Elder Council

The next morning, Li Xuan was awakened by a knock at the door.

It was Yun Qingxuan.

She stood outside the courtyard gate, holding a jade slip, with no intention of coming in.

"Elder Council, at the hour of Chen." She handed over the jade slip. "Elder Bai Chen specifically named you and wants you to attend."

Li Xuan accepted the jade slip but did not hurry to look at its contents.

He noticed that Yun Qingxuan had changed her clothes today—a dark teal robe with silver Cloud Pattern embroidered on the cuffs. The Crimson Sword at her waist had been replaced by a more formal longsword, and a pale blue spirit stone was set into its scabbard.

They were the sect's formal clothes.

"You don't look like you just woke up," Yun Qingxuan said. Her gaze paused on his face for a moment before shifting away.

"Let's go."

The Discussion Hall stood atop Crimson Firmament Peak, higher than both the Contribution Hall and the Cultivation Method Pavilion.

By the time Li Xuan arrived, seven people were already seated inside.

Bai Chen sat in the seat of honor. His beard and hair were completely white, his face lean and refined, and steam rose from the teacup before him.

On his right sat Elder Ziyue, an elder of the inner sect's Pill Department. Today, she wore luxurious purple robes, her hair coiled up with a white jade hairpin inserted through it.

On his left sat Hei Yan, an elder of the Discipline Hall. He was still wearing that drab gray robe, with his heavy sword laid across his knees and his eyes closed as if dozing.

Zhou Qian sat below Hei Yan. The black martial uniform of the Shadow Division stood out especially sharply among the group of elders.

Several sheets of paper were spread before him. He held a pen in his hand and was writing something.

Yun Qingxuan sat at the very end, her back ramrod straight and both hands resting on her knees.

There were also two people Li Xuan had never seen before.

One was a middle-aged woman seated below Elder Ziyue. She was in her forties, with a gentle face, dressed in a plain-colored robe, and wore a string of medicine pouches around her waist. She was probably from the Medical Hall—the person who had taken over after Qin Henian's death.

The other was an old man seated opposite Bai Chen. He was in his sixties or seventies, with graying hair, dressed in a blue Daoist robe washed pale from wear. He wore cloth shoes and held a folding fan in his hand, its surface painted with a mountain.

"Everyone's here." Bai Chen spoke in a low voice, but everyone in the hall fell silent.

He looked at Li Xuan. "Sit."

Li Xuan sat down beside Yun Qingxuan.

Bai Chen lifted his teacup, took a sip, and set it down.

"I called you here today for three matters. First, tell us again about what happened in the Northern Territory. Second, the Elder Council will discuss the threat level of Gurqin's Main Body. Third, we'll decide what to do next."

He paused and looked at the old man with the folding fan. "This is Xiao Tieyi, Elder Xiao, a Grand Elder of the sect. He spends most of the year wandering outside and only returned yesterday."

Xiao Tieyi nodded at Li Xuan and spun the folding fan once in his hand.

Li Xuan stood and began with Black Stone Market. He kept things as concise as possible but covered all the crucial points.

When he reached the part about his breakthrough, his tone was utterly calm, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself.

The hall fell silent for a while.

Hei Yan opened his eyes and stared at Li Xuan. "You said you broke through to the sixth level of the Inner Qi Realm?"

"Yes."

"Less than a month ago, when you first entered the inner sect, you were still at Body Tempering Realm Level 9. In one month, you crossed an entire major realm?" Clear suspicion colored Hei Yan's voice. "What did you eat?"

Li Xuan looked at him. "Blood. Gurqin's blood."

Hei Yan's brows furrowed.

Xiao Tieyi's folding fan paused before beginning to turn again.

Bai Chen raised a hand, stopping Hei Yan from continuing his questions. "Steward Liu has already verified the matter of the breakthrough. He visited Li Xuan last night and said that his foundation was extremely stable. It didn't look as though he had piled his cultivation up with pills."

Li Xuan's heart stirred. Steward Liu had come last night? He had not known. He had fallen asleep soon after lying down and had not sensed anyone entering the courtyard.

Hei Yan snorted and said no more.

Elder Ziyue spoke in a gentle voice. "How are your injuries? I heard from the Medical Hall that you had quite a few old wounds when you returned."

"They've already healed," Li Xuan said.

"The recovery speed of the Blood Fiend Diamond Body is indeed impressive." Elder Ziyue nodded. "But don't force yourself just because your body is strong. Injuries to the meridians can't be seen from the outside. If they accumulate over time, they'll cause problems. Come to the Pill Department in two days. I'll examine you."

Li Xuan nodded.

Bai Chen brought the topic back. "What is the Shadow Division's assessment of Gurqin's Main Body?"

Zhou Qian set down his pen and pushed the sheets of paper before him forward.

"Based on Li Xuan's account, Gurqin's Main Body now possesses at least the strength of the Grandmaster Realm. Moreover, he cultivated beneath the Black Abyss for three hundred years. His trump cards go beyond what we've seen." He paused. "But there is one piece of good news—he hasn't fully recovered. After Qin Lie scattered his physical body thirty years ago, his soul body was never able to find a suitable vessel. His current body was temporarily condensed from Yin Fiend Qi, so it's unstable."

"How unstable?" Bai Chen asked.

Zhou Qian looked at Li Xuan. "When your punch pierced through his chest, what did it feel like?"

Li Xuan thought for a moment. "Like punching through rotten wood. It was very brittle, but after breaking apart, it quickly gathered back together."

"That's the instability." Zhou Qian said, "His body is like a pile of sand. It can regroup after being scattered, but every time it does, it consumes part of his soul force. If we can keep attacking and force him to regroup again and again, his soul force will be worn down more and more."

Hei Yan sneered. "Keep attacking? Who can get close to him? His Wolf Soul and Stone Wolf alone would be enough to give us a bellyful of trouble."

Bai Chen did not respond. Instead, he looked at Xiao Tieyi.

Xiao Tieyi folded away his fan and tapped it twice against the table.

"I traveled through the Northern Territory for several years and saw similar things." He said, "A soul body like Gurqin fears neither swords nor axes. It fears 'intent.' Pure-Yang intent, killing intent, protective intent—as long as the 'intent' is strong enough, it can wound his foundation."

He looked at Li Xuan. "What was that new ability of yours called again?"

"Crimson Blood True Gang Qi."

"The name isn't important." Xiao Tieyi said, "The key is that you fused the Red Sun Scripture with Blood Fiend Gang Qi, giving you both 'pure Yang' and 'killing' intents. It's still very crude, but you're headed in the right direction."

Bai Chen nodded. "So Li Xuan is the key."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Hei Yan spoke. "Are you saying we should send a disciple at the sixth level of the Inner Qi Realm to fight Gurqin, a Grandmaster Realm cultivator?"

"Not have him fight alone." Bai Chen said, "Have him lead the team."

Li Xuan looked at Bai Chen, waiting for him to continue.

"The Shadow Division will send a team to accompany you. The sect will also allocate resources." Bai Chen said, "But only your Crimson Blood True Gang Qi can injure Gurqin's Main Body. The others aren't there to kill him. They're there to create opportunities for you."

Li Xuan fell silent for several breaths.

He was thinking about how to agree while securing the most resources possible.

"I need three things," he said.

Bai Chen raised his chin, signaling for him to continue.

"First, all the records Qin Lie left behind in the Northern Territory. The Shadow Division has them, but I haven't finished reading them. Second, protective equipment that can withstand Yin Fiend Qi. The Yin Qi beneath the Black Abyss is too heavy. I can endure it, but the people going with me can't. Third..." He paused. "The whereabouts of Yan Wugui."

That final name made several people in the hall change expression at the same time.

Hei Yan's brows drew together into a knot. Elder Ziyue's fingers paused on the tabletop. Even Bai Chen fell silent for several breaths.

Xiao Tieyi showed no reaction. He merely spun his folding fan once more.

"You want to find him?" Bai Chen asked.

"He said something once." Li Xuan said, "He helped Gurqin not for power, but to save someone. I want to know who that person is."

"What good will knowing do?"

"Maybe it will make him defect." Li Xuan said, "Maybe it won't. But at the very least, before killing Gurqin, I want to know what really happened thirty years ago."

Bai Chen looked at him for a long time before nodding.

"The Shadow Division will compile Qin Lie's records for you. As for the protective equipment, Elder Ziyue, go look through the storehouse. There should be something suitable." He turned to Zhou Qian. "How much have you found about Yan Wugui's whereabouts?"

Zhou Qian flipped through the papers before him. "Three months ago, someone saw him in the Southern Territory. In a small town in Qing Prefecture, near the border with the barbarian tribes. He stayed there for three days, then disappeared."

"The Southern Territory?" Hei Yan frowned. "What was he doing there?"

"We don't know." Zhou Qian said, "But there is an ancient barbarian tomb near that town. It's three hundred years old. Supposedly, a shaman is buried there."

Li Xuan committed this information to memory.

Bai Chen tapped the table. "The third matter—who will go to the Northern Territory with Li Xuan?"

Yun Qingxuan spoke first. "I will."

Hei Yan glanced at her without saying anything, but his expression was rather unpleasant.

Shi Yong was not present, but Li Xuan knew that he would go. Shadow would go too. Su Ying... Li Xuan was uncertain. Their last trip to the Northern Territory had nearly scared her out of her wits, and he could not bear to take her there again.

"The Shadow Division will send two people." Zhou Qian said, "Shadow counts as one. The other is on the way."

"That's enough." Bai Chen said, "Too many people will only get in the way. Li Xuan, go back and prepare. We leave in three days."

He stood, bringing the meeting to an end.

The others left one after another.

When Li Xuan reached the doorway, Xiao Tieyi's voice came from behind him.

"Boy, wait."

Li Xuan turned around. Xiao Tieyi was still seated where he had been, his folding fan now closed and resting on the table. He looked at Li Xuan differently than before, as if he were looking at an unfinished piece of raw material that had yet to be polished.

"What did that old man Qin Lie teach you?"

Li Xuan thought for a moment. "He never taught me. He left a letter."

Xiao Tieyi nodded, as if satisfied with the answer.

"Did that letter mention that 'there's more than Gurqin beneath the Black Abyss'?"

Li Xuan's pupils contracted slightly.

"No."

"Then that's right." Xiao Tieyi stood, picked up his folding fan, and walked over to Li Xuan. "He didn't dare write it. He was afraid that if you saw it, you wouldn't dare go."

"What else is beneath the Black Abyss?"

Xiao Tieyi did not answer. He patted Li Xuan on the shoulder and walked past him.

"When you return, I'll tell you."

His footsteps gradually faded away.

Li Xuan stood in the empty Discussion Hall, watching Xiao Tieyi's back disappear at the end of the corridor.

Wind poured in from outside the hall, blowing the papers on the table into a rustling clamor.

He turned and headed toward Courtyard 7.

That afternoon, Li Xuan was packing his things in Courtyard 7.

Shi Yong pushed the door open, carrying a bundle. He set it on the table.

"I'm going too."

Li Xuan glanced at him. "Are your injuries healed?"

"Not completely, but they won't get in the way." Shi Yong lifted his clothes, revealing the wound on his back. It had scabbed over but had not fallen away yet, and the edges were a little red. "Old Qin said it would be healed after another half a month. But I can't wait half a month."

"Why not?"

Shi Yong was silent for a while before saying in a muffled voice, "Zhou Wu came to see me yesterday. His leg still hasn't healed, and he was using a crutch. He said Zhou Wen's corpse couldn't be found. The Shadow Division turned the entire mine upside down but found nothing."

The movement of Li Xuan's hands stopped.

Zhou Wen's Corpse.

Gurqin had borrowed it in the Black Abyss. After Gurqin's power dissipated, the corpse should have been left there. But the Shadow Division had not found it?

"He asked me to pass along a message." Shi Yong said, "'Whatever killed my little brother, no matter what it is, butcher it for me.'"

Li Xuan put the Blood Wolf Saber into the bundle and tied it shut.

"Then let's go."

That night, Li Xuan practiced with his saber in the courtyard.

Crimson Blood True Gang Qi spread from the blade, condensing into a three-foot-long chain in the air.

The chain spun and lashed against the old plum tree in the courtyard, leaving a charred black mark on its trunk.

He tried to split the chain, turning one into two. The two chains twisted through the air like snakes, entangling one another before colliding and exploding into a spray of sparks interwoven with crimson gold and blood red.

It still wasn't stable enough.

He withdrew the chain and condensed it again.

Footsteps sounded outside the door.

It was Yun Qingxuan.

She stood at the courtyard gate without coming in, holding a wooden box.

"Elder Ziyue asked me to bring this to you." She placed the wooden box on the threshold. "Protective equipment. Low-grade Profound Rank, Python Scale Armor. It's made from the hide of a Northern Territory Cold Pool Python and can withstand Yin Fiend Qi."

Li Xuan walked over and opened the wooden box. Inside lay a dark teal soft armor, cool and smooth to the touch, like snakeskin. He lifted it and weighed it in his hand. It was light, even lighter than padded clothing.

"Thanks."

Yun Qingxuan did not leave. She stood at the courtyard gate, looking at the old plum tree.

"I'm going too." She said, "The Shadow Division didn't send me. I'm going of my own accord."

Li Xuan looked at her.

"At Iron Wall City, I couldn't save General Wang." Yun Qingxuan's voice was flat, but Li Xuan noticed that the hand gripping her sword was tighter than usual. "This time, I don't want to stand in the back anymore."

The wind blew in from the north, stirring her dark teal robes.

Li Xuan put on the Python Scale Armor. It fit perfectly.

"Three days from now, at the hour of Mao, North Mountain Gate."