Lingyanzi’s demeanor finally showed some sincerity. Li Tongya cast his gaze downward, sweeping it across the assortment of miscellaneous items. Right before his eyes lay a small pile of Embryonic Breathing magical artifacts of various styles: gourds, longswords, jade tablets—every kind imaginable. Clearly, they were spoils taken from murder and plunder.
*It was not easy to pin down a disciple of an immortal sect; I cannot let him settle the debt with these...*
Li Tongya pondered silently. The Three Sects and Seven Gates possessed a vast store of cultivation methods, secret arts, hidden lore, and precious records, not to mention wondrous secret recipes and medicinal formulas. If he allowed this man to pay off the debt with common goods easily found anywhere in the outside world, Li Tongya would never agree.
Seeing this, Lingyanzi gave an awkward smile and explained, “My peak will soon be taking in disciples, so I deliberately kept this batch of Embryonic Breathing magical artifacts to bestow upon new disciples. Otherwise, I would have traded them for spirit stones and given them to you long ago, Fellow Daoist.”
“Oh!”
Li Tongya nodded gently. A sudden thought stirred in his mind, but he said nothing more. He examined several bottles of pills. The best among them was a bottle of Huanzhen Pills at the Foundation Establishment level. Holding it in his hand, he paused and mused, *Making breakthroughs in Foundation Establishment is impossible without twenty or thirty years of grinding, patient effort. Having this pill would only advance things by two or three years at best. In this lifetime, my cultivation will likely end at Foundation Establishment anyway, so there is no rush. Better to look for things of use to the younger generation.*
And so he gently set the bottle down. This caught Lingyanzi by surprise, making him freeze slightly. He thought to himself, *This Li Tongya actually won't take the Huanzhen Pill... It must be because he has the sword immortal's patronage and is used to such pills, so he looks down on it. In that case, he might not look favorably on anything else in my storage bag either...*
Sure enough, Li Tongya inspected the few bottles of Qi Refinement pills, sifted through the remaining miscellaneous goods, and furrowed his brows slightly. In a low voice, he asked, “Does Fellow Daoist Lingyanzi have only these things left? Might you have some cultivation methods, secret manuals, or the like that could serve as payment?”
Lingyanzi gave a wry smile and replied, “I do have some, but they are only Qi Refinement and Embryonic Breathing mantras. You would look down on them by now, Fellow Daoist, yet they happen to be pricey. It would feel as though I were taking advantage of you.”
Unlike Lingyanzi, who cultivated in an immortal sect and only needed to look after himself, Li Tongya had an entire family clan to care for. Hearing this, he said with delight, “No matter. Please bring them out for me to take a look, Fellow Daoist.”
Lingyanzi glanced at him and immediately understood much. Untying a crimson pouch from his waist, he smiled and said, “The secret manuals of each sect are of the utmost value. This is a technique pouch, bound to my qi. With a single thought, I can destroy everything inside.”
Li Tongya nodded. He watched as Lingyanzi took out several jade slips and lined them up, then picked up one of them and read, “Shanglang Wheel Nourishing Method, an Embryonic Breathing realm cultivation method, third grade.”
Li Tongya's heart leaped, and his eyes were glued to it. Naturally, the Li family's best Embryonic Breathing cultivation method was the *Taiyin Qi-Refining Wheel Nourishing Scripture*, but it could neither be written down, spoken aloud, nor taught; only cultivators who had received a talisman seed could practice it.
The next best were the second-grade Embryonic Breathing methods collected over the years, provided for the disciples of the main and lesser branches to cultivate. The rest was the *Qingyuan Wheel Nourishing Method* left behind by Si Yuanbai years ago, which was only first grade and provided for cultivators of outside surnames. It was nothing more than common merchandise; the fact that external-surname cultivators in the Li family had generally low cultivation over the years was partly due to this method.
There was also an Embryonic Breathing method attached to the *Court-Knocking Palace Guard Incantation*, which allowed an Embryonic Breathing cultivator to quickly advance to Qi Refinement, but the time required to break through from Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment would be prolonged considerably. Li Tongya intended to use it to cultivate loyal clan soldiers, but considering that the main family still had too few Qi Refinement cultivators and lacked suitable candidates, he had not yet brought it out to use.
*Even though there are currently no main-branch cultivators without a talisman seed, as the clan flourishes day by day, such descendants will inevitably grow in number. Aside from those bestowed with talisman seeds, the remaining main-branch children can only practice second-grade methods, which is far too shabby. It would be well worth trading for this third-grade method.*
Picking up the remaining two jade slips Lingyanzi had laid out, Li Tongya read them one by one. They were both second-grade Qi Refinement mantras. The family already had several such arts; he could neither afford them as full offsets nor had any need to exchange for them. So Li Tongya picked up that Embryonic Breathing method and asked in a low voice, “May I ask what price this method is valued at?”
“It is merely an Embryonic Breathing method.” Lingyanzi waved his hand, then said solemnly, “Since you have chosen this method, Fellow Daoist, there are words I must say. This *Shanglang Wheel Nourishing Method* is a mantra from the ancient immortal sect Tianlang Terrace. It is exceptionally unique and incompatible with many other techniques. If one cultivates this mantra to the peak of Embryonic Breathing, switching methods to break through to Qi Refinement may cost some lifespan.”
“Cost lifespan?”
Li Tongya paused, taken aback. Lingyanzi nodded and replied, “Fortunately, not much—only three to five years. If luck is on one's side and the method harmonizes well with the person's physique, it will only shave off about half a year.”
Li Tongya's heart settled at once. A third-grade mantra could speed up cultivation by at least three years; balancing the two, it was hardly a loss. One had to know that time in the early stages was far more precious than in the late stages. Sometimes, an advance of just three or four years was the difference between an Embryonic Breathing cultivator and a Qi Refinement cultivator, or between a Qi Refinement cultivator and a miscellaneous qi cultivator—or even worse, the difference between a Qi Refinement cultivator and a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Although Li Tongya had accepted it in his heart, he let a hint of hesitation show on his face. Feigning displeasure, his gaze swept across the sundry items before him, and he said in a deep voice, “There is nothing else to offset the debt with anyway! We shall settle it with this item!”
“This...”
Lingyanzi faltered slightly. Back then, he had organized and sold the belongings left behind by those two Changxiao Gate cultivators. After all, those two were disciples of the Three Sects and Seven Gates, more than ten times richer than ordinary rogue cultivators. The proceeds from all their miscellaneous belongings came to nearly two hundred spirit stones—by no means a small sum.
Yet this cultivation method was third grade after all, an item rarely available on the market regardless of price. Two hundred spirit stones was definitely a stretch, not to mention that he had already handed twenty spirit stones over to Li Tongya just now. Seeing Li Tongya's unhappy countenance, however, he held his tongue in the end and sighed softly, accepting the deal.
Li Tongya's expression softened. Chatting with him for a moment, he asked in a gentle voice, “I heard your esteemed peak is recruiting disciples. How is that progressing?”
Lingyanzi shook his head gently and replied, “My peak's situation within Ziyan Gate is the most awkward. Whether in resources or cultivation methods, status or authority, it ranks lowest... Thus, there has been no progress to speak of.”
Lingyanzi looked as if he wanted to say more but hesitated. In the end, he did not share the sordid affairs within Ziyan Gate with Li Tongya. He merely drank his wine in silence, clearly touched on a sore spot, and fell quiet.
Li Tongya offered a few words of comfort, then said warmly, “How about this: Senior, leave a message with me. If I come across any opportunity or our clan produces any outstanding youth, perhaps they could be sent to your esteemed peak to lend you a hand, Senior.”
Lingyanzi had never thought along these lines. Hearing this, his interest was instantly piqued. Thinking it over carefully, he felt there was great promise in the idea. Clapping his hands in admiration, he exclaimed joyfully, “Precisely! Brother Tong... Brother Wan, to have you lend a helping hand to my peak from the outside is more than this old man could ever hope for!”
With that, he made solemn vows and swore oaths, claiming he would treat any child of the Li family sent to him with great care. Li Tongya only smiled gently without speaking. Having learned the painful lesson of Li Chijing, how could he believe Lingyanzi's empty promises? Besides, he knew little of Ziyan Gate's ways and was merely laying down a casual piece on the board. Once Lingyanzi had talked himself blue in the face with extravagant promises, Li Tongya merely hummed in agreement a couple of times before saying with apparent reluctance, “Senior, please do not be so hasty. I cannot make any guarantees; I must return and consult the sword immortal first.”
“Of course, of course!”
Lingyanzi chuckled. Ziyan Gate was already weak among the Three Sects and Seven Gates, and his peak was in decline. If a disciple from a sword immortal clan were to join his lineage, it would naturally be a great blessing.
Tilting his head in thought, he retrieved a jade tablet from his storage bag. The front was inscribed with the characters "Ziyan," and on the reverse were carved the words "Ziqi Peak."
Li Tongya nodded, accepted it with a turn of his hand, and cupped his hands in salute. In a low voice, he said, “Pardon the trouble, Fellow Daoist.”
Lingyanzi laughed heartily, chatted for a couple more sentences, took a sip of his wine, and cupped his hands in farewell.
Li Tongya nodded gently, watching the old man ride the wind into the distance. He sat before the low table for a dozen breaths, and had just picked up his chopsticks when a voice weathered by time resonated beside his ear:
“Come to Xianyou Peak.”
Chapter 232