The Mirror Legacy - Chapter 1472: Bolie King (I)
Chapter 1472: Bolie King (I)
The river roared as wind and rain gathered along the banks. Northern monks clustered like dense black dots, covering the dim, brooding temple.
The young man in crimson robes and armor rode in on flames. He paused briefly outside the grand formation before swiftly shooting toward Glacial Cloud Peak. The plum blossoms looked wilted beneath the dark wind and rain, while the tall Daoist Master stood before the courtyard, his gaze heavy.
“Father.”
Li Jiangqian bowed and greeted him respectfully, his golden eyes solemn. The moment he finished speaking, another pair of golden eyes turned from the shadows. They met for an instant, then both looked away, and his father asked, “How is it?”
After completing the salute, Li Jiangqian replied, “Father, Jiangxia has already gathered and organized the personnel. He has joined forces with those from Grace Covenant Gate and Purple Smoke Gate and is now stationed in the Wilderness. Daoist Master Tinglan has personally arrived.”
“Good.” Li Zhouwei nodded.
At the moment, the two banks stood in opposition. Master Monks and monks frequently moved south to conduct harassment raids. Li Jianglong guarded the northern bank; Li Jiangxia was in the Wilderness; and Li Jiangqian held his position on the lake, each fulfilling his role.
But Li Jiangqian paused briefly before saying again with slight hesitation, “We have received news of fourth brother. He is in Simin Prefecture… and is currently on his way back.”
Li Zhouwei officially had five sons. Three had already succeeded in reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm and held important positions. The fourth, Li Jiangliang, was also outstanding, gifted with exceptional innate ability and personally taught by Cui Jueyin since childhood. He had now reached the stage where he could break through to Foundation Establishment Realm, yet he often preferred to travel outside and rarely stayed at home.
After years in seclusion, Li Zhouwei had returned upon breaking through and becoming a Daoist Master, which had forced the child to head back toward the lake. Li Zhouwei had never interfered much with his children’s choices and usually let them do as they pleased, showing little concern.
But seeing the unusual look on Li Jiangqian’s face, he said, “Speak.”
Li Jiangqian lifted his robe and knelt before him, saying softly, “I have heard that fourth brother has brought a woman back from outside. Her surname is Yang… It is due to our failure in gathering intelligence that we remained unaware for so long. Only after he personally wrote a letter did we learn of it. I ask for your forgiveness.”
Li Zhouwei finally frowned slightly and turned to glance at his son as he asked, “Which Yang?”
Li Jiangqian lowered his head and said, “Father, she is of imperial descent.”
Li Zhouwei narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly, “Then you cannot be blamed.”
The Yang Family was not only of imperial descent, but also one of the few families clearly linked to the Underworld’s judiciary. Even now, Yang Tianya remained unknown to the outside world. Mutual affection might be possible, but if one were to claim it was an accidental romance, Li Zhouwei did not quite believe it.
He simply composed himself and said with a nod, “Imperial descent or not, it is a suitable match.”
At the side, Li Jianglong lowered his gaze, and Li Jiangqian bowed in silence. It was clear both felt somewhat uneasy.
Li Chenghuai leaving home to cultivate was, on the surface, under his father’s protection and in pursuit of a longer path of cultivation. But from another angle, was it not also a weakening of the Li Family’s influence over the Yang Family? Yang Xiao’er treated Li Xizhi very well, yet Li Xizhi had never intended to let the Yang Family’s influence enter Moongaze Lake. Many of his arrangements often served multiple purposes at once.
Letting Li Chenghuai leave the lake was indeed his own pursuit of the Dao, but it was not without such considerations. Li Zhouluo had already come under the partial command of the Azure Pond Sect, and only after Li Jiangchun was born did things relax somewhat, allowing the idea of placing the child to serve at the lake.
But now, with this act of acting first and reporting later, the Li Family’s upper ranks were naturally sensitive. Yet the status of the Underworld’s judiciary was far too lofty, even serving as a key reason why the northern forces had not crossed the river. The Li and Yang Families had always been close, making it even harder to say anything.
Li Zhouwei said softly, “The north presses aggressively after all. The Yang Family means well. Such a marriage will only make the two families closer.”
Both Li Jiangqian and Li Jianglong smiled and agreed. Li Zhouwei put away the jade slip in his hand and began to ponder silently, [Bright Light Heavenly Surge] and [Arrayed Palaces Heavenly Yang Escape] both align well with the [Heaven-Venerating Gate] arts. They lean somewhat toward quick gains and shortcuts, so their future potential is limited, but their cultivation speed is not slow. At least I have already grasped the basics of both.
Both of these arts progressed as if naturally flowing to completion. Perhaps it was because he had practiced many secret techniques in the past, giving him a deeper understanding of Bright Yang. For now, he simply set them aside.
Idle contemplation wastes time. Since I have already grasped the basics, real combat will deepen my understanding. That will be enough.
As he was thinking, Li Quewan stepped forward holding a jade box. She bowed nearby, then presented it with both hands and said respectfully, “Daoist Master, the three types of spiritual qi have been collected.”
Li Zhouwei showed slight surprise and raised a brow as he muttered, “That was fast.”
For his future cultivation of arts, Li Zhouwei’s attention had first turned to footwork techniques. The Radiant Fire Dao’s [Flame-Stepping Movement] was indeed powerful, but it was not his first choice.
After all, he was different from Li Ximing. Li Ximing had received the [Valley Wind Leading Fire] talisman, granting him exceptional control over all kinds of flames, something few cultivators in the world could match. Naturally, cultivating the [Flame-Stepping Movement] was much easier for him.
But Li Zhouwei had received the [Illuminating Sun and Moon] talisman. In the future, he would advance along the Bright Yang Dao. The more Bright Yang arts he cultivated, the greater the benefits he would gain as his Dao advanced. If he chose a Radiant Fire footwork technique instead, he would not be able to enjoy those benefits.
Thus, he had carefully searched within the [Upper Firmament Pavilion] of the Realm of Sun and Moon Radiance. After a long search for a suitable Bright Yang footwork technique, he found most of them unsatisfactory. Yet in the process, he came across the fifth-grade Pure Essence art, the [Profound Vast Art].
This art elevated Pure Essence. When uninjured, it could be stored within the great void. When wounded, it used Pure Essence to heal. Even in death, one could empower one’s Shenyang Mansion with Pure Essence to escape. This immediately delighted Li Zhouwei.
It was not the life-saving aspect that interested him, but the method of healing through Pure Essence!
His dharma body was exceptional, but once injured, recovery was far more difficult. Although [Illuminating Sun and Moon] allowed his life essence to reside within a domain, letting his dharma body avoid many fatal injuries, healing remained troublesome. It was nothing like Li Ximing, who could recover in less than half a year with a single pill…
The [Profound Vast Art] elevated Pure Essence and was a rare healing method that did not conflict with other Dao lineages! Thus, he set aside the footwork technique without hesitation and chose to cultivate the [Profound Vast Art] first.
Pure Essence arts usually had few harsh requirements, and this one was no exception. It included several qi gathering methods, requiring three types of qi: [Minor Pure Spiritual Qi], [Minor Heaven Pure Qi], and [Profound Permitted Pure Qi], each needing only a portion. These were precisely the three types of spiritual qi that Li Quewan had delivered!
These three types of pure qi were not difficult to gather, yet only [Minor Pure Spiritual Qi] was widely known. The others were unheard of. If it had been collected from scratch, it would normally take years.
Hearing him ask, Li Quewan quickly replied, “The other two are much the same as [Minor Pure Spiritual Qi]. They share the same origin, and with the qi gathering methods already in hand, I used the transformative properties of Immortal Foundation materials and exchanged a few extra portions of Minor Pure Spiritual Qi to obtain them ahead of time.”
Not having to wait was naturally a good thing. Li Zhouwei nodded in satisfaction. Just as he was about to speak further, he suddenly lifted his head, sensing something. His figure instantly dissolved into light and vanished.
The people at either side exchanged glances and all looked up at the sky.
“Someone has crossed the river!”
