Li Xuanfeng’s mana hadn’t harmed the object at all. He swirled his mana around it once and withdrew it. Li Xuanfeng stared at the drop of mercury lying silently in his hand. He suspected it to be a dharma artifact, so he channeled his mana through it a few more times, but no dharma light emerged.
Could it be a spirit item...? Li Xuanfeng frowned as he tried to determine its origin. The ever observant Si Yuanli saw his mana flash twice and softly remarked, "I doubt it’s a Purple Mansion Realm spirit item. It seems this man’s entire cultivation was transformed into a spirit item and condensed into this tiny mercury drop. It’s quite a curiosity indeed."
His words were clear enough. Li Xuanfeng flipped his hand and stored the item, silently wondering, If this is a Purple Mansion Realm spirit item, perhaps Daoist Master Qiushui could make use of it? If I can use it to earn her goodwill and trade for the Radiant Sky Stone, that would be ideal...
Si Yuanli had recovered Helian Changguang’s dharma artifact, but his storage pouch could no longer be found. The crafty youth had embedded a small spirit array in it so that his sudden death destroyed the pouch, burning away nearly all of its contents. Only a few durable spirit items had fallen into the lake.
The two said little and made their way toward the small palace. Si Yuanli quickly passed through the corridor and paused at the main hall’s entrance, studying it closely. Though he had confirmed something internally, he still voiced apparent surprise, "Fellow Daoist Xuanfeng! This hall still has remnants of a formation!"
"Oh?" Li Xuanfeng followed him down and paused at the entrance. Two stone statues sculpted into Three-Eyed Mount Tiao Beasts, famed for guarding formations and drawing wealth, flanked the door. The ancients had favored them as household guardians.
"What a fine ancient formation!" Si Yuanli stopped and pointed to the formation, marveling, "Come take a look quickly, this formation is quite something. It’s a rare ancient formation with the Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang as its cores. These two Fruition Attainments never manifested but also never shifted, so the formation can still function to some extent. The owner of this hall must have been extraordinary..."
He seemed thoroughly intrigued, speaking at length from the formation’s foundational patterns to its yin-yang balance, even touching on the impact of Shangyuan Dao attainment. Li Xuanfeng listened thoughtfully, Perhaps opening this formation will trigger some major change. Si Yuanli is likely stalling on purpose until it’s closer to the time we leave the Great Ning Palace, so as to avoid complications.
Li Xuanfeng didn’t press him, treating it as an opportunity to hear some rare stories. Since Si Yuanli seemed to be making idle conversation, he deliberately asked something obscure, "That’s interesting. Do you know how many have attained the Fruition of Yin and Yang today?"
Si Yuanli faltered slightly, but had no choice but to answer, "The Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang Fruitions are very exalted. The last few holders were all immortals. The Supreme Yang once belonged to Immortal Yingze... and the Supreme Yin to the Immortal Lord of Moonlight Origin Mansion. Unfortunately, both disappeared ages ago and have left no traces...
"Whether they are dead or in seclusion attempting breakthroughs, I’m just a humble cultivator and wouldn’t dare speculate. It would only shorten my lifespan... better not to say more."
As he spoke, standing idly started to feel awkward. He placed a hand on the formation, seemingly studying its patterns and thinking of ways to break it.
His tone was casual. "As for Bright Yang and Veiled Yin, fellow Daoist surely knows more about Bright Yang than I do, so I won’t elaborate. But Veiled Yin has remained vacant ever since its previous bearer was slain by the Wei Emperor, which is what set the current trend of male cultivators vastly outnumbering females..."
He had spoken too quickly and paused for two seconds, as if realizing he had said too much. He hurriedly glossed over the two Fruition Attainments and said in a low voice, “Lesser Yang is none other than the Lesser Yang Devil Monarch, Kuai Li! The tale of Splitreed Island is known across the world... The Devil Monarch was split into three by Immortal Yingze, which led to the rise of Dragon Monarch Xiyang. To this day, Dragon Monarch Xiyang still considers Immortal Yingze his senior.
“‘Lesser Yin’ is even more elusive, few Dao lineages have even heard of one that bears it...”
He barely finished his words and noticed Li Xuanfeng was about to ask more. Unease crept in. There were many Purple Mansion Realm cultivators watching from outside, many from Golden Core Dao lineages. If he said the wrong thing, it would be troublesome. He made up his mind and quickly patted the formation, saying urgently, "Brother Xuanfeng, I’ve found a way."
Not allowing another interruption, he handed the green cauldron to Li Xuanfeng and quickly said, “This formation once reached Purple Mansion Realm at its peak, but it’s decayed over time. Look at this...”
He pointed at the eight rays of light at the center of the formation. There were six outer ones surrounding two inner yin-yang flows. He explained, “The inner two represent Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang Fruition. But two of the six outer lights have failed. What remains are Pristine, Converging, Joy, and Geng. Remove these four, and we can immediately enter the formation.”
Li Xuanfeng took a close look. He wasn’t well-versed in formations, but noticed that Si Yuanli had produced two white talismans and placed them in his palm. He glanced at the talismans. They shimmered faintly with multicolored light, about three fingers wide and a palm’s length. One bore four words in green-gray ink, Turn Pristine into Converging.
The other was written in pale golden-white script, nearly blending into the paper itself, Borrow Geng for Joy.
The two talismans matched the four formation aspects perfectly. Si Boxiu’s intentions were now plain; it was the moment when hidden knives were drawn. Si Yuanli raised the talismans high, as his slouch vanished and he straightened.
His gaze sharpened, all trace of weakness gone, and he spoke in a solemn tone, “By the Mandate of Heaven, Geng is lent to Joy, as dragon and serpent struggle, Pristine is turned into Converging... thus granting access to true law, and wondrous divine ability...”
Though he spoke rapidly, his voice carried solemn weight. It hung in the air for two seconds before green-gray and pale gold lights burst from his hands, shooting skyward and exploding in brilliant flashes.
Boom!
Green raindrops began to fall from above. Li Xuanfeng had prepared in advance, so his mana gathered into a golden shield before him, blocking the sweeping aftermath as he silently stepped back.
His eyes opened slightly, golden mana gleaming white. The corridor beneath his feet collapsed, revealing a sheet of deep blue Converging Water before the main hall. Two green fish-shaped bells hanging from the eaves jingled, then fell mid-air, disintegrating into beads of bronze before hitting the ground.
The six rays of light in the formation flickered. The green Pristine and blue Converging reversed, while the white Joy and golden Geng inverted. The entire formation crumbled like dust in the wind, collapsing without force and dissolving into scattered color.
Unlike most broken formations, no shockwaves spread, nor did any restrictive power activate. It was as if the formation had never existed, leaving behind only a hollow gleam.
Creak...
The hall doors swung open with a creak. Si Yuanli, now energetic and unrecognizably spry, leaped inside. His deep voice echoed out, "Fellow Daoist Xuanfeng! Take whatever you wish inside, I only want the scroll on the table. But we must leave in ten seconds! Once the others arrive, escape will be impossible!"