Absolutely Impossible

Lijing Town. Autumn rain pattered across the earth for another year. The woods among the mountains had shed all their leaves, carpeting the ground in a layer of golden amber and crimson. The forest was dead silent, save for a rushing sound of parted air that could be heard from afar. A young gentleman in black robes leapt through the trees with a sword strapped to his back. The youth had his lips pressed thin, slender eyes, and gaunt cheeks, exuding an air of cold detachment. Li Yuanjiao sprang from a slender branch tip, setting the bough trembling faintly. Pausing midair with the lightness of a swallow, he shifted his footing and drifted back down to the ground, kicking up a few drops of chilled autumn rain. “River-Crossing Torrent Steps is a Rank Three movement technique after all, and extraordinarily difficult to cultivate. I hear that in our clan, only Uncle Ling mastered it in two short years, while everyone else took five or six... Even after three years, I’ve only grasped a few of its stances.” Li Yuanjiao slowly shut his eyes. His spiritual sense reached outward, drifting around his body. He was eighteen years old now and had broken through to the Yujing Wheel before the turn of the year. By his reckoning, he ought to reach Qi Refinement around the age of twenty. Over the past three years, the Li family had enjoyed relative peace. The Xiao family had reconstructed Guli Road, bringing a great many more rogue cultivators through the area. Most were Embryonic Breathing cultivators, though rogue Qi Refinement cultivators were occasionally seen as well. When passing wanderers stopped to rest in Lijing Town, those hailing from other clans would even chat with the Li family, exchanging goods and news. Most of the Embryonic Breathing vicious beasts of Mount Dali lacked developed intelligence and continued to stray outward as usual. With more cultivators now among the Li clan, they not only garrisoned the area but also dispatched patrols into the surrounding wilderness. Over the past three years, a single beast at the third layer of Qi Refinement had emerged and hidden in the town to secretly prey on mortals. Li Xuanxuan had sent An Zheyan to track it, and he had hunted it down and slain it in just three days. After drawing his sword and running through a few stances, Li Yuanjiao’s ears twitched. A middle-aged man rode the wind down before him. The man stood tall and straight, his eyes bright and piercing. His grey robes were spotless, and a gentle smile played across his face as he said in a warm voice: “Your movement technique is coming along well.” “Yuanjiao greets his uncle!” Li Yuanjiao sheathed his sword, bowed respectfully, and answered, “Thank you for the praise, Uncle, but I am merely showing off before an expert.” The man before him was none other than Li Xuanling. Before the new year, he had broken through to Qi Refinement, forged River true essence, and emerged from seclusion, becoming the Li family’s fourth Qi Refinement cultivator of the direct lineage. Possessing the deepest mastery over River-Crossing Torrent Steps, he pointed out each of the flaws in Li Yuanjiao’s earlier movements. Only after Li Yuanjiao corrected them did he smile and say: “It seems you have been diligent in your cultivation these past few years. You broke through to the Yujing Wheel last year; if you can reach Qi Refinement before twenty, you will have hope of striving for Foundation Establishment as well.” Watching Li Yuanjiao nod respectfully, Li Xuanling sighed and continued, “Both you and Qinghong were bestowed talisman seeds and possess spirit apertures. Only Brother Feng can compare with the two of you. You are all seeds to strive for Foundation Establishment—do not slack off.” After exchanging a few more words, the mountain rain began to fall heavier, filtering through the pale-gold light of the Sun Dial Profound Light Formation and pattering among the treetops. Li Yuanjiao followed Li Xuanling along the mountain’s stone-paved path, eventually arriving at a courtyard. Having already achieved Qi Refinement, Li Xuanling was protected by his true essence and had not caught a single drop of rain. Li Yuanjiao’s sleeves, by contrast, were slightly damp. As the two arrived before the side courtyard, they spotted Chen Donghe leaning under the eaves, engrossed in reading a jade slip, looking utterly at ease. Chen Donghe was at the third layer of Qi Refinement and was now forty years old. Having achieved Qi Refinement at a relatively young age, he looked merely middle-aged, showing no signs of decrepitude. He raised his brows, smiled, and cupped his hands. “So Xuanling is here.” Li Xuanling chuckled and replied, “Brother-in-law, it has been several years since we last met. I was in seclusion breaking through these past years, and after emerging, you were sent off to Mount Huaqian. Now that you’ve finally returned, of course I had to see you.” Mount Lijing was not a renowned mountain, and its spiritual energy was limited. Sustaining Embryonic Breathing cultivators was no issue, but with so many Qi Refinement cultivators in the Li clan now, resources were spread thin. Li Tongya was currently attempting his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, so the entire Meichi Peak cave dwelling had been cleared for his sole use. The remaining Lijing Peak was already strained supporting Li Xuanfeng and Li Xuanxuan, and with the addition of Li Xuanling, the spiritual energy was thinner still. Chen Donghe had therefore been stationed at Mount Huaqian, leaving him little opportunity to visit home. As the three stepped into the courtyard, Chen Donghe reached out a hand and whispered, “Dharma swords.” Li Xuanling and Li Yuanjiao understood immediately. They stowed the Dharma swords at their waists into their storage bags. Most Dharma swords were forged from sharp metal elements, and Li Jingtian and the others living in the side courtyard were mere mortals who could easily be harmed by such sharp qi. The three entered the house. A single small table sat beside the window, where Li Jingtian wore a jade hairpin and a little girl knelt beside her. Leaning against the windowsill and gazing at the autumn rain, she turned around at the sound of their entrance. Seeing Li Xuanling step inside, she said softly, “Brother Ling, you’ve returned.” Li Xuanling chuckled, stepped forward, and took the girl’s hand. The child obediently looked up, her cheeks rosy, and chirped in a sweet, childish voice, “Uncle.” Before him was Li Qingxiao, the daughter born to Li Jingtian. She was not yet three years old and exceptionally well-behaved. Li Xuanling watched as Li Jingtian led Li Qingxiao out of the room. Once Li Yuanjiao and Chen Donghe took their seats, Chen Donghe asked with a hint of puzzlement, “I wonder what urgent matter prompted the clan to summon me back this time...” Li Xuanling nodded and adopted a solemn expression. “A year after Father entered seclusion in the Meichi Mountain cave dwelling, the spiritual energy of the entire mountain began surging toward the heights. Clouds and mist even churned inside and outside the cave dwelling, creating a wondrous spectacle.” “Another year later, the gentle murmur of water could be heard within the cave. In the dead of night, it sounded like a flowing river, and clear water seeped through the crevices between the stones outside, making the entire ground glisten like crystal.” This was the first time Chen Donghe had heard of the phenomena accompanying a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, and yearning filled his face. Having cultivated the River Unity Qi Formula himself, he listened with rapt attention and sighed, “Everyone says that establishing an immortal foundation is when true mystical wonders begin. It is truly so!” Li Xuanling took a sip of tea, glanced at Li Yuanjiao, whose face was equally full of longing, and whispered, “The night before last, all sound ceased within the cave dwelling. The dew on the ground no longer condenses, either. There has been no movement for two full days now.” “What?” Chen Donghe’s brows jumped, a flicker of dread crossing his face as he murmured, “He... he must have succeeded. A man like Second Uncle would never fail.” Li Tongya had always planned thoroughly before acting, and Chen Donghe had revered him deeply since childhood. Ever since Li Tongya entered seclusion, Chen Donghe had never once entertained the thought that he might fail. The Li family had no precedent for breaking through to Foundation Establishment, and hearing this ambiguous news left his mind blank, rendering him momentarily speechless. In a daze, scenes from the past flashed through Chen Donghe’s mind: his cultivation of the River Unity Qi Formula, his practice of the Mystic Water Sword Art, and the days and nights of bitter effort he had poured into them. Back then, when he was still a seven-year-old child kneeling in the courtyard amid the biting chill of the bleak autumn wind, Li Tongya had sat at the head of the room and smiled at Li Xiangping, saying: *“This boy acts with composure; he may be of use.”* The tiny Chen Donghe had looked up then, meeting those calm, fathomless eyes. A mix of admiration and reverence had taken root in his heart as he secretly thought: *I want to become a man like him too.* Chen Donghe realized with a sudden jolt that his steady and quiet demeanor, his unruffled poise, and his habit of thinking thrice before acting were all modeled after this senior—a man who had commanded the awe of countless people and the deep respect of the lake’s clans. Li Xiangping was like a father to him, while Li Tongya was like his mentor. This realization left Chen Donghe both shaken and oddly relieved. He gently lifted his teacup, taking a sip of the clear tea to mask the dread welling up inside him. The possibility of Li Tongya failing his breakthrough swirled in his mind for a moment before Chen Donghe smiled. “Absolutely impossible!”