Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 112 The Tribe
Just then, the Blue-backed Demon Lizard snorted, emitting a muffled roar.

Chi Youyan was startled and hurriedly hid behind her brother.

But the two older brothers also stared in shock at the Blue-backed Demon Lizard; they had never seen such a massive spirit pet before.

Seeing the three of them stunned, Li Xiangming frowned, but he didn't say anything.

It wasn't until the blue-backed demon lizard leisurely took a few steps that one of them came to his senses and hurriedly said, "The arrival of the envoy is a great honor for the Chi family. Please come in quickly."

The three men led the way, and Li Xiangming entered Xiaolan Valley, where he dismounted from the Green-backed Demon Lizard.

Of course, he could continue riding on it, but that would be seen as a show of defiance, and even if the Chi family didn't say anything, they would definitely feel uncomfortable inside.

The Chi family was in decline, and demonstrating against them had little effect.

Li Xiangming would naturally not do that.

The arrival of the Blue-backed Demon Lizard disrupted the Chi family's hospitality. The group busied themselves and finally found a suitable open space.

"The envoy's spirit pet will be temporarily placed here, and we will take good care of it."

"Ah."

Li Xiangming nodded, thinking that the Chi family wouldn't dare to do anything to his spirit pet.

After a while, the Chi family led Li Xiangming to a room where he saw Chi Jingtong, who was lying in bed.

For a cultivator to remain bedridden for an extended period is not a good sign.

Li Xiangming stepped forward and felt Chi Jingtong's pulse; it was extremely weak.

"Thank you for your help, Manager Li, but I am nearing my end and medicine cannot save me."

As he spoke, Chi Jingtong struggled to get up.

"grandfather!"

The younger members of the Chi family were immediately alarmed and rushed to Chi Jingtong's side, begging him to lie down.

Li Xiangming also withdrew his finger and advised, "Patriarch Chi, you should stop talking."

"It's alright. I know my own situation. What difference does it make whether I die a few days earlier or a few days later?"

As he spoke, Chi Jingtong stood up and awkwardly assumed a meditation posture.

"I invited Manager Li here today because I have a request. If Manager Li agrees, I will die without regret."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming frowned, not expecting that Chi Jingtong had already resolved to die.

In fact, Chi Jingtong's body, as he said, was like rotten wood, and his time was coming to an end.

However, the alchemy of the cultivation world is wondrous, and there is no shortage of life-saving elixirs.

At least Li Xiangming knew of a second-tier pill called the Ice Vein Pill, which could protect the heart meridian and forcibly prolong life.

Even if we don't cure Chi Jingtong, buying him three to five years shouldn't be a problem.

If we use that time to find a miraculous medicine to heal our injuries and nourish our bodies, we might just be able to come back to life.

Given Chi Jingtong's experience, it's impossible that he hadn't heard of the Ice Vein Pill.

Sure enough, Chi Jingtong reacted strongly when he heard the name.

But then he gave a wry smile: "The Ice Vein Pill is too expensive; the Chi family cannot afford it."

As a second-tier elixir and a life-saving elixir, the Ice Vein Pill is far superior to ordinary elixirs such as the Yellow Sprout Pill and the Qi Condensation Pill.

It is said that the Ice Vein Pills that appear in Pushui Market have never been less than 500 spirit stones.

Although 500 spirit stones is a lot, enough to buy the life of Chi Jingtong, a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Li Xiangming was still somewhat surprised that the Chi family couldn't scrape together 500 spirit stones.

"Master Chi, please don't worry, saving your life is the most important thing."

What kind of time is this? Why are you putting everything on the market? Without Chi Jingtong, the Chi family wouldn't be able to survive.

"To be honest, Steward Li, the Chi family has invested a great deal in spirit fields over the years. These twenty acres of spirit fields represent all of the Chi family's savings. Is the Li family willing to take over these spirit fields?"

"This"

Li Xiangming remained silent. He did not deny that the Chi family's spiritual field was worth 500 spirit stones, but the Li family would not buy it.

With these 500 spirit stones, the Li family can cultivate 20 acres of spirit fields on their own.

Moreover, the spiritual fields cultivated are located in Danggui Mountain, making planting convenient.

What's the point of buying this enclave hundreds of miles away from the Chi family?

"What about the Chen family? Are they also unwilling to take over?"

Li Xiangming couldn't help but ask. The Chen family of Baolong Valley is much closer to Xiaolan Valley than the Li family.

But Chi Jingtong shook his head. The Chen family had also come to see the place, and their words implied that they hoped the Chi family would lower the price.

Chi Jingtong could accept selling at a low price, but if these spirit fields couldn't raise enough for 500 spirit stones, what would be the point of selling them?
It's better to leave it to our descendants.

Seeing this, Li Xiangming also felt it was a difficult situation.

The Chi family dreamed of having their own foundation, so they spent a lot of money and effort to cultivate these twenty acres of spiritual fields, and even went so far as to rely on the Li family to ensure that the spiritual fields would not be coveted by outsiders.

However, this also caused financial problems for the Chi family.

Even the head of the household didn't have the money for medical treatment.

Li Xiangming was helpless in this situation.

Even a hero can be brought down by a penny; that was the case when he bought his spirit pet.

"What business does Patriarch Chi have with me?"

Li Xiangming changed the subject, afraid that if they continued talking, the younger members of the Chi family would be watching him expectantly.

As the head of one branch of the Li family, he did indeed have some influence.

Even if they have no money, they can borrow some from the head of the family, the fourth branch of the family, or their own father.

It might not be 500 yuan, but the Chi family sold the spiritual field at a low price, so it's probably not much different.

However, he's not crazy.

Or rather, even a madman couldn't do something like that, right?
"Lai Yong, You Yan, step back."

Chi Jingtong gave the instructions.

Chi Laiyong and the others hesitated for a moment, not daring to disobey their grandfather, and then took their leave.

Seeing them leave, Chi Jingtong closed his eyes, and after a long while, he struggled to say, "Fellow Daoist Li, I hope you can accept the Chi family as your servant clan."

"Yakuzoku?"

Li Xiangming was taken aback: "Patriarch Chi, why did you go to such lengths?"

In the cultivation world, cultivation levels are rigid; the strong are strong, and the weak are weak.

This naturally leads to a strong admiration for the powerful.

The so-called servant clans are actually slave families that obtain the protection of a powerful cultivator by voluntarily becoming servants.

Generally speaking, a servant clan will only be loyal to one person, rather than an entire family or sect.

This is because an individual's lifespan is limited; once that person dies, the laborers are naturally liberated.

A family or sect can very likely continue for hundreds or thousands of generations.

The servant tribe naturally objected.

In any case, becoming a servant is a last resort.

The Li family, once so destitute, was chased all the way from the distant Northern Li Road to the Southern Li Road, with countless members killed and nearly wiped out. They never even considered becoming servants of a powerful cultivator.

On the one hand, the Li family had its own dignity; on the other hand, it was because the status of the servant clan was simply too low.

Although the laws of Heng State protect the servants of the powerful, these laws do not apply to monks.

For cultivators, having the power of life and death over their servants is a very normal thing.

Seeing this, the other cultivators did not interfere.

To put it bluntly, servants are slaves, and their descendants are all slaves.

Many cultivators' servants, who fawn over them, are not even as high-ranking as spirit pets.

In particular, the servants of demonic cultivators were often used for human experiments, suffering a fate worse than death.

"I don't want to either, but after I die, can the Li family promise to protect the Chi family?"

Chi Jingtong gritted his teeth and stared intently at Li Xiangming.

Li Xiangming fell silent once again. The reason why the Li family recruited the Chi family was because the Chi family had twenty acres of spirit fields that could produce spirit rice or spirit herbs for the Li family.

But if Chi Jingtong dies, the Chi family won't even be able to deal with the locusts. What good will it do to have twenty acres of spiritual fields?

Will we still be able to have a stable output like before? We'll probably be overwhelmed by the surrounding small factions or independent cultivators.

The Li family can't keep sending people to guard this place forever. Wouldn't it be better for the Li family to find other vassal families instead?

A vassal is someone who provides practical value to the overlord, rather than a burden.

(End of this chapter)