Xuanjian Xianzu

Chapter 1211 Calculation Preparation
The colors within the celestial pavilion flickered, the light of the true fire illuminating the snow-white jade walls, casting dancing shadows. Li Ximing had warmed the stove when he suddenly heard a soft knock on the door. He finally sighed and said:
"Come in!"

The young man in the crimson robe stepped in and respectfully said:

"I've disturbed my great-uncle."

"It doesn't matter."

Li Ximing shook his head, looked at the mountains of jade slips of various colors piled up on both sides, and sighed:
"How long has it been?"

Li Jiangqian's expression darkened slightly as he replied:

"More than six months a year."

The master sighed deeply and said:
"Since I obtained the Heavenly Heart One Mind Elixir Method, I have only been able to formulate a formula in the blink of an eye. It is also unique. It has been two years in total. With the help of various secret formulas of the Pure One Daoist for reference, I have finally gotten a clue... I don't know if it will work or not."

Li Jiangqian looked pleasantly surprised and nodded, saying:

"Grand Uncle's alchemy skills are astonishing..."

Li Ximing chuckled and said:
"You underestimate Taiyin... Eight or nine out of ten of my formulas are based on the classics of the Pure One Dao. Without these few pill formulas from the Pure One Dao, it would take me at least twenty years to write them, let alone two!"

He was terrified of missing the deadline set by the Golden Dao lineage, so he racked his brains and looked utterly exhausted. He sighed and said:

"Now it's all right, we can start refining... I'll teach you how to get the spiritual resources..."

"The nourishing substances for Shaoyin that Grand Uncle requested have been retrieved."

Li Jiangqian nodded, took out a small bottle from his sleeve, and said:

"This is the spiritual resource of 'Lesser Yin' [Good Plan Water], which was obtained by exchanging [Neck Feather] for the Shangguan family. It was entrusted to Qu Si's people. The other party is very persistent. We offered two [Neck Feathers], and we only agreed to exchange it because of Qu Si's face. If he knew that the Li family was behind it, he probably wouldn't dare to exchange it."

Li Ximing took a look and saw Qingyin's sincere desire for recuperation. He nodded with a happy expression.

"With the 'Green Water' I got from Situ Huo, I have everything I need. I can start refining pills now."

Li Jiangqian nodded, his expression darkening slightly, and said solemnly:
"There is something I need to report to my great-uncle."

He took out a jade slip from his sleeve and handed it to Li Ximing. The immortal read it briefly and said in surprise:
"They really did choose the Lesser Yang Formation!"

Li Jiangqian nodded and said with emotion:
"Senior Liu is truly a genius. He has that ingenuity and has cultivated a divine lineage that is now extinct. I estimated that it would take two years, but I did not expect that in just fifteen months, this master has already given a concrete idea and even sent over several important array point diagrams."

“Leaving only the most important array plate is the most troublesome. Senior Liu is slowly studying it in the East China Sea, while we can build the array base here immediately. This is a troublesome matter, and the sooner we start, the better. As long as the general framework is good, minor repairs can be done quickly.”

"He also listed out the various spiritual items that could be used to create the array plate."

Liu Changxuan's approach to the [Shaoyang Grand Formation] was both expected and reasonable. The only surprising thing was Shi Qi, which made Li Ximing secretly shake his head.

"Shiqi didn't seem to accept everything without question; he was still selective. I wonder what supreme treasure he's going to refine."

Shiqi is a sect that keeps a low profile, and the Yin Water (a Taoist deity) prefers to remain hidden. Everyone knows of this Yin Water Goddess, but she is never seen manipulating events. Even Luoxia (a Taoist deity) and the Underworld rarely mention her. Li Jiangqian wondered:

"Will anyone testify against Shaoyang? — There are two True Lords above this lineage. Northern Shaoyang is alright, but Western Shaoyang is a demon known throughout the world... Furthermore, judging from the attitudes of the major powers in the world, the stubbornness of Shaoyang's position is probably not much less than that of Mingyang."

Li Ximing pondered in silence, while Li Jiangqian glanced around and quickly came up with an idea:

"However, none of the three major powers in the world can stand Shaoyang Demon Lord. The Dragon faction has taken his power and taken over Xiyang, Luoxia hates him for taking the position of the Immortal Lord of the Departed World, and the Underworld sees him as a thorn in its side. In addition, the two remaining True Lords probably all wish for his death. In this sense, Shaoyang Demon Lord has offended no fewer people than Emperor Mingyang. Mingyang has been herding for many years, and it is possible that Shaoyang has been testing him in the shadows, wanting to get rid of him as soon as possible! It's just that Mingyang's entry into the world has caused a great stir, and it is only known to the lower cultivators."

This made Li Ximing nod thoughtfully:
“No wonder…no wonder both the North and South tacitly allowed Xi Shaoyang to intervene. They might have been pushing Shengbai Daozhu to ask for ‘Shaoyang’ or to let Xi Yan take the position.”

He assessed the situation, secretly marveling at how turbulent the undercurrents were. He simply unfolded Liu Changdie's file and listened to Li Jiangqian's account.

The grand formation proposed by Liu Changdie is called the "Xiang Huo Qiu Xie Ling Formation". It has a unique idea: to use Xiping Mountain as a base to hide spirits and evil. When it is placed on the foundation of the formation, it means to lay the mysterious foundation in Xiping Mountain and hide the "Shen Yang Sui Guang" inside the mountain.

The mysteries here are extremely complex. Li Jiangqian, who was unfamiliar with formations, couldn't quite understand it. He roughly mentioned two advantages: first, severing the void stabilizes the formation's foundation, resulting in unexpected effects; second, Liu Changdie wanted to use the characteristic of the [Canyang Suiguang] to transform the evil energy of Shaoyang, causing it to suddenly emerge, secretly plotting against the person who would break the formation!
This immediately made the young man sit up straight with great interest, and he said:

"If the [Shenyang Suiguang] enters the body, it is comparable to the disaster of Wutu. Except for people like my father, it will almost completely destroy the Dharma body... If there is such a hidden move... it will give us more options."

Whether it's summoning it to fight when all hope is lost, or breaking the formation in an emergency when the lake is empty, it's an excellent choice. Li Jiangqian didn't regret it at all—if he couldn't protect his family's Purple Mansion, even a mountain of spiritual treasures would be useless. Just one effect was enough to greatly tempt him.

Li Ximing nodded in satisfaction. Li Jiangqian finally became serious and handed over the thing in his sleeve. It was a secret letter from Liu Changdie. The handwriting was sparse, but it made Li Ximing's expression change suddenly.

'Fu Xun, believing Tuo Du's words, was eaten by the 'Lesser Yang' Dragon King, one of the Four Divine Powers… The newcomer, a master of supernatural powers, deceived him, luring him into taking an elixir, and then led him into the reef to be eaten. His flesh was completely drained, his marrow dried up, leaving only a skeleton. He begged to be buried at the Three Delusional Mountains in the Western Sea…'

"Who's here?!"

Liu Changdie's writing style was plain, yet it revealed an extremely unusual emotion. Li Xi's shock was indescribable. In an instant, the demon king's once forthright words flashed through his mind, and his emotions were somewhat complicated.

'This is also a demon king at the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion realm! He ate it without hesitation!'

This was clearly beyond Li Ximing's expectations—Lu Xu had made a promise beforehand, and this man was, after all, a favorite of the Dragon King. Moreover, he knew very well what kind of existence this Demon King was now.

'Fu Xun also has some kind of evil, ghostly thing on him!'

He and Li Jiangqian exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes. Li Ximing placed the letter down and whispered:

“This Tuodu… is a demon from Sihai. I am somewhat familiar with him. Now that I see him, he is probably a member of the Dragon Clan.”

Li Jiangqian had clearly given this thought, and said in a deep voice:

“Each dragon has its own sea to graze, and each dragon king values ​​its own retinue highly. They will not easily cross the boundaries and extend their reach into other people’s seas… I believe that this person is very likely the successor to the Sea Dragon King!”

He pondered:
“Since Lu Xu has agreed to our request, it is unlikely that he would go back on his word… Fu Xun is an excellent medicinal ingredient. It is probably because he casually befriended others, which was discovered by this Si Hai Dragon King, who then secretly devoured him. He is either used to being domineering, or he has a secret feud with the Bei Hai Dragon King and stole his meal!”

"Moreover, he cultivates 'Lesser Yang'."

Li Ximing added, with a hint of apprehension:
"How could this be a coincidence? Since this demon king was possessed by an evil spirit and devoured it, how could it possibly have a good ending... Could it be... that it was originally here to plot against this Dragon King of the Sea!"

Li Jiangqian paced back and forth a couple of steps, hands behind his back, and asked suspiciously:

"Since it's Shengbaidao's method, then it must be... Xi Shaoyang?"

One evil spirit was already terrifying enough, but now it had also plotted against the Lesser Yang Dragon King, one of the Four Divine Powers. The two exchanged a glance, realizing that things had gotten far too serious. Li Ximing said anxiously:
"If something happens to the Dragon King, there will be a scapegoat no matter what. If the truth comes out one day, my family might not be blamed, but I'm afraid Senior Liu won't be able to save his life!"

Li Jiangqian remained silent and said:
"He was still thinking, 'I beg to be buried at the Three Delusional Mountains in the Western Sea!' I thought he would be sent back to his homeland in the Saha World."

The man shook his head with some regret and said:
“I know that the two of them have a deep friendship. [Sanwang Mountain] is where Fuxun and Qingyan were born. I don’t know where in the Western Sea it is. They probably don’t have any famous background. Besides, now that the Saha Kingdom has been occupied, how can they go back?”

Since it was certain that Fu Xun had no one backing him, the young man remained silent. Li Ximing pondered for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said:
"This is a difficult matter to agree to...it's a huge problem! Let's consider another possibility: what if that evil spirit wasn't eaten by the Dragon King and is still attached to the corpse? He's on the island, and if something happens to him, he could face a life-or-death crisis..."

Li Jiangqian roughly understood what he meant, considered it for a moment, and replied:
"In my opinion, this is a struggle between adults. Those who can see through this calculation can also see that it's all a move. We shouldn't be too aggressive here, lest we let the Dragon faction know that we saw through something was wrong... which would only cause trouble... We should just do what we usually do now."

Hearing this junior say:

“In this matter, my family has been wronged. Their family broke their promise and should be asked for compensation. If Senior Liu really abandons the island, his true colors will be exposed. In my opinion, it is best to let things develop as they may.”

He sensed that the elder before him was trying to protect his old friend, and became very alert, saying:

“If anything really happens, my family can’t protect him, just as he can’t protect Fuxun.”

Li Ximing paused for a moment and asked:

"what do you mean?"

Li Jiangqian said solemnly:

“Write a letter back to him, only saying that the lake is deeply saddened and that we have already inquired with Lu Xu. Do not mention the disposal of the remains or how to arrange them. Let us first see the reaction of the Dragon King of the Sea.”

Li Jiangqian paused for a moment, then continued:

"There's no need for your great-uncle to reply. I'll give him the reply under the pretext of alchemy."

This approach is relatively lenient. Li Ximing sighed and nodded, looking worried, and said:

"The affairs of the world are too complex to be calculated in. Survival or death is just a matter of momentary softness or hardness of heart. Just do your best."

After the two settled the matter, Li Jiangqian finally breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"There have been many ups and downs these days, but I have dealt with them all. However, there is one thing that I have been thinking about for a long time and I need to talk to my great-uncle about it in advance."

Li Ximing looked slightly doubtful as he listened to Li Jiangqian say:

"The war on the Great Western Plain has been quelled, and half of the cities that Jianmen once had have fallen into the hands of Western Shu. I heard that Daoist Shengbai has gone into seclusion to break through, and Qingji has suffered a minor defeat and is very dissatisfied... In my judgment, he will probably attack Zhao."

Li Ximing pondered for a moment, listening to him say:

"Qi Lanyan has just fallen, the Three Shi have lost their luster, the Helian family has one dead and one wounded, Guanhua Tianlou has greatly reduced its efforts, and the loss of Jianghuai is enough to restrain the Central Plains and Bo Lie Wang... Guanlong can only rely on its own strength, and it is impossible for Xishu not to fight."

The young man in the crimson robe had piercing eyes and said:

"This is an excellent opportunity—Has Grand Uncle considered whether Western Shu knows that my family has established a defense here? Will the Qing clan allow my family to erect a barrier, greatly reducing the possibility of them threatening the Song Kingdom from Wangyue Lake at any time?"

Li Ximing's expression changed abruptly. He stood up and said in a deep voice:

"You mean... Kyungje-bang!"

"Not bad!"

A gloomy glint flashed in Li Jiangqian's eyes:

“My sister and I once discussed whether to establish the cave heaven first or the great formation first. I firmly believe in the latter. At this time, Western Shu is too busy to attend to anything else. We can establish the formation and wait for them to be free. Given the grudges of the Qingji faction, how can they just stand by and watch us establish the Purple Mansion Great Formation in the desert? The whole world knows that Father cannot take action right now!”

"It will take at least two or three years, and at most four or five years, for the conflict between Shu and Zhao to reach a conclusion. If Qingji loses, it will be easier to deal with; but if they win..."

Li Jiangqian's gaze was gloomy:
"If I were him, I would surely take advantage of the victory to uproot the array base in our desert. Not only that, but under the guise of the Purple Mansion Battle, I would also destroy or disrupt all the spiritual veins in the desert, delaying our plan to resist the west by thirty to fifty years... This would definitely bring a breakthrough to the Western Shu strategy!"

"When will we have another chance to catch our breath? It's more likely that the Qing family will force us to set up our formations on the west bank in the future, so that we can't keep the enemy out of the lake. Instead, we'll have to fight a major battle on the lake!"

"good…"

Li Ximing pondered for a moment, then nodded, a slight chill running down his spine, and said:
"If that's what you're saying... I'm afraid we don't have much time left!"

Li Jiangqian said in a deep voice:

“Now all the manpower in the family has been mobilized, with building the array base as the top priority. I have secretly asked Situ Huo about Helian Wumeng’s two spiritual artifacts. He cultivates the Golden Fiend Technique and has a great fondness for fiend energy. He will probably be tempted... Even if he lowers the value of them, we must gather the materials for the array plate in a short time and hurry up to refine them.”

His gaze held a chilling glint as he said:
"Even with such urgency, the forging of the array plate is by no means a matter of one or two years. If the division between Shu and Zhao becomes clear in two or three years, there will probably be another great battle on the desert!"

Li Ximing's expression gradually turned ugly, and he said:
"Just look at how ruthless Qingji Fang is!"

"more than!"

A cold smile rose in Li Jiangqian's eyes as he replied:

"The Shu Kingdom is coming with great force, but the Song Kingdom's support may not be quick. Tinglan and Qiuhu are undoubtedly here, and Chen Zhenren will also do his best, but others may not be so. Yang Ruiyi is no longer in power, so it's not hard to find an excuse for him to be in seclusion or not in the country. After all, my family didn't give any prior notice... Why would they be waiting in the territory all the time? There are genuine and fake reasons, so it doesn't really count as offending them."

"I believe that... there will be quite a few people who will try to stir things up, interfere with, or test my father's injuries. If we cannot take this opportunity to contact the cultivators, exchange favors and spiritual resources for the nearest Jianghuai supernatural powers to provide emergency assistance, and at the same time put pressure on them in advance, my family will definitely suffer a great setback here—it would not be surprising if we were to perish in the Purple Mansion!"

His dark eyes gleamed with gold, and faintly tinged with red:

"If we are even a fraction slower in our calculations, my family will pay the price in blood!"