After spending several months in the territory of the Eastlanders, Shamoli finally came to understand what true indulgence was. The graceful dancing girls wearing veils made his eyes nearly pop out of his head. Several disciples from the Li family's lesser branches took him to watch plays, go hunting, taste fine wine, stroll through the streets, and race dogs and fight roosters. Every single day was sheer bliss.
"Damn it all, those folks in the west really are a bunch of fools!"
Only now did Shamoli comprehend why the Shanyue who returned from the east always looked down on the Westlanders. The two sides led entirely different lives. Life in the east was carefree and leisurely; the only thing that gave Shamoli a headache was the Eastlanders' intricate and sensitive political affairs.
Whenever Shamoli opened his mouth, nine times out of ten his words would cause one or two people to shut their mouths in displeasure, offending someone out of nowhere. Eventually, he grew smart: unless absolutely necessary, he would never speak, simply smiling jovially instead.
"Young Master!"
Snapping back to his senses, Shamoli saw someone approaching to greet him. He racked his memory for a moment; this man was an illegitimate brother of Li Yuanxiu—which, in Shamoli's eyes, made him a collateral branch of the royal family. Shamoli hurriedly replied, "Greetings, brother!"
The man paused briefly. Accustomed to Shamoli's careless choice of words, he did not take offense and said with a smile, "Do you like these dancing girls?"
"I like them! Of course I like them!" Shamoli grinned broadly. Over these past few days of interaction, he had caught on to a certain pattern—so long as he said he liked something, nine times out of ten it would be delivered to his room the very next day.
"It's just that there's one downside. The Eastlanders have strict rules, unlike back home where I could drag off anyone who caught my eye. Here, it's only these registered dancing girls from the official bureaus..."
Shamoli sighed with regret. Unexpectedly, the courtyard gate creaked open, and a youth in black robes pushed the door open and entered. Upon seeing him, everyone lowered their heads in silence, while Shamoli's eyes lit up, calling out warmly, "Brother Jiao!"
Li Yuanjiao stepped into the room, his gaze sweeping around. The idle playboys of the clan had finally found some use; sharing tastes with Shamoli, they had coaxed who knew how much information out of him.
Looking at Shamoli's flushed, slightly tipsy face, Li Yuanjiao placed the jade box in his hand onto Shamoli's table and said with a smile, "I happened to obtain some spirit fruits and immediately thought of my cousin, so I brought them right over to you!"
Shamoli was overjoyed, musing inwardly, 'Li Yuanjiao truly is my backer here in the Li family. Over these past few months he has sent gifts several times, and every single one was a top-grade spiritual treasure...'
Profusely voicing his thanks, Shamoli received the jade box, already calculating in his head how many fine goods this spirit fruit could buy. How could Li Yuanjiao not see through his thoughts? He knew precisely whom Shamoli met and what he said every single day. His expression turned solemn as he asked, "Does my cousin still remember the great undertaking of taking back the throne?"
"Naturally I remember!"
Shamoli's face flushed slightly. In these few months, he had been indulging himself so thoroughly that he had forgotten home. During his first days entering the town, under Li Yuanxiu's hints, he had still kept the throne in mind, but recently he had almost thrown the matter to the back of his mind.
"Pardon Yuanjiao's bluntness, but if my cousin doesn't even possess Qi Refinement cultivation, even if our family places you on the throne, you may not be able to hold it... You must exercise caution!"
These words left Shamoli stunned. A shiver ran through him, and he cursed himself fiercely in his heart, abandoning all thought of turning around to sell the fruit. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Thank you for the reminder; Shamoli is endlessly grateful! Since arriving in the east, I have already broken through to the fourth layer of Embryonic Breathing. From now on, I will surely undergo closed-door cultivation to break through to Qi Refinement as soon as possible..."
Li Yuanjiao nodded and turned to leave, leaving Shamoli in the courtyard to cast a longing glance at the dancing girls standing in the corner. Below, the group of people all looked up at him. Shamoli gave a cough, looked in the direction of Li Yuanjiao's departure, and murmured, "Keep dancing. Tonight is the last night... Tomorrow, tomorrow I begin my cultivation!"
Standing sideways off to the side, Li Qiuyang held his saber in silence. Tasked with protecting Shamoli, he stayed by his side day and night and had grown quite familiar with this young man. Looking at Shamoli's look of sheer indulgence, he gave a faint sigh and thought to himself, 'The bloodline of the Mulu clan is fairly decent after all. This fellow is clearly a profligate given to every excess, yet in his early twenties he can already cultivate to the fourth layer of Embryonic Breathing! It really is unfair.'
Touching the white hair at his temples, Li Qiuyang calculated the time and realized he was already forty-five years old, yet had only just broken through to the fifth layer of Embryonic Breathing, the Yujing Wheel. A wave of sorrow welled up in his heart.
'My cultivation speed grows slower by the day. Once cultivators at the peak of Embryonic Breathing or Qi Refinement pass the age of sixty, their vitality and blood will decline even further. Who knows if I will ever be able to break through to Qi Refinement in this lifetime, to soar through the skies riding the wind and wander freely between heaven and earth...'
'I entered the immortal path at the age of eight and treasured it dearly, cultivating day and night without daring to slacken. Apart from the missions required by the clan, I never dared to waste a moment, yet I am fated to die at a hundred years just like a mortal. Meanwhile, this playboy indulges in song and dance day and night, yet Qi Refinement is already in sight before his eyes... How unfair!'
Huddled in the shadows of the corner, Li Qiuyang appeared increasingly weathered with age. An uncontrollable longing welled up in his heart as he thought, 'Uncle Tongya watched me grow up. By all rights, he must hold some degree of elder's affection for me. If I were to beg him to bestow an elixir, perhaps I might still have a chance of breaking through to Qi Refinement in this life...'
As Li Qiuyang indulged in the thought, a faint smile inadvertently tugged at the corner of his mouth, but he abruptly severed his extravagant hope, silently cursing himself, 'Outstanding juniors in the clan are springing up one after another now. Not to mention Yuanxiu and Yuanjiao, even Qinghong's progress has been swift. How could the clan waste a precious elixir on an old man like me?'
Gritting his teeth in secret, Li Qiuyang suppressed the impulse after all. He stared silently at Shamoli without a word. This middle-aged man had worked diligently and given most of his life to the clan, yet in the end, he could not bring himself to beg the clan for an elixir.
"Hahahahaha, so very charming!"
Shamoli's laughter echoed in the courtyard. The dim lamplight fell upon Li Qiuyang's white hair. He stood utterly out of place amidst this scene of luxury and indulgence, like a stone statue firmly mindful of the task assigned by his clan, silently watching over Shamoli.
***
"Senior, the Xiao family received the letter and asked me to bring back a reply, along with their thanks."
Chen Donghe knocked on the cave abode's stone door, stepped forward with deep respect, and held out the jade slip in both hands. Li Tongya reached out to receive it and extended his spiritual sense into it. Xiao Yuansi's warm, gentle voice sounded in his mind:
"Yuansi bows in greeting. Today I received Brother Tongya's message. The Ancestor has already made a journey into Shanyue territory. Mount Wu is now sealed and has no leisure to attend to other matters. The Shanyue Purple Mansion cultivator is preparing to break through to the Golden Core; it should occur within six to seven years, at which time there will surely be an anomaly between heaven and earth.
"Yuansi has also received word within the sect: the twelve disciples of Mount Wu are all Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they have already colluded with the Three Sects and Seven Gates one after another. As soon as this Purple Mansion cultivator dies, Mount Wu will instantly perish. The Foundation Establishment cultivators among them will each lead followers to join the Three Sects and Seven Gates, and perhaps three or four will remain in Shanyue territory to establish their own sects or clans, becoming families governed by Qingchi. If your noble clan harbors ambitions, you must seize the chance swiftly after that person falls and intervene without delay... Once the situation stabilizes, the Shanyue Foundation Establishment cultivators finish dividing the territory, and they forge ties within the sect, scheming against them will become exceedingly difficult."
Having finished reading the jade slip, Li Tongya pondered for a while. With a plan formed in his mind, he stowed away the jade slip and said to Chen Donghe, "Call Xuanling up here."
Li Xuanling was already waiting outside the cave abode's entrance. Hearing the summons, he walked inside, while Chen Donghe tactfully withdrew. Li Tongya said in a low voice, "Read this jade slip."
Li Xuanling took it and read it through. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment before Li Tongya said, "Mount Wu will soon cease to exist, and several Foundation Establishment families under Qingchi's rule will emerge in the west. Our Li family can take advantage of this turmoil to seize Eastern Shanyue."
Li Xuanling nodded repeatedly. Li Tongya then spoke solemnly: "For now, we must swiftly feed Shamoli up to Qi Refinement. While Mount Wu is sealed off, we will feign an ordinary rebellion to support him onto the throne, secretly controlling Eastern Shanyue. Once the Shanyue Purple Mansion cultivator dies, we will immediately use the banner of the Qingchi Sect to carve out Eastern Shanyue as our Li family's territory. Having just lost their backing, those Shanyue Foundation Establishment cultivators will not act rashly."
"Your son understands," Li Xuanling replied respectfully. After pondering for a few breaths, he added in a low voice, "Once those Foundation Establishment cultivators have divided their territories and become clans under Qingchi's rule, they will know the Sword Immortal's formidable renown. They will be even less inclined to oppose our family; perhaps they might even make overtures of goodwill like the Yu family. If we handle this properly, our Li family will gain the territory of Eastern Shanyue for nothing!"
"Indeed."
Li Tongya nodded and instructed, "There are still a few years left. Take a Sheyuan Pill and ensure that Shamoli is fed all the way to Qi Refinement, no matter what!"
Feeding Shamoli to Qi Refinement within six years was somewhat difficult, but by no means impossible. After all, he only needed to break through two layers. Rather than steadily climbing wheel by wheel like a normal cultivator, they could disregard a shallow, unstable foundation and simply stuff him continuously with spirit stones and spirit fruits. Swallowing impure qi was also far easier than absorbing ordinary heaven-and-earth spirit qi—though it would leave his future cultivation sluggish, preventing him from ever achieving Foundation Establishment in his lifetime.
"Your son will see to it at once!"
Li Xuanling complied and prepared to withdraw, but Li Tongya suddenly stopped him and asked, "Who is keeping watch over Shamoli right now?"
"Reporting to Father, it is Brother Qiuyang."
Li Tongya calculated the time and said in a heavy voice, "Li Qiuyang should be forty-five by now. I hear he has only just broken through to the fifth layer of Embryonic Breathing, the Yujing Wheel... Shamoli is an outsider after all. Although our bestowal of these spiritual items is to secure Eastern Shanyue's territory, we cannot state that openly. Over all these years, Qiuyang has never asked the family for anything beyond the spirit rice and spirit stones distributed as clan stipends. Seeing such a situation, he might well feel resentful... Go call him up here."
Li Xuanling hurriedly nodded and withdrew. Before long, the stone door of the cave abode was gently knocked on, and Li Qiuyang's respectful voice sounded from outside:
"Junior Li Qiuyang pays respects to Clan Uncle!"
"Enter."
Li Tongya set down the jade slip in his hand. Glancing at the white hair at his temples, he said warmly, "In my memory, you are still that little boy on the spirit-testing platform. Who would have thought that several decades would pass in the blink of an eye? Now you have plenty of children and grandchildren, and have become a senior clan elder! I have seen all the diligent work you have done over the years."
Li Qiuyang lowered his head slightly, his eyes moistening. Feeling somewhat uneasy, he replied, "If not for the clan, Qiuyang would be nothing more than an old peasant farming the fields today. Qiuyang is deeply grateful for the clan's benevolence and would never dare be remiss."
Li Tongya nodded in approval. Flipping his hand, he produced a small brocade pouch and said gently, "You are now a cultivator of the Yujing Wheel, yet you don't even have a storage bag. This storage bag is one I used in my youth. Its capacity isn't very large, but take it and use it for now."
"I could not possibly!"
Li Qiuyang was shocked. A single storage bag was worth ten to twenty spirit stones, something he could never afford. His usual stipends were all consumed by cultivation; he could not even produce half a spirit stone from his pockets. He said repeatedly, "How could I dare accept this!"
Li Tongya waved his hand, and the brocade pouch was already hung at Li Qiuyang's waist. Tapping the storage bag at his own waist, he took out another small jade bottle. Li Tongya said softly, "This is a Sheyuan Pill refined by the family. Take it and ingest it. If you cannot break through to Qi Refinement, come up the mountain to find me again."
Li Qiuyang froze on the spot, his eyes reddening. Yet before the temptation of breaking through to Qi Refinement and gaining an extra hundred years of lifespan, he could not utter a word of refusal. He could only tremble as he said, "Qiuyang... Qiuyang receives this with deep shame!"
"What nonsense!"
Li Tongya's expression grew stern as he said solemnly, "Those juniors are the ones who should feel ashamed! For the past thirty years, you have farmed spirit rice, guarded the mines, and eliminated demon beasts. No one in the family has been more dedicated than you!"
Tears streamed down Li Qiuyang's face as he voiced his gratitude repeatedly. Li Tongya comforted him with kind words before seeing him out of the cave abode.
***
Mount Huazhong, the An family.
An Jingming halted his steps before the towering, magnificent great hall. Today, his father, An Zheyan, was feasting and drinking inside once again. Construction of this great hall had begun the day An Zheyan became clan head and was completed only on the day An Jingming was born. Beneath this splendid palace lay buried the bones of who knew how many craftsmen.
"Sigh."
An Jingming sighed softly, his eyes filled with bewilderment. Everywhere his gaze fell was a scene of celebratory extravagance. A prick of irritation rose within him as he thought, 'To the north, the Yu family watches like a tiger eyeing its prey; to the south, the Li family rises like the morning sun; even that Ding family brought in by our clan's own hands harbors boundless ambitions. Yet our clan feels not the slightest sense of crisis, indulging in such luxury instead!'
An Jingming took several furious steps forward, only to see several mortals walking toward him with heads lowered. Together, they carried a large wicker basket that was dripping with fresh blood. Terror was etched across all their faces, and they dared not look up at him.
"What is going on!"
An Jingming blocked their path with a cold voice. The mortals had no choice but to let go and kneel upon the ground. Several severed fingers instantly rolled out of the basket, tumbling across the stone before coming to a stop at An Jingming's feet.
"The Clan Head... the bear paw Lord Clan Head ate today..."
An Jingming closed his eyes, already understanding what had transpired. An Zheyan had no lust for women and cared nothing for wealth; his sole obsession was the pleasures of the palate. Yet he was brutally tyrannical and cruel by nature. The moment a cook's preparation fell short of his liking, he would slaughter without mercy: if a bear's paw was stewed poorly, he chopped off the cook's fingers; if a roasted pig's shoulder lacked fragrance, he severed the cook's legs. Every day on the mountain, wailing could be heard echoing from the hall.
"I understand."
An Jingming shook his head, powerless to do anything. He could reprimand anyone in the clan, but never his father.
Stepping forward, An Jingming entered the great hall. An Zheyan was drinking with a cold expression, but his demeanor finally softened upon seeing An Jingming, and he smiled.
"Our family's prodigy has arrived!"
"Father."
An Jingming responded with utmost respect before speaking: "Jingming has a matter to inform Father of!"
"What is it?"
An Zheyan furrowed his brows, staring blankly at the overcooked, mushy bear paw on his plate. Little did he expect An Jingming to cup his hands and declare in a deep, resolute voice:
"The day you and I perish, and our entire An clan is annihilated, is already just around the corner!"
Chapter 166