Chapter 89: Westward Expansion

After seeing his daughter Li Jingtian off, Li Xiangping felt uneasy and restless, as if thorns were pricking his back. He couldn't settle down while cultivating on his couch and failed to enter meditation several times. Finally, Li Xiangping rose and spoke in a deep voice:

"Someone!"

Chen Donghe, who had been standing guard outside the tent in his armor, entered upon hearing the call and responded:

"Patriarch."

"Have the scouts found any news?"

Chen Donghe shook his head and replied:

"None."

"No one has reported from Líchuānkou for an hour, right? Send someone back to check."

Li Xiangping shook his head, watching Chen Donghe leave to follow the order, and pondered to himself:

"Ganixi launched a surprise attack and routed the enemy forces the day before yesterday. He couldn't possibly be advancing east today, could he? That makes no sense. Are his troops immortal and tireless? Moreover, the mountains to the west are filled with my scouts; there's no way there would be complete silence."

Getting up and donning his armor, Li Xiangping looked at the blazing brazier. The red firelight reflected in his eyes, and his heart skipped a beat. He thought, "This is bad."

"This man has fought wars for over a decade in the northern foothills, winning repeatedly. He probably can't be judged by common sense. It's better to get the troops across the river first."

Sheathing his long saber, Li Xiangping slung his Azure Black Bow over his shoulder and ordered loudly:

"Beat the drums!"

Immediately, orderlies went down, and the booming sound of drums resonated, stirring up a commotion. Just as Li Xiangping walked out of his tent, he ran into a frantic Chen Donghe.

"Patriarch!"

Chen Donghe approached, his voice full of shock, and whispered into Li Xiangping's ear:

"Patriarch! Líchuānkou is already under the control of the Mountain Yue. Everyone sent there has been killed, and two to three thousand troops are stationed on the opposite bank, having destroyed several pontoon bridges. Our retreat route has been cut off!"

These words struck Li Xiangping like a bolt from the blue. He was stunned for two breaths, unable to speak, and then gripped his long saber so tightly that it creaked, his knuckles turning white.

"The news hasn't spread, has it?"

Chen Donghe quickly shook his head and lowered his voice:

"No, I've kept the news contained, not daring to let anyone know, for fear of shaking morale."

Li Xiangping exhaled deeply and murmured:

"Go prepare the troops."

Chen Donghe withdrew with a serious expression, while Li Xiangping closed his eyes, silently calculating.

"It's impossible to use these thousand troops to cross the river eastward and retake Líchuānkou. Nor would Ganixi have only brought two thousand troops here, and he's also a Qi Cultivation practitioner..."

"Ganixi routed the enemy and immediately rushed here, so his rear must be unstable. It's better to advance west and probe. Every moment we stay here, it becomes more dangerous!"

Li Xiangping slowly paced to the back of the tent, observing the tall grain piles. After a careful calculation, his storage bag at his waist glowed. Piles of rice and beans flowed into the silk pouch at his waist. The old Taoist's storage bag was the size of a courtyard and barely managed to hold all the grain.

Walking before the clan soldiers, Li Xiangping took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and loudly uttered two words:

"Advance West!"

All the troops immediately broke camp. Eight hundred clan soldiers plus two hundred Mountain Yue soldiers, totaling one thousand, plunged into the western forest without looking back.

As Ganixi's troops stepped into the territory of Lijing Village, their Qi Cultivation level was immediately exposed, alerting Lu Jiangxian. His divine sense swept from top to bottom, and he mused:

"It seems to be Ganixi. He has already taken control of Líchuānkou and is advancing east to capture Lijing Town."

Extending his divine sense to its limit, Lu Jiangxian immediately located several members of the Li family.

Li Tongya was with his wife, Liu Rouxuan, in the reed marsh, collecting the clear Qi from the river for his third brother, Li Xiangping, to help him break through to the Qi Cultivation stage. Both were performing incantations, waiting for the moment at dawn when clear Qi rises and turbid Qi descends.

Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanfeng, meanwhile, had finished eliminating demons in the western Lidao Pass and were comforting the injured villagers. The monsters had destroyed the streets, which still needed repairs.

Tian Yun and Mrs. Ren on Lijing Mountain were sitting around the brazier, chatting. Both were getting on in years, especially Mrs. Ren, who was over forty and found it difficult to sleep soundly.

Li Jingtian leaned by the window, her round eyes gazing worriedly into the distance. The late-night breeze gently lifted her dark hair. Beside her, Li Xuanling slept soundly on the couch.

Although his vision could see all the Li family cultivators, Lu Jiangxian's divine sense could only move within the range of Lijing Town. After a brief thought, he conjured an illusion and projected it into the mind of Li Xuanling, who was sleeping on the couch.

Lu Jiangxian's divine sense far surpassed the spiritual sense of ordinary cultivators. Moreover, Li Xuanling was merely a young cultivator at the second level of Prenatal Breathing, "Inheriting Brightness Wheel." Thus, Lu Jiangxian smoothly took over Li Xuanling's dream.

"Crack."

Li Xuanling vaguely heard a jarring sound of shattering porcelain and woke with a start from his dream. He sat up, covered in sweat, and stared blankly at the empty windowsill.

A pair of delicate, pale hands were carefully picking up fragments of a tea set from the floor. Li Jingtian said softly, apologetically:

"Ling'er, did I wake you?"

Li Xuanling, his face and body covered in sweat, was instantly sobered by a gust of cold wind. He replied hoarsely:

"Sister, I dreamed of... many dead people. Ganixi defeated Uncle, brought his troops up the mountain, and killed many people in our home."

Li Jingtian's expression grew even more worried. Li Xuanling's words struck the very chord of her sleepless night. She forced a smile and gently comforted Li Xuanling.

Li Xuanling nodded half-heartedly, mused silently for a few breaths, and then mumbled:

"I need to pee."

With that, he slipped out of bed, stepped over the threshold, avoided Li Jingtian's line of sight, and quietly made his way to the backyard.

As soon as he entered the backyard, he saw a solitary broken wooden chair in the center. Li Xuanling pursed his lips, thinking of Li Mutian.

Pushing open the room door forcefully, Li Xuanling smelled a strong scent of sandalwood. The candlelight was dim, and in the faint glow, he glimpsed a cold, tall stone platform. Above it, a small bluish-grey mirror flowed with a pale white moonlight.

He stood on tiptoe, his hands passing through the slightly cool moonlight, and carefully lifted the magical mirror. Only then did he realize that the artifact felt warm and incredibly comfortable in his hands.

Recalling his father's words, Li Xuanling held the magical mirror in his hands and spoke seriously:

"Disciple Li Xuanling of the Li family, I humbly accept the profound grace, respectfully invite the profound and brilliant magic, cautiously release the Grand Yin Profound Light, to slay the wicked, cleanse defilements, and subdue demons!"

Lu Jiangxian nodded silently and expanded his vision. Li Xuanling immediately felt himself float up effortlessly, soaring high into the sky, quietly looking down at Lijing Town below.

The night moon was peaceful, and Lijing Town was sound asleep. Li Xuanling cast his gaze further, only to see Líchuānkou in the distance covered with Mountain Yue warriors with disheveled hair and tattoos. There were even two squads of Mountain Yue soldiers, clad in leather armor, advancing south. Their direction pointed directly at Lijing Town, their purpose self-evident.

Li Xuanling was instantly drenched in a cold sweat. He shook his head, finally breaking out of the vision, shoved the magical mirror into his embrace, and rushed out of the backyard in a hurry.