Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 77: Seeking Help

Li Xiangping lowered his head and smiled, he was just about to answer when he saw Li Yesheng enter the cave mansion with great respect and turned to say,

"What’s the matter?"

Li Yesheng spoke in a low voice,

"Family Head, there are over a dozen children from the Wan Family at the foot of the mountain. They say... once allies and friends, now their family is ruined and their clan is destroyed, and they hope to borrow our family’s protection."

Both of them were momentarily stunned, putting down the teacups in their hands. Li Xiangping’s expression turned somewhat complex as he spoke softly,

"Among these people, are there any with Spirit Apertures?"

"Qiuyang went to see. He said the leader is at the first layer of the Fetal Breathing Realm, Xuanging Wheel, and the rest are mere mortals."

Li Yesheng replied quietly, and Li Xiangping, who sat at the head, was silent for a few moments before he said in a deep voice,

"Scatter these Wan Family people and arrange them into various villages. Those in their teens should be allocated some land to set up their own households, children under ten should be placed in the academy for now, and the even younger ones should be fostered in other families."

"As for the leader, bring him to see me first."

————

Wan Tianjing, with a group of children, hid in the mountains for a night. Seeing the Great Formation of Huaqian Mountain shatter, he finally lost hope and remembered the words his clan uncle said when he sent him down the mountain; sobbing, he staggered westward.

He walked silently, with a heart filled with despair. The children behind him, having been instructed by their families before leaving, made no fuss and walked quietly, their occasional cries sounding all the more sorrowful.

Wan Tianjing avoided the usual boundaries of the villages, found some fruits and wild rabbits to feed the children, and stumbled into the territory of the Li Family. After asking around, a Li Family cultivator stationed there soon arrived.

This Li Family cultivator appeared barely over twenty and was named Li Qiuyang, a cultivator born out of wedlock from the Li Family. He spoke quite politely and felt deeply troubled when he heard about the Wan Family’s plight. While leading Wan Tianjing to Meichi Mountain, he chatted with him in a low voice.

"Have you cultivated?"

Li Qiuyang asked softly. The third layer of the Fetal Breathing Realm was Zhouxing Wheel, and he had been at this realm for two to three years without finding a breakthrough opportunity. Given the scarcity of cultivators to compare within his family, he wanted to see how Wan Tianjing’s cultivation level was.

"I’ve entered the Immortal Path, and currently, I am of Xuanging Wheel cultivation."

Seeing Wan Tianjing’s fourteen to fifteen-year-old appearance, Li Qiuyang instantly felt much relaxed, thinking to himself,

"Not everyone is like Li Xuanxuan, with godspeed in cultivation, reaching the third layer of the Fetal Breathing Realm at fourteen or fifteen after seven years of practice."

The Li Family was very efficient. Wan Tianjing had only chatted with Li Qiuyang briefly when he saw a dignified middle-aged man coming to lead him up the mountain. Lowering his head, he followed the stone path and saw the middle-aged man bow respectfully, leading him into the mansion.

Wan Tianjing slightly raised his brows for a glance, noticing a middle-aged man wearing a robe, sitting in the center of the main hall, reading with his head lowered.

"Family Head, this is the man."

Upon hearing the words, the middle-aged man lifted his head, his elongated eyebrows slightly raised, and his hawk-like eyes met Wan Tianjing’s gaze. Wan Tianjing was so startled that he quickly knelt down, his heart filled with shock, thinking,

"This man is clearly no ordinary individual. He must be the Family Head of the Li Family."

Li Xiangping nodded and stood up, gently setting down the wooden slip in his hand and gazed quietly at Wan Tianjing.

Wan Tianjing was sweating profusely when he heard a gentle voice from above say,

"Lift your head."

Wan Tianjing felt as if pardoned, and upon raising his head, he realized that beside the Li Family head stood another person, looking genteel and scholarly with a sword on his waist. He held a green talisman brush in his hand and was smiling warmly at him.

"What is your name?"

The middle-aged man in the main seat finally spoke. Wan Tianjing fell silent for a few moments, overwhelmed with sorrow and hatred. Gritting his teeth, he said:

"Wan Tianchou! My name is Wan Tianchou!"

Li Xiangping nodded, then chatted with him about the details of that night at Huaqian Mountain before dismissing Wan Tianchou and Li Yesheng. He exchanged a glance with Li Tongya and said dispassionately:

"Weak and unstrategic, but with a bit of loyalty, he can be made use of, nowhere near the caliber of Wan Tiancang."

Li Tongya laughed and shook his head, saying softly:

"The Wan Family only needs to worry about Wan Xiaohua and Wan Tiancang. As long as one of them survives, the Wan Family still has a chance to rise again. It’s a pity they both died on Huaqian Mountain."

Li Xiangping waved his hand and said with a stern voice:

"Unless the ancestor Wan Huaqian can crawl out of the ground, the destruction of the Wan Family is already a certainty. We should think about the future instead!"

"Is second brother prepared for the breakthrough to the sixth layer of the Fetal Breathing Realm?"

Li Tongya nodded and answered:

"A few days of adjusting my breath, and I will be ready to enter seclusion."

Pouring a pot of clear tea, Li Xiangping brushed aside several wooden slips on the table, and, making a mark on the cloth, he said in a deep voice:

"Second brother is about to break through to the sixth layer of the Fetal Breathing Realm’s Lingchu Wheel. I, too, have found the opportunity to strike at the fifth wheel of Fetal Breathing. The rest, including second sister-in-law, Li Qiuyang, and Xuanxuan, are all at the third layer of Fetal Breathing. Wan Tianchou is at the first layer of cultivation, plus Xuanfeng and Chen Donghe, who’ve just stepped onto the Immortal Path."

"Not counting Jing’er, our Li Family’s strength is now not much different from that of the Wan Family in its heyday."

"Indeed."

Li Tongya nodded but then remembered something else and said in a low voice:

"A few days ago, I heard from our subordinates that there have been unusual movements of beasts in the western forests, and even a demon beast fled. Fortunately, its cultivation level was not high, and Qiuyang resolved it with the villagers."

"It’s probably not a good sign."

Li Xiangping pondered for a few moments before responding:

"Although our scouts have not found any trace of Shanyue, the west was once where Shanyue tribes were active. It’s likely their doing. We still should be extremely cautious."

"I have already ordered people to investigate deeply, perhaps they’ll come back with some information."

Li Tongya collected the talisman ink from the table and walked out of the cave mansion with Li Xiangping, heading towards Lijing Mountain.

————

After organizing the multitude of information in his mind, Lu Jiangxian’s divine sense wandered out and saw the familiar stone platform and skylight.

There were no significant changes in the cracks on his own mirror surface, but the Mirror Body lit up with a circle of bright white lines. The white qi in the jade pendant did not enhance the Taiyin Profound Light; instead, it brought a new ability to the Dharma Mirror.

The Mirror Body could use the Talisman Qi obtained from the "Sacrificial Extraction Original Method" combined with Taiyin Moonlight to condense a Talisman Pill. A cultivator can only consume one per major realm, which can break through barriers and advance cultivation levels. The effectiveness depends on the amount of Talisman Qi in the pill—in sufficient quantities, it can have miraculous effects even on Foundation Establishment and Zifu.

Just like the Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seed, consuming this elixir would leave a Talisman Seal within the hidden part of the divine soul in the Shengyang Mansion, speeding up the host’s absorption of spiritual energy. Upon the host’s death, it would exhaust its essence qi to transform into Talisman Qi and feed back to the Mirror Body.

"Dharma Mirror’s style is as always utilitarian..."

Lu Jiangxian couldn’t help but sigh, feeling somewhat helpless.

He had acquired the "Sacrificial Extraction Original Method" several years ago but had been unable to harvest Talisman Qi due to stringent conditions. He would have to wait until Li Tongya’s breakthrough in Qi Cultivation to give it another try.