After attending the funeral, Li Tongya changed into a white robe. Calculating the days, it was time for the Lake Wangyue market to open. He packed up the monster beast pelts and various materials he had hunted over these past days, and headed north.
Riding the wind, he circled several times through the reed marshes, intending to wait for the proper hour to form hand seals and harvest a strand of river clear qi. Yet all he saw was a withered expanse of yellow and cracked riverbeds. He had no choice but to come out empty-handed in exasperation.
"After months of drought, the waterways have dried up and the reeds are completely withered. How could any river clear qi be gathered?"
Emerging from the reed marshes, Li Tongya rode the wind toward Lake Wangyue. The waterline of Lake Wangyue had receded by hundreds of li. Rotten fish carcasses across the exposed beds crawled with maggots, and numerous islets had surfaced upon the lake.
With a flick of his sleeve, Li Tongya sent out a strike. The concealed formation in midair was instantly triggered, giving off pulses of silver light.
Things were no longer as they used to be; with a mere sweep of his spiritual sense, he located the large ship on the lake, strode through the air in a few paces, and dropped down onto it.
"My lord! Are you heading to the Lake Wangyue market?"
A young man scrambled out from the cabin below. His cultivation was merely at the third layer of Embryonic Breathing, the Zhouxing Wheel, and he inquired with utmost attentiveness.
"Indeed."
Li Tongya replied, found a seat, and sat down. He saw the young man serve tea, yet did not see the white-haired old man from years ago. He asked, "I remember that more than ten years ago, the one steering this boat was a white-haired elder. How has someone else taken his place now?"
The young man looked enlightened, gently set down the teacup in his hand, and replied repeatedly, "Senior might not know, but that old master failed to break through to Qi Refinement. His lifespan ran out and he passed away ten years ago. There were no children with spirit apertures in his family, so his eldest son traded the spiritual items for farmland and returned home to live as a wealthy squire."
Li Tongya paused, gently lifted the teacup, but out of caution did not drink the tea, setting it back down. With a sigh of regret, he said, "What a pity."
"Ah," the young man lowered his eyes and cupped his hands, quickly replying, "Senior might not know, but the old master lived to be a full one hundred and eight years old, surviving until the natural end of his days. All of us boatmen envy his good fortune!"
"Oh?"
Seeing that Li Tongya appeared only in his thirties yet had already attained Qi Refinement, and had both a storage bag and qi-gathering bottles tied at his waist, the young man knew he was eight or nine out of ten chances a scion of a prominent clan. He could only smile bitterly.
"Senior might not know, but we rogue cultivators have crude heritages. Most of us use first-rank Embryonic Breathing respiration methods. It takes over a decade of breathing and meditating just to brush against the edges of condensing a wheel. Being trapped in Embryonic Breathing for a lifetime is only normal."
"I see."
The youth had worked on the lake for over a decade. Most Qi Refinement cultivators he had seen were aloof and haughty, disdaining even to speak. Li Tongya, however, listened with a focused expression, nodding frequently. This opened the floodgates of the youth's chatter, and he quickly continued:
"Senior's talent is outstanding to have reached Qi Refinement at such a young age. You are not like us rogue cultivators, who often hold onto a single Embryonic Breathing cultivation method for a lifetime. If we want to draw talismans or refine pills, we lack any heritage. It is truly miserable beyond words!"
Hearing this, Li Tongya suddenly thought of the Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture at home, musing silently:
This method is probably something all the clans around Lake Wangyue tied together could never match! Judging by its cultivation speed, it is at least over ten times faster than ordinary arts, not to mention that the cultivated dharmic power is pure and condensed, far surpassing others.
Feigning casual curiosity, Li Tongya smiled and sighed, "I wonder what rank of Embryonic Breathing methods the disciples of great sects practice!"
The young man nodded heavily and chuckled with a grin. "I have sailed boats on this lake for over a decade. I have seen twenty-year-old Qi Refinement disciples from great sects, and I have also seen ninety-year-old elders at the first layer of Embryonic Breathing. I have only heard that the Qingchi Sect's Embryonic Breathing method crowns all the sects—a fifth-rank art that is a full four times faster than ordinary arts!"
"Truly miraculous!"
Li Tongya marveled inwardly. Unobtrusively steering the conversation, he chattered aimlessly, eventually bringing up the Shanyue.
"I hear the Shanyue in the west are exceedingly ferocious!"
"Indeed!" The young man nodded repeatedly, showing off his knowledge: "I heard that the Shanyue Great King's cultivation has already reached the peak of Qi Refinement! He has slaughtered the clans under the Tangjin Sect on the western bank until they threw off their helmets and abandoned their armor. Three Qi Refinement clan heads have already perished, and their losses are beyond counting."
As Li Tongya listened, several more passengers boarded the ship. The young man could only reluctantly excuse himself and take his leave. Li Tongya pondered in secret:
Jianixi is formidable indeed. It would be best if he died soon, sparing the rest of us sleepless nights.
Li Tongya listened to the others chat for a while until he felt the vessel shudder. The Lake Wangyue market had arrived before them.
Disembarking and walking a few paces, Li Tongya deposited a spirit stone to rent a stall. He arranged his various materials on it, tossed out several talismans acquired from killing his enemies along with them, and took out a wooden slip to read through a technique right at the stall.
He had studied the path of talismans for over ten years as well. The talismans he drew barely reached a success rate of one out of ten, which hardly covered the cost of talisman paper; once talisman ink was factored in, it was still a net loss. He had no choice but to keep practicing, hoping that one day he might earn money from talisman crafting.
Reflecting on this, he looked down at the storage bag and two qi-gathering bottles at his waist, roughly deducing how the boatman had known he was a clan scion. He took an inch of spiritual cloth, wrapped it around the qi-gathering bottles, and tucked them into his robes. Now, he looked more like a rogue cultivator.
This time Li Tongya had arrived early and the foot traffic was quite heavy. Within two hours, he had sold nearly everything. Unwilling to wait for the remaining one or two items, he packed up the stall, reclaimed his spirit stone deposit, and paid the rental fee of ten jin of spirit rice.
"Sold for eleven spirit stones; not bad at all."
Spending five spirit stones to buy a Yuya Pill, combined with the one obtained from the immortal's cave earlier, Li Tongya calculated that in a few more months, he could attempt a breakthrough to the fourth layer of Qi Refinement.
Although this Yuya Pill is potent, the pill toxin cannot be underestimated. I must still wait several months until the pill toxin within my body is naturally expelled before taking it.
Li Tongya had walked only a few paces when a middle-aged female cultivator approached from ahead. She had a cultivation of the fifth layer of Embryonic Breathing, the Yujing Wheel, and looked roughly the same age as Li Tongya, yet she cupped her hands respectfully.
"Senior! Do you still remember me?"
Li Tongya found her familiar, but could not recall her name. He had to cup his hands with an awkward smile, "May I ask who you are..."
"Guanyun Peak market, the Qingwu Bow."
The middle-aged female cultivator spoke with a gentle smile. Li Tongya was struck with sudden realization. Back when paying tribute at the foot of Guanyun Peak, he had bought the Qingwu Bow for Li Xiangping from this very woman. Back then, she had been a young maiden; now she was already past middle age.
"It has been over ten years. Have you been well, Fellow Daoist?"
Li Tongya wondered why she had stopped him, yet exchanged pleasantries all the same.
The middle-aged female cultivator's expression was somewhat complex as she murmured, "In merely ten-odd years, Senior has already reached Qi Refinement..."
"Just good fortune."
Li Tongya laughed it off, only to see the woman straighten her countenance and say seriously, "This humble woman is Lin Jingyi. My husband is the Qi Refinement cultivator Xu Yangping."
"Li Tongya."
Li Tongya nodded in greeting, whereupon Lin Jingyi lowered her voice, "We have word of a cave abode ruin. Might Senior be interested?"
"A cave abode?"
Li Tongya narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking to himself:
How could there be such a good thing! We met merely by chance and share no friendship to speak of. How could this be entrusted to an outsider? Could she be trying to lure me to my death...
"Oh? Such a good thing?"
Li Tongya chuckled. Sensing his skepticism, Lin Jingyi quickly lowered her voice: "We have already scouted it. It is the cave abode of a Foundation Establishment cultivator from at least two hundred years ago. We possess the means to enter, but we are short one Qi Refinement cultivator..."
Li Tongya laughed aloud and countered, "Could it be that a group of Embryonic Breathing cultivators cannot breach the cave abode's formation, and wants me to take the lead?"
Having said this, he looked at her calmly, already prepared to flick his sleeve and leave.
"That is not the case."
Lin Jingyi lowered her head with an awkward smile and answered, "We already have two Qi Refinement cultivators; we are just one person short of entering the cave abode."
At these words, Li Tongya believed her a bit more and was willing to sit down and talk with Lin Jingyi. Finding a bamboo pavilion, they ordered cups of clear tea. Lin Jingyi began:
"My husband and I originally operated around the Xunlin Plain. Some years ago, the Tangjin Sect invaded, rendering the region devoid of inhabitants and causing the markets to shut down. Fortunately, my husband attained Qi Refinement, so we traveled west to Lake Wangyue to have a look.
"Who would have thought that upon arriving in the west, we would encounter the great drought of Lake Wangyue. The waters receded several hundred li, exposing a cave abode within the lake.
"Having operated for hundreds of years, the cave abode developed flaws, which was how we discovered it. After casting a concealment spell over the place, we came out to seek helpers."
"Ho."
Li Tongya gave a noncommittal nod and asked in a low voice, "Why seek me out?"
"Because Your Excellency's cultivation is shallow..."
Lin Jingyi smiled awkwardly and explained, "My husband is only at the second layer of Qi Refinement, and the fellow found a few days ago is only at the third layer. Having grown fearful of deceit and perils, we all wished to find someone of comparable cultivation..."
"So that is why."
Li Tongya took a sip of tea and smiled, "Is that your husband outside the door?"
Li Tongya had noticed someone waiting outside early on. Exposing it directly now, Lin Jingyi nodded and called out toward the entrance. The person outside walked straight in, cupped his fists, and said:
"I am Xu Yangping. Greetings, Brother Tongya!"
Seeing that the man had fairly decent features and appeared in his fifties, Li Tongya cupped his hands in return. "No need to be polite."
Xu Yangping nodded repeatedly and smiled, "I have waited for dozens of days. If Brother Tongya had not appeared, we would have had to grit our teeth and approach the surrounding clans."
Lin Jingyi chimed in, explaining, "The mountain gates of those clans are tightly shrouded in defensive formations, and who knows how many Qi Refinement cultivators dwell within. Unless absolutely pushed to the brink, we would never dare go to them."
Li Tongya wasted no more words with the couple, saying in a deep voice, "The Xuanjing Spiritual Oath."
Xu Yangping nodded. Forming hand seals, he repeated what Lin Jingyi had just said, and concluded with a seal, murmuring, "All spoken is true; I swear by Xuan Scenery!"
Li Tongya listened closely. There was indeed no loophole. Seeing that Xu Yangping's imposing aura did not decline, he was now seventy percent convinced, and replied:
"When do we depart?"
"Now!"
The couple was already brimming with excitement. Lin Jingyi reined herself in with difficulty and said to Li Tongya, "Might Fellow Daoist also swear an oath not to turn your hand against us? Although the Xuanjing Spiritual Oath is mostly used for secrecy and verification of truth, and holds little binding force over conduct, having this oath will give us some peace of mind."
"Agreed."
Li Tongya swore the oath and rose into the wind alongside Xu Yangping. Sensing that the man's true essence was somewhat mottled, Li Tongya knew Xu Yangping had consumed impure, miscellaneous qi to refine his qi, which put him even more at ease.
The couple, on the other hand, saw that Li Tongya's true essence was mellow, profound, and lingering, his protective true essence clear and bright. They looked at each other, smiling bitterly.
————
Meanwhile, in Lijing Town.
Chen Erniu was seventy years old, with graying hair. In the deep mountains, he had already lived through two lifetimes of an ordinary farmer. His old eyes were cloudy, and everyone in Lijing Town addressed him as Elder Uncle.
Sitting on a chair, Chen Erniu was filled with anxiety and restlessness. The drought gave him nightmares night after night, always making him think of that giant sparrow plummeting from the sky.
"Sigh."
When Lichuankou was reclaimed, Chen Erniu had gone to search for Chen Sanshui, but found nothing other than a tooth and a pool of blood. The people of Lichuankou all said Chen Sanshui had been captured by the Shanyue and dragged west.
Chen Erniu had sneered coldly in disdain. Following the hoofprints and peering into the roadside brush, he finally found a patch of bloodstains. The old man parted the grass and looked down, wailing aloud in tears.
His eldest son, Chen Sanshui, had died a gruesome death. The old man held the vigil for him; Chen Sanshui's children were all too busy dealing with the drought, coming to pay respects even less often than he did.
"I wonder if Donghe can make it back..."
Chen Erniu frowned, his sparse white hair trembling, when suddenly a commotion broke out outside the courtyard. A large crowd was shouting, their cries and clamor rattling him to the core.
Leaning on his cane, he shuffled toward the village entrance. Many people were already waiting there. A group of disheveled men, their faces streaked with mud, knelt or sat on the ground, surrounded by muted weeping.
"They're back."
Chen Erniu strained to straighten his back, finally catching sight of Li Xuanxuan and Chen Donghe at the front. Li Xuanxuan had already grown faint whiskers and was staring in disbelief at the Shanyue man before him.
"You... say that again?!"
"It was a death curse... Even his corpse could not be brought back..."
Li Xuanxuan stood stunned for two breaths. Tears burst forth like a broken dam, streaming down his cheeks and wetting his neck.
"Donghe... come up the mountain with me. The rest of you, go home for now."
Covering his face, Li Xuanxuan fell silent for a long moment before squeezing out the words from his throat. Chen Donghe stood before him, face drenched in tears. The crowd silently parted to make way, watching them depart.
"Clan Head..."
Chen Donghe softly addressed Li Xuanxuan, snapping him out of the crushing blow. Li Xuanxuan looked at the Qingwu Bow in his hand, his tears refusing to stop.
"Call me Young Clan Head..."
Wiping his tears, Li Xuanxuan answered with a choke in his voice, his feet treading the stone path as his grip tightened around the bow.
The two walked silently with lowered heads for a while before running into Li Xuanfeng, who had just exited seclusion and was rushing down the mountain. Li Xuanfeng merely cast a glance at the Qingwu Bow in Li Xuanxuan's hand and froze.
"How is that possible!"
Li Xuanfeng's eyes widened, his rims reddening instantly. He snatched the bow and arrow with a fierce swipe and barked:
"Who was it!"
Seeing the Li brothers, Chen Donghe felt even more suffocated by grief and choked out:
"It was a Shanyue death curse."
Li Xuanfeng opened his mouth, but not a single word would come out. Looking at the tear-streaked face of Li Xuanxuan, he sank blankly onto a nearby bluestone.
"What vile methods."
Li Xuanfeng gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face.
Chapter 102