Peeking

Li Xizhi called out. Before Li Yuanjiao could respond, Li Yuanping, seated at the head, offered a warm smile: "Come, come, take a seat first. Let us wait for the two brothers of the second branch; they are still on the mountain and will be here shortly." "Yes." Li Xizhi nodded in acknowledgment, let go of Li Ximing's hand, and went to stand beside Li Yuanjiao. Li Yuanjiao took a sip of tea and gave a slight nod. The two brothers Li Yuanping spoke of were, naturally, the two of the Xi-Yue generation from Li Tongya's branch: Li Xicheng and Li Xijun. Li Yuanyun had fathered many children, but only these two legitimate sons possessed spirit apertures and were cultivating on the mountain. Just as Li Yuanping finished speaking, two figures entered from outside the hall. The foremost appeared sixteen or seventeen years old, with a respectful expression, ordinary features, and a gray robe. Bearing a spear across his back, he cupped his hands and greeted them: "Xicheng pays his respects to both elders." Li Yuanping and Li Yuanjiao acknowledged him. Only then did Li Xizhi speak up with a smile, "Brother Cheng!" Li Xicheng's eyes lit up upon seeing Li Xizhi, but with elders present, he was too bashful to say much and merely gave a somewhat wooden nod. Beside him, a six- or seven-year-old boy with handsome features arched an eyebrow and piped up briskly: "Jun'er greets the elders and Brother Xizhi." Li Xijun was Li Yuanyun's youngest son, who had only recently been found to possess a spirit aperture. He had spent little time by Li Yuanyun's side, as Li Yuanyun had left for the market when he was barely a year old. Having grown up entirely on the mountain, his disposition was far more outgoing. His elder brother, Li Xicheng, had stayed by Li Yuanyun's side from a young age and seemed far more reserved, standing silently without a word. Li Yuanjiao watched attentively, taking in everything in the hall. Unable to resist another look at Li Xijun, he remarked in slight wonder: "Jun'er truly has handsome features!" Li Xijun had evidently heard such praise more than once. With a curve of his brow, he replied in a childish treble: "Thank you for the praise, Second Uncle." "Indeed!" Li Yuanping, who had also been watching the child intently, could not help adding his own praise with a chuckle: "This child was born with the look of an immortal cultivator. Even before his spirit aperture was tested, rumors had already spread that he was born to cultivate immortality. Now that we have tested him, he truly possesses a spirit aperture!" Li Yuanjiao nodded with a smile. Looking at the boy's spirited appearance lifted his mood considerably, and he then said gently: "I have summoned you juniors today because there are a few important matters to discuss." Li Yuanjiao held his teacup and said with solemn gravity: "For years, rumors have circulated that the Qingsui Sword Immortal had perished. The families across the lake can never bear to see others prosper, so they spread the word far and wide. Whispers have reached every quarter. As members of the Li clan's direct line, you must know the truth." Hearing the name of the Qingsui Sword Immortal, the juniors all raised their heads, their expressions turning somber. They had clearly heard whispers from their parents. Li Yuanjiao nodded: "The Sword Immortal has indeed passed away..." The youths lowered their heads at once, and the atmosphere turned heavy. Li Yuanjiao continued in a low voice: "The news that his soul lamp within the sect has gone out has been leaked, and word has spread everywhere. Our clan no longer has a patron within the sect. Cut off from information, we risk being bullied by others. Therefore, we have invited Peak Master Qingsui to visit us... Li Xizhi!" "Your son is here!" Li Xizhi swept back his robe, stepped forward, and answered respectfully. Li Yuanjiao said softly: "The clan requires you to enter the sect to cultivate, place yourself under Qingsui Peak, shelter our clan, and forge an immortal foundation... Do you understand?" Li Xizhi bowed low and answered: "Xizhi will not fail this duty." Li Xijun and Li Ximing were still young and sensed nothing amiss beyond the prospect of a parting that would last years, feeling a faint pang of reluctance. Li Xicheng, however, had already read the clan history; he looked at Li Xizhi with concern and sighed quietly in his heart. "Good." Li Yuanjiao's eyes shone brightly. Helping him to his feet, he looked at the others and said softly: "There is another matter. Now that the clan's juniors are growing in number, and concubine-born and side branches are far more numerous than before, our generational naming conventions must be clearly distinguished so no one is mistaken." "From your generation onward, sons born of Duke Changhu's first branch shall take names with the '宀' or '日' radical. Duke Tongya's second branch shall take '山' or '辶'. Duke Xiangping's third branch shall take '工' or '钅'. Duke Chijing's fourth branch shall take '氵' or '禾'." Standing with his hands behind his back, he said softly: "This was proposed by my elder brother back then, and we have kept it in mind. The names of you few all came from this." Li Xicheng and Li Xijun belonged to Li Tongya's lineage, so both carried the mountain radical. Li Ximing was the eldest legitimate son of the first branch, so he took the sun radical. Li Yuanjiao had been adopted into Li Chijing's lineage, which was why he had given Li Xizhi the water radical in 'Zhi'. The juniors understood and chimed in with their agreement. Only then did Li Yuanjiao nod: "As for this final matter—follow me up the mountain." --- "All four sons are gone now." Having digested the power of the Mystic Bead talisman seed, the white light in Lu Jiangxian's hand slowly faded, and he let out a low sigh. Perhaps because Li Tongya's cultivation had dispersed, the feedback from his Mystic Bead talisman seed was not as potent as Li Chijing's had been. Though it had given Lu Jiangxian a hearty meal, it still left him wanting more. "The power of the Taiyin Mysterious Light has improved. It can now obliterate an ordinary peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. Struck by this mystic light, unless they possess some special immortal foundation, they have no hope of survival." Grasping at empty air, he retrieved five white pills: "Li Xuanling is dead as well. That leaves four Mystic Bead talisman seeds outside the mirror: Li Xuanxuan, Li Xuanfeng, Li Yuanjiao, and Li Qinghong..." The number of Mystic Bead talisman seeds had not increased. By Lu Jiangxian's reckoning, the magical mirror would probably need to recover to the Purple Mansion realm before it could produce three more. "My perception, however, has expanded considerably..." Lu Jiangxian's visual sense now spanned nearly half of the State of Yue and Daxu. Aside from the mountain gates of a few Purple Mansion cultivators which he dared not pry into, the rest of the mortal realm and minor clans lay fully exposed to his eyes. Unfortunately, his visual sense could not penetrate grand arrays like divine sense could; otherwise, he would have loved to inspect the ancestral secrets of every family. As for his divine sense, it now blanketed the entirety of Lake Wangyue. The Yu family, the Fei family, and the other clans were laid bare before him... "How can it be stealing if it's the affairs of a scholar!" He closed the Long Brocade Mind-Inquiry Scripture in his hand and looked at the points of light materialized upon the jade table: Jade Way True Union Scripture, White-Haired Court-Bowing Classic, Lakeside Minor Magical Tool Smelting, Essential Principles of Talismans, Minor Exposition on the Alchemy Dao... "What a rich inheritance!" Back then, the Yu clan had usurped the Jiang family's legacy, inheriting a vast trove of scriptures along with insights into tool-crafting and alchemy. High-grade cultivation methods were scarce, however, and the Li family already possessed the fourth-grade White-Haired Court-Bowing Classic, which pointed straight toward the Purple Mansion. After all, the Jiang family had been founded by outer disciples of the Immortal Mansion. High-grade cultivation methods amounted to only a few. Aside from one third-grade cultivation method, the Sea-Gazing Mountain-Driving Scripture, whose cultivated Dao foundation was called "Fool Driving the Mountain," the rest were all third-grade methods of the same metal attribute. It was clear that the Yuehua Yuan Mansion had left all its outer disciples a path toward the Purple Mansion, which conveniently benefited the clans around the lake. Five or six methods that could cultivate all the way to Foundation Establishment were far better than the situation on the Xunlin Plain, where everyone remained at Embryonic Breathing and was forced to practice cheap, first-grade street-level arts. "In my past life, I, Lu Jiangxian, was still a decent man after all..." He chuckled self-deprecatingly and pieced together those lineages: "They are 'Jade Court General,' 'Azure Jade Cliff,' 'Dao True Union,' and 'Dao-Laced Brocade.'" "There is still one missing..." Lu Jiangxian deduced for a moment. Factoring in the deaths and dissipations of Yu Yufeng and Fei Wangbai, he thought to himself: "I fear the next one to attempt a breakthrough to Golden Core will be Master Shangyuan... and the metal nature he seeks is likely along this path." Thinking thus, Lu Jiangxian categorized all these cultivation methods as extremely perilous and set them aside. He sorted out three secret methods of tool refining, one secret method of alchemy, and six secret methods of talisman crafting, along with two other third-grade cultivation methods: the Fei family's Cold Pine Dew Snow Scripture and the Yu family's Sea-Gazing Mountain-Driving Scripture. "I should find an excuse to bestow these things down." He pondered for a moment, thinking: "However, the Li family no longer has a Foundation Establishment cultivator. By rights, the mirror's talisman seeds should drop from nine to six, leaving only two free, if it is to match the Li family's deductions." Lu Jiangxian found himself in a slight dilemma. After all, back then, the talisman seeds had increased little by little because Lu Jiangxian had deliberately timed them to increase as Li Tongya grew stronger. Thus, Li Tongya's speculation at the time was that the talisman seeds multiplied with the strength of the bearer. Now that Li Yuanjiao held the mirror, the talisman seeds ought to change accordingly. "Never mind, never mind." After thinking for a breath, Lu Jiangxian ultimately released the five talisman seeds after all, musing to himself: "I cannot give up eating for fear of choking. Li Yuanjiao is a clever man; he will find an explanation on his own."