Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 425 - 431: Predicament

Meanwhile, within his heart, he cursed Lan Jiao furiously, ”Such an utter fool, to fail to see that she had almost no mana left within her body, and to flee in such a disgraceful manner!”

Li Zhixuan seemed to sense something and glanced in his direction.

With just one look, he was so frightened that his hair stood on end. He hurriedly averted his gaze, daring not to entertain any surplus thoughts, and like the other Loose Cultivators, earnestly hunted the Water Devil before him.

”Is it my imagination?” Li Zhixuan furrowed her brow, murmured to herself softly, scanned that direction, but ultimately, she didnʼt detect anything and reluctantly turned around to enter the quiet room.

Her current condition was poor. To be prepared for any contingencies, she had to hasten her recovery. Otherwise, if an accident happened, she would have no capacity to respond.

——

”Phew!”

Upon receiving the good news from Li Zhixuan, whether it was Li Shiqing, Li Dayuan, or the Elders, all of them breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless, for the time being, they had at least resolved the crisis in the east and ensured the Li family wouldnʼt be encircled.

”Have the clan members from Yunping State returned?” Li Dayuan looked towards the Elder in charge of this matter.

”Most of the clan members have returned, but only...” The Elder paused, his expression mournful, ”But there has been no news of those dozens of clan members near the west side.”

”The west side?” Li Dayuanʼs complexion abruptly changed, ”Isnʼt that close to the Fan Family, Mingguang Sect, and Hongluo Sect? How can there be no news!”

”Maybe those three know about Guangqing Stateʼs situation and wish to plunder amidst the chaos?” surmised a kindly Elder.

”But the strength of our family has merely decreased somewhat, how dare they lay a hand on us!” This Elder, however, saw things more clearly.

If things were as simple as that, Li Dayuanʼs face wouldnʼt look so glum.

It was Li Shiqing whose eyes flickered with realization, seemingly understanding that these three factions were the competitors Shen Leishan had found for the Li family. Just like with Yuanming Sect and Green Sword Sect in the past, they would become mutually antagonistic, frequently engaging in battles, and thereby depleting each otherʼs resources.

In addition to spending a substantial amount of Spirit Stones on warfare each year, this would also lead to the fall of some promising young members, greatly increasing the difficulty for them to rise in power.

Even though Li Shiqing recognized Shen Leishanʼs maneuvers and schemes, he was powerless to unravel them, because those three factions had already been forced into action!

Of course, even if they hadnʼt made a move yet, there was nothing he could do to stop it. After all, these were Shen Leishanʼs orders, and they had no choice but to obediently comply, lest they be annihilated.

Moreover, if he hadnʼt miscalculated, it might not be long before clan members would flee back, bringing news of their slaughter by the people of the Fan Family and the Hongluo Sect.

Such deep-seated hatred could not be easily resolved, and in fact, they must declare war on them—otherwise, the morale of the family would dissipate!

After all, the Li family originated from the same lineage hundreds of years ago, sharing a common ancestor. Though the blood ties had gradually become distant, being of one family, if they didnʼt seek revenge for their kinsfolk, could they even still be considered relatives?

While lost in thought, Li Shiqingʼs gaze suddenly fell upon a certain place. He thought hard—wasnʼt that where Li Zhirui was in seclusion?

ʼZhirui, how much longer will it take for you to breakthrough to Nascent Soul?ʼ

```

This was the best solution Li Shiqing could think of to resolve the current predicament of the Li family. Once Li Zhirui became a Nascent Soul True Lord, Shen Leishan would definitely stop scheming against them. They might even take out the Fan Family, Hongluo Sect, and Mingguang Sect to court favor with the Li family.

Firstly, it was to shirk responsibility, and secondly, they knew it was Shen Leishanʼs doing. To keep it a secret, they had to die.

At this moment, the Li Zhirui that Li Shiqing had been earnestly thinking about had, after years of seclusion, finally put together a complete Nascent Soul Skill.

However...

Li Zhirui was somewhat fearful. After all, these were his ideas, and there was no way to test whether they would work, or if they might harm him, among other issues. After all, how easy was it to come across a Golden Core cultivator on the cusp of a Nascent Soul breakthrough? Even if one were found, they would not risk using a method concocted by another Golden Core cultivator.

”Huff—” Li Zhirui exhaled heavily, calming his mind, then gritted his teeth and started operating the methods.

”Hm? The Spirit Qi Differentiation Array has been activated!”

Jiang Fengwu, who had been constantly waiting in her family courtyard for Li Zhirui, sensed the formationʼs movements immediately, her brows and eyes revealing joy and concern.

She was happy that there was some movement from Li Zhirui, signifying hope for a breakthrough, but she was worried about the Thunder Tribulation and the current troubles the family was facing, which could cause him problems.

Li Zhirui was completely unaware of the troubles the family was facing. He was solely immersed in the pleasure of operating the methods. In the methods, he had divided Transforming the Golden Core into a Nascent Soul into three steps.

The first step naturally was to dissolve the Golden Core to serve as ʼnutrientsʼ to nurture the ʼreal characterʼ within the Golden Core. The second step would be the sublimation of ʼreal characterʼ into ʼTao Nature.ʼ The third and final step was to transform ʼTao Natureʼ into a newborn Nascent Soul!

This was full of extreme dangers. Once started, there was no turning back. One had to begin sublimating the ʼreal character.ʼ But the mere act of dissolving the Golden Core—this first threshold—had tripped up cultivators at the fifth and sixth levels of the Golden Core, not to mention the two steps that followed, and ultimately, the Heavenly Tribulation.

Unlike the three strikes of the Golden Core Thunder Tribulation, the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation comprised six layers of Tribulation Thunder, as well as the Heart Demon Tribulation. Though itʼs only three more strikes, the degree of danger increased exponentially.

In the end, out of hundreds, if not thousands of Golden Core Perfection cultivators, for one to become a Nascent Soul True Lord could truly be regarded as being favored by the heavens.

And it should be known that those who could cultivate to Golden Core Perfection, unless they were white-haired elders, could all be rightfully called geniuses!

This shows just how difficult it is to break through to Nascent Soul.

With a massive intake of Spiritual Energy, Li Zhiruiʼs Golden Core began to ʼsoftenʼ under his control, and droplets of golden Spiritual Liquid fell into the Dantian below.

Gradually, the Golden Core disappeared, leaving only an indestructible ʼreal characterʼ floating in the Dantian, nourished by the pure and untainted mana, accumulating and finally sublimating into a transformation.

”Why has the Spirit Qi Vortex suddenly disappeared?!” asked Li Shiqing anxiously. ”Could it be that Zhiruiʼs breakthrough has failed?”

Since Li Zhirui began showing signs of movement, Jiang Fengwu had contacted Li Shiqing and Li Shilian using a Communication Talisman, hoping they could come quickly.

But they had not broken through to the realm of Nascent Soul. How could they know what was going on?

”It should be normal. Zhiruiʼs aura has not shown any significant fluctuations. It canʼt be a failure,” Jiang Fengwu observed and explained, while also letting out a sigh of relief, as she had thought the same before.

Lucky that the Spirit Qi Differentiation Array had been set up, allowing her to sense Li Zhiruiʼs condition, however vaguely.

```