In the days following his injury, Li Xun kept a low profile. Reliable sources indicated that the five disciples from the Heavenly Vigorous Sect were still lurking around and hadn't left the area. Running into them now would be a pain he definitely didn't need. As for the palace… he hadn't been showing up much there either.
Of course, the biggest reason was that he needed time to think.
The clash with the Heavenly Vigorous Sect cultivators, and especially the aftermath of his… extraction of energy from Consort Qin, had left him with a series of odd and hard-to-explain changes. He had to take time to carefully process everything.
After about a week of focused reflection, Li Xun finally managed to sort out a few things.
First off, his cultivation had jumped up by at least thirty percent! While part of that came from the benefits of the dual cultivation, the main cause was probably that mysterious liquid in the crystal vial. Just catching a whiff of it had given him many benefits. It was like some type of ultra-grade tonic. Of course… the stuff was also dangerously potent.
Next was the matter of his progress in cultivating Blood God Child. The blood nightmare that had plagued him for almost ten years had truly vanished. At the same time, just as Yin Wanderer had said, his heart had gone through some sort of extremely bizarre demonic transformation.
Now, ordinary external attacks couldn't harm his core at all. Even an attack as deadly as Yin Wanderer's, he could now endure it!
This demonic transformation of the heart was considered the first step in leveling up Blood God Child. But a legendary demonic technique like this doesn't just change your body. It also comes a mental shift, the so-called heart mantra:
chaotic but unmoved, restless yet calm, free from attachment, free from emotion.
This is what is meant by: 'The Heart of No Emotion is the first step for a cultivator to enter demonic cultivation!'
Supposedly, this Heart of No Emotion changes your personality. Naturally, such influence takes time to manifest and Li Xun hadn't felt any difference yet.
Still, there was one thing that did trouble him...
After his heart had undergone the transformation, and then taken a serious hit from Yin Sanren's "shatter-heart" strike, the Yin Qi sealed inside his heart aperture was beginning to show signs of instability. During his cultivation, he could feel a terrifying energy trying to break loose—like it was itching to explode. If it really went off, it might just turn him into ash.
It was insanely dangerous.
Sure, Ghost Master had left behind a note saying the Yin Qi wouldn't detonate for a hundred years. But seriously, who the hell would bet their life on a promise like that, when standing under a crumbling wall?
It was only now that Li Xun truly understood the real threat that Ghost Master had left him with.
But by this point, Li Xun was already numb to it all.
A life with no pressure and no danger? That kind of peaceful existence… just wasn't in the cards for him. The demon phoenix spared his life, only for him to run into Yin Wanderer. The blood nightmare was gone, now he had the Yin Qi to worry about.
If he wanted to live in peace, he had to smash every shackle weighing him down. But each one seemed impossibly far away...
With a sigh, he picked up a brush and dragged it across the paper.
He was sitting in a small pavilion within the National Preceptor's manor, practicing calligraphy and ink work.
Of course, Li Xun by no means had the artistic mastery of Immortal Master Zhong Yin, nor did he have that kind of leisurely mood. What Li Xun was painting now was not landscapes, bamboo and rocks, flowers, birds, or beasts. At first glance, it looked like a bunch of messy, nonsensical scribbles.
None of the nearby maids seemed surprised. Perhaps to them, it was only natural for a Daoist to draw talismans.
The only odd thing was that Li Xun wasn't using cinnabar ink or yellow talisman paper to draw talismans. Just plain old ink and regular calligraphy paper.
His brushstrokes zigzagged all over the place: horizontal, vertical, twisting. Each one was neat on its own, but together, they looked like random nonsense. Like a child's doodle.
But if someone who truly understood formation arts looked at it, they'd see something entirely different. The strokes were but branches and leaves. The true meaning was hidden in the intent behind them.
On ordinary days, what Li Xun valued most were the generating and restraining interactions within restrictive formations, always trying to squeeze the most power from his limited true essence.
But today, his approach was different.
He was channeling all his energy—body, mind, and spirit—into the tip of his brush. Every stroke was like a full-power sword strike. He had to maintain structure and rhythm, while also keeping the delicate paper from tearing under the force. His control of his true breath was being pushed to the absolute limit.
And in this extreme state, Li Xun finally found that subtle, elusive feeling he had been chasing.
That was his biggest gain after days of contemplation!
Just when it seemed like his strength was completely spent and true breath depleted, he shifted the momentum and changed the stroke, and....he tapped into a new force.
Right at this moment, on the razor's edge between exhaustion and renewal, life and non-life, there was a subtle, almost illusory resonance with the qi mechanism of his entire body.
Qi mechanism represented the depth of the mutual interaction between the cultivator and the primordial qi that flowed unimpeded throughout heaven and earth.
Each time one gained control over an additional qi mechanism, it meant a deeper level of understanding of heaven and earth.
At the same time, they would also face many qi mechanism changes never seen before, or even imagined.
Usually, cultivators sense, perceive, and manipulate qi mechanisms according to their own cultivation methods, advancing step by step, so that their perception of the qi mechanism becomes progressively clearer—making it easier to smooth and control.
Just like Li Xun, only in the domain of formations arts, which he was most proficient in, could he perceive the subtle changes of qi mechanism; whereas on the level of cultivation, one must reach the stage of Moonrise Over the Sea to begin to have an initial understanding of the qi mechanism.
But Li Xun's situation was different. He trained in all sorts of supreme-grade techniques from the Tongxuan Realm, righteous and demonic, orthodox and unorthodox, none of them fully compatible with each other. On one hand, that gave him more opportunities to sense and manipulate different types of qi mechanisms. On the other hand, it also made it highly likely that the complexity and chaos of the qi mechanism would lead him to suffer a deviation
And now, this new qi mechanism he had just touched was…. something else entirely.
It was one that Li Xun vaguely senses, yet couldn't clearly identify or control for the time being.
This qi mechanism was by no means simple!
It was based on the techniques of the Six Sovereign Yin-Yang Transformation, and was captured at the moment between life and death through profound insight and absurd luck.
Li Xun realized that this qi mechanism could directly resonate with most of the qi mechanisms within his body; this was anything but ordinary!
According to The Netherworld Record, when you discover a new qi mechanism that connects with many others, it means you're getting closer to the Great Dao.
That's why Li Xun took it so seriously.
He even gave this qi mechanism a name: Life-Death Limit.
And he knew, once he could fully master the Life-Death Limit, he would experience tremendous, all-encompassing progress and transformation. He would break through into an entirely new cultivation stage!
He had a feeling about it. He had the confidence. And he had the willpower.
Just as he was about to lay down his hundredth stroke, a servant came in to report: the Heir of Prince Fu was here to see him. But before Li Xun could even respond, Li Cong had already walked in with a laugh. "Brother Daoist!" he called out from a distance; it seemed like he was in quite the good mood.
Li Xun shot a look at the maids, silently signaling them to leave. Only when they had retreated far enough did Li Cong step into the pavilion. He quickly changed his tone and greeted with a grin, "Brother Prince, in such a good mood today…"
But as soon as he caught sight of the scribbles under Li Xun's brush, the rest of the sentence died in his throat. His face turned red trying to hold it in, but in the end, he couldn't help laughing. "What kind of talisman is that, Brother Prince?"
Li Xun replied half-seriously, "The talisman of life-and-death."
He casually crumpled up the paper, and with just a light rub between his fingers, it turned to ash and scattered on the wind. The trick looked simple, but it was enough to leave Li Cong wide-eyed. He stared at the vanishing ashes. Whether it was envy or awe, even he couldn't tell. He then finally pulled his eyes back. "Brother Prince," he said, "are you free right now?"
Li Xun gave a vague hum of acknowledgment, which Li Cong took as a yes.
"You've been cooped up in the estate for too long. The New Year's almost here. Shouldn't you go home and visit? The Dowager Consort has been talking about you a lot lately." That part was just polite filler. The real reason came next: "Anyway, no better time than now. Let's go out for a walk today. I've got some friends I want to introduce you to."
Li Xun was about to decline, but Li Cong cut him off.
"You've already turned me down twice. Today I came to invite you personally. Come on; do your little brother a favor, will you?"
Li Xun hesitated. He wasn't thrilled about it, especially knowing members of Heavenly Vigorous Sect were still lurking in the capital. But seeing how eager his brother was, he couldn't bring himself to refuse outright. Showing doubt in front of his younger brother would've felt like losing face as the elder.
So, after a quick moment of reconsideration, he nodded.
Li Cong looked genuinely pleased. "Let's go, then! A few of my friends are really curious about the 'Young National Preceptor.'"
Li Xun just smiled and played along, not taking it seriously.
The two brothers rode out from the estate, heading straight for the East City Gate. According to Li Cong, they were meeting these friends there. Li Xun didn't question it and just went with the flow.
But something didn't feel right.
The farther they went, the more uneasy Li Xun became. Watching Li Cong cheerfully lead the way ahead, a nagging sense of wrongness kept creeping up on him.
Something's off.
He yanked the reins and brought his horse to a sudden stop, frowning as he tried to pinpoint the source of his unease.
When did Li Cong get so... enthusiastic?
It had been nearly ten years since they'd last seen each other. There was no deep brotherly bond between them. Any talk of family affection in a royal household was a joke at best.
Sure, in front of others, Li Cong would play up their closeness to show the ties between the Prince Fu's estate and the State Preceptor. But when the two were alone, he always maintained a certain distance. It was clear that this younger brother was quite wary of him!
So what was this sudden warmth all about?