Chapter 2: Crisis

While Li Zhirui was working hard to tend to his spiritual herbs, the high-ranking members of the Li family gathered in a secret chamber to discuss a matter of life and death for the clan.

"Fifth Brother, tell everyone the news you heard," said Li Shiqing, the current head of the Li family, his face grim.

The Li family currently had three Foundation Establishment cultivators. Li Shiqing, at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, held the highest cultivation level and served as the clan head. The other two, Li Shiren and Li Shiting, were both at the early stage of Foundation Establishment and served as the Law Enforcement Elder and the Scripture Elder, respectively.

Beyond them, there were over fifty Qi Refining clansmen and more than one hundred thousand secular clansmen, who together formed the Bailang Li family.

The "Fifth Brother" Li Shiqing referred to was named Li Shize, an elderly Qi Refining cultivator with less than ten years of lifespan remaining. However, he held a vital position in the family: the External Affairs Elder.

To put it simply, the External Affairs Elder was the Li family’s intelligence chief, tasked with gathering all sorts of news and information from the outside world.

And this time, Li Shize had learned some truly shocking news.

"The White Jade Sect, the mortal enemy of the Beast Taming Sect, gave birth to a Nascent Soul cultivator just yesterday." Perhaps because Li Shize was a man of few words and had been exposed to too much information, the news sounded exceptionally plain coming from his mouth.

Even so, the statement caused all the elders present to tremble, their faces involuntarily filled with terror and dread.

As a vassal family of the Beast Taming Sect, how could they not know of the hatred that had spanned hundreds of years between the two sects?

In the past, the Beast Taming Sect had relied on their contracted spirit beasts to suppress the White Jade Sect, infringing upon their interests in various ways. Now that the White Jade Sect had a Nascent Soul cultivator, how could they possibly let the Beast Taming Sect off?

"Whether this will lead to a great war, I believe you all know in your hearts, so I will say no more."

Li Shiqing broke the deathly silence in the chamber and sighed deeply. "Go and make arrangements now. Tell the clansmen to pack their bags and leave Bailang County as soon as possible!"

"Clan Head!" Li Shiren stood up in shock, speaking urgently. "We are only a vassal family of the Beast Taming Sect. Even if the White Jade Sect attacks, they won't target us!"

"Indeed!" Li Shiqing’s eyes were filled with bitterness. "The White Jade Sect won't target us, but will the forces that become their new vassals allow us, the remnants of the old, to occupy Bailang County?"

If a real fight broke out, and the Li family held the upper hand, the White Jade Sect would inevitably intervene. If the Li family were defeated, the outcome would be self-evident.

In short, regardless of the result, the Bailang Li family, which had been passed down for over three hundred years, would no longer be able to continue.

Li Shiren was rendered speechless and sat back down, looking dejected.

"Go and notify the clansmen!" Li Shiqing reminded them. "Don't forget, the family established a branch overseas; we are not without a place to go."

Speaking of this, one had to mention the major crisis the Li family had faced over a hundred years ago.

At that time, the Li family had only one Foundation Establishment cultivator left, who was set to pass away within a few years. With no one in the new generation breaking through, and the ambitions of two nearby families becoming clear, the Li family had reached a critical juncture of life and death.

It could be said that the Li family was on the brink of extinction.

Fortunately, Li Shiqing succeeded in breaking through to Foundation Establishment at that time, and his spirit beast, the Azure-Eyed Tiger, broke through as well. Combined with the old man's Foundation Establishment spirit beast, they managed to protect the Li family's territory.

It was because of this crisis that Li Shiqing became determined to open a branch overseas, so that if the Bailang Li family ever encountered another disaster, the family's bloodline and legacy could still continue.

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not occur; instead, under Li Shiqing's leadership, the Li family grew increasingly prosperous and powerful.

When Li Shiqing mentioned the overseas branch, the heavy hearts of the others finally settled. They rose one after another to notify the clansmen who were not on Bailang Mountain.

As for the thirty or so clansmen remaining on the mountain, Li Shiqing would notify them personally.

"Dong—dong—dong—"

Three low, heavy bell tolls rang out across Bailang Mountain, reaching the ears of every clansman.

Li Zhirui, having finished his chores in his personal space, was just preparing to take a bath and relax when he heard the family's emergency summons. He hurriedly cast a Cleansing Spell and walked quickly toward the family hall.

By the time Li Zhirui arrived, most of the clansmen remaining on the mountain had already gathered. However, he noticed something: apart from the Clan Head, none of the other high-ranking family members were present, which made him feel uneasy.

"I have summoned you all urgently because there is a very important matter to announce!" Li Shiqing said with a solemn expression. "The White Jade Sect has birthed a Nascent Soul cultivator. The family must leave Bailang County to preserve our legacy."

"So, after you return, you must pack everything within three hours and then gather at East Lake!"

East Lake was the family's resource point at the easternmost edge of Bailang County, closest to the Boundless Sea. Ten or twenty miles to the east lay the vast ocean.

Seeing everyone standing there in a daze, Li Shiqing shouted, "What are you waiting for? Go!"

"Clan Head, what about the clansmen down the mountain?" an elderly man with white hair suddenly asked.

Li Shiqing was silent for a moment, a look of determination appearing on his face. "Cultivators won't target mortals, but Bailang County is no longer suitable for our Li clansmen to live in. Before I leave, I will notify them and tell them to leave Bailang County."

Of course, Li Shiqing still wanted to take some secular clansmen with him; after all, a cultivation family could not survive on cultivators alone.

Li Zhirui had no such concerns. Once the Clan Head finished speaking, he turned and left.

His parents in this life were secular mortals, and they had unfortunately passed away a few years ago.

After returning to his small courtyard, Li Zhirui first pulled out the spiritual herbs planted nearby and tossed them into his space, planning to replant them when he had time.

Then, he swept the courtyard clean of all spiritual items and finally walked over to Daqing, who was still digesting the feedback, carefully placing it into the spiritual lake within his space.

Ensuring the warning formation was still active, Li Zhirui cast a Breath-Holding Spell and jumped into the small pond in the courtyard.

The pond was not deep. Before long, Li Zhirui reached the bottom and swam toward a spot flickering with faint fluorescence.

This was an unformed spiritual vein that Daqing had accidentally discovered after Li Zhirui chose this location.

Out of caution for his own plans, Li Zhirui had kept this a secret and had not reported it to the family.

Today, Li Zhirui's goal was to move this half-formed spiritual vein into his space!

As for whether he would succeed, Li Zhirui was not sure.

He placed both hands on the spiritual vein, thinking of moving it into his space just as he usually did with other objects.

But the next moment, the mana in his body poured out frantically, like a floodgate being opened.

If he hadn't felt the spiritual vein tremble slightly, Li Zhirui would have let go without hesitation!

Time passed bit by bit. Before his mana was completely exhausted, he finally managed to pull the half-formed spiritual vein into his space.

The moment Li Zhirui entered his space, he discovered that the spiritual energy within was much denser than before, roughly comparable to the energy emitted by a first-grade mid-tier spiritual vein. He didn't notice anything else different.

Moreover, the situation the family was in did not allow Li Zhirui to stay in the space for long. After a rough glance, he left the space.