Chapter 684: The Sky Has Brightened

This cool light flowed down, illuminating the dusty Ascending Yang Manor once more. The primordial ignorance, like snow melting in scorching light, vanished completely. The sea water rippled anew, and lotus flowers bloomed once more.

Li Ximing felt a cool, tranquil sensation flowing through his Ascending Yang Manor, as if he had drunk ice and snow. The ignorance in his mind vanished completely.

‘The rune seed has dispelled this ignorance!’

A surge of joy rose in his heart. His spiritual consciousness, piercing through the Ascending Yang Manor, perceived boundless darkness and emptiness, with the sky glowing brilliantly below. A cool sensation settled under his tongue, and a sweet liquid seeped into his throat. The state of ignorance had passed.

At this moment, his spiritual consciousness had separated from his body along with the Ascending Yang Manor. The so-called 'mouth' was actually the Ascending Yang Manor; his spiritual consciousness, having no specific referent, used his innate senses as a substitute, leading him to perceive it as his mouth.

The cool sensation in his mouth was the divine ability residing within the Ascending Yang Manor. Seeing the rune seed display its might and break through to the final barrier in one go, Li Ximing's joy receded. Not daring to be careless, he kept his mouth tightly shut.

“There are still endless illusions!”

Then, out of the void before him, something materialized. Banners fluttered, and golden figures advanced from the darkness. The noisy neighing of horses and shouts that shook the heavens revealed a troop of soldiers.

All of them were clad in golden armor, their appearances varied, carrying halberds and spears, each one remarkably lifelike. The leader wore a phoenix-winged helmet, his face obscured by a mask. He rode a tall, majestic horse, reins in hand, and approached through the air, pressing a golden spear against Li Ximing's throat.

“Halt!”

Instantly, he was surrounded by golden-armored figures. Swords were drawn and bows nocked, all restraining him with their weapons. Li Ximing looked down, seeing his hands were empty and he wore plain clothes; he was merely a mortal.

“Who are you!”

The distant scenery grew clearer; they had surprisingly arrived in a valley. The general pressed against his throat and demanded:

“Why are you here!”

Li Ximing knew the divine ability resided in his mouth, so he refused to speak. The general was both suspicious and enraged, while the personal guards on both sides began to interrogate him, a thousand voices thundering as one.

Such a display could hardly intimidate Li Ximing. He remained silent. Enraged, the general casually turned his horse and, with his personal guards, dispersed like the wind.

Just as Li Ximing relaxed his brow, a black-striped tiger sprang out from somewhere and bit his calf. There was a crisp crunch as the tiger's teeth tore into his flesh, exposing white bone and sinew, and blood splattered everywhere.

Li Ximing was in extreme pain and waved his hand to drive it away. Behind him, a large, slick snake with a purple head and pale yellow pupils sprang out, biting and tearing open his chest, then carrying away a piece of his flesh.

He reached to cover the wound, but only felt a few bare ribs. A triangular, flat-headed viper then leaped up, burrowing into his stomach in one go, tearing out his intestines in a steaming string and scattering them across the ground.

Various venomous insects and fierce beasts lunged from the corners, vying to devour his body. Dazed, Li Ximing kept his mouth shut, gradually forgetting his location, remembering only that the divine ability was in his mouth and he must not open it.

Soon the beasts dispersed. Heavy rain poured, with lightning and thunder. The general returned with his men, bringing a large bronze cauldron, heated red-hot and filled with boiling oil.

He said:

“Who are you?”

Li Ximing still refused to answer. Then, he saw a group of people being dragged closer from a distance. The leader was white-haired and visibly aged—it was his grandfather, Li Xuanxuan.

The armored soldiers on both sides took out dark, blood-stained boards and beat the old man fifty times. Then they came to question Li Ximing again. Seeing he still didn't answer, they each took out blood-stained files and began to file his five fingers.

The old man's wails shook the heavens, yet Li Ximing remained silent. After all five fingers were filed down, the general picked up the old man, held him over the oil cauldron, and said coldly:

“Speak your name, and he will be spared.”

The old man's blood dripped into the cauldron, and oil bubbles splashed up, scalding him with boiling blisters. He pleaded hoarsely. Li Ximing did not respond, closing his eyes to avoid seeing. The general had no choice but to release his grip and instruct his subordinates:

“This sorcerer's magic is about to be complete; he must not be allowed to live.”

Then armored soldiers approached from both sides. One, holding a spear, stabbed him directly in the chest, the weapon making a dull thud as it entered flesh. Another swung a saber, and Li Ximing felt a chill on his neck, with stars bursting before his eyes. He almost opened his mouth.

After a moment of dizziness and stupor, a deep gloom appeared before his eyes. Heavy iron chains bound his arms and around his neck, fastened to his waist and abdomen, making him too heavy to lift his head. Two cold gazes fell upon his face.

Two figures stood on either side. One held a document with tiny characters like ants or flies, from which Li Ximing vaguely discerned titles such as "Ghost Emissary of the Nine Nethers" and "Tenth Benevolent King." Since Li Ximing did not speak, these two death-reapers did not question him either, leading him all the way to the Underworld.

Li Ximing saw a stretch of collapsed city walls and iron plates everywhere. Two imps were using long, slender ladles to pour molten copper, glowing red-hot. Without a word, they threw him in, pushing and shoving him into the molten copper with their ladles, then skillfully ladling the molten copper over him.

The molten copper pierced his chest and rotted his insides, scalding him so severely that he almost lost consciousness. If he were in a mortal body, he would have instinctively cried out from the pain, unable to suppress it with consciousness. Fortunately, this was a spiritual consciousness body, which he could barely control.

After one round of pouring, the imp pulled him out, and Li Ximing heard one imp say:

“It's rare to find a ghost so easy to torment. There probably aren't many ghosts left in the human world.”

The other imp replied:

“Indeed. The Prefect is in seclusion, and High Shaman Xiukui has not yet returned to his position. When people die, they just die; there are no ghosts to speak of.”

The two turned him over, testing him with iron staffs, fire pits with boiling cauldrons, and mountains of blades and forests of swords, one by one. Midway, the death-reaper brought over a white-haired old man, and one imp called out:

“Sir, which fellow Daoist have you brought?”

The death-reaper stood sideways beside the old man and replied:

“It's fellow Daoist Chi Wei.”

Li Ximing almost let out a sound. He looked up and indeed saw an old man standing beside the death-reaper, dressed in Qingchi attire, looking down at him.

The imp glanced at him and smiled:

“Do you have any grievances? The Great King is watching from above; he is the Tenth Benevolent King. If you open your mouth, this person will be cast down.”

Li Ximing struggled slightly, then bowed his head and remained silent, not even uttering a groan, feeling utterly muddled. The imp gritted its teeth and filed him with a knife even more fiercely. After he had endured all of it, the superior said:

“This person is cunning; send him to be reborn as a woman in the vast sea.”

Li Ximing silently followed to be reincarnated. Finally, his eyes brightened. He could no longer even remember that he held a divine ability in his mouth; he only remembered that he must not open it.

He looked around, finding himself born into a wealthy family. However, he was afflicted with numerous illnesses, yet refused to eat or take medicine. Strangely, his life was never in danger. But without medicine, his many ailments brought unbearable suffering. He gritted his teeth and made no sound. His family simply regarded her as a mute girl, and she grew to be extremely beautiful.

Yet, it was observed that she never ate. Early attempts to force her mouth open proved futile; her lips were clamped shut like cast iron, unyielding to any prying. Despite clearly not eating, she grew day by day, causing her parents to secretly grow afraid.

Though bedridden and unable to speak, she was nevertheless born beautiful. Relatives came and went, unaware of the truth, often teasing her with words and secretly taking liberties. This continued until she was sixteen, a period of unspeakable suffering.

Finally, a man named Lu from her hometown came to propose, and her family hastily married her off. Fortunately, Master Lu loved her very much. They lived in love for several years, during which her health gradually improved, and they had a son and a daughter. Yet, no matter how much Master Lu pleaded, she consistently refused to speak.

One day, as she was weaving at home, Master Lu, his face flushed and reeking of alcohol, pushed the door open. He picked up their son from the bed, looked at him with cold eyes, and roared:

“You haven't eaten for three years—what kind of monster are you? This child is wearing human skin; how do I know if he's even human? An immortal on the path told me that you're sleeping with me to devour my official fortune!”

Burly and furious, he grabbed the child, raising his feet above his head in one swift motion. Li Ximing was too slow to snatch the child away. Master Lu roared:

“Speak!”

Seeing she still wouldn't speak, Master Lu threw him forcefully. The boy crashed onto the stone, breaking instantly, his brain splattering.

Li Ximing felt a surge of blood rush to his head, and the cool sensation in his mouth surged back and forth. Faint sounds emerged from his throat. As if struck by lightning, he struggled for a long time to utter:

“Pfft...”

His face turned pale, and he finally spat out a mouthful of blood, along with half of his tongue, mixed in with the blood on the ground. Everything blended into a deep, dark red, flickering in and out of sight before his eyes.

He raised his head. Master Lu's enraged expression, reflected in his eyes, grew increasingly distant as he floated up lightly, swiftly moving away from these endless illusions.

The cool sensation surged directly into his mind. Everything before his eyes rapidly faded, reverting to endless darkness. All his memories returned to him, and Li Ximing felt his entire body was as light as nothing.

The ice and snow in the Jueque Court rapidly melted, and intense flames surged forth, reverberating within this aperture. Li Ximing felt as if he was floating from boundless darkness towards infinite light. Gardenia flowers surged, camel bells chimed, and everything before his eyes became brilliantly clear.

“Boom!”

He felt himself taking flight from his spot, escaping into the realm of the boundless True Dharma Gate. The darkness suddenly emptied, and the stars in the sky flickered between near and far. In the Grand Void, countless figures seemed to be seated.

He flew all the way to the top of the Grand Void, where clouds and mist seemed to cover countless remnants. The spiritual energy grew increasingly sparse, and the Grand Void itself became narrow and fractured, turning gray. The sight made his eyes ache, and he plunged headfirst back down.

Below was an boundless desert, with a mountain pass standing upon it. The Heavenly Gate was majestic, its watchtowers clearly showing seventy-two ridges, and its white gate base adorned with numerous patterns, dazzling with bright light.

His consciousness continued to fall within it, plummeting with the Heavenly Gate into its deepest part. Finally, he tumbled from the vast Grand Void and returned to his body in the present world.

Li Ximing suddenly opened his eyes.

Before him was a dim, hazy darkness. Sparse vegetation swayed, and a few drops of cold water from melting snow rolled down, dripping audibly.

In front of him was a golden desk. The ink-black jade box on it had been shattered by magical power, scattering across the ground, and the jade bottle containing the Purple Brightness Pills had long since flown to some unknown corner.

The mountaintop was a mess, as if it had been ravaged by demons hundreds of times. Jade pillars had collapsed, the tallest one fallen right beside him. The writing he had left was dim and obscured by vines, making it hard to see clearly.

The spirit-gathering array patterns on the ground were also scattered in disarray. Vegetation, illuminated by bright light, grew unrestrainedly, almost covering the entire mountaintop. Small golden grains of sand were scattered all over the ground, and golden-white mist drifted back and forth.

It was the darkest hour of the night, with a bright moon and sparse stars. Pure white moonlight flowed, and the golden-white mist on the ground emitted a faint glow, creating a unique kind of beauty.

“Rustle...”

Li Ximing stood up from the ground, withered leaves rustling and falling from his body.

There was no longer heavenly light in the youth's pupils, nor any bright aura surrounding his movements. His golden-white Daoist robe even appeared somewhat ordinary. He looked even younger, and his skin was fairer and cleaner.

Li Ximing seemed to have undergone no major changes from before, except for a small white-golden dot on his brow. This dot was not drawn or merely a spot; it shone brilliantly like heavenly light, illuminating all directions.

Li Ximing remained motionless for a long time. Slowly, circles of colorful halos spread out behind his head. The golden-white radiance of the Bright Yang divine ability emerged from his side, draping over him, and shot skyward, standing over nine feet tall.

He finally moved his lips and teeth, uttering a breath of heavenly light.

Before this breath of heavenly light even reached the ground, purple flames ignited out of thin air. Like agile flood dragons, they slithered and flew in mid-air. The flames were purple on the outside and golden on the inside, fiercely dazzling. Around the dazzling flames, golden dust of heavenly light scattered, sparkling and diffusing everywhere, carried by the fiery aura.

The purple flames spread along the ground, igniting the entire Wushan mountain in a single breath. As the purple flames diffused, gardenia trees sprang up from the ground one by one, their canopies wide. Clusters of pure white gardenia flowers drifted down amidst the rolling flames, scattering a blanket of white across the ground.

Surging purple flames, purple on the outside and golden on the inside, rushed into the sky, burning so intensely that the day brightened prematurely.

Meanwhile, a brilliant dawn was rapidly rising from afar, with the entire mountain ablaze with purple flames soaring skyward. Li Ximing, cloaked in the radiance of the Bright Yang, stood beneath a gardenia tree, snow-white petals rolling across the ground.

The first ray of dawn light passed through the array and fell into his pupils.

The next moment, this ray of dawn light was trapped in his eyes, which turned a pale gold with flowing brilliance. His previously powerful Da Wen Golden Eyes immediately reached their peak.

His eyes slowly lifted under the firelight, gazing towards the distant south. The clouds in the sky above dispersed, scattering bright white radiance.

“It's dawn.”

Moon-Gazing Lake.

A light snow fell over Moon-Gazing Lake. The moonlight was pure, reflecting coldly on the lake's surface. The evening wind blew, and the water shimmered. Beams of light darted back and forth in the sky, creating an almost immortal atmosphere.

It was precisely midnight, and most of the lights around Moon-Gazing Lake were extinguished. Yet, many cultivators patrolling and guarding the lake did not rest, flying back and forth over the lake like colorful ribbons.

Qingdu Mountain was lush with vegetation. The Talisman Pavilion on the side peak, built from redwood, was exquisitely ancient. The old man washed his inkstone in front of the pavilion, then carried the talisman ink inside. He spread the talisman paper on the table, picked up his brush, and paused.

The old man was always busy. It was late, already midnight, yet he had not stopped writing. He was still drawing talismans stroke by stroke, watching the vermillion traces gradually appear on the yellow paper. He exhaled, having completed another talisman.

Li Xuanxuan put it away. Suddenly, he noticed the light before him was quite bright. He casually extinguished some magical lamps, then felt something was off:

“Where is this radiance coming from...”

He raised his eyebrows and looked. Over a dozen cultivators were scattered around the lake, some close, some far, all gazing intently eastward. These people were cloaked in golden light, their shadows stretching long across the lake.

The old man's gaze shifted, and finally, he saw the brilliant golden dawn rising.

The dazzling golden light reflected in his cloudy pupils. The talisman brush in the old man's hand dropped with a clatter onto the desk, rolling twice and staining the talisman paper with ink, thus spoiling it.

Li Xuanxuan seemed not to hear. He leaned one hand against the window, his aged face bathed in the golden light of dawn. Tears welled up in his eyes, forcing him to close them, and his breathing became heavy.

On the 22nd day of the winter month, at midnight, the moonlight over Moon-Gazing Lake receded, and the sky brightened.