Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 68 Preparing for an Ambush
Li Xiangping walked slowly into the courtyard, gently cradling the Mirror in his hands. The image of Lu Jiangxian within the mirror suddenly awoke, his divine sense sweeping up and down Lijing Mountain, taking in the changes of the past five years in an instant.
"The younger generation of the Li Family has grown up."
Li Xuanxuan, the posthumous child of Li Changhu, was in the courtyard reading a book, flipping the wooden slips back and forth as if preoccupied with something on his mind. Li Xiangping’s eldest son, Li Xuanfeng, sat beside a tombstone on the mountainside, his hair disheveled and wearing a vacant expression.
Tian Yun was in the courtyard, cheerily accompanying Li Jingtian with his reading. Li Tongya was out of sight; judging by the days, he should have gone to Guanyun Peak to deliver the tribute, leaving Liu Rouxuan holding their child, Li Xuanling, and talking affectionately.
Retracting his divine sense slowly, Lu Jiangxian looked toward Li Xiangping.
Li Xiangping’s mind was a tumult of disordered thoughts, various ideas flashing through his head as he entered the side courtyard, silently watching Li Xuanxuan.
Li Xuanxuan, troubled by his conflicting thoughts and arranging the wooden slips, startled when he saw Li Xiangping enter the courtyard, and said,
"Family Head..."
Li Xiangping waved him off, interrupting him in a grave tone,
"What would you do if your uncle never returns?"
Li Xuanxuan was shocked by the thought, struggling to articulate,
"Uncle... why would it come to that..."
Seeing Li Xiangping furrow his brows deeply, Li Xuanxuan tried to calm his emotions and composed himself, saying as calmly as possible,
"Find the Dharma Mirror."
Li Xiangping nodded and asked,
"And if it can’t be found?"
"Conceal the intelligence, declare that uncle is in seclusion for a breakthrough, immediately dispatch someone to take control of the clan soldiers, secure Lidao Entrance eastward next to the Wan Family, and seek aid from the county at any moment..."
Li Xuanxuan’s expression grew more solemn, his words coming faster. Li Xiangping gestured to stop him, speaking with a touch of despair,
"That’s enough."
He patted Li Xuanxuan’s shoulder, saying in a somber voice,
"Before your autumn uncle left to return to our sect, he left me with three talismans, and holding this Dharma Mirror, I even stand a chance against a Qi Cultivator, so don’t worry too much about me."
"The Li family has someone in the sect seeking immortality; no matter how dire the situation, the sect will likely intervene to save the bloodline of the Li family. As long as the Dharma Mirror is in our hands, our family will have the confidence to rise again."
"Go call Feng’er."
Li Xiangping always forbade illegitimate or foreign cultivators from interacting with the offspring of the direct lineage, just to conceal whether they possessed a Spirit Aperture. Facing the perilous mission to ambush Ji Dengqi, he must now plant a talisman seed in Li Xuanfeng, preparing for the worst.
Li Xuanxuan quickly returned with the morose Li Xuanfeng. Li Xiangping could not even bother with conversation; mana flowed through Li Xuanfeng’s body, probing the Sea of Qi Acupoint, only to find it utterly empty.
Li Xiangping sighed inwardly and let mana course through Li Xuanfeng’s entire body but then suddenly froze in shock.
Within the lesser treasury acupoint of Li Xuanfeng’s right hand, a swirling vortex of qi emerged. Li Xiangping was greatly alarmed, his mind momentarily blank as he muttered to himself,
"How can this be?!"
"How can Feng’er’s Spirit Aperture be located in the lesser treasury acupoint of his right hand? Aren’t they only supposed to be in the Sea of Qi Acupoint?! Could it also be in the Shengyang Mansion, the Niwan Palace?!"
Before he could ponder further, a second thought sprang into Li Xiangping’s mind,
"In the future, if the direct lineage of the Li family possesses a Spirit Aperture, should they still be granted a talisman seed?"
You must know that only those who have been endowed with the Talisman Seed can cultivate the "Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture," and if one possesses a Spirit Aperture, they should not be granted the Talisman Seed. Otherwise, wouldn’t they only be able to practice the loose cultivator’s "Qingyuan Cultivation Method" like those of common birth? What sort of reasoning is that?
As he recalled the "Guidance Technique" in detail, the look of astonishment on Li Xiangping’s face grew increasingly intense.
"The Mysterious Pearl True Elixir does also. At the beginning of the first turn, the elixir descends into the heart meridians, hence it is said the Pill Cavern is in the central palace, and the elixir’s descent marks the first turn... After the elixir descends, hold the breath for nine hours for one cycle, and eighty-one hours for nine cycles. Hence it is called the number of heavy nine..."
"It seems, it was originally possible to bestow it upon someone with a Spirit Aperture..."
Above, Lu Jiangxian watched with a smile as Li Xiangping below stood dumbfounded, already guessing his thoughts, and muttered,
"This Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seed of mine can indeed be planted in anyone, if a mortal plants it, they will ascend to immortality; if one with a spiritual aperture plants it, their cultivation will progress by leaps and bounds. It’s just, Li Xiangping, do you want two mediocrities, or one genius?"
"And this Li Xuanfeng, there actually is a Spirit Aperture in the Shaofu acupoint of his right hand, it seems the matter of the Spirit Aperture hides great secrets."
Li Xiangping had no time to think more, as he watched the time pass by second by second, with the hour set by the Wan Family drawing closer and closer. He could only say in a deep voice,
"Feng’er, do you still remember the spell that Father asked you to memorize last year?"
Seeing both Li Xuanxuan and Li Xiangping with stern expressions, Li Xuanfeng also became nervous unconsciously and said in a low voice,
"I have already memorized it all."
"Come."
Li Xiangping took Li Xuanfeng by the hand and led him into the solemn rear courtyard ancestral hall. Li Xuanfeng widened his eyes, scrutinizing the room he was never allowed to enter on ordinary days.
His gaze swept over several ancestral tablets in the back row, and Li Xuanfeng saw his grandfather Li Mutian standing in the room with a cane, looking up at the stone platform in the center.
Following Li Mutian’s gaze, Li Xuanxuan saw pale moonlight spreading down from the stone platform like mist, and a greyish Mirror was levitating in the air.
Li Xiangping whispered into Li Xuanfeng’s ear, and Li Xuanfeng nodded and knelt down, his young voice saying,
"Li Family disciple Li Xuanfeng respectfully requests the profound and mystical method, to command life and pacify the spirit, and to devoutly pursue Taoist cultivation."
"Let the time speak for the efficacy and not betray trust. Follow the Talisman to combustion, body bid farewell to Taiyin."
Suddenly, a White Pill rose on the surface of the Mirror, spherical and radiant, with white light flickering and shining so brightly that the courtyard was engulfed in a vast expanse of white, piercing straight into the crown of Li Xuanfeng’s head.
Li Xiangping watched as Li Xuanfeng sat cross-legged and began to guide the Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seed inside his body. He turned to Li Xuanxuan and said in a serious tone,
"Watch over Feng’er, and explain everything clearly to him."
With that, he bowed deeply and brought down the Mirror, gently placing it in his bosom, his expression complex as he let out a long sigh and said,
"The arrow is nocked, it must be loosed."
————
Lu Jiangxian watched as Li Xiangping left Lijing Mountain by himself. He patted his leg with the Godspeed Technique and quietly left Lijing Village. He followed the ancient Lidao path for a while and was about to reach the Wan Family territory when he stopped, took out the Mirror, and said softly,
"Li Family disciple Li Xiangping is deeply grateful for Xuan Ze’s grace, respectfully requests the profound and mystical method, cautiously emits the Taiyin Profound Light, to execute the wicked, break filth, and capture demons!"
With a movement of his divine sense, Lu Jiangxian shared all that he saw, but he realized he was still too far from Huaqian Mountain to be within the casting range of the Taiyin Profound Light.
Li Xiangping clearly realized this problem as well, cautiously moving forward while clutching the Talisman in his hand, occasionally taking out the Mirror to confirm his direction.
As Huaqian Mountain gradually came into the coverage of his divine sense, the presence of various auras flitted through his perception, and Lu Jiangxian finally sensed something amiss.
"One, two, three, five... nine, ten."
"Ten Qi Cultivators?!"
