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Chapter 613: Chapter 619: Vein
"Dad! Mom! I’m back!" Li Chengshuo pushed open the home door, shouting excitedly.
"Brother!"
Sensing two presences in the house from outside, Li Chengshuo had initially thought they were her parents. However, to her surprise, it turned out to be her elder brother, Li Chengsheng, and she quickly added.
"You’re back?"
Jiang Fengwu looked up and, with a slight probe of Divine Sense, discovered that her Yuan Yin was still intact. She breathed a sigh of relief, deeply worried that her naive daughter could have been sweet-talked into losing her purity.
"What’s the good news? You seem so happy," Li Chengsheng asked with a quizzical lift of his eyebrow.
He had just returned to the family half a month ago, and because the Soul Dividing Jade Slip had been destroyed, Jiang Fengwu had been lecturing him continuously for several days. She even considered forbidding him to travel again until he made a breakthrough to the Golden Core Late Stage.
In truth, Li Chengsheng’s latest excursion had not yielded what he was seeking, and the shattered Soul Dividing Jade Slip meant he lacked the confidence to explore those perilous places. So, after further training for a time, he returned to Wanxian Island.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely without gain. At the very least, the fourth-grade Flood Dragon’s corpse he found was quite valuable and could be exchanged for a fourth-order Sun Spirit Object.
Fortunately, Li Chengsheng was aware of his modest power and dared not trade the dragon corpse himself. He planned to ask his parents for help.
Just moments ago, he had been discussing this with Jiang Fengwu when he carelessly let slip the source of the dragon corpse, which led to a stern reprimand from his mother.
Had it not been for Li Chengshuo’s timely arrival, he might still be bearing the brunt of Jiang Fengwu’s wrath.
"Did you agree to that Wei Ningchen?" Jiang Fengwu also noticed Li Chengshuo’s demeanor and asked with a slight frown.
Li Chengshuo blushed with shy modesty, softly responding, "Mhm."
Li Chengsheng, who was standing by, looked at Li Chengshuo in surprise. He hadn’t expected his sister to find a Dao companion on her journey. Yet, with elders present, he curbed his curiosity, no matter how eager he was.
"Why didn’t he come back with you?" Jiang Fengwu asked, a tinge of displeasure in her tone.
Li Chengshuo hurriedly explained, "Mom, Ning Chen has gone back to the Sect to report to his elders, and then he will come to our home with a dowry to formally ask for my hand in marriage."
Her cheeks turned increasingly red as she spoke, her body language flustered and coy.
Jiang Fengwu observed all of Li Chengshuo’s behaviors, and her heart sank a little. She never expected that her daughter, who Li Zhirui stated was uninterested just a few years ago, would change so drastically in such a short period.
Her initial desire to sabotage the relationship became conflicted. Jiang Fengwu felt the match was unsuitable, with the two coming from different worlds, but Li Chengshuo was smitten!
What if her disapproval led to a rift between mother and daughter?
"Are you really sure about this, Shuo? Do you truly know him? Is his love genuine, or is he merely coveting your body?" Jiang Fengwu expressed her concern, "Wei Ningchen is the esteemed disciple of the Divine Transformation ancestor of Myriad Puppet Peak from the Wanxiang Sect, and his family is very far from our own. If you are mistreated, your father and I will not be able to help you!"
Upon hearing these concerns, Li Chengsheng, who had been on the sidelines, also grew solemn. With such a status, what kind of female Cultivators hadn’t he encountered? Why would he take a fancy to his sister?
Could it truly be because of the Tianyin Spirit Body?
"Mom, please be at ease. Ning Chen treats me very well, and besides, dad once said that only a Dao Oath and a Heart Demon Oath would be the conditions for marrying me," Li Chengshuo couldn’t help but defend Ning Chen.
Jiang Fengwu gave her a long, probing look, then said nothing more, motioning for her to go rest.
"Mom! What’s going on?"
Wanxiang Sect!
These three characters are known to all cultivators in the eastern domain without exception.
However, Jiang Fengwu knew virtually nothing about Wei Ningchen and could only share the information she had learned from Li Zhirui.
"We can only wait for father to return and see how he resolves this," Li Chengsheng believed that Wei Ningchen probably didn’t have any issues as his affection for Li Chengshuo had been genuine for so many years.
But this was just his speculation; the actual situation could only be judged after seeing it with his own eyes.
Moreover, since his own mother clearly disapproved, it was not appropriate for him to voice his speculation in front of her.
Meanwhile, the Li Zhirui they were discussing had already reached the maritime region to the east of the Profound Ice Sect.
"Li?"
Han Chan, the Nascent Soul True Lord of the Profound Ice Sect, for some unknown reason, was also above the sea and happened to see Li Zhirui, promptly calling out to him.
’Why is she here?’ If Li Zhirui remembered correctly, the Profound Ice Sect had never considered developing in the Boundless Sea, first because the islands were too sparse, and second, because the Profound Ice Sect had better channels for acquiring spiritual objects.
Most importantly, the territories to the west and south of the Profound Ice Sect were already under great pressure from the Devil Race; there was no need to provoke the Water Devils additionally.
Since she had already spoken, Li Zhirui had no choice but to stop his Spirit Boat and greet her with a smile, "Han Chan, I never expected to encounter you here, what a coincidence!"
"But what are you doing here?" Li Zhirui purposely asked.
He wanted to leave the area as soon as possible, playing the role of someone out of the loop, unwilling to get involved in the affairs of the Profound Ice Sect.
"Not long ago, a disciple accidentally discovered a Spirit Stone Vein, and we’re currently assessing its grade. To guard against the assaults of the Water Devils, the Sect has specially arranged for me to oversee this location," Han Chan said without any reservation.
"A Spirit Stone Vein?" A hint of envy couldn’t help but arise in Li Zhirui’s heart.
Regardless of the good heights to which the Li family had developed, they currently had no Spirit Stone Vein in their possession!
Previously, there were two small veins that originally belonged to Shen Leishan, but after the Sect’s destruction, they naturally fell into the Li family’s hands.
However, the issue was that by the time the Li family took over, these two veins had been almost completely mined, and within less than ten years, they were exhausted.
All told, they amounted to just over a million Spirit Stones.
That is to say, a Nascent Soul family, to their embarrassment, didn’t even own a single vein!
If only the Li family had a vein of their own, they would never be in constant shortage of Spirit Stones.
"Congratulations to you!" Li Zhirui did not hide his envy and smiled, "It looks like when I return to my family, I’ll also have the younger generation go out and search."
"With your family occupying such a large area of the sea, you’re bound to make some discoveries."
"Then I’ll take your auspicious words to heart!"
After saying this, Li Zhirui was about to excuse himself, but Han Chan preempted him and asked, "How is that Jade Peach Spirit Tree in your possession growing?"
"We would like to reserve that Five Elements Jade Peach, offering you 300,000 Spirit Stones as a deposit right now, or spiritual objects of equivalent value."
Li Zhirui was surprised internally; after so many years, the Profound Ice Sect still hadn’t given up on the Jade Peach in his possession?
"I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. The Jade Peach Spirit Tree has been damaged and doesn’t plan to bear fruit for the next century," he lied off the cuff.
The truthfulness of this reason was apparent at a glance, and a flicker of cold light passed through Han Chan’s eyes, but she nonetheless expressed her regret, "That’s such a pity."
