Chapter 48: Wind and Rain

On an island located tens of thousands of miles east of Great Rong Island, nearing the open sea, hundreds of rogue cultivators had gathered to listen to the promises made by the eight Foundation Establishment cultivators at the forefront.

"We are also cultivators who wield power, so why do those spiritual mountains and blessed lands, and all those resources, not belong to us?! Is it because our strength is not great enough?"

A late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator shouted, "No! That's not it! It is because we are not united enough! Our strength is too scattered, unlike those sects or clans that can mobilize the power of everyone!"

"But now, I, Kou Bai, along with seven other fellow Daoists, will lead you to establish a force belonging to rogue cultivators to resist the suppression from those powers!"

"Perhaps right now, this force consists only of us, but as our reputation spreads, more and more cultivators will surely join us. When that time comes, we will become an incredibly massive force that no one will dare to ignore!"

"By then, we will no longer have to bow and scrape before those sect disciples and clan youths. We can stand tall and communicate with them as equals, because we will have the Rogue Cultivator Alliance as our backing!"

"Long live the Rogue Cultivator Alliance!"

A wave of earth-shaking cheers rang out to the heavens, spreading continuously across the island. A hint of fanaticism and longing appeared in the eyes of all the cultivators; they truly hoped to see the scene Kou Bai described.

As rogue cultivators themselves, they understood the suffering and hardships of their kind better than anyone; otherwise, they wouldn't have become rogue bandits. Now that there was a chance to change their fates, they naturally did not want to live this way anymore, nor did they want their descendants to live such lives!

Looking down at the hundreds of fanatic Qi Refinement rogue bandits, a brilliant smile appeared on Kou Bai's lips, but deep in his eyes lay a surging ambition!

The other seven Foundation Establishment cultivators were also very happy. Having gone from being solitary individuals to being able to mobilize so many cultivators, they felt a great sense of satisfaction. How could they not be happy?

"To make our name known and to attract more fellow Daoists to join us, we must do something that will shock the world!"

A flash of cruelty crossed Kou Bai's eyes as he spoke with murderous intent, "We are going to exterminate the Zheng, He, Zhang, and Li families, and seize their spiritual mountains to serve as the base for our Rogue Cultivator Alliance."

"And only by doing this can we recruit more fellow Daoists. Otherwise, without spiritual lands, we simply cannot expand the scale of the Alliance."

Kou Bai's words were like a bucket of ice water poured over the crowd, causing everyone to sober up; some even wanted to shrink back.

Even the seven Foundation Establishment cultivators looked at Kou Bai with disbelief. They had not expected him to be so insane—to strike out by aiming to annihilate four major Foundation Establishment families!

"I know you all think I'm mad!" Kou Bai smiled dismissively and said, "But do you really think the strength of these families is that great?"

"Perhaps you do not know, but the Zheng, He, and Zhang families only have two Foundation Establishment cultivators left. With our strength, we can defeat them with ease."

Back when the news of the deaths of the three families' Foundation Establishment cultivators was leaked on a small scale by the Li family, many might not have believed it. However, after such a long time had passed without those three Foundation Establishment cultivators appearing again, many had long since believed the rumor.

Of course, as a rogue cultivator, Kou Bai did not have the immense power required to know such news. However, since someone wanted to use his hand to eliminate these Foundation Establishment families, they naturally would not hide such important information from him.

"Then why include the Li family?" one Foundation Establishment cultivator asked in confusion. "Rumor has it the Li family has four Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even if the other three families only have two each, combined they still have more than us."

Not to mention that the ancestral lands of the four great families were protected by island-guarding formations; to break through such formations, one's strength would need to be at least twenty to thirty percent higher than the opponent's.

"The Li family is strong, but they are not without periods of weakness." Kou Bai's ambition was great, but he was no fool. Since he dared to include the Li family, he naturally had his considerations.

"Among the Li family's four Foundation Establishment cultivators, one must be stationed within the market town. At the same time, they send one Foundation Establishment cultivator to the market at regular intervals to settle accounts and handle handovers. If we strike at that time, there will only be two Foundation Establishment cultivators left on Great Rong Island."

Seeing that their opposition was no longer firm, Kou Bai spoke again to entice them, "You should know that in the Yunqing Market, both the Cloud Pavilion and the Li Family Grocery Store are properties of the Li family, right? Then do you know how many spirit stones those two major shops earn for the Li family every month?"

"At least three thousand spirit stones!" A hint of greed appeared in Kou Bai's eyes as he said, "Last month, a merchant caravan passed through and ordered three thousand Jade Spirit Pills from the Li family. That single transaction alone was worth nine thousand spirit stones!"

At this, most of the cultivators defected in the face of massive profit. No one questioned or opposed attacking the Li family anymore.

Seeing this, Kou Bai threw out one more heavy weight: "Furthermore, I will invite two more fellow Daoists to join us. At that time, we will have ten Foundation Establishment cultivators. These four families will not be able to stop us!"

"Long live the Rogue Cultivator Alliance!" Someone suddenly shouted, and eventually, hundreds of cultivators on the island were all roaring.

Everyone fell into the beautiful future painted by Kou Bai, but no one thought about what the master of Yunping Province—the Yuanming Sect—would think of them!

Kou Bai, the only one who remembered this, naturally would not say it; otherwise, the crowd he had so painstakingly gathered would immediately fall apart.

As for what would happen to these cultivators after the deed was done, what did that have to do with him, Kou Bai?

...

The Li family, still unaware of the approaching crisis, remained in a state of peace.

At the foot of a desolate mountain north of Great Rong Island, Li Zhirui and Da Qing were working hard to train their strength. After this period of unremitting effort, both the man and the turtle had made significant progress.

*Crack—*

The sound of a snapping branch suddenly rang out. Li Zhirui turned around with a gaze as sharp as a blade, only to see Li Zhixuan standing there looking lost.

A year had passed since Li Zhirui last saw her, and her changes were not very significant.

Li Zhirui immediately restrained his aura and walked up to her, asking, "What are you doing here?"

Although the clan did not restrict these uncultivated clansmen from leaving the Spiritual Wisdom Courtyard, it was indeed a bit strange for such a young child to run into the desolate mountains.

"I heard that the sword is a weapon of killing. I want to hone my swordsmanship through combat," Li Zhixuan's small face was full of seriousness.

Great Rong Island was large. Aside from the areas where the secular clans lived, there were wild beasts in other places, though there were no large beasts.

Li Zhirui smiled slightly and asked, "You are still too young. It probably won't even be easy for you to swing that iron sword on your back. Besides, have you finished practicing your basic swordsmanship?"

Li Zhixuan did not speak, merely looking at Li Zhirui with a stubborn expression. Even though he was a cultivator and a quite renowned genius within the clan, Li Zhixuan refused to back down.

"It seems you are not convinced?" Li Zhirui smiled dismissively and said, "In that case, let us have a contest of swordsmanship, how about it?"

"If I win, you go back obediently and continue learning basic swordsmanship. If you win, once you break through to the first level of Qi Refinement, I will give you ten bottles of Jade Spirit Pills and this Azure Wood Sword. How does that sound?"