Seeing Li Xuanxuan hanging his head, Li Tongya’s tone softened as he continued, “Well, it’s good that you didn’t make any mistakes since this is your first time overseeing the family affairs.”
After a moment of reflection, Li Tongya cast a look at him and gently advised, “Go clear your head in the cave dwelling on Mount Meiche. Come back when you’ve broken through to the Azure Essence stage.”
“Thank you, Second Uncle.” Li Xuanxuan cupped his fist respectfully, appearing to be relieved as he withdrew.
Li Tongya then retreated to the backyard to change his attire. Seated in the main courtyard, he reviewed the records maintained by Li Xuanxuan.
With a furrowed brow and in a serious tone, he instructed, “Go get Yesheng.”
A soldier standing by the door promptly went off to relay the message. Soon after, Li Yesheng entered the main courtyard with great haste, only to find Li Tongya engrossed in a wooden slip, not bothering to even lift his gaze to acknowledge him.
Feeling apprehensive, Li Yesheng mumbled to himself, “Oh no, he must have realized it.”
Li Xuanxuan had been groomed by Li Xiangping and Li Tongya since young to be the next family head. Although it was a decision made before the birth of Li Xuanfeng and Li Xuanling, no one knew what was going through the minds of the two boys.
Li Yesheng had noticed Li Xuanxuan’s mistakes but chose to remain silent so that he could test the two boys.
Realizing that his scheme had been uncovered as Li Tongya remained silent, Li Yesheng hastily kneeled in apology.
Li Tongya merely frowned and gestured for him to stop. “You’ll explain yourself to the family head when he returns,” he said.
With that, Li Tongya put away the wooden slip he had been reading and ordered, “Sound the drums to gather the troops.”
————
Li Xiangping found refuge under a large tree where he sat to meditate, regaining a small fraction of his mana. Once slightly recovered, he cast the Divine Movement Spell on his legs and continued his journey southward, despite the fatigue.
After three hours of walking, Li Xiangping finally allowed himself a moment of rest. He climbed a towering curtain fig tree, drifting between sleep and wakefulness for hours on one of its branches to regain his stamina.
To sustain himself in the desolate area, Li Xiangping caught a rabbit for his meal and devoted several days to breathing spiritual qi and tending to his meridians before resuming his journey south.
Although his external wounds had nearly healed, his internal injuries were difficult to treat. He could still feel the pain in his internal organs, and he had only partially regained his strength.
To avoid any encounters with demons, Li Xiangping traveled cautiously, only reaching the Li Family’s territory after more than a month.
Upon entering his family’s territory, Li Xiangping noticed patrols of clan soldiers in the forest.
Looks like home is still safe, the Ji Family hasn’t invaded us from the west , he thought to himself.
Despite recognizing the uniforms that the soldiers wore as the ones from his family, Li Xiangping chose a discreet path to Lijing Village.
Only when he observed the normalcy and calm of the village did he allow himself a sigh of relief before proceeding up the mountain.
There, he found Li Tongya cleaning his sword. At the sound of footsteps, Li Tongya looked up, his expression shifting from surprise to amusement upon seeing Li Xiangping’s disheveled appearance and smile.
“I knew you were too cunning to die out there,” he remarked with a chuckle.
With a light scoff, Li Xiangping seated himself at the table and quenched his thirst with a bowl of tea.
“I got chased after by a Qi Cultivator for a day and two nights, and was nearly beaten to death by his palm.”
He then proceeded to recount his harrowing adventure of evasion and pursuit over the past twenty days.
Concluding his tale, Li Xiangping removed his robe and placed the mirror on the table. He watched as the bluish-gray mirror slowly floated in the air, then took out a brocade pouch alongside a block of pale green metal.
“Take a look at these.”
Li Tongya nodded, then extended his spiritual sense into the storage pouch, spilling an assortment of items in it with a clatter.
Aside from a collection of clothes, trinkets, and money, there were twenty-five Spirit Stones in the Old Daoist’s storage pouch, along with multiple healing pills of the Embryonic Breathing Realm, and a jade vial labeled “Jade Sprout Pill”. They also found a dozen old talismans and a jade pendant emitting a soft white glow.
The final item to fall out of the pouch with a clink was a long, light-gray sword.
As soon as Li Xiangping reached for the jade pendant, Lu Jiangxian, who was nodding off in the mirror, immediately felt a surge of energy. He looked at the jade pendant that was only an inch away from him, then tried to establish a connection with it.
Like an energetic bird, the pendant suddenly flew toward the mirror.
“Huh?”
Everything happened so unexpectedly that Li Xiangping could only watch in astonishment as the pendant stuck itself to the mirror. A stream of white qi burst forth, weaving into the mirror like a weary bird finally finding its way back to the haven of its forest.
The twelve runes on the mirror’s frame lit up one by one. A refreshing sense washed over Lu Jiangxian as he felt his divine sense expanding. Information began pouring in, prompting him to delve deeper into it to unravel the message.
Li Xiangping and Li Tongya saw the pendant’s white glow dimming before it fell back onto the table with a clack. They exchanged glances with one another, then returned the mirror to its stone platform.
After a period of waiting without observing any noticeable changes, they decided to resume their inventory in the main courtyard.
The old Daoist seemed to lead a modest life as all his healing pills and medicine were only of the Embryonic Breathing Realm. Li Xiangping carefully put away all of them along with the twenty-five Spirit Stones, then proceeded to cautiously open the Jade Sprout Pill.
As soon as he did, they were greeted by the refreshing fragrance of the pill that seemed to invigorate their mana.
“The potency of this pill seems to surpass the Snake Essence Pills we have at home. Since the Snake Essence Pills were known to be beneficial for those in the Embryonic Breathing and Qi Cultivation Realm, this Jade Sprout Pill must specifically be for cultivators in the Qi Cultivation Realm.”
He quickly resealed the bottle of the Jade Sprout Pill, then turned his attention to Li Tongya, who was already admiring the longsword with great care.
Li Xiangping smiled and asked, “How’s the sword?”
Li Tongya shook his head and smiled wryly in response. “It’s probably the weapon that person used while he was still in the Embryonic Breathing Realm. It seems to be worth only three to five Spirit Stones. Even so, it surpasses ordinary iron in quality.”
That reminded Li Xiangping of his Ebony Bow, a dharma artifact with considerable weight even though Li Tongya had bought it with only two and a half Spirit Stones.
He had initially planned to immediately withdraw after launching the Supreme Yin Profound Light, so he left the bow behind for fear that it would slow him down—only to find himself weaponless when facing the old Daoist.
“Well, you can’t say that. The bow could have slowed me down and the old Daoist could have caught up to me if I had carried it with me.”
While Li Xiangping was lost in his thoughts, Li Tongya proceeded to examine the set of talismans, trying to identify them with the help of the Spiritual Talisman Method manual.
“They seem like talismans of the Embryonic Breathing Realm, designed to create dharma shields,” he concluded after a while.
He counted them; there were a total of twenty-four talismans, valued at approximately eight Spirit Stones.
“I guess they could serve as protective measures for the kids, especially Xuanfeng who likes to wander outside.”
Li Xiangping chuckled as he recalled how angry the old Daoist was when he had to spend twelve of those talismans to create a huge shield.
“That old man was kind of poor but I tricked him twice into using his precious spells. No wonder he was so upset.”
Li Tongya examined the mysterious pale greenish-colored metal block but failed to identify its purpose and origin.
He gazed at Li Xiangping and then frowned. “Are you hurt? You should take some medicine and rest up.”