Chapter 587: Red Reef

Heaven and earth within the mirror.

The heavy, dense mist dispersed, and soft, gentle light wove through, landing on the gray, hazy mountaintop. Lu Jiangxian stood holding the Dangjiang, his movements paused. The Immortal Official he had molded had its spiritual sense suppressed, and it fell into his hands, dazed and confused.

He moved his spiritual sense, dispersing the various divine ability light-shadows hanging upon his body, and his clothing also dimmed. Only then did he sit quietly beneath a tree, carefully recalling:

"Using the contingency left within Chi Buzi's soul to pull him into the illusion in advance... With my current ability and status, combined with the Metal Nature, even a Golden Core would be stunned for several moments; this fellow definitely has no ability to perceive it... There shouldn't be any traces left behind..."

Lu Jiangxian now possessed the ability to roam the Great Void, and Chi Buzi had also confessed his ambitions. The Dangjiang remaining in his body was of no further use; it was, after all, a part of the Jinlian Mohe. Withdrawing it might yet have other uses.

"The only risk is if Chi Buzi's actions were strange and he didn't cover his tracks well, leading to his soul being searched... Fortunately, the restriction is still there."

Having now read the Immortal Books, the Dharma Mirror itself was more complete. This time, he had specifically reinforced this seal, making it leave no trace, and placed it within Chi Buzi's body to prevent him from falling into the hands of some True Lord.

Thinking it over, there was nothing amiss. He secretly pondered:

"Although this person once humbled himself, he is actually not easy to deal with. Relying solely on status to intimidate him won't allow me to command him everywhere; instead, it would only make him suspicious. I can only keep him on the hook using this method of continuing his Dao path."

Lu Jiangxian had no immortal techniques or scriptures to give him. Giving him ordinary things would only expose him. He merely studied the sacrificial extraction method of the Immortal Mirror itself, carefully modified it, and handed it to him:

"If the Li family cannot find a Zifu monster, then let Chi Buzi go find one. As for whether or not I give him feedback after he finds a Zifu monster and sacrifices it to me, that is another matter entirely. At worst, I simply won't respond; he will only suspect that the sacrifice was not grand enough."

He was not afraid of Chi Buzi not taking the bait. Although this person was treacherous and cunning, his natural talent was excellent, and his heart for seeking the Dao was firmest of all. It was precisely because he was treacherous and cunning, and deeply understood the taboos of all parties, that Lu Jiangxian dared to let him try.

But Zifu monsters were not so easy to kill, let alone a Zifu without a background. It was merely a hook cast out casually. Lu Jiangxian quickly shifted his attention, savoring one matter with great interest:

"He believes I am 【Yingze】..."

This deduction was not hard to understand. Lu Jiangxian himself had suspected it, but listening to his meaning, 【Yingze】 had cultivated the Sun Fruit Position, yet it didn't quite match up.

"According to Li Jiangqun's memory, I should be the Lord of the Moon Flower Origin Mansion, with the Taiyin Fruit Position upon me, which also corresponds to the current abilities of the Dharma Mirror. But no matter how one looks at it, these two should not be the same person..."

What was even harder to reconcile was the relationship between the Moon Flower Origin Mansion and the Green Pine Temple. The Kong family said Yingze was a person of the Origin Mansion, yet he was the master of the Green Pine Temple's Mirage Mirror Cave Heaven... And on the Yang Ring, it was written 【Green Pine Temple Lu Jiangxian】...

He could not sort out his thoughts, so he simply gave up. He stood up on the peak, looking at the moon-white buildings lined up like fish scales beneath his feet, and gave his sleeves a light shake.

In an instant, an elegant moon-white pavilion rose from the mountainside, stirring up a burst of brilliant light. Eighty-one jade steps lined up one by one, winding downwards. Dense jade slips appeared all at once, pouring down like a mountain or a sea, yet they flew flexibly in mid-air, falling one by one into the corresponding cabinets.

"The Dao collection of Anhuaitian is all here!"

He landed on this exquisite and elegant immortal pavilion, which had countless corridors and was magnificent to behold. Countless jade slips gushed out from the mountaintop, pouring into this Bai Yu Pavilion from windows, palace doors, and corridors, stirring up a storm.

"A century of collection, the Anhuaitian Dao collection, the small clans of Jiangnan, Jiangbei, and the East Sea, totaling over 16,500 Dao technique books and over 51,000 spell books..."

He stood before the Bai Yu Pavilion, his hand flipped lightly, and immediately several immortal slips of different colors appeared.

"Twelve Zifu cultivation techniques: one 'Separated Fire', one 'Whole Elixir', two 'Purple Qi', one 'Bright Yang', one 'Jade Truth', one 'Green Proclamation', and five 'True Qi'."

Among these twelve, except for 'Bright Yang', 'Jade Truth', and 'Green Proclamation', the rest were obtained from the Anhuaitian Dao collection. That place, the Wen Dao Palace, might not have been the entirety of the Ning State's techniques; perhaps some had been moved away in advance, but this number was already shocking enough.

Lu Jiangxian threw them into the highest part of the pavilion, suddenly paused, and beckoned lightly. Six green jade slips flew back, landing in his hands once more.

These six pieces are the Daoist lineage of the 【Yan Yang Temple Palace】 of the Yuan family, and they are also extremely ancient immortal arts. Lu Jiangxian read through them carefully and gradually realized something was wrong.

Among these six, only 'Mysterious Sheep Child' was a Zifu cultivation technique; the rest were all Foundation Establishment. The whole set put together was called the "Six Yan Green Cloud Essential Formula".

Lu Jiangxian had not understood the ins and outs when he obtained this technique and had read it cursorily. Now, having read so many Zifu techniques, he looked back at this essential formula and finally perceived the error.

"The 'Six Yan Green Cloud Essential Formula' once said, 'Once the cultivation of "Mysterious Sheep Child" reaches Zifu, and the other four Foundation Establishment techniques are all cultivated to completion, one can achieve divine abilities...'"

"How is that possible..."

Although Lu Jiangxian had never cultivated it, he had written a Zifu technique himself and understood what the path of Zifu cultivation was. If one did not eat people and could only cultivate one's own nature, one needed five Zifu techniques! If not for this, why would Yuan Su be trapped in the Southern Border!

He finally took out this technique, condensed a human body in front of him using moon light, and carefully deduced it once. In a dozen breaths, he saw the error:

"This ancient method writes... after the other five paths condense the immortal foundation within the body, they interact with the heaven and earth outside the body, and they can transform into divine abilities..."

"Now is an era where heaven collapses and earth splits; the Heavenly Dao has already disappeared without a trace. What is there to interact with! This Zifu technique that can cultivate 'Mysterious Sheep Child' also has content about interaction. Lacking this part, how difficult it is to break through to Zifu!"

Lu Jiangxian silently put away the jade slip, and his heart gradually understood:

"So, it is not without reason that the Yuan family moved from the north and flourished for a time, yet could not produce a Zifu... Their gradual decline was also determined long ago... It is not that the Yuan family lacked spiritual energy to cultivate 'Mysterious Sheep Child', but that the Yuan family ancestor finally understood it, which is why he went to cultivate Water Virtue..."

He sent these techniques back to the Bai Yu Pavilion, sighed in his heart, and glanced at the sky. The fighting in Anhuaitian was becoming increasingly intense. The Zifu who wanted to enter had all entered, and the Great Ning Palace, which served as the entrance, was tottering.

"Li Xuanfeng is still inside."

Li Xuanfeng had gained much in the Great Ning Palace. Not to mention that the screen was an ancient magic treasure, the mercury droplet that Helian Changguang inhabited was also no ordinary commodity, and even the incense burner he had taken casually was not vulgar.

"It is only a pity that the Sun Day Essence cannot be taken away, otherwise it would truly be a full harvest..."

Si Yuanli was clumsy and could not see it, but Lu Jiangxian's spiritual sense swept over it and saw it clearly. The mercury droplet that Helian Changguang inhabited was clearly a treasure of the 'Whole Elixir' nature! Falling into the hands of an ordinary cultivator, naturally, there would be nothing, but falling into the hands of someone who cultivated this method, it had infinite wonderful uses.

"In the Anhuaitian Dao collection, there is a sixth-grade 'Whole Elixir' nature 'Hou Shu Golden Book'. While waiting for the Bright Yang cultivation to succeed, one can just bestow this book. The 'Whole Elixir' nature is famous for its miraculous changes and has great uses."

He finished organizing the techniques, leaped out again, and stopped in the Great Void, watching the countless divine ability colors gradually dyeing the Anhuaitian, while checking for any opportunities to exploit, secretly pondering:

"That is the Metal Nature of the 'True Qi' path..."

Although these Zifu lacked immortal techniques and their means regarding Metal Nature were definitely not as good as his, they were, after all, endowed with divine abilities, and there were too many things that could be done with Metal Nature in hand...

As for the object of Metal Nature, its tyranny went without saying. Duanmu Kui failed to break through to Golden Core, and the evil monster transformed by the Metal Nature had to borrow magic treasures from two Yin officials to suppress it...

Dongfang You of the Dragon clan also fell short in his breakthrough that year, causing the chaos of the East Sea's water descending and thunder rising. The Metal Nature that fell naturally belonged to the Dragon Lord, and the various Zifu dared not, nor had any interest in, snatching it.

"After all, there is someone on the Fruit Position of combining fruits, but True Qi is different..."

This True Qi Metal Nature originally belonged to a certain True Lord. Once snatched, the Zifu Mohe could not calculate the origin. There would be no future trouble after snatching the treasure. From then on, with Metal Nature in hand, one could reincarnate anywhere to cultivate 'True Qi', and living another five hundred years would just be a bonus... That was the hope of having a Golden Core!

Zifu whose death date was truly near and whose Dao path was severed even had the thought of fighting until death to snatch the Metal Nature, making the best use of everything, just in time to reincarnate...

"And those new Zifu like Heng Xing and Zhang Yun... are holding a cautious attitude, more wanting to fish in troubled waters and concurrently divide the legacies left by those Zifu who fought for their lives..."

"Boom!"

Purple thunder exploded rolling in the clouds. Li Qinghong was draped in green long feathers, the thunder condensed in the long spear in her hand, and she landed on a pitch-black mountaintop, looking heavily toward the north.

She had killed her way here, and few dared to cross hands with her. Most were just probing once or twice. Most demonic cultivators were cautious; occasionally, a few were overcome by greed, but after a few moves, they retreated, so her magic power consumption was not much.

The worry on the woman's face was not because she was in the demonic smoke, but because of the entire North-South situation:

"Chaos..."

Li Qinghong had a deep understanding along the way. The entire Xu State was already in a mess. Although it was also rolling with demonic clouds, it was completely different from the previous situation.

"Although it was chaotic before, it was chaos with order. One could vaguely see the traces of Zifu's trade-offs. At least the entire northern demonic cultivation still had rules..."

Now, the chaos among the demonic cultivators had reached the point of headless flies. Demonic cultivators of various sects and factions could be seen flying back and forth from east, west, north, and south, and they were still mainly based on Zifu Golden Core Dao, each fighting their own battles.

And the demonic cultivators and Buddhist cultivators outside the entire Xu State were still gathering rapidly. The place where she was located was close to the Saline Lake, and she could even see a large number of cultivators from the East Sea swarming ashore, wrapped up and heading south, revealing a kind of alternative and strange general trend.

"Jiangnan is now the 【Supreme Evil Spirit Treasury】, where evil and wickedness are all released. The demonic cultivators are even stronger when they reach the river. How can there be any reason to stop and not continue to sweep down..."

Li Qinghong was deeply worried. She restrained the thunder on the long spear in her hand, and suddenly felt a burst of demonic wind rising, coming from the east, rolling the smoke on the ground.

She frowned lightly, pulled up her spear, and pointed it obliquely at the ground. The purple thunder spread again, booming, and the long spear struck out, bringing up scorching thunder light, flashing brightly in the air.

"Boom!"

A gray flame flew out from the demonic smoke and was squarely blasted in mid-air. The flame exploded into several rays of light, and still lingeringly tried to entangle her spear, but was smashed to pieces by the rippling thunder light, drifting all over the sky in scattered pieces, sizzling as it landed.

"Clatter..."

Li Qinghong retracted her spear to defend. The scorching purple thunder light jumped along her hand onto the spear. Her two apricot eyes rose with hazy purple intent, looking into the gray smoke.

A slightly tall and thin man in a red robe landed from the demonic wind in front of her. Brown boots stepped on the ground, floating a piece of gray fire. Beside him floated a token, gray and hazy, painted with red patterns.

He held his hands on his chest, staring at Li Qinghong with great curiosity. The expression in his eyes was slightly cold, and he opened his mouth:

"Fellow Daoist has a good demeanor."

Li Qinghong's spiritual sense swept lightly, perceiving that this person's cultivation was vast, and the magic robe on his body was particularly luxurious. She understood that he was no ordinary character. She sank her spirit to observe while calculating the distance:

"This place is only five hundred miles away from the Saline Lake stronghold, and all three mysterious thunders are there. If things go wrong... it is not difficult to retreat..."

She considered the retreat. The red-robed man spoke again. His voice was a bit stiff, hitting her aggressively. The red robe on his body gradually floated up in the demonic smoke, and he whispered:

"Fellow Daoist... there are not many thunder cultivators now... and even fewer female cultivators. It just so happens that I have heard the name of Fellow Daoist."

Li Qinghong was confronting him on the surface, but her spiritual sense was searching rapidly, checking to see if there were any of the other party's people around. The cultivator in front of her spoke to himself:

"My little sister went to Jiangnan, but was blocked by Fellow Daoist. She didn't protect that person, and even lost the Tianwu Tianwu Binghuo Token. To this day, she has been expelled from the island and cannot return..."

"But I haven't settled the score with Fellow Daoist yet!"

The red-robed man's expression was gloomy. Li Qinghong immediately understood that the visitor was not kind. She swung her spear in a flower and smiled lightly:

"Oh? So that stupid woman was your sister. I was wondering why it was all so aggressive. She was arrogant and domineering, snatching swords all the way here to kill my family. Rewarding her with a mysterious thunder is still light!"

Judging from the meaning of this person's words, he was the brother of Guo Hongyao who came to pick up Xu Xiao that year. Li Qinghong immediately understood that it could not be settled kindly. She did not hesitate, and the long spear, carrying thunder, pierced through.

"Boom!"

The red-robed man rolled up a piece of gray fire on his body, which attached to the token as he pinched his fingers to cast the spell, and rushed out, clashing with the thunder in mid-air, exploding into a sky full of thunder fire.

His tone was gloomy, and he shouted:

"How could I not know my own sister? And how could she target your family for no reason! If you had let people go safely, how could it have come to this point!"

Li Qinghong danced the thunder light to take over the gray fire he sprayed. Her black hair drifted lightly in the wind. She was too lazy to argue with him so much, and only said coldly:

"What is there to say until now? I would like to learn the power of the Red Reef Tianwu Tianwu Binghuo!"

Bright purple light condensed on her feather clothing. The red-robed man laughed out of extreme anger. His two fingers were joined, the token jumped, and a gray fire flew out, burning the air into a distortion. He only whispered hatefully:

"Talking such big words! I'm afraid you've killed too many demonic cultivators and think that everyone's magic power will dissipate by three points when they meet thunder!" ===== CHAPTER 588 =====