Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 149 - 140: The Buck

Li Xuanxuan returned to the mountain with a worried heart, only to find a middle-aged man standing in the courtyard. He was dressed in a simple, utilitarian grey robe, holding a sword in his hand and gazing into the sky, lost in thought.

"Uncle Zhong has left seclusion!"

Li Xuanxuan’s face immediately brightened with joy, as Li Tongya gave a slight nod and said softly,

"This breakthrough went smoothly considering the four years of accumulated cultivation, it was just a matter of course to reach the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation."

Counting the years, Li Tongya was forty-six years old this year. Thanks to the leverage from the Deep Sea Long Whale Script, he had reached the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation. There was hope that before the age of sixty, he could achieve the Qi Cultivating Peak and even possibly Foundation Establishment. Without the assistance of the Deep Sea Long Whale Script, reaching the Qi Cultivating Peak before sixty would have been much more difficult, and the chances of Foundation Establishment would have been considerably slimmer.

After all, these family cultivators were not like the disciples of the great sects who could cultivate peacefully within their sect. They always had to fight and compete with others, as they aged, their bodies would increasingly wear down, many would have stagnant blood energy or their vigor tainted by evil energy, and lacking precious medicine elixirs for healing, their cultivation would inevitably slow down.

"Is there anything happening at home? How is the situation with the Yu Family’s market?"

Li Xuanxuan quickly recounted everything, including the matter of Yu Mujian when Li Tongya had just gone into seclusion. Li Tongya nodded and smiled,

"This Yu Mujian is probably the most talented among the Yu Family’s disciples, cultivating diligently at home every year, devoted to the sword. It’s truly fortunate to be born into such a prominent family."

Li Xuanxuan nodded in agreement and, changing the subject, said with a hint of a smile,

"The Yu Family’s market has been open for over a month, and all hands were at the market on this side, when suddenly there was the news that someone attacked the Yu Family’s main compound’s formation in Secret Forest County. The Yu Family had no choice but to send people back for reinforcement."

Li Tongya’s eyebrows raised slightly, his expectations proving accurate as he took up the conversation,

"A simple yet effective strategy, I’m afraid once they left from here, others would immediately come to attack."

"Uncle Zhong is right!"

Li Xuanxuan spoke of the incident with enthusiasm, laughing as he said,

"No sooner had the Yu Family’s personnel left than two Foundation Establishment Cultivators came to the market, attacking the formation directly. Although the Yu Family was prepared and left Yu Xiaogui behind, who even deployed two Foundation Establishment level Talismans to block the bandits’ attack, it still caused panic among the people, resulting in the loss of a great number of customers, as well as many generating chaos, stealing, and looting, leaving them with a large number of bad debts and in dire straits."

Li Tongya nodded slightly, pondering for a few moments before explaining,

"I’m afraid a large part of these opportunistic thieves were arranged by various families, calculating the timing precisely, just to make the Yu Family suffer a big loss."

Li Xuanxuan felt that Li Tongya’s words were quite reasonable. He paused briefly before continuing,

"Although the Yu Family was outraged, they were helpless and could only suffer in silence. In the following months, the market traffic fell by more than half and has yet to recover."

"Did any of our family disciples participate in this?"

Li Tongya asked with some concern. Seeing Li Xuanxuan nod, he said,

"The child has taken to heart Uncle Zhong’s instructions, sternly forbidding the family disciples from going out, let alone causing trouble at the market."

"Good."

Li Tongya praised, patting Li Xuanxuan on the shoulder and instructing,

"Winter is approaching. I’ll go into the mountains to find some Qi cultivation beasts for sacrifice and will also seek a Talisman Qi for you all."

"Yes!"

Li Xuanxuan’s response was brimming with joy. Watching Li Tongya take flight upon the wind, his lips moved slightly, but the suspicions hidden in his heart remained unspoken in the end.

"Let it be."

Li Xuanxuan shook his head with a wry smile as he walked a few steps into the yard, murmuring,

"I should discuss this matter with Jingtian, see what her memory of it is. If our clan history does not mention it, that would be best. If it does, I hope she can be persuaded not to record it, so Yuanjiao might have it easier. This branch of the family could then face less future slander and humiliation..."

————

Li Tongya flew away from Lijing Mountain, and the autumn leaves of Da Li Mountain had already fallen, leaving the ground covered in golden yellow and brownish red. He followed the mountain’s veins for a while, recalling how the cliffs had lost their verdant green, exposing the brown earth beneath.

Only that great banyan tree with its whitening leaves still stood upright on the hillside, where the fox pushed a rickety wooden two-wheeled cart back and forth, its head tilting from side to side. On top lay a pile of fox cubs, squawking incessantly in shades of white, ash gray, and pink.

"Taoist Fellow, you truly are good at raising offspring."

Li Tongya landed under the tree and chuckled softly. The fox hung its head in gloom and squeaked,

"It’s nothing... Winter is coming, and food is scarce. Many foxes in the mountains have perished. Most of these cubs would probably freeze or starve to death, so I brought them back to raise."

Looking up at Li Tongya, the fox exclaimed,

"Travel east for three hundred and eighty li, there is a deer king who has achieved Qi Cultivation, under the big pagoda tree, fitting your requirements. The deer herd is mostly migrating in winter, and if you go late, you might miss your chance."

Li Tongya nodded his head, seeing it busy to the point of chaos, he threw a bag of Spirit Rice onto the ground, and with a polite bow, he took off on the wind towards the east.

After searching for an hour, Li Tongya finally found the pagoda tree surrounded by a herd of deer. He descended, and the deer scattered in all directions.

Looking at the thoroughly gnawed bones of an unknown wild animal on the ground, Li Tongya rode the wind in pursuit, thinking to himself,

"This deer is quite ferocious. Having become a demon, it has learned to eat flesh and is also highly vigilant."

After chasing for several dozen li on the wind, Li Tongya locked onto a large, sturdy male deer shrouded in demonic Qi, its coral-like antlers still hanging traces of blood.

Being only at the second layer of Qi Cultivation, how could the deer outrun Li Tongya, who flew above the landscape unimpeded? He caught up in no time.

Li Tongya, wanting to capture the demon alive, slapped it heavily on the head without drawing his sword, causing the deer to stagger but still persist in running. He then smashed its back, and the deer lurched to one side, then turned its head to bite back fiercely.

Li Tongya drew his sword, and a white light cleanly chopped off the demon deer’s antlers. The deer let out a mournful cry, collapsed to the ground, and rolled away, leaving a trail of blood on the earth.

"It’s just an untutored demon beast, doesn’t even know any Taoist Spells, making it quite easy to handle."

Li Tongya used his Mana to lift it, sealing the blood hole on top of the deer’s head, and returned to Lijing Mountain.

————

In the dim expanse of the Mirror World, layers of gray mist rose high in the sky while down below were the pockmarked earth and countless decrepit white ruins of buildings, strewn with shards of crescent-white stones. Lu Jiangxian stood alone amongst them, holding a lustrous white Spell in his hand.

Having been researching alone in this mirrored world for years, drawing inspiration from Shanyue witchcraft, Lu Jiangxian had finally achieved some results. With a slight movement of the vaguely visible figures, he raised his hand gently, and the lustrous white Spell fell like rain, sprinkling upon the crescent-white stones before him.

"Crack crack..."

The crescent-white stones trembled and began to move, blanketed in a pale halo. They whirled and spiraled at Lu Jiangxian’s feet, assembling into a humanoid figure, complete with limbs and shape.

These crescent stone figures, topped with white stone-shaped heads, stood there dumbly, staring at him. Lu Jiangxian pinched a few strands of pure white Taiyin Moonlight and, with a touch to the tops of their heads, the stone-shaped heads lit up.

In an instant, the crescent stone figures with their shining heads all came to life, digging where they must dig, moving bricks where they must move, collaborating perfectly to begin repairing the gray building ruins.

"This Spell..."

Lu Jiangxian, who had read many of the Li Family’s spells, felt this Spell was completely different from the usual spells. The Li Family’s spells were invoked with a gesture, the resulting Spell always conformed to the expectations, but his Spell was free-spirited, without a fixed outcome, entirely controlled by his thoughts.

With a thought, Lu Jiangxian appeared on the peak of the mountain. A smooth plateau held a huge tree with white leaves, its roots intertwined and gnarled below, accompanied by stone tables and chairs with an air of ancient charm.

Listening intently, Lu Jiangxian heard a humming voice from outside the Mirror Body, speaking in a respectful tone,

"Here is the Li Clan of Lijing, with earnest offerings of food and drink, and cold offerings of sacrificial rites. Every year, the incense continuously burns, held at the northern vein of Li Mountain... Eradicating harm and equalizing fields, at every Three Epochs and six seasons, there is no lack of respect, and the celebratory feast days, the sacrifices are never interrupted... With incense smoke for worship, with Blood Sacrifice as reward, serving the gods for blessings."

"It seems a Prayer Talisman has come."