Chapter 5: Busy

Li Shiqing instructed Li Shiren and Li Shiting to settle the secular clansmen from the spirit ship, while he himself led Li Zhirui and the other clansmen toward the gathering place on the island, located in the central area of Great Banyan Island.

It was here that Li Zhirui and the others saw the family’s other Foundation Establishment cultivator, Li Shilian, who was of the same generation as Li Shiqing.

"Second Brother, has something happened to the family?" Li Shilian, who had been pacing back and forth, greeted them with a worried expression the moment he saw Li Shiqing.

Seeing that all the clansmen on the island were present, Li Shiqing did not hide anything and recounted the entire sequence of events exactly as they had happened.

"As long as everyone is safe, that’s what matters. Besides, after so many years of development, Great Banyan Island can already serve as the family’s ancestral base," Li Shilian said sincerely, his expression immediately lightening.

"Mm." Li Shiqing nodded, then said to the other clansmen, "There is still some time before dawn; you should all go back and rest."

As for whether there were enough rooms, Li Shiqing did not consider this issue. After all, for cultivators, using the sky as a blanket and the earth as a bed was a perfectly normal thing.

"Second Brother, did you wipe away your tracks before leaving?" Li Shilian asked with some concern after everyone else had left.

"Rest assured, before we left, we specifically scattered Chaos Fragrance Powder, and the footprints were also cleaned up."

Chaos Fragrance Powder is a type of spiritual item specifically used to disrupt one's aura, capable of hindering the tracking of certain spells and spirit beasts.

Of course, using Chaos Fragrance Powder didn't mean they were completely in the clear, but surely the White Jade Sect wouldn't fixate on a single Foundation Establishment family, would it?

Li Shilian nodded, then began to discuss with Li Shiqing the family's development on Great Banyan Island and the surrounding environment, trying his best to help Li Shiqing understand the situation under the rule of the Yuanming Sect more quickly and comprehensively.

"By the way, since the family has decided to relocate to Great Banyan Island, the spiritual energy on the island is certainly not enough. How does Second Brother plan to solve this?"

Li Shiqing smiled and said, "The family brought all our spirit stones, including those that were being nourished by the side of the spirit vein; we dug them all up. There is no need to worry about the issue of spiritual energy."

So-called "nourishing" actually meant placing spirit stones that had been depleted of energy next to a spirit vein to recharge using the vein's power. However, this process was extremely slow; it took nearly a hundred years to fully charge a single low-grade spirit stone.

"Excluding the 100,000 spirit stones for the spirit vein's promotion, the family probably doesn't have many left, right?"

Although Li Shilian had spent years on Great Banyan Island, he was not ignorant of the family's situation. He knew very well that the family could not save much in the way of spirit stones each year.

Li Shiqing's expression dimmed instantly. After a long while, he smiled bitterly and said, "We'll take it one step at a time."

Early the next morning, accompanied by the sound of a bronze bell, the cultivators opened their eyes one by one and rose to head toward the family's main hall.

Once everyone had arrived, Li Shiqing spoke: "You are all very clear about the family's current situation. In order to recover as quickly as possible, the coming period will be very busy. I hope everyone can withstand this pressure."

"I believe that the Li family will absolutely not be defeated by this difficulty; instead, we will use this opportunity to be reborn from the ashes!"

Li Shiqing's words calmed the anxious hearts of the clansmen, including Li Zhirui.

"Next, I will assign tasks." Li Shiqing stated one by one the things he had decided last night that must be done.

"First, settle the spirit beasts brought from Bailang County. Li Shiren will lead the team, with Li Zhihua, Li Zhirui... to pacify the spirit beasts."

The types of spirit beasts the Li family had cultivated over the years were few, consisting only of six types of first-tier spirit beasts: Red-Feather Chickens, Green-Headed Fish, White Silkworms, Black Ducks, Yellow Bees, and Tusked Boars.

However, from now on, they would have to add the Cloud Fish caught on the road.

Although there were not many types, they were the Li family's largest source of annual spirit stone income, accounting for nearly 40% of their revenue.

The reason the Li family had only cultivated these six types over the centuries was, first, because the vassal forces of the Beast Taming Sect were almost all cultivating spirit beasts; to avoid market competition, the family had deliberately avoided other types.

Second, cultivating spirit beasts was not a simple matter. The time and energy required, as well as the various spiritual items needed to feed them, limited the Li family's desire to expand their scale.

Of course, the Li family had also cultivated a small number of second-tier spirit beasts over the years, but these were not for sale; they were intended as contract spirit beasts for the family's younger generation.

Next was the task of opening up spirit fields on the plain beneath the eastern mountains to plant the spiritual herbs and spiritual grains brought from Bailang County.

The spirit vein under the big mountain was the least developed of the three spirit veins on Great Banyan Island. Because there were only twenty or so clansmen on the island, managing two spirit veins was already quite an achievement; any more would squeeze out their cultivation time!

For a cultivator, cultivation base was the foundation. How could the family do something as self-destructive as that?

However, it was foreseeable that the harvest of spiritual herbs and grains this year would not be very good, as the Li family's relocation had been too hurried, and the root systems must have been damaged during transplantation.

Apart from these two most important matters, the rest—such as building houses and promoting the spirit vein—were not as urgent or did not require as many clansmen.

...

"Eh? Uncle Ren, does the island also cultivate other varieties of spirit beasts?" When Li Zhirui and the others arrived at a large lake, they saw spirit fish swimming in the water.

Hidden beneath this lake, which was several dozen miles wide, was the last spirit vein on Great Banyan Island.

In fact, besides the title of a genius, Li Zhirui had another highlight in the family: a spirit beast affinity constitution!

As long as it was a spirit beast cultivated by a cultivator, it would unconsciously feel close to Li Zhirui the moment it saw him, unlike other cultivators who had to pay a certain price to achieve this.

As for the reason, no one could say for sure. After all, the Li family was just a small Foundation Establishment family, and to protect Li Zhirui, the family had not made a big fuss about finding the answer.

However, because of this constitution, Li Zhirui was like a fish in water when it came to cultivating spirit beasts; he could be said to be the most talented among the "Zhi" generation.

"Mm, the family has cultivated two types of first-tier spirit beasts on Great Banyan Island over the years: White-Water Shrimp and Flower-Scaled Fish. They sell quite well under the rule of the Yuanming Sect." Li Shiren was clearly very knowledgeable about the affairs of Great Banyan Island and spoke of them as if they were his own treasures.

However, settling the original six types of spirit beasts was the priority. Li Shiren replied, then began to set up a formation. First, he had to channel the spiritual energy locked in the lake to the shore to create a suitable environment for the land-dwelling spirit beasts.

In addition, he had to modify the formation in the lake to divide areas for the Green-Headed Fish and Black Ducks to live.

Li Shiren was not only skilled in formations but was also the family's only second-tier formation master!

This was the fundamental reason why the patriarch had entrusted the task of settling the spirit beasts to Li Shiren.

Once everything was ready, it was Li Zhirui and the others' turn to step in.

Li Zhirui walked to the area designated for the Tusked Boars and placed the twenty-five Tusked Boars, large and small, into the pigpen one by one from the spirit beast bags.

Because of the unfamiliar environment, the Tusked Boars were very uneasy, grunting non-stop. The two breeding boars, in particular, had blood-red eyes—a sign that they were about to attack.

Fortunately, at this moment, Li Zhirui's special constitution took effect, and combined with the temptation of food, the Tusked Boars finally calmed down.

Li Zhirui breathed a sigh of relief. Tusked Boars were not docile spirit beasts; if they really got angry, his small frame wouldn't be able to handle it.

As for the other types of spirit beasts, settling them was much easier than the Tusked Boars; they were simply released and fed a little food to be pacified.

This story will be a slow burn, so I ask for your patience.

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Follows are related to recommendations during the new book period and are very, very important! I beg you, dear readers!

(End of chapter)