Flying Light

At those words, the great boulder that had hung over Fei Yangxie's heart for so long came crashing down, and he could no longer hide his delight.

Suppressing his excitement, he bowed toward the cave entrance again and declared, "Senior, your Dao Attainment has advanced, and your Thunderbolt is too exalted for this mountain to bear. Greenbriar Mountain rises more than eight hundred ren high and brims with spiritual energy. The entire Fei Clan stands ready to sweep our couches in welcome and respectfully receive you!"

His words were utterly sincere, his posture exceedingly humble.

As he saw it, since this senior Thunder Cultivator had deigned to answer, the matter was already more than halfway settled.

As long as he could invite the man back to Greenbriar Mountain, there would be hope of loosening the fatal deadlock with Filth Mountain.

After a brief silence, Li Fuchan's voice came from within the cave, still calm but now carrying a measure of polite refusal. "With such a sincere invitation from your clan, I ought not refuse. But I once made a great vow to study the Dao arts throughout the world and test what I have learned against them. Now that I stand at the threshold of a breakthrough, I had already planned to head north in search of Dao Lineages. Allow me to repay your clan's hospitality another day."

The smile on Fei Yangxie's face stiffened slightly.

Though young, he was no fool. Having absorbed his father's teachings and example since childhood, he understood the ways of the world far better than others his age.

The senior had spoken courteously, but Fei Yangxie understood the meaning behind his words almost at once. Study the Dao arts throughout the world?

Wasn't he here for the Fei Household's cultivation art?

Why would an Outer Scenery Thunder Cultivator who had never met them choose to stay with the Fei Household?

There had to be a reason, an explanation that would hold water. And the only thing the Fei Household had worth offering was that cultivation art no one had mastered since their ancestor's Transformation.

He hesitated for only a breath before making his decision.

The Fei Household had gone twenty years without an Outer Scenery cultivator to hold the fort. Kept within the clan, that art was merely a dead thing gathering dust on a high shelf. If it could win a Thunder Cultivator's favor, the bargain would be worthwhile.

Besides, those who cultivated "Li Thunder" were the righteous among the righteous. If the art fell into such a man's hands, at least there would be no need to fear it being leaked.

Fei Yangxie raised his head and spoke solemnly toward the cave entrance. "Senior, please hear me out. My clan happens to possess a cultivation art of the 'Wandering Gold' path. It was the art our ancestor practiced, profoundly wondrous and of no low grade.

"Since our ancestor's Transformation, no one in the clan has been able to cultivate it. It has lain unused for years, its worth truly buried. Since you wish to study the Dao arts far and wide, I would gladly present it for your perusal."

Having said his piece, he stood respectfully with his hands lowered and waited for a reply.

Beside him, Liu Xian glanced sideways at his young master, a trace of approval flashing through his eyes, but said nothing.

Though the sixth young master was young, his decisiveness already bore something of the old Household Head's bearing in his prime.

After all, no matter how precious a thing was, it meant nothing if one could not protect it.

Yet after Fei Yangxie finished speaking, no further reply came from the cave.

Fei Yangxie's heart rose into his throat again, and his thoughts began to run wild.

Had I misunderstood him?

Or does he simply think nothing of the Fei Household's cultivation art?

Just as he was about to speak again, something suddenly stirred in the sky overhead.

The thunderclouds shrouding the barren mountain had been hanging low and still, but now they abruptly began to churn.

It was as though an invisible hand were stirring deep within them. Countless slender lightning serpents darted through the clouds, sending out low rumbles.

Then, as though swallowed by some sudden force, the thunderclouds covering the mountaintop collapsed rapidly toward the cave entrance. Within a few breaths, they had vanished into the cave.

The thunderclouds dispersed, and a shaft of daylight poured down from the heavens, illuminating the entire barren mountain.

From the depths of the Cave Abode, a tall, slender figure slowly emerged.

The man wore black robes and carried a longsword at his waist, his frame lean and tall. His long hair hung unbound. Daylight streamed from behind him, tracing his figure in pale gold and lending him an air far removed from the mortal world.

His eyes held a smile, yet golden-red lightning glimmered deep within his pupils, and every glance carried a fierce aura of slaughter.

Perhaps because he had lost the Flood Serpent's allotted fate, some of the venom in his features had faded.

One glance was enough for Fei Yangxie to feel certain that this senior was a cultivator from South of the Yangtze.

Cultivators of the Southern Border invariably wore elaborate attire adorned with a profusion of ornaments. Who among them dressed with such plain, easy simplicity?

Yet that very simplicity and crispness, coupled with the restrained aura of Thunderbolt about him, made it impossible to feel even the slightest contempt. This, perhaps, was what it meant to possess the ethereal air of an immortal.

Neither he nor Liu Xian dared neglect the courtesies. Together, they bowed and saluted again. "Greetings, Senior."

Li Fuchan nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over them, and said calmly, "Sorry for the trouble. Please lead the way."

Li Fuchan followed the two toward Greenbriar Mountain. From afar, he saw a group standing at its foot. At their head was a middle-aged man, not particularly tall, with a lean face and a respectable bearing, waiting with several younger members of the clan.

Upon seeing Li Fuchan, the middle-aged man immediately strode forward and saluted with cupped hands, repeatedly saying, "Your arrival, Senior, brings splendor to our humble home."

This was Fei Cai, the current Household Head of the Fei Household.

Li Fuchan's gaze lingered on him, his eyes narrowing slightly. Fei Cai's cultivation was only at the Aperture Opening level. His aura was unremarkable, with nothing exceptional about it.

Yet for some reason, there was something indefinable about him, faintly tinged with strangeness.

He doesn't quite seem human.

Li Fuchan betrayed nothing and returned the salute with a smile.

The group escorted Li Fuchan into Greenbriar Mountain and straight to the inner hall. Its furnishings were simple, unlike the carved beams and painted rafters of the aristocratic clans South of the Yangtze, but everything was neat and clean.

Li Fuchan was invited to take the honored seat on the left. Fei Cai did not take the host's seat, instead sitting opposite him on the right,

neither overstepping his place nor making himself excessively lowly.

Once seated, Fei Cai dispensed with lengthy pleasantries and went straight to the point. "Yangxie has already told me why you have come, Senior."

With that, he ordered someone to bring in a cultivation manual and presented it to Li Fuchan with both hands. Li Fuchan accepted it and glanced at the cover. The words "Gold-Gathering Secret Origin Art" were written there in an ancient, dignified hand, indeed bearing the stamp of a proper lineage.

He did not rush to open it. Instead, he gently set the manual on the table and raised his eyes to Fei Cai's face, speaking unhurriedly. "There has never been such a thing as eating or taking for free. Since you invited me here, Clan Head Fei, I imagine this is not simply a matter of giving me gold, money, and a cultivation art. Please explain matters clearly, lest I lose all sense of propriety and become too greedy for worldly things."

Fei Cai's expression remained unchanged, but a stone fell from his heart. As expected of a cultivator capable of practicing "Li Thunder." This time, our gamble paid off.

He stopped beating around the bush and explained his intentions directly.

As it turned out, ever since the Fei clan's ancestor, Fei Yiming, underwent Transformation, the monsters of Filth Mountain had frequently crossed into the territory under the clan's rule. Some ate people to fill their bellies; others injured or killed the clan's younger members, leaving everyone in their domain frightened and unable to find peace.

Several years passed in this fashion before a Monster with the Daoist name "Flying Light" took control of Filth Mountain, bringing a turn for the better. Flying Light was immensely powerful, and after taking over, restrained the mountain's Monsters and forbade them from descending at will to harass the people.

But Flying Light was not doing good deeds for nothing. The Monster established a rule with the Fei Household: every ten years, they had to offer six hundred blood meals to Filth Mountain. In exchange, Flying Light would protect them from the depredations of other Monsters.

At this, Li Fuchan gave no outward indication of approval or disapproval, but he was already weighing matters inwardly. Six hundred blood meals means six hundred living people. For an Outer Scenery Monster eating its fill, six hundred blood meals isn't much. Besides, the Fei Household rules a fairly sizable territory. Offering only six hundred people every ten years is unusually little here in the Southern Border. No wonder the clan has remained standing in this region without an Outer Scenery cultivator to guard it, and still governs no small domain.

He thought to himself, This Monster actually understands the principle of raising human livestock at pasture, letting a thin stream flow on and on. It isn't some ordinary greedy fool. But at the end of the day, the Fei Household is merely a servant herding livestock for a Monster. They hand people over according to the rules and drag out their dwindling breath.

Naturally, he said none of this aloud.

Since he wore the "Li Thunder" badge of a good man, there were things he could not say and attitudes he had to adopt, or his persona would fall apart.

He nodded slightly, motioning for Fei Cai to continue.

Seeing that his expression had not changed, Fei Cai went on. "The agreement between my household and Flying Light was made early, so we offer fewer blood meals. But there are several other clans nearby whose circumstances are worse than ours. They must offer nine hundred blood meals every ten years. Those clans have long harbored resentment, but Flying Light's might has kept them from acting on it. Now, Filth Mountain will soon hold a ceremony, and Flying Light has invited all the clans to attend. Those clans have seized the opportunity to persuade a Monster on Filth Mountain who is about to break through to Outer Scenery. During the ceremony, they intend to join forces and pressure my Fei Household into raising our tribute to the same amount as theirs, or even more."

At this point, his voice grew heavy, and bitterness showed on his face. "My household already struggles. If the tribute rises any further, we truly will be unable to carry on. I would not dare ask you to slay Flying Light, Senior. I only beg that you accompany the people of my Fei Household to Filth Mountain and stand behind our clan during the ceremony. With your Thunderbolt at our side, no matter how many schemes those Monsters and clans harbor, they will have to weigh their actions carefully."