The red gauze let out a muffled boom, as though it had restrained a flood dragon. Whatever was within was struggling violently.
Guo Hongjian was surprised, and poured his mana into it as he asked, "Sword essence? Even sword essence is useless!"
He wasn’t like Guo Hongyao; he immediately saw that the person inside the dharma artifact was nearly out of mana. He didn’t even need to act further; just maintaining the fire for seven minutes would cause the man to fall into the sea.
"Lost in the east, gained in the west."
But Guo Hongjian had already grown greedy for this dharma artifact, so a swift and decisive victory was best. Forming a seal with his fingers, he cast his spell and Merging Fire surged. Taking advantage of the moment the man was entangled by the screen’s fire and couldn’t spare attention, Guo Hongjian rapidly gathered flames in his hand.
Though Li Xijun was in dire straits, he remained calm. His pale gray eyes betrayed no emotion. The Chongming Profound Insight Screen's glow had dimmed, and Han Lin had been sheathed and returned to his embrace.
He reached into his sleeve and took out a talisman. The sandalwood-red talisman was the size of a palm and bore the image of a lifelike, scale-covered rat with golden, gleaming eyes that were already brimming with mana.
The Blazing Merging Fire Talisman!
Li Xijun poured his remaining mana into it, mimicking the incantation word-for-word. His voice rang out clearly within the screen, "Scorching wind, heed my command. Shuttle back and forth, merge and charge with fire!"
The talisman released a puff of sandalwood-red wind that transformed mid-air into a long-scaled crimson rat. It let out a shrill cry, then reverted into sandalwood wind, lifting him from beneath and propelling him north at great speed.
Guo Hongjian, hearing that incantation, abruptly stopped his spell. He stared blankly at the vanishing gray-red glow in the distance, his mind completely blank.
"He... how can he have our family’s Blazing Merging Fire Talisman?"
The gray fire in his hands was still flowing as he stood stunned, turned his head to look back at the path he'd come, and muttered in confusion, "How does he know our family’s incantation?!"
Guo Hongjian turned his head back, but there was no trace of anyone left on the horizon. His expression was like a spilled jar of mixed as emotions twisted and transformed.
He exclaimed in shock, "That’s right! I chanted it just now!"
He pondered for a breath, then quickly understood. He took a deep breath, eyes glistening, and squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth, "My little sister... you murderer..."
But a troubling doubt slowly surfaced in Guo Hongjian’s mind amid his grief. It lingered endlessly and refused to disperse, "But even if he killed my little sister... our Crimson Reef Island's direct descendant's storage pouches aren’t so easily opened. Even with an Immortal Foundation specializing in such arts, it would take ten days to half a month! The curses and marking techniques within are also extremely advanced, why was he completely unaffected?
"It can’t be that my little sister took them out and gave them to him herself!"
————
Great void.
A ripple stirred in the pitch-black great void as a woman in a simple Daoist robe appeared, holding a parasol in her arms. Her black hair was pinned back by a hairpin, and her eyes gazed through the void, fixed on the manifest world.
"This..." She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "So that’s how it happened... Guo Hongyao... truly pathetic to the extreme."
A Daoist Master remained unseen beside her, but a deep, resonant voice echoed by her ear, "A sharp-minded youngster... and skilled in swordsmanship too."
The two of them could see clearly that the talisman that turned the tide had come from Guo Hongyao. The Guo Family’s storage pouches were notoriously difficult to open, but Guo Hongyao had held the talisman in her palm!
When facing mortal peril, Guo Hongyao’s first reaction had been to pull out this life-saving talisman exclusive to the direct descendants. She had only infused it with half her mana when Li Xijun struck with a sword technique and killed her. Thus, the talisman naturally fell into Li Xijun’s hands.
"And just then, Guo Hongjian happened to be casting spells nearby, so he heard the full incantation clearly..." Daoist Master Hengxing murmured. She extended a slender finger, calculated silently for a moment, and replied gently, "That dharma artifact, after all, was crafted with the ancient method and depicted six True Monarchs. Even if they all attained the Dao and their visages were wiped from the screen, it remains a variable. A slight miscalculation is to be expected."
Though calculations might not be off by a hair and miss by a mile, this small variable happened to collide with a crucial turning point in the conflict, and so slipped beyond her control. She still found it hard to believe and asked, "Isn’t it all just... too coincidental?"
Another Daoist Master revealed himself in the great void. He was an unremarkable gray-robed elder carrying a sword on his back. He kept his hands behind his back as he said thoughtfully, "Do you suspect... that he bears fate?"
The man gently shook his head as he continued, "I cannot divine, nor do I understand fate and destiny. But I vaguely recall one thing. Back then, he was the one who killed Xu Xiao, the one fated to inherit Merging Fire. Could that have had an effect?"
Daoist Master Hengxing pondered for a moment, then shook her head, "The Xu Xiao matter has no logic to it. If killing a fate bearer could grant their destiny, then would Changxiao, Guo Shentong, or Junjian still be alive?
"As for Li Xijun, everything he has done thus far aligned with the calculations. If he bore fate, he would’ve long deviated from the plan. The oversight of the painted screen was mine. Now that I’ve seen its mystery, I won’t err again next time."
The man nodded and asked, "What about Tu Longjian..."
"No harm." Daoist Master Hengxing nodded softly and answered, "Li Xijun’s heart is now shaken by Merging Fire. Just because Guo Hongjian failed to catch him red-handed doesn’t mean this matter is over. It merely means Fellow Daoist Tu Longjian must take the initiative. The necessary games must still be played."
The sword-bearing elder gently shook his head and sighed. "Junjian has an ancient spirit, but it is out of place in these times... As one who wields the sword, I often feel shame in my heart, which is why my sword intent remains unformed. If he had pursued the sword, perhaps he would already be a sword immortal by now."
Daoist Master Hengxing’s voice was gentle as she shook her head, "He has the spirit of chivalry, and such a spirit must be free. He roamed the Eastern Sea unchecked when he was in the Foundation Establishment Realm. A Purple Mansion Realm cultivator’s divine abilities could not subdue him. Even the cultivators of the Three Sects could not stop him, so who could? That is the true wind of heroism and righteousness.
"But once he reached the Purple Mansion Realm, he could no longer act freely. A single word may save hundreds, yet on the other end, doom thousands. Who can truly act freely in this muddled world? Even Donghua could not..."
Daoist Master Hengxing pressed her lips together slightly and replied, "When I attained the Purple Mansion Realm, a senior once told me, 'for one who commands divine powers, the eyes are the weakest part of the entire body,' and this is the reason why."
"Oh?" The old man furrowed his brow slightly. He had never heard this saying. Most cultivators who attained the Purple Mansion Realm could even discard their entire body without hesitation, let alone their eyes, so he asked doubtfully, "Daoist friend, please enlighten me."
Daoist Master Hengxing spoke softly, "All people possess compassion. When they witness suffering, they feel pain. Thus, for one who wields divine powers, the eyes beneath their brows become weaker than any other part of their body."
The sword-bearing Daoist silently looked down and replied, "And so, we have the world as it is today."
The two gradually faded into the great void. The old man let out a sigh, his voice low as he said, "Let us see how he chooses to face it."