Chapter 1827: Unsheathed (I)

The purple light on the island’s horizon flickered, like a flood dragon crouching among the clouds. Rain poured down in torrents, leaving the courtyard cold and desolate.

The candlelight in the courtyard swayed as the old man leaned against a wooden chair, lost in a heavy stupor.

Divine abilities frequently swept across Moongaze Lake, and battles were common. His family had always been reluctant to let Li Xuanxuan venture out, so the old man could only extinguish the lights and sit hunched in the darkness, quietly waiting for news.

He had lived this way for a long time. Li Xuanxuan had long known he was of no use. All he could do was wait in dread, again and again, until his lips turned pale. Once the rain passed and the skies cleared, someone would come up the mountain to tell him who had died this time.

Of course, perhaps one day the person coming up the mountain would no longer bear the surname Li. The younger generation rarely witnessed such things, but Li Xuanxuan had seen it plenty. He had witnessed it even when he was still the young family head, and many more such incidents had followed.

Knock, knock...

Li Xuanxuan rose and pushed the door open with an icy hand, finding someone waiting outside.

Clad in a feathered robe with a sword at his waist, the man had clear eyes that shone as though the moon itself had arrived.

Standing in the cold rain, he bowed and said, "Old elder!"

Li Xuanxuan's expression changed as he exclaimed, "What are you doing out here?!"

"The western shore has repeatedly called for aid, so I intend to go... But I wouldn't dare decide on my own. I've come... to seek your permission!"

Li Jiangchun had not seen the old man in a long time. Through the narrow opening of the door, he saw a startling darkness within. Light fell on the old man's deathly pale, withered face, its contours uneven and its cheekbones jutting high. It was no longer a pleasant sight.

Li Jiangchun's heart ached.

He cultivates Pristine Water. Most of the life-extending pills and spirit items the Daoist Master gives him... nourish him through Water Virtue. They carry a deep chill...

Yet Li Xuanxuan grew frightened. He hurriedly shut the door tight and said, "You are not to go!"

He heard his junior sigh outside the door. "A sword cultivator cannot attain the Dao without killing. I've been stalled at the Sword Essence stage long enough... I have Purple Mansion Realm talismans and secret pills with me, along with other treasures... Who could pose a threat to me, old elder!"

Li Xuanxuan's expression was as cold and pale as his hands, without the slightest wavering. He hurriedly drew a jade token from his sleeve, revealing the brightly gleaming word [Xuan] upon it.

Li Jiangchun persuaded, "With the two Daoist Masters now locked in battle, Purple Mansion Realm cultivators cannot act freely either. For someone of my standing, a chance to fight like this is truly rare... This is precisely the time to pursue the Dao!"

Li Xuanxuan turned a deaf ear to him. Clutching the jade pendant, he hurried to the door, pressed a hand against it, and hastily activated the pendant, intending to summon someone to escort Li Jiangchun down the mountain. Then realization struck him.

The late-stage Foundation Establishment realm cultivators are all fighting in the west. With his current strength, who here can restrain him?

He fell into a daze. Seeing no response from him, Li Jiangchun could only reveal his true feelings, saying urgently, "You may not know this, elder, but strange phenomena keep appearing in the west, and the sound of jade tablets shattering rings out again and again in the main hall. Having reached this level of cultivation, how can I sit on the mountain and do nothing... It would surely destroy my sword heart!

"For our Li Family, I must go!"

His earlier words had elicited no response, yet these few words struck Li Xuanxuan's ears like a divine ability, making his vision reel and his face flush crimson!

For our Li Family, I must go!

Those words seemed to ring out not in a hall amid the cold rain, but in a pitch-black cave dwelling, above the surging waters of a mighty river, and inside a dark pill furnace engulfed in roaring flames!

Li Xuanxuan hastily pushed the door open and said, "You... Wait!"

Li Jiangchun was about to take to the wind when those words stopped him. He watched Li Xuanxuan turn back inside, then return with a jade box cradled in both hands.

The old man came up to him and said through tears, "Jun'er once said that the inheritance lies within the sword. It belonged to our forebears and has been kept ready in the hall. It was meant to be sent to you all along...

"Since your mind is made up, take it with you!"

Li Jiangchun solemnly accepted the jade box with both hands and opened it. A sheathed sword lay in its center. Grayish-white strips of cloth wrapped the scabbard, and a tassel hung from the hilt.

[Qingche Sword]...

————

Rain poured down in torrents.

The droplets filtered through the mountain forest canopy, along with the sound of soft, rapid footfalls. A group advanced in silence beneath the shimmering radiance of a dharma artifact. Though they appeared to be walking, its protection allowed them to glide just above the ground at great speed.

The cultivator leading them wore a somewhat troubled expression as he asked, "Are you certain... we can cut through the forests here?"

The cultivator behind him had a slightly peculiar air as he replied quietly, "My lord... I once traded between the Great Desert and Moongaze Lake, so I know both places well. Beyond the edge of this desert, where it meets the western foothills of Mount Dali, lies a stretch of hills called Nanzhang... It is actually part of Moongaze Lake's outskirts!

"With fierce fighting raging on the western shore and the front under strain, there surely won't be any Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators guarding these remote mountains!"

An uncertain look crossed the face of the Shu court general leading them. After a moment of silence, he said, "I simply feel... a certain chill here."

He cultivated Treasure Earth's [High Ramparts Swallow], which granted him some mystical insight into the coming of spring and winter, as well as how to avoid danger and seek favorable outcomes. His heart immediately grew uneasy.

Beside him, a gray-robed cultivator tilted his head slightly and said calmly, "Nitan, this was once Duanmu Kui's seat of governance. It is hardly surprising that something supernatural lingers here."

Bitterness welled up in Li Nitan's heart.

He had been reluctant to come. His family did not wish to grow too close to the Li Family of Wei. If his family's Daoist Master had not already become Qing Jifang's sword and set an example, why would Li Nitan have bothered with any of this?

But... since I am stationed here to defend this area, I have no grounds to refuse...

The torrential rain flushed insects and snakes out of the forest. Several locusts with broken wings lay dead in the standing water. Li Nitan fell silent for a moment, then formed hand seals to divine the meaning of this omen.

Yet the mystic that had always served him so well faltered and dispersed like smoke. Watching him, the gray-robed cultivator shook his head repeatedly and said, "Nitan, those of my peak also cultivate [Treasure Earth]. Although [High Ramparts Swallow] is the best of Treasure Earth's mystics for divination, your Dao attainment is simply too low."

He glanced at the ground beneath their feet and said, "Locusts are an ill omen associated with Gathering Wood. They cannot be eradicated or slaughtered to the last, and belong to its divine ability, [Calamity Breeds On]. Encountering this sign when marching to war greatly favors conquest. There is no need to worry."

Li Nitan respectfully acknowledged his words, then sighed. "It is truly a pity that such a profound divine ability has been lost."

But the gray-robed cultivator shook his head. "Our Daoist Master of Changhuai once asked Duanmu Kui about it. He said that [Calamity Breeds On] can no longer be cultivated. Even the Lord of Gathering Wood perished in a tribulation, so how could he sustain [Calamity Breeds On]? Only when someone of extraordinary talent takes up that branch will there be any trace of [Calamity Breeds On] again."

A yellow-robed cultivator beside them turned around. He, too, seemed to be from Mount Changhuai and held considerable standing. He said calmly, "That is hardly certain... [Gathering Wood] is coveted mostly by Buddhist cultivators. Impossible to eradicate or slaughter to the last, does that not describe the Buddhists of today? My lord believes... there is more to this matter."

His words brought their conversation to an end, and they all fell silent. They moved swiftly through the mountain forest and soon caught sight of a plain, blood-red beneath the torrential rain. The Li Family's forces had already lost most of the western shore...

They had emerged directly behind the Tingzhou forces, where there were no defenses at all!

The gray-robed cultivator smiled and shouted, "Attack!"

They immediately dispelled the dharma artifact's concealment and revealed themselves together!

Their radiance mingled, but a streak of crimson light immediately shot into the sky, drawing forth billowing True Fire. It took the form of a crimson sparrow and hurtled toward them, blocking the three men's path before transforming into a woman.

She wore a red dress and held a spirit sword. Two bright lamps hung behind her, one golden with a tinge of red, the other white with flames rising within it. Together, they sent True Fire cascading down, lending her an imposing presence!

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