Riding the wind, Lu Sisi and Li Tongya touched down east of Lidaokou. On the Lu family's land, a grime-faced gathered crowd of village laborers had already felled a large swath of trees, erecting dozens of scattered wooden shacks and neatly stacking trimmed timber in readiness to establish the mining grounds.
“This Qingwu ore grows atop ordinary iron veins, with occasional clusters of Qingwu interspersed throughout the shafts. As excavation goes deeper, one must constantly employ vein-seeking arts to survey the precise path of the deposit—and for that, we cannot do without the An family.”
The moment Lu Sisi finished speaking, Li Tongya nodded. As expected, possessing a specialized heritage made one indispensable; no wonder every house guarded their techniques jealously, even destroying them when peril struck. It truly was their bread and butter.
As soon as the two landed, a crowd of mortals knelt before them. Lu Sisi pointed at the low knoll beneath their feet and explained, “The An family estimated that since the shaft is narrow, deploying one to two thousand workers will suffice. It can produce roughly a hundred pieces of Qingwu ore every month. In the commandery, that should fetch around thirty spirit stones. Aside from the labor costs, it is an exceedingly lucrative venture.”
Li Tongya nodded, gauging the distance to Lake Wangyue, and cautioned, “This place is less than three hundred li from Lake Wangyue. There is a market on the lake, and rogue cultivators pass back and forth frequently. We must set up a formation to conceal the site, disguising it as an ordinary hamlet.”
Lu Sisi nodded repeatedly. While a mine delving westward could not be hidden from the Li family, screening it from roaming rogue cultivators would pose no trouble. He immediately chuckled. “My young friend speaks the truth. My Lu family happens to have one or two formation discs. Leave it to us—we will veil the entrance to the shafts.”
While the two were conversing, the bald man from the An family also landed beside them on a gust of wind, cupping his hands toward Li Tongya with a smile. “We parted in haste a few years ago without me introducing myself to Brother Tongya. Now we finally meet once more.”
With both hands raised, his face was radiant with warmth, showing not a trace of the ruthless demeanor from months earlier when he had plotted the Li family’s destruction. The smile on his face was so amicable it seemed as though they were old friends reunited after years apart.
“I am An Zheyan of the An family. I have long looked forward to meeting you.”
Li Tongya hastily returned the salute and smiled. “Li Tongya greets Brother An.”
Lu Sisi let out a hearty laugh, shot An Zheyan a meaningful glance, and said solemnly, “Now that our young friend has inspected the vein, it is time we discuss dividing the profits.”
An Zheyan nodded repeatedly and chimed in, “Tracing the course of this vein and surveying it all relies on my An family’s vein-seeking art, and future excavation will depend entirely on our periodic surveys. As agreed, our share is forty percent, and that portion cannot be diminished!”
Lu Sisi gave a dry chuckle. Seeing Li Tongya remain silent, he tested the waters: “A smooth harvest from this mine requires us all to be of one mind. How about forty percent for your An family, and forty percent for my Lu family…”
Watching the two play off each other, Li Tongya knew in his heart that this matter would have to be settled by force. With a faint smile, he said in a calm, weighty voice, “More than half of this ore vein lies within my Li family's borders, while only a few branch veins cross into the Lu family's territory. An equal split between the two houses is far too unjust. Why not divide it according to the amount of ore within each family's lands?”
At these words, Lu Sisi and An Zheyan both stiffened, their expressions souring. An Zheyan took a deep breath, forced a smile, and asked, “What does Brother Li mean by that?”
Li Tongya nodded toward An Zheyan, rested his right hand on the hilt of his longsword, and spoke gently: “The An family is laboring to survey and excavate the vein, so naturally Brother An must receive a fair cut. How about this: my Li family takes fifty percent, and the An family takes thirty percent.”
An Zheyan froze, his mouth opening and closing without a word. Lu Sisi’s brow twitched as he said in a low voice, “The Li family has quite an appetite. Are you joking?”
Li Tongya shook his head with a smile. “It is Senior who is joking. The two of you play your duet and demand eighty percent of the vein between you. Do you take me for an easy target because of my youth, assuming I would meekly submit?”
With that, he gave his cyan blade a slight lift and said nonchalantly, “Sooner or later, we were bound to have a bout anyway. We might as well let our hands do the talking.”
Lu Sisi and An Zheyan exchanged a glance, realizing that sweet talk would not fool him; they would have to face him in battle after all. Lu Sisi nodded, and the jade ruyi in his hand soared into the air.
Just as An Zheyan was caught in a dilemma, the sword in Li Tongya’s hand flared with brilliant white light. A crescent arc of sword radiance swept forward, engulfing them both. An Zheyan’s brow furrowed, and he roared, “Insolent fool!”
With that, he summoned a Qingwu longstaff into his grasp and swung it upward to meet Li Tongya’s Lunar Crescent Sword Arc.
The two had mounted a hasty defense, whereas Li Tongya's sword qi had long been gathering power. In an instant, the sharp sword qi shattered the pure, spiritual true essence protecting both magical artifacts. With two crisp clangs of clashing metal, the weapons were knocked several feet aside, one to the left and one to the right.
Pressing his advantage relentlessly, Li Tongya unleashed two blasts of Xuanshui sword qi hurtling toward them. One after another, the beams of Xuanshui sword qi struck in rapid succession, battering the two so thoroughly that they had no room to strike back.
When Li Tongya had ambushed the Ji family alongside them, he had never used the Lunar Crescent Sword Arc. Caught off guard, Lu Sisi and An Zheyan misjudged his true strength. With their magical artifacts knocked away and no shield to hide behind, they could only dodge in flustered disarray.
Even after struggling to recall their artifacts, Li Tongya maintained the upper hand, leaving them able only to parry frantically without the slightest opening to counterattack, trapped in an embarrassing defense.
Having received the Vast Ocean Leviathan Talisman, Li Tongya possessed boundless magical power, exhaling ribbons of white mist with every breath. He steadily suppressed the pair for a full quarter of an hour. Seeing that An Zheyan, the weaker of the two, had grown visibly pale, Li Tongya finally stayed his hand and murmured, “Do the two of you wish to continue?”
An Zheyan's face flushed red with embarrassed relief. He waved his hand, keeping his head down and remaining silent. Lu Sisi gritted his teeth as his sour expression melted into a smile, and he chuckled: “We never imagined Brother Tongya’s swordsmanship was so astonishing. It was our presumption. The Li family fully deserves that fifty percent.”
His tone had grown far more deferential, no longer condescendingly addressing Li Tongya as 'young friend,' but rather calling him 'Brother Tongya.' An Zheyan joined in with laughter, and the three behaved as if they had merely engaged in a brief, friendly spar, restoring an atmosphere of harmony. Li Tongya nodded and replied mildly, “My Li family accepts the fifty percent. As for the rest, you two may divide it as you see fit.”
His internal true essence remained abundant. He had spared their dignity and refrained from exposing his unusually deep reserves, not pushing them to total exhaustion. Watching the two confer, Li Tongya took stock of his own current strength, musing silently: *These two are far stronger than the Shanyue Qi Refinement cultivators, yet they still fall far short of Zhang Yun of the Jinyu Sect. In fact, Zhang Yun might not be my match either now. If not for the uncertain backgrounds of these two clans, annexing them outright would not have been out of the question…*
After squabbling for a while, Lu Sisi and An Zheyan split the remaining fifty percent equally. They agreed that all three families would dispatch Embryonic Breathing cultivators to oversee the site, while rotating Qi Refinement cultivators to stand guard, bringing the matter to a close.
In the end, the Lu family was to lay the formations, the An family would provide personnel for prospecting, and the Li family, having the largest population among the three, would supply the majority of the miners.
Li Tongya nodded inwardly, quite satisfied with the outcome. After all, countless Shanyue refugees had fled their way, crowding the villages to capacity. Having such an ore vein to employ the Shanyue refugees was an ideal arrangement.
Lu Sisi, however, wore a beaming smile as he looked at Li Tongya, his heart brimming with dread. His mind was entirely consumed by that blazing white strike unleashed from the scabbard, and he thought to himself: *Such power cannot possibly belong to a lower three-rank sword technique. It must be fourth-rank at the very least!*
Thickening his skin, he flattered, “Brother Tongya's swordsmanship is truly awe-inspiring! May I ask… which sect does this heritage come from? What is the name of this sword art?”
Seeing Lu Sisi cast aside his pride to cup his hands and probe so brazenly, Li Tongya merely furrowed his brows and said in a grave tone, “It is an art passed down by my late father, known as the Lunar Crescent Sword Art.”
With that, he fell silent, never mentioning that the sword art consisted of only a single stance.
An Zheyan's expression instantly tightened. Glancing at Lu Sisi's grim face, he drew his own conclusions, thinking: *The rumors that the Li family had a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the previous generation are actually true! No wonder Li Tongya’s orthodox true essence is so profound and crystal clear—it stems from ancestral heritage! And this sword art is even more formidable, a lethal skill meant to slay an opponent before they can react.*
Lu Sisi thought even deeper, the anxiety in his eyes growing heavier. Gazing upon Li Tongya’s youthful face, which appeared to be in his thirties or forties, his heart churned with both shock and terror: *Li Tongya is definitely under fifty, whereas I am already over a hundred and seventy. My children and grandchildren have no talent for managing clan affairs. Once my generation passes away, Mount Huaqian and Mount Huazhong will inevitably fall into their hands. The rise of the Li family is only a matter of time!*
*Unlike others, this man is extraordinarily prudent yet powerfully capable; he will not easily perish before his time. I must secure a way out for my descendants!*
A sense of despair washed over him, leaving his heart chilled and desolate; the joy of securing the Qingwu ore had vanished completely. His cloudy old eyes watched Li Tongya prepare to cup his hands and take his leave, prompting Lu Sisi to hastily flash a fawning smile and speak up: “Brother Tongya! I caused much offense today. In a few days, this old man will pay a personal visit to your door to apologize!”
Li Tongya was taken aback, his expression turning slightly odd. He gave a slight nod, cupped his hands, and said, “Senior Lu is too courteous.”
Chapter 111