Morning.
Brilliant morning clouds burst forth from the peak of Cangwu Mountain, spilling over the shimmering golden waves of Yingyue Lake. The morning breeze brushed across the layered, boundless reed marshes, carrying with it the joyful sounds of children playing and frolicking on Qingxi River.
Chen Erzhu sat on the ridge of the field, gazing at the crops with a face full of worry, his heart heavy with thoughts of his sick wife lying in bed.
Chen Erzhu was born in Lixikou on the eastern side of Cangwu Mountain. More than twenty years ago, Lixikou suffered a century-long drought without any cause. Not only did no rain fall, but white smoke even hissed out from the ground, frightening the villagers into scattering in all directions.
He was still a half-grown child then, and in his daze, he fled to Lixi Village. After his desperate pleas, the farmer Li Quan took him in, and the following year even rented him an acre of land to survive.
When he grew older, he rented another acre of paddy field, built an earthen house, married Li Quan's daughter, and firmly established his roots in the village with great pride.
But his wife suddenly fell ill. Fortunately, he had some savings over the years. He carried her to the village entrance for Doctor Han to examine—just a minor illness, a few doses of medicine would cure it. He settled his wife at the doctor's place, but his worried heart could not settle—illness could impoverish a family for three generations!
"Uncle!" Chen Erzhu was lost in thought when a bright voice startled him.
He saw a handsome young man walking in from the courtyard entrance, wearing an eager smile as he greeted him.
"Oh, Changhe, I can't accept that, I can't accept that!"
Chen Erzhu bowed repeatedly. He had only married a concubine-born daughter of the Li family, and was also their tenant—he truly did not deserve such a greeting from the eldest son.
Li Quan was shrewd and capable, but also quite promiscuous. Not satisfied with just a wife, he took in two women from the roads as concubines. His wife bore him two sons, while his concubines gave him three sons and four daughters.
When Li Quan was old and near death, his only legitimate younger son who stayed by his side suddenly died. Several concubine-born sons, young and strong, eyed the family's dozen-plus acres of land with covetous intent.
At this time, Li Gengye, who had left home, returned with a sword and men. This ruthless veteran slashed down the treacherous steward with a single blow. The wealthy family that had poisoned his younger brother and planned to seize their property was wiped out completely—not even a dog was spared.
Li Gengye and his two sworn brothers carried dripping swords, dragging bodies on pushcarts. The bloody trail stretched from the end of the village to the beginning. Every household shut their doors, everyone fearing for their safety. Li Gengye's younger brothers were terrified and panicked, thinking that with the true heir's return, they would surely lose their share of the land.
Who knew that Li Gengye would call his brothers over and say that between legitimate and concubine-born, they were all of the same branch. He distributed the wealthy family's land—two acres each to his brothers, and four acres each to the men he brought back. His younger brothers were so grateful they repeatedly called him "Eldest Brother Master," and thus their positions were settled.
Looking at Li Changhe's gentle smiles, somehow it overlapped with Li Gengye's indifferent, blood-splattered face. Chen Erzhu shuddered despite the blazing sun, and asked respectfully:
"Changhe, what brings you here?"
"Oh, Uncle is too polite." Li Changhe smiled and said softly:
"I heard Aunt is ill. My father thought Uncle wouldn't have free hands to cook, so he specially asked me to invite you and Xiaohe to come taste my mother's cooking."
"This... is too embarrassing." Chen Erzhu forced a smile, caught in a dilemma.
"It's settled then! Mother has already prepared the meal." Li Changhe patted Chen Erzhu's shoulder and took his leave.
"Alright then." Chen Erzhu smiled and shook his head, calling into the house:
"Xiaohe, get ready. We're going to your uncle's house for dinner tonight."
The Li family renovated their residence the year before last, expanding the grounds several times over. The entire compound sat facing south in a rectangular shape. The front courtyard was paved with stone bricks and held stone locks, looking like a place for martial arts training. Chen Erzhu looked at the substantial weight of the stone locks and couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration:
"Does the Li family have martial arts methods? What fine stone locks."
Stepping on the stone bricks into the main courtyard, there was a pond in the center with several black carp inside. The main hall surrounded by bluestone had Li Changhe and Li Tongyan's side chambers on either side. The buildings, covered walkways, main gate, and second gate were all paved with stone strips or steps at their bases, looking extremely grand.
Li Tongyan also came into the main courtyard to greet them. He was now eighteen years old but still unmarried. Li Changhe, however, had married the second daughter of the Ren family, and had brought her home in a grand ceremony some time ago.
Chen Erzhu had dinner with the Li family and sat in the courtyard chatting sporadically, when he saw Li Chixi hurriedly walk into the front courtyard and whisper a few words into Li Gengye's ear.
Li Chixi was only nine years old, but was handsome and had an intelligent, clever appearance that made his uncles, nephews, and brothers particularly fond of him.
Li Gengye was leisurely watching the younger generation chat when he heard Li Chixi whisper in his ear:
"Father, that... the Xuanjian has lit up!"
He remained calm, patted his legs, and said to everyone:
"I'm old and can't sit still anymore. I'll go rest now, you all continue chatting." Saying this, he turned and went to the rear courtyard. Everyone hurriedly agreed, and Chen Erzhu bowed, preparing to take his leave.
Several side rooms stood in the rear hall. Li Gengye entered the ancestral shrine located in the center, which was also the most spacious. Inside the shrine, spirit tablets stood in front with fruits placed as offerings, worshipping six generations of ancestors found by searching through village records.
Li Gengye pushed on the wall, revealing a hidden compartment behind it.
The compartment had a skylight open, and moonlight spilled onto a stone platform built of bluestone inside.
On the stone platform lay a grayish-green ancient mirror, indeed emitting a brilliant white light like water.
"Three years... Xi'er, go call your brothers here."
Li Gengye gazed at the grayish-green ancient mirror and said with a furrowed brow.
"Yes." Li Chixi nodded firmly and went out to find his brothers.
————
When Lu Chenyuan woke up, his mind was heavily stuffed with information. He waited for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, then began to calmly read the information on the spirit jade.
The Xuanyin Wheel Sutra!
This daoist method mainly taught how to manipulate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through the body's "apertures," to draw upon the Taiyin moon essence, and finally cultivate the six wheels of embryonic breathing. With these six wheels, one could prolong life, nurture one's nature, and cast all manner of spells. Once the six wheels had been nourished until they resembled a full moon, one could step into the Qi Refining realm.
Several minor arts were attached afterward as well: the Golden Light Incantation, Cleansing Garment Spell, Water-Repelling Formula, Evil-Dispelling Charm, Heart-Linking Spell, and so on. As long as one cultivated the six wheels, one could activate them by circulating spiritual power according to the formulas.
At the same time, the scripture explained that the six great realms of immortality were Embryonic Breathing, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul. What this spirit jade recorded was precisely Moonflower Spirit Manor's embryonic-breathing wheel-nourishing method, issued to the sect's Embryonic Breathing disciples for study and cultivation.
After swallowing the spirit jade, Lu Chenyuan felt as if he had invisibly grasped many things at once. Not only had the range of his divine sense expanded to twenty zhang, but his upper limit of moonlight power had multiplied dozens of times over. As long as he had enough moonlight power, he would be able to cast several of the minor arts recorded in the Xuanyin Wheel Sutra within one zhang of the mirror body.
Most importantly, a new technique surfaced within the mirror's own memory:
The Mysterious Pearl Spirit-Sacrifice Art!