On the Colorful-Luan Spirit Ship, Heng Hua sat at the bow. Before him lay a pot of "Cloud-Mountain Clear Tea," a plate of golden-thread pastries, and a dish of kidney-bean rolls.
"Hey, since you're so idle, come down and help me clean up the battlefield."
"I've spent too much mana. Third Brother can handle the aftermath."
Heng Hua currently possessed only Qi Refining cultivation. Using true qi to wield the Mysterious Fire Vermilion-Plume Fan consumed an enormous amount.
As he ate pastries to restore his qi, Heng Hua watched Fu Xiangfeng walking across the water.
Xiangfeng wielded Samadhi True Fire, burning the puppets, the crab demon, and all the water demons to ashes.
This was the rule of the Dragonreach Waters.
If corpses fell into the water and were devoured by fish and shrimp, those creatures would become water demons and bring disaster upon the Human Race.
Fu Xiangfeng swung his sword and unleashed Snow Blowing. Gale winds swept up the flames and sent them roaring toward the distant water demons that had no time to evade.
Fu Danwei did not want his descendants pointing their swords at the Human Race, but he placed no such restrictions on aquatic spirits and monsters.
The Dragonreach Waters were a region overrun by water demons. Every few decades, a demon tide would invade, and the aquatic spirits would madly besiege cultivators from all walks of life and the mortals on the islands.
To slay water demons was, to Dragonreach cultivators, a "good deed" that safeguarded the continuation of the Human Race.
Once the True Fire subsided, Fu Xiangfeng shook his head lightly. "What a pity. After burning so many water demons, I only refined two pieces of Water-Spirit Jade. That crab demon was no good. Had its inner core been entrusted to that crab servant, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell?"
Xiangfeng held two deep-blue pieces of Water-Spirit Jade, then tossed the crab demon's damaged great claw onto the spirit ship.
"Have Xiaoyu put away that great claw on the ground. It's still material for a treasure artifact and may come in handy later. These two pieces of Water-Spirit Jade are yours to play with as well."
Water-Spirit Jade was condensed spiritual qi left behind after water demons were incinerated. It could be used in artifact crafting and pill refinement.
Heng Hua put away the Water-Spirit Jade, then suddenly asked, "Third Brother, how many rules are in the killing precepts you set for yourself?"
"Two.
"Evil men deserve death.
"Those who try to kill me deserve death."
"Would you not kill those who obstruct your path to enlightenment?"
"If the one competing with me is a heinous villain, then I'll kill them with one stroke of my sword. But if they are a fellow cultivator of noble character, merely competing with me fairly, why would there be any need to kill? We can simply fight fairly and contend for the chance to attain the Dao."
Having traveled abroad for many years, he had seen much of the evil in human hearts. Yet Fu Xiangfeng's original heart remained unchanged, and he always upheld the Way of Chivalry Fu Danwei had hoped for.
But this was Fu Xiangfeng's Dao, not Fu Henghua's.
Heng Hua shook his head and sighed. "It was precisely because Third Brother was too softhearted that Mo Xu found an opening and set this trap to harm you."
Xiangfeng's expression stiffened. He muttered, "I'll be more careful next time. I never imagined that just because I saved a spirit bird, he would bear such hatred and come set a trap against me."
Fu Xiangfeng had traveled abroad for years, but this truly was the first time he had encountered such a thing.
Water demons ran rampant in the Dragonreach Waters, yet when Human Race cultivators fought, they usually stopped once victory or defeat had been decided. Fights to the death were exceedingly rare.
In the past, whenever everyone came across a heavenly treasure, they would fight over it, and the loser would leave on his own. Even if there was retaliation, it was nothing more than winning it back in the next contest.
To harbor killing intent, even going so far as to block his way in the eastern Dragonreach Waters.
Was he truly unafraid of the Fu Family's retaliation afterward?
As he thought it over, Fu Xiangfeng concluded that it was because his grandfather's lifespan was nearing its end that all these cats and dogs dared deliberately target him.
Seeing Heng Hua lost in thought, Fu Xiangfeng gave a light cough. "All right, enough about me. What about you? Was seeing someone killed for the first time upsetting?"
After all, when he had killed someone for the first time, his heart had been in turmoil for a long while.
Heng Hua shook his head. "Though I haven't personally killed anyone, I've never seen too little of such scheming and slaughter."
Hengshou had killed people for him.
But he had never done it himself, because according to the killing precepts Heng Hua had set for himself, those people had not yet met the standard. They did not deserve to die by his hand.
"What precepts did you set for yourself? With your temperament, don't tell me you're like Fifth Uncle, drawing up an entire criminal code in your heart?"
Fu Danwei urged his descendants to kill less, making each of them establish their own killing precepts.
Some, like Fu Xiangfeng, made two or three rules.
Others divided matters into hundreds of detailed rules, listing every possible unexpected circumstance one by one, forcibly creating a whole code of criminal law for themselves.
"I haven't decided yet. I haven't killed anyone anyway, so I can still change them. Oh, right—
"Third Brother. The Immovable Reef has been destroyed. What about the thing inside?"
"There. This thing."
Xiangfeng tossed Heng Hua an orange-yellow pearl.
"For this thing, I dove beneath the Immovable Reef and took a solid palm strike from that old bastard. My chest still hurts now."
Taking the pearl, Heng Hua reached out to take Xiangfeng's pulse.
"Some internal injuries, but nothing serious. The external wounds on your arm, though—Xiaoyu, help Third Brother bandage them."
"It's fine, I'll do it myself. You needn't worry. As for you, study that pearl. It's Yufeng Dao's spirit artifact; it must be quite useful."
The Immovable Reef had been destroyed by Golden Thunder Sword Qi.
After a long while, a tiny insect buzzed out of the water.
"Luckily, this old man still had a soul-anchoring puppet. Otherwise, I really would have died this time."
Yan Qianyu cursed the Fu Family a thousand times over in his heart and hurriedly fled.
"I'll first go replace this puppet body, then meet up with the Profound Heart Altar. Those people are targeting Fu Danwei. I wonder how their preparations are coming along."
That night, thick clouds blanketed the sky, and the Colorful-Luan Spirit Ship moored amid a reef zone.
This too was an Immovable Reef. The heavenly treasures hidden within its Spirit Root had long since been taken away, leaving only a small sprout of the Spirit Root to anchor the reef and keep it from sinking beneath the water.
Such Immovable Reefs were exceedingly common in the Dragonreach Waters. Mortals depended on them for shelter until demon-tide waves came crashing in, the reefs sank, and the people perished. Thus, mortals preferred to dwell on spirit islets and Spirit Islands inhabited by cultivators. The Spirit Veins there were stable enough for long-term habitation, and cultivators protected them and taught them immortal arts.
Heng Hua removed his martial clothes and changed into a loose white robe for leisure at home. He sprawled lazily beneath the boat canopy, turning the pearl over in his hand.
Through the pearl, the hazy moonlight concealed behind clouds and mist appeared even dimmer.
"Have you figured it out?"
With a flip, Xiangfeng leaped onto the roof of the ship.
His figure was light and nimble, his wind aura ethereal. The spirit ship did not sway in the slightest.
"It differs from what we guessed. This is merely a treasure artifact. When its owner died, the pearl happened to fall into a Spirit Vein. Nourished by the Spirit Vein, it survived without a cultivator and remained undamaged for a thousand years.
"The pearl contains the power of a thousand-year Spirit Vein, which has erased the treasure artifact's own runes. In other words, the pearl is now merely a spiritual material produced by heaven and earth."
Heng Hua tossed the pearl to Xiangfeng. "This thing's attributes are close to Third Brother's. It can serve as material for a spirit artifact."
"So it's useless for now?"
Spirit artifacts—magical treasures refined by Golden Core Cultivators—were far too distant a prospect for Xiangfeng.
"It does have one use. Pearls like this have another name."
Xiangfeng looked over and heard Heng Hua enunciate each word: "Wind-Calming Pearl."
"The kind of thing that lets one pass safely through hurricanes?"
"Exactly. You'll have use for it at Windgate Island, Third Brother."
After considering it, Xiangfeng put away the Wind-Calming Pearl and lay down, imitating Heng Hua's posture.
As he watched the thick clouds in the sky, he suddenly said, "It'll rain soon."
"At the second quarter of the Hour of the Rat, rainfall will reach three cun, five fen, and two li. At the third quarter of midnight, the rain will stop."
Heng Hua said this, then closed his eyes to rest.
"..."
Xiangfeng's tone carried a touch of helplessness. "I wasn't asking you that."
He had merely wanted to find a topic and have a proper chat with his younger cousin.
Who would have thought that one sentence from this boy would bring the conversation to a halt?
Yet he had to admit that this cousin of his, who had hidden away in the library for thirty years, truly knew more than he did.
Astronomy and geography, medicine, divination, arts of calculation... he could speak knowledgeably about every trade and discipline under heaven. If Xiangfeng were the one calculating the rain, much less determining the rainfall down to fen and li, he could not even calculate the timing.
This boy truly was suited to this sort of calculation and deduction.
Keeping Heng Hua company as they watched the moon and clouds, Xiangfeng asked, "How did today's trip off the island feel?"
"It was all right. Getting out for some air is good, after all."
Heng Hua looked up at the clouded sky when he suddenly spotted a streak of crimson light cutting through the mist and descending to rest on the other side of the reef zone.
Xiangfeng explained, "Other fellow cultivators have come to rest at the Immovable Reef as well. The Dragonreach Waters are simply too dangerous at night."
The Dragonreach Waters covered a vast expanse, with countless water demons and aquatic spirits lurking beneath its surface.
All demonkind favored moonlight. Once night fell, they emerged from the water one after another. Thus, few ships traveled the Dragonreach Waters after dark.
Before long, several more escape lights arrived and rested in other parts of the Immovable Reef. Since no one knew one another, they did not interact, patiently waiting for dawn and for the water demons to return beneath the waves.
At the Hour of the Rat, fine rain whispered down. Accompanied by the wind and tide, it seemed like a long song without rhythm.
"Heng Hua," Xiangfeng suddenly asked, "how certain are you about devising a cultivation method for Grandfather?"
"Earlier, I deduced a method of Core Nourishment and Infant Formation for him, but it did not suit his wishes, so I never presented it to Grandfather."
"What do you mean?"
"The old man has only ten years of life left. His qi and blood are gradually withering away. Using cultivation methods alone to aid his practice will make it difficult for him to return to his peak in a short time."
Xiangfeng fell silent.
He had seen many elderly mortals nearing death, their strength completely gone before death, with only a single breath of vitality remaining.
When cultivators reached the threshold of exhausted lifespan, their mana likewise fell to its lowest point, less than thirty percent of what it had once been.
There were tales everywhere of young cultivators defeating cultivators of higher realms. More often than not, they had encountered people whose mana was declining and whose lives were nearly at an end.
"Right now, the old man is like a bucket with its bottom gone. No matter how much water you pour in, he cannot return to his prime. Even if the Heavenly Book were placed before him, he could only look at it; he could not immediately begin cultivating it.
"Therefore, besides the cultivation method, one more thing is needed."
"The Essence-Urging Elixir?"
"Correct."
A secret medicine that urged one's essence at the cost of life, forcibly squeezing out Fu Danwei's potential and allowing him to regain his peak state for a short time. Only then could he use the cultivation method to attempt a breakthrough.
If he succeeded, his life would be extended by another five hundred years.
If he failed, the Essence-Urging Elixir would become the Poison of Fate, and even his remaining ten years of life would be lost.
Therefore, the selection of the cultivation method had to be treated with the utmost caution.
Heng Hua had to raise the chance of success to its highest point before daring let his grandfather attempt it.
There was only one chance.
The puppet insect inhabited by Yan Qianyu first went to a secret cave he had arranged years ago. After replacing himself with a new puppet body, he hurried to where the demon cultivators of the Profound Heart Altar were located.
This place was not far from Coiling Dragon Island and lay within a reef district.
Eight black-robed demon cultivators sat in a circle around an altar. They were using demonic arts to activate it, shaping Yin Demon shadows and sending them into Coiling Dragon Island to lure out the inner demons in Fu Danwei's heart.
Yan Qianyu's puppet took the form of a young man.
His arrival drew the attention of several demon cultivators.
"Why has Senior Yan changed into such a distinguished appearance? Could it be that you, too, think your own face has grown too old?"
"My true body is outside and could not arrive in time, so I used a puppet insect to contact you." Yan Qianyu put on a bold front and feigned composure. "How is the plan proceeding?"
"That old man's will is firm. We have used demonic arts to drive Outer Heavenly Demons and cast spells for days, yet he can still retain his reason."
"That is Fu Danwei. With one man and one sword, he killed until your Demon Palace ran with blood like a river, nearly wiping out your sect. You think he will fall to demonhood? Hmph—better invite the master of the Profound Heart Altar and find a way to destroy Coiling Dragon Island."
Thinking of the puppet and physical body he had painstakingly created being destroyed, Yan Qianyu's heart bled.
He did not want Fu Danwei to turn to demonic cultivation.
He wanted Fu Danwei and the entire Fu Family to die together!
Wind-Song Sword, the fifth famed sword of the Fu Family, wielded by the Phoenix Sovereign among the Four Auspicious Ones of the Fu Clan. When the sword emerged, ten thousand winds stirred as one, like a song wrought by heaven; hence its name. A Wind-Calming Pearl was set into its hilt, warding off baleful winds.
—<Donglai Imperial Dynasty Treasury · Sword Manual · Record Two>
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