9: Chapter 9 Family Meeting

An hour later, Li Changqing sat in the pavilion hall. Outside the window, the sky was a vast blue, and a few magpies flew past. Li Fanchen walked in, carrying a freshly made braised Yellow Spirit Chicken.

Li Fanchen knew well that Li Changqing did not like to be disturbed while eating, so he stood up and took his leave.

Li Changqing stared at the plate of chicken on the wooden table. He felt his nose caught first by a clear, sweet fragrance—the aroma was not as heavy as ordinary meat, but rather like mountain-peak morning mist wrapped around white plum petals; taking a breath made one feel as if their lungs were soaked in cool, refreshing Spiritual Qi.

He picked up his chopsticks and clamped down a piece. The chicken meat was as white and lustrous as mutton-fat jade, with a few specks of amber-colored grease glistening within the texture. When it entered his mouth, aside from the spiciness and fragrance, there was not a hint of greasiness; the meat was so tender it felt as if it were melting on the tip of his tongue.

As he chewed carefully, every piece of chicken burst with a faint trace of Spiritual Qi. However, this Spiritual Qi was truly too little. It was said that in some major powers, the descendants of high-level Cultivators could often eat graded Spirit Beast meat, which was truly enviable.

After the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, the chicken on the plate and the Spirit Rice in the bowl were finished, and Li Changqing was full.

Early the next morning, after catching two Semi-Spirit Dogs and a few Semi-Spirit Chickens from the Spirit Beast Farm and placing them into a Spirit Beast Pouch, Li Changqing rode his Flying Sword to patrol around Xuanling Lake. Since this trip might take a few days, necessary inspections could not be skipped.

After the time it takes to burn two incense sticks, Li Changqing returned to Xuanling Island, where Li Fanchen, who was responsible for awaiting orders, had already been waiting respectfully.

Li Changqing instructed, "This time is different from my previous departures; it will likely be a few days before I return. You all should reduce going out these next few days, and the Spirit Chickens and Spirit Dogs in the Spirit Beast Farm must be fed on time."

After arranging everything, Li Changqing rode his sword and flew towards Qingfeng Mountain, leaving Li Fanchen waiting on the side.

Half a day later, Li Changqing returned to Qingfeng Mountain, which he had left for three years.

He slowly reduced his speed and stopped outside the Family protection Formation. He took out his identity token from his Storage Pouch, and a beam of white light silently merged into the hidden light screen.

In the blink of an eye, the Formation revealed an entrance three zhang wide, and Li Changqing leaped inside.

As soon as he entered, a patrolling clan member spotted Li Changqing and flew toward him.

"Ninth Brother, long time no see. As your older brother, I cannot see through your cultivation level at all now."

"Changqing greets Eldest Brother."

"Haha, Ninth Brother, you are too polite. I have to go on patrol, so I cannot stay here long. You have had a hard journey; we brothers shall gather again when there is time."

"Eldest Brother, please go ahead."

After exchanging polite pleasantries, both parties cupped their hands and went their separate ways.

The person just now was Li Changfeng, the eldest of the Chang generation. He had a one-inch Spiritual Root, was forty-two years old this year, and his cultivation was at the Qi Refining 3rd Layer.

Li Changfeng had long ago recognized reality and stopped actively Cultivating years ago, instead focusing his energy on having children. It was said that he had married five Mortal wives and had already fathered over twenty children, yet still, no descendants with Spiritual Roots had appeared. However, he had not given up and was still working hard to produce offspring.

There were several other Cultivators like him in the Li Family, and the Family had always encouraged them; after all, this was also a way to contribute to the Family. As long as they gave birth to a child with a Spiritual Root, they would receive different rewards based on the quality of the Spiritual Root. Even a one-inch Spiritual Root would earn a reward of ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

At the third quarter of the You hour, at the Li Family Council Pavilion.

Century-old agarwood burned, emitting curling wisps of smoke. In the pavilion hall, thirty-six glazed lamps illuminated the ten-plus-zhang-long purple sandalwood table in the center of the hall as bright as day. Thirty-three wooden chairs made of purple sandalwood were arranged in an orderly fashion around the long table, and the Spirit Tea in the green jade teacups on the table was still steaming.

The three purple sandalwood chairs in the far east were particularly prominent; they were the seats for the three Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators of the Li Family.

The Li Family Clan Chief, Foundation Establishment Initial Stage Cultivator Patriarch Li Huaping, tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table. On his left and right were the Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator Li Xuance and the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator Li Xuanji, who was sixth in the Xuan generation.

Li Changqing sat in the third-to-last seat on the right row, while Clan Leader Li Huaming, whom he had dealt with last time, was sitting in the second seat from the front opposite him. Clearly, Clan Leader Li Huaming's cultivation had already reached the Qi Refining 10th Layer.

When the bell in the pavilion rang, Patriarch Li Huaping stood up and said steadily, "The auspicious time has arrived. I now announce that the 98th Li Family Council Meeting has officially begun."

"The first item on the agenda is for me to report to Second Granduncle, Sixth Uncle, and everyone regarding the personnel changes, Family industries, and Family income and expenditure over the past ten years."

"In these ten years, twenty-five Qi Refinement Stage clan members have fallen for various reasons while serving the Family. Also in these ten years, twelve members of the Xian generation and three members of the Xuan generation have passed away due to physical decline. In these ten years, a total of six female clan members with Spiritual Roots have married out."

"In the last ten years, our clan's Spiritual Root testing discovered fifty-three clan members with Spiritual Roots, and nine women with Spiritual Roots were married into our Li Family. In the last ten years, we have added a total of sixteen Cultivators."

"Currently, our Li Family has a total of three hundred and one Cultivators with Spiritual Roots. The number of Family Cultivators has surpassed three hundred for the first time."

"Among them, there are three Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators, three Qi Refining 10th Layer Cultivators, five Qi Refining 9th Layer Cultivators, nine Qi Refining 8th Layer Cultivators, thirteen Qi Refining 7th Layer Cultivators, one hundred and sixteen Cultivators from the Qi Refining 4th to 6th Layer, and one hundred and fifty-two Cultivators from the Qi Refining 1st to 3rd Layer."

"Furthermore, regarding the secular Mortals, due to the Family policy encouraging them to have more children over the last ten years, according to the latest statistics, the number of Mortals with Family Bloodline has now surpassed two million."

"Regarding Family industries, under our jurisdiction, there are four 2nd-Grade Spiritual Veins, twenty-nine 1st-Grade Spiritual Veins, one small Profound Iron Mine, one small Blue Rock Mine, and one micro Red Gold Mine."

"The Family currently has one Spirit Medicine garden, two small Spirit Lakes, three hundred and fifty-five mu of Spirit Fields, and one small market."

"There is one Spirit Beast Farm. In terms of Spirit Beast breeding, the Family currently has twenty-five graded Golden Horned Horses, thirty-one graded Yellow Spirit Chickens, thirty-six graded Black Spirit Chickens, twenty-six graded Psychic Dogs, thirty-five graded Black Spirit Ducks, eighteen graded Yellow Spirit Ducks, six graded Golden Feather Eagles, nine graded Green Mountain Cows, and three graded Swift Wind Wolves."

"In addition, I will not detail the Spirit Medicine, Talismans, and other treasures in the Family treasury here."

"Over these ten years, the Family has earned a total of 155,800 Low-Grade Spirit Stones from Talismans, market shop rents, trading profits, mines, the Spirit Beast Farm, and other small industries."

"Over the ten years, the Family has spent a total of 149,500 Low-Grade Spirit Stones on distributing clan member stipends, clan member pensions, purchasing Cultivation supplies, social obligations, daily expenses, etc. The Family has made a total profit of 6,300 Low-Grade Spirit Stones over the ten years. I have a detailed income and expenditure report here. Everyone present can review it after the meeting."

After the Patriarch finished speaking, many Cultivators present who had attended the previous Family Council Meeting breathed a sigh of relief. The Family's earnings this decade were more than 2,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones higher than the last, which indicated that the Family's economic status was at least developing in a healthy manner.

"The second item on the agenda: regarding the upcoming Beast Tide in five years, I and several clan elders have discussed and decided: starting next month, the Family will no longer sell 2nd-Grade Talismans to outsiders, and the price of 1st-Grade Talismans will be increased by 30%. At the same time, we will begin purchasing various Medicinal Pills for healing and Spirit Medicine. These measures will be implemented mainly in Wangshan Market."

"In the next five years, the Family will increase the cultivation of Mortal Martial Artists and strengthen the defenses of various towns, with a focus on the defense of Wangshan Town. If Wangshan Town is defended, Anping County is basically secured. Everyone, if you have any suggestions, you may also bring them up."

Hearing the news of the Beast Tide, everyone discussed it in low voices. Because there were still five years left, the crowd did not show too much panic, for when the Beast Tide came, one could not hide from it; one could only do their best and leave the rest to fate. Some of the older clan members present had already experienced the previous Beast Tide.

Regarding the Beast Tide, Li Changqing had consulted materials in the Li Family history and was already aware of it. In this Cultivation territory, basically every one hundred to one hundred and ten years, there would be a small or medium-sized Beast Tide, and every one thousand to one thousand one hundred years, there would be a large-scale Beast Tide.

The Beast Tide was not a random event; its outbreak had a high degree of regularity. The Cultivation world usually regarded it as a fixed "Heavenly Tribulation," and major Sects and Cultivation Families would issue warnings and prepare for battle years or even decades in advance.