The Mirror Legacy - Chapter 1476: Yuanbian (I)
Chapter 1476: Yuanbian (I)
Li Ximing sized him up in secret, remaining seated as he said softly, “This pill is extraordinarily profound, so I trust you understand the difficulty involved. I have some friends in Jiangnan who possess a Purple Mansion Realm spirit furnace. If I call in a favor to borrow it, the chances of success should be at least seventy percent.”
The demon king laughed aloud and rose to his feet, his face lighting up with delight as he said loudly, “If you can guarantee seventy percent, then this deal is well worth making!”
Seeing his eagerness, as if ready to go all in, Li Ximing knew this was no small matter. If the refinement failed, he would provoke a noble lineage for no reason. Not wanting unnecessary trouble, he considered it carefully before offering a word of caution, “You should still proceed with caution. It uses such valuable spirit items, after all. If anything goes wrong, the loss would be no small matter!”
Fuxun turned his red and white mottled eyes toward him, his lips moving slightly as he said quietly, “Let me be frank with you. I still hold some standing in this region. Near the Xipo Kingdom, there is a demon den whose master is a close friend of mine. His Dao title is Qingyan, and he cultivates the Dao of [Azure Manifestation]!”
“Oh?!”
Li Ximing was instantly intrigued. [Azure Manifestation] seemed distant, yet also close at hand. His neighbors, the Yuan Family, cultivated this very Dao and were renowned for it in Jiangnan, yet they had long been unable to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm, leaving their once-glorious Dao lineage somewhat diminished.
He had not expected to encounter this Dao in such a remote demon kingdom. With a faint smile, Li Ximing nodded, already understanding Fuxun’s intent as he asked, “Could it be… blessing arts?”
The Great Saha King nodded proudly, lifting his chin as he replied, “You truly are a cultivator from Jiangnan, well-traveled and knowledgeable! The [Azure Manifestation] Dao is scarcely known across the entire southern border!”
Li Ximing pondered for a moment before offering a reminder, “Although traces of blessing arts still remain in Jiangnan, I have rarely heard of them aiding alchemy. It would be best to verify it beforehand.”
“Naturally!” Fuxun replied seriously, “Among the so-called three shamans and two blessings, the latter two are [Hengzhu] and [Azure Manifestation]. My brother is also of noble lineage and not lacking in cultivation. Besides… do not forget about me!”
He smiled faintly, his red-and-white eyes flickering with an even more uncanny glow. “I cultivate [Auspicious Essence]. I possess a divine ability that senses fortune and misfortune, enhancing luck itself. With the three of us working together, if this pill still fails, then no other method is likely to succeed!”
“That does sound promising…” muttered Li Ximing.
Since the other party possessed an Auspicious Essence divine ability and could converse smoothly with him, it suggested there was nothing abnormal about it. The matter itself seemed beneficial, so Li Ximing relaxed slightly and looked at Fuxun as he said softly, “In that case, I will need to borrow the spirit furnace. As for your spiritual flames…”
Only then did Fuxun perk up. Stroking his chin as he pondered for a long while, he finally replied, “Honestly, the simplest way is to seize it. There is someone at Victory White Hall on the Western Sky Plateau who cultivates [Lesser Yang]. He can refine pills and definitely possesses spiritual flames, and quite powerful ones at that, called the [Upper Palace Ministerial Fire].”
Li Ximing simply declined and said, “There is no need to consider Lesser Yang fires. The spiritual flames I seek must at least belong to Fire Virtue, and not be of Merging Fire.”
He did not want to use force unless absolutely necessary, but the other party clearly intended to draw him into opposition with Victory White Hall. Li Ximing had no intention of that, so he hardened his tone and pressed him.
Seeing the scope narrowed, Fuxun mulled it over again and again before finally settling on a target, saying in a low voice, “Head south from here, toward the northern reaches of the Southern Sea. There lies a great nation of the southern border, its capital on a southern island, called Zhuluo Kingdom. Its former ruler perished long ago, his body transforming into spiritual flames that were divided among various factions. Only a newly advanced Purple Mansion Realm ruler remains. I suspect he still holds some spiritual flames.”
Li Ximing saw through his intent at a glance. Recognizing the man’s cunning, he frowned and said, “Either you obtain the spiritual flames yourself, or we negotiate an exchange together. Do not act under my name to threaten him and stir up enmity.”
“Naturally.” Fuxun cupped his hands, his tone even carrying a hint of ingratiation as he said, “After all, you still need to refine pills. How could I tamper with such a matter…
“I only mean that he is currently struggling and in a difficult situation. You can provide some pills from your side, and I will offer him certain terms and protection for a number of years…”
The demonic creature let out a sly chuckle, his tone carrying a sinister edge. “He is already in a difficult position and cannot afford to offend me. With a mix of pressure and inducement, there is a high chance he will agree!”
“Very well.” Whether those promises could be fulfilled did not concern Li Ximing. As long as he provided the pills and kept himself removed from the entanglement, it would suffice. He added a reminder, “If you are going to negotiate with him, I will go along.”
Fuxun agreed, glancing at him quietly before replying, “However, he cultivates [Radiant Fire]. Can you refine such pills?”
“That is no issue.”
Although Li Ximing did not possess a pill formula for [Radiant Fire], his alchemical skill and the [Heaven’s Will Single-Intent Method] ensured he could satisfy even these remote demon kings.
He continued, “Go ahead and ask him. If he has no urgent pills to refine, have him tell me what he needs. I will refine them for him, and the yield will not disappoint.”
At this point, Li Ximing paused slightly and smiled, “As for the materials required for pill refining… that will depend on your discretion.”
In truth, Li Ximing already had a [Radiant Fire] Purple Mansion Realm ingredient on hand, gifted to him by Ning Wan at Moongaze Lake years ago, known as the [Surging Radiant Treasure Leaf], which was sufficient for this pill.
But at his current standing, he already held the initiative, so naturally he intended for Fuxun to provide the materials.
The Great Saha King pondered briefly, looking somewhat helpless as he shook his head. “I will not hide this from you. A few years ago, I used up all the spirit materials I had accumulated over the years to obtain the [Undeclining Golden Cloud]… Otherwise, I would not be constantly thinking of fighting and seizing things… But these materials should rightfully be my responsibility… We will see what he asks for.”
Seeing that he seemed quite sincere, Li Ximing nodded in agreement. Already somewhat impatient, he asked, “When shall we go meet that demon king?”
“There is no rush.” Fuxun chuckled softly. “I mentioned earlier a friend from Jiangnan, whose Dao title is [Yuanbian]. He has been in seclusion at sea and only emerged last year. I will invite him to join us, to bolster our presence and give that Zhuluo ruler something to fear.”
Li Ximing nodded and simply stayed in the courtyard to discuss the Dao with him. The Great Saha King truly had some depth, and [Auspicious Essence] was something rarely seen in the world, allowing Li Ximing to gain quite a bit.
This demon king was not as violent as expected. He was even rather witty and forthright. After a few more exchanges, Li Ximing could still sense how deeply he valued this pill. Fuxun held his teacup, visibly restless, so Li Ximing said, “Spirit items are indeed precious, but this pill formula is rather extreme. Have you considered another approach?”
Fuxun merely shook his head and replied leisurely, “The [Undeclining Golden Cloud] is no ordinary thing. In the records of my lineage, a certain True Monarch used it before attaining the Dao. At the time, he had just reached the Purple Mansion Realm and used three clouds and one stone, with Supreme Yin as the base, to form a single talisman… Among those three clouds and one stone were the [Undeclining Golden Cloud] and the [Supreme Concealed Origin].”
Li Ximing did a quick calculation in his mind and let out a quiet laugh. “Just at the Purple Mansion Realm… and already using four top-tier Purple Mansion Realm spirit items to refine a talisman?”
“Far more than that!” Fuxun laughed heartily, a trace of reverence in his expression as he replied, “It is said that the Supreme Yin base surpassed even the [Undeclining Golden Cloud] and the [Supreme Concealed Origin]! Otherwise, how could he be a True Monarch?”
He shook his head and continued, “This pill follows the same principle as that talisman, taking the True Monarch’s talisman refinement as its model. Back then, the True Monarch had refined a talisman; now, it becomes a pill. As for the enhancement from [Azure Manifestation], even if you had absolute certainty, I would still invite him… after all, one must follow precedent.”
From the perspective of the pill formula, it was simply a matter of following the method. Yet imitating the actions of the past ancestors was never mere comfort; it had real utility. Even now, cultivators in Jiangnan retained all sorts of peculiar practices, such as breaking a weapon before activating a formation for no apparent reason…
