Golden Light Art

Golden Light Art

Li Changhu startled awake from Entering Samadhi for the sixth time. Gritting his teeth, he sat cross-legged again and calmed his heart.

"Too hard."

After cultivating for more than three months, he had gathered only a few strands of moonlight essence. Xiang Ping had already begun attempting to condense the Profound Scene Wheel, while Tong Ya had gathered over seventy strands of moonlight essence. Only Li Changhu was still struggling in the single digits.

Compared to his two younger brothers' effortless progress, Li Changhu found it incomparably difficult even to guide spiritual qi through the Twelve-Storied Pagoda. Even the Talisman Seed within his Qi Sea Acupoint was listless and dim.

When refining moonlight essence, forget daytime—even on nights when the moonlight was slightly poor, he could no longer sense it at all. The few strands he now possessed had all been gathered with the aid of the Law Mirror.

"Alas."

Li Changhu already knew that he had no talent for the path of immortality. Whenever it came his turn to cultivate with the Law Mirror, he was filled with guilt, feeling that he was blocking his younger brothers' paths.

Startled awake from Entering Samadhi for the seventh time, Li Changhu looked dejected. He glanced at Li Tongya and Li Xiangping beside him, then quietly rose and walked out the door.

Li Mutian was in the Backyard, bent over as he polished a long blade.

His right hand held the back of the blade, while the thumb and forefinger of his left pinched its body. Holding it steadily in both hands, he repeatedly ground it against the whetstone.

Li Changhu's expression hardened with resolve as he spoke.

"Father."

"What is it?" Li Mutian said flatly without looking up.

"I fear I am not cut out for cultivating immortality," Li Changhu replied somewhat shamefacedly.

"So you will not cultivate, then?" Li Mutian raised his head and looked at him coldly.

"It is not that I will not cultivate." Li Changhu had long prepared his words. Looking at his father, he explained, "My talent is far inferior to Tong Ya's and Xiang Ping's, much less Jing Er's. I can barely cultivate even with the Law Mirror's help. During the day, I might as well help Father manage the family affairs and make rounds through the fields, so as not to arouse suspicion."

"Very well."

Li Mutian considered for a while, and his expression softened considerably. Shaking his head, he said, "Forget tomorrow. Go prepare for Xiang Ping's wedding. Do not make too much of a display—invite a few relatives and hold it quietly."

"Yes." Li Changhu nodded heavily and hurried toward the main courtyard.

Yet the moment he entered the main courtyard, he saw his wife Ren Shi sitting there, sewing clothes as she chatted with Tian Yun. The women of the household could not enter the Ancestral Hall in the Backyard, so they had no choice but to wait here.

Seeing Li Changhu emerge and sensing that the couple had matters to discuss, Tian Yun smiled, made an excuse, and returned to the Tian Family.

"What is it, Ping'er?" At the sight of his wife, Li Changhu's features softened greatly. Looking at her, he asked gently.

"Changhu."

Ren Ping'er was dignified and graceful, with a trace of joy in her eyes. In a low voice, she said:

"I'm with child."

"What?" Li Changhu was utterly stunned. The oppressive irritation in his mind vanished without a trace. His face reddened slightly as he asked excitedly, "Really?"

"Would I lie to you? Mother has already checked. I am with child." Ren Ping'er nodded shyly, chiding him.

"Father, Father! Ping'er is with child!"

Li Changhu burst into laughter, overjoyed as he shouted and hurried toward the Backyard.

Clang...

At the sound of iron striking iron, Li Mutian immediately cast aside his blade and rushed into the main courtyard. His expression agitated, he asked:

"What did you say, boy?"

"Ping'er is with child!" Li Changhu grinned foolishly like a child as he spoke.

"Good! Good!"

Li Mutian laughed heartily. He patted the blushing Ren Ping'er and said loudly to Li Changhu, "I will fetch the physician. Take good care of her."

Li Changhu nodded repeatedly, pulling Ren Ping'er down to sit as he fussed over her with meticulous concern.

In the Backyard, Li Xiangping formed a hand seal and slowly awoke from Entering Samadhi.

He reached out, picked up the Wooden Slip standing before him, loosened the cloth strip binding it, and unfurled it with a rustle.

Under the bright moonlight, several large characters stood starkly upon the opening scroll:

"Golden Light Art"

The Great Yin Breathing Nurturing Wheel Scripture could neither be recited nor written down, but its accompanying incantations could be taught orally and recorded in writing. Thus, Li Tongya and the others had copied down the spells they had obtained and passed them around to read.

The Golden Light Art before him was the spell Li Chijing had obtained. Li Xiangping had condensed the Profound Scene Wheel several nights earlier, so he had borrowed this spell to practice.

The Golden Light Art was not difficult. After reading it and studying it for two nights, Li Xiangping had grasped every trick by heart.

With a turn of his left hand, a brilliant golden radiance emerged from his palm.

"Golden Light Art!"

This was a technique for attack and defense. With hand seals and spellcasting, it could condense a strand of golden radiance, sharp beyond measure.

This golden radiance could be attached to blades and swords to kill enemies, or hurled as a projectile. Its power was especially impressive.

With a wave of his hand, he dispersed the spell and stepped out of the courtyard. His elder brothers were all seated cross-legged in cultivation. He found a bluish stone by the door, wrapped both arms around it, and shouted softly, "Rise!"

To his surprise, Li Xiangping lifted the stone with ease. He even threw his head back and staggered several steps from using too much force.

"Upon entering Fetal Breathing, one's lifespan reaches one hundred and twenty years. Dharmic power flows through the acupoints and channels; the body becomes light, strength grows great, ears grow keen, eyes grow clear. With hand seals and spellcasting, one is no longer like ordinary folk."

Recalling the description in the Great Yin Breathing Nurturing Wheel Scripture, Li Xiangping could not help but laugh. Carrying the bluish stone, he entered the Backyard.

He set the stone upright, retreated three zhang, then formed hand seals and cast the spell. A golden light leaped from his palm and cleaved straight into the stone.

Clang—

A bright spark flashed past. A neither shallow nor deep blade mark appeared on the stone's surface, while the stone itself slid back a full palm's breadth, leaving pale scrape marks across the ground.

"What a fine spell!"

Li Tongya had already awakened from Entering Samadhi. Looking at Li Xiangping, he smiled. "This spell suits Jing Er best. A few days ago, he used it and cleaved the Artificial Hill in the Backyard askew. I did not even dare tell Father."

"When it comes to cultivation, we truly cannot compare to Jing Er." Li Xiangping pursed his lips, set the bluish stone upright again, and gauged the dharmic power within him. He could probably cast the spell another four or five times.

"Jing Er entered the Profound Scene in less than a month. Though he had the Law Mirror's aid, it is still far too astonishing." Li Tongya shook his head.

The six wheels of Fetal Breathing were named Profound Scene, Receiving Brightness, Circulating Path, Azure Origin, Jade Capital, and Spirit Beginning. Among them, the Profound Scene, Circulating Path, and Jade Capital Wheels were known as the Three Fetal Breathing Passes, and were especially difficult.

With the Law Mirror's aid, Li Chijing and the others had easily broken through the Fetal Breathing Gate. But after that, there was no shortcut to the Receiving Brightness Wheel. They could only obediently breathe in and out spiritual qi, condensing Fetal Breathing.

"Guide qi and refine essence; attain Profound Scene in nine months. Breathe in and out; attain Receiving Brightness in three months. This is called having excellent roots and bones." Li Xiangping sat beside his second brother, reciting the description from the Nurturing Wheel Scripture. He said to Li Tongya, "With outside assistance, the standard for Profound Scene no longer counts. But these three months to Receiving Brightness can be used for comparison."

"Indeed." Li Tongya nodded slightly, then said softly, "Eldest Brother, he..."

"Eldest Brother is probably even worse off than you and me." Li Xiangping spoke somewhat gloomily, silently gazing at Great Li Mountain beneath the night sky.

"I only need a few more days to regulate my breath before I can attempt to condense the Profound Scene Wheel. If I succeed, the Law Mirror can be devoted entirely to Eldest Brother's cultivation," Li Tongya considered.

But Li Xiangping, gazing at Great Li Mountain, narrowed his eyes. He abruptly rose to his feet, stared toward the Back Mountain, and shouted sternly, "You thief, you have some nerve!"