The Mirror Legacy - Chapter 1488: Meeting Suiguan (I)
Chapter 1488: Meeting Suiguan (I)
Azure Pond Peak.
The night was deep. Mist gathered as a chill wind swept through, and the green shadows of pines and cypresses swayed across the steps. A man in brown-yellow robes strode quickly all the way to the summit, where a white-robed fairy stood with her sword in her arms.
“Disciple greets master!” said the man.
Though the man’s cultivation was high, his foundation appeared somewhat unstable, as if he had only just broken through. Lifting his robe, he stepped forward and bowed. Ning Wan turned her face slightly and said softly, “Wuning, you have come.”
This man was none other than Lin Wuning, a rising figure of great authority within the Azure Pond Sect.
Although he came from a notable background, with both parents being Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators and his father a peak master, he had never ranked among the top within the Azure Pond Sect. His parents were both rogue cultivators, not even placing within the top ten beneath the Four Great Surnames. As for himself, he was not particularly talented either as he cultivated at Moon Lake Peak.
Yet none could have expected that, as storms felled the forest, the cultivators of the Azure Pond Sect would die one after another within just a few years. The Four Great Surnames had either perished or gone into hiding. Riding on Ning Wan’s rising influence and the strength of a clean background, it was Lin Wuning, an otherwise unremarkable figure, who ended up presiding over the grand immortal sect!
Lin Wuning bowed once more, then rose and stood to the side. Ning Wan’s gaze remained fixed on the clouds below, where night bled into shifting winds and mist. A fierce gale swept past, yet it could only lightly stir her hair.
Back when Chi Wei made his breakthrough, it too had begun at dusk and ended at dawn, under a similarly cold moonlit night. Only then, Chi Zhiyun had been by his side.
She waited for a long time before finally asking, “Is there any news?”
Lin Wuning replied in a low voice, “It has been confirmed. That man is called Yang Zhuo, a figure who appeared from nowhere. He has long roamed the Simin Prefecture regions as a wandering hero, and it is said his strength is formidable. This time, he could not stand the formation guarding cultivator oppressing the common people, so he killed him and left.”
Ning Wan fell silent for a long while before replying, “Another one surnamed Yang.”
She somewhat irritably tapped the spirit sword in her hand and asked, “What Dao lineage does he cultivate?”
Lin Wuning lowered his head slightly. “It is suspected to be one of the Twelve Essences, likely a Dao lineage such as [Purple Essence], [True Essence], or [Pure Essence].”
Ning Wan let out a breath and said, “The situation at Purple Smoke Gate in the Eastern Sea… has changed again. This is already the second tremor of the earth veins. Changxiao Gate has sealed its mountain, yet the Hengzhu Dao Gate remains silent. There must be something afoot… Send someone to Purple Smoke Gate and inquire about assisting them.”
“Yes…” Lin Wuning raised his head again and said quietly, “Earlier, news came from Crimson Reef Island. They hope you can make a visit… Daoist Master Tianwan wishes to meet you.”
Tianwan’s divine abilities were formidable. As a Grand Daoist Master of the [Cold Essence] Dao and her senior, this request already showed her considerable respect. Yet Fairy Qiuhu seemed troubled and unwilling as she said, “Just send her my reply. I was injured in the north and have yet to recover. Once I have healed, I will personally visit the island.”
The Ning Family had no deep enmity with Crimson Reef Island. If one truly counted, Azure Pond Sect’s only blood feud with Crimson Reef Island lay with Yuanwu Peak, which was now all but extinct. Not only was there no Purple Mansion Realm cultivator left, even its Dao lineage had been severed… Yet unprovoked courtesy often hid ulterior motives. Ning Wan’s vigilance only deepened as she thought, Either it is for Li Quantao’s matter, or they are plotting to forcibly open the Snow Ji Mountain Gate. Either way, it is trouble… In such turbulent times, it would be best to delay as much as possible…
She remained silent for a long time. Then someone ascended from the mountain’s foot, clad in a black robe, holding a jade box in both hands. He approached quietly, knelt, and said respectfully, “Daoist Master, the item has been obtained.”
As he lifted his head, the cold moonlight revealed sharp features tinged with a faintly sinister air. It was Li Yuanqin, who had long disappeared from sight. Now, holding up the jade box with both hands, he reported respectfully, “I followed the leads and tracked down the last head of the Chi Family, Chi Xuxiao. From a letter left by one of his trusted aides, I was able to recover the item.
“Based on the clues before and after, as well as fragments from the letter, I have gradually come to understand the matter…”
Ning Wan naturally trusted Li Yuanqin’s methods. She nodded, signaling for him to continue.
“This man was known for his intelligence. Back when the Azure Pond Sect was in chaos and everyone was waiting for Si Yuanli to return, he quietly slipped into the main hall. Using his father Chi Zhiyan’s secret seal and a hidden passage beneath the hall, he entered the secret chamber at the first opportunity.
“He was the one who took the [Bright Tranquility Moonseeing Incantation], the [Supreme Yin Breathing Qi Sutra], and the [Glazed Heart Art Book]… After leaving the secret chamber, he crossed the mountains and descended, placing the items into a concealment jade box and burying them within the mountain before returning to his residence.”
At this point, Lin Wuning silently closed his eyes as the face of that young sect master from years past appeared before him. He said nothing and lowered his head even further.
Ning Wan’s expression grew distant and she said, “I know him. It seems Chi Zhiyan must have secretly told him… but the decisiveness of that child was far beyond the ordinary!”
Li Yuanqin said in a quiet tone, “He had made arrangements early on, but he was then watched at every turn and never dared touch that box again. Chi Fubo had never imagined that a child could do such a thing. He only thought the items in the secret chamber were not valuable enough, or perhaps had been hidden away by Chi Zhiyun, and thus never suspected him…”
At this point, he paused in a way that seemed almost unbelievable, then said quietly, “It is said that although he feared his uncle would seize his position, he feared even more that the jade box might be lost. Yet he also knew that handing it over would surely mean his own death. So he secretly instructed the loyal agents left behind by his father that if one day he were killed by his uncle, they should dig up the jade box and present it to that very uncle, ensuring it would still remain in the hands of the Chi Family.”
Ning Wan frowned slightly, “Oh?”
Li Yuanqin continued, “Later, during the [Upheaval of the Reef Sea], news came back that the main hall had been surrounded, the peaks sealed off, and both flight and techniques forbidden. Qin Xian[1] entered the hall three times, hesitating with his long halberd in hand. When the boy saw him, he shouted, ‘Was it my uncle who harmed me?’ The doors and windows rattled; the candles all went out; and Qin Xian drove the halberd through his chest, killing him on the spot.”
When the Si Family did such things, they would certainly involve the Ning Family. Lin Wuning had been present at the time and knew it clearly, and he could not help but close his eyes as Li Yuanqin finished, “Looking back now, he must have truly believed Chi Fubo intended to harm him and so secretly warned his loyal agents… yet perhaps it was precisely those words that left them uncertain, and in the end, they delivered it into the hands of the remaining members of the Chi Family. After all these years, traces finally surfaced, and we were able to obtain it.”
Ning Wan quietly gazed at the jade box before her, and for a moment, a look of confusion appeared in her eyes, “He was only a twelve-year-old child at the time… yet with such schemes, and already at the second stage of the Qi Cultivation Realm. If this second generation of the Chi Family had not been cut off, their brilliance today would likely be unparalleled, and perhaps never to be seen again.”
She hesitated to speak further. In her gentle eyes now lingered unease and regret. She recalled how Ning Heyuan had once fought Li Qinghong of the Li Family, arrogant and overbearing, and how she had scolded her then. She had not expected Ning Heyuan to fall, and everything to turn out far more tragic than she had imagined.
Her expression grew distant as she thought back over the events of recent years, and she could only sigh, “There are countless talents in this world, yet so many rise only to fall all too soon!”
Both fell silent. Lin Wuning had already received her answer and soon withdrew. Ning Wan took the jade box and examined it carefully. Inside were three small, pale-green jade slips, each smaller than a fist, along with a white jade piece about two fingers wide. Her spiritual sense swept over them and immediately sank in.
1. Peak Master of Siyao Peak.Check Chapter 1198. ☜
