"A newly ascended Foundation Establishment Realm wolf demon at Mount Bianyan on the border of Xu State..." Li Xuanxuan muttered as he read the small note in his hand, feeling somewhat uneasy. He did not know the strength of this wolf demon, and if it had any backing.
The five sects of Xu State were constantly at war with each other, compounded by rampant devil cultivators and roaming monks, creating utter chaos. These sects could only protect a few towns under their respective mountain gates while demons ran amok elsewhere.
This wolf demon occupied the remote Mount Bianyan in Xu State, proclaiming itself the Bianyan Demon General and living quite happily.
After all, being a Foundation Establishment Realm demon and cultivating alone in the mountains, no one bothered it most of the time. Only occasionally did it come out to cause some trouble and devour a few cultivators, which then made its existence known.
Li Xuanling pondered for a moment and clicked his tongue. He hesitated, saying, "We need to ask that fox about the affairs among these demons... Let us first send this up for Second Uncle to see."
One of the subordinates stepped forward and took the note before heading up the mountain. Li Xuanxuan then bowed his head and began drawing talismans.
The Yu Family was currently in chaos, and the Li Family had just annexed two mountains, which required him to oversee the allocation of manpower and distribution of spirit fields. Li Xuanxuan himself was not of exceptional talent, so he often stayed at the foot of the mountain drawing talismans and managing affairs.
"The wedding of Jiao'er is also within these months... Doing it well is no easy task."
People from the Xiao Family had already come several times, led by Xiao Jiuqing. He was a very articulate man, handling many matters thoroughly and efficiently, saving Li Xuanxuan quite a bit of effort.
Looking at the congratulatory message handed over to him, Li Xuanxuan couldn't help but praise, "This man is eloquent and capable. If our family had someone like him, it would save us a lot of trouble!"
As soon as he said this, Li Xuanxuan couldn't help but think of Li Yuanxiu, feeling a pang of sorrow as he thought to himself, We should have arranged a marriage for that boy earlier...
"Family Head."
Just as Li Xuanxuan was lost in his thoughts, Li Xiewen hurried up to him, interrupting his mind. "Master Liu Changdie has already repaired the formation. He bade farewell to the Second Master and has left northward on the wind," he reported respectfully.
"Oh, I see. How is the selection of the Jade Court Guards?" Li Xuanxuan responded.
"Three are of the Li Family, one is of Chen, and one is of Xu. All are close and trusted," Li Xiewen answered readily.
Li Xuanxuan nodded and replied, "Make sure to select carefully. The ancestor will meet them personally in a few days."
Watching Li Xiewen nod and leave, Li Xuanxuan put down his brush and suddenly thought of Li Xuanfeng, feeling quite troubled. Cultivators who advanced in their cultivation too quickly often resulted in fewer descendants. Li Xuanfeng had no children and now shunned women. This was concerning to Li Xuanxuan.
"Although Donghe was married into our family, Jingtian only bore one daughter. Qingxiao might marry into the Xiao Family in the future. Given Xuanfeng's current state, does that mean he will be left without descendants?" Li Xuanxuan wondered out loud as he sighed softly.
Though he was the eldest among their generation, he was not dominant and knew he could not persuade Li Xuanfeng. He could only think of finding a day to discuss with Li Tongya about this matter.
The brush in his hand lightly moved across the paper, and the talisman under the tip of the brush shone brightly before finally converging into a brilliant light, flowing onto the smooth talisman paper. Li Xuanxuan chuckled softly.
"Done!"
This Qi Cultivation Realm talisman was a Shield Essence Talisman. The Li Family possessed two talisman manuals— Spiritual Talisman Method and Autumn Talisman Notes . The former, brought back by Li Chejing, included three Qi Cultivation Realm talisman techniques, one of which Li Xuanxuan had just drawn. The latter also primarily involved Qi Cultivation Realm talismans but were more difficult, and Li Xuanxuan had yet to master them.
"Drawing one or two out of ten talismans successfully is not bad at all," Li Xuanxuan said as he put away the talisman. Though his talent in the art of talisman was the highest in the Li Family, it was not particularly outstanding.
Being able to draw Qi Cultivation Realm talismans relied solely on his hard work. Feeling satisfied, he smiled and said, "With these talismans, the younger generation in the family will have better protection."
————
Li Tongya was the only remaining cultivator on Mount Lijing now. Li Yuanjiao and Li Xuanfeng had been sent to Mount Huaqian, while Li Qinghong and her father, Li Xuanling, had gone to Mount Huazhong. Several external Qi Cultivators were busy below, slaying demons and overseeing spirit fields so that the main family members had time to cultivate.
The combined spiritual qi of Meiche Peak and Lijing Peak finally allowed Li Tongya to freely cultivate. The spiritual energy of Mount Lijing was not dense, and Li Tongya, having received the Deep Ocean Long Whale Talisman, needed to breathe and circulate qi like a whale. This made his cultivation more challenging than that of ordinary Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.
Li Tongya sat beside a bed, carefully reading a purple jade slip, while Liu Rouxuan, with her head full of white hair, slept soundly beside him.
Li Tongya was now sixty-three years old, and Liu Rouxuan was only a few years younger than him. However, repeated failed breakthroughs had shortened her lifespan, leaving her vitality low. The Li Family could not provide any life-extending spirit items and could only watch as she neared her death.
Liu Rouxuan had little time left and, with her damaged essence, slept more often than she was awake. Thus, Li Tongya no longer secluded himself for cultivation and instead stayed by her bed reading, accompanying her in her final days.
"Ancestor." Li Xiewen tiptoed to Li Tongya's side, offering a small note.
Li Tongya took it and glanced at it, then nodded, putting it away. He covered the bed curtains before stepping out of the courtyard, saying in a low voice, "I understand."
With that, he rode the wind and left the formation. The speed of a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator was astounding; in just a moment, he had already crossed the dense forest below and landed under a massive white banyan tree.
It was silent all around, with not even a fox's fur in sight. However, Li Tongya was not in a hurry. He sat cross-legged under the tree, meditating. Soon, a fiery red figure flew hurriedly from the horizon and landed in front of Li Tongya.
"You have finally come to find me." The fox looked dejected, letting out a disheartened cry.
"You have caused quite a stir on the lake! We all know about it. Two more feeding grounds are gone, making the demons of the northern foothills quite unhappy..." the fox grumbled.
"What do you mean by that?" Li Tongya asked, puzzled.
The fox explained, "Those demons eat people. As long as they change form and enter the city quietly, cast a few spells, eat a few people, and leave immediately, no cultivators ever interfere. As long as they do not provoke the prominent families, eating a few commoners is easy."
The fox sat on the ground, spreading its paws expressively, and continued, "Since your Li Family rose to prominence, things have changed... Even going to a feeding ground to eat a few commoners is met with relentless pursuit. All sorts of tracking and illusion-breaking spells are used, and any careless demon staying in the city for a few days gets caught and killed. The more cautious ones eat and run, but even minor demons in the Embryonic Breathing Realm are pursued into the mountains by Qi Cultivators. It is utterly unreasonable!"
Li Tongya was left speechless. The fox continued its ramble, saying, "With your Li Family's rise, human flesh and blood have become increasingly precious in the northern foothills. Many demons are unwilling to take risks and have turned to eating other demons instead. With dogs biting dogs and wolves biting wolves, life has been chaotic. In the past six months, as your Li Family expanded again, these demons have lost two more feeding grounds, naturally causing dissatisfaction."
Li Tongya could only shake his head. The fox added, "I heard this from a pig demon in the demon den that it wanted to teach your family a lesson. I tried to dissuade it, but that stupid pig demon threw me out of the den..."
"I'm sorry to hear that, my friend," Li Tongya said, but he could not help but laugh. Nevertheless, the mention of the pig demon puzzled him. He asked, "The demon den and the Azure Pond Sect are from different factions. What can that pig demon possibly do? Lead demon soldiers to attack us, or use some cunning scheme to harm my family?"