Chapter 1642: Profound Incense (II)

Relations between the dragons and Luoxia had always been tense, and they were hardly on good terms with the Seven Dharma Forms either. The Buddhists frequently sought to convert demonic creatures, often offending the dragons in the process. Worse still, some even coveted the descendants of the Demon Emperor, earning the dragons' deep resentment.

Si Yuanli was not surprised by the question and replied with a smile, "The dragons are indeed domineering, but even they need someone to mediate on occasion. After all, some matters can't be settled through force alone, and a bit of diplomacy works better. Daoist Master Pingyan cultivates in Yinzhou, has friends everywhere, and maintains connections with all the major Daos."

A trace of admiration, even envy, appeared on his face. "Relying on the dragons' prestige, that senior has profited handsomely..."

Li Ximing immediately understood, but he could never fully trust Buddhist cultivators. After a brief pause, he frowned. "Did the Merciful One mention anything else?"

Si Yuanli quickly replied, "I'm afraid I can't say for certain... It's not easy for me to remain the middleman in this matter, so I was only asked to pass along that message. I heard Daoist Master Minghuang is acquainted with a certain Dragon Son. Finding someone to arrange this shouldn't be difficult!"

His concerns were well-founded. Only after Li Ximing acknowledged his words did Si Yuanli smile, withdraw a jade box from his sleeve, gently place it on the table, and say, "I've heard that you have a portion of [Rising Warmth Stone] in your possession, fellow Daoist?"

Li Ximing nodded.

Back when Wanlin Heaven appeared, several members of the Li Family had entered and returned with considerable treasures. Setting aside the few pills they obtained, they had also acquired the [Heart-Trace Baleful Energy] of Merging Fire and the [Rising Warmth Stone] of Dry Fire.

Si Yuanli smiled and explained, "Dry Fire can dispel dampness and drive away rain, while rectifying the qi of Orthodox Wood. I intend to cultivate a divine ability known as [Back Facing South]. Since Dry Fire excels at dispersing dampness and rain, it is of great benefit to this cultivation. Moreover, the master of the Tongxin Tree resides in the north, making it even more advantageous. That is why I'd like to borrow your [Rising Warmth Stone], fellow Daoist."

Those who understood the Dao of Dry Fire were few indeed. As expected of someone with such a distinguished family heritage, Si Yuanli knew it inside and out. Li Ximing nodded inwardly.

"Indeed. Dry Fire belongs to the north, making it perfectly suited for [Back Facing South]. Fellow Daoist truly understand the subtleties of Daoist calculation."

Si Yuanli burst into laughter, pushed the jade box toward him, and said, "The one you mentioned last time, fellow Daoist... the [Bright Truth Harmonizing Divine Pill]!"

Li Ximing's eyes lit up. He casually accepted the box and found the pill within radiating marvelous spiritual brilliance. It was capable of guiding divine ability while stimulating the flourishing of True Essence.

Smiling, he said, "Wouldn't that leave you at a loss, fellow Daoist?"

Both the [Bright Truth Harmonizing Divine Pill] and the [Southern Palace Profound Stabilizing Pill] were world-renowned spirit pills originating from the Four Mi’s Dao lineages[1] of old. However, the former enhanced one's divine ability and was therefore somewhat more valuable.

Si Yuanli merely smiled modestly and replied, "You're too courteous, fellow Daoist."

He accepted the [Rising Warmth Stone] from Li Ximing, and admired it with great satisfaction for a while. Then, he took a small sip of tea, and prepared to take his leave as he said, "As for that spirit incense..."

"Oh!"

Li Zhouwei had once obtained eight sticks of golden-patterned profound incense from a grotto heaven, but no one knew their purpose. Li Ximing had long ago asked Si Yuanli to investigate the matter.

Now that there was finally an answer, he looked up with obvious interest as Si Yuanli smiled and said, "I asked around on your behalf, and in the end the only useful information came from the Peacock Sea! That lord also possesses a portion of the same thing, though it's slightly different from yours. It's called the [Four Mi Platform Profound Incense]."

His expression turned serious. "The Douxuan lineage calls itself Heaven-Governing, and has long overseen incense offerings and sacrificial rites. Although this kind of item is quite rare, traces of it still remain. The one in your possession likely has its own name within the Douxuan Dao lineage, but the origin is the same. It is a profound incense formed through the condensation of incense offerings."

"Formed through the condensation of incense offerings?" Li Ximing immediately felt a vague sense of unease, though he merely wore a thoughtful expression as he sighed. "These days, incense offerings have long since fallen into decline, and the way of sacrifice has all but disappeared. They're little more than ceremonies to commemorate those who came before us. Do they still serve any purpose?"

"They do!" Si Yuanli replied without the slightest hesitation, "Ordinary people have no use for it, but don't forget about the north, fellow Daoist. It may seem insignificant, but it's a priceless treasure to the monks, something money can't buy. No amount of spirit materials could be exchanged for it!"

Li Ximing nodded as Si Yuanli continued with a smile, "Furthermore... certain ancient incense artifacts, some lost secret techniques, or even one or two inheritances of the Douxuan Dao lineage all require this sort of item. The more pieces that come from the same source, the better. If you could somehow gather one or two hundred sticks, they could even be used to grease the wheels of the Underworld."

His smile carried a cryptic meaning. "The affairs of the Underworld are never to be neglected. However, that doesn't mean they can't be neglected."

The 'affairs of the Underworld' he spoke of naturally referred to the Underworld's judiciary.

Reincarnation was exceedingly difficult for cultivators. In theory, however, if someone had perfected their divine abilities, mastered all five divine abilities, and possessed the ability to condense Metallic Essence, the threshold for reincarnation would become much lower. The greatest obstacle in such cases was the Underworld's judiciary, since reincarnation inevitably came at the expense of its interests.

Back then, Jiang Boqing, who had stirred up endless trouble in Yue State, was a man of exceptionally profound Dao conduct. He had bribed the Underworld's judiciary and lived freely in the Yue State for a time, only to be executed in the end because of his connection to an immortal text.

Incense offerings...

After pondering the matter, Li Ximing rose to see him out and casually remarked with a smile, "One or two hundred sticks? Even if you emptied out Wanlin Heaven, you probably couldn't find a hundred, let alone a complete matching set..."

Si Yuanli was quite familiar with Wanlin Heaven and nodded as if it were only natural. He thought, Each sacrificial site held no more than eight sticks, and many were lost during the chaos of war... Even having two or three on hand would be enough to barter with if the opportunity arose.

Li Ximing escorted him all the way out before returning to the mountain. Only then did he reopen the jade box. Seeing the abundant True Essence and the intertwining streams of multicolored light within, he could not help but feel tempted.

There are very few spirit pills capable of aiding the cultivation of divine ability. It's a pity this one has already been promised to someone in the Southern Sea. Otherwise, with this pill, I'd be highly confident of cultivating [Radiance Under Heaven]!

His first attempt to cultivate [Radiance Under Heaven] had ended in failure. Fortunately, the Li Family spared no expense when it came to improving divine ability, providing him with a full supply of pills year after year. Now that he had also forged his Immortal Foundation, he only needed time to bring it to perfection.

"There's also that [Supreme Shaman] spirit embryo. It's been over ten years already. More importantly, I should check on the spirit armor."

Refining a spirit embryo was an arduous process. Taking ten or even twenty years was entirely normal. The Li Family possessed the Pavilion Viewing refinement art and had never been stingy with resources, which was the only reason the process had been relatively swift. He immediately summoned someone and dispatched them to Lacquer Marsh.

He returned to his seat and closed his eyes to cultivate. Before long, radiant light gathered atop the mountain, coalescing into the figure of the golden-eyed young man.

"Minghuang!" Li Ximing had been anxiously awaiting his return. He hurried over and asked, "How did it go?"

Li Zhouwei smiled reassuringly and replied, "Things aren't too bad... Rest easy, granduncle."

Those few words immediately put Li Ximing at ease. Pulling him over to sit at the table, he sighed. "Si Yuanli came to see me earlier. He kept speaking in veiled hints, trying to get our family to promise him some support... From the looks of it, the treatment the Yang Family is offering us should be considerably more generous..."

Li Zhouwei nodded and said, "They're granting us kingship."

A shadow of contemplation flickered in his eyes. He carefully recounted what had transpired with the Yang Family, though he deliberately omitted many details.

As he and Li Ximing walked toward the center of the island together, he let out a quiet sigh. "Senior Tianya holds our ancestor's line in high regard. He remarked that achieving three successes out of four was an exceptionally rare accomplishment!"

1. Referring to Mifan, Mifann, Miyan, and Milin. ☜

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.