Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 222 Cao Minghui

Li Xiangming followed behind Cao Fuyi, circling around for a while, and finally arrived at a secluded courtyard.

"Fellow Daoist Cao, what is this?"

Li Xiangming asked in a low voice.

Cao Fuyi turned around and said, "There is an elder in your family who wants to see you. You don't need to be nervous. Just talk to me as you normally would."

"I'm not nervous, I just don't know what you're up to."

Li Xiangming muttered something to himself before stepping into the courtyard.

The courtyard is simply laid out, with the most eye-catching feature being an exquisite stone table. Stone chairs are placed in front of and behind the table, and one person is already sitting down on the side facing inwards.

The man appeared to be middle-aged, with his hair a mix of black and white. He held a black chess piece in his hand and gently placed it on the chessboard on the stone table.

Upon seeing the visitor, he looked up and smiled warmly: "You've arrived? Sit down and play a game of chess with me."

Li Xiangming was completely confused, but he still obediently sat down.

Although he was not an envoy, he represented the Li family at all times while traveling, so he could not possibly show weakness in Yuyuan.

With a casual glance, Li Xiangming noticed that the game had reached the middle stage, but the black and white pieces were evenly matched, so he casually picked up a white piece and placed it down.

The Cao family cultivator smiled slightly and immediately made a second move.

Both sides come and go.

Soon, the game came to an end, and Li Xiangming resigned.

The opponent was clearly a master of this art, while I, though I had some knowledge of it, was at most a rudimentary one and far from being a match for him.

"You must be Xiangming? I've heard Fuyi mention you many times; he admires you a lot."

"Fellow Daoist Cao is too kind. I am unworthy of such praise."

Li Xiangming acted very modestly, and then respectfully asked, "May I ask your honorable name, fellow Daoist?"

"My surname is Cao, and my given name is Minghui."

Cao Minghui?
Li Xiangming was stunned. Since the Li family cooperated with Yuyuan, they had naturally inquired about a lot of information about the Cao family.

As far as he knew, the current head of the Cao family was named Cao Minghui.

"Sir, are you the head of Qingliang Mountain?"

Li Xiangming was shocked and couldn't help but ask.

Cao Minghui laughed and replied, "You speak quite tactfully, but I am indeed the head of the Cao family."

The head of the Cao family actually came to Pu County in person?

Li Xiangming was dumbfounded!
This doesn't mean that Cao Minghui couldn't set foot in Puxian County.

However, Pu County falls under the sphere of influence of Hengyue Sect, while the Cao family is backed by Suxin Sword Sect.

It is common knowledge that Hengyue Sect and Suxin Sword Sect have a feud that has lasted for hundreds of years.

Despite Yuyuan's success near Pushui Market, Bailumen is secretly collaborating with Yuyuan.

But which is more important, Yuyuan or Cao Minghui?
Expelling Yuyuan would not severely damage the Cao family, nor would it threaten the Suxin Sword Sect.

Eliminating Cao Minghui would make all the difference; the Cao family would inevitably be thrown into chaos, and the spirit pets of the Suxin Sword Sect would also be greatly affected.

The two sides are on completely different levels of influence.

The risks they face are also very different.

Cao Minghui couldn't possibly be unaware of this, so why did he risk entering Puxian?

Li Xiangming racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.

The only certainty is that the Cao family and the Bailu Sect have reached a deeper cooperation, or at least mutual trust.

Otherwise, the Bailu Gate alone would have been enough to keep the Cao family out of Pu County.

"You don't need to overthink it. I just came to visit Yuyuan and meet you young people."

Cao Minghui smiled, then invited Xiangming to play chess, and they chatted idly for a while.

They didn't let Li Xiangming leave until it was already late.

Because Li Xiangming returned late, the Li family had to stay overnight at Yuyuan Garden.

Fortunately, Yuyuan was well-prepared and assigned everyone a private room.

Everyone slept soundly.

Only Li Xiangming was restless, his mind filled with thoughts of the Cao family, Bailu Sect, and Hengyue Sect.
-
The next day.

Li Xiangming bid farewell to Yuyuan and led the group into Pushui Market. Cao Yanjun also followed, and took the opportunity to return Nangong Mu to Nangong Ya.

Upon seeing her younger brother, Nangong Ya burst into tears of joy.

The scene was very touching.

However, Li Xiangming didn't care about the siblings. He waved his hand, dismissing everyone and telling them to regroup when they returned to the Li family.

He then took Jiang Liang to "Purple Qi Comes from the East" to reminisce.

Of course, the reminiscing was a pretense; Li Xiangming's entire speech focused on the current state of the Li family's development over the past few years and his own hardships.

In short, they were trying their best to win him over.

Jiang Liang was a smart man; how could he not understand what Li Xiangming meant?
He hesitated, unsure of what to say.

"If Brother Jiang were still at Lingwu Sect, I would naturally not dare to say anything, but now, Brother Jiang is in the prime of his life, are you going to waste it so easily?"

Li Xiangming said meaningfully.

Back when they first met, they were both at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Li Xiangming has now reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, while Jiang Liang is still at the seventh level.

On the one hand, Jiang Liang had indeed encountered a bottleneck, and his cultivation was progressing slowly.

On the other hand, isn't it also due to resource shortages?
After leaving Lingwu Sect, Jiang Liang, though having a master, was in reality just a rogue cultivator.

In addition, he has a carefree personality and focuses on training. At most, he will go into the mountains to hunt some monster materials to sell in exchange for a few pills.

In this way, how could one's cultivation not be slow?

“I understand Steward Li’s intentions, but my master is quite close to the Li family head. If I join the Li family, where will the Lingwu Sect stand?”

Jiang Liang explained his difficulties.

Master Lingwu was very concerned about his reputation. How could he stand that his disciples were not working for the sect but instead serving the Li family next door?

At that time, the relationship between Lingwu Shangren and Jiang Liang will only deteriorate further.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming also felt troubled.

The discord within the Lingwu family led to the departure of three of their most capable disciples, which was a good thing for Li Xiangming.

He didn't have much interaction with He Jing and Pei Wen, but he had in-depth conversations with Jiang Liang.

Although this person is not a genius of his time, he can still be called an outstanding individual. Not only is he of decent talent and cultivation, but he is also intelligent, responsible, and has a broad perspective. Several years ago, he had already wanted to recruit Jiang Liang to serve the Li family.

Unfortunately, Lingwu Gate got stuck in the middle.

Although Jiang Liang left Lingwu Sect, he still harbored deep feelings for Master Lingwu and cared a great deal about Master Lingwu's opinion of him.

After thinking for a moment, Li Xiangming said, "I have a business near Baolong Valley. How about Brother Jiang manages it for me? As for the compensation, it will be equivalent to that of a guest of the Li family."

"Baolong Valley?"

Jiang Liang hesitated for a moment, then said, "As long as I don't join the Li family, I'm willing to work for Manager Li."

Jiang Liang knew that there was no future in remaining a rogue cultivator, but he was too embarrassed to go back to Lingwu Sect.

Even if he went back, there would be no place for him in Lingwu Sect.

Because Master Lingwu has retired to a less prominent position, the current sect leader is Pei Wen.

Even if Pei Wen treats him as a junior brother as usual, the sect's resources will only be directed towards Pei Wen's disciples, that is, the next generation of Lingwu Sect.

He and He Jing have become nothing more than remnants of the Lingwu Sect.

Just like the Li family's Qian generation, most of them hold important positions.

However, the Li family's resources were given to Foundation Establishment cultivators and elites of the Xiang generation.

Caught in the middle, they found themselves in an extremely awkward situation.

But there's no other way; for the sake of the family's development, the allocation of resources must have a focus.

The same applies to Lingwu Sect.

Having lost Lingwu Sect as his home, Jiang Liang, even if he ignores Li Xiangming's offer, must find a suitable place to stay on his own.

With his mediocre cultivation level, he could only serve as a guest elder in some Qi Refining families and sects at best.

The treatment was far less than what Li Xiangming had promised.

Therefore, he naturally had no concerns.

Three years of experience have smoothed out his rough edges.

(End of this chapter)