Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 114 Black Water Serpent
Upon hearing Li Xiangming's polite refusal, Chi Jingtong became anxious and hurriedly said, "Steward Li, no matter how weak the Chi family is, we still have twenty acres of spirit fields, and Xiaolan Valley also has a spirit spring."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming hesitated.

Both the Chi family and Xiaolangu have some value.

If he were a rogue cultivator, he would have agreed immediately and taken the free spiritual fields and labor.

But he was a cultivator from the Li family, and as he had worried, he didn't want his family to have a negative opinion of him because of these twenty acres of spiritual fields.

"The Chi family members, putting aside everything else, are capable of clearing wasteland and farming, and are self-reliant. All I ask for is a promise from you."

Chi Jingtong placed himself in a very low position, even to the point of being humble.

Without the protection of the Li family, the weak Chi family would have perished in Pu County sooner or later.

"If you agree, I have another generous gift to give you."

"Oh?"

Li Xiangming was curious.

"I wonder if Steward Li has ever heard of the Blackwater Serpent?"

Blackwater Serpent?

Li Xiangming was surprised and nodded.

This is a famous mythical beast in the cultivation world; he had naturally heard of it.

It is said that the Blackwater Serpent appears in the Rainbow Cloud Sea. When it is young, it curls up and is less than the size of a palm. When it grows up, it grows to more than a hundred feet long. It is extremely skilled in water escape and is invincible in places such as oceans and swamps.

"Black water snakes are said to roam Mount Puyin."

After glancing at Li Xiangming, Chi Jingtong continued.

"Puyin Mountain?"

Li Xiangming was astonished and subconsciously asked, "Really?"

"Absolutely true!"

Chi Jingtong nodded solemnly: "It was I who encountered the Black Water Serpent by chance in Puyin Mountain."

"At that time, the Blackwater Serpent was only two fingers thick and far from being an adult, but it already had the cultivation of the late stage of Spirit Awakening. I risked following it for more than ten days, hoping to recruit it for my own use, but I was really not confident, so I had no choice but to leave Puyin Mountain."

"On my way out, I unexpectedly discovered a white fairy mushroom and fought with the spider demon guarding it. Although I successfully obtained the spiritual medicine, I was also seriously injured and never entered Puyin Mountain again."

At this point, Chi Jingtong sighed.

It was his greed back then that led to his current predicament.

Li Xiangming didn't know what to say about this.

White Immortal Mushroom is one of the more commonly used spiritual materials for refining Foundation Establishment Pills. It is extremely precious, and I might not let it go if I came across it.

It can only be said that Chi Jingtong did not properly assess his own strength and that of the spider demon.

Of course, he was more concerned about the Blackwater Serpent, which was usually found only in the ocean or swamps and rarely appeared on land.

Moreover, the Nanbin War was protracted. If there were Blackwater Serpents in Puyin Mountain, why didn't they participate in the war?

Unable to answer this question, Chi Jingtong simply said in a low voice, "I guarantee with the reputation of the Chi family that this matter is absolutely true."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming pondered.

Chi Jingtong didn't seem to be lying, and since he was asking for Chi family descendants' protection, he had no reason to lie.

Otherwise, if Li Xiangming discovers that the Black Water Serpent is a hoax, will the Chi family fare well?

Thinking of this, Li Xiangming suddenly became somewhat excited.

The Blackwater Serpent is a famous mythical beast in the cultivation world.

For the past two years, he has been dedicated to promoting the development of the family's beast-taming skills.

Now that his family has established a breeding room and a hunting room, he still doesn't have a suitable spirit pet, which he has long regretted.

If he could subdue a Blackwater Serpent, he could use a Mist-Walking Technique as soon as he met someone in a fight, hiding on one side while the Blackwater Serpent hid on the other, making it a two-against-one situation—it sounded wonderful. "I wonder where the Blackwater Serpent that Patriarch Chi mentioned appears?"

Li Xiangming couldn't help but ask.

"Is Manager Li willing to protect the Chi family? If Manager Li has any concerns, he only needs to protect the Chi family for twenty years, and I will reveal the location of the Black Water Serpent in detail."

"Twenty years?"

Li Xiangming quickly realized what was happening and gave Chi Jingtong a deep look.

Chi Jingtong never intended to use the Chi family as a servant clan. He only brought it up before because he had too few bargaining chips. He simply packaged the Chi family as a new bargaining chip, using a retreat as a means to advance, and observed Li Xiangming's reaction.

If Li Xiangming is very pleased and accepts the Chi family, then the news of the Black Water Serpent will be used as a new bargaining chip for the Chi family to break away from Li Xiangming in the future.

If Li Xiangming firmly refuses, Chi Jingtong will give up and bury the information about the Black Water Serpent within the Chi family, waiting to use it to his advantage during the next crisis for the Chi family.

Even if he had told Li Xiangming in advance, he might have accepted the Chi family out of respect for the Black Water Serpent, but since he had no interest in the Chi family at all, he wouldn't have bothered to protect them.

Only when Li Xiangming hesitated and thought the Chi family had some value did Chi Jingtong reveal the information about the Black Water Serpent. His request was not to make the Chi family a servant clan, but to obtain genuine protection.

Sure enough, after mentioning the Blackwater Serpent, Chi Jing talked about his grandchildren throughout the call.

As for the term "yizu" (役族), it was never mentioned again.

This old man is quite shrewd; he truly deserves to be the head of the family.

Li Xiangming thought to himself.

However, he also didn't want the Chi family to be his servants, because that would be too conspicuous.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "I can arrange for two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators to be stationed in Xiaolan Valley. After five years, I will arrange for at least one late-stage Qi Refining cultivator to continue guarding this place until the twenty-year term. Do you have any objections?"

"A late-stage Qi Refining cultivator?"

Chi Jingtong hesitated slightly.

"Don't worry, if they can't handle the Chi family's problem, they'll let me know. If I can't handle it, I'll ask the Li family for help. Isn't that exactly what you want?"

Li Xiangming said calmly, "All talk about being optimistic about his future is nonsense. The only thing Chi Jingtong is interested in is his inseparable relationship with the Li family."

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Chi Jingtong smiled.

"In that case, I'll have to trouble Manager Li."

The two signed a Dao Heart Oath, with Li Xiangming agreeing to protect Xiaolan Valley for twenty years and never allow the Chi family's bloodline to be severed during this period.

Chi Jingtong then recounted the locations where the Blackwater Serpent had appeared, as well as the intelligence he had observed back then.

Upon receiving this intelligence, Li Xiangming breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since he heard about the Blackwater Serpent, he was almost driven crazy with worry. If Chi Jingtong didn't give it to him, he was about to come up with some wicked ideas.

"Patriarch Chi, please rest well. If one day the Li family announces that they will no longer collect the spiritual herbs from Xiaolan Valley, then come find me, and I will send people to continue protecting the Chi family."

Li Xiangming could not stop the Li family from abandoning the Chi family, so he could only protect the Chi family in his own way.

"I understand."

Chi Jingtong nodded. He did not doubt Li Xiangming's abilities. As long as Li Xiangming was surnamed Li and was still in charge of the Li family, anyone who thought of taking advantage of Xiaolan Valley would have to consider the Li family of Danggui Mountain in the north.

"In addition, you need to send one person with me to Changyang Valley."

When Li Xiangming said he would protect the Chi family, he wasn't lying; he had sworn an oath of faith.

But he couldn't stay in Xiaolan Valley forever; Dangui Mountain was his main battleground.

What if someone were to break off all pretense and insist on attacking Xiaolan Valley, causing the entire Chi family to be wiped out, and he didn't have time to react?
Wouldn't that destroy one's own Dao heart?
Therefore, it was necessary to arrange for a member of the Chi family to live in Danggui Mountain. As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows.

Even if Xiaolan Valley is gone, the Chi family will still have bloodlines, and Li Xiangming will be less affected by the Dao Heart Oath.

After a moment's thought, Chi Jingtong slowly said, "Then let Youyan stay by your side."

(End of this chapter)