Li Qinghong couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sword scar. Fei Qingyi’s words were only half-true. Now that Jade True had been restored and the jade veins were thriving, the Jade Smoke Mountain was naturally immune to ordinary Foundation Establishment Realm mana. But back in the day, this dharma artifact would have been far less durable. There was no longer a way to verify how strong it truly was now.
The dharma artifact held special meaning for the Li Family, but Li Xizhi was in no rush to accept it. He turned to Li Xijun, and the white-robed young man immediately said softly, "This item was once borrowed by Yu Su, so this counts as its return. The Yu Family has since fractured among the outer branches, and only a few direct descendants remain. Most have already married into the Li Family, perhaps it’s best to store it here for now, for future generations."
Though the Yu Family’s downfall was closely tied to the Li Family, ultimately it had been carved up by various outside surnames, and their descendants no longer bore the Yu surname. Li Xijun had chosen a tactful way to put it as he received the Jade Smoke Mountain.
Fei Qingyi finally let out a breath of relief as Li Xizhi accepted it, and quietly settled into a corner of the flying boat. Yang Ruizao glanced at her with mild interest and exchanged a few polite words. The spirit boat started heading south, returning to the Azure Pond Sect.
The Li Family’s forces had already entered Nine Gates Peak, and the various households were being accounted for. Li Chengliao and the others would handle matters thoroughly, so there was no need for the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators to make another trip. Li Xijun and his companions escorted the guests out of Moongaze Lake and turned with the spirit wind toward the central islet. Just then, An Siwei approached on a current of spirit wind, with several people following behind him, all bearing respectful expressions.
He said in a low voice, "My lord, the masters have all arrived."
Li Xijun did a mental count and said in surprise, "That quick?"
An Siwei nodded, stepped closer to Li Xijun, and said quietly, "We searched a few marketplaces for those capable of breaking forbidden formations. These few were found immediately, and they came eagerly and with utmost courtesy."
Li Xijun raised an eyebrow slightly and turned to look at the four formation masters. All of them were at the Qi Cultivation Realm, elderly, with unremarkable clothing and middling mana cultivation.
He inspected them with his ocular perception technique, seeing through them clearly. He only relaxed a little when he noted that none of them were using any illusion arts. When they noticed Li Xijun looking their way, the elderly men all bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, my lord!"
The Formation Dao was as deep as the sea, and one of the most complex among the hundred arts of Immortal Cultivation. If a rogue cultivator had any achievements in it, it almost certainly meant they had no fate with the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Even among the great sects, formation masters rarely excelled in their cultivation realm. Not everyone could be like Wan Huaqian or Liu Changdie. Li Xijun didn’t belittle them for their realm and asked, "Have the masters already seen the formation?"
They all nodded, and one of them even looked visibly excited as he said softly, "To be able to crack such a forbidden ancient formation is a rare blessing for one such as Lin!"
This formation master Lin was the oldest among them, and clearly held the highest status. He followed half a step behind Li Xijun and respectfully said, "We are all cultivators from Yue State. We’ve long heard of this forbidden formation and are all lovers of the art. Years ago, we each came to study it, so we’re not unfamiliar with it. When we heard your esteemed family was going to unravel it, we were overjoyed!
"We discussed it briefly and concluded that this type of thunder-domain formation should be suppressed and broken using items of the Metal Virtue. The best would be to use both Geng Metal and Dui Metal, as these are rare spiritual items that can neutralize thunder."
"Oh?" Li Xijun raised an eyebrow, his gaze turning sharp as he asked, "Our family also has cultivators of the Thunder Dao, and we’ve only ever heard that Earth Virtue can suppress thunder. We’ve never heard that Geng Metal could do the same."
Formation Master Lin paused for a moment. Some things were unspoken secrets of his Dao lineage, but how could he afford to be vague when a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator was asking?
He could only explain in a hushed tone, "There is a saying, 'Raging thunder is quenched by earth, remnant lightning falls to metal.' The forbidden formation is the remnant left after the main formation is broken, and thus belongs to residual lightning. This concept doesn’t exist in cultivation, but it does in formation theory."
Li Xijun silently memorized the phrase and thought to himself, Raging thunder is quenched by earth... No wonder! The dragon clan seeks to devour lightning, and it’s often said that Azure Manifestation is of Earth Virtue. Yuan Tuan and Yuan Chengdun both cultivated Azure Manifestation and were considered keys to unlocking the thunder arts grotto heaven. This might be connected.
But even though Azure Manifestation is Earth Virtue, it often gets entangled with blessing arts and shamanic arts... I still don’t understand why...
Since he was silently pondering, Master Lin assumed he was still listening and began his explanation, "To break this formation, one must use Metal Virtue tools, along with several Metal Virtue spiritual items, where half of them should be Geng Metal and half Dui Metal. These must be used together in the formation, and I’m afraid it will require several Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators working in concert."
Li Xijun nodded inwardly and asked, "How many?"
Master Lin looked a little hesitant. After exchanging glances with the elders behind him, he said nervously, "It depends on the quality of the dharma artifacts and spiritual items used. If there are excellent Foundation Establishment Realm dharma artifacts of Metal Virtue, the number can be reduced to six or eight. If the spiritual items are especially good, even four or five might suffice. But if none are available, then perhaps over ten would be needed..."
He quickly added, "It’s not that my skills are lacking but ancient forbidden formations are always difficult to resolve. If greater convenience is desired, one might have to seek a higher cultivator from a major sect..."
Li Xijun gently shook his head. "Of course I know that. If this formation were that easy to crack, the Yu Family would have broken it years ago and moved into the lake."
The others nodded repeatedly, and Master Lin reminded him, "This formation method comes from my Dao lineage and is designed specifically to break remnants of forbidden thunder formations. According to ancient texts, half of the Dui Metal used will be transmuted into Geng Metal. If your esteemed family has any particularly rare or important Dui Metal spiritual items, you must not use them carelessly."
Li Xijun naturally possessed quite a few spiritual items himself, most of them brought back by Li Xuanfeng. He had originally planned to borrow from a few friendly clans if they were insufficient.
But hearing this, he frowned and asked, "How many spiritual items are needed?"
Master Lin replied, "The more, the better. Two, four, six, or eight. Dui Metal and Geng Metal should be matched in pairs. That will suffice."
Li Xuanfeng had brought back Dui Metal type spiritual items like Zimu Profound Gold and Heartsway Gold. The household also had a Geng Metal item, Black Profound Gold. If they borrowed one more piece of Geng Metal, they could assemble four types.
They had enough Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators of their own. There were already four at home, and more could be called upon. After calculating everything, he felt confident.
Yet the formation masters still looked somewhat uneasy. Clearly, it wasn’t the family’s connections they doubted. Master Lin hesitated a few times and thought inwardly, I’m afraid he’s underestimating what I meant by good dharma artifact. Ordinary Foundation Establishment Realm tools won’t suffice. It might embarrass him when the time comes...
Then he hesitated again, recalling the rumored celestial bow. It was said that the man cultivated Geng Metal. The Li Family likely possessed more treasures than outsiders imagined, so he stayed silent.
But Li Xijun was in no rush. A Metal Virtue weapon?
Across all of Jiangnan, aside from treasures held by major sects, what Geng Metal artifact could compare to the spirit bow, White Lightning? It had been empowered by Li Xuanfeng’s full cultivation and refined with the ancient shamanic tool Monarch Calling Command Golden Talisman. It was a weapon that truly claimed the rightful position of Metal.
If the spirit bow, White Lightning, wasn’t enough, the Li Family still held another treasure. Though it had lost much of its former brilliance, its core remained something of exceptionally high inherent rank.
The Six Xin Unified Metal Token might be worth trying as well! thought Li Xijun.