Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 230 Origin
“My Li family has always valued harmony, but we are not weak and easily bullied. The Chi family of Xiaolan Valley is a vassal of my Li family, and the cultivators in the valley also serve the Li family. Yet today they have been bullied by you, tens of thousands of clansmen are terrified and dare not leave the valley, and those who have traveled far from home are unable to return. How can such behavior be tolerated?”

Li Xiangming shouted sternly, "I can't do anything to you because you outnumber me, but my Li family has hundreds of cultivators, and you can't act so recklessly here!"

"If you don't give the Li family a satisfactory explanation today, this matter will not be let go!"

Li Xiangming's eyes were sharp, and his demeanor was menacing, suggesting he was ready to call for help at the slightest provocation.

The faces of the five people present all turned ugly, especially Zhang Can, who had never been treated like this before.

However, Li Xiangming's arrogance was based on his strength. Zhang Can knew he was no match for him, so he twitched his face and remained silent.

Although he had a bad temper, he was not a reckless person.

The Flower Monk is not someone easy to get along with, so why is he willing to negotiate?
It's not that they're afraid of the Li family behind this kid.

Taking over Xiaolan Valley was a decision made unanimously by the five, but the other four were slow to act, while Zhang Can was quite aggressive.

But Zhang Can did not blame them, because he knew that it was easy to seize the grain, but difficult to guard it.

The valley contained unexpected figures like Nie Rong and Jiang Liang, whose strength far exceeded what they had learned about the Chi family.

Being cautious at this moment is to avoid unnecessary trouble later.

But now, trouble has still arisen.

No one expected that the small Xiaolan Valley was actually backed by the Li family, the largest cultivation family in Pudong.

If the Li family makes a move, even if the five of them are at the ninth level of Qi Refining, they can only flee for their lives, and may even perish in the valley.

Despite his anger, Zhang Can couldn't help but feel grateful that the other four had restrained themselves and prevented the matter from escalating completely.

Upon hearing this, the Flower Monk chuckled and said, "It was our ignorance that we didn't recognize your esteemed family's reputation. As for an explanation, we certainly have one!"

As he spoke, the Flower Monk turned to look at the other four people. Seeing that they remained silent, he continued, "I have decided that everyone should leave Xiaolan Valley and leave the Chi family alone. All the Chi family members we took away will also be released."

"Ah."

Li Xiangming sneered but did not reply.

Seeing this, the Flower Monk pondered for a moment, then said, "Shall we apologize to Fellow Daoist Li?"

Upon hearing this, the other four people looked even more unpleasant.

Which of them isn't arrogant and proud?
Apologizing to a junior is undoubtedly humiliating.

However, the four men only turned pale and did not voice any objection. Reaching their level of cultivation, each of them had several decades of cultivation journey ahead.

A moment's pride is nothing.

Li Xiangming was still not satisfied: "It's sincere, but not much."

"How does Fellow Daoist Li intend to resolve this matter?"

The old woman asked impatiently.

Li Xiangming glanced at her and said calmly, "First, apologize to the person in charge of the Chi family in Xiaolan Valley."

"Secondly, explain your origins."

"Thirdly, everyone made a vow of faith, promising never to covet Xiaolan Valley again, nor to target Xiaolan Valley by any means or in any form."

"Fourth, each person shall compensate my Li family with 200 spirit stones."

"Hey, the Li family has quite the influence, 1000 spirit stones for one trip!"

Zhang Can sneered repeatedly. Although the other three points were equally unacceptable, at least they remained at the level of mere words.

But this fourth item directly asks for money.

They still want exorbitant prices!

"1000 spirit stones is absolutely impossible. If Fellow Daoist Li is after spirit stones, we would rather fight to the death here."

The Flower Monk also made it clear that for them, who were just independent cultivators, spirit stones were their bottom line.

Every spirit stone is hard-won.

They have no temple of their own, nor any land with spiritual veins.

The spirit stones I've saved up aren't even enough for my daily cultivation.

It is rarely traded.

For independent cultivators, spirit stones are their lifeblood, and there is absolutely no reason for them to give them up.

"You may disagree, but in Pudong, you will have no place to stand."

Li Xiangming showed no mercy, his words were full of threats.

"What a convenient place for us!"

Zhang Can laughed angrily, revealing a fierce look in his eyes: "Before that, we'll take care of you first, and then negotiate with the Li family!"

As he spoke, Zhang Can braced himself, ready to charge forward and engage in battle.

Li Xiangming showed no fear, summoning the Blackwater Serpent to stand beside him, and also summoning the Weeping Spirit Desolate Sky Chain as a weapon.

Seeing this, the Flower Monk hurriedly stopped Zhang Can and transmitted his thoughts, saying, "It has not been easy for the five of us to come to this place. If we kill this kid, we will not get Little Lan Valley, and the Li family will even spread the word, attracting the Beast Soul Sect's pursuers. Why bother?"

Upon hearing the name of the Beast Soul Sect, Zhang Can's face flushed red and then turned pale.

He hesitated for a long time, but ultimately did not make a move.

After persuading Zhang Can, the Flower Monk turned to Li Xiangming and said, "To be honest, Benefactor Li, although our cultivation is not bad, spirit stones are always scarce. Take a look at this secret technique of mine. I wonder if it can be used to offset 200 spirit stones?"

As he spoke, the Flower Monk tossed a jade scroll to Li Xiangming.

"Secret technique?"

Li Xiangming's heart stirred. Any technique that can be called a secret is a precious spell that cannot be revealed and has unparalleled effects.

Examples include the Flying Flame Wheel of the Li family, the Five Ghosts of the Geng family, and the Dragon Absorption Technique of the Mountain Moving Sect.

How could an ordinary Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator possess secret techniques?

While hesitating, Li Xiangming did not reach out to take it, but instead had the Blackwater Serpent coil around it with its tail.

Seeing that the Blackwater Serpent was normal, Li Xiangming then examined the jade pendant and found that it was indeed a secret technique inside.

This secret technique is called the Sun-Swallowing Turtle Breathing Method. It is a combination of turtle breathing techniques and visualization techniques, and can be described as a unique and unconventional approach.

Practitioners can prolong their breath through special breathing techniques. At a high level, one can sustain the body's functions for three days in a single breath, thus significantly extending lifespan.

To prevent practitioners from finding the monotonous breathing unbearable, a visualization technique has been specially added to the method, allowing practitioners to visualize the sun to assist their breathing and blur their sense of time, thereby achieving better cultivation results.

After a cursory reading, Li Xiangming found it quite commendable.

If one can truly achieve mastery of this technique, it will be far more effective than any longevity elixir.

However, the time required to master this secret technique is astonishing.

Even if one breathes for two hours every day, it still takes a hundred years to even begin to understand the basics.

To cultivate to the final state of one breath every three days would take no less than seven or eight hundred years.

Li Xiangming shook his head. This was indeed a secret technique, and extremely rare.

However, this does not apply to him, or to most cultivators.

Wouldn't it be better to use this time to meditate, absorb spiritual energy, and refine magical power?

As one's spiritual level increases, one's lifespan will naturally also increase.

If one forcibly cultivates life-extending techniques in order to live longer, abandoning the original path, then one has gone astray.

No wonder the Flower Monk was willing to offer it, even though it was only worth 200 spirit stones.

He probably thinks it's a waste of his own time and effort.
Although it was a useless item, Li Xiangming still accepted it.

He alone would not be willing to spend 200 spirit stones to buy the Sun-Swallowing Turtle Breathing Technique.

But he has a family behind him. Perhaps one of his descendants is destined to learn the Sun-Swallowing Turtle Breathing Technique and can successfully cultivate it without delaying his path?

With each new category of cultivation techniques added to the Sutra Repository, the Li family's descendants gain an extra chance for the future.

Seeing that Li Xiangming had accepted the useless Sun-Swallowing Turtle Breathing Technique from the Flower Monk, the other four people's eyes flickered.

They wouldn't give us spirit stones, but they would give us some unused items.

Not wanting to antagonize the Li family, Xie Daoren immediately took out a jade box and said, "This is a white immortal mushroom that I obtained by chance. It is the main ingredient for refining various second-tier healing pills."

Li Xiangming looked over and saw that the white sesame seed was at most 50 years old, and couldn't help but show a disdainful look.

Second-tier pills are precious, but they haven't been fully formed yet, have they?
A fifty-year-old white immortal mushroom would sell for at most ten or so spirit stones in the market, yet Xie Daoren wanted to use it to offset 200 spirit stones—utterly shameless. Xie Daoren had been watching Li Xiangming's expression closely; his face flushed slightly, and he took out several more jade boxes.

Only when the value of this batch of spiritual herbs reached around a hundred spirit stones did Li Xiangming stop haggling and accept them all.

The other three also learned Li Xiangming's bottom line from this, and no longer hesitated. Granny Lai took out ten feet of spirit cloth, and Zhang Can gave her a slightly damaged mid-grade magic artifact.

What surprised Li Xiangming the most was the mysterious person shrouded in clothes.

What he gave me was a large piece of lightning-struck wood.

It is more than ten times larger than the lightning-struck wood that Li Xiangming bought from Yu Liu.

In terms of value, only this piece of lightning-struck wood has the potential to sell for a real 200 spirit stones.

Having accepted gifts from the five men, Li Xiangming's expression softened considerably.

The two sides found an open space nearby and sat down to talk, just as the monk had suggested.

However, the subsequent conversation did not go smoothly.

Li Xiangming demanded that the five people swear an oath of faith, promising not to target Xiaolan Valley anymore.

However, Granny Lai and the others were about to establish their foundations and were afraid that they would be affected by the Dao Heart Oath, so they refused to take the oath no matter what.

In response, Li Xiangming also backed down.

They were only made to make ordinary vows.

At the same time, Li Xiangming also learned about the origins of the five people.

These five people were not from Heng State, but from Liusha County on the other side of Puyin Mountain.

Back then, when the Wuliang Sword Sect mobilized cultivators from Heng Kingdom to march south to fight demons, the cultivation world of the neighboring Nanhua Kingdom also actively responded.

Both sides fought their own battles. The Wuliang Sword Sect fought the main battle in the northwest of Puyin Mountain and eventually seized a large area of ​​demon land, which was incorporated into Linan Road and the four counties of Shunan Prefecture were established. The Nanhua Kingdom fought east of Puyin Mountain and named the conquered territory Liusha County.

Liusha County is not as large as Shunan Prefecture, only slightly larger than Pu County.

However, Pu County was larger than a typical prefecture in Heng State, so Liusha County was actually quite large as well.

Both being wild and untamed lands, and both nestled against Mount Puyin, Liusha County also absorbed a large number of cultivators who migrated from other parts of the Nanhua Kingdom.

It was under these circumstances that Granny Lai and the others arrived in Liusha County.

After decades of development, Liusha County has become increasingly prosperous, with numerous new cultivation forces emerging and forming a complex web of power.

Although Granny Lai and the others were independent cultivators, they still had their own strongholds, and Zhang Can, for example, had quite a few disciples under his command.

They have gradually moved away from the ranks of independent cultivators.

However, in recent years, a Beast Soul Sect has emerged in Liusha County.

This sect raises "blood beasts" using humans.

The so-called "blood beast" is a spirit pet that has regained its bestial nature.

Ideally, the more docile a spirit pet is, the better, because only in this way can it better obey the cultivator's commands.

But the Beast Soul Sect did the opposite.

The focus is on "beasts," with humans playing a secondary role.

All new cultivators must obey the will of their spirit pets.

They even refer to their spirit pets as their masters.

These people are eccentric, but their main cultivation technique, "Bright Beast Technique," is anything but simple.

The essence of the Beast Mastery Technique is to fully unleash the potential of your spirit pet.

Although everyone present felt that the Beast Soul Sect's decision to place spirit pets above cultivators was a misunderstanding.

However, their approach precisely aligns with the core essence of the Beast Cultivation Technique—connecting with the mind of one's spirit pet.

After being tamed, ordinary spirit pets are often not as strong as before.

However, under the meticulous care of the disciples of the Beast Soul Sect, the spirit pets have almost recovered all the power they had when they were demon cultivators.

Even more than that.

The disciples of the Beast Soul Sect tend to be numerous, each possessing at least two or three tamed spirit pets.

Some elite disciples even have more than five spirit pets.

These spirit pets combined are far more powerful than ordinary cultivators.

Therefore, the Beast Soul Sect dominated the southwest area of ​​Liusha County in just a few years.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so surprising, since every now and then, major families and sects rise to prominence.

Unfortunately, the disciples of the Beast Soul Sect feed demons with humans, and they specifically choose cultivators.

Which side has the most cultivators and is the easiest to capture?

Of course, it refers to the ubiquitous independent cultivators.

Even among rogue cultivators, who would willingly perish in the belly of a demon and become nourishment for someone else's spirit pet?
As a result, the independent cultivators in the southwest of Liusha County rose up in rebellion against the Beast Soul Sect.

The largest of these independent cultivator groups was the "Soul-Severing Alliance," which included Granny Lai, Monk Hua, and others.

According to Monk Hua, at its peak, the Soul-Severing Alliance once gathered thirteen rogue cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refining and the Great Perfection stage.

Those who have cultivated to this level as independent cultivators are all exceptionally gifted.

Unfortunately, the Beast Soul Sect they were dealing with was actually a Foundation Establishment sect.

Under the pressure of Foundation Establishment cultivators and a large number of "blood beasts," the Soul Severing Alliance lasted only three years before being disbanded, and even its leader became food for the blood beasts.

Granny Lai and the others who survived, in order to escape the pursuit of the Beast Soul Sect, risked crossing Puyin Mountain and arrived at Pu County of Heng Kingdom on the other side.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming understood completely.

These people in front of them were being relentlessly pursued by the Beast Soul Sect, and they were on edge.

Upon seeing Nie Rong, who was also at the ninth level of Qi Refining, in Xiaolan Valley, they immediately cowered in fear.

Only Zhang Can's apprentice was allowed to slowly probe Xiaolan Valley.

They weren't afraid of Nie Rong, but they worried that taking action would expose their whereabouts.

Seeing that he himself was in the same situation, the reason he repeatedly retreated from public life was, of course, because he was worried about retaliation from the Li family.

But the more important reason was that he was afraid of running away and attracting the attention of the Beast Soul Sect.

In other words, they won't easily fight to the bitter end unless they are absolutely certain of success.

Li Xiangming felt a slight sense of relief.

"Fellow Daoist Li also knows our origins. We are homeless people, and we only chose Xiaolan Valley because we had no other choice."

"Of course, we didn't know that Xiaolan Valley was owned by someone. If we had known, we certainly wouldn't have dared to disturb it. So this is actually a misunderstanding. Fortunately, Xiaolan Valley was unharmed, and the Chi family members are safe and sound. Why don't we just let this matter go?"

The Flower Monk said with a smile.

Li Xiangming pondered for a moment and then nodded.

Having already accepted the gift, it would be a bit much to keep clinging to the other person.

It might provoke the other party to do something desperate.

To some extent, the Li family shouldn't have provoked five cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"Guests are always welcome. Pudong may not be a large city, but it is a hospitable place. If you are not targeting Xiaolan Valley, the Li family would be happy to have you stay in Pudong."

"In that case, thank you, Benefactor Li."

The Flower Monk clasped his hands together and bowed slightly.

Although they verbally reconciled, Li Xiangming would not stop there.

He led Granny Lai and the others to Xiaolan Valley, where they met Jiang Liang and Chi Laiyi, who had stayed behind in the valley.

Chi Laiyi is Chi Laiyong's cousin and is currently the head of the Chi family.

Upon seeing Granny Lai and the others, Chi Laiyi was speechless and unable to utter a word.

This time, there were as many as five Qi Refining Level 9 cultivators targeting Xiaolan Valley.

These people, however, were brought by Li Xiangming to apologize to him and the Chi family one by one.

(End of this chapter)