The treatment for Jade Court Guards was equivalent to that of a battalion commander, so Li Wen had sufficient resources for his cultivation. He had also been practicing the rapid cultivation method, Guardian of the Courtly Path , and was now just over thirty.
Li Yuanping quickly called him to rise and explained to his elder brother, "This man has been in seclusion and breaking through in recent years, so he may seem unfamiliar to you, Big Brother."
Li Yuanjiao nodded and asked, "Which branch are you from?"
Li Wen replied, "My great-grandfather was the younger brother of Li Mutian, the youngest son of Li Genshui, and the elder of the four branches..."
Seeing this sturdy man's face full of pride and chanting this lineage fluently, Li Yuanjiao found it both amusing but headache-inducing, and quickly interrupted, "I understand, so you are from the youngest son of Ancestor Genshui's line."
Li Wen nodded proudly, the fluent recitation indicating he often spoke of it. Li Yuanjiao took out a bottle of pills from his storage pouch and placed it into Li Wen's hand, saying lightly, "Consider this a greeting gift from your clan uncle."
"Thank you, Clan Uncle!" Li Wen bowed again and murmured his thanks before retreating.
"He seems honest," Li Yuanjiao remarked, watching his retreating figure.
Li Yuanping, his face pale, nodded and hinted, "The branch lineage has many people, but their talent is lacking. Among so many, only he has emerged, and even among the Unrefined Qi Cultivators... there is only Uncle Qiuyang."
"Indeed..." Li Yuanjiao nodded, placing the jade cup on the table. "It does seem too few, which might raise suspicions," he commented with a sigh.
After all, the main lineage of the Li Family consistently produced children with spiritual orifices, each generation more talented than the last. Although the two main branches had many descendants, including many mortals, somewhat balancing the high ratio, the branch lineage had been too lackluster, producing no notable talents for many years. Such a thing could arouse suspicion among those with ulterior motives.
"What is your suggestion, Brother Ping?" Li Yuanjiao asked earnestly.
Li Yuanping had already made his plans but still looked to his elder brother, Li Yuanjiao, for confirmation. Hearing the question, Li Yuanping nodded slowly and answered, "We approach it from two angles. For the branch lineage, reduce their households under charges and encourage cultivators to marry into the main lineage, changing their surnames. For the main lineage, expand the branches and increase the population... I have been working on these matters for the past few years."
Li Yuanping paused, his expression somewhat grim as he explained, "After all, abolishing the ancestral temple is a significant matter. It strikes a painful blow to the branch lineage. Changing the surname from Li to Ye and expelling them is extremely painful for the branch lineage, comparable only to death... This needs to be done gradually."
Li Yuanjiao nodded, staring into Li Yuanping's eyes as he said softly, "I have a good method."
"I would like to hear the details!" Li Yuanping chipped as he looked up.
Seeing this, Li Yuanjiao began, "Nowadays, there are more and more wastrels and ruffians among the branch lineage. Although the Clan Affairs Courtyard has many cultivators, they cannot spend all their cultivation time managing the clan members, and they are gradually becoming overwhelmed. Several fools are even being played around by the prominent families."
His voice was low, almost drifting in the air as he continued, "Should there be a war, we could mobilize the clan disciples as soldiers and generals according to tradition. This would eliminate the weak and retain the strong, cleansing our family and greatly reducing our burden."
Li Yuanjiao had fought on the battlefield in his youth, beheading many in Mount Yue. At that time, Li Yuanping had not yet been born. By the time he took charge, Li Yuanjiao had already restrained his nature, discussing matters with him day and night without showing any ferocity.
Now, hearing these words, Li Yuanping understood why their father, Li Xuanxuan, always said that Li Yuanjiao had too strong of a killing intent. He silently took a deep breath and asked, "Who would we fight?"
"It does not necessarily have to be a war; it is just an idea," Li Yuanjiao chuckled, his eyes fixed on the letter from Eastern Mount Yue on the table. He then said warmly, "Eastern Mount Yue is now also occupied by the bloated and useless clans. Back then, we needed these clans to restrain Shamoli. Now that the Tian Family has succeeded, keeping them around is just allowing them to embezzle spirit resources and occupy spirit fields."
He sipped some tea and said softly, "First, eliminate the parasites in the clan. Second, deal with the lords of Mount Yue. These matters must be resolved before the devil plague arrives to prevent our family from becoming weak and allowing these parasites to grow unchecked."
————
The Xiao Family, Xianyou Peak.
The cold water in the clear pool rippled slightly, and the spiritual grass on the shore grew crookedly. Xiao Chuting rode a rainbow light out of the void and sat on a rock at the highest peak.
"The Supreme Shaman's Three Nine Blood Essence is truly magnificent."
Xiao Chuting stroked his beard, filled with emotion. The golden light had flashed in the void for over ten breaths, alarming all the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators in the Wu and Yue States. Witnessing the once-in-a-century spectacle of the metallic essence dissipating filled them with awe.
"Qing Jifang is still young and judges others by himself... He really thought these Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, no matter how far they advanced, would always be afraid of death and submit to his Mount Changhuai."
Thinking of Qing Jifang's shocked and terrified face when he was solidly hit by the supreme shaman's metallic essence, Xiao Chuting felt quite pleased.
"Jiang Boqing... Since the fall of Duanmu Kui and the loss of Answers to a Beggar's Questions Under the Mulberry Tree , he knew he did not have much time left... He was just unwilling to die without trying to break through one last time..." Xiao Chuting reflected.
Back then, Jiang Boqing materialized in the void of Lixia Prefecture, his aura comparable to the peak of the Purple Mansion Realm. This terrifying presence had left the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators of the Azure Pond Sect paralyzed with fear. They could only watch helplessly as Jiang Boqing manipulated them like puppets, not daring to utter a word.
Looking back at today, he had been surviving under the jurisdiction of Azure Pond Sect for over ten years, forced to damage his own metallic essence in order to seize Dao foundations and flee in all directions. In the end, he had to sacrifice his own life only to severely injure a junior, which was truly lamentable.
"Such bad luck. Just when Duanmu Kui fell, he also met his end, becoming a target for everyone and losing his chance for reincarnation..."
Xiao Chuting took out a white jade fishing rod and placed it on the rock. Just as he was about to use his divine ability to see if there was anything valuable nearby, a warm voice sounded in his ear.
"Welcome back to the mountain, Ancestor. Yuansi is here to pay his respects!"
Xiao Chuting face showed a trace of helplessness. Despite his attempts to avoid him, Xiao Yuansi still found him. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Come up!"
Before long, Xiao Yuansi, dressed in white and emanating a medicinal fragrance, flew up. It seemed he had just finished refining a batch of pills. He landed in front of Xiao Chuting and greeted respectfully, "Yuansi greets the ancestor and congratulates the ancestor on attaining advanced mastery of divine abilities!"
Seeing his overly formal and stiff demeanor, Xiao Chuting could not help but laugh inwardly. He asked, "Are you here because of Li Tongya?"
"Ancestor is perceptive; Yuansi is impressed!" Xiao Yuansi replied as he continued to stand respectfully.
Xiao Chuting had to put down the white jade fishing rod and said gruffly, "I have done my best! Li Tongya's fate is sealed. The Purple Mansion Realm cultivators pushed him to that place, which is beyond my power to change anything."
Then he recounted the entire cause and effect of the matter with the Wrathful Maha, finally saying, "I have already tried my best to alter fate. Since Li Tongya's fate cannot be changed, we can only use him to gain more benefits... Our Xiao Family has some ties with his family, but not enough to offend numerous Purple Mansion Realm cultivators and disrupt years of plans for his sake."
Having heard the whole story, Xiao Yuansi could not help but exclaimed, "Why Li Tongya?! Why?!"
Xiao Chuting sneered and said in a low voice, "Perhaps it is because his fate is both fragrant and beautiful, or maybe because of his position at the junction of the north and south...making him convenient to manipulate. Or perhaps he was a resource prepared by the Maha years ago..."
He then paused slightly, as if thinking of something, and a scene from the void on that day flashed in his mind. He silently added in his heart, Perhaps it's not just to lure the Wrathful Maha using Li Tongya... but to test some other existence...
Seeing Xiao Yuansi's silent and thoughtful appearance, Xiao Chuting shook his head and sighed. "It is a pity that idiot Liu Changdie ran from east to west, then from west to south, desperately trying to traverse the entire Yue State, mixing up all the fates, making it impossible to deduce anything accurately. By now, there are already more than a dozen Purple Mansion Realm cultivators in Jiangnan who want to kill him with a single slap. They complain in the east, curse in the west, all barely able to restrain their anger."
Xiao Chuting chuckled as if recalling something amusing, leaving Xiao Yuansi confused. He only heard the name Liu Changdie but did not understand what everything else meant.