Chapter 103

After patrolling the reed marshes on the wind, he originally wanted to wait for the time to perform the technique to gather a wisp of clear Qi from the river, but saw that it was all withered and yellow, the riverbed cracked, so he had to come out empty-handed and helpless.

"It's been dry for months, the river network is dried up, and the reeds are all withered and yellow. How can I gather any clear river Qi?"

After leaving the reed marshes, Li Tongya rode the wind toward Moon-Gazing Lake. The water level of Moon-Gazing Lake had retreated hundreds of miles. The dead fish everywhere were covered in maggots, and many small islands had emerged on the lake surface.

Li Tongya flicked his sleeve, and the hidden array in the air was triggered instantly, emitting bursts of silver light.

Things were different now; with just a scan of his spiritual sense, he found the large boat on the lake and landed on it after a few steps in the air.

"This lord! Are you heading to the Moon-Gazing Lake marketplace?"

A young man hurriedly ran out of the boat cabin below. He was only at the third level of Embryonic Breath, the Zhou Xing Wheel, and asked diligently.

"Indeed."

Li Tongya responded and found a place to sit. He saw the young man serving tea, but didn't see the figure of the white-haired old man from back then, so he asked:

"I remember that the person steering this boat over a decade ago was a white-haired old man. Why has it changed to someone else now?"

The young man acted as if he suddenly realized, put down the teacup in his hand gently, and replied repeatedly:

"Senior, you don't know. That old man failed to break through to Qi Refining and died of old age ten years ago. He didn't have any children with spiritual apertures, so his eldest son exchanged the spirit items for farmland and returned to his hometown to be a wealthy man."

Li Tongya paused instantly, gently picked up the teacup, but out of caution, didn't drink the tea, so he had to put it down again, and said with some regret:

"What a pity."

"Eh."

The young man lowered his eyes and cupped his hands, hurriedly replying:

"Senior, you don't know. That old man lived to be a hundred and eight years old, living until he died of old age. We boatmen all envy his good luck!"

"Oh?"

Seeing that Li Tongya had cultivated to Qi Refining at only thirty-something years old, and was wearing both a storage bag and a Qi-gathering bottle at his waist, the young man knew that this person was nine times out of ten a disciple of a great family, so he could only smile bitterly:

"Senior, you don't know. We loose cultivators have crude inheritances, mostly using first-grade Embryonic Breath breathing techniques. We can only touch the edge of the wheel after breathing for over ten years. Being trapped in Embryonic Breath for a lifetime is normal."

"So that's how it is."

The young man had been working on the lake for over ten years. Most of the Qi Refining cultivators he saw were high and mighty, disdaining to speak. Li Tongya, however, was focused and nodded frequently, which opened the young man's chatterbox for a moment, and he hurriedly continued:

"Senior, your talent is outstanding. You became a Qi Refining cultivator at a young age, unlike these loose cultivators who often hold onto a single Embryonic Breath technique for a lifetime. Wanting to draw a talisman or refine an elixir but having no inheritance is truly miserable!"

Hearing this, Li Tongya suddenly remembered the "Taiyin Breathing Nourishing Wheel Scripture" in his family and thought to himself:

"This technique is probably worth more than all the families around Moon-Gazing Lake tied together! Looking at this cultivation speed, it's at least ten times faster than ordinary techniques. Not to mention that the magic power refined is pure and solid, far surpassing others."

Pretending to be casual, Li Tongya smiled and sighed:

"I wonder what grade of Embryonic Breath technique those great sect disciples practice!"

The young man nodded heavily and laughed:

"I've been steering boats on this lake for over ten years. I've seen twenty-year-old great sect Qi Refining disciples, but I've also seen ninety-year-old first-level Embryonic Breath old men. I only heard that the Qingchi Sect's Embryonic Breath technique is the best among all sects, a fifth-grade technique, which is four times faster than ordinary techniques!"

"Truly miraculous!"

Li Tongya exclaimed in admiration, changed the subject without a trace, and chatted with the man about the Shanyue.

"I heard the Shanyue in the west are very fierce!"

"Indeed!"

The young man nodded repeatedly and showed off:

"I heard that the Shanyue Great King's cultivation has reached the peak of Qi Refining! He killed the families of the Tangjin Gate on the west bank until they threw away their armor and abandoned their weapons. Three Qi Refining family heads were killed, and the losses were countless."

Li Tongya was listening when he saw several more people come onto the boat, so the young man had to apologize and leave reluctantly. Li Tongya thought to himself:

"Ga Nixi is still formidable. It would be better if he died quickly, so we don't have to worry about sleeping."

Li Tongya listened to the few people chat for a while, then felt the large boat shake—the Moon-Gazing Lake marketplace was already in front of him.

After getting off the boat and walking a few steps, Li Tongya mortgaged a spirit stone to rent a stall, laid out many materials, threw on a few talismans he had obtained from killing people, took out a wooden slip, and simply read a technique at the stall.

After thinking carefully, he looked down at the storage bag and two Qi-gathering bottles at his waist, and roughly guessed how the boatman knew he was a family disciple. He took a piece of spirit cloth, wrapped it around the Qi-gathering bottle, and stuffed it into his bosom. Now he looked like a loose cultivator.

This time Li Tongya came early, and the foot traffic was still quite large. He sold almost everything in an hour. He didn't want to wait for the remaining one or two items, so he closed the stall, took back the spirit stones, and paid the rent of ten catties of spirit rice.

"Sold for eleven spirit stones, not bad."

Spending five spirit stones to buy Jade Bud Elixirs, plus the one obtained from the cave dwelling, Li Tongya figured he could try to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining in a few months.

"Although these Jade Bud Elixirs are good, the elixir poison cannot be underestimated. I still need to wait a few months, and after the elixir poison in my body is naturally eliminated, I will take them."

Li Tongya had only walked a few steps when he saw a middle-aged female cultivator walking toward him. She was at the fifth level of Embryonic Breath, the Jade Capital Wheel, and looked about the same age as Li Tongya, but she was cupping her hands respectfully.

"Senior! Do you still remember me?"

Li Tongya felt this person looked familiar, but couldn't remember her name, so he had to cup his hands awkwardly:

"May I ask, Excellency..."

"Guanyun Peak marketplace, Zhengping Qingwu Bow."

The middle-aged female cultivator said with a smile. Li Tongya suddenly realized. He had bought a Zhengping Qingwu Bow for Li Xiangping at the marketplace at the foot of Guanyun Peak, where he paid tribute. It was bought from this person's hands. At that time, this person was still a young girl, but now she was middle-aged.

"It's been over ten years. How are you, fellow Daoist?"

Li Tongya was puzzled as to why this person called him, but still exchanged pleasantries on the surface.

The middle-aged female cultivator's expression was somewhat complex, and she said in a low voice:

"It's only been over ten years, and Senior has already reached Qi Refining..."

"Just luck."

Li Tongya laughed, and then saw the female cultivator say solemnly:

"This humble one is Lin Jingyi, and my husband is the Qi Refining cultivator Xu Yangping."

"Li Tongya."

Li Tongya nodded to indicate, and then saw Lin Jingyi say in a low voice:

"We have a cave dwelling relic on our hands. Is Senior interested?"

"Cave dwelling?"

Li Tongya narrowed his eyes slightly and thought to himself:

"How can there be such a good thing! We are just passing acquaintances, with no friendship to speak of. Where is the trust? Is this person trying to lure me to my death..."

"Oh? Such a good thing?"

Li Tongya laughed. Lin Jingyi knew he didn't believe it, so she hurriedly said in a low voice:

"We have already investigated. It is a cave dwelling of a Foundation Establishment cultivator from at least two hundred years ago. We have the means to enter that cave dwelling, but we are missing one Qi Refining cultivator..."

Li Tongya laughed and asked back:

"Is it that a group of Embryonic Breath-stage cultivators can't break the cave dwelling array and need me to take the lead?"

After speaking, he looked at her quietly, already prepared to flick his sleeve and leave.

"That's not it."

Lin Jingyi lowered her head and smiled awkwardly, replying:

"We already have two Qi Refining cultivators, but we are still a bit short of entering this cave dwelling."

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Tongya believed it a few points, willing to sit down and talk with Lin Jingyi. The two found a bamboo building, ordered a cup of clear tea, and listened to Lin Jingyi say:

"My husband and I were originally active in the Xunlin Plain area. A few years ago, the Tangjin Gate invaded, and that place became uninhabited, and the marketplace didn't open. Fortunately, my husband cultivated to Qi Refining, so we walked west to see this Moon-Gazing Lake."

"Who knew that just as we arrived in the west, we encountered this great drought in Moon-Gazing Lake, which retreated hundreds of miles, exposing a cave dwelling in the lake."

"That cave dwelling had been operating for hundreds of years and had some leaks, which is how we discovered it. We cast a concealment magic technique in that place and came to look for manpower."

"Huh."

Li Tongya nodded noncommittally and said in a low voice:

"Why look for me."

"Because your cultivation is shallow..."

Lin Jingyi smiled awkwardly and explained:

"So that's how it is."

Li Tongya drank a sip of tea and smiled:

"Is your husband outside the door?"

Li Tongya had long discovered that someone was waiting outside the door. At this point, he pointed it out. Lin Jingyi also nodded, raised her head and called out. The person outside the door entered directly and cupped his hands:

"This humble one is Xu Yangping. Greetings, Brother Tongya!"

Li Tongya saw that this person's face was quite upright, looking like he was in his fifties, and also cupped his hands:

"Don't be polite."

Xu Yangping nodded repeatedly and smiled:

"I have been waiting here for dozens of days. If Brother Tongya hadn't appeared, we would have gritted our teeth and gone to look for the surrounding families."

Lin Jingyi took over the conversation and explained:

"The mountain gate arrays of those families are covered tightly. Who knows how many Qi Refining cultivators are inside? Unless absolutely necessary, we would never go."

Li Tongya didn't waste any more words with these two and said in a deep voice:

"Xuanjing Spiritual Oath."

Xu Yangping nodded, performed the magic technique, repeated Lin Jingyi's previous words, formed a seal, and said in a low voice:

"Everything stated is true, Xuanjing as my oath!"

Li Tongya listened carefully on the side. There were indeed no omissions. Seeing Xu Yangping's aura surging and not declining, he believed it seven points and replied:

"When do we set off?"

"Now!"

The couple was already excited. Lin Jingyi tried hard to suppress it and said to Li Tongya:

"I also ask fellow Daoist to take an oath not to attack us. Although the Xuanjing Spiritual Oath is mostly used for confidentiality and verification, and its binding force on this is not great, with this oath, we can feel a bit more at ease."

"Fine."

Li Tongya took the oath and rode the wind with Xu Yangping. Seeing this person's true essence was slightly mottled, he knew that this Xu Yangping had swallowed miscellaneous Qi to practice Qi Refining, so he felt a few points more at ease.

The couple saw that Li Tongya's true essence was mellow and long, and his protective true essence was clear and bright, so they looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

————

Lijing Town.

Chen Erniu was seventy years old, his hair gray. He had already lived two lifetimes of an ordinary farmer in the mountains. His old eyes were turbid, and everyone in Lijing Town had to call him Grandfather.

Sitting in a chair, Chen Erniu was restless. The dry weather made him have nightmares every night, always thinking of that giant bird that descended from the sky.

"Sigh."

When the Lichuankou collection returned, Chen Erniu went to find Chen Sanshui, but except for a tooth and a pool of blood, he didn't find anything. People in Lichuankou all said Chen Sanshui was captured by the Shanyue and taken to the west.

Chen Erniu laughed coldly and scoffed. He followed the horse tracks and looked around in the grass by the road. Finally, he found a pool of blood. The old man pushed aside the grass and lowered his head to look, crying out with an "ow."

His eldest son Chen Sanshui died miserably. The old man kept vigil for him. The children under Chen Sanshui were all busy dealing with the dry weather, and they didn't come as diligently as he did.

"I don't know if Donghe can come back..."

Chen Erniu frowned, his white hair sparse, but he heard a burst of noise outside the courtyard. A large group of people were shouting, and the sound of crying and shouting made him tremble with fear.

He leaned on his cane and moved to the entrance of the village. Quite a few people were already waiting there. A group of disheveled men with faces full of mud were kneeling on the ground, surrounded by low sobbing sounds.

"They're back."

Chen Erniu straightened his waist with effort and finally saw Li Xuanxuan and Chen Donghe in front. Li Xuanxuan had already grown a shallow beard and was staring at the Shanyue man in front of him in disbelief.

"You... say it again?!"

"It was a curse spell... even the corpse wasn't brought back..."

Li Xuanxuan froze for two breaths, tears flowing out like a broken dam, flowing down his face to his neck.

"Donghe... come up the mountain with me. Everyone else go home first."

Li Xuanxuan covered his face and was silent for a long time, squeezing out a sentence from his throat. Chen Donghe in front was full of tears. The crowd silently parted a path and watched them go away.

"Family Head..."

Chen Donghe called Li Xuanxuan in a low voice, startling him from the heavy blow. Li Xuanxuan looked at the Zhengping Qingwu Bow in his hand, and the tears couldn't stop.

"Call me Young Family Head..."

Li Xuanxuan wiped his tears and choked up, stepping on the stone path, gripping the bow tightly.

The two lowered their heads and walked silently for a while, bumping into Li Xuanfeng, who had just come out of seclusion and was hurriedly going down the mountain. Li Xuanfeng just lowered his head and glanced at the Zhengping Qingwu Bow in Li Xuanxuan's hand and froze.

"How is that possible!"

Li Xuanfeng's eyes widened, his eye sockets quickly moistened, and he viciously snatched the bow and arrow, shouting:

"Who was it!"

Chen Donghe felt even more suffocated when he saw the Li brothers, and choked up:

"It was the Shanyue's curse spell."

Li Xuanfeng opened his mouth, unable to spit out a word. He looked at Li Xuanxuan, who was full of tears, and sat dazed on the bluestone on the side.

"What a low-level method."

Li Xuanfeng gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face.

(End of chapter)