Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror

Chapter 311 - 285: Duanchen Village

In the years since the Xiao Family’s rise, Guanyun Peak no longer served as a place for tribute offerings, and the flow of people decreased significantly. Fortunately, with the Yu Family’s market town destroyed and the northern Xu Country in need of reconstruction, most of Wangyue Lake’s and a good portion of Xu Country’s visitors flocked to the market at Guanyun Peak, preventing it from declining too much compared to the past.

Deep within the market, Li Qiuyang squatted in front of a shop’s streetfront, holding several pieces of fur and haggling with a Loose Cultivator in front of him. The man’s face flushed red as he yelled,

"This is the hide of a beast cultivated to the First Layer of Qi, completely intact! How can it not be worth seven Spirit Stones!"

Li Qiuyang had become a Qi Cultivator of mixed energies, signaling the end of his path in the Dao; to have gained nearly a hundred years of extended life was already a stroke of luck. As a Qi Cultivator of mixed energies with poor spell battle capabilities, he had nothing beyond the title of Qi Cultivator and the ability to ride the winds. The Li Family’s market needed hands, and Li Xuanxuan thought it was better to earn Spirit Stones for their own kin rather than others, so he had called Li Qiuyang to the market to find work.

Seeing the Loose Cultivator throw a tantrum, Li Qiuyang gave a bitter smile and replied,

"Taoist Fellow, although this hide is from a Qi beast, it lacks any luster and is full of defects. At first glance, it is clearly from a young beast, just embarking on Qi cultivation. Even though the hide is complete, it’s merely from a creature half the size of a man..."

"Li Third! Don’t spout nonsense and sully my name!"

Seeing Li Qiuyang disparage the hide as worthless, the man immediately cursed him out. Li Qiuyang, being below both Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanling in the shop, was mockingly referred to by his nickname, Li Third, his face filled with anger.

Li Qiuyang remained indifferent, simply folding his hands in greeting and saying,

"Taoist Fellow, the hide wouldn’t be worth seven Spirit Stones in any shop."

The man glumly glanced at him, tossed the grey fur onto the table, and announced,

"Fine, six will do."

Only then did Li Qiuyang nod, counted out six Spirit Stones to give him. The man snorted and swept away, only after leaving the compound did a young man peek out from a corner. Ordinary in appearance, with slightly raised eyebrows, he said,

"That guy has quite the temper."

Li Qiuyang shook his head; he was used to the attitudes of the various Loose Cultivators. As a mere Qi Cultivator of mixed energies, he might be addressed as Immortal Master outside, but in this market, his status was even lower than the standout Fetal Breathing Cultivators. He simply shook his head and replied,

"Mufeng, the family intends to call you back to the lake. Perform well, get close to the clan members, and strive to obtain the Third Grade heritage."

Chen Mufeng nodded vigorously, asking with some hope,

"The Family’s Third Grade Cultivation Techniques have always been practiced by the main household. Peripheral branches and outsiders are not bestowed unless for great merits. I heard that Uncle from Donghe Tribe was granted the reward only after following Xiangping into the Western expedition and coming through life-and-death situations. It won’t be easy for me to get that technique..."

Li Qiuyang fell silent, pondering deeply within.

"I wonder how Xuanfeng is doing in Yi Shan City. I’ve heard that the Southern Border is inhabited by countless demons and ghosts, but fortunately, the Sword Immortals are also in the Southern Border, which should offer some protection."

"Big Shopkeeper!"

As Li Qiuyang was mulling things over, Chen Mufeng called out, abruptly snapping him out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw a person in grey clothes descending from the upper floor, with carefully combed beard and hair of greying black, walking down with hands behind his back.

"Clan Leader,"

Li Qiuyang called out, and Li Xuanxuan nodded. Now nearly fifty, he avoided activity as he aged, content to watch over the store.

The competition was fierce in the market, and although the Li Family had the support of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and a marriage alliance with the Xiao Family, most of the market properties belonged to the Xiao Family, who managed them as insiders. Li Xuanxuan had to maintain relationships while also earning sufficient profits, which was quite a headache.

He stroked his greying beard and calculated the days, expressing some unease,

"Xuanling has been gone for several months now, hasn’t he? And still, he has not returned..."

Li Xuanxuan, limited in talent, is still lingering on the second layer of Qi Cultivation, while Li Tongya’s son, Xuanling, fares much better, having reached the third layer. He cultivates within the marketplace and occasionally travels north from Guanyun Peak towards Xu Country and the direction of the Great River, claiming he wants to broaden his horizons for the family. It’s not uncommon for him to be gone for half a month, but now it has exceeded two months, leaving Xuanxuan anxious beyond measure.

"Seventy-one days, more than two months already."

Li Qiuyang responded respectfully, and Xuanxuan, gritting his teeth, said,

"Bring me brush and ink, I will write a letter to the family and send Donghe to have a look!"

That was easier said than done; Xu Country and the Great River were vast, and with Xuanling’s whereabouts uncertain, searching for him would be really difficult and would likely be a waste of manpower. Xuanxuan wrote a few words on a small letter but then let out a dejected sigh and put down the pen.

"At least there’s no trouble with the jade talisman..."

Xuanxuan reached into his chest and pulled out a small jade pendant to see its glistening and gentle warmth, which made him slightly relieved.

Nowadays, the Li Family could be considered as one of the Noble Families, and although they were not on par with the Three Sects and Seven Doors with powerful spell imprints or layers of protections on their Storage Bags, they still had some means at their disposal. If the jade talisman were to be crushed, its other parts could inform each other of their directions.

"We must still consult the old ancestor."

After pondering for a moment, Xuanxuan decided to pick up the brush and ink and started writing on the small letter again.

————

Zhao Country, Duanchen Village.

Located in the far north of Zhao Country at the junction with Xu Country, Duanchen Village is said to be the landing place for the northern Noble Families who crossed the river and moved south. It has been occupied by Buddhist practitioners for several hundred years now.

There’s a small temple in Duanchen Village called Duanchen Temple. According to the rules of the north, all the land of Duanchen Village belongs to the temple, with tenant farmers below the monks. They’re euphemistically called the monk’s tenants and include several foreign nobles who reside and practice Buddhist doctrines within the temple.

Li Xuanling stayed in this forsaken place for a whole month, deeply realizing the trouble with Buddhism. When he first arrived, dressed in his Taoist robe, the gaunt tenant farmers looked at him as if seeing a harbinger of disaster, and even the smaller children showed contempt, secretly spitting in his direction. Had he not been a Qi Cultivator, they might have bound him up and sent him off to the mountain.

"The land of the Central Plains, having embraced Buddhism for hundreds of years, has completely lost its foundation..."

Gazing at the dense cluster of temples on the mountain, Xuanling had a moment of deep reflection. According to the Immortal Cultivators, after the conflict between immortals and demons, the Immortal Path weakened and lost the north. Most of the great Noble Families and Sects migrated from the north after these conflicts. Now, returning to the north, where were any traces of Immortal Cultivators to be found? Even though he did not hold much regard for the cultivators of the Zifu Golden Core Path, witnessing this scene, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

Glancing at the skinny yet incessantly busy tenants below, Xuanling felt a profound sense of experience. In the north, one couldn’t see any singing, dancing, variety performances, Pear Garden opera houses, or bustling merchants—only endless stretches of barren yellow soil and tenant farmers with shaved heads and small braids, exuding an atmosphere of utter lifelessness.

"This appearance of mine is not suitable for traveling in the north."

He cast a spell, changing his appearance, donning a brown robe with a shiny bald head, and transformed his Dharma Sword into a long staff using his Illusion Technique before descending to seek directions.

As soon as he set foot on the field, a tenant farmer shouted, and a multitude of tenant farmers prostrated uniformly, pressing their foreheads to the ground as their small braids flipped up, resembling a field of black-stemmed pumpkins sprawled across the land.

"We’ve seen the Mage!"

The one at the forefront seemed to be the leader, his face emaciated and his expression fervently ecstatic, his voice high-pitched with madness. Xuanling looked up to see several frail women and children who had fainted from excitement, awkwardly collapsed on the ground, with no one bothering to turn back and check on them.

"You all..."

Xuanling opened his mouth, a wave of inexplicable sorrow rising in his heart, leaving him at a loss for words.