Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 84: Killing the Beast

Five years passed as quickly as an arrow shooting through the treetops, and Lijing Village had already transformed into Lijing Town. The Liu, Chen, Xu, Ren, and several other major surnames moved into Lijing Town with their families. The higher-ups all said—this is a reward, being close to Immortal Mountain is a blessing.

Li Xuanxuan had grown a mustache and had broken through to the fourth layer of Fetal Breathing, the Qing Yuan Wheel. Assigned by Li Xiangping to become the clan leader, this youth’s demeanor was no longer naive and gentle but had evolved into a mature calmness that caused the descendants of the Li Family to look upon him with awe.

The talk of Lijing Town, however, was mostly about twelve-year-old Li Xuanfeng, who had people gleefully recounting how the child, while laughing maniacally on the training ground, had snapped six bows and, tossing their broken limbs out of the arena, shouted:

"Bring on more!"

Li Xuanfeng didn’t even glance at the horrified looks of the clan soldiers around him. He held his head high with roaring laughter, or perhaps this child was naturally wild and indulgent, lifting the bow with an accuracy that never missed any bird or beast.

Li Tongya couldn’t help but smile wryly as he brought back a dark longbow from Guanyun Peak for him. Except for being tough and durable, it had no other merits, but it was finally enough to satisfy Li Xuanfeng’s enjoyment.

By the Meichi River.

"Big Brother Feng, what are you doing?"

Li Xuanling, just past ten years old and having been tested a few years ago as lacking a Spirit Aperture, was the legitimate and only son of Li Tongya. Naturally, he was given the Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seed. He now followed Li Xuanfeng with a pained expression, and upon seeing him acting sneakily behind a rock, couldn’t help but ask in a hushed tone.

"Look!"

Li Xuanfeng pushed Li Xuanling forward with a mischievous grin. Stumbling forward, Li Xuanling was caught off guard by the sight of the voluptuous shoulders and rounded buttocks of a woman in the river, which scared him into hastily covering his mouth and retreating, glaring fiercely at Li Xuanfeng and whispering:

"Li Xuanfeng, you’re really bad."

Li Xuanfeng peeked at Li Xuanling’s flushed face with a grin, whispering back:

"Was it good to look at?"

"Nothing special."

Li Xuanfeng was disappointed not hearing the praise he expected from Li Xuanling’s mouth and irritably slapped his butt, murmuring:

"What does a little kid know."

"Li Xuanfeng, you really have too much free time."

Li Xuanling shook his head, his young face taking on a composed expression. He inquired:

"Have you broken through to the third layer of Fetal Breathing?"

Li Xuanfeng chuckled and replied:

"I’ve already stepped into the fourth layer of Fetal Breathing."

Li Xuanling’s face suddenly froze, expressing disbelief, and he mumbled dumbly:

"You’ve caught up to Brother Xuan already?"

Li Xuanfeng nodded nonchalantly, smiling:

"Of course, take a look."

He took out the dark longbow from behind, placed his left foot on a bluestone, drew the bow, and his aura dramatically changed. He was no longer carefree and unrestrained but shifted into a piercing sharpness that made Li Xuanling unwittingly tense up beside him.

Li Xuanfeng laughed as he slowly aimed the bow at Li Xuanling. Although there were no arrows on the string, it still scared Li Xuanling, making every hair on his body stand up for a moment, feeling as if a cold wind was slicing across his face and a buzzing sound filled his ears.

"Truly formidable."

Li Xuanling swallowed hard and slowly stepped away from in front of Li Xuanfeng, observing as Li Xuanfeng remained focused on aiming the bow, the sharp aura on his body continuously increasing, causing the surrounding shrubbery to tremble incessantly.

Li Xuanling’s eyes widened at the sight of Li Xuanfeng’s quiver, which gave a light jump at his waist. He quickly rubbed his eyes and saw that every arrow inside was quivering non-stop, as if anticipating something.

"Now!"

Li Xuanfeng suddenly released his grip, and a large tree tens of steps away exploded with a loud bang, wood chips flying everywhere. A transparent hole appeared in the trunk, and after a few moments, the tree toppled to the ground in a twisted fall, startling a flock of birds.

"Brother."

Li Xuanling stared dumbfounded for a while, then said in a low voice:

"Have you already reached the Qi Cultivation Stage?"

"What are you thinking!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Li Xuanfeng, who was also deeply panting and whose face was a bit flushed, smiled and said:

"This is an archery technique I came up with myself. You just need to use the spiritual aperture between your palms, combined with the intent of drawing the bow and shooting the arrow. It’s not that difficult."

Li Xuanling shook his head silently, only to see Li Xuanfeng’s face turn slightly awkward. He grabbed Li Xuanling and started running, pulling him more than ten meters away in an instant.

"That bastard was peeping at mother taking a bath!"

Hearing the scolding behind him, Li Xuanling’s face turned pale. He put extra strength into his steps and said in alarm:

"Isn’t that Aunt Xu from the village entrance?! Li Xuanfeng! This... this..."

Li Xuanfeng gave an embarrassed laugh and whispered:

"I was just curious, you know..."

————

On Wangyue Lake.

Li Tongya was stepping lightly on the water, standing suspended above it step by step. Clear and transparent River True Essence poured out from the grey-white longsword in his hand, forming streams of Sword Radiance. He looked down at the armored beast swirling in the water while pinching a spell and standing quietly suspended in the air.

Bright red blood slowly spread in the river, and the river beast could hardly contain itself. The water’s surface kept flickering as dozens of transparent Qi Strikes burst forth, heading straight for Li Tongya.

Li Tongya stepped forward, dodging most of the beast’s attacks. The water gleamed all around him, blocking two Qi Strikes that were bending towards him, and he thought to himself:

"This Clear Qi Shield from the ’River Qi Decision’ is quite reliable. This river beast doesn’t understand spells, relying purely on brute mana. Not only does it waste a tremendous amount, but it also can’t break through my Dharma Shield."

The crocodile had no proper heritage, relying solely on its brute force to cultivate to the peak of Fetal Breathing. It didn’t know how many years it had been absorbing and exhaling to cultivate a breath of pure Spiritual Energy, enabling it to advance to Qi Cultivation.

Seeing that its attack had failed, the crocodile quickly dived and swam upstream against the current. Naturally, Li Tongya followed closely behind.

Li Tongya had broken through to the first layer of Qi Cultivation two years ago and had been thinking about killing a Qi-refined beast to consecrate his Dharma Mirror. He had been searching in these mountains for over a year; the beasts he encountered were either cunning as foxes or overwhelmingly strong. It took quite some effort to find this dull-witted crocodile, so naturally, he couldn’t let it escape easily.

At the Qi Cultivation Stage, one could already tread on air, though without the speed of the Flying Shuttle, it wasn’t much faster – only about thirty to forty percent quicker than running at full strength at the peak of Fetal Breathing. However, since the crocodile had been wounded in Li Tongya’s ambush, it couldn’t get far.

The ’Mysterious Water Sword Technique’ matched quite well with the ’River Qi Decision,’ increasing the power of the swung Sword Qi by ten to twenty percent, much to Li Tongya’s delight. Two streaks of faint Sword Qi struck the crocodile’s back, causing it to roll in agony.

Fearing the beast’s dying counterattack, Li Tongya simply followed behind, occasionally swinging his sword to continually drain the crocodile’s strength.

Finally unable to endure any longer, the crocodile roared angrily and burst out of the water, splashing wildly as it leapt at Li Tongya. He swung his sword backward, hitting the beast’s back, and swiftly retreated, keeping his distance while adding more wounds to the crocodile’s body.

After half an hour of struggle, the crocodile finally collapsed on the riverbank. Li Tongya purposefully did not kill the beast but instead injected River True Essence into it to lock its life force and cultivation level, fearing it would die from the attack.

Once sure the crocodile was not in mortal danger, Li Tongya then grabbed the tip of the beast’s tail, dragging it like a small mountain towards the village.