Li Ximing had poor mental fortitude. Under intense pressure in his youth, he often fantasized about becoming a Dharma relic—one entirely devoted to cultivation and pill refinement, calmly sitting atop the fire vein.
As long as he could continue to contribute tirelessly, he would not have to worry about disappointing his father.
I guess I'm pretty much living my childhood dream right now!
Li Ximing tapped his storage pouch lightly, causing a furnace to emerge and land on the ground with a thud. It was pitch black and supported by three legs, adorned with intricate patterns of waves and beasts and engraved with the name—Furnace In The River.
He retrieved a white and yellow wooden block, an Embryonic Breathing Realm spirit item known as Precious Pearl Wood.
Bringing his palms together, he summoned a pale golden Pill Flame.
Li Ximing nodded with satisfaction.
As expected of a Grade Four cultivation technique, the Golden Palace Radiant Origin Manual is truly remarkable. Since its true essence is pure yang energy, the Pill Flame it conjures surpasses the original.
"To refine the Yangqing Pill, I should use the Precious Pearl Wood with Blazing Sun Tri-Nine Technique."
He slowly extracted the essence, then added a few supplementary medicinal ingredients, one after another.
Finally, he used the Pill Flame to continuously refine the mixture. After about an hour, six pale red spirit pills emerged from the furnace.
"Yangqing Pills, Embryonic Breathing Realm… complete!"
These six pills could sustain six Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators for several months, but it had only taken him an hour to refine. Li Ximing stored them with a special method, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction within him.
"Father... Ximing has not failed his elders."
Had his Yang Essence not been broken, he would definitely have had a chance to refine an extra half of the pill. Reflecting on this, he bowed his head silently, then took out more spirit items from his storage pouch, and prepared to refine another batch.
Having relocated from Xu State, Profound Peak Gate had settled in Shanji Prefecture.
The gate's sole guardian was Daoist Master Changxi, and most of its members cultivated earth elemental profound techniques. Since Shanji Prefecture was quite large, there were many members in the Profound Peak Gate. �
The Profound Peak Gate was relatively modest, with only a few Foundation Establishment cultivators and disciples who were not particularly arrogant.
While Li Xuanxuan's arrival was being reported, he was warmly entertained by two outer disciples. Being the weakest of the seven gates, Profound Peak Gate had only a handful of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators and its disciples were quite humble.
Li Xuanxuan waited at the foot of the mountain with the old monkey until a cultivator came down to meet him.
Dressed in white, the cultivator's good looks were spoiled by the moles on both cheeks that somewhat diminished his temperament. Adorned with various jade ornaments, he smiled and said, "Greetings, fellow Daoist from Lijing! I am Kong Yu of Profound Peak Gate. May I ask for your name?"
Despite being a peak Qi Cultivator, Kong Yu was very courteous. Surprised by his humble demeanor, Li Xuanxuan quickly replied, "I am Li Xuanxuan from the Li Family."
Kong Yu smiled and asked, "And the Celestial Moon Sword is...?"
"He's my second uncle!"
Upon learning of their close relationship, Kong Yu nodded approvingly and added, "Our Daoist Master was present when Senior Tongya slayed the Maha with his sword. He praised your esteemed family's swordsmanship, noting that even within the Wanyu Sword Gate, the Li Family's sword skills are exceptional!"
"Senior is too kind," Li Xuanxuan replied modestly.
Kong Yu sighed and continued, "If it weren't for the devil plague and the ongoing conflicts between the Wanyu Sword Gate, Chunyi Dao Gate, and Crimson Reef Island over the Green Pine Temple Ruins, someone would have sought guidance from your family already. It's a pity that Senior Tongya missed his chance for greater fame!"
Li Xuanxuan thought to himself quietly.
Pity, huh? The current top swordsman in our family is Jiao'er, who is comparable to Xuanling from back then… But he can't possibly match Second Uncle, who had already grasped sword qi when he was only at the Jade Capital Stage of the Embryonic Breathing Realm. Without the rise of the Devil Plague, his reputation might have faded long ago...
Seeing that Li Xuanxuan was not interested in discussing this matter further, Kong Yu got straight to the point.
"Are you here to discuss changing the earth vein and relocating the immortal mountain, fellow Daoist?"
Li Xuanxuan nodded and replied, "I've heard that your immortal gate is reputed to be the best in Jiangnan when it comes to this sort of thing. After all, Mount Changxi was moved from Xu State and earned the acclaim of Profound Peak. I wonder if I could enlist one or two fellow Daoists to assist us..."