Chapter 262: Please Stay and Oversee

Within the mirror's world, grayish-white mist drifted between heaven and earth. Below, most of the moon-white buildings had been restored. Pavilions, sky bridges, high platforms, and palaces stretched endlessly, adorned with rising moonlit glows, creating a scene like an immortal realm on earth.

Lu Jiangxian leaned back against a stone table, drowsing by its white-jade surface. The jade pot in his hand gently paused as a steady voice slowly emerged in his ear.

“Li Tongya, a disciple of the Li clan, respectfully requests the Dharmic Mirror to eliminate demons and eradicate evil, that he may partake in the blood feast…”

Lu Jiangxian gave a start, stretched, and straightened up. His divine sense emerged from the mirror's surface, observing the gray-robed man who stood respectfully before him, a step below.

“Li Tongya…”

He had stayed in the Li family for so many years, watching as only one of the Li family's four brothers remained. Even after achieving Foundation Establishment, Li Tongya still respectfully bowed and recited the prayer below. Lu Jiangxian couldn't help but fall silent.

“Among the four Li family sons, Li Tongya is the most cautious and suspicious,” he mused. “I have been in the Li family for decades. Could he have no suspicions at all? That’s impossible.”

Lu Jiangxian himself knew that his few interventions during the Li family's rise had been full of flaws and quite clumsy. Initially, none of them were familiar with the path of cultivation, and even if they had premonitions, they only harbored secret doubts. Now, Li Tongya had been immersed in cultivation for half a century and had seen too many things. Even Li Mutian, a mere mortal, had harbored suspicions about the Dharmic Mirror in the years before his death. If anyone claimed Li Tongya had no doubts about the Dharmic Mirror, Lu Jiangxian would absolutely not believe it.

“He is already a Foundation Establishment immortal cultivator,” Lu Jiangxian continued to ponder. “Yet when facing the Dharmic Mirror, he doesn't treat it like a mere magical artifact, but rather like an exalted immortal. The meaning behind this is clear.”

“Even those actions that seemed too deliberate to me back then, Li Tongya has significantly beautified when recounting them to his descendants,” he thought. “It seems he is deliberately maintaining our current relationship… a long-term strategy indeed.”

Although Lu Jiangxian wasn't considered profound in thought, his psychological age, through cycles of waking and sleeping, was over thirty years. He felt he couldn't contend with these cultivators and was too lazy to try. He thought to himself:

“My lifespan is too long. As long as I remain hidden in this mirror, I fear no calamity. I only hope to cultivate and harvest talismans, and help to the best of my ability. It would be best to have good harvests these years, but if not, then so be it.”

Li Tongya continued to wait quietly below. A full quarter of an hour passed before he finally flicked his sleeve and carefully stepped forward to pick up the mirror. Lu Jiangxian thought to himself:

“It wouldn't be bad to go and see the State of Xu,” he mused. “Back then, even Chi Wei and his group of Purple Mansion cultivators passed through here without discovering me. There should be no major issues.”

So, he retracted his light, and like an ordinary, broken bronze mirror, settled into Li Tongya's hand. Li Tongya examined it for a moment, seeing no trace of spiritual energy or mystic light. He sighed with emotion, placed the mirror into his bosom, and floated out of the courtyard in two steps.

While Lu Jiangxian was thinking from above, Li Tongya had also been deep in thought while standing below. Recalling the journey from when Xiang Ping first found the Dharmic Mirror on the riverbed to the Li family's gradual rise into a prominent clan, he now re-examined those two lines from the “Guiding Method”:

“Achieve merit over time, do not fail in trust or efficacy, burn with the talisman, and let its body be offered to the Taiyin.”

Li Tongya couldn't help but feel a quiet unease. The Li family had received too many benefits from the Dharmic Mirror, which paradoxically made him uneasy. He secretly pondered:

“When I die someday,” he thought, “nurturing the Dharmic Mirror would be no great matter. But what kind of merit is truly considered 'not failing in trust and efficacy'…?”

As his thoughts churned, he had already descended to the foot of the mountain. Li Tongya glanced at Li Xuanxuan, who was silently drawing talismans in the courtyard, then stepped inside and said gently:

“Xuan'er!”

Li Xuanxuan raised his eyebrows, looked up, and quickly said:

“Second Uncle, is there news from the fox demon elder…?”

“Indeed.”

Li Tongya nodded and replied:

“This matter is feasible, but we still need to send someone to the Xiao family.”

“The Xiao family?”

Li Xuanxuan echoed, then saw Li Tongya say:

“I’m going out to capture a demon, but I’m not at ease about you all. So, I’d like to ask Elder Xiao Yuansi to spare some time to visit.”

Li Tongya’s trip to Bianyan Mountain was not far, but it would still take several days round trip. Reasonably, the Yu family was quietly recuperating and wouldn't know Li Tongya's whereabouts, so there shouldn't have been cause for worry. However, Li Tongya was a cautious and meticulous person. After thinking for a while, he ultimately decided to trouble Xiao Yuansi and instructed:

“You can use Yuan Jiao’s marriage as an excuse to invite him to visit.”

Li Tongya paused and explained:

“Yuan Jiao has been adopted by Chi Jing, and by rights, he is your Uncle Ji’s nominal direct grandson. As long as you explain it clearly to Xiao Yuansi, he will naturally be willing to make this trip. The State of Xu is currently in great chaos, so you can also ask Xiao Yuansi about that while he’s here.”

Li Xuanxuan nodded repeatedly, always unconditionally trusting his Second Uncle. He naturally agreed, then watched as Li Tongya summoned the wind and ascended into the sky. Li Tongya then turned to a nearby attendant and said:

“Have Donghe come here.”

Chen Donghe, who was originally on Huaqian Mountain, arrived upon receiving the order and then headed east.

After Li Tongya and Li Xuanxuan chatted in the courtyard for a while, they heard a light laugh. Xiao Yuansi strode in and smiled upon seeing them:

“Congratulations,” he said. “Your esteemed clan has secured two more mountains.”

“Greetings, Elder!”

Both Li Tongya and Li Xuanxuan responded in unison. Xiao Yuansi gestured for them to sit and then spoke:

“Fortunately, I wasn't out or in seclusion cultivating,” Xiao Yuansi said. “Otherwise, you wouldn't have found me in such a hurry. What is it? Do you need to refine pills, or assistance with something?”

“Elder.”

Li Tongya returned a bow and explained:

“The wedding date is approaching, and Tongya fears trouble might arise. I should be staying to guard the clan, but there’s an urgent matter requiring a trip to the State of Xu. Firstly, I wished to ask Elder to oversee things for a while. Secondly, I also wanted to inquire about the situation in the State of Xu.”

“Oh?”

Xiao Yuansi waved his hand generously and replied:

“It's no big deal to cultivate in a different place for a few days. As for the State of Xu…”

Xiao Yuansi paused. Seeing that Li Tongya didn't state the purpose of his trip, he didn't inquire further and simply said:

“I have also inquired about the matters of the State of Xu with the Old Ancestor. If you intend to seek profit or some opportunity there, you must go early and return quickly.”

“In about half a year, Exalted Immortals will intervene to rectify the situation in the State of Xu. If you wish to go to the State of Xu then, you’ll be under others’ watchful eyes. Not only will your hands and feet be tied, but it will also be easy for trouble to arise.”

Li Tongya nodded as if he had gained a treasure. Li Xuanxuan, however, couldn’t help but ask:

“Perhaps they couldn't bear to see this chaotic state? These Exalted Immortals are also well-intentioned…”

“There’s no good intention involved.”

Xiao Yuansi shook his head and replied:

“They are not acting because the four regions are in chaos or because the people are suffering,” Xiao Yuansi explained. “Rather, it’s because the Buddhist sect is pressing forward step by step. If they lose the State of Xu today, they might lose the State of Wu tomorrow. They simply fear their own Daoist lineage will be suppressed.”

Li Tongya nodded silently and quietly asked:

“Will Golden Core immortal cultivators intervene?”

“I don't know either,” Xiao Yuansi replied, “but this matter has not deteriorated to such an extent that Golden Core immortal cultivators would need to intervene.”

Xiao Yuansi shook his head, took a sip from his teacup, and replied:

“The Old Ancestor didn’t elaborate, looking deeply wary, but most likely, they will send cultivators in the late and peak stages of the Purple Mansion realm, with Golden Core cultivators in reserve.”

“If Golden Core cultivators were to fight,” Xiao Yuansi continued, “the entire State of Xu, and even Wu and Yue, would be affected. The State of Xu would likely lose its spiritual energy for six or seven hundred years, and its land veins would be destroyed. Even if they win, what good would it do? They would only gain a fragmented, scorched earth. In this world, it’s already rare for Golden Core cultivators to make a move.”

Li Tongya had thought the difference between Purple Mansion and Foundation Establishment was already great enough; he had never expected Golden Core cultivators to be so formidable. Intending to gather more information, he then took up the conversation and asked:

“Golden Core cultivators are so astonishing… Wouldn’t it be better for them to fight in the sky, so as not to harm the land veins and spiritual energy…?”