Chapter 93: Return to the Mountain

On Mount Lijing.

Li Xuanxuan stood before a chaotic courtyard, with Li Yesheng's eldest son, Li Xiewen, behind him. In recent years, Li Xiewen had been recalled by Li Xiangping and had been assisting Li Xuanxuan with clan affairs. Now that Li Yesheng had gone west with Li Xiangping, it was natural for Li Xiewen to take over his father's duties.

Shaking his head, Li Xuanxuan asked with a frown, "Still no sign of Jing Tian and Xuanling?"

"Reporting, young clan master, all the surrounding mountains and forests have been searched, but neither of them was found."

Li Xuanxuan's heart sank. Gazing at the disheveled courtyard, he picked up a fallen wooden stool and sat down heavily.

"Xuan'er... the Shanyue have taken away the eligible youths from Lijing Town. There weren't many killings, only several hundred militiamen were injured during the raid. However, many died at Lichuan Pass, even the eldest legitimate son of the Chen family fell at the hands of the Shanyue."

Li Xuanxuan nodded dejectedly, uttering a few words: "It's fine, the losses aren't significant."

The eligible children in Lijing Village had already been checked for spiritual apertures years ago. The few children with spiritual apertures found over the years were all disciples of other surnames, and they had been with Li Xuanxuan, so there were no losses among them.

"As long as Chen Donghe is alive, it doesn't matter who else from the Chen family died."

"Go tell them that any able-bodied men who wish to reclaim their children and seek revenge on the Shanyue should register at the foot of the mountain. We need to organize a new force."

"Young clan master, this..."

Li Xuanxuan shook his head and said gently, "The clan master has taken the clan soldiers, so we must reorganize a force to manage the various villages. This is merely a pretext; the Shanyue are too powerful right now, I won't do anything foolish."

Seeing Li Xiewen nod and leave to carry out the order, Li Xuanxuan hurried into the backyard. He pushed open the door of the small hut and suddenly stopped, staring at the collapsed altar table and the empty stone platform.

"Damn it."

For a moment, a wave of loss and anger washed over Li Xuanxuan. A few breaths later, it turned into a helpless sigh. He looked at the old wooden chair in the corner, where Li Mudian used to sit every year, and slumped into it, staring blankly at the empty stone platform.

Just then, the door creaked open. It was Li Tongya, returning to Mount Lijing. Dust-laden, he entered the small hut, looking down at the scattered items on the floor without a word.

Li Xuanxuan quickly stood up and respectfully asked, "Uncle, have you found any news about the clan master?"

Li Tongya shook his head, using a cleansing spell to dispel the dust from his clothes, and explained, "I traveled into Shanyue territory for two hours but was forced to retreat without finding any trace. However, I did see that group of Shanyue had set up a camp to the west, guarded by four Qi Refining cultivators."

Seeing Li Xuanxuan's dejected expression and glancing at the empty stone platform, Li Tongya, instead of being surprised, looked pleased and said with a smile, "No need to panic. If I couldn't find them, neither could the Shanyue Qi Refining cultivators. There's no need to worry about Xiangping's safety for now."

"Besides, Ling'er is resourceful; he already took the magical artifact beforehand."

Gently propping up the altar table, Li Tongya slowly explained, "If Ganiex had captured Xuanling and Jing Tian during the surprise attack on Mount Lijing, they would surely have sent someone to threaten us and extort a hefty sum. Since there's been no movement, it's likely that Xuanling had already evacuated before they reached the mountain, causing Ganiex to come up empty-handed."

Li Xuanxuan nodded thoughtfully and said, "I see! So Xuanling must have sensed something amiss, taken the magical artifact down the mountain, but was then caught up in the western movement."

Li Tongya arranged various offerings and replied, "I'll look for another opportunity to provide support. You should stabilize the people's morale here at home, and tally the plundered spiritual fields. Chen Donghe and Li Qiuyang have both gone west with the army, so those spiritual fields need to be managed properly."

"Yes, Uncle, please be careful!"

Li Xuanxuan said with some concern, but Li Tongya waved his hand with a smile and said, "These Shanyue are just a bunch of unsophisticated ruffians, relying on their numbers. They cultivate only impure and wild Qi. I, on the other hand, have cultivated the Black Water Sword Qi. It would take at least three to five of them to hold me back, so don't worry! If your grand-uncle Li Chijian were here, five of them bound together wouldn't be enough for one of his sword strokes."

With that, he lightly stepped out and headed west again. Li Xuanxuan let out a long breath, sitting back on the old wooden chair. The joy of recovery brought a slight smile to his lips, but then he suddenly noticed eight crookedly carved characters on the chair leg.

"May your home be harmonious, and may you flourish and prosper."

The image of the old man, who had been trapped on the mountain for half his life due to a rumor about Foundation Establishment, suddenly flashed in his mind. He wiped the corner of his eye and left with a determined expression.

Just outside the door, Li Xuanxuan bumped into Li Xuanfeng, who was carrying a dark longbow. Seeing his hurried expression, Li Xuanxuan called out to him, "Feng'er!"

Li Xuanfeng looked up and, after hearing Li Xuanxuan recount Li Tongya's words, let out a sigh of relief. Still, a trace of worry remained on his face as he whispered, "Father is leading the troops alone in Shanyue territory; I'm still worried about him."

"Don't you dare do anything foolish!"

Li Xuanxuan immediately looked up with alarm. Seeing that Li Tongya had just gone to rescue Li Xuanling and Li Jing Tian, he didn't want Li Xuanfeng to get caught up as well. He quickly tried to persuade him, "The clan master knows what he's doing. You absolutely must not think about going into Shanyue territory to find him! You'd only tie everyone else's hands..."

"I know."

Li Xuanfeng waved his hand and said bitterly, "My strength is still insufficient. If I had Qi Refining cultivation, who cares about the Shanyue or Ganiex? It would just be a matter of one arrow!"

"I don't care anymore!" Li Xuanfeng gritted his teeth, waved his hand, and declared angrily, "I'm going into seclusion right now to break through to the fifth layer of Fetal Breath, the Jade Capital Wheel!"

Hearing this, Li Xuanxuan paused, secretly musing, "Breaking through... is it something you can just go into seclusion and break through whenever you want? Don't you always need to find an opportunity..."

Li Xuanxuan had been stuck at the fourth layer of Fetal Breath, the Azure Origin Wheel, for over two years, lacking the opportunity for a breakthrough. He sighed inwardly, took a jade bottle from his embrace, and said gently, "This Snake Origin Pill was left by Elder Xiao when he refined elixirs for our family. There were three in total; two elders each used one when they broke through to the Jade Capital. The last one I kept for my own breakthrough. You take it and use it first."

He sighed again and said wistfully, "It's a pity our family has no alchemy heritage. The three Snake Dragon Fruits we've preserved over the years haven't been able to be used..."

Li Xuanfeng thanked him, took the jade bottle, and smiled, "No need to worry, Xuan'er. Our family has only been on the cultivation path for just over thirty years; naturally, we can't compare to those families with deep foundations."

"Once our family has a few more Qi Refining cultivators, we'll find a rogue cultivator with alchemy heritage, kill them, and take it."

Hearing this, Li Xuanxuan shook his head and chuckled helplessly, "You have such a strong killing intent, child. These inheritances aren't something you can just get by casually killing someone; you still need to buy them with accumulated spirit stones."

Li Xuanfeng curled his lips and said, "As long as our strength far surpasses theirs, whether we seize it or buy it, won't it be up to us?"

After speaking, he chuckled softly and prepared to head to the Meichi Mountain cave dwelling for seclusion.