Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror

Chapter 269 247: A Ripple of the Crescent Moon's Light

Over Huazhong Mountain, the winds and clouds changed unpredictably, tensions as tight as drawn bows. Yet on Lake Zhongzhou below, the waters remained undisturbed. A grey-clothed cultivator flew past, a sword strapped to his waist, an expression of contemplation on his face. With a hand on his sword, he traversed the sky, his robe flapping in the wind. Squinting his eyes towards the scene above Huazhong Mountain, he recalled:

"If I see Dharma Light flowing and jiaolongs soaring, act immediately. If there is peace above Huazhong Mountain, then report to Fei Wangbai, agitate the families on the East Bank, and provoke Yu Xiaogui..."

He looked out and indeed saw intense Dharma Light colliding, and two deep cyan-colored jiaolongs, made from lake water, rising into the sky, their long whiskers and sharp teeth lifelike. Chen Donghe knew Li Tongya was now engaged with Yu Xiaogui and quickly hastened northward.

After flying northward for the duration it takes an incense stick to burn, he saw steep cliffs soaring high, hawks and sparrows circling, waterfalls crashing with a sonorous sound. Atop the cliff stood a man in brocade clothes, his white robe giving him a dashing and handsome appearance. Chen Donghe landed on the cliff, offered a respectful bow, and politely said:

"Chen Donghe from the Lijing branch of the Li Family, greets the senior."

Fei Wangbai gave him due courtesy, nodding lightly in response:

"What news?"

Chen Donghe bowed deeply, his voice urgent:

"Yu Yufeng has been detained and definitely cannot return. We have falsely claimed that Yu Yufeng is dead and have attacked Huazhong Mountain. Yu Xiaogui came to stop us and was held off by our family head in the south. The Yu Family has no power to resist. Please, senior, proceed with the plan as discussed!"

"Very good!"

Fei Wangbai was overjoyed, waved his hand in a rush, and without exchanging any more words with Chen Donghe, took to the wind and hurriedly flew east. Chen Donghe waited until Fei Wangbai was far away, then straightened up, carefully considering the words he had just used, ensuring there were no slip-ups, and thought to himself:

"The elder once said that if we want the full support of the Fei Clan, we must not engage in duplicitous acts. Claiming Yu Yufeng is alive is crucial. Even if Fei Wangbai hears something, it can still be explained away..."

Shaking his head, Chen Donghe considered that without Yu Yufeng, the Yu Family lacked the confidence they once used as a crutch. Spread too thin, if Yu Yufeng were to die, they would fail to protect both ends.

With a stamp of his foot, he took to the wind, following the south breeze towards Huazhong Mountain, a hopeful longing rising in his heart. The golden light reflected on the lake shimmered, and a smile curled up the corners of Chen Donghe's mouth. He looked up and said:

"When this affair concludes, the Li Family will be one of the top noble families on the lake, protected by a Sword Immortal. In the future, when Qingxiao comes of age, she can choose any talented young man to marry splendidly, relying on her family's power, never to suffer any humiliation."

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Atop Huazhong Mountain.

Li Tongya stood with his sword, issuing harsh threats, which made Yu Xiaogui smile coldly. He had been in the early stages of Foundation Establishment for twenty or thirty years, and the eagerness of Li Tongya to use him as a stepping stone filled him with hatred. He thought bitterly:

"The Yu Family has lost face and substance. Even if you didn't provoke me, I would have taken action to make you suffer. How could I let you easily claim Huazhong Mountain... Just taking down Li Tongya and recapturing Huazhong and Jade Court will restore our honor and substance."

"The only real difficulty is Li Chijin. But now that the feud between the two families has become irreconcilable, there's no longer any point in feigning goodwill. I must follow this path to the end!"

Thus, he exhaled and shouted aloud:

"If you insist on provoking me unprovokedly and overestimating yourself, don't blame me when you hurt your Vital Energy and damage your foundation!"

Yu Xiaogui's hands were as white as jade, with patterns like white jade emerging on his body. He pushed his palms forward, his mana surging and summoning a howling wind toward Li Tongya's face. Wu Shaoyun, standing aside, could neither intervene nor leave and hesitated for a while before finally stepping back to support Yu Xiaogui from behind.

Li Tongya, however, remained calm and composed. Seeing that Yu Xiaogui was indeed coming to fight, he nodded slightly, his sword at the ready. As soon as he saw Yu Xiaogui's move, he drew his sword and unleashed a swath of sword light, large as a sail and pure white, rushing toward Yu Xiaogui's palms.

Yu Xiaogui had long heard that Li Tongya's swordsmanship was most ferocious at the start. After inquiring around for many years, he knew a lot about the rumors surrounding Li Chijin, which was why he had initially mistaken the Sword Qi for an attack from Li Chijin. Now, seeing Li Tongya unsheathe his sword and move to attack, he knew that the sword move must have been taught by Li Chijin. Yu Xiaogui dared not take it head-on and retreated a step, pressing his hands together and summoning a small Jade Mountain.

The Jade Mountain was initially the size of a fist, intricately carved and complete with immortals and greenwood, all present. It swelled up in the wind, surrounded by clouds and mist, The creatures on it seemed vividly alive. It smashed into the sword light with a grating crunch, suppressing it firmly, and Yu Xiaogui seized the opportunity to approach Li Tongya.

"Foundation Establishment Magical Instrument, Yanyan Mountain!"

The Yu Family, after all, was an established Noble Family that had exploited its hegemony over Wangyue Lake for many years. Yu Xiaogui's action was enough to astonish Wu Shaobai, who remained silent, focusing all his attention on Li Tongya.

Yanyan Mountain was originally Yu Yufeng's Magic Artefact. Before Yu Xiaogui left for the Xiao Family to attend a magic conference, Yu Yufeng, not at ease, gave him Yanyan Mountain to defend himself. Unexpectedly, Xiao Chuting, with a single Divine Skill, lured away the emotionally unstable Yu Yufeng. Facing the siege from the People of the Xiao Family, Yu Xiaogui couldn't produce a single respectable Magic Artefact.

Seeing his long-prepared sword blow so easily suppressed, Li Tongya remained unruffled. He had mastered the Deep Sea Long Whale Script, his mana was profound, and he had cultivated the vast sea of Immortal Foundation. Even if he couldn't defeat or dominate the enemy, resisting Yu Xiaogui was more than enough. Fei Wangbai was causing trouble in the Yu Family's market, and those Qi Cultivators of the Yu Family could hardly defend themselves, let alone spare several hands.

All he did was wave his Dharma Sword, summoning two pale blue water snakes formed from lake water circling beside him. They hissed at Yu Xiaogui as threats, and as Li Tongya swung his sword, they transformed into dozens of fine Water Swords, colliding with Yu Xiaogui's body.

"Bang…"

Yu Xiaogui's entire body swirled with mana, his palms thrusting forward, bracing against the Water Technique. Amid the stormlike Sword Qi, he was forced to pause with bent arms but felt delighted, secretly thinking, "This Li Tongya really lacks experience in Spell Battles. Even if he has cultivated the renowned vastness of the Vast Sea, it's not meant to be squandered like this!"

True to his thoughts, as Li Tongya's two Water Techniques swept in, Yu Xiaogui merely paused briefly before the water infused with Sword Qi slowly weakened. Seizing the opportunity, he spurred his Immortal Foundation and, with Yanyan Mountain crushing the Sword Light, staggeringly flew over.

"Clang!"

Just as Yanyan Mountain arrived, Yu Xiaogui saw a burst of brightness before his eyes, and dozens of rushing sword lights approached—the signature oppressive tactic Li Tongya was accustomed to. Yu Xiaogui sneered contemptuously as Yanyan Mountain suppressed them, devoured the dozens of sword lights, and tried to advance, with his jade-like palms bearing down.

Yu Xiaogui's jade palms moved forward, and Li Tongya chuckled lightly. The light from his sword flowed like water, splitting into three pure white rays of piercing sharpness, full of Agility and Liveliness, quite unlike the earlier light and insubstantial Sword Qi. They were not only dense and solid but also possessed a Spiritual Nature, autonomously roaming the air. Pure and brilliant, they each dragged their own streaks of light across the air.

"Three Split Moonlight!"

Li Tongya hadn't studied the Moon Que Sword Manual all these years for naught. Though less gifted than Li Chijin, he had still learned a fair amount. Aside from the commonly used Moon Que Sword Arc, he developed a technique called Three Split Moonlight, cunningly Agile, unpredictable, and extremely difficult to defend against.

"Clang…"

Unaware of what was happening, and with Yanyan Mountain having not yet eroded all the dozens of Sword Qi, Yu Xiaogui could only receive them with his hands. The rays of light sparked brilliantly in his palms. Caught off-guard, he managed only to wrap his hands around one of them while the other two leaped lightly and flew toward his neck.