Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 129 - 120: Entering the Furnace
"Take my sword."
Li Chijin uttered four words, and the blazing white light flowed out from the longsword at his waist. He lifted his left hand lightly, and the biting wind atop Yi Shan City suddenly grew still, turning all around into a field of pure whiteness.
Deng Qiuzhi pressed the sword at his waist, feeling surges in his heart. He too was a swordsman; though his cultivation level was not high, he recognized the splendor of this sword strike.
"Moon Que Sword Intent... Brother Chi Jing has always been one to conceal his ability and not flaunt himself before others. Now pushed to the brink, he finally chooses not to hide!"
The white radiance flowed like moonlight, slow in appearance yet truly swift, and crashed into Chi Jiuyun's crimson barrier. It was like piercing a sheet of window paper—layer upon layer of talismanic golden light flashed around Chi Jiuyun's body, shattering in vain. As an icy chill spread across his neck, Chi Jiuyun could only pale and cry out:
"Ancestor, save me!"
A look of sudden realization flashed in Li Chijin's eyes. The white light brushed past Chi Jiuyun's face like a caress of moonlight, leaving not a single mark. Chi Jiuyun stood dumbly for a moment, then said:
"Sword intent?!"
Li Chijin cupped his hands in salute, as if he hadn't heard, merely replying:
"Thank you for letting me win, Senior Brother Chi."
"Good!"
Chi Jiuyun shouted, his face still pale, then asked:
"What sword intent was that?"
"Moon Que Sword Intent."
Li Chijin nodded slightly in response, not expecting to see the complex emotions on Chi Jiuyun's face as he murmured:
"What a pity! What a pity indeed!"
"Clang!"
Only then did the sound of a sword hitting the ground ring out, startling the crowd. A buzz of murmurs began, but for fear of Chi Jiuyun's status, none dared to speak openly. Yet amazement filled every eye.
Li Chijin landed back among the mountains, where Xiao Yuansi was staring at him in utter shock, incredulously asking:
"You almost killed Chi Jiuyun?"
"I dare not."
Li Chijin sheathed his sword, glanced at Xiao Yuansi's stunned expression, and shook his head:
"Had I killed him, the Chi Family—owing to the need of that Zifu Perfected Person—would not dare act openly against me, but they would surely take action at home. This was merely a punishment."
"Aren't you afraid he'll hold a grudge and make trouble for your family?"
Xiao Yuansi asked continuously, curiosity bright in his eyes.
"Chi Jiuyun is proud and talented; he will not stoop to those means. After all these years of dealing with each other, we know where we stand."
Li Chijin smiled and stretched lazily. Just then, a man walked out from beyond the cave, bowed respectfully, and said:
"Senior, someone from the sect has come, asking you to depart."
Xiao Yuansi paused, and his face, rarely ever angry in over a decade, suddenly clouded. His sleeves fluttered though there was no wind, and he shouted sternly:
"So impatient, are they already?!"
The man ducked his head in fright. Xiao Yuansi immediately realized his loss of composure, apologized gently, while Li Chijin nodded in acknowledgment and said solemnly:
"Lead the way."
"Jing'er!"
Xiao Yuansi called out. Li Chijin removed the sword at his waist, handed it to Xiao Yuansi, and said softly:
"Take care, Senior Brother."
With those words, he left the hall, rode the wind, and landed on the mountain peak, leaving Xiao Yuansi clutching the jade slip in the wind, face conflicted, as if steeling himself, staring blankly at the sky.
"Master... forgive me, I cannot remain in the sect any longer..."
———
Li Chijin entered the grand hall atop the peak. In the central seat where Chi Jiuyun should have been, there now sat a green-robed cultivator, his face indistinct, with Chi Jiuyun standing off to the side, head bowed respectfully.
Kneeling below was Deng Qiuzhi, lost in unknown thoughts, head lowered.
"Greetings, Perfected Person."
Li Chijin, judging by the man's bearing, instantly recognized a Zifu monk, and so bowed deeply, lifting his head to gaze intently, as if to pierce through the haze covering the Zifu monk's face and glimpse his true guise.
"Insolence!"
Chi Jiuyun was startled and shouted, but the Zifu monk waved his hand and said:
"It's nothing."
The green-robed Zifu monk lowered his head for a while, then suddenly asked:
"Moon Que Sword Intent... how long have you cultivated it?"
"A little over five years."
The Zifu monk mumbled for a moment, advanced and gazed at Li Chijin's brow, confirming that there was none of that crescent mark which unnerved him, then said:
"I've never agreed with Senior Brother Chi Wei's ways, sacrificing the sect's young talents one by one just to pave the way for himself. Pity… back then, that old fool favored his methods. Now he's the sect leader, his cultivation level high—I can only obey orders."
Chi Jiuyun immediately shut his eyes and pretended not to hear, but the green-robed Zifu monk shot him a glance and went on:
"Rise."
Li Chijin stood up, and with a light grasp and step forward, the Zifu monk brought the two of them instantly above the sea of clouds.
The blazing brilliance of sunrise was rising into the sky. The Zifu monk led them all the way south, past the flat wilds outside Yi Shan City, deep into the endless Southern Border.
"So fast!"
The scenery around swept by like lightning, the forest below blurred into a sea of green, and distant mountains closed in at a speed visible to the eye. Li Chijin laughed under his breath and said:
"Zifu monks truly live freely!"
The green-robed cultivator cast a surprised glance at him, maintained their speed with a spell, nodded in approval, and replied:
"Not so freely! Zifu has its difficulties too, though at least most times we need not serve as pawns."
"You!"
The green-robed cultivator looked at him again, chuckled, and softly said:
"You really do suit my temperament. If it weren't for the current state of affairs, I'd take you as a disciple and teach you carefully. But now you are fated to die; even if that great jiao fails in alchemy, I must see you turned to ashes before I can rest easy."
Li Chijin found it both laughable and exasperating. Li Mutian's visage flashed abruptly in his mind. By the count of years, Li Mutian was likely long gone, faded from Yi Shan City with no word. Who knows what had become of the family now.
Deng Qiuzhi's face was ashen, blankly staring at the morning sun, his cheeks stung raw by the biting wind, yet he seemed utterly insensate, lost to the world.
In no time, the three landed within a forest. Before them lay a bottomless pool; the water within was as emerald as jade, not a ripple on the surface.
To one side sat a youth who appeared barely into his teens, draped in a pitch-black long robe that shimmered like scales. Eyes closed, he dozed against a great tree. The green-robed cultivator cupped his hands and said respectfully:
"Senior, I have brought the men."
The youth's eyes snapped open; vertical pupils, emerald-green as a serpent jiao's, fixed on the green-robed cultivator. In a soft, sibilant voice, he said:
"You? Where is Chi Wei?"
"The sect leader is in seclusion, striving to preserve his life, awaiting your elixir."
The youth tossed his head, sneered coldly, and hissed:
"I'd say the old ghost is frightened of me, and dares not venture to the Southern Border, sending you in his stead!"
Bowed beneath their joint pressure, Li Chijin was unable to speak. Staring at those vertical jiao-pupils, he mused inwardly:
"This must be the great jiao the Zifu monk mentioned!" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
The great jiao, having forced Li Chijin down motionless with his aura, grinned as he examined him:
"Taoist Foundation 'Lake Moon Autumn', well suited to the requirements... Wait here!"
Next, he gripped Deng Qiuzhi and scrutinized him, nodding:
"As usual, a Qi Cultivator who trained in a secret technique, not yet thirty—just right for the medicine."
Then, grabbing both Li Chijin and Deng Qiuzhi, he plunged into the water. Darkness overtook Li Chijin, and suddenly he found himself inside a cave mansion of pure emerald. Jade tables, jade chairs, jade altars, and jade racks glittered everywhere, the splendor blinding. At the center sat a massive golden pill furnace large enough for five men to encircle, fed below by flames of black and crimson.
The great jiao patted his head, scrutinized his limbs, formed a spell with his hands, then chortled:
"You'd taste delicious. If I hadn't promised Old Man Chi, I'd eat you myself."
With that, he tossed Li Chijin into the pill furnace. Grabbing Deng Qiuzhi, he raised him above the furnace, sliced his chest and abdomen with one hand—blood gushed in torrents, and as he fainted with a groan, he was cruelly tossed into the furnace as well.
Li Chijin was still unable to speak or move. Looking at the ghastly fate of Deng Qiuzhi, he sighed inwardly as the blood seeped out, drop by drop.
All sorts of spiritual objects rained down upon him. Li Chijin thought quietly to himself:
"I never even saw Father one last time before he died, and here I'm left behind in this remote Southern Border. Once I reach the Netherworld, Elder Brother will surely have words for me again!"
The heat already pressed in all around. Li Chijin murmured inwardly:
"I only hope Second and Third Brother can protect the younger ones, and see through the true face of Green Pond Sect sooner rather than later!"
