Chapter 186: Heart Sea Like a Mirror (Bonus Chapter 9/10 for the Patron

Chi Jiu Luo spent another half incense stick's time calculating, and the result was the same.

He hesitated and said, "Has His Highness consulted the immortals of Wanshou Mountain?"

Li Li Xianzhi said, "My father's private affairs are never meddled with by immortals."

Western Shu, especially Tianmen Town, holds great value for the immortals of Wanshou Mountain.

Li Li Jingyu himself possesses immortal fortune and destiny, but the immortals of Wanshou Mountain refuse to entangle themselves in his karmic threads.

Rather, Li Li Jingyu has shouldered much of Wanshou Mountain's karmic burden.

Chi Jiu Luo said, "This humble monk must see His Highness in person, and ideally visit Nanping Mountain myself."

Li Li Xianzhi was delighted by the monk's eagerness and quickly replied, "Once the affairs in Tianmen Town are settled, I shall accompany Master there."

Chi Jiu Luo asked again, "Even if fortune is lacking, it shouldn't have caused serious injury—has His Highness encountered a mortal enemy?"

Upon hearing this, Li Li Xianzhi's handsome face darkened instantly.

"It's not my father's enemy—it's Yu Little Fengxian's enemy. My father is merely caught in the backlash."

"Could it be relatives or old acquaintances of the Eight Immortals of the West? Why don't they go after Yu Little Fengxian?" Chi Jiu Luo asked, puzzled.

Li Li Xianzhi sighed, "My father encountered Ge Ge Qingyun, the sworn brother of the Great Saint Lang Lang Fuyun, known as the 'Treading-Wave Immortal.'"

He also seems to have had some connection with the ancient Dragon Palace.

When my father was swept away by the undercurrent, he happened to be exploring a nearby cave.

Originally, Ge Ge Qingyun had intended to help when he met a 'fellow cultivator' en route.

He actively used his divine power to stabilize the raging currents, allowing my father to escape the icy undercurrent.

But once he discovered my father's identity, he immediately changed his expression—cursing Yu Little Fengxian as deserving death, while launching a deadly assault on my father."

Chi Jiu Luo was baffled. "He cursed Yu Little Fengxian as deserving death—why attack His Highness?"

"Yu Little Fengxian killed his elder brother; he longs to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin. But Yu Little Fengxian is protected by the Donghuang Taiyi Dao's Divine Officials."

If they so much as harm a single hair of Yu Little Fengxian, the Donghuang Taiyi Dao will have countless ways to retaliate against Lang Lang Fuyun."

Though Lang Lang Fuyun is dead, his soul was forcibly seized by Yu Little Fengxian and inscribed onto the Investiture of the Gods as a ghost deity.

On the night the Eastern Imperial Envoy enshrined spirits at Beishan in Luodu, the Divine Mallet Guardian carried Lang Lang Fuyun's spirit and visited every single one of the eighteen-thousand-li-long 'Tongfu Prefecture.'

He left no immortal or cultivator within Tongfu Prefecture untouched—each one received a dream, witnessing in their sleep the Divine Mallet pounding Lang Lang Fuyun's spirit.

Their hatred for Yu Little Fengxian grew fiercer, yet they dared not strike her directly.

Heaven watches all men's deeds; deceiving mortals is easy, but fooling the Donghuang Taiyi Dao's Divine Officials is nearly impossible.

So they turned their gaze toward Shu Kingdom and my father."

Yu Little Fengxian serves Shu Kingdom; the Hongxiu Pavilion and Jiaosifang are my father's enterprises.

She is, in effect, one of our Li family."

Li Li Xianzhi scoffed, "It's always been 'don't beat the dog without looking at the master'—now they hate the dog and beat the master instead."

This isn't the first time.

Our Li family's enterprises span every vassal state in the Western Sands."

Even within Lang Lang Fuyun's 'Tongfu Prefecture' along the Tongtian River, we have Li family trading houses.

Now, every business or guild exposed as linked to the Li family has been wiped out.

Their managers slaughtered, entire trade routes utterly destroyed.

A thousand years of accumulated wealth lost in a single day.

My father nearly choked on blood from rage.

Our Li family was the first to show goodwill.

We immediately sent the corpses and weapons of Lang Lang Fuyun and Hongfu Immortal, encased in priceless yinchens wood coffins, back to their homeland across ten thousand li.

Yet they repaid kindness with ingratitude, blaming my father for no reason."

Chi Jiu Luo murmured, "Lately, many shops from Tianmen Town to Yingxiang Prefecture were raided, accused of secretly aiding bandits."

Li Li Xianzhi coldly replied, "If they can do the first, we can do the fifteenth."

Chi Jiu Luo didn't know what to say.

The true protagonist is Yu Little Fengxian, yet she lives carefree, untouched by any retaliation.

Our Li family, meanwhile, is locked in bloody warfare across the Western Sands with several major clans, suffering heavy losses and exhausting our ancestral wealth.

"Yu Little Fengxian's life truly is unbreakable!" the old monk could only sigh.

"Lang Lang Fuyun, Hongfu Immortal, Bi Bo Bibo Qinglong, and Lingnan Blade Lord's families and friends are threatened and dare not act."

The remaining enemies—Kong Zan, Zhou Lang, and relatives of the Thousand-Handed Bandit Saint—could act, but after the Feixian Ferry battle, Zhou Lang, humiliated and enraged, fled alone and swore that day: after re-forging the Seven Immortal Swords of the Big Dipper, he would kill Sha Man Yu himself."

And he forbade anyone else from interfering.

Sigh, I think even after re-forging his sword, he won't kill Yu Little Fengxian."

I just wonder what thoughts lie behind him—whether his behind-the-scenes Earth Immortal or Heaven Immortal has any plan."

Li Li Xianzhi muttered, "What else could they think? Of course, to keep rebelling against Great Qin and overthrowing our Great Shu."

That's their true purpose!"

Entangling with Yu Little Fengxian serves no purpose in harming Qin or Shu."

It might even draw the attention of the Divine Mallet Guardian by getting too close to Yu Little Fengxian."

Though the Green Pine Daoist is dead, the Donghuang Taiyi Dao's Daoists have not left."

Now Yu Little Fengxian is even under the Emperor's attention—she truly is unkillable; the Emperor spared her."

"So what if he didn't spare her? Even now sparing her doesn't mean he's fully forgiven her," Chi Jiu Luo said.

Li Li Xianzhi understood the danger and fell silent, refusing to speak further of Yu Little Fengxian or the Emperor.

Chi Jiu Luo also said nothing, silently reading Buddhist sutras.

Leaves fell like snow, grasses drifted like smoke; deep autumn clung to both riverbanks.

Rows of painted pavilions overlooked the water, each home's powdered reflections shimmered in the moonlight.

The eighteen-li stretch of Qingshuihe in Tianmen Town was as enchanting as the famed Shili Qinhuai River of the past life.

Same ancient bridges over flowing water, same wind-tossed painted boats rippling with autumn waves.

Same literati standing on boat decks debating poetry, same famed courtesans singing with lute melodies soft and sweet.

If there was any difference, it was that the water of Qingshuihe in autumn was even clearer.

When Seeing Xiao Yu Yu danced in the river's center, one could see fish circling her reflection below.

Of course, to the fish's eyes and perception, she was not a sword-dancer—but a pink lotus blossom swaying in the wind, slowly unfolding.

"Excellent! A true 'Green Lotus Immortal Maiden!'"

Li Li Xianzhi stood by the boat's rail, face filled with admiration, clapping loudly and cheering.

On his right, Lei Zhen, Lord of the Tianmen Guild, sighed, "Had we not known Yu's sword art was far beyond this, 'Green Lotus Immortal Maiden' would have become her defining title, spreading through Eastern Shu."

On his left, Master Chi Jiu Luo slightly shook his head. "Not just Eastern Shu—she is already famed in the West."

"It isn't her 'Hundred Flowers Sword' that made her famous in the West. Who could have imagined the Blood-Blade Immortaless could perform such an elegant, graceful sword dance?"

Lei Zhen was bold and hearty, his voice strong and full—showing no sign of a dying man.

His son, Lei General Guan Tianyang, smiled and nodded repeatedly, but stayed half a step behind, always echoing the elders without speaking much himself.

"I'd heard the Hongxiu Pavilion had a new sword-immortal sister—never expected her to be even more ethereal than rumors claimed."

Shao Yao, gently plucking her zither, smiled at the elder Liu Liu Gugu. "Such a person as Little Fengxian is too precious to remain in Hongxiu Pavilion. Let her come with me—I'll treat her like my own little sister."

She managed three tasks at once: gazing with admiration at Seeing Xiao Yu Yu, now nearly transformed into a giant lotus blossom in the river's center; chatting with Liu Liu Gugu and Prince Li Li Xianzhi;

And with her slender fingers, plucking the zither strings, producing a haunting, clear melody like wind brushing lotus leaves, ripples gliding on tranquil water—so refined and exquisite it cleansed the soul, as if returning to a summer month's lotus pond a month ago.

The atmosphere conjured by the zither perfectly matched the 'Green Lotus Immortal Maiden' dancing in the river.

Liu Liu Gugu seemed distracted, her gaze flickering toward Lei Zhen, worry in her eyes. "You tell her yourself—I have no objection. But—"

She glanced at Li Li Xianzhi, leaving the rest unsaid: from the prince's earlier tone, he might not keep Xiao Little Fengxian in Jiaosifang.

"Good," Shao Yao's eyes sparkled, she smiled seductively, then added, "Hey, Liu Gugu, don't you think this 'Green Lotus Immortal Maiden' style suits me perfectly?"

Liu Liu Gugu's face remained blank. "When she first performed the 'Plum Blossom Immortal Maiden,' you said it perfectly matched your temperament and nature."

"She can create multiple sword intentions—I can't match her, but learning a few shouldn't be too hard, right?" Shao Yao smiled.

"That depends on your talent and effort—you seem to lack talent for swordplay, and you're not young anymore," Liu Liu Gugu replied.

A slight discord rang out in the melodious zither music; Shao Yao pouted, gazing at Liu Liu Gugu with a look of wounded reproach.

Moments later, after completing her self-composed 'Green Lotus Immortal Maiden' sword dance, Seeing Xiao Yu Yu, Li Li Xianzhi, and Chi Jiu Luo all entered the second-floor tea room of the painted boat, smiling contentedly.

Li Li Xianzhi and Chi Jiu Luo were satisfied by Shao Yao's zither and Seeing Xiao Yu Yu's sword.

Seeing Xiao Yu Yu was satisfied by the ultimate techniques of her new 'daddies.'

Especially Chi Jiu Luo's Buddhist divine power—Mind-Reading.

The 'Green Lotus Immortal Maiden' is simply the Green Lotus intention within the 'Hundred Flowers Sword.'

The Green Lotus Sword Dance, when performed, allows one to float upon water like lotus leaves swaying with the current, or pink buds unfolding one by one.

Seeing Xiao Yu Yu was deeply satisfied with this sword form—it was entirely her own creation.

She did not emulate the spirit of 'Little Lady Li' from the Shadow God Diagram.

She observed wild lotuses in rural marshes, perceived their essence, crafted the sword form, then used the 'Hundred Flowers Primordial Spirit' (a spirit cultivated through her heart mantra) to integrate the Green Lotus intention into the 'Hundred Flowers Sword,' adding elegance and nobility suitable for performance.

The true Green Lotus Sword Art is a path of slaughter.

Like the 'Little Yellow Flower Sword' (Huangcao Sword) she taught Zi Ying, it possesses formidable combat power.

Yet her purpose in performing this form was not to please anyone—but to buy time.

This was not her first performance today.

The opening line of the gathering, "Please, my fathers, admire," did not immediately activate the kill methods of the Lei father-son pair, Li Li Xianzhi, and Chi Jiu Luo.

Because Li Li Xianzhi and Chi Jiu Luo had never come to the pleasure barge to watch the "Sword Maiden" perform.

They were burdened with thoughts; even when Seeing Xiao Yu Yu called them "father," they did not respond verbally, nor did they accept it inwardly.

After the first sword dance ended, Seeing Xiao Yu Yu's Hundred Flowers Divine Charm caused them to temporarily set aside their inner distractions (in truth, their true purpose for today), gradually drawing them into the atmosphere of "pleasure barge libertines," at which point the word "father" struck deep.

After the "Chi Jiu Luo Kill Method" activated, Seeing Xiao Yu Yu immediately faced two major problems: first, Chi Jiu Luo indeed possessed mind-reading, but he possessed more than just mind-reading; second, she knew almost nothing about Buddhist immortal martial arts and severely lacked data on Buddhist martial techniques.

She had always followed the Daoist mystery path; the Mighty Dragon Art was Daoist, the Taiji Golden Book was also a Daoist secret scripture, and she read Daoist classics daily, cultivating Dao qi.

The "Pure Yang Sword Qi," long exceeding the scope of the Tiger Soul Seven Kills, was fundamentally Daoist in origin.

Thus, Seeing Xiao Yu Yu could not immediately go upstairs with Li Li Xianzhi and Chi Jiu Luo for a private talk.

The private talk was the main purpose of today's banquet.

She sensed both men were eager to get straight to the point.

Before they could cut to the chase, she loudly declared she had prepared two more sword dances, and would perform them for them after the other sisters finished.

This suited Aunt Liu and Lei Zhen perfectly—they longed to keep Li Li Xianzhi talking longer.

But clearly, Seeing Xiao Yu Yu was buying time for the Purple Mansion to deduce a "sudden assassination method against Chi Jiu Luo"—to launch a sudden strike, she must first conceal her intent to kill, meaning she must first break the old monk's mind-reading.

Breaking mind-reading was the urgent priority.

Chi Jiu Luo was unexpectedly powerful.

He had certainly surpassed the "Human Immortal" level.

The difficulty of the Purple Mansion deducing a "kill method against Chi Jiu Luo" was nearly comparable to that of "killing the Nun Mother."

This suggested Chi Jiu Luo was probably weaker than the Nun Mother (the Nun was a nun, yet her techniques belonged to the Daoist mystery path, making deduction of a kill method relatively easier), but the two might reside within the same grand realm.

The stronger Chi Jiu Luo was, the greater her ultimate gain—long-term, this was a great advantage.

But Chi Jiu Luo was too strong, and she understood almost nothing of Buddhist cultivation methods, meaning it would be difficult to swiftly resolve mind-reading with the aid of the Purple Mansion.

Without first resolving mind-reading, how could she dare go into the private chamber with them to "get straight to the point"?

Fortunately, the Sword Maiden on stage was herself.

She was both director and performer.

She fully controlled the duration of the performance, and thus held her own fate in her hands.

At this moment, the "sudden assassination method against Chi Jiu Luo" was still being deduced for its follow-up strikes, but the heart-sea technique's "Heart-Sea Like a Mirror" form, designed to counter mind-reading, was already complete.