Emerging from the Cave

"Fate..." Li Yuanjiao murmured to himself. Li Tongya sheathed his sword, wearing the Green Ruler Sword at his waist for the very first time. With a solemn expression, he said: "Yuanjiao... from now on, you must look after the family closely. If I do not return, you must keep your head down and bide your time for a while. With the Xiao family backing us, at worst we can cede Mount Huazhong and Mount Yuting; it will not harm our foundation." Li Yuanjiao felt as if the sky had darkened, a sensation akin to the heavens crumbling and the earth splitting apart. In a hoarse voice, he said: "Old Ancestor... the clan—the clan cannot be without you!" Li Tongya slowly shook his head and said gently: "Xuanling will most likely find it hard to preserve his life, and Xuanfeng will also find it difficult to return from Nanjiang. As for your father, just let him manage the market; tell him not to come back and meddle blindly... "You, Yuanxiu, and Yuanping are all capable of managing the household, but you must be even more cautious... Qinghong is in seclusion and has not emerged; there is no need to summon her. She acts with too much haste; in her single-minded pursuit of immortality, she might end up harmed by that very pursuit. I hope you will urge her to act with prudence!" Seeing Li Yuanjiao listening intently, Li Tongya nodded and instructed: "Once this matter settles, there should be quite a few tranquil days ahead. The Yu family previously had their old ancestor killed and their market destroyed; yet Yu Muxian, despite having extensive connections within the sect, stood by with folded arms, refusing to say so much as a single word. It seems he is not one to cherish his clan, and he will not go out of his way to offend the Xiao family. There is no need to worry." "Yes... Jiao'er has committed it to memory." Li Yuanjiao's eyes flickered, and he hastily asked: "May I ask, Old Ancestor, what about the Qingchi Sect?" At the mention of that name, Li Tongya's expression grew complicated. In a soft voice, he said: "The Qingchi Sect has been entrenched in Jiangnan for hundreds of years. Their background runs far deeper than what you and I can see. Bound by tangled webs of interest, suppression and slaughter are second nature to them; they are not an enemy a single generation can match. What Yuan Huyuan said was right: one must climb onto Qingchi's table rather than fall into Qingchi's bowl. "It is just that my generation shares a sea of blood and vengeance with Qingchi, making compromise impossible. Once I am gone, you must send our clan's youths into the sect. Even if they must serve as hounds or fodder for others, only then will the family have a chance to rise!" Listening to this, Li Yuanjiao shed tears and nodded silently. Li Tongya took his hand, his grizzled hair fluttering gently in the wind. The old man spoke: "Only remember: do not conduct blood sacrifices, do not slaughter common mortals, and do not let evil desires tempt you into wickedness..." To the side, Li Yuanping's eyes were already rimmed in red, overcome with emotion. Li Tongya drew over his thin arm. Dharmic light surfaced from his hand, smoothing away the black-and-blue bruises upon it, and he said with some guilt: "If only our family possessed some superior precious herb to mend root bones, you would not have had to suffer such torment..." "Ooh..." Unable to hold it back any longer, Li Yuanping broke into a hoarse sob. Li Yuanjiao also clenched his teeth and pressed his lips together, standing there holding back tears. Li Tongya looked into his eyes and said softly: "If Yuanyun proves useless, there is no need to indulge him. If he dares to dabble in wicked paths like slaughtering mortals and offering blood sacrifices to open his apertures, kill him if he must be killed." Li Yuanjiao nodded, a flicker of realization passing between his brows. This granduncle of his had never descended the mountain, yet there was nothing happening below that escaped his notice. Li Yuanping reined in his weeping and looked up. A flush of redness rose across his pale face from excitement as he said in all solemnity: "Rest assured, Granduncle. So long as Brother Jiao and I are here, no chaos will come to our family!" Li Tongya nodded in approval. He stood up, strode forward, and laughed heartily: "Do not be overly pessimistic either. Although this journey of mine is perilous, there is still a chance of survival." Adjusting the storage bag at his waist, Li Tongya took out a pale green jade casket and solemnly placed it into Li Yuanjiao's hands. Li Yuanjiao accepted it with both hands, only for Li Tongya to instruct: "This is the legacy of a sword immortal, known as the *Moon Crescent Sword Scripture*, a fifth-rank sword art." "The legacy of a sword immortal?!" Both brothers were stunned. Li Yuanjiao's legs even went weak. Cradling the jade casket with both hands as if it might melt, he bowed respectfully and said in a grave voice: "Yuanjiao accepts your command!" Li Yuanjiao understood that in handing this legacy to him, Li Tongya was passing over the burden of the Li family. Amidst his trepidation, he watched as Li Tongya pointed at the jade casket and flicked his fingers, drawing out two jade slips—one pale purple and one pure white. Li Tongya said: "The pale purple one is the *Moon Crescent Sword Scripture*. The pure white one contains the commentary I wrote from sixty years on the path of the sword for this scripture, titled *True Explanation of the Jiazi Sword Scripture*. Keep them safe and do not take them outside the mountain." Li Yuanjiao nodded repeatedly. Li Tongya continued: "This jade casket is also no ordinary object. It contains an inner space capable of holding treasures of the Purple Mansion realm." Saying no more, he took out most of the items from the storage bag at his waist, leaving behind only a few medicinal pills for healing injuries and recovering qi. He nodded and said: "I shall set off now." The two brothers, Li Yuanjiao and Li Yuanping, hastily rose and bowed together, saying respectfully: "We respectfully bid Old Ancestor farewell!" A gentle breeze swept by. When the two brothers straightened their backs, Li Tongya was no longer in the courtyard. Li Yuanjiao hurriedly gathered the items on the table, wiped the corners of his eyes, and walked quickly back to the desk. Picking up a brush, he said in a heavy voice: "Quickly write a letter to inform Father! If anything happens to Old Ancestor, our family must maintain an even lower profile in the market!" On the summit of Mount Lijing, while the two brothers made hurried, tight preparations, Li Tongya rode the wind down from the mountain peak, yet he did not fly away immediately. Concealing his form, Li Tongya descended the stone steps, turning this way and that until he reached the graveyard within the mountain. The surroundings were already laden with morning dew. The moss upon the stones was verdant green, and the thin mist coiling about made for a pleasant, tranquil scene. He wiped down the tombstones of his brothers one by one. Only then did he draw over a slab of bluestone, using his finger like a sword to carve out a bluestone stele within a few breaths. Li Tongya set this stele into the reserved empty spot, sword light surging from his fingertips as he lightly traced and adorned the borders with decorative patterns. The steles of his brothers had all been erected by Li Tongya. He had originally intended to carve his own as well, but after thinking it over carefully, he ultimately waved his hand to disperse the sword light, remarking in self-mockery: "Erecting one's own tombstone is rather inauspicious after all. Better to leave it to future generations to judge." With that, he rose upon the wind, drifting northward in flight. — On the bank of the great river. Holding the tangled mess of a net, the old man quietly worked to untangle it upon a large boulder. Li Xuanling had already headed north several days ago, and the old man did not fear that Li Xuanling might secretly flee; he merely pulled at his fishing net in silence by the shore. "The serpent and jiaolong emerge from the cave." From downstream, a figure strolled over at an unhurried pace, dressed in coarse hemp garments and shouldering a white-jade fishing rod. Coming to a halt beside the old man, he said warmly: "Senior Si, we should be setting off as well!" The old man merely looked at him without answering. Instead, he smiled and said: "Obscured Long Clouds... Xiao Xianyou's calculation was truly exquisite. He had prepared everything for you long ago, and even the timing was pinched to perfection—one cannot help but marvel at it!" Xiao Chuting took a deep look at him and remained silent, simply sitting down to wait. The old man sighed: "Had Xiao Xianyou not been harmed by Chi Wei, he too would have been a Golden Core seed." "Senior must be joking." Hearing this, Xiao Chuting finally spoke, saying softly: "I heard that your sect produced a 'Gold-Melting Cave.' Quite a novelty. How did you come to covet that orthodoxy of the Central Plains?" "Nothing of the sort, just a disciple of an external surname." The Purple Mansion master surnamed Si shook his head and said nonchalantly: "Just a little fellow in the sect who managed to cultivate it, that is all. The dao complements for 'Gold-Melting Cave' have all been lost. Even if he succeeded, he is nothing more than an early-stage Purple Mansion cultivator whose path is severed. Fellow Daoist need not pay it any mind." Before long, streaks of multicolored light emerged along the riverbank as various Purple Mansion masters appeared one by one. Some were elegant and poised, exuding awe-inspiring immortal qi; others had sharp gazes, their dharmic light undulating. A total of seven streaks of multicolored light descended before the old man unsteadily got to his feet and said softly: "Since everyone has arrived, let us head over together!"