Lu Jiangxian activated the Profound Pearl Sacrificial Spirit Art. Following the formulaic phrasing of the incantation, he shaped several dharma commands and cast them into Li Tongya's spiritual sense, transmitting a measure of information. Then, in concert, he activated the Profound Pearl Talisman Seed.
Within the Qi Sea of Li Tongya and the others, the Profound Pearl Talisman Seeds stirred gently. Instantly, both men felt an inexplicable blood-bond connection to the mirror before them. Even Li Xuanxuan, seated in the courtyard with eyes closed in meditation, sensed something. He silently opened his eyes and turned his gaze toward the mountain peak.
Li Tongya gazed up at the mirror and felt a stirring in his heart. Suddenly, theBinding Dharma Edict of the Attraction Method surfaced in his mind. He slowly bowed and spoke with reverence:
"Disciple of the Li family, Li Tongya, receiving the grace of the Profound, humbly requests the Profound and Mysterious Wondrous Dharma. With reverence I summon the Profound Lunar Radiance — to slay evil, break defilement, and subdue demons!"
Only then did Lu Jiangxian release a measure of control over the Profound Lunar Radiance. Li Tongya felt the world blur in an instant — the stone platform, the mirror, the white radiance, all vanished before his eyes.
His entire being seemed to drift upward into the sky. The whole of Lijing Village appeared below him. The clamour of voices, the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs — all rang clearly in his ears. With but a single thought, the blinding Profound Lunar Radiance would descend upon any corner at the mountain's foot in the next breath.
"Truly wondrous."
Li Tongya drove his vastly expanded spiritual sense along the mountain path at tremendous speed, soaring over the small courtyard, flying above the laid stone flagstones, and soon leaving Lijing Village behind. Only when the world before his eyes began to grow hazy did he realise what had happened.
"Phew..."
Li Tongya jolted back to awareness as though from a great dream. The world before him slowly clarified. Gazing at the concern on the faces of Li Xiangping and Li Mutian, he wiped the cold sweat from his brow, rested for several breaths, and then smiled:
"Our mirror is no ordinary artefact. It appears to have accepted our family. We may now summon that white radiance — it is called the Profound Lunar Radiance."
He closed his eyes in thought for a time, then continued:
"ThisBinding Dharma Edict works as it did before. Each use of the Profound Lunar Radiance requires roughly twelve days of interval. Once the twelve seal-script runes around the mirror are all illuminated, it may be invoked. After summoning the radiance, one must offer spirit rice and beast-meat in sacrifice to give thanks to the mirror's spirit."
"Excellent."
Li Xiangping clapped his hands, unable to contain his smile:
"Then many of our problems may be solved. We may attempt to break the formation on Meichi Mountain. The Wan family's formation lineage could be acquired as well. Should some powerful foe appear, our family would have the means of self-defence."
Watching the others discuss for a time and begin debating the sacrificial offerings, Lu Jiangxian reflected quietly to himself:
"This method of sacrifice is now quite satisfactory. It preserves the mirror's miraculous nature while ensuring I need not personally deploy the radiance. The Li family incurs a double cost of time and spirit materials each time they use the mirror, so they will not trouble me over every trivial matter."
"Moreover, Li Tongya and Li Xiangping still remember that this mirror's origins are unknown, and they maintain a degree of wariness. In a few more generations, the dharma mirror will become a sacred ancestral heirloom that the Li family sacrifices to each year. Both sanctity and legitimacy will be doubly assured — and it will feel naturally familiar."
His divine sense rose slowly into the sky. Sensing the powerful attraction emanating from Moonview Lake not far away, Lu Jiangxian's heart filled with anticipation.
"This time, what will it bring?"
In the courtyard.
Li Tongya and the others had arranged the spirit rice and melons for the sacrifice. Li Xiangping described the formation on Meichi Mountain to Li Tongya in detail, and the two silently conferred.
Li Tongya glanced down at the twelve seal-script runes upon the mirror's surface. Seeing that all emitted a faint white glow, he mused:
"Previously we summoned the Profound Lunar Radiance but have yet to deploy it. Why not use it to test the waters on this formation?"
After deliberating a time, the two men bowed respectfully, apologised for the intrusion, and quietly carried the mirror toward neighbouring Meichi Mountain.
Meichi Mountain and Lijing Mountain were adjacent, their ridges essentially a single massif. In strict terms, they were two peaks of the same mountain — yet over several centuries, Meichi Mountain had been under the jurisdiction of Jingyang Village while Lijing Mountain belonged to Lijing Village, and the folk of both settlements had come to think of them as two separate mountains.
Li Xiangping and Li Tongya applied the Spirit-Walking Art to their legs, and within half an hour they arrived at Meichi Mountain, gazing from afar at the hillside Li Xiangping had indicated.
Li Yesheng was swift and capable. In a single night, a considerable quantity of timber and stone had already been laid upon the slope. Foundations had been erected and plots of fertile land enclosed.
Li Tongya projected his spiritual sense into the mirror. The mirror's body rose slowly into the air, and a blinding column of white radiance pierced the darkness, descending precisely upon that hillside.
Lu Jiangxian felt the Profound Lunar Radiance strike an invisible membrane in the void. Unlike the effortless devastation it had dealt when slaying the demon beast before, this time he sensed faint resistance — the formation seemed locked in a stalemate with the radiance.
"However, though this formation's spiritual energy is abundant in quantity, its quality leaves something to be desired."
The pure white Profound Lunar Radiance was driven to a halt upon the hillside. Ripples materialised out of thin air, and after several breaths of stalemate, a pale golden formation slowly took shape. Several of its corners suddenly spat forth threads of golden light.
Yet those golden threads melted away before the Profound Lunar Radiance like remnant snow before the sun, never managing to form any meaningful resistance. The formation flickered for several breaths and then went utterly dark.
"Boom..."
The hillside trembled, and finally a stone cave-mouth appeared. A faint glow seemed to emanate from within, and the vague outlines of furnishings could be discerned. A torrent of rich spiritual energy swept outward, causing Li Tongya and Li Xiangping to draw deep breaths, their eyes shining with vigour.
The hovering mirror slowly extinguished its white radiance. The twelve seal-script runes went out one by one, and it settled back into Li Tongya's hands.
Li Tongya eyed the cave entrance cautiously and said to Li Xiangping:
"I will return the dharma mirror first, then we shall discuss the rest."
"Very well."
Li Xiangping nodded, then hastily added:
"Remember to bring a sheep."
Li Tongya gave a slight nod, applied the Spirit-Walking Art to his legs, and descended the mountain.
Watching his brother depart, Li Xiangping sat down upon the ground. He regulated his breath for a time, staring at the cave mouth, lost in thought.
---
Ten thousand li away, Li Chijing had just boarded the Cloud Ship of Shining Light when he felt the Profound Pearl Talisman Seed within his Qi Sea slowly revolve. Before his eyes appeared the image of his second brother Li Tongya standing before the stone platform with eyes gently closed.
"Second brother has broken through to Jade Capital."
He raised his head and gazed through the transparent interior of the cloud vessel toward the distant, cloud-shrouded peaks of Greater Li Mountain, and let out a quiet laugh.
He tightened the Qi-Gathering Jade Vial he had obtained from his senior brother before leaving the sect, tying a red cord at its mouth and fastening it to his waist. Such Qi-gathering and spirit-gathering artefacts typically could not be stored within a storage pouch and had to be carried upon one's person.
"Chijing."
Yuan Tuihuan smiled and said softly:
"When we reach Xunlin Plain, I shall have my cousin escort you to Greater Li Mountain. The Cloud Ship of Shining Light will remain at Xunlin Plain for three days, collecting tributes from the various settlements. You must return within those three days."
"Yes — thank you, senior sister!"
Li Chijing hurried to express his gratitude and waited with a heart full of anticipation.