Chapter 463: Chapter 469: Cooperation Chapter 463: Chapter 469: Cooperation âHalt, who goes there! This is the territory of the Wanxian Li Clan, outsiders are not to be allowed to approach!â
Even though the patrolling member was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they faced the Profound Ice Sectâs Fifth Elder, a Golden Core, without shrinking back, warning firmly, âIf you remain obstinately ignorant, then do not blame the Li family for being impolite!â
Their âarroganceâ stemmed from having Li Zhirui, a Nascent Soul True Lord, and several third-rank Mountain Guardian Spirit Beasts under the familyâs control.
The former could deter many cultivators, while the latter could take direct action against those who refused to heed warnings, showing them the strength of the Li family.
Although the Li family itself did not have many Golden Core cultivators, only Li Shiqing, Li Shilian, Li Zhixuan, and a total of six people, but when adding those protector Spirit Beasts, as well as Contracted Spirit Beasts, the Li family had nearly twenty at the Golden Core level.
Plus, as time went on, that number would only increase more and more explosively!
The Fifth Elderâs face showed a trace of displeasure; after all, he was a Golden Core True Person and deserved respect, but he was being treated so rudely by a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator!
However, thinking of his purpose for coming here, he could only suppress his negative emotions, though his voice still betrayed his unhappiness, âI am Lei Feng, the Fifth Elder of Shen Leishan, and I come bearing a message from Cloud Thunder True Lord to visit True Lord Zhirui.â
Actually, thereâs a very easy way to differentiate a Golden Core cultivator of a family from one of a sect, by seeing if they have a Taoist name or not!
In general, Golden Core cultivators from sects are given a Taoist name by a senior during their Core Formation ceremony, which is similar to a familyâs generation name and signifies orderly inheritance.
For instance, Shen Leishanâs two Nascent Soul True Lords, Yun Lei and Qing Lei, the current Sect Leader Lei Tian, and the Fifth Elder Lei Feng all have Taoist names that signify they are peers within the same generation of cultivators.
Yet sects, while valuing the order of succession, still prioritize strength; for example, if the Fifth Elder were to break through and become a Nascent Soul cultivator, although his Taoist name would not change, Lei Tian would have to address him as Master Uncle, and Yun Lei and Qing Lei would call him Junior Brother.
Thus, family cultivators, who are named after their generation names once their Spiritual Roots are tested, seldom bother to think up a Taoist name.
Letâs get back to the story!
The patrol member, upon hearing that the visitor was an Elder from Shen Leishan, looked at him with eyes filled with hatred, for if he was powerful enough, he would have struck already.
âWait here! I will contact the Clan Leader to see how he wants to deal with this matter,â the captain of the squad said unapologetically, with no respect or awe for a Golden Core cultivator.
With the development of the Li family, communication among clan members no longer required running about seeking others or using the expensive Communication Talisman, since they could use the Identity Jade issued by the family to make direct contact with each other.
âThe Profound Ice Sect has sent an Elder, and with commands from Cloud Thunder True Lord?â Li Dayuan frowned, a sudden visit would likely mean an important matter to discuss with the Li family.
âWhat matter could it be?â Li Dayuan reviewed past records in his mind, unable to find any clues to understand the visitorâs intention.
After thinking, he still decided to meet with him to see what his purpose was.
âWelcome, elder, to Wanxian Island. I had some matters to attend to urgently and couldnât welcome you from afar, I hope you can forgive me!â
The Fifth Elder Lei Feng waved his hand with a smile, âNot at all, not at all.â
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lei Feng finally spoke of the purpose of his sudden visit, âI wonder if True Lord Zhirui is currently on the island?â
âYou wish to see Uncle Shiling?â Li Dayuan furrowed his brows slightly and said, âHe is indeed on the island at the moment, but he is immersed in cultivation and likely wonât meet with you.â
âIf you have anything to discuss, just tell me, and Iâll pass the message on to Uncle Shiling.â Li Dayuan was also curious to see what they were hiding up their sleeves.
âMaster Yun Lei would like to discuss the Taixu Secret Realm with True Lord Zhirui, hoping that our two families can cooperate on this matter to jointly resist the pressure from the Devil Race and then enter the Secret Realm.â Since he couldnât meet with Li Zhirui, he settled for the next best thing, and it wasnât a bad idea to relay the information to the Clan Leader of the Li family.
âThereâs a Secret Realm in the Great Void Province?â
Li Dayuan wasnât even born the last time the Secret Realm appeared in the world, so naturally, he was unaware of it, but surely the other party wouldnât threaten him with something like thisâthey could easily verify its truth.
Regarding the proposal from Shen Leishan to cooperate with the Li family, Li Dayuan was not as eager and excited as Lei Feng had imagined; he simply nodded indifferently and said, âI understand, I will tell him about it after Uncle Shiling comes out of seclusion.â
With the conversation reaching this point, Lei Feng knew it was time to take his leave; he didnât linger any further and left with a hint of dejection.
On Li Dayuanâs side, he also used the Identity Jade to relay the course of events to both Li Zhirui and Li Shiqing.
âThe Taixu Secret Realm?â Li Zhirui put down the Spiritual Medicine he was holding and muttered to himself.
He had never forgotten about that Secret Realm!
It was precisely this Secret Realm that had caused Li Shiqing to lose a significant amount of his lifespan and severely damaged his physical body, forcing him to rely on Life-Extending Spiritual Objects to survive until now.
And the prime culprits behind all this were Shen Leishan, the Taixu Devil Race, and the Profound Ice Sect!
But as of now, the Li familyâs strength was still relatively weak; they were far from being able to confront all three powers at once, and even facing just one of them would leave the Li family with no advantages.
Therefore, Li Zhirui could only continue to suppress the hatred in his heart.
âIf I remember correctly, the Profound Ice Sect played a trick on Shen Leishan last time, sneaking into the Taixu Secret RealmâŠâ Li Zhiruiâs eyes flickered with contemplation.
On top of that, Shen Leishanâs particularly keen reaction this time made Li Zhirui certain that there must be some precious Spiritual Medicine within the Secret Realm.
âStrength, oh strength, if only the Li family had enough power, why would we need to join hands with our enemies!â exclaimed Li Zhirui with a sense of helplessness.
Knowing that the Secret Realm contained some sort of precious Spiritual Objects, Li Zhirui couldnât just give up easily because if he was lucky, he might be able to obtain a fourth-grade Spirit Seed, among other treasures.
On their own, the Li family was simply not strong enough to make the Devil Race of the Great Void Province back down; they could only consider an alliance with Shen Leishan as a possibility.
So it was destined that the Li family would join hands and cooperate with Shen Leishan.
Unless the Li family decided not to get involved with the Taixu Secret Realm at all, then they could ignore this matter.
But that was clearly impossible.
âUncle, what do you think?â
âOf course, we should choose to cooperate. After all, without Shen Leishanâs help to share the burden, we alone cannot withstand the Devil Race of the Great Void Province,â said Li Shiqing, seeming not the least bit angry about the culprits who had caused him to end up in his current plight.
Actually, this was quite normal; after all, the incidents from that time had passed for over a hundred years, and any deep-rooted hatred had already become diluted by the passage of time.