Chapter 39: Dark Luminous Glow of the Moon

The Moon Lake Reflection Art was once a highly mystical technique passed down from the Immortal Manor. It requires two types of spiritual energy: one called 'Yin Moon Essence' and the other 'Golden Autumn from the Lake.' Our sect has some reserves of 'Golden Autumn from the Lake,' but the 'Yin Moon Essence' has not been seen for centuries, ever since the Immortal Manor withdrew from the world.

The Peak Master of Moon Lake from centuries ago only managed to cultivate this art by chance, after receiving a reward from the Immortal Manor. Since his death, no one has been able to master it.

Li Chijing had also heard about the Immortal Manor. It was rumored to be an enormous entity spanning several countries, but it hadn't appeared for centuries. He sighed softly to himself, then nodded and thanked him, saying, "So that's how it is. Thank you for clarifying, Senior Brother!"

Lu Jiangxian's spiritual sense extended from the mirror, observing the child who was performing the welcoming ritual.

A faint, shimmering white glow, about seven inches long, appeared above the boy's head, emitting a subtle radiance.

"This child's compatibility with the Profound Bead Talisman Seed is quite good, but I wonder about his cultivation talent."

Lu Jiangxian withdrew his spiritual sense from Li Xuanxuan. He felt a sudden tremor within him, and his vision blurred, as if a pure white, jade-like disc appeared before his eyes. He immediately understood: "That child, Li Chijing, has broken through to the Jade Capital Wheel!"

A mysterious and unfathomable power traveled thousands of miles along the connection between the Profound Bead Talisman Seeds, gently merging into the greenish-gray mirror on the stone platform. Lu Jiangxian felt his spirit lighten, and a moon-white stream of light appeared.

Previously, when Li Tongya and Li Xiangping broke through, a small amount of power had fed back into Lu Jiangxian's mirror. Coupled with Li Chijing's multiple breakthroughs, Lu Jiangxian finally managed to condense the Yin Profound Light, leveraging the feedback from his breakthrough to the Jade Capital Wheel.

"This Profound Light likely contains the concentrated power of a full Jade Capital Wheel cultivation, yet its attack range is vast, even exceeding my current spiritual sense coverage."

Having cultivated this Profound Light, Lu Jiangxian's spiritual sense range expanded to cover the entire size of Lijing Village. He was immediately filled with excitement; his mirror body grew slightly warm, and a faint sense of attraction resurfaced in his mind.

"My spiritual sense range has expanded; I can now perceive things much further away!"

Lu Jiangxian carefully sensed the direction, pondering: "It seems to still be above Wangyue Lake, but much farther than before. Should I signal the Li family to go and investigate?"

"No."

Lu Jiangxian's heart tensed, and he secretly thought: "Judging by the location, it seems to be in the market within the lake. It's better to wait until the two Li family brothers cultivate to the Jade Capital Wheel before investigating."

The door creaked open, and Li Mutian along with the two Li family brothers entered the room. Li Xiangping patted Li Xuanxuan's shoulder and asked seriously, "Are you ready?"

"Ready!"

Li Xuanxuan nodded vigorously and handed the wooden slip back to Li Xiangping.

Li Mutian watched Li Xiangping put away the wooden slip, then respectfully placed the mirror on the table and lit a few incense sticks.

"Li Xuanxuan, disciple of the Li family, respectfully invokes the Profound Bright Marvelous Method, seeking the Commander of Destiny to pacify my spirit and guide my cultivation."

"I shall account for my achievements in due time, not betray my faith, be consumed with the talisman, and my body shall return to the Yin."

No sooner had Li Xuanxuan finished speaking than Lu Jiangxian activated the magical technique. The mirror surface of the artifact shimmered with dazzling colorful light, pulsating like breathing, then suddenly spat out a white pellet.

Li Xuanxuan quickly sat cross-legged, guiding the magical technique to receive the talisman seed.

Li Tongya looked at Li Xuanxuan, who was sitting on the ground, then turned and quietly tightened the door. "Liu Rouxuan became a Profound Vista last night," he murmured. "In a few more months, Xuanxuan will also achieve Profound Vista. By then, my Li family will have six cultivators."

Li Xiangping looked at the greenish-gray mirror on the table, shimmering with colorful light, and continued, "Two Circulation Wheel cultivators, three Profound Vista Wheel cultivators. And Jing'er should have already become a Green Origin Wheel cultivator in the immortal sect."

"Our main Li family branch still lacks cultivators with higher cultivation. Not to mention Ji Dengqi, who is only at the Qi Condensation stage, the neighboring Wan family alone has cultivators at the peak of the Jade Capital Wheel."

"Only when Jade Capital Wheel cultivators develop spiritual consciousness can they refine elixirs, forge artifacts, set up formations, and use storage bags. It's also safer for them to move through market towns."

As Lu Jiangxian listened to their conversation, his spiritual sense suddenly stirred. He faintly perceived an unfamiliar aura approaching from the west, hovering erratically not far away.

Lu Jiangxian's perception was divided into two layers. The first, called 'Sight Perception,' had an extremely wide coverage, vaguely encompassing the entire Li family's sphere of influence from Licuan Pass to Lidao Pass. This Sight Perception was equivalent to a mortal's 'seeing'; it could only observe and detect rough images. The advantage was that this type of detection generally went unnoticed; even Si Yuanbai, who was in the Foundation Establishment stage back then, did not detect his observation.

The other layer was 'Spiritual Sense,' which covered approximately Lijing Village and was equivalent to a mortal's 'touch.' Within this range, Lu Jiangxian could use his spiritual sense to scan a person entirely, but depending on the strength of both parties, the other party would have a very obvious feeling of being spied upon. Also, within the range of his spiritual sense, he could use the Yin Profound Light to strike enemies.

Currently, his Sight Perception sensed an aura of approximately Jade Capital Wheel strength, stealthily lingering near Licuan Pass. He felt a little uneasy, secretly thinking, "Why would a cultivator of Jade Capital Wheel cultivation be loitering here… I should alert the Li family."

As his thoughts turned, silver-white moonlight surged from the mirror surface, converging into streams of moon-white threads that condensed in the air.

This sudden change greatly startled Li Tongya and the others. Seeing the silver light continuously gathering in the air, they couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances.

Li Mutian narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Don't panic. Let's see what it is first."

Li Tongya stroked his chin, speaking with some hesitation, "It looks like our Li family's map."

However, the moonlight gradually condensed into a bright white map. Licuan, Lidao, Jingyang, and other villages were all depicted, none missing, looking very intricate. Only the section of the map indicating Licuan Pass kept glowing with silver light.

"Licuan Pass?" Li Xiangping murmured to himself.

Chen Erniu had been in charge of Licuan Pass for several years. He had gained some weight and grown a beard on his chin, finally no longer looking like a mere farmer.

During the day, he had finished settling the accounts for the fields and mediated the land dispute between two brothers. He contentedly lay down on his couch, starting to plan tomorrow's schedule.

"The plots of land east of the village are still good. Tomorrow, I'll send a few people to reclaim them, securing a few more plots."

Licuan Pass and Lidao Pass were adjacent. Administratively, unlike the closely neighboring Lijing Village and Jingyang Village, there was no hierarchical distinction between them, so he, as the one in charge, naturally had to assert his position in every matter.

Xu Wenshan had originally intended to open up trade routes, but the Wan family was about to lose even the ancient Lidao to the Ji family, so there was naturally no route to the east. This had made Xu Wenshan extremely irritable in recent months, picking fights with Chen Erniu about everything.

"What a hassle."

As he was thinking, Chen Erniu heard a commotion outside. His eldest son, in a panic, rushed in, yelling, "Bad news, bad news! Father! Someone's dead at the village entrance!"

Chen Erniu quickly jumped out of bed and exclaimed, "What?"

--- Author's Note ---

Yesterday, the novel was recommended, which brought a lot of traffic. Many people came to offer support and suggestions. Thank you, everyone!

Although it's a special period and comments are displayed as 'deleted' on the client side, I can still see them in the author's backend. Many readers want more screentime for the protagonist, Lu Jiangxian.

Last night, I spent the whole night reviewing the outline. It's true that the protagonist has too little screentime before several upgrades, even though this is a family cultivation story. So, today I spent a long time revising the outline, adjusting some later elements and bringing them forward.

Please bear with me for a few more chapters. As a new author, I chose the difficult genre of group-portrait novel, so the pressure is really immense, haha.

Thank you for all the favorites and votes! Your support and suggestions are very important to me! Although it's hard to please everyone, I will try my best to find a balance between the Li family members and Lu Jiangxian.

Finally, regarding typos, I am very grateful for messages pointing them out. I will check all comments!