Li Chijing gently sheathed his sword. The pale, greenish-white Moon Essence Autumn Origin hovered and circled around him like living water, casting ripples of lunar light and watery shimmer.
Behind him, Xiao Yuansi also waved a hand to disperse the heavily battered Jade Origin Shield in his grasp, which had been on the verge of collapsing at any moment, and chuckled softly. "What sharp sword qi you have, Junior Brother. The Moon Essence Autumn Origin cultivated from the Moon Lake Autumn Reflection Formula is truly extraordinary."
Li Chijing, however, knitted his brow and said gloomily, "I heard that the Tangjin Sect has invaded the Xunlin Plain."
Xiao Yuansi sighed, his expression turning somewhat grim as he consoled him, "I heard from my family that the Li family is unharmed. You need not worry, Junior Brother."
Li Chijing kept his head lowered and tightened his grip on his sword, yet spoke with lingering dejection: "Senior Sister already told me about matters back home, but... why did I hear that not a single soul was stationed on the Xunlin Plain?"
At those words, Xiao Yuansi froze. Lowering his eyes, he murmured, "The Tangjin Sect struck while our Qingchi Sect was rotating garrison shifts... The defending cultivators fell into a trap..."
Xiao Yuansi spoke vaguely for a few moments, and seeing Li Chijing nod in thought, he quickly changed the subject. "In recent years, the monsters in the south have been acting up. The sect plans to mobilize manpower and send them south to fend off the enemy. I glanced over the roster—aside from Master, our Qingsui Peak must provide two people."
Li Chijing tilted his head and asked, "What is Master's intent?"
Xiao Yuansi leaned in with a smile. "Naturally, you and I will go together. Yuan Tuan is not adept at fighting, so she will stay behind on the peak."
Patting Li Chijing on the shoulder, Xiao Yuansi laughed. "You practice the sword. How could you ever accomplish anything without braving mountains of corpses and seas of blood? As for me... I have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to alchemy, so the sect's intention is likely to send me to handle logistics for the rest of you."
Li Chijing understood at once, feeling an urge to test himself. He smiled. "That doesn't sound bad at all. It's just that once we leave, who knows how long it will be before we can return."
Xiao Yuansi nodded in agreement. "True enough. Find some time to send a letter home and tell your family. The sect won't have us work for nothing, either. Making a few requests to secure some benefits for your family naturally won't be an issue."
Hearing this, Li Chijing's spirits lifted immediately, and he asked with keen interest, "Could the sect bestow cultivation methods?"
"Cultivation methods?"
Xiao Yuansi frowned and said in a low voice, "You have already mastered the Moon Lake Autumn Reflection Formula, so why would you seek..."
As he spoke, realization suddenly dawned on him, and he lowered his voice. "Are you seeking methods for your clan?"
Seeing Li Chijing nod, Xiao Yuansi lowered his head in thought for a few breaths before speaking: "Cultivation methods have always been the closely guarded secrets of each clan. I'm afraid it won't be easy to ask for them."
"Counting the days, my brothers at home are on the verge of reaching the peak of Embryonic Breathing, yet they lack any decent Qi Refinement methods. So I thought I would try asking," Li Chijing said in a low voice, resting the green blade in his hand onto the table.
"Cultivation methods are exceptionally precious. Few people would ever bring their family arts to the market to sell, nor would they even carry them on their persons. When facing ruin and extermination, they would rather go down fighting and destroy every last manual. Finding a suitable heritage method is truly not easy.
"How about this?"
Xiao Yuansi nodded, saying seriously, "My Xiao family will provide the methods, and you can ask the sect for a Suiyuan Pill on our behalf as compensation."
"A Suiyuan Pill?!"
Li Chijing was stunned, asking with some urgency, "Senior Brother, are you about to break through to Foundation Establishment?!"
"I am merely seeking it for a clan uncle of mine," Xiao Yuansi answered, shaking his head. "This Suiyuan Pill can increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment by five percent. Its ingredients are not particularly precious; it is just that the formula is held in the hands of the sect, and the pill is granted only as a reward, which is why it has become so rare. I will trade it to you for a third-rank method..."
"Senior Brother, how cunning of you."
Li Chijing chuckled and whispered, "Although the Suiyuan Pill is only a Qi Refinement-stage pill, it is in demand with no supply on the market and exceptionally precious. I certainly won't trade it for a mere third-rank method!"
Seeing Xiao Yuansi's helpless look, Li Chijing burst into laughter before adding, "I get to pick any two third-rank methods from your Xiao family, plus a qi-gathering formula."
Xiao Yuansi was amused and retorted exasperatedly, "One third-rank, one second-rank, plus a qi-gathering formula."
Li Chijing grinned and nodded, replying, "Then Senior Brother must not fob me off with the ordinary goods circulating on the market. I want orthodox arts, definitely not ancient arts or secret arts."
Seeing his manner, Xiao Yuansi laughed out loud as well. He described several cultivation methods one by one. After listening carefully, Li Chijing furrowed his brow and said, "Senior Brother, do you have any Qi Refinement formulas that utilize Golden Autumn in the Lake? Mount Lijing is right beside Lake Wangyue, so it would be best if we could use this Golden Autumn in the Lake."
Xiao Yuansi shook his head. "Where would such good fortune come from? The only method I have ever seen that ingests Golden Autumn in the Lake is the Moon Lake Autumn Reflection Formula that you mastered."
Li Chijing nodded. After pondering for a dozen breaths, he smiled and said, "Then I'll take this third-rank River Unity Qi Formula and the second-rank Pure Spirit Origin Method. There is an abundance of reeds and river networks across our clan's land, making it convenient to draw upon the pure qi of the rivers."
***
At the cave dwelling on Meichi Mountain.
Li Xiangping had spent several days in seclusion and finally tuned his breath to its peak. Letting out a long breath, he felt the magic power in his body grow even more refined. His cultivation, which had not budged for years, had finally begun to stir, bringing him one step closer to breaking through to the fifth layer of Embryonic Breathing, the Yujing Wheel. A look of joy surfaced on his face.
Stepping out of the stone chamber, Li Xiangping saw Li Tongya quietly drawing talismans in the cave dwelling's hall. Li Tongya looked at him with a smile and said softly, "You've finished your seclusion."
The three stone chambers of the Meichi Mountain cave dwelling had been renovated: one stored the spirit rice and spiritual items, while two were dedicated to seclusion cultivation. Li Xuanxuan was currently in seclusion inside one of them.
Li Xiangping sat down by the stone table, listening as Li Tongya recounted everything he had seen and heard along the way as well as the various clan affairs. He furrowed his brow in deep thought.
"We have no way of meddling in the schemes of the Tangjin Sect and the Qingchi Sect. But for now, this Ji family has trapped our clan within the mountains, so we cannot let down our guard against them.
"Even though the Tangjin Sect has retreated, the Ji family's strength is still far greater than ours..."
Li Tongya nodded and said in a deep voice, "Mount Huaqian and the entire Wan family territory have been reduced to ruins. When I passed through the Lu family's territory to the east, I heard that the Lu family lost a Qi Refinement cultivator at the hands of the Ji family. A feud has been forged between the two, and they will never let the matter rest."
"That is a good thing."
Li Xiangping took a sip of tea and lowered his voice. "The Lu family is tying Ji Dengqi down in the east, and the land below Mount Huaqian is nothing but rubble. The Ji family won't be able to free their hands to push west for ten or twenty years. By then, Second Brother should also have reached Qi Refinement."
"Indeed."
Li Tongya set down his brush and murmured, "Next time we go to Guanyun Peak, we can sell off the old Daoist's belongings. That should scrape together enough for a portion of Xiaoqing spirit qi."
Li Xiangping narrowed his eyes and said solemnly, "Xuan'er still lacks decisiveness. Perhaps it's because he has never seen blood. Once he breaks through to the Qingyuan Wheel, let us have him take charge of the clan soldiers and kill some monsters to see some blood. After all, he's only fourteen or fifteen."
Li Xiangping shook his head, only to see Li Tongya smile faintly and tease him, "That's hard to say! Someone I know was already killing men all on his own at fourteen or fifteen, chopping them up to feed the wolves, and then casually eating a large bowl of noodles after coming home as if nothing had happened."
Chapter 76