The clansmen gathered together.
Li Yaoqing guarded Uncle Rain's jade cup, continuously distributing spiritual liquid to the descendants.
The spiritual liquid in the cup flowed endlessly; even Li Yaoqing was unsure when this liquid, accumulated over tens of thousands of years, would finally be exhausted.
In just a short day, the information on the interface dazzled Li Wei's eyes.
[Your descendant Li Chuhong's internal spiritual qi has reached the limit of Foundation Establishment; he is entering secluded cultivation to prepare for the breakthrough to the Golden Core realm.]
[Your descendant Li Jianning, utilizing a massive amount of spiritual qi, has forged three hundred Golden Cores. The spiritual power of his remaining Golden Cores has reached completion, breaking through to the mid Nascent Soul realm!]
[Your descendant...]
Even if this spiritual qi could not be digested immediately, it could be accumulated in the dantian, sparing them the effort of absorbing heaven and earth spiritual qi.
Now, after so many years had passed for the family, three more generations had emerged: the 'Gong', 'Ming', and 'Feng' generations.
The 'Feng' generation in particular consisted entirely of young toddlers.
For them to obtain so much spiritual liquid at such a tender age, as long as their aptitude was decent, they could enter secluded cultivation early, spending vast amounts of time altering their aptitudes and spiritual roots.
Thirty years old was the best time for Foundation Establishment; just imagine a nine-year-old child spending twenty-one years in secluded cultivation to build their foundation.
"This is the foundation of tens of thousands of years."
Li Wei glanced at his excited descendants, a smile surfacing on his face.
He also gradually began his secluded cultivation.
...
Li Jianning consumed the spiritual liquid. Feeling the majestic spiritual qi within his body, his eyes lit up.
"Master and the Divine Tree are both amazing. The method they taught really works. I now have four hundred Golden Cores.
Now that I've reached the Nascent Soul realm, my cultivation speed truly has become faster and faster.
With the family's spiritual liquid on top of that, it won't be many years before I can break through to the Divinity Transformation realm."
"There's also the matter the Old Ancestor asked me to inquire about..."
After pondering for a moment, Li Jianning immediately went to the rear mountain to request an audience with his Master.
The rear mountain remained tranquil. A gentle breeze blew past, and Ancestor Lan suddenly appeared before Li Jianning.
Sensing the majestic spiritual qi currently residing in Li Jianning's body, along with the numerous Golden Cores, the old man's eyes instantly widened.
For the past few years, Li Jianning had been cultivating at the Azure Cloud Li Clan, yet upon returning, he had already broken through to the Nascent Soul realm!
This caused Ancestor Lan to feel deep anxiety.
He tightly grabbed Li Jianning's shoulders, continuously probing him while muttering,
"Impossible, how could someone be better at teaching disciples than me? Speak! Who taught you to cultivate like this?"
Li Jianning was startled. However, recalling that the Old Ancestor had told him not to expose the secret of the Divine Tree, and knowing he couldn't lie to his Master, he thought for a moment and said, "It was my family's Old Ancestor."
"..." Ancestor Lan fell into deep thought.
Judging by the bizarre phenomena on Li Jianning's body and this level of disciple-teaching ability, he figured the Li Clan's Old Ancestor could finally somewhat catch a glimpse of his back.
He figured that the Li Clan's ability to develop to this point in less than a millennium, producing so many geniuses, was entirely due to the existence of the Li Clan's Old Ancestor.
However, the Li Clan's Old Ancestor had mastered spatial rules and was completely elusive.
Not even Ancestor Lan could deduce his whereabouts, so he abandoned the thought of having a profound exchange with him.
Li Jianning casually chatted with Ancestor Lan for a bit before asking directly,
"Master, the family elders feel that the matter of Uncle Rain attacking Azure Cloud Prefecture was bizarre.
They suspect it has something to do with the Empress, so they sent this disciple to inform you of a thing or two."
"What else did your family elders say?" Ancestor Lan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Li Jianning said solemnly,
"The elders speculate that the one the Empress is trying to deal with should be you.
They stationed troops in Grandhaven Prefecture, and the family investigated their preparations; this was a move to turn the Southern Frontier into a death trap.
Once our Li Clan perishes, the pact with the Wu Tribe becomes void, leaving all factions in the Southern Frontier with only one path—a fight to the death against the Wu Tribe."
"The family elders deduced that the Empress's actions must have a goal, and that goal lies with the Body Integration mighty figures in the Southern Frontier."
Ancestor Lan frowned, "Why did they deduce that it was me?"
"Because you are the oldest."
Ancestor Lan's breath hitched. That made sense. He then waved his hand,
"Tell your Li Clan elders to rest easy; a mere Empress cannot stir up any massive waves.
The Li Clan suffering this time shares some karmic connection with me. I will resolve it myself and make that little girl in the imperial court behave."
"Yes, Master." Li Jianning's expression turned odd.
His Master loved to brag, and it wasn't good to expose him. However, he also saw that the Old Ancestor's guess was right. Yet, his Master seemed to have some misgivings and failed to disclose the reason.
Just as he was about to leave, he was abruptly pulled back by Ancestor Lan.
Before he could ask anything, he saw his Master's solemn face, along with a book placed in front of him.
"This Ancestor thought it over again and again, and over the years, I've created a method for you called the Yin-Yang Reversal Art. Try it out."
"What is its effect?"
"It dissipates Yang qi and transforms it into Yin softness, allowing your seven hundred and twenty dantians to merge into one.
You should have heard of the eunuchs in the imperial palace; if one wishes to practice a divine art, a certain price must inevitably be paid."
"Master, this disciple wishes to be an upright and proper man. You can have the Sect Master practice it."
Li Jianning fled the rear mountain as if his life depended on it.
He wandered around the sect but suddenly stopped.
Looking toward the sect disciples' affairs noticeboard, he saw a wanted poster.
[Inner Sect Disciple Li Chuyuan: Colluded with the Peerless Hall without authorization and secretly practiced the demonic art 'Corpse-Stitching Art'.]
[Reward for his death: One Supreme-Grade Spiritual Artifact.]
Li Jianning stood in a daze for a long time.
Once the murderous crisis of the rainy night in Azure Cloud Prefecture had passed, the matter regarding Han Ju couldn't be hidden at all.
The Sect's investigative methods were extraordinary; they ferreted out a total of twenty-seven people harboring Dao Seeds from the Peerless Hall.
One must know that the sect's disciples and elders combined numbered no more than three thousand, meaning spies accounted for nearly one percent of them.
Following the trail of clues, they tracked it down to Li Chuyuan.
However, seeing that the situation in Azure Cloud Prefecture had turned unfavorable, Li Chuyuan had already fled to parts unknown.