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

Li Yuan then chatted with Prince Qinghe for half an hour until the marriage of Li Tong was arranged, and only then did Li Yuan leave the canyon.

On his way home, Li Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now he just had to wait until he got back to the Li family and spread the news of the marriage between the prince's family and his younger brother. This would give the Li family a few more years to breathe.

Li Yuan believed that with a shared interest, Prince Qinghe would not easily allow the Li family to get into trouble again. As for requiring 60% of the spiritual rice every year, Zhang Yang had no choice in doing so.

Forced by circumstances, if Li Yuan does not hand over the spirit rice, the Li family's spirit fields will likely be taken over by them, just like the refined iron ore.

However, all of this is only temporary. The Li family only needs to hide for one or two decades. When the Li family has more people and more territory, the geniuses that will emerge will naturally be stronger. Li Yuan believes that there will always be one person whose identity will change.

Li Yuan, who was walking using his magic power, soon encountered Wang Tiezhu and his group, who had set off earlier. This time, Li Yuan did not accompany them, but instead went home alone.

Half a month later, Li Yuangang returned home and immediately went to find Li Daqiang.

"Father, this is the only way, but it will be hard on Li Tong."

Upon hearing this, Li Daqiang sighed and slowly shook his head.

"It seems that Tong'er really has no affinity for immortality. Oh well, but no matter how many children Tong'er has in the future, even if they don't have spiritual roots, we must find a way to plant them with spiritual roots."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan nodded. This wedding was a grand affair. Li Tong currently does not possess spiritual roots. If he were to develop spiritual roots in the future, the Li family would surely perish.

Originally, Li Yuan's next step was to cultivate spiritual roots for Li Tong, but now he has to sacrifice Li Tong's immortal destiny in exchange for the Li family's continued existence.

Thinking of this, Li Daqiang's eyes also reddened.

Then Li Daqiang looked at Li Yuan seriously.

"Yuan'er, even if Li Tong doesn't have spiritual roots, let's still provide him with the necessary resources for cultivation. When Tong'er's child is born, he'll have a higher starting point than others, which can be considered a form of compensation."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan nodded.

"That's the proper thing to do." But now I should think about how to tell Tongdi and Mother about this.

Li Daqiang paused for a moment.

"I'll handle this matter. You don't need to worry about it anymore. Shouqian is older now, and you'll have to take care of the family's spiritual roots. In a few years, Zhancheng will be recruiting immortals, so Yuan'er, you should focus on improving your cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan nodded. He knew he had no choice but to go when the immortals summoned him. After hearing Zhang Xuan's explanation, Li Yuan understood that if he went with slightly less strength, he would almost certainly die.

In the battle of immortals, you need to be careful not only of your opponents, but also of your teammates standing by. If anyone has a problem with you, the battlefield is the best opportunity for revenge.

Moreover, Li Yuan had another purpose in going to Zhan City: to see if he could hunt down some talented immortals so that more high-talented individuals could be born into his family.

After telling Li Daqiang what had happened, Li Yuan returned to Zhushan to cultivate and prepare for his trip to Zhancheng.

Three days later, news of the marriage alliance between the Li family and Prince Ouyang's faction spread to the other counties of Daqing. The families, who were kept in the dark, were still searching around to find out who the Li family really was.

The small fishing village where the Li family lived was also decorated with lanterns and colorful ribbons from one end to the other.

The residence where Li Tong was at this time.

Looking at the scene before him, Li Tong felt a little disappointed. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion for him, but he couldn't feel happy at all.

Although disappointed, Li Tong harbored no resentment towards Li Daqiang or his brother Li Yuan.

Once upon a time, he used to run around with the village chief's kids. But as his older brother grew up, Li Tong found that fewer and fewer of his childhood playmates dared to bully him, and some were even afraid of him.

At that time, Li Tong naively thought that his fierceness and bravery had won over everyone. But the more time passed, the more he realized that what people feared about him had nothing to do with him, and that he was still a useless person.

Now that I can contribute to my family, it's a way of repaying them for all the good life they've given me over the years.

Thinking of this, a slight smile appeared on Li Tong's face, and his previous disappointment vanished.

As time slowly passed, the agreed-upon wedding day arrived.

To Li Yuan's surprise, the wedding procession was led by Prince Ouyang Qing himself, along with a hundred attendants and several immortals.

Compared to them, the Li family seemed somewhat weaker. Li Yuan looked at the wedding procession and was surprised to find that Ouyang Qinghe's claim of doting on his niece was true.

However, one team in particular piqued Li Yuan's curiosity. The group consisted of cultivators, with three at the mid-stage of Qi Refining and one at the early stage.

After arriving, they began to explore the courtyard at the foot of Zhushan Mountain. Although their actions were discreet, Li Yuan could guess that these people were geomancers invited by Ouyang Qinghe.

Fortunately, Zhushan is a very important place for the Li family, and no one is allowed to enter without permission. In addition, the cloud and smoke array that Li Yuan bought last time makes it impossible for anyone to guess what exactly exists on Zhushan.

As for the array flags on the "Thousand Rivers Gathering Pulse Technique", apart from the main array flag on Bamboo Mountain, the rest are scattered on various mountain peaks. In addition, thanks to the effect of the black beast skin that can block divine sense detection, it is very difficult for everyone to find them.

Even if it were discovered, it would only be seen as a tattered flag; who would have thought that this thing could actually gather the earth's energy?

Li Yuan originally wanted to keep his mother's spiritual roots a secret for a while longer, but now that Li Tong has arranged a marriage, the matter can no longer be kept hidden.

However, Zhang's cultivation level of the second level of Qi Refining did not attract anyone's attention.

After the tedious formalities, Li Tong's wedding was successfully completed. Li Yuan spent the entire day dealing with Ouyang Qinghe, Xu Qingfeng, Luo Tong, and the others.

During this time, Xu Qingfeng would intentionally or unintentionally suggest that he wanted to visit Zhushan. Li Yuan declined repeatedly, but to Li Yuan's surprise, it was Ouyang Qing and Prince who helped him this time.

As the shoving at the banquet ended, several members of the immortal clan who were acquainted with Li Yuan left the Li family, leaving only Ouyang Qinghe still present.

Only after the survey team approached Ouyang Qinghe and gestured to him did Ouyang Qinghe speak:

"Hahaha, Fellow Daoist Li's methods are truly miraculous; I couldn't see the slightest problem at all."

Seeing that Ouyang Qinghe spoke frankly, Li Yuan's concerns lessened considerably.

"Your Highness, please don't joke. I truly do not have that ability."

Upon seeing this, Ouyang Qinghe slowly said:

"Alright, Li boy, tell your brother to take good care of my niece. I won't delay any longer." With that, Ouyang Qinghe led the group out of the small fishing village.

After seeing the group off from the small fishing village, Li Yuan returned to the Li family home.

Ouyang Qinghe's niece, Ouyang Zhiyu, seems to be a steady and reliable girl to Li Yuan, but it's unclear whether she was actually sent by Ouyang Qinghe to investigate the Li family.