Tribute

"Condensing dharmic power, transforming it into Qingyuan." Waving his hand to disperse the pale-white Qingyuan moon essence in his palm, Li Tongya was filled with excitement. Though the Qingyuan Wheel was hardly an insurmountable bottleneck, it was still the fourth wheel of the Embryonic Breathing Realm. Spending the better part of a year smoothly condensing his dharmic power left him immensely satisfied. *Still, this Qingyuan dharmic power seems somewhat out of the ordinary. Its growth has been so vast that it appears close to what the Qingyuan Wheel Nourishing Method describes for the cultivation of the Yujing Wheel. It seems our family's Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture is truly remarkable.* Li Tongya lifted the fine steel blade in his hand and wiped it clean with a piece of white cloth. Most people along Guli Road favored sabers and staves; this fine sword had taken him a search through four villages before he finally tracked it down from the Jingyang Liu family. This Jingyang Liu family happened to be Liu Rouxuan's maiden family. The moment they heard Li Tongya was looking for a sword, they eagerly brought out this treasured blade from the bottom of their chests, refusing to accept a single coin from him and insisting it was part of Liu Rouxuan's dowry. "After training for over half a year, I've finally stepped through the door and can reliably unleash this Xuanshui sword light." Li Tongya pressed two fingers together and drew them slowly across the blade. The weapon immediately released a pale-gray sword light that clung to the edge like the wings of a cicada, looking exceptionally sharp. Stepping out of the courtyard, Li Tongya sought out an uninhabited spot among the hills and began to practice his swordplay in secret. "Hah!" After several passes, Li Tongya raised the sword. With a flick of his wrist, the blade sheared through a large banyan tree before him. The massive tree crashed to the ground with a resounding thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. "Truly sharp." Looking at the smooth stump before him, Li Tongya felt that his strike had encountered virtually no resistance as it sheared the great tree clean in two. After practicing with great relish for a while longer, Li Tongya hung the sword from his waist, regulated his breath to replenish his dharmic power, and headed for the courtyard house in Lijing. The Baiyuan fruit in the Lijing courtyard had ripened, hanging plump and snowy-white atop the pale-yellow shoots, looking thoroughly enticing. Harvesting Baiyuan fruit was far easier than reaping spirit rice; one needed only to harvest them with dharmic power and store them in jade boxes. The courtyard yielded fifteen Baiyuan fruits all at once. Li Tongya had borrowed two jade boxes from Wan Tiancang, which proved just enough to hold them. "Brother Tiancang, regarding this tribute..." "Follow Guli Road eastward all the way to Guanyun Peak of the Xiao family in the east. All the clans of Lixia Commandery gather there to present their tribute. Each family will also bring their abundant or surplus goods to trade right at the foot of the mountain." Hearing Li Tongya ask about paying the tribute, Wan Tiancang waved his hand and explained attentively: "The market at the foot of the mountain is guaranteed by the Xiao family, so murders and treasure robberies generally do not occur. However, once money and goods change hands, no one takes responsibility after you leave the stall. It all depends on each person's own discerning eye." "I see." After conferring with Li Xiangping and Li Mutian for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Li Tongya took along the Songyue fruit and several techniques and scriptures sent by the Wan family. He packed up the household's spirit rice and spirit fruit and quietly set off for the Wan residence. The Wan family's carriage stood waiting by the edge of Guli Road. To prevent the Ji family from catching wind of the journey and launching an ambush, the Wan family had dispatched only Wan Yuankai of the Qingyuan Wheel and a single driver, who were waiting by Guli Road for Li Tongya. Having packed everything securely, Li Tongya loaded the spirit rice and spirit fruit onto the Wan carriage. Under the cover of night, they set off swaying toward the east. *** "Golden Autumn in the Lake: one must seek out a great lake three thousand li across. When the autumn leaves on the shore turn golden, the sky is clear and the air crisp, and the night is luminous, breathe in qi through the night using the Bingzi Respiration Method to obtain one measure of autumn qi. Eighty-one nights yield a single wisp of Golden Autumn in the Lake, and ten wisps make a portion. Requiring ten years in all, it is also known as a decade of Lake Autumn Qi." Li Chijing flipped through the book in his hands, quietly committing the method to memory while musing to himself: *The Seven Months Qi Refinement True Formula Master gave me is detailed enough, but I wonder if it contains a refinement method for Taiyin moon essence.* After flipping through the book several times, Li Chijing muttered under his breath, "Taiyin moon essence... Taiyin moon essence... here it is!" "Taiyin moon essence is as pure white as frost and flows like water; it brightens as the moon waxes and dims as it wanes." Li Chijing blankly turned a few more pages, parted his lips, and muttered, "That's all?" "Sigh..." Li Chijing had formed his Lingchu Wheel some time ago, and reaching the Qi Refinement stage was now merely a matter of time and accumulation. Taking advantage of the spare moments while waiting for someone, he had started reading through the essentials of Qi Refinement ahead of time. *If there are no clues regarding this Taiyin moon essence, I'll have no choice but to cultivate the Yuanqing Rain-Governing Formula.* Li Chijing looked up and saw a mission posted outside the Martial Promotion Pavilion suddenly vanish. The pavilion's main doors swung open, and a figure slowly emerged. Li Chijing had waited outside the Martial Promotion Pavilion for three days before finally seeing someone accept the mission to collect tribute from Lixia Commandery. Seeing that the person was about to step onto a flying shuttle and depart, he hastily called out: "Fellow Daoist!" Hearing him, the figure looked down and asked softly, "What is it?" Only then did Li Chijing realize she was a woman with a delicate face, dressed in a pale-cyan gown. Smiling awkwardly, he explained, "Fellow Daoist, have you taken the mission to collect tribute in Lixia Commandery?" "I have." The gentle woman looked at Li Chijing. Seeing that he was merely a boy of about sixteen, she softened her tone and asked kindly, "Do you have family in Lixia Commandery?" "Yes, precisely! I am Li Chijing of Qingsui Peak. May I ask the fairy's name?" "Ning Wan of Moon Lake Peak." Ning Wan nodded, gesturing for him to continue. "Since you are going to Lixia Commandery to collect tribute, fairy, I hope you might look after my family a bit. Chijing would be endlessly grateful." Li Chijing clasped his hands and answered in a respectful, low voice, "I hail from the Li family of Lijing, right beside Lake Wangyue." "We are disciples of the same sect; looking out for them is only natural." Ning Wan gave a slight nod, then asked with some puzzlement, "Since you were born by Lake Wangyue, within the jurisdiction of our Moon Lake Peak, why didn't you join Moon Lake Peak?" Li Chijing replied with a smile, "My master, Si Yuanbai, was passing through Mount Dali. I was blessed with immense fortune and caught his favor, so he brought me back to the sect to cultivate." Ning Wan gave a dissatisfied huff and murmured, "Si Yuanbai doesn't stay properly in his Xunlin Plain, but comes to our Lake Wangyue to poach disciples. How unreasonable." Li Chijing could only chuckle wryly, pretending not to have heard. "Very well," Ning Wan pursed her lips and asked gently, "Is there anything you wish for me to deliver?" "Yes, yes!" Li Chijing had been fretting over how to bring it up, so he was overjoyed to hear her ask. "Thank you so much, Fairy!" With that, he presented a small pouch with both hands. Ning Wan took it and gave it a slight weigh; a crisp clatter of spirit stones sounded from within, feeling like four or five stones. Somewhat puzzled, she asked: "Cultivating in the sect, you haven't received resources from home, but are instead sending things back to them—what kind of logic is that?" Li Chijing quickly shook his head and replied, "My family entrusted someone to send me pills before. Everything I need is available on the peak, so for now I have no use for spirit stones. Using them directly for cultivation would be too extravagant, so it's better to send them home to help with household expenses." "So that's how it is. It's truly rare to see such filial devotion." Hearing this, Ning Wan felt her heart soften, growing quite fond of the boy. Smiling, she said, "I will certainly deliver them for you."