Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 461 - 467: Development

”What do you think your fate would be if people found out that for these years, youʼve been incessantly plagiarizing and illicitly trading the internal resources of the association?”

Li Zhiruiʼs light voice, yet like a gigantic boulder weighing tens of thousands of pounds, crushingly landed on the Store Manager, who instantly froze in place, his face pale and his eyes brimming with fear and disbelief.

How could someone discover this matter that he had hidden so well?! And it was an outsider at that!

For the purpose of selling off resources, he had thought up all kinds of plausible methods, like claiming a certain Spiritual Medicine had lost its potency due to improper storage.

He was extremely cautious as well, each time controlling his actions within a reasonable range, so as not to attract anyone elseʼs attention.

Furthermore, based on this, he had established a coalition of interests, connecting many individuals within the merchant guild, each covering for the others, believing they were flawless.

But Li Zhiruiʼs piercing revelation shattered his beautiful illusion!

”You must be wondering how I found out, right?” Li Zhirui said with a nonchalant attitude, leisurely speaking, ”Because among those people you work with, a few are from the Li family.”

In his investigation, Li Zhirui realized that this Store Manager, unlike Fu Qinghuan from Xuanfa Pavilion, was born into a small Foundation Establishment family and valued it highly.

Then Li Zhirui decided to start with his family and found out that this small clan was living too lavishly, which was not something a mere small family could afford.

One didnʼt have to think too hard to guess where the problem lied, considering that the only successful member in this small family was the Store Manager himself.

As for why it hadnʼt been discovered by the Southern Edge Commerce Association, Li Zhirui assumed it was likely due to the Store Manager having partners amongst the associationʼs middle and upper management.

Whenever the association would initiate an investigation, he would immediately be tipped off, and his family would swiftly stage a cover-up, leaving the association with no evidence of the Store Managerʼs wrongdoing.

Hence, Li Zhirui arranged for a few Cultivators to discreetly probe, and they indeed discovered the Store Manager was trafficking resources.

Li Zhirui had been holding onto this leverage for quite some time, without finding the opportunity to use it. Now was the right time.

”The predecessor is truly formidable!” The Store Manager let out a wry laugh, resignedly seating himself back down. He knew that without a definite answer today, the news would probably spread the next day.

With his understanding of the association, not only would he be dealt with, but also his backing family would be thoroughly dealt with.

Thus, he truly had no other choice but to join in on the matter that Li Zhirui was planning.

”What does the predecessor plan to do?”

Li Zhirui looked at him with a half-smile, saying, ”I believe you, with your extensive connections within the association and ability to reach the heavens, will certainly be able to get this matter done.”

”Fine!” The Store Manager was silent for a while, then said, ”But all of them are the kind who wonʼt act before seeing their benefit. This expense will be covered by the Li family; I wonʼt spend a single Spirit Stone!”

”Donʼt worry.” Li Zhirui presented the resources he had prepared in advance to the Store Manager.

Similarly, the Spirit Pills here had been specially modified by Li Zhirui.

”The next shipment will arrive in half a year, and if all goes well, by then the predecessor could obtain a Redsun Grass Spirit Plant.”

The reason for such a long wait was solely because the distance between the Southern Domain and Green Mountain State was too vast, and the journey took up much of the time.

Li Zhirui was now somewhat dissatisfied with these petty deals; he wanted to seize this opportunity to acquire several fourth-grade Spirit Seeds. It was not only to increase the foundation of the Li family but also to prepare for the fourth-grade Hundred Herbs Pill recipe he planned to create next.

”Senior, youʼre too greedy!” the Store Manager said helplessly, ”Among the Spiritual Objects transported to the Eastern Domain by headquarters, only the Redsun Grass is fourth-grade; the rest are all third-grade.”

If they were to increase the number of fourth-grade Spirit Seeds without good reason, the risk of exposure would be too high. They might get caught by the Southern Edge Commerce Association before even stepping out the door.

”Well then, letʼs just do our best,” Li Zhirui had no choice but to lower his demands, and he cautioned, ”With that said, you all should still be cautious. After all, I donʼt want this to be a one-off deal.”

”Iʼll leave the matter to you, and I hope you wonʼt disappoint me.”

”Sigh,” the Store Manager couldnʼt remember how many times he had sighed that day.

——

Carrying the materials for one hundred batches of the Red Sun Treasure Pill, Li Zhirui quietly returned to Wanxian Island. After reporting the situation and progress to Li Shiqing, he once again entered seclusion, aiming to refine the Red Sun Treasure Pill as soon as possible.

Truth be told, the difficulty of refining the Red Sun Treasure Pill was not much different from that of the Green Heaven Pill. Li Zhirui, who now had plenty of experience, was very confident in this alchemy endeavor.

After failing more than a dozen times, Li Zhirui finally reached the last step—forming the pill, an extremely important process.

His ten fingers flew, continuously casting spells. Along with a wisp of rich pill fragrance wafting from the Pill Furnace, Li Zhiruiʼs movements gradually came to a rest.

”Success!” Li Zhirui took out the Precious Pill, carefully examining the crimson treasure in his hand.

Meanwhile, the Li family also began to speed up its expansion and growth.

Within just one year, the Li family had added fifty Foundation Establishment Cultivators!

This might not mean much to a large power, but to various smaller powers and those like the Li family, which were on the rise, it was an extraordinary achievement.

The sudden burst of growth within the Li family was firstly due to the accumulation over many years, allowing for an eruption now; but that was all, as the foundation built up in the previous years was now completely exhausted.

The second reason was Li Zhiruiʼs breakthrough to Nascent Soul! With his cultivation breakthrough, his alchemy skills also improved significantly. Although the Foundation Establishment Pills he now refined did not yet have Pill Patterns, these top-quality, toxin-free pills still ranked among the best.

Apart from the Foundation Establishment Cultivators, the strength of the Qi Cultivators also improved significantly.

This, too, was closely related to Li Zhirui.

During his time with the family, he would occasionally take time to guide the Alchemists. While their abilities didnʼt improve dramatically, they certainly were enhanced considerably.

The production of first and second-grade Spirit Pills thus increased two to threefold. Apart from selling them, the surplus naturally went to the Li family members.

Of course, all of this was also largely related to the leadership of the Li family, headed by Li Dayuan.

”Clan Leader, we have established five Immortal Cities for Loose Cultivators in the Outer Three Provinces, gathering nearly one hundred thousand Loose Cultivators. For our family, this is a huge, yet untapped market!” the External Affairs Elder said with fervor during the family meeting.

”Can the family provide enough Spiritual Objects for this?” Li Dayuan inquired.

The Internal Affairs Elder shook his head; setting aside the issue of manpower, even the materials werenʼt sufficient.