"At last, all the restrictions have been fused together!" Li Zhirui looked at the magic artifact floating in front of him and let out a heartfelt sigh.
For the sake of refining his life-bound magic treasure, he didnât know how many spirit stones and materials he wasted, and now he finally had an initial success!
Although the overall situation was still not entirely satisfactory, at least the method was feasible. What came next was figuring out a way to make the restrictions more compatible, and then he could start refining his life-bound magic treasure.
However, at this time, Li Zhizhun suddenly arranged for a clan member to come and knock on the door.
"Uncle Shiling, the Clan Leader has something to ask of you," said the clan member of the Cheng generation, speaking respectfully and politely.
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Li Zhirui scrutinized the young man before him; he saw that his features were handsome and his eyes and eyebrows exuded a maturity not fitting his age, whilst the aura he emitted was quite stable.
"Your name is Li Chengmo, right?" He had heard Li Zhizhun mention him in passing, but this was the first time he had seen him in person.
Li Chengmo, hearing Li Zhirui call out his name, showed a trace of surprise in his eyes. It seemed he had not expected Li Zhirui to know him, and he responded somewhat flusteredly, "That is indeed my name, Uncle."
"Mhm, not bad, study well under elder brother," said Li Zhirui with some understanding of Li Zhizhunâs intentions. He was looking to cultivate the next Clan Leader!
Calculating the time, Li Zhizhun had been the Clan Leader for over twenty years; even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, this took up a tenth of their total lifespan.
And over the years, he had devoted himself diligently to the development of the family, working tirelessly. Over twenty years had passed since he had only recently broken through the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, far from reflecting the value expected of that Foundation Establishment Pill from back then!
Therefore, Li Zhirui found no issue with Li Zhizhunâs desire to step down as Clan Leader, handing over the heavy responsibility to someone else in pursuit of his own aspirations.
"Yes!" Li Chengmo pursed his lips; he knew that his talents werenât great. If not for Li Zhizhun taking a liking to him and considering him as one of the candidates for the next Clan Leader, he would probably be just like other clan members, hustling daily just to secure a bit of resources.
Furthermore, he had also noticed that Li Zhizhun sending him to fetch Li Zhirui was also giving him another opportunity to gain Li Zhiruiâs approval.
It was known that within the Li familyâs three Golden Core members, although Li Shiqing and Li Shilian held the highest positions, Li Zhirui had an exceptionally high level of influence, and the two elders generally wouldnât dispute what he said.
From what he could see now, Li Zhirui seemed to have a fairly good impression of him. With this thought, a trace of joy sprouted in Li Chengmoâs heart.
"Letâs go," Li Zhirui said softly, seeing through the thoughts in his heart.
The cave dwelling wasnât far from the main hall, and in a short while, the two arrived at their destination.
"Elder brother, what did you want to see me about?"
"In a few days, Xuanfa Grand Pavilion in Green Mountain State will hold a grand auction. Yesterday, they sent over an invitation specially, listing some spiritual objects," Li Zhizhun said, handing over the Jade Slip.
Li Zhirui swept over the Jade Slip with his powerful divine sense, instantly memorizing its contents, and understood the purpose of being called here.
"Elder brother wants me to lead the team to participate in the auction?"
To tell the truth, he was quite intrigued because there were several third-grade pill recipes at the auction, such as the Golden Yuan Pill which increased mana, the Blood Coagulation Pill for healing, and the Soul Calming Pill for treating the spiritual soul.
Beyond that, there were many other fine items. It was clear that Xuanfa Pavilion was indeed going all out this time.
"Yes, the two elders are not too keen on going, and you are better suited for this," Li Zhizhun said with a smile and a nod. "You, Uncle Shiling, are incredibly fortunate; every time you attend an auction, you manage to snatch up some bargains. You should go see him more often when youâre free; maybe you could rub off some of his good luck."
Li Chengmo, not knowing how to respond, could only smile politely, not wanting to appear rude.
"âThe matter of destiny is too elusive, even higher-order cultivators canât be sure, let alone you and me?â" Li Zhirui shook his head, but then his tone shifted, "However, if you have any problems with cultivation, feel free to come to me."
Li Zhizhun knew with Li Zhiruiâs cunning, he would have definitely seen the purpose behind sending Li Chengmo over. At the first sentence, he thought Li Zhirui didnât like him, but the starkly different second sentence caught him off guard.
"Hahahaha, youâre pretty lucky, kid."
"Yes." Li Chengmo replied with undisguised excitement.
Li Zhirui, curious, asked, "Big brother, do you know why the Xuanfa Pavilion is so willing to part with so many valuable things for the auction?"
"Iâve heard itâs because a powerful commerce guild from another continent has come to settle in the East Continent, and Xuanfa Pavilion naturally doesnât want to face another formidable competitor."
Other continents? Li Zhiruiâs mind stirred slightly, he generally knew about the situation of this world; aside from the East Continent, where they were located, there were also the South, West, North, and Central continents.
Among the five continents, the East Continent was a melting pot of Immortals, Demons, and Devils, the South Continent was the territory of the Devil Race, the West Continent was the domain of the Demonic Tao, the North Continent was extremely harsh, with few sightings of Immortals, Demons, or Devils.
The Central Continent was the Cultivatorsâ domain, and it was also where the spiritual energy was thickest, the territory most vast, and the might strongest.
That was all he knew, considering the Li family was located at the very eastern edge of the East Continent, far from the other continents, and also because the familyâs foundation was not strong, this was the first time he had heard news of the other continents.
"Doesnât that mean, that other commerce guild is also going to hold an auction to challenge Xuanfa Pavilion?" Li Zhiruiâs eyes lit up.
Li Zhizhun froze, then following his train of thought said, "Thatâs possible, we could go and take a look when the time comes. After all, Spirit Stones can be earned again, but these Spiritual Objects, if we miss out this time, it will be hard to encounter them again."
"Iâll be there on the day the auction starts," said Li Zhirui. "As for taking those clanspeople with me, Iâll trouble big brother to arrange that."
"Alright."
Li Zhirui nodded and then took his leave to return to his cave dwelling. He intended to put in a solid effort to see if he could refine his Life-bound Magic Treasure before the auction began.
But regrettably, his Life-bound Magic Treasure was not ready by the time the auction began.
"So be it." Li Zhirui, with a sense of helplessness, carefully stored away the various precious Spiritual Objects and set out for the main hall, ready to meet up with the clanspeople attending the auction.
What he hadnât expected was that among that group, there were several youths he recognized, including Li Chenghuo and Li Chengmo.
One didnât need to check their cultivation levels to know, from this alone, that these individuals were the young ones whom the family was focusing on nurturing.
"Is everyone here?" Li Zhirui looked towards Li Zhizhun.
Li Zhizhunâs face revealed a hint of embarrassment as he awkwardly said, "Still one brat is missing."
"Cheng Mo, grab that brat Li Chenglin for me!" The tone carried a hint of annoyance and embarrassment.
"Uncle, Iâm here!"
Following the voice, Li Zhirui turned to see a young male cultivator dressed in blue, his hair disheveled... his hair a tangled mess, his eyes bleary with sleep, yawning profusely as he ran towards the crowd.
"Who is this?" Li Zhirui asked with interest.