Chapter 1840: Silver Drum (II)

Dense silver lightning continued to batter the formation below. Li Zhouwei glanced down at it again, and Li Jiangliang, who stood nearest, immediately turned to issue orders. A vast chorus of shouts rose from beneath them.

"The northern cultivators have fled in defeat! Open the formation at once!"

The cries filled the air and shook the surrounding lands, yet the mountain remained utterly silent.

Situ Huo descended on the wind, sneered, and said, "Those Buddhist cultivators have put Baiye Capital Immortal Dao through quite an ordeal, and several Purple Mansion Realm cultivators have entered it in succession. I suspect..."

Li Zhouwei narrowed his eyes slightly and said with interest, “I wouldn't be so sure."

Situ Huo withdrew his gaze and smiled. "Oh?"

Rumble!

Sure enough, as the lightning surged with growing intensity, the mountain shuddered. The great formation's barrier finally dissolved like water. Li Zhouwei raised his brows slightly and drew his long halberd. Heavenly light blazed, and billowing black flames instantly engulfed the sky. Countless battle cries erupted at the foot of the mountain.

"Kill!"

————

The stone hall above was stained with blood, and corpses littered the grounds.

Gongsun Baifan lay quietly against the stone steps. The true origin and mana within him had long been exhausted. His limbs were shattered, his eyes dull and gray as he stared blankly at the roof of the greenstone hall. Billowing black flames crawled along the stone, seemingly burning something unseen.

The first to fight their way to the summit of the Capital Immortal Dao were, naturally, its guest cultivators.

Yehui had personally entrusted Gongsun Baifan with the jade talisman that controlled the great formation, after all, and had favored and promoted him for many years. Despite knowing that all was lost, Gongsun Baifan had still fought them alone. His cultivation was profound, but one man could not overcome so many opponents. In the end, he had fallen.

Yet these traitorous cultivators needed a scapegoat, so they had spared Gongsun Baifan's life. Several unknown guest cultivators knelt meekly on the mountainside, holding up a bloodstained jade tablet.

Their faint voices reached him as they called in unison, "We humble cultivators greet the Daoist Master and hail the arrival of the heavenly army!"

Gongsun Baifan heard no reply, only the soft tread of boots. A warm breeze faintly brushed past, and a figure appeared beside the jade platform above. The young man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, closely examining the formation plate on the jade platform.

Clearly, whether the Capital Immortal Dao survived or perished, who had killed whom, and who had remained loyal to Bai Ziyu mattered nothing to this Daoist Master. The entire Capital Immortal Dao was worth less to him than a single rune on that formation plate.

What a pity...

The last breath sustaining Gongsun Baifan gradually ebbed away, and his consciousness drifted. Then he faintly felt a surge of warmth rush into his Shenyang Mansion. Like a man submerged in deep water suddenly drawing breath, he found everything before him clear once more.

Golden eyes filled Gongsun Baifan's vision.

"Where is the secret treasury?"

Only then did Gongsun Baifan realize that he was kneeling where he had lain, his limbs perfectly intact. Only his shattered armor bore witness to the brutal fighting. He froze for a moment, feeling as though he had returned from another world, then bowed and replied, "The Daoist Master established no secret treasury. He transmitted the Dao lineage personally and kept his treasures elsewhere."

Li Zhouwei was unsurprised. Yehui had come merely to profit from the war between north and south. How could he regard Baiye Capital Immortal Dao as a secure refuge? Preserving this formation was already the greatest gain Li Zhouwei could hope for.

"A pity... The Song court will certainly requisition this place... This great formation may not end up in my hands..."

Still, he would not simply take the man's word for it. He extended a hand, and lively black flames circled his fingertips, seemingly trying to tell him something.

Storming the mountain and breaking the sect... nourishes my Dharma Body, yet something seems to be interfering slightly...

From his experience at Changxiao Gate, Li Zhouwei knew that the interference could not possibly come from a Purple Mansion formation. He sank his spiritual sense inward and connected with the Immortal Mirror. Instantly, the entire mountain range appeared before his eyes!

[Discerning the Hidden]!

Countless scenes flooded his mind, revealing every hidden cache. The place was indeed utterly impoverished. None of the cultivation resources stored within were worth mentioning.

Yet even after searching everywhere, he refused to give up. Outwardly, he seemed to be examining the patterns on the formation plate. In truth, he was inspecting the cave dwellings one by one. Finally, in the deepest reaches, he found a lavish dwelling gleaming white and gold, with purple water flowing like a river. This was Yehui's own place of cultivation!

Although lavishly furnished, it too had been stripped of everything valuable. Only a fathomless purple spring remained at its center, gushing with colored radiance. The Immortal Mirror's scrutiny bypassed every obstruction, revealing it in perfect detail.

At the bottom lay a green jade object tethered by talismans!

A clever hiding place.

Yehui had not hidden it particularly deep, merely a little beyond the reach of a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator's natural perception. Whether naturally formed or created through the [Capital Guard] Dao, the great void was fractured around the cave containing it, leaving nowhere to gain a foothold and cutting off most means of probing and divination.

Held in place by a talisman divine ability, the object was still faintly responding.

Well, Yehui... You're actually using the destruction of your own gate to refine a treasure! No wonder!

The corner of Li Zhouwei's mouth lifted slightly as he glanced at Gongsun Baifan kneeling on the ground. The sight sent chills through the guest cultivators kneeling on the other side.

They hurriedly shuffled closer and said fawningly, "My lord! There are a few gate storehouses hidden around the mountain... The gate's cultivators often draw supplies from them..."

Taken aback by the man's stupidity, Gongsun Baifan retorted coldly, "What use could supplies for low-level cultivators possibly be?"

The guest cultivators immediately fell silent. Li Zhouwei looked up just as Situ Huo entered the hall and said with a smile, "Congratulations, King of Wei..."

Li Zhouwei was somewhat disappointed. The Capital Immortal Dao was utterly impoverished, and the mountain would now have to be defended. The remaining spirit mountains and spirit veins could not easily be moved. They offered little benefit, yet abandoning them would be a waste.

Then he heard Situ Huo ask, "You have no use for Capital Immortal Dao's people... do you, King of Wei?"

Li Zhouwei immediately understood. Situ Huo might be exceptionally powerful, but he had few subordinates. The handful of surviving Situ Family members had a low cultivation and would be of little use for some time. The very thing Li Zhouwei valued least was what Situ Huo was eager to claim.

Li Zhouwei said, "I'll take this one. You may have the rest."

The old man smiled and shook his head, saying with some disappointment, "You certainly know how to pick, King of Wei!"

Li Zhouwei had dealt with Gongsun Baifan before, and held a favorable impression of him. Moreover, the man was a saber wielder at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Though he was not a genius who could overpower all his peers, he was certainly capable enough! Raising such a saber wielder at the lake would require considerable resources.

The lake was already short of people. Li Zhouwei appreciated a rogue cultivator who understood reason, valued honor, and whose background he knew well. That was why he had made a point of saving the man's life.

Having opposed the Li Family before, Gongsun Baifan had expected to die without even an intact corpse. He had never imagined hearing such words.

After a stunned moment, he bowed and said through tears, "Greetings, your majesty!"

Li Zhouwei gave a slight nod of acceptance. Without saying anything more on the matter, he ordered, "Take me to Yehui's cave dwelling."

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