Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

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Li Zhirui naturally agreed to Li Shiqing's arrangement; however, he didn't rush to leave the family but stayed on Da Rong Island for quite a few days.

During this period, he spent his time not only concocting Spirit Pills but also teaching the younger clansmen in the Spirit Wisdom Court or guiding them in Alchemy Peak on how to refine Spirit Pills.

It's worth mentioning that among the younger generation, there was one with a particularly remarkable talent for alchemy, named Li Chenghua, who thus received focused nurturing from the family and lived up to expectations by successfully breaking through Foundation Establishment.

Among the many 'Cheng' generation clansmen, apart from him, quite a few were worth the family's dedicated cultivation as well.

For instance, Li Chenghuo, who possessed a Golden-Fire Dual Spiritual Root, was not only gifted but also displayed talent in Artifact Refining. With the aid of geothermal fires, he was even able to refine a second-grade Magic Artifact despite still being at the Qi Cultivation Stage!

This news sent the upper echelons of the family into a frenzy of joy.

After all, among the six Cultivation Arts, Li Shiqing was an expert in Talismans, Li Zhirui and Li Zhiyue in Alchemy, with Li Chenghua emerging too, and Li Shiren's achievements in Formation were not insignificant.

There was no need to mention Spirit Plant cultivation and Beast Taming; the former was a technique all powers must master, and the latter was the foundation on which the Li family stood.

Only Artifact Refining had always lagged behind; to this day, the Li family had not produced a single second-grade Alchemist!

And, the emergence of Li Chenghuo perfectly filled this gap.

It's not that every power must master all six arts, but the stronger and more profound the power, the higher they needed to shore up the shortcomings in the six arts.

Apart from these two, there were several other noteworthy descendants in the 'Cheng' generation, but Li Zhirui didn't find anyone like Li Zhixuan among them.
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Thinking about it, it's no surprise; after all, Li Zhixuan had such a calm and indifferent nature at a young age—an ordinary person could hardly possess such qualities.

And so, Li Zhirui spent a rather uneventful half month on Da Rong Island before returning to his small courtyard. There, he hung a 'Closed Door Cultivation' sign at the entrance, activated the courtyard's formation to give the impression he would be in seclusion.

But in reality, that very same night, Li Zhirui quietly left Da Rong Island and rode Xiaoqing to Green Mountain State.

And the news of his 'Golden Core stage breakthrough' spread like wildfire, rapidly reaching the ears of countless cultivators.

"Good heavens! Li Zhirui is still so young! Barely fifty or sixty years old at most, and now he's preparing to break through to the Golden Core stage!"

A certain Qi Cultivation cultivator said with some exaggeration, "I'm only a few years younger than him, yet one of us is still lingering in the Qi Cultivation Stage, and the other is about to break through to the Golden Core, becoming an existence that everyone admires!"

"What?! He's that young?"

"To attempt breaking through to Golden Core at such a young age, doesn't that mean he could possibly break through to the Nascent Soul stage in the future?"

The rumors grew more and more exaggerated, but the Li family's objective was also achieved in the process, since the main purpose was to mislead the Yuanming Sect.

"What do you all think, is the news coming from the Li family reliable?" Upon hearing this, the Yuanming Sect leader immediately convened the Sect's Foundation Establishment cultivators and asked with a serious expression.

An elder spoke up, "I think it should be true. After all, Li Zhirui was already at the late stage of Foundation Establishment a few years ago, and he hasn't shown himself since, presumably because he was out tempering himself and has taken the final step."

"I think they are doing it on purpose, and this is very likely a false message!" Where there's agreement, there's also opposition; thus, an older elder spoke in a heavy tone.

"If, as you say, this is a trap, then what is the Li family's purpose in doing this?"

Even if they wanted to sabotage Li Zhirui's Tribulation Transcendence, they would have to wait until he was actually undergoing it. Right now, he has only just entered seclusion, and it's all based on hearsay; it's unclear how long it would be before he attempts it.

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For a moment, the Elders opposing the suggestion had nothing to say. If it was a trap, who was it meant to ensnare?

"All right, since everyone believes it's real, then the question arises, the Li family will soon have their third Golden Core cultivator, how should our sect respond to this?" the Sect Leader's expression became even more solemn.

Until now, the Yuanming Sect only had two Golden Core cultivators. Although they had never stopped nurturing new Golden Core cultivators, none had been successful to date.

Despite Jiang Tianming being at the Middle Golden Core Stage, facing two Golden Core cultivators together would undoubtedly result in a fierce battle!

After all, the rise of the Li family was at the expense of the Yuanming Sect's interests. If it hadn't been for the destruction of the Green Sword Sect, there might have been an accumulation of major conflicts between the Yuanming Sect and the Li family.

They were all Foundation Establishment cultivators; what means did they have to contend with a Golden Core?

"The only way is to stop Li Zhirui from breaking through!" an Elder said coldly. "What we need to do next is to wait until tribulation clouds appear above Da Rong Island!"

Nobody could come up with a better plan, so they could only agree to this approach.

Meanwhile, Li Zhirui had arrived at the Green Mountain Market and was discussing rental terms with the shopkeeper of a shop offering tribulation transcendence retreats.

"Dear friend, are you contemplating a retreat for enlightenment? Our shop's retreats are filled with rich spiritual energy and require..."

After a lot of pointless talk, he finally mentioned the price, "The rent for a year is 60,000 Spirit Stones."

The price wasn't too extravagant, but Li Zhirui certainly couldn't show that reaction. His face turned rather bitter as he said, "That's quite expensive, can't you make it a bit cheaper?"

"No!" The shopkeeper's eyes sparkled with a sharp glint as he replied immediately, "If dear friend doesn't have enough Spirit Stones, we can help front you the amount. You would only need to help us take care of some minor tasks."

Li Zhirui appeared to ponder deeply before shaking his head and refusing. He gave a helpless expression and said, "I'm used to being uncommitted, I'm afraid I can't handle such constraints. Thank you for your kind offer."

After saying this, he didn't wait for the Shopkeeper to react and quickly left the shop.

He did this to understand the rental prices for such retreats to avoid being cheated.

In the end, Li Zhirui rented a retreat that suited his preferences for 58,000 Spirit Stones for a year, for a total of two years.

"Finally, all the trivial matters have been taken care of; I can begin my retreat!" With a long sigh, Li Zhirui released Da Qing and Xiaoqing.

They could help him by acting as protectors; after all, when one is away from home, no matter how much others assure safety, accidents can happen, and it was still better to take extra precautions.

"Next, I'll have to trouble you both to protect me during my retreat," Li Zhirui said softly.

Chirp!

Screech!

The two pets nodded again and again, agreeing without hesitation.

At this time, Da Qing was still at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, just one step away from the later stage, and would soon breakthrough. Xiaoqing was at the same stage of Foundation Establishment, but due to insufficient accumulation, there was still a significant gap between her and Da Qing.

"This time, I will definitely succeed in breaking through!" Having said this, Li Zhirui turned and entered the quiet room to begin what would be his last retreat in the Foundation Establishment Realm!