"I know."
Li Yuanjiao waved his hand and first picked up the storage bag from a devil cultivator at the Fetal Breathing stage who had been killed on the road. After checking out the items inside one by one, he said,
"There is a Deep Blue Blade for cultivators at the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation in the family treasury; we can take that out to sell and handle the urgent matters. As for the equally Middle Stage Six Stone Cloud Disk... since it's a rare Dharma Shield from Green Pond, we'd better keep it."
After weighing his options for a moment, he put away the storage bag and added,
"After all, he's a Fetal Breathing Cultivator, this storage bag isn't even as big as a desk, and all it had was about ten spirit stones."
Despite saying this, the devil cultivator was indeed much wealthier than regular Fetal Breathing Cultivators. Li Yuanjiao packed the items away, and Li Qinghong, who was beside him, spoke up,
"Times are hard for our middle branch. I have nine spirit stones on me; brother, take them to use."
Without waiting for a reply, she stuffed several spirit stones into his hand. Li Yuanjiao silently accepted them, thanked her, and replied,
"Then consider it a debt I owe you."
As his eldest son, Li Xizhi, was from his main lineage, selling family artifacts was already the extreme measure. With other families, there likely would have been objections to misusing the public for personal reasons, it was not as easy as simply deciding to sell them.
Li Qinghong just shrugged her shoulders and said with a smile,
"Brother, as you wish."
The two exchanged smiles. Li Yuanjiao finished packing his things and took out a few Fetal Breathing Magical Instruments from the storeroom, glanced at the map once, and prepared to find a street market to visit.
"The market at Guanyun Peak has fallen into ruin, making the journey to a marketplace much further."
After reviewing the map for a while, Li Yuanjiao had originally planned to go to the Yuan Family's Grand Pavilion Market. Considering the distance, the Valley Smoke Workshop located in the western deserts seemed closer.
"Then I will make a trip to Valley Smoke Workshop! Communication keeps getting cut off; this would be an opportunity to see Uncle Donghe."
...
As Li Yuanjiao set off from the mountain to pack his things, the snow on the lower parts of the mountain grew heavier. It floated down like goose feathers, covering the town and the entire mountain in white. Li Xijun, after seeing off Li Ximing with a group of elders, returned to the mountain.
He walked through the snow with his hands behind his back, dressed in light, eye-catching clothing that made him look even more otherworldly.
He wasn't like his elder brother Li Xihong, who had many matters in the clan to attend to. Xijun only took a leisurely post in the Clan Head Courtyard, spent his days in secluded cultivation, and occasionally left the mountain to slay demons.
After walking only about ten miles, Jade Court Mountain came into view, towering high with its snow-covered summit, lush with green pines.
"Snow sits atop the pines of Jade Court, serving as protection from evil spirits."
Having cultivated on Jade Court Mountain for many years, Li Xijun noticed that there were more and more pine trees each year. The towering mountain pierced through the clouds, covered in snow all year long. Li Qinghong, who guarded the mountain, fought off demons with her thunderbolts. As a result, poets wrote many verses about the four towns below Jade Court Mountain; Xijun had glanced at some and recognized a few lines.
After walking a few more steps with a sword in his arms, Xijun saw two people standing at the foot of the mountain. They deeply bowed upon seeing him and said softly,
"Greetings, young master."
These two were the brothers from the An Clan, An Siming and An Siwei, both older than Li Xijun by a few years, sent by Li Yuanping to cultivate on Jade Court Peak.
With a sword at his side and a spear on his back, both wearing golden bracelets, Li Xijun exchanged a few courteous words and used his seal imprint to open the Great Formation, causing the golden light to move slowly.
Stepping forward hesitantly, An Siming broke the silence and said softly,
"Young master, back at my place there is a sister of mine, of marrying age, possessing a Spirit Aperture, currently at the second layer of Fetal Breathing in terms of cultivation level, and with a fair appearance..."
He seemed slightly embarrassed as he fumbled through his words. Li Xijun advanced with his sword, and the Great Formation slowly closed behind him. He walked on the snow-covered path, saying,
"Does Guest Elder An wish to become in-laws with our middle branch?"
The two brothers eagerly said yes, adding some flattering compliments. Li Xijun laughed and said,
"My father passed away in his prime, so it's my aunt who makes the decisions for our middle branch. If she and the clan approve, then surely a meeting can be arranged."
The two brothers, seeing his demeanor, could only nod in agreement. Li Xijun watched the snow on the pines and sighed,
"Such matters are not up to us to decide."
The An brothers nodded, and Li Xijun stroked his sword's sheath, his thoughts wandering. He thought to himself,
'The Ansi Family possesses high talents. If my uncle's breakthrough in Foundation Establishment faces any setbacks, in fifty years at least two uncles at the Qi Cultivating Peak, plus a potential Qi Cultivating Peak grandfather... and even that might be just the beginning...'
Holding the falling snow in his hand, Li Xijun let it slowly melt and mused,
'The An Clan probably does not know that we have the Immortal Mirror to suppress them. They must think that marrying into the elder branch might lead to them having a hold over our future generations, while marrying into the middle branch could legitimize their position...'
'An Zhiyan is a contemptible man and can't see it, but Li Feiruo must be having quite the headache over this, hence they came to test my thoughts.'
"Whoosh..."
The pines drooped slightly, and a cascade of snow fell from the trees. Li Xijun, with an arch of his eyebrow, laughed and said,
"Let's ascend the mountain for cultivation!"
...
Meanwhile, Li Yuanjiao, having flown on the wind for half a day, crossed the heart of the lake, and reached the West Bank of Wangyue Lake, a region scattered with numerous mountain ranges. There were dozens of Immortal Cultivator Families, most of them were Fetal Breathing Clans, and only a few practiced Qi Cultivation.
This area was the domain of a Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivator named He Daoren, who was at the middle stage of his cultivation. This loose cultivator had always kept out of worldly affairs and subsisted on tributes collected in his little piece of land. The other families did not bother to provoke him.
Beyond the West Bank was a towering mountain filling the sky and earth, flat and elongated, bare at the top with exposed rocks, and where the Earth Vein's Spirit Mechanism was sparse. This mountain was named "West Screen," serving as a barrier between the desert and Wangyue Lake, as well as marking the boundary between Green Pond Sect and Jin Yu Sect.
Past West Screen, the climate turned instantly hotter, dry and scorching. After flying for several days amongst the yellow sand, a majestic pass appeared before him.
An ancient pass of Yue Country, Valley Smoke Pass.
Part of Valley Smoke Pass was occupied by Valley Smoke Temple, which fell under the domain of Jin Yu Sect. As Li Yuanjiao flew to the top of the pass, his Spiritual Sense swept over the area, and he could see a hot, bright Great Formation brimming with power, ready to be triggered with just one step forward.
