Chapter 352: Bu Zi Comes

The East Sea.

Among the Four Seas, the East Sea is the most expansive. Its waves surge and its waters are clear and blue, with various demonic creatures often rising on the wind and riding the waves across its surface.

Demonic creatures are most prosperous in the East Sea. Led by the dragon kin, they have each established deep-sea palaces and formed influential powers, making the East Sea the most vibrant of the Four Seas.

Islands are scattered unevenly, like stars on a chessboard. The closer one gets to Yue Kingdom's coastal commandery, the larger and more expansive the islands become. They are teeming with rogue cultivators and sects, especially demonic cultivators, strange practitioners, and shamanic cultivators, creating a truly chaotic landscape.

Furthermore, with numerous demonic beasts in the East Sea, daily slaughter is common. Sixty percent of the demonic creature materials within the sea originate from the East and South Seas. Conversely, the vast inner regions of the sea widely cultivate spirit rice, which is then exported overseas. This mutually beneficial trade has existed for a millennium.

Sects in the East Sea constantly consider relocating inland. Many of Yue Kingdom's Three Sects and Seven Gates achieved the Violet Palace realm on the East Sea before moving inland.

Deep beneath the sea, after passing through layers of profound protective arrays, a submerged cliff face appears. Coral carpets the seabed, amidst broken walls, ruined foundations, and scattered shattered tiles.

Xiao Chuting sat cross-legged, dressed in a grey robe, his expression calm and unbothered. He faced a shimmering stone wall, which was crystal clear and radiated a faint light, as rows of small golden characters appeared one by one on its surface:

“The Nine Complete Arts, residing in the Azure Nether; the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, inherently bestowed by Heaven; the Void Wind and Fire, spiritual essence is qi…”

Xiao Chuting observed carefully. After the texts on the stone wall finished appearing, a new line of large characters materialized:

“The Profound Art of Unified Golden Core”

Then, lines of small characters reappeared. Xiao Chuting watched them silently, without a word. He had been trapped in this place for several years, gazing at the stone wall every day, without the slightest hint of impatience.

“Fellow Daoist Chuting, are you still unwilling to speak?”

Zhang Tianyuan, dressed in golden robes, stood with his hands behind his back and spoke softly from nearby:

“This profound art is a legacy from before the ancient heavenly transformation. Even if you see it, you will completely forget it. Don't waste your effort!”

Seeing Xiao Chuting remain silent and continue to stare at the stone wall, a hint of impatience finally flickered across Zhang Tianyuan's brows, and he said in a deep voice:

“Beneath the Unified Immortal Wall, not even True Monarchs can investigate. Only you and I know about this. What else is there to worry about?”

“Who exactly was the Violet Palace realm expert who intervened during the Wrathful Maha incident!?”

Xiao Chuting paused, finally looking at him. He said gently:

“Fellow Daoist Tianyuan, Chuting only met that senior once. I only recognize that senior's divine ability; I know nothing else.”

“Hmph!”

Zhang Tianyuan scoffed, his voice deep:

“Are you telling me that person used a fated divine ability to fight eight opponents, just to save Li Tongya's life? The Li family is just a small Foundation Establishment clan; how could they command such influence?!”

“Since he is your hidden mastermind and skilled in fated divine abilities, he must have some scheme!”

He stared deeply at Xiao Chuting and said softly:

“Since you are unwilling to speak, we will continue to stall and see if that fellow Daoist is willing to help you escape. The Xiao family has a great legacy, but without your support, I fear they won't last long.”

“You exaggerate, Fellow Daoist.”

Xiao Chuting, however, paid no attention to his words. He immediately saw through Zhang Tianyuan's bluster, remaining composed, even smiling:

“You and I can afford to wait, but Qingchi cannot. If Chuting is not mistaken, Chen Taojing is now dead, and the demonic plague has spread towards the Seven Gates’ territories.”

As he spoke of Chen Taojing’s death, a trace of regret flashed in Xiao Chuting’s eyes, and he continued:

“If I were not here in the sea, relying solely on Chi Buzi and Yuansu, figures like Chongzhuo and Dongquansheng could not muster so many Foundation Establishment cultivators. If True Monarch’s plans are ruined, Fellow Daoist Tianyuan would not be able to bear the responsibility.”

Xiao Chuting’s words made Zhang Tianyuan’s expression turn grim. His golden robe rippled slightly as he said sharply:

“You certainly can scheme… No wonder you hid for five years before appearing, waiting for this very opportunity… Good! Good…”

Zhang Tianyuan gritted his teeth:

“First, you scheme against my Zhang family, then you exploit the Qingchi Sect, how cunning! Go ahead and walk your dangerous path; we’ll see how long you can last!”

He flicked his sleeve, and his figure vanished into the distance. This area was covered by dense protective arrays, restrictions left by an ancient immortal sect. One could not escape into the void here; even Violet Palace cultivators could only fly honestly.

After Zhang Tianyuan left, Xiao Chuting also rose, standing with his hands behind his back.

To protect the Li family, this hidden chess piece for that Violet Palace True Person, Xiao Chuting had gone to great lengths. He used every clue to point the mastermind behind the Li family towards himself, thus gravely offending Zhang Tianyuan.

“I hope that senior… has their own plans and arrangements.”

“Chen Mufeng.”

Li Yuanjiao silently picked up the small letter in his hand, finished reading its contents, and looked at the young man kneeling before him:

“Peak Fetal Respiration realm before thirty years old, truly a genius!”

Chen Mufeng, with lowered eyes and bowed head, said clearly:

“Clan Brother possesses a Daoist Body and Immortal Fetus; Mufeng is merely a firefly's glow, incomparable to Clan Brother's moonlight.”

Chen Mufeng's words were truly sincere. Li Yuanjiao was only six or seven years older than him, yet he had already reached the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, naturally making it impossible for Chen Mufeng to even think of comparing himself.

Li Yuanjiao paused slightly at being called 'Clan Brother,' then remembered that Chen Mufeng was the son-in-law of his clan uncle Li Qiuyang, and the husband of his clan sister. This made Li Yuanjiao his brother-in-law, a distant relative by marriage.

“Have you decided what cultivation method you wish to practice?”

Chen Mufeng bowed again and replied:

“I leave it entirely to the clan's arrangements!”

“Good.”

Li Yuanjiao nodded and replied:

“Then it shall be the ‘Rivers and One Qi Art’!”

“Thank you, Clan Brother! Thank you, family! Mufeng will certainly dedicate his life to the clan…”

Chen Mufeng, whose ears had been perked, was waiting precisely for this sentence. He was immediately overjoyed, prostrated himself excitedly, and recited a series of vows. Li Yuanjiao simply waved his hand and said softly:

“Go to Yuanping for the cultivation method, pills, and spirit energy. You don't need to report back here again!”

The Li family's promotion of external cultivators was certainly effective enough. Li Yuanjiao himself cultivated nothing more than the ‘Rivers and One Qi Art’. A cultivation method one grade higher meant a significant boost in strength. Chen Mufeng quickly expressed his gratitude and hurried away.

Only after seeing the young man leave did Li Yuanjiao turn to Li Xuanxuan beside him and ask softly:

“How does this person compare to Uncle Donghe?”

Li Xuanxuan held a talisman produced by Qingchi, carefully studying the brushstrokes on it, and said:

“He is not as steady as Donghe. Having experienced fewer setbacks, he is inevitably somewhat frivolous, unlike our family's disciples.”

The direct descendants of the Li family knew they possessed great treasures and understood the ruthless methods of the major sects. They had always educated their younger generations with the warning that one moment of carelessness could lead to the extinction of the entire clan. Thus, Ximing and Xijun were both introspective individuals, entirely different from the youthful and complacent Chen Mufeng.

Coupled with strict clan laws, the atmosphere within the clan was usually somewhat somber. Li Yuanjiao also feared going too far. He chuckled and said softly:

“Good enough will suffice. The clan always needs one or two individuals with drive.”

As the two chatted, Xiao Guiluan returned on the wind, her face full of doubt. She landed, bowed to Li Xuanxuan, and said respectfully:

“Father.”

Li Xuanxuan waved his hand in acknowledgment, then looked at her intently and eagerly asked:

“What did Xiao Guitu say?”

Xiao Guiluan hesitated for a moment, then repeated her brother's words. Both Li Yuanjiao and Li Xuanxuan were stunned, looking at her in disbelief, then at each other.

“Our family has a Violet Palace expert?!”

Li Yuanjiao was stunned for a few breaths, then frowned, looked up, and said in a deep voice:

“Where would our family get a Violet Palace expert? If the Li family had a Violet Palace expert, would we still be in this state?!”

Li Xuanxuan put away the talisman in his hand, feeling completely bewildered. Xiao Guiluan herself was also perplexed. Seeing that Li Yuanjiao's expression did not seem feigned, she hesitated and said:

“Perhaps it's a good thing! But my heart feels constantly uneasy, and I don't know why.”

Li Yuanjiao simply twisted the cup in his hand silently and murmured:

“No wonder Xiao Guitu was so polite later.”

“What do we do now?”

Xiao Guiluan asked. Li Yuanjiao, however, was unusually calm. The image of the immortal mirror flashed in his mind for a moment, and he said:

“Just pretend nothing happened. We will proceed as usual.”

He secretly had a guess: the immortal mirror in their home had an extremely high status but was also skilled at concealment. Perhaps Xiao Chuting couldn't deduce its true origin and simply misunderstood.

And he couldn't send someone to the Xiao family to explain anything. Whether Xiao Guitu believed it or not, if the matter reached other people's ears, it would likely ruin everything.

“If Xiao Chuting can return safely and in time… then everything will be fine. If he cannot return…”

Though Li Yuanjiao said this, he always felt that Xiao Chuting was not one to be easily trapped by rash advances. Furthermore, the Old Man of the Stream was incredibly elusive, likely only setting ambushes for others.

So he shook his head and continued:

“Xiao Chuting would never put himself in danger. It's probably a calculated exchange. Don't worry about the Xiao family; let's prepare to deal with the demonic cultivators first.”

Seeing Li Yuanjiao casually dismiss the matter, Xiao Guiluan could only nod. Suddenly, her mind cleared, and she too felt a strange sense of bewilderment. She exclaimed softly:

“Oh no!”

The two looked over and saw Xiao Guiluan's face turn pale. She murmured:

“No wonder my heart was so flustered! Brother… he was hit by a divine ability… it was Buzi! No wonder, I understand now! I understand! Buzi deliberately sought a meeting, no wonder he needed a Violet Palace expert to come in person; he forced Brother to meet him.”

“Brother is only at the Qi Condensation realm, while Buzi is already at mid-Violet Palace. He merely used a divine ability to confuse and unsettle Brother's mind, making him seek help. Perhaps he wanted to see what countermeasures the Xiao family had!”

Xiao Guiluan was affected and flustered after only slight contact, which showed how deeply Xiao Guitu himself was ensnared by the art. If it had been someone with weaker mental fortitude, they would probably have broken down crying, begged for mercy, and spilled a string of secrets.

“What?!”

Li Yuanjiao paused for a moment, then immediately reacted, turning pale with shock, and exclaimed:

“What level is the Xiao family’s array formation?! Does the Xiao family have means to isolate inside from outside? If Buzi overheard your conversation, wouldn't his next step be to come to our house?!”

Buzi was no ordinary Violet Palace expert. If he learned that the Li family had a Violet Palace expert, he would certainly pay them a personal visit. Not only did their own family lack a Violet Palace expert, but there was also a secret treasure hidden on their mountain. If a Violet Palace expert saw it, it would surely lead to the clan's extermination.

‘If Buzi were to see this treasure that absorbs Lunar Moonlight, he wouldn’t care about the Qingchi Sect or Mount Dali. He would probably slaughter my family immediately, seize the treasure, and flee!’

“Impossible!”

Xiao Guiluan, having shaken off Buzi's divine ability, was much clearer-headed. She said decisively:

“Our Xiao family's grand hall was personally refined by our ancestor! It creates a void with the Great Void. Even Buzi would have to lower himself to descend onto the mountaintop and then enter the hall. There’s absolutely no way he could have heard anything.”

“Once it isolates from the Great Void, even the soul lamps of those who die inside the sect wouldn't extinguish immediately, let alone allow for any eavesdropping methods!”

Li Yuanjiao glanced at her, still feeling his hair stand on end. He murmured:

“I hope so…”

The waters of Moon-Gazing Lake rippled. A green-robed cultivator descended on the wind, landing on a small island in the lake.

“Moon-Gazing Marsh.”

He silently gazed at the verdant lake waters. By his reckoning, it had been over a hundred years since he last visited this place.

According to the records of the Qingchi Sect, the spiritual energy here was once the strongest in Yue Kingdom, a treasured land of immortal abodes, with wisps of white mist and a vast expanse of lakes. Five hundred years ago, its spiritual energy plummeted, and then, during the siege and killing of Li Jiangqun, it was severely damaged again, almost reaching a state of spiritual barrenness.

True Person Buzi looked out, gazing into the distance. His grandfather and uncles had all died in that great battle. Now, hundreds of years old, seeing the lake waters, he still felt a reddish tinge within the blue.

“When Jiangqun died, the bright moon rose in the east, its color like frost. Snow fell softly in the commandery, and a myriad of lights, red and blue intertwined, shone on the lake…”

The number of Violet Palace experts who died in this battle was uncountable. Some, even after returning to their sects, couldn't erase his sword intent and slowly awaited death. However, the strange phenomena on the lake alone were more spectacular than those of the preceding and following centuries combined.

Li Jiangqun naturally had no time to transform into a spiritual being. The Three Sects divided his physical body and took it away as if they had acquired a priceless treasure. Next came the reckoning for the Lingyu Gate and the extermination of those immortal clans.

He stirred from his memories, shook his head, withdrew his gaze, and extended his spiritual sense, searching the lake bottom repeatedly.

“Search only three times; if nothing is found, I shall leave.”

The waters at the bottom of Moon-Gazing Lake surged. The terrain was treacherous, and demonic creatures were numerous, including many Foundation Establishment level ones. Ordinarily arrogant, upon seeing a Violet Palace True Person, they immediately cowered, kneeling and trembling in the mud.

Buzi couldn't be bothered with them. He meticulously searched three times, finding nothing. Unable to resist the temptation, he added two more searches, but in the end, he could only shake his head and sigh deeply:

“No destiny after all! How could it be so easy to find?”

In truth, the various sects had long given up on searching for Lunar Moonlight on Moon-Gazing Lake. Compared to that, it was better to search among the ruins in the East Sea. However, Buzi, having heard Li Xizhi’s account, couldn't help but make a trip.

“The Violet Palace expert assisting the Xiao family also wasn't forced out… Perhaps it's out of deference to Xiao Xianyou. Still, I must release Xiao Chuting first, so as not to mess things up.”

Buzi glanced at Mount Dali, flicked his sleeve, and vanished into the Great Void.

Watching Buzi depart into the Great Void, Lu Jiangxian finally let out a long sigh of relief:

“Good, good… He wasn't coming for me.”

True Person Buzi had only just passed through the Ding family and entered Moon-Gazing Lake when Lu Jiangxian was immediately alerted. Seeing the fellow's aggressive demeanor, for a moment, he truly believed he had been exposed.

He was secretly calculating whether he could escape from Buzi, a mid-Violet Palace expert who had condensed three divine abilities, only to realize that Buzi had merely come by to search for Lunar Moonlight.

“It's just that from now on, I can't let the Li family expose any more Lunar Moonlight… If another one appears, this lake will be swarming with Violet Palace experts every day… I fear the Three Sects will even fight over the ownership of Moon-Gazing Lake.”

As he was silently pondering, he saw a ripple in the Great Void, and Buzi, in his green robes, stepped through the air once more, startling Lu Jiangxian.

‘This person! What new tricks is he up to now?’

Buzi's expression held a faint smile as he quietly descended onto the lake, looking towards the glittering grand array on Mount Lijing.

‘Isn't there still the Li family? That Li Xizhi is merely a greenhorn; perhaps he doesn't know the clan's secrets. With something as valuable as Lunar Moonlight in that cave abode… maybe there are other treasures too!’