Chapter 3: Leaving

While the Li family was busy packing up, preparing to leave Bailang County, the main peak of the Beast Taming Sect, Wanling Mountain, was facing a massive crisis!

The Nascent Soul cultivator of the White Jade Sect was leading his sect disciples in a frenzied attack on the mountain-protecting formation. Once the formation was broken, one could only imagine the fate that awaited the Beast Taming Sect.

"Junior Brother Zhao, take the true disciples immediately and activate the teleportation array in the secret chamber to leave the sect!" As the Sect Master spoke, he handed over the storage ring from his hand.

Zhao Yu was the youngest Golden Core cultivator of the Beast Taming Sect and also the genius with Metal Spirit Roots who held the greatest hope of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.

It was a pity, however, that Zhao Yu was born too late. Even though his rise had been rapid—forming his Golden Core in less than a hundred years—he was now over two hundred years old and only at the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

But unfortunately, a Nascent Soul cultivator from the White Jade Sect had emerged out of nowhere!

In truth, the moment the White Jade Sect’s Nascent Soul cultivator appeared, the Beast Taming Sect knew the other party would never let them go. Therefore, during this period, the Beast Taming Sect had been preparing various spiritual items so that the sect could make a comeback.

But they never expected the White Jade Sect to act so quickly! The day after that Nascent Soul cultivator broke through, before he had even consolidated his realm, he launched an attack directly against them! He gave the Beast Taming Sect absolutely no chance at all.

The storage ring the Sect Master gave to Zhao Yu contained a vast amount of spirit stones, cultivation techniques, various spiritual items, and spiritual seeds. Most importantly, it contained the Beast Taming Sect’s foundational technique, the "Ten Thousand Spirits Scripture."

"Senior Brother, I want to stay..."

Before Zhao Yu could finish his sentence, a petite female cultivator rushed in, looking anxious. "Sect Master Senior Brother, all the spiritual beast eggs and cubs of the third grade and above have been collected."

The Sect Master nodded and said, "Junior Sister Zhang, you are the most gifted in the sect when it comes to beast rearing. I leave these spiritual beasts in your care."

Seeing that Zhao Yu was about to speak again, the Sect Master frowned and commanded with a stern face, "Junior Brother Zhao, take Junior Sister Zhang and the disciples and leave the sect immediately!"

"Only if you are alive can the Beast Taming Sect continue to exist!"

Zhao Yu’s eyes were filled with hot tears, but under the Sect Master’s pleading gaze, he could only turn around heavily. It felt as if he were carrying a ten-thousand-pound boulder, his footsteps slow as he moved forward.

"Go quickly!"

Zhao Yu shuddered, grabbed Junior Sister Zhang, and ran out.

"The future of the Beast Taming Sect is in your hands!" After the two figures were no longer in sight, the Sect Master muttered to himself. Then, with a resolute expression, he soared into the sky, staring directly at the White Jade Sect’s Nascent Soul cultivator who was standing in mid-air, yet to make a move.

This night was destined to be a night intertwined with blood and fire.

When the sun rose and the sky brightened, the once vibrant and lush Wanling Mountain was covered in corpses and flesh.

And this meant that the Beast Taming Sect, which had lasted for over a thousand years, had vanished into the long river of history from this day on.

……

While the cultivators of the Beast Taming Sect were fighting a bloody battle, the fifty-plus cultivators of the Li family of Bailang had all arrived at East Lake.

Seeing that everyone was full of reluctance, Li Shiqing comforted them, "As long as we are still here, the Li family exists!"

Although he said this, Li Shiqing’s eyes, like everyone else’s, were filled with reluctance to leave this place where they had lived for over a hundred years.

"Let's go!"

Li Shiqing was the first to board the spirit ship, and Li Zhirui and the other clansmen followed one after another. Half a quarter of an hour later, the spirit ship rose into the air and flew toward the vast ocean in the east.

"Uncle Ren, what’s the deal with these children on the ship?" Li Zhirui leaned over to Li Shiren and asked in a low voice.

The Li family had two second-grade spirit ships, both standard vessels thirty meters long and five meters wide. On the spirit ship where Li Zhirui was, besides the twenty-some cultivators, the rest were children who looked only a few years old—there were several hundred of them.

"They are all secular clansmen who haven't had their spirit roots tested yet. Bringing them along this time is also in the hope that a few clansmen with spirit roots might appear among them."

Li Shiren pointed to the other spirit ship and said, "On that ship are the youths in their twenties. Once we reach Big Banyan Island, they will be better able to adapt to the environment and then carry on the family line."

Li Zhirui suddenly understood, but what was Big Banyan Island? Because of his good aptitude, Li Zhirui was very familiar with Li Shiren, so he asked directly.

"A century ago, the family specifically opened up a branch overseas. There are over thirty thousand secular clansmen on the island, twenty-some cultivators, and one Foundation Establishment cultivator. Because the island is covered in big banyan trees, it is called Big Banyan Island."

Since they had already decided to go to Big Banyan Island, there was no need to hide this matter.

"Big Banyan Island is twenty thousand miles northeast of Bailang County, but it is not far from the Xuanyuan Continent—only about two hundred miles away. That area is the territory of a Golden Core force called the Yuanming Sect."

Under Li Shiren’s introduction, Li Zhirui and the others gained a general understanding of Big Banyan Island and the nearby forces.

The Yuanming Sect’s strength was not comparable to the Beast Taming Sect; it had only produced its first Golden Core cultivator a few decades ago, so it was still a vassal to a large Golden Core force itself.

As for the territory controlled by the Yuanming Sect, besides the five-hundred-mile radius granted to it by its suzerain, it consisted of some scattered immortal cultivation families on the sea.

Because it was on the sea and due to its own lack of strength, the Yuanming Sect’s control over these families was not very strong.

Furthermore, there were three other immortal cultivation families near Big Banyan Island, all of which were Foundation Establishment forces, and their relationships with each other were quite ordinary.

"Alright, you should rest first. Once we reach Big Banyan Island, there won't be any time for rest." Li Shiren interrupted the conversation.

Li Zhirui walked silently to the side of the ship, looking at the dark, deep ocean below, which seemed to harbor immense danger.

As a family member from a coastal region, Li Zhirui was no stranger to the ocean. He knew that this vast sea area, known as the Boundless Sea, was different from the Xuanyuan Continent; it was not a realm dominated by the human race.

Excluding the near-shore areas, the true masters of the Boundless Sea were countless sea-tribe demonic beasts and the naturally powerful Dragon race.

In Bailang County, they would face a small beast tide every dozen years or so. If so, wouldn't the beast tides faced at Big Banyan Island on the sea be several times more powerful?

But with only those dozen or so cultivators on the island, how did they survive the onslaught of the beast tides?

As he thought about this, Li Zhirui suddenly remembered something. A few years ago, the Patriarch and the Ninth Aunt brought back a large amount of spiritual materials, all of which were taken from the bodies of sea-tribe creatures.

In other words, when Big Banyan Island encountered a beast tide, the family would send people to support them.

If three Foundation Establishment cultivators plus twenty-some Qi Refining cultivators could hold off a beast tide, then the beast tides at Big Banyan Island shouldn't be as terrifying as he imagined...

"You're thinking about the beast tides, aren't you?" At some point, Li Shiren had walked up to Li Zhirui’s side.

Having spent many years together, Li Shiren naturally understood the temperament of his nephew. To put it nicely, he was cautious and prepared for danger; to put it bluntly, he was worrying unnecessarily.

Li Zhirui nodded, hoping to get an answer from Li Shiren.

"The other three families are all to the east of Big Banyan Island."

With just this one sentence, Li Zhirui understood.

Because those three families helped the Li family attract fire, the beast tides encountered by Big Banyan Island were naturally not that terrifying.

"Don't overthink it. Big Banyan Island is a good place; perhaps the family will have even better development there."

"We will!" Li Zhirui said with absolute firmness. He believed that by leaving the Beast Taming Sect, which squeezed the family like a "feudal landlord," the family would definitely have better development!

Seeing Li Zhirui so certain, Li Shiren seemed to be infected by it, and a bright smile appeared on his face.

Perhaps the "Zhi" generation would truly bring a bright future to the family! Li Shiren thought to himself.

Ah, I didn't expect to see so many old friends after starting a new book. Thank you for your support! Truly, thank you!

(End of this chapter)