Early morning.
Dazzling morning sunlight leaped out from behind Mount Dali, brushing across the glistening gold of Lake Wangyue. The wind swept through the endless, layered reed marshes, carrying with it the sounds of children laughing and frolicking along the Meichi River.
Sitting on a ridge between the fields, Chen Erniu gazed with heavy anxiety at the crops, his thoughts dwelling on his bedridden wife.
Chen Erniu had been born in Lichuankou, east of Mount Dali. More than twenty years ago, an unexplained drought had suddenly struck the flatlands of Lichuankou. Not a single drop of rain fell, and white smoke chugged up from the parched earth, terrifying the villagers into fleeing in all directions.
He had been merely a half-grown lad then, stumbling blindly until he reached Lijing Village. Moved by his desperate pleading, the farmer Li Genshui took him in, and the following year even leased him a mu of land so he could eke out a living.
Once he came of age, he leased another mu of paddy, built an earthen cottage, married one of Li Genshui’s daughters, and proudly put down roots in the village.
Yet his wife had suddenly fallen ill. Fortunately, he had scraped together some savings over the years. When they carried her to the village entrance for Teacher Han to examine, the teacher assured them it was only a minor ailment requiring a few doses of medicine. He settled his wife in Teacher Han's care, but the anxiety gripping his heart refused to abate—one bout of illness could impoverish three generations!
"Uncle!"
Lost in his daze, Chen Erniu was startled awake by a hearty, clear voice.
At the courtyard entrance stood a handsome young man, greeting him with a warm, eager smile.
"Oh, Changhu! I don’t deserve such a title, I really don't!"
Chen Erniu bowed repeatedly. He had married only a concubine-born daughter of the Li family and remained a tenant farming their land; he truly could not bear being addressed as uncle by the eldest son of the main branch.
Li Genshui had been shrewd and capable, yet quite a philanderer. Having a wife was not enough for him; he took in two women he picked up along the road as concubines. His wife bore him two sons, while the concubines bore three sons and four daughters.
Years ago, when Li Genshui grew frail and was on his deathbed, his only remaining legitimate younger son—the only one by his side—suddenly dropped dead. The concubine-born sons were young and strong, and they eyed the family’s dozen-odd mu of land like hungry wolves.
It was then that Li Mutian, who had run away from home years before, returned with a blade in hand and men at his back. This ruthless veteran cut down the treacherous, double-dealing steward with a single slash, and then slaughtered the entire family of the wealthy clan who had poisoned his brother and conspired to annex their lands—not sparing so much as a single dog.
Li Mutian and his two comrades carried blood-dripping sabers and hauled the corpses in handcarts, leaving a bloody trail stretching from one end of the village to the other. Every household bolted its doors, and everyone feared for their lives. Li Mutian’s half-brothers were petrified with terror, assuming that now that the rightful heir had returned, not an inch of land would be left for them.
To their astonishment, Li Mutian summoned the brothers together. Claiming that legitimate and concubine-born alike shared the same blood and branches, he divided the seized clan’s land, giving two mu to each brother and four mu to each of the comrades he had brought with him. Overwhelmed with gratitude, the younger brothers bowed repeatedly and proclaimed him head of the household and eldest brother. Thus was the family order established.
Looking at Li Changhu’s gentle smile, Chen Erniu somehow saw it overlap with Li Mutian’s blood-spattered, indifferent face. Beneath the bright sun, a shiver ran down his spine. He asked respectfully,
"What brings you here, Changhu?"
"Ah, Uncle is too polite," Li Changhu said with a smile, his voice quiet and polite. "We heard Aunt is ill, and my father figured you wouldn't have time to cook. He sent me specially to invite you and Xiaoze to our house to taste my mother's cooking."
"This... this is too kind of you," Chen Erniu stammered, caught in a dilemma with a forced smile.
"Then it's settled! Mother has already prepared the food." Li Changhu clapped Chen Erniu on the shoulder and took his leave.
"All right, then." Chen Erniu shook his head with a wry smile and called toward the house, "Xiaoze, get ready! We're having dinner at your uncle's house tonight."
The Li family had finished renovating their compound the year before last, expanding its grounds several times over. The entire residence faced south in a neat rectangular layout. The front courtyard was paved with stone tiles and laid out with stone lock-weights, looking like a martial training ground. Noting the substantial heft of the stone locks, Chen Erniu could not help clicking his tongue in admiration:
"Could it be the Li family possesses martial training methods? What fine stone locks!"
Stepping over the stone tiles into the main courtyard, one saw a pond built in the center, stocked with a few black carp. Flanking the main hall built of blue flagstones were the wing rooms of Li Changhu and Li Tongya. The bases of the rooms, covered verandas, main gate, and inner gate were all laid with ashlar or stone steps, giving the compound an imposing air.
Li Tongya greeted them as he too entered the main courtyard. He was eighteen now, but had yet to marry. Li Changhu, on the other hand, had taken the second daughter of the Ren family to wife, having brought her across the threshold in grand style not long ago.
After having dinner with the Li family, Chen Erniu sat in the courtyard making idle conversation, when he saw Li Chijing hurry into the front courtyard, lean in close, and whisper a few words into Li Mutian’s ear.
Li Chijing was merely nine years old, yet he was handsome and possessed a clever, sharp look about him that made him especially beloved by his brothers, uncles, and nephews alike.
Li Mutian had been leisurely watching the younger generation chat, but Li Chijing whispered into his ear:
"Father, that... mirror is glowing!"
Showing no change in expression, Li Mutian patted his thighs and said to the gathering,
"I'm getting old and can't sit for long. I'll take my rest now; you young folks carry on."
With that, he turned and headed for the rear courtyard. Everyone hurriedly murmured their agreement, and Chen Erniu bowed, preparing to take his leave as well.
Several wing rooms flanked the rear hall. Li Mutian entered the ancestral shrine situated in the very center, which was also the most spacious. Inside the shrine, spirit tablets stood at the front, flanked by offerings of melons and fruits, honoring the six generations of ancestors they had dug up by scouring the village records.
Li Mutian pushed against the wall, revealing a hidden compartment behind it.
The compartment had a skylight, through which moonlight spilled onto a stone platform built of bluestone.
Upon the stone platform rested the grayish-green bronze mirror, which was indeed radiating a dazzling, watery white light.
"Three years..." Li Mutian looked at the grayish-green bronze mirror, his brows furrowing. "Jing'er, go call your brothers."
"Yes." Li Chijing nodded vigorously and ran out to fetch his brothers.
————
When Lu Jiangxian woke, his mind was heavily crammed with information. He spent the time it took for an incense stick to burn gathering his senses, then calmly began reading the information from the jade strip.
*Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture*!
This cultivation formula mainly taught how to manipulate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through the body's acupoints to draw down Taiyin moon essence, ultimately cultivating the six wheels of Embryonic Breathing. With these six wheels, one could prolong life, nourish the nature, and cast various spells. Once all six wheels were nurtured to fullness like full moons, one could step into the Qi Refinement stage.
Appended at the end were several minor arts, such as the Golden Light Art, Clothes-Cleansing Art, Water-Warding Art, Evil-Dispelling Art, Heart-Meridian Art, and so on. As long as one cultivated the six wheels, one could cast them simply by channeling spiritual energy according to the formula.
At the same time, the formula mentioned that the six realms of cultivation were Embryonic Breathing, Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Purple Palace, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul. What was recorded on this jade strip was precisely the Embryonic Breathing wheel-nourishing method of the Yuehua Yuan Mansion, an immortal sect of the State of Yue, distributed to the Embryonic Breathing disciples of Yuehua Immortal Mansion for study and practice.
After absorbing the jade strip, Lu Jiangxian felt as though many things had become clear to him without him even realizing it. Not only had the range of his divine sense expanded to twenty zhang, but the upper limit of his moon essence power had also multiplied several dozen times. Provided he had enough moon essence power, he could even cast the minor arts recorded in the *Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture* within a radius of one zhang from the mirror.
Most importantly, a technique had surfaced from the mirror's own memories, called:
*Xuanzhu Spirit-Sacrifice Art*!
Chapter 7