The Mirror Legacy

Chapter 1212: Purple Stable Valley (II)

Li Chengdan was one of the few remaining cultivators of the Chengming generation. His cultivation was also the highest, apart from two at the Foundation Establishment Realm. He had once gone to the river with his two brothers, but only he had returned with one arm severed, which was later reattached by Li Ximing.

Now that his daughter had died in Floating South, his merits were great, his experience deep, and his understanding of worldly affairs far beyond that of the idle folk on the island.

If the old elder takes sides, arguing with Zhouming will lead nowhere. Better to seize the moment and turn the situation to my advantage.

He lifted his brow and bowed, “Old elder, Young Master Zhouming caused an uproar without reason, insulting his elders and family members. Please hand him over to Qingdu.”

But Li Xuanxuan was far more seasoned. He nodded immediately and said, “Indeed. Come, escort the young master to Qingdu.”

Dili Guang stepped forward at once, inviting Li Zhouming to leave. The young man flicked his fan and resentfully stalked away.

Li Xuanxuan coughed lightly, then reached out to help Li Chengdan up and said gently, “It is just as well, Chengdan, that you’re here. I was looking for you. There’s an important family matter I need to entrust to you.”

Though stubborn by nature, Li Chengdan deeply respected Li Xuanxuan. He quickly rose and deferentially followed the elder out. Those left in the courtyard glanced uneasily at one another; some wanted to withdraw, some turned to Li Zhouluo in tears, and some even began begging forgiveness.

Li Xuanxuan had dispelled all the turmoil in the courtyard with a few words. Taking Li Chengdan away had not been a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Once they had walked some distance, the old man sighed, “Chengdan, both Minggong and Chenghuai are in seclusion, and there are few elders left in the family. Much will fall upon you. Profound Peak Gate has been relocated; Cui Jueyin has returned to the island; and the eastern shore families and the Wilderness shouldn’t remain entirely in Jiangxia’s hands. The post overseeing Milin Mountain and the eastern shore must not lie vacant. You must go there and handle palace affairs in his stead.”

It was a task both burdensome and unrewarding, yet Li Chengdan swung his robe aside, knelt with a thud, and spoke in a low, solemn voice, “If there is an order from the lake, I, Chengdan, will obey even unto death. But, ancestor, do not send me away merely to keep the island at peace…”

He struck his head on the ground and continued, “When family uncle rebelled, I acted only to preserve Chengpan. But now something is clearly wrong within the family, it must change. Our Moongaze Li Family shelters too many idle folk on this island, leaving a band of Purple Mansion Realm descendants tilling fields. What kind of example is that? We must change, old elder!”

Li Xuanxuan helped him up and said earnestly, “I know what’s in your heart. You grew up with Chengliao and the others in the same courtyard, otherwise you wouldn’t have fought so desperately in the north. The Chengming generation was never cowardly. Here’s what I think, take the younger ones in the family, the bold, the unprotected, and bring them with you. Let them learn from your example.”

Li Chengdan nodded repeatedly. “Thank you, old elder!”

Li Xuanxuan soothed him with a few more words and saw him off. Then, gathering his sleeves, he stood where he was, exhaled deeply, and leaned against a lacquered pillar beneath the corridor, gazing at the night. To his surprise, faint wisps of purple qi shimmered at the horizon.

Just as he was wondering about it, Dili Guang came rushing up to report, “Old elder, people from the Purple Smoke Gate have arrived. There’s quite a crowd, and they are demanding to see you.”

“So fast!”

Li Xuanxuan was both startled and pleased. For people from the Purple Smoke Gate to come at this hour and specifically ask for him, it could only mean something about the formation. He hurriedly strode off, while Dili Guang, unable to match his cultivation, followed behind, drenched in sweat.

He reached the main hall in a few steps. When Wu was already waiting, chatting animatedly with Li Zhouluo. When he saw Li Xuanxuan, his eyes lit up with a smile, and he pulled out two carp-shaped wooden boxes from his sleeve, saying cheerfully, “Senior, you are still as kind and gentle as ever; it warms the hearts of us juniors. The two children in the gate are also doing quite well. Quexi asked me to bring a letter, and since both of them are so filial, I made a special trip to Purple Gale Peak to bring Queyi’s letter along as well!”

When Wu’s manner was charming and tactful. Li Xuanxuan smiled as he accepted the letters. Having reached the late stage of the Qi Cultivation Realm, he didn’t even need to weigh them to sense the difference between the two boxes.

He stowed them away with a deft turn of his hand, replying, “You have my thanks for the trouble, Master. The children of my family are dull-witted and will have to trouble you, senior brother, to guide them well.”

When Wu laughed heartily and replied, “Senior, you may not know, our Purple Smoke Blessed Land holds annual competitions, divided by cultivation level. The young disciple’s spell arts are deep and her reactions quick; she took sixth place in the Embryonic Breathing Realm and even received a reward! The whole gate knows she hails from the Moongaze Immortal Family. They all praised her, saying she has the bearing of Shen Yanqing in her prime.”

Li Zhouluo nodded repeatedly and asked, “And what about Queyi?”

When Wu responded smoothly, smiling as he spoke, “She’s done splendidly as well. Her coordination between spell arts and techniques is already mature among the Qi Cultivation Realm disciples, and her dharma artifact is formidable. Queyi ranked thirty-first among all early stage Qi Cultivation Realm disciples; just shy of the top thirty. Though a pity, her Celestial Moon Sword Arc made even Peak Master of Aligned Sword Peak raise his brows; her performance stunned the audience!”

When Wu chose his words well, and Li Zhouluo was delighted as he replied, “The Purple Smoke Blessed Land truly is remarkable. She could never grasp such things at home, and yet she has mastered them so quickly.”

Li Xuanxuan smiled and skillfully steered the topic away from Li Queyi, instead offering a round of praise for Li Quexi. When Wu nodded as he walked, the pair of golden-white talismans at his waist clinking softly, and said with a grin, “Senior, my visit this time concerns your family’s Daoist Master. Our peak master told us that your family’s Daoist Master has left a Purple Mansion Grand Formation in storage within our blessed land. Since the Daoist Master’s mastery of formations is renowned, the plan was to have the Daoist Master personally arrange it. But since such a grand formation cannot be completed in a day or two, we came ahead to make preparations.”

He glanced at the two men’s expressions and continued seriously, “The matter of formations concerns the very continuity of one’s Dao lineage, and as the saying goes, such knowledge must not be lightly passed to outsiders. Our blessed land took this into consideration and hesitated to proceed for some time. Now, we have been sent to craft several components connected to the formation platform first, so that when Daoist Master Zhaojing returns, he can inspect each one before the next stage begins.”

His words fully displayed the dignity and refinement of the Solar Dao lineage. He drew a thick scroll of purple-gold from his sleeve, its edges engraved with patterns of deer, birds, and scripture sigils.

He held it to his chest as he spoke, “For this task, our Purple Smoke Blessed Land has mobilized three peaks: Shepherd, Heavenly Formation, and Tempered Azure. Five Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, twenty-seven late stage Qi Cultivation Realm cultivators, two master artifact smiths, six artifact smiths, one formation grandmaster, and four formation masters have been assembled; a total of thirty-two members, under my command as the chief disciple of Shepherd Peak.”

He then handed the purple-gold scroll to Li Xuanxuan and said, “Elder, this grand formation requires thirty-two Purple Stable Valley Penetrating Mountain Profound Pins, each about six hundred meters in length and ten and a half meters in width. All schematics, runes, and spiritual materials are recorded within this scroll. Senior, please review and verify them.”