Chapter 314: Investigating the Fei Family

Li Yuanjiao pinched a seal to flick the dust from his body, then burned incense before entering the secret chamber to retrieve the magic mirror. The cool, cyan-grey mirror in his hand always made his heart pound, leaving him somewhat at a loss.

"The destiny of a clan, tied to a single mirror."

The clan history contained no records of this mirror's existence. Later, after Li Yuanjiao received the talisman seed, Li Tongya retrieved the inner history from beneath the stone platform in the secret chamber. Only after Li Yuanjiao finished reading it, through tears and laughter, did he gain some understanding of the magic mirror.

Li Yuanjiao read those few jade slips over and over again, engraving them firmly in his mind, before walking out of the ancestral hall.

What caused Li Yuanjiao some confusion was that even the inner history was vague and contradictory regarding the origins of the cyan-grey magic mirror.

His aunt, Li Jingtian, wrote in the sect records:

"Upon obtaining the magic treasure, he received the register and began cultivation."

Yet, in the biography of Li Mutian, it was written:

"The ancestor traveled north with an immortal, achieved an immortal foundation, held the Profound Mirror to roam across Wu and Yue, and returned home to establish the clan after two hundred and nineteen years."

"Upon obtaining the magic treasure... what does it mean by 'upon obtaining'..."

Li Yuanjiao thought in a daze. Without realizing it, he had left the mountains and flown north for over ten miles before coming to his senses. He took the magic mirror from his bosom; the mysterious patterns on its surface were faintly glowing, and the cyan-grey mirror body appeared even more imposing.

Li Yuanjiao stroked it lightly, his spiritual sense sinking into it, and he said respectfully:

"Li clan disciple Li Yuanjiao, looking up to the profound grace, respectfully requests the Profound Brightness Wonderful Method, and humbly invokes the Taiyin Profound Light to slay the wicked and evil, break filth, and capture demons!"

As soon as Li Yuanjiao finished speaking, his vision brightened, as if he were drifting and floating high into the sky. The entire Lijing Town, and even the entire Li clan, appeared before his eyes.

The clamor of voices below, the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs, all resounded in his ears. From the patrolling clan soldiers to the dense forests and the deep cyan, rippling lake water, everything was in his sight.

"Hoo."

Li Yuanjiao understood that as long as his mind stirred, the dazzling Taiyin Profound Light would strike any corner at the foot of the mountain in the next breath. He relaxed his mind, zoomed in his perspective from afar, and headed toward the direction guided by the jade bracelet.

As his spirit traveled beyond his body, passing through the woods and the pitch-black mountain rocks, a cave dwelling indeed appeared before him. It was rough, narrow, and small, with the stone walls covered in marks from blade energy, clearly excavated in haste.

In the very center sat a meditation cushion, and a middle-aged man in black robes was sitting cross-legged, toying with the jade bracelet in his hands.

This man had a somewhat cold and sinister appearance, wore a short beard, and possessed the cultivation of the second level of Qi Refining. He looked outside from time to time with worry, his expression still lingering with fear, though it was unknown what he was afraid of.

Seeing the jade bracelet in this man's hand, Li Yuanjiao understood everything, and he thought to himself:

"There really is a problem..."

The cultivator was wearing ordinary clothes, revealing nothing. Li Yuanjiao secretly memorized his face, then circled the mountain peak once more, finding no traces of anyone else.

Suppressing the urge to strike this man with a blast of Taiyin Profound Light, Li Yuanjiao slowly withdrew his hand. Just as he was preparing to descend back into the mountains, he stopped as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"Why not take this opportunity to see what the situation is like beneath the Fei family's grand formation!"

Li Yuanjiao pondered for a few breaths, then rode the wind and rose. The magic mirror could not be stored in a storage bag, so he had to hide it carefully in his bosom, concealing his figure as he flew over the lake.

The waves on the lake were rolling. Li Yuanjiao flew for a short while, found a small islet near the north shore, sat cross-legged, brought out the magic mirror again, and closed his eyes to concentrate.

Crossing the lake water at the shore, the north shore's earth veins were towering. As the terrain climbed, Li Yuanjiao caught sight of the chaotic Fei family territory.

Over a dozen town settlements were filled with smoke and fire; flames and magic light intertwined, and streaks of demon Qi rose up. Dark magic power flowed, and it was extremely noisy. He could even see several cultivators fighting each other, the brilliance of magic treasures constantly colliding in the air.

The demon creatures from Great Lishan and Zhao Guo also took advantage of this opportunity, like hungry wolves catching a scent, wantonly eating and capturing people. These Qi Condensation cultivators could barely protect themselves, let alone eliminate demons.

"The Fei family is also a long-standing noble clan; at least the itinerant cultivators passing through dare not make a move, otherwise the situation would be even worse."

He only took a brief look before turning toward the grand formation that was flashing with white light, shrouding the towering Hanyun Peak. It was indeed ancient, with numerous complex and primitive formation patterns; it was said that it could even defend against Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Li Yuanjiao tentatively bumped against it, and his vision suddenly brightened; he passed through the Fei family's clan-protecting grand formation as if it were nothing.

Hanyun Peak was shrouded in clouds and mist, rich in spiritual energy, covered in pines and cypresses, with white snow fluttering. The snowflakes drifting in the sky and the scattered paper money intertwined, covering the entire mountain range in white. White silk ribbons were tied in the courtyards, drifting lightly in the wind.

A row of houses had collapsed at the foot of the peak. There was no sign of anyone, and it was empty. Deep sword marks appeared in the ruins, and sharp sword energy surged out, shattering the snowflakes into pieces.

Li Yuanjiao silently raised his field of vision and saw a handsome young man in mourning clothes kneeling on the ground in the highest courtyard. He was only at the peak of Qi Condensation, and he was surrounded by a group of clan uncles and elders, all with sorrowful expressions.

"Tongyu... this grand formation has been running for half a year; the family really cannot afford this consumption..."

"That's right! Tongyu... the Clan Master left behind a rich family fortune, but it cannot withstand such consumption from you..."

"You kneel in the ancestral hall every day, but you don't know that spirit stones are being spent like flowing water..."

Snowflakes fell one after another. The young man kneeling in the center of the courtyard, dressed in mourning clothes, was handsome and extraordinary. His originally calm face was full of grief and anxiety. He gritted his teeth and said nothing.

This person had also attended Li Yuanjiao's wedding. Li Yuanjiao remembered him; he was the Fei family's young master, Fei Tongyu. His cultivation had improved, and he had reached the peak of Qi Condensation.

Passing over this group of people, Li Yuanjiao raised his head to look at the memorial tablet at the top.

"Tablet of the late filial Fei, courtesy name Wangbai, Lord of the Prefecture, born in the Jade Underworld."

The candlelight flickered, making the characters on the pale golden tablet look particularly glaring. A pitch-black coffin was placed in the courtyard covered in snow. Li Yuanjiao identified it carefully, his heart filled with horror:

"Fei Wangbai... is dead."

The corpse in the coffin had its eyes tightly closed, its face looking as it did in life, but the head and body were separated, with a white cloth covering the neck to hide that terrifying wound.

"Fei Wangbai... really is dead."

A dignified Foundation Establishment immortal cultivator, the only genius in the Fei family to break through to Foundation Establishment in a hundred years, the one who silently pushed the Yu family from its peak and led the Fei family to stand tall at Wangyue Lake—Fei Wangbai—had actually died silently on his own immortal mountain.

(End of chapter)