Several figures emerged from the secret chamber. Clad in black-gold armor, Li Xuanfeng walked at the front and took the seat of honor while the others stood off to either side. Seated, he asked, "Did any of you gain any insights?"
They all nodded. During the surge of spiritual fluctuations just now, sudden enlightenment had surfaced from their talisman seeds. The seeds in their qi seas had grown noticeably brighter, and several mnemonic incantations had formed in their minds. Through their talisman seeds, they could perceive the Immortal Mirror lingering within the Great Void; by chanting those mnemonics under their breath, they could commune with it. Seeing everyone nod, Li Xuanfeng paused briefly and spoke in a deep voice, "That is good. Xizhi should also sense it within the sect."
Those standing below bowed their heads in assent. Yet, because the period of mourning had not yet passed, nobody was in high spirits, and little joy showed on their faces. Li Xuanfeng paused, then said softly, "Though Yu Muxian is dead, we must not act rashly on the lake for now. Once I return to the Southern Border, I will look into the sect's internal compromises through the Ning family, and only after I send a letter back will we take action."
Li Qinghong nodded. "We shall await your word in the clan. Still... back then, there was someone in the Yu family who was skilled with a sword, named Yu Mujian."
When she brought this up, only a handful of people in the hall remembered the name. Li Xuanfeng nodded slightly, and Li Qinghong turned to explain to the juniors, "When the Yu family was in its prime, each of the brothers had his strengths. Yu Muxian was gifted, Yu Mugao was ruthless, and there was another named Yu Mujian. He once suffered defeat at Grandfather's hands, set his heart on heading north to seek the Dao, and vanished without a trace.
"If he is still alive, he might well have reached Foundation Establishment by now. We must keep our guard up against him."
Standing nearby, Li Xijun answered in a clear voice, "Over the years, Uncle Yuanjiao and the others governed the family one after another, and each of them planted informants to sow discord within the Yu family. I shall go look through our records to see if there was any correspondence, or where he went."
Li Xuanfeng nodded, satisfied that the juniors were capable. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the rest and kept Li Xijun behind.
Li Xuanfeng asked, "Have you prepared spiritual pills?"
Li Xijun replied, "A Suiyuan Pill—the one kept from Ming-ge'er back then was left for me."
Li Xuanfeng smiled, withdrew a white jade bottle from his robes, and said, "This is a Foundation Establishment spiritual object, Yuwa Spiritual Liquid. It was originally brought back by the Ancestor. While in the Eastern Sea, I learned a spell that can aerosolize this spiritual liquid, allowing it to bolster spiritual energy for a few years. It will serve you perfectly for your breakthrough."
Li Xijun paused, frowning slightly. "Yet the spiritual energy in that location is not dense enough..."
Li Xuanfeng advised, "Since you are attempting Foundation Establishment, it would be better to go to Mount Yuting. That place has pines and snow, which accords well with your cultivation's imagery."
Li Xijun put the bottle away, cupped his hands together, and bowed deeply. "Then I shall trouble Great-Uncle!
"The clan's affairs are mostly in order. Li Wushao's core spirit has been extracted once more and entrusted to Yuexiang. For the next few years, the family's matters will rely on Yuexiang and Aunt Qinghong to watch over."
Li Xijun knew that the pill was originally meant for Li Ximing, yet he also understood the clan's priorities. He did not argue, answering respectfully, "Your nephew shall now enter seclusion to cultivate and prepare for Foundation Establishment.
"Should I fail to succeed, I ask that Great-Uncle show leniency toward Ximing. Within the clan, Chengliao is shrewd and capable, while Chenghuai... though his talent does not match his father's, he is still quite good. Please treat them well..."
Li Xuanfeng's face darkened, and he chided, "Off with you! Nothing but ill omens from your mouth!"
Li Xuanfeng then recalled that the former young master of the Fei family, Fei Tonghe, had gone to the Southern Border alongside him years ago, and he still carried a letter Fei Tonghe had entrusted to him for his family. Thinking of this, he raised an eyebrow and said gravely, "I shall make a trip to the Fei family."
Li Qinghong offered, "I will accompany you."
Li Xuanfeng did not refuse. The two rode the wind aloft, flying out from the great mountain array and heading due north. Directly beneath them lay a large islet strewn with ruins and warding formations.
It was the old Lake Central Islet market. Li Xuanfeng glanced down at it; rogue cultivators had scavenged through it countless times, yet the warding arrays still flared up from time to time. He remarked, "By my estimate, in another ten years or so, we can bring several Foundation Establishment cultivators and a formation master to sweep away the remnant arrays here and claim it as a foothold. Lake Central Islet is rich, more than enough to support cultivators."
Li Qinghong nodded; their family had harbored the same ambition for a long time. Flying across together, the northern shore of Lake Wangyue rose into higher terrain, rich in spiritual veins and resplendent with rugged peaks, sheer precipices, stone palisades, and snow-draped heights. Li Xuanfeng took a single sweeping look, then descended toward Hanyun Peak with her.
Just as Li Qinghong was about to speak, her expression shifted. A bright light surged from Hanyun Peak below as the Yunlong Tiannan Array, relied upon by the Fei family for generations, rose to life, enveloping the immortal peak in a shimmering white barrier.
A white-robed middle-aged cultivator flew straight out to meet them, exuding a biting chill. Looking up, his heart leaped in alarm.
The woman before him stepped on streaks of lightning, displaying a mid Foundation Establishment cultivation. With willow-leaf brows and almond eyes, she appeared around twenty-eight or twenty-nine, radiating a faint sense of familiarity. The other was clad in black-gold armor; a single glance at him made one's eyes ache and cheeks sting as though sliced by blades.
Quickly taking their measure, the man bent his waist to the ground, bowing with utmost reverence. "This is Hanyun Peak of the Fei family. May I know what brings two esteemed seniors..."
Li Qinghong answered warmly, "Qingdu, Li Qinghong."
Only then did Fei Tongcai realize why she seemed familiar. Decades ago, Li Qinghong had stayed with the Fei family for three years, and he had crossed paths with her and Fei Tongxiao a few times. He drew a sharp breath in secret, lowering his head. "So... so it is your esteemed clan... I am Fei Tongcai, greeting both seniors."
Li Xuanfeng stood with his hands behind his back and said coldly, "A junior's words carry little weight. We must ask your clan head to welcome us in person."
Fei Tongcai broke into a cold sweat, at a loss for words. He could only bow slightly and stammer, "This junior... shall fetch him at once..."
He beat a hasty retreat. Soon, a figure flew toward them from afar, his features bearing a seventy-percent resemblance to Fei Tonghe. Though handsome and debonair by nature, his expression was thoroughly grim as he rode the wind over and bowed low. "I am Fei Tongyu, head of the Fei family, paying my respects to two seniors."
By raising their great array, the Fei family had laid their distrust bare for all to see. Considering Li Tongya had once saved their entire clan, such a reception was an overt insult. Yet the family head, Fei Tongyu, had come out personally to greet them at potential risk to himself—a contradictory posture that made Li Qinghong shake her head in secret.
Li Xuanfeng studied him carefully, a faint, inscrutable smile playing across his lips. Coldly, he said, "So you are Fei Tongyu! Good!"
He pulled a letter from his robes. With a flick of his wrist, the letter and a storage bag flew out and slammed squarely into Fei Tongyu's chest. Turning smoothly, Li Xuanfeng rode the wind away, calling back in a chilling tone, "This is what your father asked me to bring to you! Henceforth, look out for yourself!"
Hearing news of his father for the first time in decades, Fei Tongyu was left reeling by the impact. Add to that the piercing glare of Li Xuanfeng's ocular technique, and his composure shattered completely. Flustered from head to toe, he could only cry out, "Fellow Daoist! This is truly unnecessary!"
Fei Tongyu hovered in midair as though in a dream, momentarily dazed. Clutching the letter written by his father, tears welled in his eyes, and he pleaded, "Fellow Daoist! Please, come sit on the peak for a moment... I was merely afraid... that is all!"
Li Xuanfeng's abrupt throw and departure had returned the insult in full measure. Li Qinghong stepped in to play the gentle mediator, saying softly, "How could he act like this? It was indeed rather discourteous."
Fei Tongyu pressed tearfully, "I only ask that Fellow Daoist come up to the peak to rest for a while!"
Knowing Li Xuanfeng had not gone far, Li Qinghong nodded slightly and rode the wind down with him. Fei Tongyu hurriedly tried to usher her toward his immortal's cave, but Li Qinghong had no intention of lingering. She said, "You and I need only walk about this peak."
Li Qinghong was now an exalted cultivator of the mid Foundation Establishment stage; Fei Tongyu dared not refuse. Bowing, he led the way, bringing them onto the snow-blanketed peak. Looking up, Li Qinghong saw a hall with a sealed, flat roof, looking strangely out of place.
Having stayed with the Fei family for several years, Li Qinghong was familiar with their customs; they had always preferred open courtyards to view the moon and snow. She gave the building a puzzled look, and Fei Tongyu hastened to explain, "This was where my younger brother lived before his passing. He never gazed at the moon, and he went so far as to seal the roof of the hall."
Li Qinghong started, asking sharply, "Before his passing?"
Fei Tongyu replied hastily, "My younger brother... sat in death three years ago. He left a letter for me to pass to you, but Qingyi cautioned me against it, so I never dared send anyone over..."
Li Qinghong's heart shook. "Fei Tongxiao is dead?"
Fei Tongyu nodded, recounting the circumstances softly, "It happened a few years back... He failed his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, dispersing into the cold wind and snow, gone forever..."
Li Qinghong truly paused at that. She had never expected the man would actually possess the resolve to charge toward Foundation Establishment. To have an old acquaintance depart just like that left her momentarily at a loss for words.
The two sat down before a stone table in the courtyard. Sitting there, Fei Tongyu began to weep, looking worn down by the toll of the years. From his storage bag, he produced a small letter no larger than a palm. Li Qinghong lowered her almond eyes to read the plain lines penned upon it:
'Senior Sister, Tongxiao was dull and could not succeed. In my youth I was reckless and disruptive; my only solace is that I did not hinder Senior Sister's Dao path. Yet, Senior Sister, through forty-nine years of cold mountain pine and snow, my heart was stubborn as the green mountains, never wavering.'
The characters were brushed in simple black ink. Li Qinghong read them carefully twice, then turned her head away, revealing her pale neck. Her voice was slightly hoarse as she asked, "Did he leave behind any children?"
Fei Tongyu shook his head. "He never took a wife, nor did he ever take a concubine."
Li Qinghong fell silent. The two walked over to Fei Wangbai's grave. The tombstone was overgrown with purple moss, looking exceedingly forlorn in the snow. Having observed the courtesies of a disciple in the past, Li Qinghong offered a brief prayer. Then they slowly walked up the cold mountain draped in pine and snow. Topping the ridge, she recognized that familiar pavilion at a glance.
Back then, she had practiced her spear within that pavilion, and Fei Tongxiao had come to seek her out day after day, climbing up from the mountainside every single time. Now, several decades had passed, yet the small pavilion still stood.
Fei Tongyu guided her in. The two potted winter plums before the entrance were well-tended, dusted with white frost. The door panels were freshly painted in white, and the stone steps were worn smooth and bright, though they had not been trodden upon in some time and were layered in thick rime.
The words 'look out for yourself' lingered in Li Qinghong's throat for a long moment, yet in the end she did not speak them. Cupping her hands in farewell, she raised her slender hand, plucked a single plum blossom from the potted plant by the door, and rode the lightning away.
Fei Tongyu remained kneeling where he was, unfolding his father's letter fold by fold. Looking upon the familiar handwriting, he wept softly.
Li Qinghong flew out on the wind to find Li Xuanfeng standing by the lakeside, staring blankly out across the water. Watching her alight, he murmured, "They say Tongya arrived with white hair and white robes, holding a sword. What kind of sight was that?"
Li Qinghong raised her head as though waking from a reverie, saying softly, "Indeed..."
Li Xuanfeng glanced over at her, noticing her downcast mood, and asked, "How did it go?"
Li Qinghong turned her face away and said quietly, "Nothing. An old friend failed his breakthrough and died."
Li Xuanfeng said, "Do not dwell on it overmuch. We have long lifespans, and we will witness many such passings."
Flying southward alongside her, Li Xuanfeng paused, then remarked, "Back then, the Fei family was ordered never to cultivate the Changjin Wenxin Jue again. A system of techniques built over centuries was scrapped entirely, forcing them to start from scratch. In all these decades, not a single Foundation Establishment cultivator has emerged.
"It has also been many years since the Fei family sent word to our clan. Whatever gratitude they once felt was forgotten long ago."
Li Qinghong said, "People naturally pursue gain and avoid harm; the Fei family's choice cannot strictly be blamed. Still, whenever I remember Great-Uncle rescuing the Fei family with a single sword strike, only to receive this sort of return, it always leaves an unpleasant taste."
She added, "I heard that the Fei family has grown distant from us in recent years. Could it be because Fei Qingyi cultivates on Yuanwu Peak?"
Li Xuanfeng replied, "She is a sect disciple."
Li Qinghong reflected in silence. Brother had once remarked that this man was like a stoat scurrying to prepare for winter, and he was every bit the part. Guarding against everything was one thing... but if one must offend, at least offend cleanly. He was a proper fence-sitter.
Li Qinghong had long lost the heart for conversation. She nodded in agreement, pulling herself together as they landed back on Qingdu Peak, only to see the heavy rain falling anew, pattering across the hills.
Li Qinghong gazed up at the rain clouds in the sky, silently pinching her fingers to calculate. 'I wonder when this rain will clear, and whether winter will be delayed this year...'
Chapter 474