The Pixiu

Li Fan realized that not only were the people of the Beichen Sword Sect insane, but their swords were all insane too. That kick was like a truck crashing into him; it practically sent his soul flying and almost caused internal injuries to his Nascent Soul Stage. They really had no mercy...

However, the rabbit didn't follow him out of the door, and Li Fan couldn't figure out what had just happened.

Li Fan vaguely remembered that Profound Heaven Sword Intent had mentioned hiding his forged flying swords in various parts of the Central Plains, instructing Li Fan to search for them at the bottom of cliffs one by one. Why are these flying swords now gathered at Yuntai Peak? Moreover, this treasure vault must have been built after the Beichen Sword Sect was wiped out, right? Why does the long-lost Sword Ancestor Xuantian have a warehouse? Did the disciples of the Beichen Sword Sect take his flying swords? Or did the Xuanmen sect get there first and collect all of Xuan Tian's flying swords?

After returning to my Dao body, I'll check if there's an extra Nascent Soul Stage flying sword in the jade pendant. Then I'll have the Profound Heaven Sword Intent communicate with this rabbit and teach this little thing who's in charge in Li Family Village!

A moment later, Tongzi Jia Gui also came out, bringing Li Fan a small gift. "Thank you for your care, Master. I have received the Golden Core, and I didn't expect that every single one of them would be of the highest quality. I feel quite embarrassed to have received such care from you, so please accept this little gift as well."

"... What is this?"

Li Fan looked curiously at the small animal perched on Jia Gui's shoulder. It was silver-gray in color, had six legs, a pair of small wings on its back, and two bumps on its head, as if its horns had not yet grown. At first glance, it looked a bit like a raccoon and a bit like a mink, and it also seemed to be some kind of spirit.

Doesn't he have a lot of cute-looking things around him?

"This is a mythical beast called Pixiu, a lucky beast specially bred by Yuntai Peak. It can ward off evil spirits, protect the home, swallow wealth and guard treasures. It is specially used to hold Spirit Coins."

Its original form has already been delivered to your storage. Mine is still small, so it usually just serves as a money pouch. If it encounters any evil spirits or malevolent forces nearby, it will bark a couple of times to give a warning. However, if you're willing to raise it until it grows up, it can exorcise evil spirits and catch ghosts on its own, and it can even be used as a mount.

These are quite rare outside. I can ask my senior brothers at the sect for another one. I'll give you this one though.

The Pixiu leaped from Jia Gui's shoulder and landed in Li Fan's palm. Li Fan had a thought, and the Pixiu puffed out its mouth, spitting a silver coin into Li Fan's hand. That silver coin was actually a spirit! And it could move on its own, jumping around Li Fan. It tried to run away when it saw an opportunity, but the Pixiu pounced and caught it, carrying it back to Li Fan in its mouth.

Seeing Li Fan's stunned expression, Jia Gui knew that this country bumpkin cultivator probably didn't know much about the Spirit Coins, so he explained it to him again.

Li Fan had actually seen the physical forms of the three coins —Divine Hardness, Bi Bing, and Xue Zhu—in the mortal realm. They were all round coins with a square base and a round shape. However, the Divine Astral Coin was reinforced with Divine Astral Zhenqi to prevent rust, the Blood Coin was refined with beast blood and demonic energy to prevent counterfeiting, and the Spirit Coins coin, made of silver, was merely a simple vessel or magical Magic Treasure. More precisely, the Spirit Coins actually refers to the spirit within the coin, which is equivalent to the spirit of Magic Treasure.

In Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land like Yuntai Peak, surrounded by abundant spiritual energy, spirits like Pixiu and Spirit Coins can freely take shape and manifest, making them convenient for cultivators and their young disciples in their primordial spirit and soul state to use.

When they arrive in the mortal realm where spiritual energy is insufficient, they will attach themselves to coins, Magic Treasure, and ornaments to go dormant. For example, the Pixiu in Li Fan's hand is a magical Magic Treasure that resides in the mortal realm: a talisman for warding off evil spirits, which is a silver ornamental talisman that looks similar to Tiger Tally. Only in a blessed land of immortals, where spiritual energy is abundant, can it come back to life.

Such Spirit Coins and coins for warding off evil spirits can protect against malevolent forces and demonic influences simply by placing one in the home. In fact, if combined with protective talismans, these Spirit Coins can automatically ward off evil spirits and demons, making them as effective as Foundation Establishment cultivators and newly formed Core Formation monsters, capable of severely injuring or killing them with a single blow.

However, precisely because of this almost magical nature, in places where spiritual energy is insufficient, the spiritual power of the talisman and the Spirit Coins will gradually dissipate, which is also detrimental to the cultivation of the spirit of the object and the spirit of the coin. Therefore, the Spirit Coins is not suitable for circulation in the human world and is mainly kept and used in Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land.

"Moreover, the spirit money for warding off evil spirits is a great tonic for 'object' cultivators and artifact spirits. If an artifact spirit is damaged, it also needs to consume a large amount of Spirit Coins spirits to heal. There are so many artifact spirits in the Xuanmen who have attained enlightenment, and many masters who have transformed into objects to avoid calamities. No amount of Spirit Coins evil spirits is enough for them, so how could it be distributed to mortals?"

"Hmm? The spirit was injured and needs the Spirit Coins for treatment?" Upon hearing this, Li Fan's eyes lit up. "Is there any market on Yuntai Peak where one can exchange large amounts of Spirit Coins?"

"Master, is your magic weapon damaged? It would be best to have it repaired by a weapon refiner. Yuntai Peak doesn't actually have any specialized shops or markets for it," Jia Gui explained. "Because there are too few True Cultivator in the Xuanmen sect, many of the supplies needed for cultivation can be exchanged within their own sects. Only when cultivators occasionally hold banquets or give lectures will they exchange some magic weapons and items. If there's a difference in the amount, they'll use their 'Spirit Coins' to make up the difference. But such private gatherings require an invitation from the host to attend."

Li Fan saw what the boy was worried about, smiled, snatched the Spirit Coins from the Pixiu's mouth, and tossed it to Jia Gui, "I'm not looking to exchange pills for Spirit Coins. I'm looking for a spirit that was recently severely injured and probably needs a lot of money to heal. Do you have any information?"

Jia Gui immediately laughed, "Look at my memory! I remember now, recently a top clan of the Immortal Palace is hosting a banquet, probably to discuss the war with the Divine Sect. Perhaps there will be a trade of magical treasures outside, and maybe I can meet the person you're looking for. I'll try to bring the True Person in and ask for a drink."

"Oh? The Immortal Palace's powerful clans trade magical artifacts? You mean the Xiao Family?"

"Hehe, the Xiao Clan is still a little lacking at Yuntai Peak."

Li Fan turned his head and glared at him, "Are we talking about the Xiao Family in Lanling?"

As Jia Gui led the way, he explained, "Times have changed. Now, the Xiao Family head is only one of the Nine Ministers. He has absolute authority in Lanling, but they have no say in Si Prefecture. Today's banquet is Central Guard of the Three Palaces."

"Central Guard? What kind of official is the Central Guard? Is he even more powerful than the Nine Ministers?" Li Fan felt that he should also find a book on officialdom and memorize it, just like Xuan Tian.

Fortunately, Jia Gui was a civil official, specializing in handling miscellaneous matters for the immortals in the mountains. His dealings with the imperial court were obviously also miscellaneous matters. Although Jia Gui was still an apprentice, just like the people of a certain Yang District and taxi drivers who knew everything about national affairs, he had seen a lot of things firsthand. Seeing that Li Fan was willing to throw Spirit Coins to ask questions, he was happy to show off and explain.

"The Central Guard was originally called the Protector General, a staff officer in the Grand Commandant's office, ranking in the general's staff. Originally, it was a military post that took over the command of the Imperial Guards and was not among the court officials. Later, the Three Ba Fu were frequently replaced, and it was too troublesome to keep changing the seals of the staff officers in the Three Hegemons' offices. So the Three Palaces specially established the position of Central Guard General, who was in charge of the key points of the Six Armies and held the power of selection. He commanded all the generals of the Imperial Guards and was in charge of the palace guards."

The position of Central Guard is crucial, and it is usually filled by a trusted confidant appointed by the head of one of the three powerful clans in the region. This current Central Guard is none other than the eldest son of the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty."

"The Grand Tutor's son?" Li Fan was taken aback. No wonder, the Grand Tutor was the de facto leader of the Three Palaces, and his eldest son held considerable power over the Imperial Guard. He was indeed a very influential figure, a powerful core person in the Immortal Palace who could make decisions.

Li Fan followed Jia Gui to a fairy island, where he indeed saw many immortals gathered. There were layers upon layers of immortal generals guarding the island, and Daotong and the earth. Every now and then, figures dressed as generals would come and go, which was probably a magical artifact of the Xuanmen sect. It was the soldiers at the front line using the method of astral projection to directly transmit urgent military reports to Yuntai Peak.

Meanwhile, cultivators continued to leave the manor, fly out of the immortal island, and head towards the sword-fighting arena, probably to inform the chess players who were setting up their pieces and making calculations about the latest developments in the situation.

It seems that this Central Guard is the person in charge of communication and coordination with the Immortal Palace. The fact that the Grand Tutor is entrusted with this important position shows that the Three Palaces (San Yuan) value it highly.

Those who could attend such important occasions were basically core figures of the Immortal Palace and the Mystic Sect. When Jia Gui saw the bustling crowd, he knew that something had probably happened at the front line, so he couldn't take Li Fan any further. In fact, the two of them had only been pointing and whispering on the side for a short while when security guards came up and asked them to leave.

"How dare you! What evil spirit is spying on us here!"

At this moment, the immortal general appeared before Li Fan, wielding three double-edged swords and wearing the Iron Falcon Bright Armor. Two beams of blue light shot from his eyes, enveloping Li Fan and Jia Gui.

In fact, the cultivation of the trashy Nascent Soul Nascent Soul Stage in the Immortal Palace is all based on external alchemy, and they do not have the ability of True Cultivators of the Xuanmen to separate their souls from their bodies. Li Fan sensed that the Immortal General in front of him had a very obvious divine aura, and was somewhat similar to the mountain-guarding generals he had seen in the Ten-thousand-mountains Daoist Temple before. Presumably, this was a genuine divine general appointed by the Three Enclosures.

Although both were gatekeepers, the pressure this divine general exerted on Li Fan was clearly stronger than that of the small fry guards from the Xiao Family. He had only glanced at him from afar when he attracted attention; it seemed that the commander of the Three Enclosures' Imperial Guards did indeed have some strength under his command.

"General, you misunderstand. We're here to find someone," the boy said, expertly pulling out his Jia Gui pendant. "Please inform the attendants Jia Bing of Yuntai Peak that apprentice disciples Jia and Gui are looking for us."

The Jia Gui was indeed from Yuntai Peak, he nodded and said, "This is a private residence; unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter. You may wait in the outer hall."

"Yes, thank you for your trouble." Jia Gui gave Li Fan a wink, then pulled him back to the outer edge of the immortal island, saying, "With such tight defenses, it seems the Commander of the Central Guard is also here."

Li Fan nodded in agreement. "With hundreds of Nascent Soul General secretly protecting him when he comes and goes, this entourage is indeed grander than that of the prince of Zhen."

"Over a hundred? So there are that many experts around here..." Jia Gui was embarrassed. "I was overconfident. When Senior Brother Jia Bing arrives later, he's in charge of the banquet arrangements. He's been hosting everyone at the Immortal Palace lately. You can ask him, True Person. However, his asking price might be a bit..."

Li Fan smiled and nodded, "No problem. I'm not short of money."

"I'm just afraid you won't take the money." Having witnessed the legacy left to him by Xuan Tian Iron Egg, Li Fan is now incredibly confident.

"Jia Gui? Why aren't you sweeping the ancestral hall? What are you doing here looking for me?"

The boy holding the Jia Bing tablet, A and C, had rosy lips and white teeth, and was refined and cultured. He had a very good appearance and was indeed suited to be an emcee. However, at this moment, his eyebrows were furrowed, as if he had encountered something unpleasant and was in a bad mood.

"Senior brother, this True Immortal wishes to inquire about the whereabouts of our fellow Daoist..."

"What fellow Daoist are you asking me about? You're out of your mind! Can you just blurt out the names of people who come to this gathering? You dare to flirt with people you don't even know, aren't you afraid of getting into trouble!" Jia Bing scolded his junior brother while staring at Li Fan with a clearly wary look in his eyes.

"Senior brother, you misunderstand. Real Person Li doesn't want to inquire about people, he wants to inquire about objects," Jia Gui explained.

"Object?" Jia Bing and Bing's expressions changed.

Li Fan could tell he knew something, so he spread his hands and handed over three Spirit Coins, asking, "She's probably a maid who was close to the Purple Hair Fairy. She should also be a spirit or a materialized cultivator. She might even be injured. Does Jia Bing Tongzi remember her?"

The Jia Bing boys hesitated for a moment, then shook their heads and said, "People from the Purple Hairpin Courtyard aren't qualified to come here, and I haven't seen any injured artifact spirits recently. You should ask elsewhere."

Li Fan smiled, grabbed another handful of Spirit Coins, and handed them to him. "Any news is fine. I have plenty of information. If you think any of the artifact spirits have been acting strangely lately, that's fine too. I'm just inquiring about my own private matters. As for the ambitions of the Three Great Sects, I'm just a rogue cultivator and don't care."

Jia Bing hesitated for a moment, glanced at the large sum of Spirit Coins, and then looked at Jia Gui.

Jia Gui immediately understood, smiled, and flew a little further away.

The soldier stared at Li Fan and asked, "How did the spirit get injured? What did it do to offend you?"

Li Fan laughed and said, "She took something she shouldn't have, I just wanted to get it back. It happens all the time."

"That is indeed a common occurrence." Jia Bing thought for a moment, nodded, and then took the silver. "Speaking of which, I suddenly remembered something. Recently, a new creature arrived, a spirit that has attained enlightenment from a box. It's arrogant and domineering, and it's mentally ill. It inexplicably dislikes us educated people and is very unreasonable. I wonder if it has offended your things."

Li Fan was taken aback and blurted out, "Du Xia?"

Jia Bing, with an "I see" expression, said with a dark face, "Exactly! If you want to teach that crazy woman a lesson and get your things back, she's been in the library these past few days, only returning at night."

"She's only coming back tonight?" Li Fan narrowed his eyes, gazing at the distant immortal island teeming with experts. "She's backed by the Central Guard..."

Jia Bing clearly knew what they could and couldn't say, so they kept quiet, bowed to Li Fan, and turned to leave.

"Well? Did you find the master? Do you still need someone to guide you?" Jia Gui was clearly not done making money yet.

However, Li Fan now vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

Is the person behind Du Xia actually the Central Guard, also known as the Grand Tutor? Why would the Grand Tutor want to destroy the royal family of Xun Kingdom? Could it be, as those cultivators said, because Xun Kingdom and Wen Tianjun of the Thunder Department are too close? Would the Grand Tutor destroy Xun Kingdom for this reason? Or would the Grand Tutor deliberately frame Wen Tianjun's Thunder Department members?

So, the death of Wen Tianjun's disciple, the Marquis of Jianchang, the heavenly book secretly given to the Marquis of Jianchang by the king, and the intervention of the immortals in the Phantom Moon Treasure Mirror —yet all of these events still failed to save the Marquis of Jianchang's life. Could all of these things actually be connected?

Li Fan is still clueless. His mind is racing, and he senses something in his heart. He tries to calculate with his fingers, but he feels that the secrets of heaven are shrouded in mystery and he can't see through anything.

I remember saying something pointless to Profound Heaven Sword Intent when he taught me arithmetic.

When you have a feeling but can't deduce its meaning, it's either because your arithmetic skills are lacking, or because there's a more skilled expert concealing the secrets of heaven. So ultimately, it still comes down to your lack of arithmetic skills...

Now, Li Fan had a sudden, unseen feeling, as if he had suddenly seen a corner of a huge spider web that he had accidentally touched. But following this spider web led only to darkness, and he had no idea what it could lead to.

However, turning around and running away wasn't Li Fan's style. So he decided to go all the way and see what tricks they were up to.

"A real person?"

"Oh, Jia Gui, does the library on Yuntai Peak contain any records of famous flying swords... cough cough, famous swords?"

"Of course! There are several shelves full of records of flying swords from various sects! Come on, I'll take you to see them. If outsiders want to borrow these sects' secrets, they have to Spirit Coins each book!"

However, you seem to be interested in the Beichen Sword Sect, right? I've copied down many of the Inner Sect secrets of the Beichen Sword Sect and compiled them into "The Untold Story of the Sword Ancestor Xuantian and His Beloved Swords," which is currently a bestseller among the sword cultivators of Yuntai Peak. It only costs five Spirit Coins). Would you consider it, Master?

This Jia Gui is truly a talent; we must protect him well and lest he die at the hands of the Profound Heaven Sword Intent...