558: Chapter 558 is finished.

A few days later.

Liu Clan School.

Li Xihe stood under the jade phoenix tree eating a phoenix fruit, while a young, petite girl watched eagerly from beside her.

"What are you looking at? It's not like I'm not giving you Spirit Stones!"

She waved her hand and threw two spirit jades into the girl's hand. "I'm taking all the fruit on this tree. If there are any problems, tell Liu Xuan to come find me."

"Yes!"

The little girl tightly gripped the spirit jades, and after bowing to Li Xihe, she immediately ran to report to Liu Miao.

Li Xihe ate the fruit and waited for a while. One after another, Liu Family children who practiced the Great Sun True Fire Method began to gather under the tree.

Liu Daozi, Liu Deyang, Liu Daodan... After the Family's Five Elements Cultivation Method reached Perfection, the number of children practicing the Great Sun True Fire Method gradually increased, with the total number approaching one-fifth of the entire population.

The Great Sun True Fire mana provides a boost to Alchemy and Artifact Refining, and joining the Lihuo Lineage grants extra resources. With these drivers, the number of people practicing the Great Sun True Fire Method might exceed one-fifth of the total in the future.

"Greetings, Revered Master!"

"Greetings, Revered Master!"

...

Today was the agreed-upon day to return to the Sect. Li Xihe would soon take everyone back to the mountain gate of the Lihuo Lineage.

"Good!"

"Good!"

"You may rise!"

Li Xihe was full of gratification. Looking at these vibrant Disciples whose cultivation was progressing rapidly, she seemed to see the day when the Lihuo Sect would become a Soul Transformation dao arena that dominated the region.

The Liu Family children generally had good Spiritual Roots, and Liu Xuan was willing to spend a lot of money to nurture them. Their cultivation progress was not inferior to the Inner Sect Disciples at the Main Mountain.

If development continued like this, in less than two hundred years, the Lihuo Lineage would see a group of mainstays emerge.

If a few Nascent Soul True Lords could be produced, the Lihuo Lineage's Foundation would be stable, and the Lihuo Sect could be called a genuine Spirit Transformation Dao Lord's dao arena.

'Liu Xuan has fathered so many children who joined the Lihuo Lineage, and even produced Tong Xiao with a fifth-tier Bloodline to be Revered Master's natal spirit beast. He really is the lucky star of our Lihuo Lineage!'

Li Xihe sighed at her own luck and also at the Liu Family's good fortune; both sides had met the right person at the right time.

"Senior Sister Li, I'm here!"

A flash of golden light passed, and Liu Tongxiao appeared in mid-air, a pair of pale golden illusory wings slowly retracting into his body.

Seeing Liu Tongxiao appear, Li Xihe's expression became even kinder. The way she looked at Tong Xiao was like a loving mother looking at her own son.

"Come down and eat some fruit!"

Li Xihe picked the largest jade phoenix tree fruit on the tree for Tong Xiao. She didn't ignore the others either, giving each person a regular fruit.

"Thank you, Senior Sister!"

Tong Xiao didn't actually like jade phoenix tree fruit that much, but he pretended to eat happily. Thinking about what he was about to do, his gaze toward his Senior Sister was filled with guilt.

To be honest, Senior Sister Li Xihe was quite good to him. Although there was some element of exploitation, it wasn't to a high degree.

Once everyone had arrived, Li Xihe waved her hand to release a great sun warship, using a sliver of Divine Thought to control the warship as it flew toward the Lihuo Lineage's mountain gate.

Back at the Lihuo Sect mountain gate, the Disciples returned to their respective homes. Those who needed to Cultivate did so, those who needed to discuss the Dao did so, and those who needed to spar did so.

Qi Refining Cultivators could only Cultivate for four hours a day. Foundation Establishment Cultivators had no such restriction, but it was not advisable to Cultivate continuously for too long, except in special circumstances like an Epiphany or a Bottleneck.

Besides Cultivating, the Liu Family Disciples usually had things to do. They didn't have to complete Sect missions, but they could study cultivation arts like Alchemy and Talismans, spar with fellow Disciples, or participate in the Merchant Alliance's business.

Although the Lihuo Sect mountain gate didn't have much money, it at least had a fourth-tier Low Grade Spiritual Vein and a complete fifth-tier Lihuo Legacy. Besides the Liu Family Disciples, there was also a group of other recruited Disciples.

Everyone was a fellow traveler of the Lihuo Lineage. Sparring and discussing the Dao with each other also helped improve their cultivation.

After Liu Tongxiao said goodbye to several of his older brothers and sisters with whom he had a good relationship, he came before Li Xihe. "Senior Sister, I want to go for a walk nearby."

"Go ahead, don't wander too far!"

Li Xihe didn't suspect anything. Tong Xiao had a Divine Soul mark she had left on him; as long as he left the range of the mountain gate's array, she would be able to sense it. No accidents could happen.

"Thank you, Senior Sister!"

A pair of golden wings unfolded on Tong Xiao's back. With a flash of light, he appeared in the Lihuo Immortal City next to the mountain gate in the blink of an eye.

Most Sects would develop an immortal city nearby, both to serve the Sect and to attract nearby small forces for trade.

Li Xihe didn't have the money to build an immortal city. Lihuo Immortal City only developed rapidly after the Liu Family's investment. Nearly half of the industries in the city were owned by the Liu Clan Merchant Alliance.

However, since the Liu Clan Merchant Alliance was nominally part of the Lihuo Lineage, Li Xihe didn't mind. As long as it developed quickly, it was fine.

The next day.

In the lobby of a restaurant in the city, Liu Tongxiao sat in a corner cracking nuts similar to melon seeds, listening intently to a storytelling old man on a high platform in the center of the lobby. The old man was telling a cliché story about a grassroots Cultivator who unexpectedly gained a high-level Opportunity, and whose cultivation soared, killing anyone in his way.

The old man was no ordinary person; he likely practiced musical or illusionary techniques. Although the story was cliché, it could stir the emotions of others. Many people were immersed in it, their minds filled with yearning.

Liu Tongxiao was young and had little experience. Although he was not affected by the techniques, he listened with great interest.

Suddenly!

A black-robed Cultivator walked to his table and sat down, transmitting his voice: "The time is almost right. Can Young Master Liu set off?"

Tong Xiao looked back toward the mountain gate, waved his hand to stuff all the seeds on the table into his pocket, and stood up. "Let's go!"

"Forgive me!"

The black-robed person pressed his hand on Liu Tongxiao's shoulder. A burst of black Qi enveloped the two of them, and they instantly tunneled into the ground and escaped.

Lihuo Palace.

"Hmm?!"

Li Xihe, sitting cross-legged on a futon, suddenly opened her eyes. Lihuo mana illuminated the entire Cultivation Chamber.

"How bold! To actually dare to come to my Lihuo Sect to kidnap someone!!"

Her Divine Sense connected to the array, and the entire Lihuo Sect lit up with crimson firelight. A flame barrier rose, sealing the inside and outside.

Within her Divine Sense perception, Li Xihe saw a black-robed Nascent Soul Cultivator holding Tong Xiao, blocked by the array's barrier.

"I advise you to put down my Junior Brother immediately and surrender. There is still a way to live, otherwise..."

Before she could finish, a point of white light appeared on the black-robed man's hand. When the white light touched the flame barrier, it was like a drop of ink in water, instantly dissolving into a circular hole.

The black-robed man's escape light did not stop, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye. The hole in the barrier slowly repaired itself.

Li Xihe panicked! She turned into a streak of fire and pursued the black-robed man toward the south, where he had disappeared.

A few breaths later, looking at the empty horizon in the distance, her face turned extremely ugly.

The black-robed man was too fast. Within her Divine Soul perception, Tong Xiao was already ten thousand miles away, and the distance between them was growing.

"It's over!"

When she sensed that Tong Xiao had already left the Beast Taming Sect's territory and reached the Demon Court area, Li Xihe's eyes were filled with despair.