Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 167 - 158: Yuan Qing Bestows a Talisman

Lu Jiangxian sat at the foot of the mountain, watching the moon-white stone demons hopping and running before him. These monsters he had enlightened diligently worked within the mirror, their pale blue halos casting fluttering shadows on the ground. Most of the buildings within the world of the mirror had been repaired and were now much more pleasing to look at.

Apart from studying witchcraft, Lu Jiangxian's life in the mirror consisted of watching the happenings and disputes of the Li Family outside. Not only was it mundane, but it was also somewhat boring. Life was just like that, repeatedly jumping between helplessness and boredom.

"Witchcraft has made progress nowadays, and these years haven't passed in vain," he reflected.

He not only had mastered some cursing techniques but had also developed blessing and tracking techniques. However, for an Artifact Spirit living in a mirror, these had little use.

Yet, Lu Jiangxian increasingly sensed the connection between Shanyue witchcraft and the Dharma Mirror. As his understanding of witchcraft deepened, many previously complicated operations of the Dharma Mirror became more intuitive, and he could even use the Dharma Mirror to perform many actions that weren't possible before.

Divine Sense flew out from Mirror Body, and the stone door opened with a rumble. Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanling led several children inside, the refreshing fragrance of incense spreading about. The children showed no reaction, having their senses sealed by mana, holding onto the hands of their elders without daring to speak.

Li Yuanjiao saw nothing but pitch darkness and could neither hear anything nor make a sound, so he tightly grasped his father Li Xuanxuan's hand. Feeling someone patting his shoulder, he quickly knelt on the ground as his father had previously instructed. It felt soft and smooth beneath his knees, as if there were a cushion there.

Li Tongya had long been waiting inside the stone chamber, silently staring at the Dharma Mirror on the stone platform without uttering a word. All four children knelt down, Li Qinghong glanced around without raising any objections and respectfully began to speak:

"The Li Clan of Lijing, with devout offerings of fine food and drink, cold dishes, and ritual sacrifices, presents four sons. Humbly we request the profound and wondrous Dharma to direct fate and settle spirits, to practice Taoist cultivation, and to be fortunate in receiving. Even if not received, remain equanimous, promising to speak of this time's achievements, to fulfill trust without fail, to burn the precepts and dissolve the body, giving thanks to Taiyin."

With a movement of Lu Jiangxian's Divine Sense, invisible and colorless ripples swept across and white halos, nearly transparent, appeared above each child's head.

On the far left was the eldest brother Li Yuanxiu, blessed with a Spirit Aperture and quite talented, although not as exceptional as the previous generation's Li Xuanfeng but still better than Li Xuanxuan, with a six-inch-long white halo above his head.

The white halo represented the compatibility with the Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seed. Those with a one-foot halo and without their own Spirit Aperture could absorb the Talisman Seed to be like someone with a Spirit Aperture. If they already had one, they could double their training speed. Li Yuanxiu's six-inch white halo meant that after absorbing the Talisman Seed, his training speed would increase by sixty percent.

In the middle were Li Yuanjiao and Li Yuanyun, one dressed in black and the other in a white robe. Li Yuanjiao possessed a Spirit Aperture and seemed to have even better aptitude than Li Yuanxiu, with a seven-inch white halo, which was quite impressive.

Li Yuanyun, on the other hand, lacked a Spirit Aperture but also had a seven-inch white halo. Lu Jiangxian sighed quietly and ruled him out.

The last one, Li Qinghong, caught Lu Jiangxian's eye. This child had a Spirit Aperture, and his talent was quite comparable to Li Yuanxiu's, but his white halo on top of his head was a full nine inches long! It shone brightly as if it were a faint pillar of light.

"Li Yuanxiu would have been a decent choice, but looking at the vision from the vast heavenly Talisman for Liu Changdie that spans several decades ahead, the Li Family doesn't seem to have Li Yuanxiu in the picture... Investment has its risks; one must be cautious..." he pondered.

After some thought, Lu Jiangxian was like an old farmer deciding what seeds to sow in early spring, which would yield the largest harvest the following year. The Mirror Body rose up from the stone platform, emitting a faint white light.

"Although Li Tongya wanted to give only one Talisman Seed to the Yuan generation, fearing there wouldn't be any left in a few years, he doesn't know I still have three Talisman Seeds concealed in the mirror. This is not for him to decide. I will take both Li Yuanjiao and Li Qinghong!"

All twelve Seal Script characters on the Dharma Mirror lit up one by one, making Li Tongya and Li Xuanxuan's eyelids twitch as they had the feeling that a boiling white lunar radiance would burst forth from the mirror. Lu Jiangxian gathered his mana and exhaled two Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seeds.

"The descendants of the Li Clan, who renounce passions and errors, severing the roots of evil, have been bestowed with the profound and wondrous Dharma to cultivate the Tao. One may ascend from the mundane to the sacred, from beginning to end, first with the Precept Talisman, then ascending to truth. Bestowed upon them is one volume of the 'Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture' and one Guidance Technique."

The two White Pills leaped up from the mirror, smooth like water, round and bright. The flashing white light made the courtyard appear a blanket of white. The children, senses still sealed, were oblivious, but Li Tongya was momentarily stunned.

The two Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seeds landed one after another on the Sea of Qi Acupoint in the foreheads of Li Yuanjiao and Li Qinghong. However, since neither had practiced the Guidance Technique and thus did not follow the body's channels down to the Qi Sea Acupoint, they remained quietly hidden in the Shengyang Mansion. Only when these two children started employing the Guidance Technique would the seeds merge into their Qi Sea Acupoint.

Li Yuanjiao felt a coolness on his forehead, as if something had been imprinted there, and Li Qinghong also frowned slightly. Both had a brief shine in their foreheads, showcasing a bright moon pattern that flickered and then vanished.

Li Xuanxuan was also stunned, not expecting the Dharma Mirror to not choose Li Yuanxiu but instead Li Yuanjiao and Li Qinghong. He turned his head to look at Li Tongya and said in a low voice:

"This...!"

"First, take the child out."

Li Tongya shook his head, signalling Li Xuanling to lead Li Yuanxiu and the other three away before hurriedly saying,

"This… how can this be resolved… as the eldest brother, and with a Spirit Aperture at that, the family will eventually be handed over to him! How could he possibly be kept in the dark about this."

"There's no need to hide it… Yuanxiu is generous and gentle, he wouldn't engage in envy or jealousy towards his siblings."

Li Tongya and Li Xuanxuan stepped out of the stone chamber together, their faces still showing worry as Li Tongya said in a deep voice,

"I'm not worried about Yuanxiu."

"Yuanxiu is generous, but future generations might not all be like him. With only one or two Talisman Seeds per generation… the one who obtains the Talisman Seed might inevitably become proud. The affairs of the world have always suffered not from scarcity, but from uneven distribution. In the long run, if you and I cannot maintain the household, I fear chaos will ensue."

Li Xuanxuan fell silent as well, and the two stood on the mountain for a while. The cold north wind buffeted their faces as Li Tongya murmured,

"Let those among our descendants, the direct lineage with Spirit Apertures or those who have received the Talisman Seed, be made aware of the Dharma Mirror… From now on, they must all swear the Xuanjing Spirit Oath to prevent any leaks."

"The more people who know, the greater the risk of exposure… Uncle also knows that the Xuanjing Spirit Oath is not without loopholes."

Li Xuanxuan voiced his agreement respectfully, to which Li Tongya shook his head, replying,

"We can only take it one step at a time, at least ensuring that the next generation doesn't inherit the seeds of division. We must improve the system with each passing generation; there is no such thing as a law set once and for all with no worries for eternity."

————

Li Xia County.

The people of Tang Jin Sect had long since withdrawn, and the blood and bodies in the County City had been cleaned away, leaving behind only sparse signs of life and white skeletons scattered all over the ground.

The desolate County City made a wailing sound in the wind as if crying silently. Corpses that had spoiled and rotted were picked clean by wild beasts, and the roads of Li Xia had seen no travelers for over a year, slowly being overgrown with wild grasses.

The skies above Li Xia County were cloudless, and from the south, a figure sped past like a shooting star.

The man had five or six medicine pouches tied around his waist, a longsword on his back, and a face full of years of toil, marked by a faint scar on the left cheek. Looking down at the hollow city below, he sighed sadly, saying softly,

"Twenty years, and the Green Pond Sect has finally allowed me to come back... It seems Uncle has evaded the Sect's probes."

"The time has come to rise up for the affairs of the Xiao Family."

Passing through the empty County City, Guanyun Peak loomed in sight. His emotions were mixed with joy and sorrow - joy for having escaped the clutches of the Green Pond Sect and returning to his familiar home; sorrow for still needing to return a keepsake to his junior brother's family. Shaking his head, he muttered to himself,

"Now, how should I face Jing'er's family…"