Shifts in the North

Li Tongya watched Shamoli retreat respectfully, then held the jade slip and read it for a time. Soon, footsteps approached, and Li Xuanxuan hurried into the courtyard, bowing respectfully. "Uncle, you sent for me?" "Yes." Li Tongya acknowledged him, set down the jade slip in his hand, and asked, "I asked you to inquire about news of Foundation Establishment beast cultivators in the surrounding areas. How has the inquiry gone?" Having settled the matter with the An family, Li Tongya wanted to find a few strands of talisman qi for the Yuan-Qing generation before entering seclusion to cultivate. A few days earlier, he had entered the mountains to question the fox, but Mount Dali was the territory of the Demon Caves. A number of early Foundation Establishment beasts were registered with the caves and had beasts of late or even peak Foundation Establishment backing them. If it were a disciple of the Three Sects and Seven Gates, it might not be a problem, but the Li family was merely a clan. If they killed a beast here, trouble would likely arrive overnight. Worse still, some of those beasts were descendants of Purple Mansion experts, toward whom even ordinary sect disciples had to show great deference. Li Tongya had no choice but to have Li Xuanxuan send people out to investigate. Some time had passed, so he called him in to ask. Mount Dali south of Lake Wangyue and Lixia Commandery to the east were out of the question; their only hope was to see whether opportunities lay with Tangjin Gate to the north or the Jinyu Sect to the west. After Li Tongya finished asking, Li Xuanxuan cupped his hands and replied, "I have gathered some information. To the west of Lake Wangyue lies the territory of the Jinyu Sect, separated by a small stretch of wilderness and a few minor clans. I haven't heard of any beasts there, and going any further west would be too distant and inconvenient. "As for the territory of Tangjin Gate to the north..." Li Xuanxuan paused and lowered his voice. "The territory of Tangjin Gate is in utter turmoil right now. Not only are beasts running rampant, but prominent clans are also devouring one another, leaving the people in misery. There should be Foundation Establishment beasts to be hunted. I have already dispatched more men to investigate further." "Oh?" Hearing this, Li Tongya became concerned about the situation at Tangjin Gate instead. "Have you found the reason?" Li Xuanxuan nodded and answered, "Over ten years ago, Tangjin Gate's Purple Mansion ancestor reached the end of his lifespan, severely crippling their strength. They had no choice but to submit to the Qingchi Sect, which brought a few years of calm. For some unknown reason, news of their last Purple Mansion cultivator has ceased, and many Foundation Establishment cultivators within the sect have mysteriously disappeared. They cannot even suppress the clans and beasts under their rule. After Chi Wei died, this situation grew especially severe. There are even... rumors of demonic cultivators appearing." Li Tongya remained silent, deliberating for a breath, before asking again, "How have the various sects reacted?" Li Xuanxuan shook his head and replied, "Our sources are not well-informed enough. We only know that the Qingchi Sect has acted as if they heard nothing, without dispatching even a single person... As for the other sects, we know very little." Li Tongya lifted his teacup and said softly, "Looking at Tangjin Gate's current state, the other sects probably haven't made any aggressive moves either. That Purple Mansion cultivator of Tangjin Gate is likely still alive. Tangjin Gate is located in the State of Xu. During Senior Xiao Chuting's Purple Mansion celebration, I heard that Daxu is already filled with Buddhism, with many supreme experts clashing among themselves. Perhaps Tangjin Gate was merely caught in the crossfire." Li Xuanxuan nodded in agreement and sighed. "Without anyone inside the sects, our news remains blind and deaf. We are already advanced in years, so we must wait for the Xi-Yue generation to try..." Li Xuanxuan had no great aversion to sending younger clan members into the Qingchi Sect, but Li Tongya always felt uneasy about it. However, placing clan members in Qingchi offered substantial benefits to the family and was an unavoidable necessity, so Li Tongya had to accept it. He pushed the unpleasant topic aside, looked at Li Xuanxuan, and instructed, "Keep investigating. If necessary, you may write a letter to the Fei family. Fei Wangbai is on the north shore, close to Tangjin Gate, and they were once a subordinate clan of Tangjin Gate. They might have news." "Understood!" As Li Xuanxuan agreed, two crisp knocks sounded at the door. Li Xuanfeng swiftly walked in with his golden bow slung across his back, cupping his fist. "Second Uncle, Liu Changdie has arrived at Mount Huaqian to lay the formation. It cost fifty-eight spirit stones." Seeing Li Tongya's questioning look, Li Xuanfeng continued, "I previously discussed this with Brother Xuan. Liu Changdie's attainments in formations are profound, so it would be best if we could recruit him into our clan. I sounded him out earlier; Liu Changdie wishes to serve as our guest elder, exchanging his fee for laying the formation for an ocular technique..." Li Tongya pressed his hand against the desk and pondered for two breaths, a trace of hesitation on his face. Rather than blaming the two juniors for acting on their own initiative, he gave them a way out first and replied, "Liu Changdie harbors many secrets... whether good or bad remains unknown. But his mastery in the dao of formations is indeed quite good, and we still need him to set up the grand formation." Li Xuanfeng paused slightly and answered, "We would merely have him hold the title in name; it shouldn't cause any harm..." Li Tongya was cautious by nature and naturally unwilling to take such a risk. He parted his lips and disclosed some hidden information, shaking his head. "No matter. As long as he swears a Xuanjing Spiritual Oath not to pass it on, our family's ocular technique can certainly be lent to him to study. As for the matter of the guest elder... I once spoke about this person with Xiao Yongling and heard many things. This man seems to possess the ability of divination, often anticipating events to seize advantages, and he appears quite familiar with many fortunate encounters. He is likely far from simple. "He carries many secrets, and even Ancestor Chuting has been secretly watching him. Liu Changdie merely believes he acted discreetly without being noticed. But back then, he was merely a minor Embryonic Breathing cultivator; being so outstanding, extraordinarily gifted in formations, and roaming everywhere—with Xiao Chuting's profound intellect and deep scheming, how could he have escaped his eyes? "Liu Changdie is entangled with too many strange affairs, which may very well invite disaster. Now is not the time to accept him into the clan." Hearing that this man was so dangerous that even a Xiao family Purple Mansion cultivator was keeping an eye on him, both juniors felt a wave of regret. Li Xuanxuan was startled for a breath, while Li Xuanfeng raised his brows. Li Xuanxuan let out a long sigh. "Fortunately, we had Uncle's guidance. In taking matters into our own hands, we nearly brewed a disaster!" "It wouldn't go so far as a disaster..." Li Tongya waved his hand, while Li Xuanfeng looked somewhat embarrassed and replied, "It's just that I already agreed to it earlier, and now I don't know how best to decline." Li Xuanfeng had never managed the family and was not as tactful as Li Xuanxuan. Having some friendship with Liu Changdie, he felt awkward refusing him outright. Li Tongya smiled, shook his head, and answered, "Take the ocular technique to him, speak generously and politely, and let him cultivate it! As for the guest elder matter, say that I have entered seclusion to cultivate and cannot give a reply for the time being, so you took it upon yourself to grant him the ocular technique first. He will be too grateful to harbor any dissatisfaction." Li Xuanfeng assented repeatedly, and Li Xuanxuan stroked his beard and nodded, laughing. "Everyone says Uncle is steady and reserved, yet they fail to see this exquisitely discerning mind of yours. Steady without being blunt, calculating and decisive—only such is truly a talent that transcends the ordinary." Li Tongya clicked his tongue, waved his hand, and scolded with a chuckle, "Stop flattering me here; it only embarrasses me. Be off and attend to your duties!" Both brothers laughed aloud, bowed respectfully, and took their leave. *** "The final formation node!" With the traces left by the former Huaqian Earth Lock Formation, the grand formation on Mount Huaqian was erected swiftly. Had Wan Tianchou, the orphan of the Wan family, not died in Lixia Commandery, it could have been completed even faster. Liu Changdie directed a group of Embryonic Breathing cultivators in engraving the formation patterns, looking rather pleased with himself. Thinking of the soon-to-be-acquired *Spirit Eyes and Clear Pupils*, which would undoubtedly elevate his formation mastery to another level, he felt delighted and sighed inwardly: *This is what life should be! In my past life, I hid and fled in panic, wandering everywhere. By the time I obtained a cultivation technique, I had already missed the window for Embryonic Breathing, having long since refined Qi with miscellaneous qi. Filled with bewilderment and ending in bitter discontent, what kind of life was that!* Now, relying on the cultivation techniques he had memorized and the experience he had gained in his past life, he had forcefully elevated his aptitudes by several tiers. Though he could not secure any major opportunities, by currying favor on all sides and engraving formations for others in exchange for abundant cultivation resources, his progress naturally advanced by leaps and bounds—a truly exhilarating feeling.