Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror

"I heard from a Chi Family member… that someone went to retrieve…"

As she spoke, she suddenly stopped; Yuansu waved his hand and softly said:

"Go ahead, speak freely."

"To retrieve a portion of [Xuan Ming Liangyi Qi]."

Yuansu straightened up, pondered for a moment, then said:

"I see… It should be the Xuan Ming Qi. Only such a thing could compel Sui Guan to personally visit the Jin Yu Sect… He's at Zifu Peak cultivation level… Could it be he wants to break through to Golden Core?"

Only then did he reach this conclusion, but he frowned and rejected it:

"No… It doesn't seem right."

The two below fell silent; Yuansu quickly regained his composure, stopped speaking, turned to Li Xuanfeng, and nodded, saying:

"Indeed, you're progressing faster than I expected."

"It's all thanks to Perfected Person's guidance."

Li Xuanfeng thanked him humbly; these past ten-plus years, Yuansu had truly treated him well—his entire Spirit Armor, Precious Medicine, Metal Stone Qi, secret techniques and skills, all prepared by Yuansu, almost regarding him as a junior.

If it weren't for the sensitivity of these gifts being bestowed by Yuansu, Li Xuanfeng would've wanted to send some back home; yet the more Yuansu favored him, the more uneasy he felt.

Yuansu looked him over twice and softly said:

"Enough, your current strength can be considered respectable. Now, I need you to take a trip to the East Sea and help me with two things."

Li Xuanfeng was instantly overjoyed and quickly responded:

"Perfected Person, please instruct me at will!"

For one, he'd been stuck here for over a decade; finally having the chance to go out was naturally delightful. For another, Yuansu finally had something he wanted of him—otherwise, wielding all these spells and spiritual objects felt burning hot, yet he couldn't refuse them.

He promptly agreed; Yuansu continued:

"First, I have a group of family disciples to be sent to Fenkui Island. The seas have been restless lately, and Ning Wan cannot move easily; you'll need to make the trip."

He reminded:

"Don't create trouble. Just get them safely delivered. On the road, if anyone truly blocks your way, anyone not of Dragon Kind may be killed."

Seeing Li Xuanfeng nod in acceptance, Yuansu continued:

"After you arrive at Fenkui Island, head east all the way to Zhu Lu Sea. There, our Ning Family market has been disturbed by a monster. Take care of it as you pass, then return."

"Do you know what it is…?"

Li Xuanfeng asked; Yuansu responded:

"Don't worry. It's just a water-dwelling ape—ordinary folk can't handle it, but it shouldn't be any trouble for you."

He hung up the Jade Seal, and softly said:

"Seems you haven't been home in years. Take the chance to catch up with old friends."

"Many thanks, Perfected Person!"

Li Xuanfeng expressed his gratitude, seeing Yuansu Perfected Person wave him off and slowly depart. Ning Wan remained silent for a while, then gently said:

"Perfected Person… Li Xuanfeng's recent cultivation progress has been rapid. It seems that previously it was merely the Li Family's lack of resources and simple techniques that hindered him—he hadn't mastered any spells, and established Foundation so late."

"After all, he is of the Weili line."

Yuansu acknowledged with a sound, then said:

"If he cultivated Mingyang nature, he'd progress even faster… A thousand years ago, the direct line of Weili combined with Metal Nature… that was truly Mingyang descending to the world."

As they chatted, Li Xuanfeng excused himself from the cave mansion, rode the wind for a while, and landed before his own cave mansion.

Li Xuanfeng's cave mansion was considered superior within Yi Shan City. He pushed open the door, and his wife Ning Hemian came out holding their son, smiling warmly, and softly asked:

"How did Perfected Person say?"

Ning Hemian was a Ning Family member, even better informed than him. Li Xuanfeng wasn't surprised; he picked up the child and replied:

"Choosing an auspicious day to head to the East Sea, delivering people and slaying monsters."

The boy in his arms pursed his lips, his eyes dark gray, but his brows were much gentler compared to his father's—not yet matured, appearing rather delicate.

"Qin'er…"

"Father."

Li Xuanfeng hugged him, asked about recent matters; Li Yuanqin didn't say much, just answered with a hum. Ning Hemian closed the stone cave mansion door, somewhat anxiously said:

"What does Perfected Person mean? Won't you be offending someone? Is there any danger?"

"It shouldn't be."

Li Xuanfeng showed a thoughtful expression, raised his brows, and said:

"I've already mastered [Shangmang Return Edge], and also have [Black Gold Spirit Armor] for protection—strong in battle. Unless I face the direct-line Foundation Establishment late-stage of the Three Sects head-on, most won't be able to deal with me."

"If I get to ambush in advance, keep some distance and prepare the defense, even late-stage Foundation Establishment direct lineages from the Three Sects would have to cough up blood before my arrows. Ordinary Foundation Establishment… just like those monsters torn to pieces at the gate in a few dozen moves."

Li Xuanfeng's tone was calm, yet the underlying bloodlust was clear. He quietly said:

"Only the Southern Border has heard of my [Golden Bow Gang String] reputation. This trip overseas, I'll get to see what kind of people those cultivators are."

Ning Hemian tied her hair back, organizing spiritual medicine within the cave mansion while responding offhandedly:

"Yes yes, I know you're formidable!"

Li Xuanfeng was much older than her, and sometimes seeing her act like a child made him chuckle to himself, thinking:

'Someday I should take Qin'er back home for a visit… Wonder how Yuanjiao Qinghong are doing these days.'

Through the Ning Family, he'd learned much about the Li Family, but it was always just scraps of information. The prospect of finally returning to see for himself made his heart quietly warm.

...

Qingdu Mountain.

The ritual for burning incense and offering prayers was not complicated; in fact, cultivating cross-legged before the incense was fine. Li Qinghong bathed thoroughly, changed her Spirit Armor for a Taoist Robe, tied up her hair, then cultivated before the incense for several months, riding thunder near Jade Court Mountain.

Nowadays this Immortal Mountain was covered everywhere in pines, with snow stacking atop the peak, where a sacrificial altar over ten zhang tall stood, carved with various rain, mist, and thunderbolt motifs. Its main body was bluestone, using a blend of copper and iron.

At the top was a circle of copper and silver statues of all kinds—twelve in total. Some grasped thunder and spread clouds, some wielded halberds and glared angrily; eight were human-shaped, the remaining four were of dragon or serpent kind.

Only after Li Qinghong stepped onto the Dharma Altar did she feel her mana surge, Thunder Pool restless, and that Mysterious Thunder Talisman quivering excitedly.

She sat cross-legged at the center, palms up on her knees, purple lightning flowing over her body, running along the ground's patterns.

'At this moment, all twelve statues should light up, the sky thick with dark clouds, thunderbolts appearing… only then does it truly begin.'

Li Qinghong activated her Immortal Foundation, waited over half an hour, but all that happened was purple thunder flowing—no omens, no sign of remote sensitivity to heaven and man, and her mana was drained quite a bit instead.

"Could it really be totally useless?"

Li Qinghong waited some more, but not only was there no thunder, not even a single dark cloud in the sky; she could only sigh softly, abandon the secret technique, and instead use thunderbolt to connect with the statues one by one.

This was another function of the Dharma Altar: to divine when thunderbolt would strike some place in the world, how many calamity thunders had fallen recently, and who among evildoers was set to be struck by thunder soon.

"Mostly useless now—where do calamity thunders even exist nowadays… Haven't even heard of one… This spell's ancient enough."

She tried each statue in turn, still to no avail; unwilling to give up, Li Qinghong repeated the attempt twice more. Only after reaching the last dragon-shaped statue did she finally get a reaction.

"Aha…"

The dragon statue's eyes flashed briefly; Li Qinghong suddenly gained insight:

'Wei Country, Yincheng County, the twenty-fourth day, during the third watch, [Xuanwei Jiao Thunder] will strike the great cypress at the county's west.'

The statue flared with thunder, then went dim and did not react again.

"Ah?"

Li Qinghong blinked, feeling emotional:

"It really is an ancient method! But… what use does this have…"

If one could truly know the location, that'd be something—Li Qinghong could ride thunder there and capture the falling bolt with spells; the name sounded like some kind of Heaven and Earth Spirit Thunder, extremely rare nowadays.

For one, thunderbolts between heaven and earth have been dwindling since near antiquity, so Thunder Cultivation is ever more rare; for another, thunder isn't like Flame Spirit Water—it flashes as it falls, and unless pure chance leads one into the clouds, it's hard to obtain.

And the news from this technique is for an ancient place name—even knowing about it, there's nowhere to find it… Li Qinghong could only sigh:

"What's more, that place is most likely in the north—the Furious Path despises us, and there's entanglements of fate. No chance I could go."

Li Qinghong calculated the time; the next thunder prayer was in three months. She thought to herself:

"The Dharma Altar is here—might as well try the spell every few months. Worst case, I only use up some mana. If I ever spot a Yue Country county city, or a name I recognize, maybe I can snatch some thunderbolt yet."