Li Chejing stirred awake in a dim, softly lit room. He felt the comfort of a plush bed beneath him, and his senior sister, Yuan Tuan, was delicately applying ointment to the wounds on his back. The sensation was soothing and the coolness of the medicine alleviated much of the pain.
Li Chejing strained to lift his head and glanced around. The medicine pots, pills, and books in the room told him that he was in Senior Brother Xiao Yuansi’s pavilion.
“Ugh... Where’s Senior Brother?” he asked groggily in a raspy voice.
“He went to Yuanwu Peak,” Yuan Tuan replied gently, her hair cascading down like a dark waterfall, barely grazing his neck.
“You’re still in the Embryonic Breathing Realm; too weak for the potent healing elixirs. I’ve mended your injuries with a spell. With the help of this ointment, you’ll feel better by tomorrow,” she added reassuringly.
However, Li Chejing’s thoughts lingered on Xiao Yuansi. “Did Senior Brother go to Yuanwu Peak alone?”
“Master is with him,” Yuan Tuan assured with a smile and then said, “Even if Deng Qiuzhi is from a prominent clan, he can’t just bully people from Qingsui Peak.”
Li Chejing frowned slightly and commented glumly, “There’s something wrong with that man.”
“The Deng Family has always been known for their erratic behavior. It’s best not to dwell on him too much,” Yuan Tuan advised as she began tidying up then continued, “Their cultivation method, the Moonlit Frosty Qi, uses a type of qi that can no longer be found, and because of this, the cultivation method was modified over different generations of the Deng Family. Now, after a century, it’s finally improved to an extent where it can be practiced, but it affects the minds of cultivators. Those who practice it have a certain unpredictable nature and do everything at their own pace.”
Li Chejing looked up at her in surprise and asked, “What grade is the Deng Family’s technique that they have to go to such great lengths to practice it?”
“It’s a Grade Five cultivation method,” Yuan Tuan answered nonchalantly.
Seeing Li Chejing’s astonished expression, she chuckled. “I was very surprised when I first found out about it too. Apart from secret techniques from the upper sect, even the renowned Clear Essence Rain Control Technique of the Azure Pond Sect is only at Grade Four. It’s surprising that a family under another governance could possess such a high-grade cultivation method.”
As Yuan Tuan returned the ointment back on the shelf, she continued her explanation, “I’ve heard that their family’s cultivation method originates from the upper sect, Moonlight Origin Mansion. Centuries ago, Moonlight Immortal Mansion frequently distributed this Moonlit Frosty Qi technique manual. Our Azure Pond Sect possesses a similar Grade Five technique named the Moon Lake Autumn Reflection Technique . It also uses a type of qi that can no longer be found since the Immortal Mansion has vanished from the world, so no one has been able to practice it.”
“I’ve heard about it,” Li Chejing responded, nodding. “Senior Brother mentioned that the missing qi of the cultivation method is known as Supreme Yin Moonlight. I’ve heard rumors that someone from Moon Lake Peak once fortuitously obtained it.”
“That was at Moongaze Lake.” Yuan Tuan’s voice softened as she spoke with an envious look on her face.
“In fact, all the five instances of Supreme Yin Moonlight discovered by the three sects and seven gates over centuries were all from Moongaze Lake. They were found in the remains of ancient masters, remnants of formations in caves, or inherited secret realms...” she said.
Li Chejing stared at the pillow in front of him in a daze. He nearly voiced out a speculation but quickly swallowed back his words.
“Senior Sister, I wish to visit home.”
“Huh?”
“My older brothers wrote that our father’s health has been declining over the past few years. I... wish to spend some time with him.”
After a moment of contemplation, Yuan Tuan replied, “In a few months, I’ll be heading to Mushroom Forest Plain to collect the tributes. Mount Dali is just west of there, so you can come with me.”
“Thank you, Senior Sister!” Li Chejing said with a grateful smile and then lay on his bed, lost in his thoughts.
————
After a night of cultivation, Li Xuanxuan watered the spirit fields with Spirit Rain the following morning and then left the courtyard.
As he walked along the stone path, villagers carrying hoes greeted him warmly, affectionately addressing him as “Little Immortal Master”.
Over ten years had passed since the Li Family first discovered the mysterious mirror, and during this time, a new generation had matured in the village. People had gradually grown accustomed to the Li Family’s leadership.
The villagers regarded Li Xiangping with a mix of fear and respect, admired Li Tongya, and felt a kinship with Li Xuanxuan, who had been a constant presence in their lives since childhood.
Li Mutian, secluded in the mountains, was almost a forgotten figure to the younger generation. Only a few elders who reported to the mountain occasionally and the old villagers, reminiscing under the eaves of their home, remembered this old soldier.
Li Xuanxuan pushed open the door and strolled into the courtyard. As soon as he did, he noticed a lacquered wooden platform about half his height. It looked like a large bed, strewn with straw, dried yellow leaves, and finely ground wood shavings, forming small, intriguing nests.
He greeted Liu Rouxuan with a smile, “Auntie, I don’t see my uncles around. Where might they be?”
“Your second uncle had gone into seclusion to break through to the Jade Capital stage with the help of Bright Spirit Powder he received and the Snake Essence Pill from home. He should emerge from seclusion soon,” Liu Rouxuan replied.
She put away the leaves of Spirit Paddies in her hand, then patted Li Xuanxuan on the head and continued saying, “And your third uncle went to Mountain Meiche to look for more spirit fields.”
“I see!” Li Xuanxuan nodded. Just when he was about to ask something else, a gentle knock on the courtyard’s door interrupted them.
“Clan Brother, are you in the courtyard? The young chief has instructions for you,” the voice on the other side of the door said.
Li Xuanxuan quickly opened the door to find Li Qiuyang and Li Yesheng waiting outside.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“We’ll talk on the way.” Li Qiuyang grabbed his hand. After apologizing to Liu Rouxuan for having to leave so abruptly, Li Xuanxuan followed Li Yesheng up the mountain.
“The young chief discovered something peculiar on Mount Meiche and told Uncle Yesheng to fetch us. I heard there’s a formation on that mountain,” Li Qiuyang explained as they hurried up the mountain.
“A formation on Mount Meiche?” Li Xuanxuan asked in surprise. “But that mountain has always been deserted. That formation must have been a few centuries old!”
“Probably.” Li Qiuyang nodded then commented in a hushed tone, “I hope we’ve stumbled upon an immortal’s cave filled with useful stuff.”
Li Xuanxuan was only about eight or nine years old, so it was quite a struggle to keep pace with his two older companions. With a frown, he performed a hand seal and cast the Divine Movement spell. As soon as he smacked the white light on his palm against his thigh, he could easily match the speed of the others.
“We’ll have to watch out for traps. Master Han always said that there’s no such thing as a free lunch!” he warned.
After about two hours’ climb, they found Li Xiangping meditating on a large stone. Upon seeing their arrival, he smiled and said, “Just watch and wait.”
He rose to his feet and gracefully removed the dark longbow strapped to his back. With one foot firmly planted on the large boulder, he nocked an arrow on the shimmering white bowstring, then narrowed his eyes in concentration, focusing intently on a sloping hill not too far in the distance.
Swoosh!
With a swift motion, Li Xiangping released the arrow. It zipped through the air with incredible speed. However, just as it was about to strike the hillside, something unexpected occurred.
The air rippled like disturbed water, and the arrow, as if colliding with an invisible barrier, fell to the ground.
“What a swift arrow,” Li Qiuyang complimented, then fixed his gaze on the hillside and began thinking.
“This is my dharma artifact. I call it Ebony Bow,” Li Xiangping said with a smile.
“There’s probably an illusionary formation or a type of defensive spirit formation at the foot of that hill,” he continued thoughtfully.