Chapter 140: The Buck

Li Xuanxuan returned to the mountain, his heart heavy with worry. In the courtyard stood a middle-aged man, dressed simply in a functional gray robe, holding a sword and gazing distractedly at the sky.

"Uncle has emerged from seclusion!"

Li Xuanxuan's face immediately lit up with joy. Li Tongya nodded slightly and said softly, "This breakthrough went quite smoothly. I had also accumulated four years of cultivation, so reaching the sixth layer of Qi Condensation was a natural progression."

Counting the years, Li Tongya was now forty-six. Thanks to the Scroll of the Deep Sea Long Whale, he had reached the sixth layer of Qi Condensation. He was hopeful of reaching the peak of Qi Condensation before sixty, which meant there was hope for Foundation Establishment. Without the Scroll of the Deep Sea Long Whale, reaching the peak of Qi Condensation before sixty would have been genuinely difficult, and his chances of Foundation Establishment would have been even slimmer.

After all, family cultivators like them were not like disciples of major sects who could cultivate peacefully within their sect's confines. They constantly had to fight and contend with others. The older they got, the more their bodies deteriorated. Often, their Qi and blood would stagnate, or sharp and evil energies would invade their bodies. And without precious medicines or spirit elixirs for healing, their cultivation speed would consequently slow down.

"Is there anything happening at home? How is the situation at the Yu family's market?"

Li Xuanxuan quickly recounted everything, including the incident with Yu Mujian just as Li Tongya had entered seclusion. Li Tongya nodded and smiled. "This Yu Mujian is likely the most talented among all the Yu family disciples. He cultivates at home every year, dedicating himself solely to the sword. He has a pure nature. It's fortunate for him to be born into such a large family."

Li Xuanxuan nodded in agreement. Then, changing the subject with a slight smile, he said, "The Yu family's market has been open for over a month, and most of their personnel were deployed there. Then we heard that someone attacked the Yu family's main residence array in Mulin Commandery, so the Yu family had no choice but to send people back for reinforcement."

Li Tongya raised an eyebrow. Indeed, it was just as he had expected. He picked up the conversation, saying, "A simple yet effective overt scheme. I fear that as soon as they left, someone immediately launched an attack."

"You're right, Uncle!" Li Xuanxuan was also enthusiastic about this matter. He laughed, saying, "As soon as the Yu family's personnel left this side, two Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived at the market and directly attacked the array. Although the Yu family had prepared in advance and left Yu Xiaogui behind, even deploying two Foundation Establishment-level talismans to block the bandits' attacks, it still caused widespread panic. More than half of their clients fled. Furthermore, many opportunists seized the chaos to steal and plunder, leaving behind a huge mess that drove them to distraction."

Li Tongya nodded slightly. He pondered for a few breaths, then explained, "It's likely that most of these opportunists were arranged by various families. They timed it perfectly to make the Yu family suffer a great loss."

Li Xuanxuan found Li Tongya's words quite reasonable. He paused before continuing, "Although the Yu family was furious, they were helpless. They could only silently endure this loss. In the following months, the market's foot traffic dropped by more than half and has not recovered to this day."

"Did any of our family's disciples get involved?" Li Tongya asked with some apprehension. Seeing Li Xuanxuan nod, he said, "Your son remembered Uncle's instructions. I ordered the family disciples not to go out, let alone cause trouble at that market."

"Good." Li Tongya praised him, patted Li Xuanxuan's shoulder, and instructed, "Winter is approaching. I'll go into the mountains to find a few Qi Condensation demonic beasts for the sacrifice and also request a talismanic aura for a few of you."

"Yes!" Li Xuanxuan was overjoyed to hear this and repeatedly agreed. Watching Li Tongya fly away on the wind, his lips moved, but the suspicion hidden in his heart ultimately remained unspoken.

"Never mind." Li Xuanxuan lowered his head and gave a bitter smile. He walked a few steps into the courtyard and murmured, "I should talk to Jing Tian about this, to see how she recorded it. If it's not written in the family history, that would be best. If it is written, I should ask her not to include it, so that the child Yuan Jiao might have an easier time and this lineage will face less criticism and slander in the future..."

Li Tongya flew away from Lijing Mountain. The autumn leaves of Dali Mountain had all fallen, and the ground was covered in golden and reddish-brown hues. Following the mountain veins, he searched for a while. The cliffs, as he remembered them, were no longer verdant, revealing their brown surfaces.

Only the large banyan tree with its pale leaves still stood on the hillside. The fox was pushing a tattered wooden two-wheeled cart, walking around with a tilted head. The cart was full of fox cubs of various colors—white, gray, red, and pink—chirping and whimpering incessantly.

"Friend, you certainly have a lot of children." Li Tongya landed beneath the tree and let out a low chuckle. The fox drooped its head dejectedly and squeaked, "No, not at all... Winter has arrived, and food is scarce. Many foxes have died in the mountains, and most of these cubs would freeze or starve to death, so I brought them back to raise them."

Looking up at Li Tongya, the fox called out, "Three hundred and eighty li to the east, there's a deer king that has reached Qi Condensation. It's under a large locust tree and meets your requirements. In winter, deer herds usually migrate, so if you go too late, you might miss it."

Li Tongya nodded. Seeing how busy it was, he tossed a bag of spirit rice onto the ground, cupped his hands in farewell, and flew east on the wind.

After searching for an hour, Li Tongya finally found the large locust tree with a herd of wild deer gathered beneath it. He then descended, and the herd scattered and fled. Looking at the clean-picked bones of an unknown beast on the ground, Li Tongya mounted the wind and pursued. He secretly thought, "This deer is quite fierce. Once it became a demon, it learned to consume blood and flesh. It's also quite vigilant."

After pursuing for dozens of li on the wind, Li Tongya pinpointed the remaining tall, majestic stag radiating demonic energy. The demonic deer's coral-like antlers still bore streaks of blood. This deer was only at the second layer of Qi Condensation. How could it outrun Li Tongya, who flew through the air, ignoring terrain obstacles? It was caught shortly after.

Li Tongya intended to capture this demonic beast alive. He struck its head hard with his sheathed sword; the deer's body immediately tilted, but it continued to run stubbornly. Li Tongya then slammed it on its lower back, and the deer wobbled and tilted over, turning its head back to fiercely try to bite. Li Tongya drew his sword. A beam of white light directly sliced off both of the demonic deer's antlers. The deer let out a mournful cry, immediately fell to its knees, unable to get up, and rolled away, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.

"Just a wild demonic beast. It doesn't even know any magic. That was quite easy." Li Tongya used his magic power to lift the stag, sealed the bleeding hole on its head, and returned to Lijing Mountain.

Inside the dim, mirror-like realm, layers of murky gray mist floated high above. Below lay a scarred land and countless desolate, grayish-white building ruins, with crescent-white shattered stones strewn everywhere. Lu Jiangxian stood alone within it, holding a spell that pulsed with dazzling white light.

He had spent several years researching alone in this mirror realm, gaining much inspiration by dissecting the Mountain Yue shamanic arts. He finally achieved some results. Some ethereal figures stirred slightly. With a gentle lift of his palm, the dazzling white spell rained down, scattering onto the crescent-white shattered stones before him.

Crackling sounds.

The crescent-white shattered stones immediately trembled and pulsed. Covered in a faint white halo, they spun and swirled at Lu Jiangxian's feet, piling up to form small, human-shaped figures with hands and feet. These crescent-stone figures had white, shattered-stone-shaped heads and stood still, foolishly staring at him. Lu Jiangxian made a hand seal, conjuring several streaks of pure white Lunar essence. He touched the top of each figure's head, and their shattered-stone-shaped heads immediately lit up.

In an instant, all these crescent-stone figures, with their glittering heads, sprang to life. Some dug earth, others moved bricks. They worked in perfect coordination, beginning to repair the damaged grayish-white building ruins.

"This spell..." Lu Jiangxian had read many of the Li family's magic formulas, but he felt that this spell was completely different from ordinary ones. The Li family's formulas, once activated with hand seals, produced spells that strictly followed their set patterns. However, his spell was entirely subject to his will, with no fixed outcome, controlled solely by his thoughts.

With a thought, Lu Jiangxian appeared atop a mountain peak. In the center of the smooth platform grew a massive tree with white leaves, its roots gnarled and intertwined. Beneath it were stone tables and chairs, exuding an ancient charm.

Listening intently, Lu Jiangxian heard a buzzing murmur coming from outside his mirror body. The voice spoke reverently, "Herein, the Li Clan of Lijing, reverently presents clear wine, various delicacies, and cold-food sacrificial offerings. Their incense offerings continue unbroken year after year, residing in the northern vein of Li Mountain... Eliminating harm and distributing land equally, during the three Yuan and six Jie festivals, they show no disrespect. On sacrificial days, their worship never ceases... They sacrifice with smoke and offer blood, serving the gods to bring blessings."

"So, they've come to seek talismans."