Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror

Li Xizhi suddenly felt something was amiss and stealthily approached, only to see a group of villagers surrounding a low stone altar. Atop the altar stood an old man clad in black with a sinister face, holding a sword and muttering incessantly.

The villagers beneath also started chanting loudly, their voices robust and overwhelming. For a moment, dark Qi enveloped the altar, making Li Xizhi frown.

"Quite the spectacle for a mere Qi Cultivation cultivator!"

This black-robed old man had chaotic True Yuan and a weak aura. It was clear he was a Loose Cultivator, basically the bottom rung in Yue Country's Cultivation World. Coming from a prestigious sect, Li Xizhi could see this very clearly.

'Enshrouded in Yin Energy... Perhaps he's inherited some Demonic Path legacy, bewitched the villagers, and is conducting a Blood Sacrifice.'

Indeed, the villagers had now brought forth a boy, and the old man in black raised his treasured sword, preparing to pierce the child.

Li Xizhi watched silently as the old man's treasured sword approached the boy's face but seemed to hit an iron wall, producing a metallic 'clang,' unable to move any further.

A flicker of shock and suspicion crossed the old man's face. His Spiritual Sense swept back and forth searching, but how could Li Xizhi's Concealment Technique be seen through by a Loose Cultivator with no formal sect education? Finding nothing, the old man trembled and weakly asked:

"Which senior... is jesting with me?"

Radiant light emerged from Li Xizhi and materialized on the stone altar. Staring straight at him, the old man in black only glanced once before trembling in fear, his voice quivering:

"I, Yuan Huzhong... Pay my respects to the Upper Sect Immortal."

Just as radiant light was about to land upon him from Li Xizhi's hand, it halted at his words, and Li Xizhi frowned and said:

"You recognize this garb... Must be someone with discernment. Which Yuan are you?"

Yuan Huzhong replied with trepidation:

"I hail from the mushroom forests of the Yuan Family, it has been many years since my return."

'The very Yuan Family indeed!'

This devil cultivator's connection to his esteemed master, Yuan Tuan, put Li Xizhi in a difficult position as he spoke solemnly:

"Born of a grand household, how have you stooped to such despicable acts! You've shamefully tarnished the reputation of the Yuan Family!"

He formed a spell with his hands and a stream of rainbow light surged forth, ethereal and swift as lightning, "swoosh" and he had already seized the treasured sword and the brocaded pouch from Yuan Huzhong's waist.

This technique was known as the "Floating Light Picking Technique", a Fourth Grade spell documented in the "Morning Glow Dew Technique." It specialized in snatching magic artifacts and taking valuable items. As the rainbow light danced, it swept everything clean, chilling Yuan Huzhong to his core.

The villagers gazed up, thinking that Li Xizhi was taking action. Their lamentations filled the air as they begged piteously, leaving Li Xizhi utterly perplexed.

Upon examining the man, Li Xizhi ascertained that he indeed belonged to the Yuan Family which made him patient:

"Let's hear it, then!"

As Yuan Huyuan was about to speak, black winds rose in all directions and a creature as large as a house, covered in feathers, descended from the sky, laughing loudly:

"Yuan Taoist Fellow! How are this year's blood offerings?"

Rainbow light had already risen from under Li Xizhi's feet. His Spiritual Sense scanned the creature, which was merely at the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation, an entire Tier below his Sixth Layer cultivation. Thus assured, he stood his ground, sizing up the demon.

Yuan Huzhong dared not reply and only hinted discreetly with a look, whispering softly:

"This... This is the esteemed personage from Green Pond's Upper Sect... the Taoist Raven... pay your respects quickly."

'A member of Qing Chi Demon Sect!'

The Taoist Raven fell to the ground with a thud, shaking the very earth, and mumbled:

"Lowly demon pays respects to the Upper Immortal!"

Li Xizhi, not wishing to stir trouble and seeing the situation widen, felt an intensifying headache and waved his hand dismissively:

"I have urgent matters to attend to. State your case clearly and be done, lest I be troubled further!"

Yuan Huzhong hastened to say:

"My lord, I indeed come from the direct lineage of the Yuan Family, but I possess limited talent, merely inheriting a Spirit Aperture... After laboring for thirty years and consuming numerous Spiritual Objects, I've only reached the Third Layer of Fetal Breathing..."

Yuan Huzhong labored diligently in his youth, but his lack of talent meant he could only exchange family favors for Cultivation resources. Eventually, as his leverage diminished, the Yuan Family grew reluctant to pour resources into this pit, and so with no choice, he left to wander the world.

"Later, I found a temple of Loose Cultivators... received some legacy... but my cultivation made no further progress and I grew disheartened. Passing by this place, I came across a Fetal Breathing creature causing havoc and thus I vanquished the demon."

"The villagers pleaded earnestly, and having a soft heart, I decided to stay and protect them."

Yuan Huyuan said, chuckling:

"This place is close to Quanwu Mountain, where many demons frequent, always looking to feed on humans. So, I pledged allegiance to a Demon General, and as long as I provide special blood meals each year, no other demons will harass us!"

He proudly gestured towards the villagers below and said with a smile:

"When I first came here, there were just over a thousand people, but now after fifty years, the population has grown to over five thousand!"

Li Xizhi stood silently without a word, observing the kneeling boy who remained silent. The boy's energy fluctuated, evidently having been medicated from a young age, and was the 'special blood meal' referred to. The boy was well-behaved, neither crying nor causing a fuss.

The demon, now aware of the man's affiliation with the Demon Sect, trembled uncontrollably with fear, not daring to lift its head. After Yuan Huzhong finished, he too looked anxiously once towards it and hesitated to say:

"The Spiritual Objects offered as tribute to the Immortal Sect here... have also been duly provided every year..."

Li Xizhi glanced at the villagers below and, understanding that Yuan Huzhong's words were more or less true, the light in his hand flickered as he grudgingly said:

"I see."

He stood with his hands behind his back, silent, with no interest in further conversation, taking off on the wind, his rainbow light swirling beneath him like a being descended from the immortals, fading into the distance.

Left behind, Yuan Huzhong wiped cold sweat from his brow, relieved and collapsing softly to the ground. He sighed towards the demon at his side, which was still riddled with fear, trembling as it whispered: