The Lesson of Qiuyang

"Xiao Chuting of the Lixia Xiao family has attained the Purple Mansion today! In accordance with precedent, the Xiao family severs ties with the Qingchi Sect to declare itself a Purple Mansion immortal clan. Three months from now, we shall perform ceremonial sacrifices, and all fellow Daoists are welcome to come and observe!" "The Lixia Xiao family..." The divine ability rippled through the air like waves, sweeping across the skies of Lixia Commandery to Lake Wangyue, Xunlin Plain, Qingchi Peak, and all the way to Linhai Commandery. Mortals looked up one after another, gazing bewildered into the heavens, while cultivators exchanged startled glances and took to the air to confer among themselves: "Xiao Chuting?" "You dare openly address a Real Person by his name? Do you truly have no fear of death?!" "It is that alchemy patriarch of the Xiao family... There is now another Purple Mansion immortal clan..." Cultivators from all around soared into the air, bowing toward Xiao Chuting in succession. While Xiao Chuting still stood aloft, a man in cyan robes materialized in the distance, enveloped likewise in the glowing aura of a divine ability. Cupping his hands, he said: "Congratulations to my fellow Daoist on breaking through to the Purple Mansion. I am Ning Tiaoxiao of the Qingchi Sect, offering felicitations on behalf of our sect. We present the five western towns of Lixia as a congratulatory gift, wishing that your divine abilities reach great perfection and that you forge a Golden Core." Xiao Chuting let out a soft laugh and replied: "My family has served devotedly under the sect for over three hundred years, and our bonds of sentiment remain intact. In the days ahead, I must ask the celestial sect to look after us well." Hearing this, Ning Tiaoxiao's expression brightened slightly, and he laughed heartily: "Fellow Daoist is indeed sensible and reasonable! The Xiao family will surely prosper more with each passing day!" Then, his tone turning solemn, he added: "Si Yuanbai was truly framed by petty scoundrels, but he has now been released from the pagoda, and the sect has compensated him for his losses. Those below lacked discretion, and I, Tiaoxiao, only feared it might damage the goodwill between our two houses." Xiao Chuting nodded with a warm smile. Beside him, numerous other figures emerged, each radiating the glowing aura of a divine ability, calling out in succession: "The Tangjin Gate offers its congratulations to fellow Daoist!" "The Changxiao Gate offers its congratulations to fellow Daoist!" The assembled Purple Mansion masters approached with beaming smiles, showing not the slightest hint that they had once treated peak Foundation Establishment cultivators like Xiao Chuting as mere consumables. Divine ability radiance overflowed from each of them, accentuating an ethereal, otherworldly grace. There was even a three-eared fox demon sprawled upon the clouds, squinting down at him with a grin. *** "Xiao Chuting of the Lixia Xiao family has attained the Purple Mansion today!..." Standing atop Mount Lijing, Li Tongya slowly raised his head, a look of pleasant surprise on his face as he murmured: "To think Chi Wei would die so quickly." Beside him, the young man holding a golden longbow looked up and said softly: "Good riddance." Li Tongya tightened his grip on his sword and whispered: "This is a momentous matter. Three months from now, I will personally visit the Xiao family. For now, send Donghe ahead to offer our congratulations." Li Xuanfeng acknowledged the order, slung the bow onto his back, and rode the wind down the mountain. Before long, Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanling came hurrying up, joy plain on both their faces. Li Xuanxuan smiled: "Chi Wei is truly dead. The Qingchi Sect is in utter disarray now, and their influence across the commanderies has waned by a step." "Indeed!" Li Xuanling nodded, his eyes bright, and added: "Now that the Xiao family occupies most of Lixia Commandery, Lake Wangyue has become an isolated enclave, connected to Xunlin Plain by only a few thoroughfares. "Lake Wangyue also borders the Tangjin Gate and Mount Dali, and across the great desert lies the Jinyu Sect. Qingchi Sect will inevitably face a period of weakness ahead, making Lake Wangyue a chicken rib to them—tasteless to eat, yet a waste to cast aside—and difficult to keep in check." Li Tongya nodded slightly and said in a low voice: "In a few months, I will go to observe the ceremony at the Xiao family. We can ask Xiao Yuansi further about these matters then." "Understood." The two cupped their hands. Then Li Xuanxuan knitted his brows, saying with a touch of worry: "However, now that a Real Person has achieved the Purple Mansion, we cannot attend the ceremony empty-handed. Spirit materials of the Qi Refinement stage would appear far too shabby, yet our family has no Foundation Establishment-grade spirit medicines in reserve. I am at a loss as to what to do." Li Tongya pondered for several breaths before replying: "We must indeed present a gift at the Foundation Establishment level. Relations between the Xiao family and our clan are close right now, and we have favors to ask of them, so we must under no circumstances be perfunctory. "You need not worry about Foundation Establishment-grade spirit medicine. Later, I will make a trip to Mount Dali to ask the fox. If there is no word, I will make a journey into the Shanyue territory." He looked up and asked once more: "How many spirit stones remain in the family?" Knowing Li Tongya's plan, Li Xuanxuan answered respectfully: "The tribute offered by the Shanyue yields a surplus every year. After providing for our family's cultivators, there are currently over a hundred stones left. There are also many spirit materials seized from the Shanyue back then; if we take them from the vault to convert their value, it comes to barely two hundred stones." "Mm, have them brought up first." Li Tongya nodded and said gently: "That should be enough to purchase an ordinary spirit medicine, so we can set our minds at ease." He waved his hand, and the two took their leave. Before long, a clan soldier walked up with lowered head, his gaze toward Li Tongya brimming with reverence, and said respectfully: "Ancestor, Li Qiuyang requests an audience." "Qiuyang." Li Tongya raised an eyebrow, understanding at once why Li Qiuyang had come. He said softly: "Let him come up." Moments later, a figure appeared on the flagstone path. Clad in a cyan robe, with greying temples and faint wrinkles upon his face, he bowed deeply, looking thoroughly ashamed: "Congratulations to Clan Uncle on breaking through to Foundation Establishment!" "Mm." Li Tongya responded. Seeing that his cultivation was still stuck at the peak of Embryonic Breathing, his vital energy and blood waning, and his aura dispirited, Li Tongya said warmly: "I remember you went into secluded cultivation several years ago to break through to Qi Refinement. It seems it did not work out." "Qiuyang is deeply ashamed!" Li Qiuyang let out a remorseful sigh and lowered his head: "Qiuyang took the family's *Dongquan Limpid Spirit Art* and Dongquan limpid qi, remaining in seclusion for a long time, but failed to ingest heaven-and-earth spirit qi. Instead, I even shaved away some of my lifespan... and squandered the family's spirit pills... I..." Seeing Li Qiuyang hide his tears behind his clasped hands, Li Tongya sighed softly and murmured: "Both Embryonic Breathing and Qi Refinement are states of mortal flesh. As one draws near sixty, vital energy and blood slip away, and cultivation becomes increasingly arduous. Only upon reaching Foundation Establishment does one attain some divine mystery and suffer fewer constraints from the decay of life force. You are already past fifty, so your hopes were slim from the start. Do not feel overly guilty." He patted Li Qiuyang on the shoulder and said gently: "The best course now is to ingest miscellaneous qi and advance to Qi Refinement first. If you drag this out any longer, I fear even miscellaneous qi will be out of your reach!" Refining miscellaneous qi was far simpler than refining normal heaven-and-earth spirit qi. Back then, Shamoli had ingested miscellaneous qi and taken only a single year to emerge from secluded breakthrough, whereas the likes of Li Xuanfeng and Li Xuanling took three years at the shortest and five at the longest—a clear testament to the difference. "Your junior understands. Thank you, Clan Uncle!" Li Qiuyang nodded quietly. Li Tongya exhorted: "You are a senior in the family, as well as a precedent for attempting Qi Refinement in your later years. Even after taking spirit pills and our family's secret pill, you still failed to break through, which shows how difficult it is. With the lesson of your experience, any peak Embryonic Breathing cultivator over the age of fifty will know to cultivate miscellaneous qi in the future, rather than bashing their heads against a wall and losing years of their lives." The secret pill naturally referred to the talisman pill. Over these years, Lu Jiangxian had converted several strands of Qi Refinement talisman qi entirely into talisman pills, leaving the Li family with a plentiful supply. Yet they did not dare sell them carelessly on the open market. Since talisman pills possessed the efficacy to help break through minor cultivation realms, Li Qiuyang had naturally received one upon swearing the Xuanjing Spiritual Oath before his breakthrough attempt, saving himself several years' time. Li Tongya's words immediately improved Li Qiuyang's expression. If he could provide experience for future generations, Li Qiuyang felt that losing some lifespan was worth it after all. Cupping his hands toward Li Tongya, Li Qiuyang lamented in a quiet voice: "At the risk of Clan Uncle laughing at me, after chancing upon that spirit fruit in my childhood, my cultivation progressed with remarkable speed at first, and I believed myself a man of profound fortune. Who would have thought it would ultimately hinder my Dao path later on? The swift turns between fortune and misfortune are truly beyond words. "If later generations can learn from my precedent and perhaps avoid detours, then it will have been worth it." "Indeed." Li Tongya offered a few gentle words of comfort, then brought out a jade bottle. Forming an incantation gesture, he drew forth sparkling, translucent specks of talisman water from the Great Void, channeling them into the bottle before sealing it with a spell and placing it into Li Qiuyang's hands.