The elderly cultivator was a qi cultivator of the fifth layer whose cultivation level had been sealed by An Zhiyan, and his face and head were covered in blood. His hair was disheveled and hung down as he tried to straighten up at the bottom of the stairs, kneeling weakly.

By his side, Dou Yi helped him upright and asked:

"You, loose cultivator! This is the son of the Li family right before you!"

The old cultivator remained silent, just foolishly kneeling. Dou Yi raised his voice and called out again, causing Li Yuanping to frown but he did not get up from his seat. Instead, he beckoned:

"Xu Gongming!"

Right away, Xu Gongming rushed forward, took hold of the old cultivator, grabbing his collar with one hand and supporting his back with the other, regulating his True Yuan for him, and cast two Mental Tranquility Techniques. Only then did the loose cultivator come to his senses as if waking from a dream.

"Ah! Cough cough..."

The old man spat out two mouthfuls of blood, looked around at the members of the Li family for a while, then covered his face and wept with a wail. Dou Yi opened his mouth to scold but was stopped by a wave of Li Yuanping’s hand, allowing the old man to cry and sob.

Li Yuanping silently reviewed the letters on his desk without saying a word. The surrounding guest elders and those with different surnames just stood there watching the loose cultivator until the old man’s sobbing subsided. In a plaintive voice, he said:

"Loose cultivator Bi Huaxuan pays his respects to the young master."

"Bi Huaxuan..."

Li Yuanping nodded, put down the vermilion brush in his hand, and spoke warmly,

"Elder, you are too polite. I keep in mind all the cultivators who frequently travel within my Li family’s territory. Bi Elder’s name is familiar to me; you have indeed made a living on this ancient Lidao for many years."

"Indeed..."

Bi Huaxuan nodded mournfully in agreement and replied,

"This lowly one... I have been a merchant on the road for six years."

Since the marketplace of the Yu family had fallen into ruin, Wangyue Lake saw fewer places for trade, and to reach Guanyun Peak in Lixia County, a Fetal Breathing Cultivator still had to make an effort. Hence, Lidao saw an increase in these loose merchant cultivators who made a small profit, and Bi Huaxuan was one of them.

Seeing that Bi Huaxuan responded promptly and appeared to be much more lucid, Li Yuanping then asked,

"As you travel the road, my Li family has always welcomed and escorted you. I wonder where Yuanping has been negligent to have a fight break out on our territory..."

Li Yuanping spoke gently, without any hint of threat, but Bi Huaxuan, accustomed to the domineering ways of noble families’ offspring and the Immortal Sects, suddenly trembled with fear.

Having fought over treasures on the Li family’s territory, he already felt guilty, and upon hearing these words, the fear surged atop the sorrow that had not yet faded.

With numerous lesser temples and observatories nestled in the mountains, these loose cultivators were always at the bottom. Besides, the Li family was a noble family with a Foundation Establishment cultivator at its head, not like those lesser clans. Bi Huaxuan immediately bowed down and said regretfully,

"Young master, you have wronged us! We were attacked by others..."

And disregarding the crowd around, he hastily recounted the events that had led up to the fight:

Bi Huaxuan, of humble origins, had once worked at the market by Wangyue Lake. It had not been easy to achieve mixed qi. He had gathered dozens of mortals and a few Fetal Breathing cultivators to make his way in the world. Last night, as he cultivated with the caravan, he couldn’t have imagined that a disciple who went out to relieve himself would disappear.

Bi Huaxuan, having drifted through life and with his path as a cultivator severed, treasured these few disciples as his own gems. Gripped by distress, and knowing there were no great demons within the Li family’s territory, he immediately led a few to search.

After shouting for the better part of a day, they came upon a cave with fragments of the disciple’s clothing outside. Bi Huaxuan used a spell to explore and saw the cave was filled with glittering waters, boundless and expansive.

Looking up, he saw an underground river with ceaseless flowing water and a white object about the size of a fist, resembling water but not water, bouncing non-stop on the surface. It was clear and warm, tumbling and turning, a rather peculiar sight...

"Wait!"

Everyone, entranced, stared at the old man, even An Zhiyan couldn’t help but glance sideways. Li Yuanping sharply sensed something wrong and abruptly interrupted, saying to the people around him:

"Please bring Brother Jiao here!"

The attendant hurriedly left to do so. Dou Yi, noticing Li Yuanping’s expression, quickly spoke up:

"Everyone, please go back to your own tasks."

An Zhiyan and the others nodded and orderly withdrew. Bi Huaxuan, panicked, looked around and, seeing Li Yuanping staring straight at him, continued his story.

Having seen much of the world, Bi Huaxuan was greatly moved, realizing he had stumbled upon an extraordinary treasure. His thoughts of his disciple were long gone, flung to the back of his mind, as he pondered how to monopolize this find.

He promptly sent away his disciples and anyone else following him, observing the item carefully. He felt his saliva like nectar, his cultivation level surging, understanding that an opportunity had arrived.

"I’ve roamed about, north and south, and gathered some knowledge. This artifact should be named ’Heavenly Pure Essence,’ the legendary Heaven and Earth Spiritual Water! It can...it can..."

Bi Huaxuan stammered out his words, his eyes filled with greedy flames. Li Yuanping, clutching the armrest tightly, was vaguely excited, taking over the narrative:

"’Heavenly Pure Essence’... this object can enhance Spiritual Sense, heal foundational injuries, cleanse impurities from True Yuan; it’s miraculous from Foundation Establishment down to Fetal Breathing!"

’Heavenly Pure Essence,’ a rare piece of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Water, was especially good for healing injuries and significantly beneficial in many Talisman and Alchemy Dao practices. Li Yuanping had also learned of this item from Li Tongya whilst inquiring about healing methods.

Li Tongya’s cultivation was based on the Water Attribute Immortal Foundation, and ’Heavenly Pure Essence’ was a perfect match. If he could acquire this treasure and nurture his injuries for a few years, he might even make further progress—how could Li Yuanping not be excited?

At that moment, Bi Huaxuan was so agitated that he was all thumbs. His life’s greatest resentment was not having acquired a Qi Cultivation Technique; his hastened Qi Cultivation had been unsatisfactory. Now, having encountered ’Heavenly Pure Essence,’ his impulses surged like towering waves, uncontrollable.

’Heavenly Pure Essence’ could purify his impurities and establish orthodox Qi. Even if his cultivation technique couldn’t compare to the Orthodox Laws, establishing a foundation was now possible. Hastily sealing the spell, he carefully collected the Spiritual Water. However, outside the cave, terrible screams rang out as a man in black rushed in.

Holding pure and vast True Yuan, I fought with a Taoist Fellow from the merchant group for over ten rounds, but he was too strong for us, he killed until I was left alone, and I had no choice but to drop my Storage Bag, and yet he didn’t let me go..."

Bi Huaxuan cried out, pleading:

"If it wasn’t for the noble family’s Guest Elder arriving just in time... This old man wouldn’t have survived!"

Hearing this, Li Yuanping was profoundly disappointed, his excitement turning to dejection. He slumped back at the table, wanting to curse, but unable to, then saw Bi Huaxuan still lamenting:

"In this old man’s lifetime of toils, everything has been ruined by this one person, leaving me alone! I hope the young master will avenge me, and this Heaven and Earth Spiritual Water shall belong to the noble family!"

"Avenge?"

Li Yuanping scoffed, replying:

"If that person hides in the vast forest, who could possibly find him? My family is a Noble Family, not the Zifu Immortal Clan!"

But Bi Huaxuan suppressed his crying, pulled up his sleeve to reveal a jade bracelet. It had a mysterious pattern on it, shining brightly. Bi Huaxuan said in a low voice:

"This old man picked up two jade bracelets at the market, intending to give them to my wife. One has already been placed on her wrist, the other was still in the Storage Bag, taken by that person."

"These two bracelets can sense each other unless they are too distant. That person is just at the early stages of Qi Cultivation, and having fought with us for a while, surely didn’t get too far. He must be somewhere in the mountains, recovering his mana. If we leave now, perhaps we can catch him immediately!"

Li Yuanping was instantly overjoyed, the smile on his face reemerging as he was about to go and retrieve that jade bracelet, but he suddenly stopped, sat back down, and pondered:

"Let’s wait for my elder brother to come first."