Changtian Peak.
Li Xizhi searched through several pavilions on the peak but couldn’t find a single scroll. There was no sign of a fire vein or pill furnace, and the medicinal gardens were completely desolate. Only the central main hall had a jade slip hanging within, hidden behind the hall. With his Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation and careful inspection, Li Xizhi spotted and retrieved it at once. It was the Complete Mercury Ingestion Method of the fourth grade.
It was indeed a quality technique, though it seemed to be already available for reference within the sect. It lacked a method for spiritual qi intake and required a substance called White Mercury Cinnabar Elixir, which appeared to be quite rare.
Yang Ruizao strolled casually with him along the mountain paths as they chatted. After a while, someone arrived delivering a translucent jade slip. Li Xizhi read it through. Changtian Peak indeed had a long history, with its own inherited cultivation method that had been passed down within the peak, rarely relying on sect-wide techniques.
It could be traced back four hundred years. The peak master then was known as Daoist Changtian, who cultivated in the Helin Mountain Range before joining the Azure Pond Sect and being granted a peak of his own.
He specialized in the Whole Pill Dao, particularly Secret White Mercury, and was once considered one of the two greats alongside Ning Wenyue, the Moon Lake Peak master who cultivated Lake Moon Autumn.
Later, Daoist Changtian perished, and his teachings were passed into the sect. Successors tried to follow the Dao, but none matched his level. Their cultivation progressed slowly, even lagging behind standard techniques. The lineage steadily declined, yet each generation stubbornly persisted. With the death of the last peak master, Zhang Lingshu, the lineage was considered severed. All chants and secret texts vanished, leaving behind only a single cultivation method.
The Yang Family had noted that this technique, still stored in the Sutra Repository, had remained untouched to this day. It, too, was named Complete Mercury Ingestion Method.
Secret White Mercury... thought Li Xizhi.
Now that Li Xizhi held peak master status and had the Yang Family’s backing, his access to information was gradually improving. Seeing he didn’t quite understand, Yang Ruizao softly explained, “Xizhi, this Secret White Mercury belongs to the Whole Pill Dao.”
To Li Xizhi, it sounded like something of Metal Virtue, but the three metals were Swamp Metal, Geng Metal, and Xiao Metal. There was nothing called the Whole Pill. So he asked, “Is it a metallic essence?”
Yang Ruizao shook his head and said, “If you’re referring to classifications like the Five Waters as Water Virtue, the Five Fires as Fire Virtue, the Twelve Qi, primal magnetism, or yin and yang. The Whole Pill Dao doesn’t fall under any of these. It’s part of what we call Ancient Merging Techniques.
“The Xiukui from the Great Xiukui Temple, the Jade True of the True Monarch Shangyuan, even the Hengzhu of the Hengzhu Dao, all fall under this category. They often carry an air of shamanic mystery, ambiguity between real and illusory, and the ancient alchemical flavor of mercury-ingesting and metal-seeking.
“From descriptions alone... Secret White Mercury is truly mysterious and profound. While it may not excel in direct combat compared to modern techniques, it can do so much more in so many other areas...”
Li Xizhi quietly took note of it and thought to himself, Since I’ve inherited someone else’s Dao lineage, if I can gather the right spiritual qi and when I can take on disciples in the future, at least one of them should cultivate this Dao...
After putting the jade slip away, he saw another stream of Heavenly Glow flying in from the south. Yang Ruizao looked up in surprise, did a quick calculation, and said, “Looks like it’s the fourth wave of reinforcements, the sect has sent most of its own by now, and it’s probably time to conscript from the various esteemed families.”
Li Xizhi nodded. Then Yang Ruizao asked, “I wonder if your name is on the list...”
The two exchanged a glance, and Li Xizhi simply nodded. Yang Ruizao smiled and said, “Yes, even if the deployment orders haven’t arrived yet... all the benefits have already been handed over. You’ll definitely be sent.”
Though he said it lightly, Yang Ruizao’s expression gradually grew serious. He spoke in a low voice, “There are only two more rounds of dispatch left. Xizhi, you should head out early. If you miss the timing, someone may use it against you.”
Li Xizhi nodded. The two rose into the air together, watching intently as the massive yet elegant Heavenly Glow Dawn Cloudliner folded its long glowing wings and slowly descended into the formation array.
From all thirty-six peaks, people took to the skies. Li Xizhi and his brother-in-law Yang Ruizao stood amidst the clouds, watching as the defensive formation on the cloudliner also faded. Yang Ruizao asked, “I wonder who’s leading the team?”
Just then, as the glowing formation gradually vanished, they saw a golden-armored cultivator standing at the ship’s bow. He had deep-set eyes, broad shoulders, thick white brows and hair, and slightly narrowed old eyes. A fierce golden bow was slung across his back.
The old man’s armor shimmered with white light in the glow as he stood with hands behind his back. Yang Ruizao was slightly startled. He glanced at Li Xizhi beside him and said with a smile, “So it’s Li Xuanfeng, the Golden Bowstring.”
Since Li Xuanfeng was leading this ship, Li Xizhi would naturally go along. He was just about to fly toward the cloudliner when Yang Ruizao beside him paused slightly and said, “My family also has two brothers... They’ll be joining as well.”
Li Xizhi understood the unspoken request at once and, without waiting for him to continue, smiled and said, “Brother-in-law, go ahead and bring them. We’ll head out together, it’ll be good to look after each other on the journey.”
“Much appreciated,” said Yang Ruizao as he took his leave with a smile. Li Xizhi, however, paused thoughtfully, There's no telling whether brother-in-law got wind of the deployment early and wants the Yang Family to accompany my uncle, all under the guise of coincidence...
The Chi Family was exerting heavy influence in this matter. Aside from several peaks under the command of Daoist Master Yuan Xiu, most others had sent direct descendants. Yang Ruizao himself might very well be heading out too.
Li Xizhi wasn’t bothered as relations between esteemed families weren’t built on sentiment alone, but on mutual benefit. The Yang Family had many daughters, and for Yang Ruizao to maintain closeness with him, it was partly due to his own strong cultivation and partly because the Li Family was now powerful. Had the Li Family still been as weak as during Li Tongya’s fall, this brother-in-law would’ve offered little more than a polite smile in passing. None of these connections would exist.
He reviewed everything in his mind but didn’t immediately seek out Li Xuanfeng. Instead, he flew to the General Affairs Hall and used his new command token to receive his official assignment.
Station at Baixiang Valley, on the border of Xu State near Mount Bianyan. Await further orders. Mission: resist devil cultivators...
He stored the token away, retrieved a map for careful study, and after some thought, decided to make a stop at the Sutra Repository just in case.
This Complete Mercury Ingestion Method was, after all, a secret technique left on the peak, there might be a different section or version , he thought.
He searched for about fifteen minutes and borrowed the sect’s copy of Complete Mercury Ingestion Method. After a detailed comparison, he was slightly disappointed.
“The two versions are identical. The only difference is that the one from the peak isn’t restricted. I can bring it back home,” muttered Li Xizhi.
After inquiring, he learned the sect had some White Mercury Cinnabar Elixir available. He returned the borrowed text, boarded the Dawn Cloudliner, and found a private chamber to settle into.
Li Xuanfeng had gone to the main hall to report. Only members of the Ning Family came over to greet him politely.
Li Xizhi waited a little while, and the Yang Family members soon arrived. He recognized a few of the brothers by face, perhaps he’d seen them once when fetching Yang Xiao’er. They followed him into the cabin.
The Yang Family, descended from the ancient Yue kings. They had deep roots and an extensive legacy. Though they had gone through periods of decline, they had now regained stability and begun to display their profound foundation once more.
But Li Xizhi also clearly saw the flaws. In the chaos of earlier times, the Yang Family’s secular branches had been nearly wiped out. With their numbers dwindled, they only had a single peak within the Azure Pond Sect. Children often began cultivation from birth, and the extinction of sub-branches was common.
Moreover, the Yang Family had no external holdings or industries. Nearly every member embodied the aloofness of esteemed family disciples. They were detached from worldly matters, indulgent, and carefree. Having cultivated exclusively atop immortal peaks since youth, they were even more extreme than other families.
Now, gathered before Li Xizhi, they greeted him politely but quickly withdrew to the side, joking amongst themselves without the slightest awareness of the life-or-death battle ahead. Their Dharma robes were bright, but their cultivation was shallow. They gave off an air of frivolity, and that was the better part of it. One of them was only at the Qi Cultivation Realm, with his blood qi murky. What’s worse, he had brought along a woman of the Embryonic Breathing Realm. She was strikingly beautiful and her cultivation method was peculiar, likely of the furnace vessel variety.
Li Xizhi scanned the room but found no one truly noteworthy. His brother-in-law must not have had an easy time managing this lot.
That said... if even one of them can make it through the bloodshed, it might be worth watching. With that thought, a faint eagerness stirred within him, If there’s an opportunity that isn’t too perilous, perhaps I could bring along the younger ones from the Radiant Lure generation.