As dawn gently illuminated the sky, the bare trees among the mountains were now covered with sparkling morning frost.
Li Tongya had returned to Mount Lijing. Thanks to the superior recovery abilities granted by the Deep Ocean Long Whale Talisman, the true essence within his body was quickly and fully restored.
After completing his breathing exercises, Li Tongya closed his eyes to scan his surroundings. It had already been a year since he had broken through to the sixth heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm, and his cultivation had been stagnant since then, with little progress.
The latter three heavenly layers of the Qi Cultivation Realm are all about accumulating and building progress... It's not possible to break through within a short term. It probably needs another five to six years of effort!
While he was thinking these thoughts, the patterns of the Sun Rite Profound Light Formation suddenly lit up.
Li Tongya's expression immediately turned serious as a booming voice reverberated from outside the formation.
"Ding Xiding of the Ding family from Mushroom Forest Plain has come to visit... I request a meeting with Brother Tongya!"
Li Tongya raised an eyebrow and looked out to see an old man with thick eyebrows and a rugged face standing outside, holding a staff and closely examining the formation below. The old man was at the peak of the Qi Cultivation Realm.
"The Ding Family is the family the An Family has invited from Mushroom Forest Plain to take over Mount Tiaoyun, to counterbalance the Yu Family and our Li Family... They are quite polite to have come to visit so soon after taking charge of the mountain!" Li Tongya muttered grumpily to himself.
With just a thought, the formation had opened to allow for a small entrance. Li Tongya cupped his fist and politely greeted, "Li Tongya of the Li Family from Lijing greets Senior!"
"Ah! Please, no need to be so formal..." Ding Xiding said as he waved his hand and landed on Mount Lijing.
Looking at Li Tongya, he praised, "The reputation of Qingsui Sword Immortal precedes him. This mountain is indeed blessed to have nurtured such a genius!"
Ding Xiding was a smooth talker. He knew that praising Mount Lijing as a blessed immortal land would sound insincere, so he changed his approach and decided to praise the sword immortal instead.
He cupped his fist once more.
"Congratulations to Brother Tongya for expanding eastward and securing a blessed mountain beyond this perilous position!"
Li Tongya smiled softly and responded, "The Ding Family has also acquired new territory. Congratulations, congratulations! This way please... let's continue inside."
The two families had just divided the Lu Family's territories.
Since the Li Family had marital ties with the Lu Family, its remnants were given a way out from Mount Huaqian. However, the people of the Lu Family at Mount Tiaoyun were all freshly slaughtered by the Ding Family.
Ding Xiding entered the courtyard and immediately started working on building a good relationship with the Li Family.
He laughed heartily before speaking, "Brother Tongya might not be aware... but my Ding Family has had generational marital and friendly relations with the Yuan Family. The Yuan Family has a daughter who is also cultivating on Qingsui Peak and according to seniority, she is your Sword Immortal's senior sister."
"I see. This must be destiny!" Li Tongya said politely, deciding to play along well. However, he scoffed to himself inwardly.
What use are generational friendship and marital ties..? Weren't the An and Lu families also bonded by generations of marriage and friendship?
Lu Sisi had just died, and they had already taken over Mount Tiaoyun without delaying any time... They surely didn't hesitate to wield the slaughter knife, conveniently forgetting the generational relations between them.
Generational marital and friendly relations huh? More like a conflict of interests!
Ding Xiding nodded slightly, feeling helpless inside. His Ding Family had not experienced any territorial changes for over two hundred years, and the Yuan Family treated the Ding Family like dogs guarding the gate to Mushroom Forest Plain.
Now that they had finally escaped their predicament and acquired a mountain, it was frustrating to find themselves between a Sword Immortal family and a prominent clan with cultivators of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
However, on the other hand, Li Tongya sighed.
"Since you have taken over this mountain, you must report to the Yu Family, Senior. You should also go to Milin Prefecture to present some gifts. Otherwise, you risk offending them!"
Ding Xiding's face changed drastically at this, putting down his tea bowl in shock.
"Is it really so?! Is the Yu Family that domineering..?"
"The Yu Family's territory is vast, with Yu Xiaogui at the early stage of Foundation Establishment Realm. Yu Yufeng, also known as White Jade Fist, is now at the late stage, not to mention the young talents emerging from their ranks. They have long dominated the lake!" Li Tongya said in exasperation, venting his frustrations. It was obvious he portrayed deep resentment.
Ding Xiding was greatly shaken by this, asking, "Even the Li Family... known for your Sword Immortal, is pressured by them?"
"Although my Li Family remains neutral, we too fear them!" Li Tongya responded as he also set down his tea bowl and then whispered, "Senior, how could you not consider the future of your descendants when you have such a family near you? The Yu Family's influence is too strong!"
Ding Xiding found this reasoning sound, nodding in agreement, then gritted his teeth as he got lost in his own thoughts.
I had some doubts about what the An Family said, but now I see that even the Li Family fears the Yu Family. It seems if I want to carve out a place for myself here, I'll need to shake up the Yu Family!
He began considering and scheming on how to contact some friends of the Foundation Establishment Realm and Yuan Family allies to strike at the Yu Family.
Seeing Ding Xiding deep in thought, Li Tongya smiled without distracting him. After a long pause, Ding Xiding finally looked up, looking apologetic. "I was lost in thought, please forgive me, Brother Tongya!" he said sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it," Li Tongya replied with a small chuckle.
After exchanging a few more words, Ding Xiding took his leave. Li Tongya saw him off and then sat back down, looking at the map of Moongaze Lake on the table.
He touched the corner where Mount Huaqian was and murmured, "With this territory, my Li Family can have another thirty years of peaceful development... Let them fight among themselves for now!"
After saying this with a slight smile, he saw the courtyard door gently open, and Li Xuanling stepped in. He walked respectfully up to him and cupped his fist.
"Father."
"What is it?" Li Tongya asked as his gaze lingered on the map, his voice soft.
"It's about... the talisman seeds," Li Xuanling began, recounting his earlier thoughts softly. When he mentioned the potential for fraternal strife, Li Xuanling could clearly see his father pause momentarily.
After finishing his explanation, it took several moments before Li Tongya nodded and said in a deep voice, "What you're considering is to be taken seriously indeed..."
After looking up at him, Li Tongya had an expression of pride.
"You have a good grasp of the situation which is commendable...but that's still not enough. Have you thought of a solution?"
Li Xuanling pondered for a few moments before answering, "In my opinion, the best solution would be to divide the talisman seeds equally among the four branches, allowing each branch to receive one. Unfortunately, we do not have enough talisman seeds. Thus, we may only select the best candidates to receive the talisman seeds. When the eldest sons and those with spiritual orifice of the branches come of age, we can compare and choose the owners of the remaining two talisman seeds..."
After listening to Li Xuanling, Li Tongya shook his head and said, "You're still young and your view isn't far-reaching enough. Even if we had enough talisman seeds for each generation, allowing the four branches to divide them equally would only lead to the branches drifting apart, creating barriers that might cause competition between them in their quest for the talisman seeds."
Pausing slightly to gather his thoughts, Li Tongya continued, "The most feared scenario in managing a clan is making the divisions too clear; the branches should be unified! From each generation, select the most exceptional child to be given a talisman seed. Only one seed will be granted per generation. If you give away both now, what will we do twenty years later when the generation of Yuan and Qing gives birth to the generation of Xi and Yue, and a truly exceptional talent emerges? There'll be no talisman seed to be granted to them then."
After saying this and gesturing slightly with his hand, Li Xuanling nodded eagerly, saying respectfully, "I see... That is enlightening!"
After thinking for a few moments, Li Xuanling then voiced his confusion, "But... how do we determine who this exceptional child is?"
Li Tongya smiled at this and whispered, "Isn't that simple? Blindfold them all, block their hearing, and have them kneel in front of the mirror. Then, we shall see who receives the talisman seed! The chosen one shall be then referred to as the Auspicious Child!"