Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 512 The Heart of Revenge
The spring rain fell like silk threads, and the twilight over Danggui Mountain was more somber than ever before.

A nimble flying shuttle slowly entered, breaking the strict no-fly rule at the Li family's residence.

But no one stopped them. Tens of thousands of Li family members and relatives in the central courtyard seemed to know what had happened. They gathered outside the door and watched the shuttle fly away.

At that moment, the bell rang.

The first sound.

The second sound.

The eighth shot!
Just as the last bell rang, Li Chengkang arrived at the inner courtyard ancestral hall.

This sacrificial site, which filled the Li family with awe, was renovated into a magnificent place, but now, because it is crowded with people, it seems a bit cramped.

All eyes turned to Li Chengkang.

Li Chengkang stopped the shuttle, glanced at the crowd, and hesitated to make a move.

No one dared to urge them on; time seemed to stand still at that moment.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Chengkang finally turned around, picked up a corpse covered with a white sheet from the flying shuttle, and walked step by step toward the ancestral hall. The crowd immediately parted to make way for him.

Soon, Li Chengkang passed through the screen and arrived at the ancestral hall.

By this time, the hall had already been occupied by the elders and senior members of the clan.

Upon seeing Li Chengkang enter, Li Chengzhi staggered closer, grabbed his cousin's arm, and asked with trembling, cracked lips, "Second brother, Xiangren... Xiangren really perished?"

Li Chengkang remained silent, and the already oppressive atmosphere on the field suddenly plummeted to freezing point.

Li Chengzhi opened his mouth, as if he wanted to ask another question.

Li Qianxiong interrupted in a deep voice, "Seventh Uncle!"

Li Chengzhi turned around, his aged face showing confusion and pain. Li Xiangru quickly stepped forward and gently pulled his arm away.

No one stopped him. Li Chengkang slowly put down the cold body in his arms, then knelt down in front of a tall middle-aged man in a plain robe: "Chengkang is incompetent and failed to save Xiangren. I hope my uncle will punish me."

Li Huinan stood before the group of memorial tablets, without saying a word.

Li Qianxiong knelt in front of the corpse, lifted the white cloth, and revealed Li Xiangren's bloodless face.

In just a moment, he covered it with the white sheet again.

Before he could speak, Li Chengzhi lunged at Li Xiangren, crying out in a hoarse voice, "Xiangren, my dear grandson, how could you leave before me!"

Upon hearing this, all the eldest sons of the family present showed sorrow on their faces.

Several people burst into tears, freezing the surrounding air into a somber, deathly silence.

Hearing the mournful cries, Li Qianxiong's face also turned weary.

If he had told Li Huinan to go west, he might have saved Li Xiangren.

But he didn't, because Li Xiangming was also in imminent danger.

It wasn't that he favored Li Xiangming more; it was simply because Li Xiangming had fifty Li family cultivators under his command, as well as a large demon-suppressing camp. These were forces that the Li family desperately needed and couldn't afford to lose easily in the face of the beast tide.

However, despite his best efforts, Li Huinan was still a step too late.

The Demon Suppression Camp suffered a crushing defeat, and Li Xiangming disappeared without a trace.

He finally made up his mind to let Li Huinan leave seclusion, but ended up with a double loss.

Thinking of this, Li Qianxiong's already short stature became somewhat hunched.

At this moment, Li Huinan finally spoke: "Are you sure it was the Qin family who did it?"

Li Chengkang nodded and replied, "When I arrived, Luoma Ravine was a mess. Judging from the traces of magical power, four Foundation Establishment cultivators were besieging Xiang Ren. Besides Xiang Ren and his wife, there were three other corpses on the scene, all of whom were related to the Qin family. The only survivor must have been seriously injured, which is why he didn't have time to clean up the battlefield and left in a hurry."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and three mangled corpses fell to the ground, some of them barely recognizable as human.

Li Huinan examined the body carefully, especially pausing before an elderly man's mutilated corpse. After a long while, he sighed and said, "Xiang Ren is worthy of the name of the pride of my Li family. He did not disgrace our ancestors in front of the ancestral hall. I only regret that I was not there. Otherwise, I would have made sure that the Qin family traitors never returned."

"Uncle!"

Li Chengzhi suddenly looked up: "The grudge against Xiang Ren must be avenged!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man, his face flushed red, stepped forward: "That's right! The Qin family killed my Li family's prodigy and destroyed my Li family's foundation. If we don't avenge this, we swear we are not human!" "We swear we are not human!"

Within just a few breaths, more than ten menacing figures emerged from inside the hall. Hearing the commotion, the eldest son of the family outside the ancestral hall disregarded the rules and forced his way in.

"eye for eye!"

"Conquer Redstone Valley!"

"We swear to fight the Qin family to the death!"

Amidst the heightened emotions of the crowd, the ancestral hall instantly descended into chaos.

Seeing this, Li Qianxiong roared, "Enough! How can you behave like this in front of our ancestors?"

However, the eldest son was consumed by anger and no longer cared about maintaining his dignity as the head of the family.

The red-faced man was particularly radical, and he rammed his head against a golden pillar in the ancestral hall. Even as his head was bleeding profusely, he still shouted fiercely, "The Qin family killed me first. If the patriarch is afraid of fighting, I will use my blood to comfort our ancestors. There are no cowards in the Li family who are afraid of death!"

"I'd rather die!"

"And I!"

One after another, the sons of the eldest son's family stood up, each one filled with grief and indignation.

Li Qianxiong looked at them, his face ashen.

How could he not be angry?
Li Xiangren was not only the pride of the eldest son's family, but also the next head of the family whom he had long ago chosen. He placed no less hope on Li Xiangren than he did on the eldest son's family.

Now that Li Xiangren has died in battle, his hatred for the Qin family is already overwhelming and difficult to quell.

But at this very moment, the beast tide from Daishan had already swept through Monkey Valley. More than a dozen cultivation forces, including Qingyang Temple, began to migrate from the direction of Monkey Valley towards Danggui Mountain.

People in Pudong are living in fear!

Lingwu Sect, Luo Family of Shangqingyuan, and other forces rooted in Pudong are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Li family, hoping they can take charge and deal with the beast tide crisis.

The Bailu Sect also sent people over, presenting the Hengyue Sect's decree to coerce the Li family into sending troops to attack the Zhenhun Sect, while also offering them great benefits and inviting them to divide up Daishan.

Which one isn't an urgent matter?

If he were to order retaliation against the Qin family now, not to mention the odds of winning, it would take him more than a month just to get to Redstone Valley.

Did they ignore the beast tide during this period?

Have they also abandoned the situation in Daishan?

But he couldn't voice these difficulties.

The eldest son's brothers are not in a position of authority and will not understand him. If he tries to persuade them with earnest words, it will only make the eldest son's brothers think that he is making excuses and belittling the matter of Li Xiangren's murder. This means belittling the eldest son's brothers' status in the family.

Li Qianxiong clenched his fists and swept his gaze over the crowd, but the eldest son's angry gaze became increasingly aggressive.

After a long pause, he finally loosened his fist, took a deep breath, and slowly said, "I will never sit idly by in the face of Xiang Ren's vengeance. From this day forward, I declare war on the Qin family to demonstrate the Li family's resolve. But revenge is not suicide. The Qin family resides in Punan, familiar with the terrain, and can wait in comfort. If we march south in a large-scale campaign, we will inevitably encounter setbacks."

"I intend to form an alliance with the Geng family, using the Yunhuang mines as a springboard to eliminate the Qin family's remaining forces. When the time is right, we will join forces with the Geng family to launch a full-scale attack on Red Stone Valley. At that time, not a single Qin family traitor will escape!"

Upon hearing this, the eldest son's brothers exchanged glances, their emotions calming down somewhat.

The red-faced man also lowered his head and shouted loudly, "Since the patriarch is determined to avenge Xiangren, my eldest branch will do everything in our power."
-
"father!"

Outside the ancestral hall, Li Xiangzhen hurriedly caught up with Li Qianhe, her face anxious and uneasy: "The clan meeting didn't mention my brother, what will happen to him?"

Li Qianhe turned around, his gaze complicated: "Even the head of the family has been kidnapped by the eldest branch to make decisions. Your two uncles, and even your great-uncle, may be stationed at the Yunhuang mine. Your eldest uncle is still seriously injured, and the family has to deal with the beast tide. Where can we find the manpower to find your brother? This matter may only be up to us to rely on ourselves."

"Ourselves?"

Li Xiangzhen's expression changed slightly: "Father, you don't mean to go to Monkey Valley, do you? The Imperial Guard says it's teeming with monsters there, too dangerous."

"We have to go even if it's dangerous!"

Li Qianhe interrupted him sharply, then sighed deeply, "Your brother's life tablet hasn't fallen yet, there's still a glimmer of hope. As his father, I can't give up on him. Don't worry, I have the support of the four branches of the family, I won't go out alone."

After a pause, Li Qianhe took Li Xiangzhen's hand and whispered, "Your sister-in-law is in a state of utter confusion right now, probably thinking the same thing I am. You must persuade her to stay calm and accompany her to Yuyuan. Yuyuan has Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Cao family, and only Foundation Establishment cultivators can move freely in the face of the beast tide."

(End of this chapter)