As the Snake Dragon Fruit dissolved in the furnace, transforming into a glob of red medicinal liquid floating above the Pill Flame, Xiao Yuansi added several other supplementary herbs into the mix.
He then refined the concoction with the Pill Flame, dedicating over an hour to the process. Only when the mountain mist cleared and the dew evaporated did eight pale red spirit pills emerge from the furnace.
Xiao Yuansi performed a hand seal, and the pills flew into his palm and glowed with a soft white light.
He carefully placed them into eight white jade vials, keeping two for himself and handing the remaining six to Li Xiangping.
“Store these Snake Essence Pills in their jade vials to preserve them properly. Remove the wooden corks only when you are about to consume them. If exposed, their medicinal potency will gradually dissipate and they’ll go to waste. No worries though, they’ll remain effective for about twenty years if kept sealed.”
Li Xiangping and Li Tongya accepted the vials with gratitude. They exchanged glances, then selected three vials of Snake Essence Pills and requested, “Immortal Master, we’d be grateful if you could deliver these to our younger brother to aid his cultivation.”
“Certainly. It’s admirable how the Li Family values kinship. I’ll ensure your brother receives these.” Xiao Yuansi nodded approvingly and carefully stored the three jade vials.
He cupped his fist and advised, “Your family has embarked on the path of immortal cultivation recently, and while the foundation is yet nascent, it’s vital to cultivate skills in alchemy, formation, and refining. Attracting individuals with spiritual orifices into your clan is essential to avoid the risk of your clan fading in a few generations... The Li Family must seize the opportunity, especially as Lixia Road and Guli Road lack significant immortal cultivation clans.”
“Countless families have risen and fallen over centuries. As one of the clans in the prefecture, the Xiao Family has witnessed many such cycles. The Li Family must persevere and grow stronger...”
His words resonated with Li Tongya, who could not help but feel the weight of their responsibility. With a long sigh, he replied, “You’re right, Immortal Master. My brother and I started from scratch, and now there are only less than thirty in the main Li family and about two to three hundred in the side Ye family. Jing’er alone pursues cultivation within the sect, and we, unfortunately, lack the resources to provide him with the necessary support for his journey.”
As Li Tongya sighed, Xiao Yuansi frowned and said, “My expertise in alchemy was inherited from my clan, and I’ve taken a Profound Scenery Spiritual Oath, binding me to keep the Snake Essence Pill recipe confidential. However, you might find useful information if you visit the marketplace.”
Li Xiangping, seizing the opportunity, asked, “Immortal Master, could you elaborate on this Profound Scenery Spiritual Oath...?”
Xiao Yuansi explained, “In our clan, the oath is crucial for passing down skills secretly. The caster pledges on their Profound Scenery Chakra, binding their very essence to the vow. Violating the oath would shatter their Profound Scenery, leading to a rapid loss of cultivation. The immortal cultivator will quickly revert to a mortal and face an inevitable death due to the exhaustion of qi.”
“This Profound Scenery Spiritual Oath sounds useful for preserving legacy. May I know the price of...” Li Tongya immediately asked, only to be interrupted by Xiao Yuansi with a wave of his hand before he could finish.
“It’s only a basic trick known to many. I can write it down for you.”
In about ten to fifteen minutes, Xiao Yuansi finished writing the oath but cautioned, “Remember, this oath doesn’t call about the heavenly Dao. It’s effective for keeping secrets, but it may not prevent malicious intentions. Discerning good and evil remains a complex matter, beyond the simple confines of any oath.”
“Thank you for the warning, Immortal Master! The Li Family is in your debt!” The brothers quickly thanked Xiao Yuansi.
Li Xiangping felt a weight lift from his shoulders, and his mood improved significantly.
The Profound Scenery Spiritual Oath will be another layer of assurance. Once the two kids attain the Profound Scenery Chakra and take the oath, we’ll be able to trust them, he thought to himself.
As Xiao Yuansi accepted the return letter from Li Xiangping, he gathered his furnace and summoned his flying shuttle.
With a light chuckle, he reassured them, “My junior brother is quite a skilled cultivator. Although his root bone[1] is only average, he shows promising talent in swordsmanship. You have no cause for concern. Let us meet again when fate wills it!”
With a final farewell, Xiao Yuansi ascended into the sky on his shuttle, leaving amidst the brothers’ expressions of gratitude.
Once he was out of sight, Li Xiangping carefully stowed away the three remaining vials of pills in his chest pocket and turned to Li Tongya with a smile.
“Jing’er is fortunate to have such a great senior brother,” he said.
Li Tongya nodded. While reading the Profound Scenery Spiritual Oath, he passed the jade slip to Li Xiangping, inviting him to examine its contents.
Li Xiangping accepted the jade slip and eagerly examined it. However, he soon found himself overwhelmed by the wall of tiny text.
Struggling through just a handful of sentences, he muttered in disbelief, “This is supposed to be easy?”
————
Li Xuanxuan was distracted during class today. His eyes were on Han Wenxu who was speaking at the podium, yet his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Han Wenxu was nearing fifty, and the gray hair on his sideburns was slowly creeping onto his head. In his twenties, he was an apothecary in training at one of the medicine stores in the prefecture. A moment of heated anger led to a fatal incident, forcing him to flee and seek refuge on Mount Dali.
For the past twenty years, he had been living a fulfilling life, dedicated to healing villagers and educating children.
Observing the earnest faces of his young students, Han Wenxu’s expression softened with affection. Though childless himself, he had nurtured the children of the Li family as if they were his own. The bond he shared with these children, who had grown under his tutelage, was as profound as that between an uncle and his nieces and nephews.
Noticing a thin layer of fog curling at his feet, Han Wenxu paused, perplexed.
“Hmm? Fog at this hour...?” he pondered aloud, a hint of concern lining his features.
Li Xuanxuan, struggling to stay awake in his seat, suddenly perked up. He nudged Li Xiewen who was also dozing off beside him, whispering urgently, “Brother Wen, look outside!”
Li Xiewen, startled, saw the gray mist swirling outside and whispered back apprehensively, “What's happening, Big Brother?”
Li Xuanxuan knitted his small eyebrows together and said in a serious tone, “This fog seems quite unusual. The adults in my family are on the mountain, let’s go up there to let them know.”
Despite being less than six years old, Li Xuanxuan had the maturity of an eight or nine-year-old child.
Their conversation was interrupted as Liu Linfeng entered the classroom and whispered something to Han Wenxu. After a brief exchange, Han Wenxu nodded and announced, “Everyone, pack up your clothes and blankets, there’ll be no classes for the next three days.”
Li Xuanxuan and Li Xiewen exchanged glances, then quickly packed their belongings amidst the happy cheers of the other children who were elated at the unexpected break.
After relaying the message to Han Wenxu, Liu Linfeng sat on the steps at the entrance of the academy and waited for the children. His mouth felt lonely so he reached for the pipe in his chest pocket.
When he lifted his head again, he saw a shadowy figure lurking in the fog. It seemed to be hiding in the forest and keeping watch of something.
Liu Linfeng shot up from the ground in shock. His precious pipe fell from his grasp, shattering on the ground. Overcome with fear and disregarding the broken pipe, he called out, “Who’s there?!”
1. Root bone is the foundation of all martial arts, and it determines one’s future. A person with good root bone will be able to achieve much more with less effort whereas a person with inferior root bone will find his future achievements limited. ☜