Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 75: Xiangping Returns

Seeing Li Xuanxuan with his head lowered, Li Tongya’s tone softened, and he said quietly:

"It’s fortunate that this is your first time managing the household, and you haven’t made any serious mistakes."

After pondering for a few breaths, Li Tongya gave him a glance with lowered brows and said softly:

"Go to the cave mansion on Meichi Mountain and think it over well. Come back out when you’ve broken through to the fourth layer of the Fetal Breathing, the Green Origin Wheel."

"Thank you, Uncle!"

Li Xuanxuan bowed his hands and, as if relieved, retreated respectfully.

Li Tongya then went to the backyard to change his clothes and sat in the main seat, flipping through the records of big and small affairs that Li Xuanxuan had kept; he frowned and said in a deep voice:

"Call Yesheng in."

Clan soldiers naturally went to summon him, and Li Yesheng hurried into the main courtyard, bowing his body. He saw Li Tongya with his head down looking at a wooden slip, not raising his head to look at him.

Li Yesheng’s heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself:

"Trouble, trying to be clever might have backfired."

Although Xiangping and Li Tongya had raised Li Xuanxuan as the household head since he was young, Li Xuanfeng and Li Xuanling had not yet been born then. Who could know how these two brothers think now? Thus, Li Yesheng had watched Li Xuanxuan make mistakes without acting, trying to test the attitudes of the two.

Now, seeing that Li Tongya hadn’t spoken a word, he immediately understood that his own ploys had been seen through and quickly knelt down to confess his guilt.

Li Tongya then frowned slightly, waved his hand to interrupt him, and said in a low voice:

"Wait until the family head comes back, and you can explain it yourself."

After saying those words, he put away the wooden slip in his hand and said in a deep voice:

"Beat the drums and call the troops."

————

Li Xiangping staggered along for a while, found a large tree to lean against and sat down, regulated his breathing for a while, and when about twenty to thirty percent of his mana had recovered, he stood up, slapped a Godspeed Technique on his leg, and continued southward, fighting the fatigue.

After walking for about an hour and a half, Li Xiangping dared to relax. He climbed a large banyan tree and lay half-asleep on it for several hours until he felt his physical strength had somewhat recovered.

In this wilderness, where there was no sign of human habitation, Li Xiangping caught a wild rabbit to roast for food, spent a few days absorbing spiritual energy to straighten his meridians, and then continued southward.

His external injuries were mostly healed, but the internal ones were not so easy to remedy. His inner organs still ached, and his strength had only recovered by seventy to eighty percent. Li Xiangping feared encountering some demon beast, so he traveled cautiously and it took more than a month to return to his own territory.

Entering his territory, Li Xiangping saw several squads of clan soldiers patrolling the forest and thought to himself:

"It seems the family is still stable, the Ji Family has not advanced westward."

Although those squads were dressed in his family’s uniform, Li Xiangping, still cautious, bypassed them and quietly made his way to Lijing Village. Seeing that everything was as usual and there were no signs of post-disturbance, he then felt at ease to go up the mountain.

Li Tongya was frowning and wiping his sword, but upon hearing footsteps, he looked up in surprise. Seeing Li Xiangping, disheveled but beaming at the threshold, the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled into a smile, and he laughed:

"I knew you were a crafty lad, surely you wouldn’t die so easily."

Li Xiangping grimaced, sat down at the table, grabbed the tea on the table and guzzled down a bowl, before exclaiming:

"What is this mess! Chased by a Qi Cultivator for a whole day and two nights, nearly killed by a single palm strike."

After recounting the events of the past twenty or so days of pursuit and escape, Li Xiangping undid his outer robe and placed the Dharma Mirror gently on the table. As he watched the dull gray Mirror slowly levitate, he tossed out a brocade pouch and a light cyan piece of metal and said with a smile,

"Shall we take a look?"

Li Tongya nodded, sent his Spiritual Sense into the Storage Bag, and dumped out a small pile of items with a clatter.

Aside from a pile of clothes and assorted objects, as well as gold and silver, the old Taoist’s Storage Bag still contained twenty-five Spirit Stones, several Fetal Breathing Realm Healing Pills, a carefully sealed Jade Bottle labeled "Jade Sprout Pill," a bundle of yellowed Talismans, and that Jade Pendant emanating a pale light.

Finally, with a clinking sound, a gray-white Longsword fell out.

Just as Li Xiangping picked up the Jade Pendant, Lu Jiangxian, who had been half-asleep half-awake in the Mirror, perked up. Watching the Jade Pendant barely an inch away from him, he tapped into the connection between the two and gently pulled.

The Jade Pendant immediately leaped up like a joyful bird and crashed into the dull gray Dharma Mirror.

"Hmm?"

Caught by surprise, Li Xiangping couldn’t hold onto the Jade Pendant. He simply watched as it suddenly rose and lightly attached itself to the surface of the mirror. Streaks of white vapor billowed out and entered the mirror, resembling weary birds returning to the forest.

One by one, the twelve seals etched around the edge of the mirror brightened. Lu Jiangxian felt completely refreshed as his Divine Sense expanded, and streams of information began to flow out. He earnestly set about sorting them.

Seeing the white light from the Jade Pendant slowly fade and hearing it clack back down onto the table, Li Xiangping and Li Tongya exchanged glances. They returned the Dharma Mirror to the Stone Platform and waited for the duration of an incense stick, but no abnormalities appeared. Only then did they return to the main courtyard to continue sorting through the items.

The old Taoist had lived a humble life, and the Healing Pills were only of the Fetal Breathing Realm quality. After packing away these bottles of Healing Pills along with the twenty-five Spirit Stones, Li Xiangping gently opened the Jade Sprout Pill, and the refreshing fragrance immediately pervaded the air. Merely smelling it made them feel their Mana roil within them.

"This Elixir is even more potent than the two remaining Serpent Origin Pills at home. It’s said that Serpent Origin Pills are suitable for both the Fetal Breathing and Qi Cultivation Stages. This Jade Sprout Pill must be for the Qi Cultivation Stage."

Hurriedly sealing the Jade Sprout Pill again, Li Xiangping saw Li Tongya was already fondly examining the Longsword in great detail, and he couldn’t help but smile and ask,

"How about this sword?"

Li Tongya shook his head with a smile,

"It seems to be a weapon used by someone at the Fetal Breathing Realm. It looks like it’s worth three to five Spirit Stones at most, but it is much better than ordinary iron."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangping instantly thought of his own Green Crow Bow, a Magic Artifact that Li Tongya had acquired for two and a half Spirit Stones, though it was quite heavy.

He had originally planned to cast Taiyin Profound Light and then retreat, but carrying the bow would have hindered his movement, so he left it at home. Unexpectedly, he encountered the old Taoist and didn’t have a handy weapon during the battle.

"That’s not necessarily true either. Perhaps if I had been carrying the bow, the old Taoist would have caught up with me sooner."

As Li Xiangping was pondering the recent fight for his life, Li Tongya silently opened the bundle of Talismans and carefully compared them with the key points in the "Spiritual Talisman Technique."

"These seem to be Talismans used to summon a Dharma Shield from the Fetal Breathing Realm."

After comparing them for a while, Li Tongya spoke gravely, and after counting the quantity—twenty-four in total—he estimated their value to be around eight Spirit Stones.

"We should keep some for Xuanxuan and Xuanfeng for protection, especially that kid Xuanfeng. He’s full of ideas and always likes to venture out."

Reminded of the twelve Talismans the old Taoist had deployed to summon the Great Shield, Li Xiangping muttered a curse under his breath and chuckled,

"That old guy’s most prized spells were tricked out of him by me twice, no wonder he was so furious and ashamed."

Then Li Tongya picked up the light cyan metal piece and examined it, but couldn’t make heads or tails of it. He looked at Li Xiangping with a furrowed brow and said,

"Do you still have injuries? You better take some medicine and rest for now."