Chapter 21 The Arrangement of Ascension

"Master! Please, spare me!"

The malicious Li Clan was exiled to the deep mountains, guarded by sentinels, until they witnessed their death by starvation.

This was Xu Guangting's directive for the three siblings.

"In the future, let Ling'er and Yong'er live in Chenzhou. As for the eldest..." Xu Guangting waved his hand, "Do whatever you want, I need to retire."

If Xu Xuan weren't his son, Xu Guangting would have wished to kowtow to him.

Since ancient times, from Emperor Qin to Emperor Han, who possessed such achievements?

If he were any less sensible, Xu Guangting would disgrace all the books he had read over the years.

Now, it was just a matter of getting by until the day Xu Yong dominated one side, or Xu Xuan succeeded in the path of immortality.

At the very least, Xu Guangting would have a title and enjoy worship for generations to come.

Thus, once he recognized his error, Xu Guangting's attitude took a dramatic turn, relinquishing power without reservation and keeping his mouth shut, voicing no opinions whatsoever.

Enduring in silence to eventually prevail was certainly gratifying, but knowing when to admit defeat was also the mark of a hero.

Before returning to Tianwen Palace, Xu Xuan said to his brother, "From now on, this place is yours."

"Yes!"

"Never give up the chase, and don't covet luxury."

"I will keep your teachings in mind!"

...

Five years went by in the blink of an eye.

Tianwen Palace.

The palace expanded, but the open square before it remained unchanged.

Early in the morning, Xu Xuan had just woken up. He kept his eyes closed, steadying his heart and mind.

Looking at his appearance, Xu Xuan had clear skin, well-proportioned features, and a body that was symmetrical, without any uneven or disproportional parts.

Even just upon waking, he had neither bad breath nor crust in his eyes.

This was an effect of the minor achievement of the Tranquility Technique. Naturally, he still needed to relieve himself, though not as frequently, and he could go two to three days without eating without affecting his health.

After a while, Xu Xuan suddenly opened his eyes.

Whoosh!

Two fireballs rose into the void.

The flames were bright red and intensely hot.

Bang!

Two charred pits exploded in the ground, their power comparable to hand grenades, and significantly improved from before—now they could be released instantly.

This was the perfect mastery of the Fire Summoning Talisman.

Then his figure soared three zhang into the air, gliding for five hundred meters.

This was the minor achievement of the Levitation Technique.

Afterward, Xu Xuan tested many other cultivation techniques, like the fully mastered Armored Horse Talisman that could conjure afterimages, and the Soldier-Avoiding Talisman that could block ten arrows.

After a long while, Xu Xuan exhaled deeply, feeling the panel inside the mirror.

Name: Xu Xuan

Lifespan: 30/100

Cultivation Level: Early-stage in Qi Nourishing

Cultivation Technique: Golden Barrier Jade Lock Clearing Tranquility Technique (Minor Achievement 48%)

Techniques: Corpse Preserving Talisman (Great Mastery 39%), Corpse Driving Talisman (Great Mastery 88%), Soldier-Avoiding Talisman (Great Mastery 32%), Levitation Technique (Minor Achievement 79%), Gold Sand Element Cultivating Pill (Beginner 5%), Armored Horse Talisman (Complete Mastery), Fire Summoning Talisman (Complete Mastery), Bleeding Stopping Talisman (Complete Mastery), Detoxification Talisman (Complete Mastery)…

His lifespan had reached a hundred years, the peak lifespan for most humans.

Most minor spells were completely mastered, leaving only the more advanced techniques, which took increasingly longer to improve proficiency.

"I've hit a limit..."

Inside his body were twenty strands of True Qi, sufficient to unleash about twenty techniques.

Given Xu Xuan's cautious nature, he still feared attrition warfare.

It was best to carry more talisman paper.

After ten years of cultivation, he was just touching the edge of the Mid-Stage of Qi Nourishing.

In the Mirror Realm, that would have been a total failure; in his lifetime, he would achieve no more than the third layer of Qi Cultivation.

Of course, Xu Xuan believed his aptitude wasn't that exceptional; the issue was with the world itself.

"But, I have the resources of an entire world!"

What others used for Foundation Establishment and Core Formation, he used for nourishing Qi and practicing cultivation, enough to make anyone envious to death.

Xu Xuan returned to his room and pulled out a pebble.

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This is the Phoenix Stone from those years.

He set up the alchemy furnace, placed in the materials of the Great Green Dragon Powder, and finally added the Phoenix Stone to simmer.

Once the water in the furnace had dried up, he picked out the Phoenix Stone with its patch slightly dimmer and then ingested the powder that was left.

Boom!

Xu Xuan's body reddened like a shrimp, as if molten iron surged through his meridians, ceaselessly flushing and expanding them, just like workers excavating a dried-up riverbed.

Xu Xuan held a spirit stone, madly drawing spiritual energy and power for a counteractive surge, otherwise, his whole body would be burnt to a crisp by the energy of the Phoenix Stone.

After five years of exploration, he had confirmed that this Phoenix Stone was a divine object and had mastered the method of using Great Green Dragon Soup to refine the Phoenix Stone.

Since refining the blood on the Phoenix Stone, his originally ordinary True Qi had become much sharper, and his body also enhanced.

It's just that the consumption of spiritual energy was a bit fast.

After a while, the redness on Xu Xuan's body gradually faded, returning to that of a normal person.

"The limit is twenty-one strands of True Qi, with each use enhancing once, this object is indeed formidable," he said.

What Xu Xuan didn't know was that Phoenix Blood (not fresh) was one of the ingredients for a Core Formation elixir in the Mirror Realm, the kind that could kill many people if released.

To use it in Qi Nourishing instead—if the cultivators in the cultivation realm knew, they would wish to flay and debone him.

"However, I still lack spirit stones, and spirit stones are the lifeline. No matter how great the resources, in this world they are ultimately but stones; I must think of a way to make a big score," he thought.

Xu Xuan's gaze converged on the mirror.

The Mirror Realm.

Fifty years had flown by in an instant.

Li Qingshi and Li Qingquan were old and withered.

Li Rufeng was also an old man in his eighties, at the Seventh Layer of Qi Cultivation.

The Li Family Cultivation Clan had branched out over two generations, now numbering dozens; together with the servants and subordinates, there were hundreds to thousands of members, firmly controlling the economy of the county town and the surrounding hundred miles.

Li Rufeng, with his hands behind his back, surveyed the clan he had struggled for his whole life.

The place that was always wreathed in incense was the alchemy room, also the family's largest source of income.

Descendants of the Li Family were practising the Tranquility Technique in the courtyard, a cultivation technique that could be practised up to the Late-stage in Qi Cultivation Level. To break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, one needed elixirs, rounding up, it could be considered a Foundation Establishment technique.

In the field, there were also those practising the Armored Horse Talisman, the Levitation Technique, and Soldier-Avoiding Talisman.

Exchanging these techniques had altogether cost twelve lower-grade spirit stones.

This was also the last exchange, around thirty-five years ago.

Li Rufeng arrived at the ancestral hall, looking at the tranquil mirror with a myriad of emotions in his eyes.

This was the limit of pressure applied to the mirror.

For thirty-five years, the Li Family had stopped worshipping the mirror, neglecting the Mirror Immortal for over thirty years.

This proved one thing, that the mirror could not reach him.

But he also could not reach the Mirror Immortal, and still had to rely on the latter.

Li Rufeng continued to refine the Treasure Mirror for many years, and yet there was still no movement from the mirror.

He did it not for personal gain, but for the eternal prosperity of his clan.

No such wondrous object had existed from ancient times until now; perhaps there was an overbearing figure behind the mirror, ready to reap the benefits.

According to Li Rufeng's calculations, this figure was not free to act and needed his help to sustain life.

It must be said that Li Rufeng's speculations were half correct.

Li Rufeng continued to refine the Treasure Mirror.

He was not trying to bite off more than he could chew; as long as he could get the Mirror Immortal to bend, going from unequal to equal in their trade would be a success—making it a deal of equals.

Then exert pressure step by step until he became stronger, thoroughly refining the mirror.

In front of the mirror, Xu Xuan smiled without saying a word.

Such tactics were useless against him; he could shatter the mirror at any time, recreating it randomly somewhere else.

In the past five years, he had used up many spirit stones but also replenished many; he still had ten on him, but it was not enough.

Time flowed differently between the two realms, with time in the Mirror Realm being ten times faster than on this side.

In fifty years, the Li Family had amassed quite a number of spirit stones, with Li Rufeng himself even possessing a ten-cubic-meter storage bag.

The importance of a storage bag for someone at Xu Xuan's stage goes without saying—it was needed to store the mirror, corpses, Talisman Techniques, and critical materials.

"Lush green leeks, tsk tsk, ready for the harvest," Xu Xuan looked towards the false cultivation techniques on the bookshelf beside him.

That night, a few lines of text appeared on the mirror.

"Heaven and Earth Yin Yang Verses: The method of body refining, refine to Nascent Soul, refine the essence of sun and moon, make the body as treasure."

"Feathered Ascension Scripture: The path of true Qi, refine to Nascent Soul, feathered ascension nine levels, step onto the stage of the Immortal Master!"

There were also several lines of extremely small text below, the beginning parts of these scriptures.

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