Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror

Chapter 447 368: Stripped of Robes and Rank (Part 2)

Li Ximing was stunned by his shout, his face flushed slightly, and he retorted:

"Yes, I am indeed considering my way out! Everything depends on me, everything looks to me, you can talk so easily, but do you really think everyone is someone like Xiao Chuting? Excelling in cultivation on one hand, and possessing deep mastery in the Alchemy Dao on the other—how can the world grant such blessings!"

"I just fear that if I dedicate myself to alchemy, I'll lose my cultivation, and when it comes time to establish my Foundation, I'll die and my Tao will perish, wasting all this precious nature's spiritual energy for nothing! I might not even be fit to be a Qi Cultivating Alchemist."

Li Xijun exhaled, stuffed the Golden Sun Radiant Origin back into his arms, and said sternly:

"Fine! Then come up the mountain with me and explain this matter in person. Let Uncle make the judgment!"

Li Ximing slumped down clutching the jade box, finally falling silent. Li Xijun also let out a long sigh, slowly sat down beside him, and spoke gently:

"Brother, you need not worry so much…"

"How could I not worry!"

Li Ximing caressed the jade box on his knees, his voice hollow and drifting, he whispered:

"Our great-grandfather became a Foundation Establishment cultivator from an ordinary mortal in just twenty years; all three of the ancestral uncles were unmatched men of talent. Every time I read the clan history, it's as if I'm reading about immortals—utterly unthinkable."

"Since childhood, I always heard the elders say that you most resemble our ancestors—calm and unflappable, thorough in thought, never changing expression, never shaken by killing."

Li Ximing raised his head slightly and said:

"I too learned to put on a calm demeanor, but in the end, a fox can never become a tiger; you are truly confident, I am but a fox faking a tiger's might…"

He spoke softly:

"When I was ten, Father ordered me to kill, and I did—knowing well what Father expected from me; but privately I was trembling and unable to speak, too afraid to show it."

"Afterward, when I went to the Xiao Family, I too was tempted several times by wine and lust on my trips down the mountain. Master Xiao warned me many times…I thought I was a member of the Li family and would not be swayed, but…"

Li Ximing said gloomily:

"In truth, what I fear is the Clan Head Courtyard, afraid of tainting Father's reputation. With my elders above me, I keep to the rules. If only I could do things without a trace, I wouldn't withstand any temptation."

He looked a bit lost and panic-stricken.

Li Xijun was stunned, his expression rapidly shifting. Finally, he couldn't stop himself from interrupting urgently:

"You…you lost your primal yang?! But that's the Xiao Family! That's the Xiao Family! Father's generation guarded against it in a thousand ways, made countless calculations, yet you actually…"

"Did you leave any offspring?!"

Li Ximing silently shook his head, tears already streaking his face, and answered:

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

Li Xijun shot to his feet, looking conflicted; he grabbed Ximing's sleeve but didn't know what to say, and with effort, flung it aside, coldly saying:

"You don't know?! No wonder…no wonder!…"

Li Ximing looked up sharply, as if kicked in the stomach, and blurted in desperation:

"Xijun! I…I am…no, listen to me."

He scrabbled twice on the ground, trying to stand, momentarily losing all composure, and stammered incoherently in defense:

"I talked with Chong-ge many times. We are not the same as you. Many of Father's words to you were taught to me by Mother and Madame. I am not the talent to restore the Li Family…no…not even that…"

Looking at the silent Li Xijun before him, Li Ximing was filled with remorse and dread, silently thinking:

'Oh, perhaps it is better to confess! Rather than keep pretending…'

"You!"

Li Xijun, seeing his expression, suddenly recalled the night on the mountain years ago when they chatted about family matters. Recalling closely, he realized the other had always slyly followed his lead, always acting the part of a close brother; he had never noticed.

"No wonder you tried so hard to drink; I thought it was your first time and you couldn't hold your liquor, but in fact you wanted to get drunk quickly so you wouldn't give yourself away."

"I should never have sent you to the Xiao Family!"

Seeing Li Xijun's expression, Li Ximing suddenly relaxed as if all resistance was gone, repeatedly waving his hand, the Qingxuan on his wrist jingling in disarray, and spoke softly yet calmly:

"Xijun…not everyone possesses your charm."

Li Xijun shut his eyes and said nothing, looking somewhat cold, remaining silent for a long while before finally saying:

"No more arguing. Come up the mountain with me and report all of this—let the clan decide."

"Fine."

Li Ximing spat out a single word, but his face was promptly struck hard, stars danced before his eyes, his robes yanked off with a loud rustle, his hair in disarray—a sorry sight.

His jade coronet shattered on the ground, medicine pouch and storage bag rolling everywhere, leaving only a single thin white garment on his body.

Li Ximing steadied himself, touched his nose, blood flowing, only to hear Li Xijun coldly say:

"Strip off your clothes and await punishment!"

...

"Wong..."

The golden bowstring quivered faintly as the middle-aged man's large hand held a longbow covered in mysterious talisman script, his long arm falling at his side.

In the distance, the eagle beast struggled in a pool of blood, its organs long since shattered by impact; the two men behind him sidled up obsequiously, flattering him:

"General, worthy of your Golden Geng Firmament String! That arrow was truly a radiant golden rainbow, swift as lightning…"

Both were members of the Ning Family, sent here by Ning Hejing. Li Xuanfeng silently listened as the cultivator below dragged the monster over. Only then did he rasp:

"Just empty flattery—enough. Don't mention it again."

The pair, having flattered the wrong way, could only smile awkwardly and change the subject. They watched as the people below brought up a monster egg, and said:

"Congratulations, General! This Foundation Establishment monster actually laid an egg!"

Li Xuanxuan took it casually, rode the wind, slung the bow behind his back, and from his storage bag took the jade token and entered the city, inwardly calculating:

"Ning Hejing has roped me in for over a dozen minor merits. With the hunting these days, exchanging for a Sui Origin Pill should not be a problem."

"By my reckoning, Yuanjiao may soon reach Foundation Establishment. If I can get Liu Changdie to take it out…"

He landed atop the city wall, people gathering around, shouts of "General" echoing. Li Xuanfeng let a faint smile show, exchanged a few words with the crowd, when a woman descended gracefully onto the wall.

This woman wore the blue robes of the Immortal Sect's disciples, gold patterns embroidered at the sleeves—a Peak Master, most likely. Her eyebrows arched, eyes gentle, appearing no more than twenty.

The clan cultivators fell silent in fright, dispersing like a flock. Li Xuanfeng cupped his fists and asked:

"May I ask which Peak Master I'm addressing? I am Li Xuanfeng."

The woman spoke softly:

"Ning Wan from Moon Lake Peak. Greetings, General."

At present, Ning Wan was already a cultivator at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, having refined Pine Forest Boreal Wind and established her Immortal Foundation, Entering Pure Hearing. A faint scent of pine drifted about her, clear and tinged with bitterness as she walked.

Standing in the moonlight, she appeared truly transcendent.

Li Xuanfeng only bowed his head. Ning Wan spoke gently:

"I have been waiting for a long time. I hadn't expected the General to be so dutiful. Please, bathe and change. Our Perfected Person requests your audience."

Li Xuanfeng started slightly, his expression solemn, suspicion arising within as he thought:

'Yuansu Perfected Person…what does this mean?'

He nodded and withdrew, changed his clothes, stowed the bow in the storage bag, and left the cave mansion. Ning Wan was still waiting in the courtyard outside, playing lightly with a string of jade beads.

When she saw Li Xuanfeng come out, she inclined her head, took to the air along with him, and suddenly asked:

"When did your family settle at Wangyue Lake? The great battle then was on the southern bank—the devastation was total, so it must have been within the past three hundred years."

Ning Wan's question came from nowhere, throwing Li Xuanfeng off; he replied:

"According to our records, it was after that great war three hundred years ago. The spiritual mechanism on the southern bank was broken for more than two centuries. No one would come there. So, for three hundred years, we were mere mortals."

"Oh."

Ning Wan smiled softly, her willowy brows arching, and murmured:

"Where can there be worldly mortals with three generations of Foundation Establishment and spirit apertures everywhere? Taoist Fellow, you jest. If you bring such talk to the Perfected Person, I fear you will get into trouble."

Though her words were as gentle as the breeze, they exploded like thunder in Li Xuanfeng's ear. He abruptly looked up, meeting Ning Wan's gentle, black-and-white gaze head-on.

Before she had attained Foundation Establishment, Ning Wan was known as Green Pond's greatest beauty, the "Fairy of Qiu Hu"; her eyes were truly lovely, but Li Xuanfeng had no mood to appreciate them now:

'Is she warning me? For what reason? My family has no ties with hers, why would she help me?'

'What does Yuansu intend…do they want to investigate the roots of my clan?!'