Li Xun lay in bed, turning the two Heaven-Seer Wheels over and over in his hands, examining them from every angle. His thoughts were a tangled ss, and he couldn’t make heads or tails of anything.
Back in the Hall of False Illumination today, Underworld Fla Yama had suddenly played the role of a generous benefactor. That alone was strange enough, but he wasn’t just generous. He was generous for no apparent reason.
All those glowing words of praise he lavished on him could’ve been brushed off, but handing out a prestigious sect surna? That wasn’t sothing given lightly. Out of more than a thousand disciples, only twenty or so held that honor.
Those people had fought tooth and nail to reach that level. So what if Li Xun had outmaneuvered Luo Qichang, or escaped Shui Die Lan unscathed? What did that really prove?
And then there were these Heaven-Seer Wheels. No one even knew how they worked yet, but they were fought over, with lives on the line. Before Underworld Fla Yama even touched them, he turned right around and handed them to him.
Think about it—thirty years of bitter cultivation. Sure, in the Tongxuan Realm, training often spans centuries, even millennia, but thirty years is still no small thing.
And Li Xun himself? He’d only been cultivating for ten.
What was Underworld Fla Yama thinking? The question gnawed at him until his head began to ache. And right then, soone knocked at the door.
To his surprise, it was Madam Yan standing outside.
She wore an elegant, understated gown with a matching shawl draped over her shoulders. As she stood there with a gentle smile, the dim room seed to take on a soft glow from her presence.
Li Xun froze for a mont before rembering to greet. He quickly invited her in, lit the lamps, and after a brief flurry of movent, turned back to see her holding one of the wheels, examining it closely.
“What a marvelous treasure,” she said, echoing almost word-for-word what Underworld Fla Yama had said earlier. The two statents were spoken over half an hour apart, but sothing about them felt connected. Like there was a hidden thread linking them that begged to be unraveled.
Li Xun scratched his head, putting on his most harmless look, and gave a wry smile. “The treasure’s nice and all, but I still have no idea how to use it. The Sect Master said it’s for assisting puppet techniques… so, what, you give it to a puppet and let it go fight?”
Lady Yan chuckled at that. She set the wheel down on the table, then gracefully tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before explaining, “What makes this pair of Heaven's Seer Wheels truly valuable is the Wisdom Bead at the center.
“The purpose of the Wisdom Bead is to awaken the blocked minds of the dull, the foolish, and the slow… So tell , what exactly would a puppet need it for?”
Li Xun’s eyes flew wide open. He stared at the plain-looking bronze wheel on the table, his mind suddenly going completely blank.
Through the daze, Lady Yan’s voice kept drifting into his ears: “Your Soul-Driving, Spirit-Refining, Mind-Binding Great Technique has already reached a certain level of proficiency. You're ready to begin crafting puppets. But at the early stages, puppets have no intelligence at all; they act purely on instinct, which is terribly annoying.. With this wheel, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble.”
She smiled faintly and added, “Of course, no matter what, a puppet will never be as smart as you. It’s said the wheel can save you thirty years of cultivation effort. After those thirty years, the puppet’s intelligence would be roughly that of a five-year-old child.”
“A five-year-old?” Li Xun sucked in a quiet breath and slowly cald himself, though a look of doubt crept into his expression. “That doesn’t sound all that impressive... Is it really that useful?”
Lady Yan couldn’t help but laugh at his greedy look, shooting him a quick sideways glance that carried a rare touch of playful intimacy.
Li Xun was caught off guard by the charm in that small, unintentional gesture. As he stared, he heard her say, “Creating sothing from nothing is always harder than building on what’s already there. Tell , which is easier: teaching soone with no mind at all, or teaching a five-year-old?”
Understanding dawned on Li Xun imdiately.
But then another question popped into his mind. He carefully organized his thoughts before asking, “Madam, I’ve heard that puppets need to be based on living humans. If soone’s turned into a puppet and then has their intelligence restored… wouldn’t their mories co back too?”
“You make it sound too simple,” Madam Yan said with a small shake of her head. “A puppet’s raw material has to be constantly patched and refined. As your cultivation improves, the material itself needs to evolve with it.
“To change that base material, there are really only two options.... devouring and grafting. But either way, you’re rging dozens, sotis hundreds, of bodies together. With all that mixing and transformation, how could any mories from a previous life possibly remain intact?”
Li Xun’s lips twitched, but at least he had enough sense not to blurt out sothing dumb like, What if the base material doesn’t change?
But luckily, Heaven must’ve been watching over him, because Madam Yan was in a chatty mood and casually added, “Of course, there were a few seniors in the sect’s history, those suprely dominant figures at the True One level, who managed to refine it in one step and soar straight to the heavens. But that’s a different matter entirely. For soone like you? Hah, you’ll probably need a good thousand years or more!”
She glanced at Li Xun, and the look in her eyes clearly said: Kid, don’t get ahead of yourself.
Inside, Li Xun was so excited he could’ve broken into song. But on the outside, he kept up a respectful, solemn expression, like he was deeply moved, honoring the "fallen heroes" of the sect's glorious past.
That seed to wrap up the topic of the Heaven's Seer Wheels, and in truth, Li Xun felt like he’d gained even more from this quiet conversation than from the chaos back in the Hall of False Illumination.
It was only then that he realized he hadn’t even asked why Madam Yan had co. A beautiful, composed woman like her, elegant in both manner and mind, surely hadn’t co to a disciple’s room at night just to offer so casual instruction.
And since she hadn’t brought it up herself, it was only proper for him, as the disciple, to raise the question.
After thinking it through, Li Xun cautiously opened the subject. “Madam, about what happened today… it all felt a little too smooth, honestly. I can’t help feeling uneasy. If you would be so kind, could you shed so light on it?”
“The Sect Master gave you a great surna; he must have his reasons. Just accept it and move forward. No need to overthink it,” Madam Yan said lightly. But when she saw the look of disbelief still written all over Li Xun’s face, she couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re such a suspicious one. Being cautious is good, but don’t overdo it. That surna of yours was approved by all the elders. Still, you should pay attention to what the other disciples might be thinking.”
Ah, so that was the real point.
Li Xun forced a smile as his mind raced, trying to read between the lines of her words.
Madam Yan didn’t seem to want him jumping to conclusions on his own. She sighed and added, “These past couple of years, the sect’s been feeling stagnant. Everyone’s just sitting in their place, no ambition, no drive. Maybe the Sect Master couldn’t stand it anymore. That’s why he promoted you out of turn… He doesn’t have much ti left, after all.”
A chill ran down Li Xun’s spine. He felt like he’d just caught a glimpse of sothing important. Judging from Madam Yan’s behavior, anyone would be a fool to believe she had no ambitions of rising higher. But she also didn’t seem interested in going head-to-head with Underworld Fla Yama. Could it be…?
He blinked, then cautiously asked, “I’ll stay alert, of course, but I can’t be suspicious of everyone, right? Madam, who do you think I should be most careful around?”
Lady Yan gave him a pleased smile; clearly satisfied with his response. “Let’s not even ntion the grudge Lord Bishui holds against you for killing his disciple," she said slowly. "Even if he restrains himself out of pride, the disciples under him won’t let it go. That’s one group to watch. And then there’s Elder Youyu. He’s had so friction with . You’d do well to be wary of him, too.”
After a pause, she added, “Conflicts like these can’t always be avoided. But from my point of view, you’ve only just entered the sect. It’s not worth exhausting yourself over things like this just yet. Sotis, it’s wiser to step back for now. Once you’ve built up enough strength and influence, you’ll have more room to act.”
The first part of what she'd said had the tone of a cultured, well-bred noblewoman. But that last line.... now that was worth thinking over.
Everything clicked into place for Li Xun.
So Lord Bishui and Elder Youyu were likely her biggest rivals in the race to beco the next sect master. And Underworld Fla Yama? He probably knew it all like the back of his hand.
Li Xun couldn’t quite figure out why none of these people seed interested in openly challenging Yama himself, and instead were busy clashing with one another. But one thing was clear: Underworld Fla Yama’s days were numbered. That was no longer just a rumor; it was practically a given.
From a political perspective, Li Xun could see what was going on. The sect master, sickly as he was, was still sharp as ever in mind and cultivation. A cunning, ruthless man like that wouldn’t just sit around waiting to die. He’d want to find a worthy successor before the end ca, soone who could carry his legacy. And while the elders jockeyed for position and canceled each other out, he’d use that infighting to keep his own authority secure.
Which explained why a newcor like Li Xun would suddenly find himself favored.
Wasn’t that basically a quiet signal of support for Madam Yan? And if that was the case, how could Lord Bishui and Elder Youyu not respond?
So after all that… turns out I’m just the bait in the pond. The peach set out to quench soone’s thirst; hooked by whoever wants to bite.
After seeing Madam Yan off, Li Xun gave a dry chuckle and flopped onto his bed, the whole power play now clear in his mind.
It was obvious. For now, he was on Madam Yan’s side. Her interests were his interests. As long as she didn’t plan to send him to his death, whatever she asked of him, he’d do it.
Laying low and biding my ti? Please. I’ve been doing that my whole life.... eighteen years straight.
Li Xun quickly pulled himself out of the worries that were never really his to begin with.
He picked up the Heaven-Seer Wheels again, turning them over in his hands, admiring them from every angle.
Slowly, his spiritual sense began to connect with it. Sowhere between waking and dreaming, drifting in a half-conscious trance, he slipped into a deep and unfathomable void.
In that space that defied clear definition, four streaks of lightning flared: two crimson red, two icy white.
....
In the Tongxuan Realm, ti flowed like a waterfall in free fall: wild, fast, impossible to hold back. By contrast, events unfolded with the sluggishness of an old ox plowing a field.
The Polar Night's Heaven of the North Pole, the stirrings of Jade Wanderer and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix... still just stirrings, nothing more. The righteous sects’ massive alliance against the Yin and Blood Wanderers had raged for nearly seven hundred days and nights, accomplishing nothing of note, before people finally started talking about disbanding.
Inside the Shadow-Devouring Soul Sect, infighting had beco so obvious it was practically transparent, and the grudges it spawned continued to pile up, slowly, steadily, with no signs of reaching a breaking point.
By now, two whole years had passed since Li Xun quietly settled into the Shadow-Devouring Soul Sect. Looking back, he couldn’t recall a single vivid or lasting mory from that ti. If he had to sum up the past two years with one word, it would be: uneventful.
He spent most of his ti in Tenghua Valley, only occasionally making a brief trip to Ghost Gate Lake ;always in and out quickly, keeping his head down, his presence minimal.
Sotis, the disciples in the sect even forgot he existed. Among the many disciples with great surnas, Li Xun had gradually faded into the background.
So when Li Xun arrived at Ghost Gate Lake this ti and submitted a request to travel outside the sect to Elder Yin Jin—the elder in charge of disciple affairs—he wasn’t surprised when she didn’t recognize him at all.
The old woman had nearly five thousand years of cultivation under her belt, but her mind wasn’t quite what it used to be.
“Hundred Ghosts? Where have I heard that na before?” she muttered.
The nearby disciples all laughed. Li Xun could only shrug helplessly. In the end, he had to drop Madam Yan’s na. That did the trick; Yin Jin’s face, as wrinkled and weathered as tree bark, suddenly lit up in recognition.
“Oh, Hundred Ghosts! That’s right! You’re the male disciple that little Little Sparrow took in! I rember now, you’re one of the sect’s great surnas disciples!”
Li Xun could only smile wryly. In the entire sect, this old woman was probably the only one still around who dared to use Lady Yan’s childhood nickna. As her disciple, he could only pretend not to hear it. Seizing the mont while she was still lucid, he quickly pushed the application forward again.
Elder Yin Jin squinted her cloudy eyes at the docunt and skimd it. “You’ve only been in the sect for two years and already want to go out traveling? Isn’t that a bit early?” Then, noticing his reason, she nodded. “Ah, you’re heading out to find puppet materials.... that makes sense.”
She started muttering to herself, nodding all the while. “Puppets, ugh, those things are a headache. Whether they work or not, they always cause trouble for the sect. Now you listen, when it cos to disciples from the major sects, unless you can pull it off flawlessly, don’t even think about targeting them. Going after wandering ghosts and lone spirits is one thing, but anything more will have to wait until you’ve refined your skills…”
Li Xun nodded along quickly and made his exit with a polite bow, suddenly rembering the rumors about how terrifying this old woman could be when crossed.
Even so, her nagging voice still followed after him: “Disciples going out to travel... just like birds set loose into the sky. Ten, maybe even twenty years before anyone hears a word again. No sense of the rules! You’re wearing your Seven Ghost Bells, right? If sothing urgent cos up, the sect can still contact you…”
With his back to her, Li Xun rolled his eyes, then stepped onto his flying sword. With a burst of energy, he shot upward, cutting through the thick fog and dense canopy overhead, soaring straight into the sky.
The layers of restrictive formations around Ghost Gate Lake rippled faintly from the disturbance. But Li Xun moved like a fish in water, slipping through the weak points in the qi chanisms with a few quick twists of his body. He broke free without much trouble at all.
What he didn’t know, though, was that the mont he took off, Elder Yin Jin, the old woman who’d seed so foggy and harmless, suddenly had a flash of razor-sharp clarity in her eyes, like a blade catching the light. She tracked his flight path from start to finish, eyes cold and piercing. Then, just as suddenly, her gaze returned to its usual murky haze.
She casually waved over a passing disciple, nodded toward the do over the lake, and grumbled, “Go get Ming dong, the one in charge of maintaining that formation. Useless brat! That formation was set up by our ancestors; what the hell was he doing, letting people fly in and out like it’s a revolving door?”
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