River-Crossing Torrent Steps

Li Tongya returned home. Li Xuanfeng had gone to the commandery and had not yet returned, so Tongya went back to his cave dwelling on Meichi Peak. Opening the stone door, he gave his storage bag a gentle pat, and an unadorned longsword materialized in his hand. "This longsword of Yu Mujian's... its materials are nothing out of the ordinary." He lifted the sword and examined it up and down for a while. Seeing the character "Yu" carved on the hilt, he finally understood where this sense of familiarity came from. "So it belongs to Lingyu Gate." With a stir of Li Tongya's spiritual sense, the River true essence within him surged forth, flowing along his palm and sinking into the longsword. White light immediately flickered across the blade. Li Tongya channeled ten percent of his Dharmic powers into it. At once, the sound of rushing water crashing and surging came from the sword. His eyes lit up, and he continued pouring in his true essence. One had to know that after receiving the Vast Ocean Leviathan Talisman, Li Tongya's Dharmic powers were astonishingly vast. The River true essence condensed by the River Unity Qi Formula was already exceptionally profound to begin with, and now a tenth of his Dharmic powers rivaled nearly half the total power of an ordinary cultivator at the early stage of Qi Refinement. The sound of turbulent currents colliding within the sword grew increasingly fierce. Li Tongya concentrated his Dharmic powers for several breaths. Suddenly, a single stroke of the character "Yu" at the pommel blazed with light. Only after the time it took for a stick of incense to burn was the character "Yu" completely illuminated, consuming a full fifty percent of Li Tongya's true essence. "This has already far exceeded what a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refinement possesses. It seems this sword was originally intended to screen for cultivators who achieved Foundation Establishment through the River Unity Qi Formula..." Li Tongya recalled the River Daling Classic, and an idea took shape in his mind. He mused silently: 'Judging from Zhang Yun's words back then, the River Unity Qi Formula is most likely the precursor technique to the River Daling Classic. If I can unlock that jade slip, our family will possess a complete Purple Palace legacy!' Even as he thought this, the longsword in his hand was already humming. The blade leaped into the air, shimmering with rippling watery light that projected lines of characters onto the stone wall of the cave. "River-Crossing Torrent Steps?" Li Tongya was overjoyed. Footwork techniques were the rarest of all cultivation methods. Not only were they exorbitantly expensive, but no clan was ever seen offering one for sale. Highly excited, he stared at the stone wall where the watery light shifted, committing the contents of this footwork technique to memory one by one. The sword light flickered for the duration of a stick of incense before gradually fading away. This River-Crossing Torrent Steps was a footwork technique of Lingyu Gate, sealed within the sword by a senior named Xiao Xianyou. The text mentioned that he had gained sudden enlightenment while on the Daling River, thereby creating this movement technique. At the end of the text, a minor trick called the Blood Escape Technique was attached—an escape art that burned vital essence and lifespan, capable of saving one's life in critical moments. "A third-rank footwork technique, the River-Crossing Torrent Steps... Xiao Xianyou sealed the legacy of Lingyu Gate within this sword... Bearing a legacy through sword light, it seems this senior's attainments in the sword dao were also exceedingly profound! "With this movement technique, our Li family's juniors will have a safeguard whether confronting enemies or fleeing for their lives. This is truly wonderful!" Keeping the sword suspended in midair with his Dharmic powers, Li Tongya bowed slightly to express his gratitude to this senior. Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him, and as if touched by inspiration, he murmured: "The Xiao family of Lixia took Lingyu Gate's methods as their legacy, and this senior also bore the surname Xiao. Could he be an ancestor of the Lixia Xiao family?" Putting the sword away, Li Tongya figured he would visit the Xiao family someday to make careful inquiries. Taking out a jade slip, he meticulously inscribed the technique using his spiritual sense. *** Li Xuanfeng landed in the market of Guanyun Peak. The flow of people all around was far sparser than in years past. After all, his previous visits had always coincided with the days for paying tribute, when many families gathered in the market to trade. Today was just an ordinary day, naturally lacking the bustling liveliness of those occasions. Li Xuanfeng entered a fur shop and summoned several shop hands at the Embryonic Breathing realm. He retrieved the frozen bear meat from his brocade pouch, which had been sealed with spells to preserve its spiritual aura. Clattering noisily, the frozen chunks hit the floor in a heap. "See how many spirit stones this can fetch!" The shop hands nodded repeatedly. Seeing that this was a demon beast at the Qi Refinement realm, they hurried to call out the shopkeeper. The Qi Refinement cultivator dressed in leather appraised the goods and said with a smile: "Fellow Daoist, this bear's flesh is rich in spiritual aura and was slain not long ago. It comes to twenty-one spirit stones." Li Xuanfeng nodded. Having hunted demon beasts for years, he was well acquainted with the ins and outs of the trade. This price did not differ much from his own estimate, so he gave a crisp nod, and the transaction was settled. Pocketing the twenty-one spirit stones, Li Xuanfeng felt pleased with his earnings. As he walked forward with a smile, a young man draped in a fox-fur coat came walking toward him. The man stared at Li Xuanfeng, looked him over, and smiled: "Brother Xuanfeng, we meet again!" "Brother Changdie!" Li Xuanfeng cupped his hands in reply. The newcomer was none other than Liu Changdie. In his hand were several jade beads, and the fox-fur coat he wore was as white as snow. He spoke up: "I was searching this market for a precious material for a formation, but never expected to run into Brother Xuanfeng! What a rare treat. Come, come, join me for a sit-down—my treat!" With that, he pulled Li Xuanfeng toward a restaurant in the market. Li Xuanfeng was also in good spirits; smiling, he nodded and followed him inside. "Is the Sun Dial Profound Light Formation still running well?" "Running wonderfully!" The two ordered a few dishes. Wine was brought up, and after chatting for a while, Liu Changdie pondered for a few breaths, thinking to himself: 'There are only a dozen or so years left until that demonic calamity. I wonder if this man before me has heard any news. Then again, the ones suffering the disaster will be the Qingchi Sect and the Tangjin Sect; Li Xuanfeng might not know anything.' Changing his thought, Liu Changdie murmured inwardly: 'Still, it does no harm to ask. What if I learn something?' He therefore smiled at Li Xuanfeng and asked in a seemingly casual tone: "Brother Xuanfeng, do you happen to know someone named Jiang Yan?" "Jiang Yan?" Li Xuanfeng pondered for a breath. Without a single clue, he smiled. "Never heard of him. Why? Are you looking for this person?" "Haha, just asking!" Liu Changdie hastily changed the subject, feeling quite helpless inside. In this life, he had originally thought he could realize grand ambitions. Yet who would have guessed that aside from cultivating faster from scratch and retaining his mastery over formations, there was almost nothing else he could exploit. The mighty figures of his previous life had yet to rise at this point, but back then, they had never publicized how they made their rise, leaving Liu Changdie with no way to start seizing opportunities ahead of them. He only remembered some major events from his past life, and at best, managed to establish ties with a few individuals of great potential. Over the past few months, he had also grown quite disheartened, spending his days carving formations for others to earn a few spirit stones, feeling rather lost about his future. Looking at the carefree Li Xuanfeng before him, he could not help but feel a twinge of envy. Smiling, he asked: "Brother Xuanfeng, what would you say is the meaning of a person's life?" Li Xuanfeng was taken aback and did not know whether to laugh or cry. Waving his hand, he said: "Just to live freely and with relish!" As these words left his mouth, an aura of boldness and unrestrained freedom immediately surged around him. Liu Changdie looked at him with an expression of disbelief and spoke up: "Brother Xuanfeng, what you said borders on the demonic path. It sounds quite close to what those devils who tore heaven and earth apart would say..." Li Xuanfeng laughed heartily. Picking up a slice of demon beast meat with his chopsticks, he took a sip of wine and said with a beaming smile: "Righteous or demonic, what difference does it make? These days, the superior sect treats human lives like grass—how is that any different from the demonic path? The common folk are merely struggling to survive. There are not many things in this world that Xuanfeng cares about. As long as my family is not bullied, I, Li Xuanfeng, can drink wine and eat meat with a carefree heart. Who cares if heaven and earth crumble?" Setting down his wine cup, Li Xuanfeng said solemnly: "Eight or nine out of ten things in life go against one's wishes. When times are tough, one grinds one's teeth and pulls through. When times are good, one must promptly revel in joy! Otherwise, if you drop dead one day, wouldn't you have gotten the short end of the stick?" "Brother Xuanfeng, you truly are..." Liu Changdie let out a wry smile. Seeing Li Xuanfeng's unconstrained demeanor, he too felt a wave of relief wash over him. Ever since his rebirth, he had calculated every single thing, wearing himself out until his head spun. Yet being around Li Xuanfeng actually brought him a sense of ease. "Still, Brother Xuanfeng, under the eyes of the crowd, some things cannot be stated too plainly." Liu Changdie looked around carefully. Foot traffic was already sparse today, and being early morning, there were hardly any patrons. Breathing a small sigh of relief, he raised his cup and smiled at Li Xuanfeng. As Li Xuanfeng raised his wine cup, the image of that old man named Xu San suddenly surfaced before his eyes. His heart tightened, and he murmured: "Xu San, just you wait. When the opportunity comes, I will make the Tangjin Sect bleed as well!"