Chapter 83: Rivers Flow as One

Li Mutian's funeral was excessively grand. It seemed less like an ordinary elder had passed and more like a county commandant or grand administrator had died. Long white cloths stretched through every village, and the direct descendants of the Li family, dressed in white, held the funeral cords, pulling the hearse along the flagstone path.

The news swept through the villages like a gust of wind. Chen Erniu had just woken up and was rendered speechless, stunned by the news Chen Sanshui had brought back.

Putting down the willow twig in his hand, Chen Erniu rinsed his mouth and sat silently at the table, an indescribable sorrow rising in his heart. He reflected that no matter who one was, death was inevitable, and unless one could cultivate to become an immortal, they were merely destined to become a mound of earth.

Chen Sanshui, however, was dismissive, curling his lips. He claimed it was entirely due to the three Li brothers having cultivated the immortal path, questioning why an ordinary elder's death would warrant such a grand display, and adding that Li Mutian wasn't necessarily anyone of significance.

Chen Erniu narrowed his eyes, gripped the willow twig, and sharply whipped Chen Sanshui, cursing him with spittle flying. Chen Erniu called him an idiot and declared that he would eventually die from his foolishness.

Chen Sanshui mumbled in agreement, sarcastically adding that Fourth Brother was the best, simply because he had a spiritual aperture. He then picked up his bowl and chopsticks and left the table. Ignoring Chen Erniu's grim expression behind him, he walked out of the courtyard on his own.

Lijing Mountain.

Lu Jiangxian gazed at the courtyard, which was draped in white mourning cloths. The wooden chair in the back courtyard, where Li Mutian often sat, was now empty, and a sense of desolation settled in his heart. After witnessing Li Mutian's burial, his spiritual sense was suddenly stirred. He saw a streak of light, like a flying shuttle, rapidly approaching in the sky, which then slowly stopped just outside Lijing Mountain's grand formation.

A voice called out, announcing that Xiao Yuansi of the Xiao family had come to visit and requested the mountain gate be opened.

Xiao Yuansi stopped outside the mountain. Although the mountain-protecting formation underfoot seemed like nothing to him—a cultivator who had already broken through to the eighth level of Qi Condensation—he still politely paused.

Before long, Li Xiangping and his brother opened the grand formation, and Xiao Yuansi slowly descended into the mountain courtyard. Seeing Li Xiangping and Li Tongya dressed in white, with the entire courtyard in plain colors, his smile vanished, and he spoke solemnly. He then solemnly inquired if it was the elder who had passed.

Seeing the two Li brothers nod, Xiao Yuansi sighed and offered his condolences. He then said in a low voice that Jing'er and he would be heading to the Southern Borders in a few days and might not have any news for decades. He then explained that his junior brother had obtained the Proper Qi Condensation Technique and the Qi Gathering Technique for them, which he brought along during his visit home.

He detailed that the third-grade River Qi Condensation Technique involved absorbing clear qi from rivers, requiring one to find areas with dense river networks where cattails and irises grow profusely. At dusk or dawn, when clear qi rises and turbid qi descends, the qi was to be gathered from the river surface using the Qi Gathering Method, with one wisp taking about six months to collect and ten wisps constituting one portion.

Xiao Yuansi patted his brocade pouch, took out several jade slips, and continued. He explained that the second-grade Pure Spirit Elemental Method utilized minor pure spiritual energy, which could be simply gathered; while not as potent as the River Qi Condensation Technique, it was still superior to most common cultivation methods available.

Li Tongya quickly took the wooden slips Xiao Yuansi handed over and quietly thanked him. Xiao Yuansi then sighed softly and spoke with a somewhat complex expression. He warned them that the protection from Azure Spire Peak was limited, as the situation was changing rapidly with turbulent waves, and advised them to take care of themselves.

His master, Si Yuanbai, had gone into an inexplicable seclusion, and none of the Azure Spire Peak disciples had seen him. The sect's increasingly urgent calls for a few individuals to go to the Southern Borders all contributed to Xiao Yuansi sensing a strong feeling of unease. He suddenly remembered that Azure Spire Peak's territory, Mushroom Forest Plain, had been silently given away for the Battering Gold Sect to plunder. Xiao Yuansi immediately felt his hair stand on end, as if he were a small chip held in the hands of those Purple Palace cultivators. He was momentarily lost in thought. He mused that the Immortal Sect had been making frequent moves in recent years, repeatedly handing over mortals under their governance, and wondered if it was true, as rumored, that one of the Purple Palace cultivators within the sect was about to pass away.

A chill ran down Xiao Yuansi's spine. Li Tongya and the others had to call out to him several times tentatively to pull him back to reality. He forced a smile and asked what was wrong.

Li Tongya cupped his hands and said that they would like to ask if the Immortal Master happened to have any of the clear qi from the river, explaining that they had some savings and would like to try and purchase a portion.

Xiao Yuansi's worried expression and veiled words also made Li Tongya and his brother nervous. With the Mountain Yue to the west restless and the Ji family to the east watching covetously, Li Tongya was eager to advance to Qi Condensation sooner. He feared that spending five years collecting the clear river qi and another four or five years to break through Qi Condensation would be too late. They had recently acquired some wealth from killing the old Daoist, which should amount to thirty or forty spirit stones. Moreover, the old Daoist's ten-foot-square storage bag could be exchanged for eighty or ninety spirit stones. This would certainly be enough to purchase the clear qi from the river.

Xiao Yuansi confirmed that he did have some. He nodded and, smiling, unfastened a small jade bottle from his waist. He explained that there was still one portion in the bottle, with a usual selling price of around fifty spirit stones, and asked if they could afford it.

Li Tongya nodded, and with a flick of his hand, took out the light blue metal piece, melted from the old Daoist's possession, from his storage pouch. He then respectfully asked about the item's value.

Xiao Yuansi glanced at it, frowned slightly, weighed it in his hand a couple of times, and then mused. He stated that it should be Green-veined Steel, a material for the Qi Condensation stage, and that a piece like that was worth around twenty spirit stones.

Li Tongya and Li Xiangping exchanged glances and nodded. They then took out twenty-five spirit stones from the old Daoist's storage bag, along with five spirit stones accumulated by their family in previous years, and handed them all to Xiao Yuansi in exchange for the portion of clear qi from the river. The old Daoist's storage bag was a full ten feet square and ten feet high, comparable in size to a small courtyard. It was highly useful for both travel and storage, so the two naturally wouldn't part with it.

The two brothers took out the jade bottle they had used years ago to store the malevolent qi of fire and used it to hold the clear qi from the river. They then presented the old Daoist's Jade Sprout Pill to Xiao Yuansi. Xiao Yuansi merely sniffed it and smiled. He remarked that it was a good resource for Qi Condensation and could be worth seven or eight spirit stones.

The two thanked him, and after chatting with Xiao Yuansi for a while, he finally took his leave.

After Xiao Yuansi had flown far away, Li Tongya carefully opened the jade bottle. Gazing at the clear qi from the river, which resembled river water bathed in sunlight, the six embryonic breathing cycles within his body stirred restlessly, and he felt an impulse to immediately consume this spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Li Xiangping chuckled softly and whispered that once Second Brother broke through Qi Condensation, the Qi Condensation demon would also be dealt with, and then they could offer sacrifices to the Dharma Mirror and try out the talismanic qi.

Li Tongya's face also showed uncontainable joy. He took out the jade slip of the River Qi Condensation Technique and slowly extended his spiritual sense into it. These Qi Condensation stage techniques and cultivation methods are often extremely lengthy; if written on wooden slips, they would likely pile up into small mountains. Thus, jade slips made from warm jade are used for their recording, allowing information to be read simply by extending one's spiritual sense into them. However, these jade slips are light and fragile, often only used for recording cultivation methods. For transmitting messages, more durable items like spirit silk fabrics are preferred.

After carefully reading through the Proper Qi Condensation Technique, Li Tongya, full of vitality, spoke in a deep voice. He declared that after he meditated for a few days, he could go into seclusion and break through to Qi Condensation.