Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 720 - 726: Courage

Jiang Fengwu watched as Li Wenli hurried over and then hurried away, puzzled, he asked, ”Isnʼt this making a mountain out of a molehill?”

”Impulses like this should never be ignored!” Li Zhirui said with a severe expression, especially since this premonition was so intense.

Furthermore, one must always prepare for the worst. Should an accident truly occur, the Li family, without any defenses, could potentially suffer severe losses.

”Had I known you were so concerned about that group of cultivators, I would have paid more attention back then and tried to see which direction they were heading,” Jiang Fengwu said.

Li Zhirui shook his head and replied, ”Had you actually done so, you might have put yourself in danger.”

”Letʼs wait and see, perhaps I am indeed overthinking it.”

As for Li Wenli, upon returning to the great hall, he immediately summoned the Elder in charge of the Dark Department, ordering him to increase manpower and keep an eye on the movements of the various forces nearby. Any hint of something amiss should be reported to the family without delay.

”Clan Leader, if we do as you suggest, our expenses will significantly increase,” the Elder asked, puzzled, ”Nothing has happened recently, so why are you suddenly taking this action?”

”Just follow my orders,” Li Wenli said, trusting Li Zhirui, but he did not disclose that this was his idea. If nothing turned out to happen, his prestige wouldnʼt be damaged, so he simply pushed the issue forcefully.

The Elder of the Dark Department was left speechless. Now that the power within the family was firmly in Li Wenliʼs grasp, if he disobeyed, he might not keep his position for long. He could only accept the command with good grace.

Because of Li Zhiruiʼs sudden inspiration, a group of Li family cultivators started a busy set of days, scurrying about to scout for information.

”Who knows what the Clan Leader is thinking, making us work without any time for rest.”

The members of the Dark Department usually worked hard, so they were always given some time to rest after completing tasks. But now that these breaks were canceled, complaints naturally arose.

”Who knows? But itʼs not too bad; at least we are given a lot of Contribution Value, consider it overtime.”

”Enough chit-chat! We are about to enter Sandingfang Market, be careful to conceal your identities,” someone interjected.

The Dark Department was not specifically made up of undercover agents. Their main tasks were observation, inquiry, and collecting various messages and clues. Their functions differed from those of spies.

”I am a Loose Cultivator from Cang Hai Province. Iʼve heard there is a Nascent Soul Sect here that doesnʼt care about oneʼs background or aptitude, allowing anyone to join. You brothers have arrived before me; what is the real situation?”

The group split up upon entering the marketplace, starting conversations in taverns about the Sanding Sect recruiting loose cultivators. They probed further, gathering much information about the Sanding Sect.

A few days later, they quietly left the marketplace and returned to Wanxian Island the same evening.

Due to the distance, they were among the last batch of family members to return, but the information they brought back was the most substantial. The other powers had been business as usual, with no signs of activity.

For example, the Sanding Sect had not stopped recruiting Loose Cultivators, they only limited the number of disciples they took in each month. With no means to support themselves indefinitely, a large number of Loose Cultivators returned to Wanxian Province.

Moreover, within just a few years, the Sanding Sect boasted over twenty thousand disciples, all of them from Loose Cultivator backgrounds with none picked from commoners with Spiritual Roots for cultivation.

Lastly, the relationship with Xuanfa Pavilion; almost the entire sect was under Xuanfa Pavilionʼs control!

”The Sanding Sect doesnʼt train children?” Li Wenli frowned, finding this point particularly strange.

It is known that the temperaments and foundations of Loose Cultivators are mostly set, they are unlikely to be particularly loyal to a sect, probably just looking for a ʼbig tree to enjoy the shadeʼ as it were.

If a sect needed Loose Cultivators to perform trivial tasks for a transitional period at its inception, that could be understood. But to keep recruiting Loose Cultivators and not proper disciples seemed very suspicious.

”Unless the Sanding Sect doesnʼt intend to carry on its legacy and the establishment of the sect serves another purpose!” one of the Elders speculated.

But many Elders thought nothing of it, because Sanding Sect was far enough away from Wanxian Island that even if something really happened, it wouldnʼt have too much of an impact on the Li family.

Li Wenli brought these clues and speculations to Li Zhirui.

”The actions of Sanding Sect are indeed very strange,” Li Zhirui remarked.

Afterward, Li Zhirui looked at the intelligence from several other forces and pondered for a moment before saying, ”Letʼs focus on Sanding Sect for now, but donʼt relax your vigilance elsewhere either. Thank you for your hard work.”

”Yes!” Li Wenli responded and withdrew.

”I hope Iʼm just overthinking it,” Li Zhirui sighed.

”Donʼt worry, Wanxian Island is protected by a fourth-order Island Defense Array and has five Nascent Souls. Even if something really happens, it wonʼt have too much of an impact on the family,” Jiang Fengwu said, offering comfort.

She had observed just how unsettled Li Zhirui had been over the past few days.

And she didnʼt fully understand why, because in her view, with the strength of the Li family, unless Divine Transformation experts were mobilized or more than a dozen Nascent Souls, it would be quite difficult to cause substantial damage to Wanxian Island.

Of course, there could be some accidents involving family members outside of Wanxian Island.

”Youʼre right,” Li Zhirui agreed, but his eyes were fixed on the distance, as if his thoughts were far away.

——

Several months later.

”Uncle-Master, why donʼt you leave with us? The Qing Xuan Sect still canʼt do without you right now! Vengeance can wait until everyoneʼs strength has increased, then we can take action together,” one disciple said.

In a corner at the border between the Eastern and Southern Domains, the group of black-garbed cultivators Jiang Fengwu initially saw had all gathered here. A certain Golden Core cultivator spoke with genuine reluctance in his tone.

”This has become my Heart Demon. If I donʼt take revenge for the sect, I wonʼt find peace day or night,” Song Yalong replied in a calm voice.

He did not tell the remaining disciples of Qing Xuan Sect that he had practiced forbidden arts and had already passed the point of no return.

Of course, he never felt any regret.

”Go ahead, I will see you off to this point. From here on, you must walk the path on your own,” Song Yalong said, filled with hope. ”I hope one day, you will carry the name of Qing Xuan Sect back to the Eastern Domain and defeat Xuanfa Pavilion!”

He knew very well in his heart that with his little schemes, at most, he could only cause significant damage to Xuanfa Pavilion.

Inflicting harm to the foundation of Xuanfa Pavilion was extremely difficult.

”Uncle-Master...”

The disciples were silent, none of them possessing such confidence, not even daring to imagine it.

For they were acutely aware of just how terrifying the strength of Xuanfa Pavilion was.

With just their few odds and ends, they didnʼt know how many years it would take to produce even one Nascent Soul, let alone a Divine Transformation! More than a dozen Divine Transformations!

But under Song Yalongʼs eager, desperate, even crazed gaze, they still mustered the courage to declare:

”Uncle-Master! Rest assured! One day, the name Qing Xuan Sect will be heard again in this great land of the Eastern Domain!”