Chapter 762 538: The Eve (Part 2)

After spending a long time by the East Sea, Li Qinghong's way of thinking also took on the East Sea's flavor. She would always consider the worst first, and merely said:

"Let's wait a while. Xizhi will likely come… These things should be left for him to handle."

"Aunt is right."

...

Long Sky Peak.

Li Xizhi searched several pavilions on the peak, but not a single scroll could be found. There was no Fire Vein or Pill Furnace in sight, and the Medicine Garden was completely desolate.

Only in the main hall at the center, hidden behind the sanctuary, hung a single Jade Slip. With his Foundation Establishment cultivation, Li Xizhi examined carefully and spotted it at a glance, taking it out immediately.

The "Mercury Quan Original Method", Fourth Grade.

This cultivation technique was indeed an excellent one, but it seemed there was already a copy available for borrowing within the sect. Moreover, there was no Qi Gathering Method marked. This technique required a dose of "White Mercury Vermilion Liquid", something evidently quite rare.

As Yang Ruizao was strolling leisurely with him atop the mountain, chatting along the way, someone soon came delivering something—a crystal-clear Jade Slip.

Li Xizhi read it over. This Long Sky Peak truly did have quite a history; within the sect, its teachings had been passed down in an unbroken line. The peak's own cultivation arts were rarely replaced by those of the wider sect.

Its origins could be traced as far back as four hundred years ago, when the Peak Master was titled Taoist Long Sky. He cultivated in the Helin Mountains, later joined Green Pond Mountain's sect, and was granted this peak.

He was skilled in the Dao of "Whole Pills"—the Secret White Mercury—and, together with Ning Wenyue, Peak Master of Moon Lake Peak who mastered "Lake Moon Autumn," was famed as one of two peerless figures.

Later, Taoist Long Sky perished. His Taoist spell was transmitted into the sect, but though later generations strove to cultivate it, none could rival him; their progress lagged even behind common techniques. Thus, it declined with each generation, yet each generation persisted doggedly in cultivation.

With the passing of the last Peak Master, Zhang Lingshu, this lineage was considered extinct, its incantations and secret manuals all lost, leaving behind only this one cultivation method.

Even the Yang Family had noted that, to this day, this technique languished unregarded within the Scripture Pavilion, still bearing the name "Mercury Quan Original Method".

'Secret White Mercury.'

Now that Li Xizhi stood as an eminent figure on the peak, with the Yang Family's backing, his access to information was growing. Seeing he seemed not to fully comprehend, Yang Ruizao quietly explained:

"Xizhi, this 'Secret White Mercury' belongs to the Dao of Whole Pills."

Li Xizhi thought it sounded like Metal Virtue, but among the Three Metals one finds Dui Metal, Geng Metal, and Xiao Metal—there was no "Whole Pill", so he asked:

"Is it a type of metallic nature?"

Yang Ruizao shook his head and replied:

"If categorizing as Five Waters for Water Virtue, Five Fires for Fire Virtue, the Twelve Qi, Primordial Magnetism, or Yin and Yang, the Dao of Whole Pills fits none of these categories. Rather, it belongs to the Ancient Merging Method."

"Both the 'Xiukui' from Great Owl Sunflower View, the 'Jade True' from Shangyuan Perfected Lord, and even the 'Hengzhu' of Hengzhu Toaism belong to this class. They mostly exude an ancient air—arcane, enigmatic, blending illusion and reality, refining mercury in pursuit of gold."

"Yet as the records describe, this 'Secret White Mercury' is indeed uncanny and wondrous. Perhaps in direct combat it's not a match for today's mainstream arts, but in terms of various applications, it allows for far, far more…"

Li Xizhi silently memorized all this, thinking to himself:

"Now that I have received another's Taoist lineage, when I take disciples and pass on teachings in the future, if I can obtain this Spiritual Energy, there should be at least one person to inherit this path…"

After putting away the cultivation method, he saw Rosy Cloud light once more soaring from the south. Yang Ruizao looked up in mild surprise, thought for a moment, and said:

"Looks like it's the fourth batch headed over. The sect has almost dispatched all its personnel, and it's time to conscript from the noble families."

Li Xizhi nodded. Yang Ruizao asked:

"I wonder if you're included in this order, Xizhi…"

The two exchanged glances; Li Xizhi merely nodded, and Yang Ruizao laughed:

"Indeed. Though the orders haven't yet come down… the benefits have all been handed to you, so naturally you're to go."

Even as he spoke, Yang Ruizao's expression turned increasingly solemn. In a low voice he said:

"Only two more departures remain. Xizhi, best you set out sooner. If you miss the timing, others may seize it as a handle against you."

Li Xizhi nodded. Both kept watch, then rose together on the wind. There they saw the grand and graceful Rosy Cloud Boat folding in its long, glowing wings, slowly descending into the formation below.

Among all Thirty-Six Peaks, people could be seen riding on the wind to join them. Li Xizhi and his brother-in-law Yang Ruizao stood in the clouds, watching as the boat's Great Formation dissolved. Yang Ruizao asked:

"I wonder, who's leading the team?"

Just then, as the rosy formation faded, there at the bow stood a cultivator clad in golden armor. His eye sockets were slightly deep-set, his shoulders broad and frame imposing, with bushy brows and white hair, aged eyes half-closed, a fearsome golden bow strapped to his back.

The elder's armor gleamed with white light in the glow. Standing with his hands behind him, Yang Ruizao looked somewhat awed, glanced sidelong at Li Xizhi, and chuckled:

"So it's Li Xuanfeng, the 'Geng Metal Bowstring'."

Since Li Xuanfeng was personally commanding this vessel, Li Xizhi would of course go with them. Just as he was preparing to board, Yang Ruizao paused slightly and said:

"My family has two brothers as well… They'll be heading out with us."

Li Xizhi grasped his meaning at once—no need for words. He only smiled:

"Brother-in-law, please gather your men. We'll travel together—the more, the safer."

"No need for such words."

Yang Ruizao laughed and made his exit. Li Xizhi mused to himself:

'Can't rule out that this brother-in-law heard news in advance, hoping to have the Yang Family men join my grand-uncle's group, arranging things so naturally…'

The Chi Family was greatly invested in this matter. Apart from the handful of peaks under the Yuanxiu Perfected Person within the sect, most others sent their own direct members. Yang Ruizao himself might very well have to go too.

Li Xizhi, however, saw things clearly. Among the noble families, friendship alone never sufficed; everything was grounded in mutual benefit. The Yang Family had many daughters. The reason he could draw Yang Ruizao close was, first, that he himself possessed outstanding cultivation, and second, that the Li Family was powerful.

Had the Li Family remained as they were after Li Tongya's fatal fall, this brother-in-law would only have offered a smile in passing for courtesy's sake—where would there have been so many connections?

Going through these thoughts, he didn't head straight to find Li Xuanfeng. Instead, he flew to the Affairs Hall and, with his new token, claimed his duties.

"Post at Xu Country's Bianyan Mountain, Baixiang Valley; obey all orders, repel the Devil Cultivators…"

He put the token away, fetched a map and prepared to study it closely. As a precaution, he made a trip to the Scripture Pavilion.

'This "Mercury Quan Original Method" left on the peak is, after all, a secret technique. Perhaps there are different chapters.'

He spent a quarter of an hour cross-checking, borrowing the sect's copy of the Mercury Quan Original Method from the Scripture Pavilion. After a careful comparison, he was slightly disappointed.

"There is no difference between the two, not even a single line. Only, the copy obtained from the peak is unrestricted—it can be taken back home."

He inquired further and learned the sect did have some "White Mercury Vermilion Liquid", so he returned the cultivation manual, entered the boat's main hold, and sought out a cabin to settle in first.

Li Xuanfeng went to the main hall to report in, and meanwhile, members of the Ning Family came amiably to greet him first.

After a short wait, the Yang Family people arrived as well. The several brothers were only passing acquaintances—perhaps glimpsed once when fetching Yang Xiao'er—now following along inside the cabin.

The Yangs were a family of deep lineage, once the royal house of Yue, their foundation profound. Though they had seen hard times, they had now regained stability, revealing their profound roots.

Still, Li Xizhi could see their flaws clearly. In the chaos of old, the Yang family's common folk perished en masse; now reduced to a single peak under Green Pond, their numbers were so thin that almost all began cultivation at birth. Each branch's line dying out was the norm.

Moreover, the Yang Family had no secular enterprises outside the sect; almost everyone carried the air of noble family disciples, aloof from worldly affairs, indulgent and heedless. Growing up solely on the Immortal Peak, they were more extreme than other noble clans.

Now, coming before Li Xizhi, though they all greeted him, they withdrew to one side, joking amongst themselves, utterly lacking any sense of the life-and-death battle ahead. Their vestments shone, but their cultivation was not deep—there was an air of frivolity about them.

This was still not the worst. Among them, one was only at the Qi Cultivation level, his blood Qi turbid; worse yet, he had brought a woman—a Fetal Breathing cultivator, strikingly beautiful, and her cultivation technique peculiarly of the Furnace Cauldron kind.

Li Xizhi glanced around but found no figures worthy of attention. His brother-in-law, it seemed, did not live comfortably most days.

"Be that as it may… if one of them survives through the bloodshed, at least there'd be something worth seeing."

With these thoughts, he was slightly moved:

"If there's a chance not so perilous, I might bring along some of the Chengming generation's children."