Chapter 130: Getting the News

"Oh?" Li Tongya looked up at Lu Sisi, who was speaking with a face full of greed.

"The resources on this island in the lake rightfully belong to us families who live by the lake! This is a free enterprise; we can't let these rogue cultivators simply snatch it away!"

"I intend to gather the surrounding An family. Together, we'll wipe out this rogue cultivator fleet and take over their business! Whichever family's mortals enter the formation will be assigned to that family. What do you think, Brother Tongya?"

Li Tongya sat in the main seat. Suddenly, images of the piled-up corpses that had blocked the roads on his return from Gu Li Dao years ago flashed before his eyes. He paused, setting down his teacup, then glanced at Lu Sisi and chuckled.

"Does the Yu family want to engage in this free enterprise? Do the families on the other side of the lake? If Senior Lu can't account for all the families surrounding this lake, taking on this business will simply mean doing the legwork for others."

At these words, Lu Sisi immediately faltered. He had rushed over excitedly after spotting the fleet on the lake, without much forethought. He then offered a sheepish smile.

"Brother Tongya, you're always so thoughtful! This old man was too hasty..."

Lu Sisi reluctantly set down his teacup and racked his brain for conversation topics with Li Tongya. However, finding no traction, he dejectedly took his leave.

"The old man is nearing his end, and his mind isn't as sharp... This island in the lake has been plundered countless times by Foundation Establishment cultivators of all types. I doubt one could find much of value from the Fetal Breath realm there now; it would be a pointless waste of effort..."

After seeing Lu Sisi off, Li Tongya was filled with gloom. He picked up his teacup, then set it down, a bitter smile on his face.

"You look at these Purple Mansions with such awe and dread, their fates dictated by a single thought from another! But don't these mortals regard your families and sects with the same fear, subject to your whims? The world's ugliness has always flowed from top to bottom, making it utterly meaningless!"

With that, Li Tongya shook his head, secretly questioning himself:

"If our family didn't possess this magic artifact that condenses spiritual energy from mortal incense offerings, could the Li family have persevered in defending the four towns against Ganixi's overwhelming forces back then...?"

Startled, he pushed these thoughts aside. Li Tongya understood that before the powerful Purple Mansions, the Li family was still but an ant. This was not the time for such contemplation. He calculated the dates according to the methods outlined in the *Sacrificial Rites*, realizing the time for offering sacrifices to the spiritual artifact and condensing spiritual energy was approaching. He could now prepare a few younger family members for this process.

"I could visit that fox again and inquire about some Qi-refining demonic beasts with no discernible background to use for the sacrifices."

Li Tongya left the courtyard, riding the wind. He followed the mountain ridges for a while, and, guided by memory, found a large banyan tree with pale leaves standing on a hillside beneath a cliff.

The White Banyan Fox lay beneath the tree, its feet curled up and its head tilted back. Seeing Li Tongya land nearby, it spoke lazily:

"Brother Tongya, what brings you to my humble abode?"

The fox had met Li Tongya many times over the past three years, and they were well acquainted. It took the spiritual rice from Li Tongya's hand, stuffing it into its mouth. Its fox eyes narrowed comfortably, and as usual, it began to recount the happenings in the mountains over the past few months.

"I hear a sword immortal has appeared on Green Wheat Peak, scaring that old pig so badly he hasn't dared to leave his home for months. He was so arrogant when Si Yuanbai was in seclusion! Now he's a coward, afraid of becoming a whetstone for Si Yuanbai's disciples."

Li Tongya paused, surprised.

"Your information is incredibly well-informed!"

"Haha, naturally!"

The fox wagged its tail, speaking mysteriously:

"My nineteenth cousin's twenty-second uncle is a servant to a three-eared white fox from a den in the southern foothills of Mount Dali. I overheard it from their conversations. That Venerable Three-Eared White Fox is incredibly powerful; he just needs to lie near the county border and listen, and all the chatter about Fetal Breath and Qi refinement reaches his ears..."

"A Foundation Establishment demonic fox?"

"A Purple Mansion cultivator!"

The fox shook its head, glaring at him, and exclaimed:

"Why do you think Purple Mansions are called Great Cultivators and Great Demons? It's because a divine ability is condensed within that realm, far surpassing ordinary spells. It undergoes various profound transformations based on one's Dao foundation—it's truly formidable!"

Li Tongya quickly committed these words to memory, feeling that this bag of spiritual rice had already been well worth it. He patted the fox's head, making it curl slightly, and shook his head, saying:

"I'm just a Qi Refinement cultivator; I might not even reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime. No matter how powerful it is, it won't concern me."

"However, my younger brother has already reached Foundation Establishment. If he returns from the Southern Wilderness, breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm within a hundred years should be no problem for him."

A faint smile touched his lips, and he chuckled softly:

"If I'm lucky enough to live long, I might even witness the day he ascends to the Purple Mansion realm."

The fox pursed its lips and squeaked:

"That would be good, but don't end up like Yu Yuxie. He had such an excellent Dao foundation, cultivated from the Lunar Moon Essence, only to be forcibly turned into a medicinal ingredient for a great flood dragon!"

These words exploded like thunder in Li Tongya's ears. His mind went blank with shock and alarm; he leaped from the ground, exclaiming:

"What did you say?!"

The fox had never seen him react this way. Its fur bristled, and it scrambled backward, stammering:

"Yu...Yu...Yuxie..."

Li Tongya's expression was panicked. He took a long breath to compose himself, then slapped his storage bag, tossing a large bag of spiritual rice before him. He spoke in as calm a tone as possible:

"Tell me about this Yu Yuxie."

The fox didn't dare touch the spiritual rice. It squeaked twice and replied:

"When I... when I was serving my master, I heard that this person obtained a Lunar Moon Essence on Moonlight Lake and forged a Dao foundation called the 'White Jade Disk.' I also saw him venture into these mountains, his twin swords repeatedly driving back many demons. He later died in the Southern Wilderness."

"Later, I heard that because the Dao foundation forged from the Lunar Moon Essence was extraordinarily miraculous, the Azure Pool Sect gave it to a great flood dragon in the Southern Wilderness to be refined into a medicinal pill... It seems the Azure Pool Sect has done this more than once..."

Li Tongya swayed and sank to the ground, his face pale as he stared silently at the scattered spiritual rice. Hearing these words, coupled with the Azure Pool Sect's notorious practices and Li Chijing's failure to send a single letter for over a decade, all the suspicions in his heart and the Xiao family's veiled hints converged into a grim reality. He pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

The fox, seeing him with his head bowed and silent, became flustered. It carefully gathered a handful of spiritual rice from the ground into the bag, licked its fur, and then lowered its own head, staring at the ground, not daring to speak.

Li Tongya composed himself, looking at the fox huddled in fear before him, and said hoarsely:

"Thank you for this information, fellow Daoist. This spiritual rice is your compensation."

With that, he rose on the wind, like a meteor, and sped towards Lijing Mountain, ignoring the fox below that called out, chasing a few steps, and then said blankly:

"This isn't worth *that* much spiritual rice!"

Upon reaching Lijing Mountain, Li Tongya passed through the shimmering Sun-Rite Profound Light Formation and proceeded to the back courtyard. He pushed open the stone chamber's door, respectfully retrieved the spiritual artifact, and immersed his spiritual consciousness within it. Indeed, he saw two glowing, perfectly round talisman seeds.

Lu Jiangxian's divine consciousness emerged, quietly observing him. To prevent Li Tongya from becoming suspicious, Lu Jiangxian concealed the three newly formed talisman seeds. He watched the middle-aged man's face, pale and lips tightly pursed, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

It was a long moment before Li Tongya finally recovered, his face abruptly regaining color as tears began to stream down. He tightened the sword at his waist and cried out mournfully:

"Jing'er! Oh, Jing'er—!"

Tears streamed down the middle-aged man's cheeks. He let out a choked cry, his fingers turning white as he clutched them, and sobbed:

"What a... what a cruel fate..."

His cautious nature, however, made him stop abruptly. Li Tongya wept for several breaths, then coughed up a mouthful of blood, finally clearing his dizzy mind. Wiping away the blood, he respectfully returned the spiritual artifact to its stone platform.

After respectfully bowing his head, Li Tongya wiped away his tears and walked out of the ancestral hall. He took a deep breath and muttered:

"Jing'er... oh, Jing'er... Your father and brothers misjudged Si Yuanbai, pushing you into a fiery pit... Your second brother has wronged you."

His long sword tightly gripped, Li Tongya recalled Li Chijing's annual letters and the cultivation methods he exchanged and sent home, as well as the five spirit stones he saved through frugality. His heart grew even more sorrowful, and he whispered:

"Your second brother will remember this grudge... Jing'er..."