After running for a while, Li Xiangping stumbled upon a small orchard enclosed by brown wooden fences. The oranges bearing on the trees suggested that the orchard was well taken care of by the local farmers.
“Judging by the distance I’ve run, I’m probably deep in the Ji Family’s territory now. This family must be under their governance.”
The night’s escape had drained Li Xiangping. His face was pale and the talisman in his hand had dimmed, likely exhausted.
He took out the bluish-gray mirror from his chest pocket and closed his eyes to concentrate. Upon sensing the aura of the pursuing old Daoist behind him in the distance, he cursed under his breath.
From within the mirror, Lu Jiangxian observed the scene with clarity. The old Daoist took several pills to stabilize his condition before chasing after Li Xiangping on his flying shuttle, his eyes burning with a fierce determination.
If this old Daoist tries to use some sort of spell on me or assault the mirror directly, I’ll feign a counterattack and seize the moment to eliminate him.
Lu Jiangxian frowned, noting the loss of the old Daoist’s left arm and the disruption in his mana flow. The effects of the Supreme Yin Profound Light lingered within him, occasionally forcing him to close his eyes and regulate his breathing. His advance was slowed but he remained undeterred in his pursuit of Li Xiangping.
“Once I catch up to him... I’ll kill him with a single blow to end his resistance and secure the mirror!” A mixture of anger, greed, and a strategic rationale oscillated in the old Daoist’s mind.
“If the mirror holds such power in the arms of a cultivator of the Embryonic Breathing Realm, I can’t imagine the immense potential it will hold in my hands! The fact that he’s reluctant to keep using it suggests that it must have drained him considerably, leaving him vulnerable for some time.”
The old Daoist slowly increased the speed of his flying shuttle. Soon, a village appeared before him. Among the orange trees in the orchard ahead, he spotted a person running through it. His movements were no longer aided by the buoyancy of wind beneath his feet—this was a clear indication that he had exhausted his talismans.
Clutching the last of his talismans, Li Xiangping prepared for a final confrontation. The Vajra Talisman in his grasp would turn his flesh and bones as hard as steel, potentially enough to withstand the old Daoist’s onslaught and fight for his life.
As the old Daoist descended with his flying shuttle, Li Xiangping suddenly turned around, holding the mirror high in the air.
“Again?”
The old Daoist nearly coughed up blood as his frustration peaked. He abruptly changed the direction of where he was flying and landed awkwardly on the branch of a tree.
Li Xiangping stood next to the tree, staring at him with a cold smile on his face.
“Hmph, you got me.” Instead of anger, the old Daoist’s face lit up with delight. He stowed his flying shuttle away into his storage pouch, then gently descended on the ground. As soon as he did, Li Xiangping charged straight toward him.
Without uttering a word, the old Daoist conjured a dazzling golden light from his hand and directed it straight toward Li Xiangping.
The force of the spell clashed against Li Xiangping. A shield of white, soft light appeared, attempting to neutralize the golden light. Despite its efforts, the golden spell penetrated his defenses, striking him with such force that it sent him reeling backward.
“Ugh.” Li Xiangping felt the impact on his internal organs, prompting him to cough up blood. He struggled to maintain his grip on the mirror, which was just moments away from dropping to the ground.
The old Daoist’s focus was immediately drawn to it. The white hair of his horsetail whisk extended like a spectral hand, reaching out to grasp the mirror.
A murderous glint flashed across Li Xiangping’s eyes. While the Old Daoist’s attention was diverted by the mirror, he readied a Golden Light spell on his left hand and prepared to launch a retaliatory strike aimed directly at the old man’s head.
Watching the hair of the horsetail whisk reaching toward him in the mirror, Lu Jiangxian felt strongly repulsed. He felt as though he was watching an insolent child pointing a pair of chopsticks straight at his eyes.
Seizing what he perceived as an opening, he thought, This is my chance!
As the hairs of the whisk grabbed onto the mirror, they recoiled as if they had been scorched by charcoal. The bluish-gray mirror seemed to be offended, rising a foot into the air and emitting sporadic bursts of white light.
The twelve runes around the mirror’s frame began glowing, and the intense white light created a rippling effect on the mirror’s surface. The light from it was so dazzling that it seemed almost as though a small sun was suspended in mid-air above the two men.
An overwhelming sense of danger coursed through the both of them, freezing them in place.
“Oh no!” The old Daoist's heart raced with regret as he thought, I shouldn’t have used that horsetail whisk to capture the mirror!
With his years of experience, the old Daoist had heard tales of dharma artifacts possessing great sentience and requiring respectful handling. There were also many taboos surrounding them. The Frosty Absolute Sword of the Azure Pond Sect, for example, would not respond to anyone other than the wielder that it acknowledged.
This is bad, very bad. I didn’t expect the mirror to react this way. I must have triggered some taboo!
Li Xiangping attempted to unleash a Golden Light spell on the old Daoist but found himself immobilized by the oppressive force. As he witnessed the mirror ascend into the air while being bathed in white light, he realized it was much like the night his father and second brother had described during their encounter with the wolf demon years ago. Li Xiangping instantly realized that the old Daoist’s actions had likely triggered a retaliatory response from the artifact and let out a sigh of relief.
Li Xiangping could not comprehend how, but he heard the faint voice of the old Daoist echoing in his ear. “Young friend, I was as foolish as a pig and have accidentally violated some taboo, triggering this dharma artifact to retaliate against us. If you have any spells to stop it, please save us... I promise to reward you generously...”
Li Xiangping rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore the old Daoist’s rambling.
Lu Jiangxian observed the old Daoist’s immobilized state and gained a deeper understanding of his own abilities.
So, the Supreme Yin Profound Light can immobilize even a cultivator of the Qi Cultivation Realm as long as they are close enough.
With his divine sense, Lu Jiangxian detected movement in the nearby farmhouse. A young man, dressed in tattered linen clothing, cautiously approached and hid behind a tree, watching the two men.
I better end this quickly.
With a mental command, the pure white Supreme Yin Profound Light descended, disintegrating the Old Daoist along with his horsetail whisk before he could even utter half a word.
A small brocade pouch fell to the ground. The whisk’s handle, made of some spirit material, transformed into a piece of pale green metal and dropped on the ground as well.
Lu Jiangxian then gradually extinguished the white light and remained suspended in the air.
Li Xiangping, finally freed from the oppressive force, coughed up more blood and collapsed weakly onto the ground.
Just as Li Xiangping was attempting to regulate his breathing, he was struck so hard on his head that he could see stars. He managed to roll over and caught sight of his attacker.
Before him, a raggedly dressed peasant boy brimming with greed and delight straddled atop Li Xiangping. He grabbed a rock and began mercilessly hitting Li Xiangping with it.
“Damn it! How dare you? How dare you lay hands on an immortal cultivator?!” Li Xiangping summoned the last remnants of his mana and deflected the rock that was coming down on him with his left hand.
He fumbled around with his right hand until he grabbed a hold of a sturdy tree branch. He quickly imbued it with a Golden Light spell and thrust it toward the young man.
The branch, sharpened by the Golden Light spell, pierced through the young man’s neck. The young man’s eyes widened in shock as he promptly coughed up several mouthfuls of blood while clutching his throat and writhing on the ground.
Li Xiangping collapsed to the ground, watching the young man’s desperate struggles. Fearful that the commotion might draw more attention, he struggled to his feet. He quickly stashed the pouch and the metal block into his chest pocket, then retrieved the mirror and made a staggering escape toward the outskirts of the village.