Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 361 Arrangement
Li Xiangming raised his head, his gaze meeting Li Qianxiong's, and he knew in his heart that the other party must have already made up his mind.

However, as the head of the family, whatever decisions Li Qianxiong makes, he must provide evidence that will convince the clan members.

His judgment as the head of the Foreign Affairs Department undoubtedly has important reference value.

Not only Li Qianxiong, but everyone, including the clan elders, was quietly waiting for him to give his opinion.

Li Xiangming, without any burden, spoke directly: "I suggest we put this matter aside for now and see how things develop."

Upon hearing this, Li Qianxiong and the others all appeared deep in thought.

Li Xiangming's strategy of "delaying" undoubtedly favors the Chen family.

After all, the spirit wood now belongs to the Chen family. The longer it drags on, the greater the benefits the Chen family will gain from the spirit wood, and the less willing they will be to let go. This will make it more difficult for the Huang family to take back the spirit wood.

“We can afford to wait, but the Huang family can’t.”

Li Chengweng couldn't help but say, "This move will inevitably cause strong dissatisfaction from the Huang family. If they gossip, it may have a bad impact on us."

Li Xiangming shook his head: "Things have come to this point, and there is no way to have both. We can only choose the lesser of two evils."

How could the Li family possibly stand up for the Huang family and demonstrate their authority as the clan leader, while also preventing the Chen family from suffering losses and lest it affect the long-standing cooperative relationship between the two families?
The best approach is to pretend you don't know and remain neutral.

Afterwards, the Chen family will be grateful for the Li family's silence, while the Huang family, though they suffered in silence and are dissatisfied with the Li family, will dare to retaliate against them?

Not only would they not dare, but they might even continue to act as "vassals" out of fear of being coveted by outsiders again—even though the Li family, as the patriarch, does not seem to play a real role.

Of course, as Li Chengweng said, it would be somewhat unpleasant to hear that the Li family doesn't care about its vassals.

But compared to direct benefits, reputation seems slightly less important.

After all, this thing is perceived differently by different people.

The Huang family felt that the Li family had broken their promise, but this did not affect the fact that the non-family cultivators of the Service Institute could continue to serve the Li family.

As long as the Li family deliberately maintains its image and gains the trust of most cultivators, it will be enough to command widespread support.

However, this is not a long-term solution.

The Huang family is an isolated case and cannot affect the Li family's relatively good image for the time being. However, if the Li family continues to neglect its vassals, when the last snowflake falls, the Li family's reputation will collapse like an avalanche, and everyone will avoid it.

At that time, the Li family's diplomatic environment will become extremely severe, and it may take hundreds of times more effort than it does now to turn the situation around.

Li Xiangming naturally wouldn't let such a thing happen. He said in a deep voice, "The head of the guesthouse is very dedicated to his work and has won over many emerging small forces for the family. However, these forces do not interact with each other, which eventually leads to conflicts, and we are the ones who are caught in a dilemma."

"After this incident, the family should regularly invite them to Changyang Valley to sit down and talk, and establish some principles, at least to prevent scenes of family members fighting each other. Families like the Chen and Huang families, who have already suffered injuries and deaths, are only now rushing to us for justice. Both sides are highly emotional; how can we handle this properly?"

Li Xiangming's words made sense, and everyone present felt the same way.

Li Qianxiong, the head of the family, slammed his hand on the table and said, "That's exactly right! Xiangming, your Foreign Affairs Hall needs to submit a plan to me regarding this matter."

Li Xiangming nodded in agreement.

Li Qianxiong then looked at the other clan elders: "Xiangming is right, when faced with two evils, choose the lesser. Qianyou's point is also that we cannot favor the Huang family. We cannot abandon the Chen family, our long-time ally, just because of the title of vassal. Now that the two heads of the Foreign Affairs Hall are in agreement, do you have anything else to say?"

The elders exchanged glances but remained silent.

Li Qianxiong then instructed Li Qianliang: "Are the Huang family's envoys still here? Put in extra effort to tell them that there are monsters causing trouble on Puyin Mountain, and that we are busy suppressing the monsters and have no time for anything else. Try to phrase it as tactfully as possible."

"As ordered!"
-
"what!!"

"It's so hot! It's burning!"

In the dim cave, a series of hoarse roars pierced the silence, and the chains clanged crisply with each struggle, as if accompanying this symphony of suffering.

"Xiangming, is this ointment really effective?"

Li Chengpei asked with a furrowed brow.

Before him, Gao Can's skin was red from the irritation of the ointment, and his sweat mixed with the ointment, causing his body to tremble continuously. Each tremor was accompanied by an even more shrill roar.

This state has lasted for more than half an hour.

Strictly speaking, Gao Chan wasn't actually experiencing a psychotic episode; he still possessed the ability to organize his thoughts and could howl. But in this state, how was he any different from someone who had gone mad?
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming remained silent.

Following the prescription given by Liu Xiongyu, he gathered all the medicinal herbs in the storeroom and successfully brewed a bowl of ointment. However, he never expected that the ointment would cause such a violent reaction when applied to Gao Can's body.

Looking at Gao Can's contorted, pained face, Li Xiangming felt a chill run down his spine.

He couldn't imagine what Gao Can had been going through over the past ten years.

And why can she still openly smile foolishly in front of him?

"Just wait and see."

Li Xiangming whispered something.

Gao Can's current illness has not only delayed his cultivation, but also made it impossible for him to maintain a normal life.

Even if Liu Xiongyu's method is unreliable, we have no choice but to try it as a last resort.

Time passed second by second, and Gao Can's screams finally subsided, and he drifted off to sleep.

Lee Sang-myung stepped forward to check on him, and after confirming that Ko Chan had lost consciousness, he gestured for Lee Sung-bae to come closer.

A moment later, Li Chengpei stood up, his expression strange.

"How's it going?"

Li Xiangming asked hurriedly.

Li Chengpei pondered for a moment before slowly replying, "It seems to have some effect. Putting aside everything else, at least his pulse is much more stable than before, but we still need to observe him for a few more days before we can draw a conclusion."

Li Xiangming felt slightly relieved, knowing that Liu Xiong Yu's prescription couldn't possibly be fabricated.

Otherwise, Gao Can wouldn't be alive today.

"Thank you for your help these past few days, Uncle Eleven."

Li Xiangming bowed to Li Chengpei.

Li Chengpei waved his hand: "Don't worry, the old man also wants to cure him! By the way, the prescription you brought back is quite interesting. Some of the herbs aren't rare, but they seem to have played a peculiar role."

Looking at the somewhat eccentric Li Chengpei, Li Xiangming smiled knowingly.

An old house where a treasure!
This eleventh-ranking uncle of the Cheng generation had studied medicine for many years and was highly experienced, making great contributions to the Li family. Although he did not directly cure Gao Can, it was merely due to his limited perspective.

He had never even heard of the herb, so how could he prescribe the right medicine based on the symptoms it caused? Now that he had the prescription and saw that Gao Can was getting better, he suddenly understood.

It is fortunate for the Li family to have such a dedicated and diligent doctor.

Or rather, it is precisely because the Cheng generation set an example and devoted themselves to the family that the Li family is what it is today.
Just as they were reflecting on this, a young cultivator rushed in.

"Brother, we've arrived at Green Cloud Cave!"

"Where are you?"

Li Xiangming quickly asked.

After returning from Daishan, he calculated the time and felt that Zhang Min and the others should be arriving soon.

Therefore, Li Xiangzhen was arranged to wait at Changyang Valley.

Sure enough, the news came just two or three days later.

Li Xiangzhen replied, "We have arrived at Changyang Valley. I have arranged for them to stay in the valley for the time being, but they want to see you as soon as possible, so I rushed back to report."

"Want to see me as soon as possible?" Li Xiangming frowned slightly. He apologized to Li Chengpei and flew towards Changyang Valley.

Li Xiangzhen followed closely behind.

After flying for a while, Li Xiangming suddenly asked, "How many of them are there?"

Li Xiangzhen paused for a moment, then replied after a quick recollection, "About ten people, the leader of whom was a female cultivator, who should be the Senior Sister Zhang you mentioned."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming immediately understood, and summoned the Green Cloud Flying Boat to rush to Changyang Valley.

The Li family has been developing Changyang Valley for several years, and it has gradually become prosperous. It is no longer just Fengming Tower standing alone, but has been laid out with many buildings in a planned manner.

However, most of them were shops, and all of them were closed due to the valley closure.

There are only a few people around on the outskirts.

There are scattered houses here, which serve as dwellings for independent cultivators outside the Qinwu Academy.

In fact, the Li family does not allow non-family cultivators to stay overnight in Changyang Valley in principle.

However, some of the assigned tasks, such as caring for spiritual plants, require quite a bit of effort.

Changyang Valley is already quite a distance from the spiritual fields near Tailai Peak. If we don't even allow people to stay in Changyang Valley, the efficiency of the cultivators in the Academic Affairs Department will only decrease further. For our convenience, the Li family has no choice but to be understanding.

Green Cloud Cave was once Li Xiangming's school, and the disciples in the cave were all Li Xiangming's fellow disciples, making them distinguished guests.

Li Xiangzhen dared not settle them in the lodgings of the rogue cultivators, but instead invited them into the relatively luxurious Fengming Tower.

The two were spotted by Yin Feng, who was guarding the Phoenix Cry Tower, as soon as they arrived at Changyang Valley.

"Head!"

Yin Feng shouted and immediately stepped forward.

Li Xiangming smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "You've worked hard."

At this moment, Zhang Min and the others, who had heard the commotion, also filed out one after another.

Li Xiangming glanced at them and, as Li Xiangzhen had said, there were exactly ten people, no more and no less.

"Sect Leader, it is my incompetence that I failed to bring everyone here. Please punish me!"

Zhang Min was the first to kneel down, a look of shame flashing across her face.

Upon seeing this, the other disciples also knelt down one after another.

How could Li Xiangming not know what had happened?
When he first visited Qiyun Pavilion, there were seventeen disciples of Green Cloud Cave. With the addition of Zhang Min and Long Yang, who returned shortly afterward, there were a total of nineteen people. Now, only ten are present.

Needless to say, the rest of them ran away halfway through.

Li Xiangming was not the rightful successor of Fairy Green Cloud after all, and even if he produced the sect leader's token, he would not gain everyone's trust.

To put it bluntly, the surviving disciples of Green Cloud Cave were almost all elites of the inner sect. They had no connection with Li Xiangming, an unknown outer sect disciple, nor did they know Li Xiangming's character. Why should Li Xiangming stand above them?
Perhaps there was some truth to the title "Sect Leader" he used back then.

However, most of them attributed it to their urgency to escape Yingyue Market and the influence of Zhang Min, which led them to blindly follow suit.

Once they regained their freedom, many people's minds began to stir.

Many of them had the idea of ​​finding their own way out.

Li Xiangming was not surprised at all.

From his perspective, he saved the disciples of Green Cloud Cave and deserved their loyalty.

However, from the perspective of the disciples of Green Cloud Cave, with their spiritual pillar and strong support, their master, Fairy Green Cloud, falling down, Green Cloud Cave's spiritual veins and century-old foundation were also lost.

Without income from spiritual veins and spiritual fields, how will everyone cultivate in the future?
Even if everyone grits their teeth and perseveres, can they really rebuild Green Cloud Cave by following a family disciple with a sense of belonging?

Not to mention the formidable enemies they will face in the future, such as the Star-Absorbing Village, the Mang Cult, and the Ouyang family.

Anyone who imagines this path would feel disheartened or even desperate, right?
However, Zhang Min and others chose to face the challenge head-on, while others hoped to avoid the risks and make things easier for themselves.

Li Xiangming wasn't incapable of understanding; he allowed the Green Cloud Cave disciples to return on their own to give certain people a chance to leave.

For Green Cloud Cave, losing half of its people would be a heavy blow.

But for him personally, it might not have been that agonizing.

After all, his core base wasn't actually with Green Cloud Cave.

His vision for Green Cloud Cave also leaned more towards giving back to himself.

Some people with weak will left, and he felt more at ease.

Upon hearing Zhang Min's apology, Li Xiangming chuckled wryly: "They didn't even have the courage to say goodbye to me in person, so what's there to regret about them leaving?"

Then she smiled and comforted her, "Senior Sister Zhang, don't worry too much. I am a hundred times happier to see you all in Changyang Valley today than when I reminisced with you at Hengyue Sect."

"It's good that the sect leader isn't angry."

At this moment, Fang Renkui, who was standing next to him, said in a muffled voice.

Li Xiangming glanced at him. To be honest, he wasn't surprised that half of the people from Green Cloud Cave had left, but he really hadn't expected this guy and Long Yang to choose to stay.

However, he was too lazy to find out the other party's true thoughts, and simply waved his hand casually at Lee Sang-jeong.

Knowing that he had nothing more to do, Li Xiangzhen respectfully withdrew.

Li Xiangming then led the Green Cloud Cave disciples to a secret room in Phoenix Cry Tower and got straight to the point: "Now that everyone has arrived in Pu County, it's time to discuss how to strengthen our Green Cloud Cave. The first thing we need to do is find you a place to stay!"

At this point, Li Xiangming paused and looked at everyone.

No one speaks.

As for the disciples of Green Cloud Cave, they were living under someone else's roof, so how could they dare to make any demands?

After a moment of silence, Li Xiangming continued, "Since no one has any ideas, let me explain my arrangements. There are currently two decent cultivation sites for you to choose from. The first is Changyang Valley, which is right here in front of you."

"Although Changyang Valley is not a spiritual land, a spirit-gathering array has been set up under Fengming Tower. Cultivating here is more than ten times better than in the wild, which is the place I initially prepared for everyone. However, Changyang Valley is, after all, the Li family's territory and also serves as a marketplace. There are many people coming and going, and many eyes and ears, making it inconvenient to develop a sect."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Min and the others couldn't help but start discussing it in hushed tones.

They also discovered that the Phoenix Cry Tower had a high concentration of spiritual energy, and were initially quite pleased.

However, if a sect wants to develop in the long term, Changyang Valley is clearly not qualified.

"What is the sect leader's second choice?"

Mao Jingze, who was still in the group, coughed and asked.

Li Xiangming first inquired about his health, then unfolded a map from his storage bag, pointed to a marked area south of Danggui Mountain, and said, "Xiaolan Valley has a spiritual spring, and its spiritual energy surpasses that of Fengming Tower. I plan to arrange for you to stay here."

Long Yang leaned forward, then frowned immediately: "How strong is the Chi family? Will they clash with us?"

Li Xiangming smiled slightly and explained, "The Chi family is close to me, so you can rest assured. Moreover, they have very few cultivators and cannot compete with you for spiritual energy. In addition, the Li family has dozens of acres of spiritual fields in Xiaolan Valley, which I can lease to Green Cloud Cave."

"Dozens of acres of spirit fields?"

The disciples of Green Cloud Cave were now in an uproar.

Zhang Min hurriedly stood up and confirmed again: "Is it really possible to rent it?"

(End of this chapter)