Chapter 1069: The Path of Seeking Gold

Li Ximing knew very little about the matter of seeking Gold, but having been in the Zifu realm for many years, and with Jiangnan being the focal point of the world's Gold-seeking, he understood a fair amount. Seeing Diyan's appearance, how could he not be shocked!

"Rumor has it that one must possess all five methods to seek Gold, but four paths of 'Xi Qi' and one of 'Ming Yang'—how is that not five methods..."

The first name that surfaced in his mind was:

"True Person Yuanxiu!"

The divine abilities of the Zifu path were not impossible to reconcile, but the difficulty was extremely high—the Shengyang realm was already saturated with divine abilities; cultivating one's own path's abilities was already as difficult as ascending to heaven, let alone accommodating unrelated, heterodox abilities.

It was just that there were degrees of closeness and distance between traditions. Now that Li Ximing's divine abilities were complete, it was not impossible to cultivate a path of Lihuo, but doing so would mean the tradition was severed... Li Ximing had once viewed this as a dead end, but later, when discussing the late True Person Yuanxiu with Sima Yuanli, he learned that this True Person had actually attained the Dao with four 'Zheng Mu' and one 'Ji Mu'!

At that time, Sima Yuanli was filled with a sense of loss, and this is what he told him:

"Regarding the Lord's affairs, I once consulted a senior. He had personally visited the place where my Lord attained ascension and sighed, 'Heavy wood presses the branch,' saying that my Lord 'held to the orthodox while seeking the heterodox, seeking balance while being unbalanced,' and that he used the 'Run' method."

Only then did he know that True Person Yuanxiu's seeking of the Dao in 'Run' referred to the 'Ji Mu' Run position.

"In the eyes of a Great True Person, taking the final step to cultivate another path is not a dead end, but a method of the Run position outside the fruit status. Could it be that this True Person Diyan is seeking the Run of Ming Yang?"

His expression was shaken.

"In the current situation where Luoxia suppresses Ming Yang, wishing for Li Qianyuan to perish quickly... what kind of role is the Ming Yang Run position!"

But while his heart was shaken, the Great True Person before him grew increasingly silent, appearing exceptionally demonic in the dim lamplight, the dark golden light reflecting in his pupils—he seemed to be hesitating over what to say.

Li Ximing's shock gradually dissipated, replaced by a belated sense of doubt, and he thought to himself:

"How could it be... how could he accommodate conflicting traditions..."

He paused, finally breaking his silence, and asked:

"Is it the Ming Yang Run position?"

Diyan looked at him closely, then laughed and said:

"Since Your Highness knows the calamity of 'Xi Qi', and 'Xi Qi' is incompatible with 'Ming Yang', it was fine to seek 'Ming Yang' with 'Xi Qi' in the past, but now, to seek fish in a tree—is this not seeking one's own death?"

This sentence struck right at the heart of Li Ximing's concerns, almost forcing out all the doubts he had been harboring:

"Exactly... it is indeed seeking one's own death to seek 'Ming Yang' with 'Xi Qi'. I see that adding a 'Jinyang Huangyuan Pass' to the 'Xi Qi' divine ability is already dead beyond saving!"

Li Ximing was silent for a long time, then asked:

"That is true, Ming Yang and Xi Qi are like water and fire. How, then, does the Great True Person establish this 'Jinyang Huangyuan Pass' amidst the rolling Xi Qi?"

Diyan stood with his hands behind his back:

"Your Highness guessed correctly; it is inherently unattainable. If it were someone else, they wouldn't even be able to stabilize my previous divine abilities—it is just that I borrowed the legacy of my predecessors."

Diyan turned slightly, causing all the white, colorful illusions in the hall to fade and shift, like substantial precious swords, turning their blades to shine toward the side.

"My ancestor Yin Ni was originally a disciple from Guanlong. He studied the Dao in the temple for ten years without gaining Qi, so he angrily joined the army and performed many meritorious deeds. In the Immortal Mansion, he obtained the predecessor's 【Xuan Kun Thirty-Six Scrolls】 to form divine abilities, once raising his cultivation to the peak of Zifu. When he was enfeoffed as the Zhaoming King, he ran rampant in the Mobei, so he rewrote the 【Xuan Kun Thirty-Six Scrolls】, combined it with the Gold-seeking method bestowed by the Emperor, and cultivated the 【Kunhuang Mingfu Dao Scroll】."

"After the Lord finished writing this scroll, he sought True Gold, using the North's greatest pass, 【Shenfu】, as a furnace, and his own divine abilities, magic power, soul, and true spirit as medicine, to seek that elixir. He refined it for nine days, and the Emperor personally lifted him to attain the Dao!"

His expression was melancholy as he sighed deeply and said:

"Unfortunately, the Lord borrowed too much from others' mysteries, and his spirit was locked; he sought it for nine days but could not attain it, and from then on, he perished."

Li Ximing listened with a solemn expression and asked:

"Borrowed too much from others' mysteries, and the spirit was locked?"

Diyan closed his eyes slightly, appearing somewhat downcast:

"The so-called 【Others' Mysteries】—the Shitu is one, and the Heavenly Dynasty is another. By using one's own body to borrow the mysteries of others, without cultivating one's own nature and life, it is called 【Borrowing too much from others' mysteries】. How many such people are there in the world! Even setting aside the Shitu and the Heavenly Dynasty, the so-called Eastern Heyun, Jian Shan Tian Jiao, and the like... they also borrowed others' mysteries. One can borrow the Dao, but one cannot seek the Dao."

Li Ximing had long since learned that cultivators of the Wei Guo relied on official positions to obtain divine abilities. Diyan mentioned that Yin Ni studied the Dao in the temple for ten years without gaining Qi, so he must have relied heavily on the Heavenly Dynasty for his cultivation. There was only one point Li Ximing heard that he only half-understood, and he hesitated:

"But... the Dharma Image..."

Diyan said indifferently:

"In the world today, where is there any Dharma Image that can attain the Dao!"

"Are the Lianmin and Mohe in the Shitu all cultivated by themselves? Most are waiting for a position to become vacant, then finding an opportunity to climb up. Dharma Images also have distinctions. The earliest were those of great virtue and great ability; later, it became nine-life reincarnation, shifting nature to dwell, and only after attaining the Dao did they become Dharma Images. Later people... waited nine lives, inherited others' positions, and were merely the skin and surface of Dharma Images."

His expression tightened, as if he had concerns, and he said:

"In short, borrowing too much from others' mysteries is greatly detrimental to attaining the Dao. The six kings who founded the country—Xuanji, Zhaoming, Baiyang, Yongqin, Shouyi, and Luanfu—perished in order and could not attain the Dao."

"Later, when the Wei Guo was destroyed, my ancestor was lost in the sea, but this 【Kunhuang Mingfu Dao Scroll】 and the 【Zhaoming King Dao Treasury】 were passed down. They were rich in spiritual energy and spiritual resources, and it was only after three generations of the royal family inherited them that they were exhausted by the time they reached me."

He laughed:

"You cannot see others cultivating 'Xi Qi' here because this path is passed down through the lineage; it can only be cultivated through royal inheritance. My talent is not bad; I was one hundred and thirty-six years old when I saw Can Zi, and when I broke through to Great True Person, I still had three hundred years of lifespan."

Li Ximing was shocked to hear this.

Jiang Boqing of that time cultivated the complex 'Upper Wu' path of the Wu Talismans. Besides cultivating talismans and sorcery, he reached Foundation Establishment at thirty and Zifu at sixty. The thirty years to Foundation Establishment was not difficult for a peerless genius; Li Zhouwei even reached Foundation Establishment in his early twenties, but it still took forty years from Foundation Establishment to Zifu.

But Diyan had no talisman Qi to assist his cultivation. Even if he could reach Zifu at sixty, he would need to refine one divine ability after another, and only if Can Zi was passed easily could he have four divine abilities within two hundred years... Today, perhaps only someone like Li Zhouwei, with destiny added to his body and the whole world pushing him forward, would have hope of being faster than Diyan!

Diyan saw the shock in Li Ximing's eyes, smiled faintly, and replied:

"After passing Can Zi, I spent thirty years cultivating the Dao and refining divine abilities to sit firmly in the position of Great True Person. Then, for the choice of the final divine ability, I pondered for twenty years—the final path of the 【Kunhuang Mingfu Dao Scroll】 is indeed 'Ming Yang'."

He began to pace, saying softly:

"If I continue to walk the path of Xi Qi, there will naturally be the aura of a complete divine ability, but the Xi Qi tradition I carry is the Great Dao modified by the Heavenly Dynasty, which is already completely different from today's. If I were to continue it, the divine ability might be formed, but there would be no hope of seeking Gold."

Li Ximing had some doubts and said in a low voice:

"But the 【Kunhuang Mingfu Dao Scroll】 can attain the Dao—predecessors borrowed too much from others' mysteries and could not succeed, but the Great True Person is different; you are cultivating your own nature, so there is great hope?"

Diyan shook his head and laughed:

"Your Highness is wrong; it is not that there is great hope, but that it is still seeking one's own death."

Diyan's smile grew colder, and he replied:

"The matter of seeking the Run of Ming Yang is bound to be unattainable. Not only is it unattainable, but once that step is taken, my death date will be near!"

Li Ximing looked at him blankly, but saw Diyan smiling as he paced, his voice ethereal:

"Your Highness guessed one thing correctly: the Emperor has not truly perished, at least not yet. The 【Kunhuang Mingfu Dao Scroll】 he left behind with his own hands and the 【Kunhuang Gold-Collecting Method】 within it still hold validity before the Ming Yang fruit status. But Your Highness should also have thought that although 'Ming Yang' has indeed not truly changed, 'Xi Qi' has already changed! Although the old tradition can be cultivated, it can no longer be compatible with Ming Yang!"

"Once the 'Jinyang Huangyuan Pass' is formed, the four 'Xi Qi' divine abilities in my body will immediately be overturned, the colors will retract, the green and white will mix into one, and as time passes, darkness will soon be born in the shadows, damaging and shattering the Shengyang!"

The doubt in Li Ximing's heart was suddenly verified, and his heart was filled with light:

"This is consistent with reason! This is the result that should be... even if my Dao cultivation is poor, I understand how harsh it is to cultivate two divine abilities simultaneously. How could it be possible to cultivate divine abilities that conflict with the world's traditions today! Once Ming Yang is cultivated, it would be a miracle if he could hold on for a year or a half without perishing!"

Sure enough, Diyan rested his gaze on the copper lamp beside him, flicked the wick slightly, and said softly:

"Using this 【Thirty-Second Generation Night-Xuan Copper Treasure Lamp】 to create a room, mixing the Mu fire and Xi Yang, and echoing with the three Yangs, only by borrowing the master-servant subtlety left by the other two Yangs can I suppress the four Xi and one Yang in my body."

Li Ximing scanned the vast hall of paulownia trees again, raised his eyebrows, and said:

"So the Great True Person had already made preparations."

"It was not preparations I made."

Diyan lowered his eyebrows and turned his head, his expression calm, and said:

"When Ming Yang fell, my ancestor Yin Quan had already passed Can Zi. At first, it was fine, and he could still wander overseas. Later, the actions of the Qi Emperor became increasingly cruel, and he gradually had signs of his divine abilities disintegrating. On one hand, he used the three-Yang array to suppress it, and on the other, he studied it carefully."

"Before he died, he left behind the array diagram, which my grandfather and father perfected and built, combined with the many secret methods in the 【Kunhuang Mingfu Dao Scroll】, to have today's 【Three-Yang Imperial Xi Hall】 and 【Thirty-Second Generation Night-Xuan Copper Treasure Lamp】."

Li Ximing listened for a long time without speaking, realizing that the planning of Qusi Mountain for this matter was not a matter of one or two days, but of hundreds or thousands of years, so he said in a deep voice:

"Great True Person... what use do you have for the Wei Wang?"

Diyan suddenly opened his eyes, his expression solemn:

"I want the Wei Wang to succeed—I am the only person who truly cares about the Wei Wang's success."

His pupils revealed flame-like patterns in circles due to emotional fluctuations, presenting fractured black lines:

"It is not a lie when I say that the Wei Wang can only trust me. The whole world wants to shake Ming Yang, and some want to hold back Luoxia, but they don't care whether the Wei Wang can succeed. To them, it is better if the Wei Wang does not succeed!"

"The Dragon clan must be speaking with certainty, but they are merely acting according to the trend, using the small to gamble for the big. Even if it doesn't succeed, the Dragon clan will only lose one or two points of opportunity and fate!"

"Only me."

His tone was as hard as iron, his gaze cold:

"Only when the Wei Wang succeeds, and Ming Yang rises again to suppress Xi Qi, will my divine abilities naturally transform from a side path into a glorious orthodox path. Only then can I calmly and freely walk out of this place, step down the sixteen-level Xuan stairs, seek Gold, seek Truth, and give it a final gamble!"

"Otherwise, I am merely a withered bone in a grave, waiting for death!"

Li Ximing looked directly into his eyes, the last trace of suspicion in his heart rising to his throat. Seeing Diyan's sincerity, which did not seem like an act, he finally stopped being silent and said in a deep voice:

"The Great True Person's talent is peerless, a figure second to none in the whole world. Even if you cultivated 'Xi Qi' normally, how could you be worse off!"

His gaze was bright, as if filled with sorrow, and he said:

"Compared to the current Wei Wang, how is Li Xunquan? How is Li Xuan? How is Donghuo? Li Xunquan raised an righteous army and almost destroyed the Great Qi; Donghuo Cui Mu once pretended to be a True Lord to deter the Northern cultivators. Even Li Xuan—he had the land of Long Wei as supreme, and did not have to bow to others!"

"Now the Northern Shitu is rampant, coming and going easily; the Great Song is glorious, seizing Ming Yang; Luoxia is herding the manifestation, about to exile the Emperor. If the Wei Wang fails once, the efforts of Qusi for several generations will inevitably come to nothing. Why must the True Person take such a risk! Why must you hand over the possibility of seeking Gold to others? Is it not good to cultivate Xi Qi! Is it not good to reincarnate and cultivate!"

His tone was crisp and decisive, piercing straight at Diyan:

"How could a Great True Person who can cultivate all five methods bind himself in a cocoon?"

The Diyan before him merely let out a laugh, without a moment of thought, his voice low and steady as he blurted out:

"Because of the Gold-seeking method."

Li Ximing had made all kinds of preparations, but he did not expect the other party to say this, and he stared at him:

"Gold-seeking method?"

"The most important thing is the Gold-seeking method."

Diyan's copper-colored pupils blinked, his expression solemn, grave to the point of holiness, his lips buzzing, his voice low:

"The Emperor specially bestowed the 【Kunhuang Gold-Collecting Method】, and thus there is the Great Dao of the four Xi Qi lifting the 'Jinyang Huangyuan Pass' to ascend to immortality. It is the Gold-seeking method, the secret of True Gold, the Immortal Book of the Great Dao. By relying on the 【Kunhuang Gold-Collecting Method】, seeking the Run of Ming Yang truly becomes a possibility!"

With Diyan's emotional fluctuations, the candle flames in the entire hall flickered, and the Xi Qi and Mu fire, which were almost about to condense into substance, flowed like a flood, trying to break free from their restraints, triggering the three Yang colors to appear in the sky to suppress this place.

Diyan did not care at all, took a step forward, stared straight at him, and said indifferently:

"Does Your Highness think that the 【Three-Yang Imperial Xi Hall】 and the 【Thirty-Second Generation Night-Xuan Copper Treasure Lamp】 are things that are easy to build? Without the 【Kunhuang Gold-Collecting Method】, Qusi would not be able to build such a great array even if it spent another thousand years. Without the 【Kunhuang Gold-Collecting Method】, even if I stayed here, my divine abilities would suddenly disintegrate!"

"But as long as this Gold-seeking method exists, I have now taken the great medicine of the three Yangs merging into one to suppress my divine abilities. Taking a step out, seeking Gold while bearing the possibility of shattering the Shengyang, is still more likely to succeed than me alone using the five Xi Qi divine abilities to seek the fruit status!"

His expression was gloomy, and the violent divine ability fluctuations coming from his body made the entire hall like a human purgatory. I don't know how long it had been, but Diyan opened his lips slightly, his expression solemn:

"I have no choice, and the Wei Wang and Your Highness have even less choice."