Dawn broke, and purple flames shot straight into the heavens from Mount Wu. White clusters of gardenia petals rolled along the mountaintop, carried by the blaze’s glow, while pale golden sandstones spun in the air.
Mount Wu had once been formed of basalt, so its soil was dark crimson in color. But now, the earth across the mountain had turned pitch black, its stones shattering apart, and everything was transmuted into a radiant hue. The entire mountain had become the territory of Bright Yang. The grand formation’s spiritual energy shifted abruptly, and its power was greatly reduced.
Spirit sand swirled beneath his feet as gardenias bloomed in profusion. Li Ximing attuned himself to his body as his qi sea and cinnabar glow surged in all directions. Everything was radiant within the Juque Court; the snow that had once filled it had long melted, and heavenly light had transformed into Bright Yang purple flames that flowed freely within.
Fire rises in the heart, Yang shines within and without. Thus the Minghuang divine ability is accomplished. Radiance extends two meters, purple flames blaze forth, colorful clouds ascend and dissipate...
In the past Li Ximing could not grasp these words, but now he understood immediately. The fire rising in the heart naturally referred to the Juque Court at the heart. The Bright Yang purple flames accumulated there, and with but a thought, he could now cause them to erupt.
Golden armor and robes descend across the heavens... The celestial sun glows in the east, the earth fiends burst from the south. Thus one roams the great void, tempering golden lotuses...
The dawn shone bright at the horizon, but no golden armor or robes appeared. Perhaps his divine ability had yet to manifest outward. He paused slightly, then cast his spiritual sense across the southern face of Mount Wu.
The Bright Yang purple flames raged fiercest on the southern slope, burning so hot that the radiant stones crumbled apart. Sure enough, streams of red-black earth fiend energy gushed forth, only to be suppressed by the purple flames and trapped within that narrow patch of land.
This is what is meant by the sun glowing in the east and the earth fiends bursting from the south! My divine ability’s completion has allowed this mountain to reap immense benefit, transforming into a treasured land of Bright Yang. This baleful qi is extraordinary. Not only can it refine pills and forge artifacts, it may even yield certain strands of Bright Yang qi itself.
He sat quietly for several seconds, when suddenly the great void echoed with a hollow sound, and two figures emerged at his side.
Li Ximing lifted his head slightly, his eyes returning to a pale gold. The divine light between his brows flickered, and the gray aura covering the two figures instantly dissipated, revealing their true forms.
One was short in stature, with ugly and distorted features that culminated in two horns jutting from his brow. A gray cloth was draped about his shoulders. His eyes stretched so far to the sides of his face that only half an eye was visible from the front. His teeth were long and thin, his pupils a murky green-black, and he clutched a hazy gray pen as long as a pestle.
The other was a head taller. His face was wide and long, sagging all the way down to his chest, his nose ridge splitting his face into two halves. His eyes were pink, and he struggled to carry a massive book in his arms. He had strings of copper coins hanging from his body.
The horned one halted, offering a casual cupped-hand salute. His voice was shrill and thin as he spoke, "Greetings, Daoist! I am Wang Long, emissary of the Underworld’s judiciary. Good tidings, good tidings! You have attained a divine ability, and I have come on behalf of all Underworld envoys to congratulate you. Congratulations, congratulations! May you be free from life and death, may your divine Dao be perfected, may the Five Laws reach their utmost, may you escape the great calamity, first attain Fruition, and ultimately become true..."
He rattled off a long string of blessings in that sharp voice. When he finally finished, the long-faced man beside him said, "The same blessings, the same blessings!"
Wang Long then bent slightly at the waist to introduce the long-faced man as he pointed at the latter. "This is my companion, Zhang Gui."
"So it is the Emissary of the Underworld!" No wonder he had arrived so quickly; he was from the Underworld.
Li Ximing returned the salute, while Wang Long, his voice shrill, smiled and asked, "Is that the Radiant Origin Pass?"
Zhang Gui glanced at him twice, his long face as calm as a still pond, then answered, "Indeed. The technique is ancient in form and comes from the Wei's Li Family's Heaven-Venerating Gate. Fellow Daoist’s version is not the orthodox line, but likely the collateral royal branches guarding the northern frontier. The technique has been much simplified, and is called the Radiant Origin Pass."
"Good, good, good." Wang Long’s voice grew even sharper as he immediately turned to ask, "Your surname and given name?"
Li Ximing had only just crossed through boundless illusions. His own name was nearly stuck in his throat, and he almost could not speak it. After a moment, he quietly said, "I am Li Ximing of the Li Family. ‘Xi’ as in the dawn’s radiance, ‘Ming’ as in the light of sun and moon."
As soon as the words fell from his lips, Wang Long’s pen flashed twice, welling up with ink. The horned man shoved the long-faced one carrying the massive book and exclaimed, "Have you found him yet?"
Zhang Gui continued to slowly leaf through the pages, tracing the contents with his finger as he searched silently. Wang Long, impatient by nature, refused to keep watching him and instead muttered to Li Ximing, "Tell me, why would several True Monarch level figures fight at all? They shattered the heavens with their battle. Several True Monarchs themselves went to watch, disturbing both heaven and earth alike.
"Fellow Daoist, on my way here I even heard that a hunk of flesh as large as a city fell from the sky in Wu State, festering across four provinces. I wonder which great figure was displeased, to bring about such a calamity..."
He kept muttering, his half-human, half-ghost face gradually showing worry, as he whispered, "I wonder if Fellow Daoist Si can even break through to the Golden Core Realm. If not... then this century’s Metallic Essence will once again be incomplete!"
Li Ximing responded absently, not knowing the customs of the Underworld folk, and did not speak further. Wang Long waited a while, growing ever more dissatisfied, then turned with a frown, his shrill voice snapping at the long-faced Zhang Gui, "Old partner, how long has it been? Delaying here and there, if those old fellows find out, they’ll say we’ve neglected the souls of the dead, and you’ll be the one punished for it!"
Zhang Gui looked left and right, then closed the book shut with a rustle. His indistinct brows furrowed, his face appearing even more grotesque as he slowly replied, "I cannot find him."
Wang Long froze for a moment, then clenched his hands and flung open the book’s cover. He grunted as he shoved it forcefully, toppling the massive tome to the ground. In an instant it split into several volumes, scattering across the floor with a rustle. He cursed, "How could there be a mistake? Did you transcribe this all for nothing?"
The two Underworld envoys were clearly pressed for time as they scrambled in a fluster to search through the mess. Li Ximing cast a brief glance and saw that the collection consisted of numerous volumes in varying colors, yet when he swept over them with his spiritual sense, they revealed nothing at all.
It seems not even mana can lift these books, nor could any spell arts be cast upon them... I wonder if a divine ability could seize them instead, wondered Li Ximing.
The two dropped their heads, each grabbing a volume in haste, flipping through them rapidly in their search.
The collection was a treasure in itself, impervious to spiritual sense probing. For a time, the only sound all around was the flapping of pages being turned.
Rustle, rustle...
Seizing the moment, Li Ximing lowered his gaze. At his feet lay a volume bound in purple-gold, laced with several strands of pristine white cord. It stood out as the most exalted volume. Its pages flipped of their own accord amidst the surging purple flames, until it reached the final page, whereupon it was inscribed on the margin, Record of Purple Mansion Realm Divine Abilities, verified by the envoys of Jiao and Yang States—collated by the registry ghost Zhang Gui.
At the very top was a line of golden script, written in ancient seal characters of the Yin script. Li Ximing recognized it at a single glance.
"In the Yin Era, six hundred ninety-seventh cycles of Earth Virtue, second month, third day. Head of the Ancient Li[1] of Yang State, now a cultivator of Mount Azure Pond, Daoist Master Guanxuan, Yang Tianya, attained divine ability."
Beneath this golden Daoist inscription followed another line, "In the Yin Era, six hundred ninety-eighth cycles of Earth Virtue, eleventh month, twenty-third day—Person of the Wu Tribe in Jiao State, now a cultivator of Linhai Prefecture, Daoist Master Houfu, Lin Wei, attained divine ability."
Li Ximing’s heart trembled violently.
He knew both names recorded on this page. Yang Tianya required no explanation, and Daoist Master Houfu was none other than the present master of the Great Xiukui Temple! The Li Family had been embroiled in Xu Xiao’s rebellion when Houfu achieved his breakthrough!
Yang Tianya has attained his divine ability! He accomplished it even earlier than Houfu! thought Li Ximing.
1. This Li(黎), it is not the same Li(李) of Li Ximing. It is the same Li of Lijing Town, Lixia Prefecture, and Lijing Mountain. ☜