Chapter 1751: Guoling (I)

Zhijing Mountain.

Heavenly light drifted through the mountains as white blossoms rolled like waves. Li Ximing sat upright at the summit, his aura steady, holding a confidential letter in his hand as he pondered in silence.

Fuxun... has actually established a cave dwelling out at sea.

Li Ximing put away the letter, lowered his eyes in thought, and quietly considered, Both Ying Hebai and the Xu Water Demon King came, but judging from their reactions, it is hard to say whether they truly understood the mystery behind it. Fortunately, Quewan has already left. Otherwise, according to Senior Liu's letter, Fuxun might still return to visit, and the Zhen Tao Residence is not suitable for seclusion.

After returning from Nine Mounds, Li Ximing had naturally gone straight to Chongzhou. Cui Changfu was now exceedingly respectful and remained by his side throughout. Li Ximing had only needed to express his intention before the Daoist Master immediately ventured deep into the sea to find Huiyao. Clearly, the entire Cui Family's attitude had undergone a complete transformation.

It was not as though Li Ximing had never visited them before. Back then, he too had been a distinguished Purple Mansion Realm cultivator. Naturally, the only thing that could have left the Cui Family this fearful and deferential was Li Zhouwei's visit.

Minghuang went there once, and that very night, Cui Changfu attained divine ability. The Cui Family was clearly terrified. Cui Changfu is actually older than me and is himself a distinguished Purple Mansion Realm cultivator, yet he even calls himself my junior.

The lesser demon Huiyao had also been promoted repeatedly because of his ties to the Li Family. He likewise did everything within his power and did not dare show the slightest negligence, so the journey went quite smoothly. If there was any regret, it was only that Cui Jueyin had already entered seclusion, leaving Li Ximing unable to meet him.

The dragons had not been slow to act either. When Li Ximing returned to the lake from Chongzhou two years ago, he received Liu Changdie's reply, which also mentioned how the Zhen Tao Residence had once received the dragons' protection and expressed immense gratitude for it.

The letter gave Li Ximing quite a fright. Only then did he understand that when Changxiao had schemed against them back then, it had apparently been his own aunt who had intervened. Yet Liu Changdie had not fully believed the Xu Water Demon King's words, and neither did Li Ximing.

He sneered inwardly, Back then, aunt clearly said she would not intervene. Even after I fled to the Lie Sea, she could not meet me. Those words must be false. Perhaps it was because of Minghuang's standing, or perhaps someone behind Liu Changdie made a move. It certainly could not have been out of personal favor.

Meanwhile, intelligence from the sea continued to arrive. He heard that Fuxun had established a lesser demon den on that island and was sending subordinates out to gather information. His injuries had apparently still not healed, and he was searching for Lesser Yang cultivators to treat him.

Liu Changdie was truly loyal and sentimental. Even now, he was still exchanging letters with Li Ximing to inquire about the matter on Fuxun's behalf. Li Ximing naturally pretended not to understand. It was not that he was heartless, but that he genuinely did not dare involve himself with Fuxun... He merely offered Liu Changdie a tactful reminder as he put brush to paper.

The demon king is now under the command of the dragons and cannot act freely. It would be best to meet him less often. If a meeting is absolutely necessary, senior should go to his island instead... so as not to give others grounds for criticism.

Liu Changdie had attained the Purple Mansion Realm entirely on his own and was naturally an intelligent man. A hint was enough, and he would understand how to interpret and justify the rest himself.

Li Ximing then set the letter aside. Guo Nanwu, seated nearby, looked over with a smile. Li Ximing flicked his sleeve, and a white jade bottle appeared on the table.

He nodded toward Guo Nanwu and smiled. "These pills of your Lesser Yang Dao were unexpectedly troublesome to refine. I suspect it is because Lesser Yang gives rise to Yin, while the furnace itself possesses the Valley Water Form. With Yin and Valley visibly converging, dampness and cold are easily produced... Fortunately, the overall difficulty was not high. I obtained seven pills from a single batch."

Guo Nanwu's heart sank when he heard the first half, but by the time Li Ximing finished, a smile had already spread across his face.

He praised, "Senior's Dao conduct is astonishing, and your alchemy art is superb. We juniors can only admire you in awe!"

Li Ximing had never expected to see the day where others would be praising his Dao conduct. He hastily swallowed his amusement, and when he saw Guo Nanwu preparing to pay for the pills, he merely waved his hand and declined.

Over the past two years, he had successfully refined several batches of pills. The most important was still the Sima Family's batch of [Empty Sleeve Profound Dao Powder]. He had quietly set aside another two pills and carefully hidden them away, intending to give them to Li Zhouwei.

After returning from the outer-sea, he had actually lost some cultivation because of the matter involving Yan Dushui. However, he understood that the rapid progress he had once made in cultivating the [Heaven-Venerating Gate] had only been possible because he had benefited from a talisman pill and several kinds of spirit pill. His cultivation from here on would be a long and distant road, so he simply took a few other pills from his reserves to make do. He could not bear to use the [Empty Sleeve Profound Dao Powder].

Guo Nanwu truly was short on funds, so he accepted with some gratitude. Li Ximing, meanwhile, raised his cup and looked at the pills. Suddenly remembering that Guo Nanwu himself was a Lesser Yang cultivator, he immediately grew wary, ...Everything somehow ends up connected... Guo Nanwu is extremely useful right now. I cannot let him get dragged into Fuxun's affairs!

He therefore looked at him with a smile and asked, "Nanwu, have you gone to the Eastern Sea at all these past few years?"

Guo Nanwu folded his green sleeves together, seemingly pondering the meaning behind Li Ximing's words, before answering hesitantly, "Not often. It is mostly the younger members of my family who go there... Quite a few things have happened as well. I have always been wary of how vast and remote the Eastern Sea is, so I never had the chance to investigate them carefully... A few days ago, I asked Daoist Master Kuangyu about it, and I began considering going there myself to take a look."

As he spoke, his eyes carefully watched Li Ximing's reaction. Li Ximing immediately misunderstood, suspecting that the figure behind Fuxun might be trying to lure Guo Nanwu in, so he probed, "The Eastern Sea... even I rarely go there anymore. The area around Lulai Island is being watched by my enemies, so it is dangerous as well. The world is unsettled, and it is best not to move about casually."

Instead, Guo Nanwu drew quite a few implications from those words. He quietly turned the cup in his hand before suddenly coming to a startling realization, That's right. Why would the Li Family kill members of my family for no reason? Several Daoist Masters never believed it in the first place, so the divination must have been inaccurate. It seems an enemy was scheming behind the scenes, and Senior Zhaojing knows about them as well... He simply cannot speak of it openly, so he is discreetly warning me not to go near Lulai Island.

If I spell the matter out, I would instead be inserting myself into the struggle between the Li Family and their enemies... I should simply pretend not to know anything.

He therefore nodded solemnly, even feeling somewhat guilty for having harbored suspicions, and replied, "I understand!"

Though the two had drawn entirely mistaken conclusions, the misunderstanding produced an unexpectedly favorable result. Li Ximing had not expected Guo Nanwu to understand from just one hint and was immediately delighted, thinking, How perceptive, and how obedient... What a pity he is not one of my own juniors... such a pity...

Guo Nanwu was sharp-minded and knew how to conduct himself appropriately. Li Ximing had always been quite satisfied with him and had grown somewhat appreciative of his talent.

Guo Nanwu asked, "Senior Zhaojing, what is the situation in the Wilderness now?"

Li Ximing smiled bitterly inwardly, but then shook his head and sighed. "Hard to say... I heard that Protector-General Liu has already reached the Wilderness. With such a major movement, there is no way the north could remain unaware. Conflict between the two shores could erupt at any moment. There truly are never more than a few peaceful years!"

Only Yang Ruiyi had personally seen Li Zhouwei's injuries. The grand general still intended to treat the Li Family with a measure of conciliation and had not ordered Li Ximing to come, but Li Ximing reckoned that he would not be able to stay out of the matter. Worse still, the [Two Bright Rites of Layered Fire] was still suspended within the inner formation to assist Li Jiangqian, making things truly troublesome.

At the same time, none of this could be spoken of openly, so Li Ximing casually discussed the forces in the Wilderness. Before long, someone hurried up the mountain and reported quietly, "Daoist Master Qinghu has returned from the lands of Shu and is now in the command tent holding a private discussion with the lord... He asks that Daoist Master come over now."