Chapter 593: Golden Feather's Plan

The Literature of Ink and Brush, The Mystic Mirror Immortal Clan!

Grand Ning Palace.

Li Xuanfeng meditated in the air for a while, while Si Yuanli stood with his sword, one hand behind his back, looking silently at the crystal light pillar that pierced through heaven and earth.

‘The Ning Kingdom’s Dao lineage is known for its True Qi, often combined with talismanic arts. There are even many cultivators who practice talismans and shamanism. An Huaitian has never been opened before, so there must be many good things inside.’

He wasn't in a hurry. The grotto-heaven was vast, and many formations were intact, unlike anything found in Grand Ning Palace. Being a quarter of an hour early or late made no significant difference.

Si Yuanli pondered for two breaths, then suddenly felt the world dim slightly. The crystal light pillar flickered faintly, and he frowned. Everything quickly returned to normal.

“Hmm?”

The sky above glowed dimly with gold. Si Yuanli was startled, then looked down at his feet. The clear lake surface churned with wisps of white smoke, and tiny lotus flowers emerged from it, rapidly expanding and blooming.

“This…”

Just as he stood there in a daze, boundless pink lotus flowers crowded and collided across the lake surface. Auspicious clouds rose on the horizon, and Si Yuanli belatedly raised his head.

The sky was filled with infinite gold, and golden dust fell like rustling sand. Reflected in his pupils was an enormous figure in the sky, a majestic yet benevolent golden face that occupied almost the entire firmament, breaking through the clouds as if the sky itself were collapsing. Its two eyes, glittering with golden lacquer, descended bit by bit into Grand Ning Palace.

“Maha!?”

Si Yuanli cried out in pain and hurriedly closed his eyes. Fresh red tears of blood quickly welled up from the corners of his eyes, flowing down both sides of his cheeks. His heart was filled with both shock and fear:

“Are they mad?!”

Li Xuanfeng opened his eyes almost simultaneously. With a muffled roar like thunder, gold and white light flickered. Si Yuanli spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes tightly shut, one hand pressed to his chest, and he whispered:

“Fellow True Lords…”

Above, the sky was a riot of colors: yellow, orange, red, and purple. Large patches of hazy light spread out, from which indistinct flames shot forth. Figures descended one after another; in mere moments, a white-robed woman stepped through an opening, reaching out a hand just in front of the two.

“Whoosh…”

No sooner had she flown into the air than a gentle, drizzling white rain fell from above, ethereal and beautiful.

However, the two had no mind to admire it. When the white rain inadvertently swept past, the magical wind beneath Li Xuanfeng's feet dissipated completely, like winter snow. His feet found no purchase, and he instinctively tried to gather his spiritual power again, but not a trace of the magical wind appeared.

“It’s Mystic Water…”

He crashed onto the stone platform, shattering the tiles beneath his feet. Si Yuanli, however, fared even worse, falling with a thud beside him, his face flushed.

Li Xuanfeng looked up. The white-robed woman had already vanished. The two of them had merely been brushed by her divine ability, yet the wind beneath their feet had completely dispersed, leaving them unable to fly for a time.

The man struggled twice before finally standing up from the ground. His eyes were still tightly shut, blood streaming down, fresh red drops falling along his cheeks, as he whispered:

“Brother Xuanfeng! Everyone has made their move…”

All sorts of lights overhead streamed towards the central mountain cliff, creating various strange phenomena. Li Xuanfeng watched him take out a jade vial and drip two drops into each eye before he could slightly open his own.

“Something serious is likely to happen in An Huaitian.”

Li Xuanfeng felt the vibrations from beneath his feet and stood up, watching Si Yuanli chuckle to himself, muttering:

“More than just something serious… We should be thankful we’ve kept our lives…”

Before he could finish his sentence, another bearded True Lord streaked across the sky. Roaring true flames swept past, evaporating a section of the lake, and scattered sparks rained down. He had no choice but to shut his mouth, raise his hand, and conjure spiritual power to defend himself, his face contorting from the heat, and his palms crackling.

Even the least perceptive person could now see that there was no longer any reason to head towards An Huaitian. Most likely, they wouldn't even make it halfway before their souls were incinerated by true flames and their bodies corroded by mystic water, leaving them annihilated, utterly obliterated.

As for the majority of cultivators who had already entered, they could only pray that their own True Lords were also present and protecting them within the grotto-heaven. Otherwise, no True Lord would even need to target them; simply standing within that grotto-heaven would cause them to perish within moments, leaving not even a trace of their true spirit.

“So this is what 'should not enter' looks like…”

Si Yuanli had merely witnessed Maha's full power unleashed and been grazed by the divine abilities of several passing True Lords. Blood was gushing from him, he had sustained severe injuries, and true flames crackled between his palms, charring his flesh. Yet, he gritted his teeth and celebrated:

“Thankfully… thankfully we rested for a while…”

Li Xuanfeng also endured the pain to resist the true flames. He and Si Yuanli had escaped disaster, but his expression was grim as he asked in a low voice:

“Brother Yuanli! This is no time for rejoicing! How do we get out of Grand Ning Palace?!”

“Get out of Grand Ning Palace?”

Si Yuanli wiped the blood from his face and shook his head:

“Without a Purple Mansion True Lord to guide us, you and I will never get out of this cursed place alive!”

‘As expected…’

Li Xuanfeng's heart sank. Si Yuanli whispered:

“Quickly, let's go down and take cover… You have the Huaijiang Map. If a true crisis arrives, unfolding it should save your life!”

He spoke halfway, his long sword already plunged into the ground. One hand, palm down, rested on the hilt, while the other, with two fingers pressed together, pointed at the blade, as he stated solemnly:

“Total Essence Escape Art, seeking the Underworld!”

The sword instantly gleamed with light. Li Xuanfeng watched as the ground beneath their feet dramatically split open, revealing a large chasm. Si Yuanli nodded slightly and burrowed into the earth.

Li Xuanfeng allowed himself to be pulled by the spell, patiently waiting for the duration of an incense stick. Finally, they reached the bottom. Before him appeared dark stone walls, the space no larger than a small hut, with neatly arranged stone walls all around.

He suddenly felt that Si Yuanli's body was much shorter. On closer inspection, Si Yuanli's lower half was still submerged and stuck in the stone, his face slightly pale, a breath of spiritual power held in his chest.

“Rumble!”

Li Xuanfeng immediately understood. He struck the stone with his palm, digging out Si Yuanli's bloody lower half. As Si Yuanli's spiritual power circulated, the wounds, large and small, on his legs instantly vanished.

“The spiritual energy here is unusual… some errors are inevitable…”

He coughed and burst into laughter:

“Brother Xuanfeng’s caution has saved our lives!”

Si Yuanli had no doubt that Li Xuanfeng had sensed something beforehand. After all, the appearance of the Purple Mansion True Lords and Maha indicated something far beyond their calculations, forcing these high-level cultivators to intervene. If even True Lords hadn't anticipated it, how could Li Xuanfeng have?

“Brother Yuanli, you flatter me.”

Li Xuanfeng watched him take out a pill to heal his injuries and softly replied:

“Had we not been delayed, even if we had entered the grotto-heaven, you would have been protected by your True Lord Yuan Xiu, and nothing major would have happened.”

These words made Si Yuanli pause, lost in thought. He responded softly:

“Although my True Lord is very kind to his own, it's always better to trouble them less.”

Li Xuanfeng's thoughts, however, were elsewhere. He spoke in a low, quiet voice:

“It's just a pity for Chi Tianxing and Chi Fuju of the Chi family… currently, there are no Chi family cultivators to protect them, within the grotto-heaven…”

He had just spoken when Si Yuanli in front of him burst into laughter and replied:

“I had forgotten about those two rascals! This is truly satisfying! Wonderful, simply wonderful!”

Li Xuanfeng lowered his gaze at these words, his hand on the golden bow slightly whitened, but Si Yuanli was delighted and chuckled:

“The Chi family only had these two outstanding individuals across two generations, and now they are all trapped inside! I'd like to see… who Brother Chi Zhiyun will use next!”

The Grand Void.

Within the Grand Void, an infinite hazy darkness prevailed. The beautiful, primordial arc shape gradually began to light up, slowly revealing its form in the Grand Void. An Huaitian's appearance grew brighter and brighter, progressively becoming the most conspicuous location.

More and more gazes turned towards An Huaitian, carefully observing its interior through the transparent, beautiful barrier. Lu Jiangxian's divine sense was stationed in the Grand Void; with a slight movement, it penetrated inside.

Lu Jiangxian's divine sense was far superior to spiritual sense. He could clearly perceive An Huaitian's form even when the Purple Mansion True Lords were still guessing if it existed. Now that An Huaitian had manifested, the Purple Mansion True Lords could finally see it, but he was already able to enter it directly, without needing to pass through Grand Ning Palace.

After the incident involving the Five True Monarchs of Qing Song Temple, he had long understood that even a Golden Core cultivator couldn't detect his divine sense, so he felt relatively at ease. A wisp of his divine sense drifted into the grotto-heaven and settled upon a small lake.

This small lake was no more than five li across. Its waters rippled, gleaming with a blue-white luminescence, yet they didn't quite resemble water, instead floating ethereally in the air before being constrained by the lakeside formations and returning to the lake.

By the lake stood a weathered gray stone stele, inscribed with several ancient seal characters.

“Daling Lake”

Lu Jiangxian glanced at the lake water, finding it very familiar:

“River Pure Qi”

The lake water before him was indeed condensed River Pure Qi. Li Tongya had once used this very Qi for cultivation; a small bottle of it cost dozens of spirit stones. Yet, here in An Huaitian, there was an entire lake of it, perhaps for cultivators of the Kan Water path to practice their techniques.

He had just paused when he suddenly saw two figures flying through the air and stopping here as well. The one in front was a female cultivator in golden robes, with bright, gentle eyes. The person behind her wore a black robe, their body faintly shimmering with gold.

“Qiushui and Chang Yun…”

The two landed before him, naturally unable to see Lu Jiangxian. They both looked up at the lake, and Qiushui's face showed admiration. She saw True Lord Chang Yun transmitting a message with spiritual power:

“Ancestor… this An Huaitian is a bit strange… my spiritual sense can’t extend fully… and the formations are still intact… I wonder how long it will take to find anything…”

True Lord Qiushui nodded slightly, revealing a golden pearl in her hand. It emitted a misty golden light that enveloped both of them. Only then did she speak softly:

“No one could have predicted it would be like this… It's a pity that Tian Que, Tian Yuan, and I secretly planned to protect Zhong Qian, only for him to ultimately have no role to play here…”

The two didn't linger. They quickly mounted the wind, their speed not particularly fast due to the grotto-heaven's suppression. True Lord Chang Yun chuckled:

“Ancestor… Zhong Qian is a gentleman-like figure, very easy to manipulate, which is why we specifically chose him. Even if he’s not needed in this grotto-heaven, once we establish a sect in Jiangbei, he can play a major role… perhaps even quickly transform my demonic sect into an immortal one…”

True Lord Qiushui smiled gently and replied:

“That's true… Xu State is completely empty and pure, and its spiritual energy is extremely abundant. You must not waste the painstaking efforts and calculations of your master and me.”

The two seemed very familiar in their conversation, and True Lord Chang Yun was even her junior, speaking with great respect.

“Of course, but unfortunately…”

The two casually collected treasures from the palaces on the small island in the lake. While these items were valuable, they were no longer significant to a Purple Mansion True Lord. Zhang Qiushui's main attention was still on observing where sounds of fighting might originate, but True Lord Chang Yun sighed and whispered:

“Looking at this entire lake of River Pure Qi, I recall something… Back when I was setting up the grand scheme, I coincidentally placed a chess piece, giving the ‘River and Grand Mausoleum Scripture’ to Li Tongya. I thought he was extraordinary, well-suited to the whale-dragon form, and might be able to unravel this artifact. Who knew Maha would interfere…”

“Later, I calculated that Li Yuanjiao’s cultivation progressed rapidly, and he was ambitious. Perhaps he could stir up the situation north of Qingchi, cross the great river, unite Jiangbei, and achieve great things. Who knew he would die in the grotto-heaven…”

Lu Jiangxian gazed slightly, and in an instant, saw through Chang Yun’s disguise, clearly discerning the middle-aged man’s face. He saw that his appearance was ordinary, yet his eyes were sharp, and a blade was hidden within his robe, unrevealed.

“So it was you…”

Lu Jiangxian sighed inwardly.

“Chang Yun… Zhang Yun”

The person before him was precisely Zhang Yun of the Golden Feather Sect! He had entered seclusion years ago to break through to the Purple Mansion realm. Only twenty years had passed, yet this person had unknowingly broken through to the Purple Mansion realm and infiltrated the demonic cultivators of the East Sea!

Instantly, all doubts connected. Why did the Golden Feather Sect disseminate the ‘Blood Demon Sutra’ during the demonic calamity? Why did Chi Men Difu, a demonic cultivator, know the Golden Feather Sect’s cultivation methods?

Clearly, they had planned this years ago. To avoid suspicion, they secretly seized the ‘Blood Demon Sutra’ from the Miao family of the South Sea, covertly raising a group of demonic cultivators. They then converted the sect's northern disciples—such as Chi Men Difu and Zhang Huaide—into demonic cultivators and dispersed them throughout Jiangbei…

Thus, once Zhang Yun broke through, he could immediately draw upon a base of demonic cultivators for support! Changing the overall situation between north and south, he fabricated the identity of True Lord Chang Yun by leveraging the myriad conveniences of Xu State that no one could fully grasp, establishing a sect with legitimate grounds.

And why did Zhong Qian, who should have died and whose magical artifacts were even divided, inexplicably appear among the demonic cultivators? Naturally, he was secretly protected by the Golden Feather Sect, precisely to be used as a chess piece today, to enter An Huaitian!

“Moreover, because Chang Yun established a sect and played a significant role in the north-south conflict, he also secured a spot in Grand Ning Palace… Had the normal course of events been followed, Zhong Qian, specifically protected, would have entered An Huaitian and shone brilliantly… seizing countless treasures…”

“Through this campaign, the Golden Feather family not only gained two slots, but the fertile Jiangbei region was also secretly supported by the Golden Feather Sect to establish their own sect, which could further guard the north…countless spiritual herbs and items would be extracted from the incredibly vibrant Jiangbei, all flowing into the Golden Feather Sect…”

“This is the Golden Feather Sect’s century-long grand scheme… A hundred years ago, they anticipated that Shangyuan would break through, which would inevitably cause turmoil in Jiangbei. With several Purple Mansion True Lords working in concert… they secretly began to plan and lay out their strategy, and today, they have finally reaped the rewards.”

The storyline connecting Chi Men Difu and the Golden Feather Sect's Blood Demon Sutra, laid across over two hundred chapters, finally comes to a close.

(End of Chapter)