Chapter 153

"Li Tongya of the Lijing Li family!"

"Ling Yanzi of the Purple Qi Peak, Purple Smoke Sect."

Ling Yanzi had finally arrived at Lijing Mountain. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Li Xuanling coming to greet him with a beaming smile, saying:

"Greetings, Senior!"

Ling Yanzi nodded with reserve, but Li Xuanling leaned in and whispered with a smile:

"I have already gathered all the clansmen, awaiting your marvelous techniques, Senior!"

Ling Yanzi choked for a moment, only then remembering that in his panicked flight earlier, he had rashly promised techniques and spirit items. Li Tongya and Li Xuanfeng could not help but chuckle, secretly applauding in their hearts, though Li Xuanfeng said sternly:

"Ling'er! Do not be rude. Senior Ling Yanzi is a high-level cultivator from the Three Sects and Seven Gates. You need not worry about him breaking his word."

Ling Yanzi sighed softly, sat down, and said with a bitter smile:

"Speak no more of high-level cultivators from the Three Sects and Seven Gates. Pursued and in such a wretched state, my pathetic appearance earlier—not to mention you all, I fear the tens of thousands of mortals down the mountain have seen it all. Where is there any semblance of a high-level cultivator? I am but a worldly person who fears death!"

After taking a sip of tea and savoring it, Ling Yanzi remained calm and continued:

"Regardless, I have survived, and those two from the Long Xiao Gate died by my hand instead. You do not know... to be alive!"

He paused abruptly here, as if breathing in the hard-won spiritual energy of the mountains after surviving a catastrophe. Ling Yanzi then said with a smile:

"Is better than anything else!"

These words caused Li Tongya to regard him with newfound respect. Seeing the few Xuan-generation Li family disciples pause slightly, Ling Yanzi smiled:

"My cultivation base comes entirely from my sect, and I have sworn a Profound Scene Spirit Oath, so I cannot pass it to you. The spirit stones and elixirs I carried were exhausted on the road, and most of my cultivation manuals and secret texts were obtained during my travels; many are of no use to you. However, there is this one secret technique called the 'Purple Thunder Secret Origin Art.' It is considered a leader among third-grade manuals and is quite valuable. What does Brother Tongya think?"

"Please, Senior, tell us about it."

Li Tongya finally heard the fellow willing to speak, so he listened carefully.

"This manual was originally a fourth-grade technique of the ancient sect, Lei Yun Temple. Back then, one would consume Purple Gold Thunder Liquid to achieve Qi Refining, and the Immortal Foundation formed after Foundation Establishment was called 'Winter Thunder Sound.' Later, Lei Yun Temple was destroyed, the Purple Gold Thunder Liquid vanished, and it was changed to Profound Yin Thunder Liquid. The manual regressed to third-grade, and the Immortal Foundation became 'Profound Thunder Pool,' yet it is still much better than ordinary third-grade manuals."

"Oh?"

Li Tongya frowned and asked in return:

"Since this is a secret technique, I fear there are side effects?"

"Very slight... merely that one cannot procreate, and one's lifespan is reduced by a few years..."

Li Tongya's look of interest immediately turned sour. If it were for a sect, it might be fine, but as a family manual, being unable to procreate—wouldn't that be digging up the Li family's roots?

Seeing this, Ling Yanzi was quite embarrassed and hurriedly added:

"There is more! There is more! I also have the Qi-gathering method for the Profound Yin Thunder Liquid; I will hand it over to you as well."

Li Tongya looked at him and shook his head, saying helplessly:

"Then I thank you, Senior."

"As for these pouches..."

Ling Yanzi nodded, lifting two plain-colored pouches belonging to the Long Xiao Gate cultivators, and said softly:

"These pouches resonate with the methods of the Long Xiao Gate and cannot be opened. Keeping them in your noble family is a disaster. It would be better to let me take them out, and next year, I will send someone to exchange the items inside for spirit stones and deliver them to your family."

Li Tongya naturally did not trust him, but he had no other options at the moment. He decided to treat it as doing him a favor and said in a low voice:

"Senior may take them."

Ling Yanzi accepted the storage bags. The magic swords and flying shuttles of the two Long Xiao Gate cultivators naturally fell into the Li family's hands. These two swords were even better than Li Tongya's, though he was hesitant to use them.

Ling Yanzi chatted for a while longer, recuperated on Lijing Mountain for a time, bid farewell to the others, and flew off on his shuttle to report. The people on Lijing Mountain finally settled down. Li Xuanfeng and Li Tongya went into seclusion, while the others busied themselves with their own tasks.

————

Li Xia Jun.

The bustling main street was filled with a diverse flow of people. On both sides, many small vendors pushed carts selling pastries and rice porridge. Following the crowd inward, the number of people in the alleys dwindled, and it became somewhat desolate.

The large bluestone courtyard in the alley was even more desolate. A few emerald vines were planted there, and two rows of clothes were propped up on wooden poles, fluttering gently in the sunset.

"Mother!"

A crisp boyish voice rang out. Jiang Yunu lifted her head gently. Her originally cute, round face had thinned out significantly, making her look quite gaunt.

"Yu'er."

The boy wore simple clothes. Although there were no luxurious patterns, they were clean, clearly having been washed with care. His face was chubby, and he stared at Jiang Yunu with a smile.

"Mother, a beggar came by earlier, asking us for copper coins!"

Jiang Yunu raised her eyebrows at him, smiled, took two coins from her bosom, placed them in his hands, and whispered:

"Go on, be careful."

"Mhm!"

Watching the child stumble out the door, Jiang Yunu felt uneasy and hurriedly rose to follow, gritting her teeth:

"It's been five whole years. Did that bastard get addicted to seclusion, or was he killed in a fight with someone else? Five whole years without a word... If I hadn't been pregnant with Yuanyu before he left, these five years would have driven me mad..."

Jiang Yunu followed to the courtyard gate and saw that the beggar was a middle-aged man. His limbs were sound, and his complexion still had some color, yet he was shamelessly lying on the ground crying in pain. Little Yuanyu was comforting him in a childish voice nearby.

"Yu'er!"

Fearing the man might be a kidnapper, Jiang Yunu hurriedly called out:

"Come back quickly!"

Li Yuanyu turned his head to look at her, smiled, and hurried forward, saying in a childish voice:

"Mother, this person is so strange. Not only did he not want my money, but he thanked me and told me to move house. Instead, he gave me a copper coin, big and round..."

Having said that, he took out a flat copper coin, gray-black in tone, with four ancient characters engraved on it. She could not recognize what was written. Jiang Yunu did not pay much attention, but her eyes remained fixed on the beggar.

"There are bad people in the prefecture who kidnap children; you must be careful."

After giving this instruction, Jiang Yunu picked up the child and walked back, asking in a low voice:

"How about I send you to the teacher this afternoon to learn some characters?"

"Mhm."

Li Yuanyu replied in a childish voice. Mother and son stepped into the courtyard. The brilliant morning sun in the sky suddenly dimmed, and thick black clouds quickly gathered from the east. Vaguely, a few tiny figures stood above Li Xia Jun, occasionally letting out bursts of loud laughter. The figures looked down at the mortals below as if they were looking at roasted meat on a platter.

It faded a bit yesterday, and today it started burning again...

I looked at the comments^ Some readers said there is a gap in quality between the beginning and the end. Maybe the plot was too slow for too long, so I skipped the timeline! Thinking about it, it's normal. After all, the beginning was 2,000 words a day, and the later part was written while sick and running a fever, about 4,500 words a day. The start was quite good, so everyone's expectations are high, haha. But no matter what~ whether the previous performance was poor or the current performance has improved, the goal I set for myself for this first book is to finish it~ Keep going. Thank you all for your tips and votes~

(End of this chapter)