Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 129 - 135: Trials

In the grand hall of the Yuanming Sect.

”Sect Master, arenʼt the actions of the Li family a bit excessive?” an Elder complained indignantly.

The recent behaviors of the Li family had provoked the dissatisfaction and vigilance of many Elders, hence this meeting had been called.

”Are you referring to the recruitment of Loose Cultivators, the establishment of the Marketplace, or both?” Liu Yunde asked calmly.

Without waiting for the Elder to respond, he continued, ”There are now more than a thousand Loose Cultivators who have left Yunping State. What impact does this number have on us?”

”As for the Marketplace, the Li family is merely conducting business with the Loose Cultivators on those two islands, and they even need to replenish Spiritual Objects from the Marketplace. We have simply changed our business partners.”

After all, with the business of more than a thousand Loose Cultivators, the current production scale of the Li family falls short of meeting the Loose Cultivatorsʼ needs; they can only buy from outside and transport it back to the islands.

Fortunately, because of the large volume of purchases, they managed to push down the cost; otherwise, the Li family would hardly make any profit.

”Whatʼs most important is...” Liu Yundeʼs expression became very serious, ”We currently need the Li familyʼs help! As long as the Li family leans towards us, the Green Sword Sect will no longer be our match!”

An Elder said, ”But doesnʼt the Sect possess a Gold Core Formation Pill? With it, we can quickly cultivate a Golden Core Cultivator. Then we wouldnʼt need the Li family to absorb the Green Sword Sect.”

A dark glint flashed in Liu Yundeʼs eyes. Were all his previous words merely a cover for this?

Ever since the Sect obtained the Gold Core Formation Pill, Elders have been frequently bringing up the matter as if they would surely break through to Golden Core as soon as they consumed it.

However, his word alone wasnʼt enough for this matter; it required the nod from Jiang Tianming and Master Mingling.

So in the end, the meeting was hastily concluded once more.

But Liu Yunde knew that this matter wouldnʼt just stop there.

——

”Young friends, the formation for the advancement of the Spirit Vein has been set up, and it should ascend to a third-tier Spirit Vein within three months,” a white-haired elder said gently to Li Zhirui and others.

At this time, it had been five days since Li Shiqing left Da Rong Island.

And this elder was a third-tier Earth Master invited by the Li family from Shen Leishan, costing them a hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

His task was to help elevate the Li familyʼs second-tier Spirit Vein.

Technically, it was possible without an Earth Master; simply burying five hundred thousand Spirit Stones near the Spirit Vein and waiting for it to absorb them all would be enough for the elevation.

But there was a significant downside to this method—it took far too long! At least several years were needed!

Before spending the Spirit Stones, Li Zhirui and the others felt quite distressed, but once the elder arrived at Da Rong Island and started working, they instantly felt it was worth every stone!

He not only elevated the Spirit Vein but also altered the feng shui of Da Rong Island, expanding the area over which the Spirit Vein spread its Spiritual Energy.

The outermost areas of the Spirit Veins had rather sparse Spiritual Energy, but where they intersected, the energy was quite rich; enough to create several hundred mu of first-tier Spirit Fields.

”Thank you, senior, for your immense help. This modest gift cannot properly express our gratitude, but please accept it,” Li Zhizhun said as he offered a bottle of fine third-tier Spiritual Wine with both hands.

The Golden Core elder loved good wine, and Li Zhizhun had a small talent in this area; although the wine he brewed was of a lower tier, it had a unique taste that the old man greatly appreciated.

It was also in consideration of those several hundred jin of Spiritual Wine that he lent a hand in altering the feng shui layout of Da Rong Island.

”Hahaha, good lad,” the elder laughed heartily, ”If thereʼs a next time, remember to call upon this old Daoist again.”

”Now that this matter is settled, itʼs time for me to return,” he said. Then, a yellow light shot up to the sky and disappeared before their eyes.

From the day the formation was successfully set up, Da Rong Islandʼs Spiritual Energy grew even richer, allowing all the clanspeople to personally experience the benefits of the denser energy.

One day, the Cangfeng Hawk eggs that Li Zhirui had been tending for several months finally showed signs of hatching!

Since avian Spirit Beasts often have a chick imprinting phase, Li Zhirui stayed by the eggʼs side on the day it hatched, anxious not to miss this perfect opportunity to increase intimacy.

Thud!

The robust beak continuously tapped against the shell, and with the chickʼs relentless effort, it finally broke a small hole, then slowly enlarged it, and at last emerged completely.

Cheep!

The chick was about the size of a palm, covered in white fluff, with bright, curious little blue eyes looking at Li Zhirui.

”Little guy, are you hungry?” Li Zhirui said, feeding the Spirit Fish meat he had prepared, one piece at a time.

While the chick wasnʼt paying attention, Li Zhirui formed a gesture with his hands and activated the contract formation, turning the chick into his second Contracted Spirit Beast.

”Once you grow a bit, weʼll go out for some training,” Li Zhirui said, cleansing the chickʼs body with Mana to lay down a better foundation.

Over the following months, Li Zhirui essentially became a foster father, devoting most of his time to caring for the little eagle.

The overly energetic Cangfeng Hawk frustrated Li Zhirui to no end, making him miss the days when he raised Da Qing.

In the end, he accidentally discovered that Da Qing could calm the Cangfeng Hawk, and only then did Li Zhirui escape his misery and return to normal life.

Because of this, Li Zhirui even gave the Cangfeng Hawk a name: Xiaoqing.

During this time, a major event also occurred—the second-order Spirit Vein beneath the clanʼs land successfully upgraded to a third-order Spirit Vein!

If the density of the Spiritual Energy before was just a thin mist, now within the clanʼs territory, it was like a dense fog where one couldnʼt see their own hands, and the concentration of the Spiritual Energy had increased by numerous times.

Even without using any external objects, Li Zhiruiʼs cultivation speed was much faster than before.

No wonder the disciples of the major powers with the same talent always cultivated faster—the difference in environment alone was significant, not to mention other factors like resources.

With this third-order Spirit Vein, it was possible that even the family members with poorer talent could reach Qi Cultivation Completion before the age of fifty-five with a chance to breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

——

”Everything is ready, itʼs time to set out!”

On a sunny day, Li Zhirui packed all his belongings and left Da Rong Island.

He had informed Li Zhizhun and the others about his journey of experience. At first, they wanted to persuade him to stay, but Li Zhirui was determined, and nothing could change his mind; thus, they had to agree in the end.

However, they had requirements—he had to ensure his own safety during his adventures, and he couldnʼt be gone for more than a year!

If he violated these terms, he would have to stay on Da Rong Island for ten years, during which he couldnʼt step off the island at all.

”Itʼs a pity youʼre still too young; otherwise, I could ride on your back for this journey,” Li Zhirui said with a look of regret as he watched Xiaoqing.

After some time of nurturing, Xiaoqing had already reached the first level of Qi Cultivation, and its body had grown a lot. But at the end of the day, it was still a young bird and couldnʼt carry a person.

Itʼs worth mentioning that Xiaoqing was a male hawk.

Li Zhiruiʼs journey this time wasnʼt too far away; he stayed within the Green Mountain Range. There were dangers for sure, but as long as he didnʼt go too deep into the mountains, he should be fine.

——

Roar!

A second-order Pig Devil roared in pain, its eyes bloodshot as it glared at Li Zhirui not far away. A yellow light suddenly shot out from its mouth, aiming straight for Li Zhiruiʼs face.

But tufts of white clouds appeared, layer upon layer, constantly weakening the yellow light, which couldnʼt even get close to Li Zhirui.

Before Li Zhirui could counterattack, the ground began to shake violently, and sharp Earth Spikes rose from beneath his feet. If not for his quick reflexes, jumping away at the last second, the consequences would have been unimaginable!

”Curse you, vile beast!” Li Zhirui, enraged and humiliated, didnʼt hold back any longer. His ten fingers fluttered, and swords made of Corrosive Water, emitting a dark blue light, descended from the sky with terrifying pressure.

Any vegetation touched by the Corrosive Water immediately turned yellow and withered, along with a faint stench, even removing a layer from the soil.

The Pig Devil, although protected by a body of Spirit Light, had exhausted a lot previously and wasnʼt like Li Zhirui, who constantly had an Essence Pill to replenish Mana.

The Spirit Light ultimately couldnʼt withstand the water swords and shattered into pieces, dissipating into specks of light.

The large body of the Devil, within moments, was pierced by dozens of sharp blades, and blood gushed out like a fountain, spattering on the ground and blooming into flowers of red.

Roar!

Seeing that the Pig Devil cried out miserably but didnʼt die, Li Zhirui felt something was wrong and immediately leapt back in retreat.

He saw that where he had been standing, giant stone pillars rose from the ground, and before he could catch his breath, those stone pillars exploded!

Fragments flew everywhere, and the nearby thick trees were struck down forcefully; the surrounding area was covered in dust, and the forest, under the Pig Devilʼs dying counterattack, was left with only a few broken trees and half-trunks.

Witnessing this scene, a shockwave surged through Li Zhiruiʼs heart as he couldnʼt help but feel lucky. Had he not retreated a step earlier, even if he managed to defend at the last moment, he would have been gravely injured.

And if one were to get injured in the central region of the Green Mountain Range, it would definitely be very dangerous!

Because there were not only a large number of Devil Beasts, but also more dangerous Cultivators.

The commotion was bound to attract nearby Cultivators, so Li Zhirui quickly collected the Pig Devilʼs corpse and vanished from the area.

Shortly after his departure, two Foundation Establishment Cultivators arrived together and, seeing that nothing was left at the scene, cursed and vanished into the vast forest.

Meanwhile, Li Zhirui had already hidden deep inside his cave, using the antidote to remove the intense poison from the Pig Devilʼs body. The flesh and blood were definitely inedible, but he couldnʼt let the Spirit Materials on the Pig Devilʼs body get contaminated by toxins—that would be several hundred Spirit Stones wasted!

After handling the Spirit Materials and using a Purification Talisman to remove the blood aura from his body, he entered a spatial dimension to rest.

Chirp!

Chirp!

Da Qing and Xiaoqing cried out together, the former complaining about why it wasnʼt allowed to take action, and the latter, not as intellectually developed, simply telling Li Zhirui that he was hungry.

While taking out Devil Beast Meat, Li Zhirui explained to Da Qing, ”That Pig Devil was too fast, and the area was full of trees; I was worried you would get hurt.”

Although Da Qingʼs defensive ability had increased significantly after breaking through to the second order, it was still a bit of a stretch against the Pig Devil.

”Tomorrow Iʼll leave the mountain. Then Iʼll let you both out to play,” he said.