Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 74: Natural Disaster

”After toiling away for two months to make Spirit Pills, I have finally gathered all the ingredients.” Li Zhirui looked at the mature second-rank Spiritual Medicine in front of him and couldnʼt help but let out a long breath of relief.

Squeak!

The steadily advancing Da Qing, on the ninth level of Qi Cultivation, let out a resentful cry.

”I wonʼt neglect you again in the future,” Li Zhirui promised with a fawning face.

In order to gather the materials as quickly as possible, over the past two months, aside from cultivating and learning spells, Li Zhirui had been frantically producing various first-rank Spirit Pills, and there really was no time to keep Da Qing company.

”Once I refine the Consolidating Yuan Pill, weʼll be able to eat the best and drink the fieriest!” Li Zhirui said somewhat exaggeratedly.

But his words were not wrong. Although by that time Li Zhirui would only be able to refine one type of second-rank Spirit Pill, which wouldnʼt qualify him as a second-rank Alchemist, in the five-hundred-li area of Yunping State, he could already be considered a person of influence!

As far as Li Zhirui knew, in the entire Yunping State, including Loose Cultivators, of the more than a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, only two could refine three types of second-rank Spirit Pills and were true second-rank Alchemists.

These were from the Yuanming Sect and the Alchemy family, Jiang Family respectively, and the number of Alchemists who could refine second-rank Spirit Pills was just a handful.

Not to mention that Li Zhirui was the rare Water Method Alchemist. Once skilled, the quality of his Spirit Pills would be a cut above other Alchemists and more sought after by cultivators.

After pacifying Da Qing, Li Zhirui left the space with the second-rank Spiritual Medicine.

However, he didnʼt rush to do Alchemy but instead burned incense to bathe and cleanse the impure and ominous energy from his body. Then he paid homage to heaven and earth, hoping to gain a strand of fortune.

This ritual was real and effective, although the strand of fortune wouldnʼt necessarily fall upon Li Zhirui. He was merely seeking peace of mind.

Li Zhirui got up and walked to the Green Jade Furnace, cleaned it with a spell, poured in second-rank Spirit Water, and began to extract the essence of the Spiritual Medicine.

Merge, extract, meld, nurture... With each spell formation cast, the Spirit Pills in the Green Jade Furnace slowly took shape, and Li Zhirui continued to form seals with a calm heart.

Not until the Consolidating Yuan Pill solidified and two Spirit Pills floated in the Spirit Water did Li Zhiruiʼs lips reveal a brilliant smile.

”Iʼve succeeded!” Although there were only two Consolidating Yuan Pills, and the quality was not too high, his hard work over these months, as well as the investment of several thousand Spirit Stones, had not been in vain.

Just as Li Zhirui was preparing to strike while the iron was hot and refine another batch of Consolidating Yuan Pills, a violent tremor suddenly shook the ground. Caught off guard, Li Zhirui fell to the floor.

”Earth Dragon Turning Over!” Li Zhiruiʼs face changed dramatically; he hurriedly got up from the ground and rushed outside to check on the situation within the clanʼs territory.

Fortunately, the houses within the clanʼs territory were built from semi-Spirit Materials and had a small Formation set up, making them fairly sturdy. There were no collapses or people buried under debris.

Before Li Zhirui could breathe a sigh of relief, he thought of the commoners on the island. They couldnʼt afford semi-Spirit Materials, and such a violent tremor would surely lead to widespread collapse of houses.

”All clan members, do everything in your power to help the commoners on the island!” While ringing the bronze bell, Li Zhirui used his Mana to spread his voice throughout the entire clan territory.

Luckily, the earthquake occurred during the day, and many commoners were outside working. If it had been at night, with everyone deep in sleep, the number of casualties would have certainly been much higher.

Following Li Zhiruiʼs command, the consciousness of the clan members was roused from chaos, and they hurriedly ran towards the outside of the clanʼs territory.

”Uncle, why have you come out?” Just as Li Zhirui was about to get going to organize and direct the rescue, the door to the rear hall opened, and Li Shiqing walked out from it.

Li Shiqing sighed, ”How can I focus on my cultivation at a time like this when the Earth Dragon is Turning Over?”

If the Li family were compared to a big tree, then the Cultivators would be the main roots of the Li family, and the commoners the auxiliary roots. Both depended on each other for sustenance, an inseparable bond entwining them, one unable to live without the other.

”Then, Uncle, you go south to organize our clan members for the rescue, and Iʼll head north.” Given the urgency of the situation, Li Zhirui couldnʼt afford to pay attention to much else and, having spoken, he vanished in a flash.

A moment later, Li Zhirui arrived at the northern side and, seeing the ruins spread out before him as well as the cries of the mortals, felt an indescribable weight in his heart.

Fortunately, when Li Zhirui began his rescue efforts, he found that not too many people were buried in the rubble, as the north had only recently been developed, and most people were outside, clearing wasteland, preparing to plant crops for the coming year.

The main reason for the mortalsʼ cries was the collapse of their houses, and if they were to repair their homes, then the land they could clear would diminish. But if they didnʼt repair their homes, the piercing cold winds at night could easily claim their lives.

”Sigh,” thought Li Zhirui, and he said, ”You all fix your houses; I will arrange for people to help you clear the wasteland.”

Amidst the mortalsʼ expressions of gratitude, Li Zhirui left a few clan members to help with the aftermath and led the others towards the southern villages.

The disaster in the north wasnʼt severe, but the situation in the south was quite bad. Many women, children, and elderly people, due to the earthquakeʼs sudden and violent nature, had no time to escape and were buried by their homes.

Even though Li Zhirui reacted promptly and immediately organized clan members for the rescue, there were still many casualties.

Li Zhirui and all the clan members labored day and night, and finally managed to rescue all the mortals trapped beneath the ruins.

Looking at the deeply grieving mortals, all Li Zhirui could say was, ”The dead cannot be brought back to life; I hope everyone can mourn appropriately.”

”For all losses incurred during this earthquake, the Li family will make amends and provide certain compensations.”

After settling the mortals, Li Zhirui convened an emergency meeting with all the elders.

”Elder Shize, what is the situation like in Yunping State?”

Li Shize had run back, his expression panicked, the previous afternoon, and from his words, Li Zhirui knew that Yunping State had also experienced an earthquake, one even more severe than on Da Rong Island.

But at that time, Li Zhirui was preoccupied with rescue efforts and only listened to a brief account without hearing more.

”It seems Yunping State was the epicenter of the earthquake. Several shops in the marketplace have collapsed, and the situation for those mortals must be even worse,” said Li Shize.

Li Zhirui felt sorrow for the unfortunate mortals but was powerless to change their fate and subconsciously steered clear of the topic.

What they didnʼt know was that the plight of the mortals in both Yunping State and Green Mountain State was several times more severe than they imagined!

The violent earthquake caused landslides, and in some places, fissures appeared out of nowhere or an entire mountain rose, altering the geography entirely.

Faced with such natural disasters, not only were mortals in grave danger, but even low-level cultivators were at risk.

You must understand that in this world, the phrase ”Earth Dragon Turning Over” is not just a figure of speech but a literal depiction!

The so-called Earth Dragon is the ley lines deep beneath the earth. Such a gargantuan being, with even a slight movement, could wreak massive destruction on its surroundings, let alone this time when it flipped entirely.

”The task ahead will be arduous, but everyone must help the mortals on the island to recover as quickly as possible; otherwise, with winterʼs arrival, the number of casualties may be even greater,” said Li Zhirui earnestly.

”Yes!” everyone responded in unison.

Li Zhirui urged, ”Uncle, with us here to care for the family, you can retreat with peace of mind.”

”Alright, thank you all for your efforts,” replied Li Shiqing, his gaze toward Li Zhirui filled with both relief and regret.

Relief because he felt that Li Zhirui had performed admirably as Clan Leader, yet regret because he was only serving as an acting Clan Leader.