The Li Family increasingly owns more Miscellaneous Qi Mountain territories, and Li Yuanping decided to send two more loyal individuals there. If it were not inappropriate to make a big fuss over this matter, Li Yuanping would have wished to send even more individuals.
Another letter was sent back by a mber of the clan, Li Xizhi, who reported that things were going smoothly for him within the clan. He subtly ntioned the complex situation in the market of Guanyun Peak and suggested that it was better not to delve into it to avoid trouble.
He also ntioned that a mber of the Fei Clan had beco a disciple of Yuanwu Peak two years ago. This mber of the Fei Clan, nad Fei Qingyi, was a female cultivator. Although she lacked talent in artifact refining, her aptitude for immortal cultivation was noteworthy and had caught the attention of Yu Muxian.
"Two years ago..."
Li Yuanping sighed softly. The Fei Clan had been quiet for seven or eight years and had kept their accession to the clan strictly confidential. If not for the letter from the clan, there would have been not a whisper of it on the water; it appeared they were worried about the Li Family ddling, hence the tight secrecy.
"Yuan'er!"
Seeing Li Xuanxuan's aged face appear in the front yard, with two young n standing respectfully to one side, Li Yuanping quickly welcod him in and handed over the letter he was holding.
After reading the letter intently, Li Yuanjiao folded it up, mulling over it silently. Li Yuanping then spoke up,
"In recent years, the Fei Clan has been silent and hasn't communicated much with our family. Their disciple also only cultivates on the peak."
Li Yuanjiao nodded and replied,
"How could our family possibly interfere with the matter of accepting disciples? They just need to display it openly. Skulking around only shows that they feel guilty themselves; it's clearly Fei Tongyu's doing - overly cautious and worrying about every little thing, like a white ant busy preparing for winter."
Handing the letter back to Li Yuanping, he answered,
"There's no need to bother about him!"
Li Yuanping nodded and put away the letter, laughing,
"Brother, your description is quite apt."
anwhile, Li Xuanxuan was looking at the letter from Chen Donghe, frowning as he said,
"Donghe is overwheld handling it alone. Perhaps I should help him."
Li Yuanping shook his head and said,
"Although the pass is large, three people collecting Qi is already the limit."
Speaking of collecting Qi, Li Yuanping had considered sending people into the mountains to gather the spiritual energy there. It took seven or eight years to obtain a stream of "Minor Pure Spiritual Energy", which required vast mountain ranges. The Li Family backed onto Da Li Mountain, which, although not deep, could accommodate three or four people collecting energy at the sa ti.
And "Minor Pure Spiritual Energy" was not only useful for righteous cultivators advancing in rank, but also for alchemy, artifact refining, and talisman drawing, thus a single stream was valued at around thirty Spirit Stones. Unfortunately, while the Qi was common, it was quite troubleso to collect - one needed to spend a full seven years traversing the mountains, which could delay cultivation.
"Once we have more cultivators skilled in handling miscellaneous Qi, we can send them into the mountains, and have an additional source of inco each year."
As Li Yuanping was calculating the profits after deducting the salary and subsidies due to these cultivators, a person rushed up from below, saying respectfully,
"Family Head! Xiao Li Guiluan has returned ho for a visit... but..."
"Qingxiao?! Bring her quickly."
Li Xuanxuan called out urgently and stopped abruptly, looking at the clan soldier who hesitated to speak, puzzled,
"But what?"
Not daring to hide anything, the clan soldier replied,
"The lady is clad in plain white..."
Everyone in the courtyard was shocked. Li Yuanping was stunned for a mont, then exclaid,
"In plain white?!"
Li Yuanjiao's expression changed abruptly, and he quickly realized the implication, asking urgently,
"Xiao Xian? Or Xiao Jiuqing?"
The clan soldier hurried away, leaving everyone with grim expressions. Li Xuanxuan slamd his hand on the armrest, saying in a heavy tone,
"It must be the disaster brought by devil cultivators!"
After a while, Li Qingxiao indeed arrived, dressed in plain white.
Li Qingxiao's face had thinned significantly since she had left, her eyebrows faded, and lips pale. She looked exhausted, with a faint scar on her wrist, indicating hard tis.
When Li Qingxiao left, she was still in the likeness of a charming young girl. Now, less than a decade later, she had returned as a forlorn woman, pale, with slightly red-rimd eyes. Upon entering the courtyard, she fell to her knees with a thud and cried,
"I beg my cousins to save my family!"
Her face was a mask of tragedy, tears falling like pearls off a string. Li Yuanping could no longer bear to watch and hurried down, reaching out to help her, but Li Qingxiao stubbornly kneeled, refusing to rise.
"What on earth happened!"
Li Xuanxuan asked with heartbreaking concern, and Li Qingxiao's voice, plaintive like a cuckoo's blood-stained song, mournfully said:
"My Yu Mountain is situated at the northernmost point of the Xiao Family, right next to Ziyan Sect, and we already suffered heavy losses in that demonic calamity. My husband's uncles and brothers were all killed in battle, and there were no few injured or who had their cultivation paths severed..."
"Later, when the Devil Cultivators headed north towards Ziyan Sect, they passed through Yu Mountain Path. My husband was unaware, dealing with the aftermath with my father-in-law, and happened upon the northbound Devil Cultivators..."
With tears streaming down, her delicate fingers pressed against the stone tiles on the ground, she closed her eyes in agony and said:
"When the clan went to look, my father-in-law and husband were both dead, along with more than ten relatives—all reduced to bones!"
"This!"
All mbers of the Li family mourned in silence as they helped Li Qingxiao up, comforting her and bringing her tea, but how could Li Qingxiao drink amid such distress, she urgently said:
"The line of Yu Mountain Jiuqing has perished, leaving only myself and my husband's two baby boys swaddled... But now that the line's male Cultivators are all gone, according to the rules of the Xiao Family branches, the leadership of Yu Mountain must be handed over to several of my husband's brothers!"
With tears still streaming, she said:
"But Xiao Xian always worried that those brothers were malicious. If I hand over this position to them, how can I face my husband! And what would beco of the two children in the future!"
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanping had a foreboding feeling, his complexion turned a shade paler as he stepped back and said gently:
"Sister ans..."
Li Qingxiao once again collapsed to the ground, her face pale as snow, her lips quivering, struggling to speak, she whispered:
"I hope only... only that the family may send a few loyal people to accompany to Yu Mountain... As long as they possess the strength to subdue the various branches of Yu Mountain..."
"You..."
Li Xuanxuan didn't speak further, staggering back, caught between a rock and a hard place. Li Qingxiao gazed over the faces of those around her, her voice filled with sorrow as she said:
"Qingxiao understands the difficulties of the family; these past few years, I've never troubled the clan... but... but I truly cannot watch Yu Mountain's leadership fall into the hands of others with my eyes open!"
Li Yuanjiao's face turned grim as he watched Li Qingxiao for a long while, and finally spoke solemnly after being silent for an eternity:
"This is a matter for the Xiao Family! Sister! The Xiao family are mbers of the Zifu Immortal Clan, how can our family, a re Noble Family, intervene!"
"Qingxiao understands!"
Li Qingxiao knelt down, sobbing quietly, eventually falling silent. Li Yuanjiao's expression underwent several changes before he asked:
"Is senior Yuansi still in the clan?"
"He has already received orders and gone to the East Sea!"
How could Li Qingxiao have not thought of Xiao Yuansi? She had already sent people to look for him in the clan, weakly acknowledging Li Yuanjiao's words. Sighing deeply, Li Yuanjiao helped her up and wiped away her tears, saying in a grave tone:
"Let's not panic, there's always a solution."
After Li Qingxiao was settled in her seat, Li Yuanjiao waved his sleeve and instructed:
"Call Xiao Guiluan and Li Qinghong over."
When Xiao Guiluan and Li Qinghong arrived on the wind and heard the news, Li Qinghong clenched her spear, her eyes downcast, unable to speak for a mont, while Xiao Guiluan, not personally involved, was much more composed. After a brief consideration, she gently said:
"Madam, the Yu Mountain lineage has suffered severe damage and should be a ti for healing and recuperation. Why would they suddenly all co forth? Xiao Jiuqing is smart; he would never do such a thing. Could it be an assigned task from ho?"
Li Qingxiao shook her head and replied in a low voice:
"It's not that my ho has emptied its nest, but rather… Yu Mountain had already mostly fallen into ruin after the previous demonic calamity, with countless formations breached, hardly any left intact, hence the ease with which they were slaughtered..."
"My father-in-law, with his foresight, found an excuse to transport supplies and sent the won and children to Xianyou Peak, which is why I alone was spared this disaster."
Xiao Guiluan nodded silently; the Xiao Family was currently recuperating, and the formations to be repaired first would certainly be Xianyou Peak and the Main Vein. The nurous complicated formations from the Yu Mountain branch would naturally take ti to nd.
She paused, her expression solemn, and spoke gravely:
"Were these Devil Cultivators eventually eliminated by the Xiao Family in the end?"
Struck by catastrophe, Li Qingxiao's sorrow was irrepressible, but she had not rushed here in haste; instead, she had made arrangents for many affairs, sought help in vain from many quarters, and had no option but to return ho. She promptly said:
"These Devil Cultivators ca abruptly, entering Yu Mountain Path from a narrow path, killing as they went, and then disappearing into the Northern regions without a trace. Although my family ca to the rescue, it was already too late!"
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