Chapter 263

Within the mirror's world, gray-white haze floated between heaven and earth. The moon-white buildings below had been mostly repaired; pavilions, trestle bridges, high platforms, and palaces were situated among them, stretching endlessly, dotted with strands of rising moonlight—a true fairyland on earth.

Lu Jiangxian was leaning against the stone table, dozing off by the white jade-like table edge. The jade pot in his hand paused gently, and a steady voice slowly emerged in his ears.

"Li family disciple Li Tongya, respectfully requests the Dharma Mirror to eliminate demons and punish evil, so as to enjoy the blood feast..."

Lu Jiangxian gave a start, stretched, and straightened up. His spiritual sense emerged from the mirror's surface. The gray-clothed man before him stood respectfully in the lower position.

"Li Tongya..."

He had lingered in the Li family for so many years, watching the four Li brothers dwindle down to just this one. Even though he had achieved Foundation Establishment, he still stood respectfully in the lower position, bowing and reciting the prayer. Lu Jiangxian couldn't help but be silent.

"Of the four Li sons, Li Tongya is the most cautious and suspicious. I have stayed in this Li family for decades; could he have no suspicions at all... That is naturally impossible."

Lu Jiangxian knew clearly the few times he had helped during the Li family's rise; they were full of loopholes and quite clumsy. At first, none of them were familiar with the Dao of immortal cultivation, so even if they had premonitions, they only secretly doubted in their hearts. Now that Li Tongya had been drifting in the Dao of immortal cultivation for half a hundred years and had seen too many things, even Li Mutian, a mere mortal, had suspicions about the Dharma Mirror in the last few years of his life. If one were to say Li Tongya had no suspicions about the Dharma Mirror, Lu Jiangxian absolutely would not believe it.

"He is already a Foundation Establishment immortal cultivator, yet when facing the Dharma Mirror, he doesn't treat it like a magic tool, but rather like a superior immortal. The meaning behind this is self-evident."

"Even those actions of mine that seemed too deliberate back then have been beautified by Li Tongya when he tells them to his juniors, as if he is deliberately maintaining the current relationship... What long-term planning."

Although Lu Jiangxian couldn't be considered deep-thinking, his psychological age was over thirty between waking and sleeping. He felt he couldn't outsmart these cultivators and was too lazy to fight them, so he secretly thought:

"My lifespan is too long. As long as I linger in this mirror, I don't fear any disasters. I only hope to plant and harvest talisman seeds and help out where I can. If there's a good harvest these years, that's best; if not, I'll just let it be."

Li Tongya was still waiting quietly in the lower position. A full quarter of an hour passed before he flicked his sleeve and carefully came up to take the mirror. Lu Jiangxian secretly thought:

"Going to Xu State to take a look isn't bad. Back then, Chi Wei and a group of Zifu cultivators passed through here and didn't discover me; there should be no major issues."

Thus, he retracted his light, and the mirror fell into Li Tongya's hand like an ordinary, tattered copper mirror. Li Tongya examined it for a while, seeing not a shred of spiritual energy or Dharma light. He sighed with emotion, put the mirror into his bosom, and drifted out of the courtyard in two steps.

Lu Jiangxian thought from above, while Li Tongya had also thought a lot while standing below. From Xiangping picking up the Dharma Mirror on the riverbed to the Li family growing into a noble family step by step, now coming back to savor those two lines in the "Reception Method":

"Speak of merit in time, do not fail the promise of faith; burn and transform with the talisman, the body thanks the Great Yin."

Li Tongya couldn't help but feel silently uneasy in his heart. His Li family had received too many benefits from the Dharma Mirror, which instead made him uneasy. He secretly pondered:

"If I die one day, nourishing the Dharma Mirror is no big deal, but what kind of merit is required to not fail the promise of faith..."

Between his thoughts, he had already landed at the foot of the mountain. Li Tongya looked at Li Xuanxuan, who was silently drawing talismans in the courtyard, stepped into the courtyard, and said warmly:

"Xuan'er!"

Li Xuanxuan raised his eyebrows, looked up, and said repeatedly:

"Uncle Zhong, is there news from the fox demon senior..."

"Indeed."

Li Tongya nodded and replied:

"This matter is feasible, but we still need to send someone to the Xiao family."

"The Xiao family?"

Li Xuanxuan added, and then heard Li Tongya say:

"I am going out to capture a demon, but I am worried about you all, so I will ask Senior Xiao Yuansi to take the time to come over."

】

"You use the excuse of Yuanjiao's wedding to invite him over."

Li Tongya paused and explained:

"Yuanjiao has been adopted under Chijing; logically, he is your cousin's nominal grandson. As long as you explain it clearly to Xiao Yuansi, he will naturally be willing to make this trip. Xu State is currently in great chaos; we can ask Xiao Yuansi about it while we're at it."

Li Xuanxuan nodded repeatedly. He had always unconditionally trusted this Uncle Zhong, so he naturally nodded in agreement. He then saw Li Tongya ride the wind into the sky and said to the attendant on the side:

"Let Donghe come over."

Chen Donghe was originally on Huaqian Mountain. Hearing the order, he came over and headed east after receiving the command.

————

Li Tongya and Li Xuanxuan chatted in the courtyard for a while, and then a light laugh came from the courtyard. Xiao Yuansi stepped in, saw the two, and smiled:

"Congratulations, your noble family has taken two more mountains."

"Greetings, Senior!"

Li Tongya and Li Xuanxuan both responded. Xiao Yuansi waved his hand to let them sit down and said:

"Fortunately, I wasn't out or in closed-door cultivation, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to find me in such a hurry. How is it? Are you planning to refine elixirs, or do you need help?"

"Senior."

Li Tongya returned the salute and explained:

"The wedding date is near, and Tongya fears trouble. I should be sitting in town for the family, but I have urgent matters that require a trip to Xu State. Firstly, I ask Senior to sit in town for a while, and secondly, I want to inquire about the situation in Xu State."

"Oh."

Xiao Yuansi waved his hand generously and replied:

"It's just changing places to cultivate for a few days; it's no big deal. As for this Xu State..."

Xiao Yuansi paused. Seeing that Li Tongya didn't say what he was going there for, he didn't ask, only saying:

"I have also asked the Ancestor about the Xu State matter. If you want to go there for profit or if there is some opportunity, you need to do it early; go fast and return fast."

"In about half a year, superior immortals will take action to rectify the situation in Xu State. By then, if you want to go to Xu State, you will have to do it under the eyes of others. Not only will you be tied hand and foot, but it will also be easy for trouble to arise."

Li Tongya nodded as if he had obtained a treasure. Li Xuanxuan couldn't help but ask:

"Is it because they can't bear to see this chaotic state? These superior immortals are also kind-hearted..."

"There's nothing kind-hearted about it."

Xiao Yuansi shook his head and replied:

"They didn't take action because the four borders are chaotic and the people are destitute, but because the Buddhism Sect is pressing step by step. If they lose Xu State today, they could lose Wu State tomorrow. They are just afraid that their own Daoist traditions will be suppressed."

Li Tongya nodded silently and asked in a low voice:

"Are Jin Dan immortal cultivators taking action?"

"I don't know either, but the matter hasn't deteriorated to that point; there shouldn't be Jin Dan immortal cultivators going there."

Xiao Yuansi shook his head, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and replied:

"The Ancestor didn't speak in detail, looking as if it were a deep taboo. They will likely send some Zifu late-stage and peak cultivators, with Jin Dan cultivators pressing the formation."

"If Jin Dan cultivators were to fight, the entire Xu State and even Wu and Yue would be affected. I'm afraid Xu State would have its spiritual energy cut off for six or seven hundred years, and the earth veins would be extinguished. Even if they won, what would be the use? It would just be obtaining a piece of scorched earth torn apart. In this world, it's already rare to see Jin Dan cultivators take action."

Li Tongya originally thought the difference between Zifu and Foundation Establishment was already great enough, but he didn't expect Jin Dan cultivators to be so tyrannical. Intending to inquire about more news, he took up the conversation:

"Jin Dan cultivators are so astonishing... wouldn't it be better to go up into the sky to fight? That way it wouldn't hurt the earth veins and spiritual energy..."