Chapter 6: Discussion

After initially calming the spirit beasts, Li Zhirui and the others could not leave immediately, as the next few days were critical for determining whether the spirit beasts had adapted to their new environment.

Fortunately, the Li family had already summarized a wealth of methods for raising these six types of spirit beasts, so no trouble arose. It would suffice to arrange for a few clansmen to come and feed them every day.

Upon arriving at Big Banyan Island, Li Zhirui, having a little spare time, finally had the opportunity to enter his space to tend to the various spiritual items.

At the same time, spurred by Li Zhirui’s breakthrough, Da Qing, who had been in a deep slumber, also woke up from its cultivation.

"You broke through?!" Li Zhirui, who was in the middle of casting the Spirit Rain Spell, flew over immediately upon hearing the familiar sound, looking at Da Qing with pleasant surprise.

Li Zhirui had certainly hoped that Da Qing could advance further, as it would also be an improvement to his own strength. However, the probability of such a thing happening was not high, so he hadn't held much hope.

In the three hundred years since the founding of the Li family, there had been fewer than three cases where a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment by a master—like Li Shiqing—had led to their contracted spirit beast also breaking through to Foundation Establishment!

Da Qing did not respond to Li Zhirui at all, or rather, with its current level of intelligence, it was unable to respond to such questions; it simply chirped to itself.

"You glutton," Li Zhirui said with a huff, though he didn't treat Da Qing poorly, directly pulling out a few spirit fruits and offering them to its mouth.

In truth, this was the main reason Da Qing was able to break through.

Because of the existence of the space, Li Zhirui had never skimped on feeding Da Qing. Its treatment was absolutely the best among all the spirit beasts belonging to the Li family's Qi Refining clansmen; it had never lacked spirit fruits.

Leaving Da Qing to eat the spirit fruits, Li Zhirui continued to tend to the spirit fields. Once everything was finished, he left the space with Da Qing.

After letting Da Qing familiarize itself with the environment in his temporary residence, Li Zhirui began his daily cultivation.

...

Finishing the work with the spirit beasts did not mean Li Zhirui had nothing left to do. The family had just migrated to Big Banyan Island, and the tasks to be done were as numerous as the hairs on an ox, so Li Zhirui and the others were soon pressed into service as laborers.

For a long time afterward, the seventy-some cultivators of the Li family became exceptionally busy. Aside from their daily cultivation, they had almost no leisure time.

However, it was precisely because of this that the clansmen forgot the sorrow of leaving their homeland and developed a sense of belonging to Big Banyan Island.

As the days passed, the Li family took firm root on Big Banyan Island, and the clansmen no longer needed to be as busy as they had been in the previous period.

On this same day, the first second-tier spirit vein appeared on Big Banyan Island. From then on, everyone no longer needed to rely on spirit stones for cultivation.

As the patriarch, Li Shiqing gave another speech, the final point of which was that the family would have a brighter future, after which most of the clansmen were free to go about their business.

However, Li Zhirui was not among that group, because according to family rules, those at the late stage of Qi Refining were qualified to serve as elders.

Of course, positions were limited, and the family could not appoint so many elders. However, to ensure there were no issues with the handover of duties, late-stage Qi Refining clansmen were allowed to sit in and observe, familiarizing themselves with family affairs.

This was not mandatory, as there were always some who did not like to hold power, but Li Zhirui had just broken through, and this was the first high-level meeting held since the family's upheaval, so he had to attend for both public and private reasons.

"Yesterday, I received news from my fifth brother. On the same day we left White Wave County, the Beast Taming Sect was wiped out by the White Jade Sect! It is said that fewer than one in ten of the Beast Taming Sect's disciples survived!"

As soon as Li Shiqing spoke, he dropped a bombshell, leaving everyone stunned and unable to recover for a long time.

Although everyone had anticipated this, when they actually heard the news, they could not help but feel a mix of fear and relief.

"Second Brother, how did the White Jade Sect treat families like the Xie family and the Jiang family?" The first to speak was Li Shilian, who held the highest seniority.

"They were forced to pay a 'sin-cleansing fee' of ten thousand spirit stones and surrender their ancestral lands." The former was manageable; ten thousand spirit stones were not much for these Foundation Establishment families.

But surrendering their ancestral lands was tantamount to severing the roots of these families. Or rather, the White Jade Sect wanted to resolve these families without shedding blood!

Upon hearing this, everyone’s faces were filled with relief. If they hadn't reacted quickly and decisively, would they not have met the same fate?

However, Li Zhirui harbored a concern, but seeing no one else mention it, he had to bite the bullet and ask: "Patriarch, has the White Jade Sect issued a wanted notice for families like ours that fled in advance?"

He had heard that the White Jade Sect had a Nascent Soul cultivator, and the Li family was certainly not the only one to have fled.

Although Big Banyan Island was far enough from White Wave County, with several forces lying between the two locations on the continent, no one could guarantee that news of the Li family's presence on Big Banyan Island wouldn't reach the ears of the White Jade Sect.

Li Zhirui's words caused the atmosphere in the main hall, which had just eased, to become heavy once again.

Li Shiqing looked at Li Zhirui with slight surprise, then smiled: "Each generation produces its own talents; it seems we are getting old."

As a junior, Li Zhirui could not easily respond to such a remark, so he could only smile awkwardly and try to lower his presence as much as possible.

"I will have my fifth brother send people to inquire about this thoroughly. To be safe, the family should act with caution until we have definite news," Li Shiqing said.

Beyond this matter, the most important thing was how the Li family should develop next!

Regarding this, Li Shilian, who was most familiar with Yunping Prefecture under the White Jade Sect's rule, offered his suggestion: "The three counties of Yunbo, Yunhe, and Yunqing have developed quite well because they are near the sea, but the one that has developed the best is Yunqing County."

This was not only because Yunqing County was located in the middle of the three coastal counties and served as a transit point between the northern and southern prefectures, but also because its spirit veins were concentrated. The three second-tier spirit veins brought rich spiritual energy to the Yunqing marketplace, which in turn attracted many cultivators.

"Therefore, if the family wants to open shops, the Yunqing marketplace is the best choice."

The elders then began to discuss this topic, and Li Zhirui, as a junior, only needed to listen quietly.

"Zhirui, what is your opinion on this matter?" Perhaps because of his earlier reminder, Li Shiqing had noticed Li Zhirui and now specifically called on him to answer.

Combining what he had just heard, Li Zhirui drafted a response in his mind before saying: "I think the family should change its industrial structure."

In White Wave County, because of the existence of the Beast Taming Sect's sect leader, the spirit beasts raised by all the vassal forces were sold as raw materials, and then processed by the Beast Taming Sect into spiritual food for sale.

When Li Zhirui had broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refining, Li Shiren had taken him to a restaurant opened by the Beast Taming Sect to taste two dishes: ginseng-stewed chicken made from Red-Feathered Chicken, and crystal-roasted pork made from Tusked Pig.

The taste was quite good, and it could increase a cultivator's mana, but the price was not cheap; the two dishes cost twenty spirit stones.

However, based on Li Zhirui's observations, one Red-Feathered Chicken could make at least six servings of ginseng-stewed chicken, while one Tusked Pig could make fifty servings of crystal-roasted pork.

At the price the Li family sold these two types of spirit beasts, the Beast Taming Sect only needed to sell a few servings of spiritual food to make back their investment!