Chapter 77

Li Xiangping lowered his head and smiled. Just as he was about to answer, he saw Li Yesheng enter the cave respectfully, so he turned his head and said:

"What is it?"

Li Yesheng said in a low voice:

The two were stunned and put down their teacups. Li Xiangping's expression was complex, and he said softly:

"Are there any among these people with spiritual apertures?"

"Qiuyang went to look. He said the leader is at the first layer of Qi Condensation, the Mysterious Scene Wheel, and the rest are all commoners."

Li Yesheng responded in a low voice. Li Xiangping at the head remained silent for a few breaths before saying in a deep voice:

"Scatter these Wan family people and arrange them into the various villages. Distribute some land to those in their teens to form households on their own. Children under ten will be fostered in the academy first, and those even younger will be fostered in other families."

"As for the leader, bring him up to see me first."

————

Wan Tianjue hid in the mountains with a group of children for a night. Seeing the formation on Huaqian Mountain collapse with a roar, he finally gave up hope. Remembering what his clan uncle had said when sending him down the mountain, he wiped his tears and stumbled toward the west.

He walked silently, his heart dead as ash. The children, big and small, behind him had been instructed by their families before leaving, so they didn't make a fuss, walking quietly, making the occasional sobbing sound even more desolate.

This Li family cultivator looked to be in his early twenties and was called Li Qiuyang. He was a concubine-born cultivator of the Li family. He spoke politely and was also sorrowful when he heard about the Wan family's affairs. While leading Wan Tianjue to Meichi Mountain, he chatted with him in a low voice.

"Have you cultivated?"

Li Qiuyang asked softly. The third layer of Qi Condensation was the Cycle Wheel. He had been at this stage for two or three years but had yet to find the opportunity to break through. There were few cultivators in the family to compare with, so he wanted to see what Wan Tianjue's cultivation was like.

"I have entered the immortal path and am now at the Mysterious Scene Wheel."

Looking at Wan Tianjue, who looked to be fourteen or fifteen, Li Qiuyang felt relieved and secretly thought:

"Not everyone cultivates as fast as Li Xuanxuan. Cultivating for seven years, becoming the third layer of Qi Condensation at fourteen or fifteen."

The Li family's efficiency was very fast. Wan Tianjue had only chatted with Li Qiuyang for a few sentences when a middle-aged man with a dignified air came to lead him up the mountain. He lowered his head and followed the stone path up the mountain, seeing the middle-aged man bow respectfully and lead him into the cave.

Wan Tianjue raised his eyebrows slightly and glanced. He saw a middle-aged man wearing a robe sitting in the center of the main hall, reading with his head lowered.

"Family Head, this is the person."

Hearing the sound, the middle-aged man raised his head, his long eyebrows raised lightly, and those hawk-like eyes collided straight with Wan Tianjue's gaze. For a moment, Wan Tianjue was frightened and lost his footing, hurriedly lowering his head to kneel, terrified in his heart, secretly calling out:

"This person doesn't look like an ordinary figure. He must be the Li family head."

Li Xiangping nodded and stood up, gently putting down the bamboo slip, and looked at Wan Tianjue quietly.

Wan Tianjue was sweating profusely, but heard a gentle voice from above:

"Raise your head."

Wan Tianjue felt as if he had been granted amnesty. He raised his head and found that beside the Li family head stood another person, who looked gentle and scholarly, wearing a precious sword at his waist and holding a cyan-green talisman pen, looking at him with a smile.

"What is your name?"

The middle-aged man in the main seat finally spoke. Wan Tianjue remained silent for a few breaths. Sorrow and hatred surged in his heart, and he gritted his teeth:

"Wan Tianchou! My name is Wan Tianchou!"

Li Xiangping nodded and chatted with him about the details of that night on Huaqian Mountain. Only then did he wave away Wan Tianchou and Li Yesheng, looked at Li Tongya, and said lightly:

"Cowardly and lacking strategy, but has some loyalty. He can be used, but he is far inferior to Wan Tiancang."

Li Tongya shook his head with a smile and said softly:

"Only Wan Xiaohua and Wan Tiancang were worth fearing in the Wan family. If either of them could have escaped, the Wan family would still have a chance to make a comeback. Unfortunately, they both died on Huaqian Mountain."

Li Xiangping waved his hand and said in a deep voice:

"Unless the ancestor Wan Huaqian can crawl out of the dirt, the Wan family's destruction is a foregone conclusion. Let's consider future matters!"

"Is Second Brother prepared to break through to the sixth layer of Qi Condensation, the Initial Wheel?"

Li Tongya nodded and replied:

Pouring a cup of clear tea, Li Xiangping swept away the bamboo slips on the table, picked up a pen to make marks on the cloth, and said in a deep voice:

"Second Brother is about to break through to the sixth layer of Qi Condensation, the Initial Wheel, and I also have the opportunity to impact the fifth layer of Qi Condensation. The rest—Second Sister-in-law, Li Qiuyang, and Xuanxuan—are all at the third layer of Qi Condensation. Wan Tianchou is at the first layer of Qi Condensation, plus Feng'er and Chen Donghe, who have just stepped onto the immortal path."

"Not counting Jing'er, my Li family's strength is now about the same as the Wan family's back then."

"Not bad."

Li Tongya nodded, but remembered another thing and said in a low voice:

"I fear it's nothing good."

Li Xiangping pondered for a few breaths and replied:

"Although we haven't sent anyone to find the shadow of the Shanyue, the Shanyue tribes once appeared in the west. I fear they are the ones playing tricks, so we must be extra careful."

"I have ordered people to investigate deeply, hoping to get some news."

Li Tongya put away the talisman ink, chatted with Li Xiangping, and walked out of the cave toward Lijing Mountain.

————

Lu Jiangxian organized the many pieces of information that appeared in his mind. His spiritual sense wandered out, seeing the familiar stone table and skylight.

There was no major change in the cracks on his mirror surface, but a circle of white, glowing lines had appeared on the mirror body. The white Qi in the jade pendant didn't help the Taiyin Mysterious Light grow, but brought new abilities to the magic mirror.

The mirror body could use the talisman Qi obtained from the "Sacrificial Extraction and Origin Seizing Method" combined with Taiyin Moon Essence to condense a talisman elixir. A cultivator could only consume one per major realm, which could break through barriers and advance cultivation, depending on the amount of talisman Qi in the elixir. If there was a lot, it would also have miraculous effects on Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion cultivators.

However, like the Mysterious Pearl talisman seed, consuming this elixir would secretly leave a talisman seal in the host's Mansion of Life, the place of the soul, increasing the host's speed of breathing and gathering spiritual energy. When the host died, it would exhaust their essence and Qi, converting it into talisman Qi to feed back to the mirror body.

"The magic mirror's style is as always, making the best use of everything..."

Lu Jiangxian couldn't help but sigh, feeling a bit helpless in his heart.

He had obtained this "Sacrificial Extraction and Origin Seizing Method" a few years ago, but because the conditions were harsh, he hadn't been able to extract talisman Qi for a long time. He could only wait until Li Tongya broke through to Qi Condensation to give it a try. ===== CHAPTER 78 =====