Chapter 1089: Large Crack Yin Place

The young man took a step amidst the balanced energies of heaven and earth. He then turned his head, lowered his gaze, and saw a box placed before the threshold of his courtyard. He took out a letter from it and read it carefully.

After reading, his expression subtly changed, revealing a hint of surprise. He flattened one hand, folded the letter with the other, and gently tapped it against his palm.

"Guangchan… Golden Tooth Land… Inheritance of the Victorious and All-Illuminating King…"

Back then, he was only at the fetal breathing stage of cultivation and had just demonstrated his power. When Monk Kongheng witnessed it, the first thing he said was to call him the Victorious and All-Illuminating King. This monk had a profound understanding of the Great Dao and rarely spoke with such certainty.

This made the young man raise his eyebrows, his golden eyes glinting.

"Fate? Calculation? The Victorious and All-Illuminating King is backed by Daliang… and also the Tuoba family… They haven't exerted much effort in the North-South conflict yet…"

He set the letter aside, then picked up the previous ones, reading them one by one before placing them into his storage pouch. He then took out a jade bottle.

'Bright Truth Conjoining Spirit Pills, three pills.'

Li Ximing had urgently sought these pills from Sima Yuanli, but he underestimated Li Zhouwei's cultivation speed. By the time he delivered them, Li Zhouwei had already begun to elevate his divine ability.

In Li Zhouwei's view, the difficulty of the Red Broken Arrow was not high. The "Myriad Chariots Punishing Light Imperial Scripture" fit him like a tailor-made garment, especially now that his cultivation had advanced further. Although this divine ability had its challenges and couldn't compare to the Sovereign Who Treads Danger—which was suited for those facing perilous situations—it was still a natural progression.

'As for the Bright Truth Conjoining Spirit Pills… from now on, each one used is one less. Uncle must use one for his next divine ability, and I will also need this item to pass the Violet Examination. The remaining one will also be useful soon.'

With this divine ability refined, the overly fierce and brutal aura on his face greatly dispersed, transforming into a tranquil, lake-like majesty. He performed a quick calculation with his fingers, revealing a graceful demeanor.

'It took me six to seven years to elevate this divine ability… Jiang Qian should be in secluded cultivation. As for Que Wan… the secret art of the complete elixir is difficult, so it should take some more time.'

His gaze deepened slightly as he ascended the jade steps to the pavilion. In the misty jade pavilion, he found a cabinet and gently opened it.

Inside the cabinet was a small box, containing half a box of blue-white aura, totaling five bottles.

Li Ximing had already discovered this item when he ascended to this realm; it was spiritual energy left behind by the original owner—very likely the legacy of Li Jiangqun from back then!

Upon exiting his secluded cultivation this time, he was certainly going to visit the Fox Clan!

'Uncle took out a bottle back then. After much thought, he couldn't find anyone daring enough to ask and hurriedly sent it back. Now, seeing what happened with the Pure Unity Sect, he dares not speak even more… If I must ask, only the Fox Clan might be worth a try!'

So he took another bottle, stepped out of his cultivation space, and appeared in the vast, splendid main hall. He looked around and found that nothing had changed; everything was as before.

He was not in a hurry to leave the main hall.

'I am already at the Mid-stage of the Violet Palace, combined with numerous spirit treasures, cultivation techniques and spells, and even the fate of the White Qilin… Opponents I struggled against back then are now nothing to me—Hèlián Wújiāng and Shìlóu Yínggé combined might not even be my match!'

'The only ones who can truly suppress me are figures like Wei Xuanyin and Que Liyu…'

His appearance was enough to cause a huge shift in the situation; each day he remained hidden granted him an extra day of strategic advantage. He absolutely could not expose himself easily and was unwilling to let anyone on the lake know!

He then took out a jade pendant from his sleeve, sensed it slightly, and activated it.

Almost the instant he activated the jade pendant, a golden light streaked through, revealing a figure in the main hall, a white and gold Daoist robe shimmering with radiance. Who else could it be but Li Ximing?

He was originally refining pills in the mountains. The jade pendant he constantly monitored and kept in his sleeve lit up, filling his heart with boundless joy mixed with trepidation. He simply pretended he needed to retrieve medicine, stepped into the inner formation, and saw the golden-eyed, white-robed young man standing in the dim hall. He then broke into a wide smile.

"Minghuang… Has it been completed?"

Li Zhouwei smiled, his eyes sweeping over Li Ximing as if he saw something. He took out a Bright Truth Conjoining Spirit Pill from his storage pouch and said with a smile:

"You saved one pill!"

"Good! Mid-stage Violet Palace!"

Li Ximing praised him and took a neatly folded black robe from his sleeve.

"Yuan’e has already recovered on its own and has been put away for you!"

The moment this armor saw Li Zhouwei, it leaped up like a swallow returning to its nest, swishing as it settled upon him and transforming into a robe. Its base color was as black as ink, adorned with golden kirin patterns baring their fangs, and golden edges on both sleeves, making it exceptionally noble and dignified.

Li Ximing offered a compliment, then, unable to restrain himself, eagerly asked:

"How is it?"

Li Zhouwei naturally understood what he was referring to. He chuckled, raised his sleeve, and lightly swept it!

In an instant, the surroundings changed. A thick gust of sand blew directly at them; dark lanterns, flickering candlelight, and even the glittering profound pagodas high above all dimmed, plunging into deep darkness.

In a trance, they were suddenly in the swirling red desert. The land was vast and desolate, with the sound of sand rising everywhere. Innumerable broken weapons and shattered armor lay scattered across the desert, permeated by a dense, boundless, oppressive malevolent aura. The landscape was utterly ravaged!

Li Ximing turned around. The doors of the main hall were long gone, and behind him was also an endless desert. In the pitch-black sky, there was only a golden-yellow circle—a setting sun resembling a gigantic beast.

Li Ximing gasped, with deep astonishment visible in his brows. He turned back and said:

"This is the Red Broken Arrow!"

"Exactly! The Grand Vein Breaking Edge Divine Art—Red Broken Arrow!"

Li Zhouwei smiled slightly, a mark of a solar eclipse suddenly appearing on his forehead, completely black without a hint of light. He replied:

"Using the Imperial Qiguang here yields twice the result with half the effort. All techniques of extreme yang inversion not only receive enhancements but also greatly reduce the required magic power!"

"What's even more marvelous is that this divine ability appears and disappears intermittently, making it difficult to be cut off by various wondrous spiritual artifacts and treasures. When engaging an enemy, it often achieves unexpected effects!"

There was a hint of shrewd planning in his tone; clearly, he already had many plans in mind.

"The setting sun, weapons, blood-stained desert here, and even the Blazing Sun Governance Stars beneath the sky, are all for my use. Not only for my use, but they can even be combined with various profound ancient arts to add even more wondrous uses!"

Li Ximing pondered for a moment and murmured:

"It's quite a place for nurturing malevolent energy!"

"More than that!"

Li Zhouwei stood amidst the setting sun, looking at the endless cold malevolent aura floating on the desert surface beneath his feet. He raised his eyebrows:

"The Imperial Scripture states: 'An emperor who slaughters the common people destroys his own Great Wall. An emperor who herds rebellious citizens nurtures his own bandits.'"

He continued:

"This desert itself holds even greater marvels. Unless one can shatter my divine ability in one go, any damage sustained by people or objects within this desert will have a portion recorded. While offering no immediate benefit, when one leaves this desert, that portion can be left behind and not carried away."

"And as for the many healings and recoveries here, a portion of them will be stolen, and upon their departure, that stolen portion can also be destroyed within the desert."

Li Ximing raised his eyebrows, then relaxed them again, and exclaimed in surprise:

"This is… could it be like the Xinyou Green Swamp Seal from back then… to actually possess such a divine ability! Overlooking all, who can resist it?"

"No."

Li Zhouwei shook his head and said with a smile:

"This path is not one of restraint or imprisonment; it cannot trap people. Its strength lies in its infinite mystique, appearing and disappearing intermittently. Pulling and dragging opponents into the setting sun during combat is a technique, not a realm. It relies on constant change, appearing differently to everyone… Its profundity is difficult to describe in words."

"Uncle has not entered a grotto-heaven. Back then, Zong Chang had an art of exhausting yin, which is somewhat similar…"

"As for divine abilities… the five paths within the Daoist lineage each have their own capabilities. Comparing just one path is insufficient. If one were to compare this way… the Yin Water path has the Reincarnation Spring, known as the Immortal Spring. Who can surpass that single divine ability? Let alone considering mutual generation and mutual restraint."

Li Zhouwei's expression grew a bit more complex, and he replied:

"Daoist lineages all have their marvels. If one is weak, it's the person who is weak; if one is mighty, it's the person who is mighty. Even a weak commander like Du Wei had Ye Hui."

Li Ximing squatted down and personally scooped up a handful of fine sand. The sand was extremely fine; the surface layer felt comfortably warm in his hand, but slightly deeper, it was saturated with blood, heavy like sludge. He sighed:

"It's truly real!"

He stared silently, having clearly already activated his spiritual sense and linked it to his immortal artifact!

In Cha You's vision, everything before him, though condensed by divine ability, was surprisingly not illusory. However, once outside the main hall, the distant scenery became indistinct, floating within the continuously expanding divine ability. Faintly, one could still pass through it and land inside the formation.

This made Li Ximing suddenly recall something:

"Golden Tooth Temple?!"

Based purely on his intuition, one of the foundations of Guangchan's strange and elusive Golden Tooth Temple back then was very likely this very Red Broken Arrow before him!

But these words did not surprise Li Zhouwei. He merely deduced:

"Uncle's guess is correct. The two might share the same origin. However, Golden Tooth Temple has lost its ability to appear and disappear at will, while the Red Broken Arrow does not have the wondrous effect of continuously absorbing people and drawing them deeper inside. It's highly probable that it's connected to the Golden Tooth Land through some wondrous method, merely using the Grand Vein Breaking Edge Divine Art as a stepping stone!"

Li Ximing nodded and sighed, seemingly understanding. He said:

"I had a sense of crisis that day; it must have been related to this place!"

He released the blood-soaked sand and mud from his hand, clapped his hands, and refocused his gaze on the divine ability. Frowning, he said:

"What I don't understand even more… is that this divine ability… is as dark as demonic malevolence!"

Li Ximing was, after all, a Mingyang cultivator, a true person who had mastered a divine ability. He could be called a Grand Cultivator in this era. How could he not discern what a Mingyang divine ability looked like or what aura it emitted?

He still had lingering doubts:

"It's utterly unlike Mingyang!"

Li Zhouwei smiled slightly and said:

"I knew Uncle would ask this!"

He raised his head; his black robe fluttered without wind, and his golden light became increasingly radiant. The enormous setting sun within the entire divine ability gradually began to descend. As the sky fell in the west and rose in the east, a few scattered stars finally emerged from the western horizon.

Li Zhouwei's dark hair surged in the strong wind. He raised his hand and said:

"Uncle, observe!"

Li Ximing fixed his gaze to observe. He saw four stars twinkling on the far western horizon, arranged in an oblique, outwardly widening and inwardly narrowing shape (like the character '匚'). The formation was extremely familiar, causing Li Ximing to gaze at them thoughtfully.

Li Zhouwei said:

"These are the Blazing Sun Governance Stars!"

Li Ximing immediately realized:

"The Blazing Sun Governance Star Treasure Plate!"

This item belonged to the Grand Horned Owl Temple and had been lent to him twice. It was originally a symbol of Ning paying homage to Wei's orthodox calendar and using Wei's chronology. When this plate's wondrous power was activated, these four stars would appear on it!

Li Zhouwei then said solemnly:

"Uncle must have heard of the Supreme Radiance and Extreme Yang… But do you know their origin? The Supreme Radiance is the first of these four stars, and the Extreme Yang is the last. The principle of 'holding upright and holding inverted' refers to this!"

"And these four stars, rotating and transforming, each represent one of the five divine abilities of Mingyang!"

Li Ximing was silent for a moment and asked:

"One is missing."

"Precisely!"

Li Zhouwei's eyes gleamed brightly:

"I once cultivated the Supreme Radiance Profound Extremity Dharma Body divine ability, which is today's Sovereign Who Treads Danger. I once gained a saying from the cultivation method: 'The descent of six and nine leads to the realm of enlightenment and regret. Then there is the heart of the broken arrow and the clear intention. And a treasured artifact with a crack attains completion.'"

"Back then, I didn't understand the meaning behind it. Now that my cultivation has advanced and I have cultivated the Red Broken Arrow from the 'Myriad Chariots Punishing Light Imperial Scripture,' only now do I realize its profound mystery! The one that is not included among them is precisely the Red Broken Arrow!"

He explained:

"The Five Laws of Mingyang include the 'descent of six and nine.' This 'descent of six and nine' refers to the flourishing of yang turning into yin, and the extreme of yin forming yang. First, it makes the Emperor tread danger. Upon success, there is regret, and this regret lies in the heart of the broken arrow!"

"Thus, a treasured artifact with a crack attains completion. 'Wen' refers to a crack in an artifact that has broken but not separated. The Red Broken Arrow is a crack on a Mingyang artifact; it is the yin dwelling within Mingyang!"

"If an emperor has this yin dwelling, only then can the flourishing yang turn into yin, allowing for calm rebirth. If a crown prince has this yin dwelling, only then can he defy imperial authority and walk the path of extreme yang. If Mingyang has this yin dwelling, only then can it retreat to a secondary position and preserve itself before the true foremost manifestation—the Sun. Hence the character 'break'!"

"Throughout the world, only the Sun dares to understand all five paths and can understand all five paths! The path of Mingyang has four lights forming stars, with only this one yin!"

His eyes were bright as gold, like a fifth star between heaven and earth. He said softly:

"This is one of the great secrets of the Mingyang path; it's likely that even in ancient times, few figures knew of it! I achieved this divine ability, and with the feedback from years of accumulated Daoist energy, and by communicating with the fate of the White Qilin, only then did I receive this insight!"

"Precisely because the Red Broken Arrow is the yin dwelling within the Mingyang path, this path can not only be cultivated by Mingyang cultivators but can also be cultivated and supplemented by cultivators of the Shaoyang, Malevolent Qi, and even Hengzhu paths!"

Li Ximing was utterly shaken by what he heard and found it difficult to speak for a long time. The strong winds in the surroundings, however, grew fiercer because of Li Zhouwei's words, and it seemed as if anomalies were about to manifest. All colors suddenly receded inward, like a fleeting dream, dispersing and vanishing.

Whether it was the setting sun resembling a crouching beast or the vast desert within the endless blood realm, all dispersed, revealing the dimly colored main hall. Li Ximing stood in the hall for a long time, lost in thought.

Li Zhouwei watched him silently.

He could naturally see that Li Ximing hadn't cultivated his "World's Illumination" divine ability much at all. This life-bound divine ability was inherently difficult, and Li Ximing had reached a point where further progress felt particularly arduous. The ratio of effort to reward had significantly changed, and if considering the clan, the greatest benefit lay in pill refining.

But Li Ximing cared for the Li clan, while Li Zhouwei was planning for him.

'If Uncle can achieve the World's Illumination, and wishes to preserve himself in this chaotic era, his next divine ability will definitely be the Sovereign Who Treads Danger… Relying on these three divine abilities to achieve Mid-stage Violet Palace!'

'The Imperial View is too difficult, the Eternal Brightness Staircase is too inferior, and what is likely blocking him from the Violet Examination is precisely the Red Broken Arrow.'

He gazed at Li Ximing, who was deep in thought and unable to speak for a long time, and a hint of hope appeared in his eyes:

'Uncle…'

'The Old Master often said… Uncle is a person of great destiny… If he truly has great destiny… and can be preserved after my death, the only way he can pass the Violet Examination is with this one sentence of mine…'

Main Characters in this Chapter:Li Ximing: Early-stage Violet PalaceLi Zhouwei: Mid-stage Violet Palace