Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 396 Gifts
"Please accept this, Young Master Nineteen."

The pageboy's voice was earnest, so Li Xiangming gently waved his sleeve, rolled the jade box into his palm, and slowly opened it. Inside the box lay a piece of wood about the size of a palm.

"Tear sandalwood?"

Li Xiangming's face suddenly darkened.

Tear sandalwood is a relatively niche spiritual wood in the cultivation world. It is famous for its unique texture and is usually used to carve small ornaments or handicrafts. Occasionally, it is also used to decorate low-level magic tools to add some aesthetic value.

Although it is not common, which increases its price compared to other spirit woods, it is still generally considered a low-grade spirit wood. Such a small piece probably wouldn't even sell for a single spirit stone. Using it as a gift for a Foundation Establishment cultivator would undoubtedly be quite embarrassing.

However, Qin Zhengyi was not genuinely there to offer his congratulations; the so-called formalities were of no importance to him.

The only ones who truly felt embarrassed were the Li family.

If that were all, Li Xiangming wouldn't be so angry.

Even an unwelcome guest is still a guest.

However, the reason why the Chen family of Baolong Valley and the Huang family of Jinqianling fought each other recently was precisely to compete for the spirit wood, which happened to be the tear sandalwood.

What does Qin Zhengyi mean by sending the sandalwood at this time?
Does this mean the Qin family is going to intervene in the conflict between the Chen and Huang families?

Thinking of this, Li Xiangming closed the jade box and said coldly, "Fourth Young Master should know that desires are insatiable. Sometimes it is wise to control your actions."

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhengyi deliberately feigned surprise: "Young Master Nineteen's words are truly profound and unfathomable. Please forgive my ignorance, I cannot fully understand them."

Li Xiangming stared at him for a long time: "Are you really that fearless?"

Qin Zhengyi's lips curled into a faint smile: "My esteemed Uncle Qianliang is on good terms with me, so I'm sure the Nineteenth Young Master won't make things difficult for me."

Uncle Qianliang?
Li Xiangming's expression changed drastically. Li Qianliang and others had been ordered to go to the Huang family to assist Huang Zhencan in taking the throne, and they had not returned yet. They hadn't even had time to attend his Foundation Establishment Ceremony.

But the Li family didn't find it strange, because the Huang family's situation was complicated, and it would be impossible for Huang Zhencan to become the head of the family without some scheming.

However, it now seems that Li Qianliang and the others have likely fallen into the hands of the Qin family.

Then, thinking of the sandalwood in his hand, how could Li Xiangming not understand?
The Qin family is the mysterious force behind the Tongbei Sect.

Upon learning of the destruction of the Tongbei Sect, the Qin family was unwilling to accept it and sent Qin Zhengyi to investigate.

Qin Zhengyi also roughly realized that he was the mastermind behind the destruction of the Tongbei Sect, which is why he went to Changyang Valley to confront him.

Although the two sides haven't completely fallen out yet, they're still maintaining a facade of civility.

Qin Zhengyi even feigned madness and ignorance in response to his probing, delaying the final reveal, but this did not mean that the Qin family was afraid of being enemies with the Li family.

They simply didn't want to immediately find themselves fighting on two fronts.

Qin Zhengyi's actions all indicate that the Qin family, accustomed to being powerful, will never let the matter of the Tongbei Sect go unpunished.

This piece of sandalwood is the Qin family's declaration of war.

If given the chance, they will certainly make the Li family pay a heavy price.

Having sorted things out, a cold glint flashed across Li Xiangming's face. He put away the jade box and said, word by word, "I appreciate Young Master Qin's kindness, and I hope that he will not be negligent."

"Alright, I'll wait for Young Master Nineteen."

Qin Zhengyi's expression remained calm.

Suddenly, two more people flew onto the high platform.

One of them was Geng Shiheng, an old friend of Li Xiangming.

Geng Shiheng first sized up Qin Zhengyi before saying with a forced smile, "Since the Qin family has sent a congratulatory gift, our Geng family cannot remain silent."

After saying that, he waved his hand, and a zombie with bronze muscles and iron bones appeared on the field, attracting everyone's attention.

"He looks intimidating!"

"Did you feel it? The magic power on that zombie is extraordinary, at least at the seventh level of Qi Refining."

"Not just, far more than that."

Seeing the crowd discussing this, Geng Shiheng immediately activated the zombie, unleashing a massive burst of magical power that instantly caused a stir among the crowd.

"It's a zombie at the ninth level of Qi Refining!" "Can this really be considered a gift?"

"Isn't the Geng family being incredibly generous?"

A series of incredulous sounds rang out.

The path of the corpse is also an ancient tradition, and people are quite familiar with zombies.

However, most zombies are quite weak because it is not easy to create a good zombie, especially one with the cultivation level of the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"I made you laugh."

Geng Shiheng's voice continued: "This item was captured by my Geng family on the battlefield. After being tempered and refined, it has finally become a useful object. I originally intended to keep it for myself, but now that I see the Nineteenth Young Master has achieved the foundation of the Dao, I am overjoyed. However, I have no suitable gift to give to him, so I am giving this item to the Nineteenth Young Master to express the sincerity of me and the Geng family."

Li Xiangming's heart stirred, and he looked at Qin Zhengyi.

As expected, Qin Zhengyi's face turned ashen. He stepped forward and stared intently at Geng Shiheng: "Which battlefield are you referring to, Fellow Daoist Geng?"

"What, is Young Master Qin also interested in zombies?"

Geng Shiheng glanced at Qin Zhengyi indifferently: "However, Shiheng has a bad memory and cannot answer the Fourth Young Master's question. Please forgive me."

Suddenly, he changed the subject and continued, "Speaking of zombies, I've heard of a force called the Five Scattered Sect, which is quite skilled in this area. They have a superior zombie at the ninth level of Qi Refining, which is even better than the one I have. I wonder if Fourth Young Master is interested?"

"you wanna die!"

Qin Zhengyi flew into a rage, his long hair flying wildly behind him, and slapped Geng Shiheng with his palm.

However, Geng Chengjie snorted coldly, neutralizing Qin Zhengyi's attack completely, and even had the strength to penetrate the layers of heavy magic power and seize Qin Zhengyi's forearm.

"How dare you, a mere junior, commit violence in front of this old man?"

A fierce glint flashed in Geng Chengjie's eyes: "Today I will teach you a lesson."

But at that moment, Liu Shiyin's arm also reached out and grabbed Geng Chengjie's wrist with lightning speed, and said with a smile: "Fellow Daoist Geng, why bother arguing with a child?"

Geng Chengjie glared at him angrily: "Liu Shiyin, are you going to fight me here?"

"I wouldn't dare, but I hope Senior Geng will think twice before acting."

Geng Chengjie's face grew even uglier. Despite the other party's soft words, they showed no mercy. At this moment, he was fighting two against one and was already showing signs of being overwhelmed.

Li Qianxiong and Li Xiangming exchanged a glance, about to make a move, when another person flew up onto the platform and called out loudly, "Brother Li, do you still remember me?"

Li Xiangming's gaze sharpened: "So it's Brother Liu."

Liu Xianyi laughed and bowed, saying, "It's been many days since we last met. I came to congratulate you on your joyous occasion."

As soon as he finished speaking, he opened his palm, and a white jade porcelain bottle flew from his palm toward Li Xiangming.

"This is a congratulatory gift from my Liu family. Please accept it, Brother Li."

Li Xiangming took the white jade porcelain bottle, glanced at the inscriptions and marks on the bottle, and couldn't help but sneer.

This is an ordinary bottle of Burning Evil Pills, but what's extraordinary about it is its origin—the Liu family of Jimu Rock!

In order to compete for the Burning Evil Pill market in Puyin Mountain, the Li family purchased large quantities of Burning Evil Pills from the Liu family, to the point of dependence.

However, the Liu family seemed to have some reservations and once cut off the supply to the Li family. Although the two sides later resumed the trade after negotiations, the number of Burning Evil Pills provided by the Liu family to the Li family was greatly reduced, forcing the Li family to go to great lengths to seek other channels.

In the past two years, the Li family has achieved some success in this regard, cooperating with Bailumen and Shengyimen respectively, and placing several orders for Burning Evil Pills.

That's why Li Xiangming dared to demand a market share of the Burning Fiend Pill from Zhao Jindou.

However, the Liu family was unaware of all this.

From their perspective, the Li family would still humbly discuss with the Liu family every year the matter of increasing the purchase of the Burning Evil Pill.

Now, Liu Xianyi is not giving anything else, only the Burning Demon Pill.

Its meaning is self-evident.

(End of this chapter)