Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 582 Separation
"Meet the Master!"

Li Xiangming sat in front of the hall with his eyes closed, resting, when a man and a woman arrived together.

The woman was Zhang Min, with a hint of apology on her face: "I hope the sect leader will forgive me for not being able to greet you from afar."

Li Xiangming sized up the two of them.

Zhang Min had probably taken a youth-preserving pill, as her face still retained some of her youthful beauty. However, her demeanor had become increasingly composed, and she was no longer the lively senior sister from Green Cloud Cave.

Luo Changqing remained almost unchanged, his two prominent nasolabial folds making his eyes appear even brighter. Since returning from Hengyue Sect, he had actually reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

"My arrival was unexpected, no need for formalities."

Li Xiangming slowly stood up and said, "Where is Ren Kui's grave? Take me to see it."

He was naturally dissatisfied that Green Cloud Cave had broken away from the Demon Suppression Camp without authorization.

But since he had already expressed his attitude to Xu Qingchi, there was no need for him to criticize the two of them in person.

After all, he still held the title of the leader of Green Cloud Cave, and he should admit one thing—the disciples of Green Cloud Cave were more important than the Demon Suppression Camp itself. At least in front of Zhang Min and the others, he had to admit it.

Zhang Min and Luo Changqing breathed a sigh of relief when they didn't hear any scolding.

Zhang Min replied, "Junior Brother Fang's body has not been found. We have erected a cenotaph for him in the valley. Sect Leader, please follow me."

Li Xiangming followed and paid respects to Fang Renkui.

During this time, disciples of Green Cloud Cave gathered around, most of them young children.

Li Xiangming glanced at them, but had not yet spoken.

Zhang Min explained, "This was a plan that was set last year. This year, we recruited a total of thirteen disciples, all of whom were taught the techniques. Eight of them have already sensed the Qi and entered the Dao."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming couldn't help but glance at her.

The intention behind Green Cloud Cave accepting disciples at this critical juncture is self-evident.

Most sects have an inner and outer sect. When inner disciples join a sect, they also take a master and establish their status. Outer disciples, on the other hand, are considered inferior and do not even have a proper master. They are usually taught techniques by the Transmission Elder.

This is already considered good.

Some sects even only temporarily assign one or two deacons to teach.

After studying for two or three months, outer disciples often find that their "masters" have been dismissed from their positions and returned to the inner sect, where they have to fend for themselves with a tattered manual.

The sect's actions are actually understandable.

True high-level cultivators are always few and far between. Even the sect leader cannot force them to take on disciples. The number of disciples in a sect is the cornerstone of a sect's strength.

The strategy of dividing into inner and outer sects to strengthen the main body and weaken the branches is a method that sects have explored over thousands of years and is almost the only way to ensure the long-term inheritance of their path.

However, doing so does not mean that the sect has completely ignored the outer disciples.

At least in the process of entering the Dao, the sect is serious—both the elders who pass on skills and the stewards who are dedicated to teaching disciples are strictly selected.

Many sects also have explicit rules that these individuals must, within their duties, impart all their knowledge to their disciples.

Not only sects, but also aristocratic families attach great importance to the entry stage of bloodline and spiritual root.

This has become a common practice in the cultivation world.

Now, Zhang Min has brought these Green Cloud Cave seedlings who haven't fully entered the Dao here, clearly indicating that she doesn't want to return to the Demon Suppression Camp.

As the sect leader, does he mean to ignore these disciples and tell them all to follow him into battle?
If Zhang Min came up with this idea, then he could only say he was quite impressed.

Zhang Min, or rather, Green Cloud Cave, is slipping out of his control!
Li Xiangming stared at Zhang Min's calm face and suddenly asked, "Any promising talents?"

Zhang Min nodded and replied, "Reporting to the sect leader, there is a promising young man named Wen Liang, who has three spiritual roots and is primarily associated with water. There are also three other young men with four spiritual roots, and the rest are all young men with five spiritual roots."

Three spiritual roots certainly don't qualify a seedling as a good seedling.

However, this gentle and bright water-based spiritual root is perfectly suited for Green Cloud Cave.

Li Xiangming nodded, summoned all the young disciples to his side, spoke first with Wen Liang, and then inquired about the names, backgrounds, and cultivation progress of the other disciples one by one.

By the time the last person was questioned, it was already completely dark.

Xu Qingchi stepped forward and whispered, "Master, Brother Laiyong is still waiting for you."

"Tell him I'm tired and won't be visiting the Chi family this time," Li Xiangming replied calmly. He then paused for a moment in front of Fang Renkui's grave before returning to his residence alone.

"Cough cough."

Mao Jingze covered his mouth with his fist, slowly walked over, looked at Li Xiangming's back, and frowned, saying, "Junior Sister Zhang, the sect leader seems to be in a strange mood this time. Do you know the woman he brought with him?"

Zhang Min shook her head: "We've never met before!"

Mao Jingze pondered for a moment, then said, "The sect leader didn't mention his escape or the aftermath of the Demon Suppression Camp. He seems to be keeping his distance from Green Cloud Cave. What are our plans for the future?"

Zhang Min fell silent.

No one wants to be subordinate to someone else.

Although Green Cloud Cave recognized Li Xiangming as its leader, it never intended to work for the Li family.

Joining the Demon Suppression Camp to fight the beast tide sounds righteous, but for the now-declining Green Cloud Cave, it's more harmful than beneficial.

The death of Fang Renkui in particular directly demonstrated that this was a wrong path. It also highlighted Li Xiangming's consistent commitment to prioritizing the Li family from beginning to end!

Green Cloud Cave needs a more qualified leader!

This is the consensus of everyone.

However, Green Cloud Cave cannot exist without Li Xiangming!
Without Li Xiangming's support, Green Cloud Cave's finances collapsed instantly, and the disciples didn't even have the capital to cultivate.

Relying on income from cultivating spiritual fields?
It should be noted that these spiritual fields were all rented to Green Cloud Cave by Li Xiangming.

Even Xiaolan Valley itself was only allowed to be occupied by Green Cloud Cave because the Chi family was concerned about Li Xiangming.

In addition, Li Xiangming possesses the most important Taoist technique of Green Cloud Cave—the Lesser Xiaoxiang Technique—as well as the two lost ultimate skills, the Six Yin Void Divine Finger and the Ice-Dissolving Soul-Melting Technique.

The hope of returning to Green Cloud Cave and redeeming the spiritual vein also depends on Li Xiangming, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

All of this meant that Green Cloud Cave was in a passive position in front of Li Xiangming. If Li Xiangming demanded that the disciples of Green Cloud Cave return to the Demon Suppression Camp, Green Cloud Cave would have no choice but to agree.

Therefore, the most pressing problem for Green Cloud Cave right now is not dealing with external enemies, but facing its own sect leader.

Zhang Min pondered for a long time, then sighed.

To be fair, she had watched Li Xiangming grow up, so naturally she didn't want the relationship between Green Cloud Cave and Li Xiangming to break down or even go their separate ways.

This move not only put Green Cloud Cave in a difficult situation, but also made her, her senior sister, feel bad.

But this is happening quietly.

The disciples of Green Cloud Cave, including her, would not allow an outsider to become the nominal sect leader.

This would also greatly harm the interests of Green Cloud Cave.

What should she do to balance the interests of Green Cloud Cave and the sect leader, and maintain the relationship between the two?

"Senior Brother Mao, you should take the disciples back to cultivate first."

Zhang Min took a deep breath and lit an incense stick in front of Fang Renkui's grave.

Mao Jingze's brows furrowed even deeper.

Li Xiangming was a man of deep thoughts, and he couldn't fathom him.

In just over a year as the deputy sect leader, Junior Sister Zhang has become unfathomable.

Indeed, the environment can change a person.

After hesitating for a moment, Mao Jingze did not ask any further questions and left directly.

Zhang Min stood there for a long time before turning around and heading towards Lingtian District.

The spirit fields in Xiaolan Valley are roughly distributed in two directions. The fifty acres of spirit fields in the southeast direction belong to the Chi family, while the entire one hundred acres of spirit fields in the northeast direction are developed by Li Xiangming personally.

Green Cloud Cave is located in the northeast. Thirty acres of spiritual land were leased through a one-year rent-free period followed by a two-year rent reduction.

The remaining fields were in the hands of a spirit farmer named Deng Kang, who was quite capable. He either hired spirit farmers to cultivate the land or rented out the spirit fields on a short-term basis, ensuring that the other spirit fields were never left idle.

During the time when Green Cloud Cave joined the Demon Suppression Camp to fight against demons, they also entrusted their spiritual fields to this person, who ultimately took over the land perfectly.

(End of this chapter)