The Orthodox School's legacy

"Go back and make your preparations, then wait for word from the sect. There may be a major battle on this voyage, but you needn't worry too much. Deacon Zhao is also keeping an eye on the matter."

After explaining everything, Yuan Hao returned upstairs.

With a Golden Core cultivator overseeing things, the Five Lotus Sect disciples in the hall looked considerably more reassured.

They began discussing matters in twos and threes. Soon, those who knew each other were forming groups, intending to sail aboard the same ship.

Li Yu knew no one, and it was too late to start cultivating connections now. Instead, he went to the talisman shop next door and bought three Yi Xiao Thunder Talismans and a bottle of Essence Recovery Pills. Although he was now very confident in his combat strength, his total reserves of true essence had yet to recover to their peak. He could still lose if he became embroiled in a prolonged battle, so he needed outside means to make up for that weakness.

The Yi Xiao Thunder Talismans would let him conserve his own true essence and instantly unleash three bolts of Yi Xiao Mystic Thunder with power at the peak of Qi Refinement. Had his purse not been so thin, Li Yu would have bought a dozen.

The Essence Recovery Pills, meanwhile, could replenish his true essence.

Unfortunately, Li Yu had sold his Violet Light Umbrella to fund his foundation establishment. It had been a rare defensive spirit artifact that, once opened, could disregard ordinary Qi Refinement spells. Even powerful techniques like Yi Xiao Mystic Thunder would have been greatly weakened by it.

Still, now that he had mastered the Su Yi Essence Shield, it could serve as a passable substitute.

Next, Li Yu asked around Haо City about how the other factions were reacting to the matter.

With the Five Lotus Sect issuing such a conspicuous summons, and Yuan Hao making no attempt to conceal the matter, the other great Mystic Sects all knew that six of its disciples had died at sea.

Inside the Mount Lao Sword Sect's Daoist temple, a youth sitting cross-legged with a sword across his knees heard the news and asked in mild surprise, "Ying Ruomu? Wasn't he the little fellow who gathered that Supreme Spirit Pearl?"

"I'm surprised you even know a Qi Refinement disciple's name, senior brother. Yes, that's him." The woman who answered was a voluptuous cultivator, and she sounded quite astonished.

Both were True Disciples of the Mount Lao Sword Sect and served as deacons here. The youth was named Sun Yuanji, and the woman Zhang Mingxia. Both were at the Foundation Establishment stage.

"If I refine another Supreme Spirit Pearl into my Raging Tide Sword, I can attempt to advance it into a Magic Treasure-grade Sword Embryo. I even sent a disciple to ask his price earlier, but he refused outright." Sun Yuanji explained why he knew Ying Ruomu's name.

"In that case, we may be the prime suspects." Zhang Mingxia's words left Sun Yuanji stunned.

"Why?"

"The Five Lotus Sect checked the departure records of every ship in the harbor. They found that the ship Ying Ruomu chartered was headed for our sect's waters." At Zhang Mingxia's explanation, Sun Yuanji's expression immediately grew serious.

The Mount Lao Sword Sect also had its own stretch of coastal waters. However, its disciples were few, so unlike the Five Lotus Sect, it did not fence off the entire area and treasure it like a worn-out broom. Instead, it opened the waters to all cultivators.

Any cultivator who could afford the daily fee of one spirit stone could enter to gather Spirit Pearls and other resources.

"So did they disappear in our waters?" Sun Yuanji asked the crucial question.

Zhang Mingxia nodded. "Yes. But we've always allowed people to enter first, then charged them for the number of days they spent there once they came out. We can simply say they entered without permission and wash our hands of the whole affair."

Sun Yuanji shook his head and sighed. "At any other time, that would work. But everyone knows I sent that boy Luo Guan to buy the Supreme Spirit Pearl. They'll all suspect I sent someone to do the killing."

Zhang Mingxia said, "It's such an obvious attempt to frame us. Surely Senior Zhao and the others won't fall for it."

Sun Yuanji said, "Let's hope so."

As they spoke, an invitation arrived from the Five Lotus Sect branch. Yuan Hao had sent it.

Zhang Mingxia said, "Senior brother, a straight body needn't fear a crooked shadow. Since we've done nothing wrong, let's go."

Sun Yuanji considered the invitation for a while, then smiled. "I think we'd be better off not going."

Li Yu wandered around Haо City for half a day without receiving any concrete instructions from the branch. He asked Xiong Meng, who told him that Yuan Hao was requisitioning all the ships moored in the harbor. He intended to take all the Zhao Kingdom branch's disciples out to search the waters at once.

However, their destination was the Mount Lao Sword Sect's territory. Negotiating entry for so many people would take time. Moreover, quite a few disciples in the Zhao Kingdom were away from Haо City and would need time to arrive.

Thus, the Five Lotus Sect disciples in Haо City were told to go home and await word.

And so Li Yu went straight back to Turtle Dove Village.

When he arrived, he found Jin Ling already on the earthen mound, facing the evening glow as she breathed in and out to draw in Violet Heaven Floating Sun.

Jin Ling had ample motivation to cultivate: she wanted to find her faithless father and settle accounts with him. Although everyone said her father, Jin Guang, must already have died amid the surging seas, she insisted on seeing his remains with her own eyes before she would accept it.

Li Yu nodded, acknowledging her diligence.

Seeing that the surrounding world's baleful metal qi had already grown quite dense, he began practicing Yi Light Condensation Edge. With the enhancement of his Revolving Illumination cultivation stage, just a few breaths drained everything around Jin Ling. After she finished cultivating, he also drew the excess out of her body and breathed it out.

"Thank you, teacher." Jin Ling thanked him repeatedly, but Li Yu merely waved her away, telling her to go home first.

Shi Sang was pregnant and needed her daughter's help with many things.

Night fell.

Li Yu saw Lu Dan walking over from the village and took the initiative to greet him.

After returning his greeting, Lu Dan smiled slightly. "You seem to have something on your mind, young friend."

Li Yu nodded. "Jin Ling told me you taught her the Right Mind Formula. I wanted to know whether this cultivation method would conflict with any others practiced alongside it."

"Have you eaten tonight, young friend? I acquired a pot of good wine today. Why not have a drink?" Lu Dan offered.

Li Yu nodded. He also wanted to learn more about the Orthodox School of the Western Lands, the greatest sect in the world. Here in the Eastern Lands, people invariably treated the Orthodox School's legacy as something unfathomable and kept their lips sealed.

Neither returned home. They simply sat on the ground atop the earthen mound.

Lu Dan reached out, took two handfuls of earth, and blew on them, turning them into two pottery wine cups.

"The Right Mind Formula is a method for cultivating the heart. All living things possess a heart, so it will not conflict with any cultivation method." Lu Dan answered Li Yu's question, then raised his wine to the starry sky and drained a cup.

"The Orthodox School's legacy can be passed on this easily? Or have you already taken Jin Ling as your disciple?"

Li Yu held his wine without drinking and asked Lu Dan another question.

"All who cultivate virtue belong to our Orthodox School. If you wish, fellow Daoist, I can teach you the Right Mind Formula as well."