Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 172 - 162 Shanyue Unrest

Eastern Shanyue.

Mu Jiaoman lay on the couch, a scorching breath surging in his mouth, his heart convulsing painfully, making him parched and speechless.

"My King! My King!"

The crying and wailing of his wives and concubines were so annoying that he clenched his teeth and shouted with all his might,

"Shut up!"

Yet the sound came out as weak as a hum, and no one paid any attention to him; they all cried and wailed on their own, plunging him into gloom.

Under his rule, Eastern Shanyue might not have been a land of wealth and strength, but it was much better than the chaotic times of the past, and the territory of Eastern Shanyue kept expanding as Shanyue villages surrendered from time to time.

Mu Jiaoman knew that Li Tongya was cautious, pretending to lean on Witch Mountain to prevent Li Tongya from invading, making concessions to open trade routes, allowing the Li family to exchange novel luxuries for the mountain-like food and materials in the hands of Shanyue nobility. In doing so, they fed the hundreds of thousands of Shanyue like laborers for that slightly over one hundred thousand people, buying themselves a glimmer of hope.

Just when things were looking up and heading in a positive direction, a demon wolf invaded the town. This Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivating beast mysteriously crossed hundreds of miles of mountains and rivers without making a sound and descended at the foot of his city.

Mu Jiaoman had no choice but to fight; the development of Eastern Shanyue over the years yielded two or three Qi Cultivators, though they had only ingested mixed Qi and couldn't compare to true Cultivators, they were still considered a force. However, they were stationed on the western front and reinforcements were too slow to arrive.

He hoped to hold on until support arrived, but he hadn't expected the demon to have several innate spells, forcing him to retreat. Clenching his teeth, he sacrificed his vital energy and called upon Witch Mountain using ancient witchcraft.

"How can there be no response..."

Mu Jiaoman's mind went blank, his heart silent, and years of sharpened instincts made him realize a grave matter.

"There's a problem with Witch Mountain. This demon beast is definitely a scout from some Cultivator..."

Mu Jiaoman exhausted his lifespan using witchcraft and finally repelled the beast, returning to lay on the opulent jade bed and understood his end had come.

"Make way!"

The wailing huddle of wives and concubines was broken by a roar as a Shanyue man covered in Talisman Script, his face etched with urgency, barged into the palace. With the clatter of bone and Jade Stone, Mu Jiaoman mustered his strength and murmured,

"You..."

"This old servant is late!"

The man wailed, but Mu Jiaoman's spirit revived suddenly, gripping the man's hand tightly, he murmured,

"Pass the chieftainship to my son Qi Mu, and... slaughter all the other children! Never leave any survivors."

"Yes..."

"Did you get that?"

Tears flowed down Mu Jiaoman's face as he insisted through clenched teeth,

"You must completely eliminate the other children... do not let them fall under the Li family's control. Our Shanyue tribe has been biding its time, not submitting to them. Do you understand? Do you understand?"

The man looked up, his tears yet unshed, but Mu Jiaoman's grip loosened, and with a thud, he collapsed onto the jade bed, bereft of life. The Shanyue man wiped his tears and cried out in sorrow,

"My King!... has gone to join our ancestors!"

The bells in the city tolled loudly, and Shanyue soldiers shuttled through the streets. The sounds of slaughter and screams rose as the once high-and-mighty children were dragged out and beheaded decisively.

Meanwhile, a dark grey ox cart had long left the city, rattling along the ancient Lidao. Several figures hurriedly jumped off the cart and scampered into the forest to the east.

"The old man truly favored that Qi Mu. Fortunately, we had informants in the palace, otherwise, we'd have been slaughtered like pigs and dogs!"

"My lord, what shall we do now?"

Several individuals, clearly guards or advisors, followed closely behind the leading man. As someone posed the question, the man replied,

"I heard Auntie is now a concubine at the Eastern man's place, our only plan now is to flee east and seek refuge with her!"

Several people gazed up at the starry sky to determine their direction, then plunged headlong into the dense, impenetrable jungle, and disappeared without a trace.

————

In the cave mansion, Li Tongya was reading the "Moon Que Sword Canon," silently mimicking the moves with his hands and occasionally praising softly, exclaiming:

"Marvelous! It's simply peak brilliance!"

When Li Chijin returned home and wrote down the Moon Que Sword Arc, Li Tongya was still a novice in the Sword Dao and had never appreciated the subtleties of Li Chijin's swordsmanship. However, as he grew year by year, and with Li Chijin's personal explanations of the Moon Que Sword Arc as a foundation, coupled with his own considerable talent in the Sword Dao, his Sword Path Cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. He soon grasped Sword Qi and finally understood the depth of his brother's insight in Sword Dao.

The explanation in the "Moon Que Sword Manual" was simple yet profound and ingenious. Li Tongya's previously slow progress in Sword Path Cultivation surged in these few months; issues that had once been confusing now became crystal clear. Estimating the time, he probably wouldn't need more than ten years to have a chance at understanding the next realm of Sword Dao, Sword Origin.

The Moon Que Sword Arc was merely the introductory form of the sword canon. With dozens of elaborate successive moves and variations within, Li Tongya found it dazzling and couldn't stop admiring it, his hands still moving through the motions, when he heard a "knock knock" at the stone door.

"Who is it?"

Li Tongya looked up and inquired, only to hear the respectful voice of his child, Li Xuanling:

"Father, someone from the Xiao Family has come - a Qi Cultivator. I'm afraid we should extend our hospitality."

"I understand."

Li Tongya pondered for a few moments, then stood up and left the cave mansion. Li Xuanling was waiting at the door and let out a soft sigh of relief at the sight of him.

It was tricky for Li Xuanling; there was a vast gap between the status of Qi Cultivating Realm and Fetal Breathing Realm. The Xiao Family had been kind to the Li Family, and to not send a Qi Cultivator to receive their guest could seem disrespectful and lacking propriety.

Li Xuanfeng had long since entered closed-door cultivation, Li Xuanxuan was at a critical juncture breaking through to the Qi Cultivating Realm and could not be disturbed, and though Chen Donghe was of Qi Cultivation Level, he was not one to take charge. After considering all options, it seemed only Li Tongya, who was not in closed cultivation, was left, which is why Li Xuanling had come to the mountain to ask for him.

Pocketing the "Moon Que Sword Canon," Li Tongya left the cave mansion and accompanied Li Xuanling to the main courtyard on Lijing Mountain. There, they saw a young man around twenty-five or twenty-six years old looking up at him. The youth's long robe gave him an ethereal appearance, and he had remarkable features. Upon seeing Li Tongya, the young man's expression showed evident surprise, and he quickly stood up and cupped his hands in greeting:

"I am Xiao Ruyu from the Xiao Family. I pay my respects to the elder!"

Xiao Ruyu had been expecting Li Xuanfeng, and the fact that the Li Family valued his visit so highly that Li Tongya came to welcome him personally was both a pleasant surprise and a bit unnerving.

"Li Tongya is a peer of my family's elder, Xiao Yongling, and one of the most outstanding Cultivators of his generation in the ancient Lidao..."

After a moment's thought, Xiao Ruyu said with a smile:

"Ruyu has heard the elder praised by my family's elder more than once. I've long admired you, and I'm finally delighted to meet you in person."

Li Tongya replied with a gentle smile, appreciating the young man's decorum and the grace with which he conducted himself, which earned a good impression in his heart. He said softly:

"Xuanfeng has mentioned you too. For you to accompany him into dangerous places, you are indeed brave!"

"You flatter me, elder."

After exchanging a few courteous remarks, Xiao Ruyu, not wanting to overstep, respectfully said:

"Ruyu has two important matters for his visit. The first is that nine out of ten homes in the county are empty, and we need to relocate people from various places. The Li Family has the largest population, and the Xiao Family is willing to pay a certain price..."

"Such matters are trivial."

Li Tongya laughed, saying warmly:

"My Li Family can provide about a thousand male and female laborers annually for the nobility. The Xiao Family need not mention any remuneration; with the relationship between our two families, why stand on ceremony?"

The Li Family lacked many things, but not people. Each year, the refugees from the Shanyue made the Li Family uneasy about their settlement. If settled locally, they feared that the Shanyue might be too numerous and stir up trouble, potentially affecting the Li Family's ways. Sending them back, however, would be a waste of labor.

In the seven years since the Li Family took over Huaqian Mountain, the population had grown from five thousand to twenty thousand. Coupled with the nearly one hundred thousand locals, the Li Family's population was reaching half of the County City's. If not for the hundreds of thousands of Shanyue in the west providing support, managing would indeed be difficult.