Chapter 761 538: The Eve

The night deepened over Qingdu Mountain, Li Xijun had not secluded himself; stepping through the wind and snow, he stood within clouds atop its peak. After waiting a while, he saw a streak of purple lightning shuttle through the covering clouds, halt before him, and transform into two figures.

"Aunt! Little sister."

Li Xijun called out, recognizing the Jade Armor and white spear of Li Qinghong and his younger sister, Li Yuexiang. Li Qinghong landed with the thunder, her voice soft:

"Jun'er."

Li Yuexiang followed behind and greeted him. Li Xijun only nodded in reply, then offered his congratulations:

"Congratulations, aunt, on your cultivation advancing greatly. I heard the overseas situation is chaos incarnate, and always thought to fetch my little sister... With no time spared, I was about to write to Zhi, and by chance, I returned along the way."

"Was the journey home still safe?"

Li Qinghong entered the hall with him, only speaking once they sat down:

"There were some accidents... Thinking it over carefully, there must be something fishy."

She recounted the journey. Li Xijun listened attentively, then after a moment's contemplation, replied:

"Something's off, indeed, yet it's all rather murky. The East Sea is vast—how is it we ran into the Miao Family and Shen Clan? Perhaps some faction is at play..."

"Even if aunt hadn't gone, Shen Yanqing would've held out until the Shen Family Head arrived, surely without incident. If you ask me, it's unlikely that the Shen Family's Perfected Person borrowed Aunt's strength to save someone... Nor have I heard that Perfected Person is particularly adept at plotting with Divine Skills, likely not him."

Li Qinghong nodded, she too had mulled things over on the journey, and spoke softly:

"I suspect someone recognized [Du Ruo] and used that method to tip off the Miao Family... But thinking carefully, what's the point in that? If a Perfected Person truly had designs, isn't it just a Foundation Establishment Magic Artifact? They could come to us and ask for it, and could we refuse?"

"I hear the Miao Family has a Perfected Person as well, and if this artifact really mattered so much, piercing The Great Void and taking it from me would be as easy as grabbing clothes from a bed; they'd win a favor, and we'd have to thank them—why resort to all these roundabout schemes."

Li Xijun squeezed the jade cup, nodded slightly, then spoke:

"[Mysterious Thunder Heavenly Stone]... The name alone marks it as no ordinary thing. For Miao Quan to demand it even under the pressure of two Zifu cultivators, it must be something extremely crucial."

He already had some guesses in his heart, but unsure, refrained from voicing them:

'Is it the Perfected Person from Chuting acting through others, just to tell Aunt about this Mysterious Thunder Heavenly Stone? Yet there's no need; sending someone with the message would suffice. Now it's all muddy, and in the end, we just know a name.'

The aunt and nephew exchanged a glance, seeming to reach a tacit understanding, and quickly moved past the topic. Li Xijun only said:

"Whatever the case... I'll do a thorough investigation into this thing."

Li Qinghong then shared the intent of Cui Family from Chongzhou and, after a moment's hesitation, recounted her conversation with Chi Buzi. Hearing it, cold sweat broke over Li Xijun, who dared only to listen, not speak, and replied:

"Since Cui Family suspects the Ning Family may have it, I will write to Southern Border and inquire."

The aunt and nephew discussed for a while, then Li Xijun began writing, a hand pressed to his sleeve, his tone gentle:

"Yuexiang..."

He had meant to mention his sister Yuexiang's marriage. Seeing his aunt glance over with a smile, he remembered he himself had no match either and stopped, slightly embarrassed.

Li Qinghong took off her Jade Armor, placing it lightly on the table, then pulled a white robe from her storage bag and draped it over herself—the snowy white blending seamlessly with her inner garments. Only then did she say:

"My cultivation has grown; this Spirit Armor is hardly needed anymore, so I return it to the family."

Li Xijun nodded and put it away. She pondered, then asked:

"But... Does the Princely Heir have any armor? I was thinking, when I get the chance, I'll craft a suit for him."

"Armor..."

Li Xijun listened, then after a moment's silence, softly replied:

"Aunt... Our family does have some Spiritual Mine... Foundation Establishment level too, but isn't it better to forge Spirit Armor or Feather Clothing for Aunt to use?"

"Me?"

Li Qinghong frowned, but saw Li Xijun smile and say:

"He's only cultivating within the clan for now; in the future he'll take up the mantle of family and business. With his bold nature, what fine things will he not have later on? Aunt, you should think for yourself."

Li Xijun brushed his hand over his waist storage bag and drew forth several objects—one was a bright, silvery piece of refined iron:

"This is [Mi Water Cold Essence]. That iron mine of ours has been worked for decades; after much tempering, the finest portion remained here—refined over two hundred times, resulting in this Foundation Establishment grade item."

The next was a thin golden shard; Li Xijun explained:

"Aunt knows this one too—[Tan Gold Stone]. It was obtained together with the life-saving [Di Wang Xue Shi], also Foundation Establishment grade, just not very large..."

This piece was originally reserved for crafting a Magic Artifact for Li Ximing. After acquiring the Yang Ring, he thought it'd serve, but the Qing Song Temple's reputation grew so rowdy none of them dared use it…

Li Ximing was wholly focused on cultivation, caring little for artifacts. Now, with great unrest approaching, they decided to use it early for refinement.

The last item was a pale blue, head-sized mineral: [Heyu Jadeite], just about Foundation Establishment grade, but large in quantity—taken from the Yu Family treasury.

He handed these over to Li Qinghong, saying simply:

"Aunt, please forge Spirit Armor or Feather Clothing."

Li Qinghong was surprised for a moment, then nodded and accepted them, her voice gentle:

"The Green Pond Sect will surely summon Foundation Establishment cultivators to the north. I'll go with some people; with Spirit Armor, it'll be safer."

She paused, then softly said:

"Among all the markets, I know of no trustworthy Artifact Refiner. In these troubled times, you never know what you'll lose and what you'll take with you—I can't trust them."