Upon Qixia Mountain, colorful clouds hung suspended in the sky all year round.
The various colors of glow were extraordinarily lively; some hung motionless above the mountain peaks as if fast asleep, while others drifted back and forth, intertwining with one another as though at play.
Such a mystical and magnificent sight was truly worthy of Nanya Province's premier renowned mountain.
Xue Yang had grown up on Qixia Mountain since childhood and had long gotten used to this scenery. Stepping hurriedly with his head lowered, he made his way up the mountain, coming to a stop before the cave abode where the Xue family ancestor was in seclusion at the peak.
Xue Yang stood motionless in front of the cave abode, waiting quietly.
Several streams of rainbow glow hanging over the mountain peak seemed to be startled awake, scattering and floating far away.
Among them, a bright yellow radiance fell from the mountain summit and enveloped the top of Xue Yang's head, transforming into an auspicious beast with four hooves and a single horn that swallowed Xue Yang in one bite.
Xue Yang had long known that the several streams of rainbow glow on the mountain possessed extraordinary origins and were the clan-anchoring treasures of the Xue family. Lately, they seemed to have encountered some inexplicable opportunity, becoming exceedingly lively—not only acquiring a spirituality akin to living creatures, but also gaining the ability to transform glow into beasts.
A moment later, the glow-beast seemed to find it boring and spat Xue Yang back out.
Xue Yang was not injured, except that his robe and skin were now covered in dense patterns of radiant glow, looking both luxurious and uncanny.
"Ahem..." A suppressed cough echoed from within the cave abode.
The bright yellow glow seemed startled, turning into a massive bird with gorgeous feathers that shot up into the sky, disappearing in an instant.
Xue Yang immediately perked up, pulled out a black earthenware jar from his person, and set it on the ground. Inside was Deng Gang's atmospheric destiny. He recounted the details of the event meticulously: "Ancestor, Mount Taixuan indeed possesses a profound foundation! That sword talisman's power was immensely formidable—with just one stroke, it extinguished the spiritual awareness of the human pill. The killing intent pierced straight into the heart and soul. The Foundation Establishment robe, heart-protecting mirror, and numerous other protective artifacts on junior's body were completely useless... It truly does not look like a 【Foundation Establishment】 means; I fear it is a 【Purple Palace】 sword talisman."
The black earthenware jar slowly sank into the earth and vanished.
After hearing this, the Xue family ancestor remained silent for a long time before murmuring softly, "A 【Purple Palace】-level 【Gengjin】 sword talisman..."
Looking across Nanya Province, there were not many lineages that could make Qixia Mountain wary.
First and foremost was naturally Mount Taixuan.
After all, back then that Lord had brazenly acted, forcibly pulling the Child of Fate, Daoist Wu, from the immortal clans of the Central Continent solely to preserve the lineage of Mount Taixuan.
Over the past millennium, who knew how many lineages had been extinguished in Nanya Province?
Yet that Lord had never cared in the slightest.
That Mount Taixuan alone could receive that Lord's special regard meant it undoubtedly possessed something unique.
However, as to where its uniqueness lay, no one truly knew.
Xue Yang had wanted to use the refining of the human pill to probe Mount Taixuan's depth.
The Xue family ancestor had tacitly permitted it.
Yet the result of this probing was truly terrifying.
Even if a secluded 【Foundation Establishment】 cultivator had walked down from Mount Taixuan, Qixia Mountain could have barely accepted it.
Yet it was specifically a 【Purple Palace】-level 【Gengjin】 sword talisman, which completely surpassed Qixia Mountain's understanding.
Since they possessed such a powerful technique, why hadn't Daoist Wu used it back then?!
Now that this one had been used, did Mount Taixuan still have other formidable means left?!
The Xue family ancestor could not calculate it clearly for a moment. After contemplating for a long while, he reached a decision and spoke slowly, "This may not necessarily be a bad thing."
"Mount Taixuan's foundation can actually be considered the Immortal Alliance's foundation as well."
"Now that the Lord is gone, the Dao sects and immortal clans of the Central Continent are eyeing us greedily, while the dragon lineage in the ocean is stirring restlessly. Nanya Province is at risk of being overthrown at any moment."
"Mount Taixuan displaying 【Purple Palace】 level means this time should deter the various factions, buying a bit more breathing room for the Immortal Alliance."
"In the future, remember to forge friendly ties with them. Do not try to be clever and conduct any more probings!"
...
Mount Xiaolong was situated along the lower reaches of the White Dragon River, not far from the river mouth leading into the sea.
The dragon lineage held immense power.
Even if they never set foot on land, the vast coastal regions and their populace were tacitly acknowledged to belong to them.
Because the Dong family of Mount Xiaolong shared deep origins with the dragon lineage through their ancestors, they had been specifically stationed here to serve as a buffer zone and a bridge of communication between the dragon lineage and the Immortal Alliance.
Carrying the bloody flood dragon carcass, Dong Linyuan went straight into the heart of the mountain.
Within the mountain belly, an underground river connected to the White Dragon River, allowing direct access to the South Sea.
Dong Linyuan tossed the flood dragon carcass into the underground river.
Water splashed loudly.
Countless fish, eels, snakes, and loaches surfaced, scrambling to devour the flesh and blood of the flood dragon.
These numerous spirit fish were precisely the foundation upon which Mount Xiaolong relied to endure and pass down its heritage without end.
Suddenly, the shoal of spirit fish was startled and scattered in all directions.
A colossal mouth emerged from the bottom of the water, swallowing the flood dragon carcass along with countless spirit fish in a single bite.
Crisscrossing fangs snapped shut fiercely with a crunch, causing flesh and blood to splatter everywhere.
A burly and imposing man stepped out from the bottom of the water. He possessed an exceptionally ugly appearance—his face flat and pitch-black, with gills growing on both cheeks. He was actually a half-transformed black fish demon.
Dong Linyuan's expression remained unchanged as he quietly watched the black fish demon general eat.
"Bah!" The black fish demon general spat out a few flood dragon bones, picking meat shreds from between his sharp teeth with a satisfied smile. "Who would have thought that Old Black here could actually eat flood dragon meat? Back then, Fubo had a chance of declaring himself king, yet he was stupid enough to violate the taboo and go ashore, getting slain offhandedly by a sword immortal."
Only then did Dong Linyuan speak and ask, "Does His Majesty have an edict?!"
Back in the day, the Huanlong Clan excelled at rearing dragons.
Now, it had turned around completely; the dragon lineage was instead rearing the descendants of the Huanlong Clan like livestock.
"What's the rush?" Having made a rare trip out, the black fish demon general was in no hurry to return. He said leisurely, "His Majesty asks: how is the matter he assigned to you coming along?!"
Dong Linyuan furrowed his brows and said, "I saw it with my own eyes: a disciple of Mount Taixuan activated a 【Gengjin】 sword talisman, effortlessly slaying the vicious flood dragon that came ashore."
"As for whether Mount Taixuan still has more sword talismans, I reached out to the Xue family of Qixia Mountain to ask, but there has been no reply yet."
The black fish demon general noted this down. After reminiscing for a moment, he added, "His Majesty also asks: what is the deal with that 【Kan Water】 cultivator on Mount Taixuan? Why didn't he use the 【Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】 prepared for him in the flood dragon's manor to enter the Dao?!"
"I do not know either why that person ignored the ready-made 【Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】 and instead went through so much trouble to gather qi himself." Dong Linyuan frowned, hastily explaining for fear of bearing the blame, "Fearing that actively sending it again would arouse suspicion instead, I gave a word to the Qingyun Sect, waiting for Mount Taixuan to come exchange for that streak of 【Kan Water】 【Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】, yet no one ever came. His Majesty once said not to startle the snake, so I could only leave it at that."
As for that streak of 【Kan Water】 【Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】, he had naturally reclaimed it to keep for his own use.
There was no need to speak of such things, of course.
At any rate, the dragon lineage was rich across the four seas and would not care about a single streak of 【Kan Water】 【Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】.
The black fish demon general was displeased and berated, "His Majesty once said that all waters under heaven fall under the jurisdiction of the true dragon lineage, and 【Kan Water】 is no exception. You must keep a close watch and absolutely do not let him escape."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty; I have already made preparations." Dong Linyuan nodded in agreement and said, "I have already invited him to visit Mount Xiaolong as a guest to exchange insights on 【Kan Water】 cultivation."
"When the time comes, I will prepare cultivation techniques for him to read and practice, guiding him onto the right path."
"It is just that we are still lacking some 【Kan Water】 spiritual resources."
The black fish demon general snorted without calling him out, merely saying, "Whatever spiritual resources you want, just list them on a sheet. When I come next time, I will bring them to you."
"His Majesty is benevolent, and General Hei works hard." Hearing this, Dong Linyuan smiled warmly and invited enthusiastically, "Would General Hei like to come up and drink a few cups of wine?!"
"Bah!" The black fish demon general recoiled in shock, his pair of dead fish eyes glaring fiercely at Dong Linyuan as he snapped furiously, "Aquatic races coming ashore is a massive taboo! Are you trying to kill this general?!"
Even His Majesty did not dare to violate this taboo!
With that, the black fish demon general dove into the water, vanishing from sight as he returned to the sea to report back.
Dong Linyuan slowly wiped away his smile, staring blankly at the mess before him. His gaze seemed to reach past the underground river straight into the sea, where he could faintly even see that ferocious, arrogant white dragon. In his heart, he thought silently: No rush. One day... one day...
...
On Mount Taixuan, in the Ancestral Hall.
Liu Zhijian sought out Li Chengxuan to report back.
The mystery of that 【Gengjin】 sword talisman had been completely exhausted, turning it to fly-ash.
Now inside that black wooden box was sealed a lump of dark red anomalous qi.
Besides that, Liu Zhijian had also brought back a damaged bamboo sword.
After Deng Gang died, his entire atmospheric destiny was taken away by Xue Yang.
The demonized flood dragon body had long been reserved by Dong Linyuan of Mount Xiaolong.
Qiao Yunbai of the Qingyun Sect had fled halfway through, which benefited Liu Zhijian, allowing him to claim that lump of anomalous qi.
As for that damaged bamboo sword, Dong Linyuan had taken the initiative to send it over, saying it could count as Deng Gang's keepsake and be kept as a souvenir.
Liu Zhijian did not show much grief or collapse; killing Deng Gang was considered helping him find release.
Li Chengxuan took only a single glance at the damaged bamboo sword before laying it aside, focusing his attention instead on the lump of dark red anomalous qi, saying with some uncertainty, "This seems to be... 【Resentful Qi of the Myriad People】."
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