Li Changhu woke from meditation for the sixth time, biting his teeth as he sat cross-legged again, trying to stabilize his mind.
"Too difficult."
After more than three months of cultivation, he had only managed to condense a few strands of moonlight, while Xiangping had already attempted to condense the Xuanjing Wheel, and Tongya had gathered over seventy strands of moonlight. Only he, Li Changhu, was still struggling with single digits.
Compared to the ease with which his younger brothers cultivated, guiding spiritual energy across the Twelve-Storied Pavilion was exceptionally difficult for Li Changhu, and even the Talisman Seed within his Sea of Qi Acupoint seemed listless and dim.
Even when refining moonlight, let alone during the daytime, he could not sense moonlight on slightly overcast nights, and the few strands he had now were condensed with the help of the Dharma Mirror.
"Sigh."
Li Changhu already knew he had no talent for the path of Immortal Cultivation. He felt immense guilt every time he used the Dharma Mirror for cultivation, feeling as though he was blocking his brothers' paths.
After waking from meditation for the seventh time, Li Changhu looked disheartened. He glanced at Li Tongya and Li Xiangping beside him, quietly stood up, and walked toward the door.
Li Mutian was bending in the backyard, grinding a long knife.
He held the back of the knife with his right hand, and pinched the blade between his thumb and index finger of his left hand, holding the knife steadily as he ground it back and forth on the whetstone.
Li Changhu firmed his expression and said:
"Father."
"What is it?" Li Mutian didn't even lift his head, casually asking.
"I fear I am not cut out for Immortal Cultivation." Li Changhu replied, somewhat ashamed.
"So you'll stop cultivating?" Li Mutian raised his head and looked coldly at him.
"It is not that I won't cultivate." Li Changhu had prepared his words in advance, explaining to his father:
"My talent is far inferior to Tongya's and Xiangping's, not to mention Jing'er's. I barely manage to cultivate with the Dharma Mirror. During the day, I would do better to help Father manage our family affairs, to wander the fields. It would at least not raise suspicions."
"So be it."
Li Mutian pondered for a moment, his expression relaxing somewhat, as he shook his head and said:
"Forget it tomorrow. You should start preparing for Xiangping's wedding, but don't be too extravagant. Just invite some relatives and keep it low-key."
"Yes." Li Changhu nodded emphatically and hurried toward the main courtyard.
Who would have known that upon entering the main courtyard, he would see his wife, Mrs. Ren, sitting in the courtyard, sewing clothes and chatting with Tian Yun. Since women were not allowed in the backyard ancestral hall, they had to wait here.
Seeing Li Changhu come out and that the couple seemed to have things to discuss, Tian Yun smiled and found an excuse to return to the Tian Family.
"What is it, Ping'er?" Li Changhu softened his brows and eyes considerably when he saw his wife and gently asked her.
"Changhu."
Mrs. Ren, with a dignified and elegant appearance, her eyes showing a bit of joy, whispered softly:
"I am with child."
"What?" Li Changhu was astonishingly surprised, his mind's unrest and irritation vanished without a trace. His face flushed with excitement, he eagerly asked again:
"Really? You are pregnant?"
"Would I deceive you? Your mother has already seen it and confirmed it." Mrs. Ren shyly nodded and retorted gently.
"Father, Father! Ping'er is pregnant!"
Li Changhu laughed heartily with overwhelming joy and quickly called out as he walked towards the backyard.
"Clang..."
There was a sudden clatter of metal, and Li Mutian immediately dropped the knife and hurried into the main courtyard, his expression filled with excitement as he asked:
"What did you just say, son?"
"Ping'er is pregnant!" Li Changhu, grinning foolishly like a child, said with a laugh.
"Good! Good."
Li Mutian laughed heartily, patting the blushing face of Mrs. Ren and said in a hearty voice to Li Changhu:
"I'll go ask the teacher. You take good care of her."
Li Changhu nodded repeatedly, pulling Ren Ping'er to sit down, and started carefully asking after her wellbeing.
————
Backyard
Li Xiangping pinched a spell sign and slowly woke up from his meditation.
He reached out to pick up the Wooden Slip standing before him and untied the cloth strip. With a "whoosh," he unfurled it.
In the bright moonlight, the first few bold characters sprung into view:
Golden Light Technique
The Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture could neither be recited nor written down, but the accompanying spells could be orally taught and transcribed. So, Li Tongya and the others copied the spells they'd attained and shared them with each other.
The Golden Light Technique in front of him was the spell Li Chijin had acquired, and Li Xiangping had mastered the Xuanjing Wheel a few nights before and borrowed this spell for practice.
The Golden Light Technique was not difficult, Li Xiangping had read and compared it over two evenings, and had completely grasped the tricks of the trade.
He flipped his left hand, and a stream of colorful golden light emerged from the center of his palm.
"Golden Light Technique!"
This was a technique for attacking and protecting the Dao. By pinching the spell sign and casting the spell, one could condense a ray of golden light, sharp beyond compare.
This golden ray could be attached to swords for attacking enemies or thrown out to strike, and its power was especially formidable.
After dispersing the spell with a wave of his hand, Li Xiangping stepped out of the courtyard. His brothers were all sitting in meditation, so he found a piece of greenstone at the gate, embraced it with both hands, and called out softly:
"Rise!"
To his surprise, Li Xiangping easily lifted the stone, and even because of excessive force, he stumbled back several steps with his head thrown back.
"Having entered Fetal Breathing, one's lifespan reaches a hundred and twenty years, mana flows through meridians, with a light body, great strength, keen ears, and bright eyes. When casting spells, one is not like common folk."
Li Xiangping recalled the description in the Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture and couldn't help but laugh, holding the greenstone as he entered the backyard.
He positioned the greenstone correctly, retreated three zhang, pinched the spell sign, and cast the spell. A ray of golden light leapt from his palm, striking directly onto the greenstone.
"Dang~"
A bright spark flashed past, and the surface of the greenstone bore a new cut mark, neither deep nor shallow. It was forced back by the width of a palm, dragging a pale white scratch on the ground.
"Excellent spell!"
Li Tongya had already woken from his meditation earlier and was watching Li Xiangping with a smile:
"Jing'er using this spell is really practical. The other day, he used the spell to slice off part of the rockery in the backyard. I didn't even dare tell Father."
"In terms of cultivation, we truly cannot compare to Jing'er." Li Xiangping pursed his lips, straightened the greenstone, and estimated the mana remaining within him. He could probably cast the spell four or five more times.
"Jing'er entered Xuanjing in less than a month. Although he had the help of the Dharma Mirror, it still is too astonishing," Li Tongya shook his head.
Fetal Breathing's Six Wheels are known as Xuanjing, Chengming, Zhouxing, Qingyuan, Yujing, and Lingchu. Among these, Xuanjing, Zhouxing, and Yujing are called the Three Barriers of Fetal Breathing and are particularly difficult to overcome.
Li Chijin and the rest relied on the Dharma Mirror to easily break through the gate of Fetal Breathing, but after that, there were no shortcuts for the Chengming Wheel; they could only dutifully absorb spiritual energy and condense fetal breaths.
"Absorb qi to refine essence, nine months to Xuanjing, breathe in and out, three months to Chengming, termed as possessing an excellent root bone," Li Xiangping sat next to his second brother, reciting the description from the Wheel Nurturing Scripture, and turned to Li Tongya, saying:
"Having relied on external aids, the standard of Xuanjing cannot be counted. It is the three months to Chengming that are worth comparing."
"Indeed." Li Tongya nodded slightly, then whispered again:
"Big brother, he..."
"I'm afraid big brother is even worse off than you or I," Li Xiangping spoke somewhat dejectedly, gazing silently into the night sky above Da Li Mountain.
"After a few more days of adjusting my breath, I will try to condense the Xuanjing Wheel. If successful, the Dharma Mirror can then be wholly provided for big brother's cultivation," pondered Li Tongya.
Li Xiangping, looking at Da Li Mountain, suddenly narrowed his eyes and abruptly stood up, shouting fiercely toward the back mountain:
"Audacious thief!"