Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 458 Treasure
"Young master!"

The woman in the blue dress hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "To be honest, I did bring some family heirlooms. But these things are all for the safety of my daughter, mostly magical artifacts and talismans, so they shouldn't attract the attention of demonic beasts."

"The demonic beasts are hot on our heels, and I'm quite disoriented. I'm willing to offer this Cloud-Treading Dragon Shadow Belt as payment in exchange for you leading my daughter and me out of danger. This item has a miraculous effect in aiding flight; it's truly amazing."

Li Xiangming glanced at the dragon-patterned belt that the woman in the blue dress had taken out and coldly interrupted, "It seems that Madam still doesn't understand the situation. How did she get you out of danger?"

"With your magical powers, even with this item's assistance, you'll be caught up in less than two incense sticks' time. At that point, do you expect me to fight against hundreds of thousands, even millions, of beasts behind us?"

At this point, Li Xiangming snorted coldly and added, "If you don't find that key treasure, you can expect to become food for the monsters."

The woman in the blue dress gritted her teeth: "I really don't know what the demon beast wants."

"Then let's take them out one by one and look at them."

Li Xiangming rebuked him without any politeness.

Upon hearing this, the woman in the blue dress turned pale and then flushed.

"Mother."

Shi Fengxue noticed her mother's predicament and called out softly.

The woman in the blue dress responded with a bitter laugh and handed the storage bag she had retrieved from Shi Fengxue to Li Xiangming: "I am willing to entrust the storage bag to you, young master, and hope that you can lead us away safely."

Li Xiangming's eyes flickered, and he used the Weeping Spirit Desolate Sky Rope to roll the storage bag back.

There were even restrictions carved on it!
However, at this moment, the restriction had already been lifted by the woman in the blue dress.

Clearly, she valued her life more than the treasure.

Li Xiangming probed in with his divine sense, and his breathing immediately became heavy.

The woman in the blue dress had a storage bag that was a full size larger than his, and it was divided into four sections with the items neatly arranged inside.

The items on the lower left are women's clothing, jewelry, and other daily necessities, which will not be discussed further; the items on the lower right are half a person's height solid wood cabinets, divided into layers, with a total of twenty-four compartments, each containing a magical artifact that radiates spiritual light.

There is another cabinet in the upper right corner, which is larger and contains many miscellaneous items, but also spirit stones, talismans, array plates and other important combat supplies.

The most eye-catching thing is the upper left corner, where four large boxes are stacked, one of which is open, revealing a dense array of jade boxes inside.

Li Xiangming himself runs the Spirit Serpent Merchant Guild, so how could he not guess that what's inside is either spirit herbs or spirit medicine?
Considering that the other party was not a merchant, what they carried with them should all be rare and precious medicinal herbs.

If that's true, this number can only be described as exaggerated!

This woman possessed everything imaginable: magical artifacts, elixirs, talismans, formations, spiritual herbs, and spirit stones—all of them high-grade items.

Li Xiangming's expression changed.

The woman in the blue dress noticed this scene and, forcing herself to remain calm, asked, "Young master, have you looked at the items? Did you find any treasures that attract the beast tide?"

Li Xiangming remained silent and continued rummaging through the storage bag.

Although magical artifacts, talismans, and array plates are precious, demonic beasts below the Tribulation Core stage have limited intelligence and know only what they are, not why they are used, so they rarely show interest in these things.

However, the miraculous elixirs are so appealing that they attract countless demonic beasts.

Li Xiangming then focused his attention on examining the four large boxes and found that they were indeed filled with rare spiritual herbs, including treasures such as Jade Marrow Crystal Lotus, Illusion-Breaking Grass, and Spirit-Concentrating Orchid. There were even three drops of Heavenly Tranquil Dew.

Li Xiangming became increasingly shocked as he read on.

These things combined are so valuable that even the phrase "priceless" is insufficient to describe them. If they were obtained by Qi Refining forces like the Chen family of Baolong Valley or the Luo family of Shangqingyuan, they would have the opportunity to produce Foundation Establishment cultivators within ten years, allowing their family strength to achieve a qualitative leap.

However, while Jade Crystal Lotus and Heavenly Tranquil Dew are indeed precious, they cannot be considered rare treasures of heaven and earth. Moreover, these spiritual herbs are almost all of the same level, with dozens of them in total. So which one is the culprit that attracted the beast tide?

Li Xiangming looked at it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.

As the woman in the blue dress saw that he was slow to return the storage bag, her face gradually darkened, and the atmosphere around her suddenly became strange.

"Brother Green Robe, have you...have you found something?"

At this moment, Shi Fengxue's weak voice came.

After a moment's thought, Li Xiangming patted the small cloth bag at his waist.

After a while, the small cloth bag made a rustling sound, and a hairy, pointed face peeked out, the red markings on its forehead contrasting sharply with its golden fur.

"This is... a Golden Flame-Tailed Rat?"

The woman in the blue dress was taken aback and couldn't help but cover her mouth.

"You have good taste."

Li Xiangming smiled calmly.

The Golden Flame-Tailed Rat was a gift from Xu Qingchi as a token of his gratitude.

Perhaps it was because of its low cultivation level, or perhaps it was because the spiritual medicine it had eaten last time had not been digested, leaving it drowsy. In any case, the Golden Flame Tail Rat offered almost no resistance and became his second spiritual pet in a daze.

However, even after becoming a spirit pet, the Golden Flame-Tailed Rat still loves to sleep.

It stayed in the small cloth bag all day, neither eating nor drinking, and did not go treasure hunting.

Li Xiangming knew that it was refining spiritual herbs, so he never disturbed it.

Only now did he think of asking the Golden Flame-Tailed Rat for advice.

The Golden Flame-Tailed Rat moved nimbly and quickly crawled out of the small cloth bag, landing in Li Xiangming's palm, and wrinkled its nose slightly.

In just a moment, the Golden Flame-Tailed Rat chirped excitedly and suddenly jumped onto Shi Fengxue.

It didn't even glance at the woman in the blue dress's storage bag!

"This is this"

Shi Fengxue looked at the golden-tailed flame rat darting around her body, feeling helpless.

Upon seeing this, Li Xiangming immediately narrowed his eyes: "The treasure is on you."

"How can it be!"

Shi Fengxue retorted, handing over her storage bag: "Brother Green Robe, if you don't believe me, please take a look. I don't have much on me."

Li Xiangming accepted it without hesitation.

Shi Fengxue's storage bag was only the normal size, and as she said, the contents were less than one-tenth of those in the blue-skirted woman's storage bag, and most of them were ordinary items.

Li Xiangming looked at it several times, but still couldn't figure it out.

However, he now has the Golden Flame-Tailed Rat to help him!
In a short moment, he changed his approach, taking out the items one by one, letting the Golden Flame-Tailed Rat sniff them, and then putting them back.

The valuables in front were fine, and Shi Fengxue was not as worried as her mother.

But when Li Xiangming took out her underwear, the already shy girl blushed and lowered her head, not daring to speak.

"What is this?"

Li Xiangming held up a small, square-shaped wooden box.

Shi Fengxue raised her head slightly, then quickly lowered it again, her face flushed red as if it were about to bleed. She replied in a voice barely audible, "These are clothes I wore."

"open to take a look."

"no!"

Shi Fengxue shook her head repeatedly. Men and women should not touch each other. Although she had a good impression of the green-robed brother who had saved her and her mother twice, how could she possibly agree to such an excessive request?
Unexpectedly, Li Xiangming's gaze was like a knife, and he coldly shouted, "I said open it!"

Shi Fengxue was immediately frightened. Only then did she notice that the Golden Flame-Tailed Rat had somehow climbed onto the small wooden box, scratching and biting with its claws, looking very anxious.

"Mother!" Shi Fengxue couldn't help but look at her mother.

At this moment, the woman in the blue dress was deathly pale.

She had disguised the small wooden box perfectly, and since it was inside a storage bag—a different dimension—she was confident that even a Golden Core cultivator wouldn't be able to detect any clues with their naked eyes or divine sense.

But she didn't expect the other party to have a Golden Silk Flame Tail Rat. Although this thing has a low cultivation level, its nose is exceptionally sensitive and it can smell the residual scent of the target from at least thirty days ago.

She had placed the small wooden box only a little over ten days ago.

In other words, the Golden Flame-Tailed Rat sensed something amiss the moment it appeared.

In her desperation, she didn't bother to explain to Shi Fengxue. She grabbed Li Xiangming's arm and pleaded, "Don't open it!"

A cold smile crept across Li Xiangming's lips.

Judging from the reactions of the Golden Flame-Tailed Rat and the woman in the blue dress, it must have been this small wooden box that attracted the beast tide.

The woman in the blue dress knew all about this, but deliberately concealed the truth, using her storage bag as bait to confuse the situation.

Of course, if the contents of the small wooden box are indeed valuable, then from her perspective, doing so is perfectly justifiable.

However, with the beast tide looming ahead and none of the three of them out of danger, forcibly carrying the small wooden box would be tantamount to courting death.

If he weren't a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he would probably have been dragged to death by this mother and daughter by now.

These aren't actually the key points.

After all, he's still alive and well, isn't he?
If he wanted, he could summon his flying boat at any time and escape.

The problem is that the small wooden box can drive monsters mad. Whatever is inside is of great value to him in resisting the beast tide and protecting Monkey Valley. He must keep it in his own hands.

"Choose one: either your life or this item!"

Li Xiangming's tone suddenly became stern.

If the box hadn't been protected by a restriction, he would have already made his move.

"Mother, what's in here? I don't know anything about it!" Shi Fengxue asked anxiously, like an ant on a hot pan.

The woman in the blue dress ignored her, her expression changing several times before she finally looked steadily at Li Xiangming and said in a deep voice, "Young master, I am grateful for your life-saving grace, but this gift cannot be given to you."

She paused, a hint of authority appearing on her face: "I'm not afraid to tell you, I am the Daoist partner of Shi Yuan, the current head of Shengyi Sect, and the fourth daughter of Wang Jinshan, the current head of Qingju Mountain. The woman beside me is Shi Yuan's biological daughter, the apple of the eye of both Shengyi Sect and the Wang family. I hope that for the sake of Shengyi Sect and the Wang family, you will not make any designs on her."

Shengyi Gate?
The Wang family of Qingjushan?
Li Xiangming was completely stunned.

He guessed that the other party was of high status, but he never imagined that she would be the wife of the head of Shengyi Sect, with a huge Qingju Mountain as her maternal home.

Leaving aside the Wang family of Qingju Mountain, the Shengyi Sect is indeed located on the north side of Danggui Mountain!

Although Shengyi Sect is currently besieged by demonic beasts and the situation is urgent, this situation will only last for two or three months at most, and reinforcements from outside should be arriving continuously.

It's not that other forces have a good relationship with Shengyi Sect, but rather that the hatred between humans and demons has penetrated to the bone.

Take Hengyue Sect as an example. They might be able to sit idly by and watch the Daishan spiritual vein change hands and the lineage be replaced, but they would never hand over the land they had worked so hard to conquer to the demon race.

If the demonic calamity of Mount Dai gets out of control and the White Dew Sect is unable to handle it, it would not be surprising if the Hengyue Sect sent a Golden Core cultivator to take action.

Even if they really refuse to come, the Wuliang Sword Sect, far away in Luqingdao, will send out sword envoys to travel hundreds of thousands of miles to suppress them with a single sword strike.

This is the tacit understanding within the cultivation world of Heng Kingdom—accumulated through countless racial wars filled with blood and tears.

No one thought that Shengyi Sect would fall so easily under the iron hooves of the demon beasts.

At least the Li family doesn't think so.

The reason why Li Xiangming used delaying tactics instead of refusing outright when Yu Feixuan came to Maojing Mine on behalf of Feihu Cave and Shengyi Sect to ask for help was precisely this.

Once the cultivation community of Puxian, led by Bailu Sect, has made its plans, the Li family will respond, and everyone will rush in to repel the Daishan beast tide. Wouldn't it be wonderful to gain a good reputation?

The Sheng Yi Sect wants the Li family to send people to Lingyue Peak first, to defend it with the help of the formation—isn't that absurd?
Who is willing to bear these additional casualties?

In short, Shengyi Sect has not yet reached the end of its rope. According to the intelligence obtained by Li Xiangming, more than 30 Bone Fusion Demon Cultivators have besieged Lingyue Peak for more than half a month and have been unable to break through the mountain protection formation, which shows that Shengyi Sect has a profound foundation.

In the entire Dai Mountain region, only the Zhenhun Sect can rival the Shengyi Sect.

However, with monsters sweeping through Dainan, should we not go to Daibei?
Li Xiangming believed that it wouldn't be long before the demonic beasts would also invade the Soul Suppressing Sect, just as they might attack Monkey Valley.

In this way, both major sects of Daishan will be weakened.

If it's weakened at the same time, then it's the same as not being weakened at all.

Shengyi Sect remains the dominant force in Dainan, and the sect leader that smaller Foundation Establishment forces like Feihu Cave rely on.

Under this clear logic, why would the wife of the Shengyi Sect's leader risk being attacked by demonic beasts to leave the sect?
Li Xiangming instantly became suspicious, but after glancing at the two, he felt that their demeanor was hard to fake.

If the two men truly held extremely high positions within the Shengyi Sect, the sect would inevitably try to sabotage them, which put him in a difficult position.

After a moment of contemplation, Li Xiangming softened his tone and said, "Since Madam has revealed her identity, I will not hide anything. I am Li Xiangming from Dangui Mountain, and I dare to guarantee with the reputation of the Li family that I will not harm your lives."

"However, the beast tide is relentlessly pursuing us because of this item. Madam doesn't want anyone to know about it, nor is she willing to give it up. I'm afraid she won't escape the clutches of the monsters. Why don't we lend this item to the Li family? Once I lure the monsters away and Madam is safe, you can visit the Li family later and retrieve this item. Is that alright?"

borrow?
The woman in the blue dress showed no sign of wariness. Such a treasure, once lent out, could it really be taken back?
But now she was terrified that the other party would kill her and steal her treasure, so she didn't dare to show any sarcasm. Instead, she pretended to be surprised and asked, "Are you a member of the Li family?"

"It's genuine, this is my keepsake."

Li Xiangming handed over his family's jade pendant: "With this, you can find me within the Li family's sphere of influence."

The woman in the blue dress frowned and gently stroked the three characters "Li Xiangming" on the paper with her thumb.

Could he really be a member of the Li family?
She tried hard to recall the scenes she had spent with Shi Yuan, and a flash of inspiration struck her. More than half a year ago, Shi Yuan seemed to have mentioned to his disciples that a genius of the Li family's Xiang generation had emerged and made a name for himself.

She finally began to believe it to some extent.

If the other party is from a prominent family, their credibility is guaranteed; after all, they can run away but they can't hide.

But her gaze toward the wooden box remained hesitant.

"Madam, in this urgent situation, we must act expediently!"

Li Xiangming offered a subtle reminder.

During the three's escape, savage monsters on the ground gave chase and almost caught up.

The woman in the blue dress caught a glimpse of this scene and her mind was in turmoil.

She didn't actually know that the beast tide was attracted by the Clear Mind Fruit, but judging from the Golden Thread Flame Tail Rat's reaction, it was indeed this thing, and only this thing could drive the demon beasts into madness.

Because the Fruit of Enlightenment and Mind is the most precious of all treasures.

The cultivator who ate it experienced a breakthrough in his cultivation, and from then on, his Taoist practices went smoothly.

When a demon beast eats it, its intelligence increases dramatically, giving it an unparalleled advantage when comprehending innate supernatural powers, and even allowing it to overcome differences in race and bloodline.

She and Shi Yuan devoted tremendous effort to obtaining this Dao Fruit.

Their purpose was nothing more than to help Shi Fengxue rise to the top in one fell swoop.

Therefore, even if it meant death, she did not want to lose this priceless treasure.

However, she also understood the meaning of the "Li family member" in front of her. Even if the other party dared not act rashly because of the Shengyi Sect, as long as the Tongming Acupoint Fruit was still on their bodies, the mother and daughter would not be able to escape the beast tide.

She was willing to sacrifice herself for her daughter's sake.

But the daughter had no chance to escape either. What could be done?
(End of this chapter)