[Congratulations! Your family has completed the special event—Eliminate Elder Qiuye's Minions]
[Received 10,000 incense value!]
[You displayed divine might in this battle, instantly killing Golden Core experts. Your mysterious form wielding the Yin-Yang Diagram to slay enemies has left a god-like impression on your descendants, and they sing your praises!]
[Received 5,000 incense value!]
"Fifteen thousand incense value from a single battle."
Li Wei watched the sudden increase in incense value, a joyful expression spreading across his face.
However, to his dismay, another message appeared.
[Your two Star Seeker Puppets have been destroyed.]
[Star Seeker Puppets: Possess the physical strength of a Golden Core cultivator, fearless of pain and impervious to soul attacks. Upon activation, if they detect the target's scent and aura or make visual contact with the enemy, they will relentlessly pursue that target until either the target or the puppet is eliminated. Once the mission is complete, the Star Seeker Puppet will become useless.]
This thing was the puppet he had previously sent to the Li family.
It was also something Boss Qi had brought back from an extremist organization. This thing had been invented long ago, and countless important figures had been assassinated by Star Seeker Puppets, leading to them being classified as forbidden items.
But it was no problem. Boss Qi was incredibly resourceful and should be able to procure more, though they would be quite expensive.
However, the gains from this operation far outweighed the costs!
[Your family has obtained a seventh-grade formation blueprint—Hundred Spirits Azure Bird Totem Formation, and nine totem spirit tools, Azure Bird Totem Pillars!]
[Your family has obtained top-grade spirit tools: Windfire Halberd, Sky Sand Gourd, Prisoner's Red Cloud Silk, Great River Dragon General Diagram, Formation Rune Inscription Pen!]
[Obtained eighth-grade herbs...]
War is always the best way to accumulate wealth!
After this battle, Li Wei could sense that the Li family was about to undergo a tremendous transformation!
A seventh-grade formation possessed the power to resist Golden Core experts.
As for top-grade spirit tools, those were items that only Golden Core experts were qualified to possess. A single top-grade spirit tool could allow a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator to fight against a False Core cultivator. Only those at the Golden Core stage could truly unleash their power.
Back then, the Wang family had kept a top-grade spirit tool hidden away as their most treasured possession.
Obtaining five top-grade spirit tools at once was equivalent to gaining five additional False Core experts for the Li family!
There were also various elixirs, spirit herbs, and spiritual objects, all enriching the Li family's foundation. And then there were the spirit stones discovered under the peach tree, filling an entire storage ring, along with various ores...
"Instant riches!"
As time sped up, the Li family returned to their estate. Everything was well. The group crowded into the ancestral hall.
Li Yunlin, who hadn't returned home for many years, looked around the family estate, his eyes taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. Having always kept his emotions bottled up while at the Skyveil Sect, he finally teared up.
Kneeling before the spirit tablets, feeling the familiar sense of ritual within the ancestral hall, memories of his past in the family flooded back. He couldn't help but weep, just like the child who had once cried in this very hall.
"Ancestor, your child..."
"Has returned!"
...
As always, after this great battle, Li Dalong was like an elderly guardian of a village temple, reciting praises and extolling virtues, further deepening the family's reverence and admiration.
When things settled down, Li Yaozu looked at Li Yunlin, his grown-up son. He took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, wanting to pat Li Yunlin's shoulder, but then withdrew his hand. With an impassive expression, he simply said,
"Since you've returned, don't go back to the Skyveil Sect."
Seeing this, Li Yunbing also chimed in to persuade his brother, "That's right, Elder Brother. This time, you brought out a dozen disciples from the Skyveil Sect, along with Elder Qiuli. Now they are all dead, and the Su family has been destroyed. If you go back, they will definitely become suspicious. Stay here at home. What can the Skyveil Sect do even if they find out? We now have the support of Cloudsea Pavilion, and Tailin Town is also under the jurisdiction of the Black Tortoise Sect!"
"Well said."
Li Dalong looked at Li Yunlin with satisfaction. "Grandson, although the Skyveil Sect is powerful, our Li family's heritage is not to be underestimated. With our ancestor's protection, there will come a day when the Skyveil Sect will bow down to our Li family."
Despite everyone's attempts to persuade him, Li Yunlin stubbornly shook his head. "I must return to the Skyveil Sect."
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
Li Yaozu flew into a rage. He raised his hand to strike, but seeing Li Yunlin's resolute gaze and recalling the years of estrangement from his son, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to deliver the blow.
Gritting his teeth, he couldn't conceal the hint of heartache in his eyes. "In your eyes, is our Li family truly inferior to the Skyveil Sect? Is the status of a direct disciple so important to you?"
Li Yunlin knelt and bowed to his elders.
His voice rang out with determination.
"I must return to the Skyveil Sect. I will always remember that this is where Li Yunlin's roots lie, the safest home."
"But I, Yunlin, have already caused enough trouble for the family. Even if I die, I won't bring the Skyveil Sect's troubles back home and endanger the family!"
"I am a man. I still remember that day when all the adults of our Li family went to fight in Tailin Town. None of us knew if we would win that battle. Yunbing and I waited at home. I kept thinking about what Fourth Aunt and Father had told me: If everyone doesn't come back, what should Yunbing and I do?"
"Since that day, I don't want to wait anymore. I don't want the burden of what Mother did to weigh on my heart any longer."
Listening to Li Yunlin's words, the Li family members who had experienced those events years ago all sighed deeply.
They understood that both Li Yunlin and Li Yunbing carried deep emotional scars from that incident.
Li Yunlin clenched his fists, his expression resolute.
"As long as I, Li Yunlin, am a son of the Li family, I will not hide like a coward."
"I want to be like Grandfather and Grandmother, like Father, like Second Aunt and Fourth Aunt, facing all challenges head-on!"
"I also have a goal. I told our ancestor that I want to become a leader in the Skyveil Sect. I want to return to the family with honor and achievements. I want to accomplish great things, to make my family proud of me. I want to show the people of Green Valley Village that I, Li Yunlin, am worthy of being a son of the Li family!"
Everyone stopped trying to dissuade him. Their eyes held only admiration and pride for this young man.
This was their Li family child!
Only Li Yaotie scratched his head, wondering if the boy had forgotten to praise him.
"I heard that Third Uncle has been practicing forging for over a decade and hasn't given up. I can also dedicate decades, even centuries!"
"Elders, please allow me to go."
Li Yaotie immediately puffed up his chest, lifting his chin high.
"Hmph! If you want to go, then go!"
Li Yaozu snorted coldly and turned to leave.
Li Dalong shook his head with a smile and helped Li Yunlin up, but his eyes still held some worry. "Yunlin, when you return to the Skyveil Sect, do you have a way to explain everything?"
"Yes."
Li Yunlin nodded, but he pursed his lips as he looked in the direction his father had departed.
Li Dalong understood Li Yunlin's thoughts. "That's just how your father, that brat, talks. Don't take it to heart."
"I understand."
A moment later, with everyone's gazes following him, Li Yunlin once again set off toward the Skyveil Sect.
Li Yaozu abruptly reappeared among the crowd, watching his son's determined figure. His eyes suddenly reddened, but he couldn't suppress the smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He felt even prouder and more elated than when he had mastered his swordsmanship.
"Yunlin has grown up. He's just like me."