41: Chapter 41 Two Years

The Li Family members completed the final stretch of their return journey in a near-frozen silence and a state of high alert.

Everyone's eyes drifted among the surrounding shadows of trees and the sound of the wind, as if the shadow of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range still clung behind them, ready to pounce again at any moment.

Three days later, when the familiar dark green mountain silhouette of the Qingfeng Mountain Li Family finally appeared at the end of their vision, the tight strings in everyone's hearts finally relaxed slightly.

Just then, a figure quickly came out to greet them from the guard post in front of the mountain gate.

Today, it happened to be the "Chang" generation Cultivator, Li Changjiang, on duty. With concern he couldn't hide in his eyes, he cupped his hands in greeting and said,

"Thirteenth Uncle, the Clan Chief specially instructed that you should rest for a moment and then immediately head to the Family Council Chamber to discuss matters. Elders, thank you for your hard work on this journey."

Before his voice had fully faded, another clan member hurried over, leading everyone to an exclusive courtyard that had already been prepared.

In the courtyard, steam rose from several spiritual spring pools, their waters shimmering with a faint spiritual light. This was a spiritual liquid mixed with Mind-Calming Grass and Bone-Healing Flowers, which could effectively cleanse the Demonic Qi clinging to their bodies and soothe the deep-seated fatigue and hidden injuries.

The scent of medicine filled the wing rooms, where the clan's senior physicians had long been waiting, skillfully treating the injured clan members. As the caps of the Medicinal Pill bottles were opened, a faint spiritual light flickered, and with the unique fragrance of herbs, the complexions of the injured gradually improved.

Afterward, it was the routine inventory of the harvest. All clan members took off the spoils from their Storage Pouches one by one and handed them over to designated personnel to be registered and stored.

The mountain-like piles of Yao Beast Materials were quickly categorized: the High Grade fur was sent to the Talisman Making Pavilion as base Materials for Talismans or to sew armor; the hard bones and sharp claws were sent to the Artifact Refining Pavilion to melt and refine into Magical Artifacts; and the essential flesh and blood were sorted for medicine or used as Spirit Beast feed.

Every return from a hunt was not only an enrichment of the Family's treasury, but also a precipitation of the courage and experience tempered by the clan members in life-and-death battles.

After a brief rest and washing away the dust of travel, Li Xuanzhou walked through the twilight toward the Family Council Chamber in the center of the mountain Peak. The pavilion was brightly lit, illuminating the familiar faces of Li Xuanji and Patriarch Li Huaping, who had clearly been waiting for a long time.

Li Xuanzhou took a deep breath and recounted their encounters on this trip in detail: the scale and distribution of the wolf pack on Black Wind Ridge, the thrilling process of the encounter in the Poison Miasma Forest, the heroic performance of the clan members, and the narrow escape from the unexpected attack by the Golden Thunder Eagle flock on their way back.

His tone was calm, cool, and objective, neither exaggerating his own merits nor avoiding the losses, vividly recreating that life-and-death escape.

When night completely enveloped Qingfeng Mountain, the Cultivators of the Demon Hunting Team had dispersed back to their respective residences. The calculation of rewards within the Family for this operation was also underway in full swing.

The next day, after being counted and evaluated one by one by two clan members specialized in accounting, the harvest from this demon hunt—including the Yao Beast corpses, spiritual herbs, and those nine precious Azure Spirit Wolf cubs—was valued at approximately 850 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

According to the clan rules, the Family took a fifty percent share, and the remaining 425 Low-Grade Spirit Stones were distributed among the participating clan members. Li Changqing, due to his outstanding performance during the hunt, received eighty Low-Grade Spirit Stones for himself.

What pleased him even more was that Clan Chief Patriarch Li Huaping, sympathizing with his loss of a precious second-rank Talisman to help the clan members escape, specially approved a full reimbursement for him.

Li Changqing did not squander the Spirit Stones on other things. He first purchased two Azure Spirit Wolf cubs from the Family for thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

The value of these two cubs far exceeded that of ordinary first-rank Yao Beast corpses. Because of their pure Bloodline, they were bound to reach the first-rank once they matured, promising to become capable assistants for Cultivators.

Immediately after, he used his remaining Spirit Stones to exchange with the Family for a batch of first-rank top-grade Talisman Making Materials, and spent twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones at an internal price to obtain a first-rank Beast Rearing Legacy Jade Slip.

After finishing these tasks, he did not stop but quietly activated the "Shapeshifting Technique" to alter his physical form and temperament. He then headed to Wangshan Town and quietly slipped into the black market to purchase a set of first-rank top-grade concealing Formations.

A day later, Li Changqing returned to the karst cave secret chamber at the bottom of Xuanling Lake.

He immediately set up this concealing Formation at the entrance of the karst cave. Layer upon layer of Formation Flags and Formation Plates interwove to form an invisible barrier, adding a solid layer of security to this secret Cultivation place and the Spirit Eye Spring.

Time flew by like a shuttle, and in the blink of an eye, more than two years quietly slipped away. At this moment, only one year remained before the anticipated arrival of the beast tide.

Deep in the night, within the secret chamber of Xuanling Island, Li Changqing's tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open. Two beams of sharp light, almost tangible, shot from his eyes, instantly piercing the darkness. "I have finally polished the spiritual energy in my body to Perfection."

He let out a long breath, slowly finished his cultivation, and the surging fluctuations of spiritual energy around his body gradually subsided.

A year ago, after consuming a precious "One-Leaf purple lingzhi," with the powerful assistance of the Spirit Medicine and his own unremitting hard Cultivation, he had already broken through to the Qi Refining Stage 10.

In the year that followed, he immersed his entire mind in polishing his spiritual energy until today, when he finally Cultivated this layer of Realm to flawless Perfection.

During these past two years, several major events had also occurred within the Li Family, shaking the clan:

First was the Myriad Spirit Secret Realm, which had closed two years ago. Of the three Li Family members who entered, only two returned. Li Xuanfu unfortunately remained in the Secret Realm forever.

The clan held a simple funeral for this departed elder and distributed a portion of pension.

Second, the soul lamps of Li Huayong and Li Hualei, two "Hua" generation clan members who had been missing for a long time, went out completely nine months ago.

After many twists and turns, the Family finally found a substantial witness, confirming that the murderer back then was indeed the Seawater Gang. However, due to the current unstable situation, after weighing the options, several Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators chose to temporarily endure it.

Third, three months ago, Li Xuanwu and Clan Leader Li Huaming went into secluded meditation at the same time to charge towards the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Regrettably, the centenarian elder Li Xuanwu failed, as expected; however, excitingly, Clan Leader Li Huaming did not disappoint and succeeded in breaking through in one go, becoming the fourth Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator of the Li Family.

Clan Leader Li Huaming's successful Foundation Establishment before the arrival of the beast tide was a tremendous boost to the morale of the entire Family. This not only meant that the Family had gained another high-level combatant, but more crucially, Clan Leader Li Huaming was a rare talent in the cultivation world who possessed both skills as a Talisman Maker and a Formation Master, with both crafts keeping pace with his cultivation.

Over the past two years, in addition to his Breakthrough in cultivation, Li Changqing's Spell Realms had also advanced by leaps and bounds. Among them, the "Shapeshifting Technique," a secretive technique, had progressed from a Minor Achievement to a Major Achievement.

Now, cast with his tenth-layer Qi Refining cultivation, even a Foundation Establishment Initial Stage Cultivator would find it difficult to see through his true appearance.

The first-rank High Grade Spell "qingyuan sword technique" had even broken through from the Major Achievement Realm to Perfection. This was the second time in his many years of Cultivation that he had Cultivated a Spell to the Realm of Perfection, and its power was more than three times greater than that of the Major Achievement Realm.

That Profound Rank spiritual technique, the "Heavenly Star Soul-Splitting Arrow," under his painstaking Cultivation which cost him a great deal of mental effort, had finally progressed from entry-level to a Minor Achievement, bringing the power of his archery attacks to a higher level.

Aside from Cultivation, his Talisman Making also achieved a major Breakthrough. Now, his success rate in refining first-rank top-grade Talismans had stabilized at eighty percent. As far as he knew, the success rate of an ordinary second-rank low-grade Talisman Maker in making first-rank top-grade Talismans was only seventy to eighty percent.

This meant that he currently possessed the preliminary ability to attempt making second-rank Low Grade Talismans, but second-rank Talisman Making Materials were too precious, and he did not intend to try rashly just yet.

In addition, his Spirit Beast, the "Flying Purple Nether Scorpion" Xiao Hei, after consuming a large amount of Yao Beast flesh and blood and being nourished by Spirit Medicine, had also successfully broken through a month ago, advancing to a first-rank Peak Spirit Beast, only one step away from entering the second rank.

The next morning, a soft knock came from outside the secret chamber.

"Ninth Uncle, breakfast is ready."

A respectful young voice came from outside the attic, carrying a hint of caution.

Hearing this, Li Changqing's tense face relaxed slightly, and he revealed a trace of a smile. "Zifan, come on in."

He stood up, pushed open the door, walked out of the secret chamber, and entered the attic hall.

Li Zifan pushed open the door and entered, carrying an ebony black-lacquered tray in his hands.

On the tray sat a bowl of white porridge slowly simmered with spiritual rice, steaming hot and thick with rice oil; a bowl of springy spiritual wheat noodles topped with a few slices of Spirit Beast meat; and a small dish of crisp, refreshing spiritual herb side dish.

The fragrance of Spiritual Qi and food wafted over, instantly whetting one's appetite.

"Ninth Uncle, this is the breakfast made by the kitchen according to your taste. Please try it and see if it suits you."

Li Zifan arranged the porridge, noodles, and side dish one by one, then stood aside with his hands hanging down, his expression respectful, not daring to be lax in the slightest.

Li Changqing frowned slightly, his tone carrying a trace of helplessness. "Zifan, haven't I told you several times? We are uncle and nephew of the same Family, we can just eat together in the future. Why did you only bring my portion over?"

"Ninth Uncle," Li Zifan's face grew tense, and he hurriedly explained, "Before leaving home, Father repeatedly instructed that Ninth Uncle is not only a Cultivator of profound cultivation, but also a Family elder."

"As a Junior, I must serve you with all my heart and must never break the rules due to a moment of laxity. Dining at the same table with Ninth Uncle would be an act of transgression. I absolutely dare not do so, and I hope Ninth Uncle can understand."