Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 124 - 115: Seize
Li Tongya had been waiting above the lake surface for a while when he saw a white light flying up from the center of the lake, riding the wind from north to south. He skilfully took out a Spiritual Cloth from his Storage Bag, wrapped it around his face, pressed his left hand against his sword, and soared up to meet it.
"This friend!"
The person driving the wind bumped into Li Tongya head-on but didn't answer. Without thinking, he pulled up to gain altitude and shifted his angle, intending to bypass Li Tongya.
Li Tongya had already readied his Moon Que Sword Arc in his hand, and seeing this, he drew his sword and raised a white Sword Radiance, slashing directly ahead to block the person before him.
"How dare you!"
The cultivator had to forcefully stop in her tracks, gave a light shout, and drew her sword to block. Her voice was melodious and pleasant, unexpectedly revealing she was a female cultivator.
This female cultivator urged her Mana hastily and met the Moon Que Sword Arc head-on. The longsword in her hand nearly flew out of her grip. As the two forces canceled each other out, her internal organs shook violently, her complexion turning from green to red intermittently. She nearly lost control of her Controlling Qi Spell, and she looked down, glaring at Li Tongya with resentment.
However, Li Tongya was staring at the green-blue longsword in the female cultivator's hand, the complex patterns on it indicating it was an excellent Dharma Sword. Seeing the female cultivator's poor complexion, his heart moved, and with a hoarse voice, he said:
"Miss, you cannot defeat me. It would be best to leave your Storage Bag and Magic Artifact behind, and I might spare your life."
The female cultivator let out a cold laugh. A white Sword Radiance surged out of the longsword in her hand, and she slashed at Li Tongya with a backhand strike, shouting:
"Dream on."
Li Tongya calmly raised his sword to meet her attack, parrying her strikes with ease and calculating the time it would take to defeat her.
"This female cultivator is only at the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivating, and although her cultivation technique and True Yuan are both exceptional, if it were an ordinary fight, she would be subdued within one hundred twenty to one hundred forty moves. But with people coming and going across the lake, attracting others would complicate matters, so it's better to end this quickly."
Li Tongya, although at the Fifth Layer of Qi Training, possessed combat power far beyond ordinary people, with the support of his Deep Sea Long Whale Script and Sword Path Cultivation. It did not matter if it was a cultivator at the Seventh or Eighth Layer of Qi Cultivating—none of them would be his match. And if he faced the rush of those hastily swallowing Qi Refinement pills, even those at the Qi Cultivating Peak wouldn't stand a chance. His Sword Qi grew more brilliant, forcing the female cultivator to sweat profusely and retreat continuously.
"This person is definitely no ordinary individual! He can't just be some Loose Cultivator, and not even those five or six great clans counted on one's fingers could cultivate such a disciple. He must undoubtedly be from the Three Sects and Seven Doors!"
Under Li Tongya's full force, the female cultivator barely parried for a few dozen strikes before feeling the Sword Radiance on her longsword almost dissipate. The sword energies were powerful and heavy, and the True Yuan inside her was nearly depleted.
"Judging by this person's profound and clear True Yuan that lacks any sharp aura, neither warm nor fiery... Could it be the Green Pond Sect? Or perhaps the Changxiao Sect?"
As she was on the verge of being overwhelmed, the female cultivator bit down on her jade teeth. Unwilling to part with the items in her Storage Bag, she spoke up with effort:
"I hail from the Wu Family in the south of the county. Fellow Taoist, if you can spare my Wu Family today, I will forever remember this kindness in my heart..."
Li Tongya shook his head, saying sternly:
"Am I supposed to go to your Wu Family in the south of the county to ask for rewards? Fellow Taoist, don't try to fob me off with these useless words. Wan isn't going to change his stance! Leave behind your Storage Bag and Magic Artifact, and I might spare your life."
Li Tongya had encountered the Wu Family from the south of the county before; he had seen members of the Wu Family when he first went to Guanyun Peak, and they had no rapport with each other. He hadn't expected to confront them now.
"Fellow Taoist, this is bullying too far! My Wu Family is a great clan with a Foundation Establishment ancestor. I am his fifth-generation granddaughter, and if you hurt me, you will be making an enemy of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Please think carefully!"
The female cultivator said through clenched teeth, her demeanor resolute yet flustered. Li Tongya dispersed the Sword Radiance on her longsword with a single strike, saying coldly:
"Even if you were a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, killing you here in the wilderness means even a Zifu Monk would have no way to find you. What does being his fifth-generation granddaughter matter? Even if you were his direct daughter, it would be of no use!"
Without further words, his sword thrusts pressured the female cultivator surnamed Wu to retreat again and again. Li Tongya flicked his sword, and the green-blue longsword rang out crisply, "ding," falling to one side.
Just as Li Tongya was about to strike, the female cultivator suddenly released a pale yellow Talisman from her hand. His eyebrows raised, he instinctively retreated and sheathed his sword, gathering his strength.
The talisman flickered with red light, bursting into five sparrow-like fire techniques that rushed toward Li Tongya.
The arc of the Moon Que Sword surged forth, just managing to shatter two streams of firelight, turning them into scattered red sparks. The other three fire techniques were already upon him, and Li Tongya had no choice but to use his sword in defense, channeling all his True Yuan into the blade, which immediately shone with a brilliant light.
The three fire techniques came one after another, forcing Li Tongya to take three steps back. His gray-white longsword turned a fiery red, hissing with sparks. He hastily sheathed the sword, just as the female cultivator had picked up her own and flew eastward on the wind.
Li Tongya likewise took to the skies on the wind, driving his True Yuan without regard for the loss, catching up with the female cultivator in a dozen breaths. His sword qi shot forth from the longsword in his hand, causing her back to tingle incessantly.
"How can she be so fast! This is not the speed of someone at the fifth layer of Qi cultivating."
The female cultivator, trembling in fear, reached once more for her storage bag. Li Tongya's longsword was still scorching hot, and he couldn't allow her further struggle. Thrusting forth with his blade, he aimed for the hand that was touching the storage bag.
A faint white shield emerged around the female cultivator's nape and heart, not anticipating Li Tongya to play it so safe. Her plans fell through as her left arm was severed with a clean cut, she cried out in pain, sweat instantly beading on her forehead. Flailing, she managed to clench the Riding Qi Spell, but Li Tongya gave her no chance, striking her with another sword blow that almost split her in two. Only then did she let out a cry of pain and plummeted to the ground.
The Wu Family from the south of the county were indeed from a great clan; this female cultivator had exceptional cultivation. On the verge of crashing to the ground, she awkwardly arrested her fall, and it was only when Li Tongya caught up and decapitated her with his sword that he finally dispatched her.
Looking at the bloodied ground, Li Tongya frowned slightly, shook the fresh blood from his sword, and sighed quietly as he picked up her storage bag.
"Taoist fellow, you could have chosen a living path, or a graceful and dignified death, but you opted for such an unsightly end..."
Using a spell to part the soil, Li Tongya disposed of her body and bloodstains, then hastily rose on the wind.
Thunder roared over Lake Heart Island in the distance. Li Tongya heard laughter from far away and a voice bellowed,
"There's a formation beneath this?! How very cunning!"
"I have accumulated energy here above Wangyue Lake for two hundred years, surely I have some resources. You three will taste this forbidden technique of mine!"
The hoarse old voice carried a hint of ruthlessness, thunderbolts and a rain of fire suddenly fell, the small island in the lake blazed with formations and the fiery downpour, casting its effects on who knows how many Qi cultivating thieves.
Alarmed, looking at the slow fade of the fire clouds on the horizon, the brilliance of the thunderbolts and formations gradually disappearing, the scorched earth of the island in the lake disturbed him. Li Tongya turned his head, flew a distance over the lake, then saw a small island. He used the Water Repelling Technique to dive and settle at the riverbed, disappearing from view.
The Li Family had sent many people to explore and sort through the Serpent Demon Cave Mansion the year before last. Hundreds of mortals lived within the entire cave, along with three Fetal Breathing cultivators. The remains had been cleaned, and more than a dozen courtyards were built at the entrance. The pale blue crystal on the cave mansion's ceiling provided light and a unique ambiance.
Li Tongya dismissed several Fetal Breathing disciples who approached and found a room to recuperate. However, he realized his True Yuan was almost fully recovered.
"The Deep Sea Long Whale Script... truly miraculous!"
Picking up the storage bag of the female cultivator, Li Tongya poured out a pile of shining spiritual objects. He called forth a fire technique to incinerate the female cultivator's clothing and miscellaneous items. Then, he began to inspect his loot:
"Twenty or thirty Fetal Breathing Talisman, fifteen spirit stones, three talisman of Qi Cultivation level, three Fetal Breathing magical instruments, a dozen or so bottles of Fetal Breathing pills..."
Moving the heap of items aside, Li Tongya took a blood-stained pill furnace from the storage bag. His eyes brightened with surprise and delight,
"So it's a pill furnace! No wonder this female cultivator was so reluctant to part with it. Pill furnaces are always far more valuable than ordinary magic artifacts, and this one appears to be of high quality; it could fetch several hundred spirit stones!"
Noticing the bloodstains on the pill furnace, the female cultivator was not weak; who knows how many she had killed to obtain this pill furnace. Li Tongya conjured a Cleansing Technique to wash away the blood, then happily stored it away and examined the three talisman.
"One of them is that impressively powerful Fire Sparrow Technique, which would cause even those at the late stage of Qi cultivating to suffer if caught off guard. The other two are much more common: one is a spell shield, and the other is a spell needle rain, likely only as powerful as the early stage of Qi cultivating."
After safely storing those talisman, Li Tongya picked up a token made of Green Crow, engraved with the character "Wu," which seemed to be an identity token.
He casually pocketed it and began to meditate in the lotus position.
