Chapter 125: Great Yuantie

“One hundred and twenty spirit stones?”

Li Xuanfeng touched the storage bag at his waist, feeling a bit awkward. The spirit stones he had brought from home were less than that amount. With his pockets rather empty, he hesitated to speak, but Liu Changdie smiled and said, “That’s just the market price. If I, Changdie, handle it, one hundred spirit stones will suffice.”

“Is that truly so?”

Li Xuanfeng’s face immediately lit up with a mix of surprise and doubt. Looking at Liu Changdie’s confident demeanor, he wondered internally, “Twenty spirit stones is no small sum; it’s equivalent to three to five years of my family’s income, or the entire liquid capital of an ordinary Qi Condensation cultivator. Although array masters are usually wealthy, they aren’t typically so generous! Is this person trying to befriend my family… It seems Uncle Ji is truly influential within the sect. That Moon Lake Peak disciple personally came down to befriend me, and now this Liu Changdie is eagerly trying to curry favor with my family.”

So he had a clear idea. His family urgently needed this mountain-protecting array, and this young man was also an array master. The Li family would undoubtedly need to invite him to construct arrays in the future, and befriending him would benefit both of them. Seeing Liu Changdie nod repeatedly, understanding what the man sought, Li Xuanfeng smiled and said, “The Li family will remember this kindness. If this matter is completed, then in the future, whenever you travel to Moon Lake, you are welcome to stay at my Li family’s residence! Allow my Li family to extend its hospitality.”

Liu Changdie had been waiting for Li Xuanfeng’s words. He was immediately overjoyed, nodding repeatedly, and confidently declared with a smile, “Naturally! In the future, if your esteemed family has any array-setting needs, feel free to come find me! There won’t be lower prices anywhere else in the entire Lixia Commandery than what I offer.”

Each with their own thoughts, both were quite satisfied. One had, through mere words, secured a low-cost array master for his family. The other had successfully placed a bet on the Li family while they were still relatively weak. Both pleased with the outcome, they found themselves more agreeable to each other, while Xiao Yongling, standing by, became an unwitting backdrop, still smiling as he sipped his tea.

“I will go prepare the materials now, Brother Xuanfeng, please wait a moment. I’ll be right back!”

After speaking, Liu Changdie bowed to both of them and flew off on the wind. The two remaining men drank tea together on the peak for a while. Xiao Yongling smiled as he watched the contemplative Li Xuanfeng, and spoke, “This person knows a great deal about your esteemed family!”

“Indeed… I’m also puzzled,” Li Xuanfeng nodded, answering, “My family elders are not talkative people, and by rights, Uncle Ji wouldn’t spread such matters. Although Liu Changdie’s array cultivation is astonishing, his conduct and speech are only average. It’s just that Uncle Ji had already returned to the sect by the time I was born, so I’m not very familiar with the intricacies, making it hard to discern.”

After listening to Li Xuanfeng, Xiao Yongling pondered for a few breaths, then set down his teacup and smiled. “It’s simply clear that this person genuinely wants to befriend you, and your Li family can make use of him. Both families can simply get what they need.”

“That’s what I was thinking as well,” Li Xuanfeng nodded in agreement. The two chatted about other things as dusk slowly fell. Liu Changdie finally landed on the peak, bowed to both of them, and enthusiastically said, “Without further ado, let’s depart!”

Li Xuanfeng also stood up to bid farewell. Xiao Yongling smiled, looked at him, and instructed, “Xuanfeng, don’t forget the jade slip I’m bringing back for Brother Tongya!”

Li Xuanfeng repeatedly agreed. The two bid farewell to Xiao Yongling, took flight on the wind, and headed west. They flew for several hours under the night sky, chatting and laughing as they passed through various families’ territories, finally landing in Lijing Mountain.

As soon as they landed, Liu Changdie curiously looked around for a while, his expression a little excited, and he thought to himself, “At this time, Li Tongya, the Moon Gate Sword, should not have reached Foundation Establishment yet. I wonder if he’s in the mountain. It would be best if I could meet him!” He looked up and saw a young man, appearing to be in his twenties, emerge from the house door. The young man looked surprised, glanced at the two of them, and bowed, “I am Li Xuanxuan of the Li family. Greetings, fellow Daoist.”

“No need for formalities. I am Liu Changdie from Lixia Commandery. Greetings, fellow Daoist!” Liu Changdie bowed and intently observed the man before him, finding him quite similar to Li Yuanjiao in his memory.

“This is Liu Changdie, the array master from the Commandery. He has come this time to construct an array for us,” Li Xuanfeng explained. Li Xuanxuan suddenly understood. He politely invited them into the courtyard, offered tea, and quickly said, “I will go invite my second uncle!”

“Oh?” Just as Liu Changdie arrived at the back mountain, Lu Jiangxian let out a soft 'oh,' set down the formless mass of Lunar Essence in his hand, dispersed his physical form, and transformed into an invisible and formless divine sense from the mirror, circling around Liu Changdie for a moment.

“There’s… a trace of talisman energy.” With a sweep of his divine sense, Liu Changdie’s six chakras and three apertures were laid bare as if undefended. From the Xuanjing Chakra to the Lingchu Chakra, every detail was visible, yet there was nothing unusual.

“How very strange!” Lu Jiangxian frowned slightly and pointed sharply at Liu Changdie. His divine sense instantly surged into Liu Changdie’s Shengyang Mansion, the seat of the main soul. Immediately, a fleeting image appeared before him, a faint silver shadow.

“The Great Evolution Celestial Talisman.” Lu Jiangxian sensed it, looking at each bright silver seal character, and slowly read aloud, “It evolves the future, calculates mysteries, predicts past connections and subsequent events, and governs unresolved matters…”

This Great Evolution Celestial Talisman was not within Liu Changdie’s body. Rather, Liu Changdie had likely come into contact with it and been influenced by it. Lu Jiangxian mobilized the remnant talisman energy within him, and a series of images immediately appeared before his eyes. Among them were crying commoners, great disasters and locust plagues, the extermination of immortal clans, and the rampant spread of demonic plagues. All these things seemed logical and real, as if Liu Changdie had truly experienced them, then awoken from a long dream and returned to his twenties or thirties.

“The Great Evolution Celestial Talisman had fabricated over seventy years of memories for him. Everything within them was a deduction made by the Talisman based on present events, not Liu Changdie truly having traveled back in time or having his timeline disrupted. If it involved temporal power, talisman energy alone likely couldn’t achieve it!” Even the Lu Jiangxian of several centuries ago might not have been able to disrupt time, let alone mere talisman energy. Lu Jiangxian gently gathered this remnant power, clenching it in his hand, leaving only a fleeting image within Liu Changdie’s Shengyang Mansion.

“Consider this memory your good fortune. This power of deduction was originally mine, so I shall reclaim it.” Although Lu Jiangxian’s divine sense was powerful, he lacked sufficient skill, let alone the ability to modify others’ memories. If not for the residual talisman energy in the Shengyang Mansion, he wouldn’t even have been able to view others’ memories, let alone interfere with Liu Changdie. Since his own figure was not present in these memories, he let them be. “However, there was no trace of talisman energy in this person’s memories, so I didn’t know where it had been encountered. Such mystical talisman energy would require at least a Golden Core stage cultivation to utilize, and it would be best if he could acquire it.”

As Lu Jiangxian’s divine sense withdrew, Liu Changdie suddenly felt a chill down his spine, as if a cold wind had brushed his face. The teacup in his hand trembled, yet he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.

Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanfeng, who were beside him, suddenly stood up together, bowing their heads respectfully. Liu Changdie looked up and saw a middle-aged man walking into the courtyard from outside. This middle-aged man was simply dressed in a practical gray robe. His eyebrows were gentle and long, his cheeks thin, and his shoulders broad. His countenance exuded the mature composure of a middle-aged man, with a grand and distant aura. A sword hung at his waist, hidden within its sheath, its form unseen.

Liu Changdie quickly stood up and respectfully bowed, “Liu Changdie of Lixia Commandery greets Senior!”

Li Tongya raised an eyebrow, looked at him, nodded slightly, and smiled, “You are too kind, Sir!”

Li Tongya walked to the seat of honor and sat down. Only then did Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanfeng sit, sitting upright and not daring to relax. Liu Changdie, having met a renowned figure from his past life’s memories, was both excited and reserved. Li Tongya observed for a moment, seeing that this person’s cultivation was only at the second level of Qi Condensation, appearing to be in his late twenties, yet his demeanor was old-fashioned, and he immediately addressed him as ‘Senior.’ He thought to himself, “Xuanfeng is not one to act carelessly. Yet this person is so young. He must have some talent in array formation. He appears very reserved, completely lacking the arrogance of youth. Could he be a young man with old-fashioned wisdom?”

He chuckled softly and said gently, “How do you intend to arrange this array for my family, Sir?”