White Hair in Vain

The colorful light of Chi Wei's divine ability burned away in midair like fire. That sparkling, translucent mote of light still flickered like gentle breathing, emitting cries like those of a newborn babe. Chi Wei's handsome face, restored to youth, was filled with helplessness and relief. He murmured to himself: "It ends here." *Poof.* Before the words had completely left his lips, his body had already disintegrated like smoke and dust, scattering into several plumes of sand—some white, some gray—that drifted downward, trailing long dragon-like smoky tracks through the air. Above, the Purple Palace masters whispered among themselves. One Purple Palace Real Person remarked: "Chi Wei failed to even condense a gold nature?" Yet another Purple Palace Real Person looked up at the two blurred figures, seeing one of them let out a shrill laugh and call out: "We knew all along yours was Heavy and Turbid! What was the point of putting on airs!" With that, the envoy clapped his hands and retrieved a murky gray net, laughing, "I borrowed the exalted immortal's Nine-Gauze Nature-Capturing Cloth just waiting for you, beast!" He pinched a corner, hurled the net, and strained to pull it taut. His two arms stretched into thin, elongated noodle-like shapes as he mimed hauling it through empty air, laughing shrilly: "Where do you think you're going!" The net drew tighter and tighter, bulging around a writhing spherical shape in midair. The other figure laughed heartily and reached out to haul it together. The gold nature emitted a sharp shriek, and was gradually bound and subdued. The assembled Purple Palace cultivators watched in silence, sharing a sense of grief over the loss of one of their kind. Down below, Chi Zhiyun was already bathed in tears. Having collected Chi Wei's gold nature, the two figures smiled toward the gathered Purple Palace masters: "Fellow Daoists, we shall return to report our duty accomplished." With that, the two figures blurred and vanished into thin air. The other Purple Palace masters dispersed as well, leaving only two or three still standing in midair. "Now that the Qingchi Sect has lost a great cultivator at the peak of the Purple Palace, it must bleed dearly!" A cool, distant woman's voice came from above. No sooner had her voice fallen than an elegant, aristocratic youth's voice chimed in: "Indeed, indeed!" Hearing this, the Purple Palace cultivators wore strange expressions. A resonant, clanging voice said: "Fox, what muddy waters are you wading into? Does the Mount Dali Monster Cave intend to stick a foot in as well?" The youthful voice chuckled and teased, "I am merely listening in. Fellow Daoists, your reaction is far too great... Though these ears of mine can hear the murmurings of petty cultivators, nothing compares to the pleasure of listening face-to-face." Below, Chi Zhiyun listened in silence. The sect's other four Purple Palace masters had already risen slowly into the sky. Then the resonant, clanging voice rang out: "Fellow Daoists, let us see the truth through our hands." *** "How could I dare ask for any compensation!" Li Tongya replied with a light laugh. Xiao Yuansi shook his head repeatedly at this and explained, "The elder of my branch was originally named Xiao Jinzhou, with Xianyou being his Daoist title. Fearing he might bring trouble upon the family while traveling north and south, he styled himself Xiao Xianyou of Lingnan. Since this technique belonged to an elder of my direct line and is a movement technique of the third rank, we naturally cannot let the matter pass so lightly." Li Tongya could only nod in response. "My family also has a daughter named Li Qinghong. She is particularly fond of the spear, but because the cultivation method she practices is rather peculiar, she is not suited for marriage, which is why I did not bring her forward to meet Senior." Li Tongya steered the conversation to Li Qinghong, skillfully laying a stepping stone to ease past the previous topic, before continuing along the thread, "Yet my Li family's foundations are shallow, and we possess no spear methods fit to be shown in public. If your esteemed clan possesses any spear arts, could you lend one for my daughter's generation to study?" Xiao Yuansi nodded. The Xiao family was also aware of Li Qinghong, but because she had stayed hidden in the Fei family for several years and had not been seen earlier, they had assumed the girl had died young. After pondering for a few breaths, he replied, "There is indeed a spear method called *Folded Feather Spear*, a technique of the third rank... However, that movement technique of yours is exceedingly rare. Exchanging it solely for a spear method would be taking too much advantage of you." "How about this," Xiao Yuansi said, shaking his head. "Besides this spear art, my Xiao family will owe your esteemed clan a favor. That would make it fair." Li Tongya clasped his hands, genuinely touched, and said respectfully, "Senior is truly righteous!" Xiao Yuansi chuckled heartily. Li Tongya chatted with him for a moment before asking again, "Does Senior know of a person named Yu Muxian?" Xiao Yuansi raised an eyebrow slightly, musing thoughtfully, "He is a disciple of Yuanwu Peak. If memory serves, his cultivation should be around the sixth or seventh layer of Qi Refinement, and his talent in artifact refinement is fairly decent..." He looked at Li Tongya and asked in a low voice, "Do you have designs on the Yu family? With Yu Muxian's current standing, once turmoil erupts in the Qingchi Sect, he will hardly be in a position to enlist anyone to protect the Yu family." Li Tongya nodded and inquired further, "What of Yu Yufeng?" Xiao Yuansi paused, then said in a deep voice, "Ancestor Chuchou once crossed hands with him. That man's strength is formidable and cannot be underestimated." Li Tongya fell silent for a moment. Having made up his mind, he asked solemnly, "In Senior's view, if this junior wished to slay this man, would it be possible to invite your esteemed clan to take action?" "Slay Yu Yufeng..." Xiao Yuansi sighed softly and answered, "If my family were to act, it would naturally pose no problem. But at this crucial juncture, it is inadvisable for my Xiao family to make any unusual moves. Furthermore, how difficult it would be to kill Yu Yufeng without making a sound! With only Foundation Establishment cultivators taking action, a disturbance would inevitably arise no matter what. When that happens, it would be a slap in the face to Yuanwu Peak and offend many people..." The hesitation on Xiao Yuansi's face was plain to see. Li Tongya could not let him remain in such an awkward position, so he hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "This junior understands! If this path is blocked, my Li family has other ways forward. Senior need not take it to heart." Yet Xiao Yuansi gritted his teeth and waved his hand, saying in a low voice, "It is not entirely blocked either!" After thinking for several breaths, he continued, "I shall present this *River-Crossing Torrent Steps* and use it to persuade the Ancestor. When the time comes, perhaps we can take advantage of Chi Wei's death and the Qingchi Sect being too overwhelmed to look after itself to quietly kill him." "That would be wonderful!" Li Tongya's eyes lit up instantly. Bowing with hands clasped, he said earnestly, "Then I must trouble Senior. Please handle it as you see fit. Even if it cannot be accomplished, that is fine as well; there is no need to force it." "I understand." Xiao Yuansi nodded. After fixing the wedding date for Li Yuanjiao and Xiao Guiluan with Li Tongya, he stowed the jade slip containing the *River-Crossing Torrent Steps* and departed upon the wind. Li Tongya saw him off beyond the formation before touching down back in the courtyard. Li Xuanxuan stepped forward with a face full of worry. He had been listening from the side earlier and had heard of Xiao Yuansi's initial intention to marry off a direct daughter of the Xiao family. Anxiously, he said: "Second Uncle... does the Xiao family intend to annex or vassalize our family? If so, marrying even this concubine-born daughter makes one uneasy!" The Xiao family possessed nearly ten Foundation Establishment cultivators; how could Li Xuanxuan not feel uneasy? Even if the Xiao family was willing to marry off a daughter of the main line, the Li family would not dare accept her. If anything were to happen to Li Tongya in the future, that daughter of the main line would become a springboard for the Xiao family to swallow the Li family whole. "They likely harbor no such intent," Li Tongya replied, shaking his head slightly. "Senior Xiao Yuansi spends his years refining pills on his peak and has little experience in managing family affairs, so his good intentions merely led to a clumsy blunder. The bond between the Xiao family and our Li family will last for a long time; there is no need to worry about such things within three generations." He raised his head and murmured, "What worries me more is this Xiao Guiluan being married over from the Xiao family. Hearing Xiao Yuansi describe her as a shrewd woman, who knows what her character is truly like? Yuanjiao is already the leader of the Yuan generation; if he is paired with a woman backed by such a formidable maternal clan, I fear trouble may brew from the Xiyue generation downward." Li Xuanxuan was stunned, not having expected Li Tongya to look so far ahead. Only now did he realize that Li Yuanjiao had already been adopted under Fourth Uncle Li Chijing and was not born of the eldest branch. Thinking of Li Yuanxiu again, grief welled up in his heart, and he whispered: "Right now, one cannot think that far ahead. As long as Second Uncle is here, whatever happens can be suppressed." Li Tongya shook his head and sighed, saying heavily, "What is the use of mere suppression? If discord festers secretly between brothers, calamity will always surface only after the elders pass away. Having seen so much of this, I fear it all the more." "It all depends on what kind of temperament this Xiao Guiluan possesses." Li Tongya lifted his head, gazing quietly toward the direction of the Xiao family of Lixia Commandery. He had long passed sixty years of age. Though achieving Foundation Establishment had rejuvenated him considerably, his temples remained streaked with gray, bearing the marks of age. The moonlight was like water. The evening breeze ruffled his graying long hair. In Li Tongya's mind, the image of that busy, humble old man from years past suddenly surfaced. He murmured: "Too many worries only cause me to sprout white hair in vain."