Chapter 1744: The First Residence (II)

The old Daoist Master was still dressed in a white feathered robe, and his appearance had not changed much. His bearing, however, was far diminished from before. A brooding and volatile fierceness drifted within his eyes, with none of his former tranquility remaining.

Only upon seeing Li Ximing did he restrain it and exclaim delightedly, "Fellow Daoist Zhaojing, you have come!"

Afraid that his joy might prove premature, the old man scrutinized him carefully. Only when Li Ximing nodded with a smile and took out the jade talisman from his sleeve did realization dawn on Yan Dushui.

Both delighted and envious, he said, "Your cultivation has advanced remarkably quickly, Zhaojing."

Li Ximing was no longer the inexperienced young man he had once been and carried himself with much greater composure.

He studied Yan Dushui for a moment and said with a smile, "It seems these past years have not been easy for you, Daoist Master Linyi."

As Yan Dushui led him inside, he said somberly, "The sensible junior died, while those who remain are unfilial and rotten to the core. Not even a divine ability could set them right. I killed several of them yesterday to restore some order to the mountain."

No matter how disappointing one's disciples and juniors might be, few would ultimately raise the butcher's blade against them. Somewhat startled, Li Ximing did not know how to respond at first.

Realizing that the All-Seeing Immortal Gate had declined severely over the past few decades, he merely said, "Surely it need not have come to that."

A trace of bewilderment crossed Yan Dushui's face as he replied, "It is of little consequence. What concerns me more is that the spirit veins of the Western Curtain Sea are failing to flourish. A lack of provisions would be tolerable, but as each generation's cultivation grows poorer, fewer and fewer children are being born with spiritual orifices..."

After crossing vast stretches of sea, Yan Dushui plunged toward the seabed. He soon found a crack no wider than a thumb, and the two transformed into streaks of light before slipping through it and traveling deeper underground.

With nothing else to occupy him, Li Ximing began turning matters over in his mind, Yan Dushui's lifespan appears to be nearing its end... In that case... I must make arrangements ahead of time.

Yan Dushui owed him the favor of taking action on his behalf. Li Ximing had originally intended to call upon that favor to deal with a Purple Mansion Realm demonic creature and use it as a sacrifice. If he waited until Yan Dushui perished, even if Mount Thistle remained bound by the debt, what use would a group of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators be?

Jiangqian is also about to break through. I must make use of this fellow's debt! It just so happens that I also have Guo Nanwu!

The two entered the great void, and occasionally leaped out wherever their path was interrupted. After traveling an unknown distance, Yan Dushui abruptly came to a halt. Li Ximing raised his eyebrows and saw a cave dwelling before them. Its entrance was exceedingly crude; it did not even have a plaque.

The stone door stood slightly ajar, while its threshold was alarmingly high, reaching halfway up an adult's body. A small recess had been carved on either side, within which a pale blue flame flickered gently.

Li Ximing's expression finally turned solemn. He carefully swept the area with his spiritual sense, only to perceive an indistinct blur. Astonishingly, his spiritual sense revealed even less than his eyes!

So this is [Banished Essence]...

Li Ximing's heart tightened as Yan Dushui exclaimed, "This is the place!"

Yan Dushui turned toward him and warned solemnly, "Fellow Daoist Zhaojing, this cave dwelling is sustained by a treasure. Ordinarily, everything inside remains motionless as though dead. The moment someone enters, however, the treasure immediately resumes burning. Once it is completely consumed, the entire cave dwelling will vanish into smoke...

"My ancestors entered this place many times, and the treasure has survived until the present day, but half of it has already burned away. Once we enter, we cannot hesitate for even a moment. We must act quickly!"

As expected of something from the Underworld's judiciary...

Li Ximing marveled inwardly and nodded in acknowledgment.

Yan Dushui stepped inside, his figure flickering between light and darkness. Li Ximing slowly advanced but stopped before the towering threshold. He could immediately see the cave dwelling's main hall, which lay shrouded in darkness. A table and stool stood at its center, and a bowl seemed to rest upon the table with a speck of red light glimmering inside it. Everything else was dark and unfathomably deep, like the dwelling of a ghost.

Spiritual sense was useless in this place, leaving them dependent upon their blurred vision. Yan Dushui himself had only visited a few times and appeared somewhat apprehensive. Li Ximing, however, composed himself and connected his spiritual sense to the object within him.

Immortal Mirror!

An ethereal sensation surged through him. In an instant, the darkness before him vanished like smoke. But the threshold, stone table, and stone stool also disappeared! Black stone enclosed the space before him, revealing that this was no cave dwelling at all. It was merely a low, cramped hollow no larger than a table!

At the center of the hollow lay a bundle of pale-black firewood. Viewed from a distance, its size and shape made it resemble a doghouse. A pure white skull lay among the pale-black firewood, facing upward with its jaw raised high and its hollow cavity exposed. From this perspective, the place resembled a crude cenotaph casually dug out by some cultivator!

Li Ximing swallowed silently. He now understood where the cave dwelling had come from.

This is an immortal domain constructed by someone in ancient times... A small cave dwelling suspended upon this bleached skull!

Realization dawned on him. Hearing Yan Dushui turn and call to him from within the cave, he stepped inside. The darkness rushing toward him carried a bone-piercing chill. Li Ximing gently pinched a wisp of it between his fingers and was immediately rendered speechless.

Purple Essence, Cold Essence... There also seems to be Lesser Yin and Supreme Yin...

Li Ximing lowered his eyes and saw half a pale-yellow incense stick resting in the bowl on the table, no thicker than his little finger. A single glance at it made him pause in surprise.

He happened to recognize it. It was virtually identical to the Profound Incense that Li Zhouwei had brought back from Wanlin Heaven!

The speck of red light he had seen from outside the cave dwelling was the dim ember smoldering at the tip of the incense. Half of it had already burned away, while the other half lay broken in the bowl as a length of gray-white ash, completely intact without the slightest fragment scattered around it.

Yan Dushui stepped up to him, his hurried voice carrying both nervousness and hope. "Fellow Daoist!"

Li Ximing snapped out of his daze and quickly followed him deeper inside. After walking several steps through the main hall, he saw an inner chamber.

This chamber was exceedingly deep and narrow, shaped like a long box. Its far end seemed to connect to some vast, empty space, from which an eerie, frigid wind emerged. It swept across the diamond-shaped jade pieces suspended from the ceiling, making them chime against one another.

Mysterious patterns covered both sides, accompanied by all manner of strange and unfamiliar decorations. Numerous symbols of the Shamanic Talisman Dao, birds, beasts, and ghosts had been carved upon the walls, fading in and out of view beneath the dark mist.

Three steps rose within the inner chamber, leading to a golden circular platform upon which rested a section of withered wood. It resembled a broken mulberry tree that had withered midway through its growth. Its severed trunk was only as thick as a fist, yet the sprawling roots below were nearly as broad as a tabletop!

A small, dark object floated above the broken surface of the black mulberry tree. It was a feather, as long as an index finger and as thick as a thumb. Dense golden patterns coiled beneath its pitch-black surface. It possessed none of the ethereal elegance of an immortal and instead inspired instinctive dread, appearing profoundly sinister!

Yan Dushui had already hurried forward. With a gentle turn of his hand, he carefully produced a pale green jade box covered in intricate profound patterns. It appeared to be an exceptionally precious treasure.

Handling it with the utmost care, he placed it in Li Ximing's hands and urged, "The rest is up to you, fellow Daoist!"

Li Ximing felt an icy chill against his hands. When he lowered his eyes, his pupils abruptly widened and his thoughts fell into turmoil. He had seen this kind of jade box before. His family even possessed one whose patterns were similar, most of them exactly identical!

This is something from the market on the island at the heart of the lake!

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