Li Yuanjiao read the letter and silently pondered to himself. Li Yuanping then said, "The Fei Family has been silent these years, rarely communicating with us. Their disciples only cultivate on the peak."
Li Yuanjiao nodded and replied, "How could our family obstruct the recruitment of disciples? If they were open about it, it would be fine... Sneaking around only shows their own guilt. Clearly, this is Fei Tongyu's doing, cautious and fearful like a busy white mouse preparing for winter."
He handed the letter back to Li Yuanping and said, "Do not worry about it!"
Li Yuanping nodded and put away the letter, smiling as he said, "Brother's description is quite apt."
Li Xuanxuan, on the other hand, was reading Chen Donghe's letter with a frown.
"It is troublesome for Donghe to handle this alone... Let me go and help him," he said finally.
Li Yuanping shook his head and replied, "That pass is large, but three people collecting qi is already the limit."
Speaking of qi collection, Li Yuanping had considered sending people into the mountains to gather the mountain's spiritual qi. It would take seven or eight years to collect one portion of Minor Pure Spiritual Qi .
Minor Pure Spiritual Qi required a vast mountainous area, and the Li Family, backed by the expanse of Mount Dali, could accommodate three or four people collecting qi simultaneously.
Moreover, Minor Pure Spiritual Qi was useful not only for advancing true Qi Cultivators but also in alchemy, smithing, and talisman drawing. Each portion was worth about thirty Spirit Stones. Unfortunately, though this qi was common, it was very troublesome to collect, requiring seven years of leaping through the mountains, delaying one's own cultivation.
"Once we have more unrefined Qi Cultivators, we can send them into the mountains, bringing in additional income each year..."
Li Yuanping was calculating the profit after deducting the salaries and subsidies for these cultivators when someone hurriedly approached them.
He respectfully reported, "Clan head! Madam Qingxiao has returned to visit her family... but..."
"Qingxiao?! Quickly, let her in!" Li Xuanxuan called out repeatedly, then stopped abruptly, seeing the hesitant expression on the clan soldier's face, and asked in confusion, "But what?"
The soldier dared not hide anything and answered, "Madam is dressed in mourning clothes..."
Everyone in the courtyard was startled as they heard this. Li Yuanping paused for a moment before exclaiming, "In... mourning clothes?!"
Li Yuanjiao also turned pale and quickly reacted, asking urgently, "Is it Xiao Xian? Or Xiao Jiuqing?"
The clan soldier rushed away, leaving everyone with grim faces. Li Xuanxuan clenched the armrest and said in a deep voice, "It must be the devil plague!"
After a while, Li Qingxiao indeed arrived in mourning clothes.
Now, her face was much thinner than when she left, her eyebrows lighter, and her lips were pale. She looked exhausted, with a faint scar on her wrist. She seemed like she had been through hard times.
Li Qingxiao had left as a charming young girl, but in less than ten years, she had returned as a frail woman. Her face was pale, her eyes slightly red, and as soon as she entered the courtyard, she fell to her knees with a thud.
"Please, my save my family, clan brothers!" she cried out desperately.
She looked ashen, tears streaming down her face like broken beads. Li Yuanping could not bear to see this, hurriedly stepping forward to help her up. However, Li Qingxiao remained kneeling stubbornly.
"What happened?!" Li Xuanxuan asked with a pained voice.
Li Qingxiao, her voice mournful as she wept, began explaining.
"My Mount Yu is located at the northernmost part of the Xiao Family territory, adjacent to the Purple Smoke Gate... We suffered heavy losses during that devil plague. My husband's clan uncles and clan brothers died in battle, and many were injured or lost cultivation path..."
"Later, when the devil cultivators moved north toward the Purple Smoke Gate, they passed through Mount Yu. My husband and father-in-law were cleaning up the aftermath when they encountered the devil cultivators..."
She wept bitterly, pressing her delicate fingers against the stone tiles, closing her eyes in pain as she wept, "When the clan members arrived, both my father-in-law and husband were dead... along with more than ten relatives, their bodies never found..."
"Dammit!"
The Li Family members all mourned silently, helping Li Qingxiao up and offering her comfort and tea, though she wa not in the mood to drink.
She cried anxiously, "The main line of Jiuqing on Mount Yu is now extinct, leaving only my two young sons... But according to the Xiao Family's branch rules, the position of head must be handed over to some clan brothers!"
With tears still streaming down her face, she continued, "But Xiao Xian always worried about the malicious intentions of these clan brothers... If I give up this position, how can I face my husband? What will become of my two children in the future?!"
Li Yuanping, upon hearing these words, had a vague premonition. His face turned slightly pale, and he took a step back, speaking gently, "Sister, do you mean to say...?"
Li Qingxiao kneeled again, her face as white as snow, her lips trembling, finding it difficult to speak. She said in a low voice, "I only hope... I only hope the family can send a few loyal people to accompany me to Mount Yu... as long as they have the strength to suppress the various branches of Mount Yu..."
"You..." Li Xuanxuan also fell silent, stumbling back, caught in a dilemma.
Li Qingxiao looked around at everyone's faces, then said sorrowfully, "Qingxiao understands the difficulties of the family. I have not troubled the family in these past years... but... but... I really cannot bear to see the position of Mount Yu fall into the hands of others!"
Li Yuanjiao's face darkened as he stared at Li Qingxiao. After a long silence, he finally said glumly, "This is a Xiao Family's matter! Sister... The Xiao Family is an immortal clan of the Purple Mansion Realm... how can our humble clan interfere?"
"Qingxiao understands!" Li Qingxiao kneeled, crying silently. Eventually, she said nothing more.
Li Yuanjiao's expression changed, and he asked, "Is Senior Yuansi in the clan?"
"He has already been ordered to go to the Eastern Sea!" she responded weakly.
How could Li Qingxiao not have thought of Xiao Yuansi? She had already sent someone to the clan to look for him.
Li Yuanjiao sighed deeply as he helped her up and wiped her tears, then said in a serious tone, "Do not be anxious... There will always be a way."
Once Li Qingxiao was seated properly, Li Yuanjiao waved his sleeve and instructed, "Invite Guiluan and Qinghong to come over."
When Xiao Guiluan and Li Qinghong arrived swiftly by riding the wind and heard the news, Li Qinghong gripped her spear tightly, her brow furrowed, unable to speak.
Xiao Guiluan, though not directly involved, was much clearer-headed. She considered the situation briefly and then said softly, "Madam, the main line of Mount Yu was severely damaged and should be recuperating. Why would they suddenly act so recklessly? Xiao Jiuqing is a smart person; he would never do such a thing. Was it an order from the family?"
Li Qingxiao shook her head and replied in a low voice, "It was not that my family acted recklessly, but... Mount Yu was already mostly ruined by the previous devil plague. Countless formations were breached, with only a few intact, making it easy for them to be slaughtered... My father-in-law had foresight and found an excuse to send the women and children to Xianyou Peak, allowing me to escape this disaster."
Xiao Guiluan nodded silently. The Xiao Family was currently recuperating, with the first formations to be repaired certainly being at Xianyou Peak and the main line. The formations of the branches at Mount Yu were numerous and complicated, so it was normal for them to be delayed.
She paused, her expression serious. She then asked in a deep voice, "Did the Xiao Family eventually eradicate these devil cultivators?"
Li Qingxiao, overwhelmed by sorrow, had not rushed here immediately. She had mde many arrangements and sought help from various sources, but all to no avail. Hence, she had no choice but to return home.
She immediately replied, "This group of devil cultivators came suddenly... They entered Mount Yu through the pass, killed people, and fled north without a trace. Although the family came to the rescue, it was already too late!"