Chapter 29: Seeking Help

Li Xiangping was momentarily startled. Seeing the beaming smile on Wan Yuankai's face, his mind raced as he thought to himself

"The Wan family is being far too hospitable; I must remain on guard."

Maintaining his smile, he cupped his hands toward Wan Yuankai and shook his head repeatedly.

"Your father is too kind! I cannot possibly accept this!"

Wan Yuankai shook his head and took a small pine wood box from his sleeve. He opened the polished lid to reveal a pale greenish-white fruit resting on a bed of silk.

The surface of the fruit was covered in a layer of smooth, scale-like keratin, shimmering with a blend of green and white that reflected a faint light under the sun. It was truly an excellent specimen.

However, Wan Yuankai wore an expression of embarrassment as he whispered

"My family is beset by difficulties both internally and externally, and our expenses exceed our income every year. This Songyue Fruit is useful for shaping the Chengming Wheel; it is a mere trifle, but please, Brother Li, you must accept it so that I may return and report my success."

Seeing Li Xiangping scrutinizing the fruit, Wan Yuankai realized his omission and quickly explained

"Simply cut the skin with a small knife and drink the juice."

As Li Xiangping stared at the fruit, his mind was constantly weighing the situation. He thought to himself

"If the Wan family is in such dire straits, why tell me? Wouldn't that only invite unwanted greed?"

"Forget it! Regardless of what games he's playing, I'll observe the situation first!"

"Then I shall accept it without ceremony!"

Li Xiangping let out a hearty laugh. Seeing Li Yesheng step forward to take the box and carry it away with great care, he shifted the topic and said seriously

"However, there is one matter I must trouble you with, Brother Wan."

"Just call me Yuankai. Please, speak!" Wan Yuankai waved his hands dismissively.

"Our Li family has only just arrived, and we know nothing of the surrounding families. Would Brother Wan be willing to enlighten us?"

"Of course."

Wan Yuankai nodded. Seeing Li Yesheng prepare paper and ink, he rolled up his sleeves and drew a thin line on the paper, explaining

"This is the Guli Road."

He then drew a circle in the middle of the Guli Road and wrote the character 'Li.' Li Xiangping nodded, took a brush, dipped it in ink, and drew circles above and below the 'Li' character, labeling them 'Moon-Watching Lake' and 'Great Li Mountain.'

"Our Li family is backed by Great Li Mountain and faces Moon-Watching Lake, with the Guli Road running through it."

Wan Yuankai nodded and drew a small circle to the right of the Li family, explaining

"To the east is my Wan family."

He then drew a large circle above the Wan family and spoke with great solemnity

"And this is the Ji clan of the Tangjin Gate."

"The Ji clan of the Tangjin Gate?" Li Xiangping's heart tightened as he asked.

"Precisely! The Tangjin Gate is an immortal sect from the Great Xu to the north. Their strength is comparable to our Qingchi Sect. Moon-Watching Lake is vast; if you cross the center of the lake heading north, you will reach the Tangjin Gate's mountain stronghold, Tangdao Mountain. The Ji family is a power under the jurisdiction of the Tangjin Gate."

Nodding to Wan Yuankai to signal him to continue, Li Xiangping thought bitterly to himself

"It seems what I feared most has come to pass."

"For over a decade, there has been constant friction between the Tangjin Gate and the Qingchi Sect. Although the two sects have not yet gone to war, over a dozen families on the borders have already been destroyed, leaving tens of thousands of mortals displaced. Both sides are merely testing each other."

Wan Yuankai's expression was uneasy, as if he were voicing a worry that had long haunted him.

"The Ji clan has also repeatedly launched attacks, encroaching upon our Wan family's territory, making our lives miserable. The Ji clan head, Ji Dengqi, reached the Qi Refining stage several years ago, while my father has only just ascended to the Yujing stage. We are no match for him."

"Whenever our spiritual rice ripens, those Ji clan members put on veils, pretending to be rogue cultivators, and raid our villages. For years, we have had no choice but to huddle on the mountains, watching as the Ji clan plunders our spiritual rice."

By this point, Wan Yuankai's eyes were slightly red, and his fists were clenched tight.

Hearing this, Li Xiangping had already guessed the purpose of Wan Yuankai's visit. His expression turned grim as he said

"Our Li family is weak and lacks influence; I fear we cannot be of much help."

Seeing Wan Yuankai's grief and indignation, Li Xiangping quickly asked

"How many cultivators are left in the entire Wan family?"

Wan Yuankai froze momentarily. He looked at Li Xiangping hesitantly before gritting his teeth and speaking

"My father is at the peak of the Yujing Wheel, and I have just achieved the Qingyuan Wheel. There are two juniors in the family who have just reached the Xuanjing Wheel. As for the Ji clan, besides that old thief who reached Qi Refining, they have two Zhouxing Wheel cultivators and one Chengming Wheel cultivator. As for the Xuanjing Wheel, there should be a few more, but they do not come to raid."

Li Xiangping asked with some confusion

"Someone from the sect once told me that if we encounter an enemy attack, we can use the Jade Seal to request aid from the sect, and sending down a single Foundation Establishment immortal cultivator would resolve your crisis."

"How could we possibly afford to summon a Foundation Establishment cultivator!" Wan Yuankai cried out sharply, his teeth clenched and his fists tight, looking utterly aggrieved.

"If we activate the Jade Seal, it would take at least two hours for the Qi Refining cultivators from the city to arrive. By then, it will be too late—not only will the spiritual rice be gone, but requesting aid repeatedly would needlessly offend the arriving cultivators!"

Seeing Li Xiangping about to speak again, Wan Yuankai hurried to continue

"My father sent me to visit you all today hoping to form alliances, to borrow the strength of noble families..."

Li Xiangping sighed inwardly. Since Wan Yuankai had already spoken, he abandoned the idea of digging for more information and said with a bitter smile

"It is not that we are unwilling, but that we simply cannot! Our Li family is small in number; we only stepped onto the path of cultivation this past year. My father has four sons; my eldest brother died young, and though my younger brother has high cultivation, he has already gone to an immortal sect to practice. My elder brother and I both have shallow cultivation—even less than yours. How can we possibly contend with the Ji clan?"

"But is there not your father!" Wan Yuankai looked at Li Xiangping with eyes full of hope and expectation.

"To tell you the truth, my father is merely a mortal..."

"Impossible! How could a mere mortal produce three children with spiritual apertures? My father, with his Yujing Wheel cultivation, had to have seventeen children before he finally had me."

Wan Yuankai's face was filled with doubt. Li Xiangping was instantly struck with terror. His mind raced, and without hesitation, he followed the logic with a bitter smile

"My father fought someone in his youth and had his cultivation destroyed..."

Wan Yuankai's expression changed instantly, and he replied somewhat sheepishly

"I was too rash! Your father must have already established the foundation of the Great Dao; it was my impudence, Yuankai."

Having said that, he sat back down blankly, his eyes filled with sorrow.

On his end, Li Xiangping was also trembling with fear. That remark from Wan Yuankai had sent a cold sweat down his spine, nearly causing him to lose his composure.

"So, the higher a cultivator's level, the greater the probability of their children being born with spiritual apertures. I almost tripped up on such a trivial detail!"

Seeing Wan Yuankai's dejected state, Li Xiangping calmed his mind and asked

"Then, regarding the end of the Guli Road, to the west of our Li family—does Brother Wan know the situation there?"

"West of the Guli Road..."

Wan Yuankai paused, staring at the map thoughtfully as if deep in contemplation.

"The terrain of Great Li Mountain slopes toward the west. Moving west from the Guli Road, one mostly enters the mountains. I have never heard of any settlements in that stretch, but I have heard..."

"Heard what?" Li Xiangping asked quickly.

"I heard from my father that our ancestors explored the west, and that there are Mountain Yue to the west of the Li Road."

"Mountain Yue?"

(End of Chapter)