Chapter 528: Intervening

Chapter 528: Intervening

Li Xuanfeng knelt on the ground, cupping the small seal in both hands, his senses drinking in its icy touch—truly a diminutive thing, a square seal scarce two fingers wide and but three fingers tall.

Coiled atop the seal was a strange serpent, much like the hook-snake Li Wushao he kept at home, save that its body was crammed with dense feathers, two long wings stretching down to shroud the seal’s flanks.

“It resembles a hook-snake, and with the seal’s name and the Elemental Ancestor’s cultivation foundation… could this be the Green Water Feathered Serpent of old?”

The seal was entirely pale gold, seamless and free of any blemish, faint streaks of azure rippling across it; merely holding it made his skin prickle with cold, as if he clutched nothing at all.

“This must be a spiritual relic—hearing it was a gift from True Lord Donghua, it’s likely an ancient spiritual relic, even a standout among them, to have sustained the Elemental Ancestor’s renown.”

He said not a word, waiting only for the figures in the sky to speak; the seal, tugged by the divine powers and magical energies stirred by the Elemental Ancestor’s transcendental passing, cast a soft glow that dyed his collar a hue of cyan-gold.

He waited long, but silence reigned throughout—after a moment of lingering flute music, the stern-faced Purple Mansion cultivator of the Green Pond Sect, clad in cyan robes, finally spoke, his voice spreading calmly:

“The Xinyou Green Marsh Seal belongs to the Green Pond Sect; it shall be returned to its rightful owner.”

Xiao Chuting said nothing, hovering in the air, while the female Purple Mansion cultivator in purple robes let out a cold huff and said:

“Si Boxiu, you had best tell apart what belongs to the Green Pond Sect and what belongs to the Ning Clan! Do you think the Xinyou Green Marsh Seal is to end up in your hands?”

This was none other than Si Boxiu, a Purple Mansion cultivator of the Green Pond Sect; now he stood with his hands behind his back, unyielding, and thundered:

“It is none of your business!”

At last, True Lord Puyu spoke up, his form faint and hidden in the mist, his voice soft:

“Do not be hasty, both seniors. The Xinyou Green Marsh Seal is a relic of the Elemental Ancestor; naturally, it must be given to his descendants—all the true lords present are witnesses to this.”

He first turned to the purple-robed female cultivator and said softly:

“Fairy Zipei, we share some bond with the Elemental Ancestor; we will not let his belongings fall into the hands of outsiders.”

True Lord Zipei nodded, and after speaking, Puyu turned to Senior Yuanxiu:

“Senior Yuanxiu, this item should first be sent back to the Ning Clan; if the Green Pond Sect has further arrangements, they may handle it within their own sect…”

Si Boxiu treated him with mild courtesy, nodding neither warmly nor coldly, while Zipei flicked her sleeve to send forth a wave of purple qi, glanced around her, and said coldly:

“You need not wait here any longer—no matter what, this item will not fall into the hands of others.”

This words seemed aimed at the hidden Purple Mansion cultivators in the Great Void; silence fell at once, and her eyes, brimming with purple qi, swept across the Great Void, seeing all clearly.

Li Xuanfeng did not look up, but he heard every word—he had seen many spiritual artifacts before, including Yuanwu’s Disperse Clouds and Halt Arms, both inferior to the Six Ding Fire-Uniting Talisman; as for the seal in his hands, it was likely superior to that talisman, which was why so many Purple Mansion cultivators coveted it.

Zipei was a peak-stage Purple Mansion cultivator; with that glance, she saw all plainly, and most of the observing Purple Mansion cultivators had already retreated silently, many bowing politely before vanishing into the Great Void.

Two breaths passed, and the Purple Mansion cultivators had either left or dispersed—partly out of regard for her peak cultivation, partly out of fear of the Purple Smoke Sect and Green Pond Sect—they vanished quickly, save for one lingering figure.

True Lord Zipei crossed her arms, and the purple immortal sword at her waist blazed with brilliant light; she said in a low voice:

“Qing Jifang… what brings you here from the Longhuai Mountain?”

No sooner had she spoken than a young man in a gray robe emerged, holding a floating gray jade bead that gushed forth streams of gray qi; he smiled and said:

“Senior jesting—why should I not come? The Longhuai Mountain of Wu is one of the Six Veins of Chongming; for such a great matter, it is only right that I come to investigate and lend a hand.”

No sooner had he appeared than the Purple Mansion cultivators’ faces showed no great change, but a shadow fell over their hearts; Xiao Chuting held his white jade fishing rod, his head bowed, and thought to himself:

“As expected… that one from Longhuai Mountain has also intervened… I wonder if True Lord Taiyi has reached the late Golden Core stage… what a pity for Shangyuan.”

Clearly, the surrounding Purple Mansion cultivators all had foreboding feelings at Qing Jifang’s implication that Longhuai Mountain would intervene, but they kept their faces composed, showing nothing.

Only Qing Jifang stood leisurely in place, holding the bobbing gray bead, appearing unconcerned; though the Purple Mansion cultivators showed nothing, he knew well what they thought and stood quietly.

The dispute was no longer merely over the Xinyou Green Marsh Seal—with the True Lord of Longhuai Mountain’s intervention, the situation had shifted abruptly; the true lords pondered, and for a time, no one spoke.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Qing Jifang floated lightly down to the spring, looked at the silent Li Xuanfeng, and smiled faintly.

Looking at the veteran before him, he saw Li Xuanfeng’s gray-black eyes and sharp eyebrows—though he looked a touch aged for never having taken any celestial herbs, there was a familiar air of ferocity and dominance about him, a strange sense of recognition stirring within.

As a Purple Mansion cultivator, Qing Jifang had long mastered divine powers; with a slight probe, he soon discovered the source of that recognition, started a little, and laughed in disbelief.

“So that’s it! This face is so familiar—what a coincidence… what a coincidence! It’s you!”

Li Xuanfeng only bowed his head in silence, but Qing Jifang burst into loud laughter and muttered:

“Father’s birth is yang, the Thirty-Nine True Talisman; mother’s death is yin, the Witchcraft Blood Scroll—well done, Jiang Boqing’s scheme is truly clever.”

He bared his pearly white teeth, as if recovering from his laughter, and shouted:

“Hand it over.”

His laughter and cold words drew the gaze of the Purple Mansion cultivators in the sky; Li Xuanfeng raised his eyebrows to glance at him, but did not move an inch.

Qing Jifang was stunned—he did not move, but the gray qi around him seemed to clash with something, making clanging sounds; he suddenly furrowed his eyebrows and looked up at the sky.

There he saw True Lord Puyu, clad in blue-and-white robes, nodding and smiling, his two fingers pinched in a spell gesture; the gray qi in Qing Jifang’s hand grew more turbulent, and then a purple immortal sword pressed against his face, held by a fair, slender hand—its purple silk cuff dangled and melted into purple qi, vanishing.

True Lord Zipei looked at him coldly, her red lips parting, and said unceremoniously:

“You may try it if you dare.”

Qing Jifang was only a mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator, clearly no match for True Lord Zipei, but his attitude was stubborn; he stared in silence, and the atmosphere grew so tense it seemed to drip with pressure—after more than ten breaths, Qing Jifang said coldly:

“Are you not afraid, senior?”

Li Xuanfeng waited quietly, and then the golden-robed woman who had lingered in the sky finally drifted down beside him like a breeze, a leaden glow surrounding her.

Her face was hidden behind a white silk veil, not revealed, and she said gently:

“The Golden Feather Sect holds the same view on today’s matter—since Longhuai Mountain is on good terms with the Golden Feather Sect… would you grant me a favor?”

Only then did Qing Jifang’s expression soften; after all, the Great White Star in the sky was still shining brightly, so he could only say:

“Since it is Senior Qiushui’s wish, this magical artifact shall be handled by the Golden Feather Sect…”

Zhang Qiushui was cautious and did not take up the offer, saying gently:

“This is a matter of Chongming; I only hope for a dignified resolution, one that does not lack in propriety.”

With Senior Qiushui’s intervention, the dispute in the sky calmed down; Qing Jifang glanced deeply at True Lord Zipei and said in a low voice:

“Senior is on the cusp of a breakthrough—you would do well to care for your own life!”

Then he broke into the Great Void and vanished; after seeing him off, Zhang Qiushui said nothing more and took out a crystal-clear jade flask.

She tilted it gently, pouring clear wine into the air; it splashed onto the reefs below, making a dripping sound, and a wonderful aroma of wine spread out.

After pouring the flask dry, she put it away, and her figure faded gradually, vanishing.

For a time, silence reigned between heaven and earth, the spring gurgled mournfully, and the Purple Mansion cultivators in the sky said nothing—the flute music of the Elemental Ancestor’s transcendental passing was melodious, wandering across the sea and stirring sorrow.

This flute music must have held divine powers; the fish and shrimp washed up by the waves lay listless on the reefs, and faint mournful cries came from the deep sea—presumably some demons, unable to contain their emotions after hearing the music, were weeping bitterly on the seabed.

The remaining Purple Mansion cultivators were all old acquaintances of the Elemental Ancestor; in life, he had been sharp-tongued and fond of mockery, so he had few friends—only these few remained.

None of them used divine powers to suppress the flute music’s influence; they seemed to indulge themselves, letting the music tug at their thoughts, each lost in their own memories, silent.

After listening for a while, Li Xuanfeng’s face fell with sorrow.

He had followed the Elemental Ancestor for so long—though the early years had been marked by coercion, later the ancestor had personally sought out cultivation methods and spiritual armor for him, treating him as a junior kinsman; though it was a ploy, there was a thread of mutual sincerity, and the ancestor had solved many troubles for him.

In the end, the Elemental Ancestor had forced him to eliminate the cultivators on a list, but Li Xuanfeng knew it was for his posthumous arrangements—he could not hate him, and he also knew the ancestor had taken his uncle Li Chijing to the Southern Wilderness, but now he felt lost.

“Hate… who to hate… dare I hate anyone… they say everyone has unspeakable hardships… but do hardships excuse sin?”

Now that his Purple Mansion patron was gone, he could not help but feel sorrow, yet beneath that sorrow he tasted the searing sting of betrayal—Li Tongya’s grieving face at his uncle’s death surfaced before his eyes, and Li Xuanfeng bit his lip until it bleed.

He knelt upon the ground when Zi Pei appeared at Li Xuanfeng’s side, her brows furrowed as she spoke:

“Rise… Li Xuanfeng.”

In the space of a heartbeat, Li Xuanfeng swept all his emotions away, pressing them back into the depths of his chest until they congealed into a stance as cold and unyielding as iron; he rose quietly, his voice respectful as he said:

“Greetings, True Person Zi Pei!”

Her tone was ungracious as she said:

“Come with me back to the Purple Mist Sect.”

Yuan Xiu’s face darkened at once, and True Person Pu Yu had to smooth things over, speaking in a low voice:

“What if we do this… if the two of you still trust me, let me keep this [Xin You Green Marsh Seal] with me, and I will accompany you to the Purple Mist Sect for a visit.”

“Senior Yuan Xiu, you can handle all matters here, return to our sect first, and bring back the descendants of the Yuan Clan; the three of us will witness the spiritual weapon recognizing its master in person—this should satisfy everyone!”

He was quite handsome, and he spoke with a soft, charming smile; after turning the matter over in his mind, Yuan Xiu’s rigid face flickered with helplessness, and he finally relented, flicking his sleeves as he addressed Zi Pei:

“Kan Xuyu, you… take care of yourself!”

His form faded rapidly and vanished; True Person Zi Pei’s expression remained unchanged, and Li Xuanfeng, who had just risen, had no time to react before his vision blurred and the small seal in his hand was already in True Person Pu Yu’s grasp.

He stood silently on the cloud, listening as True Person Pu Yu clicked his tongue in praise, examining the patterns on the seal as he sighed:

“So this is what a true feathered serpent looks like! Only the lineage of True Person Dong Hua knows this, for the Lord of the Immortal Manor saw one with his own eyes; if the paintings in the Immortal Manor are inaccurate, there can be no accurate ones in the world.”

After praising it for a while, he began to calculate with his fingers; Li Xuanfeng noticed a faint trace of blood on his hand, but True Person Pu Yu did something uncanny—he vaporized the blood into wisps of magical power and threw himself into his calculations.

“[Xin You Green Marsh Seal]”

He murmured…

“Killing intent turned into suppression, using the glow of two metals to propel the green water—what a brilliant craft! When this seal is cast, the Xin You energy unleashes killing intent, and dry land becomes a green marsh; it truly deserves to be a treasure with the potential of a magical artifact.”

He immersed himself in his research, and after a long while, True Person Zi Pei replied:

“I wondered why you were being so kind—you were just going about it indirectly to get your hands on this spiritual weapon to study it thoroughly; you really went to a lot of trouble!”

True Person Pu Yu hummed in response as he examined the seal closely, and soon the group emerged from the Great Void, appearing swiftly in a world shrouded in purple mist.

Peaks rose one after another in neat rows, their large and small summits emerging in turns from the thick purple clouds; the purple energy twisted and rose like threads, lending an ethereal air of immortality, and the pavilions and towers were magnificent beyond compare, with cultivators riding clouds back and forth—truly a scene of celestial splendor.

‘The Purple Mist Blessed Land!’

This was naturally the mountain gate of the Purple Mist Sect; True Person Pu Yu soon looked up, examining the place carefully as he praised:

“What a blessed land! Back then, True Monarch Tai Xu attained enlightenment here and established the path of purple energy; my grandmaster even came to congratulate him and brought back some morning glow purple energy to make a magical artifact for my master.”

At the mention of this topic, True Person Zi Pei’s expression finally softened a little as she spoke in a low voice:

“The Six Lineages of Chong Ming were so prosperous back then, but now they have fallen to this state… if our founding ancestor had not met with misfortune… it would not have come to this…”

True Person Pu Yu sighed:

“It is such a pity about True Monarchs Tai Yu and Tai Xu… if the two of them had not sacrificed themselves one after another, the Qing Song tradition might have achieved great things again.”

“Some people just did not want that to happen!”

True Person Zi Pei replied coldly; the two did not hide their conversation from Li Xuanfeng behind them, chatting for a while about the scenery of the blessed land before finally remembering him, and True Person Zi Pei asked in a low voice:

“Li Xuanfeng… which Li Clan do you belong to?”

(End of Chapter)