Chapter 666 489: Arrival of the Luan

Li Xizhi flew all the way to the East Sea, riding the ocean currents for a while. Soon he arrived at Qing Song Island, where he saw the surrounding sea water boiling incessantly, the earth veins exposed, fire veins erupting, forming all kinds of Spiritual Energy.

Most of the pine trees on Qing Song Island had already collapsed. The island was divided into more than a dozen sectors, each guarded by disciples of the Immortal Sect, and each area had been adapted to the terrain and transformed into various environments for collecting Spiritual Energy.

He landed atop a peak. Below, a disciple clad in azure robes sat cross-legged on the mountain, as though he had been waiting for some time. Upon seeing Li Xizhi descend on the wind, the disciple finally breathed a sigh of relief, his face anxious as he hurried forward and spoke:

"Taoist, you're finally back! The sect sent word: you're to escort a group to Fenkui Island and exchange for several people there. I've been searching everywhere for you!"

"Oh?"

Li Xizhi had been prepared for this. After all, he had only been gone for a few months, rarely missing the timeframe for any sect task, so he wasn't concerned. He merely asked:

"What's the deadline? And where are these people?"

The disciple clasped his hands and replied:

"There are still several months to spare. Since you've returned, I'll make the arrangements now!"

The disciple hurried off. Li Xizhi, a trace of doubt in his eyes, shook his head and thought to himself:

'The numbers were clearly arranged long ago. Why change things now? How odd—there must be something behind this.'

Li Xizhi waited in silence for a while. Soon a cloud boat rose above the island. He leapt aboard, glanced around, and saw that most here were older Qi Cultivators, mingled with several Foundation Establishment Guest Elders.

"Greetings, Taoist!"

The group saluted. He waved a hand offhandedly, making no delay, and first steered the cloud boat skyward. Only after they flew out over the sea did he take notice—these people, though transferred from this Blessed Land, showed little resentment on their faces.

Pretending casualness, he asked,

"What could be so urgent that they're moving you all out?"

The man behind him was taken aback and quickly answered:

"Reporting to Taoist: word is, there have been shifts in the earth veins of Fenkui Market—perhaps a Dragon will overturn. Thus, Master Heyuan drew us to rotate over."

Li Xizhi nodded and said:

"So, that's it. You'll go and return... I had thought he'd have you do something so impersonal as stationing there, but if it's just that, then perhaps at least you won't miss any cultivation opportunities."

"Thank you for your concern, Taoist!"

One of the Foundation Establishment Guest Elders expressed thanks repeatedly. Soon conversation arose, turning to the topic of earth veins. Li Xizhi responded perfunctorily, yet his words brought the other some insight. In his heart, he thought:

"This is ten out of ten likely Ning Heyuan of the Ning Family seeking me; hence this elaborate charade, without a single leak."

Once he understood, Li Xizhi lost all interest. The other, perceptive, fell silent. Night gave way to day, and soon Fenkui Island was in sight.

Fenkui Island was a well-known large island near the coast, prompting low exclamations from those behind. It was Li Xizhi's first time here as well. Following signs, he submerged, and found the Great Formation on the sea bed.

Barely had he paused when he saw a middle-aged man waiting above the market. His cultivation was Foundation Establishment Late Stage; seeing the cloud boat approach, he drew near in just two steps, stopping in front of Li Xizhi and speaking in a low voice:

"Is that Taoist Li ahead? I am Ning Heyuan."

Seeing him come to greet him personally, Li Xizhi felt a bit more certain, answering softly,

"Indeed, I am Li Xizhi. Greetings, Senior."

"You've worked hard, Taoist."

Ning Heyuan's face broke into a gentle smile. He signaled slightly to his subordinates, and soon some came forward to lead the cultivators off the boat, while Ning Heyuan gestured:

"Please."

Ning Heyuan led him down. The man now appeared far steadier than before; these brief ten years had wrought changes in him greater than any decades spent guarding the seas. His bearing had grown more generous as well.

Ning Heyuan had gradually come to understand: the Ning Family had plenty of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and his several elder brothers surpassed him; why, then, did Yuansu Perfected Person entrust Ning Family affairs to him? The answer was the same as why he had been sent overseas for more than ten years—he was closest to the Chi Family, and had even earned the trust of Sect Master Chi Zhiyun.

'Breaking through to Zifu may take five or six years at best, decades at worst. Should Perfected Person perish, there's telling when Aunt will return, let alone succeed... Until then, only my stewardship is the safest choice.'

Ning Heyuan understood well that Aunt's breakthrough attempt was fraught with ill omens. Should Yuansu Perfected Person fall, the Ning Family's greatest fear would not be Zifu's retribution, but rather the long-ignored Chi Family...

Once the Ning Family lost Yuansu, it would be little different from other Noble Families. They needed the Chi Family's trust, and by allowing him—Chi Zhiyun's childhood companion, the one punished harshly through Chi Family's entanglements—to manage the family, Yuansu made a wise choice.

Ning Heyuan had only just returned from a journey to Southern Border, and was soon dispatched back to the sea. It was during this reflective time in the ocean that he finally grasped Perfected Person's deep meaning, and understood why, even as a hidden candidate for stewardship, he had always been kept posted in this bitter place:

'So it was to make Chi Zhiyun feel guilt...to make him believe he owes me...to make him see me and the Chi Family as on the same side!'

Ning Heyuan and Sect Master Chi Zhiyun had grown up together. Reflecting carefully, he had to admit: the stratagem of Yuansu Perfected Person was nothing short of divine.

The realization left him cold with sweat along his spine, but his resentment for his years of hardship vanished, leaving only respect. His mental state now appeared wholly transformed.

Once the two were seated in the cave mansion, Ning Heyuan poured tea, seeing Li Xizhi was about to rise and decline, quickly pressed him gently back down and opened his mouth to say: