Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 453 - 459: Bribery

Although Fu Qinghuan had received the contract agreed upon by the headquarters, he did not present it directly. Instead, he was thinking of obtaining more benefits for the Xuanfa Pavilion.

If he could truly accomplish this, then he would be the great contributor to this affair. It wouldnʼt be an instant rise to high status, but at the very least, his name, Fu Qinghuan, would certainly be on the next promotion list!

Unfortunately, the Li family could not afford to suffer too much loss, so Li Chenghuo stuck to his bottom line, refusing to nod his head no matter how the other party persuaded him.

”I wonder how you can assure us that the Li family and the Southern Edge Commerce Association will not have any secret dealings in the future?” Seeing that the matter was beyond his influence, Fu Qinghuan had no choice but to carry out the instructions from the headquarters dutifully.

Li Chenghuo sighed inwardly. He had originally harbored a glimmer of hope that the Xuanfa Pavilion might have forgotten about this matter, but now it seemed he had been too naive.

”We can make a public declaration to sever ties with the Southern Edge Commerce Association and forbid them from entering the five states and one island under our familyʼs jurisdiction!”

After Li Zhirui broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, he had offended three Golden Core powers of the Li family, all of which fled at the mere mention of his name.

Knowing they were in the wrong, Shen Leishan did not wish to conflict with the Li family and did not send anyone to take over these three State Domains; naturally, they fell into the hands of the Li family.

Although over the years, the Li family had continuously sent people to fill the gaps, establishing vassals, their foundation was ultimately insufficient, and many Spirit Veins remained beyond their control.

Later, Li Dayuan came up with a solution: establish a Loose Cultivator Immortal City, providing a stable and affordable cultivation environment for loose cultivators, at the same time renting out Spirit Fields, allowing them to take root here.

In this way, they could control the Spirit Veins with fewer people and also create substantial income for the family.

Because of this idea, those three state lands had become famous sanctuaries for loose cultivators, attracting countless numbers to gather there.

Although loose cultivators are known to be poor, with few Spirit Stones on them, the accumulation of small amounts becomes significant with large numbers, and the income from this was very considerable!

This public declaration also gained Fu Qinghuanʼs trust.

By making such a public snub to the Southern Edge Commerce Association, it seemed unlikely that they would trade with the Li family again.

Some might think that simply including a clause in the contract that forbids any dealings between the Li family and the Southern Edge Commerce Association is a good idea.

It seems like a restraint, but in reality, it is easy to circumvent such an agreement, for example, by involving an intermediary. Once that is done, the trading entities would no longer be the Li family and the Southern Edge Commerce Association.

”Very well!” said Fu Qinghuan, ”As long as your noble family makes the public declaration, the second day, Xuanfa Pavilion will deliver the Spiritual Medicine to your doorstep!”

”Then I will return home to await the good news,” Li Chenghuo stood up and said, ”I must also report back to my family, so I shall take my leave first.”

But what he did not expect was that upon returning to Wanxian Island, he learned of the secrets behind this affair.

”I hope you donʼt mind the familyʼs prior concealment from you,” Li Zhirui said somewhat apologetically.

”Uncle Shiling gives too much weight to this matter. As it is beneficial to the family, Chenghuo naturally wonʼt mind.”

”Good!” Li Zhirui handed over several bottles of Spirit Pills and said with a smile, ”These Spirit Pills are both a compensation and a reward from the family. You must not refuse!”

Li Chenghuo was about to decline when Li Zhirui cut him off, and in the end, he had no choice but to obediently accept the Spirit Pills.

The second day, the Li family made a public declaration to sever ties with the Southern Edge Commerce Association and to forbid them from entering the territories of the Li family.

This sparked discussions among many cultivators.

On the third day, Xuanfa Pavilion sent someone to deliver the first batch of Alchemy materials, a total of fifty portions.

When receiving the Spiritual Medicine, it was Li Zhirui, a Nascent Soul True Lord, who personally showed up, exhibiting an extremely friendly demeanor that did not give off any airs of superiority.

”When will the next batch of Spiritual Medicine be delivered?” Li Zhirui asked somewhat abruptly during the exchange.

Fu Qinghuan thought for a moment, then answered, ”The earliest transport fleet will arrive in Myriad Thunder State in one month. By then, Iʼll trouble the senior to send someone to collect the Spiritual Medicine.”

”Good, Iʼve made a note of it.”

After sending Fu Qinghuan and the others away, Li Zhirui couldnʼt wait to return to his cave dwelling to begin his alchemy journey.

The materials sent by Xuanfa Pavilion were for refining the fourth-grade Green Heaven Precious Pill, named for its main ingredient, the Green Heaven Fruit. This pill could not only increase mana but also had a certain strengthening effect on the Spiritual Soul, making it a very suitable Precious Pill for Nascent Soul True Lords.

As for the Red Sun Treasure Pill sent by Southern Edge Commerce Association, although it couldnʼt increase mana, it was focused on strengthening the Spiritual Soul and its effects far surpassed those of the Green Heaven Precious Pill.

Over the years, Li Zhirui had completely mastered both types of pills!

However, theoretical knowledge and practical skills often do not correlate, and it was unlikely that Li Zhirui could refine a fourth-grade Precious Pill without a large amount of practice.

Because when actually starting the alchemy process, there always seemed to be this or that issue, necessitating learning from failures and gradually finding the method to success.

”Sigh! No wonder the fourth-grade Precious Pill is so difficult! Itʼs no surprise that fourth-grade Alchemy Masters are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns,” he lamented.

Half a month had passed, and Li Zhirui had already squandered all fifty batches of Green Heaven Precious Pill materials at hand. While some progress was made, it wasnʼt as significant as he had imagined.

Li Zhirui tentatively estimated that to refine the Green Heaven Precious Pill, at least one hundred and fifty batches of materials would be necessary for a chance of success!

Donʼt assume that one hundred and fifty attempts is a high number; many Nascent Soul Realm cultivators aspiring to be promoted from third to fourth-grade alchemists might not succeed in refining even one Precious Pill after two hundred attempts.

However, Li Zhiruiʼs emergence from seclusion this time was not solely because he had run out of materials; there was another very important matter that required his personal attention!

That was to bribe the cultivators in Xuanfa Pavilion involved with the Green Heaven Fruit!

From the one who performed the Fusion Spirit Skill at the beginning, to the cultivator who checked the Spiritual Medicine, to those who delivered the Green Heaven Fruit to the Li family—bribes needed to be well-placed for several dozen people up and down the ranks.

This matter had been discussed by Li Zhirui with his elders Li Shiqing and Li Shilian beforehand and had received their unanimous approval; they had even permitted him to use the familyʼs Spirit Stones to move this matter forward.

After all, why would anyone take the risk to carry out such a dangerous task without the temptation of substantial benefits?

And now, what Li Zhirui needed to do first was to bribe Fu Qinghuan and the cultivators transporting the Spiritual Medicine.

It wasnʼt just with Xuanfa Pavilion; Li Zhirui had no plans to spare Southern Edge Commerce Association either, but their transport fleet would still take several months to arrive, so he could start testing the waters here first.

——

”Senior, what is this...” Fu Qinghuan, gazing at the storage bag in front of him, asked, somewhat puzzled.

Li Zhirui smiled slightly, and without speaking, his voice resonated in Fu Qinghuanʼs mind, ”I have a favor to ask of you.”

Fu Qinghuan felt something was off and involuntarily probed the storage bag with his Divine Sense, instantly taken aback.

Within the large storage bag, there were piles of Spirit Stones and over a hundred jade bottles filled with Spirit Pills!