The western shore was dotted with Daoist temples and cultivation families, and the population was quite large, yet the cultivators lived in pitiful conditions. There weren’t even enough Qi Cultivation Realm cultivators to count on two hands in this vast western shore region, let alone any Foundation Establishment Realm ones.
The Azure Pond Sect didn’t bother controlling Daoist He, but these small families had no such privileges. They had to offer tributes to both Daoist He and the Azure Pond Sect. After five hard years of cultivating their Spirit Paddies, they still couldn’t produce enough to meet both sides’ demands.
So they had no choice but to scrape together Spirit Stones using every means possible. This meant either risking their lives in Mount Dali, serving under the Li or Yu Families, or even crossing the lake into the Wilderness to become outlaws and send spoils back home.
These heavy burdens left cultivators of the western shore with no time for cultivation at all. On the rare occasion someone reached the Qi Cultivation Realm, they were sent to Daoist He’s temple to forge dharma artifacts. Thus, for nearly two hundred years, not a single cultivator had reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. In truth, there wasn’t anyone with the chance to try.
Thus, as Li Xizhi and his group traveled, what they saw was truly lifeless. Some cultivation families had only one cultivator, who had to go out and risk their life, while mortals managed the household.
However, the Li Family was no stranger to the struggles of the lower class, and Li Qinghong remarked, "At least the mortals here live quite well. Every family is eager to have cultivators, and Daoist He doesn’t demand blood food. He only hopes to raise more people and awaken more spiritual orifices, to gain another laborer."
Only Yang Ruizao, raised in privilege and comfort since childhood, looked closely and furrowed his brows, never relaxing them as he sighed, "Moongaze Lake is truly a desperate land that somehow keeps producing talent."
As they continued riding the wind toward Nine Gates Mountain on the western shore, an elderly cultivator flew out to greet them. Dressed in Daoist robes, he initially looked calm, but as he approached, his pupils widened suddenly, "Four Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators?! And two of them are at the late stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm?!
"This is bad! The Li Family has come to attack!"
His legs gave out, and he dropped into a full bow, trembling as he said, "Greetings, esteemed seniors!"
Since Yang Ruizao was mediating this time, he stepped forward and stated plainly, "No need for excessive courtesy. Just report to your Daoist master that Yang Ruizao is here to visit."
The old cultivator fled back into the formation, and a few dozen seconds later, a white-haired elder flew out. His face was long, and his eyes were sharp and bright.
He looked surprised as he called out, "The third son of the Yang Family? Now that’s a rare guest! What brings you to my place today?"
Yang Ruizao responded warmly and courteously, and the four entered together. Mount Jiumen was entirely crimson, with scorching air from the endlessly surging fire veins. They flew into the cave dwelling and took their seats one after another.
He Ting, being nearly three hundred years old, only needed a glance at their faces to guess most of Yang Ruizao’s purpose. He had the old Daoist serve tea, and Yang Ruizao began introductions, saying, "This is Li Xizhi, peak master of Changtian Peak..."
"I know! I know!" The old man responded cheerfully, "Your ancestor, Li Mutian, once joined Brother Tianya in suppressing Mount Yue. His bearing was extraordinary. Though I wasn’t part of that campaign, I heard Tianya praise his swordsmanship often..."
The Li Family members fell silent for a moment. Li Xizhi responded politely, and after a brief exchange with Yang Ruizao, He Ting chuckled. "At the time, Tianya had trouble refining the Yue Sealing Seal. I had him lead troops to suppress the rebellion, living and eating alongside the soldiers until he could complete the refinement. So in a way, I contributed to it too."
"Ancestor." Yang Ruizao began to speak, but He Ting waved his hand and replied hoarsely, "If you’re here to ask me to take action, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed."
He opened his Daoist robe to reveal an empty space beneath. He had been speaking with them all this time as nothing more than a head draped over a Dharma robe.
Yet He Ting looked utterly at ease and said gently, "In order to refine that spirit embryo for the Daoist Master, I completely dispersed my Dao foundation, and along with it, this entire body. The Daoist Master was gracious and gave me a spiritual pill, so this head can still last another three to five years."
The group fell silent. Yang Ruizao paused for three full seconds before saying, "This time, I also came to invite you, ancestor... to return to the Azure Pond Sect and see the elders and brothers one last time..."
"Of course!" He Ting smiled warmly and turned to the members of the Li Family, speaking kindly, "I have no children, and I was as close as a brother to Yang Tianya. I’ve long had this intention. As for this vast western shore and its hundreds of thousands of people, I now entrust them to your esteemed family!"
"Rest assured, Daoist!" Li Xizhi replied
He Ting called up the old Daoist again, saying softly, "This is my adopted son, He Jiumen[1]. He’s inherited a portion of my teachings and will henceforth serve under your esteemed family’s command."
He glanced around and sighed, "Nine Gates Mountain doesn’t have rich spiritual energy, nor are the formations impressive, it's only at the Qi Cultivation Realm. But the fire vein here carries the densest baleful aura in all of Moongaze Lake. It’s the only thing of true value.
"Let Yang Ruizao keep me company for a while. The rest of you may go on ahead."
The Li Family naturally had no objection and exited the mountain together. Li Xijun let out a quiet breath and said, "Now we owe the Yang Family a favor."
Walking atop a rainbow light, Li Xizhi nodded silently. As his eyes wandered over the thunder-wreathed forbidden formation at the lake’s heart, he suddenly recalled something and said, "I looked into the formation markings from the letter. I couldn’t find any record of them, but I did find the origin of those golden talismans."
"Oh?" The two turned to look immediately. Li Xizhi extended his hand, and Li Xijun promptly took out the stack of golden talismans, twelve in total, and passed them over.
Li Xizhi inspected them carefully as he explained, "Si Yuanli personally sent someone to explain. These are shamanic talismans from the Ancient Merging Dao, and it's divided into three types. There's Transformation, Concealment, and Blessing Arts."
Li Xizhi separated them into three piles and said, "In this stack, there are two Transformation, five Concealment, and five Blessing Arts talismans...
"It’s said the Transformation type allows you to take another’s form via blood, though Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators with perception arts can easily see through it, so it’s not very useful. The Concealment type can temporarily block divinations, which is quite valuable. As for the Blessing Arts, they’re complex. It's not something I can explain in a short time."
He pulled out a small booklet and handed it along with the talismans to Li Xijun, saying, "This was given to me by someone from the Si Family. Brother Xijun, you should take a look. You might find them useful, and they could prove quite effective."
Seeing Li Xijun nod, he continued, "As for the mercury drop, it seems to be a fairly high-grade Whole Pill Dao treasure. Cultivation methods of this type are usually difficult but powerful. I already sent a portion home, you could try letting one of the juniors cultivate with it."
Li Xijun took those words to heart. Then he saw Li Xizhi gazing at the distant lightning and asking, "Is the island at the heart of the lake ready?"
Li Xijun answered, "We sent people to search for Senior Liu Changdie. We checked several locations but still haven’t found him. Even the boys guarding his cave dwelling haven’t seen him. It’ll take time to track him down.
"Fortunately, we have some reference materials for the formation patterns, so dismantling the forbidden formation isn’t too difficult. I’ve already invited formation masters from various prefectures, and our family has many Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. Breaking the formation should take no more than half a year to a year."
1. Jiumen means Nine Gates in chinese. ☜