"Yaoqing, Yunbing," Li Wei said, addressing them directly within the Ancestor Space, "I must impose upon you both the task of supplying our clan with the necessary cultivation resources."
His gaze rested upon the two of them. As things stood, they were indeed the only ones within the clan truly positioned to secure and provide resources on a significant scale.
Li Yaoqing nodded enthusiastically, a bright smile gracing her features.
"Ancestor, please set your mind at ease. This child is doing very well for herself, quite well indeed! Folks in the Auric Empire believe my success rate is around sixty percent, and even at that, they consider me an exceptionally rare Rank 6 Alchemist. The reality, however," she said with a sly twinkle, "is that this child can guarantee at least a ninety percent success rate for those same concoctions! All that extra yield? It's practically pure profit!"
Observing how Li Yaoqing was clearly thriving and benefiting immensely from her alchemy services, the assembled Li family members couldn't suppress their smiles.
Li Yaowen remarked with a hint of resignation, "Second Sister, honestly, even if you'd only advertised a forty percent success rate, you'd still be swamped with clients wanting your services. Indeed, even if your rate was twenty percent lower, it would make little difference to your demand."
Li Dalong chuckled. "Excessive greed invariably invites disaster," he noted. "Perhaps it is precisely for this reason – her not overreaching – that Yaoqing has managed to achieve such widespread acclaim in the Auric Empire while still maintaining her peace and safety."
Xu Cuihua nodded in profound agreement. "There are times when knowing contentment is indeed the greatest fortune."
As the others lavished praise upon Li Yaoqing, Li Wei noticed Li Yunbing looking somewhat uncomfortable.
He could readily understand the source of Yunbing's unease.
The truth was, after so many years of the Li family's dominance and exploitation of the Azure Cloud region, any truly exceptional resources had long been depleted. At best, what remained were merely some Rank 7 or Rank 8 Heavenly Materials, Earthly Treasures, and various mineral ores. If it had been otherwise, the Li family wouldn't have found themselves constantly scrambling for resources in the past, desperately seeking ways to acquire more.
Noticing Yunbing's slight awkwardness, Li Wei smiled reassuringly. "Yunbing, in your present capacity as Region Prince Jiang, I know you still face considerable pressure from Eternal Sun Prefecture.
Do not feel obligated to secure high-grade resources from the Azure Cloud region; I understand the limitations.
Dalong, for the techniques he now practices, needs a supply of corpses. And you, by virtue of your ongoing conflict with the Wu Clan, are the only one who can readily provide them in large numbers.
Similarly, Yundou and those among our kin who are now practicing Wu Clan techniques will require a steady supply of Wu bones. Procuring these will also fall to you, I'm afraid.
But you must remember carefully: in all these endeavors, you absolutely must not be reckless or act with undue haste."
"Yes, Ancestor!" All of Li Yunbing's prior unease vanished in an instant. He bowed deeply once more.
Next, attention turned to the thirteen Li family members still within the Tian Xing Abode.
The assembled elders provided them with detailed counsel, instructing them primarily to maintain surveillance on Nangong Yazhi and, for all other matters, to defer to Li Changsheng's leadership and act according to his plans.
Then there was the matter of Li Kuanghua.
Currently, Li Kuanghua was scratching her head in some embarrassment.
The last major report they'd had of her was her victory over the 25th-ranked master on the Nascent Divinity List. In the intervening years, she clearly hadn't ceased her challenges.
In a certain prefecture, she had formally challenged the cultivator ranked 18th on that same list – only this time, she had been defeated and forced to make a hasty retreat!
Noticing Li Kuanghua's dejected demeanor, Li Wei chuckled reassuringly.
"Kuanghua, my dear, there's no shame in being bested by the 18th master on the Nascent Divinity List. You only achieved your Nascent Soul breakthrough a mere few years back. To have come this far already, to even contend with someone of that caliber – that alone marks you as an exceptional prodigy."
"Indeed!" Li Dalong chimed in, seeing that Li Kuanghua still appeared downcast and critical of herself.
He chuckled, "Why, you young lass, you're already stronger than Apostle Lei Dong and I were in our prime! Just keep striving, keep pushing yourself – that's all that matters."
"I am inferior in this regard," Li Yaozu remarked with a gentle, self-effacing smile.
Li Yaotie chimed in, nodding emphatically. "Kuanghua, there will be other battles. Your Third great Uncle here isn't so old yet; I can certainly wait for the day you claim the top spot on the Nascent Divinity List and come break me out of this place!"
With words of encouragement pouring in from all her assembled kin, Li Kuanghua's dejection finally began to dissipate, her spirits visibly lifting.
And truthfully, no one could reasonably fault Li Kuanghua for that loss.
To be able to defeat the 25th-ranked master on the Nascent Divinity List immediately upon entering the Early Stage of Nascent Soul – this in itself was a display of truly formidable might!
It should be noted that the majority of cultivators on the Nascent Divinity List are capable of projecting their Nascent Souls out of their physical forms, and their comprehension and application of Rules have typically reached an exceptionally profound level.
When they fully mobilize the ambient Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi, they can even manifest Heaven and Earth phenomena, much like the overwhelming suppressive field Li Yunlin was able to generate with his Skyveil Hall, a domain that invariably trapped his adversaries in dire straits.
Li Kuanghua, by stark contrast – despite also being an Early-stage Nascent Soul – possessed no such external amplification as Li Yunlin's Skyveil Hall.
Even with the Flesh-Blood Lotus Throne inherited from Li Kuangshi and Li Kuangcai – now evolved into the 'Buddha-Demon Disc' – her combat effectiveness still stemmed chiefly from the intrinsic might of her own Extreme Dao physique.
What's more, aside from her integrated Buddha-Demon Disc, Li Kuanghua possessed not a single other spirit artifact to her name.
Her adversary, the #18 ranker whom she lost to, in stark contrast, had been positively bristling with them! In their confrontation, that opponent had even deployed more than a hundred top-tier Rank 6 talismans, and only then, after all that, had they managed to inflict any significant injury upon Kuanghua.
For an Early-stage Nascent Soul to command such devastating power, it was an anomaly, a rarity almost unheard of in the cultivation world.
"Yes, Ancestor!" Li Kuanghua affirmed, her spirit renewed. "This child will absolutely redouble her efforts!"
Observing that Li Kuanghua's resolve had indeed been rekindled, Li Wei gave a slight, approving nod.
His gaze then swept over the assembled Li clan.
"Very well. For the foreseeable future," he announced, "we shall all enter a period of Cultivating in concealment. Kuanghua, your task is to liaise with those allies who journeyed from the Azure Cloud region. Arrange for them to operate under General Wang's aegis. Our Li family, as it happens, still possesses certain connections within the Imperial Capital. This should secure a measure of sanctuary for our Azure Cloud region friends.
They have aided us considerably these past few years in dealing with Tian Xing's avatars; without some form of high-level protection, I fear they will not be able to evade Tian Xing's divination for long."
"It shall be done, Ancestor," Li Kuanghua affirmed, her voice resolute.
"Yunbing," Li Wei then turned to him, "The Hall of Heavenly Principle, and the 'Heavenly Secret Pavilion' – you still maintain control over these organizations, do you not?"
"Both organizations remain intact," Li Yunbing affirmed with a nod. "They are managed collectively by the various powers within the Azure Cloud region, but ultimate operational control still lies with this child."
"Good." Li Wei smiled.
"Then have them commence a wide investigation spanning the entire Azure Dynasty. Their mission is to identify every individual who might potentially be an avatar of Tian Xing. But impress upon them," he added, his smile fading slightly, "they absolutely must not act rashly in a way that alerts the enemy to their intentions or presence. Utmost discretion is paramount."
"It will be done, Ancestor." Li Yunbing's face was solemn as he accepted the weighty command.
Having issued his directives to each of the assembled Li descendants, Li Wei's eyes narrowed once more.
"And now, my kin," he declared, his voice resonating through the spiritual space, "Commence your secluded cultivation!"
...
And so, in the time that followed, the Li Clan embarked upon what would be their most prolonged and intensive phase of cultivation to date.
Scarcely had the Li family vanished into obscurity when, in stark contrast, Tian Xing's avatars began to erupt in uncontrollable fury.
That particular Tian Xing avatar – the one who had sped to the Imperial Capital's vicinity to hunt down the Lis – was now seized by an uncontainable wrath.
He had barely arrived on the scene, and the Li family had already disappeared as if into thin air! At his disposal were over a hundred different kinds of methods devised by the Main Consciousness, designed to capture Li Kuanghua and those hundred-odd members of the Azure Cloud region. Yet now, he was brimming with power but had no target upon which to unleash it.
The Lai Residence in the Imperial Capital.
Lai Teng, who had endured the Li family's extortion on nearly ten separate occasions, realized it had now been a full six months since he'd last encountered any of them.
He found this sudden peace rather unsettling. More disturbingly, those of his avatars imprisoned within that accursed painted scroll had also fallen silent; their telepathic howls of agony had ceased.
This unforeseen development caused Lai Teng's brow to knit in deep, anxious thought.
And Lai Teng was not alone in this unease; countless other Tian Xing avatars felt precisely the same.
For they all understood with profound certainty: an enemy that cannot be seen is, by far, the most terrifying kind of foe.
---
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