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

On his way home, Li Yuan was somewhat surprised. He had already reached the fifth level of Qi Refining, but he still felt a sense of unease in front of Xu Qingfeng. This surprised Li Yuan and also made him more cautious.

However, Li Yuan didn't think much of it and quickly put the matter out of his mind. In any case, the Li family would only become stronger and stronger, and now he just needed to develop quietly.

Another half month passed, and after returning to Zhushan, Li Yuan wasted no time. After resting for a night, he began to set up the concealment formation.

The concealment formation that Li Yuan bought is called the Cloud and Smoke Formation. This Cloud and Smoke Formation has some protective effect and can withstand attacks from mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators at most. However, in terms of concealment, this Cloud and Smoke Formation can prevent even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators from detecting anything on this bamboo mountain.

This was exactly what Li Yuan wanted. After setting up the array plate, Li Yuan placed the array flags in all directions. As the array plate began to absorb spiritual energy from all directions, the array began to reveal wisps of smoke, enveloping the entire bamboo mountain in mist.

However, this was only the situation on the outside; inside the formation, everything remained the same, which surprised Li Yuan.

After setting up the formation, Li Yuan explained it to the Li family members again. Then, Li Yuan devoted himself wholeheartedly to refining the array flags of the "Thousand Rivers Gathering Meridians Technique".

Having learned from the previous experience, Li Yuan did not waste materials again when refining the array flags, and he refined eight array flags in half a month.

With the array flag in hand, Li Yuan cast a spell to connect it with the main array flag on Bamboo Mountain, and then left Bamboo Mountain with the array flag.

Now, on the hills near the small fishing village, as long as the earth's energy is sufficient, Li Yuan plants array flags on them to gather the earth's energy, which then converges towards the bamboo mountain.

Seeing that Li Yuan had already planted all the battle flags in the small fishing village, and there were still two flags left, Li Yuan not only set his sights on the neighboring village.

After observing the neighboring village for a while, Li Yuan found two more hilltops and planted the battle flags there. Only then did Li Yuan return to Zhushan with satisfaction.

However, Li Yuan realized that the small fishing village was still too small. To do anything, one had to cross the village distance. The small fishing village was clearly not enough for the Li family's current development.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan picked up a pen and wrote a letter. He then had his servant deliver the letter to the magistrate's residence in Luoshan County.

Three days later, the county magistrate came to the vicinity and announced that the surrounding Kaoshan Village and Liujia Village would be merged into Xiaoyu Village.

Li Daqiang also led Wang Tiezhu out of the mountains and bought all the land in the surrounding villages. Although there were some bumps along the way, the Li family now calls the shots in this area. Moreover, the Li family only collects 20% of the rent, and each family can get money for free. Most families agree to this.

Only a few smart people didn't want to sell, but that didn't stump Li Yuan. Since they were smart, they should realize that the Li family was someone they couldn't afford to offend, and if they didn't want to sell, they would naturally have to bear the wrath.

Under the coercion and enticement of the Li family, the land of these families fell smoothly into the hands of the Li family. Now, the Li family controls all the land, including the three nearby villages.

However, the Li family was not after the small change. Instead, they fenced off the hills and lands with the energy of the earth, preventing the villagers from getting close, since these places would be used to place the array flags in the future.

Three more months passed after all these matters were resolved, but the effect was obvious: the spiritual energy on Bamboo Mountain had increased by more than two times. This made Li Yuan realize that the "Thousand Rivers Gathering Pulse Technique" was not a simple formation.

Realizing this, Li Yuan instructed Li Daqiang to send men to guard all the exits of the small fishing village, and at the same time increased the number of members of the original bandit-extermination team.

Of course, the members of the bandit-extermination team would not interfere with the familiar faces, but those unfamiliar faces would need to be checked if they wanted to enter the small fishing village.

With a sufficient supply of spiritual energy, Li Yuan quickly immersed himself in his cultivation, while Liu Yue'er also successfully entered the first level of Qi Refining after obtaining the cultivation technique.

Liu Yue'er and Li Yuan's mother, Zhang Yun, both practiced the "Cangshui Technique," while Li Daqiang and Li Yuan practiced the "Five Elements Spirit Gathering Technique."

With the blessing of spiritual energy, Li Daqiang also successfully broke through to the third level of Qi Refining. The Li family now has four immortals. However, apart from Li Yuan and Li Daqiang who have combat power, the other two practice Cloud and Rain Technique and Golden Needle Technique, which are both techniques to assist in planting spiritual herbs.

This was a decision Li Yuan made after careful consideration. A family that loses its production will eventually decline. However, with the number of people increasing, it was time to consider establishing family rules and regulations.

Of course, these things ultimately have to be left to Li Daqiang. Li Yuan's only goal now is to break through his own cultivation level.

Two years have passed in the blink of an eye. During these two years, with the effects of the "Thousand Rivers Gathering Meridian Technique", the spiritual energy on Bamboo Mountain has become increasingly abundant, and the Li family's spiritual fields have been opened up in greater and greater ways.

In the past two years, Li Yuan has successfully broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refining, reaching the peak of the mid-stage of Qi Refining. Naturally, the white snake, who has been cultivating alongside Li Yuan, has also reached a bottleneck.

Today, Li Yuan wasn't cultivating; instead, he was with Li Daqiang at the village entrance, welcoming someone's arrival.

Soon, a familiar face appeared at the village entrance, followed by a group of ordinary people carrying tools. The leader was clearly no ordinary person; he was Zhang Xuan, who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue in Qingshan County. Today, Zhang Xuan came to measure the amount of spiritual fields for the Li family in order to determine the amount of tax revenue.

Upon seeing Zhang Xuan arrive, Li Yuan warmly stepped forward to greet him.

"Brother Zhang, you've arrived." As he spoke, several spirit stones fell into Zhang Xuan's hands.

Upon sensing this, Zhang Xuan's face broke into a smile.

"Haha, Brother Li, how have you been?" Upon sensing Li Yuan's sixth-level Qi Refining cultivation, the speaker's expression changed slightly, then he slowly said;

"Haha, Brother Li is truly gifted! At such a young age, you've already reached the sixth level of cultivation. Perhaps in the future, I'll have to call you senior."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan quickly waved his hand.

"Brother Zhang, what are you saying? You're my elder brother, wasn't this matter already settled?" Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a smile.

Li Yuan then welcomed Zhang Xuan into the small fishing village. The spiritual energy contained within the four-courtyard compound filled Zhang Xuan with envy.

"Fellow Daoist Li, I was wondering why your cultivation level has improved so quickly. It turns out your cultivation environment is so good. With such abundant spiritual energy, it's probably enough for you to cultivate to the late stage of Qi Refining."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan quickly waved his hand and then said:

"Brother Zhang, you flatter me. This place is a remote and impoverished area, and I am merely living here in humble circumstances."

Seeing Li Yuan's modesty, Zhang Xiang glanced around enviously, then slowly said:

"Fellow Daoist Li, this is indeed a treasure land, but don't blame me for speaking out of turn. In five years, after you are transferred to reclaim wasteland, if a celestial being like you from your Li family were to step forward, I'm afraid you would not be able to hold onto this place."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan asked in confusion:

"Aren't these people afraid that I'll come back from clearing the land and wipe out their clan? Besides, apart from the Xu family, I doubt there's any other family in the vicinity that can stand against my Li family."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiang shook his head.

"After immortals are dispatched to various places to reclaim wasteland, the local defenses are weak, so demonic cultivators are unusually active. Even if you return, your family will be wiped out and this beautiful land will be destroyed. Even if you rebuild your family, it will be the same again in ten years. How will you deal with that?"

Moreover, the task of reclaiming wasteland is inherently fraught with danger, a business where one out of ten lives is at stake, not something you can simply accomplish by going through another battle.

"So Daqing doesn't care?"

Zhang Xuan said slowly:

"Why does the royal family care so much? A thousand people will have a thousand different opinions. The royal family also knows that the local immortals are definitely not loyal."

"Since they are not loyal, it is better to let them fend for themselves."

However, this situation has eased considerably in the past twenty years. Daqing has also begun to cultivate local immortal clans, and even among those martial arts sects, many cultivators have turned to join Daqing.