Although there was a valuable spirit jade mine in the area controlled by the five families, the spirit veins and spiritual energy seemed to have been concentrated around the mine, leaving the rest of the land barren and severely lacking in spiritual energy. This made it extremely difficult for the Rui Family to grow Spirit Paddies and other spirit crops, forcing them to resort to various means to barely survive.
Seeing Rui Qiongcuo's submissive demeanor, Li Xicheng organized his thoughts and continued, "Our family head understands your situation. We are not demanding tribute from you for nothing. We permit the Rui Family to send people to our Yuting Peak to cultivate paddies and study. Our family will only take a twenty percent tax."
The old man was stunned for a moment, his eyes no longer showing his usual cunning but rather a deep confusion. He looked at Li Xicheng, somewhat dazed, and murmured, "To Yuting Peak to grow paddies...?"
Rui Qiongcuo muttered these words twice, his eyes reddening, and he quickly asked, "What kind of tribute does your esteemed clan require?"
"We only ask for the water from your spirit spring and the twenty percent tax as your tribute!" Li Xicheng declared as he waved his hand dismissively. Rui Qiongcuo still could not believe these words and stared at him in a daze.
Rui Qiongcuo was well aware of how fertile the lands of clans were and how abundant their spiritual energy was. He had once harbored greedy thoughts, but during his tenure, the Ji Family was at its peak, especially Ji Dengqi, who was particularly domineering, leaving no room for Rui Qiongcuo's ambitions.
Later, when the Ji Family was replaced by the An Family and then the Li Family came, with their White Jade Fist and Celestial Moon Sword , they were even stronger, capable of obliterating the Rui Family with a mere breath.
As for secretly selling the ores, the Xiao Family had a profound technique for detecting veins. They knew exactly how much was missing from the mine and how much was delivered. If discovered, it would lead to the extermination of the entire Rui Family.
The Rui Family had thought about escaping from this impoverished place, but the Xiao Family sent people annually to collect the ores, making them too afraid to act. They could only struggle year after year.
Now that there was hope, decades of hardship welled up instantly, and tears streamed down the old man's face.
"Thank you, young master!" he exclaimed gratefully.
Seeing the old man prostrate himself on the ground in deep gratitude, Li Xicheng was somewhat surprised.
The order was given by Li Yuanping, and he had not thought much about it. The Li Family was short on manpower, and there were still large tracts of vacant spirit fields under Yuting Peak, so it was merely a matter of renting them out instead of leaving them idle.
"That is enough."
The old man had become a kowtowing worm. Li Xicheng ordered someone to help him up. The old man's face was covered in tears, and he seemed genuinely moved.
The Rui Family's gratitude did not mean much to the Li Family, but Li Xicheng had a kind disposition. Seeing the old man's emotional state, he felt rather warm and said some comforting words. Meanwhile, Tian Zhongqing also arrived with his men.
The Pu Family similarly expressed their profound gratitude and sent two Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators.
"Let us return home then."
After settling everything and repeatedly warning the Rui Family, Li Xicheng transcribed their techniques. As expected, they were common and already present in his family, so he led his men back to their clan.
————
This expedition felt like a lot of noise for little action. In just one day, they subdued two families and returned triumphantly. The Li Family took the nearby Rui and Pu families as vassals, tying them together through land leases, which were far more binding than usual tributes.
Li Xicheng returned with over a hundred men. Over a thousand were executed by the Jade Court Guards due to disregarding military and family laws, while the rest were expelled to Mount Yue, thus purging the clan.
The charges were securely placed, so Li Yuanping did not have to argue with the clan elders and uncles. He even took the opportunity to rectify the family's moral conduct. Feeling a great burden now lifted from his shoulders, his steps were lightened.
"Though these elders and uncles are not fools, they have noticed my actions, and my reputation has undoubtedly suffered."
Although Li Yuanping had heard some insults about himself, he paid them no mind. He spent a few days appeasing the clan elders and uncles before putting the matter behind him.
Sitting at the wide desk, Li Yuanping picked up a small letter and frowned.
This letter was from An Zheyan, who was stationed at Mount Huaqian. The Rui Family's spring water had been sent over, filled into seven or eight bottles, but the old monkey had resolutely thrown each one out of the cave.
An Zheyan, chattering with the old monkey for half a day like a monkey himself, finally understood that the Rui Family's spring water was too cold and carried some metallic poison. If it were used to water the spirit root, it could potentially destroy it.
Li Yuanping was immediately covered in a cold sweat upon hearing this news, silently feeling grateful. If not for the old monkey's vigilance, they might have wasted this Foundation Establishment Realm money tree.
Mentally giving the old monkey credit, Li Yuanping pondered on whether to send someone to investigate the spring water while summoning Li Qiuyang, who claimed to have important matters to report.
Li Qiuyang, with a serious expression, took out a light green ore from his storage pouch and said in a low voice, "Reporting to the clan head, we examined the ore samples claimed to be spirit jade from the five families, and brought one back."
He handed over the ore. Li Yuanping examined it, noticing its light green hue with traces of gold. This ore was a Qi Cultivation Realm spirit item, potentially harmful to the body. Li Qiuyang, fearing it might harm Li Yuanping, had sealed it with a spell.
Unable to discern much, Li Yuanping heard Li Qiuyang say solemnly, "This is not spirit jade; it is Green Origin Copper Essence, a rare spirit item. I learned about it during a chat with a cultivator from the Xiao Family."
"Green Origin Copper Essence is a Qi Cultivation Realm spirit item that requires Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators to mine... Its cold and fierce nature harms the body. Without reaching the Qi Cultivation Realm, mining it impairs one's cultivation path and lifespan, making it increasingly difficult to break through," Li Qiuyang explained as he continued to report, "Year after year, the Five Spirit Jade Families mined it without realizing this. The copper essence also contaminated the spirit fields, damaging the spirit plants. This explains why the five families' Spirit Paddies and crops yield so poorly."
Li Yuanping felt a chill down his spine as realization dawned upon him. He set down the copper essence, nodding as he said, "No wonder the Five Spirit Jade Families have remained at the Embryonic Breathing Realm for so many years without producing many Qi Cultivators... No wonder the Xiao Family sought to enlighten other families! On one hand, the Azure Pond Sect strictly forbids cross-peak and inter-prefecture activities... This is done in order to avoid provoking the sect. On the other hand, the Xiao Family does not want to send their people to mine."
With a bit of thought, Li Yuanping's previous doubts were resolved, and he mumbled, "No wonder the spring water had metallic poison... it must have been contaminated by the Green Origin Copper Essence."
Feeling much relieved now, he asked, "Have the cultivators from the Rui and Pu families been settled?"
"They have been arranged at the Yuting Peak to cultivate Spirit Paddies," Li Qiuyang responded with a nod.
Li Yuanping then picked up a vermillion brush, wrote a few words on An Zheyan's letter, and handed it to Li Qiuyang.
"Please have this delivered to Wutu Peak, Clan Uncle."