The Li family members swiftly rode the wind into the distance. Li Yuanjiao’s face was slightly pale. After swallowing an elixir to dispel cold poison and regulate his true essence, his complexion improved considerably. Beside him, Li Qinghong had exhausted much of her strength, and she likewise took medicine to adjust her breath.
Though he had suffered minor injuries, a smile still hung on Li Yuanjiao’s face. The storage bag in his hand glowed faintly, covered in talismans and clearly no ordinary item. He chuckled and said, “This demonic cultivator was quite remarkable—comparable to the likes of Zhang Huaide and Qiu Ji. A core figure, distinct from those petty demonic cultivators. We should have quite a haul this time.”
Even as he spoke, Li Yuanjiao did not open the storage bag carelessly. Instead, he twirled it in his hand. Li Xuanxuan asked with some concern, “Jiao’er, how are your injuries?”
“No matter. Two days under Guiluan’s care will set me right. With a few more months to steady my cultivation, I will be ready to break through to the ninth layer.”
His underlying meaning pointed to the talisman pill. Because the old monkey was flying behind them, he left it unspoken. The three people and one monkey flew in silence for a time, until Li Yuanjiao suddenly halted and said softly, “Found one!”
Below them lay a minor Embryonic Breathing clan, where demonic cultivators were in the midst of a slaughter. Li Yuanjiao descended on the wind, swinging his sword into the fray.
A moment later, he carried back an Embryonic Breathing demonic cultivator whose limbs had all been severed—a solitary, smooth torso whose eyes bulged wide as he desperately begged for mercy.
Li Yuanjiao’s gaze was piercing and unmoved. He simply tossed the man to the ground, flung the Qi Refinement demonic cultivator’s storage bag right into his face, and ordered, “Open it with your spiritual sense.”
The demonic cultivator submissively complied. The mouth of the storage bag loosened slightly, spilling a pile of items across the ground. No tracking spells were triggered, nor were there any apparent hidden traps.
Li Yuanjiao could not be bothered to see whether this demonic cultivator had been marked for vengeance. Amidst the pleas for mercy, he crushed the man’s head beneath his boot, incinerated the remains with fire magic, and swept up the storage bag and various spiritual items.
The entire matter took only dozens of breaths, handled cleanly and decisively. Li Qinghong cradled her spear to regulate her breath, paying it no heed. Li Xuanxuan, however, frowned and interjected, “There was no need to slice him into a human stick... Ending him with one sword strike would have sufficed. Why go to such lengths and make such a bloody mess?”
“It saves trouble. No need to guard against him using some talisman.”
Replying with a smile, they took to the wind once more. Li Yuanjiao rummaged through the storage bag to inspect their spoils. Before long, they had passed beyond the lands of various clans and arrived at the edge of the Yu family’s territory.
Smoke and fire rose from all quarters of the Yu family’s Milin Commandery, leaving it utterly devastated. Beams of light and spells collided with one another, churning up billowing clouds of smoke.
Li Xuanxuan halted to watch for a time, murmuring, “From Yu Yufeng to Yu Chengyi took a mere four generations, yet they have already decayed to such a state—a decline too entrenched to reverse!”
“Who could say otherwise?”
Li Qinghong cradled her spear, staring at the bursts of flashing fire within the commandery, and replied, “When a noble clan rises from humble beginnings, its founding ancestors must either possess exceptional talent and deep calculation, or be frank, generous, and adept at employing others, or else cautious, shrewd, suspicious, and ruthless—only then can they distinguish themselves.”
“The first generation establishes the foundation, and the second preserves it, yet they are mostly far inferior to their predecessors.”
“Later generations indulge in pleasure or bury themselves in cultivation, blind to the warmth and coldness of the mortal world. If one among them manages to achieve Foundation Establishment or Purple Palace, they can still suppress a clan’s fortunes. If not, the roots of disaster are sown!”
Li Yuanjiao gripped his sword and watched, saying in a low, muffled voice, “From our great-great-grandfather until now, four generations have passed, and Xiyue already marks the fifth.”
He turned around and asked abruptly, “Among the sons and grandsons, is there anyone who can rival our great-great-grandfather or great-grandfathers?”
Li Qinghong had not expected the conversation to turn so heavy all of a sudden. She quickly smiled and said, “Brother, you jest. Each generation has its own circumstances; there is no need to make comparisons.”
Li Xuanxuan listened to the two siblings’ discussion throughout the journey without uttering a word. Once they entered Lijing Town, he went up the mountain to draw talismans. Li Yuanjiao and Li Qinghong descended together to the central hall to divide the spoils with Li Yuanping.
There were ten storage bags from Embryonic Breathing cultivators. After depositing the spiritual items and magical implements into the vault, only some forty spirit stones remained, which were added to the clan treasury. This finally filled the deficit left from allocating spirit stones to Li Qingxiao’s branch at Yushan.
Then they emptied the savings of the Qi Refinement demonic cultivator. Spirit stones alone numbered more than twenty. Li Yuanjiao moved to hand them over to Yuanping, but Yuanping frowned and said, “Brother, Sister, you must keep some! If you always surrender everything to the clan, where will you get resources for your own cultivation? Brother, you are approaching Foundation Establishment right now; you must think more of yourself.”
Li Yuanjiao and Li Qinghong exchanged a glance and split them equally, each taking a few bottles of usable pills. Most of what remained were demonic manuals. Li Yuanjiao sifted through them one by one until his eyes lit up, and he smiled. “There is a fourth-rank spell.”
Most spells widely circulated in Wu and Yue were first- or second-rank, or not ranked at all. Third- and fourth-rank spells were mostly secret clan treasures, while anything higher belonged solely to immortal sects and great orders. Hearing this, everyone gathered around. Li Yuanjiao read it closely and answered, “What a rare thing! It is a fourth-rank spell from a minor sect in the State of Wu called the Tujun Sect, titled ‘Tujun Sunflower Light.’ It is cultivated by gathering various kinds of cold qi and cold water. Mastering the basics requires nine types of cold qi or three types of cold water, while full mastery demands nine nines—eighty-one types!”
“Ordinarily, these cold qi and cold waters are refined into the index finger of the left hand. When facing an enemy, pinching a hand seal releases the Tujun Sunflower Light, which can obstruct the circulation of the opponent’s dharmic power. If cultivated to mastery, at the very first encounter, even Qi Refinement cultivators will be turned into icy water.”
When Li Yuanjiao finished speaking, Li Qinghong took the manual, read it carefully, and sighed with regret. She said softly, “I cannot use it. Lightning belongs to fire, the ultimate bane of yin cold, to say nothing of refining it into an index finger.”
Li Yuanjiao nodded. His clan’s inheritances, the River Unity Qi Formula and the Cold Pine Dew Snow Formula, were quite compatible with this spell. The Cold Pine Snow Qi gathered under the Cold Pine Dew Snow Formula could even serve as one of the cold qi refined for this technique.
‘The clan also has a type of spiritual water between heaven and earth, the Earth Fiend Cold Spring, which can be put to use.’
“The Tujun Sect...”
Li Yuanjiao found the name familiar and murmured in thought, “It seems the old monkey once cultivated in this sect. It was mentioned in the *White Monkey’s Travels*. That sect’s methods were yin-cold, and their ancestors were once prosperous, possessing several secret techniques. Later, it was wiped out by demonic cultivators, and in the end, it has found its way into our hands.”
This spell required many diverse kinds of cold qi and cold water, with nine needed just to grasp the basics, making cultivation somewhat difficult. Li Yuanjiao put it aside for the moment, intending to inquire which clans possessed cold qi and cultivate it slowly.
***
Li Yuanjiao remained in secluded cultivation for nearly half a year, stabilizing his cultivation. Taking the talisman pill from his clan, he broke through to the ninth layer of Qi Refinement with ease. At last, Foundation Establishment was within sight.
Emerging from seclusion, he inquired in detail and learned that most cultivators in the clan were also in seclusion to cultivate.
The demonic calamity had left the clan much more prosperous, and many overdue clan stipends had been distributed. Having advanced at the brink of life and death, or having saved enough to purchase pills, everyone made their respective breakthroughs.
After all the slaughter during the demonic calamity, Li Qinghong’s cultivation had also progressed greatly. However, the late stage of Qi Refinement placed great weight on accumulation, so she had not yet broken through to the eighth layer.
Just as Li Yuanjiao came out of seclusion, a servant delivered a letter. It came from Guyan Temple: Chen Donghe had finally collected a portion of Golden Yang Huangyuan. Li Yuanjiao was overjoyed. Leaving Li Qinghong to watch over the home, he headed west.
Departing with a heart full of joy, he crossed Mount Xiping only to be greeted by sweeping waves of golden sand. When Li Yuanjiao landed before Guyan Temple, his expression darkened considerably.
The ancient city wall that had once stretched for thousands of li now lay collapsed in several sections, divided into three or four pieces. What remained of the wall was heavily scarred and covered in cracks.
Chen Donghe’s face was as pale as ever, looking as though new wounds had been layered over old ones. Flying before him, he called out, “Young Master!”
Li Yuanjiao pointed at the city wall, frowning in silence. Chen Donghe answered, “It was demonic cultivators.”
“This year, demonic cultivators have frequently crossed the border. Most rode the wind past us, but some grew greedy and laid siege to Guyan Temple... During the battles, the ancient wall was repeatedly caught in the crossfire, resulting in what you see now.”
Chen Donghe sighed and continued, “The reason this portion of Golden Yang Huangyuan was delayed by over half a year is precisely because of this. With the wall collapsed, what could originally accommodate three people gathering qi can now support only two...”
Li Yuanjiao felt a sudden headache. This was not something that could be fixed simply by repairing it. Golden Yang Huangyuan required an ancient pass; if they rebuilt it themselves, they might very well destroy the qi-gathering site altogether.
‘Could we really be forced to dispatch people here to guard it?’
Yet the Li clan possessed few direct combatants to begin with. Stationing them here to stand guard would delay their cultivation and be fraught with danger.
“This place is too dilapidated, and the qi-gathering efficiency is terribly low. It seems we must send others out to search elsewhere...”
He received the jade box Chen Donghe handed him, opened it gently, and saw the golden light flowing within, a radiant red-gold. He nodded and said, “Does my aunt know of Great-Granduncle’s passing? He was her uncle, after all. She could return to the clan once... to pay her respects.”
Chen Donghe understood the hidden meaning in his words: ‘She could return to the clan once’ implied that the Golden Yang Huangyuan must still be gathered. Astute as Chen Donghe was, he spoke gently at once: “Please escort her back, Young Master. Seeing that gathering this qi is becoming harder by the day, Donghe must seize the time, so I will not accompany her.”
Li Yuanjiao nodded in silence and sent someone to invite Li Jingtian. Before long, the servant returned to report that Li Jingtian refused to return home; she had only paid her respects from afar and changed into white mourning garments, considering her filial duty fulfilled.
Chen Donghe sighed softly and bowed slightly to Li Yuanjiao in apology.
Li Yuanjiao understood the meaning behind it. He had no choice but to leave behind pills and resources, taking to the wind amidst the lingering smoke and setting sun, disappearing alone into the yellow haze.
Only after Li Yuanjiao vanished over the horizon did Chen Donghe straighten up. Leaning against the city wall, he sat down and gazed at the slowly sinking sun, feeling an overwhelming loneliness.
He was an old man in his sixties now. With Tian Youdao’s death, there was one fewer person with whom he could sit and reminisce about the past. He murmured under his breath, “The sunset is blood-red, and the earth veins are surging. It seems the fire veins have erupted again.”
The vast desert was filled with fire veins, making it no suitable place for mortals to reside. Li Jingtian’s health worsened day by day, and her temperament had grown somewhat stubborn. Had it been in her youth, she would never have put Li Yuanjiao in such an awkward position.
‘Xiao’er... a solitary mother and child. I wonder how they are faring now...’
The River Unity Qi Formula favored water and lakes. Years of living in the desert had slowed Chen Donghe’s cultivation progress considerably, yet he did not care in the slightest. He merely sat silently upon the ash-gray city wall, humming a line or two of a folksong from his homeland.
***
Li Yuanjiao returned home in silence. He sat motionless on a green stone for an hour before feeling his mental energy recover and his expression soften. Someone came from below to report that Li Xijun had arrived.
“Send him up.”
Li Yuanjiao waited a moment, and Li Xijun hurried up clad in a brocade robe. The magical implement he had been bestowed, the Evening Red Glaze, had been carefully inlaid into a jade ring and hung swaying at his waist, looking quite handsome.
“Xijun greets Second Uncle.”
Li Xijun cupped his fists, appearing rather relaxed. When Li Yuanjiao’s spiritual sense swept over him, he understood immediately and said softly, “Embryonic Breathing fifth layer, the Yujing wheel. Diligent indeed.”
Li Xijun was sixteen years old, just at the age of the rising sun. His aptitudes were slightly inferior to Li Ximing’s, so Li Ximing at the Xiao family had likely condensed his Yujing wheel around now as well.
Li Xijun offered a few modest words. Knowing he had come to ask for a talisman pill, Li Yuanjiao retrieved a jade bottle from his storage bag and handed it over.
Once Li Xijun and Li Ximing took this pill, both would be cultivators at the peak of Embryonic Breathing. Yet there was only one portion of Golden Yang Huangyuan. Li Yuanjiao gathered his words and spoke gently: “Jun’er, our clan has obtained only one portion of Golden Yang Huangyuan, and the qi source in the desert has run into some trouble. The next portion will likely take more than ten years to gather...”
Li Xijun nodded slightly, looking somewhat surprised. The situation that had once confronted his elder brother, Li Xicheng, had now fallen upon him. Yet his temperament was completely different from that of his elder brother. He said respectfully, “Xijun will follow the elders’ arrangements in all things!”
He did not offer Li Yuanjiao an easy way out, leaving Li Yuanjiao briefly at a loss for words. Li Xijun lowered his sword-like brows, paused for two breaths, and ultimately could not bear to see the guilty expression on his elder’s face. He smiled and said, “Xijun actually prefers the Cold Pine Dew Snow Formula. It is graceful and transcendent, brimming with biting chill, perfect for someone who carries a sword.”
“The Golden Hall Huangyuan Formula sounds like a newly rich landlord; it wouldn't be interesting to cultivate.”
Li Xijun made a joke of it, but Li Yuanjiao could not bring himself to smile. The Cold Pine Dew Snow Formula was merely a third-rank art, whereas the Golden Hall Huangyuan Formula was an ancient fourth-rank art. Once a spiritual qi of heaven and earth was consumed, it determined the path for the next hundred years.
Favoring one over the other—the palm and the back of the hand were both one’s own flesh. How could it be brushed aside with a mere jest? Though countless emotions stirred within Li Yuanjiao, he was never good at expressing them. He could only sigh. “Once you break through and steady your cultivation, go down the mountain to take the Cold Pine Snow Qi and prepare for your breakthrough.”
He drew out the *Tujun Sunflower Light* from his storage bag and handed it to Li Xijun as compensation, speaking with rare gentleness: “This is a fourth-rank spell newly acquired by our clan. Read it carefully first and cultivate it slowly. Once you are able to take in cold qi and cold water, come find me.”
The clan’s bottle of Earth Fiend Cold Spring was not a renewable spiritual qi of heaven and earth like the Cold Pine Snow Qi. Li Yuanjiao had originally not intended to bring it out for use, but after reading the spell carefully and seeing that the required amount was small, he was willing to part with it.
“Thank you, Second Uncle, for bestowing the spell!”
Li Xijun nodded calmly, received the spell, and studied it carefully. After swearing a Xuan Scenery spiritual oath, he cupped his fists and withdrew. Li Yuanjiao only then collected his thoughts, bent over the desk to write a letter, handed it to a servant, and said in a deep voice, “Go to Xianyou Peak and ask how Master Ming’s cultivation progresses. If he has already broken through to the Yujing wheel, have him return with all haste.”
“No.”
He took the short letter back, crossed out some lines, and ordered, “Have him write back. I will go receive him in person.”
A streak of light emerged from Xianyou Peak, weaving through the wind. Li Yuanjiao bade farewell to the Xiao family, fetched Li Ximing, and drifted back home.
A long wind tore through the air. The young man stood with hands clasped behind his back, clad in Daoist robes with a medicine pouch at his waist, gazing down at the mountain ranges below. Ahead of him, Li Yuanjiao rode the wind quietly in his black robes, saying in a low voice:
Chapter 367