Chapter 484 387: Li Wushao

Only then did Fei Luoya ride the wind and depart. Li Yuanjiao waited a few breaths, and another man flew over on the wind from the distant valley, carrying a pair of staves on his back—it was none other than Yuan Chengdun. Landing beside Li Yuanjiao, Li Yuanjiao cupped his hands and said:

"Many thanks, Taoist Fellow!"

Yuan Chengdun laughed heartily and replied:

"I haven't yet received the elixir, so I can't go far. If that fool had evil intentions and something happened, I'd have no way to explain myself."

Li Yuanjiao understood, took out the Sui Origin Pill, and handed it to him. Yuan Chengdun also unlocked two jade slips and said warmly:

"This is my family's secret technique. I ask your esteemed clan to use it for themselves and not to spread it lightly."

"Naturally."

Li Yuanjiao nodded and replied:

"In a few days, my sister will come to Mushroom Forest Plain. We may yet trouble your noble family."

This man's strength was truly formidable; what had just happened was firmly remembered by Li Yuanjiao. He recalled Fei Luoya's words in his heart, and smiled:

"Taoist Fellow's prowess is truly astonishing. Yuanjiao admires you deeply. If I encounter any matters in the future, might I call on you for assistance?"

Yuan Chengdun nodded steadily and replied:

"Your son is apprenticed under my aunt. The Yuan and Li families have long been allies. Taoist Fellow, there's no need to stand on ceremony. Feel free to invite Chengdun; to stretch one's legs is a joy, and splitting the spoils afterward is also a rare delight."

"Good! Many thanks, Taoist Fellow!"

Li Yuanjiao saw that he was a generous, heroic man, a rare genius of the Yuan Family. After some hearty conversation, both formed a good impression of each other, cupped their hands, and went their separate ways.

'This man's bearing is imposing, a true gentleman, and only thirty-seven years old.'

Li Yuanjiao secretly nodded, recalling the grievances poured out by Yuan Huyuan, and sighed:

"Luck is unfavorable; if this man were born five hundred years earlier, the Yuan Family would have a seat among the Three Sects and Seven Doors. Regrettably, born five hundred years too late, they can only shelter for the moment."

Li Yuanjiao flew on the wind, reading through the "Liuyan Life-matching Extraordinary Method" from start to finish with great care, and saw the tail signed as [Perfected Person Xuanyang], putting one layer of doubts to rest.

'When all is said and done, my current predicament has Yuan Su and Xiao Chuting's help; perhaps Da Li Mountain as well… Various parties check and balance each other. As long as I mind the Immortal Foundation, the Zifu cultivators bear no malice.'

'On the contrary, it's the Buddhist Practitioners who toy with fate and are hard to guard against…'

In this game between Zifu and Maha, the moves of Zifu can be anticipated and defended against, but Maha simply kills outright—once destiny is decided, death must follow. It is exceedingly difficult to prepare against.

'After all, it's just a concealment spell; it can't turn the heavens upside down.'

Then he took out the Pig Demon's storage bag, rummaged through it, and sighed:

"A penniless pig…"

Of all items in the Pig Demon's storage bag, most were various spiritual objects, with only a pitiful number of spirit stones—this Foundation Establishment Pig Demon had but thirty-two, leaving Li Yuanjiao quite speechless.

"After all, our family is not the Three Sects and Seven Doors; the treasures in the Pig Demon Cave have already been promised to the Fox Demon to manage the cave, with little surplus…"

Li Yuanjiao then dragged the Foundation Establishment Demon Pig up the mountain, as usual sealing up the creature and handing it to the clan's cultivators for safekeeping. Riding the wind, he descended the mountain, swept the riverside with his spiritual sense, and found that hook snake.

This hook snake wore a massive Iron Gya forged by Green Crow around its neck, its serpentine body nailed with iron chains. Its originally deep-black scales were coated with filth, all black and tawny, lurking in the mud like a toppled great tree.

Nearby, An Zhiyan sat cross-legged in midair; the surrounding Jade Courtyard Guards—all elite of the Yujing Wheel—each gripping an iron chain, stood silently at attention.

"Ancestor!"

An Zhiyan saw Li Yuanjiao approach and hurriedly stood up. Li Yuanjiao nodded slightly and said aloud:

"You've reached the ninth layer of Qi; do you have plans to establish your Foundation?"

Since the destruction of the An Family, An Zhiyan had cultivated ever more assiduously, listening to his wife Li Feiruo's every guidance, and lived well among the Li Family. It had been twenty-four years; now, with the cultivation level of Qi ninth layer, upon hearing this he sighed and replied:

"This subordinate is already one hundred and nine years old. Though I have made great progress these past years, I know myself—where could I hope for Foundation Establishment? I do not wish to risk my life; I only ask for a peaceful old age."

"Mm."

Li Yuanjiao's gaze shifted from him to the hook snake. The snake demon opened its black eyes, big as a human's head, and ingratiatingly shifted its head closer, the Green Crow chains clinking chaotically as it flattered:

"Upper Immortal! Upper Immortal, you've come! This humble demon has long been waiting—Does Upper Immortal have any orders?"

Li Yuanjiao asked:

"Your Taoist Foundation [Zhao Hanyu], what sort of Metal Nature is it?"

The hook snake paused, visibly alarmed, and replied in terror:

"It is… it is… of the Mansion Water line."

'Mansion Water?'

Li Yuanjiao's heart stirred, but the hook snake lamented bitterly:

"Spare me, Upper Immortal! Snakes of my kind number not less than a thousand or eight hundred in the East Sea. My Taoist Foundation is truly impure—hardly edible…worth little on the market!"

Seeing its pitiful appearance, Li Yuanjiao suddenly recalled what Xiao Yuansi had said years ago:

'Daoist Foundations of the same line can indeed be mutually devoured, but this will sever the path to Zifu… Yet it is far more marvelous than ordinary Foundation Establishment… No wonder this hook snake is so scared; it fears our clan may sell it off to Immortal Cultivators of the Mansion Water line.'

'This snake hails from overseas and is a demon. Unlike the inland Three Sects and Seven Doors, who lock down the flow of information layer by layer for control, its mouth holds much to be unearthed!'

Thus, his interest was piqued, and he hurriedly asked:

"How many lines are there in Water and Metal? What are each called? And how many are lacking?"

The hook snake smiled ingratiatingly and replied:

"According to Jiao Palace… such Metal Nature foundations are collectively called Water Virtue, and there are five kinds, now referred to as the Five Waters: Kan, Yin, Lu, He, and Mansion. At present, only Kan Water and Mansion Water have not yet found their positions—Immortal Elder's Jiao Snake is of the Kan Water line… so it cannot consume me."