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Chapter 1033: Chapter 985: Ideas_2
"Mm, and I heard that he is also a sixth-tier Alchemy Master. Who knows when we will need to seek his aid; it’s better to foster a good relationship with the Li family in advance, so it’ll be easier to ask for help when necessary."
Although in the Primal Spirit Realm, the status of Alchemists isn’t as exalted because the inheritance is orderly and there is a great abundance of Alchemists; additionally, because various rare and precious materials that can replace Precious Pills are relatively common in the Great Thousand World, Alchemists still command a considerable amount of respect.
The forces intending to court favor with the Li family were not just one or two; many forces shared this mindset, with Nascent Soul Powers wanting to forge good relationships, or at the very least, avoid making enemies.
Those lower-tier forces, on the other hand, hoped to become vassals of the Li family, to gain a powerful backer in the perilous sea territories, having someone to rely on should they encounter any dangers.
Hence, over the following period, an endless stream of Cultivators came to visit Wanling Island.
Unfortunately, Zhirui was in closed-door Cultivation and couldn’t meet them in person; it was Li Chengsheng who took his place in receiving these Lianxu Cultivators.
As for these forces, Li Chengsheng merely dealt with them perfunctorily, without making any promises.
As for those weaker forces wishing to pledge allegiance to the Li family, after consultation among the Elders, a decision was made to refuse them!
It’s not that the Li family refused to accept vassals, but in this dangerous coastal area, without sufficient strength on their side, they would not consider it.
After all, having taken others’ offerings, they would surely have to lend aid in times of danger, otherwise, word would get out and it would be a laughingstock, severely damaging the Li family’s reputation.
But if they were to lend aid, with their limited strength on Wanling Island, they simply couldn’t attend to so many places; doing so would result in severe losses for the Li family, which would be far too costly!
Therefore, after discussions among the Island Elders and obtaining Li Chengsheng’s agreement, they clearly communicated their decision to those smaller forces.
——
"Do you plan to go out for trials to find high-level Spirit Seeds and then modify your Cultivation Technique?" Zhirui frowned upon hearing Da Qing’s plan.
To be honest, he was reluctant to agree.
This isn’t the Profound Origin Realm; as a magical creature of the Sea Clan, the Nascent Soul Realm would be enough to ensure safety. In the Primal Spirit Realm, it’s not just about Nascent Soul, even Integration or Mahayana Spirit Beasts wouldn’t necessarily be safe during solitary trials!
Because many Cultivators see it as: those not of our kind must have different hearts! Even for a Spirit Beast contracted with a Cultivator.
Of course, while they give nice-sounding excuses, it’s essentially about interests. After all, a high-level Spirit Beast’s body can be divided for many Spiritual Objects.
If Zhirui were to accompany, there wouldn’t be a problem. His presence would mean any Cultivator intending to harm Da Qing would be tantamount to committing robbery, meriting careful consideration by many Cultivators.
Especially with Da Qing heading out alone, it would give others the impression that he’s defecting or even that he killed a Cultivator, certainly resulting in numerous Cultivators targeting him.
But unfortunately, the timing is particularly bad!
Zhirui is currently busy solidifying his foundation and restoring his Cultivation; he simply doesn’t have the time to accompany Da Qing in his trials.
And Da Qing is aware of this, hence the suggestion for a solitary trial, not wanting to disturb him.
Seeing Zhirui’s expression, Da Qing knew what he was thinking and said with a smile, "Don’t worry, I’ve trained outside before."
"But how can that be the same?"
Back then, it was Da Qing, Xiaoqing, and Cang who went on trials together, and moreover, their location was just in Shanyuan State, merely at the southern Zhang Family.
"What’s the difference?" Da Qing shook his head, clearly determined to go on trials alone, and no one’s persuasion would work.
In the end, Zhirui relented a step, but he requested that Da Qing make preparations, particularly ensuring a sufficient supply of Precious Pills and life-saving Spiritual Objects.
"This time, you’re heading out to seek high-level Spirit Seeds; let me share a few immature ideas with you. See if they’re of any use."
"Just speak them, Jiu," replied Da Qing, his demeanor turning serious.
Previously, Zhirui planned to find Spirit Seeds himself while fulfilling his trials, but now that Da Qing was going out, it seemed better to voice these thoughts.
"Firstly, I had thought if we could find a special kind of Spirit Seed that could be planted in the body or within the Sea of Consciousness, wouldn’t it be possible to change one shortcoming of ’Earth Spirit Tao Record’?"
Zhirui continued, "Secondly, choosing a spatial-type Spiritual Object, it might have to be planted externally at first to develop a blessed land. But once advancing to Cave Heaven, couldn’t we then develop that space within the Spiritual Object? And later, by employing methods like cloud soil to support the Spiritual Object, achieving a portable effect."
Da Qing’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. Logically speaking, Li Zhirui’s hypothesis was valid.
After pondering, he said, "Jiu, both of your guesses have a certain feasibility. As to whether they can be realized, we’d have to know after experimentation."
"I’ve always wanted to try, but there’s just too much to do, and I simply can’t find the time," Li Zhirui sighed, a touch of helplessness in his tone.
Of course, such experimental actions wouldn’t involve testing on their own clan members—there were plenty of demon cultivators, robbing cultivators, and evil cultivators to serve as test subjects.
Moreover, the most crucial aspect was the two types of Spirit Seeds he mentioned; Li Zhirui simply had no time to investigate this matter.
So he took the opportunity to assign these two tasks to Da Qing.
"I’ll do my best to collect them."
At the same time, Da Qing thought to himself that if these two methods were indeed viable, he shouldn’t be so anxious to alter his cultivation technique.
Half a year flew by in the blink of an eye.
Having made all the necessary preparations, Da Qing left Wanling Island silently one day.
"Hope everything goes smoothly, and I hope you return safely!" Li Zhirui murmured to himself.
It wasn’t until Da Qing was completely out of sight that he turned and returned to his Cave Mansion on the island.
For quite some time after, Li Zhirui didn’t show himself, and the Li family maintained their usual low profile, gradually becoming silent in the Wanxia Sea Domain.
However, the discovery of the Spirit Stone veins on the island brought a huge surprise to the Li family!
With continuous excavation, the quality of Spirit Stones was getting higher and higher; about seventy percent were of high grade, ten percent were of top grade, and the majority of the remainder were of middle grade, with the quality still improving!
This enormous surprise excited the Li family immensely.
Because not only were higher-grade Spirit Stones more valuable, but the Spirit Vein of Wanxian Mountain also required high-grade Spirit Stones to advance to higher realms.
In other words, the Spirit Vein of the Li family was already preparing for a promotion to the seventh level.
Of course, this was not a decision to be taken lightly.
The biggest obstacle was, with the family’s strength being not strong, if there truly was a seventh-level Spirit Vein, it could attract the attention of Integration Realm powers seeking to seize it.
Therefore, before obtaining sufficient strength, the Li family was not considering promoting the Spirit Vein to the seventh level.
As for these high-quality Spirit Stones, the Li family did not use them much. After tallying and ensuring there were no mistakes, they stored them in Spirit Sealing Boxes, waiting for the day they would prove useful.
Because the Li family’s earning capability was still strong; every year their expenditures were huge, but profits were even greater.
——
In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed.
"Dad, aren’t you planning to go back?" Li Chengsheng asked.
Ten years was exactly the time for the Lianxu Clan members to take turns guarding Wanling Island, and Li Chengsheng and others were to return, to be replaced by Xiaoqing and others to hold the fort.
Over the past decade, the Sea Clan never gave up, launching attacks periodically, trying to take over a Spirit Island.
Unfortunately, the Sea Clan had never fully succeeded even once!
Even if there were a few incidents where the Island Defense Array was shattered by the Sea Clan, the neighboring powers did not stand idly by, but instead lent a hand to expel the Sea Clan and reclaim the Spirit Island.
Li Zhirui shook his head, "The sea is still not peaceful; I can’t go back."
Because the Li family had also experienced a particularly dangerous attack by the Sea Clan, that time involved over hundreds of thousands of sea creatures and dozens of sixth-tier Water Devils. The Island Defense Array had been on the verge of collapse.
With no choice left, they had to ask Li Zhirui, who was in closed-door cultivation, to come out. Only then was the array saved and the dangerous assault resolved.
