The great void churned as Li Ximing made his way back. He casually gathered qi to cultivate along the way, and before long he arrived at Huyi Mountain. The entire mountain lay in stark white. Part of it came from natural frost, but more had come from the fall of a Daoist Master. White mourning drapes hung everywhere; grief filled the four directions; and although the mourning period had passed, none of it had yet been taken down.

“That really is sorrowful...”

The Great Xiukui Temple had lost two Purple Mansion Realm cultivators. One had crossed the Purple Mansion Threshold and become a sword immortal, a Grand Daoist Master with four divine abilities. The other had been in the prime of life, regarded as a future Dao Master figure, a Lin Family Daoist Master possessing three divine abilities. Yet all of this had happened in a single day. The contrast between before and after was like heaven and earth, enough to make anyone grieve.

Even when Li Ximing arrived, the mountain still felt dispirited. Only after hearing of his presence did the current genius of the Great Xiukui Temple, Lin Ya, a junior of Houfu, hurry down from the mountain to receive him, saying respectfully, “My apologies for keeping you waiting, Daoist Master.”

Li Ximing nodded with a trace of feeling. He glanced casually around the mountain, then said with a faint smile, “Back when the Fei Family moved into the prefecture, did anyone come to plead for them?”

Lin Ya bowed as he replied, “Daoist Master, they have all been taken into the temple. They were implicated because of Fei Chingyi, and the believers do not take kindly to them. Some days ago, a woman cultivator came from the sea. She claimed to be from the Fei Family, a cultivator of the Azure Pond Sect named Fei Qingyi. She kept asking around for connections, then knelt before the gates of our Great Xiukui Temple, saying her family brother was ignorant and that the rest of the family was innocent, hoping our Dao lineage would deal with them more leniently.”

“Oh?”

Li Ximing was not surprised. Whether the woman was sincere or not, the Fei Family had suffered a great calamity. By both sentiment and reason, she had to come and plead for them. If she remained indifferent, even those in the Azure Pond Sect who relied on her would begin to be wary.

She had always been clear-headed in her actions. She knew it was inappropriate to make such a request within the Azure Pond Sect itself. If someone had to be offended, it was better to come and plead at the Great Xiukui Temple.

Li Ximing gave a brief acknowledgement, and Lin Ya continued, “At the time, the Dao lineage had just lost a Daoist Master. Everyone was grieving and angry, and they held no goodwill toward traitors. She was made to kneel on the mountain for three days. It was Fei Qingya who came down from the mountain and brought her into a cave dwelling.”

When he spoke of Fei Qingya, his tone was flat. There was none of the warmth one would expect when mentioning a sect genius. Instead, it felt unusually cold. It was clear that with her[1] temperament, she was not particularly well-liked within the Great Xiukui Temple.

Lin Ya even frowned slightly and said quietly, “Later, when she came out of the cave dwelling again, Fei Qingya showed clear admiration. In her words, she was already addressing Fei Qingyi as elder sister.”

“Clever indeed!” Li Ximing shook his head with a smile. He had not thought of this at first, but upon reflection, it was indeed a good idea.

He thought to himself, Fei Qingyi was born under the shadow of her family ancestor being slain in battle, and grew up in the treacherous environment of the Azure Pond Sect. She struggled through the mire year after year, yet managed to land on a favorable branch, even one belonging to her enemies. Her schemes and methods were naturally far beyond that simple Fei Qingya. With just a few words, she could circle around and take control of the situation with ease.

This visit was never just about pleading. One part was to maintain appearances. The other was that such a high branch was not something she could afford to miss grasping at.

Fei Qingyi did not have a good reputation within the Fei Family. Fei Qingya had lived there for several years and clearly already knew she had a cousin who had risen high and left the rest behind. Otherwise, she would not have let her kneel at the mountain gate for three days. Although this cousin was more sensible than Fei Qingfei, she was still too naive. After hearing just a few words, she had been immediately persuaded into calling her elder sister.

This was a problem for the Great Xiukui Temple. Seeing Lin Ya’s expression, it was clear he felt it deeply. Li Ximing did not bother to press further. Instead, he asked about Daoist Master Houfu’s whereabouts, and Lin Ya replied, “Daoist Master, Senior Cheng Gao of the Sword Gate failed to achieve divine ability and perished yesterday... Our family once had some marital ties with him, so Daoist Master Houfu went to the Sword Gate. He only returned this morning and is now at the summit of Huyi Mountain.”

Li Ximing paused in surprise, then let out a faint sigh. Senior Cheng Gao had not been very old. He had once been acquainted with his uncle Li Yuanjiao and had been a leading figure of the previous generation in the Sword Gate. His chances of breaking through to the Purple Mansion Realm had not been small. Yet many had fallen while trying to achieve divine ability. Such things were often beyond explanation.

He acknowledged, “What a pity! How is the Sword Gate?”

The two made their way to the summit. Lin Ya hesitated as if wanting to speak, then said, “I have heard the Sword Gate is in great turmoil right now.”

Li Ximing’s expression turned serious. At that moment, Houfu had already come out from the courtyard to receive him. Lin Ya immediately withdrew and said no more.

Houfu’s complexion was poor, though he remained polite. After a few words of greeting, before Li Ximing could ask further, Houfu set down his cup with a heavy air and said, “I assume Zhaojing has already heard... Cheng Gao has fallen.”

Li Ximing frowned and said, “Was it because he failed to achieve divine ability?”

Houfu’s tone grew colder as he replied, “That is only part of it. The technique he cultivated was special. He would have had a better chance of breaking through at the Western Sky Plateau, so he attempted it in a secret cave dwelling nearby.

“Three months ago, the conflict between the [Pure Victory Dao] and the [Great Peace Radiant Temple] was nearing its end. The entire Great Western Plains had basically fallen into the hands of the [Pure Victory Dao], leaving only Luosa, where the [Great Peace Radiant Temple] was based. Those heterodox forces began their clash from Luosa and fought all the way to the land of Shu, collapsing nine mountain ranges in the process.”

Li Ximing clearly noticed Houfu’s gaze turn vicious. This new Dao Master of the Great Xiukui Temple was evidently less restrained than his predecessor; that calm tone belied his ruthlessness.

“Several Merciful Ones of the [Great Peace Radiant Temple], along with that converted demonic creature, all perished there. The earth shook and the mountains trembled. For a time, the earth veins, spirit veins, and spiritual aura all shifted at once. The earth veins in particular were affected, and even many nearby formations failed together. Cheng Gao happened to be cultivating in that region. His divine ability failed to carry him through, and he perished, his Dao extinguished.”

Hearing this, Li Ximing understood. A chill rose within him as he tested Houfu, “I am afraid this was no accident...”

Houfu gave a cold laugh as Li Ximing frowned and asked, “As I recall, the Ni Family’s Purple Mansion Realm cultivators and the Sword Gate’s Daoist Master were stationed in the land of Shu... Why did they not intervene to protect him?”

Houfu shook his head. “They already tried to protect him. With a conflict of that scale between the [Pure Victory Dao] and the [Great Peace Radiant Temple], they had to worry about feints and diversions. The Ni Family’s Daoist Master Hongyan was guarding Longdi, and in any case, he could not easily go to a secret location. As for Cheng Gao going to stabilize the earth veins, no one is blind. That was an attempt to cover something up, and it only made it more obvious.”

Li Ximing was momentarily speechless and found the reasoning sound. After all, when two factions were fighting just fine, an outsider coming in to stabilize the earth veins would only make things more suspicious.

He replied, “It is indeed troublesome. If you do not go, you can only sit and watch events unfold. If you do go, you are practically admitting guilt. Neither of those factions is anything good... This is an open scheme.”

Houfu rubbed the space between his brows, then nodded silently and said, “Cheng Gao was no ordinary person... He was the only member of the Cheng Family who had married outside. He was also a disciple of Senior Ling Mei. Compared to Daoist Master Jiuwen’s ambiguous stance, he was the sole leading figure of the Cheng Family who clearly supported entering the world and not abandoning the land of Shu. He was a core direct descendant of great importance.”

Li Ximing frowned and thought to himself, The Sword Gate must have quite a few hidden cards. But from the Cheng Family’s perspective, entering the world might not be a good choice. With Senior Tianjiao remaining in the mountains, who could do anything to the Sword Gate if they simply abandoned the land of Shu? The more they refused to let go, the more weaknesses they exposed...

1. Referring to Fei Qingya. ☜