Chapter 136 One-on-One

After setting the time, Chen Li left.

The three of them would depart in three days for Maan Prefecture to have a talk with the two newly promoted Foundation Establishment Cultivators. If negotiations failed, they would have to use 'reason' to convince them.

Chen Li returned to Black Magpie Mountain, and Chen Songli immediately came to find him.

"Father, I am going into seclusion to attempt a Breakthrough to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. I might not make it in time for the Foundation Establishment Immortal Banquet!"

Chen Li said directly, "Go ahead. That Foundation Establishment Immortal Banquet is for outsiders to see. Our Family has already celebrated it!"

"Yes, okay, Father."

In the few days right after returning, Zhu Lingyue and Chen Songli had already skinned and refined the bones of the thirty Yao Beasts from the Secret Realm, turning the hides into Formation Materials. The meat from those Yao Beasts was all sealed in the Ice Fresh Pavilion.

The three thousand catties of Spirit Wine were also stored in the Ice Fresh Pavilion; they could drink whenever they wished. Chen Songmei snuck off to the Ice Fresh Pavilion every day to steal some wine and would get drunk every time she finished.

A portion of the earth vein fire collected from the Secret Realm was placed in the Pill Refining Residence, another portion in the Artifact Refining Residence, and the majority remained with Chen Li.

The day Chen Li returned, he planted the dozen or so drunken dragon bamboo saplings he brought back inside the Great Sun Seed Cultivation Cave Mansion, focusing on ripening just one quickly, fearing that ripening them all together would be too slow.

Next, he needed to continue cultivating Burial Fire and refining his own Lifebound Treasure. He could only do that once the thunder bamboo matured to ten thousand years, at which point he could use it to refine his Lifebound Treasure. He had already figured out the refining method.

The special plot where he planted seeds for a dozen types of thousand-year ingredients had already yielded two harvests. With fifty days to ripen them to a hundred years, he could bring a batch to thousand-year maturity in about two years.

To his surprise, among the seeds that grew, the three main thousand-year ingredients needed for refining the golden core formation all contained the required thousand-year herbs: the thousand-year wind immortal flower, Fire Bright Grass, and Calming Spirit Flower were all present, along with all the necessary auxiliary Spiritual Plants. Everything was prepared; they only needed Alchemy.

When he was previously carving out the Qi Sea in his Immortal Cave, he had also used a portion of his Divine Sense to specifically harvest these mature Spiritual Plants, including ones of every age.

Also, the spatial ring obtained from Wang Zhian needed to be examined for its contents, as the Restriction on it was not something a Foundation Establishment Divine Sense could break.

All these matters had to wait until after his debut as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and the Foundation Establishment Immortal Banquet; he still needed to make appearances for some worldly affairs.

After finishing these worldly obligations, he would also enter seclusion for a period to refine the Burial Fire corresponding to the Golden Core stage. Then, he would wait for the thunder bamboo to ripen to ten thousand years before refining his Lifebound Treasure.

...

At the Zizai Pavilion, the sound of Zhu Lingyue practicing her sword could be heard today. A fifth-grade Defensive Formation Array had been set up at the Dao Seeking Platform on Black Magpie Mountain to prevent Sword Qi from spilling out and damaging the mountain's structures due to the immense power of her practice.

When Chen Li arrived, Zhu Lingyue invited him, "Husband, let's practice again. You must suppress your cultivation to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. I can't even take one move from your Golden Core stage!"

"Haha, alright."

...

Three days later, heading towards Maan Prefecture, Chen Li, Lu Xilou, and Zhu Zelin were en route to Maan Prefecture to find the two newly ascended Foundation Establishment Cultivators there.

Maan Prefecture was much larger than Yuanwu Prefecture, boasting fifteen Qi Refining Immortal Clans, two more counties than Yuanwu Prefecture, making a total of six counties.

After the Beast Hunting Sect lost its Foundation Establishment Cultivators during a mission to hunt Fifth-level Demonic Beasts, and following subsequent infiltration by Demonic Path Cultivators, the Lu and Zhu Families had been the ones protecting and managing the region for over a decade.

The newly arrived Qi Refining Immortal Clans in Maan Prefecture had always offered tribute under the leadership of the Lu and Zhu Families, as had some of the declining Qi Refining Immortal Clans.

The established Qi Refining Immortal Clans that had preserved their foundations had always wanted to break free from the Lu and Zhu Families. After producing Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the last two years, they banded together, intending to expel the Lu and Zhu Families from Maan Prefecture.

Therefore, the goal of Lu Xilou and Zhu Zelin was to retain the tribute offered by these new and declining Qi Refining Immortal Clans. They could exchange the territories they managed within the prefecture back for Spirit Stones.

Soon, the three arrived at a mountain within Maan Prefecture, and Lu Xilou took out two sound transmission talismans and sent them flying out.

The content of the sound transmission talismans was an invitation for the others to come out for "negotiation and discussion," or "a gentleman's spar."

The two newly promoted Foundation Establishment Cultivators in Maan Prefecture were from the Chu Family and the Qi Family, respectively. After more than ten breaths, Chen Li released his Divine Sense, spanning thirty li, and spotted three figures flying from more than twenty li away.

While Lu Xilou and Zhu Zelin were still waiting, Chen Li already knew the location and number of the arrivals.

Chen Li found it interesting; there were supposed to be only two, so where did the third person come from?

Could it be an outside helper they invited?

Over twenty li away, Chen Li could already hear their conversation. They were completely unguarded, not even using a Cultivation Technique to conceal their aura. They likely assumed no one was eavesdropping on them.

"Brother Li, your reward won't be small. Brother Li comes from the Duan Ya Mountain Loose Cultivators. Why don't you also establish a Family in Maan Prefecture!"

"Yes, Brother Li. The three of us join forces, with you as the leader, our lives will be quite good!"

Hearing this, Chen Li knew that the news of his Foundation Establishment promotion had reached Maan Prefecture. This person was the hired muscle they brought in for a three-on-three confrontation.

Facing the invitation from the two, this Loose Cultivator referred to as Brother Li pondered and replied coldly, "I am used to my freedom. I have no interest in establishing a Family or raising descendants. I will take my due reward after helping you finish the fight and then leave."

This Loose Cultivator, Brother Li, was unmoved and replied coldly.

The two felt regretful. They had invited this Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Brother Li, who had been a veteran Foundation Establishment Cultivator on Duan Ya Mountain for over twenty years. Thus, they were very confident in defeating the three from Yuanwu Prefecture.

After another dozen breaths, about one li away, Lu Xilou and Zhu Zelin sensed their auras.

"Three people?" Lu Xilou exclaimed in surprise.

Zhu Zelin also sensed it. "They must have invited hired muscle!"

At this moment, Lu Xilou felt a slight sense of trouble. He had intended for a three-on-two advantage. Lu Xilou looked towards Chen Li and noticed that Chen Li showed no emotional fluctuation.

Chen Li said at this moment, "What's there to fear? One-on-one is just right, haha!"

Chen Li's relaxed tone eased some of their tension. They also inwardly cursed themselves: how could they, who had been Foundation Establishment Cultivators for many years, compare to Chen Li, who had just achieved Foundation Establishment?

Soon, the three from Maan Prefecture arrived at the mountain.

Upon meeting, Lu Xilou introduced to Chen Li which one was from the Chu Family and which was from the Qi Family. As for the extra person, Lu Xilou judged him to be hired muscle based on his cultivation level, which was also Early Foundation Establishment Stage.

The Chu Family representative immediately said, "Patriarch Lu, let's skip the useless communication and proceed directly to a gentleman's spar! If you win, your words stand; if we win, ours stand."

Lu Xilou looked at Chen Li and Zhu Zelin. Chen Li nodded, and Zhu Zelin also nodded.

"Fine. Since empty words are useless, let's settle this with a contest of skill!"

"Let's draw lots to match opponents. Close combat, one-on-one, how about it?"

"Agreed, a gentleman's pact!"

Both sides agreed readily, likely wanting to reach a conclusion today.