Chapter 338: Generations of Ancestors

"This!"

As soon as Wang Xun said this, both brothers were stunned and secretly clicked their tongues. After all, Wang Xun was a descendant of a Jin Dan cultivator; the spiritual roots in his eyes were on an entirely different level from those of the Li family.

The Li family's Snake-Dragon Treasure Tree was merely between the Embryonic Breathing and Qi Refining stages, while Wang Xun's offering was already at the Foundation Establishment level. This immediately silenced the two of them. He, appearing completely oblivious, explained:

Li Li Yuanjiao was immediately tempted upon hearing this. Staring at the red-yellow, almond-sized fruit pit, his heart stirred, and he mused:

For a great clan like the Xiao family, there were countless spiritual elixirs and medicines. As long as one still had a breath left, the chances of survival—whether to preserve one's cultivation or one's life—were much higher.

Watching the two men lost in thought, Wang Xun smiled slightly.

"As for the Yuan-Consolidating Elixir, my Wang clan has them, and even better elixirs exist. It's just that those things are useless to me, so I haven't brought them with me. I only have a few bottles of Yuan-Consolidating Elixirs used for rewards."

After speaking, he took a jade bottle from his storage bag and flicked his finger. An elixir flew out, snow-white and crystalline, with a pleasant, refreshing fragrance. Wang Xun said with a smile:

"This Yuan-Consolidating Elixir is full of medicinal potency and is by no means an inferior product. You two may examine it. However, to exchange it for just these few pills—I fear my family would say I am bullying the small with the big and using power to suppress others. That would likely be inappropriate."

The Yuan-Consolidating Elixir could increase the possibility of Foundation Establishment upon first consumption and was also an excellent elixir for cultivation. It was not inherently scarce, and the materials required for refining it were not particularly expensive. However, because the elixir formulas and materials were monopolized by the Three Sects and Seven Gates and were only used to reward disciples, it was quite rare in the Yue Kingdom.

Li Brother Yuanping just watched carefully, feeling the room filled with fragrance. When Li Li Yuanjiao saw this medicine, his eyes widened, and he was struck by a sudden, chilling fear. His back went cold, and he blurted out:

"This is a Yuan-Consolidating Elixir?!!"

It was not that the Li family had never seen a Suiyuan Elixir; Li Li Tongya had taken one years ago, and there were records of it in the clan. Li Brother Yuanping was not skilled in cultivation and did not study such things often, so he did not know, but Li Li Yuanjiao had read and memorized everything.

The Yuan-Consolidating Elixir the Li family had obtained was white, with gray markings on it, curled in shape. Taking a single breath of it made one dizzy and dazzled. The Yuan-Consolidating Elixir before him was bright and lustrous, smooth and delicate, like a jade bead, filling the room with fragrance—it was completely different.

He was deeply shocked, speechless for a moment, with only one terrifying question remaining in his mind:

"If this is a Yuan-Consolidating Elixir... then what was the one the Old Ancestor took back then?!"

Wang Xun stared at Li Li Yuanjiao with a thoughtful look and moved the small cup on the table.

"The Yuan-Consolidator is meant to 'take its essence and remove its floating ornaments.' The main ingredient is the Lanhu Spiritual Grass, supplemented by twelve other auxiliary medicines, cultivated with the lower three fires..."

Wang Xun seemed to understand pharmacology and alchemy. He muttered in a slow, deliberate manner while watching Li Li Yuanjiao's expression. Li Li Yuanjiao realized what was happening, felt a chill run down his spine, and said in a low voice:

"Senior, if there were gray markings on the elixir, it was curled, the spiritual energy was overwhelming, and the medicinal effect was similar to the Yuan-Consolidator—Senior, do you recognize what kind of elixir that might be?"

"Gray markings?"

Wang Xun pondered for a breath, his expression becoming somewhat cold, and he whispered:

"In the Jiangnan region, there are many mixed arts of 'different mansions in the same furnace,' fond of using human blood and energy as medicine. Mortals are linked with spiritual energy, hence the markings. It is simply using the essence of others to make elixirs! The quantity and quality of medicine produced by this method far exceed ordinary elixirs; it is the art of 'different mansions in the same furnace.'"

"If the markings are gray, it means they even used some kind of immortal foundation. It is mostly used by the direct descendants of the Demon Sect. Taking it causes cultivation to soar, and the medicinal effect is astonishing."

Although the voice was not loud, it exploded like a thunderclap. Li Li Yuanjiao retreated a step in a daze, looking at the person before him in disbelief. A breath was stuck in his chest, and he said in a muffled voice:

"Thank you, Senior! We will choose the spiritual root!"

He agreed with his mouth, but in his mind, he finally had a sudden realization. Most of the doubts in his heart were resolved, and he became increasingly terrified:

"Great-uncle once said: he had mediocre talent and thought Foundation Establishment was a matter of nine deaths and one life, but he didn't expect it to be smooth sailing. So it was... so it was... there was a problem with the elixir?!"

"So that's why... no wonder Great-uncle's Foundation Establishment was so easy back then! No wonder... That's it. To make Great-uncle a bait for Jinlian Mohe, he had to succeed in Foundation Establishment. If he failed and died, Jinlian Mohe would certainly have gone elsewhere to seek that destiny, and the bait would have been lost..."

Wang Xun continued to chat with Li Brother Yuanping, took out a jade box, stored the Heavenly Spiritual Root, handed it to Li Brother Yuanping, and whispered:

Li Li Yuanjiao listened blankly as the two exchanged polite words, and he left the side courtyard without realizing it. He was still unaware of his surroundings, and Wang Xun's words continued to echo in his mind:

"In Jiangnan, there are many mixed arts of 'different mansions in the same furnace,' fond of using blood as medicine, hence the markings. Perhaps it is using the essence of others to make elixirs..."

Wang Xun spoke vaguely, but his eyes and hints were extremely obvious. What "essence as elixir"—to put it bluntly, it was human elixir! It used the blood and essence obtained from slaughtering year after year!

He walked into the main hall in a daze. Li Brother Yuanping looked at his elder brother with a face full of worry and called out repeatedly. Li Li Yuanjiao seemed to wake from a dream and hurriedly took off the storage bag at his waist.

Li Li Yuanjiao's gaze was grave, his face ugly. He tapped his storage bag lightly, taking out several jade bottles, which clattered as they spilled across the table. Ignoring everything else, he picked one up and poured it into his palm:

This elixir was the most common 【Jade Bud Elixir】 of the Qi Refining stage. Most of it flowed out from the Cloud Elixir Peak of the Mount Qingchi Sect. The quality of the Mount Qingchi Sect's elixirs was exceptionally good, and they were highly regarded by rogue cultivators, so they were very easy to recognize.

This Jade Bud Elixir was a pale yellow color, and nothing peculiar could be seen on the surface. Li Li Yuanjiao swept his spiritual sense over it repeatedly until he finally discovered faint, curled patterns.

The alchemist's methods were exquisite, making these markings almost imperceptible, and because they had no color, they were even less conspicuous.

Li Li Yuanjiao's eyes were slightly red. He hurriedly poured out the entire string of elixirs from his storage bag and searched for a while before finding the Snake Origin Elixir that Xiao Xiao Yuansi had refined for the Li family last year. He hurriedly poured it into his palm:

This elixir was pale red and a size smaller than the previous one, but its surface was smooth and round. Li Li Yuanjiao turned it over and over more than a dozen times, yet he could not find a single pattern.

"Sure enough! Sure enough! No wonder the Mount Qingchi Sect collects blood and resentment every year. Most of this blood must have been used here!"

"The Mount Qingchi Sect releases thousands of elixirs every year for sustenance. More than half of the Yue Kingdom is supplied by them alone... How many are circulating on the market?"

Li Li Yuanjiao slowly closed his eyes. Even among the Li family, who hadn't taken elixirs? Only a few of the Xi-generation people had just stepped onto the path of cultivation and had never taken medicine...

Li Brother Yuanping, seeing his brother's inexplicable behavior, was extremely anxious. Li Li Yuanjiao spoke in a low, heavy voice:

"Ping-di, all the elixirs released by the Mount Qingchi Sect are refined from the blood of mortals... It's just that the techniques are high-level, removing the resentment and leaving only the blood and essence, which is equivalent to a medicinal ingredient, making it impossible for people to detect..."

"The one Great-uncle took back then was not a Yuan-Consolidating Elixir at all. The Chi family knew that Lord Chi Jing would never take that elixir but would leave it to our family. It was specially refined using someone else's immortal foundation... It might even... be 'Vast Sea'!"

After Li Li Yuanjiao carefully explained his deduction, Li Brother Yuanping stood frozen in place, staring at his brother for several breaths without speaking. He slowly sat down at the head of the table, his eyes filled with confusion, and muttered:

"Eaten, everyone has eaten. How many cultivators in the Yue Kingdom don't eat elixirs..."

"The Mount Qingchi Sect has been around for five hundred years. Rogue cultivators, sect cultivators, clan cultivators—some knew, some didn't. Generations of ancestors began eating them. I ate them, Father ate them, the ancestors ate them."

"You and I are also people who eat people, the disciples and grandchildren of people who eat people."

After a long time, he digested this shocking news and said with a trembling voice:

"In Brother's view... do the few great clans know?"

"I don't know."

Li Li Yuanjiao shook his head low, saying with a complex expression:

"The Yuan family is hard to say, but Xiao Xiao Yuansi is a gentleman; he certainly doesn't know about this. As for the Xiao family, having dominated for many years—if you say that one doesn't know, I absolutely don't believe it."

————

Top of Mount Mount Lijing.

Li Li Qinghong's fair, slender hands slowly clenched. The blue-gray mirror surface vaguely reflected her beautiful features. The spiritual sense amplified by the magic mirror covered far more than just the entire Mount Lijing Town; she heard the two men's conversation clearly.

"So... that's how it is."

She recalled the few elixirs she had taken, not knowing how many men and women, children and elderly had been used for that blood energy, and felt a wave of nausea. Lu Lu Jiangxian, standing to the side, was stunned, his heart skipping a beat.

"Mount Qingchi Sect... what kind of trick is this! Good, now the entire Yue Kingdom, and even the entire Jiangnan, has taken these medicines..."

For a moment, he couldn't recover. Lu Lu Jiangxian, after all, had come from a society with flourishing rule of law, and he had drawn a line for the Li family in his heart:

"No slaughter, no blood sacrifice... After all, I really can't bear to watch... If the Li family also gets mixed up in this, I'll just blast them to death with a Profound Light."

"But now, how should this be counted!"

Lu Lu Jiangxian's limited knowledge was currently in the realm of witchcraft and talismans; he remained at the level of those few alchemy books and naturally couldn't recognize the problem with these elixirs.

Not to mention that when Li Li Tongya took the elixir back then, he was just a novice. If Wang Xun hadn't said it, he wouldn't have noticed the problem at all.

"Forget it, forget it. Can it be considered a crime to have eaten someone else's human-flesh bun unintentionally..."

He dove into the mirror, and the mirror shone with Profound Light, clearing the minds of the few people at the foot of the mountain, waking them from their state of inner demons and growing mental barriers.

Watching the few people gradually clear their minds, Lu Lu Jiangxian was in a dilemma again. But from now on, if the Li family knows that these elixirs are refined from blood, and they still eat them... how should that be counted...

"Logically speaking, if we ignore the past and manage it now, the flaws would be too obvious. What's more, these elixirs are refined from pure blood and won't trigger the talisman seed's warning, and it's impossible to watch the Li family every moment."

Lu Lu Jiangxian sighed low, could only shrink his body in the mirror world, and whispered:

"The world is filthy; how can one climb up cleanly? Let's take it one step at a time. Now that the Li family has its own alchemist, there is room for maneuver. Let's see how they handle it first."

————

The Li family members were shocked by the revealed news. In the side courtyard, Wang Xun had already slowly picked up the long sword in front of him, remaining motionless for a time, a look of contemplation on his face.

"This Li family can still be considered to be on the right path; it's rare under the rule of those few in Jiangnan... It's just that I don't know how long they can hold on in this turbid world..."

The young man's eyebrows lifted slightly, revealing a touch of compassion. Even his Wang family could only avoid the world; what could a mere Foundation Establishment clan accomplish?

Worldly affairs are like a torrent. Even that True Person in his own family could only preserve the clan; how could he care about so much else?

"The Heavenly Dao is flawed; we are powerless... If it weren't for the fact that my Wang family's Daoist methods have always advocated avoiding the world, I fear we would have been destroyed in that great catastrophe long ago."

Wang Xun joined his two fingers and stroked the blue-white sword lightly. The clear and bright sword light reflected his eyes—innocent, kind, and full of pain and guilt.

Although he was from a great clan, he had walked the world; he was just unfamiliar with Southern etiquette. Knowing the Li family wouldn't dare offend him, he had originally intended to just give a few elixirs to deal with it, which would also reduce his involvement in karma.

It was just that along the way, only under the Li family's rule was there laughter and strict laws. Seeing the Li family members, he felt they were all lovely, so he couldn't help but want to give them more good things, and thus he took out that Heavenly Spiritual Root and gave it back to the Li family.

"Jiangnan is truly exactly as described in the books—many parties colluding, everyone unable to help themselves. Only that Xiu-Yue Sect can be considered upright."

Thinking of this, a doubt couldn't help but rise in Wang Xun's heart, and he mused:

"That True Person is not a kind soul either, yet the Xiu-Yue Sect has been law-abiding and cautious for so many years, not daring to violate anything, guarding the rules set by the Immortal Lord. It is truly suspicious."

Thinking back and forth, he couldn't figure it out. Wang Xun was born with a sword heart and was not good at thinking about these conspiracies and tricks. He shifted his thoughts and felt the grief and sorrow in the spirituality of the Mount Qingchi Sword.

"That Li family Sword Immortal was truly wronged to death."

Wang Xun gave a wry smile. He had walked in the North. If one were to say the Northern Buddhism was dead and lifeless, year after year the same—Jinlian Mohe forever Jinlian Mohe, the lowly forever lowly—it was a scene of despair.

But Jiangnan was the exact opposite, constantly turbulent, full of framing and killing. Today someone breaks through to Qi Refining and casts a magic tool to annex another clan; tomorrow someone is killed by others, dying and having their clan destroyed. If one really had to say, it wasn't easy either.

Placing the Mount Qingchi Sword on his knees, Wang Xun performed a spell, refining strands of white sword intent, and muttered:

"But if I really had to choose, I'd rather be born in Jiangnan. At least there is a path to walk."

Three chapters! The next chapter is a two-in-one~ I'm completely drained; writing the extra chapters is giving me a headache, woo woo.

Extra chapter for the owed Alliance Master.

And:

This chapter pays tribute to Mr. Zhou...

(End of chapter)