that Dharma Master severed the attachment of self in a single breath and refused even a trace of true spirit. There has been no sign of him ever since. At the same time, the two Mahas of the Abhidharma Treasury Temple Sect also perished, and they nearly lost the Buddhist land entirely!
“If the Maha of the Great Mahayana Dharma Realm had not intervened, the Emptiness Dao would have been no different from the Wrathful Dao. Unfortunately, the other forms all supported each other and mixed in their own people, pushing the matter north to Jiangbei.”
“What a pity.” As Li Ximing listened to their conversation, Ning Wan spoke up to remind them, “Prime Magnetism is surging on Mount Tangdao. A formation should be established. First, it can gather and restrain the Prime Magnetism on the mountain. Second, it can defend against the Buddhist cultivators. This mountain seals the southern passage. It connects west to the Golden Feather Sect and east to Chengyun Gate, so the rear will remain secure.”
Ning Wan was a formation prodigy of the Azure Pond Sect. Tinglan also possessed a formation inheritance, and Kuiqi himself had considerable knowledge of formations. This was something they should have long agreed upon.
Kuiqi nodded. “That makes sense. There is no need for many formations. One temporary main formation with ten or twenty subsidiary formations will be enough to cover the entire mountain. There is only one issue.”
He raised his brows, his expression turning serious as he said with some frustration, “There is no need to construct a specialized formation for this mountain. Otherwise we would be fussing over it endlessly, and it would take three to five years to finish. We only need to establish several formation nodes and deploy the Purple Mansion Realm formation plates that my Xiukui Dao currently possesses.
“The strength of three people will be entirely sufficient. But judging by the spirit vein of Mount Tangdao, Origin Thunder is the most suitable. Other Dao lineages are manageable, but the Three Thunder Daos traces upward to the Northern Palace and belongs to Douxuan. We know nothing about it. Where can we find a proper Origin Thunder Dao lineage nowadays?”
Tinglan replied, “Since it belongs to the Douxuan lineage, we should ask around in the Northern Sea. The Thunder Dao may not be prominent, but the Xie Family and Beihuan Sect[2] still remain. Besides, perhaps we could also inquire at Mount Changhuai or the True Unity Dao.”
Inquiring at Mount Changhuai in Wu State went without saying. But True Unity Dao was the sect established at Jade Cliff Green[3] by Nian Yi of the Yue Cultivating Sect after inheriting the Dao lineage of True Monarch Shangyuan.
Kuiqi’s expression grew troubled as he reminded them, “I think we can ask, but we should not place too much hope on it. We should still prepare to use my Xiukui’s Black Wave Sea Piercing Spirit Formation. It will not be easy to borrow help this time.”
The other two fell silent. After a moment, Tinglan shook her head and added, “There is also Grace Covenant Gate. Zhugong has disappeared after being severely injured, and the people below are fighting chaotically. I sent orders to stop them, but things are still in a complete mess and impossible to sort out.”
When Zhugong was mentioned, Kuiqi looked somewhat helpless and replied, “She left the moment she turned away; she clearly does not trust me. Try using whatever wondrous divine ability you have to inquire and call her back. Whether it is Zhaojing’s alchemy art or our Dao Collection[4], it would still be better than her struggling alone in the Eastern Sea.”
With the matter settled, Tinglan bowed and said, “Qiuhu and I will head into the mountains first. We will survey the terrain and mountain ranges there and guard against anyone with ill intentions tampering with things in secret.”
“Very well.” Kuiqi allowed the two to leave.
The wind and snow atop the mountain gradually intensified. After waiting for some time, Li Ximing finally had a chance to speak and sighed, “I have been entangled in many matters recently. I originally wanted to ask about something…”
Kuiqi naturally knew what he was referring to and waved his hand, “You are talking about the matter of the spirit embryo? I have already considered it. I also saw your Divine Technique of Pavilion View: Refining Within Fire. At first glance, it seems like something from the Tongxuan Dao. Artifact forging often requires spirit items and nourishment from cultivated mana to quickly bring the artifact into form.
“We rarely use such techniques in the artifact forging methods of our Supreme Yang Dao lineage, nor do we favor rituals. Instead we rely on internal refinement and nourishment through divine abilities. Spirit embryos in the Supreme Shaman Dao are often refined personally using divine abilities.”
Changxi’s Dao lineage truly belongs to the Tongxuan Dao…
Li Ximing simply bowed and said, “It was my oversight.”
Kuiqi shook his head and replied, “That is not a problem. I know this spirit embryo you are refining is for Dilutian Sanglin of the Southern Shun Raksha. I do not know which of his juniors intends to use it, but I do remember that there is a Daoist Master within Lacquer Marsh who cultivates the Supreme Shaman Dao. He could refine it for you.”
These words from Daoist Master Kuiqi were clearly offered with great sincerity. Li Ximing was delighted and was about to thank him when the Daoist Master smiled faintly and said, “Do not thank me yet. I wish to discuss something with you on this matter.
“The Buddhist cultivators of the north have not given up their intentions. This Daoist Master of Lacquer Marsh has rare abilities, but he is unwilling to get involved, so it is difficult to persuade him to help. When he comes to the lake, we can arrange for him to visit Mount Wu. If the conversation goes well, we can try asking him. It would be best if he can be persuaded. After all, this is not the affair of a single family.”
Li Ximing nodded in realization and thought to himself, They think that since my family occupied Mount Wu early on, perhaps we obtained some fine Shamanic Tools or inheritances there that could persuade this Daoist Master.
He immediately agreed to everything and said with a sigh, “When my family occupied Mount Wu, it was already a ruin. The various Purple Mansion Realm cultivators had already cleared everything out. I fear there is nothing of interest left to see.”
After exchanging a few more courtesies, Kuiqi served tea to see him off. Once Li Ximing departed in a flash of light, Kuiqi turned to Daoist Master Houfu, who said, “The Li Family is a great enemy of the Buddhist cultivators. At this moment, they fear the southward advance of the Buddhist cultivators even more than we do.”
Kuiqi nodded and replied, “Exactly. That is why we brought him in early. Whether it is the Ruler of Manifested Mountains and Rivers or the great formation, everything was arranged with him in mind, giving him support and sharing the pressure from the Buddhist cultivators. It is not easy to have a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator who truly stands on the same side as us. We cannot let him fall so easily. As for the matter of Li Zhouwei… we will adapt as the situation requires.”
Setting that matter aside, and seeing that Li Ximing had left, there were finally things he could speak of. A trace of resentment and chill appeared on his face as he growled, “In the end, the grotto heaven never descended. When the lord acted in past years, even the Eastern Fire Grotto Heaven could not withstand it. And now? Mifan was not even opened!”
Kuiqi’s voice grew sharper as he said coldly, “Did we ever dare hope for Wanglin Heaven? What kind of place is that Mifan?! A secret realm recorded in the Seventy-Two Profound Insight Book! Even the mountain was granted by Wei. The master of Mifan back then was surnamed Li. And now you say the book has vanished? You say the secret realm cannot open? This is going too far!”
Cold light flashed repeatedly in his eyes as he burst out in anger, “So they sent the command token over early, deliberately opened the gate, and while stabilizing the grotto heaven they tossed down three or five swords and more than a dozen dharma artifacts like alms before immediately sending people away.
“The Treasure Resonance Gourd left no trace. Gengchen Year[5] is in the lord’s qihai. Even the clues to the Star-Gazing Bronze Sparrow have vanished. After searching the whole place, there was not even a single Hidden Blossom Spirit Herb. Good, very good. Their intent to disgust our Supreme Yang Dao lineage could not be more obvious!”
Houfu had clearly also been suppressing the entire time. When the matter was raised, his expression darkened as he said coldly, “Exactly. Anhuai Heaven contained Metallic Essence, so such chaos could be understood. But they were already tampering even back during the Eastern Fire incident. The Clarifying Transformation Primordial Intercalation Method disappeared and the Supreme Yang Glazed Tower was removed long ago. They only left behind a ceremonial artifact. If Senior Yuanxiu had not possessed such profound cultivation, we probably would not have obtained the Huai River Map from Anhuai Heaven either!
“And earlier they claimed Guo Er killed someone from the Tang Family. Could he possibly have done that?! It was all just for the Sun Seeker Ring… In earlier years there were a few Grand Daoist Masters who kept things within limits. Now they are completely unrestrained!”
The anger they had long suppressed was finally vented. Yet reality still had to be faced. Kuiqi remained silent while Houfu turned aside and sipped his tea as he thought, And what of it…
Houfu looked at the empty courtyard and said softly, “Martial uncle, the courtyard is quite quiet now.”
Great Xiukui Temple had a tradition of compulsory labor. Upholding reverence for nature and care for common livelihood, every cultivator had to perform this arduous duty. Every few years they would return to carry out such labor, meant to demonstrate the sect’s retreat from worldly affairs and its purity from mortal concerns.
After Kuiqi had taken charge of the sect, he had changed the arrangement. Emphasizing the rules clearly, he had gathered the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators who were required to perform this labor every few years and had them harvest tea and farm atop the mountain, making the effort grand in scale.
Others might not understand, but Houfu knew his martial uncle’s intention. He merely wanted the Grand Daoist Master to see clearly how the people below were worn down by this rule in everyday practice in the hopes that it might eventually be changed.
Now the sword immortal had swept everything aside with a sleeve and departed. It undoubtedly created an opportunity to change the ancestral rule. Kuiqi replied, “It should have been changed long ago. It only wastes cultivation time. You and I both went through it. Farming is just farming. Those who can comprehend the Dao from farming will comprehend it even without farming. Those who cannot comprehend it will gain nothing even if you make them farm all over Huyi.”
Houfu sipped his tea and finally dared to speak, probing cautiously, “Martial uncle’s intentions may not please the Grand Daoist Master, but he can still understand them. However, I have not returned these past few days. As for the Lingu Family…”
Kuiqi remained silent for a long time before finally saying, “It is not convenient to speak of it. Go ask in the Northern Sea.”
1. I think this is referring to them actually dying instead of only losing their dharma bodies. ☜
2. First appeared in Chapter 714. Check Chapter 715 for more information on it. ☜
3. Mountain gate of True Unity Dao (Chapter 828). ☜
4. A treasured collection of techniques of a sect. ☜
5. The seventeenth year in the Chinese sexagenary cycle, combining the Heavenly Stem Geng with the Earthly Branch Chen (Dragon), traditionally associated with Metal and the Dragon sign. ☜
