Chapter 40: Purple Mansion Heart-Questioning Tribulation
Lu Qingyang stepped on the broken Jade Staircase of Kunlun Ruins, his fingertips entwined with Innate Purple Qi that shimmered with a glazed luster. The remnants of the Judge's consciousness, stripped from the Rebirth Inkstone last night, were coursing through his Meridians. The words "Youdu" on the surface of the qingmu spirit pearl bled red threads, forming the hexagram "Mountain Wind Gu" in the morning mist. He exhaled a mouthful of turbid Qi towards the surging sea of clouds at the entrance of the Ruins. The pressure of his Late Stage Nascent Soul actually scattered the Cloud-Eating Luan birds perched on the dilapidated stele: "Ye Wuchen's method of excavating ancient immortal tombs is even more particular about Feng Shui than that of a Tomb-Raiding General."
Yinghuo's silver bells on her wrist shattered the accumulated clouds in the southeast, and Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation surged from the Zhen position. Lu Qingyang backhanded his wine gourd towards the tribulation clouds. The Talismanic Incantations for avoiding tribulation, peeling from the gourd's surface, expanded explosively upon encountering the purple lightning, actually forming an Incomplete Manual of the «Tai Xu Imperial Tribulation Skill» in mid-air. He used his fingers to intercept three wisps of thunder essence and store them in a jade bottle. The cracks on the bottle suddenly bloomed into a River Diagram pattern: "This nectar refined by Lightning Tribulation, brewed into drunken immortal brew, is even better than..."
The Heart-Questioning Pillar at the entrance of the Ruins suddenly trembled, and three hundred sixty strands of Purple Mansion Sword Qi burst forth from the pillar. Su Li's Puppet Silk entangled a deviated sword light. The moment the silver needle pierced the sword's spine, the falling jade shards actually condensed into a half-scroll of the «Purple Mansion Jade Manual». Lu Qingyang pinched the incomplete page, sniffed the sandalwood, and then suddenly spat a mouthful of blood towards the northwest: "These old immortals of Taiyi Pavilion have more guts to tamper with Daoist scriptures than the corrupt scholars of Jixia Academy."
At three quarters past noon, the three entered the Grotto-Heaven Array at the periphery of the Purple Mansion. The Nine-Revolving Interlocking Hanging Pavilions suspended three hundred glazed heart lamps, each lamp wick imprisoning a wisp of ancient immortal Divine Sense. Lu Qingyang pried off the Dragon pattern from one of the lamp bases. The inner wall of the jade carving was not inscribed with Daoist scriptures, but rather densely packed «Usurping Dao Records». He flicked his finger at the copper bell on the lamp eaves. In the bursting purple flames, the scene of Ye Wuchen tampering with the «Yellow Court Scripture» actually materialized.
"Gen Palace Six Steps, Dui Lake Suppresses Evil!"
Yinghuo's chensha stone struck the Kan position array eye, temporarily stabilizing the rampaging Guardian Puppet of the mansion. Lu Qingyang took the opportunity to pry open a hidden compartment in the jade pavilion. Inside, it didn't contain classics, but half a jar of Enlightenment Tea covered in cobwebs. He dipped the tea and drew a crooked Talismanic Incantation on a cloud brick. As the tea Qi steamed, the secret of Taiyi Pavilion's first Ancestral Master usurping the Dao lineage actually appeared.
The core of the Purple Mansion showed cracks at the Shen hour. The Nine Heavens Gate was immersed in the never-dissipating Grandmist Qi. Lu Qingyang picked up a wisp of Chaos Qi and pressed it onto the surface of the spirit pearl. The blood patterns, upon encountering the Innate essence, bloomed into a thousand green lotuses. He stepped on the lotus platform and leaped towards the array's core. The evil-warding array patterns hidden in his boot soles reacted with the Grandmist Qi, and in the bursting profound light, the star map of Empress Nuwa mending the sky actually appeared.
"This deal isn't a loss!" He snatched a falling mending the sky stones in mid-air and stuffed it into his qiankun bag. Upon touching the blood patterns, the stone suddenly played a section of the «Purple Mansion Dao-Seeking Melody». Su Li's Puppet Silk pried open a certain crack, revealing half a Grotto-Heaven Key that perfectly fit the jade token in his embrace. The cinnabar remaining on the key handle suddenly came alive, spreading out a thirty-three layers of Outer Heaven Star Map in his Sea of Consciousness.
At midnight, the fierce winds rose. Ninety-nine profound jade Dao steles emerged from the depths of the Purple Mansion. Lu Qingyang stepped on the inscriptions atop the steles and leaped towards the Dao-Seeking Hall. The «Purple Mansion Jade Manual» in his embrace suddenly ignited, and golden powder seal script appeared in the ashes: "Since the Dao lineage has been stolen, it must be guided by Soul Transformation bones." He backhanded the golden powder onto the Talismanic Incantation on the hall door. The cinnabar-drawn Dao-suppressing patterns suddenly bled, staining the entire Grandmist Sea red.
The murals in the Dao-Seeking Hall suddenly twisted. Lu Qingyang slid along the gilded pillar towards the epicenter. Seven layers of Immortal-Locking Chains bound a skeleton wrapped in a measuring heaven ruler. The depression at its Baihui acupoint was surprisingly identical in shape to the spirit pearl. He pulled half an Incomplete Manual of the «Dao De Jing» around his wrist. The moment the silk scroll touched his skin, the Dao Protector's heavenly question suddenly roared in his Sea of Consciousness: "One who defies the Dao lineage shall bear nine generations of Dao-seeking tribulations."
The entire Dao-Seeking Hall suddenly collapsed into a Chaos vortex. Lu Qingyang dragged the two of them into the Grandmist Spring Eye. The qingmu spirit pearl automatically operated the «Tai Xu Swallowing Sky Skill», swallowing the turbulent Chaos Qi as resources for breaking through. At the spring eye, he touched a warm object—it was a Dao-Seeking Inkstone engraved with the character "Ye", its ink mixed with Soul Transformation blood, slowly condensing into the eyebrows and eyes of the first Dao Ancestor.
Three drumbeats sounded at the Yin hour, and Kunlun Ruins began to tremble violently. Lu Qingyang collapsed onto the cracked mending the sky stones. The Incomplete Manual of the «Dao De Jing» entwined around his fingertips suddenly spoke: "The bearer of the qingmu Dao shall perish by devouring the profound mysteries of the Purple Mansion." He sneered, pressing the Incomplete Manual into the gap of the spirit pearl. The Dragon soul within the pearl suddenly opened its eyes, but what it spat out was not a curse, but half a sentence from the «Purple Mansion Can Tong Qi» (The Kinship of the Three and the Way).
At dawn, a sky-rending ruler's roar came from the depths of the sea of clouds. Lu Qingyang used his fingers to cut open an incomplete page of the «Usurping Dao Records». The seal script, upon encountering the Grandmist Qi, expanded into a profound tortoise bearing a diagram, trapping the pursuing Taiyi Pavilion Elder in a Luo River Diagram Array. He held up the Grotto-Heaven Key towards the diffusing morning glow. What flowed through the keyhole was not a star map, but the complete qingmu spirit pearl from the forehead of the skeleton within the profound jade Dao stele.