The formation in the grand hall shimmered faintly. Li Qinghong suddenly recalled the Falling Water Rising Storm years ago, when she had ridden lightning over the sea. A True Monarch of the Yue Cultivating Sect, Taiyue, had severed a celestial phenomenon with a single slash, causing countless comet-like stars to fall from the sky.
Back then, I couldn’t make out the True Monarch’s form. I could only see a blur of white light. Though the first disciple in the hall also has no visible face, there’s an uncanny sense of familiarity, thought Li Qinghong.
True Monarch Taiyue had attained Fruition, and beings of that level, once seen, could probably be recognized instantly even if only drawn roughly. After much thought, she swallowed her words and said softly, "He simply feels familiar."
Li Xijun wisely refrained from pressing further. After a moment of silent observation, he replied, "The hall in the painting should be Chongming Hall."
"Correct," replied Li Qinghong.
Though the Six Sons of Chongming were renowned, the painting depicted seven figures. Li Qinghong recalled that the Chunyi Dao Gate of the Eastern Sea also hailed from the Green Pine Dao lineage. She had once crossed swords with Xi Chang of the Chunyi Dao Gate, whose cultivation method was rooted in the principle of Taiyin. It was an encounter she remembered vividly.
"The one outside the hall should be the founder of the Chunyi Dao Gate."
The guardian-like figure outside the hall was most likely a member of the Xi Family. The crescent moon on the sword matched perfectly.
She explained her deduction in detail, and Li Xijun, gaining insight, nodded and said, "The Purple Essence Radiant Canopy, the guardian treasure of the Purple Smoke Gate, is famous. The senior in purple robes must be their founder. The one in red likely represents Hengzhu Dao Gate; the white-robed sword-bearer is from the Wanyu Sword Gate; the one in hemp robes must be from the Changhuai Sect; and the seated first disciple..."
Li Qinghong responded, "He's likely the one from Jiangbei."
The two counted and identified each figure except for the youth in green robes and black boots. Since they were on their turf, they knew better than to speak of him openly. Li Xijun carefully examined the image and soon spotted a few lines of text-like markings in the dark green pattern on the side.
Li Xijun naturally couldn’t make much sense of it, but Li Qinghong closed her eyes to concentrate. Drawing on her connection with ancient dharma artifact techniques, she soon deciphered the meaning, "These markings are the unique arcane seals of an ancient cultivator. They roughly mean...
"Jiang Bing, Chen Xuanli."
Li Qinghong explained, "The image on the screen was painted by the former and the artifact itself was crafted by the latter."
Li Xijun nodded thoughtfully, one hand on the sword at his waist, and said softly, "I heard the Chen Family hails from Jiangbei. Chen Taoping of the island at the heart of the lake is likely a descendant of Chen Xuanli. He once used the alias Zhang Cuotian and seems to have made a name for himself.
"Let’s try out this painted screen first."
Li Qinghong said no more and took to the skies with him on lightning. The night was deep. She unfurled her dharma artifact, and the Chongming Profound Insight Screen spun in the air. Mystical wind flowed across the screen as pines swayed. It cast a wave of dark azure light.
"This is Heavy Abyssal Gale, a technique of disruption, specifically meant to counter flying swords and dharma light."
Li Xijun nodded lightly and casually pulled out a golden leaf-shaped dharma artifact from his storage pouch. Though it was merely a low-grade Qi Cultivation Realm tool, he infused it with mana and sent it flying. Sure enough, it began to wobble in midair as it grew harder to control.
Li Xijun had never studied flying swords in depth, but the mana consumption was clearly genuine. He casually recalled the artifact and nodded., "It truly counters the Golden Tang Gate the most."
Now that Jiangbei had stabilized, the Golden Tang Gate had likely reopened its mountain gate. This immortal sect was famed for its use of flying sabers, flying swords, and dharma light, so they feared disruption techniques like this the most.
Li Qinghong changed the dharma seal with new hand seals. The Chongming Profound Insight Screen unfolded once more, releasing several strands of pale golden iridescence that lit up a nine meter radius around them.
She turned and said, "This is Perception Severance, an isolation technique that’s capable of blocking surveillance and obstructing spiritual sense."
This happened to be Li Xijun’s specialty. White mist surged from his eyes as he examined it carefully. After a full quarter of an hour, he nodded in praise and said, "It’s indeed remarkable. Even I can only glimpse a faint silhouette."
Li Xijun’s perception techniques were exceptionally powerful. Once he layered talisman qi atop his eye arts, he could pierce grand formations even at the Qi Cultivation Realm. If even he could only see a vague outline, it was unlikely that any Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator in Jiangnan could penetrate it.
Li Qinghong changed hand seals again. The eight-faced screen shuddered and formed a circle. All eight edges lit with mystical radiance, forming a bright light barrier that looked quite sturdy.
She explained, "This is Golden Dao, a defensive technique. The technique is vague in the text, but it appears quite solid."
Li Xijun nodded gently. The longsword at his waist leaped into the air, trailing frosty light as it landed in his palm. Naturally, it was the Li Family sword cultivator’s signature technique, Celestial Moon Slash.
Clang!
Li Xijun had formed his Sword Essence and wielded it with ease. In his hands, the Celestial Moon Slash held no trace of moonlight; it felt entirely like his own creation. The bright sword light intertwined with frost and snow, forming a curtain of falling snow that descended softly.
Li Qinghong let out a sound of admiration as the flurry of snow descended. At that moment, the eight edges of the Chongming Profound Insight Screen lit up in unison, and its radiant barrier began to rise. Both were taken aback.
"Huh?"
They saw the fifth screen quietly shift. The once-frozen radiance within the hall painting began to flow. Pages fluttered, white robes billowed, and a longsword gleamed. The sword-bearing man turned his blank, faceless head toward the falling snow.
The Chongming Profound Insight Screen released a wave of dark azure light. The sword light in Li Xijun’s hand suddenly dimmed, and the countless sword essences overhead silently faded. The snow froze midair, as if its spirit had been drained, and dropped to the ground.
Ding dang...
The sword essence struck the screen light and quickly dissipated, sending out ripples. The sword in Li Xijun’s hand twisted gracefully, raising a new flurry of frost and snow that fell like pine needles, producing a delicate, rustling sound as it descended.
"Threefold Moonlight!"
Three streaks of sword light, as pure and cold as frost, shot forth from his blade. They were bright, radiant, and nimble, circling each other once in midair. But before them stood a dharma artifact, not a person, it was a screen of light that revealed no weakness.
Buzz...
The dark azure hue of the Chongming Profound Insight Screen descended once more. The three streaks of sword qi faltered as if they were being suppressed, then smashed against the screen in unison, unleashing a crisp and resounding crack.
Crash!
This sword technique finally caused the Chongming Profound Insight Screen to tremble slightly. Its radiance dimmed a little, and the artifact grew heavier in Li Qinghong’s hands as her mana drained rapidly.
Li Xijun sheathed his sword mid-technique and exclaimed, "What a fine dharma artifact!"
The first two abilities of the Chongming Profound Insight Screen were impressive, but still within the realm of what modern dharma artifacts could achieve. They lacked the uniqueness of ancient technique artifacts. Though Li Xijun had praised it, he wasn’t yet astonished.
But this Golden Dao ability was the true core of the Chongming Profound Insight Screen, and it truly gave both of them a major surprise.
Li Qinghong also showed signs of surprise but quickly regained her composure. When she saw someone flying toward them from below, she retracted the Chongming Profound Insight Screen and rapidly descended.
Li Xijun caught up on the wind and said solemnly, "When my sword struck that screen, at least twenty percent of its power had been blunted prior..."
As he ascended the mountain with Li Qinghong, he spoke with emotion, "Twenty percent! If this applies to all sword qi, then this treasure is truly extraordinary. And this is only one screen, there are seven figures on it. Just how many Dao lineages can it correspond to? This is a treasure capable of suppressing a family’s entire fate. It’s far beyond something like the treasure furnace, Cuoxiang..."
Li Qinghong nodded in disbelief as she said softly, "One of the Jiangnan Dao lineages was inherited from the Six Sons of Chongming, while the other was granted by the Moonlight Origin Mansion. If this treasure advances to Purple Mansion Realm, it could likely suppress several entire prefectures of Jiangnan!"
Aunt and nephew exchanged a glance and entered the mountain. The Chongming Profound Insight Screen unfurled, enveloping a nine meter radius around them. Li Xijun murmured, "This might be the only treasure in my family that rivals our ancestral heirloom. Now this is a true ancient dharma artifact. The Water Wall Pearl already requires someone of Water Mansion Dao mastery to use its full potential. With this artifact in hand, every Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator of the Jiangnan Dao lineages would stand two levels below."
His thoughts turned swiftly, as always, and he mused aloud, "They say Ning State has always had designs on Wu and Yue States. The friction has only escalated over time... This Chongming Profound Insight Screen clearly has a purpose! It was made for use against the Yue State, and it even holds specific suppressive power over sword cultivators..."
After some discussion, the aunt and nephew decided to leave the artifact with Li Qinghong. The woman said gently, "Let’s not jump to conclusions. In the future, we should test this Chongming Profound Insight Screen under different circumstances and see if all eight sides respond individually."
Li Xijun nodded, then reported recent household matters. Soon after, a guard outside the hall came forward to report that Li Chengliao had arrived.
Having once served as family head, he still wore his great cloak. Holding a swaddled infant in his arms, he stepped before the hall and said respectfully, "Eighth uncle, someone came from the sea. Jiangqian has returned."
Li Xijun stepped forward and received the infant. The child was calm and well-behaved, adorably quiet as his golden amber eyes immediately examined Li Xijun’s face.
Li Jiangqian was completely unlike his elder brother. He neither looked fierce nor bore golden scales, but was as quiet as an ordinary child.
After examining the child for a few moments, Li Xijun pinched the child’s cheeks and, seeing no sharp white fangs in his mouth, handed him back to Li Chengliao with instructions, "Raise him in the mountains for now. Keep a close eye on him and don’t let your guard down."