Twin turtles entwined, with black and white interwoven.

A wine vessel painted with golden patterns against a deep blue base shimmered faintly, casting a dim, chilling glow. In the center, a pool of white water rippled with iridescent light. A middle-aged man draped in a white fur cloak, a jeweled ornament at his waist, leaned against the edge of the pool with his eyes closed.

Three vertical silver markings flickered with light between his eyebrows. One hand pressed against the pool as soft white iridescence poured down and churned across the water's surface.

The Daoist Master silently pondered, At last, there is a response... [Treasury Beam Silver]... with this resonance, I should be able to glimpse those things sealed away within interlocking confinement.

As he was still thinking, a man descended through the air. A small vermilion bird circled around him as he called out with a smile, "Senior Liu!"

Liu Changdie raised his head, the radiance of his divine ability gradually fading, and replied, "Ximing, you've come out of seclusion. How did it go?"

"I've made some progress!" Li Ximing was quite satisfied with the results of this cultivation session and answered with a smile, "And this [Profound Turtle Mansion-Stabilizing Spirit Formation]... how is it?"

Liu Changdie's expression turned serious as he replied, "I've made some gains as well... This formation... is quite astonishing."

With a light turn of his hand, clusters of light fell into his sleeves. Liu Changdie said solemnly, "Ximing, you know that my [Stored Metal] Dao lineage is one of accumulation and containment. The Unified-Stored Interlocking Seal carries an extremely broad symbolic meaning. Most cave dwellings, grotto heavens, and secret realms all bear the symbolism of interlocking seals..."

"That is why when the formations of those before are lightly laid across the mountains, those who come after can no longer find them. Minor sects, rogue cultivators, and devil cultivators can only rely on chance and sheer luck to obtain small cave dwellings. As for ones at the Purple Mansion Realm, they need not even dream of it.

"Even cultivators of the Purple Mansion Realm, far stronger than most, must start with a fixed location. They must then either cast divine abilities or use illusion-breaking methods to search inch by inch before they have any chance of finding them... Even now, countless ancient cave dwellings and secret realms remain lost without a trace."

He said softly, "As for my [Stored Metal] Dao lineage, which embodies the accumulation aspect of formations, it holds certain innate advantages... Over the years, I have gained various benefits one by one, all tied to this Dao lineage."

"Oh?!" Li Ximing pondered briefly before asking, "Senior, Does that mean you possess the ability to break formations?"

"Not so!" Liu Changdie shook his head. "The [Unified-Stored Interlocking Seal] is no mere concept. [Stored Metal] has had too much of its mysticality hidden away. As things stand, I cannot speak of breaking formations. At most, I can only observe and retrieve. If you speak of breaking formations, that falls under [Transforming Wood] and [Manifest Earth]. Though [Treasury Beam Silver] is closely tied to formations... it does not excel in that regard."

Wood Virtue had waned between heaven and earth. Of what remained, [Horn Wood] was naturally the most renowned. Beyond that were the Si Family's [Orthodox Wood] and Daoist Master Luo's [Gathering Wood], while the other two Wood lineages had long vanished without a trace.

Li Ximing replied, "I've heard a little about it... what kind of Dao lineage is [Transforming Wood]?"

Liu Changdie shook his head with a smile as he said, "It cannot be considered a particularly formidable Dao lineage, nor is it well known. It is simply that those of us who study formations must keep track of these Dao lineages that specialize in breaking them. As for [Manifest Earth], I heard that the Pavilion Viewing faction's [Terrain-Breaking Formation Blade] belongs to that lineage, so I made a point to remember it."

He lowered his head slightly at the mention of the Pavilion Viewing Dao lineage and continued, "As for [Transforming Wood], in the present day, its traces can mostly only be found through certain Dao lineage records or transformations of spirit items. As for the final Wood... it has vanished without a trace.

"As for my [Stored Metal], aside from aiding in the construction of formations, it can now also help Zhaojing take a look at the treasures beneath."

He placed a hand on the edge of the pool, and his divine ability surged forth. The water immediately began to boil, quickly turning transparent. The transparency spread from top to bottom, gradually rendering the pristine white poolbed clear. Amid this transformation, a deep azure hue grew increasingly vivid.

Taking the opportunity, Liu Changdie explained, "Purple Mansion Realm spirit formations are usually anchored by Purple Mansion Realm spirit items. Some of the more powerful formations even have several spirit artifacts beneath them. When the formation is not deployed, they are all stored within the formation plate and cannot be seen. Only when the formation is laid out do they move about in unpredictable paths, occasionally settling into key nodes."

He made a slight grasping motion, as if struggling to seize something. The transparency beneath his feet expanded further, revealing layers upon layers of formation patterns and incantations. Tens of thousands of small flags were fixed within the formation.

The glowing small flags had white patterns on black bodies, and were packed tightly together. They were arranged like a vortex, with all their bases pointing in the same direction.

Where those bases intersected, a small azure orb was held firmly in place by the divine ability of [Treasury Beam Silver], emitting a crystalline glow. Streams of Mansion Water energy poured down into the orb from above, underwent layers of refinement, and were released once more.

"Hm?"

As this scene came into view, Li Ximing's brows furrowed at once, uncertainty and suspicion flashing across his face. Liu Changdie was clearly just as surprised. He abruptly stood and said in doubt, "This..."

The object hidden within the formation, its anchor, the key to its workings, the very source of the [Feather Transformation Pool], was not a spirit item at all, but a spirit artifact!

Li Ximing's pupils suddenly contracted. Though the azure orb was not in his hand, its shimmering light and the faint patterns above it had already entered his sight. It blended seamlessly with the entire formation and was likely an object belonging to its master's Dao lineage. A strong sense of familiarity welled up within him, and he suddenly thought of someone.

Li Quantao!

Although the orb before him was more exquisite, and its color no longer white but a mysterious azure, it was clearly of the same kind as the [Water Wall Pearl] once held by Li Quantao! 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

There must be a connection between the two. The [Water Wall Pearl] may very well have been crafted in imitation of this very object!

Although Li Ximing had not had much contact with this man, and by the time they truly met he had already reached the Purple Mansion Realm, making any association unnecessary, he had still seen that famed dharma artifact back then. He had quietly admired it, committing it to memory at first sight!

How could this be related to him? Hongxue Gate? The Li Family?

No... that's not right!

A strange light flashed through Li Ximing's eyes as he sifted through everything he knew, finally recalling, The [Water Wall Pearl] is an ancient dharma artifact... Li Encheng obtained it from the [Mifann Dao lineage]. It has nothing to do with the Hongxue Li Family... which means... tracing it back to its source, the master of the Zhen Tao Residence may have been a cultivator of the [Mifann Dao lineage]...

According to Brother Xizhi, the [Water Wall Pearl] was actually modeled after Emperor Wu of Great Liang's Converging Water and Inferior Water pearls. Yet it only became a dharma artifact. What lies before us was likely modeled after a Dharma relic... meaning the [Water Wall Pearl] is an imitation of an imitation...

What kind of connection could there be between Great Liang and Douxuan...?

As he pondered this, Liu Changdie, standing nearby, stared intently at the countless flags swirling like an endless vortex.

He examined them one by one, his shock deepening until he asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you recognize these flags?!"

Li Ximing gave them a glance, somewhat puzzled, but Liu Changdie said in a heavy tone, "Back when I went to your esteemed family to set up a formation, I was fortunate enough to study one of your formation flags. It also bore white patterns on a black body... That item came from Wan Huaqian and was called the [White Feather Purple Flags]. These small flags formed within the formation look strikingly similar to it!"