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Chapter 1039: Chapter 988: Understanding_2
Li Zhirui looked at those spirited young clan members, a slight smile appearing on his lips. While their current cultivation levels weren’t high, they were undoubtedly the future of the Li family.
Moving closer, he overheard them discussing Mount Wanxian.
"I heard that the Spiritual Energy at Mount Wanxian is even denser, and there are many ancestors there. With a bit of luck, you might even get to listen to their teachings! I wonder if I’ll be drawn this year."
"It would be great if I could break through to the latter stages of the Golden Core within a hundred years. Even if I’m not drawn, I’ll have my spot reserved!"
"Keep cultivating diligently. There’s still some time before the hundred-year time limit; we might yet reach our goals."
...
Listening to their conversation, Li Zhirui recalled something Li Xianxun and others mentioned in an offhand discussion—about strengthening exchanges and bonds between clan members, a group of Nascent Soul Realm and below cultivators would be selected for an exchange each year.
Of course, the underlying intent was to highlight the prestige of their own Mount Wanxian, instilling pride in the Spirit Island’s clan members and preventing undesirable thoughts.
It seemed that the effects were fairly satisfactory.
"This must also be an idea from Hongshi, right?"
Li Zhirui suddenly remembered something and remarked, "He has been the Clan Leader for over a hundred years now and is about to pass on the position to the next generation."
The previous rule was that the term of the Clan Leader was only a hundred years, but as the family’s strength increased, so did the length of the term, which now stood at two hundred years.
Perhaps to other forces, the frequency of the Li family’s Clan Leader succession seemed a bit high, but within the Li family, no one ever raised this issue.
This is because in most forces, the Clan Leader and Elders are usually cultivators whose cultivation cannot progress further. However, the Li family is not like that!
The Li family follows a model that cultivates the next generation of successors and then selects the most capable among them to take over. Those slightly less capable could also serve as Elders or stewards.
Of course, those considered for the positions of Clan Leader and Elder are often less talented. Dealing with various complicated family affairs often leaves them with no time for cultivation. It seems to delay their practice, but they are awarded ample Contribution Value!
Once they step down, they can exchange their Contribution Value for a large number of Precious Pills to accelerate their cultivation progress, completely making up for the years of missed practice.
Moreover, having been schooled by various affairs, their Mental State far surpasses that of ordinary cultivators, making advancement in their Realm easier. 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
Therefore, any clan member with their heart set on The Great Tao would not covet that position.
Many clan members with lesser talent have found this shortcut, although some lose their original conviction in the process. These clan members usually do not end up well.
Having personally witnessed the situation on the island, Li Zhirui was completely assured of the safety of Wanling Island.
Aside from the strength of the clan members, the hastily arranged Island Defense Array had undergone several modifications and improvements, significantly enhancing its defensive capabilities.
So, after informing Li Xianxun and the others, Li Zhirui planned to return to Mount Wanxian.
Unexpectedly, just a few days later, a Cloud Boat was scheduled to depart from Wanling Island. He decided to wait a few days to take the Cloud Boat back to the main family, and along the way, learn whether the original fleet had continued on.
"Ancestor Rui, the large fleet you mentioned was maintained for several decades and then ceased to exist."
Li Mingyao, who was responsible for protecting the Spirit Boat and the safety of the clan members, shook his head and explained, "Because the comings and goings of cultivators became more and more frequent, the Devil Race completely disappeared without a trace, and the Robbing Cultivators had no opportunity to strike, greatly improving safety."
"There were also internal conflicts that erupted. A few powers were dissatisfied with this route and caused a stir, resulting in a split."
Li Zhirui wasn’t too affected by this, as the large fleet was doomed to disband from its inception. His initial encouragement of this arrangement was merely to alleviate the shortage of manpower and lack of strength within the family.
After flying for several days, the Cloud Boat finally stopped before a towering and majestic peak.
Above the middle of the mountain was shrouded in thick fog, hiding the view inside; below the middle, scattered cave mansions of various kinds, where the vast majority of clan members resided, and other functional buildings, including the vital Scripture Pavilion, warehouse, and ancestral temple, were enshrouded within the mist.
When Li Zhirui flew into Mount Wanxian, he was immediately enveloped by fresh, dense Spiritual Energy, prompting him to breathe deeply without realizing it.
"No wonder those clan members said the Spiritual Energy of the main family is rich," remarked Li Zhirui.
He had initially thought that claim by his family was an exaggeration. After all, aside from the five Tier-5 Spirit Veins, Wanling Island had more than a dozen lower-grade Spirit Veins, and in terms of Spiritual Energy, it definitely wouldn’t lose out to Mount Wanxian.
But now that he had experienced it first-hand, he understood that it was true.
"Ancestor Rui, the family has promoted a Fifth-Order Spirit Vein."
Although there are no Integration cultivators in the Li family and they have enough Spirit Stones to promote the Spirit Vein to the Seventh Order, due to the lack of strength, they can only abandon this plan. Eventually, they chose to add a Sixth-Order Spirit Vein in Mount Wanxian!
"Hmm, you all go on with your tasks; I will take a look around by myself."
Having said that, Li Zhirui disappeared from view.
The first place he visited was Jiang Fengwu’s Taoist Temple, where she was in seclusion.
The gate remained firmly closed, but the Communication Talisman that Li Zhirui had left behind was gone.
"Has Fengwu successfully modified it?!"
Because he had modified it before, he knew how dangerous it was. This was on top of the fact that Jiang Fengwu had planned to remake her Life-bound Magic Treasure, which left Li Zhirui all the more anxious, fearing that one day he would hear of her failure.
Fortunately, she was successful in the end.
With a joyful heart, Li Zhirui went to visit Li Chengshuo’s Cave Mansion.
He actually felt quite sorry for Li Chengshuo, because at the time she was the only Sixth-Order Array Master, and she had to guard and protect the family, which ended up being for over a hundred years.
Then, Li Zhirui saw the message that Li Chengshuo had specifically left for him—she had already gone out to travel, and the safety of the family had been entrusted to Li Chengsheng. He couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile.
Speaking of regrets, it was quite a pity that among the many Lianxu Cultivators of the Li family, including those who had broken through over the past hundred years—Talisman Makers, Alchemists, Artifact Refiners—no new Sixth-Order Array Master had emerged!
Otherwise, Li Chengshuo would not have been trapped in the family for so long.
"Father!"
Li Chengsheng walked out from another Cave Mansion.
"These years, it has been hard on you and your sister," Li Zhirui sighed.
"Father, you are too serious. It is our duty, and it allowed me to refine the True Sun Fire."
Li Zhirui gently shook his head and handed over a Jade Slip, saying, "This Jade Slip records my cultivation insights over the years; it should be of some help to your cultivation."
Li Chengsheng didn’t refuse and accepted it directly.
"Has mother come out of seclusion these years?"
"No, Mother hasn’t been out long since she completed her modifications, and she is currently recovering her cultivation as quickly as possible." Li Chengsheng felt somewhat regretful as it had also been a long time since he had seen her.
"It seems that I need to refine a batch of Precious Pills for Fengwu."
Otherwise, solely relying on the absorption of Spiritual Energy, to recover to the Void Refinement Realm, would take at least a few hundred years.
Li Zhirui was just about to step away when suddenly a question came to mind, "Sheng, do you plan to continue cultivating the Wanling Sutra, or change your practice?"
He had just thought of the discussions among Li Mingyao, Li Xianxun, and others, and was curious about what choice Li Chengsheng would make.
"Father, I plan to create a cultivation technique that suits myself."
A hint of surprise flashed through Li Zhirui’s eyes; he did not expect Li Chengsheng to make such a decision, which was beyond his expectations.
"Why do you plan to create your own cultivation technique?"
Li Chengsheng paused for a moment before replying, "These years, I have been constantly contemplating and refining the True Sun Fire, and my understanding of the Sun Law is growing deeper, but gradually I feel increasingly powerless, and the speed of refining is becoming slower and slower."
"So, I thought of creating my own cultivation technique to highly align myself with the Sun Law, thereby accelerating the refining of the True Sun Fire."
If Li Chengsheng could refine the True Sun Fire with his current cultivation, there would be numerous benefits.
For example, when he absorbs the Sun Essence in the future, he would no longer be limited to only the Initial Purple Qi, but at any time would be fine.
And there would be a very substantial increase in strength!
