novelzi Chapter 458 374 Qingdu Peak_2
Chapter 458 374 Qingdu Peak_2
'It's not your territory, why the heartache?'
The two were red in the face and thick in the neck as they bickered for a while. Li Xuanxuan handed over fifty-four spirit stones as payment, to which Kong Yu happily accepted. Suddenly, the two were as close as brothers once again, Kong Yu chuckled:
"Brother, don't look down on my modest cultivation level. I've been moving mountains for fifty years, and my Mountain Moving Technique is quite proficient."
"Based on my experience, brother should wait a few years. The lakebed will naturally rise, lifting this mountain top. There will also be three or four small peaks rising due to the movement of the earth veins."
"Good, good."
Li Xuanxuan arranged for him to settle into a courtyard to rest and recuperate. Meanwhile, the Rui Family was out of a place to stay and had to pathetically lodge in Jade Court Town. Rui Qiongcuo didn't speak a word, squatting at the foot of Jade Court Mountain day after day.
Li Yuanping had no choice but to send a letter to the Xiao Family, requesting the Rui Family to submit themselves and have the task of mining the ore veins transferred to his family, which would still be handed over to the Xiao Family.
As for Kong Yu, after residing here for a few months ensuring that the mountainscape had not changed, he finally took his leave. Before departing, he called out:
"If Brother Xuanxuan has any business in the future, come summon this younger brother at Xuan Yue Sect!"
Li Xuanxuan escorted him out of his family's territory, and upon returning to Immortal Mountain, the Li family members had already been busily beautifying the trees and constructing pavilions and courtyards. It was quite lively.
Li Xijun and others were summoned by Li Qinghong to the middle of the mountain. Although Li Yuanjiao had not yet emerged from seclusion, Li Qinghong insisted on deciding the names for Immortal Mountain and the Cave Mansion. Everyone had to settle on names in advance.
Li Yuanping and his son Li Xuanxuan thought for a while, coming up with some names like "Four Meridian Peak" and "Lihun Peak." Li Qinghong was puzzled by their suggestions, unsure of what response to give.
In the end, Li Xuanxuan decided on "Moon Que Peak" and "Moon Que Cave Mansion," lamenting:
"What a pity Green Pond already has a Moon Lake Peak; otherwise, this name would be quite nice."
Li Xijun however, spoke up:
"The junior believes... our family should perhaps refrain from any association with the moon."
Exchanging glances, the others gave slight nods, and Li Yuanping said:
"Why not draw a word from the names of the two Foundation Establishment Magical Instruments, 'Green Ruler' and 'Du Ruo,' and name it 'Qingdu Peak'? The waters of Wangyue Lake are always azure, and by planting some du ruo on this mountain, the name would indeed be fitting."
The du ruo in Li Qinghong's arms shimmered faintly. She smiled and said:
"Finally, a proper name."
"'Qingdu Peak,' 'Qingdu Cave Mansion.'"
Li Xuanxuan nodded, his heart filled with great satisfaction, as he sighed:
"From now on, this will be our main peak."
Once this was settled, the people of the Xiao Family quickly sent a message. Xiao Guitu's reply came swiftly, and after reading it carefully, Li Xuanxuan nodded and said:
"Xiao Guitu does handle matters cleanly."
Xiao Guitu's letter implied that the Rui Family was enlightened by an ancestor and didn't have much connection; it was fine for them to submit. The Xiao Family would send people to mine the CuYuan ore and asked not to trouble the Li Family.
"They're afraid our family will hoard the copper essence, causing unpleasant incidents."
After looking at the letter his father handed him, Li Yuanping saw that the Xiao Family highly valued the CuYuan copper essence. Their family was also too lazy to interfere, preferring not to get involved in the messy business.
One wasn't keen on keeping it, and the other didn't want to touch it. Thus, this somewhat irregular affair was set in stone, and as everyone was discussing, the Jade Courtyard guards came to report:
"My lords, that monk has settled on a nearby islet, where he built a thatched cottage to practice his cultivation."
"Kongheng? That person is still wandering around the lake!"
Li Qinghong frowned slightly. For no reason, Monk Kongheng had come to them and even lent a hand during the demonic disaster, blocking two demon cultivators from Zhao Country. Had it not been for him, there would likely have been heavy casualties.
Now the Li family owed him a favor and it wasn't appropriate to send him away. They had no choice but to let him sit on the lake.
"That's correct."
Li Yuanping nodded and said in a low voice:
"I've gathered quite a bit of information over the years. Kongheng first wandered around Hua Qian, collecting herbs for several months and saving lives, then he moved to Jade Court, and has now followed us here to the lake."
"He doesn't spread his teachings around and doesn't cause any trouble. We obviously can't just kill him, so we can only assign some people to keep an eye on him."
...
For nearly half a month, the surface of Wangyue Lake had been calm, and the Rosy Cloud Boat arrived on schedule. Li Yuanjiao was in closed-door cultivation, so Li Qinghong had to go to pay tribute.
The Green Pond Cultivator who came this time was the eldest senior brother of Yuanwu Peak, Yu Su, known as the "Jin Wuxi," infamous for his greed. Not wanting to give others a reason to criticize, Li Qinghong took her spear and flew towards Secret Forest County well in advance.
After much covert interference, the internal strife within the Yu Family failed to be quelled. On the surface, it was one Yu Family, but in reality, it was in chaos, divided into four factions. Because of the overturning of Yu Mugao's reformation, the problem was rotten to the core.
Li Qinghong, a Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer Cultivator, marched straight into their territory, flew over more than half of the Yu Family's land unimpeded, and was not stopped until she was close to the Yu Family mountain peak where tributes were paid. Then, a middle-aged man approached her.
This man's face was weathered, his demeanor mature, and he was tall, but his cheeks were tightly drawn, conveying a trace of nervousness. Carrying a spear on his back, he hastily rode the wind over, fixating a gaze on Li Qinghong and, for a moment, found himself speechless.
Li Qinghong, who had long since broken through Qi Cultivation and looked to be just over twenty, with curved willow brows, spoke softly,
"Taoist Fellow is..."
The middle-aged man seemed stunned for a moment, his complexion turned pale, and after a pause, he bowed and said,
"Fei Clan's Fei Tongxiao, has seen the Taoist Fellow!"
"Oh... it's you!"
Li Qinghong recognized him as well. Having not seen each other for many years, there was an inevitable awkwardness about the youthful affairs they shared. Li Qinghong could only change the topic and, noticing the True Yuan around him, frowned and said,
"What's going on..."
"Ho!"
Fei Tongxiao understood she was referring to the stark difference in his Cultivation Level and the transformation of his True Yuan and merely responded tacitly.
After the downfall of the Fei Clan, Fei Wangbai was beheaded with a single sword strike, and hence they were forbidden from cultivating the "Long Brocade Heart-Questioning Technique" to establish their foundation. Unable to accept this, Fei Tongxiao decided to start from scratch.
His elder brother, Fei Tongyu, gave his full support. After more than a decade, Fei Tongxiao reached the Qi Cultivation Stage with ease and had only recently made a breakthrough...
But no matter how fast, two Fetal Breathings took him thirty years... Fei Tongxiao was also a genius of his family. Now, approaching forty and only just breaking through Qi Cultivation, how could he voice the regret and aging that showed on his face?
Now faced with the once young lady who still appeared spirited and radiant, clad in Jade Armor, wielding a long spear, and with a Qi Cultivation Level at the Eighth Layer, how could he express what he felt inside?
Back then, he had been decisive unto ruin to abandon his cultivation, prepared for the consequences, but now, even as the effects were finally setting in, Fei Tongxiao's face remained alternately flushed and pale, as he said,
"Ha! Taoist Fellow is also here to pay tribute?"
Li Qinghong, with a slight sense of guilt, looked at him and replied gently,
"Indeed."
And so they fell back into silence. On the peak, not a single Yu Family member could be seen, only the two of them standing amid the cold mountaintop wind. Fei Tongxiao's expression gradually calmed, but after several aborted attempts to speak, he finally managed a bitter smile and said,
"Life is unpredictable. No one could have foreseen the rapid changes back then..."
Li Qinghong responded softly as the light of the Rosy Cloud Boat slowly ascended in the sky, and more figures started to appear around them. All the family cultivators stopped respectfully in front of Li Qinghong, greeting her as a senior before slowly retreating.
Fei Tongxiao remained with his face ashen and his head lowered without speaking. Given the disparity between their Cultivation Levels, Fei Tongxiao ought to address her as a senior, but he just couldn't bring himself to speak and chose to remain silent instead.
After waiting for a while, the Rosy Cloud Boat descended upon the peak, and a group of Green-robed Cultivators disembarked, with the man at the forefront not in green, but in a brocaded robe, with a short beard, sallow skin, and a thin face with eyes gleaming bright.
It was the eldest senior brother of Yuanwu Peak, Jin Wuxi—Yu Su!
Yu Su stepped off the cloud boat, glanced over the assembly, and asked softly,
"Where are the people of the Yu Family?"
The crowd presented a man, who was the seventh son of Yu Mugao, Yu Chengyi, who knelt with a thud, exclaiming,
"This humble cultivator greets the Immortal Envoy of the Upper Sect!"
Yu Su looked at him for a moment and shook his head,
"My junior brother asked me to take care of a matter first. Once I'm finished, we'll talk in detail."
As a Cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment, Yu Su was the highest in Cultivation Level among all those present, including Li Qinghong. His brocade robe fluttered without wind, exuding an imposing aura. At his words, everyone became solemn.
The crowd, having never witnessed such a spectacle before, nodded continuously. Yu Su chuckled, retrieved a golden cage from his sleeve—bright and exquisite—yet it was empty inside, without a single item.