Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 177 Origin
Taibai Restaurant.

A dozen or so demon hunters stood beside the notice board, arguing heatedly.

“Zhang Mazi is a real menace. If he is not eliminated, Puyin Mountain will never have peace.”

One of them said bitterly.

"That's right, even Huangyadan can kill people. Who would dare to buy pills after this?"

An old man in his seventies shook his head and said, "In order to cause trouble for Zhao Jindou, Zhang Mazi dumped a large amount of cheap Huangya Dan in a short period of time. You can imagine the quality of these pills."

"Zhang Mazi is truly shameless for his own benefit. I suspect that the Burning Fiend Pill that killed the person last time also came from Zhang Mazi's hands." Someone said indignantly.

"You can't just say things like that. Zhang Mazi tested the elixir back then."

Beside him, a burly middle-aged man frowned.

"What's the point of testing pills? There are so many pills, and you only test a few bottles? Even a pig brain would bring out the good ones."

A burly man with a scar on his cheek sneered.

"Isn't Zhao Jindou the same? Why be biased?"

"I didn't mention Zhao Jindou. Why are you so eager to speak up for Zhang Mazi? Could you be Zhang Mazi's devoted son or grandson?"

The scarred man replied coldly.

"you"

The burly middle-aged man, enraged, grabbed the other man by the collar.

Unexpectedly, the scarred man was fearless and dismissive, saying, "Try touching me!"

"Don't ruin the harmony."

The septuagenarian quickly pulled the two apart: "This is the Li family's territory. Learn from Wang Laizi's example, or you'll regret it."

Upon hearing the name Wang Laizi, everyone turned pale.

The incident began when Wang Laizi got drunk and caused trouble at the Taibai Tavern, slandering the Li family. He was then killed by a young cultivator named Li Xianghua.

It is said that Li Xianghua was not from the animal trapping house, which suggests that the Li family has other hidden influence in Monkey Valley.

"Have you noticed that there are many more posts about itinerant merchants on the bulletin board, and most of them about Zhang Mazi are negative news?"

Suddenly, someone interrupted.

"You're only just realizing this now? I figured it out a long time ago: the Li family and Zhao Jindou are in cahoots."

The burly middle-aged man's eyes were gloomy: "Otherwise, why would you keep advertising for Zhao Jindou?"

"Is it because your father, Zhang, is unwilling to spend money?"

The scarred man continued to laugh.

"Damn it, Scarface Luo, I'm going to cripple you."

"Come on, see if I'm scared?"

In the blink of an eye, the two went from arguing to shoving to unleashing their magical powers, turning the Taibai Tavern into complete chaos.

Li Qiansu hurriedly stepped forward, bringing three or five disciples from the inspection room, and only then did he quell the farce.

In a corner of the tavern, a tall Taoist priest witnessed everything and muttered, "Zhang Mazi, Zhao Jindou, the elixir business... Interesting. Little Li Jushi is quite successful in Puyin Mountain."
-
The outer perimeter of Puyin Mountain.

Li Xiangming, Li Xiangfeng, and ten others accompanied Cao Fuyi and Cao Yanjun on an inspection tour of the mountains.

The remaining two teams were led by Li Xiangting to guard the rear.

"Young Master Li, there don't seem to be many demonic beasts around here?"

After walking for a while, Cao Fuyi asked in confusion.

"This is a route that the demon-hunting groups often take, and the demons avoid it. Fellow Daoist Cao, please walk a little further ahead."

Li Xiangming spoke up to explain.

His inspection tour into the mountains was merely a show of face, so he naturally wouldn't take any risks and would choose to walk along some narrow, winding paths.

However, once you pass the entrance, the number of monsters in Puyin Mountain increases dramatically.

One of the rabbit demons suddenly emerged from the jungle, startling everyone.

"It's a variety I've never seen before," Cao Yanjun said with some surprise.

As the cultivation world has developed to this point, countless demonic beasts have been recorded. As a family of great masters of beast taming, the Cao family's illustrated guides to demonic beasts could be piled up like mountains.

Even so, there are still many monsters that beast tamers are unfamiliar with.

The reason is that after wild animals inhale and exhale spiritual energy, they often undergo mutations and give birth to variants.

These variants have awakened intelligence and mastered demonic power, making them vastly different from their original race.

According to convention, they should be classified into a new category of monsters.

However, how vast is the cultivation world?
Each mutated monster may represent a newly emerging race.

Even knowledge passed down for tens or hundreds of thousands of years cannot explain the species in the cultivation world.

As part of the former Nanbin Demon Land, Puyin Mountain has a long history. Although it is now part of the Heng Kingdom, human exploration of this ancient mountain forest is only the tip of the iceberg. It is unknown how many new monsters are yet to be discovered.

Seeing that Cao Yanjun was interested in this, Li Xiangming didn't say a word and the Weeping Spirit Desolate Sky Rope flew out from his hand.

A few breaths later, the rabbit demon was pulled back without any sign of struggle.

"It does resemble a jade peach rabbit. Thank you, Young Master Li."

Cao Yanjun placed a demon-trapping talisman on the rabbit demon, held it in his arms, and his hands radiated pale blue magic.

In just a moment, the frightened rabbit demon quieted down and stopped struggling.

Seeing this, Li Xiangming was secretly amazed.

Although the Li family possessed the Myriad Spirits Manual, it was too obscure and difficult to understand; in four hundred years, only two people had mastered it.

The Cao family's beast-taming technique is clearly something that can be widely adopted.

This is also the fundamental reason why the Cao family was able to establish itself in the world by controlling beasts.

Two hours later, Li Xiangming led the Cao family uncle and nephew through the planned route.

They also encountered many different kinds of monsters during the trip.

At Cao Fuyi's request, the animal trapping house also captured monsters on site.

But in reality, these monsters were all controlled nearby by the beast-catching house in advance, waiting for today.

Therefore, the performance of the Beast Catcher's Chamber was perfect, showcasing both the cunning of the monsters and the brave and fearless spirit and powerful strength of the Beast Catcher's Chamber.

Even Li Xiangming had to admit that Li Xiangfeng and Li Xiangting were quite skilled at acting.

After most of the day had passed, Li Xiangfeng advised, "We can't go any deeper. If we go any further, we might encounter the Burning Sky Violent Ape."

"Burning Sky Violent Ape?"

Cao Fuyi was intrigued by this unusual name.

"A demon cultivator who has fused with bones is not someone we can afford to mess with."

Li Xiangfeng was deeply wary of this, as the previous head of the department, Li Xiangru, had been injured by the Burning Sky Violent Ape and was still recovering from his injuries.

Upon hearing that he was a demon cultivator in the Bone Fusion stage, Cao Fuyi shut his mouth.

He came here to discuss cooperation, not to die.

If they encounter the Blazing Sky Ape, the animal trapping house will likely scatter like birds and beasts, let alone protect them.

Nobody's stupid enough to think they can fight against a demon cultivator in the Bone Fusion stage.

Since this path was blocked, and Cao Fuyi felt he had understood enough, he agreed to stop there.

Both sides returned via the same route.

Halfway through the journey, a huge explosion suddenly rang out.

"That's the sound of a fire talisman."

Li Xiangming frowned and looked at Li Xiangfeng.

"They must be from the demon-hunting group."

Li Xiangfeng's expression also looked rather unpleasant.

Logically, Li Xiangting should have advised the nearby demon-hunting groups to leave.

"Young Master Li, why don't you go and take a look?"

Cao Fuyi suddenly asked.

"Isn't this bad?"

"It's alright, I'd also like to see how other demon-hunting groups hunt demons."

"Anyway, there aren't any dangerous monsters around here, right?"

Cao Fuyi gave a half-smile.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming fell silent.

It seems Cao Fuyi has already seen through the Li family's act.

Indeed, Cao Fuyi was no ordinary person, having been appointed by Qingliang Mountain to develop the spirit pet business in Pu County.

"Xiangfeng, go and investigate."

"Yes." "Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist Cao."

"It doesn't matter."

Cao Fuyi stroked his beard. From the very beginning, the Li family's arrangements were full of coincidences, and he was well aware that the Li family was putting on a show.

He didn't resent these things, because they precisely proved the Li family's control over Puyin Mountain.

In addition, the Li family did this for safety reasons.

But since he had come all this way, he didn't want to waste the opportunity to witness a fake Puyin Mountain.

After a while, Li Xiangfeng returned and reported, "It's two cultivators dealing with a group of monkeys. They don't look like a demon-hunting group; they look more like rogue cultivators."

"Ye Xiu?"

Li Xiangming pondered.

Wild cultivators are actually just independent cultivators, it's just a different name.

In many people's minds, independent cultivators are low-level cultivators who have not joined any faction.

That's not correct, because independent cultivators might suddenly decide to start their own sects.

They call themselves sect leaders or masters, and have their own backgrounds.

But does this mean they've left the ranks of independent cultivators?
not at all!
Because these self-created forces are known only to a few people and are not recognized by the cultivation world at all.

In the eyes of the major sects, these rogue cultivators are nothing more than trying to embellish their own reputations.

However, it cannot be denied that these people dared to establish their own schools of thought, and even if they were not very strong, they still had some kind of legacy to carry on.

After their deaths, their legacy remained within the sect and was inherited by their descendants.

In the eyes of sects and aristocratic families, these descendants are considered as independent cultivators.

However, they are fundamentally different from the traditional solitary practitioners.

Therefore, the cultivation world collectively refers to them as "wild cultivators." The word "wild" refers to the fact that their background and power are not recognized and they cannot be brought into the mainstream.

Distinguishing between rogue cultivators and independent cultivators is quite simple. Generally, independent cultivators use a wide variety of spells, using whatever they learn, even if it violates the principles of mutual generation and restraint of the five elements. On the other hand, the spells of rogue cultivators are already organized, and they know how to use multiple spells to complement each other, producing a stronger effect.

Of course, due to the limitations of their sects, the cultivation techniques of unaffiliated cultivators are inferior to those of Taoist families in every aspect, and their combat strength is not much better than that of independent cultivators.

"What are their cultivation levels?" Li Xiangming asked cautiously.

"One is at the sixth level of Qi Refining, and the other is at the third level of Qi Refining."

"If that's the case, then we can go and take a look."

Li Xiangming nodded. The other party's cultivation level was not high, so he shouldn't be able to threaten the beast-catching house and the Cao family uncle and nephew.

With Li Xiangming's permission, Cao Fuyi smiled and went to the location of the explosion to observe the battle between the wild cultivators.

The animal trapping house followed closely behind.
-
"You idiot, put in some effort!"

Ma Wu's voice was sharp and urgent. He squatted on the shoulder of a giant man who was over ten feet tall and incredibly strong, gesturing wildly at the battlefield.

"Hit it! Hit it hard! Didn't you eat enough for lunch?"

Ma Wu's shouts echoed in the giant's ears as he directed the battle while dodging flying branches and stones.

On the grassy area beside the stream, the monkey troop, led by several monkey demons, launched wave after wave of attacks on the giant man.

They bared their teeth and gesticulated wildly, seemingly mocking the giant's clumsiness.

"Ma Wu, it hurts so much."

The giant man groaned and complained as he fended off the monkey demon's attacks.

"What are you sore about? Just eat a couple of pieces of meat and you'll feel better."

Ma Wu didn't care. "Now, let's get rid of these annoying monkeys!"

Why aren't you making a move?

The giant asked in confusion as he swung his enormous fist.

"I'm training you to improve your abilities. You're destined to become the chieftain's right-hand man. How can you complain of pain over such a small matter?"

Ma Wu responded loudly, while simultaneously tugging at the giant's earlobe to remind him to concentrate.

“It hurts! It hurts!”

The giant cried out in pain, but dared not stop moving for a moment.

The battle intensified, and the monkey troop seemed to sense the giant's exhaustion, launching an even fiercer attack.

Seeing this, Ma Wu knew he couldn't let things continue like this; he had to take action.

"Watch out, big guy!"

Suddenly, Ma Wu leaped off the giant's shoulder, nimbly somersaulting in the air before landing steadily on the ground.

He formed a seal with his hands and muttered words.

A powerful surge of magic energy erupted from his body, forming a massive vortex of magical power.

Sensing this powerful force, the monkeys stopped their attack and watched Ma Wu warily.

"go to hell!"

With a loud shout, Ma Wu unleashed a vortex of magical power, which instantly transformed into countless magical arrows that shot towards the monkey troop.

The monkeys panicked and scattered, but the magic arrows seemed to have eyes, following closely behind.

Screams and cries for help rose and fell in an instant.

The monkey demons fell to the ground, utterly powerless to fight back.

The giant looked at the scene before him, a hint of surprise and admiration flashing in his eyes.

"I want to learn this too."

"What are you learning? You can't even control your magic power properly, and you're still using your fists to deal with the monkey demon. It was a mistake for the chief to push you to the third level of Qi Refining. It's a complete waste of those elixirs and medicines."

Ma Wu looked disdainful.

The giant scratched his head and squatted down somewhat embarrassedly: "I've tried my best to circulate my magic, but it's beyond my control."

"That's because you're stupid. An idiot would definitely find it difficult."

"The chieftain even praised me for being clever."

"Can't you tell from my words of comfort?"

I can't tell.

"I'm too lazy to waste words with you. Hurry up and leave, don't keep the chieftain waiting."

After muttering a few words, Ma Wu suddenly stopped and looked around warily.

"what happened?"

The giant asked in a simple and honest manner.

"There's someone nearby."

Ma Wu sneered, "Who comes here, sneaking around like this?"

Seeing that his whereabouts had been exposed, Cao Fuyi stopped hiding and stepped out from the shadows, laughing loudly: "This fellow Daoist is skilled, defeating the enemy in one move, which is admirable."

"Who are you?"

Ma Wu frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over Cao Fuyi and the people behind him.

Cao Fuyi smiled slightly and introduced himself: "I am Cao Fuyi, from Yuyuan in Pushui Market. May I ask your esteemed name and the place you are from?"

Ma Wu snorted lightly: "Nameless rogue cultivator, not worth mentioning."

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Cao Fuyi's eyes.

Li Xiangming, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

The spell that Ma Wu just used was extremely powerful; even in the Li family's library, there are few spell manuals of such high level.

If those who possess such magical inheritances are all rogue cultivators, how can those cultivators who claim to be from prestigious and righteous sects bear this?
"Fellow Taoist, you are humble."

Cao Fuyi was very curious about Ma Wu. He could tell that Ma Wu was not a member of the Li family, and he disregarded the monkey demon's corpse, so he probably did not belong to the demon-hunting group outside Puyin Mountain.

If that's the case, then in what capacity is Ma Wu here?

Surely they couldn't have gotten lost?
This curiosity also lingered in Li Xiangming's mind.

If Ma Wu is indeed a rogue cultivator as he claims, he will not interfere.

But the legacy behind Ma Wu was far more powerful than he had imagined.

It could be a powerful force from the surrounding area coming to investigate Puyin Mountain, or even a spy targeting the Li family.

He gave a slight signal, and Li Xiangfeng and the others understood, silently blocking Ma Wu's path.

"What do you want to do?"

Ma Wu looked around and quickly realized Li Xiangming's intention.

"This fellow Daoist possesses extraordinary magical abilities, which we greatly admire."

Li Xiangming stepped forward, his tone sincere: "I am Li Xiangming from Dangui Mountain. I would like to sincerely invite you to my home to discuss and exchange ideas."

(End of this chapter)