Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 387 Yuan Bin's Request

Seeing Li Xiangming remain silent for a long time, Yuan Bin's gaze became somewhat strange: "Which of the trafficked children did you keep behind?"

Li Xiangming raised an eyebrow: "You knew they were abducted?"

"So what if you know?"

Yuan Bin countered with a question.

Hearing this, Li Xiangming narrowed his eyes: "You seem to know more than others, and you still retain the thinking ability of a normal person. Is this because you were inoculated with the Heart-Eating Gu relatively late?"

"You want to know too much."

Yuan Bin's tone returned to its coldness.

Li Xiangming stared at him for a moment, then shouted loudly, "Gao Can!"

"Hey!"

Gao Can responded from outside, then poked his head into the room, curiously looking at Yuan Bin.

"What do you want to do?"

Yuan Bin stared intently at Gao Can's enormous head. Although his facial expression remained unchanged, his fingers, which were resting flat on the table, trembled slightly, clearly indicating that he felt threatened.

"I just want you to face the reality!"

Li Xiangming stood up and looked down at him condescendingly: "Since you've already survived, there's no need to pretend to be fearless anymore. I can give you anything you want, but you have to show me your sincerity first."

With that, Li Xiangming put his hands behind his back and said in a low voice, "You are an anomaly among the disciples of the Tongbei Sect. That is precisely your value, not your talent, cultivation, or intelligence!"

"If any disciple of the Tongbei Sect could communicate with me normally, you would already be dead in Baolong Valley. I hope you remember this, and more importantly, understand that the Li family wants some things, but not everything. In the past, present, and future, the Li family will always be the Li family, and will forever stand strong!"

Yuan Bin's expression was uncertain, and he remained silent for a while before speaking: "I don't know where you heard about the Heart-Eating Gu, but let's just say it is the Heart-Eating Gu. However, there is no way to control it except through the 'Musician'."

"Musician?"

Li Xiangming frowned.

Yuan Bin took a deep breath and continued, "That's what the villagers call them. Every few days to every ten days, we receive instruction from the musicians, but each time we go there in a daze and come back in a daze. We don't know who the musicians are. Perhaps only the leader has ever had face-to-face contact with them."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming frowned even more deeply.

He originally had no additional ideas about how to control the Heart-Eating Gu.

Firstly, the Li family didn't have the Heart-Eating Gu at all, so obtaining this method would be meaningless.

Secondly, although the Li family spared no effort in pursuing their interests, which was far from the image of a virtuous family, in the cultivation world, the Li family actually belonged to the "righteous path".

When teaching younger generations, the Qingmiao Academy still emphasizes virtues such as benevolence, filial piety, humility, politeness, honesty, and righteousness.

Using the Heart-Eating Gu to control innocent children for one's own use is a method leaning towards evil cultivation. If mentioned at the clan meeting, it would immediately cause a huge uproar.

Even the most shrewd and experienced elders, fearing it would affect the family's traditions, would mostly choose not to support it.

Of course, if Li Qianxiong truly intended to do so, and secretly used his own money to appoint a few trusted confidants to cultivate these mysterious forces, then that would be a different story.

But Li Xiangming had not received any instructions, so how could he dare to risk going down the wrong path of heresy cultivation?
However, when he was using illusion magic to correct the thoughts of the Tongbi Sect disciples at the Beast Breeding Peak, he suddenly thought of the effect of the Heart-Eating Gu.

As Ma He said, during the onset of the Heart-Eating Gu, the minds of the Tongbi Sect disciples become blank, and they obey any words or rhetoric.

So, when Li Xiangming pulled them into the illusion space at this time to conduct reverse brainwashing, wouldn't it also be extremely effective?

Theoretically speaking, Li Xiangming believes this method is feasible.

He couldn't spend ten or twenty years helping those children with treacherous arms return to normal.

However, if he had the help of the Heart-Eating Gu, he would still be willing to give it a try if it only took one or two months.

Unfortunately, Yuan Bin, this "outlier," also did not obtain this core secret.

Just as Li Xiangming was at his wit's end, Yuan Bin suddenly spoke up: "I have no way to turn them back into normal people, but if you just want to control them temporarily, that's not impossible."

Li Xiangming immediately waved his hand, dismissing Gao Can, then sat down, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry: "You can control them?"

Yuan Bin replied calmly, "All the disciples of the Tongbei Sect are loyal to the sect leader. There is no mysterious force as you mentioned. The sect leader is dead, and they just want to return to the Tongbei Sect and continue waiting for missions. Since I, a senior of the Tongbei Sect, am still alive, what reason do they have not to listen to me? As long as you cooperate with my act and prevent the musicians from appearing in front of them, I can make them obey."

Li Xiangming scrutinized Yuan Bin carefully, trying to see through the other man's thoughts.

But Yuan Bin remained expressionless, his eyes as still as stagnant water.

After a moment, Li Xiangming changed the subject: "Weren't you going to Hengyue Gate?"

"To me, Hengyue Sect and the Li family of Danggui Mountain are the same."

Yuan Bin answered calmly.

"You are very smart!"

Li Xiangming gave a word of praise, which was truly from the bottom of his heart.

Going to Hengyue Sect would certainly be safe, but given Yuan Bin's age, it would be almost impossible for him to become a disciple of Hengyue Sect.

Even if the Min family is willing to take him in, it won't last long. In the end, he will most likely end up like the disciples of Green Cloud Cave, wandering around Yingyue Market.

Every market follows the same principle—without money, you can't move an inch.

Yuan Bin was all alone, with neither skills nor connections, so it was by no means easy for him to establish himself in Yingyue Market.

Staying on Dangui Mountain is different. It may be closer to the mysterious forces and there may be some risks, but with the huge Li family here, even if the sky falls, there are still tall people to hold it up.

Yuan Bin, on the contrary, was able to leverage his unique advantage of controlling other Tongbei Sect disciples to demonstrate his value and thus gain more benefits from the Li family.

"But you still overestimate your own worth!"

Li Xiangming said bluntly, "The Li family wants to rescue these children, but we don't mind being the villains! It's better to lock them up completely than to hand them over to you, a true disciple of the Tongbei Sect, isn't it?"

Yuan Bin remained silent for a moment, then took out a small porcelain bottle from his person and poured out a dark red pill. "I am giving this to you. Your Li family will support my future cultivation on behalf of the Tongbei Sect."

Li Xiangming glanced at it and corrected, "If I remember correctly, this should be my spoils of war, right?"

When Yuan Bin was captured, Long Yang found some odds and ends on him, including this dark red pill.

Since neither Long Yang nor Li Xiangming knew what it was, neither of them touched it. Finally, after Yuan Bin surrendered, it was returned untouched.

Now it seems that this elixir has quite a history.

Ignoring Li Xiangming's slightly mocking tone, Yuan Bin continued, "It's called the Heavenly Soldier Pill. It's a powerful secret medicine. After taking it, the medicine unleashes a powerful burst of magical energy, which can temporarily elevate one's cultivation level. If I were to take it, I should be able to possess the magical energy of the ninth level of Qi Refining."

"Ninth level of Qi Refining?"

Li Xiangming was startled and kept looking at the pill in Yuan Bin's hand.

You know, Yuan Bin only has the cultivation level of the seventh level of Qi Refining. Wouldn't it be that after taking this little pill, he could increase his cultivation level by two levels?

Yuan Bin shook his head: "Compared to its effects, its side effects are greater. No one can control these ferocious external magical forces..."

At this point, Yuan Bin's tone became somewhat subtle: "I witnessed my younger brother take the Heavenly Soldier Pill, and a few breaths later, he died from self-destruction due to loss of control over his magical power."

Li Xiangming's expression changed. This Heavenly Soldier Pill sounded a bit like a Human Pill. If Fairy Green Cloud hadn't tricked him into taking so many spiritual medicines and had instead taken the Human Pill directly, he would most likely have been torn apart by those massive external magical forces and ended up self-destructing.

Yuan Bin picked up the small, dark red pill and said in a deep voice, "Sounds terrifying? But it's a priceless treasure in the Tongbei Sect, a symbol of status and honor. Only a very few outstanding disciples are qualified to receive the Heavenly Soldier Pill. I know you find it hard to understand, but putting all that aside, it can bring immense power in an instant, and there are always some people who need it!"

Li Xiangming frowned but remained silent.

After a long silence, he asked softly, "What's wrong with your brother?"

Yuan Bin fell into recollection, and then slowly replied, "I am different from those children who were abducted. My brother and I both come from the same cultivation family. When I was ten years old, my family suddenly disappeared from my memory. After that, my brother and I were sent to a dark and sunless dungeon to continue our cultivation. Perhaps it is because of the Heart-Eating Gu you mentioned, the longer I stayed in the dungeon, the more blurred my memory became. I have forgotten many things, but I remember the name Yuan Bin firmly."

“But my brother was different. In just two years, he became a walking corpse, only thinking about carrying out missions all day long, until he died out there. This is the fate of us Tongbei Sect disciples!”

"So that's why you betrayed the Tongbei Sect?"

Li Xiangming asked.

"No, I never thought of avenging him."

Yuan Bin shook his head: "There were more than a dozen people who received training at the same time as me, and the entire Tongbei Sect had more than 150 people. Excluding those children who did not finish their training, I was the only one who survived, wasn't I?"

"This is because I know how to weigh the pros and cons, while they have lost the emotions and sensitivity of being 'human.' So I don't feel sorry for my brother. From the moment he forgot his origins, I considered him dead. I have never resented the Tongbei Sect either. Since then, I have worked my hardest to earn a Heavenly Soldier Pill, which can prove my loyalty!"

Exhaling, Yuan Bin placed the Heavenly Soldier Pill in his hand into the porcelain bottle: "Now I offer it to you only to prove my worth. I want to survive, to cultivate to a higher realm, and thus take control of my own life. This is my way of survival."

Li Xiangming took the porcelain bottle, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Contrary to Ma He's speculation, Yuan Bin was not inoculated with the Heart-Eating Gu after the age of twelve.

In reality, he was no different from other children. Perhaps ten years old is not young, but most children of this age cannot resist the brainwashing methods of the Heart-Eating Gu and the "Musician".

Despite the "high-pressure" environment of the Tongbei Sect, Yuan Bin tenaciously preserved a considerable portion of his humanity.

This child's perseverance far surpasses that of other Tongbei Sect disciples.

It's no wonder that the entire Tongbei Sect only produced one such outlier.

This person is born with the potential for spiritual cultivation!

Li Xiangming was caught in a dilemma. He had only come here to inquire about the Heart-Eating Gu, but he had never thought of subduing Yuan Bin, this "unstable" former Tongbi Sect disciple.

But at this moment, his love for talent suddenly arose, making him unable to resist getting up again and pacing back and forth.

After a long while, Li Xiangming finally stopped and said seriously, "The Li family will not accept you, at least not in the short term! However, I can sponsor your cultivation privately, on the condition that you keep those Tongbei Sect children under control! If any of the children escape, you will not only not receive a single spirit stone, but they will also become my enemies in the future!"

He paused, staring intently at Yuan Bin, and warned, "I will use methods on those children. If you only want to use them to defect back to the Tongbi Sect, I advise you to give up that idea."

After saying that, Li Xiangming turned and left.
-
"Forbidden from leaving the barrier?"

Inside the Phoenix Pavilion, Ding Xia looked at Li Xiangming with a surprised expression: "Of course I can set it up, but it's twice as expensive as a regular barrier, and my fees aren't low. Is your Li family sure you want to hire me?"

Li Xiangming suddenly felt a toothache: "We're old friends, can't you give me a discount for my sake?"

"Who said you're an old friend?"

Ding Xia pouted, "If you need something, come to me. Why don't you come if you don't?"

"Haha, I'm just too busy."

Li Xiangming awkwardly chuckled and changed the subject.

He had just agreed to Yuan Bin's request to seek refuge with the Li family.

This person is indeed a talent; if used properly, he could become another Long Yang.

But Yuan Bin is more cunning and selfish than Long Yang, so he can't fully trust him.

Not to mention that handing over the remaining Tongbei Sect disciples to him was an extremely risky move.

Therefore, he hoped to designate a piece of land within the Dangui Mountain area and set up a barrier to temporarily test Yuan Bin's loyalty and his ability to control the Tongbei Sect disciples.

Unfortunately, the Li family's talisman array room could barely manage to set up some small arrays, but it was completely ineffective against any barrier.

Li Xiangming had no choice but to seek help from Ding Xia, a genius array master.

Ding Xia snorted softly, expressing her dissatisfaction.

But he did not explicitly refuse.

Since there's money to be made, she naturally has to think it over carefully.

Li Xiangming glanced at Ding Xia's expression and knew she had tacitly agreed. He smiled, took out several sheets of Xuanwang paper from his pocket, and activated his divine sense. Dense patterns and words appeared on them: "I came here this time not just to ask you to set up a barrier."

Ding Xia glanced at it and immediately widened her eyes: "Is your Li family going to war?"

"Shh!"

Li Xiangming quickly denied it, saying, "You can't say things like that. Jiming Mountain and Baolong Valley are not under our Li family's control. We are just acting as their agents!"

"Isn't this too much?"

Ding Xia was increasingly surprised as she looked at the papers. The papers recorded many directions, and each direction was marked with the type and name of the formation to be set up. In total, there were no fewer than ten large and medium-sized formations and more than thirty small formations.

After reading it, Ding Xia stared at Li Xiangming with a suspicious look: "Does your Li family have that much money?"

Li Xiangming confidently stated, "It wasn't entirely Miss Ding's doing. Our Li family also has array masters, and we hope to hire you to help them set up these arrays. Of course, we will definitely pay Miss Ding's share of the reward in full, and we will never be as shameless as the Ouyang family."

The mere mention of the Ouyang family made Ding Xia's teeth itch with anger.

If the Ouyang family hadn't refused to pay her and hadn't been tracking her whereabouts, she wouldn't have been forced to hide for half a year, wouldn't have encountered that lecherous Duan Heng, wouldn't have gotten involved with the Fa Rong Cave, and wouldn't have ultimately had to leave Dendrobium Market.

She'll remember this for a hundred years!

Despite Li Xiangming's assurance, Ding Xia remained somewhat skeptical, repeatedly confirming, "Don't lie to me!"

Li Xiangming smiled and comforted her, "Miss Ding, you can rest assured. Our Li family has always been committed to integrity."

This time he wasn't lying.

The numerous battle formations on King Xuan's paper were certainly not his own ideas.

It was a decision reached after repeated discussions among senior officials, including Li Qianxiong.

The purpose was precisely to strengthen the defenses south of Danggui Mountain, better implement the strategy of allying with Geng against Qin, and incidentally block the mysterious forces of Punan from moving north.

Therefore, the family specifically set aside a large portion of their budget for setting up the formation.

Even if Ding Xia doesn't help, the Li family will still have to hire a powerful array master from Pushui Market.

However, the Li family had never made such a large-scale deployment in the past hundred years, so they naturally wanted to give their own array masters some experience.

Thinking that the invited array masters would inevitably be secretive, Li Xiangming recommended Ding Xia to his family.

This girl was swindled out of her entire fortune by the Ouyang family, and then tricked into coming to the unfamiliar Pu County by a few words; one can imagine how naive she is. The Li family's array masters might learn a lot from following her.

(End of this chapter)