Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 398 Tangled
Qingyang Daoist was the first and only guest to speak on stage at Li Xiangming's Foundation Establishment Ceremony.

The two talked on stage for three days, starting with the aroma of the wine in their glasses and gradually turning to strange and wonderful stories in the cultivation world.

They then talked about cultivation.

Finally, they engaged in lively discussions, debating everything from the ultimate goal of spiritual cultivation to the value and meaning of life, from personal destiny to the changes in the world.

The lower-level cultivators present were all greatly impressed.

Although this foundation-building ceremony felt like it started strong but ended weakly.

Those Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been invited to the event chose to protect themselves and did not take the stage after witnessing the open and covert struggles among the four major families in the southeast.

However, Li Xiangming and Qingyang Daoren had a long and in-depth conversation, especially about their unique insights into cultivation methods, as well as the difficulties they encountered and their solutions during cultivation, which captivated everyone.

"Brother Du! I...I understand!"

As the ceremony ended, the young Lingnong clung tightly to Du Peng's arm, his expression a mixture of nervousness and surprise.

"Really enlightened?"

Du Peng looked completely astonished.

"I really understand!"

The young spiritual farmer's expression changed several times in an instant. Suddenly, he released Du Peng's arm and stumbled away, muttering as he ran, "I have to go into seclusion, that's right, go into seclusion."

Du Peng paused for a moment, then his expression became complicated.

He listened to the two Foundation Establishment cultivators' insights on cultivation throughout the entire process.

While listening, I was quite engrossed and seemed to have gained some insights, but afterwards, after scratching my head and examining it carefully, I realized that I had forgotten most of it.

"Shi Liang is a quick learner."

After muttering this to himself, Du Peng headed towards the spirit fields of Changyang Valley. He dared not think about enlightenment, but life had to go on.
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"Master, farewell. I will visit you at Qingyang Temple another day."

At the entrance of Changyang Valley, Li Xiangming personally saw off Qingyang Daoist.

Qingyang Daoist laughed and scolded, "Waiting for you to come and visit me? Who knows when that will be? It would be more convenient for me to go to Yiyuan Peak to refine pills and find you there."

Li Xiangming laughed heartily, and the two then parted ways.

"Brother, the patriarch is waiting for you."

"understood."

Li Xiangming sighed softly.

After the celebration, Dangui Mountain was never as peaceful as before.

Li Xiangming tightened his green robe and turned to head towards Fengming Tower.

At this moment, Fengming Tower has gathered a large number of elites from the Li family. Not only are the clan elders, hall masters and deputy hall masters and other management personnel present, but even Foundation Establishment cultivators such as Li Chengkang and Li Chenggeng have also rushed over.

The reason for the tension was that Li Qianxiong forbade Qin Zhengyi from leaving Changyang Valley.

Liu Shiyin, fearing that the Li family would harm Qin Zhengyi, also stayed behind.

Seeing this, Geng Chengjie believed there was still an opportunity and did not leave.

Even after the Foundation Establishment Ceremony ended, the four major families continued to clash.

"What's the situation with Uncle Qianliang and the others now?"

Li Xiangming asked softly.

Since Li Qianxiong was personally in charge of the overall situation in Changyang Valley, his family instructed him to focus on participating in the Foundation Establishment Ceremony. He was unaware of many undercurrents running beneath the surface.

"Qianliang is alright, he'll be back soon."

Li Qianxiong replied in a deep voice, but his expression was not good.

Li Xiangming raised an eyebrow, about to ask a question, when Li Xiangru explained from the side: "Although the Tongbei Sect was destroyed, they had previously infiltrated the Huang family deeply, and Huang Zhencan was among them."

"In short, Uncle Qianliang's desire to promote Huang Zhencan to the position immediately aroused the Qin family's vigilance. As a result, the Qin family intervened in the Huang family's internal strife. Uncle Qianliang and his group were no match for them and were wiped out. Now the Qin family is sending them to Changyang Valley to exchange for Qin Zhengyi."

Li Xiangming was stunned upon hearing this.

He never expected that Huang Zhencan, who risked his life to save Li Xiangcheng, was actually a member of the Tongbei Sect.

Huang Zhencan may have already decided to betray the Tongbei Sect, but his existence has always been recorded in the Tongbei Sect's records.

If the Tongbei Sect had been completely wiped out by him, that would have been fine, but some of its members escaped.

Now, these people have undoubtedly handed over the legacy of the Tongbei Sect to the Qin family.

As a result, the Tongbei Sect had more than one pawn in the Huang family. When Huang Zhencan appeared in the Huang family, the Qin family had already gotten wind of it, and Li Qianliang and others were exposed as a result.

After learning the truth, Li Xiangming showed deep remorse: "It was my oversight, please punish me, Patriarch."

"A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit,"

Li Qianxiong looked at Li Xiangming and said seriously, "Never think things are too simple. From your perspective, you naturally think that you can easily make the Huang family submit, so you think it doesn't matter whether Huang Zhencan or someone else is the head of the family. But the internal workings of a power are extremely complex, and force is always only a secondary factor in the rise to power. Who would have thought that our Li family would be involved with Xuanli Zhenren of Hengyue Sect?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming fell into a long silence.

He understood Li Qianxiong's meaning: behind every powerful force, there is always an even more powerful force.

Promoting a compliant head of the Huang family to the top would indeed satisfy the Li family's interests. However, this person must be carefully selected, not just someone picked up off the street.

For example, if a powerful and mysterious cultivator wanted to overthrow the Li family's regime and installed an unknown member of the Li family to replace Li Qianxiong, perhaps no one in the Li family could resist, but when the interests were not balanced, someone would run to Hengyue Sect to beg Xuanli Zhenren to take action.

Behind Xuanli Zhenren is Hengyue Sect.

In the end, this mysterious cultivator didn't actually target the Li family, but rather the Hengyue Sect.

The same applies to the Huang family.

Are those Huang family cultivators who accepted benefits from the Tongbi Sect truly devoted to it?

Not necessarily!

It's just that their interests weren't protected and their ambitions had nowhere to go.

When Huang Zhencan is unable to balance the interests of all parties, those who do not want to see him rise to power will seek external support to resist him, and the Qin family behind the Tongbei Sect is just one of their choices.

Even if Huang Zhencan's identity is not problematic, and even if he works hard to gain the support of the Li family, becoming the head of the family will not be so easy.

"Xiangming has learned a lot."

Li Xiangming slowly exhaled.

Upon hearing this, Li Qianxiong said nothing more, but looked at the others and asked, "Now that Qianliang has been brought back, do you have any other thoughts?"

The people on the field looked at each other, but no one said a word.

In truth, everyone knew that the patriarch's summoning of the two veteran Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Cheng generation meant he was prepared to take action.

After all, the Qin and Li families had formed an irreconcilable hatred because of the Tongbei Sect incident, and everyone knew that the Qin family would definitely take revenge on the Li family.

Qin Zhengyi's existence is a significant threat to the Li family.

As it happened, this arrogant young man went to Changyang Valley alone.

This is undoubtedly a golden opportunity for the Li family.

However, the Qin family did not directly declare war on the Li family, and even the challenge was vague and ambiguous. This made most of the Li family cultivators, who were initially full of passion, calm down and become hesitant.

Ultimately, once war breaks out, it's hard to stop. The Li family wasn't prepared for war, especially when facing the Qin family, who were far more powerful than themselves.

The Li family's only advantage is having the Geng family as a natural ally.

The Geng family is eagerly awaiting the fate of the Li family. If the two families cooperate to resist the Qin family, they will not be without a chance of victory.

However, judging from the Liu family's attitude, the Li and Geng families cannot form an alliance at all, at least not openly.

Otherwise, the Liu family will be in trouble.

This is also something the Qin family desires.

Ultimately, the options facing the Li family—whether to confront the Qin family alone or to form an alliance with the Geng family against the Qin-Liu alliance—were both the worst possible choices.

“Patriarch, once we make a move against Qin Zhengyi, there will be no going back, especially with the Liu family cultivators watching from the sidelines.”

Li Chenglu gently reminded him.

Li Qianxiong knew all this perfectly well. He frowned and looked around at his surroundings: "None of you agree to take action?"

Li Xiangru hesitated for a moment before replying, "From the Qin family's perspective, they have actually been quite tolerant. This is because the Geng family is stubborn, and the Qin family is unwilling to open two fronts and disperse their forces, so they only sent Qin Zhengyi to give us a warning."

"In my opinion, we should play along and maintain a superficial peace with the Qin family, while supporting the Geng family's war effort and mobilizing our own cultivators to prepare. If the Geng family is supportive, they might be able to buy us three to five years."

What about three to five years from now?

Li Qianxiong asked a question in return, his expression gloomy, clearly not satisfied with the plan.

If Qin Zhengyi were an old man, he naturally wouldn't care, but the scene of Qin Zhengyi clashing with Li Xiangming on stage was still vivid in his mind.

This person's potential is in no way inferior to that of Xiang Ren and Xiang Ming.

Three to five years from now, his cultivation level might even advance further.

How much will it take for the Li family to get rid of this person?

Li Xiangru didn't speak again, and everyone else also fell silent.

There are gains and losses; there is no such thing as having it all in this world.
The main task of the family is to make good judgments about gains and losses, and to lead the family to always be on the side where gains outweigh losses.

Seeing that no one spoke, Li Qianxiong's eyes showed a hint of disappointment, and his original determination wavered a bit.

After a long pause, he slowly asked, "Xiangming, what do you think?"

Li Xiangming's voice was clear and steady: "I agree with Fourth Brother's statement. We should maintain the peaceful situation for the time being to buy as much time as possible for peace, even if it's just for a month or two."

Upon hearing this, Li Qianxiong leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

No one knows what he's thinking.

But everyone present knew that the one most conflicted was actually the head of the family.

The fate of the entire clan rests on his shoulders.

　I'm adjusting my sleep schedule, so this will be a single update today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)