Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 558 - 564: Spirit Beast

After the sermon concluded, the three Nascent Soul True Lords departed with their respective juniors, while the Li familyʼs vassal forces remained.

The gathered cultivators were nervous, fearing that the Li family would make some excessive demands.

”The reason for keeping you here is simple. I merely wish to discuss the obligations you must undertake as vassals of the Li family, as well as the benefits you are entitled to,” Li Xuefengʼs words somewhat eased everyoneʼs anxiety.

They had previously made a point of inquiring, and comparatively speaking, the Li family was known for treating its vassals rather well.

”Each year, you must tribute one Spiritual Object that exceeds your own power, including Cultivation Techniques and Cultivation Skills, and when the family issues a summons, you must send an adequate number of cultivators to participate!”

”During the summons, if any cultivator falls, the family will provide compensation. For example, if a Foundation Establishment cultivator falls, a Foundation Establishment Pill will be compensated, and if a Golden Core cultivator falls, a set of Gold Core Formation Pills will also be compensated.”

In reality, it was unlikely that the Li family would issue a summons in the short term, considering their territory had suddenly expanded so much; it required a good deal of organization first.

Besides, the powers near the Li family were not to be trifiled with.

To the north lay the Great Void Province, to the west were the Qing Xuan Sect and the Fire Demon Sect, and to the south the Water Spirit Sect and the Wuya Sect, all of them were Nascent Soul powers.

Moreover, the current territory was more than sufficient to sustain a Nascent Soul power, and unless necessary, the Li family was unlikely to take the offensive.

Besides, the foundation of the Li family was Wanxian Island, and as it was located above nearby seas, there were ample domains unclaimed by any power, awaiting the Li familyʼs expansion. There was simply no need to vie for life and death over land with other powers.

As for the Sea Clan Beast Tide, for the current Li family, it was no longer a disaster that needed careful handling but a grand occasion to acquire resources! There was no need to summon cultivators, as they could resolve it with ease.

Li Xuefengʼs gaze swept over everyoneʼs faces and he continued, ”Every year, the family will organize an auction. In addition to various Spiritual Objects, ten Foundation Establishment Pills and a set of Gold Core Formation Pills will be specifically released!”

”The aforementioned Spirit Pills will only be sold at the market price, and which power will receive them depends on the contributions made to the development of the family.”

Simply put, it was an initiative to have all cultivators contribute to the development of the Li family!

While obtaining Foundation Establishment Pills and Gold Core Formation Pills would indeed increase their own strength, the Li familyʼs power would also grow, and even more rapidly. To surpass the Li family, one either needed to be a Child of Destiny or the Li family would have to face a significant crisis.

Moreover, the Li family always maintained control over the distribution of the Spirit Pills! It was very easy to manipulate matters.

The Li familyʼs demands, understood by many astute cultivators on the spot, but what could they do? They simply had no right to refuse.

”This year the family celebrates the birth of a True Lord, a great joy! Therefore, this yearʼs tribute is waived. Come to the West Mountain Market on the first day of July to participate in the auction,” Li Xuefeng said, picking up his teacup afterward.

The West Mountain Market, located at the farthest western border of Wanxian Island, is an island separated specially for this purpose, just over ten miles in size. It is also the second marketplace operated solely by the Li family, mainly to facilitate transactions with cultivators from the mainland.

The original Red Pine Market on Wanxian Island has now also been moved to a separate island.

In this way, only the Li familyʼs cultivators would be on Wanxian Island, better safeguarding against other powersʼ cultivators from snooping around.

Seeing this, the cultivators began to take their leave, sent off by the various elders.

As the Clan Leader of a Nascent Soul family, albeit a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, in the clanʼs domain, his status was still a notch above that of ordinary Golden Core cultivators, and naturally, he could not personally see off guests.

As for the concern of the Clan Leaderʼs insufficient cultivation, Li Zhirui already had a solution.

Once Li Xuefengʼs term was over, either Li Darong or Li Chenglin would take up the role of Clan Leader.

The reason why there was a need to wait for over a decade was that Li Xuefeng, the current Clan Leader, was performing his duties exceptionally well; it would be unreasonable to force someone to step down from their position. That would be too disrespectful, and it would not do justice to the dedication he had poured into the development of the family.

The reason Li Zhirui chose Li Darong and Li Chenglin was that, compared to the other Golden Core members of the family, their aptitudes were the worst, with little chance of further advancement.

Furthermore, Li Darong had previously served as the external affairs elder, proving his competency in managing affairs, while Li Chenglin was intelligent and could easily get the hang of things.

This was also why Li Chengwu, despite his average capabilities, wasnʼt considered on the list of candidates.

But the final choice still depended on their own decisions; Li Zhirui couldnʼt force them into a role they didnʼt enjoy.

——

After the Nascent Soul ceremony ended, Wanxian Island returned to its usual tranquility.

Li Zhirui and Jiang Fengwu were, at this moment, tallying the congratulatory gifts sent by various families within their cave dwelling.

The Li family had set a rule: the costs of the ceremony would be split in half, half by the individual and half by the family, with the option to use spiritual objects to repay the amount afterward.

Jiang Fengwu exchanged the unneeded spiritual objects with the family and made up the rest with Spirit Stones, thereby keeping all the precious spiritual objects for herself.

”Did you already guess the congratulatory gifts given by the Water Spirit Sect and Wuya Sect?” Jiang Fengwu asked, looking at the two fourth-grade Spirit Beast eggs in front of her.

Li Zhirui smiled and carefully observed the Spirit Beast eggs for a moment, saying, ”One of wind, one of water, perfectly matching your Spiritual Root. Didnʼt you contract only a Wind Roc Bird before? Now is a good time to contract them both.”

The Wind Roc Bird that Jiang Fengwu had contracted before had either experienced a bloodline reversion or mutation, given its incredibly fast cultivation speed! In just a few decades, it had already advanced by three ranks.

Fortunately, this was the case, as otherwise, with the restrictions of the Wanling Sutra, Jiang Fengwu wouldnʼt have been able to achieve Nascent Soul.

”Are these two Spirit Beasts the Dusk Wind Bluebird and the Five-Colored Dragon Carp?”

The Dusk Wind Bluebirdʼs body was covered in azure feathers, with two phoenix-like tails; its fluttering wings carried the power of the evening breeze, which could slow down its opponentʼs speed.

The Five-Colored Dragon Carp, with its relatively high concentration of Dragon Blood, was an Aquatic Spirit Beast that could transform its water-based mana into the other four elemental types of mana through its special dragon scales.

Both of these Spirit Beasts, whether in rank or capability, were exceptionally fine choices, and due to the richness of dragon and phoenix blood within them, breaking through their Bloodline Shackles in the future would be easier than for ordinary Spirit Beasts.

”That should be the case.”

Li Zhirui wasnʼt at all surprised that Jiang Fengwu could recognize the lineage of the Spirit Beasts, since she had memorized all the various Spirit Beasts included in the Wanling Sutra.

”What are you worried about?”

Seeing that Jiang Fengwu was hesitant, Li Zhirui looked at her with confusion and said, ”Letʼs not even mention my abilities as an Alchemy Master, you as a fourth-tier Formation master are not lacking in the ability to earn Spirit Stones either, thereʼs no need to worry about resources.”

”You can contract the Dragon Carp.”

Taken aback, Li Zhirui shook his head and chuckled, ”Ever since I got Cang, my standards have risen—fourth-grade Spirit Beasts no longer catch my eye.”

These words werenʼt meant to comfort Jiang Fengwu; they represented his genuine thoughts.

Seeing Li Zhiruiʼs sincere expression, Jiang Fengwu did not pursue the matter and put away the two Spirit Beast eggs, preparing to hatch them later.