Time held no meaning in cultivation. Li Tongya sat cross-legged atop a bluestone at the mountain summit, reading the Moon Crescent Sword Scripture for a while. Light and shadow shifted across him, and dew dripped down; in what felt like a mere wandering of the mind, two months drifted past like a phantom.
"The further along it goes, the more difficult it becomes..."
Li Tongya murmured to himself. He had read only about a fifth of this Moon Crescent Sword Scripture, yet he already found it hard to sustain his progress, growing increasingly perplexed.
Shaking out his robes, he put away the jade slip. Looking around at the widespread dew, Li Tongya pondered to himself:
'Though a Foundation Establishment cultivator enjoys a long lifespan, already feeding on qi without hunger, the time spent in cultivation truly flies past like a white colt leaping a crevice.'
He took two steps downward. On a stone table to the side rested an emerald jade pot and a white jade cup. The pot was a luxury item of the Embryonic Breathing grade, warm to the touch. The tea within still steamed gently. Li Xuanxuan was thoughtful, sending someone with fresh tea every day.
'Xuan'er is over forty as well. By the looks of it, he will not make it in time for Foundation Establishment...'
Li Tongya looked at the jade pot for a moment, thinking:
'The boy is sensible enough, simply throwing himself completely into the Dao of talismans. The family needs men like him as well. If everyone aimed solely for Foundation Establishment, braving the odds despite how slim their hopes were, they would die upon failing—and who would remain to provide our upper-middle martial strength?...'
Reining in his thoughts, Li Tongya walked down along the stone steps. A small cottage soon came into view. An elderly woman sat quietly cradling a tabby cat, her hair gray as frost, her face withered and gaunt, with several letters laid out before her.
Li Tongya was slightly taken aback. With a quiet sigh, he wiped his hand across his face, and his appearance—which had looked to be in his forties—instantly aged until he looked like a man close to seventy. Only then did he take a few steps closer and speak softly:
"Wife."
Liu Rouxuan turned her head, exhaustion and age etched around her brows and eyes. Slightly surprised, she rose and asked:
"Husband, your seclusion ended so quickly this time?"
Seeing Li Tongya remain silent, Liu Rouxuan felt a pang of guilt and said softly:
"I have failed once again, wasting your spiritual medicines in vain."
Liu Rouxuan's cultivation was currently only at the fourth layer of Embryonic Breathing. Having failed twice consecutively to condense the fifth wheel, the Yujing Wheel, her lifespan had suffered further erosion. Though Li Tongya had sought out numerous spiritual medicines for her, cultivation had only grown more difficult; it seemed she would not even be able to become a miscellaneous qi cultivator.
Li Tongya pressed two fingers together against Liu Rouxuan's wrist. After closing his eyes for several breaths, he retrieved a jade bottle from his storage bag and murmured his instructions:
"Take the healing medicine over three days. In a moment I will condense talisman water; take it twice every three days..."
"Husband!"
Liu Rouxuan coughed softly, interrupting Li Tongya, and gave a faint smile.
"Things having come to this, there is no need for you to force it any longer. Having suffered two reductions to my lifespan, I have only a few years left. To force me to toil in cultivation any longer would be too cruel."
Li Tongya froze, an ache gripping his heart. His hands halted. Looking at Liu Rouxuan's face, long stripped of youth, he said gently:
"Very well."
After chatting softly for a few moments, Liu Rouxuan—whose lifespan and dharmic power had just suffered damage—grew drowsy. Li Tongya saw her into the room before turning back. On the stone steps stood a middle-aged man clad in gray robes, who cupped his hands to Li Tongya and spoke in a low voice:
"Father."
"Look after your mother," Li Tongya instructed softly.
Watching Li Xuanling nod and enter the cottage, Li Tongya rose on the wind and drifted leisurely toward the east.
***
Xiao Chuting's Dharma Assembly was set at Xianyou Peak. Xianyou Peak was a majestic mountain with a solid earth vein and abundant spiritual energy. Shrouded in clouds and mist, figures shuttled through it from time to time, riding the wind to land upon its slopes. The Yue River flowed past the area, its clear waters carrying a multitude of boats.
Li Tongya landed before the mountain. At the foot stood a bluestone gateway, carved with numerous array runes through which magical light circulated with considerable density. Beneath it stood two youths, one on the left and one on the right, both clad in splendid, brocaded robes. Seeing Li Tongya touch down, they stepped forward respectfully to greet him, asking in deferential tones:
"Greetings, Senior. May we ask from which sect Senior hails, which commandery's immortal clan you belong to, or upon which immortal mountain you cultivate in seclusion?"
Li Tongya nodded slightly and replied:
"I would not dare call us an immortal clan. I am Li Tongya of the Lijing Li family."
The youth on the right, dressed in brocade robes and silver boots, lit up immediately. He bowed respectfully:
"Greetings, Senior Tongya! I am Xiao Guitu. Guiluan is my younger sister. Our two families are soon to be joined in marriage, so I ask for your generous care in the days to come!"
The youth on the left smiled warmly and said politely:
"So it is the Sword Immortal lineage! Please proceed up the mountain, Senior; our granduncle has been expecting you for quite some time!"
Li Tongya gave a slight nod. The Embryonic Breathing cultivators on both sides stepped back, making way for a Qi Refinement cultivator to step forward and lead the path. After all, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his reception was dignified and distinguished.
Once through the bluestone gateway, a winding, meandering stone staircase appeared ahead. Li Tongya walked along the stone steps for a while before the Qi Refinement cultivator beside him said with a bright smile:
"Greetings, Senior Tongya. Several decades have passed without meeting, yet you have already become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It truly stirs deep sentiment."
"Oh?"
Li Tongya paused slightly, looking somewhat curious. Seeing that the man was only at the second layer of Qi Refinement, he asked with interest:
"You have seen me before, yet I cannot place you."
The Qi Refinement cultivator smiled faintly and answered:
"I am from a branch of the Xiao family, the one closest to Brother Yongling's branch. That year, I had just formed the Xuanjing Wheel and followed Brother Yongling in service, doing business near Guanyun Peak.
"That year, heavy snow fell in a late spring chill. I accompanied Eldest Brother Yongling on an inspection of the family businesses. Led by a steward, we stopped to rest at a tavern, where we saw two men dressed simply yet bearing an extraordinary demeanor. Brother Yongling was delighted and drank with them. Obscured among the retinue of attendants, I listened until my heart surged with excitement."
Li Tongya showed a look of sudden comprehension and nodded gently. The Qi Refinement cultivator smiled:
"One of those two men was named Wan Yuankai, and the second was Senior. After that brief meeting in the tavern, I returned home together with Brother Yongling, and I asked: 'Elder Brother, that Wan Yuankai formed the Qingyuan Wheel at such a young age and carries himself with measured grace. I fear he is no ordinary person meant to stay in shallow waters.'
"Brother Yongling laughed heartily and told me: 'Though that Wan Yuankai possesses decent talent, his calculations are too pure. He makes a fine friend, but one must never work with him; his caliber is merely upper-middle at best.'
"Having said that, he shook his head slightly and praised: 'Only that Li Tongya acts with measured restraint and possesses a profound, quiet depth of character. Given time, he will surely accomplish great things.'"
Li Tongya could not help but chuckle, genuinely touched by the man's words. The Qi Refinement cultivator gave a chuckle and murmured:
"I did not believe him back then, and only today do I realize how brilliant Brother Yongling was at judging character. It truly leaves one striking the table in marvel."
Li Tongya shook his head with a slight curve to his lips, feeling a measure of goodwill toward this man. Such flattery was subtle and artful as an antelope hanging its horns from a tree branch, leaving not a trace behind—a testament to how meticulous the man's mind was. Li Tongya smiled and said:
"It seems we indeed share some fate."
The Qi Refinement cultivator nodded repeatedly, conversing with Li Tongya for a few moments before asking in some puzzlement:
"Yet I have not seen Wan Yuankai for many years. How does he fare these days?"
Li Tongya paused, then sighed:
"Years ago, when the Tangjin Sect marched south, the Wan family was wiped out root and branch. Brother Yuankai died there as well. More than thirty years have passed since!"
The Qi Refinement cultivator froze. The light in his eyes dimmed. He parted his mouth, unable to say a word.
Chapter 227