I planted the spiritual roots for my people, and they bestowed upon me a body inscribed with incense

With Yuan Batian dead, Li Yuan quickly subdued his next few trusted confidants.

This was the best outcome Li Yuan had envisioned. If they were all killed, the descendants of the Sishui Gang would be of no help to the Li family.

Just as Li Yuan finished dealing with the Sishui Gang, Xu Qingfeng rushed over. Upon seeing the scene before him, Xu Qingfeng was immediately stunned.

Upon noticing Xu Qingfeng's arrival, Li Yuan quickly stepped forward.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, you've arrived. The Sishui Gang actually dared to attempt to ambush and kill members of the Immortal Clan. They're incredibly audacious. However, their leader has already been executed, so Fellow Daoist Xu need not worry."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingfeng gazed at Li Yuan for a moment, then slowly said:

"Fellow Daoist Li, your move was rather sudden. I'm suddenly a little confused by you."

Li Yuan waved his hand, then slowly said:

"It was indeed my oversight in this matter, but Chief Yuan refused to hand over the person who harmed my brother, so I had no choice but to do so."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingfeng waved his hand and then slowly said:

"It is true that Yuan Batian was wrong in this matter. Since Fellow Daoist Li wants the Sishui Gang, it is fine to give it to the Li family. However, Fellow Daoist Li must not touch the people that Gang Leader Yuan is protecting."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan slowly said:

Why?

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingfeng slowly said:

"I came here for this very reason. That man is my nephew, and also the son of my cousin Xu Qingyang. He was sent to this Sishui Gang to play because he has no spiritual roots."

"If Fellow Daoist Li seeks to cause trouble for this person, then my Xu family will have no choice but to intervene. Please consider this carefully, Fellow Daoist Li."

Li Yuan looked at Xu Qingfeng's serious face and then said:

"Haha, Brother Xu, what are you saying? It's just children playing around, so it doesn't count, especially since he's Brother Xu's nephew."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingfeng remained silent, entered the courtyard, brought out a young man, and left the Sishui Gang's headquarters without even saying goodbye to Li Yuan.

Not long after Xu Qingfeng left, Zhou Boyuan arrived with a large number of soldiers. With no backer, Zhou Boyuan was naturally not afraid, and soon all the members of the Sishui Gang were taken away by Zhou Boyuan.

Upon seeing Li Yuan arrive, Zhou Boyuan respectfully stepped forward.

"Haha, Master Li is indeed shrewd, willing to let these troublemakers go."

Li Yuan said calmly:

"Brother Boyuan, you've arrived just in time. I'll leave these matters to you from now on. From now on, the Sishui Gang will be the foundation of my Li family in Luoshan City. Brother Boyuan, you'll have to take good care of it."

Zhou Boyuan nodded repeatedly.

"Haha, Brother Li, don't worry, I know this very well."

Seeing that the matter was resolved, Li Yuan led Li Tong and the others away from Luoshan City.

As for Wang Tiezhu and Zhou Qiang, Li Yuan planned to have Wang Tiezhu manage the Sishui Gang, with Zhou Qiang playing an auxiliary role. This way, they could both amass wealth and he could rest assured, since Wang Tiezhu's son now also bore the surname Li.

Back home, Li Yuan recounted the events to Li Daqiang and then handed the entire matter over to him.

More than ten days passed slowly. The Li family was unusually lively today. The servants were running around, and Li Yuan was anxiously waiting with Liu Yue'er and the others. Fortunately, before long, the sound of a baby crying came from inside the house, and a smile appeared on Li Yuan's face.

Upon hearing the midwife inside say that it was time to go in, Li Yuan was the first to rush into the room, followed by Li Daqiang and Zhang Shi.

Li Yuan looked at the baby lying next to Liu Yue'er and probed with his divine sense. He found that the baby was a boy, but he could not tell whether the baby had any spirituality. Spirituality is something that is born after a baby develops intelligence.

Li Yuan glanced at the baby boy and then picked him up. The baby seemed to recognize Li Yuan, and as soon as Li Yuan picked him up, the baby smiled at him, which made Li Yuan even happier. How could a newborn baby open its eyes?

Li Daqiang looked at Li Yuan's child and slowly said:

"Yuan'er, the ancestral precepts of my Li family are: Heaven shines brightly on the vast universe, Earth bestows blessings and longevity, Loyalty safeguards the foundation of the nation, and Filial piety inherits the virtues of our ancestors."

When you and Tong'er were born, I never imagined that my Li family would have such a glorious future. Therefore, I haven't named them after our ancestors. However, your grandfather's generation used "longevity" as a generational name, and so does my grandson's. So, please use that as your name.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan pondered for a moment, then slowly said:

"Father, since it's a boy, let's name him Li Shouqian." We hope he will uphold righteousness and humility in the future.

Upon hearing the name, Li Daqiang's eyes lit up. Li Shouqian, a good name.

Thus, Li Yuan's first son, Li Shouqian, was born smoothly.

Meanwhile, the Li family held a three-day banquet to celebrate the birth of a son, and Liu Yue'er's influence in the Li family also increased significantly.

After Li Shouqian was born, the Li family returned to peace. The Sishui Gang of Luoshan City was renamed Sishui Escort Agency. Now, Wang Tiezhu used it to do legitimate business. Wang Tiezhu also recruited those gang members who had not committed serious crimes to become escorts in the agency.

Meanwhile, thanks to the "Thousand Rivers Gathering Meridian Technique," the spiritual energy concentration on Zhushan Mountain, where the Li family lives, is increasing day by day, and the spiritual energy concentration in the spiritual fields at the foot of the mountain has successfully reached the requirement for planting spiritual rice.

Li Yuan, who was cultivating on the mountain, made a special trip down to assist Liu Yue'er in managing the tenants who had been recruited and trained by the Li family to cultivate the spirit fields.

Most of these tenants were originally residents of the small fishing village.

Time passed slowly, and another year went by in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, Li Yuan sat cross-legged on the bamboo mountain, his aura rising and falling, and the surrounding spiritual energy constantly converged towards Li Yuan, transforming into the magic power within his dantian.

Li Daqiang, who was in seclusion, clearly sensed the changes in Li Yuan. He stopped cultivating and stood guard in front of Li Yuan.

Only after the surrounding spiritual energy fluctuations disappeared did Li Yuan slowly open his eyes. At this moment, Li Yuan officially reached the first step of the mid-stage of Qi Refining, the fourth level of Qi Refining.

After Li Yuan successfully broke through, Li Daqiang slowly returned to the wooden house to continue refining his magic power. The joy he had felt when he first developed his spiritual root was gone from Li Daqiang's face. He also realized the difference between cultivating immortality and practicing martial arts. With martial arts, you can achieve results no matter how many times you practice, but if you go astray in cultivating immortality, you won't even have a chance to turn back.

Fortunately, Li Daqiang had Li Yuan by his side to guide him, and his cultivation level reached the second level of the "Five Elements Spirit Gathering Technique", which is the second level of Qi Refining.

After Li Yuan finished adjusting his breathing, he saw that Li Daqiang was cultivating, so Li Yuan silently walked towards the courtyard below.

Upon arriving outside the courtyard, Li Yuan saw Liu Yue'er tending to the tenant farmers who were growing spirit rice. Li Yuan gradually walked forward, and just as a farmer looked up at Li Yuan, Liu Yue'er stared at the man with cold eyes.

"What are you looking at? If you fail to grow this spiritual plant, what will you use to compensate? Do you know that what you have could buy your life?"

Upon seeing this, the man quickly lowered his head and began planting spiritual plants.

Liu Yue'er then turned to look at Li Yuan.

"My husband, you've come."

Li Yuan glanced at Liu Yue'er and slowly said:

"These are all residents of my small fishing village, some of them my elders. How can you be so rude?"

Seeing this, Liu Yue'er slowly said:

"My lord, I am telling the truth. These spiritual plants are precious, and if anything goes wrong, it could be a matter of life and death."

Seeing this, Li Yuan quickly said:

"Even so, you can't be so unreasonable," he said, then looked at the person who had just been scolded.

"Uncle Kida, I apologize to you on behalf of my wife. I hope you won't hold this against us. The Li family has always been a family that values ​​reason and fairness."

Upon hearing this, the tenant who had just been wiping the load quickly spoke up:

"Master Li, there's no need for that. What the master says makes perfect sense." Despite saying this, he showed even more respect for Li Yuan.

Li Yuan's expression changed only after Liu Yue'er and Li Yuan returned home.

"Moon, thank you for your hard work."

Liu Yue'er smiled with relief and said slowly:

"Husband, since I married into the Li family, I have had everything I wanted. There has been no hardship to speak of. I come from a village background, so I naturally understand what these people are thinking."

"Besides, my younger brother is still young, and you and Father often disappear while cultivating. If we don't severely deter these people, they might bring disaster to my Li family in the future."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan embraced Liu Yue'er tightly. After a moment of tenderness, Li Yuan used his magic to begin to cleanse Liu Yue'er's body. From Liu Yue'er's slightly protruding belly, it was clear that she was pregnant again.

The next day, Li Yuan walked out of Liu Yue'er's room and slowly headed towards Luoshan City.

The purpose of this trip is to see how Uncle Wang's Escort Agency is doing, and also to find a way to absorb some incense offerings from the other temples.

As time went by, Li Yuan could clearly feel the hidden dangers left by his mother's years of overwork and illness. Although Li Yuan was constantly using his magic to maintain her body, she was still gradually aging.

Of course, Li Yuan had to obtain his mother's consent before planting the spiritual root for her.