The [Cangzhou Serpent Scale] is in hand!

Looking at the [Profound Owl Crossing Scene Furnace], he even felt a trace of regret. He thought to himself, It is excellent to use, but a pity it is not mine.

Li Ximing did not have many spirit materials on hand. With the [Surging Radiant Treasure Leaf] gone, only the [Under-Neck Feather] and [Consecration Silver] remained. He carefully stored the additional spirit material away like a treasure and thought, After sending over fifteen, I can still keep one or two. They are spirit pills after all and may prove useful at a critical moment.

He then looked at the jade pendant Liu Changdie had given him. It had awakened three to five days ago and was emitting a faint glow, clearly meaning the person had long been found. There could be no more delay. He withdrew his ability, rose, and stepped out of the hall. The sides were silent and empty, but Daoist Master Houfu, clad in Daoist robes, was waiting.

He smiled. "I saw the cloud qi surging and knew the pill was complete. I did not expect it to even carry a trace of Pit Water. Truly fine alchemical art!"

Li Ximing modestly demurred a few times and replied, "Senior overpraises me. I merely warmed the furnace and tested the Pill Flame and the qi currents of this treasured land. It is truly a first-rate place. I cannot help but envy it."

Houfu answered with a few modest words, but Li Ximing continued, "I still need to fetch an assistant to help refine pills for that friend. It happens to be a good chance for senior to meet him as well."

Stroking his beard, Houfu nodded. "Go without concern."

The Supreme Yang Dao lineage was weak at the moment, so Houfu naturally welcomed the chance to make more connections. Li Ximing took his leave, rose into the air, and crossed the great void all the way to Splitreed Island, following the link within the jade talisman.

Soon he passed beyond Splitreed Island and stopped above a nearby stretch of sea, then dove into the water. A silver pavilion rose from a reef, with soaring eaves gleaming red, carved beams and painted rafters richly adorned, and fish and shrimp weaving through it. It looked remarkably splendid.

With a sweep of his divine ability, Li Ximing recognized it as merely a Foundation Establishment Realm dharma artifact, though it held a few curious wonders. It was a temporary palace released for use, with little practical function beyond pleasure and built chiefly for enjoyment. He laughed inwardly, After all, he is a formation master, and he has spent so many years in the southern border. He lives quite lavishly.

He descended into the pavilion, where Liu Changdie sat cross-legged, his aura still fluctuating, as though he had only just finished a battle or used his divine ability. Seeing Li Ximing arrive, he opened his eyes at once and said with a smile, "Ximing, you're here!"

Li Ximing drew in his smile and raised a brow as he said, "This is..."

Liu Changdie waved it off as nothing, stretched out a hand, and smiling, pointed at the desk. Upon it sat a dark-hued casket of gold and iron. He said, "Ximing used the [Surging Radiant Treasure Leaf] earlier. I said I would make it up to you, so I specially brought this for you. Please have a look. Its value should be roughly comparable!"

Li Ximing naturally remembered the matter and knew Liu Changdie had not spoken idly, but he had not expected it to come so quickly. Somewhat surprised, he made a token refusal, but after a few words from the other man left him no room to decline, he could only smile, offer thanks, and step forward to open the casket.

The palm-sized casket had layered drifting clouds rippling in waves inside, with a milky white color as though it held a bowl of goat's milk. Li Ximing focused his divine ability between his brows and easily saw through the mist. There, at the very center, a delicate and fragile yellow-white wooden tendril floated. It was about three centimeters long and finely branched.

There was evidently another spirit formation within the casket. Even after he opened it, the spirit qi inside did not easily disperse. Liu Changdie smiled and said, "This is the [Wondrous Wisdom Tendril]. It is a provision for the [Gathering Wood] Dao, growing upon the [Lesser Broadjade Mountain] in the Western Sea. The moment it touches the ground, it escapes and cannot be found...

“It is contained using the True Essence Foundation Establishment Realm spirit item [Heart-Locking Cloud], and even then requires the support of formations. Otherwise, one careless moment and it will run off. A friend of mine obtained several portions on that mountain long ago and gifted them to me. I now pass one on to you, Fellow Daoist."

He smiled faintly and said with some embarrassment, "This thing can treat the Juque acupoint within the qihai, and it can also dispel [Boundless Essence]. If catalyzed with divine ability and cast into soil, it can cause trees to sprout and attract birds. Its uses are somewhat narrow... [Gathering Wood] is not prominent these days, and what is known of its uses amounts to only a line or two in books. Perhaps you may know more."

No wonder he felt awkward. This thing truly sat in an in-between place. At the Purple Mansion Realm, who would use a spirit item merely for the qihai? Liu Changdie shifted the topic and added, "The Western Sea is far, after all. It is the domain once held by the ancient Lord of Mansion Water. Without divine ability, it is hard to cross, and once one reaches the abyss of Inferior Water, it is greatly inconvenient even with divine ability. Few Purple Mansion Realm cultivators trouble themselves there, so while this thing is not especially precious, it has the virtue of rarity."

Li Ximing nodded repeatedly and sighed. "Senior is truly righteous!"

To be honest, a niche item like the [Wondrous Wisdom Tendril] certainly could not compare to a [Radiant Fire] spirit material at the height of its prominence, nor to the [Surging Radiant Treasure Leaf], which was useful to Li Ximing in every respect. But sacrifices were inevitable in obtaining Radiant Fire, and a single portion of [Surging Radiant Treasure Leaf] was hardly worth mentioning. It was only because Liu Changdie was so honorable that he still insisted on speaking of compensation. How could Li Ximing possibly object?

His own resources were not abundant either. After accepting it with heartfelt thanks, he heard Liu Changdie say, "Fellow Daoist Qingyan has been searching for a spirit item in this area... for quite some time now. I will call him back first..."

He looked rather moved as he turned to Li Ximing and said, "He too is burdened by fate. The True Monarch of the [Azure Manifestation] Dao fell in the north long ago and became a mountain. It is said his condition at the time of death was unusual, and the Dao has never flourished since. Whether spirit items or spiritual qi, they often can only be found upon that mountain, while elsewhere they are exceedingly rare...

"[Azure Manifestation] is also peculiar in that many arts and divine abilities urgently require those Azure Manifestation provisions. But who dares go north? So he has wandered everywhere for all these years. I hear he only managed to obtain a few things in Jiangnan, and later even Jiangnan had nothing left, leaving him to roam all the more."

Jiangnan... the only renowned [Azure Manifestation] lineage there is the Yuan Family...

Li Ximing pondered in silence, and his heart suddenly jolted, It seems the grand Yuan Family of Mushroom Forest Plain has likely had its treasury treated as this demonic creature's private backyard more than once!

If this demonic creature is like this, others cultivating Azure Manifestation in the world are likely no better... Yuan Huyuan said the Yuan Family used up all the spirit items left by their ancestors... but were they truly used up, or did they vanish without a trace? That remains unknown. Purple Mansion Realm cultivators may naturally disdain Azure Manifestation spiritual qi, but how many secluded ancestors and gifted geniuses who died young ended up buried in some creature's belly!

The Yuan Family's decline was no accident... That its bloodline still prospers today is only because someone in Jiangnan has acted for the sake of the [Yanyang Temple] inheritance. So long as the Yuan Family cultivates [Azure Manifestation], each day remains a day of despair...