Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror

Chapter 414 353: Soul Search (Part 2)

Outside, Li Xuanxuan was also affected by the Divine Skills. Fortunately, Chi Buzi focused solely on Li Yuanjiao, so Xuanxuan's mind was only slightly muddled; he instantly realized it was a Divine Skill at work.

Feeling his consciousness growing more and more confused, Li Xuanxuan judged his own will too weak and promptly slammed his own Shengyang Mansion point with his palm, collapsing with a thud.

Chi Buzi paid no heed whatsoever to Li Yuanjiao's reactions. He only waited for Yuanjiao to kneel to the ground, his mind hazy, then lightly and deftly pressed his palm upon Yuanjiao's Shengyang Mansion, between his defiant brows, while his other hand swiftly formed a spell seal:

"[Fangyin Jiuqiu Heart Inquiry Method]!"

This method was an authentic Technique Cultivator's Soul Searching Technique, far superior to those crude and half-baked methods of the Devil Cultivators. What was once a forbidden art, obstructive to the Dao, had by now transformed into a most beneficial Immortal Law with nary a drawback.

Li Yuanjiao performed flawlessly; Chi Buzi no longer cared how this Elixir came to be. Whether Yuanjiao spoke truth or feigned deceits, he could not be bothered to listen in detail—one Soul Search to seize both soul and mind, and all would be laid bare.

Chi Buzi's expression was focused, eyelids gently lowered. He had performed this Spell numerous times with unerring results; his Spiritual Sense slipped skillfully into Li Yuanjiao's Sea of Consciousness and deftly guided all memories to surface.

'The source of this Elixir!'

He summoned forth his Spell. In his palm, streaks of multicolored light arose, flowing into Li Yuanjiao's Shengyang Mansion, transforming into one after another pale-gray Talisman Script, flickering and dancing within Yuanjiao's Sea of Consciousness.

For several breaths, Chi Buzi's vision dimmed utterly, and then, hazily, a chamber emerged—torchlight gloomed, coldness seeped on all sides, while a couple pale Spell-lights shimmered and flickered endlessly.

'Is this...the Cave Mansion?'

Chi Buzi's gaze roved; on the patterned floor, clusters of laurel trees manifested, each hung with illusory white osmanthus blossoms. The fragrance was overwhelming, yet bone-penetratingly cold.

'What manner of thing is this...it bears quite a resemblance to the sect's Zifu Spirit Root—the "Moonlit Glazed Tree."'

It was, after all, a place for obtaining Taiyin Moonlight; strange omens could be expected. Chi Buzi withdrew his gaze—up ahead stood a greenstone dais, shrouded in white mist, wondrous and uncanny.

'This is...'

Just as Chi Buzi's heart stirred, a clamor resounded near his ears; clusters of gold-white laurel flowers cascaded downward, golden hearts glowing, releasing a pleasing fragrance—blindingly radiant among the misty moonlight haze.

"Shhh shhh shhh..."

Gentle scuffling noises arose. From a shadowed corner, several toad-rabbits hopped into view—nimble and endearing—scattering the ground's laurel petals. "Li Yuanjiao" finally straightened, allowing Buzi to see the object upon the dais.

A blue-gray Mirror.

Upon it, archaic lines and Seal Script twined in profound mystery. He had no time to discern more, when suddenly, within the shattered surface of that Mirror, a pair of eyes swiftly emerged.

Gentle, indifferent, dignified.

Atop Lijing Mountain, Chi Buzi's hands within his sleeves, fingers forming a spell seal, began to quake uncontrollably. His tightly shut eyes wept a line of blood tears, threading down his cheeks in a terrifying display,

"滴答."

Those two drops of blood tears landed upon the greenstone floor, shattering two slabs with a bang, and rolled like beads across the ground with a series of crisp rattles.

————

Buzi's coming was far too abrupt; it was the evil fruit of his rashness, left behind when Li Chijin cultivated his Daoist Foundation with Taiyin Moonlight years ago.

Though back then Si Yuanbai, fearful of implicating the Li Family, feigned that he'd obtained it outside and tricked the various Zifu, none could have foreseen the hidden calamity erupting so many years later; at last, the covetous made their move—venturing straight to the Li Family.

"In the end, it must be faced..."

Though the Immortal Mirror's strength had not recovered, its ranking was exceedingly high; one divination could equal that which could decipher an expert far above Dao Embryo. Lu Jiangxian had borrowed its power in the past—knowing well its might.

Whether it was Mage Minghui or Maha Jin Lian, both had only traced Li Qinghong's origins upward. Lured by Lu Jiangxian to the Dharma Mirror, they suffered heavy losses in an instant.

And the talisman seed of the Dharma Mirror was yet more domineering: Whoever in the Li Family bore the Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seed, their soul, fate, and cultivation were all bound upon it. Unless Lu Jiangxian willed it, not a soul could touch them.

Now, Chi Buzi's Soul Search upon Li Yuanjiao ought, in truth, to yield nothing. Watching him persevere, Lu Jiangxian was secretly afraid—after all, an incomplete Soul Search was all the more suspicious.

So in the end, this entanglement could only expose his family. Taoyin Profound Light, though only at the Foundation Establishment Realm, possessed the power to instantly slay even Foundation Establishment Peak, threatening the Zifu experts. Yet Chi Buzi was no mere target; by fleeing to the Great Void, he could not be kept.

Seeing Buzi initiate the Soul Search and inadvertently brush the Dharma Mirror, Lu Jiangxian gritted his teeth, muttering inwardly:

'Better to use the Talisman Seed as a bridge, linking it immediately to this Chi Buzi's Spell.'

Though Lu Jiangxian was not adept in the arts of Soul Search, with so many years on the Witch Talisman path, his mastery was formidable indeed. Now, moonlight surged, fate was entangled, Immortal Mirror flared—and he fiercely crashed into Chi Buzi's Sea of Consciousness.

"Though my restoration is incomplete, my Divine Sense far outreaches ordinary Spiritual Sense. Only by turning this spell back upon him will a sliver of hope survive!"

...

Li Yuanjiao's mind drifted in a muddle for a long time before clarity abruptly returned, a cool current rising from his Sea of Qi Acupoint. He snapped his eyes open. Before him was Chi Buzi's palm, pressed squarely between his brows.

Darkness oppressed all around, blackness looming in each corner, the atmosphere stagnant with Yin, precisely when malefic Qi was heaviest in the day.

The sky had grown dull with night, nearly an hour passed; the sun hung blood-red amidst murky, crimson-tinged clouds—a decidedly ominous sign.

Glancing about, he saw the ground strewn with lustrous red Jade Beads, lying still yet reflecting dazzling lights—shimmering in the dimness, quite beautiful.

"Perfected Person?"

Li Yuanjiao called out cautiously, unsure what Divine Skills Chi Buzi had exercised upon him, bowing his head in silence.

'I live still... Chi Buzi must not have discovered anything.'

Chi Buzi gave no reply at all.

Unease rose in Li Yuanjiao's heart. He withdrew slowly after a long while. Chi Buzi remained silent, his robe sleeve drooping forlornly; when Yuanjiao looked up, the Perfected Person wore a somber expression, eyes closed tight.

The dusky light of rosy clouds painted Chi Buzi's face, startling pairs of blood tears trailing down. In Yuanjiao's heart, thunderbolts clashed—his mind went entirely blank.

'Chi Buzi! This is...'

"Tap, tap..."

Streaks of blood ran down Chi Buzi's face, two drops falling from his chin, hitting the ground and instantly turning into crystalline red Jade Beads, colliding with those already scattered about to produce a chorus of crisp notes.

Only now did Li Yuanjiao understand the origin of the Jade Beads littering the ground. Relieved yet suddenly haunted with dread, he stepped back, but Chi Buzi still stood statue-like within the gloom of twilight, utterly motionless.

Li Yuanjiao gathered his Spiritual Sense and swept it gingerly over Chi Buzi, only to find a void, the previous oppressiveness vanished without a trace.

The Jade Bottle containing the Talisman Pill slipped from his cuff and shattered upon the floor, the Talisman Pill rolling out, coming to rest in a gap between the bricks.

He quietly withdrew from the courtyard. Outside, his father Li Xuanxuan lay flat on the ground. Li Yuanjiao checked his breath—steady and deep; blood marked his head, but he had merely fainted from the blow.

Immediately, Li Yuanjiao rose with the wind. His Spiritual Sense swept the grounds: the two clan soldiers outside, likely felled by Spell, were snoring thunderously.

Seeing that one was beginning to stir, Li Yuanjiao hurried back into the yard, shut the gate, lifted Xuanxuan upright, and cast a Spell to rouse his consciousness.

Li Xuanxuan slowly awoke, gazing blearily at Yuanjiao, then shuddered in terror and asked:

"Where is the Perfected Person?!"

Li Yuanjiao gave a bitter laugh and shook his head, supporting his father to his feet. Opening the courtyard gate, they saw the two clan soldiers standing at crisp attention, with no trace of sleepiness at all.

"Go summon Qinghong and Yuanping!"

The two clan soldiers departed, and not until then did Li Yuanjiao lead Li Xuanxuan to the rear courtyard.

The sky deepened further into night. In the courtyard, Chi Buzi still stood, tears of blood dripping endlessly. Xuanxuan, dizzy with the sight, was confronted by a carpet of red Jade Beads, glimmering before his feet.

"Jiao'er..."

Li Xuanxuan, trembling, swept his Spiritual Sense up and down. The man stood like a jade pillar—so still he could scarcely believe it, checking repeatedly to be sure.

The radiance of Divine Skills and the vibrant aura about Chi Buzi, the crushing might of one traversing the Great Void—all were gone. Only a frail blue robe draped over flesh like white jade remained.

Chi Buzi's face twisted faintly with pain, blood tears flowing without end.

"…Has he fallen… Has he fallen…"

Li Xuanxuan's face turned ashen. He staggered back several paces, no trace of relief or satisfaction—only a terror that made both hands tremble uncontrollably.

"Green Pond Sect... How many years has it been since a Zifu was slain..."