Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 564 The Alliance of Gushe
Li Xiangming knew that sectarianism was prevalent in the cultivation world.

Sects don't trust families, families don't trust independent cultivators, and independent cultivators trust neither.

The conflict is not a conflict between one or two individuals, nor between one or two powerful forces, but rather the accumulated experience and lessons learned from the survival of the fittest in the cultivation world over thousands of years.

Li Xiangming also wanted to shout "Everyone has a responsibility to fight against the monsters," so he sat down on Tailai Peak with an air of authority, looking down at the various families and sects of cultivators gathered in Pudong. The scale of the Demon Suppression Camp was now a hundred times larger than before, and it swept away the monster tide.

But that's impossible; the Li family doesn't have that kind of prestige.

For the Luo family or the Lingwu Sect, exterminating demonic beasts was merely a means of self-preservation, and there are many ways to do so, not necessarily handing over all their cultivators to outsiders.

What if the Li family has ulterior motives, openly suppressing the beast tide while secretly plotting to weaken the power of various families in Pudong?

If that's the case, even if the Demon Suppression Camp eventually defeats the beast tide, everyone else will just be helping the Li family pull chestnuts out of the fire.

Li Xiangming knew that the Luo family, Lingwu Sect, and now the Xu family all harbored concerns.

He was unable to dispel these concerns.

In fact, the Demon Suppression Camp had just suffered a major defeat! Putting himself in their shoes, if someone asked him to send eighty members of the Li family to a defeated army, he would also feel uneasy.

but!

With the beast tide surging in Pudong, he couldn't do nothing.

Faced with everyone's doubts, Li Xiangming spread out a blank scroll on the table, took out a brush and ink, outlined a triangle, and wrote the names of Danggui Mountain Li, Gushe Ridge Xu, and Immortal Ape Manor at the corners. Then he drew a circle, enclosing the triangle and the names of the three forces, and wrote "Demon Suppression Camp" below it.

The white-haired old woman and Qiu Changzhang both gathered around to watch, their expressions showing surprise.

Li Xiangming blew on the ink to dry it and said in a deep voice, "The beast tide is overwhelming, and the strength of one family is inevitably insignificant. I wish to form an alliance with the Xu family and the Immortal Ape Manor to jointly resist the demon beasts. If this alliance is formed, the Demon Suppression Camp will no longer be under the control of my Li family, but will belong to the alliance of the three families! No matter which family is in trouble, the Demon Suppression Camp will fulfill its mission. I wonder what Madam Xu and Manor Lord Qiu think?"

Alliance?

The white-haired old woman's heart stirred; she naturally did not believe that the Li family was willing to give up leadership of the Demon Suppression Camp.

Yes, the Demon Suppression Camp has joined the Alliance.

Who has the biggest fist in the league?
Isn't it the Li family?
If the Li family wants the Demon Suppression Camp to go east, how can the Demon Suppression Camp possibly go west?
However, it must be said that Li Xiangming's proposal was very tempting.

At least the Li family has shown their sincerity. If the Xu family can get involved in the Demon Suppression Camp, even if they can't actually command the Demon Suppression Camp in battle, they can still easily contact the Xu family members within it.
Moreover, the alliance's primary task is to ensure the safety of all parties.

This is precisely the most pressing demand of the Xu family.

Thinking of this, the white-haired old woman secretly glanced at Qiu Changzhang.

Qiu Changzhang hesitated, not expecting Li Xiangming to propose an alliance.

Alliances themselves are not unusual.

Especially in Pudong, where the situation is currently chaotic.

For example, the Immortal Ape Manor and the Xu family had formed an alliance long ago; otherwise, he would not have appeared in Fish Belly Valley.

But does the Li family need to form an alliance?

Or rather, does the Li family need two weak allies, the Immortal Ape Manor and the Xu family?
After hesitating for a moment, Qiu Changzhang still asked, "To be honest, Vice Steward Li, Madam Xu and I had already discussed the alliance, but I don't know if the Li family's thoughts are the same as ours."

Furthermore, I would like to know, what is the purpose of the Demon-Suppressing Camp? Is it to protect our three families, or to completely eliminate or drive away the beast tides throughout Pudong?

Li Xiangming smiled slightly.

Both questions Qiu Changzhang asked were crucial.

Who doesn't know that in times of crisis, alliances should be formed to protect each other?

But alliances are not just empty words; they must be based on detailed covenants.

Different covenants represent different natures of the alliance.

The purpose of the Demon Suppression Camp is related to the interests of each family. If he leads the Demon Suppression Camp to fight against demons, casualties are inevitable. In order to ensure the combat strength of the Demon Suppression Camp, each family must continuously contribute manpower and resources.

Immortal Ape Manor and the Xu family were clearly worried about not being able to bear the burden. Li Xiangming immediately reassured them, "Our alliance of three families was established specifically for the beast tide, so we only get involved in military and material matters. The Demon Suppression Camp belongs to the alliance, so it is naturally only responsible to the members of the alliance and will not arbitrarily attack the beast tide."

"Of course, our alliance will not be limited to just three."

Li Xiangming changed the subject and continued, "Many forces urgently need the protection of the Demon Suppression Camp. If they are willing to join us, we must also have the responsibility to save the millions of lives in Pudong from their suffering..."

Qiu Changzhang understood halfway through the conversation.

The Li family has great ambitions and hopes to unite the entire Pudong region.

He didn't know if Li Xiangming could do that, but as long as the Demon Suppression Camp didn't attack blindly, that would be fine—the Demon Suppression Camp of the Three-Family Alliance should only be responsible to the three families; the Demon Suppression Camp of the Four-Family Alliance should also only be responsible to the four families.

He would be very satisfied if the Li family could promise that.

The white-haired old woman received Qiu Changzhang's glance and knew his intentions. She immediately said, "Vice Steward Li, my Xu family and Immortal Ape Manor are willing to form an alliance with the Li family to jointly fight against the demonic beasts."

"readily!"

Li Xiangming clapped his hands and laughed, then stood up and said, "We are discussing an alliance at Gushe Ridge. Let's call this alliance the Gushe Alliance. What do you two think?"

The white-haired old woman naturally had no objection to the name.

Qiu Changzhang didn't care about that.

The name of the alliance was quickly decided.

Li Xiangming followed up, saying, "Since there is an alliance, there should be a leader. Madam Xu is highly respected, and Master Qiu's cultivation is profound. I wonder which of the two would be willing to be the leader?"

The white-haired old woman coughed once, but did not speak.

She was highly respected in the Xu family, but what did she amount to outside?

Qiu Changzhang was also somewhat embarrassed.

He is indeed a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but he is only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Li Xiangming's cultivation was in no way inferior to his, so how could he be worthy of the title "cultivation reaching the profound level"?
Both declined, but Qiu Changzhang took the initiative to say, "The Li family of Dangui Mountain is very famous in Pudong. Deputy Chief Steward Li is very talented, holds a high position at a young age, and is a role model for us young cultivators. In my opinion, making Deputy Chief Steward Li the leader of the alliance can boost the morale of the Demon Suppression Camp."

"That's right, please don't delay, Deputy Steward Li."

The white-haired old woman echoed her sentiment.

Seeing this, Li Xiangming stopped being modest and assumed the title of leader. He then reciprocated by appointing Qiu Changzhang and the white-haired old woman as deputy leaders. This meant that even if other forces joined the Gushe Alliance in the future, they would not be able to shake the existing positions of the three families.

Next, the three parties began discussing the contents of the alliance.

The first to be hit, of course, is the Demon Suppression Camp's troops!
Li Xiangming said, “Each family and sect has a different foundation. If we treat them differently, it would be unfair that my Li family sent a total of 120 cultivators while the Immortal Ape Manor only sent 10. If we treat them equally, it would be putting the Immortal Ape Manor in a difficult position. What are your thoughts?”

The white-haired old woman and Qiu Changzhang looked at each other.

In terms of the number of cultivators, both families are at a disadvantage, especially the Immortal Ape Manor—which actually harbors some desire to take advantage of the Li family.

However, Li Xiangming took the initiative to elevate both families to the high position of vice-leader, clearly intending to be on equal footing with the Xu family and the Immortal Ape Manor.

This makes the situation somewhat awkward for both parties.

The white-haired old woman was the first to ask, "I wonder what Alliance Leader Li's thoughts are?"

Li Xiangming smiled and said, "The ultimate goal of the Gushe Alliance is to fight against the beast tide in the entire Pudong, which is a long and arduous task. Therefore, we must lay a solid foundation from the beginning and never let our differences cause any discord. My idea is that each alliance member should contribute 10,000 spirit stones. As the alliance leader, I am willing to set an example for the Li family and contribute 15,000 spirit stones."

"Ten thousand spiritual stones?"

Qiu Changzhang was shocked. His Immortal Ape Manor only had a few dozen acres of spirit fields. Even if he sold all the spirit fields and even the spirit springs, he still wouldn't be able to come up with this amount of spirit stones.

The white-haired old woman was equally astonished, but her focus shifted somewhat: "Alliance Leader Li, does your Li family still have so much spare money?"

Li Xiangming quickly waved his hand: "I haven't finished yet. Let's call this spirit stone alliance fee. Every member has to pay, but it doesn't necessarily have to be cashed in spirit stones. Each mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator is worth 200 spirit stones, and each late-stage Qi Refining cultivator is worth 400 spirit stones. All cultivators dispatched to the Demon Suppression Camp can offset this alliance fee based on their cultivation level. If it's not enough, they can exchange it for other resources. If it exceeds that, it will be considered a loan to the alliance. In the future, when the Demon Suppression Camp kills demon beasts and sells the materials they capture, it can be used to compensate each member."

(End of this chapter)