Chapter 456: Small Courtyard

Senior Situ Chen's features were quite handsome, with a high, straight nose bridge, making him look somewhat similar to Senior Situ Mo. A flame rose from his body, entwined with bursts of black-red Qi.

This flame of his was quite rare, manifesting into various bird shapes at his side. Its power was considerable, forcefully shattering those bolts of lightning, and he wielded his two long sabers with such vigor that they whistled through the air.

Seeing this, the few people nearby showed hesitation. Neither Miao Ye nor Senior Situ Chen were easy to deal with; if the two of them fought, they likely wouldn't gain any advantage. Soon, they dispersed, leaving the two of them to confront each other in the air.

Senior Situ Chen's attitude became even more resolute. That 【Cloud-Sinking Treasure Pearl】 was the key to him crafting his magic treasure, so he simply said:

"I have no desire to waste time with you here. Why don't you name a price, Fellow Daoist, and we can negotiate properly..."

"Pah!"

Miao Ye sneered and cursed:

"Damn you! Do you know how that 'Crow in the Flame' on you came to be? It was Senior Situ Tang who snatched my ancestor's opportunity at Douxuan Mountain to obtain this cultivation technique! Now you dare to come here and put on an act. Forget about negotiating properly, I say pah!"

The smile that had just appeared on Senior Situ Chen's face quickly turned gloomy, and he said coldly:

"To dare call a True Person by their name directly—blaming others for your own lost opportunity, you are truly unreasonable."

Miao Ye laughed very angrily and said:

"The old thing is dead and gone. What can you do if I curse him to your face?!"

The two disagreed, and immediately began to fight. Li Xuanfeng, his black-gold spiritual armor slowly dimming its light, hid within the clouds, observing carefully.

"So it was you... 'Crow in the Flame', it really is Crow in the Flame..."

In the memories of the people of Lijing Town, there was a great drought at Lichuankou, leaving nine out of ten houses empty. Old Man Xu's entire family was eaten by others, leaving only him, and Chen Erniu fled to become a tenant farmer under the Li family.

Old Man Xu died in front of Li Xuanfeng, revealing the secret: it was the Tangjin Sect preparing a 【Crow in the Flame Qi】 for their young master's Qi Refining, luring monsters to kill people and harvest the fire.

"【Crow in the Flame Qi】."

These events were too far in the past. Heaven and Earth spiritual energy was often collected in wisps, taking years or even decades. The Tangjin Sect must have been harvesting Qi in more than just this place; it was just that no one cared.

Mortals have short lives and no time to dwell on pain. Before Old Man Xu died, he grabbed the trouser leg of six-year-old Li Xuanfeng, yet he remembered it for over seventy years.

Li Xuanfeng flicked his long bow slightly. The mysterious arrow trembled, leaping from the quiver at his waist and landing on the string. Golden flowing light condensed and gathered rapidly on the string.

He stood holding the bow, hidden and not firing, gathering strength in his hands. Instead, he slowly increased the distance, lurking in the clouds to wait for an opportunity, carefully memorizing Senior Situ Chen's appearance.

'In the cave-heaven, these two will definitely not fight to the death; that would be picking up sesame seeds and losing the watermelon... It is merely mutual probing. This person is the young master of the Tangjin Sect and is definitely not easy to deal with. Either don't strike... but once I strike, I must put him to death. I must not startle the snake and let him be on guard!'

Senior Situ Chen, in the dark sea of clouds, held sabers in both hands, his black-red flames rising. As he swung his long sabers, he threw out streaks of black-red flames. Miao Ye was not to be outdone, lightning flowing within the copper bowl between his hands.

The two cast spells and probed each other dozens of times, gradually fighting with real fire. The momentum grew increasingly grand, the black-red flames and thunder colliding and shattering, spreading to the distant horizon.

Sure enough, seeing that neither side was willing to let go, they gradually showed signs of hesitation. This cave-heaven was not like the outside; they feared that if they attacked each other, others would pick up the advantage. Soon, they tacitly stopped their hands.

Senior Situ Chen put away his long sabers and said nothing more. With a cold snort, he rode the wind toward the distant mountain range. Miao Ye also spat at his back and turned in a completely different direction, flying away.

Once the two separated, Li Xuanfeng hid his spiritual armor, rode the wind under his feet, and silently followed behind Senior Situ Chen toward the north without a sound.

Li Xuanfeng traveled through the clouds and mist, and the flowing light at his side became noticeably more frequent, breaking through the dark gray clouds and mist. There were so many without concealment; if one counted those with dim magic light traveling low-key, there were probably more than ten people.

'I don't know how they are distributed in the sea of clouds. If roughly estimated, there are probably forty or fifty people, and among them, there are ten people with destiny. If they really fight, there will be a good show to watch!'

He glanced slightly and flew with his head down. Soon, the mountain range gradually revealed itself before him. The dark brown foothills rose from the clouds straight to the horizon. Most of it was all kinds of spiritual pines, shimmering and blowing out gusts of light cyan wind.

This wind howled incessantly, blowing the sea of clouds to scatter in all directions, and then approaching like sea waves, repeating back and forth, truly like an island in the sea.

And in this large forest of pines, emerald green stone slabs were dotted, like a large cyan dragon, stretching and rising from the foot of the mountain all the way to the summit, with pavilions and towers along the way, filled with immortal aura.

He only approached the mountain range slightly, and the magic wind surrounding his body was blown away by this cyan wind all at once. Stumbling in the air, he had to land at the foot of the mountain.

Li Xuanfeng identified it for a breath and recognized that this spiritual wind was the 【Great Wind of the Heavy Abyss】, which could disperse magic wind, drop spiritual boats, stir up wind and sand, and draw out magic treasures. It could be considered a decent spiritual object, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators would covet it.

This wind was already extremely rare in the world, and only had traces in the Great West Plain in the west. Occasionally, one could find a wisp or a thread, which could be used to refine magic treasures that could knock down others' magic treasures. Releasing it would be enough to make this group of rogue cultivators fight until they were bloody.

However, the wind before him was like an endless supply, circling around the mountain. Everyone was knocked down by this wind, but no one stopped to collect this spiritual wind, instead rushing toward the mountain.

Li Xuanfeng had just landed when another man in black landed in front of him. His eyebrows were thick and light, and his cheeks were thin. He cupped his hands and said:

"I saw Fellow Daoist Xuanfeng in the air just now. The mountain is dangerous; why don't we join forces."

This person was Lin Chensheng of the Great Xiukui Temple. Li Xuanfeng was reminded by him and had a good impression of this person. He raised his eyebrows, nodded, and said softly:

"Good."

The two stepped out, activated their movement techniques, and stepped forward on the stone bricks, ignoring the spiritual pines beside them, and walked quickly toward the nearest pavilion.

This pavilion was only the size of a small courtyard for an ordinary family, with two stone lions placed in front of the door. Li Xuanfeng looked closely and saw that someone had already arrived a step earlier, standing in front of the courtyard.

This person was a female cultivator in red, wearing a red robe, staring carefully at the pavilion. In her arms, she held a small halberd, only the length of an arm, red and yellow all over, divided into three prongs. The three prongs at the top were gathered together like a petal. It didn't look like a weapon, but rather like a ritual object.

As soon as Li Xuanfeng and the other stopped, the female cultivator immediately turned her head, looked at him guardedly, and said softly:

"Fellow Daoist... I arrived here a step earlier, please go elsewhere..."

Her gaze swept over Lin Chensheng behind Li Xuanfeng, paused suddenly, her eyes curved slightly, revealing a look of surprise, and she called out:

"Brother Chensheng!"

Lin Chensheng was also somewhat surprised and replied:

"So it is Fellow Daoist Yuzhuang..."

He showed a sincere smile and introduced to Li Xuanfeng:

"This is Fellow Daoist Bi Yuzhuang of the 【Hengzhu Dao】, who has been close to me since childhood!"

Lin Chensheng looked at Bi Yuzhuang and smiled:

"This is Li Xuanfeng, a capable subordinate of True Person Yuanshen."

Bi Yuzhuang replied, her attitude changed a lot, and she smiled:

"I was just worrying about not being able to open this magic array... I was at a loss. You two came just in time. Why don't we split it together to save trouble and waste time."

Lin Chensheng cupped his hands somewhat awkwardly:

"You know I have never been good at arrays, and Fellow Daoist Xuanfeng is also not good at this... If Kan Ziyu were here... he could try."

Bi Yuzhuang pondered for a breath and replied:

"I have watched for a while. This array is very strange and has a very ancient flavor. It does not set up six chapters, does not dot nine patterns, and has experienced many years of changes, the changes of the world, and the hiding and changing of fruit positions, so it has already lost much of its power."

She flipped her hand, taking several jade wedges from her storage bag. Each had a thin, long chain tied to its end. She tossed them out lightly and gripped all the chains in her hand.

These jade wedges landed nimbly upon the formation, each moving on its own. Bi Yuzhuang explained:

"This formation must have been set up over a thousand years ago. Not to mention that the Lushu River had not yet been restored and the Bright Yang and Absolute Yin were both present, the Sun and Moon might also have existed in the world at that time. Thus, the formation points were set using Yin and Yang, which is the most stable method."

"The world of today has already changed too much. Modern people prefer using the Five Virtues and Three Metals to set up formations; almost none use Yin and Yang. Although the influence within this grotto-heaven is greatly reduced, there are flaws after all."

She gently flicked the chains, and points of light began to slowly emerge and wander across the formation. Bi Yuzhuang pointed out a few and said softly:

"The two of you only need to follow the guidance of my spiritual sense and break these defects."

Lin Chensheng turned his wrist and took out a talisman. The talisman was pitch black, silently flowing with iridescent light. He held it in his hand, waited a moment, formed a seal, cast the talisman, and smashed it down with a bang.

Lin Chensheng was clearly holding back and did not use his full strength. A muffled sound was heard; the great formation flickered for a moment before lighting up again.

Li Xuanfeng drew his bow. He did not nock an arrow but merely condensed a long, golden ray. He shot it at the formation. He also held back his strength, causing the great formation to sway.

This great formation was not meticulously set up in the first place; it was more like something casually placed to guard the house. With the added flaws, the combined efforts of the group immediately shattered it to pieces, and the two stone beasts at the courtyard entrance slowly dimmed.

The three of them withdrew their hands. Bi Yuzhuang took a brilliant white orb from her storage bag and tossed it lightly.

As soon as this magic treasure landed, it immediately rose up and transformed into a white-clad armored soldier. It had the cultivation base of only the peak of Qi Refining. Its facial features were regular, and it stood up without a word, walking into the courtyard.

'It bears some resemblance to Yuan Tuan's 【Green Proclamation Peak】...'

Li Xuanfeng glanced at it twice. The white-clad soldier had already pushed the door open and walked inside in a grand manner. In the middle of the courtyard, a pile of rubble had collapsed perfectly.

The rubble was still relatively intact, and one could faintly recognize that a stone beast had once stood there.

This stone beast was neither wolf nor tiger. The head left on the ground had three eyes and sharp fangs, looking very fierce. A gemstone was embedded in the third eye; one could not tell what kind of treasure it was.

Li Xuanfeng only felt it looked familiar. After debating for a breath, he suddenly remembered that the same stone statue stood in front of Yuan Su Zhenren's door.

Sure enough, the two people beside him turned their gazes to him simultaneously. Lin Chensheng said in a low voice:

"Three-eyed Mountain Beast... This beast can guard formations and attract wealth. There were still some traces of it in ancient times, and people often used this beast to guard great formations. The last one... alas!"

Li Xuanfeng had heard that Yuan Su once had this spirit beast, which was killed by Senior Situ Tang of the Tangjin Sect. He asked immediately:

"Is this gemstone...?"

Neither Lin Chensheng nor Bi Yuzhuang could recognize it. Li Xuanfeng used his magic power to collect it first and said softly:

"This object concerns a spirit beast. I must take it back to Zhenren, so I will take it first."

The two naturally nodded, watching as the white-clad soldier ransacked all the side rooms inside. It took out a pile of things and easily moved them to the entrance, laying them out one by one.

There were dozens of ancient books, over ten jade bottles, and items like jade pillows and jade prayer mats. Perhaps the owner of this courtyard never thought that someone would break into the grotto-heaven, so they didn't pack anything before leaving.

Lin Chensheng did not waste time. He took the ancient books first and handed them to the two, letting all three read them according to their usual rules.

Li Xuanfeng looked carefully. Thirteen were on formations, seven were cultivation techniques, and the remaining dozen were biographies and illustrated records of demon beasts, most of which revolved around dragon-kin in the sea.

Bi Yuzhuang, on the side, finished reading all the illustrated records of these formations and sighed:

"What a pity, what a pity... these formations are truly exquisite... With the changes in the world today, most no longer have any reference value..."

Li Xuanfeng read these few cultivation techniques. Three were fetal breath techniques, two were fourth-grade "Six Chapters of Seeking Immortals" and "Inquiry of the Scaled Beasts," and one was a fifth-grade fetal breath technique called "Gains from the Contemplation of the Great Hua Sutra."

'These ancients gave names that were quite simple and honest; they never used flashy names.'

Among these three, the six wheels cultivated by "Inquiry of the Scaled Beasts" could only continue to cultivate Water Virtue techniques, which was slightly limited. The others were mostly compatible, except for "Six Chapters of Seeking Immortals," which had a specific sentence at the end saying it could not continue to cultivate the Parallel Ancient Method.

'What Parallel Ancient Method... I've never heard of it... Where could one see it nowadays...'

These three fetal breath techniques were useless to him, but they were truly good for his juniors. Although he didn't know which fetal breath technique his juniors practiced besides the "Great Yin Breath-Holding and Wheel-Nurturing Sutra," he couldn't imagine them reaching the fifth grade anyway.

'Nowadays, only within the grotto-heaven can one find such high-grade techniques!'

He memorized these three techniques. Of the remaining four, three were Qi Refining techniques, all of which were just the opening chapters; presumably, these were the excerpts the courtyard owner originally used to choose from. The last one could be cultivated to Foundation Establishment and was the complete version of one of the Qi Refining techniques.

'It seems the courtyard owner finally chose this one.'

The few Qi Refining ones were of little use. Li Xuanfeng skimmed through them and examined this Foundation Establishment technique carefully. The material of this ancient book was special, feeling incredibly tough to the touch. The large characters at the top were clean and decisive:

"Great Yue Northern Han Book."

He opened the first page, wanting to read it in detail.

(End of chapter)