44: Determining ley lines

Li Qingfeng traveled on the wind, looking down upon the familiar Li Family Village and the surrounding lands.

In his hand, he held the Earth Spirit Ruler bestowed by the Sect, which was emitting a faint glow as it sensed the hidden network of spiritual mechanisms beneath the Spiritual Vein according to his will.

Not long after flying out of the boundaries of Li Family Village, a cyan-green streak of light appeared on the eastern horizon. Moving quickly, it was clearly the standard green bamboo flying shuttle of the Qingxuan Sect.

The shuttle, having traveled a long distance, stopped steadily not far in front of him. Wang Tiezhu's burly figure leaped out, his face bearing traces of dust and ferocity.

“Brother Feng!”

Wang Tiezhu put away the shuttle, rushed a few steps toward Li Qingfeng, clasped his fists in greeting, and apologized in a loud voice:

“I came back late. I was delayed for some time on the road.”

Li Qingfeng put away the Earth Spirit Ruler and landed back on the ground:

“No matter. Judging by your expression, this trip doesn't seem to have gone smoothly? How is the situation in Willow Tree Village?”

When Willow Tree Village was mentioned, resentment immediately appeared on Wang Tiezhu's honest face:

“It was more than just not smooth! It nearly drove me mad with anger! Brother Feng, you wouldn't believe it, that Willow Tree Village... sigh!”

He sighed heavily, his tone grave:

“The great drought more than ten years ago dealt a devastating blow to Willow Tree Village. Now, the entire village has only a pitiful one hundred and fifty-five households left. Every family is gaunt, and their houses are dilapidated.”

“And that's not the worst of it. The most hateful are those few rich families in the village and that damned Village Head! Taking advantage of the famine years, they used methods like usury, forced purchases, and forced sales to seize nearly half of the village's land and the only remaining emergency rations for themselves!”

“The villagers work themselves to death, and after paying rent, they can barely feed themselves. They are literally living in Hell! When I arrived, I ran into that Village Head leading several lackeys, trying to forcefully seize a family's last rations to pay off a debt. The woman of the house was holding her child and crying heartbrokenly...”

Wang Tiezhu's fists cracked audibly as anger flared in his eyes:

“I truly couldn't stand it! These kinds of parasites and tumors, if left alive, will only harm the villagers and ruin the reputation of the Immortal Sect!”

“So... I couldn't hold back. I spent some time cleaning up the leading rich families and that black-hearted Village Head. I burned the deeds for the forced sales right there and then, and distributed the seized land immediately based on the number of people! As for this year's taxes, Brother Feng, since you haven't set the regulations yet, I didn't dare collect anything arbitrarily. I just told them to wait patiently for the laws to be established after the New Town is built.”

Li Qingfeng listened quietly.

Wang Tiezhu's actions seemed reckless, but they were actually a swift and decisive solution, clearing a major obstacle for the New Town's takeover, and aligning with his initial intention of establishing rules under the governance of qingxuan.

He nodded slightly:

“You did right. under the governance of qingxuan, the priority is legal fairness. Such people who exploit the local community and prey on the populace should be thoroughly purged. You have already won over most of the popular support in Liu Family Village for us.”

Receiving Li Qingfeng's affirmation, the anger on Wang Tiezhu's face subsided, and he scratched his head honestly:

“I was just worried I would cause trouble for Brother Feng.”

Li Qingfeng shook his head and patted Wang Tiezhu on the shoulder:

“If the wicked are not removed, the New Town will struggle to find peace. The people of Willow Tree Village will remember this favor. Come, let us survey the Spiritual Vein together and select the site for the New Town.”

“Yes!” Wang Tiezhu felt invigorated.

The two wasted no more time and flew side by side. Li Qingfeng held the Earth Spirit Ruler, while Wang Tiezhu circulated his own Spiritual Power to assist in the sensing.

Light flowed across the ruler's body, sometimes bright, sometimes faint, accurately probing the flow and concentration of Spiritual Qi deep within the earth.

They first circled Li Family Village and carefully investigated the area.

Behind Li Family Village, near the Black Mountain range, the Earth Spirit Ruler sensed a relatively stable Spiritual Vein Qi deep within the mountains. The Spiritual Qi concentration was acceptable, but the Five Elements attributes were skewed toward being dark and mixed.

Furthermore, it was too close to the village. If they built the New Town here, the long-term risks would be significant. The ruler's light appeared dim and uncertain in the direction of Black Mountain.

Next, they focused on investigating the vast wasteland east of Li Family Village.

The trees here were sparse, and the terrain was relatively flat and open, connecting to a distant forest.

When the Earth Spirit Ruler hovered above it, the light on its body shone steadily, exhibiting a pure, gentle, milky white color.

“Brother Feng, here!”

Wang Tiezhu pointed at the light of the ruler.

“The aura is very peaceful, with no obvious elemental bias. It feels... very clean!”

Li Qingfeng closed his eyes and focused his mind, using his Divine Sense in conjunction with the Earth Spirit Ruler to probe deep underground.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, a trace of satisfaction flashing within them:

“Not bad. Below this location is a nascent Spiritual Vein. Although it is not vast, its advantage lies in its purity and balance—precisely the characteristics of an Unaligned Spiritual Vein.”

“The concentration of Spiritual Qi is sufficient to support the basic operations of a small town of several thousand people, and the coverage area is wide enough. It is also located slightly east of the geographical center of the three villages, making integration easier, and it is safer as it is far from Black Mountain.”

He immediately set his target in his heart. This place would be the Foundation of the New Town!

Having completed the survey, the two returned to the Li Family New Residence.

Inside the main hall, Li Dashan, Madam Zhang, Li Qingshan, Li Qinglin, and Li Qinghe were already waiting.

Li Qingfeng formally introduced Wang Tiezhu to his family:

“Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Fourth Brother, this is Wang Tiezhu, a Provisional Inner Sect Disciple of the Qingxuan Sect and a sworn brother! He is my good brother, and he has come carrying resources to help us build the town, having been ordered by the Sect.”

Wang Tiezhu quickly clasped his fists in greeting, his posture respectful yet hearty:

“Wang Tiezhu greets Uncle, Aunt, and the three Elder Brothers!”

When his gaze swept over Li Qinghe, he paused slightly, sensing that the Li Family's Fourth Child had a calm aura, unlike a Mortal, but he did not dwell on it.

After the pleasantries, everyone took their seats and began discussing serious matters.

Li Qingfeng first had Wang Tiezhu briefly describe the situation at Willow Tree Village.

Upon hearing the wicked deeds of the rich families and the Village Head, Li Dashan and the others were also extremely angry and fully agreed with Wang Tiezhu's decisive methods.

Li Dashan took out a few pieces of coarse paper, which contained records he had written based on memory and preliminary visits:

“Fenger, Tiezhu, you've returned just in time. Your mother, your Eldest Brother, and Second Brother and I roughly tallied the households and population of the three villages. Our Li Family Village has two hundred and ninety-five households.”

“Wang Family Village has two hundred and twenty-five households. Liu Family Village, according to Tiezhu's count after clearing out the rich families, has one hundred and fifty-five households remaining. The three villages combined total six hundred and seventy-five households, with a total population of approximately three thousand one hundred and twenty people.”

Li Dashan paused, his eyes shining with hope:

“Over three thousand people! Four years have passed since the last Qingxuan Sect recruitment. Each family has at least one or two, or sometimes three to five, young, strong teenagers.”

“Fenger, Tiezhu, what do you think... could we find a time to gather all these children of appropriate age and use your Spiritual Root Measuring Ruler to test them? If there truly are those possessing Spiritual Roots, no matter the number, they will be the Foundation of our New Town's future!”

Li Qingfeng nodded:

“Father is absolutely right. This matter can proceed once the New Town's settlement is slightly stabilized, with Tiezhu assisting.”

Wang Tiezhu patted his chest and agreed.

Li Dashan then raised a crucial question:

“With the three villages merging, there are more people and more complex affairs. As for the person in charge...”