Li Tongya had been in secluded cultivation for over a year when he heard a soft sound outside the stone door. Exhaling a white ribbon of spiritual qi, he said in a deep voice, “Enter.”
The stone door creaked open, and a youth in his mid-teens walked in. His features bore a seventy-percent resemblance to Li Tongya's. It was Li Xuanling, who said respectfully, “Father, those people from the Lu family have come again.”
Li Tongya shook his head, sighing in resignation. “Very well. Hiding like this is no solution either. Come with me to meet them.”
The Lu family had visited three times over the past year, always asking for Li Tongya. Because his cultivation had advanced too rapidly, Li Tongya had been reluctant to show his face. But Lu Sisi was stubborn, showing up every few months. Li Tongya worried that if he remained unseen any longer, the Lu family might assume he was dead and hatch some foul scheme.
After all, unlike Foundation Establishment cultivators who lived on refined qi and attained longevity, Qi Refinement cultivators still had to drink water and move about every ten days or half a month. There was no such thing as remaining locked away in dead seclusion for years on end. Missing once or twice was fine, but doing so too often was bound to arouse suspicion.
*The last time I saw the Lu family was over three years ago. Back then, I was at the third layer of Qi Refinement, and now I'm at the fifth layer. Though Qi Refinement is a slow, grinding process where spending three to five years on a single layer is considered fast, I should be able to muddle through by giving a plausible excuse…*
“Ling'er, did Lu Sisi say anything?” Li Tongya asked as they walked.
Li Xuanling replied in a heavy tone, “That Lu Sisi is exceedingly arrogant. He doesn't take us Embryonic Breathing cultivators seriously in the slightest; why would he deign to speak with us?”
Li Tongya let out a soft laugh and replied, “He is merely a Qi Refinement cultivator. If he ever reached Foundation Establishment, would he not act lawless beyond measure? Back then, Senior Xiao Chuting possessed the peak of Foundation Establishment, yet he could humble himself to befriend an Embryonic Breathing cultivator. Looking at it this way, the difference between greatness and mediocrity is clear at a glance.”
Speaking of this, Li Tongya felt a quiet curiosity inside. According to Zhang Yun of the Jinyu Sect, Xiao Chuting had already attained the Purple Palace realm. Yet no one knew how many years he had kept it concealed or what opportunity he was waiting for, nor how much upheaval it would eventually stir up!
*Xiao Chuting has lived for over two hundred years. In the first half of his life, he pulled the crumbling Xiao family back from the brink, leading them to the point where they dominate the entire Lixia Commandery. Then he quietly attained the Purple Palace realm. He is by no means an ordinary man, and the plans he harbors are bound to shake heaven and earth… My Li family is very close to the Xiao family; who knows what the future holds…*
While lost in thought, he found himself already at the main courtyard. Li Tongya looked up and saw Lu Sisi leisurely sipping tea in the hall. Beside him sat a spirited young man draped in a lavish fox-fur cloak.
“Senior Lu!” Li Tongya cupped his hands with a smile.
Seeing him arrive, Lu Sisi rose to greet him, but suddenly froze in his tracks. He blurted out, “Fifth layer of Qi Refinement?!”
Lu Sisi himself was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement. Now, having not seen Li Tongya for three years, he found that the man had nearly caught up with him.
Li Tongya laughed heartily and explained, “When I parted with Senior last time, I was only a half-step away from the fourth layer. Afterward, I found a spirit fruit in the mountains and spent over three years breaking through. I have only just exited seclusion!”
Li Tongya was, of course, spinning a falsehood. When he last met Lu Sisi, he had only just broken through to the third layer, and by now he had actually been at the fifth layer for nearly three years.
Lu Sisi, however, had a sudden realization. Hearing Li Tongya's explanation, it no longer seemed so outrageous; breaking through two layers over three years appeared to be merely a matter of close timing. He muttered glumly, “What incredible luck!”
Li Tongya smiled faintly. Lu Sisi turned sideways, pulled the young man forward, and introduced him: “This is our Lu family's newly advanced Qi Refinement cultivator, Lu Yuanlu!”
Li Tongya nodded at once and cupped his hands. “An honor to meet you, an honor.”
The young man looked barely in his twenties, yet his demeanor was haughty. Waving a hand, he said, “An honor.”
Li Tongya was taken aback, and beside him, Lu Sisi offered a wry, awkward smile. But Lu Yuanlu lifted his chin and declared loudly, “I hear Brother Tongya's swordsmanship is excellent. Let us exchange pointers some other day!”
With that, he raised his wrist, and the sword at his waist became shrouded in a faint layer of blue true essence. Only then did Li Tongya realize, between amusement and exasperation, what was happening.
*This fellow is showing off that he cultivates an orthodox method and absorbed genuine heaven-and-earth spirit qi, rather than Xiaoqing spirit qi!*
After all, Qi Refinement cultivators who practiced orthodox methods and absorbed authentic heaven-and-earth spirit qi had no trouble fighting two or three mixed-qi cultivators at once, so he naturally felt entitled to his pride. Li Tongya smiled faintly, cupping his hands. “Brother Lu's profound true essence is truly enviable!”
Lu Yuanlu smiled proudly, nodding, while Lu Sisi looked thoroughly embarrassed, at a loss for words.
Looking at this young man, Li Tongya suddenly remembered another fool from the Lu family he had met on Guanyun Peak, who seemed to have died at the hands of the Ji family. He said softly, “I once met a friend on Guanyun Peak who used Xiaoqing spirit qi for his cultivation. I wonder if Lu Yuanping is…”
“He was my elder brother!”
“Oh? Brother Yuanlu certainly surpasses Brother Yuanping by far.”
Lu Yuanlu raised an eyebrow, about to speak, but Lu Sisi could bear it no longer. Terrified that the youth would reveal all their family secrets if he kept talking, Lu Sisi snapped, “Yuanlu!”
Seeing Lu Yuanlu look at him in bewilderment, Lu Sisi gritted his teeth and said, “The matters we are about to discuss are not for your ears. Go wait for me on the road outside.”
Lu Yuanlu's eyes widened and his lips twitched twice. Fortunately, mindful of being before an outsider, he held his tongue, took to the air, and departed in indignation—without even offering a parting word.
“Heh heh.” Li Tongya let out an ambiguous chuckle.
Lu Sisi sighed deeply, whispering, “The juniors of my clan are accustomed to acting overbearing at home. Please forgive him, little friend.”
What was meant to be a show of force had turned into a mortifying embarrassment, leaving Lu Sisi looking even more ill at ease. Looking at Li Xuanling seated below, he sighed, “It seems your noble clan manages its household with great discipline. We truly ought to learn from you.”
“May I ask what brings Senior here this time?” Li Tongya asked directly, unwilling to waste any more time on pleasantries.
Lu Sisi finally collected himself. His white beard fluttering, he spoke in a solemn voice, “A few years ago, a Purple Palace cultivator attacked Mount Qingchi with tremendous force. I hear that even the Tianyuan Unified Spirit Array was activated.”
Li Tongya was startled and asked in disbelief, “Mount Qingchi? Attacking the Qingchi Sect? Have they lost their minds?! Which faction dared to act so insolently?”
“Who knows?” Seeing Li Tongya's reaction, Lu Sisi felt immensely pleased with himself, regaining a bit of his dignity. He smiled faintly and said, “In any case, it was a massive battle. For the first time in over a hundred years, the Qingchi Sect lost face. Do you know how the immortal sect handled it?”
“How did they handle it?” Li Tongya asked, genuinely curious.
“They came forward with an explanation and let the matter drop!”
“The grand Qingchi Immortal Sect simply let it drop without a sound! Do you know why?”
Li Tongya had his suspicions, but he maintained a look of utter disbelief and pressed, “Why?”
“Rumor has it… an elder Purple Palace cultivator atop Mount Qingchi is about to pass away!” Lu Sisi lowered his voice, his emotions surging as he gripped his jade ruyi tightly. He said gravely, “It is said that major upheavals are bound to follow in the coming years! We must make preparations.”
Li Tongya nodded repeatedly. Knowing the old man from the Lu family wanted to do him a favor, he said solemnly, “Thank you for informing me, Senior!”
Lu Sisi nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand. “This time, however, there is another matter of importance. It concerns your Li family, my Lu family, and the An family.”
“The An family possesses a vein-seeking art. Over the past few days, they have been surveying our territory and claim to have discovered a vein of Qingwu ore at the border between our two families.”
At these words, delight crossed Li Tongya's face, and he asked in rapid succession, “What is its yield? In what direction does the vein run?”
Qingwu ore was a common material used by Embryonic Breathing and Qi Refinement cultivators to forge magical instruments. If mined properly, generating an extra income of several tens of spirit stones a year would be no issue, so Li Tongya was naturally thrilled.
Lu Sisi smacked his lips, saying with a touch of regret, “It is a micro vein, running east to west across several li. If it weren't so narrow and winding, penetrating deep into your territory, it would have been best for us to fence it off and mine it ourselves.”
Li Tongya was amused and laughed. “This is a matter of great importance; we must see it in person. Why doesn't Senior Lu lead the way?”
Lu Sisi nodded and replied, “Naturally. I will take you to inspect it first. Afterward, we will still need to discuss the mining and the division of profits.”
Chapter 110