Ji Rufeng stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Li Lin blinked and said to him, "Uncle Ji, you have Water-Wood dual spiritual roots. This kind of aptitude is considered quite good. There's even a chance for Water-Wood roots to mutate into a variant Ice spiritual root."
Ji Rufeng, naturally knowing nothing of such matters, looked toward the inner room with concern. "Your mother, she..."
Li Lin shrugged helplessly. "It’s just an old habit of hers. She’ll be fine after she sulks for a bit." Every time Li Lin made a breakthrough in his cultivation, Li Xue would react this way to express her frustration. Li Lin had long since grown used to it.
Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, Li Xue emerged from the inner room. She sat by the window and addressed Ji Rufeng with a solemn expression. "As you have seen, you possess Water-Wood dual spiritual roots and are capable of cultivation. However, before I pass on the methods of immortality to you, you must swear a Heart Demon Oath: that you will never become an enemy to my son and me, nor will you ever plot against us. If you do, your cultivation shall never progress again. Of course, if we are the ones to harm you first, that is a different matter."
While Li Xue didn't mind having another cultivator around—and indeed, an extra hand would be helpful for entering Mangyun Mountain—one could never be too careful. She had no desire to experience the sting of ingratitude.
Ji Rufeng pondered for a moment before saying firmly, "I am willing to swear the Heart Demon Oath. I, Ji Rufeng, shall never be an enemy to Lady Li and her son, nor shall I ever plot against them. If I break this vow, may my cultivation never progress, and may I be struck down by heaven and earth!"
Only then did Li Xue’s mood improve slightly. For a cultivator, a Heart Demon Oath was a powerful constraint on one's progress. If the oath were violated, surviving heavenly tribulations and advancing to higher realms would become virtually impossible.
With a twinge of reluctance, Li Xue took out five Spirit Gathering Pills and a low-grade spirit stone to give to Ji Rufeng, along with the scroll of the *Nanhua Scripture*. She told him to ask Li Lin if there was anything he didn't understand, then returned to her room to continue her meditation.
Li Lin, for his part, was quite happy to spend time with Ji Rufeng. Throughout their journey, Ji Rufeng had let the boy ride with him and told him many interesting stories of the martial world, which the five-year-old Li Lin enjoyed immensely. Li Lin explained the nuances of cultivation to Ji Rufeng in great detail. After Ji Rufeng returned to his own quarters, Li Lin also went back to his room to meditate.
Three days later, once the elite escort of the Ji family merchant caravan was ready, they set out for the capital.
In those three days, Ji Rufeng had already managed to draw Qi into his body. This caused Li Xue another bout of frustration, but she was a practical woman; once a decision was made, she didn't dwell on it.
The journey was smooth. A month later, the Ji family caravan arrived at the capital of the Yun Kingdom. According to Li Xue’s original plan, they were to gather information in the capital before heading to the small states surrounding Mangyun Mountain. Now, with Ji Rufeng handling the arrangements, everything proceeded much more efficiently.
A month into the journey, Ji Rufeng reached the first level of Qi Condensation. After beginning his cultivation, he found that the world looked different than it did to a mortal. Things he hadn't noticed before now stood out to him upon reflection. For instance, several years ago, he had visited a small state near Mangyun Mountain called the Tang Kingdom. It was a tiny country with only five towns. The royal family was surnamed Tang, and their military was small, yet the order within the towns was impeccable. It was clearly a state established by a cultivation clan named Tang; otherwise, with the Yun Kingdom's power, how could they have failed to conquer a mere five towns?
Consequently, he focused his inquiries on the Tang Kingdom. The Ji family maintained a branch office there; though small, it had been established for a long time, making it easy to gather news. They focused their attention on the Tang royalty, marking any important festivals or strange phenomena as priorities for investigation.
Soon, three months later, news arrived from the Tang Kingdom: the triennial Talent Selection Assembly was to be held in six months. In the Tang Kingdom, the assembly targeted the younger generation under the age of twenty, and those selected became "generals." It was said that a commoner once selected had returned to his hometown twenty years later looking exactly as he did the day he left, causing a massive sensation. To Li Xue and the others, it was obvious that such a person was a cultivator.
Li Xue, her son, and Ji Rufeng set out with the Ji family caravan, arriving in the Tang Kingdom before the assembly began.
The Tang Kingdom was located in the southeast of Mangyun Mountain and consisted of five towns arranged precisely in a Five Elements Defensive Array. The Ji family caravan possessed the necessary travel permits and quickly entered the city. International caravans like theirs were highly welcomed by the small states around Mangyun Mountain, as the vast majority of the local populace lived by gathering herbs and hunting; the caravans brought them economic prosperity.
The defensive array of the Tang Kingdom was imperceptible to mortals, but to cultivators, it served as a restriction against flying on swords. Only cultivators with great magical power could remain unaffected. This meant little to Li Xue and her son, but the sensation was particularly profound for Ji Rufeng. When he had visited before, he had felt nothing. Now, he could clearly sense a form of spiritual pressure. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion; he had been so close to the world of cultivation all along yet had remained entirely ignorant of it. This realization only deepened his gratitude toward Li Xue and her son.
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Ascended Without Me: Cultivating with a Genius Son | Chapter 13 | Seeking Information | Novela.app | Novela.app
