Chapter 216

Li Tongya sent An Jiyan away, burned incense, bathed, and changed into formal attire—a gray robe with white-patterned cloud sleeves—and strapped on his sword. He walked on foot to the summit of Lijing Mountain and pushed open the gate of the ancestral hall. The spirit tablets inside stood silently, appearing exceptionally solemn amidst the many wisps of smoke.

These were the six generations of ancestors from the village records, plus Li Genshui and Li Mutian. Li Tongya was actually a ninth-generation descendant. If counting from the time he first came into contact with the immortal path, Li Tongya was a second-generation disciple.

Li Tongya looked at the many tablets amidst the swirling smoke, kowtowed three times to the tablets in the seat of honor, performed a grand ceremony, and said respectfully:

His eyes were slightly moist. He bowed slowly and continued:

"Years of deep grudges, killing my eldest brother; Western barbarians invading, cursing my brothers; Immortal Sect venerables, eating my youngest brother. Only I, Tongya, remain to hold the family together. Forty-two years have passed, and finally, I have achieved the immortal foundation, so that the elders may find some comfort."

Li Tongya straightened up. He had hatred in his heart, but no resentment to speak of. He himself had killed many people. Invading the east and expanding to the west, driven by greed and anger to kill—in the deep pool of the murky mortal world, everyone was helpless.

He turned around. Beside him were the tablets of his two brothers and Li Yuanxiu. Due to pressure, he did not even dare to place Li Chijing's tablet there. Li Tongya bowed silently and said nothing more.

Li Tongya finally stepped forward, pushed open the stone door, and waved his hand gently. The magic lamps in the stone chamber lit up. He performed a grand ceremony before reaching out to pick up the magic mirror on the stone platform.

The moment he touched the magic mirror, Li Tongya's mind suddenly brightened. The mirror before him suddenly floated up, its luster becoming much brighter. In a daze, Li Tongya saw three streams of light leap down, transforming into three bright white pills that circled within the mirror.

"Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seeds!"

Li Tongya was overjoyed. As he broke through to Foundation Establishment, the number of talisman seeds in the magic mirror had also reached nine. He was overjoyed and muttered:

"So the number of talisman seeds is generated based on the strength of the person performing the sacrifice. A Foundation Establishment cultivator using the magic mirror can condense nine!"

Li Tongya had been worried that the Xiyue generation would have no talisman seeds to use. Now he breathed a sigh of relief and felt much more relaxed. He bowed respectfully and thought to himself:

"It seems the power and mystery of the Taiyin Mysterious Light must also have changed significantly. I wonder how it would fare against a Foundation Establishment cultivator..."

————

Inside the mirror's world.

Lu Jiangxian exhaled slowly and stood up.

Following Li Tongya's breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, he also received feedback from the talisman seeds and benefited quite a bit, though it was far less than the gains brought by Li Chijing's successful Foundation Establishment. Still, it was comparable to a recovered peak Qi Refining talisman seed.

"Li Tongya breaking through to Foundation Establishment is a bit too easy."

Lu Jiangxian frowned slightly. He had witnessed the entire process of Li Tongya's breakthrough. Li Tongya speculated that it was the effect of the Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seeds and the talisman energy, but as far as Lu Jiangxian knew, they did not have the function of increasing the probability of a Foundation Establishment breakthrough. However, in the Zifu realm, talisman energy was quite helpful for condensing divine abilities.

"River and Sea One-Qi Scripture, 'Heavy Sea Long Whale Talisman'..."

Lu Jiangxian had some guesses in his heart, but he was not entirely certain. He said to himself:

"Wait for the Li family to succeed a few more times; I should be able to deduce the rules within."

He beckoned, and the green blade standing on the large bluestone at the summit suddenly leaped up. Lu Jiangxian took the long sword, threw it gently, and asked:

"Are there any others worth looking at?"

The green blade paused, slowly emitted light, hummed in a low voice, and fell back onto the bluestone, motionless.

"It seems Li Tongya and Li Yuanjiao's sword talent is still lacking."

Lu Jiangxian shook his head. This green blade was not something just anyone could accept. One needed sword talent comparable to Li Chijing's to accept this sword path. It was not something one could grasp in a single night of enlightenment; rather, it would transform into a sword mark between the eyebrows, slowly enhancing the host's sword cultivation.

Patting the tabletop, Lu Jiangxian picked up the small book on it, which was a collection of spell techniques he had compiled over the past ten-plus years. He pondered for a while, and a line of text automatically appeared on the cover.

"Mysterious Witchcraft Arts"

Shaking the dust off the book cover, Lu Jiangxian placed the book on the table and thought to himself:

"This witchcraft is not something everyone can practice. In a few years, when the Li family produces someone with spiritual sense different from ordinary people, I will bestow it upon them to verify what has been learned..."

————

Li Tongya left the ancestral hall, his mood much improved. Looking around the cave dwelling, Li Xuanfeng was already in closed-door cultivation, and Li Xuanxuan was researching talisman techniques. Li Tongya thought to himself:

"Qinghong is still at the Fei family. It is just the right time to go and report to Fei Wangbai and bring Qinghong back."

Having made up his mind, Li Tongya rode the wind, rising from Lijing Mountain and crossing the deep blue lake water. After flying over the lake for a while, a large continent appeared before his eyes, its surface flickering with brilliance and the sound of thunder and fire constant. It vaguely revealed the broken walls and ruins beneath it—it was the ruins of the Wangyue Lake marketplace.

Seeing this, Li Tongya's heart suddenly stirred. When the marketplace was destroyed years ago, Chen Taoping of the Lingyu Sect triggered a formation, which was broken by the Thunder-Striking Formation Wedge, forming a Forbidden Great Formation. At that time, he was only a Qi Refining cultivator and could only watch helplessly. Now that he had broken through to Foundation Establishment, he could go down to the continent and take a look.

Li Tongya supported a magic shield with his true essence and descended into the Forbidden Great Formation. Thunder roared, striking his shield one after another. His true essence flowed away like water. Fortunately, his magic power was deep, and he relied on his magic power to resist the falling thunder, using the River-Crossing Turbulent Step to land on the continent.

After more than ten breaths, Li Tongya finally passed through the great formation and landed on the continent, feeling the spiritual energy was rich and his mind refreshed.

"The spiritual energy here is greater than anywhere else I have seen. If it weren't for the difficulty of dealing with the Forbidden Great Formation, I'm afraid a family would have occupied this place long ago."

Li Tongya exclaimed in admiration. Calculating his magic power, he had consumed more than twenty percent—nearly fifty percent of the magic power of an ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Everywhere before his eyes were broken walls and ruins, and withered grass grew all over the ground. He stepped forward, avoiding the white bones under his feet, and walked through the continent.

"In over ten years, I don't know how many times Foundation Establishment cultivators coming and going have scoured this place. I'm afraid there's nothing good left."

Li Tongya circled for half an hour without any gains. He rode the wind and landed directly in the center, where he saw the smooth ground covered in formation patterns. There should have been a large building here originally; now only four pale stone pillars remained, uneven in height, desolate and cold.

In the center was a deep well, pitch-black and bottomless. Li Tongya probed with his spiritual sense, but even at the limit of his sense, he still gained nothing. He pondered for a breath, pressed his hands on the well mouth, and the well water suddenly gushed up, with a patch of murky mud rising from the very bottom.

The well gushed incessantly. Li Tongya's sea of energy gradually dropped, consuming twenty percent of his magic power. He extracted a volume of water the size of a small hill. The gushing well water was like a trickling stream, flowing toward the distance along the terrain. Li Tongya's expression brightened. With a wave of his hand, a jade box flew out from the bottom of the well, its patterns intricate and its texture warm to the touch.

Li Tongya flicked his finger, and the jade box suddenly opened, but it was empty inside—there was not a single thing.

"Heh!"

Li Tongya paused, unable to help but laugh out loud, and said in a low voice:

"I am indeed late."

The object in the jade box had clearly been taken by someone else. That person likely wasn't very proficient in water-control techniques but knew some divine abilities or spells, stealing the item from the jade box across the deep well, leaving only an exquisite jade box sinking at the bottom of the well.

"Although the item in the box is lost, this jade box itself is no ordinary object. Its patterns and formation patterns are dense; I'm afraid it can store Zifu-period spiritual items without any problem. The material is something I've never seen before. It wasn't a wasted trip!"

Li Tongya looked at it over and over for a while and nodded with satisfaction. He hadn't held much hope to begin with. Unexpectedly obtaining a decent jade box made his mood even better. He flipped his hand to put the jade box away, sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing for a quarter of an hour, then rode the wind, broke through the Forbidden Great Formation, and headed north.

(End of Chapter)