Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror

Chapter 320 - 293 Leaving the Cave

"Fate..."

Li Yuanjiao murmured to himself, while Li Tongya sheathed his sword for the first time and hung it at his waist, saying solemnly,

"Yuanjiao... from now on, the family will need your guardianship. Should I never return, you must lower your head and endure for a while. With the backing of the Xiao Family, at worst we can cede Huazhong Mountain and Jade Court Mountain, which is a small price to pay."

Li Yuanjiao felt as if the sky had darkened, as if the world itself was splitting apart, and said with a gritty voice,

"Elder Ancestor... the clan, the clan can’t be without you!"

Li Tongya slowly shook his head and said gently,

"Xuanling will most likely not survive, and Xuanfeng in the Southern Border may also not be able to return. Let your father manage the market; there’s no need for him to come back and get involved unnecessarily..."

"You, Yuanxiu, and Yuanping are all capable of taking care of the family. You must be more cautious... There’s no need to summon Qinghong from her seclusion; she acts too hastily and is solely focused on seeking immortality, to the point of being harmed by that very pursuit. I hope you can advise her to act prudently!"

Seeing that Li Yuanjiao was listening attentively, Li Tongya nodded and instructed,

"Once this matter settles, there should be quite a few days of calm. The Yu Family’s elder ancestor was killed before, the market destroyed. Yu Muxian has numerous connections within the clan and has remained a mere spectator without offering a word of support; it seems he is not one to cherish the clan and will not offend the Xiao Family, so there’s no need to worry."

"Yes... Yuanjiao will remember."

Li Yuanjiao’s eyes sparkled as he urgently asked,

"May I ask the Elder Ancestor, what about the Green Pond Sect?"

At the mention of this name, Li Tongya’s expression grew complicated as he spoke softly,

"The Green Pond Sect has been entrenched in Jiangnan for hundreds of years, its background far deeper than what we see. Entangled in interests, they are adept at suppression and slaughter, not an adversary to be taken lightly in a single generation. Yuan Huyuan is right, we must climb onto the desk of Green Pond, not fall into Green Pond’s bowl."

"But our generation’s deep enmity with Green Pond prevents any compromise. After I leave, you must send descendants to join the sect, even if it is to serve as their dogs, as their provisions, only then will our family stand a chance to rise!"

Li Yuanjiao, with tears falling, nodded silently, and Li Tongya pulled his hand, his gray hair fluttering lightly in the wind as the old man spoke,

"Just remember not to resort to blood sacrifices, not to massacre the people, not to indulge in evil desires and practice heresy..."

Li Yuanping, who was standing by, already had red eyes, overwhelmed by emotion. Li Tongya pulled his thin arm, a Dharma Light flickering in his hand as he smoothed away the bluish and purplish bruises on Yuanping’s arm, saying somewhat guiltily,

"If only our family had some precious medicine to restore root bones, you wouldn’t have had to suffer like this..."

"Whimper..."

Li Yuanping could no longer hold back, his voice hoarse with crying while Li Yuanjiao, biting his lip and clenching his teeth, stood with tears he was trying to hold back. Li Tongya gazed into his eyes and said softly,

"If Yuanyun proves to be useless, do not accommodate him. If he dares to tread the heretical path of practicing human blood sacrifices and seeking shortcuts, he should be killed."

Li Yuanjiao nodded, a flash of understanding passing through his brows; this uncle of his had never left the mountain, yet there seemed to be nothing about the outside world he didn’t understand. Li Yuanping contained his sobs and lift his head, his pale face flush with emotion as he spoke earnestly,

"Rest assured, Elder Uncle, as long as I and brother Yuanjiao are here, nothing untoward will happen at home!"

Li Tongya nodded approvingly, stood up, and with a hearty laugh, said,

"Don’t be too pessimistic. Although my journey is dangerous, there is also a chance of safe return."

Adjusting the storage bag at his waist, Li Tongya took out a pale green jade case and handed it to Li Yuanjiao with serious care. Li Yuanjiao received it with both hands, only to hear Li Tongya instruct,

"This is a Sword Immortal’s legacy, called the ’Moon Que Sword Manual,’ a Fifth Grade swordsmanship."

"Sword Immortal’s legacy?!"

Both brothers were shocked, and Li Yuanjiao’s knees weakened as he held the jade case as if it might crumble, bowing respectfully and saying in a deep voice,

"Yuanjiao will heed the command!"

Li Yuanjiao understood that by handing over this legacy to him, Li Tongya was also passing on the mantle of the Li Family. At that moment, he was deeply anxious, and he saw Li Tongya pointing at the jade case, flicking his finger and drawing out two jade slips, one light purple and the other pure white, and said,

"This light purple slip is the ’Moon Que Sword Manual,’ and this pure white slip is my sixty years of annotations to the manual, called the ’Armor Sword Canon True Explanation.’ Take good care of them, and don’t take them outside the mountain."

Li Yuanjiao nodded repeatedly as Li Tongya continued,

"This jade casket is no ordinary item either; it contains a space that can hold the treasures of Zifu."

Without further ado, he took out most of the items from his storage bag at his waist, leaving only a few elixirs for healing and restoring qi, and nodded,

"I shall leave now."

The two brothers Li Yuanjiao quickly stood up, bowed in unison, and said respectfully,

"We respectfully see off our esteemed ancestor!"

A gentle breeze passed, and as the two brothers straightened up, Li Tongya’s figure was no longer in the courtyard. Li Yuanjiao hurriedly gathered the items from the table, wiped the corners of his eyes, and walked quickly back to the desk, picking up a pen and said solemnly,

"Write to father at once! If our ancestor encounters trouble, our family must keep a lower profile in the marketplaces!"

Atop Lijing Mountain.

While the two brothers were busily making arrangements, Li Tongya descended from the mountain top, but he did not immediately take off on the wind.

With his form concealed, Li Tongya descended the steps and meandered to the cemetery in the mountain’s heart, where the early morning dew already covered everything and moss greened the stones amidst a light mist that was rather pleasant.

He wiped the tombstones of his several brothers and then summoned a piece of bluestone. Using his finger as a sword, he swiftly carved out a new stone stele. Li Tongya then placed this stele in the reserved empty spot, his fingers emitting sword light that he gently used to trace and decorate the stele with patterns.

All his brothers’ tombstones were erected by Li Tongya himself; he had intended to carve his own as well, but after some thought, he ultimately waved away the sword light, mocking himself,

"Erecting one’s own tombstone is an ill-omened matter after all; better to leave it to posterity to comment."

So, he rose on the wind and flew off towards the north, drifting and swaying.

————

On the banks of the Great River.

The old man was quietly resolving the entangled mess of net on a large rock. With Li Xuanling already gone North for several days, he wasn’t worried about Li Xuanling secretly escaping, just silently working on his fishing net by the shore.

"Serpent Jiao emerges from its cave."

A man, dressed in ramie clothing and carrying a white jade-colored fishing rod on his shoulder, came slowly walking over. He stopped beside the old man and said warmly,

"Senior Si, we should head out too!"

The old man merely glanced at him, not answering his words but instead laughing and saying,

"Long Cloud Darkness... Xiao Xianyou really is calculating, he has everything prepared for you, down to the perfect timing, it’s simply astonishing!"

Xiao Chuting peered deeply at him, remained silent, and just sat down to wait, while the old man sighed,

"If Xiao Xianyou hadn’t been harmed by Chi Wei, he could have been a Golden Core prodigy."

"You joke, Senior."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chuting finally spoke up softly,

"I’ve heard that your sect has produced a ’Golden Melting Cave’, quite unusual. Why venture into meddling with the Taoist lineage of the Central Plains?"

"Not at all, it’s just an external disciple."

The man surnamed Si from Zifu shook his head as if it were nothing and said,

"A junior in the sect achieved cultivation, that’s all. The teachings of ’Golden Melting Cave’ have been completely lost. Even if one were to succeed, it would only be an early-phase Zifu with a severed path. Taoist Fellow needn’t concern himself."

Before long, lights of various colors appeared on the riverbank, as Zifus revealed themselves one by one; some were graceful with a chilly Immortal Qi, others with sharp eyes and a ripple of Dharma Light. In total, seven lights descended, and only then did the old man stand up with a wobble, saying softly,

"Now that everyone has arrived, let us proceed together!"