Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 56 Exploration

Li Tongya went back and forth, carrying a bleating white lamb he took up to Meichi Mountain. By then, the sky had grown dark. The two nodded at each other, and Li Tongya tossed the little lamb into the cave.

"Baa... baa."

The lamb bleated for a while, trembling as it tried to walk out.

"Go!"

Li Xiangping forcefully turned it around and gave it a swat on the rear with a stick, urging the lamb to baa loudly as it went deeper in.

The group waited a while, listening to the lamb’s continued bleating, then exchanged glances and cautiously entered the cave.

The tunnel was wide enough for two to walk abreast, and the air was still relatively fresh, albeit a bit dim. As they moved deeper, the concentration of Spiritual Energy began to rise.

Upon entering the Cave Mansion, they saw a spacious hall with walls hewn from green stone. Luminous Pearls hung from the ceiling, casting a faint light that was just enough to make out the objects in the cave. The air was thick with Spiritual Energy, pleasantly comfortable and so inviting that one could hardly resist the urge to stop and practice Qi Cultivation.

The floor was inscribed with pale golden Formation Patterns. In the very center was a small fountain of Spiritual Energy, bursting forth. Next to it were meditation cushions, and several stone shelves stood empty, covered in a thick layer of dust.

Li Xiangping looked around and saw a stone table and several green jade stools, all bare, which left him disappointed as he said,

"This Cave Mansion has been cleaned out so thoroughly, it’s as if it’s been robbed."

Oddly, on the walls, there were three more stone doors. The lamb barely touched one and it opened. Li Tongya, as usual, let the lamb enter first, then followed with Li Xiangping as they tiptoed through the first stone door.

The room inside was relatively spacious, with Bright Moon Pearls hanging from the ceiling and several stone shelves, all equally barren. After a thorough search, all they found was dust and a few piles of decayed black ash.

Li Tongya and Li Xiangping exchanged looks, words unspoken between them, and resigned, moved on to the next stone doorway.

"This Cave Mansion is utterly empty; I’m afraid it’s not the relic of some ancestor, but rather it’s been abandoned."

Li Xiangping nodded and whispered as he looked toward the second stone door,

"Exactly. Even if the owner had died outside the Cave Mansion, there should be some belongings left inside. It’s been cleared out so cleanly here, I’m afraid the master had long been preparing to leave, taking with them their Jade Slips and Elixirs into their Storage Bag."

Behind the second stone door, there were seven or eight stone platforms with several white jade bottles on top. They inspected each bottle, finding the Elixirs inside had either lost their Spiritual Energy and efficacy, or the bottles were simply empty.

There were a few piles of black ash on the stone platforms, unrecognizable from what they once were. In the middle of the room sat a hexagonal Jade Disk, covered in Formation Talismans, now shattered beyond recognition with blue-green jade fragments scattered across the floor. Li Xiangping picked up a piece, and it was still slightly warm to the touch.

The two could only laugh bitterly as they exited the room.

"That Jade Disk seems somewhat like the Array Plate Wan Yuankai mentioned on the road."

Seeing the confusion on Li Xiangping’s face, Li Tongya explained,

"Both Formation Flags and Array Plates can be used to set up formations. Unlike Formation Flags, which rely on Formation Cultivation and Formation Patterns to set up, an Array Plate can only set up one type of Formation, and what’s carved on it is what it becomes, which is fairly rigid. The good thing is that it doesn’t require high Formation Cultivation; one just needs to know how to regulate the input of Spiritual Energy."

"Once the Formation breaks, the Array Plate will instantly shatter into pieces, whereas a Formation set up with Formation Flags can be reset as long as the flags remain intact."

"I see, so this Array Plate must have been the protective Great Formation at the entrance. We used Taiyin Profound Light to break through the Formation, and naturally, the Array Plate broke apart."

Li Xiangping nodded, rejoined Li Tongya back in the hall, and watched as Li Tongya cautiously let the lamb enter the third stone chamber before they both went in.

Inside, there was a stone bed, its mattress rotten beyond recognition. At the head of the bed was a small jade bottle, which Li Xiangping gently opened, finding nothing inside but a whiff of Pill Fragrance.

Li Tongya, with a keen eye, found a slender green jade bottle and a white cloth of unique material covered in fine writing among the bed’s remains. The two finally heaved a sigh of relief, and Li Xiangping immediately laughed and said,

"At least it isn’t a total loss."

"Certainly not."

Li Tongya shook his head and then spoke up:

"Just the Cave Mansion itself, along with the Gathering Formation in the heart of the mansion and the small hole spewing abundant Spiritual Energy, are already great treasures. We haven’t triggered any traps or sustained any injuries to gain these benefits. To have acquired such a cave where the Spiritual Energy is almost forty percent more abundant than the outside world, we should indeed be satisfied."

Li Xiangping nodded and leaned in to look at the white cloth and the slender Green Jade Bottle in Li Tongya’s hands.

Li Tongya first spread out the cloth and read it carefully:

"Chi Wei kneels in submission: The person has arrived at Wangyue Lake, and our sect has already sent people to encircle him. Please, Taoist Fellow, make your move quickly. The Fiery Sun Morning Technique you requested has been delivered. After this matter is concluded, the Spiritual Jade Fire Crystal will personally be presented at the Cave Mansion."

"The individual is extremely powerful, be very cautious, do not hold back. If you are caught off guard by this person, please fly towards the direction of our Green Pond Sect at once and inform us quickly."

After reading this puzzling message, both were left completely in the dark, gaining no useful information. They had no choice but to put away the cloth and turn their attention to the Green Jade Bottle in hand.

Li Xiangping shook the Green Jade Bottle and felt that its body was warm and seemingly empty, so he cautiously unscrewed the stopper but nothing came out.

Li Tongya’s Spiritual Sense swept over the bottle and he exclaimed in surprise:

"This is a Magic Artifact!"

Then he furrowed his brows, studying it carefully for a while and probed inside with his Spiritual Sense, speaking somewhat uncertainly:

"It seems to be a specialized Storage Magic Artifact, containing a type of Spiritual Energy that is as scorching as fire."

"No wonder I couldn’t pour anything out."

Li Xiangping nodded and asked with some confusion:

"Could it be the Fetal Breathing advanced level of nature’s spiritual energy?"

"No matter what, we can’t use it now. We should just store it safely."

Li Tongya put the Green Jade Bottle into his chest and he and Li Xiangping carefully checked every corner of the Cave Mansion, and only then did they lead the lamb out of the mansion.

Li Yesheng was at this moment leading the villagers from Jingyang Village in packing down the foundation on the hillside, not daring to approach the cave entrance. Seeing Li Tongya and Li Xiangping come out, he breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile:

"I saw this cave entrance early in the morning, and I even sent someone to Lijing Mountain to ask for the two brothers, not expecting a wasted trip."

Li Xiangping handed the lamb over to Li Yesheng and chatted briefly with him about the arrangements for building on the mountain, and then he returned to Lijing Mountain with Li Tongya.

"That Cave Mansion is abundant in Spiritual Energy, a few percents better than Lijing Mountain. We need to send someone to guard it."

Li Xiangping was walking and talking quietly with Li Tongya.

"Indeed."

Li Tongya nodded and said:

"Let’s call Li Qiuyang back. I’ll look after Meichi Mountain together with Xuanxuan. With a better cultivation environment, the boy can go further in the future."