Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 62: Circulating Qi
"In this world, who can enjoy peace and happiness every year? Life and death, rise and fall happen in the blink of an eye, but I am not afraid. My only worry is whether my children and grandchildren can shoulder great responsibilities," he said.
Li Xiangping forced a smile, no longer wishing to discuss this topic. He fetched some cloth and an ink brush, then had Li Chijing write down the sword technique.
"I’ve devised a single move for this sword technique, and it shall be called..."
Li Chijing tilted his head, thinking. The image of a crescent-shaped sword qi in pale moonlight emerged in his mind, and he said,
"Let’s call it the Moon Que Sword Arc."
With that, he picked up his brush and, with flowing strokes, filled several pieces of cloth with meticulously detailed instructions on the circulation of qi, the distribution of mana along the sword blade, and the technique of the sword stroke. Only then was he satisfied enough to set the brush down.
"Once you get to the Immortal Sect, I will have it carefully inscribed onto the Wooden Slip," he said.
Li Xiangping treasured the several pieces of cloth like precious gifts, smiling radiantly.
Glancing at the sky, he realized another hour had passed. Li Chijing had taught Li Xiangping some key points of talisman techniques, and after a long conversation with Li Mutian during the night and using some spells and supplements to nourish the old man’s body, he finally set out for the Lichuan Entrance.
————
After sitting on the Rosy Cloud Boat for a quarter of an hour, Li Chijing’s mind was still preoccupied with family affairs. Seeing him distracted, his senior sister Yuan Tuan spoke softly,
"How is the old man’s health?"
It was then that Li Chijing remembered he had returned home under the pretext of visiting family. Silently, he clenched the slender Green Jade Bottle at his waist and said with a subdued voice,
"He can still eat. I’ve treated his body, so he should manage for a few more years."
Yuan Tuan sighed softly, assuming Li Chijing was feeling down, and consoled him,
"Even cultivators cannot escape birth, aging, sickness, and death, let alone mortals. It’s best to suffer as little as possible."
Li Chijing engaged in half-hearted conversation, but his mind was occupied with how to explain the origins of the Taiyin Moonlight to Si Yuanbai.
"Not to mention procuring the Lake Center’s Golden Autumn from within the sect, just borrowing the Moon Lake Autumn Reflection Technique requires the master’s consent. There’s no chance of practicing the technique privately, I’ll have to inform the master first," he thought.
With this in mind, Li Chijing turned to Yuan Tuan with a smile and asked softly,
"Senior sister, is master at Qing Sui Peak?"
"Oh, I received a message from the peak; master returned to Qing Sui Peak yesterday. He heard you had been bullied, so he threw a dozen Gathering Rain Talismans on Yuanwu Peak and almost flooded it."
Yuan Tuan couldn’t help but laugh as she relayed this, her voice tinged with amusement.
"Ah?"
Li Chijing was momentarily stunned, a wave of emotion rising within him.
"In the end, disciples from the surrounding peaks came to gawk, and it was the Peak Master of Yuanwu who personally apologized to dissipate the thick clouds."
"It seems I’ve troubled the master," said Li Chijing with a wry smile. He didn’t feel aggrieved, but Deng Qiuzhi had suffered a significant loss at his hands. The Deng Family was a Noble Family, and Li Chijing was somewhat worried he had offended them too harshly.
The Rosy Cloud Boat was fast; after a brief chat between the two, the Green Pond Sect’s Mountain Gate came into sight. Yuan Tuan dropped Li Chijing at Qing Sui Peak and steered the boat towards the main peak.
Li Chijing landed and walked for a while before he saw his senior brother Xiao Yuansi, who had just finished collecting elixirs amidst the morning’s rosy clouds and was putting the pills into a bottle. His eyes lit up when he saw Li Chijing, and he smiled,
"Elder brother has avenged you, giving Deng Qiuzhi a good thrashing."
"Thank you, elder brother!"
Li Chijing laughed heartily, lightly hopping up the stone steps toward him, and asked in a soft voice,
"What elixir have you been refining?"
"Just messing around with some things, trying out a few new ideas," said Xiao Yuansi, shaking his head. He smiled and patted the still-warm Alchemy Furnace, then said solemnly,
"Master is at the peak’s summit. Go see him quickly."
"I was just about to."
Li Chijing nodded, pulled out ten Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag, and smiled,
"I had almost forgotten that I owed elder brother ten Spirit Stones. Now I can finally pay you back."
Xiao Yuansi casually waved his hand and took the spirit stone from Li Chijin’s hand, tossing it into his storage bag before lowering his head to peruse his pill scripture.
Li Chijin then bowed to take his leave and, walking lightly down the path, soon caught sight of a small pavilion shrouded in pale white mists in the distance.
He had just reached the mountain top’s plateau when he saw a person dressed in green. This figure appeared to be in his thirties or forties, with handsome features and a gentle smile. A radiant treasure sword hung at his waist, and he stood between the buildings with an air of elegance.
Li Chijin hurried up the stairs, bowing respectfully with a smile:
"Master!"
Si Yuanbai’s eyes sparkled with mirth as he replied softly,
"That Deng Qiuzhi personally came to Qing Sui Peak to apologize to you, only to find you had left. I heard you went home to see your father."
Thinking of Li Mutian, Si Yuanbai’s expression turned slightly strange as he looked down at Li Chijin.
However, Li Chijin lowered his head and knelt with a thud.
"Please forgive your disciple, Master! I deceived my fellow brothers and sisters and went to Wangyue Lake for another important matter!"
Si Yuanbai’s face immediately changed, and he quickly helped Li Chijin to his feet, saying sternly,
"There is no need for such actions. Stand up and speak."
Li Chijin, with his head still lowered, began tentatively,
"Jing’er received a letter from home earlier this year. My family has discovered an ancestral cave. After immense effort to break through the protective spells, we found the cave cleared out, except for a single green jade bottle."
"Upon inspection, my family noticed that the bottle contained a portion of nature’s spiritual energy, as pure as frost and flowing like water."
Si Yuanbai frowned and said in a heavy tone,
"As pure as frost, flowing like water?"
"Frost from the snow? Wind from the pine forest? No, that can’t be... Surely it isn’t..."
Si Yuanbai shook his head, then suddenly widened his eyes and exclaimed,
"Taiyin Moonlight?!"
Li Chijin nodded solemnly and said,
"I went to the Scripture Pavilion and looked for a long time, finding it unbelievable. So I sought an excuse to go home and check. It was indeed Taiyin Moonlight!"
"Bring it to me to see!"
Li Chijin hurriedly offered up the slender green jade bottle, and Si Yuanbai, accepting it with a nod, said gravely,
"This green jade bottle indeed dates back a hundred years."
Having felt it for a moment, Si Yuanbai’s eyes snapped open, and he said with delight,
"It truly is Taiyin Moonlight! You have done well in this matter."
After a close examination, Si Yuanbai looked down at Li Chijin and said in a soft voice,
"Taiyin Moonlight is exceptionally precious. You must think carefully about how to deal with it."
"I will follow Master’s decision!"
Li Chijin bowed respectfully in response.
"You are too cunning, child."
Si Yuanbai laughed heartily and patted Li Chijin on the head before continuing with a serious tone,
"Your cultivation level has reached the peak of Fetal Breathing. If you wish to master the ’Moon Lake Autumn Reflection Technique,’ you must not report this Taiyin Moonlight to the sect. Your sister should borrow the spell, and I will then ask for the Lake Center’s Golden Autumn quota. You must master the technique first. Once it’s accomplished and the raw rice is cooked into a meal, we will report it to the sect."
"If the news were to leak, even if the old ancestors of the sect refrain from acting out of pride, the people from Moon Lake Peak will use all means to take this Taiyin Moonlight from you."
"The Green Pond Sect has been without this heritage for three hundred years, and they have waited too long..."
After hearing Si Yuanbai’s words, Li Chijin also clenched his teeth with guilt, agreeing verbally, while his heart was filled with complexity.
Li Xiangping and Li Chijin were both astute and wary individuals. Li Chijin had been vigilant about surrounding matters since he was young, and now, looking at the warmly smiling Si Yuanbai in front of him, he felt deeply moved and finally let down his guard towards Qing Sui Peak and his fellow disciples and brothers.
"Thank you, Master!"
