"As expected of the man who could slaughter his way through the Wild Boar Forest."
Li Wei gave Li Dalong a thumbs up.
Immediately after, Li Dalong was seen knocking on Xu Cuihua's cave dwelling and shouting, "Wife, I'm out of seclusion. You've been neglecting your duties as a great-grandmother by going into seclusion for so many years without taking care of the children."
Not long after he knocked, Xu Cuihua's dissatisfied complaints could be heard from her cave dwelling.
"What do you mean by neglecting my duties? Those little rascals breed faster than pigs. I can't even tell them apart anymore. Sigh, dear, you should understand. We're getting old, it's impossible to be close to every child."
The cave dwelling opened.
Xu Cuihua appeared. Nowadays, she seems to be growing younger instead of older. The white hair she had gotten from raising children in previous years had turned black again.
What was particularly striking was that outside her cave-dwelling, there were numerous fox dens built all over. Those foxes, upon seeing Xu Cuihua, acted as if they had encountered a deity, bowing down to her in worship.
Li Dalong understood what Xu Cuihua meant. Not only did she feel it, but as he grew older, he also recognized the growing distance. Although he occasionally came out of seclusion to see the children over the years, he gradually felt a sense of separation from the newer generations, a gap widened by three generations.
He didn't delve further into the closeness of their relationship with their great-grandchildren. He simply pointed at the thousands of foxes outside Xu Cuihua's cave dwelling and blinked. "Wife, these foxes outside your cave..."
"My dear husband, let's see which one of us can break through to the Golden Core stage first." Xu Cuihua's eyes curved downwards as she smiled.
"Come on, besides that fox inside you, your own cultivation hasn't even reached the peak of Qi Refinement yet." Li Dalong rolled his eyes.
But Li Wei, observing the couple's conversation, didn't think so.
He clicked on Xu Cuihua's profile.
[Year 61st, a fox sensed the aura of the Fox Tamer and came to pay homage.]
[100 foxes came to pay homage...]
[Xu Cuihua gradually fulfilled the conditions of the Fox Tamer.]
[Ten Thousand Foxes Worship Progress - 13%]
Xu Cuihua had found a way to break through her aptitude with the Fox Tamer. As long as more and more foxes came to worship her, and she fulfilled the condition of possessing a Demon King Blood Pill, her natal spirit beast could transform into a Demon King!
Now, all she lacked was the Demon King Blood Pill.
However, she didn't say much to Li Dalong, intending to surprise him.
Soon after, the couple went further into the distance.
They saw an open space near the Silver Iron Forest. The ground was covered with sword marks, and numerous iron swords formed a circle around the clearing. When the wind blew past, the sound of sword chants echoed throughout the area.
Even from outside the sword formation, the couple could feel the sharp sword energy emanating from within.
"Yaozu's sword intent..."
A smile appeared on Li Dalong's face. "Good, good, good. This child had a strong killing intent. Now, after nearly ten years of secluded sword cultivation, there's no longer such a violent killing intent in his sword intent. This is a good thing."
Over the years, Li Dalong was pleased with Li Yaozu's growth and filial piety. He still remembered how this child had single-handedly stormed the Hu family to avenge him. However, he also grew increasingly worried about Li Yaozu. As the Li family's enemies increased, so did Li Yaozu's killing intent.
Now, it seemed that the weight had been lifted from his heart.
"Father, Mother!"
With a gust of fresh wind, Li Yaozu appeared before the couple. Although nearly sixty years old, he still had the appearance of a young man with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. Now, his eyes held more peace. However, after bowing respectfully, when his eyes occasionally glanced elsewhere, it was like a sword's edge passing by, causing a leaf to break off and drift with the wind.
[After years of secluded cultivation, practicing over a dozen sword techniques simultaneously, Li Yaozu began to abandon his previous sword techniques and focus solely on basic swordsmanship.]
[He began to understand that the sword was not just about killing moves, nor was it just about dazzling sword beams that blinded people's eyes. Swordsmanship should be simplified.]
[After observing hundreds of swords for nearly ten years, Li Yaozu understood that a long sword should possess the spirit to be wielded as an extension of one's own body.]
[His profession underwent a transformation. Swordsman transformed into—]
[Sword Master!]
[When wielding a sword, spiritual power and combat power increase by 100%!]
In Li Xiang's view, it was only natural for Li Yaozu to become a sword master.
On Earth, there are also equivalents to sword masters, each with their own unique understanding of swordsmanship. The hallmark of these masters is that they've all created their own distinct sword techniques.
As the three of them emerged from their seclusion, Li Yaotie's wife, Bai Rourou, also emerged from her closed-door cultivation.
In the distance, at Green Valley Village, Li Yaotie arrived with eight members of the Li family's "Yun" generation. His silver prosthetic arm was particularly eye-catching. After crafting his spiritual puppet, he no longer showed the same frenzy he once had when forging wildly in the blacksmith hall. He had returned to his former carefree self.
Look at him—the Seven Ironclad clearly inherits his easygoing attitude.
"Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Wife, hahaha, come and look at my arm! There are benefits to losing an arm after all!"
"From now on, no one in our family will ever need to worry about missing an arm or a leg again!"
"..."
Everyone subconsciously ignored Li Yaotie's nonsense.
The current head of the family, Li Yunbing, walked to the front of the crowd and bowed to the elders. Having been the head of the family for several years, he now felt completely relieved to see the family elders come out again to take charge of the situation.
"Yunbing, you've done a good job as the head of the family these past few years, but remember, you must not neglect your cultivation." Li Dalong patted his second grandson's arm.
The others also smiled at Li Yunbing.
All these years, while they were in seclusion cultivating, Li Yunbing always managed to obtain the necessities they needed, either through the family's influence or by plundering outside.
"This child will keep it in mind," Li Yunbing said, nodding repeatedly.
This time, even Li Yaozu looked at his second son with newfound respect. He patted Li Yunbing's head. "My boy, you've grown up. You're just like me."
These simple words brought tears to Li Yunbing's eyes.
Growing up, he had spent more time with anyone else than with his father. Back then, he had thought his father disliked him because of what happened with his mother.
But when he grew older, his Fourth Aunt told him that his father was consumed by guilt.
As he matured further, Li Yunbing understood.
Perhaps, after his mother was driven out of the family that day, the one who suffered the most was his father. And from that day on, his father never sought another woman. Every time his father looked at his sons, it was like seeing their mother, which would awaken past memories. He could only keep cultivating and practicing his swordsmanship.
"Father, this child is already thirty-four years old," Li Yunbing said, revealing a hint of childishness rarely seen since he became the head of the family.
"Hahaha!"
Li Yaozu suddenly burst into laughter. "Even if you were three hundred and four, you would still be my good son!"
Li Yunbing grinned foolishly, looking at his father, who stood as straight as a sword.
Past grievances dissipated like the wind amid the father and son's laughter.
The Li family members, witnessing this scene, all wore warm smiles.