Chapter 52: Deng Qiuzhi

Li Xiangping had just broken through to the Azure Origin Wheel yesterday, becoming a fourth-stage Fetal Breath cultivator, like his elder brother Li Tongya. After settling family matters, he was studying the Profound Water Sword Art in the courtyard when he heard footsteps approaching from outside.

"Brother?"

Li Tongya entered the courtyard, travel-worn, his clothes damp with rain and dew, and his shoes speckled with mud. He placed the cloth bag he was carrying onto a table and immediately gave Li Xiangping a big hug.

Li Xiangping let out a long sigh of relief and chuckled, "You're finally back. Father won't have to worry himself sleepless every night now."

"Hahaha, I brought back quite a few things!" Li Tongya laughed heartily. First, he carefully took out a silver box from his embrace, inspecting it closely. Seeing that the few Wu Zuo worms inside looked listless, he sighed softly. Then, he unstrapped the dark blue longbow from his back and, smiling, handed it to Li Xiangping. "See if it feels right?"

Li Xiangping was pleasantly surprised. He drew the bowstring, carefully stroked the bow, and as he channeled his magic power, the string immediately lit up, gleaming with a soft white light. Li Xiangping exclaimed repeatedly, "This... this is a magic artifact?"

Li Tongya chuckled softly and explained, "I bought it from the market. It cost two and a half spirit stones."

"So expensive! Where did you get the spirit stones?" Li Xiangping felt a pang of heartache for a few moments, then turned his head to his second brother, confused.

Li Tongya then recounted all the events at Guanyun Peak to Li Xiangping, who nodded repeatedly and sighed, "Jing'er has grown up too."

Not long after, Li Xuanxuan, Li Qiuyang, and others heard the news and came up the mountain. Li Tongya handed the Wu Zuo worms and the insect manual to Liu Rouxuan, stating seriously, "These Wu Zuo worms are the first our family has ever raised. Read this book carefully, then find a few old women skilled in silkworm breeding down in the village and locate a courtyard to raise them properly. I'll immediately send for Li Yesheng to have him deliver spirit rice leaves and stalks to you. These spirit insects are barely alive after the long journey."

"Yes." Liu Rouxuan hadn't seen her husband, Li Tongya, for several months and missed him dearly, but she also knew the importance of the task. She carefully took the silver box and headed down the mountain.

"Clan Uncle, this Green Pond Immortal Sect is truly magnificent!" Li Qiuyang, sitting on a wooden chair, looked at Li Tongya with great interest and spoke in a low voice.

Li Qiuyang was now eleven or twelve years old. He had been primarily responsible for the spirit rice for the past few years and kept a very low profile in the village. His father, Li Chengfu, was sensible and kept his other brothers busy with farming and building courtyards, so no bullying scandals had arisen.

"That envoy, riding a cloud boat bathed in rosy light, filling the sky with red clouds – what a magnificent sight!" Li Tongya chuckled and replied, his spirits high.

***

"What a display of grandeur!" Li Chijing placed his left hand on the Green Edge sword at his waist, suppressing the urge to draw it, and spoke coldly. "I've been in seclusion for a few years, and I didn't even know Green Tassel Peak had a new disciple."

The young man in front of him, lightly tossing a jade bead in his hand, spoke indifferently. He was quite handsome, though his eyes were set a bit too close, making him seem less imposing. He wore a fox fur cloak and had a storage bag hanging from his waist, dressed very grandly.

As the young man approached step by step, the few people accompanying him gradually moved forward, encircling Li Chijing and slowly cornering him on the narrow path.

"Don't panic, Junior Brother. We're just testing your mettle."

"You're at least a Qi Condensation cultivator, yet you come to corner me, a Peak Fetal Breath cultivator at the Spirit Initiation stage. Aren't you ashamed?" Watching the group surround him, Li Chijing slowly retreated, but he was already pressed against the cold stone wall. He gripped his Green Edge sword tightly, his eyes fixed on the young man's movements.

The young man smiled slightly, and the golden bead in his hand flared with light, suddenly striking towards Li Chijing.

Li Chijing frowned. A brilliant blue spiritual net appeared before him. He ducked to evade the golden bead and closed the distance in two quick steps.

"Your Green Tassel Peak truly knows everything... except how to use a sword," the young man sneered. Seeing Li Chijing press forward, he couldn't help but admire, "How decisive!"

Li Chijing held the scabbard in his left hand and pressed on the hilt with his right. He took a direct hit from the opponent's magic artifact, immediately spitting out a mouthful of blood, but he lunged forward, already standing before the young man.

The young man was startled and immediately tried to recall the spiritual bead with his spiritual sense. However, he saw that the light blue net had already entangled the magic artifact bead. Although the bead easily broke free with a slight movement, it was still delayed by a few breaths.

Li Chijing gritted his teeth. His Green Edge sword finally emerged from its scabbard. A brilliant, crescent-shaped arc of moon-white sword light surged forth, starting from his left hand and ending with the pale white longsword drawn from his right, immediately shooting towards the young man's neck.

"How is that possible!" The young man's hair immediately stood on end. Thoughts flashed through his mind, but he didn't even have time to perform a hand seal. The peace talisman around his neck flared with spiritual light, forming a golden barrier that barely managed to block the sword light, causing the young man to stagger back a few steps.

"This is bad!" Ignoring the turmoil in his Qi Sea, the young man quickly changed his hand seals, forcibly stopping the golden bead that was heading towards the back of Li Chijing's head. He then looked at Li Chijing, who stood holding his sword, with a complex expression.

Qi Condensation cultivators can control magic artifacts from a distance, making it difficult to defeat them unless one manages to get close for a decisive sword strike. Li Chijing's move was a sword technique he had painstakingly refined through meditation while cultivating the Profound Water Sword Art, making it particularly powerful.

"You win!" The young man, who had always disliked Green Tassel Peak, had originally intended to playfully intimidate this new disciple. Now, however, his expression was complex and thoughtful as he cupped his hands towards Li Chijing.

Li Chijing, his face pale, sheathed his sword and replied with difficulty, "Thank you for holding back, fellow Daoist. This is my first time using this sword in combat, and I couldn't control its power."

The young man tapped his brocade pouch, took out several bottles of healing medicine, placed them in front of Li Chijing, and said softly, "My subordinates accidentally injured you, fellow Daoist. I am Deng Qiuzhi from Yuanwu Peak. I will personally visit to offer my apologies another day."

Seeing Li Chijing's pale face, Deng Qiuzhi immediately sent two people to help him back to Green Tassel Peak, while he himself, with his group, left as if in a hasty retreat.

After walking only a short distance, Deng Qiuzhi turned around with a grim expression and slapped the person behind him hard. "Tomorrow, you'll come with me to Green Tassel Peak to apologize!"

The person lowered his head indignantly, muttering under his breath, "You're the one who wanted to provoke him..."

Unexpectedly, Deng Qiuzhi suddenly grabbed the person by the collar, lifted him high, and asked with a complex expression, "He doesn't hold a grudge against me, does he?"

"Young Master! You even gave him healing medicine, he won't, Young Master..." The person was terrified and pleaded repeatedly.

Deng Qiuzhi listened to his rambling for a few moments, then suddenly narrowed his eyes, looked at him coldly, and said, word by word, "You don't hold a grudge against *me*, do you?"

The person was instantly terrified, his legs trembling as he said tearfully, "This humble one does not..."

"That's good then." Deng Qiuzhi casually put him down and muttered thoughtfully to himself, "Li Chijing of Green Tassel Peak..."