Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 37 Spirit Rice

Li Tongya felt his heart skip a beat, and the world in front of him seemed a bit dizzy. He quickly turned his head down to look at the pale green Spirit Rice swaying uncertainly in the fields and whispered softly,

"You... should wait until you’ve advanced to the Xuanjing Wheel before discussing anything else."

Liu Rouxuan giggled, leaning close to Li Tongya’s face, her beautiful eyebrows gently unfolding as she whispered in his ear,

"Then, Tongya, don’t you run off with someone else first..."

Li Tongya’s face instantly turned red, and he rose with a bit of shame and indignation, saying,

"You should focus on your cultivation!"

Having said that, he ran out of the yard as if fleeing and went off into the distance.

After walking along the stone-paved road for a while and washing his face with river water, Li Tongya gradually calmed down and couldn’t help but smile bitterly,

"I’m afraid I’m really falling for this girl."

"Big brother is truly fond of Liu Rouxuan! Father’s move is indeed profound!"

Sitting by the riverside with a beaming smile, Li Xiangping said to Li Tongya,

"Father arranged for you to take responsibility for Liu Rouxuan, but while you only saw this external strategy to prevent power from getting too concentrated, you, the person involved, are too caught up to see the internal strategy aimed at you, Li Tongya."

"Stop teasing me, brother!"

Li Tongya smiled wryly and shook his head helplessly, replying,

"The more I observe father, the more I feel there’s always something to learn from the old man."

"Indeed!"

Li Xiangping nodded seriously and said,

"The three Serpent Origin Pills left by Xiao Yuansi, I intend to use them when we try to advance to the Yujing Wheel."

"The Misty Maze Array has already had father and Yesheng drip blood on it. I’ll personally take the Dharma Mirror quietly up to the mountain cottage. As for the Mysterious Water Sword Technique... I’m afraid I don’t have the talent for it, so big brother, please study it more."

Li Tongya scooped up a handful of river water to wash his hands and replied,

"Chi Jing has gone to the Immortal Sect for nearly three years, and this first batch of Spirit Rice is also about to mature. In the coming days, you and I will be busy."

————

Lijing Village had more snow this year than in previous years. The Spirit Rice in the fields had matured, with the pale green rice ears wrapping around grains like white jade, standing erect in the fields, unaffected even by the heavy snow.

This Spirit Rice was not like ordinary rice, with leaves as sharp as knives that needed an ax to be harvested. Li Tongya and the others had to affix the Golden Light Technique to their sickles to fully harvest these Spiritual Fields.

Looking at the bundles of pale green stacks of Spirit Rice, Li Qiuyang stepped on the snow, clapping his hands, and laughed,

"Xiangping, this Spirit Rice looks truly gratifying."

Last month, Li Qiuyang advanced to the Xuanjing Wheel and took the Xuanjing Spirit Oath in the family shrine. He learned a few spells and, now ten years old and starting to look grown-up with eyes and brows unfolding, appeared quite handsome.

He had already accumulated eighty-one strands of Spiritual Power a year before, but unfortunately, he failed in coalescing the Xuanjing Wheel and had to spend another year recuperating his Spiritual Power. He was almost caught up to by Liu Rouxuan.

"Not bad."

Li Xiangping was also brimming with smiles, mana circulating endlessly within him, having already cultivated the Zhouxing Wheel.

Tian Yun was pregnant with dragon-phoenix twins and gave birth to a boy and a girl for the Li Family, which delighted him greatly. The old master looked at the children again and again. In accordance with the family lineage’s generation names, the boy was named Li Xuanfeng and the girl Li Jingtian.

"The white element fruit is not yet ripe, but since the Spirit Rice has been harvested, let’s bring it back first."

The village hands behind him had already trimmed off the leaves of the Spirit Rice one by one with clippers and securely tied them with thick rope before daring to pick them up in pairs. The leaves of the Spirit Rice were sharp as blades, and the people suffered quite a bit with the harvesting.

By the time they reached the foot of Lijing Mountain, a thin mist began to spread. Li Yesheng turned to the few people behind him and spoke in a deep voice:

"Stay close! If you fall into this formation, watch out for your lives!"

The villagers quickly acknowledged, stepping on the stone-paved path to the mountain top, they placed several bundles of Spirit Rice in the courtyard, and Li Xiangping then waved his hand:

"Take them down."

The Spirit Rice had to be harvested from the stalk using Mana, and a special spell was required to thresh and winnow it, to ensure the Spiritual Energy of the Spirit Rice did not dissipate.

Ordinary people could only handle the harvesting of Spirit Rice by cutting it with sickles imbued with the Golden Light Technique and transporting it; the truly important steps still needed to be handled by Cultivators.

"Third Uncle! Cousin!"

Li Xuanxuan came out from the courtyard, greeting Li Qiuyang and Li Xiangping with a bow. He was now over seven years old, his physique gradually growing, and his face bore some resemblance to the late Li Changhu.

"Xuanxuan, come here."

Seeing Li Xuanxuan approach Li Qiuyang, Li Xiangping’s expression changed, and he quickly called out, waiting until Li Xuanxuan was seated next to him before smiling and saying:

"This child discovered his Spirit Aperture before the New Year, his cultivation speed is remarkable, and I presume in a few more months he can cultivate the Xuanjing Wheel."

Li Xuanxuan, hearing this, was momentarily startled, his mind brimming with doubts and secretly pondering:

"Our family clearly did not measure my Root Bone, nor pass on any spells to me, what does Third Uncle mean by this..."

Yet his face was all smiles as he nodded towards Li Qiuyang, who looked on enviously.

"Xuan’er, you truly are amazing!"

Impressed, Li Qiuyang couldn’t help but praise, thinking back to how it took him two years to condense his own Xuanjing Wheel, he felt somewhat ashamed.

After chatting for a while, when Li Tongya arrived at the mountain, Li Xuanxuan stepped back. It took several hours for the few people to pluck the Spirit Rice, remove the husks, and Li Mutian divided it into bags, lifting one lightly and announcing:

"One hundred and twenty catties of Spirit Rice, forty catties of rice bran."

"In two years’ time, we should be able to harvest another crop, this tribute should be sufficient."

After Li Qiuyang left, Li Xiangping placed the two bags of Spirit Rice and bran on the table for inspection, admiring the grains of Spirit Rice that looked like white jade, and couldn’t help but marvel; only then did he put the rice into the house, whispering to Li Tongya:

"Xuanxuan is seven, his physique is set, it’s time for him to start cultivating."

Li Tongya was taken aback, nodding thoughtfully and followed Li Xiangping into the house.

A charcoal fire burned in the house; the elderly tended to slumber in winter, and Li Mutian had already gone to sleep early. Only Li Xuanxuan was left warming himself by the stove.

Li Xuanxuan sat in the house, staring at the snowflakes drifting in the mountainside, gazing at the snow-covered Lijing Mountain in a daze. Seeing the two men, he quickly got to his feet and asked:

"Third Uncle, why did you tell Cousin that I’m about to cultivate the Xuanjing Wheel? If I don’t have that Spirit Aperture, wouldn’t it be embarrassingly obvious..."

Li Xiangping carefully closed the doors and windows, made a gesture for silence to Li Xuanxuan, and spoke in a solemn voice:

"Follow me."

Li Xuanxuan immediately closed his mouth and obediently followed Li Xiangping to the innermost green-tiled brick house in the courtyard.

Li Xiangping took out a key, removed the lock from the door, pushed the door open gently and whispered to Li Xuanxuan:

"Come in."

Seeing Li Xiangping’s serious demeanor, Li Xuanxuan felt uneasy. Upon entering, he saw that the room was very spacious, with just a green stone platform in the center supporting an ash-colored Mirror.

Incense burned within, its scent calming and uplifting the spirit. Li Xuanxuan looked up at Li Xiangping, who was quietly observing the Mirror, and dared not speak.