Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 232 Welcoming the bride
Many others share the same troubles as Chi Laiyong.

Such as the Lingwu Sect, the Luo family of Shangqingyuan, and the Chen family of Baolong Valley, among other surrounding forces.

They didn't care about the younger generation's wedding, but as friendly neighbors, they naturally had to give them face, otherwise they would inevitably be remembered.

However, the purpose of the Li family's extravagant wedding was self-evident—to use this grand ceremony to reap the wealth of Pudong and to demonstrate their political influence.

Although the major powers were on good terms with the Li family, they did not want to watch the Li family grow stronger, so the gifts were carefully chosen, as they had to be expensive but not heavy.

"Father, are we really going to give 'Qingfeng' to the Li family?"

At the Luo family's residence in Shangqingyuan, Luo Silin, leading a spirited gray-blue horse, couldn't help but ask a question.

"Qingfeng is almost a hundred years old. There's no use for her in our family."

Luo Wantao also came over, stroking the horse's back with a reluctant expression, but his attitude was very firm.

In a sense, the Luo family is also a family that tames beasts.

However, the Luo family's beast-taming tradition is quite unique.

Their ancestors used to raise horses for the Longyuan Sect. Later, due to a change in the Longyuan Sect, they took four young fire-scaled foals and started their own business.

Initially, the Luo family's development was not smooth, because the Luo family's ancestor was just a minor figure in the early stage of Qi Refining. Although he could raise the Fire Kirin Steed, that was all. The Luo family itself did not have any beast-taming inheritance.

After decades of trials and tribulations, the Luo family finally discovered their own unique beast-taming heritage through the Fire Kirin Steed, and then began to make a name for themselves in the cultivation world.

The second generation of the Luo family cultivators produced a Foundation Establishment cultivator, which once brought the Luo family to its peak.

However, his good fortune was short-lived. After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, he led some of his clansmen into the internal strife of the Dragon Abyss Sect, only to find himself on the wrong side and tragically killed.

The remaining cultivators, seeing the ancestral lamps in the shrine going out one by one, immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and sought refuge in Zhangning Prefecture from Hanjiang Prefecture.

Since then, the Luo family has declined and has not produced another Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Decades ago, the Luo family followed in the footsteps of the Wuliang Sword Sect and participated in the Battle of Nanbin, attempting to gain benefits from the war and change the status quo.

However, due to the small number of elite cultivators in the Luo family, the number of demons killed was far less than a thousand.

Naturally, they would not receive the promise from the Boundless Sword Sect to give them a spiritual vein.

However, the Luo family still chose to relocate to Pu County, even at a great cost, to buy Shangqingyuan from Hengyuemen.

The reason is simple—Shangqingyuan is one of the few plains in Pudong, which is more suitable for raising Fire-Scaled Horses than the Luo family's residence in Zhangning Prefecture.

The larger the Fire Kirin Steed is, the higher the Luo family's income will be.

With higher incomes, the cultivation of disciples within the clan will no longer be a problem.

Ultimately, these people will give back to their families.

To achieve a win-win situation.

Therefore, a good family residence is of utmost importance.

Although the Luo family has its own beast-taming heritage, this heritage is closely related to the Fire Kirin Steed.

They can only tame the Fire-Scaled Steed.

Adult Fire-Scaled Steeds generally do not reach the Spirit Awakening stage in strength.

In other words, the Fire Kirin Steed cannot even be considered a demon cultivator; it can only be barely classified as a demon beast.

With such meager strength, even if tamed into a spirit pet, it wouldn't be of any help to the cultivator.

But the Fire-Scaled Steed is clever and hardworking, and can easily travel two thousand miles a day.

It is an excellent mount.

Even the powerful Nascent Soul sect, Longyuan Sect, is raising them.

The Luo family initially amassed their fortune by selling Fire-Scaled Steeds, eventually establishing their own cultivation family.

Several years ago, the Li family also considered bringing in the Luo family's Fire-Scaled Steed as a riding pet.

However, the Luo family hesitated and gave the reason that the number of Fire-Scaled Horses they could tame was limited, and in the end, they only sent four castrated stallions to the Li family.

The Li family thus understood the Luo family's intentions.

The Fire-Scaled Steed can travel two thousand miles a day. How far is Dangui Mountain from Shangqing Plain?

If the Li family equips its cultivators with Fire-Scaled Steeds, they can reach the Luo family's city walls in two days without expending any of the cultivators' magical power.

The Luo family was willing to sell the Fire Kirin Steed to powerful forces like the White Dew Sect and the Eternal Moon Sect, and also to independent cultivators in Pushui Market, but they refused to sell it in Pudong—they were worried that the Fire Kirin Steed would turn against them.

The Li family had no choice but to send Li Xiangming to Pushui Market to take a look.

Ultimately, Li Xiangming introduced the rare Blue-backed Demon Lizard.

"Qingfeng is a purebred Fire-Scaled Steed, more than ten times more precious than an ordinary Fire-Scaled Steed. However, it is too old to reproduce, so it can be given as a congratulatory gift. The Li family can't say anything about it, and it may even resolve the grudges between us from the past."

Speaking of the grudges, Luo Wantao sighed slightly.

Although refusing to sell the Firehorse to the Li family was a decision unanimously made by the family's senior members, he did not regret it.

However, as the head of the family, he had to consider the Li family's attitude and opinion on this matter.

On the surface, Li Qianxiong didn't seem to care, and his other collaborations with the Luo family continued to go smoothly.

But since then, the two companies have not had any new collaborations.

Meanwhile, the Chen family of Baolong Valley and the Li family have become increasingly close.

It is said that one of Chen Zhonghe's daughters is also engaged to a son of the Li family.

The two families will soon become in-laws.

Naturally, Luo Wantao was anxious.

Giving Qingfeng to the Li family was a last resort.

Only by eliminating any misunderstandings can the Luo family be prevented from being isolated in Pudong.

After listening to Luo Wantao's explanation, Luo Silin nodded silently.

Looking at Luo Silin's handsome appearance, which was completely unlike his own, Luo Wantao asked in a low voice, "Silin, you're not getting any younger. Do you have a girl in mind?"

The Li family is using the system of arranged marriages to continuously strengthen its influence.

The Luo family also has some talented members who are favored by others.

Why not learn from the Li family?
Upon hearing this, Luo Silin gently raised his head, a hint of hesitation flashing across his face.

Luo Wantao was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "Is it really true? But whose daughter is she?"

"You won't like it."

Luo Silin shook his head.

How am I supposed to know if I like someone or not if you don't tell me?

Luo Wantao frowned.

After a moment of silence, Luo Silin said in a barely audible voice, "I like Tang Xueyan."

"Tang Xueyan?"

Luo Wantao racked his brains and finally recalled the woman who caused trouble at the first Changyang Valley Martial Arts Competition.

If I remember correctly, her name is Tang Xueyan.

I later heard that he had joined some kind of service institute of the Li family.

He served the Li family as a non-family cultivator.

Once he understood all this, Luo Wantao's face instantly darkened: "Silin, how could you like her? Have you had contact with her?"

"She often came to Changyang Valley to exchange for pills, and that's how I got to know her."

Luo Silin lowered his head.

"No wonder you volunteer for every Changyang Valley gathering."

Luo Wantao was somewhat annoyed and retorted, "But didn't she already have a senior brother?"

He vaguely remembered that Tang Xueyan had caused a scene at the martial arts competition because of her senior brother Nie Rongcai.

The Chen family was also involved, and they lost all face.

"He's just a senior brother; I feel their relationship is more like family."

"It doesn't feel useful!"

Luo Wantao shouted sternly, "The Luo family will not allow married women to enter the house."

Even if Tang Xueyan is innocent, the Luo family wants marriage partners like the Cao family of Qingliang Mountain or the Li family of Danggui Mountain.

Tang Xueyan is just a mere rogue cultivator, and even her place of residence was provided by the Li family. How could she be worthy of Luo Silin?

Seeing Luo Wantao's agitation, Luo Silin paused for a moment, then his eyes dimmed: "I'm going to cultivate."

Watching Luo Silin's retreating figure, Luo Wantao hesitated for a moment, then immediately called out, "From now on, you will stay at home and cultivate in peace. You are not allowed to go to Changyang Valley."

Upon hearing this, Luo Silin paused, then remained silent and continued walking away.
-
At Danggui Mountain, the Li family's wedding procession was all ready.

The team was led by the third uncle, Li Chenggeng, with elders Li Chengzhi and Li Chenglu as his deputies.

The main force of the team consists of key members of the guesthouse, led by Li Qianyou.

Lee Sang-in, who also wanted to join in the fun.

Including Li Xiangming, who is the main character, there are a total of eleven people.

To demonstrate their sincerity, the Li family prepared an extremely generous betrothal gift. Aside from the spirit stones for the betrothal ceremony, there were ten pieces of various jewelry and magical artifacts; two hundred catties of spirit wine; one hundred catties of spirit tea; five hundred bolts of spirit cloth; and numerous other miscellaneous items.

In addition, there are two boxes of various spiritual herbs and medicines; half a box each of various pills and talismans; one high-grade combat magic weapon; one second-tier array plate; one box of lapis lazuli; one box of earth-treasure stone; and half a box each of thatch crystal and purple cicada cloud sand.

For good luck, the Li family even bought two wild goose spirit pets.

These things combined are enough to make any Foundation Establishment cultivator envious.

The Li family spent a full six months preparing before they could raise the funds.

It is evident that, driven by the current situation, the Li family attaches no less importance to this marriage than the Cao family.

There's no way to fit all these things into storage bags.

For the sake of efficiency, the Li family specially mobilized all six of the blue-backed demon lizards they had purchased.

The Blue-backed Demon Lizard is enormous and has incredible stamina; it can still ride in a vehicle fully loaded with goods.

The Li family members sat in pairs at one end of the carriage, while Li Xiangming sat alone at the other end.

The group headed towards Daishan, intending to leave the county via Dahuang Town and then enter Qingshui County.

After two days of travel, the Li family's convoy's whereabouts were inevitably discovered.

In Pudong, the Li family's name was very useful.

Both Changyang Valley and Puyin Mountain are well-known.

The first thing everyone will do is find out about the Li family of Danggui Mountain.

But it's different in Daishan.

The cultivators of Mount Dai follow the lead of the Soul Suppressing Sect and the Victory Intent Sect. In the eyes of most people, other forces are merely pawns of the two sects.

Therefore, no one paid attention to the "Angelica Mountain Plum" banner that the Li family had erected.

Every now and then, cultivators would come to covet it.

These petty thieves were mostly of average strength, and even Li Chenggeng and Li Xiangren didn't need to take action themselves; the clerks could handle them on their own.

However, as one wave of casualties and cripples are dealt with, another wave arrives.

This caused the Li family members endless annoyance.

Moreover, it was quite obvious to the Li family that these people were not a group.

"The rampant plundering of cultivators in Daishan is inseparable from the involvement of the Zhenhun Sect and the Shengyi Sect."

Li Chenggeng said coldly.

The calamities of those who have been afflicted never return, and continue to occur in endless succession.

This shows how much the war had harmed the local monks.

The cultivation world is very different from the mortal world, but it also has similarities.

For ordinary people, staying alive is the most important thing.

For cultivators, a lifespan of a hundred years is no longer a concern.

Their pursuit is to live for thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, or even to attain immortality.

All of these require continuous practice and dedication to achieve.

Even with spiritual roots, the efficiency of meditation and breathing exercises remains low.

Cultivators must rely on external forces such as elixirs to nourish themselves, so as to reach a higher realm within a limited time.

If not, then it's just waiting to die.

Under this theory, elixirs are the food of the cultivation world.

You will starve to death if you don't eat.

This is a truth that everyone understands.

Cultivators naturally understand this, which is why they desperately accumulate spiritual pills and go to great lengths for their cultivation path.

The simplest way to obtain elixirs is to buy them with spirit stones.

However, the situation in Daishan was in disarray, and the two sects controlled the flow of spirit stones.

They also coerced various cultivation resources to flow into the battlefield continuously.

Only by participating in both wars can one obtain resources.

However, not everyone desires to go to the battlefield, so these people set their sights on cultivators passing through Dai Mountain, resulting in the current situation of rampant Tribulation Cultivators.

“When I last came to Daishan, I did not see so many cultivators who had undergone countless tribulations.”

Lee Sang-in said slowly.

"Perhaps it's related to that matter."

Li Chenglu coughed.

The so-called "matter" naturally refers to the Li family's ambush of the Mountain Moving Sect.

This matter was kept extremely secret; at least many of the guests in the guesthouse present were unaware of it.

Li Chenglu only touched on the topic briefly and did not elaborate further.

Li Xiangren realized what was happening and burst into laughter, saying, "It feels like I've tried to win but ended up losing more than I gained."

The two engagements have not met expectations, but we can only say that things are progressing in a positive direction.

However, the Li family's wedding procession was genuinely affected.

The cultivators are easily defeated, but the betrothal gifts are important.

No one knows how Jie Xiu planned it, or whether there will be similar sneak attacks later.

Therefore, the Li family is very cautious.

He walked very slowly, looking back every few steps.

After an unknown amount of time, several more people appeared ahead.

Li Chenggeng snorted coldly, intending to take action himself.

On a day of great joy for Xiangming, he would not kill anyone, but he would still make sure that the other party lost the opportunity to pursue their path.

Just as he was about to leave, Li Xiangming looked out, recognized the person, and quickly stopped him, saying, "Third Uncle, wait a moment, this is the person I invited."

The group of men were dressed in different ways. The leader, wearing a yellow robe and with a wealthy and noble appearance, sported a comical mustache. He was none other than Zhao Jindou.

"Steward Li is about to have a joyous occasion, and I, Zhao, have come to see him off!"

Zhao Jindou shouted, and everyone in the Li family looked over, curious about him.

Li Xiangming jumped off the Green-backed Demon Lizard and exchanged pleasantries with Zhao Jindou.

He had long anticipated that Dai Shan Jie Xiu would be as insignificant as grass.

The reason we specifically invited Zhao Jindou over was to have him escort us for a while.

Zhao Jindou's strength is far inferior to that of the Li family, but as long as his banner is raised, the trouble will be reduced by 80%.

This is the role of a local strongman.

"Mr. Zhao looks radiant; he must have made a fortune these past few days!"

Li Xiangming gave a half-smile.

"Haha, nothing can be hidden from Steward Li, no, Hall Master Li!"

Zhao Jindou was beaming with pride, extremely pleased with himself. Ever since he drove away Zhang Mazi, Puyin Mountain had become his backyard.

Although Puyinshan Guild Hall was founded by Li Xiangming, he made it clear from the beginning that it was not a commercial organization.

The Li family will not force the guild to engage in any specific commercial activities.

Instead, the platform establishes rules that everyone is willing to follow.

This move was unanimously approved by the traveling merchants.

Everyone banded together to seek benefits under the same rules.

Zhao Jindou was the one who profited the most.

Simply put, it's the largest in size.

Not to mention that Zhao Jindou also served as the president, wielding immense power.

Although the number of itinerant merchants in the Puyinshan Guild Hall is increasing, now numbering no less than a hundred, it has diluted Zhao Jindou's influence.

But Zhao Jindou was not angry; on the contrary, he was pleased. He believed that running a business was simply a matter of going with the flow.

The more people there are, the more funds there are, and the more things can be accomplished.

Zhao Jindou was eager to make his mark and held a grand event at Puyin Mountain, becoming even more famous than before. He not only earned a lot of spirit stones but also established his own "Jindou Chamber of Commerce," no longer considering himself a traveling merchant.

He thought Puyin Mountain was his blessed land, but he never expected that the Zhenhun Sect and Shengyi Sect would clash again.

Zhao Jindou immediately led the Jindou Chamber of Commerce back to Daishan and made a fortune from the war.

Now he has become the most talked-about person in Daishan for a time.

(End of this chapter)