Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 111 - 103: Exploration (2)

The spiritual energy within the cave was indeed abundant, no lesser than that of the Tongya Cave Mansion in Meichi Mountain. However, the entire cave mansion was but a vast and eerie cavern, spanning over a dozen acres, its end nowhere in sight from the entrance, oppressively filled with Yin energy.

"Heh, so it turns out to be a Demon General's cave mansion!"

Zhang Yun kicked a pile of rotten bones on the ground, turned to look at Li Tongya and the other two, and spoke with some disappointment.

"I thought it might be some Foundation Establishment cultivator who set up their cave in the water, but it's just a snake demon!"

Xu Yangping and the others also revealed looks of disappointment. Foundation Establishment demons had already assumed human form, and would inevitably learn some formations and Alchemy Dao, yet demons preferred to swallow spiritual objects whole and slowly digest them. They disliked leaving inheritance, so there was little to be gained.

"There are still many snake offspring within this cave, all drained of their essential blood by this creature, turned into cultivation provisions."

Stepping over the densely scattered snake remains, a circle around the cave revealed naught but bones and blackened ash, both human and beast. The storage bags on the corpses were all missing.

"Eh."

Zhang Yun swept with his spiritual sense and dug two jade slips from the ashes. He skimmed through them before the others, put them on the ground disappointed, and turned to speak:

"What a penniless demon; probably traded all its wealth for spiritual objects and spirit pills, making a desperate bid to break through to Zifu. These two jade slips are locked by seal imprints and truly can't be sold; might as well leave them here to collect dust."

He then laughed loudly and continued:

"Zifu is not so easy to break through!"

"I wonder..."

Xu Yangping cupped his hands, speaking to Zhang Yun with some deference:

"May I ask what spells these two jade slips contain?"

Zhang Yun glanced at him and said with a smile:

"One's our Jin Yu Sect's 'Blood Fiend Scripture', the other's the 'River Tomb Scripture' lost after Ling Yu Sect was exterminated. The former needs the Green Pond Sect's seal imprint to access, the latter requires a secret technique to unlock. You two needn't think of it."

Xu Yangping and his wife exchanged bewildered looks. Off to the side, Li Tongya had already retreated several steps, gripping the longsword in his hand, from which faint white glimmers flickered—the Moon Que Sword Arc that had been readied for so long already poised to strike.

"No need to be tense, Brother Xiao."

Zhang Yun smiled at Li Tongya, eyes wary of the longsword buzzing in its sheath, and continued:

"'River Qi Decision,' the Xiao Family's cultivation technique—I still recognize it. My father himself delivered it to the Xiao Family back in the day."

Li Tongya's heart gave a start; he couldn't help revealing a faint look of shock, and threw out a question to mask it without thinking, frowning as he spoke:

"Brother Zhang, did you come here solely to retrieve the 'Blood Fiend Scripture'?"

"Not at all..."

Zhang Yun's face revealed a hint of embarrassment as he explained:

"I was tasked by my sect to search for a cave mansion; I didn't know Brother Xiao was here for the 'River Tomb Scripture'. I intruded by accident."

Li Tongya was even more surprised by these words, and quickly followed up, his mind spinning rapidly, his expression faintly troubled as he spoke lowly:

"I searched for over ten years to find this cave's location, only for these two to arrive before me and now to encounter Brother Zhang. I thought your esteemed sect was also seeking this treasure."

"Not at all! With the ties between our two families, how could Jin Yu Sect covet the 'River Tomb Scripture'?"

Zhang Yun waved his hands repeatedly; on the side, the Xu couple looked stunned and beads of sweat rolled from their foreheads; they only felt caught between two overwhelming forces, wishing to run for their lives.

"Heaven damn it, this Li Tongya is also a True Sect's disciple—my wife and I are lambs to the slaughter!"

The two quietly retreated a few steps, ready to flee, but their movement startled Zhang Yun, who turned and, smiling broadly, stared at them both.

"I'll settle the trouble for Brother Xiao first!"

Zhang Yun sneered, slashing at Xu Yangping. Xu, hairs bristling in terror, grabbed Lin Jingyi and staggered back.

But Zhang Yun cultivated at least a Third Grade orthodox law, swallowing only pure nature's spiritual energy. Xu Yangping had only just broken through to spiritual energy, practicing a commonplace technique, lacking even a proper Qi gathering art, and only swallowing poorly refined, mixed Qi—simply not Zhang Yun's match.

Just as Li Tongya once easily slew the Ji Family cultivators, Zhang Yun took but over a dozen slashes to sever Xu Yangping's head, paid no heed to Lin Jingyi's pleas, and slew her as well. Turning, he smiled at Li Tongya:

"These loose cultivators are utterly useless."

Li Tongya's expression remained calm, but cold sweat crept down his back. Watching Zhang Yun quietly collect the two's storage bags, he deeply recognized the dominance of the Three Sects and Seven Doors in the Immortal Cultivation World, thinking to himself:

"If not for Jing'er bringing orthodox law into the clan, I too might have been slaughtered like those two—plucked like wild grasses."

But Zhang Yun suddenly smiled and said:

"We'll split the cultivation techniques like this. As for the inner core and magic artifact, who should choose first?"

He raised his brow and, before Li Tongya could respond, said excitedly:

"How about this—you and I each use blade and sword, and whoever wins chooses first!"

Li Tongya had just watched Zhang Yun dispatch Xu Yangping; his cultivation technique was not necessarily superior to the Mysterious Water Sword Technique or River Qi Decision, and Li also had the explosively powerful Moon Que Sword Arc on his side. He considered:

"At this moment, I cannot show cowardice."

Thus, he slowly drew the longsword at his waist. Intense white light seeped through the gap in the scabbard, and Li Tongya laughed loudly:

"Very well!"

With that, he unsheathed his sword; a moon-white sword arc roared forth, provoking a startled cry from Zhang Yun:

"You're cheating!"

Yet the blade Qi in his hand had also been building for long. Now unleashed, sword Qi clashed with blade Qi in a thundering roar that made their robes billow violently.

Li Tongya staggered a step to dispel the force. Zhang Yun, unmoved, withstood a direct blow but stifled a grunt, clearly sustaining a minor internal injury, though he smiled and said:

"You retreated!"

"Each takes their own cultivation technique; I'll have this Foundation Establishment peak demon inner core, and the Foundation Establishment-tier magic artifact stays with your family."

Li Tongya wished for no further entanglement, nodded, and said quietly and firmly:

"Agreed. As long as I retrieve the cultivation techniques, my elders' command is fulfilled."

The two each gathered their spoils, Zhang Yun and Li Tongya exiting the cave mansion one after the other. Zhang Yun whispered with a smile:

"Your swordsmanship is impressive!"

Li Tongya just began to reply modestly, but Zhang Yun hastily spoke, words tumbling out:

"Jin Yu Sect's promise to Chuting Perfected Person still stands. Once that old ghost Chi Wei is dead, the Xiao Family's backer is Jin Yu Sect. Hope your clan will consider carefully."

Li Tongya was instantly appalled, his mind thunderstruck.

"Chuting Perfected Person?! Xiao Chuting has broken into Zifu?! No wonder Jin Yu Sect treats the Xiao Family with such courtesy…"

"A promise? Once that so-called Chi Wei Patriarch of Green Pond Sect is dead, their strength will surely wane. What are the Xiao Family and Jin Yu Sect plotting…"

Zhang Yun winked slyly, lowering his voice to continue:

"Even if you're not of the Xiao Family, it matters not. The clan has several Foundation Establishment already waiting; chaos is only a matter of time."

Li Tongya shook his head and said with a smile:

"Brother Zhang jests."

Zhang Yun laughed heartily, patted his brocade pouch, and sped off on his flying shuttle.

Li Tongya lingered a few breaths in deep thought, wary of Zhang Yun still lurking nearby. He simply sat cross-legged and cultivated, only departing when dusk returned. Using the Qi Concealing Technique, he flew some distance toward Li Xia County, then circled back to the Li Family.

Flying over Lijing Mountain, Li Tongya suddenly saw a sea of funeral white below, heart immediately dropping—he knew something had happened. On the wind, he landed atop the mountain to see white mourning cloth streaming in the courtyard. Li Xuanxuan too was clad in hemp and mourning garb, his voice hoarse:

"What has happened?"

Li Xuanxuan shivered uncontrollably, seeing Li Tongya, knelt stammering, unfastened the Green Crow Bow from his waist and handed it over with a choking sob:

"A few days ago Chen Donghe and the others returned, saying uncle… was curse-killed…"

Li Tongya stood stunned for a moment. The joy he'd felt at acquiring a spell and magic artifact utterly dissipated; dark omens and premonitions were all confirmed. He murmured low:

"I understand."

Turning his head away, the two stood in silence atop the mountain for a long time before Li Tongya finally spoke:

"Gather some ordinary clothing, bury it in our family mausoleum, and place it with your grandfather and father."

Seeing Li Xuanxuan nod, Li Tongya wiped his eyes and gently instructed:

"Remember the order—leave a spot for me in the middle."

"Yes."