Chapter 724 519: Six Xin Qi Gold令_2

Yu Xianghua's face was streaming with tears as she cried out in grief:

"Many thanks, Ancestor."

She was quickly taken away by someone. Li Chengliao appeared to be lost in thought before nodding and saying:

"My Lord's strategy... truly understands the fine art of manipulation."

Li Xijun nodded carelessly. Though the Yu family said nothing, no one could tell how much hatred they harbored in their hearts. It was not unusual for the Yu family to ingratiate themselves with the Li Family by sacrificing their own interests—if a hundred more did so, it would be no strange thing.

"Just use these people to supervise the seven families, let their resentment run its course. After all, their children now bear the Li surname; nominally, it's not our family that destroyed theirs. They have an excuse for comfort."

Though Li Xijun spoke so, inwardly he remained wary. He only spoke in a low voice to Li Chengliao:

"For those with aptitude among the seven families and the remaining outlaws, we will match each with our own children. In merely thirty years, all those grudges will be redirected: the hatred will become a feud between the Easterners, Shanyue, and the seven families."

Li Chengliao voiced his understanding, while Li Ximing at the side listened in a daze, gazing at his own younger brother with new eyes, startled by some chilling quality he revealed, and thought to himself:

"I always thought among my brothers, Brother Xijun was the kindest. In the end, he is truly a member of the Li family."

Li Xijun was quick to respond—even that brief loss of composure he instantly detected and asked:

"What is it?"

Li Ximing shook his head and replied with a smile:

"Thank goodness you aren't Chi Zhiyun!"

Li Xijun paused slightly, then smiled and shook his head, replying softly:

"The Green Pond Sect's schemes are no less subtle. If anything, they use everything to its utmost, making their hands appear only dirtier."

As they spoke, that Yu Family member had already arrived, body covered with marks from beatings, shackles leaving imprints upon his legs. He was silent, first bowing toward the two men.

He stood up, bit his finger open, cast a spell with a hand seal, and conjured a jade-white glow in midair, illuminating the stone wall for a quarter of an hour, until at last a crack of a doorway became visible.

The Yu Family member's face contorted into a tragic smile, bowing as he reported:

"Reporting to the honored lords, the secret vault lies right here."

As he spoke, the door of the vault before them slowly opened, revealing treasures gleaming with shifting colors.

Li Xijun did not enter, instead smiling as he gazed at him and called out:

"Chengliao, have a few men come forth to retrieve the items."

After all, this was someone else's vault and they themselves knew nothing of its interior. Li Xijun naturally felt uneasy about entering, afraid there might be some great formation or secret technique lying in wait—what if he got injured or something grave befell him for no reason here?

Nor did he allow the Yu Family member to enter, wary that he might have left a Zifu Talisman behind, so that this man might try to seize it and perish together with them; instead, he watched as his own Jade Courtyard Guards moved in.

Very soon, they brought out a jeweled box, embroidered with brilliant silver-white patterns, its base a blue-grey, its colors muted, giving a sense of age.

Someone opened the box for a look; inside was a single, neatly placed token.

This token was dull and unadorned, its body a blend of silver-white and iron-grey, carved with intricate, mysterious lines. It was about the size of a palm, just enough to fit comfortably in one's hand, cold as ice, and felt unusually smooth to hold.

Li Xijun looked toward this direct-line Yu Family member, who, with ashen face, said:

"This is the 'Six Xin Unified Gold Command.'"

Upon hearing this, Li Xijun's expression changed instantly, becoming grave in a flash. His eyes narrowed as he said quietly:

"The 'Six Xin Unified Gold Command'?"

Almost at once, he recalled that ash-grey flame once wielded by Guo Hongyao, later fallen into Tulong Jian's hands—known as the 'Six Ding Combined Fire Command'!

That was a Zifu Spirit Instrument!

He immediately grew suspicious: The Jiang Family was destroyed years ago, and at least eight or ten Zifus had already prowled this mountain in secret—how could such a Zifu Spirit Instrument remain? He promptly asked:

"Oh? Are there any records of its origin?"

This middle-aged man nodded faintly, sighed, and explained:

"The token was first held by the Jiang Family ancestor—his trusted magic artifact, rumored to be a Zifu Spirit Instrument!"

He himself clearly did not quite believe these words, but after pausing, went on:

"Sadly, after his death, no one in the Jiang Family could use the artifact. It remained stored for decades until one day, someone arrived from the north."

"This man called himself Wang, and was known as Perfected Person Jinglue."

The two of them exchanged amazed glances, already guessing the truth in their hearts, secretly thinking:

"Wang Family of Yinghua!"

The Li Family had dealt with similar things as well, reaping their own benefit—for it was that Sword Immortal Wang Xun who came seeking Sword Intent! He had even left behind a Foundation Establishment Spirit Root, which remained a great asset for the Li Family to this day.

"That must be the Golden Core Sword Immortal from the junior branch of the Wang Family! Perhaps even a senior of his!"

As he recounted this, the Yu Family direct heir's lips grew whiter and whiter, as if too long deprived of proper rest. He looked ready to faint at any moment, and murmured:

"Perfected Person traveled here, said nothing much, only asked for the Spirit Instrument. The Jiang Family had no power to refuse and handed it over obediently."

"So the Perfected Person performed a Divine Skill and extracted the 'Six Xin Unified Gold' from within the 'Six Xin Unified Gold Command.'"

The listeners leaned in. He continued in a low voice:

"The Perfected Person did not take it without recompense—he promised regardless of the Jiang Family's fortune, so long as he lived, the Jiang Family's bloodline would endure."

He hesitated a moment before continuing:

"That Perfected Person also left one more thing... He said, should you ever see golden flowers fill the northern sky, roaring without end, with clouds, qi, and dragons rising and falling among them, the sun dark, the stars fading, then you should raise a cup of wine for him."

This remark left all three stunned, and the same thought flashed across their minds:

"A Golden Core breakthrough!"

Each person became silently absorbed in this ancient tale, left wanting more. They questioned him further, but he knew nothing beyond those family rumors and some records in the archives, saying he'd only heard of it by chance.

The Jade Courtyard Guards were still moving treasures out—gold, silver, jade, precious medicines, and Magic Artifacts—all items usually hard to come by, yet the onlookers felt anxious and listless.

The Yu Family man, meanwhile, grew ever more ghastly, his legs trembling, wracked with pain, his face shifting expressions as he watched those precious artifacts carried out one by one. Finally, he pressed his hand to his brow at the Shengyang Mansion, and muttered:

"Alas! How could I face my ancestors?"

With those words, mana burst out; the Shengyang Mansion houses the Spiritual Sense, and could not withstand such a blow. In an instant, his breath was gone. He collapsed on the ground with a harsh, hard thud.

Li Xijun withdrew the hand that had stopped Li Ximing, letting the man pass with no further word, and instead turned to Li Chengliao:

"Take care of the corpse."

...

Xuan Yue Sect.

Li Xizhi sat before a jade table, relating the gist of what had passed before and after. Kong Tingyun sipped her tea, frowning in surprise as she said:

"For the Chi Family to reach this state, their situation must be dire. Yet they still have the mind to do such things? What is Chi Zhiyun thinking!"

Li Xizhi poured her more tea and replied in a low voice:

"It's hard to say. I fear it may have been the Chi Family Member acting behind the scenes… Chi Zhiyan is narrow-minded and petty; Ning Hejing, selfish and greedy—both well capable of this."

Kong Tingyun did not know these people well but nodded along and said with a smile:

"Xizhi, be at ease. Since you are here, such a small matter is nothing, given the friendship between your father and myself."

She accepted first and replied:

"A justification will have to be found. Whether Chi Zhiyun believes it or not, it will give him a way out. If we act without due cause, it will seem a waste."

"Precisely so!"

Li Xizhi, heart now at ease, thought to himself:

'As expected of my father's old friend—her mind and methods are not lacking. With a single sentence, she relieves me of asking again.'

Kong Tingyun considered for a moment before saying softly:

"Our family's Perfected Person gave some instructions some days ago. Among them was an Immortal Mandate: to head to a place called Huashan in the East Sea to catch the rosy clouds there. The glow falls swiftly and ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators are powerless to act."

Li Xizhi immediately understood and nodded:

"Very well, I shall go as well."

Kong Tingyun rose with a gentle smile and said:

"Then I will send someone to your clan and to Qing Sui Mountain, to inform them."

Li Xizhi nodded again and again, then turned to Li Qinghong and lowered his voice:

"As for the Han Family, I leave that to you, Aunt."

Li Qinghong nodded gracefully, bade Kong Tingyun farewell, mounted the wind, and rode it eastward to the East Sea.