Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 106 - 101: Great Drought

Mu Jiaoman sat in the empty carriage, the roads within Shanyue territory were bumpy and uneven, jostling him about and making him irritable, as the scene on the White Jade Platform repeated itself over and over in front of him.

Throwing aside the carriage curtain, Mu Jiaoman looked at the scorching sun in the sky, and all he saw was a vast expanse of cracked earth. He shouted hoarsely:

"How long has it been since it rained!"

"Replying to the Great Marshal, it has been four months without a single drop of rain!"

Mu Jiaoman thought for a moment, motioned to his subordinates below with a wave of the hand, and called out loudly:

"Withdraw the eastern defensive line, drive the refugees to the east, let them go and wreak havoc on the living."

The subordinates below hesitated for a moment, then replied:

"Once the eastern defensive line is withdrawn, if Li Xiangping escapes..."

"That damn thing is dead!"

Mu Jiaoman roared, fury rising from his heart, and still not satisfied, he suddenly leaped up from the carriage, grabbed the person by the neck, and cursed loudly:

"How many times have I said, that damn thing is dead! Dead! Dead! Dead!"

Having said this, he turned red with rage, was about to throw a punch, but then saw his many subordinates fall to their knees like wheat before the wind, shouting in unison:

"We greet the Great King!"

Mu Jiaoman's body trembled, he slowly lifted his head and saw Ganixi, who was standing on air with qi, looking down at him coldly. He threw the man aside in a hurry, then kneeled down with his forehead tightly pressed against the ground, his lips turning pale.

"Great King!"

Ganixi stepped toward him slowly, quietly observing him, then suddenly lifted his leg and kicked him in the body, shouting angrily:

"Incompetent!"

Mu Jiaoman was sent flying like a kicked ball, crashing through several big carts, with grains spilling all over the ground, making the surrounding subordinates swallow nervously.

After tumbling a few times, Mu Jiaoman quickly crawled back to Ganixi's feet, slapping his own face repeatedly.

Ganixi looked down at him for a while, then sneered angrily:

"A mere Fetal Breathing level, making such a big fuss and not even touching the enemy's tail, having to call upon Lu Wu to cast curses, you truly are incompetent, Mu Jiaoman."

Mu Jiaoman kept slapping his own face numbly, listening to Ganixi's low voice:

"You need not attend the great sacrifice in a few days, reflect well in the camp."

Mu Jiaoman suddenly looked up, his mind exploding like thunder, as if catching a glimpse of something in an instant.

Just as he was about to speak, Ganixi was one step ahead, punching him hard in the stomach, abruptly silencing him, and knocking him unconscious.

"Drag him away."

Ganixi called out quietly, watching as Mu Jiaoman was dragged out of the camp, then turned his head towards the towering Witch Mountain, murmuring in a barely audible voice:

"Survive."

—————

After a loop through the forest, and waiting until the dawn appeared on the horizon, Li Tongya rose from the desolate and empty village, murmuring to himself:

"The smoke from the eastern fires has all but disappeared, the Shanyue army has already withdrawn, why would Mu Jiaoman so readily allow Xiangping to return eastward..."

Riding the wind westward, he saw the ground below him parched red, and counting the days, it had already been half a year since it last rained.

"No wonder there are so many Shanyue refugees."

Li Tongya frowned, assessing the situation within Shanyue territory and considering the possibility of refugees crossing the border.

"The Li Family's granaries have been full the last few years, accommodating a few thousand refugees isn't a problem, and it could even increase our population, it's just that if this drought continues, the Meichi River will dry up, and we won't be able to grow grains anymore."

"The Ji Family mentioned something about a sacrifice in their family letter, it seems Ganixi doesn't have much time left to jump around..."

As Li Tongya delved deeper into Shanyue territory, more and more cracked ground and denuded, withered trees appeared in his view, and the Great Jue Court slowly came into sight from afar.

The only city in Shanyue bore the marks of time; the walls, eroded by wind and rain, were pitted on the outside and likewise rotted within.

Next to the Great Jue Court, a tall altar was being constructed from earth, wood, and stone. It was almost finished, and it was said that Ganixi would offer prayers to the heavens upon it, aiming for unification.

Although the craftsmen working on the altar were withered and sweat-soaked, they looked hopeful and reverent. Each one was anticipating that Ganixi would end the chaos and bring a stable life to them.

"Can't go any further."

Li Tongya silently stopped in his tracks. His search, like all those before it, ended in vain; he turned away disappointed, heading toward Wangyue Lake. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Wangyue Lake had receded hundreds of miles; the cracked riverbed was full of dead fish and rotting shrimp, the stench so overwhelming it was hard to keep one's eyes open. The land was overrun with jackals and vultures scavenging for food, a vision of a beast's paradise. Li Tongya made a circuit over Wangyue Lake and then returned to Lijing Mountain.

No sooner had he landed on the mountain than Li Tongya saw a huge, fat black pig carcass lying in the courtyard. Its glossy hair was sleek and shiny, and its two tusks were as long as an adult's arm, white as jade.

Li Xuanling and Li Xuanxuan were busy driving Spirit Sealing Techniques into the joints and orifices of the black pig carcass, while Li Xuanfeng was polishing his bow on a large bluestone.

"Uncle!"

Seeing Li Tongya slowly alight, Li Xuanfeng, who was sitting on the bluestone, let out a hee-hee and laughed, holding his bow in his left hand and a large hemp bag in his right. He hopped down from the stone and, looking up, laughed loudly:

"This mountain Pig Demon is huge, with cultivation at the Fetal Breathing Peak—enough for everyone to have an extra meal!"

Li Tongya smiled softly, scanned with his Spiritual Sense, and saw a sleek, black arrow buried right in the demon's brain. Apart from that, the flesh was intact with not a single wound elsewhere. Somewhat surprised, he said: