Xuanjian Xianzu

Chapter 1212 Quick Break
After consulting with his elders, Li Jiangqian took out the spiritual object and returned to the mountains. He carefully considered his words and replied to Liu Changdie. Meanwhile, Gongsun Baifan had already arrived in the mountains.

This guest minister had just returned from Jianghuai and looked travel-worn. He was getting old, and since guest ministers like him had no opportunity to learn supernatural powers, he had settled down and focused his attention on his descendants, which put Li Jiangqian at ease.

He was a surrendered official whom Li Zhouwei had recruited. Back when he was in Duxiandao, he had fought many battles with the Southern Capital and offended quite a few people. He was considered a lone official. He bowed in the mountains and heard the True Man above casually say:

How did Situ Huo respond?

Gongsun Baifan bowed slightly and said respectfully:

"Reporting to the Master, Master Situ... has gone into seclusion in the mountains."

"Retreat?"

Li Jiangqian frowned, his gaze darkening, and said:

"The letter arrived just a few days ago, why are you already in seclusion today?"

It's not uncommon for people to cultivate in seclusion in the Purple Mansion, but Situ Huo Mingming only emerged from seclusion a year ago!

'His previous seclusion was clearly to refine his supernatural powers, and I haven't heard any news about it, so I don't know if he succeeded or not... But whether he succeeded or not, it's not like he should be going into seclusion again in such a short time...'

Since Situ Huo neither refines elixirs nor forges weapons, and had just emerged from seclusion using supernatural powers, Li Jiangqian immediately became suspicious and asked:

"Is it really a period of seclusion? Who will answer you?"

Gongsun Baifan looked up and said:

"He is a minor cultivator from the Situ family, named Situ Xu. The Situ lineage has been severed, and this person was not originally from the Situ family. He changed his surname later and claims to be a relative of Master Situ... He said that no one answered in the cave."

Li Jiangqian put down his pen, and while checking his letters, he frowned and said:

"Oh?"

Was it intentional... or a coincidence?

Li Jiangqian was always suspicious. He was in a hurry to deal with the spiritual artifacts with Situ Huo when this person suddenly disappeared, which inevitably made him more cautious. He shook his head and thought to himself:
'Since Situ Huo has already attained the Profound Realm and is one of the best among the Three Supernatural Powers, whether he is in seclusion or has secretly gone somewhere... it's not a good thing...'

With too little information, Li Jiangqian couldn't glean anything. Since Situ Huo wasn't there, he couldn't force him to return. So he stood up, ordered someone to send the letter to the East Sea, and then changed his mind:

'Besides Situ Huo, the only other well-known Jinde Zifu master in Jianghuai is that Chang Yun Zhenren…'

In fact, Li Jiangqian had noticed Chang Yun, but this Chang Yun was really not a good choice—this person was unassuming, seemed to have many connections with Jin Yu, and possessed quite a few things, no less than those of the Li family…

'He might not even be interested in those two magical artifacts from the Helian family! I'll have to try Zhong Qian…'

He sighed, then started with Zhong Qian, sending a message to Cheng Yunmen, and also inquiring about Cheng Qian, Lin Gu Lan Ying, and others who might lack spiritual weapons but had received a share of spiritual items in the great battle. He thought to himself:

'I heard that Master Xianyao is severely injured, but due to the interference of supernatural powers, he is hanging on half-dead, and I don't know if he has perished today... Logically speaking, Chengqian is skilled in mercury magic, so protecting him for several years should not be a problem...'

He didn't care about Xian Yao's injuries, but if Xian Yao were to perish, the Song Dynasty and Yang Ruiyi should provide compensation to Cheng Qian, who would naturally be willing to exchange her for a magical artifact to save her life...

Furthermore, if the Song Dynasty gave Chengqian the "Complete Elixir," it would be best to exchange it for Que Wan.

So he immediately took it to heart and emphasized:

“Go to Guoling Peak and ask Master Chengqian… He said that Master Zhaojing is concerned about the injury of his elder and wants me to visit him.”

Gongsun Baifan nodded solemnly, responded, and withdrew. Li Jiangqian then turned and sat down, examining the jade slips placed on the table one by one. After waiting for a while, seeing Li Sui still coming up from the mountain, he smiled and said:
"It's troublesome, so it involves going back and forth."

The good nephew shook his head and bowed, replying:

"Uncle's words are serious!"

Li Jiangqian didn't say much, but sent over the diagram of the array base and asked:

"How long will it take? How many problems will there be? Are there any funding gaps?"

Li Sui took the thick scroll, read it carefully, and replied:

“Reporting to the True Immortal, spiritual resources are not a concern. With my family’s reserves, building this array foundation will only use up two or three tenths at most. Furthermore, now that Jianghuai has been newly restored, only my family’s market and spiritual fields are still intact in this vast territory. People from the north and east are coming to collect grain. Now, our annual income is three times what it used to be. Before the other families in Jianghuai recover their strength, it will be enough for my family to eat our fill.”

"As for this formation... it has twelve array bases, six of which are in the desert, which is easy to deal with. However, there are six more in Xiping, which will require us to penetrate into the mountains. If you were to personally handle this matter, it would probably take three to five years."

This speed is already extremely terrifying. The Li family is known for having many low-level cultivators, which gives them a great advantage in this kind of thing. The speed at which they forged the Guanggu Xuan Nail back then was astonishing. If it were any other family, it would have taken them more than ten years to complete it.

But Li Jiangqian was not satisfied:

"too slow."

Seeing the man frown and shake his head, Li Sui paused, understood his meaning, and said:
“Nephew is considering that the Jianghuai region is currently in ruins, and the prices of various spiritual resources are inflated… If we don’t mind this cost, we can shorten the time. If Uncle wants it to be even faster… we can have the peaks stop, and the Qi cultivators cross the mountains, perhaps we can finish within two years… but…”

Li Sui also solemnly said:
"It is a waste of manpower and resources."

Li Jiangqian finally showed some satisfaction, raising an eyebrow and saying:

"It doesn't matter if it burdens the people. Just provide more subsidies and promote more people. As long as the compensation is sufficient, it's all about money in the end. This is a waste of money... how much will it cost?"

The young man before him understood his meaning, calculated for a moment, and replied:

"Following Uncle's method, the rate will probably rise to around 30% or 40%."

After all, there's an even more troublesome secret realm to come, so saving every penny is a good thing. Li Jiangqian frowned and muttered:
"As expected, the consumption was enormous..."

Seeing him deep in thought, Li Sui whispered:
“My family has enough people, but what we lack is the backbone of those who are skilled in various arts. Fortunately, Suining is amazing in array formations. If he is in charge, and we have ten, twenty or even more array formation talents, and he is in charge of the command, we should achieve great results.”

"Li Suining".

Li Jiangqian then remembered the name, and vaguely recalled it. He nodded and said:

"I've heard he has an amazing talent for array formations, which even alarmed my great-uncle back then. Since that's the case, I'll take this opportunity to borrow some people from the Ziyan sect..."

He paused, then said quietly:
"Saving even a penny is great, but if we can't save any, so be it. I don't care if it's exhausting or costly; I must get the foundation in place within two years... If I can't, then it's not just a matter of exhausting and costly!"

The Purple Mansion Formation was naturally for defending against enemies, needless to say. Li Sui already knew this and retreated with great seriousness.

He remained silent in thought, his brows furrowed, and walked all the way to the lake shore, where he saw the young man arriving on thunder. Li Sui immediately composed himself and said solemnly:

"Brother, you've come at the right time! I was just about to go find you too!"

Li Suining has been reborn for the third time. He has already mastered all the techniques he needed to learn. His mastery of array formations is so profound that he only needs the Purple Mansion rank to assist him. In the past few days, he has been redrawing the secret methods of the cave heaven while keeping an eye on things at home. When he heard that Li Sui had been summoned to the mountains, he immediately came to find him.

The two brothers traveled to the center of the continent and sat down in the palace. They were served tea, and Li Sui handed over the diagram of the formation, saying:
"Take a look."

Li Suining had some doubts, but after taking the thick, heavy stack of text, he only glanced at it twice before becoming engrossed in reading it. Only after finishing the last line did he exclaim in admiration:
"Great!"

'No need to overthink it; such exquisite craftsmanship and ingenious design must be the work of that Immortal of Distant Transformation!'

Despite his amazement, he immediately began to ponder.

'It's not the [Heavenly Desert Flame Spirit-Separating Array], but the [Auxiliary Fire Seeking Evil Spirit Array]... It's definitely different now, sigh... I was hoping to use my past life's experience to build the array foundation faster...'

In his previous life, Qi Lanyan had not died, and his own King Wei had not suffered such serious injuries. However, if we compare the gains, Li Suining was almost certain that the gains this time would far exceed those of the previous battle, even though it was the same battle at Baihai!
'Not to mention Helian Wujiang's gains, the rewards from the Song Dynasty alone were far more lavish than in his previous life. The 'Shaoyang' spiritual object must have originated from here.'

Without a doubt, the [Xiang Huo Seeking Evil Spirit Array] is several levels more sophisticated and wondrous, which is ultimately a good thing. However, after reading it, Li Suining suddenly felt an ominous premonition.

But now… the King of Wei is injured.

His gaze gradually became serious:
'Qingji Fang definitely intends to hinder things on the lake, or rather, Western Shu doesn't want to lose the leverage of threatening Wangyue Lake as a bargaining chip with the Song Dynasty. In the second generation, Qingji Fang was repelled by the King of Wei... Now, who will step in?'

This discovery changed Li Suining's emotions. He remained silent for a long time. Li Sui, sitting opposite him, also did not speak, but leaned against the table, sipping tea and gazing at the moonlight outside the window.

'Situ Huo? Chang Yun? Or Ye Hui?'

After an unknown amount of time, Li Suining raised his eyebrows and noticed that his fourth brother had turned around and was quietly looking at him. He said:

"My elder brother is also worried about Western Shu."

Li Suining opened his mouth, but remained silent for a moment. Then Li Sui said in a low voice:

"That's not hard to guess."

He stood up and said:
“If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t want to bother you, brother. Things in the desert can’t be delayed for even a moment longer. The master has given us two years. If the great formation can be completed, both people and the formation will survive. If we don’t make it in time, I’m afraid the formation will be destroyed and people will die. How confident are you, brother?”

Upon hearing this, Li Suining felt a huge weight lifted from his heart and breathed a sigh of relief.

'As expected! Even without my reminder, someone who has lived two lives, Master Changli had already predicted that Western Shu would definitely attack... It's good that you know this...'

As long as Li Jiangqian can realize this danger, the risk will drop by nearly 70%. Li Suining certainly understands what is most useful for him at this moment. As a cultivator who once held the Purple Mansion rank, his personal handling of this matter is almost equivalent to a Purple Mansion Array Master condescending to give guidance in everything!

He said solemnly:
"Leave this to me!"

……

Orders were issued from the palace, and overnight, the political hub on Wangyue Lake began to operate at a rapid pace. Li Jiangqian did not hesitate at all. He instructed his nephew and immediately stepped into the void, revealing his figure in the purple-gold inner formation on the lake.

The purple-gold light in the main hall dimmed slightly, but a white jade pool appeared below the steps. The water in the pool was white and clear, with a few specks of silvery mercury floating on it. Various colored lights shone from it, and spiritual energy surged forth.

Sitting cross-legged was a middle-aged man in black, with a sinister and vicious face. His cheeks were covered with dense, reddish-silver patterns that rolled around like living things, emitting a dim, reddish light.

His aura fluctuated, vaguely suggesting a transcendence of the mortal world and an ascension to the void, yet he lingered between the Foundation Establishment stage and the Foundation Establishment stage. His cultivation was extremely refined, as if lifted up by some invisible force.

It is Li Wushao!
Li Jiangqian glanced at him, a hint of amazement in his eyes, but his gaze quickly swept past him and looked towards the main seat behind him, where a woman with a red dot between her eyebrows was sitting in deep concentration, practicing her cultivation by making hand seals.

Li Quewan combined the [Divine Edict] of the [Mysterious Edict Pill] and nurtured it within her divine power for more than half a year. Then she created this pool for Li Wushao to cultivate in. Although she could free up her hands to do other things, she also had to protect this spiritual treasure. Therefore, she did not enter the Sun and Moon Shining Together Heaven and Earth, but stayed here to cultivate.

Seeing him enter, the woman opened her bright eyes. Although her brother appeared quite calm, she could still sense his gloomy mood. Sure enough, she heard Li Jiangqian sigh:
"Situ Huo has disappeared."

Li Quewan paused for a moment and asked:

"Does my brother mean... someone is plotting against us?"

"Not necessarily, but it happens to be in our awkward position."

Li Jiangqian paced around the area twice, hands behind his back, then glanced at Li Wushao, who was submerged in the mansion's water, and asked:

"How much longer?"

Li Quewan decisively shook his head in regret and said:

"It's not a matter of a year or two. The original records said it would take at least thirty years. My family's Taiyin Lingcui is precious, and 'Hou Shen Shu' has the ability to bless and transform, but it will still take at least eight or nine years. For the first three years, Lingbao and I cannot leave each other. After three years, we can leave temporarily. After six years, he will drink the Lingcui and enter Lingbao, and then he will be free. After another three years, it will be accomplished."

Li Jiangqian was both pleased and worried upon hearing this, and said:
"As expected, it's untouchable... Fortunately, it hasn't been long; more than a year has passed already. Time flies, but..."

Seeing the woman looking at him with a puzzled expression, he said in a deep voice:

"In my opinion, the time spent collecting spiritual items must not be too long. Unfortunately, Situ Huo has dropped the ball again. Regardless of whether there is any news from Jiang Huai, we cannot wait idly."

"Fortunately, you handled things very well in Jiuqiu, and didn't agree to everything immediately, so we still have room to maneuver!"

Li Quewan immediately understood, frowned slightly, and said:

"Brother, you mean... the spirit fire of Jiuqiu [Qiaoping Li Fire]..."

Li Ximing originally intended this flame to aid his cultivation, but he lost another source of true fire. Li Quewan remembered this and wanted to replenish it for him. How could Li Jiangqian not understand this? He solemnly said:
"This matter cannot be delayed. If we survive this ordeal, and there is no suitable true fire to replenish Grand Uncle's power, you can simply dissolve my [Vast Desert Flame]!"

Although this elder brother was quite shrewd, he was absolutely decisive when it came to important matters. Li Quewan was also exceptionally intelligent and understood immediately, saying:
"In that case, I will send the materials for that array plate to Jiuqiu and exchange them for this Li Fire. That way, his family will have a new True Person, and it will be more convenient for them to travel to and from Jiangnan!"