Jin Geng

Li Xuanfeng returned to the mountain and discussed the various matters of forging the magical artifact with Li Tongya and the others. After another half a year or so of cultivation, someone finally came to knock on the stone door of his cave dwelling. Li Xuanfeng stepped out to look—the snow on the mountain had completely melted, and the lush green forest was brimming with vitality once more under the scorching sunlight. In high spirits, he took to the wind and flew toward the commandery along Guli Road. Finding a spot to touch down within the market, Li Xuanfeng walked into Chu Minglian's small shop with his head held high and chest out. The Embryonic Breathing cultivator smiled warmly as he came forward to greet him, served him tea, invited him to sit for a moment, and turned back to fetch Chu Minglian. Chu Minglian was as bustling and vigorous as ever. The clinking of iron tools on his person heralded his arrival before he had even entered. Upon seeing Li Xuanfeng, he smiled and said: "Young Brother Xuanfeng, you must be here to collect your bow!" "Indeed." Li Xuanfeng answered. Behind Chu Minglian followed two Embryonic Breathing apprentices, carrying a long, thick, and lustrous dark-gold longbow into the front shop. Both were panting heavily and soaked in sweat. Reaching the front, they set the bow down heavily upon a stone table with a loud thud. Chu Minglian hurried forward to steady the tabletop with his hand. The jasper stone table radiated a flash of white light, absorbing the force and preventing the table from collapsing under the weight. He cast a reproving glare at the two apprentices and frowned. "How are you handling things!" The pair bowed their heads timidly. Only then did Chu Minglian turn back to Li Xuanfeng, smiling as he introduced it: "This bow is made with Jinfangping stone for its body and Qingwu metal essence for its string, forged and tempered in profound fire for a full hundred and twenty-six days. Its limbs are covered with carved talismans for gathering and condensing qi. "The bow measures seven chi and six cun in length, with tips of two chi and five cun. The Jinfangping stone is dark gold, the whole body gleaming with radiant light. Its grade counts as superior even within Qi Refinement. However, it is exceptionally heavy and difficult to draw." "Good! Wonderful!" Delight washed over Li Xuanfeng's brow. Reaching out with one hand, he picked up the dark-gold longbow. Gripping the riser with his right hand and nocking his fingers on the string with his left, he sank his qi and gritted his teeth, his bristling beard flaring and his eyes widening as a surging wave of blood qi billowed forth. With a fierce grin, he roared: "Open—!" The dark-gold greatbow instantly tautened and was drawn forcefully into a full moon. In an instant, a loud hum rang out. The jaws of the two apprentices who had been standing by to watch him struggle dropped in shock; sharp ringing pierced their ears relentlessly, driving them to squat painfully to the floor. Chu Minglian felt the gale cut across his face like blades and stepped back slightly, aghast. He thought to himself in shock: *How can this be! Could this man be a transformed monster beast?! How does he possess such immense strength? I thought this bow was so heavy that an ordinary person could only draw it twenty to thirty percent before firing, yet Li Xuanfeng managed to draw it to a full moon in a single breath!* Watching the numerous items throughout the shop begin to vibrate, Chu Minglian hurried forward, braving the razor-sharp aura, and urged: "Fellow Daoist! Fellow Daoist! The goods in my shop are extremely fragile! If you release the string here, I fear fifty to sixty percent of them will shatter!" Hearing this, Li Xuanfeng felt his already empty storage bag become faintly emptier still. He hurriedly let the bowstring ease back, apologizing repeatedly: "I was simply too excited! Forgive me, forgive me... Thank you for the warning." "Has Fellow Daoist thought of a name for the bow?" Chu Minglian asked with a smile. Li Xuanfeng nodded, pondered for a few breaths, and replied: "Then let it be called 'Jin Geng'!" Chu Minglian laughed heartily and waved his hand with no small amount of pride, asking: "Are you satisfied?" "Extremely satisfied! Brother Chu's craftsmanship is magnificent!" Beaming with joy, Li Xuanfeng slung the bow onto his back and went with Chu Minglian to the market to release the contract and spiritual oath, confirming the transaction was settled in full. Then he took to the wind, leaving the market in a hurry to return home. He flew on the wind for a time before landing inside the Sun Dial Profound Light Formation on the mountain. With a crack beneath his feet, the Jin Geng longbow had already shattered a stone tile. He could only give an awkward smile, hoisting the bow a bit higher as he walked into the courtyard. Li Tongya was demonstrating swordsmanship to Li Xuanling, the two crossing swords in the courtyard, while little Li Yuanxiu watched wide-eyed from a stone stool, a heartwarming sight. Seeing Li Xuanfeng, Li Tongya smiled gently, sheathed his sword, and asked: "You're back with the bow?" "Haha." Li Xuanfeng lifted the dark-gold longbow in his hand, walked up, and explained everything to them in detail. Then, dragging Li Xuanxuan—who was in the middle of drawing talismans with a look of utter helplessness—out of the courtyard, he insisted on finding an open spot to test its might before the three of them. So the four found an open space in the mountains. Li Xuanfeng stepped forward into a wide stance, drew the bowstring, and focused his mind to gather strength. Brilliant golden talismans instantly lit up across the dark-gold Jin Geng longbow, and the string shone with intense brilliance, condensing a glittering golden spell-arrow of true essence onto the string. "Strike!" A tremendous crash thundered from the distant woods. The ground shook violently as a thick plume of smoke and dust billowed upward, violently blasting down five or six large trees and leaving a deep crater in the ground, sending yellow earth flying in all directions. A wave of pale-gold astral qi rose as well, stripping leaves from the surrounding trees in a rustling rush until the ground was carpeted with emerald leaves. The three onlookers were left momentarily speechless. Li Xuanling stared at the deep crater in the ground and mumbled under his breath: "With this power, I fear even a Foundation Establishment cultivator caught off guard would suffer a loss..." Li Xuanfeng, however, shook his head thoughtfully. Only after a good while did he speak: "I haven't truly synchronized with this bow yet. It was merely relying on the raw force of true essence and dharmic power..." Cupping his hands toward Li Tongya, Li Xuanfeng said in a deep voice: "I intend to enter secluded cultivation for five years to sort through everything I have learned, weed out the old and bring forth the new. On the one hand, I will harmonize with this magical artifact; on the other, I will draft an archery technique manual as you suggested." "Good." Li Tongya nodded with satisfaction and lifted his azure-bladed sword. Li Xuanfeng cupped his fists toward his two brothers, then, deep in thought, took to the wind and flew toward his cave dwelling on Meichi Mountain. Li Tongya and the other two walked back up the mountain together. Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanling voiced their praise, while Li Tongya said with a smile: "Among the Xuan-Jing generation, Xuanfeng's talent is the finest. You two must not slacken either. Xuanxuan, you are approaching thirty, yet you are still at the fifth layer of Embryonic Breathing, the Yujing Wheel. Our family's cultivation method is far better than those of other families; do not let it go to waste. "Xuanling breaking through to Yujing at seventeen is certainly excellent, but in the coming ten years, both of you ought to break through to Qi Refinement and add two pillars of combat strength to our family." The two juniors hurriedly voiced their agreement. After the three had walked for a while, a clan soldier hurried toward them, saying with some trepidation: "Lord Chen Donghe requests an audience... Clan Uncle!" "To see me?" Li Tongya paused slightly. Beside him, Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanling were also momentarily taken aback. Then realization dawned on Li Tongya, and he laughed: "A joyful occasion! Just as we were talking about adding combat strength to our family... Donghe arrives!" *** Chen Donghe had waited outside the courtyard for a long time before someone finally came to summon him. Stepping into the courtyard, he saw Li Tongya seated at the head drinking tea, while Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanling stood on either side, smiling as they looked at him. "Junior Chen Donghe, having reached the peak of Embryonic Breathing, has come to seek a cultivation method!" Li Tongya nodded with a smile, took a sip of tea, and asked in a low voice: "What is your age this year, Donghe?" "Twenty-eight by nominal reckoning this year!" "Good!" Li Tongya offered a word of praise, then smiled toward the two juniors beside him: "That Yu Mufeng reached Qi Refinement at thirty, and the Yu family praised his talent to high heaven. Donghe is shaping up to be not a bit inferior to him!" "I am merely diligent in my practice... far behind Xuanfeng!" Chen Donghe demurred modestly. Li Tongya adopted a solemn tone and said: "It is best that you know: the several third-rank Qi Refinement formulas our Li family currently possesses are all bona fide orthodox paths. I have watched you grow up since you were a child, and Xiangping treated you like his own son; we naturally will not hold anything back from you. "At present, there are two formulas for which we possess places to harvest qi. The first is the *River Unity Qi Formula*, and the other is the *Dongquan Limpid Chant*." After introducing in detail the harvesting sites along with the advantages and drawbacks of both formulas, Li Tongya finally asked: "Do you favor either one?" "I leave it entirely to Senior's judgment!" Chen Donghe replied respectfully. Li Tongya smiled faintly and said: "Then let it be the *River Unity Qi Formula*! I still have a portion of river clear qi here. You may ingest it first to refine your qi. Once you achieve Qi Refinement, travel to that river to harvest a portion of river clear qi and return it to the family to balance the account!" "Thank you, Senior!"