Chapter 659 485: Brother Jiao

Li Qinghong cultivated on the island for a time, with the waters of the East Sea descending and thunder rising, the effect was remarkably good. One day of cultivation here was worth three days' effort elsewhere, leaving her somewhat intoxicated by her swiftly growing power, even forgetting the passage of time.

It wasn't until the great formation at the cave mansion thrummed and hummed that she slowly awoke from cultivation, breathing out a wisp of purple lightning. Glancing outside, she noticed it was rare for someone to visit; the abrupt activation of the formation had startled her.

"What a strange thing."

She walked out of the cave mansion and saw the monk Kongheng waiting at the edge of the formation. It seemed he had activated the array, hands pressed together, and spoke:

"Reporting to you, a cultivator from the Immortal Sect has come from outside, dressed in feather clothing, from the north, calls himself Li Xizhi of the Li Family."

Kongheng had arrived at the Li Family after Li Xizhi had already entered the sect to cultivate, so the two didn't know each other. After giving a description of his appearance, upon hearing these words, Li Qinghong hurriedly rose, and asked:

"Since it's Xizhi come to visit, why not invite him in!"

Kongheng smiled faintly and replied:

"I have already invited him, but the young master refuses to trust me; he insists on seeing… Qinghong herself before he'll enter the array."

He paused, but Li Qinghong didn't mind, nodded while hefting her spear, rode the wind upward, and upon leaving the array, saw a young man in feather clothing standing amid the clouds, stepping upon multicolored light. The light split into six hues, floating bright and dim, quite splendid.

"Aunt Qinghong!"

The aunt and nephew met, quickly exchanged a few warm words, dispelling the unfamiliarity of so many years, and together descended. Li Xizhi, seemingly thoughtful, asked:

"That monk…?"

"This is Kongheng… Our family's guest elder."

Li Qinghong led him over and Kongheng lowered his head in response, but Li Xizhi did not quite trust him, eyed him carefully for a while, saw no trace of unnatural light upon him, nor any colored halo behind his head, then courteously asked:

"Mage, which lineage do you hail from?"

Kongheng spoke:

"Yan Country's Liaohe Temple… Liaohe Taoist Lineage…"

But Li Xizhi was unconvinced, smiled lightly, hands clasped behind his back, and asked:

"Of the Seven Paths, Yan Country is under 'Compassionate Ultimate Bliss' and 'Jushe Sect Temple'. May I know which branch, master?"

Kongheng, surprised, answered:

"You are most knowledgeable. Yet, my Liaohe was founded before the division into Seven Paths, not belonging to any of them."

"So, an ancient cultivator."

Li Xizhi exhaled, seeming much more relaxed, and replied:

"Forgive me… Forgive me…"

He apparently did not wish to say more, simply glanced around. Li Qinghong smiled and said:

"Your timing is perfect; I've acquired a Foundation Establishment beast, come home with me for a while."

Li Xizhi naturally understood what his aunt meant, calculated the timing with a gesture, and replied:

"I just went to Qing Song Island. Though I've made arrangements, I can't stay away long. If we are to return home, we must set off at once."

Li Qinghong was straightforward by nature. Putting away her spear, in two strides she arrived at the pond at the island's center, lifted up half of an old saddle-nosed man, bound securely with iron chains, looking vacant and muddle-headed.

"Let's go!"

The two left the great formation; Li Xizhi hesitated for a moment and said:

"Since the family has taken in this person, there must be some trust. I won't say much more; as long as it's certain he is an ancient cultivator, he may be relied on."

Li Qinghong nodded, recalling their exchange, and asked:

"These Northern Buddhist Practitioner Seven Paths—what kind of lineages are they?"

Li Xizhi shook his head and explained:

"It's most complex; the Buddhist Practitioner sects are highly divergent, with some paths disagreeing to the extent of the Zifu Path and Witch Talisman Path."

"The 'Furious Purifying the World' need not be spoken of, and the Murong Family's 'Compassionate Ultimate Bliss' is known at home; then there's the 'Jushe Sect Temple' that believes all things illusory and only a spark of truth, plus the present-world-is-Buddha-land 'Great Murong Dharma Realm'… The struggle among the Seven Paths is fierce."

Saying this, his expression grew puzzled, and he said:

"For these Buddhist Practitioners… rather than crusading south, it seems suppressing each other comes first."

He explained a bit of the news from within the sect, then brought up Qing Song Island, sighing:

"Many 'Heavy Abyss Great Winds' fell upon Qing Song Island—perhaps leaked from the cave heaven. When I arrived, all were arguing, busy dividing up those spiritual objects."

The two chatted about recent events; Li Xizhi learned more about the family's affairs, and Li Qinghong also benefited much. Soon, they rode the wind to Yue Country, where rain still fell with a soft patter in the north.

Li Xizhi gazed deeply, and spoke in a low voice:

"In the sect, the explanation is: this rain is caused by the overseas descent of water and rising of thunder. Perhaps there is truth to it."

Li Qinghong had witnessed with her own eyes the Perfected Lord of Xiuyue Sect act, long ago sealing off the celestial phenomena beyond the sea. Her heart was clear, but it wasn't convenient to tell her nephew, she mused:

'Not a bad excuse!'

...

Qingdu Peak.

Li Chengliao had been busy with clan affairs for months, hadn't even glanced at his treasured Qilin child. Truly, the rain's damp poison made people frantic and overwhelmed.

The water had soaked for years, flooding out all the soil, turning black earth to yellow, yellow to white, great swathes of forest rotting away, many cliffs become small lakes, all black and poisonous, devoid of life.

Not to mention collapsed wooden beams, ruined structures, and the common people—so often on the road—now had rotting legs; while the Li Family drained water for years and stayed serene, chaos reigned outside. Each day corpses drifted downriver.

Li Chengliao had watched for a long while; Mushroom Forest Plain had now turned into Marsh, death and injury heavy.

The Green Pond Sect hadn't sent anyone. Perhaps this flood was no different from former droughts or wars—just more deaths, decades later the land would regenerate; pressuring Xiuyue was what mattered most.