The Great Scarlet Realm's Bright Yang Spiritual Qi Welcomed the First Cultivator to Resonate with It

The Great Scarlet Realm.

When Li Zhengjun returned, four days had passed in this world.

His lodging had taken on an entirely different appearance. It was no longer the woodshed Fang Yuan had chosen, but a cave abode specially selected for cultivation.

Li Yuankai had always been efficient. A Spirit Gathering Formation had already brought the spiritual activity within the cave abode into perfect order, and he and an old man were now setting up another formation around its perimeter.

The formation was called the "Profound Subtlety Breath-Concealing Heaven-Veiling Grand Formation." Its name was grand, but its effects were eminently practical. Once activated, it completely concealed all fluctuations in spiritual activity within several hundred zhang. Even if a cultivator passed by the mountain, he would see nothing more than an utterly ordinary stretch of wild mountains and forest.

The breath-concealing Law Artifacts they carried could only conceal their cultivation. When they actively circulated their techniques to cultivate, they still needed a formation to cover it up.

Even though this formation was only at the Fetal Breath level, it was enough to deal with those Devil Cultivators.

When Li Zhengjun returned, Li Yuankai and the other old man in the cave abode bowed in unison.

"Greetings, my lord."

Only then did Li Zhengjun have time to take a closer look at the old man. He had left in a hurry before and knew only that the man was one of the formation masters sent by the Lineage. This time, he learned more about him.

The old man was named Li Chenxuan. By seniority, he was actually Li Zhengjun's uncle. He had spent most of his life in the Ancestral Law Hall, and his seniority was such that even Li Zhengchen had to greet him first.

His cultivation was not high, but he was advanced in years. A trace of stubbornness showed through his cloudy eyes; one look was enough to tell he was a man who clung rigidly to his principles.

Li Zhengjun understood. Elder Brother Zhengchen had probably sent this old uncle along for more than just setting up formations.

He put the thought aside and waved a hand.

"Has anything happened these past few days?"

Li Yuankai respectfully handed over the intelligence he had compiled.

"Dongping and his men have kept watch for four days. With the palace examination approaching, Devil Cultivators have been returning to the city one after another. Their cultivation is all around the Early Qi Refining stage, broadly consistent with Jiang Cheng's account. Their Law Power is mixed and impure, and their foundations are shaky. At the same realm, they are no match for our Li Household disciples, so they are not much to fear. There are quite a few of them, though. Sixteen have entered the city in just the past few days. Counting those already stationed there, there will be at least thirty-odd in the imperial palace on the day of the examination. If we attack them head-on, anyone who breaks through in the chaos and lets word slip will become a hidden danger."

Li Zhengjun took the silk document, his gaze sweeping over the densely packed records.

"The Lineage elders are already making preparations for the formation. Survey and map the terrain around the imperial palace, the dimensions of the city walls and fortifications, and the distances between every gate and checkpoint. The more detailed, the better. The four formation masters are to choose the formation nodes around the palace. Once fighting begins, you must seal off every escape route."

He paused, then added:

"Yuankai, the four of you should discuss any special requirements you might have. Formation flags, formation plates, Spirit Stones, special talisman brushes for inscribing formation patterns-whatever you need, put it on a list and submit it. There is no need to economize on the Lineage's behalf. The Lineage will do everything it can to provide what you need."

Li Yuankai had spent years helping his father, Li Zhengchen, manage routine affairs and knew the Li Household's resources better than anyone. He showed no surprise at these words, only nodding calmly.

During the days Li Zhengjun had been back in the Yuyu Realm, he had already discussed the matter with the other three formation masters and drawn up a complete list of the formation's requirements.

It included full details on all four of them, the locations and feng shui of the imperial palace, the materials needed for the formation, and even took into account the possibility of a thunderstorm on the day of the palace examination.

He presented the complete report and said:

"After repeated observations, we believe it is highly likely to rain on the day of the palace examination. In my view, we can use this to our advantage in the trapping formation. If we add lightning-drawing formation patterns, heavenly lightning will stir up earthly fire, and amid the thunder and rain, the formation's power will increase by thirty percent. The Devil Cultivators' Blood Escape Techniques are most vulnerable to Thunder Methods. Heavenly lightning and lightning talismans attacking from both sides will be just the thing to counter them."

Li Yuankai cultivated the Frozen Water Dao. Frozen Water was the Water Virtue Dao Path of melting ice and snow and the renewal of all things, and was most adept at sensing the rise and fall of water vapor between heaven and earth.

Watching clouds and observing Qi to predict fair weather and rain was as natural to him as a farmer reading the sky or a fisherman judging the tides. It had long since become instinct.

At the slightest change in the clouds on the horizon, every minute variation in the density and dampness of water Spiritual Qi appeared clearly to his spiritual senses.

His prediction of rain on the day of the palace examination was no idle guess; he was absolutely certain of it.

Li Zhengjun silently praised Yuankai's thoroughness and accepted the intelligence. He then asked about a few other matters. There was still no new intelligence from the capital that called for particular attention. The Devil Cultivators were all busy preparing for the palace examination; this was the quietest and most relaxed period before they made their move.

"In that case, continue refining the formation. I'll go out for a walk and check on the Fang brother and sister while I'm at it."

Everyone in the cave abode had their own duties, and he could hardly reassign the disciples keeping watch outside as he pleased, so he intended to go out alone for a short while and return.

Before he had finished speaking, two voices rang out at once.

"My lord, you mustn't!"

Li Zhengjun froze and turned to look.

Before Li Yuankai could speak, Li Chenxuan stepped forward first, his wrinkled face full of anguish.

Even his sleeves trembled slightly as he cupped his hands, whether from anxiety or anger. His tone was deadly serious.

"My lord, you are the most important person in our Li Household, the foremost figure in its revival! The entire Li Household rests on your shoulders! The Devil Cultivators in the Ning Kingdom have yet to be eliminated, and we do not know whether powerful cultivators are watching from the shadows. No one can guarantee your safety. Please, my lord, you must remain within the formation. You absolutely must not take a single step outside the cave abode as you please!"

"This..."

Li Zhengjun had only wanted to go outside and look around near the cave abode, yet even that was not allowed.

He glanced at Li Yuankai, then at the sentry who had appeared at some point.

From the look of things, the sentry also intended to dissuade Li Zhengjun from stepping outside the cave abode.

Understanding dawned on Li Zhengjun, leaving him quite helpless.

No wonder Elder Brother Zhengchen sent Uncle Li Chenxuan along despite his age. So it was to remonstrate with me at every turn...

Judging by the situation, if he insisted on going out, Li Chenxuan would be ready to dash his head against the cave abode's entrance the very next moment.

Li Zhengjun sighed and said:

"In that case, I'll return to the Yuyu Realm first. Once I come back, I'll stay in the cave abode and cultivate in peace."

Only after hearing him say this did the Li Household disciples in the cave abode breathe a sigh of relief.

Li Zhengjun took the intelligence and the image-recording stone and returned to the Yuyu Realm once more.

This time, he did not stay long. After putting them down, he returned to the Great Scarlet Realm to cultivate.

When he came back, Li Yuankai had indeed finished setting up the Profound Subtlety Breath-Concealing Heaven-Veiling Grand Formation.

There were still ten days until the Devil Cultivators' palace examination. Scouting the enemy and infiltration had been left entirely to Li Dongping and the others, so Li Zhengjun no longer needed to divide his attention. It was time to cultivate the Double Radiance Bright Yang Wheel-Nurturing Scripture.

With a sweep of his sleeve, he sat cross-legged in the center of the Spirit Gathering Formation, half closed his eyes, and formally circulated the Double Radiance Bright Yang Wheel-Nurturing Scripture for the first time.

He had already worked through the technique many times in his mind, so even his first attempt went quite smoothly.

It was just daybreak. At the boundary between heaven and earth, the last trace of night receded. Beyond the mountains in the east, a red sun suddenly leaped over the ridge. Dawnlight flashed like a sword, cleaving through the chaos and cutting clean through the blurred line between heaven and earth.

At that very instant, the Bright Yang Qi of the world awakened.

The Bright Yang Qi of the Great Scarlet Realm welcomed the first cultivator to resonate with it.

It had lain dormant among the specks of dust in the morning mist, but now, under the domineering pull of the Double Radiance Bright Yang Wheel-Nurturing Scripture, it became countless streams of golden light, fine as gossamer, surging toward Li Zhengjun at the heart of the Spirit Gathering Formation.

Even so, the speed at which Spiritual Qi gathered could not keep pace with his refinement.

The technique's grade was simply too high. The Bright Yang Qi in an ordinary spiritual land was nowhere near enough to feed its whale-like appetite.

At first, the cave abode could maintain a balance. Later, the Spirit Gathering Formation had no choice but to operate beyond its limits. The Spirit Stones in the formation dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and Li Yuankai had to personally guard the formation node outside, replacing the Spirit Stones every two hours just to barely keep pace with Li Zhengjun's consumption.

Eight days passed in the blink of an eye.

When Li Zhengjun opened his eyes again, four strands of golden Bright Yang Qi floated steadily in his Dantian, fine as gossamer yet condensed without dispersing.

Truly swift! With the fourth-grade cultivation technique I practiced before, even forming one strand in eight days would have been difficult. Now the speed has quadrupled.

For Bright Yang cultivation techniques, nine was the ultimate number. After refining nine times nine, or eighty-one strands of Spiritual Qi, a cultivator could nurture a new Spirit Wheel.

It was just that refining Spiritual Qi became even more difficult later on.

At this rate, in about half a year I'll be able to form the Jade Capital Wheel and enter the Embryonic Breathing Fifth Layer.

He had two hundred and thirty years, and spiritual activity in the Ning Kingdom was thin. As the Lineage expanded, it would surely be able to find better cultivation grounds and spiritual resources to supply him.

Not only that, the Bright Yang Qi in the Great Scarlet Realm is exceptionally primal and wild. Could it be that this world has no inheritance of the Dao of the Three Yangs?

The Bright Yang Qi was exceptionally enthusiastic, as though it had never encountered a cultivator like Li Zhengjun before.

In that case, attaining the Purple Mansion is only a matter of time!

Li Zhengjun slowly ended his cultivation. With the Devil Cultivators' palace examination imminent, it was time to return to the Yuyu Realm to fetch the lightning talismans and formations.