Chapter 58: Lunar Essence

“Lunar Essence, as white as frost and flowing like water. As the moon waxes, it brightens; as it wanes, it dims. It is truly as described!”

“The entire cultivation world of the State of Yue is clamoring for it...”

“In three hundred years, only five strands were obtained. Each was carefully collected by Foundation Establishment or even Purple Mansion cultivators...”

“One strand allowed a Purple Mansion master of Moon Lake Peak centuries ago to achieve success; one was refined into the Great Snow Peak of the Qingchi Sect; two were quietly stored in the treasuries of three great sects and seven clans during the Great War of the Three Sects. The final strand was so fiercely contested that the Snow Ji Sect among the seven clans nearly faced extinction.”

“Such precious Lunar Essence.”

Li Chijing swallowed hard in silence and whispered

“My family uses it to cultivate the Profound Landscape Wheel?!”

He tilted his head in thought for a moment, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.

Above him, Li Jiangxian felt a surge of unease upon hearing Li Chijing’s monologue

“The Lunar Essence Primordial Mansion has been secluded for many years. With the Lunar Essence being fought over so fiercely, the cultivator claiming to be the descendant of the Immortal Mansion was ruthlessly besieged and killed by the three sects and seven clans at Moon-Watching Lake. This mirror is also intimately connected to the Lunar Essence; no matter how I look at it, there is a massive conspiracy behind this!”

His conviction grew stronger. He decided to stay low in the deep mountains—could a spirit of a tool truly die of old age? Once his subordinates reached a certain level of strength and he had nearly finished his repairs, he would reassess the situation.

“In any case, a blink of an eye and a month will pass. I must persist in staying low for five hundred years without wavering! I will use the Li family branches to gather information regarding the Lunar Essence Primordial Mansion; I only need to keep myself safe.”

After laughing for a while, Li Chijing looked at the surrounding clansmen who were staring at each other in confusion and whispered

“This mirror can condense Lunar Essence! It is also one of the spiritual energies that can be swallowed during Qi Refinement, even more precious than that Pine Forest Frost or the Golden Autumn of the Lake.”

After he detailed how the appearance of this Lunar Essence had caused bloodshed every time it surfaced over the past few hundred years, Li Tongya and the others finally understood what it was.

“If it is truly as Father Ji says—so precious that it prompts Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion cultivators to fight for it—then our family must absolutely not leak this information. Even if we wanted to sell it, we wouldn't be able to.”

After his initial joy faded, Li Xuanxuan frowned, speaking with a somewhat youthful voice.

“Correct.”

Li Xiangping nodded in approval, though he also felt a sense of unease. He added, “Our family does not possess a Qi Refinement technique for Lunar Essence; we cannot even use it ourselves. We are merely sitting upon a treasure trove, making ourselves a target for crime.”

While the others only knew of the Lunar Essence's value, Li Chijing truly understood the scale of war this mirror could trigger. He replied with a frown

“There are only a few Qi Refinement methods that can utilize Lunar Essence, and they are all held by the three sects and seven clans. I could potentially borrow the *Moon-Watching Autumn Reflection Art*, but I would have to swear a Profound Landscape Spirit Oath never to leak it.”

“Are you planning to practice that *Moon-Watching Autumn Reflection Art*?”

Li Mutian, who had been sitting quietly to the side, finally spoke up unexpectedly.

“A Fifth-Grade technique...”

A flash of longing and hesitation crossed Li Chijing's face. His emotions were complicated; he opened his mouth but found no words.

Li Tongya and the others fell into silence for a moment. Only the outspoken Li Xuanxuan spoke up

“If the technique is that powerful, of course we must practice it!”

Li Mutian stroked Li Xuanxuan's head and said solemnly, “What about the instructions from the Immortal Sect?”

“Just say that Father Ji obtained an opportunity at Moon-Watching Lake upon his return this time. What can the Immortal Sect say? Since five strands have appeared over the last few hundred years, what harm is there if Father Ji obtains the sixth?”

Li Xuanxuan tilted his head and murmured to himself.

Li Xiangping slowly knelt down and stroked his head, whispering, “Then why did this Li Chijing not return earlier or later, but instead rushed home just as he was about to reach the Qi Refinement stage? And why, within these few short days, did he happen to find an opportunity at Moon-Watching Lake?”

“Xuan'er, dealing with an Immortal Sect is not like dealing with the villagers under our command. With villagers, you can drive them as long as you have a reason; they do not understand cultivation, so they fear us and follow our lead without needing explanations.”

Taking Li Xuanxuan's hand, Li Xiangping stared into his eyes and continued, “To an Immortal Sect, we are nothing more than ants. If they have even a shred of suspicion, they can ruthlessly overturn our entire Li family, take what they want, and wipe the Li family out in passing. We must be extremely cautious when dealing with them; we must consider every possibility a thousand times over, leaving no loopholes.”

“As the patriarch of a clan, one must know how to manage subordinates, how to offer tribute, and how to balance surrounding forces to seek profit.”

Seeing Li Xuanxuan nodding thoughtfully, Li Mutian withdrew his gaze from the two of them with satisfaction. He coughed and said deeply, “Didn't Tongya find a cave dwelling? He found a jade bottle inside. We can swap this resentment with the Lunar Essence. We can say our Li family found this resentment in that cave dwelling years ago and sent you, Li Chijing, back to check. Could that deceive the Immortal Sect?”

Li Chijing lowered his head in thought for a few breaths before speaking

“The credibility would be about seventy to eighty percent. The sect would likely send someone to investigate the cave. If the cave is over three hundred years old, the credibility rises to eighty or ninety percent.”

“Even the Foundation Establishment cultivator Si Yuanbai didn't discover the mirror back then. For a mere investigation, the Qingchi Sect wouldn't send a Purple Mansion cultivator, would they?”

Hearing this, Li Xiangping asked immediately.

“Of course not! How many Purple Mansion cultivators does the sect even have? The Moon Lake Peak Master from centuries ago reached the Purple Mansion stage by using Lunar Essence from the Moon-Watching Autumn Reflection Art while he was still in the Fetal Breathing stage. The sect only sent a single Qi Refinement cultivator to collect the senior's remains.”

Li Chijing answered decisively. After thinking for a moment, his expression relaxed slightly, and he continued

“Who would expect there to be a mirror that continuously condenses Lunar Essence? They wouldn't even expect two strands of Lunar Essence to appear in the same place. The sect's investigation is merely routine business to find clues to the Lunar Essence Primordial Mansion. It is we who are being too cautious.”

“Then it is decided.”

Li Tongya nodded, took a slender green jade bottle from a side shelf, and handed it to Li Chijing.

Li Chijing took it and examined it carefully. Comparing it to the hundreds of types of heaven and earth spiritual energies he had memorized, he hesitated before explaining

“This should be Fire Malice, mostly gathered from volcanic vents. It is not considered precious among all spiritual energies, and it is not widely circulated in the State of Yue; it is mostly used to refine the quality of spiritual tools.”

Unfastening the white jade bottle from his waist, Li Chijing performed a Qi-gathering hand seal, drawing a stream of reddish-brown air from the slender green jade bottle.

After transferring the Fire Malice into the white jade bottle for Li Tongya to store, Li Chijing picked up the empty green jade bottle and looked at the Lunar Essence on the mirror.

He pinched a Qi-gathering seal with his fingers, and the Lunar Essence on the mirror immediately flowed like water into the slender green jade bottle. Once a full portion of Lunar Essence had flowed into the bottle, Li Chijing sealed the mouth with a Spirit-Sealing Spell. Watching the Lunar Essence begin to gather into tiny specks on the mirror again, he said softly

“Come, let's go check out that cave dwelling.”

(End of Chapter)