NOVPUB
Chapter 599: Chapter 605: Alternation
"Don’t worry too much, maybe Shuo isn’t interested in that boy," Li Zhirui consoled.
There wasn’t much they could do now, except to diligently cultivate, improve their own strength, and become Li Chengshuo’s strongest support!
"You’re right, so after I finish setting up the Dongling Breakthrough Array, I’ll begin my seclusion."
The Dongling Breakthrough Array was the same formation they had previously used to open up the Spirit Realm, with no need for any changes. They just had to find the right position and place the Array Plate and Array Flags properly.
Once the formation was successfully set up, the Li family would have yet another trump card!
If they activated the formation unexpectedly, it was very likely they could seriously injure a Nascent Soul True Lord, rendering them incapable of battle.
However, due to the overwhelming power of this array, aside from Jiang Fengwu and Li Zhirui, the other members of the clan lacked the necessary strength and mana to activate it.
This was quite a significant flaw, and in the short term, Jiang Fengwu had no way to rectify it.
"I plan to go out for training," Li Zhirui said after a moment’s thought, revealing a decision he had only recently made.
"Hmm?" Jiang Fengwu was somewhat puzzled and did not understand.
After breaking through to Nascent Soul, each small realm required a long period of accumulation, and both the yang transformation of the Spiritual Soul and the growth of mana were extremely time-consuming!
Thus, at this stage, most Nascent Soul cultivators would cultivate in seclusion within their own caves and rarely go out for training unless they were on the verge of a breakthrough.
But Li Zhirui was still a great distance away from the later stages of Nascent Soul; there was simply no need for him to venture out for training at this time.
"It’s mainly to find an opportunity for Da Qing and Xiaoqing to break through," Li Zhirui explained.
Constrained by their bloodline grade, both had been stagnating at the peak of third grade for nearly a hundred years!
Even Da Qing, who was usually very patient, had become increasingly anxious.
In fact, the method Li Zhirui had unintentionally discovered, to accumulate mana and strengthen bloodlines, was effective, albeit exceedingly slow in progression!
According to Da Qing’s own calculations, it would take him at least another hundred years to evolve his bloodline to the fourth grade!
By that time, Li Zhirui might well be ready to strive for Divine Transformation, while they would still be evolving their bloodline, which could significantly hinder his cultivation speed, and even hold him back.
Xiaoqing’s progress was even slower, and with a less steady temperament than Da Qing, he had always been thinking about going out to find an opportunity to evolve but had been stopped by Li Zhirui.
After hearing this reason, Jiang Fengwu knew there was no sense in stopping him.
Come to think of it, she was really quite lucky; the three Spirit Beasts she had contracted didn’t require her to worry about them.
The first was the Wind Roc Bird, which had extremely good fortune, experiencing the one in a million chance of a bloodline returning to its ancestors! Now its bloodline was roughly between the fourth and fifth grades.
The two Spirit Beasts she later contracted were gifts from two great Nascent Soul sects—the Dusk Wind Bluebird and the Five-colored Dragon Carp, both fourth-grade Spirit Beasts.
Unlike Li Zhirui, before he made the breakthrough to Nascent Soul, the Li family’s strength and status were far from what it is now. Back then, the Li family was just a vassal of the Shen Leishan, and they had no chance of obtaining high-grade Spirit Beasts. 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Therefore, he now had to consider this and make strategic plans.
"When do you plan to set out?"
Li Zhirui thought for a moment and responded, "Wait a few more months, I’ll leave some Precious Pills for the family to ensure that our trade with those two houses isn’t disrupted."
This had become an extremely important source of Spirit Stones for the Li family, with the rest being lower-tier spiritual objects like third-rank or lower Spirit Pills, Talismans, and Magic Artifacts, aimed at Loose Cultivators.
As for the fourth-rank Precious Pills that Li Zhirui refined, he now intentionally controlled the selling quantity and mainly bartered them for Spirit Seeds, Pill Recipes, and the like.
The main reason for this was the limited production of fourth-rank Spiritual Medicine within his family.
If he were to purchase them from the Southern Edge Commerce Association and Xuanfa Pavilion, the majority of the Precious Pills he refined would have to be sold back to them, and the profits weren’t substantial.
Therefore, most of Li Zhirui’s time was spent refining third-rank Spirit Pills, or deducing and perfecting Pill Recipes.
"Then I shall refine a fourth-rank array for you that is compatible with both defense and concealment," she said.
During this period, Jiang Fengwu had been studying the Formation methods recorded in the Mingdao Sect’s Inheritance Jade Slip, and she had made significant progress. The array she referred to was the Five Elements Mist Concealment Array noted in the Jade Slip.
Li Zhirui did not refuse and said with anticipation, "Then I will be waiting."
"I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!"
Knowing that they would both be very busy for a long time to come, they exchanged a tacit glance and playfully romped on the bed all night.
The next morning, both of them went to their respective skill rooms, looking refreshed and clear-headed.
For orthodox dual cultivating, the harmony of yin and yang is conducive to the growth of both parties’ cultivation; it is clearly beneficial and does not result in the loss of vitality.
The refinement of third-rank Spirit Pills posed no difficulties at all to Li Zhirui by now, and he could refine two batches in an hour if he sped up the process.
Of course, in doing so, it would not be possible to guarantee the quality of the Spirit Pills.
As for fourth-rank Precious Pills, even after refining them many times, Li Zhirui still needed to concentrate and treat the process seriously since a moment of neglect could ruin a batch of precious Spiritual Medicine.
——
Time flew by rapidly, and more than half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Li Zhirui handed over the several hundred bottles of third-rank Spirit Pills he had refined during this time to the new Clan Leader Li Darong!
Indeed, during this period, the Li family had selected a new Clan Leader.
And unlike the usual transfer of leadership down the generations, this time it was a move up.
Being a Nascent Soul family, it was no longer possible to have a Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the role, and no Nascent Soul true person had emerged in recent generations following Li Xuefeng.
Therefore, the choices for the new Clan Leader were few, limited only to Golden Core cultivators like Li Chenghuo, Li Chenglin, Li Chengwu, Li Darong, and Li Dayuan.
Among them, Li Dayuan had already served as Clan Leader and could not ascend to the position again, so he was the first to be ruled out; Li Chengwu, whose mind was not quite meticulous and whose ambition did not lie there, announced his withdrawal; while Li Chenghuo wanted to pursue a higher realm and refused to participate in the election.
Li Chenglin hesitated for a few days. He knew his own limitations and feared that further advancement would be difficult, but giving up left him reluctant. After an inner struggle, he too opted out.
As a result, the only candidates left for the election were Li Darong and a few Golden Core family members who had recently made breakthroughs. However, whether due to youthful vigor or overconfidence, none of them wanted to be entangled in too many worldly affairs.
Thus, Li Darong, who had once served as an Elder and had ample experience dealing with matters, was entrusted with the responsibilities and became the new Clan Leader!
Li Darong himself was very satisfied with this outcome because, as everyone knows, the Clan Leader generally doesn’t leave the family grounds, implying he would be very safe!
For someone as fearful of death as Li Darong, this was a fatally attractive prospect. How could he possibly refuse?
