Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 1949: Chapter 1443: The Summoning (Part 2)

The few Elders no longer had any doubts. Perhaps Ancestor Li Zhirui was not very familiar with Li Xiuting, but they all knew this peer/junior’s character very well, and were certain he would never lie about such matters.

”Ancestor Rui, what do you think we should do? Should we summon Ancestor Xuan back to help?” one Elder suggested.

Li Zhirui shook his head in denial without hesitation and said, ”There’s not enough time anymore. Besides, if she retreats now, she’ll definitely be discovered. If that happens, we might invite even greater trouble.”

”Then what should we do now?”

”For now, all we can do is lay traps outside while sending someone back to the Primal Spirit Realm to request reinforcements from the family!”

There was no other way. There were nearly five thousand cultivators living inside their base, but almost half of them were recovering from injuries. Their strength was limited to begin with, and now they could do even less.

After some thought, Li Zhirui went on, ”If possible, try to recruit more loose cultivators as well.”

After all, the number of family cultivators was limited, and they couldn’t all be sent to the Floating Light Realm. The best way was to gather loose cultivators and borrow their strength.

”Alright!”

”We’ll make arrangements immediately!”

The Elders saw that he had finished giving instructions and had nothing more to say. Immediately, they got up, took their leave, and hurried off, each of them going to see to the tasks Li Zhirui had just outlined.

”Let’s hope there’s still time for all of this!”

He felt a surge of urgency rise within, wishing he could finish everything in an instant, but he also knew he couldn’t afford impatience now—rushing would only invite mistakes—so he forced himself to calm down.

He shifted his thoughts to the coming great battle, considering how best to respond so that not only could the family preserve itself in the coming war, but perhaps even weaken the enemy forces of This Realm.

If they wanted to achieve that goal, the first and foremost requirement was powerful strength. Without it, there was no way they could survive the onslaught from the natives of This Realm.

Second, they needed a way to defeat—or at least repel—them!

It was true that Li Zhirui was a Heavenly Immortal, but in such a situation, he alone was far from enough to annihilate an army of tens of thousands; he still had to gather more strength.

...

Elsewhere.

An Elder named Li Xiuhuai hurried back to Mount Wanxian, not bothering with anything else, and sought out Li Xiuyuan at once.

”Clan Leader, this is bad!”

He quickly explained the enormous threat facing their base in the Floating Light Realm, adding, ”Ancestor Rui instructed me to assemble as many family members or loose cultivators as possible to enter within two hours.”

”Did Ancestor Rui mention how many cultivators are needed at a minimum?” Li Xiuyuan asked in a deep voice.

”He didn’t say, but I believe at least half the clan should be sent.”

”Do we really need that many?”

Li Xiuyuan didn’t have to think hard to know that the family couldn’t possibly send so many cultivators; the only way was to find more loose cultivators to conscript.

And with the time constraint, there was no way to notify and recruit the loose cultivators through normal channels. So, using his authority as Clan Leader, he employed the power of the Synchronized Bell to swiftly send the following message to every loose cultivator’s ears:

”Now the Li family summons three thousand Mahayana, Tribulation Transcendence, and Immortal Realm loose cultivators to enter the Floating Light Realm to resist the upcoming invasion. Any loose cultivator willing to lend a hand during this period may enter and exit the Floating Light Realm as many times as they wish in the coming days, with all obtained spiritual objects under their own control.”

The message broadcasted from the Synchronized Bell, spreading further and further.

”Do you think the Li family is encountering some particularly dangerous situation? Otherwise, why would they make such a huge concession?” a loose cultivator asked his companion.

Compared to previous terms, they were granting much more power and benefits this time.

But all this was for their own sake. After all, to urgently gather thousands of loose cultivators on such short notice, they had to offer more generous terms, or else not enough would join.

And all the loose cultivators realized that the Li family was truly in trouble this time. Some chose to offer timely help while others stood by and watched, but as for anyone thinking of taking advantage to stir up chaos, that was not possible.

In these circumstances, anyone who thought the Li family was weak and tried to create chaos would fail, for the Li family would only defend with utmost vigilance, never letting down their guard.

With such generous incentives as bait, many loose cultivators, after a brief moment’s hesitation, ended up choosing to support the Li family—or rather, they were acting for their own benefit, not for anyone else’s.

In just one hour, over two thousand loose cultivators entered the Floating Light Realm through spatial rifts, and this was just the beginning; many more were queuing up, waiting to arrive.

Even after the numbers exceeded the Li family’s offer of three thousand spots, many loose cultivators still made up their minds to get in.

The reason was simple: they knew the Li family would never let such a slight pass. There would definitely be retaliation after this matter was settled!

Coming to the Floating Light Realm now meant getting involved in the Li family’s subsequent plans.

Among these loose cultivators, many had previously followed in the Li family’s wake and reaped vast resources. They knew how much benefit this could bring and naturally didn’t want to miss out.

Why not just come after the battle was over? The Li family was no charitable institution. If you weren’t willing to take a risk now, you shouldn’t expect any rewards later. How could things be that convenient?!

Meanwhile, Li Xiuting and his group arrived back at the family, exhausted and out of breath. Their return brought with them even more accurate intelligence about the joint demon cultivator and beast army.

”Ancestor Rui!”

While saluting with a bow, Li Xiuting took a moment to steady his breath and reported, ”The allied army of demon cultivators and beasts numbers at least thirty thousand! Although we only observed from a great distance for a short while, it’s clear that many of them possess mighty auras.”

”Also, their advance is relatively slow; it will likely take another six to eight hours before they enter our base’s observation range.”

”So many?”

Li Zhirui had thought his own estimate of over twenty thousand was already high, but now it seemed he had underestimated the determination of these natives to wipe them out.

”However, I also spotted a large number of fodder-type beasts among the army. I imagine the number of formidable fighters isn’t that high,” he hastened to add.

Even so, this news brought Li Zhirui no comfort.

Of course, he would never show his true feelings in front of the juniors.

”Very well, I understand. Go get some rest. Your strength will be needed in the battle to come.”

Soon after they left, another Elder came hurrying in, bowing. ”Ancestor Rui, nearly six thousand loose cultivators have already arrived at the base. Including more than two thousand family members and the cultivators already here, there are now over ten thousand people packed into the base.”

”But there’s still a steady stream of loose cultivators trying to get in from the family’s side. Should we let them through?”

”Let them in! At the same time, have the injured clansmen evacuated to make more room!”

”Yes!” From this order, the Elder sensed the extraordinary scale of the coming battle; it was destined to be an immense clash that would even decide the fate of the Floating Light Realm!

With that, he hurried away again.

”Let my plan proceed smoothly!” Li Zhirui gazed into the distance, muttering quietly.

Meanwhile,

A massive force—when combined, looking like a dark cloud covering hundreds of miles—was slowly moving through the sky.

Wherever it passed, it was as though night had fallen in an instant; the sky grew abruptly dark.

In fact, their speed wasn’t slow, but the formation was so stretched out that one end had flown very far ahead, while the other end was only just now leaving its original position.