Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 360 Dispute
Somewhere in Dai Mountain, a young cultivator dressed in a green robe looked around before stepping into the canyon ahead.

The entrance to the canyon is covered by dense vines and wild plants, as if it were a gateway to another world. The canyon is flanked by towering cliffs that reach into the clouds. The rocks have been eroded by time and have taken on all sorts of strange shapes. A clear stream meanders through the canyon, flowing freely.

The green-robed cultivator gently stirred the stream water, then sank in and disappeared completely.

After an unknown amount of time, the green-robed cultivator slipped into the underground riverbed, walked several hundred steps, and stopped in front of an inconspicuous stone wall.

He turned the array plate in his hand, and the stone wall suddenly opened up, revealing a hole half a person high.

Inside, there was a semi-circular cave about ten steps wide. The cave walls were not smooth, but rather uneven, with some pebbles hanging on them, like a newly opened cave. The whole cave was filled with a fine, heavy earthy smell.

Fortunately, several glowing talismans were pasted on the wall, providing ample light so that the place wasn't too shabby.

At this moment, a black-robed monk was already sitting cross-legged in the cave.

However, as if he had heard the noise, the black-robed cultivator trembled, spat out a mouthful of blood, and became completely weak.

"Chief Liu acted far too impulsively this time."

Li Xiangming sized up the other party and sighed softly.

Although Liu Xiongyu was at a disadvantage in his battle with Elder Luo, he remained unharmed thanks to his constant stream of trump cards.

From this perspective, Li Xiangming was also extremely impressed.

If it were him, he would probably be stabbed through the heart by Elder Luo as soon as he stepped onto the stage.

However, Elder Luo was simply too powerful.

His Azure Soul Sword actually carried a soul attack.

Moreover, Elder Luo was quite cunning. In order to achieve an unexpected effect, he was willing to expend many talismans rather than reveal the true power of the Jade Soul Sword in advance.

Liu Xiongyu probably still held onto a sliver of hope of winning until the very end.

Little did they know, they had fallen right into Elder Luo's trap.

Although he was only hit by one move, the damage to his soul was extraordinary.

Liu Xiong Yu is currently in a state of mental and physical turmoil, unable to even meditate and regulate his breathing. Forcing himself into a meditative state, as he is doing now, results in him being unable to control the magical power within his body and instead suffering harm from it.

This is considered a relatively good outcome. If his soul had been damaged even more, Liu Xiongyu might have lost his mind altogether and become a complete "cripple".

Of course, if Li Xiangming hadn't intervened, Liu Xiongyu wouldn't even have been qualified to be a "useless person."

Judging from Elder Luo's ruthless attitude, Liu Xiong Yu will probably die on the spot, and afterwards even his body will be taken back to the Zhenhun Sect for research, never to have peace.

"I was arrogant!"

Liu Xiong Yu coughed twice, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes extremely gloomy.

He thought that by cultivating the legendary Yin Sha magic and mastering the unique smoke escape technique, he could deal with the inner elders of the Zhenhun Sect.

Unexpectedly, Elder Luo's magical artifact was exactly the counter to his smoke escape technique, leaving him nowhere to hide.

Without the aid of the smoke escape technique, he couldn't get close to Elder Luo at all, and therefore couldn't unleash the powerful effects of the Yin Sha magic.

It can be said that his two most prized methods were completely ineffective in front of Elder Luo.

These things could not be told to outsiders. He looked at Li Xiangming and thanked him, saying, "I owe you a lot this time. Otherwise, I would have been ruined. I owe you a favor. I will do anything I can for you."

Li Xiangming's eyes flickered.

He dared to snatch food from Luo Changhu's mouth only because he was deliberately scheming against him.

But Elder Luo was no pushover either; in a fit of rage, he destroyed the tunnel with a single blow.

The powerful magic of the Azure Soul Sword stunned the Black Water Serpent.

Fortunately, Li Xiangming came to the rescue in time, throwing down several Four Symbols Talismans, which saved the Black Water Serpent and Liu Xiong Yu.

Perhaps due to the unclear situation, Elder Luo did not personally take the risk, but instead controlled the Jade Soul Sword to attack wildly.

But this undoubtedly gave Li Xiangming an opportunity. In the end, he escaped from Xiaoping Mountain by using the Earth Escape Talisman and has been here for several days.

The main reason he risked his life to save Liu Xiongyu was because he was worried that the legacy of Ziyin Cave would never be revealed.

If he had any requests, he only wanted the key that Liu Xiong Yu possessed, which could open the Purple Yin Cave.

However, this request is meaningless.

Li Xiangming knew Liu Xiongyu's character fairly well, if not completely.

Despite Liu Xiong Yu's confident pronouncements, his mention of personal favors rather than gratitude for saving his life reveals his true intentions.

repay?

Only when you do what you can will you have the thought of repaying.

Making this guy hand over the key to the Purple Shade Cave is no different from taking his life.

Li Xiangming knew without a doubt that Liu Xiong Yu would never agree.

Having witnessed the other party's strength, Li Xiangming dared not resort to violence.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; although Liu Xiong Yu's soul was injured and he could not use his magic power at will.

But that doesn't mean he's completely helpless. If he were to forcefully detonate his internal magic power with the mindset of trading his life for his own, it would be enough to take Li Xiangming down with him.

Li Xiangming was genuinely afraid of this. Although Liu Xiongyu was very selfish and cherished his own life, he came from the Mang Sect and had fought his way up through the ranks. He was able to fight against three veteran Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Zhenhun Sect with his newly advanced mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation, which showed that he was never stingy with his strength and was not afraid of death.

After thinking for a moment, Li Xiangming slowly said, "Putting personal relationships aside for now, the reason I came to Daishan this time is to ask you about Gao Can. He has become manic and irritable, often losing his temper and attacking others indiscriminately."

Before Li Xiangming could finish describing Gao Can's condition, Liu Xiongyu immediately interrupted, saying, "This is a side effect of taking the Ascension Herb."

"Ascension Grass?"

Li Xiangming frowned; he had never heard of this thing before.

Liu Xiongyu took out a prescription from his storage bag and handed it to Li Xiangming: "According to the records on it, prepare the medicinal materials, refine them into a plaster, and apply it to his body during the month to relieve the symptoms."

Li Xiangming took the prescription, read it through, and then asked, "Can't it cure the disease completely?"

"It depends on his own fate."

Liu Xiong Yu shook his head: "If he can break through to the Golden Core stage, the Ascension Grass can become his help, allowing him to soar to the sky. If not, he will suffer for the rest of his life."

Li Xiangming gave Liu Xiongyu a deep look. Even he didn't recognize the Immortal Ascension Grass, so how could Gao Can know?

Needless to say, Liu Xiongyu tricked Gao Can into eating this.

The so-called soaring to great heights is nothing but empty talk.

If it truly is a spiritual herb with unlimited potential, how could Chief Liu possibly give it up?
On the surface, Liu Xiong Yu's reason was high-sounding: to use the Immortal Herb to cultivate Gao Can.

In reality, this is a powerful means of control.

Without Liu Xiong Yu's prescription, no matter how extraordinary Gao Can's talent or how strong his cultivation, it would all be in vain, and he would only be able to spend his remaining years in the beast prison in darkness.

Fortunately, Liu Xiongyu couldn't care less about Gao Can right now. He didn't want to ruin Gao Can, whom he had painstakingly nurtured, so easily. Or perhaps he was mindful of Li Xiangming's life-saving grace and handed over the prescription without reservation.

Li Xiangming put the prescription away and casually asked, "Where's Ma Wu? Gao Can is in Danggui Mountain and often mentions him."

Liu Xiongyu paused for a moment, then calmly said, "Dead."

Li Xiangming was somewhat taken aback and couldn't help but glance at him.

Ma Wu was an ordinary person with average talent and cultivation, and he was also timid and cowardly. No one would criticize him for being a rogue cultivator.

However, under Liu Xiong Yu's command, he seemed somewhat incompetent.

Just imagine, what kind of people did Liu Xiong Yu deal with? The Mang Cult, the Li family, the Zhenhun Sect, the Shengyi Sect, and so on.
Compared to these forces, Ma Wu was like a drop in the ocean, unable to play any significant role. Although he was known as Liu Xiong Yu's trusted general, he was in reality just a follower.

However, Liu Xiongyu always took good care of Ma Wu.

Not only did he personally teach him Taoist arts, but he also consumed just as many pills and spiritual materials as Gao Can.

According to what Li Xiangming learned from interrogating Ma Wu, Ma Wu was the true heir of Huanyun Village, and both his parents were disciples of Huanyun Village. Liu Xiong Yu was actually the son-in-law of Huanyun Village.

For reasons unknown, Huanyun Village was wiped out in a single day.

Ma Wu was spared because he was young and had not yet truly entered the village.

Twenty years later, Liu Xiong Yu, the son-in-law, suddenly returned to the old place and took Ma Wu away, which led to the new Huan Yun Village.

The story from back then is difficult to recreate, and Li Xiangming wasn't particularly interested in it.

But without a doubt, only Huanyun Village with Ma Wu can be called Huanyun Village.

In front of outsiders, Liu Xiongyu often referred to himself as the chief of the village, which shows the status of Huanyun Village in his mind. Ma Wu, who represents the orthodoxy of Huanyun Village, naturally also carries a different weight.

Now Ma Wu is dead, and most likely he died at the hands of the Soul Suppressing Sect.

No wonder Liu Xiongyu knowingly ventured into dangerous territory.

His relentless fighting at Xiaoping Mountain might also be motivated by a desire to avenge Ma Wu.
Upon learning of Ma Wu's death, Li Xiangming felt a pang of regret. He had tried to tamper with Ma Wu in an attempt to retaliate against Liu Xiong Yu, but his efforts were wasted before he could use them.

However, it was just something he did on a whim, so he quickly put it out of his mind and changed the subject, saying, "I have limited time and must return to Danggui Mountain immediately. What are your plans, Chief Liu?"

"Help me find the Taoist Qingyang and ask him for some pills to repair my soul."

Liu Xiong Yu coughed twice more and said, "I can't leave Daishan yet. You can keep this jade. If you come to stay in Daishan in the future, I will come to find you."

Li Xiangming didn't accept it; he didn't want it.

Since Liu Xiong Yu could find him in Dai Mountain, he could naturally find him in Dang Gui Mountain or other places as well.

Liu Xiongyu was afraid that his whereabouts would be exposed, but wasn't he afraid too?

"I am willing to offer one hundred spirit stones, or an equivalent item, for one Herb God Pill."

Liu Xiongyu said slowly.

Without further hesitation, Li Xiangming put the jade into his pocket and said with a smile, "Chief Liu, take good care of your injuries. Ziyin Cave can't do without you."
-
After leaving Daishan, Li Xiangming rushed back to Dangguishan without stopping.

But before he could even settle in, Li Qianxiong summoned him to the Changlin Room.

"This is."

There were quite a few people in Changlin's house, including several clan elders.

Li Qianliang, who was in charge of the guest room, also stood to one side.

Li Chenglu said half-jokingly, "Xiangming, your Foreign Affairs Hall can't do without you as the hall master."

Li Xiangming was slightly surprised, and Li Qianliang quickly presented him with a jade slip.

Li Xiangming placed it close to his brow, and after a while, he couldn't help but frown.

The contents of the jade slip were very simple. In essence, a force called the Huang family of Jinqianling filed a lawsuit against the Chen family of Baolong Valley, claiming that the Chen family had forcibly seized a piece of the Huang family's spiritual wood.

Therefore, the Huang family hoped that the Li family could uphold justice and make the Chen family return the spirit wood. They used very careful wording, even mentioning that they would offer the spirit wood as tribute to the Li family.

The Huang family only settled in Pu County a few years ago. They have no spiritual veins, but relying on their outstanding strength, they forcibly drove away a small sect south of Danggui Mountain, occupied a spiritual spring, and renamed the location of the spiritual spring as Jinqianling.

Jinqianling is very close to Baolong Valley, and not far from Xiaolangu Valley either.

The Huang family was very aware of the crisis and was also very clever. As soon as they established themselves, they sent envoys to visit Dangui Mountain, hoping to offer some cultivation resources in order to gain the protection of the Li family.

Just then, the Li family was also expanding their influence.

They invested heavily in the guesthouse and also won over a large number of new affiliated forces.

The arrival of the Huang family was perfectly timed.

The two sides hit it off.

From then on, the Huang family became a vassal of the Li family.

However, the Huang family was highly autonomous and only paid tribute.

The two sides rarely interacted on a regular basis.

The Chen family of Baolong Valley were active participants in the Nanbin battlefield back then, and their initial involvement in the war was for the spiritual veins.

Unfortunately, the clan has no Foundation Establishment cultivators, limiting its overall strength.

When the war finally ended, the Chen family's accumulated merits were insufficient to exchange for a spiritual vein, so they had no choice but to choose Baolong Valley, a territory that possessed a spiritual pool.

Despite the vast disparity in strength between the Li and Chen families, they shared a deep mutual respect due to their joint participation in the Battle of Nanbin, and their relationship has been very close since they first settled in Puxian County.

The Chen family, the Luo family of Shangqingyuan, and the Lingwu Sect are all considered allies of equal status with the Li family.

Now that the Huang family has sued the Chen family, the shopkeeper is in a dilemma, unsure of whom to help.

Li Qianliang dared not make the decision himself, so he reported it to the clan elders' council.

Unexpectedly, the clan elders were also debating the matter and were unable to make a decision for a long time.

Li Qianxiong had no choice but to convene a meeting at Changlinfang to continue discussing the matter.

"Is it really the Huang family's spirit wood?"

After learning what had happened, Li Xiangming asked a question.

Li Qianliang shook his head: "How can we say for sure now? The Chen family says they were the first to discover the spirit tree, while the Huang family says that this spirit tree has been under the actual control of Jinqianling for a long time. Our people went to check, and the location of the spirit tree is indeed near Jinqianling."

"Are there any casualties?"

Li Xiangming continued to ask.

Li Qianliang immediately nodded: "The spirit wood is currently controlled by the Chen family. The Huang family sent people to seize it but failed and suffered considerable casualties."

Li Xiangming pondered for a moment, also finding it somewhat troublesome.

The Huang family was weak, but with the Li family as their backer, they were naturally very unwilling, which is why they sent people to ask for help.

But if the Li family helps, they will have to break ties with the Chen family.

It should be noted that what the Huang family offered to the Li family were only some dispensable spiritual herbs and spiritual rice.

However, the Chen family and the Li family have many cooperative matters.

The two sides are not on the same level in terms of interests.

However, this issue cannot be considered solely from the perspective of interests.

It also involves reputation and a sense of belonging.

After all, if you don't even care about your own vassals, who will dare to follow you in the future?

At the same time, this matter also involves a conflict between old and new factions.

The conflict between the Huang and Chen families may have been accidental, but for the Li family, it was inevitable.

As Dahuang Town opened up, more and more cultivation families and sects established themselves in Pudong. They naturally became adversaries of the Chen family, Luo family, and Lingwu Sect, which had settled in Pu County long ago.

Is the Li family trying to unite the old forces like the Chen family into their own circle, or is it hoping to gain the loyalty of new forces like the Huang family?

(End of this chapter)