Chapter 1800: A Fleeting Dream (II)

Heaven and earth were somber, shrouded in darkness.

A certain green-white cave dwelling was adorned throughout with pale-white cassia blossoms. Jade tables and desks were arranged neatly, while a large pool occupied the very center. Its water was crystal clear, and waves of white radiance rippled across its surface.

The cave dwelling itself was brilliantly illuminated. A middle-aged man knelt upon the floor with a respectful expression, raising the jade box in his hands as he said reverently, "My master instructed me to present the [White Filament Moonbud Profound Pill] and the [Profound Method of Seeking Supreme Yin] to repay the Grand Daoist Master's kindness!"

His words echoed throughout the cave dwelling. A man deep within the cave turned, his hands clasped behind his back.

The man had fair skin, handsome brows, and long, refined eyes. A silver cassia pattern adorned the center of his brow, and he wore magnificent robes. His bearing was poised and dignified, and his features were as otherworldly as an immortal's. He casually helped the middle-aged man to his feet and shook his head.

"What is the meaning of this? I have already said... my aspirations do not lie with Supreme Yin..."

The middle-aged man merely replied, "Senior rescued us from dire peril... And since you seek to attain the Golden Core Realm, my master recalled that our Dao possesses a profound pill and a spirit item left behind by our founding ancestor that would greatly benefit you!"

He took out a box and said solemnly, "With the [Profound Method of Seeking Supreme Yin] and the [White Filament Moonbud Profound Pill], you will surely be able to follow the dharma lineage of your predecessors and attain the Dao!"

"Buzz..."

The entire scene rippled and transformed into a mirror held between a pair of fair hands. With a gentle sweep from their owner, the memories scattered in every direction, and the peerless scenery of the surrounding immortal towers and pavilions appeared in their reflection.

This was none other than the world within the mirror!

Lu Jiangxian rose to his feet, his expression distant and contemplative. The founding ancestor of Chunyi Dao Gate, Jiequn, never used the [Profound Method of Seeking Supreme Yin].

Then the person who used one of the three [White Filaments of Harmonized Radiance] mentioned by Yuanshang naturally could not have been Jiequn either. It was Guanyu, the Grand Daoist Master of Ning's Li lineage who aided Chunyi Dao Gate all those years ago!

This matter could be traced back to Daoist Master Yuanshang's master, Daoist Master Yanyi.

He had originally been an insignificant cultivator of Chunyi Dao Gate with mediocre innate ability. Yet he had once encountered a fortuitous opportunity by chance. A divine figure from a wondrous realm within a celestial palace had appeared to him in a dream and bestowed upon him a casket containing three items.

The [Profound Method of Seeking Supreme Yin], the [White Filament of Harmonized Radiance], and the [Heavenly Origin Essence].

Yuanshang did not know exactly what the divine figure had said... Even this account of past events had merely been pieced together by Daoist Master Yuanshang from the few fragmentary words his master spoke before his death.

After obtaining the three items, Daoist Master Yanyi had consumed the [Heavenly Origin Essence] and rose steadily from that point onward. He soon gained prominence within the faltering Chunyi Dao Gate and became its leader. He then incorporated the [Profound Method of Seeking Supreme Yin] into the Dao lineage, claiming that it had been passed down by the founding ancestor.

It was at this time that master and disciple met Guanyu, a Daoist Master of Ning's Li. This Grand Daoist Master had already cultivated four divine abilities. For his final divine ability, he had originally intended to cultivate [Lesser Yin] in pursuit of the Intercalary Position.

Daoist Master Yanyi, however, had been deeply tempted and used the [Profound Method of Seeking Supreme Yin] to entice him. In the end, he expended a [White Filament of Harmonized Radiance] to refine a [White Filament Moonbud Profound Pill], persuading Guanyu to change his mind and pursue Supreme Yin!

In the end, Daoist Master Guanyu had met with ruin and perished. Daoist Master Yanyi encountered some unknown problem and remained trapped at the Purple Mansion Threshold, unable to advance. Ultimately, he fought another in pursuit of a fortuitous opportunity and died.

In his early years, Yuanshang believed that his master, Yanyi, had made Guanyu test the waters for him because he intended to pursue Supreme Yin himself... Yet as Yuanshang gradually investigated what had happened back then, he likewise realized that something was amiss.

This entire scheme was laid for Daoist Master Guanyu from the beginning... Yanyi's aptitude was mediocre. Those great figures had never imagined that he could pursue the Dao! The divine figure who appeared in his dream back then even instructed him to falsely claim that the opportunity had been left by Jiequn and then give it to Guanyu!

Yuanshang's speculation did not arise from any insight he had gained through his dealings with the disciples and descendants of great powers. It stemmed chiefly from the words his master had spoken before his death. "The divine figure bestowed this Dao upon me, but I could not succeed. The merit I leave behind now rests with you. If the day comes when you successfully attain the Dao, the divine figure will personally transmit it to you... You must attain the Dao! You must attain the Dao!"

If Yanyi had rendered any service at all, it could only have been sending Guanyu to pursue Supreme Yin...

This history had remained sealed within Yuanshang's heart like a long-buried secret. He had not been his master's only disciple, and the lie surrounding the [Profound Method of Seeking Supreme Yin] had already spread. In the end, he had silently helped his master maintain the deception. After all, it was still a method for pursuing the Dao.

Yet, as the turmoil surrounding Li Jiangqun's affair shook the entirety of Jiangnan, Yuanshang also received some unexpected information, and doubts gradually arose in his heart.

For example, Is the [Profound Method of Seeking Supreme Yin] truly a method for pursuing the Dao? Could it have merely been a means for some great power to probe the Supreme Yin Fruition Attainment...

For precisely this reason, Yuanshang’s suspicions had risen when Chi Buzi had delivered the [Profound Bearer Supreme Yin White Laurel Branch] to him. Only a final trace of uncertainty remained, so he pretended to decline the item and refrained from using it. Then Li Ximing arrived and presented him with a Supreme Yin Profound Pill, finally erasing that last shred of doubt.

It was deliberately arranged! They merely wanted to probe Supreme Yin! Alas... I have made him into a weapon in the hands of his enemies!

Moreover, Li Ximing happened to be of the Ning's Li lineage, just like Guanyu, to whom he had presented the [White Filament Moonbud Profound Elixir] all those years ago... Even his own disciple, Fuxuan, had already reached the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion Realm, just as he himself had back then!

At that moment, although Yuanshang did not know who had arranged everything from behind the scenes, he had already discerned most of the scheme. Yet that only made him even more afraid to speak.

How could he act willfully when the fate of the entire Chunyi Dao Gate rested upon him? Did the pursuit of Supreme Yin necessarily have to fall upon Chunyi Dao Gate? Fuxuan was gentle on the outside but unyielding within. Though he appeared mild-mannered, his nature was fiercer than anyone's. If Yuanshang let even one word slip, who knew what sort of catastrophe it might ultimately cause?

In the end... what awaits us will naturally be suppression... A personal transmission from some divine figure? It was nothing more than an empty dream, merely one small part of their scheme!

Lu Jiangxian’s gaze was complicated as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his heart weighed down heavily.

Yet was his own predicament not also part of the scheme? Both of these streams of moonlight had come from his own hands!

The Moon Orchid Li Ximing obtained back then was indeed a spirit item that possessed inherent rank but little else. To complement the Pure Essence Qi Pill within him, I helped him form an additional Supreme Yin Great Pill while minimizing the risk of exposing myself... Yet with the two complementing each other, both essence and life were made whole. Supported by my inherent rank, it naturally became comparable to a [Profound Bearer Supreme Yin White Laurel Branch]!

In other words, by consuming this pill and breaking through, Yuanshang had already fulfilled the requirements of the [Profound Method of Seeking Supreme Yin] and sounded out Supreme Yin!

Not only had Yuanshang sounded it out, but Lu Jiangxian himself had even sensed it!

What Dingjiao told Chi Buzi was likewise only half true. It was not actually the case that pursuing the Dao with the [Profound Bearer Supreme Yin White Laurel Branch] would allow one to divine the true state of Supreme Yin...

Only after five such divinations and attempts to sound it out could they determine the whereabouts of [Donghua Heaven], which was anchored to the position of Supreme Yin. Counting Guanyu and Yuanshang, Fuxuan would only be the third!

He had pondered this for a long time, and the truth gradually became clear in his mind. Lu Jiangxian could likewise see Yuanshang's attainment clearly. With a flick of one hand, a jade slip materialized out of thin air, bearing large, colorful runes that constantly shifted over time.

It was the [Yuanxia Congealed Jade Dao Scripture]!

This was none other than the Fundamental Dharma of Chunyi Dao Gate. This scripture was the reason Lu Jiangxian knew everything in such detail!

Lu Jiangxian had observed Yuanshang's breakthrough from the sidelines. When Yuanshang circulated the [Yuanxia Congealed Jade Dao Scripture], Lu Jiangxian suddenly sensed something. He did not know what kind of True Immortal one would become by advancing and attaining the Dao through Supreme Yin, but the alternative path of becoming a Congealed Jade Vassal under Supreme Yin unmistakably pointed toward him.

As long as he wished it, he could immediately reveal his true form and guide Yuanshang inside! Lu Jiangxian was naturally profoundly shaken. Upon closer examination, he even detected the nature of a sacrificial rite upon Yuanshang, except the offering was Yuanshang's own life.

The [Yuanxia Congealed Jade Dao Scripture] was a Moonward Ascension Art and also a complete ancient immortal cultivation method acquired by Lu Jiangxian. Cultivating according to this scripture not only allowed one to form divine abilities, but also to pursue the Golden Core Realm with one's very life!

However, the Golden Core Realm attained through it did not grant a proper position. Instead, it allowed one to sense the great void and entrust one's Metallic Essence to the Supreme Yin manifestation. One could thereby attain the Dao through an unorthodox Dao, much like a judge of the Underworld's judiciary, acquiring a unique title, Congealed Jade Immortal!

The cultivators of Chunyi Dao Gate intended to combine their cultivation methods with the resonance of the [Yuanxia Congealed Jade Dao Scripture]. Although their Dao resembled the Purple Mansion and Golden Core Dao, when they finally sensed the essence of their lives, they could risk everything in one attempt and convert to cultivating as a Congealed Jade Immortal. Thus, the cultivators of Chunyi Dao Gate privately styled themselves the [Yuanxia Congealed Jade Dao], though they never proclaimed it openly.

This idea is quite ingenious. Perhaps Jiequn studied the [Yuanxia Congealed Jade Dao Scripture] back then and left this method to his descendants. His modifications were convincing enough, but the difficulty was simply far too great...

However, precisely because of the exceptionally close connection between the two, Yuanshang was able to complete every step of the [Yuanxia Congealed Jade Dao Scripture] with the support of that great pill. Everything he had learned throughout his life converged into his true spirit, which manifested upon his death. Only then could the [Registering Name Stone] illuminate it and draw it into the mirror!

His life and essence transformed into a demonic entity and were taken away by the Underworld's judiciary, but his true spirit had already arrived here!

It was precisely because of this that the entire history of the [Profound Method of Seeking Supreme Yin], the complete contents of the [Yuanxia Congealed Jade Dao Scripture], and even the successive inheritances of Chunyi Dao Gate and Daoist Master Guanyu all fell into Lu Jiangxian's hands!

Lu Jiangxian raised his hand slightly. A tiny speck of brilliance had appeared in his palm.

"The true spirit and lifetime of learning of a Supreme Yin Grand Daoist Master who completed all five divine abilities and attained Metallic Essence... At last, I no longer have to keep relying on Dangjiang to maintain appearances! Certain ideas of mine now have a foundation as well!"