Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 203 - 209: Vassal

Of course, this approach has some drawbacks, such as the possibility of loopholes being exploited.

However, fortunately, the members of the Li family are relatively simple and honest, and since this measure has just been implemented, such incidents have not yet occurred.

But the benefits of this method have already begun to show!

In the past two years, a total of thirteen family members have submitted applications to the family, and among them, nine have successfully broken through Foundation Establishment, greatly enhancing the overall strength of the Li family.

As a result, Li Shiqing was no longer insistent on keeping everyone on Da Rong Island but allowed them to make their own choices.

Now, the Foundation Establishment cultivators who remain on the island, aside from a few family members who had just broken through and still needed to consolidate their realm, older members like Li Shiting and Li Zhixuan had long since left the island.

This was only because Li Zhizhun was restricted by his position as Clan Leader and could not leave the family, and Li Shiren chose to stay with the family on his own accord.

Therefore, Li Shilian persuaded Li Shiren to go out and gain experience, which could not only broaden his horizons but also possibly provide an opportunity to break through his bottleneck.

After all, he was not young anymore, yet he remained stuck in the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. If this dragged on, the hopes of breaking through to Golden Core would become even more remote.

Moreover, Li Zhiyueʼs cultivation speed was extremely fast, having already broken through the mid stage of Foundation Establishment. Li Zhixuan was also approaching her breakthrough. It was likely that before long, Li Shiren would be surpassed by these two younger members.

Speaking of the sisters, Li Zhiyue and Li Zhixuan, the former had come to a realization after Li Zhiruiʼs scolding and, leveraging her talent and aptitude, was rapidly advancing her cultivation.

The latter, Li Zhixuan, having found a cultivation technique suited to her talents and desperately gaining experience and earning resources from the outside world, had also increased her cultivation speed, at least on par with the average cultivators with Three Spiritual Roots.

If Li Zhiruiʼs brilliance left a slight gap for his peers in the family, then Li Zhixuan and Li Zhiyue overshadowed the brilliance of all the new generation family members.

Even the familyʼs third dual spiritual roots talent, Li Chenghuo, could not compete with them due to his young age.

However, this flourishing scene was exactly what Li Shiqing and the older generation of family members wanted to see because it represented the future of the family!

”Uncle Lian, you make a good point, I will seriously consider it,” Li Shiren earnestly replied to Li Shilianʼs concern.

Seeing this, Li Shilian did not continue to persuade him. Just then, his jade token at his waist lit up, signaling that Li Zhizhun needed to discuss an urgent matter with him!

”Uncle Lian, you go ahead with your business, I will go back and think it over,” said Li Shiren, who then bowed and turned to leave.

Nowadays, Li Shiren was no longer an Elder, and he was not interested in these affairs, so he did not intend to get involved.

Li Shilian swiftly arrived at the main hall and saw Li Zhizhun and a group of Elders already present. He couldnʼt help but ask in a grave voice, ”Has something serious happened?”

”Elder Lian, do you remember the incident a few years ago when the Great Void Tao was annihilated by the Devil Race?” Seeing his nod, Li Zhizhun continued, ”A Foundation Establishment family affiliated with the Great Void Tao, the Bai Family, now wants to become a vassal of the Li family.”

”Hmm?” Li Shilian showed a puzzled look. It had been several years since the annihilation of the Great Void Tao, so why was a Foundation Establishment family suddenly appearing now?

”They say that after the Great Void Tao was destroyed, they managed to escape to the territory of the Profound Ice Sect, occupying a first-order Spirit Vein. But when they upgraded the Spirit Vein to second-order, it attracted the envy of another Foundation Establishment family.”

The Bai Familyʼs strength had already declined a lot due to their escape and was not a match for the others. Not to mention that another family had birthed a prodigy who became a Direct Disciple of the Profound Ice Sect with hopes of reaching the Golden Core!

```

In such a situation, the Bai Family not only had to swallow their anger and step back but also had to worry that the other party would want to eliminate them thoroughly to prevent future troubles, which was why they fled from the Profound Ice Sect.

”Why would they come to the Li family?” Li Shilian asked, somewhat puzzled.

It was known that the Li familyʼs Spirit Lands were not plentiful, and all of them were located within the clanʼs designated territory—according to the Li familyʼs plans, the merger of Da Rong Island with three other Spirit Islands into an island spanning thousands of miles was underway, and this area was to be the Li familyʼs reserved clan land—there was simply no way to spare any to accommodate this newly subjected family.

By contrast, the Cultivation World near Da Rong Island was an entangled mess of forces in Green Mountain State, and it was understandable that the Bai Family dared not go there; however, Yunping State, under the rule of Yuanming Sect, was a different story.

After they annexed the territory of the Green Sword Sect and cleansed it, they had several vacant low-level Spirit Veins on hand. If this family pledged allegiance to Yuanming Sect, they would at least be granted a first-order Spirit Vein as clan land.

”The person in charge of the Bai Family explicitly said because the Li family currently has no subject families, if they came to pledge allegiance, they would become the first subject family and reap more benefits,” Li Zhizhun couldnʼt help but laugh as he said.

This title of ”first” could bring significant advantages to oneself under ordinary circumstances if used well, and the Bai Family had this exact intention.

”Ha, this Clan Leader Bai is quite honest,” Li Shilian chuckled lightly and asked, ”What are your thoughts on this?”

Many Elders had both agreements and objections, arguing incessantly, until finally, Li Zhizhun spoke up, and the situation calmed down.

”I think thereʼs no need to agree to this matter for now,” Li Zhizhun voiced his thoughts.

”Firstly, the family doesnʼt have Spirit Land to offer to the Bai Family; they need to figure that out on their own. Secondly, even if they become a subject family, they wonʼt bring any benefits to our family.”

The so-called buying horse bones for a thousand gold, for the current Li family, it wasnʼt necessary at all!

Because the Li family was still in a period of rapid development, their strength was growing by leaps and bounds. To them, the disadvantages of having subject families outweighed the benefits.

”Lastly, the Great Void Tao is extremely chaotic, and this Bai Family is probably the same; they could potentially bring bad influences into the clanʼs atmosphere.” This was the point Li Zhizhun valued the most.

Moreover, considering how the Bai Family abandoned the Yuanming Sect to choose the Li family, its patriarch was likely very cunning. Such a person often lacks principles, extremely likely to be the opportunistic ”wall grass” swaying whichever way the wind blows.

After listening, Li Shilian pondered for a moment and said, ”Since that is the case, letʼs reject them.”

Li Zhizhun nodded, and after the meeting ended, he casually arranged for a clan member to reply to the Bai Family.

When the Clan Leader of the Bai Family heard the Li familyʼs response, a hint of dark light flashed in his eyes, but a look of disappointment and hurt appeared on his face.

”In that case, it was my Bai Family who reached too high. Thank you for coming, fellow Daoist,” the Clan Leader Bai said with a bitter expression on his face.

The Li family member nodded, without much interaction with the other party, and promptly turned to leave the Bai Familyʼs temporary residence, an inn at Yunqing Marketplace.

”Clan Leader, what should we do now? The Li family has rejected our offer to be a subject family,” an Elder said anxiously.

What the Li family and others didnʼt know was that the Bai Family had initially intended to seek allegiance not with them, but with the Yuanming Sect!

The only condition given by the Yuanming Sect was for them to become a subject family of the Li family!

```