Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 388 Foundation Building Ceremony
In early December, fish and insects hibernate.

Dangui Mountain was bustling with activity, as cultivators from all directions flocked there, eventually converging at Changyang Valley, the renowned trading post of the Li family.

"How strange!"

At the edge of the valley, a young spiritual farmer, wielding a hoe, stood up, gazing at the disappearing light on the horizon, his face full of doubt: "The Changyang Valley Gathering, wasn't it only a little over half a month ago? I remember the annual blessing ceremony wasn't held until the beginning of spring."

A middle-aged man next to him glanced at him sideways and said with a hint of disdain, "You've really gone crazy from farming. Didn't you see the announcement from the Logistics Department? Today is the day the Li family is holding their Foundation Establishment Ceremony."

"Foundation Building Ceremony?"

The young spiritual farmer gasped and quickly asked, "So, the Li family has produced another Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

"What's so strange about a wealthy and powerful family like them?"

The middle-aged man chuckled, but then his expression turned somewhat forlorn.

It is said that the newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Li family is of the Xiang generation and is only about thirty years old, with some even speculating that he is not even thirty.

At such a young age, he successfully established his foundation and will enjoy a lifespan of 240 years.

He was over forty and his cultivation was still stuck at the third level of Qi Refining. Let alone Foundation Establishment, he didn't know when he would even reach the middle stage of Qi Refining.

With a sigh, the middle-aged man silently loosened the soil around the spirit field.

But the young Lingnong threw down his hoe and excitedly grabbed him, saying, "Brother Du, it's the Foundation Establishment Ceremony! How can you still sit still?"

"So what?"

Brother Du retorted, shaking off the young spirit farmer's wrist, and said dismissively, "We can't even understand the ordinary manuals sold on the street, do you really think we can understand the profound Daoist teachings of a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

"I don't care. How many times in a lifetime can one get such a golden opportunity?"

The young spiritual farmer said with a determined look, "I only became a spiritual farmer because I had no other choice. I wasn't born to be a spiritual farmer. This Foundation Establishment Ceremony might hold some hidden opportunities. I'm definitely going!"

Brother Du sized up the other party, then shook his head: "Have you thought this through? The soil can be kept firm, but what about the evening primrose you planted? Everyone is planting evening primrose, and it's the peak season for it. Changyang Valley is teeming with grass moths attracted to it. I guarantee that if you're not in the spirit field, even if you're only gone for a day or two, the yield of your half-acre of evening primrose will drop by more than 30%."

"Thirty percent!"

The young cultivator patted his chest and said, "I'm still young. I can always make up for it next year by planting more trees! The Li family's Foundation Establishment Ceremony isn't something you can just attend whenever you want. Even if it's not for the opportunity, it's still a source of pride."

Upon hearing this, Brother Du felt a mix of emotions and looked around.

At this time of year, there would usually be at least seven or eight spirit farmers working in the nearby spirit fields, but now only three or four remain.

He gritted his teeth and threw down the hoe: "Fine, fine, I'll be young for once!"
-
The auspicious time for the foundation-building ceremony has not yet arrived.

At the entrance of Changyang Valley, the Li family members smiled broadly as they accepted visiting cards, welcoming the distinguished guests into the valley.

The heart of the valley was already teeming with cultivators, a bustling and noisy place.

The Li family only opens Changyang Valley to the public once every three months. On other days, even if itinerant merchants and vendors want to do some small business, they have no chance.

Just then, the Li family held their Foundation Establishment Ceremony, attracting many cultivators who came to admire it.

This is undoubtedly a huge business opportunity.

Even without the Li family's organization, in just half a day, a sizable commercial street spontaneously formed in Changyang Valley. As far as the eye could see, there were stalls everywhere, and shouts and calls of vendors rose and fell incessantly.

The noise gradually subsided as we approached Fengming Tower.

This is a restricted area in Changyang Valley; setting up stalls is not allowed here.

Only shops directly owned by the Li family, or those merchants who rented shops from the Li family, were allowed to do business in the surrounding area.

A middle-aged cultivator with slightly graying temples but well-maintained skin stood downstairs and chuckled softly, "The Li family has gained another valiant general. Congratulations! In my opinion, the day when the Li family will be famous throughout the world is not far off!"

Li Qianxiong on the other side chuckled and replied, "Elder Zhao is too kind. Xiangming is still young and needs the guidance of all the seniors."

"It's easy to talk about."

Just then, a shout rang out from afar: "Elder Hua of the White Dew Gate has arrived!"

Bailu Gate?
The group of cultivators surrounding Li Qianxiong were all core figures from various cultivation sects and families in Pudong. Among them were sect leaders or family heads such as Pei Wen and Luo Wantao, as well as Foundation Establishment cultivators such as Lingwu Shangren and Zhao Zhen.

But at this moment, they all looked surprised.

Unexpectedly, the Foundation Establishment Ceremony held by the Li family could garner a response from the Bailu Sect, which was far away in Pubei, and even send an elder to personally offer congratulations. Elders with the surname Hua from the Bailu Sect were rare, and Li Qianxiong had already guessed this in his mind. He immediately cupped his hands and smiled at everyone, saying, "Elder Hua has come from afar, so please excuse me for a moment. Please forgive me."

"Not at all, please go ahead, Patriarch Li."

Everyone was very polite.

Suddenly, Zhao Zhen stroked his beard and said, "I also have some acquaintance with Fellow Daoist Hua, so I will go with Patriarch Li."

"Thank you for your trouble, Elder Zhao!"

Li Qianxiong naturally didn't mind, and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators, seeing this, also asked to speak up and join him.

Soon, only a group of Qi Refining cultivators remained on the spot.

Luo Wantao quietly watched Li Qianxiong and the others leave, then patted Luo Silin beside him and transmitted his voice, "Silin, did you see that? Even with so many of us, we still can't compare to Hua Lun! Even that old guy Lingwu, who's practically half-buried in the ground, is scrambling to curry favor with Hua Lun. This isn't just because Hua Lun is an inner sect elder of the Bailu Sect, but also because he's a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment are two completely different levels!"

Luo Silin remained silent.

Luo Wantao glanced at him, then tightened his grip on his shoulder slightly: "Don't fantasize about unrealistic things. Focus your energy on cultivation. You've been intelligent and talented since childhood, and the family has always valued you and been proud of you. But if you don't reach the Foundation Establishment stage, our Luo family will never have a chance to rise to prominence!"

Luo Silin's face turned pale, and his lips trembled slightly as he said, "I understand, I will work even harder."

"It's good to know."

Luo Wantao turned around and sighed quietly.

His son was originally very outstanding, but in the past two years he seemed to have hit a bottleneck, and his cultivation had not made any progress. Both he and the Luo family were extremely anxious.

On the other side, Li Qianxiong personally greeted Hua Lun with a smile, saying, "Elder Hua, your presence is an honor to Changyang Valley!"

"Haha, I heard that the Li family's newest prodigy is no less than Li Xiangren, the young genius who once fought against a Bone Fusion stage demon cultivator on the Pu River. My Bailu Sect also wants to witness it."

Hua Lun seemed to be in a good mood and immediately praised the two young talents of the Li family.

Suddenly, a strange light flashed in his eyes, and he cupped his hands in greeting to Zhao Zhen: "Fellow Daoist Zhao is here too?"

Zhao Zhen chuckled, "Your Bailu Sect can come, but my Shengyi Sect can't?"

"Don't dare, don't dare!"

Hua Lun waved his hand repeatedly. Zhao Zhen was an inner elder of Shengyi Sect. Although Shengyi Sect was not as strong as Bailu Sect, it was still a powerful sect. In addition, both of them were mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators, so he would not deliberately put on airs.

However, his feelings about Zhao Zhen's arrival were somewhat complicated.

Although Bailumen is the dominant force in Puxian County, Bailumen has a small population.

Even if the entire Bailu Sect were put into operation, there wouldn't be many traces of Bailu Sect disciples left in the vast Pu County.

Whether it's the Li family of Danggui Mountain or the two clans of Dai Mountain.

The gatekeepers are too far away to reach Bailu.

Nevertheless, this does not mean that Bailumen is willing to see these local powerful families grow stronger.

The Soul Suppressing Sect threatened the Li family because of the Maojing Mine incident.

The White Dew Sect once interfered in Dai Mountain, ordering the Soul Suppressing Sect not to take action.

On the one hand, the Li family, as an intermediary, played a crucial role in the cooperation between Bailumen and Yuyuan.

The Bailu Gate could not ignore the Li family's visit.

On the other hand, once the Zhenhun Sect attacks the Li family, the Shengyi Sect will inevitably use the pretext of aiding the Li family to form an alliance with them. As a result, the situation in Daishan is likely to become unbalanced.

This is by no means what Bailumen wants.

It is in the best interest of the Bailu Sect to keep the two factions at war year after year, constantly depleting their resources.

However, a few years later, Shengyi Sect still managed to establish a connection with the Li family. Despite the tense situation in Daishan, Shengyi Sect still sent a high-level combatant like Zhao Zhen to participate in the Foundation Establishment Ceremony held by the Li family. The meaning behind this is self-evident.

Hua Lun was naturally not happy about this.

But in person, he still gave Zhao Zhen plenty of face.

After all, the interests of the sect do not represent personal interests. If he were to break with Zhao Zhen, Li Qianxiong and other Foundation Establishment cultivators simply because Shengyi Sect and the Li family showed signs of joining forces, which could potentially threaten Bailu Sect, wouldn't he be out of his mind?
(End of this chapter)