The Mirror Legacy

Chapter 1567: I Govern The Heavenly Order (II)

The great void stretched vast and boundless, filled with purple qi. In the hazy distance beyond sight, a massive purple-gold arc quietly emerged, interwoven with blue and white light that reflected the countless scenes within this world.

Colors that could obscure calculations and conceal divine abilities began to fade, replaced by layers upon layers of light. When one followed those streams of radiance downward, one could make out rows of palatial halls.

Long plumes beneath the eaves swayed gently, and the great halls stood quiet and empty. Compared to the grandeur of Anhuai Heaven, the palaces here were not imposing, but rather delicate and refined, suffused with an ethereal air.

After all, this is the domain of immortals!

Unlike the imperial grandeur of Anhuai Heaven, this place was filled with towering peaks of varying heights, each separated by great distances. At the highest points were either immortal seats or arranged meditation cushions. There were jade tables, jade desks, lotus platforms, and Daoist couches, while farther peaks displayed entirely different styles, each unique in its own way.

Lu Jiangxian drifted as a streak of white light, having already observed this place for quite some time. His divine sense far surpassed spiritual sense, and with the Immortal Mirror now capable of roaming the great void, he carefully examined Wanlin Heaven.

He wandered freely, finding nearly every immortal peak deserted and devoid of any living presence. Instead, there were numerous skeletons and abandoned immortal husks, most of them victims of severe injuries or the end of their lifespan.

Just as empty here as elsewhere.

He stepped forward until he appeared beneath the highest peak. The place stood out among the others, with even the nearest peaks giving it around fifty kilometres of space, leaving behind a vast plain.

Yet beyond the great formation, that plain had long since been reduced to ruins. The once delicate Daoist palaces and towering platforms had all been violently torn down. The land was also scarred with fierce sword marks, leaving nothing but shattered walls and broken remains across the entire expanse.

Lu Jiangxian came to a halt, gazing ahead with a complicated expression. What stopped him was not any treasure among the ruins, but the countless kneeling skeletons packed densely within the shattered remains!

These skeletons were completely different from those scattered across the Turbid Slaughter Mausoleum, which varied in form and brimmed with resentment. Here, they were packed tightly together, one pressed against another, all in the exact same posture. They knelt on both knees, hands resting upon their thighs, their bodies bent forward in utmost reverence. Every inch of bone shimmered with a crystalline glow, yet as one's gaze moved upward past their clearly defined ribs, it became apparent that not a single one had a head.

Tens of millions of skeletons knelt in concentric circles across the entire plain. Though headless, their orientation was unmistakable. All were turned toward the same direction, as if bowing toward the central mountain.

Some wore armor, others Daoist robes, and some still clutched weapons in their hands. Without a word, Lu Jiangxian passed through the densely packed remains.

As he went deeper, he began to see preserved remains clad in spirit robes, richly dressed and adorned with Dharma robes bearing thirty-six spirit feathers. These were clearly the husks of high-ranking direct lineage cultivators. When he reached the foot of the central peak, he finally saw the only figure still standing.

The figure stood guard at the mountain's base, wearing a deep crimson crane cloak embroidered with golden scriptures, its form spread like wings. A trailing mantle flowed behind him. Tall and imposing, he stood there in silence.

His neck had a clean, precise cut from a blade. Above it, there was nothing.

Off to the side, a head lay casually on the ground. It had a high nose and long brows, with cold and sharp features. Yet its eyes were closed, and whatever presence it once held could no longer be seen.

The headless body held a longsword, its tip angled toward the ground. A wisp of crimson blood trailed along the blade, yet had solidified at its edge, coiling like a decorative pattern, infused with an exceedingly terrifying divine ability.

It, too, was just a corpse.

Lu Jiangxian gave it a glance. The spirit sword in its hand did not shine outwardly, but its quality was exceptionally high, at least at the level of a spirit treasure. As for the other spirit artifacts, all were of the finest grade.

At the very least, this was someone of late-stage Purple Mansion Realm, perhaps even at the peak...

A wind rose, sweeping along the blade and producing a sharp, humming wail. The garments draped over the surrounding skeletons fluttered upward, drifting weakly in the air as a dense sword intent echoed throughout.

Sword intent infused into the body... Judging by this, he was beyond the level of Chi Buzi or Wei Xuanyin.

Lu Jiangxian stepped past the countless remains and ascended the steps. His divine sense surged into every corner, comparing each trace of sword marks upon the ruins. He gradually understood, The destruction here, the slaughter of everyone, even the death of this man, all came from this sword. This cultivator likely took his own life.

Lu Jiangxian had not seen a single trace of life along the way. Piecing together the scattered clues, combined with the lingering divine abilities and sword intent permeating the area, he calculated carefully and came to a near-complete understanding.

The Wanlin Upper Sect's sect master body was formed from many smaller Daoist temples, famously lacking a fixed seat. When Wanlin Heaven entered its sealed phase, this cultivator, with little lifespan remaining, feared that the many factions within the grotto heaven would one day reopen it and compromise with the True Monarchs outside... So he used a divine ability to lure everyone here and kill them... before ending his own life.

Ruthless indeed... to wipe out everyone in one stroke... No wonder there has been no trace of Wanlin's orthodox lineage all these years, and only fragments of the Four Mi’s Dao lineages[1] circulating outside...

He made his way up the mountain, and the first thing that came into view were four towering pagodas, each standing in a different direction, embodying the four divine abilities of [Capital Guard]. Within each pagoda were countless spirit items and spirit materials, and more importantly, each one suppressed a spirit treasure!

Sweeping them with his divine sense, he identified them as [Mansion Water], [Merging Fire], [Treasure Earth], and [Gathering Wood].

Truly extravagant beyond measure!

This was clearly different from the sealed Anhuai Heaven of Ning State. Back then, the various clans of Ning State had scattered, and even the royal bloodline had surfaced in the outside world. Anhuai Heaven had essentially been divided among those factions, greatly reducing its value. Only the three strands of Metallic Essence were so precious that cultivators fought shamelessly over them. But when Wanlin Heaven suddenly sealed itself, it had trapped nearly sixty to seventy percent of its treasures within the grotto heaven!

Even these four spirit treasures were only placed in the towers due to their long heritage. Other mountain ranges likewise held spirit artifacts! Lu Jiangxian calculated that there were almost enough for every Purple Mansion Realm cultivator outside to possess one each.

He glanced over them casually, stepped across platforms woven with blue and white patterns, and stopped before a massive white jade gate. This was the mountain gate of Wanlin Heaven! On either side were ancient inscriptions.

All alchemical rites answer me.

And the other read, The Two Principles[2] arose from me into the Profound.

Looking up, he saw five golden words inscribed on the plaque above.

I Govern The Heavenly Order.

These four characters radiated an inviolable authority. Beneath the golden glow, faint streaks of purple-white lightning flickered, as if recalling the past might of the Thunder Palace envoys, who had once commanded thunder and lightning to enforce order across the world.

"I Govern The Heavenly Order..."

His gaze deepened as he stepped forward, passing through the gate and entering the most sacred and mysterious region of the Wanlin Sect.

[Exalted Yang Immutable Palace].

Beyond the gate, layers of color unfolded, silver light interweaving. Gold and white overlapped endlessly as far as the eye could see. Ninety-nine white arches interlocked in concentric layers, resonating together with the palace itself. The entire structure was unified into a single entity. It was a Dharma relic.

But Lu Jiangxian did not spare even a glance for the Dharma relic. Instead, he lifted his gaze and fixed it on the silver light sealed within by the ninety-nine Exalted Yang gates.

The silver radiance was threadlike, as if bursting from a single point in the void, and stretched into drifting strands. The light converged at one point, trembling with urgency as it radiated an overwhelming pressure.

Waves of illusions cascaded like waterfalls around it. At times, purple light dissipated and a grotto heaven fell. At others, water and fire merged, with metal and earth extending endlessly. There were even surges of bloodlight and the fall of divine abilities, as though issuing constant warnings.

Yet the [Exalted Yang Immutable Palace] stood completely empty. That exceedingly familiar light pulsed gently, continuously releasing its mysteries. Lu Jiangxian’s expression grew complicated as he recognized it at once.

"[Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman]!"

This was the very source of Liu Changdie's supposed reincarnation. Moreover, [Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman] had aided Lu Jiangxian countless times in the past! What he had long sought had finally appeared before him. As expected, it was within Wanlin Heaven.

"Golden Core Realm talisman qi!"

It was not as if Lu Jiangxian had never encountered clues of Golden Core Realm talisman qi. Back when he had gone to Mount Yue, he had faintly sensed one such presence in the region. Yet by the time his divine sense had expanded further and the Li Family occupied Mount Yue, that Golden Core aura had long since vanished. Even so, that fleeting glimpse alone had already told him it was not the [Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman]...

And now, before his eyes, was the true body of talisman qi, the Yellow Talisman within it. This was the first time Lu Jiangxian had ever seen it in person!

"So it's been suppressed and guarded here within the [Exalted Yang Immutable Palace]. No wonder nothing has been found anywhere in Jiangnan!"

He stared at it for a long time without disturbing the Dharma relic, carefully sensing the transformations within the talisman qi. Yet as he did, a growing unease rose in his heart, This talisman qi... seems to have already cultivated a true form...

The [Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman] before him gave him a deeply strange feeling. Unlike talismans that had not yet been bestowed, which felt unanchored, this one carried a sense of solidity, like a stabilizing pillar anchoring the seas, its foundation firm and immovable...

As if... it had already been bestowed upon someone!

His Dao conduct was no longer what it once had been. Even without taking the talisman qi into his hands, he narrowed his eyes and carefully sensed it. Soon, all kinds of anomalies began to surface in his mind.

"Too many alterations have been made... Perhaps some True Monarch obtained it and secretly refined it, using various methods, mysteries, spirit items, even Metallic Essence, to turn it into a Dharma relic! That would explain its stability, to the point that it now requires another Dharma relic to suppress it!"

He calculated quietly, and the picture in his mind grew clearer. He could indeed sense the aura of Metallic Essence within it. Unlike the various Dao lineages he had seen before, this strand of Metallic Essence came from ancient origins and was exceedingly rare...

It was called [Heaven-Governing]. It belonged to the Dao lineage of the fox tribe of Mount Dali!

All these techniques were crafted around this talisman qi and this Metallic Essence. The level of skill involved was almost unheard of in this world!

1. Referring to Mifann, Mifan, Miyan and Milin. ☜

2. This is referring to Yin and Yang. ☜