Chapter 1654: The Two Rites (II)

Deep within the mountain, lights flickered inside a cave dwelling densely covered in silver-white formation patterns. The two Daoist Masters stepped inside and stopped before the formation. Si Yuanli looked up as he withdrew a talisman from his sleeve. With a slight twist of his other hand, he drew forth a streak of silver light.

It was none other than [Deadly Thunder Formation Destroyer].

He smiled casually. "Since I've already given the [Hundred-Ridge Profound Stone Umbrella] to you, fellow Daoist, I'll keep [Majestic Blossom Pearl]... It just so happens that a senior of mine has a use for it."

Si Yuanli was clearly a man of considerable skill. Ordinarily, with the two Daoist Masters absent, those within the gate would only have been able to open the outer formation. Yet as he spoke, he was already methodically undoing the inner formation.

Changxiao did not belong to a Supreme Yang Dao lineage, and its cultivators lacked the custom of constructing palaces within their inner formations. Thus, the space inside was rather modest. The seven repositories and six collections were stored separately, each isolated from the others in an orderly layout.

Si Yuanli chuckled. "Changxiao is far too cunning to leave us anything worthwhile. Let's take a look at Chengyan's personal treasury instead."

Li Zhouwei nodded and beckoned lightly. A golden streak shot back through the great void and landed in his palm, revealing itself as a scroll with a storage pouch tied to it.

With a casual pat, the contents of the storage pouch spilled out in a torrent. In moments, layer upon layer of spirit items carpeted the cave, glittering with dazzling brilliance. Curiously, there were scarcely any Spirit Stones among them.

Li Zhouwei swept his gaze over the pile and made another small gesture. Seven streams of light flew out and lined themselves up neatly upon the table. The remaining jade slips spread themselves out in dense rows at his feet. Those would be left for the cultivators of Changxiao Gate to open.

Using the edge of his hand like a blade, he swept it lightly from side to side, effortlessly separating the remaining spirit items into two piles.

Three of the seven items were jade bottles containing spirit pills, something Li Zhouwei himself had no shortage of. He turned his attention to the remaining four. Opening one jade box, he found a pale white round stone covered in profound patterns.

Si Yuanli glanced at it and said with a smile, "That's something from Anhuai Heaven. That fellow made quite a haul back then. This is the [Crane-Embracing Stone], a spirit material of [True Essence]. It is best used by lower-level cultivators nurturing it within their qihai. It assists cultivation while greatly increasing their flight speed, enough to make a cultivator of ordinary innate ability stand out among their peers. It does little for people at our level if consumed... though it could be embedded into a pair of spirit boots."

The remaining three items consisted of a scroll and two spirit materials. The first spirit material belonged to the [True Essence] Dao, the [Three-Branched Qiuxin Leaf]. It was an exceptional healing treasure, dark jade-green throughout, with dense stone-like veins covering every leaf. It had taken root inside the jade box itself, quietly drawing breath as though alive. Unfortunately, one of its three branches had already been plucked, and the two that remained were slowly losing their medicinal potency.

Si Yuanli winced at the sight and cursed, "What a beast. He couldn't refine pills himself, nor could he find someone who could. What good does eating it raw do? At least he had the sense to keep it in a jade box. Otherwise, its medicinal power would have dissipated long ago."

Li Zhouwei examined it carefully and noticed traces of Bright Yang aura lingering upon it. He guessed Chengyan had consumed it while using his divine ability, so he thought no more of it. The remaining spirit material belonged to the [Radiant Essence] Dao. It shimmered like flowing water, half golden and half white.

Si Yuanli immediately noticed it and smiled. “[Bright Yang] occupies a supreme place within yin and yang and governs [Radiant Fire], so it has little affinity for [Radiant Essence]. Orthodox Wood, on the other hand, benefits greatly from it. Why don't you let me have this one? Fellow Daoist, you can take the [Crane-Embracing Stone], and we can leave the [Three-Branched Qiuxin Leaf] to Fellow Daoist Zhaojing for pill refinement."

"Very well."

Before inviting Si Yuanli's assistance, they had already agreed to split Chengyan's belongings evenly, so the matter was settled without issue. Li Zhouwei picked up the scroll and discovered it had been sealed with a secret preservation art, making it difficult to open. Finding it rather intriguing, he studied it for a while longer.

Si Yuanli also raised an eyebrow. "It's an artifact from ancient times. The preservation technique used on it is even more troublesome than the seals placed on jade slips. If you fail to open it properly... the scroll will turn completely blank."

Li Zhouwei asked, "Oh? A secret preservation technique? Since you can break formations, fellow Daoist, do you happen to know how to open it?"

Li Zhouwei paid close attention as Si Yuanli let out a sigh. "I don't mind telling you. My ancestors cultivated the Dao of [Transforming Wood] and left behind a number of methods for breaking formations. But this seal belongs to the Interlocking Seal lineage. To open it, you'd need a cultivator of [Stored Metal]. Where could you possibly find someone like that nowadays?"

Li Zhouwei naturally knew about [Stored Metal] cultivators. Raising an eyebrow, he deliberately decided to test Si Yuanli's knowledge and asked, "Just how remarkable is this Dao lineage?"

Si Yuanli gave it little thought before replying with a sigh, "I only know one thing. The Xie Family possesses a treasure known as the [River-Viewing Tracking Stone], which belongs to the [Stored Metal] Dao. It contains an exceedingly rare [Metallic Essence] called [Suspended Storage, Formless Repository Nature], the very Metallic Essence of the [Stored Metal] Dao. I wouldn't dare claim it's unique in the world, but even among the great lords, very few possess such a thing."

Li Zhouwei fell into thought. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly looked up.

Crack...

Following the crisp cracking sound, one of Changxiao Gate's famed seven repositories and six collections opened before them. Billowing white mist poured out, and at the center sat a treasure vase radiating the unmistakable iridescence of a precious artifact.

Si Yuanli turned to Li Zhouwei and asked, "Your highness... Are you interested in the [Upper Rite] Dao lineage?"

Li Zhouwei replied, "I'll have a look first, fellow Daoist."

Si Yuanli smiled amiably, glanced at the jade bottle, and answered, "It should be a spirit item belonging to the [Upper Rite] Dao, one used for gathering qi.

"[Upper Rite] belongs to the Twelve Essences. Among the Twelve Essences, it is known as [Rising Late, Hiding Early, Aloof and Unmatched]. During the Great Zhou, an imperial descendant who governed the realm attained gold through this path, causing it to flourish for a time. Later, that lord vanished into concealment, and the [Upper Rite] lineage gradually declined. The true difficulty of this path, however, lies in its spirit items.

"My family's Dao lineage records mention that nearly ninety percent of the spiritual qi used by the [Upper Rite] Dao must be gathered with specially designated spirit items. This is commonly known as the [Spirit-Enclosure Method]. Possessing that complete set of spirit items is often enough to establish an entire Dao lineage. But once the world changes or those spirit items are lost, the Dao lineage inevitably declines."

Understanding immediately dawned on Li Zhouwei. Back in Wanlin Heaven, he had obtained the [Profound Origin Essence-Heart Technique], which gathered qi through the spirit item [Profound Banquet Grand Jade].

His family also possessed an [Upper Rite] art, the [Radiance-Extending Art], which his granduncle had acquired from Daoist Master Yuanbian. It gathered qi using Daoist Master Yuanbian's spirit item, the [Radiant Firmament Cloud].

Naturally, that spirit item had never been handed over to the Li Family. Liu Changdie had never gathered qi with it personally either. Instead, members of the family had harvested the qi in Qunyi and delivered it back.

As Li Zhouwei pondered this, Si Yuanli sighed. "There are actually quite a few Dao lineages like this, but none are as demanding as [Upper Rite], where nearly ninety percent of its cultivation depends on such requirements...

“Take [True Fire], for example. It also generally requires a particular spiritual flame to gather qi. The difference is that the [Upper Rite] is characterized by [Aloof and Unmatched]. It has no closely related Dao lineages to rely on. Trying to acquire or prepare the spirit items it requires without some truly exceptional methods is extraordinarily difficult. On top of that, it possesses the drifting nature of the Celestial Firmament, making its spirit items difficult to preserve. That's how it ended up in its current state."

His expression turned serious as he said, "There is actually a corresponding lineage as well. However, my family's Dao lineage doesn't know much about it. Based solely on its counterpart, we refer to it as [Lower Rite]. I've heard it came under the control of the Underworld's judiciary long ago. That lineage isn't merely rare; it's only in slightly better shape than [Banished Essence]."

Si Yuanli was clearly trying to earn a favor. Li Zhouwei found the information quite satisfactory and gave a slight nod.

So the Twelve Essences are essentially complete...

Li Zhouwei's mind worked quickly as another thought occurred to him, Quewan's [Divine Singular Attunement] once mentioned harmonizing the qi of the Two Rites. Could those Two Rites refer to the Upper Rite and Lower Rite among the Twelve Essences? If so, then the [Whole Pill] Dao must have deep ties to Douxuan as well!

The Underworld's judiciary clearly belonged to the Douxuan Dao lineage. If that were the case, then both the Upper and Lower Rites should also have been positions within Douxuan. Yet why had the Underworld's judiciary, itself part of the Douxuan Dao lineage, done nothing to stop the fall of Wanlin Heaven, and even helped drive it along without the slightest concern?

The implications were profound, and Li Zhouwei quietly committed the matter to memory.

Si Yuanli removed the jade bottle and asked, "The inheritance of the [Upper Rite] Dao lineage must still be with Changxiao. I imagine he was afraid of alerting Chengyan, so he deliberately left one or two spirit materials here to gather qi. As for this item... Fellow Daoist, do you know what it's used for?"

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