Li Yuanxiu wiped the demon beast blood from his hands and slowly walked down from the altar. His cousin-uncle Li Xuanfeng, having asked Li Yuanjiao and the others to confirm that none of them had received a talisman, had already departed upon the wind, leaving the juniors behind to handle the aftermath.
Having concluded the sacrifice, Li Xuanling took a talisman pill and headed up the mountain to enter seclusion. He had lingered at the fifth layer of Embryonic Breathing for several years. Since a talisman pill could be taken only once per major realm, he planned to use this allowance now, borrowing its power to break through to the sixth layer of Embryonic Breathing.
Touching the jade flask in his robes, Li Yuanxiu knew it contained a wisp of impure qi. Chen Donghe had spent two years collecting it, and in the months following Li Xuanfeng's emergence from seclusion, the two had worked intensively to complete the gathering. It was prepared specifically for Shamoli.
He glanced at Li Yuanjiao, who was walking along with his head down, and handed him the jade flask, saying softly, "The family's impure qi is ready. Go up the mountain to request the Purple Lightning Secret Origin Method, alter the opening and closing verses slightly, and bring it to Shamoli so he can begin his Qi Refinement."
"Understood."
Li Yuanjiao took the jade flask. Perhaps downcast from not having been granted a talisman, he nodded slightly, tucked the flask into his robes, and murmured, "Why was no talisman conferred this year? In the past, there was one every single time. Could it be that we juniors fall far short of our fathers' generation...?"
"Well..."
Li Yuanxiu smiled faintly at his words and patted his head, replying, "Don't overthink it. If not this time, there is always the next. We are only in our teens; there is no need to rush. Look at Qinghong—she wasn't conferred one either, yet she came skipping down holding her spear, grinning from ear to ear, didn't she?"
"She's just utterly carefree!"
Remembering Li Qinghong's merry demeanor, Li Yuanjiao could not help but let out a chuckle, his mood instantly brightening. Unexpectedly, a sharp smack landed on his backside, making him stumble forward. He whirled around in indignation, only to find Li Qinghong pouting at him, a wooden spear gripped in her hands. A mocking sneer curled the corners of her pretty lips as she said crisply, "I heard Brother Jiao speaking ill of me from all the way over there!"
"Hmph."
Li Qinghong was deeply doted upon by the family elders. Terrified she would run off to tattle, Li Yuanjiao did not dare pick a fight with her. Muttering under his breath, he turned back around, only to see Li Yuanyun holding in laughter, looking at him with immense amusement.
"Brother Yun! What is so funny about this?!"
Hearing his exasperated protest, Li Yuanxiu finally could not suppress a chuckle. He bent down and scooped up Li Yuanyun and Li Qinghong, one in each arm, saying warmly, "I find it rather funny too."
"Elder Brother!"
Li Yuanjiao was amused himself. After bending over in laughter for a moment, he suddenly remembered to be serious. Shedding his childish antics, he said with a straight face, "I have heard that absorbing impure qi is far easier than pure heaven-and-earth spirit qi. It likely won't take him much time. Brother, you should mobilize our forces and make the necessary preparations."
"Naturally,"
Li Yuanxiu nodded and said with a smile, "Right now, our standing army numbers over five thousand. With a single command, we can muster more than ten thousand troops. If Cousin-Uncle eliminates the Shanyue Qi Refinement cultivator, the entire Eastern Shanyue will fall under our control in less than three days."
Having studied books for several years, Li Yuanyun could not help but feel a surge of excitement at these words, thrilled by the sensation of witnessing history unfold. Li Yuanjiao nodded in agreement. As he and Li Yuanxiu walked down the street, watching the clan soldiers step aside on either flank, a faint smile touched the corner of his lips.
***
"Brother Shamoli, I have brought the items for you."
Holding a jade slip in his hand, Li Yuanjiao knocked on the stone door. After a short pause, the door rumbled open, and Shamoli stepped out with a scruffy, unkempt beard. Seeing Li Yuanjiao, his expression was filled with eager anticipation, and he stammered hesitantly, "Brother, d—did you obtain the cultivation method and the heaven-and-earth spirit qi?"
"Indeed."
Seeing that Shamoli's cultivation had progressed further, Li Yuanjiao knew the man had not wasted these past days. He nodded in confirmation. Overjoyed, Shamoli took the jade slip and the jade flask, thanking him profusely without end.
Patting Shamoli on the shoulder, Li Yuanjiao retrieved two more jade flasks from his robes and explained in a low voice, "I have also obtained two pills for you. One is called the Sheyuan Pill, used to break through into Qi Refinement."
Shamoli took the flask handed to him and probed inside with his spiritual sense. Sure enough, he discovered a round, pale-white medicinal pill. Li Yuanjiao continued, "The second is a pill unique to us Eastlanders, called the Yuehua Pill. Take it immediately to break through to the sixth layer of Embryonic Breathing."
What Li Yuanjiao had brought was naturally a talisman pill. Fearing that Shamoli might cause trouble if word leaked out, he had not revealed its true name, instead concocting a false title before pressing it into his hands. Shamoli accepted it and looked inside, beholding a luminous white pill covered in intricate patterns. It felt even more precious than the Sheyuan Pill. Flustered, he said, "Th—this is far too valuable! How could I possibly accept this...? I have troubled you with everything here in the east, and now I have received such tremendous benevolence!"
"Enough, make good use of your time!"
Li Yuanjiao wasted no more words on him, merely offering a curt reminder. He had Shamoli swear the Xuanjing Spiritual Oath never to disclose anything regarding the pills and the cultivation method. Only then did he cup his hands in salute and turn to leave the courtyard.
Shamoli saw him off with utmost courtesy. Returning with a surging heart, he entered the secret chamber in high spirits and sprawled across the floor. He gingerly placed the jade slip to his left and the jade flasks to his right, then rolled over and stared blankly at the items on the ground.
Shamoli paused. The surging joy in his heart abruptly vanished, replaced by a shock compounded of both guilt and dread. The transition came so swiftly that it left him dizzy and nauseous.
He understood full well that opening the dream-sought jade slip before him and swallowing this freely obtained wisp of heaven-and-earth spirit qi would not only grant him the Qi Refinement realm and a two-hundred-year lifespan, but the throne he had yearned for day and night for over twenty years would also be his for the taking.
Yet Shamoli also understood that he would be leading the iron cavalry of an alien race onto the soil of his homeland. Hundreds of thousands of his clansmen would become slaves in both body and soul. Eastern Shanyue would remain nothing more than an empty title; from the royal court down to the common folk, the entire realm would survive only at the mercy of the Eastlanders. His elder brother, who had surpassed him in every conceivable way since childhood, would be killed, leaving a mediocre, incompetent fool like himself to rule Eastern Shanyue.
"Is it worth it...? That was Father's lifelong toil..."
Shamoli seemed to see his stern father standing coldly before him. In an instant, the throne and cultivation within his grasp ceased to be alluring. Shamoli wavered for a heartbeat, only to tremble in terror at his own hesitation. He did not dare imagine how the Li family would deal with him. The Li family possessed late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators who were likely watching him from the skies at this very moment. Even if he broke through to Qi Refinement and fled, he would never escape their reach...
"Father, I am afraid of dying... Who isn't? All my life, what I feared most was death. Otherwise, I would have stretched out my neck in the palace to await the blade. Why else would I have fled to the Eastlanders...? I refuse to die!"
Shamoli slowly closed his eyes, recalling how his father, Mu Jiaoman, had consolidated his territory in the months following Jianixi's death—how many despicable schemes he had used, how many fellow clansmen he had murdered, and how weakly he had bowed his head to submit to the Eastlanders. Shamoli let out a tearful sneer, his eyes widening in fury as if to embolden himself, and gritted his teeth. "How can you say I am wrong? You taught me all of this, Father..."
Picking up the jade slip from the floor, Shamoli sat up. He began to read it closely, his voice cold as if masking his guilt. "Qimu fails to see how vast the Eastlanders' ambitions are; he will ultimately bury Eastern Shanyue in their hands. Only I—only I can do it! Father, only I can preserve Eastern Shanyue..."
His gaze grew increasingly resolute as he forged a justification for himself. Casting all burdens and guilt to the back of his mind, Shamoli lowered his head, gritted his teeth, and wiped his tears as he read the jade slip in his hands. Gradually, he became engrossed, and his heart settled into calm.
Chapter 176