Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror

Guo Hongyao made a sarcastic remark, and Li Xijun held the hook-snake in front of him. Since this woman was a disciple of the Immortal Sect and everyone was outside the formation, a fight might lead to serious trouble. He courteously said:

"This was our fault, but the hook-snake belongs to our elder's Spiritual Beasts and we can't disappoint our senior. Please reconsider."

After hearing his words, even the obstinate Guo Hongyao lost interest in causing a scene, scanned the group, and turned to Xu Xiao saying:

"Bring me the 'Six Ding Combined Fire Command'."

The Li Family still had some reputation to consider, and Guo Hongyao also feared the consequences of talisman swords and sword qi. Despite travelling ten thousand miles, she wanted to secure her prize first. She reached out but to her surprise, grasped nothing.

"Hmm?"

Guo Hongyao glanced over and saw Xu Xiao smile briefly before whispering:

"Senior... The Spiritual Artifact has accepted me as its master. I'm afraid I can't take it out."

Every bit of Xu Xiao's skill came from this Spiritual Artifact, and he was hardly willing to part with it for her. Although Guo Hongyao had saved his life, he knew that everyone yearned for a Zifu Spirit Instrument and wouldn't hand it over so easily.

Guo Hongyao nonchalantly hummed, her back turned to Xu Xiao, but a trace of impatience flashed across her face:

'Just a lucky fellow! How dare he be so presumptuous with me? If it weren't for my master uncle's methods catalyzing his cultivation level, could he stir up any trouble among the Noble Families?'

Turning back to the others, Guo Hongyao still needed to placate them with kind words, so she smiled and asked:

"Xu Xiao, how would you like to punish them?"

Xu Xiao had Liu Lingzhen on his mind and said:

"I have a female relative still down the mountain. I want her brought here first."

Guo Hongyao, wary of making demands, suppressed her impatience and turned to Li Xijun, ordering:

"Go and take care of it immediately!"

Li Xijun was about to take the opportunity to leave, but Guo Hongyao insisted on giving him a hard time. She beckoned with a crooked finger and lazily said:

"You are not to go, let them do it."

Chen Mufeng bowed his head and brought Liu Lingzhen up, and Xu Xiao quickly rode the wind to greet him. Seeing him separate from Guo Hongyao, Li Xijun discreetly stepped aside.

The couple exchanged sweet nothings, and Xu Xiao looked up again, glaring at Li Xijun, while Guo Hongyao frowned and asked:

"Is there something else?"

Li Xijun sensed trouble and suddenly felt a warmth around his waist—it was his tracking jade pendant heating up. He quickly let his sleeves fall to cover the pendant at his waist, suppressing his excitement, blocking the gentle light of the pendant completely. He thought to himself:

"The elder is near!"

As Xu Xiao prepared to ride the wind back to Guo Hongyao's side, Li Xijun stepped forward, deliberately delaying, and spoke before Xu Xiao could:

"Does Miss Liu have any relatives or friends from the Xu Family in town? We might as well bring them all."

Xu Xiao frowned, but Liu Lingzhen beamed with joy, happily exclaiming:

"Brother Xu, why not bring your brothers too? To go enjoy the pleasures of the Immortal Sect together, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Guo Hongyao's expression changed subtly upon hearing this, and Xu Xiao, noticing her discontent, shook his head and said:

"What status do they have? The Immortal Sect is no place for them."

Guo Hongyao, tired of the couple's saccharine behavior, only looked at Li Xijun:

"Hand over your precious sword to me for collateral!"

Li Xijun feigned reluctance, but Guo Hongyao didn't give him time to waste. With a gesture from her hand, his treasured sword on his back leapt into the air, struggled for a moment, and reluctantly fell into her hands:

"What a splendid sword indeed."

The exquisite design of the Han Lin resembled a pool of cold water, and Guo Hongyao was very pleased. Yet seeing that Li Xijun did not cry or show any repentance, she felt it was too lenient and grew slightly annoyed:

'Let's see how long you can keep up this act!'

She had been pampered since childhood, used to having others bend to her will, haughty and imperious. She immediately turned the Green Peak around, pointing it at Li Xijun's neck from a distance, her threat clear as day.

"Hiss!"

Li Wushao roared angrily, reverting to his true form—a massive hook-snake, his eyes as large as windows, staring intently at her. Guo Hongyao sneered:

"You think...huh?...Who is that!"

She hesitated for a moment only to see a bolt of purple light, like a thunderbolt, tearing through the sky, casting the surface of the lake in a violet and white glow. Before Guo Hongyao could even open her mouth, she heard a cold shout:

"How dare you, slut!"

Enraged, Guo Hongyao looked up to see a female cultivator arriving on a thunderbolt, clad in jade armor and boots, with long hair through which purple thunder flowed, emitting several silvery halos, looking valiant and formidable.

The voice was clear and pleasant, thrilling everyone present. Insulted, Guo Hongyao drew her sword back and looked towards the purple light.

Li Qinghong had crossed thousands of miles. To think that upon arrival, it was her own nephew being pointed at with a sword by a Foundation Establishment female cultivator, with all her subordinates as if facing a great enemy—her heart filled with indescribable shock and anger. She immediately spat out a beam of white light.

"Boom!"

The white light instantly expanded, emanating an aura of destruction. Merely making contact, the purple lightning fell like a cascade, shocking and infuriating Guo Hongyao, who had no time to respond. The thin jade piece in her hand lit up with a red light as she raised her hand to defend.

'Auntie is here!'

Li Xijun was ready, having planned for this moment. He grabbed the hook-snake and shouted:

"Kill him first! Kill him first!"

Li Wushao was momentarily stunned, but the hook lashed out in response, its charge also having been prepared for a while, originally meant for Guo Hongyao. But now, it was instead hurtling towards Xu Xiao, screeching through the air.

In the blink of an eye, before Xu Xiao could react or step back, he hurriedly summoned the Token, emitting a burst of red light. However, after a prolonged battle, his Qi Sea was already depleted, and the red light, fragile like rotten tofu, was easily penetrated.

The Dharma Shield that could withstand the power of Foundation Establishment had been exhausted. Xu Xiao felt a heaviness in his chest as the hook-snake's tail pierced through it.

"Brother Xu!"

Liu Lingzhen's reaction was a fraction too slow. She threw herself on top of him as Xu Xiao felt a chill in his throat. The hook-snake's second tail had already sliced through his neck, severing his head.

In Xu Xiao's eyes, the shock lingered. Flashes of memory persisted in his mind—various images like fleeting dream bubbles wove through his consciousness:

Embracing beauties... trampling on the Noble Families... joining the Immortal Sect...

One moment, he was shattering Qingdu and crushing Lijing; another saw him holding Lingzhen and embracing Hongyao. He conjured a final thought, hollow and despairing:

'Why did it end up like this... It shouldn't be like this...'

"Have mercy!"

Guo Hongyao was in disarray amidst the thunderstorm, screaming out. But not a soul listened. Everyone watched as the head fell and turned to ash in the thunderstorm. Xu Xiao died that night, and Liu Lingzhen also lost the support of the magical wind, screaming as she fell and shattered into pieces.

Li Xijun felt as if something had lightly snapped in his mind, as if a string had broken. The world before him seemed the same, but somehow different.

"Damn it!"

Guo Hongyao finally struggled free from the thunderstorm, her body emitting black smoke. Furious beyond belief, she gritted her teeth and, turning to Li Qinghong, she sneered with rage:

"Fine... fine..."