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Chapter 622: Chapter 628: The Old Woman
Both Spirit Beasts had reached the stage of breakthrough, so from then on, Li Zhirui didn’t need to be by their side constantly, for barring any unforeseen circumstances, this breakthrough was unlikely to result in failure for them.
It is worth noting that Li Zhirui intentionally chose locations for Da Qing and Xiaoqing’s seclusion that were far apart from each other to minimize any interference they might cause each other.
As a result, he returned to his previous routine: cultivating, alchemy, and occasionally offering guidance to the younger generation of the Li family.
Among them, Li Mingyao shone the brightest. Barely in his teens, he had already broken through to the late phase of Qi Cultivation. Had it not been for Li Zhirui advising him to patiently refine his foundation, he might have already reached Foundation Establishment.
His cultivation speed, well beyond the norm, naturally caught the attention of many in the clan, not to mention the pact he had formed at the outset of his cultivation with the rank four Dragon Beast, the Yellow Jade Dragon Lizard, which set many minds wondering.
In the end, it was his own grandfather, the previous Clan Leader Li Xuefeng, who stepped forward. He revealed that Li Mingyao possessed dual spiritual roots of metal and earth, with a particularly high purity of the earth Spiritual Root. To avoid hindering his path, he gave up his pride to plead with Li Zhirui and promised to repay the corresponding Spirit Stones for contracting the Yellow Jade Dragon Lizard.
In this generation of the clan, aside from the remarkable Li Mingyao, there were several youngsters with decent talents. Their performances were also commendable, and with careful nurturing, it was very possible they could achieve Golden Core in the future.
What about Nascent Soul? That was not something one could achieve based solely on talent; many other factors were also involved.
Of course, it couldn’t be denied that some renowned sects hold a massive advantage in this regard! With countless years of accumulation, the insights left behind by Nascent Soul True Lords would surely be beneficial.
Besides, who knows, they might have pill recipes like Nascent Soul Pills in their possession, further reducing the difficulty for their exceptional disciples to break through to Nascent Soul.
Among the dozen or so Golden Cores currently in the Li family, Li Zhirui felt that only four people had a chance to break through to Nascent Soul: Li Zhiyue, Li Zhixuan, Li Chengsheng, and Li Chengshuo.
As for the others, even someone with dual spiritual roots like Li Chenghuo didn’t hold much hope in his eyes.
Although Li Chenghuo possessed decent talent, his determination to pursue the Dao was not strong, and he had spent a considerable amount of time on Artifact Refining, neglecting his own cultivation.
Regarding the other Golden Cores in the family, some were lucky to have achieved Golden Core by chance, and others had poor talent; in short, Li Zhirui saw no hope in them.
Among the four, Li Chengsheng and Li Chengshuo, siblings, had less time spent in cultivation and needed more refinement; there appeared to be no immediate prospect of their breakthrough.
So Li Zhiyue and Li Zhixuan were the two most likely candidates.
But whether they could ultimately succeed was not something Li Zhirui could determine, after all, he was just a Nascent Soul himself, who was he to predict the future of others?
One day, as Li Zhirui returned from the lecture hall, he saw Jiang Fengwu sitting in the pavilion and asked out of curiosity, "Fengwu, have you succeeded with that Formation you’ve been working on?"
He had known for some time that she was engaged in Formation research, specifically for Wei Ningchen, but he was unclear about the details. Li Chengshuo had even come to him before, hoping to fish for some information through him.
"Yes, I’ve just asked the family to help me buy some Spiritual Objects. While waiting for them to arrive, I thought I’d take a break."
Li Zhirui asked, "Can you tell me what’s going on with that Formation?"
"Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to! Wanting to tip off Shuo? Not a chance!" Jiang Fengwu retorted, shooting him a glaring look.
"I’m really just curious." If he could make things difficult for Wei Ningchen, Li Zhirui would naturally be pleased, after all, the more precious something is, the harder it is to obtain.
"You’ll find out when the time comes." Jiang Fengwu remained tight-lipped, clearly determined not to let others in on the secret.
Since she was unwilling to share, Li Zhirui gave up on pressing the matter, confident that he would learn about it eventually.
"How are Da Qing and Xiaoqing doing?"
"They have already successfully evolved and are now in closed-door cultivation trying to break through to the fourth order," Li Zhirui’s expression suddenly became ecstatic.
With two fourth-order Spirit Beasts, his strength would see a huge increase! He might even be able to take on ordinary Nascent Soul late-stage cultivators.
"So soon? I wonder when my three Spirit Beasts will reach that height."
Li Zhirui was somewhat speechless; her contracted Spirit Beasts wouldn’t need her to worry about them for a long time to come. All they had to do was follow the usual routine and wait quietly.
Now she was actually envious of him, and she really didn’t know how to respond.
——
"Perhaps, it’s time for me to go back," Li Zhiyue murmured as she gazed towards the east.
Ever since she lost her lower leg, her whole being became overwhelmingly despairing and listless, wondering what the meaning of living was. If not for the two Spirit Beasts she had contracted, Li Zhiyue would have left this world long ago.
And the once aloof and stunning beauty had, in just one short year, become an elderly woman with white hair!
Now, even if she stood before Li Zhirui and other clan members, they wouldn’t recognize her at first glance.
Theoretically, with Li Zhiyue’s remaining lifespan of over a hundred years, she shouldn’t have aged so rapidly. The reason she looked this way was entirely because her heart had given up!
She was just a shell, living in a daze, so naturally, she aged quicker.
Despite the two Spirit Beasts doing everything they could to cheer her up later, the effects were not significant. Even now that Li Zhiyue had regained her consciousness, her will remained very low.
Her two Spirit Beasts, upon hearing these words, were moved to tears. Right from the start, they had hoped she would go back, thinking that maybe the highly capable Li Zhirui could help solve the issue with her leg.
But Li Zhiyue was very resistant and repulsed by the idea!
Did she not want to recover a complete body? She did! The worry was that she would bring trouble to Li Zhirui and the family.
Because only extremely precious and rare heavenly treasures could restore her body, and even if the family used all their resources, they might not be able to secure such items. So why should she go back and become a burden?
The reason Li Zhiyue had changed her mind now was likely that, being old, she wanted to return to her roots, and perhaps with her broken body, do something for the family that had raised her for hundreds of years, repaying this immense debt of gratitude.
"Let’s leave right now!" n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
"Yes, I miss Wanxian Island too."
The two Spirit Beasts said excitedly.
"Then let’s go."
Li Zhiyue slowly got up and walked out of the dark and cramped broken house she had hidden in for a year. The sun was just rising, casting a gentle light on the world.
But she found it unbearably bright! This made her turn around and go back in almost immediately.
The two Spirit Beasts seemed to know what she was going to do. They stepped forward, propped her up, and walked with Li Zhiyue towards the city outskirts.
So, a very strange scene appeared on the streets: two third-order ’cultivators’ forcing an elderly woman with a limp to walk.
