Chapter 696: The Snake and the Dragon

Upon hearing Yuan Fuyao's words, Li Ximing immediately understood. "The wilderness is the sphere of influence for the Xiao and Kong families, and since my family is about to move in, everyone is likely talking about him, wanting to capture him to curry favor with my family... The Si family destroyed the Song clan, and his bloodline is in their hands; finding him is just a matter of whether one wants to or not."

"Coming to seek out my family, on the other hand, is a good way to preserve his life and wealth!"

Although Yuan Fuyao was cowardly by nature, his father, Yuan Chengdun, was a man of integrity, renowned for subduing demons and monsters, having saved many commoners during the demon calamity, and he even had a friendship with Li Yuanyuan.

The Li family had long stated that even if the matter between the two families did not succeed, they would still look after Yuan Fuyao. Although Yuan Fuyao had caused a loss of face, the Li family, out of respect for Yuan Chengdun, would not truly do anything to him; using him to demonstrate the magnanimity of an immortal clan was the only logical course of action.

Yuan Fuyao had likely seen this, which was why he dared to come all the way here. This man had a bit of petty cleverness and even knew to see the family head, Li Zhouwei, first, guarding against being snatched up by some minor character.

At this moment, Li Ximing was sitting to the side, and Li Zhouwei naturally did not stand in the center, remaining silent on the side. However, judging by his cold gaze, this Li family head clearly saw things just as clearly. Li Ximing sipped his tea and said softly:

"You speak too seriously. My family has no interest in haggling with you. Li Chenghuai, escort the young master back to Xunlin Plain."

Li Li Chenghuai respectfully agreed. Without room for argument—he was at the Foundation Establishment stage—he simply lifted Yuan Fuyao, and the middle-aged man was immediately unable to move. Li Li Chenghuai had seen Yuan Fuyao when he was young; sighing in his heart, he dragged him away.

Li Ximing sat upright, holding the teacup in his hands, and only after a long while did he say:

"Yuan Chengdun was a hero of his time, yet he produced a son like a house rat. It would be one thing if his talent were low, but he is short-sighted and lives off his father's shadow. The matter of offspring is truly hard to predict."

His words carried an inexplicable meaning, so Li Zhouwei could only answer softly: "Yuan Fuyao has a bit of quick wit, but he has been spoiled by the Yuan family. Although he is a clever person, he has lived in a daze since childhood, so it is inevitable that he is narrow-minded. Even a foolish person, if nurtured daily, can still accomplish something."

Li Ximing waved his hand, took a jade box from his sleeve, and said:

"Let us not speak of this. I obtained a stalk of 【Horn Wood Golden Spike】 at the Sword Gate; take it and use it to provide some benefits to the Wanling Flower."

Li Zhouwei only replied:

"The matter of transplanting the Wanling Flower has not yet been settled, but..."

Li Ximing finally understood. The Wanling Flower had been planted on Huaqian Mountain for many years. Huaqian Mountain could be considered passable in the early days of the Li family, but now it was a barren land, and it was not safe by the lake, so naturally, it had to be moved to the continent.

"Then let us delay it for now. The Wanling Flower is precious after all and cannot be moved lightly. I was just thinking of seeing Changxi and chatting about this matter as well."

Having finished discussing clan affairs, Li Ximing vanished into the Great Void. Li Zhouwei stood in the hall for a few breaths before taking the main seat, picking up a vermilion brush, and ordering:

"Have Feng Mu come up immediately."

This Feng Mu was naturally the Qi Refining cultivator who had introduced Yuan Fuyao to the continent, and also the father of Li Hun, named Li Anshuo. He should have been called Li Jiangshuo, but because his talent was poor back then, he failed to enter the continent and grew up outside. His original name was used more often, and he served as a Feng Mu in a peak of the Xiao Xian prefecture.

The person to the side immediately responded and retreated. After a few dozen breaths, a person stepped forward in the hall and bowed in the courtyard. Li Zhouwei did not even lift his head and asked: "What benefits did you receive?"

Li Anshuo only knelt down and said respectfully: "Reporting to the family head, Yuan Fuyao offered a set of staff techniques to the clan, which were handed over to the continent upon arrival."

"Cautious indeed. It seems it is Yuan Chengdun's staff technique. No wonder you risked such a risk to introduce him personally."

Li Zhouwei ticked off the bamboo slips without any sign of anger and continued: "Yuan Fuyao is not stupid either; I presume this staff technique has no grade written on it... That is good, it reduces your worries."

These two sentences made Li Anshuo break into a cold sweat, and he only replied: "The family head is wise; it was written by the Yuan family themselves, so there is no grade."

"Sit."

Li Zhouwei let him sit to the side before lifting his head. Li Anshuo was made to look away by his gaze, and then Li Zhouwei said casually: "Do not engage in such scheming within the continent. Since you have this mindset, follow me to the East Bank tomorrow; there are plenty of places for you to scheme."

"If you do well, there will be benefits for you. If you mess it up, today's matter will be settled along with you."

Li Anshuo was both shocked and delighted, hurriedly thanking him. This person clearly had quite a bit of self-confidence, his face full of joy. It seemed that letting him serve as a Feng Mu by the lake all these years had been a waste of talent. Li Zhouwei waved for him to go down and said: "Go down, the second one is waiting for you in the side hall."

These words made Li Anshuo's expression freeze again, and he hurriedly retreated. Li Zhouwei sent someone to fetch Yuan Chengdun's staff technique and rubbed his brow.

'This Li Anshuo... can be considered usable...'

The Li family's talent was truly stretched thin these days. With those few Foundation Establishment guest elders, the Foundation Establishment level was somewhat better, but the Qi Refining talent had a gap.

The Chengming generation mostly died in battle by the river, the Zhou Xing generation was not prosperous, the four surnames of Lijing, the arm of the century, were heavily damaged, the East Bank and Xiao Xian had not recovered their vitality, yet the family's own business was spreading wider and wider.

"Family head."

Li Zhouwei lifted his head and saw Li Li Chenghuai blowing into the hall like a ghost, holding a jade slip in his hands, and said in a low voice: "Reporting to the family head, people from the Fei family have come, and there are two pieces of news."

Li Zhouwei took the jade slip recording the staff technique from his hands, reading it carefully while listening to Li Li Chenghuai's low report: "One is that the Fei family's old family head, Fei Tongyu, passed away a few days ago. He died while attempting to break through to Foundation Establishment. He had only been in seclusion for a few months before he died, and there were no major anomalies."

"The old... are inevitably stubborn."

With Fei Tongyu's broken body and shallow cultivation, attempting to break through to Foundation Establishment would inevitably lead to his demise; it was a matter that didn't need much thought. Fei Qingyi had written several letters to dissuade him, but in the end, she couldn't persuade the old man.

His death was like a grain of sand, causing only a ripple in the Fei family, and by the time it reached the lake, it had become a piece of news. Li Li Chenghuai did not linger and only said: "Fei Qingyi of the Fei family has already broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining, has come out of Hanyun Peak, and is waiting on the continent, hoping to contribute to the lake."

Li Zhouwei was short of people, so he nodded and said:

"Go to Jiangbei together."

Li Li Chenghuai retreated, and Li Zhouwei also read the jade slip in his hand roughly. Yuan Chengdun was indeed a genius; this set of "Green Mountain Subduing Demons" staff techniques probably reached the fourth grade and could already serve as a family heirloom for an ordinary aristocratic family.

The Dajiang was the water vein of the world, running through east and west, hence the division between north and south. Crossing the Dajiang to the north was the Jiangbei land of the Xu Kingdom, and the first to bear the brunt was the Baijiang land of the three sects of Mifan of Mount Xiaoshi.

Li Cheng rode the thunder and flew over the Baijiang. Looking up, to the north of the Baijiang was the Tangdao Mountain range of the Tangjin Sect, and the undulating mountain range could be vaguely seen.

To the east was the Bai Ye River land of the Bai Ye Capital Immortal Dao, covered by large hills, making it unclear. Behind the Bai Ye River was Chengshui Tomb, and further east was the Baihai River land of the Xuanmiao Temple, which had already reached the seaside.

If one flew higher, one could see that Jiangbei was divided by three water veins, from west to east: Baijiang, Bai Ye, and Baihai. Hearing Old Man Qu say it, these three rivers were once the same river, called the Huai River. When the heaven changed, the six prefectures sank into the sea, and the Huai River also changed and disappeared, leaving only these three rivers.

Li Cheng brought Qu Bushi and An Siwei to Fuyun Cave. The road was a mess, the population was naturally plundered clean, and the spirit rice was also ruined, leaving only bare spirit fields.

Until they landed in front of the mountain gate of Fuyun Cave, it was a low mountain, the formation had long been lifted, and there were collapsed bricks and stones everywhere. A few rats and rabbits with shallow cultivation were rustling in the abandoned courtyard. Qu Bushi led him forward familiarly and pointed:

"My lord, Fu Dou's immortal foundation is 'Wood Relying on Spring'. He fell on the mountain, and the grass and trees grew everywhere. It has only been a few months, but it looks like decades have passed."

An Siwei reached the top of the mountain, used the Listening and Investigating Earth Court to calculate a little, and praised:

"Jiangbei is indeed full of spiritual energy. No wonder every Foundation Establishment cultivator runs here. Just this one low mountain peak can actually support several Foundation Establishment cultivators to cultivate..."

Excluding the few places like Dense Forest, Zhijing, and Pingya that could support Zifu cultivation, the places that could support several Foundation Establishment cultivators were few and far between, only five out of the sixteen prefectures.

And this place's mountain was not high, and the earth vein was not thick, so it clearly couldn't be considered a famous mountain. Qu Bushi only said: "Returning to the protector, this Fuyun Cave land... there are many spirit fields, but most of them are hills, and not a single high mountain can be seen! Usually... the Foundation Establishment cultivators are scattered on the low mountains in the land... and there are no cultivators on the main mountain."

Li Cheng naturally knew that Fuyun Cave was actually not as centralized as the Jiangnan power, more like a Foundation Establishment alliance. Although the volume was large, it was empty and unbearable, each with their own thoughts, which was why they had no way to deal with Li Zhouwei, and why there was a situation where the general trend had gone and they fought over Fu Dou.

"This group of people divided the property and fled for their lives, which is cleaner."

Li Cheng sent Qu Bushi to investigate the land, An Siwei to survey the mountains, and let his own cultivators scatter to various places to occupy the land. This Fuyun land was about the size of the Xiao Xian of Wangyue Lake, but it was abandoned everywhere, and there were no commoners, so it looked empty.

After working for two or three days, they finally arranged the cultivators of various mountains and let them repair their residences themselves. There were no commoners here, one radish and one pit, so it was much easier to occupy.

After waiting for another half a day, his own fetal breath cultivators also arrived, running errands, farming, and gathering energy, a large crowd of nearly a hundred people. Li Cheng distributed them to the various Qi Refining subordinates, and the entire Fuyun land immediately came alive, and finally there were traces of cultivators coming and going.

Li Cheng was not a good hand at handling government affairs, but he could be considered quite capable. However, it took nearly half a month to set up the frame. It was also because Jiangbei's spiritual energy was prosperous, and the people below were very active. If it were a barren place, it would take several times longer.

His side had a place to land, and An Siwei also rode the wind back, landed in the mountains, and said softly:

"There are traces of demon objects in nine places in the Fuyun land. Six are small demons, and the people sent have already driven them away. Two have late-stage Qi Refining cultivation, and I have also removed them. Only one place seems to be the residence of a demon general. I don't know the background, so I sent an invitation, saying that he is in seclusion."

Li Cheng invited Qu Bushi to come. Although this old man had no experience in handling affairs, he was old enough, his experience was there, and he was very professional in surveying spirit fields. The progress was steady. Hearing An Siwei's words, he waved his hand:

"Let the master know, there is a demon dragon in the Baijiang, a figure among the dragon genus. He lived in the river years ago. Hearing that a dragon son passed through the Baijiang, he even had to send someone to ask him for questioning. It is not easy to offend..."

"He has late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation and is a very noble species. He was sealed as the King of the North Jin River. It is not just the Baijiang, the three rivers are all under his jurisdiction... It is just that the Baijiang is clearer, and the old man likes to live here..."

"And the one cultivating in the mountains is a snake demon, who recognized the one under the Baijiang as a foster father, so he is very majestic. When Fu Dou was here... he had to send gifts to him every year."

"It really has a background."

An Siwei did things very reassuringly and even sent an invitation. Li Cheng nodded secretly. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a woman land in the mountains again.

This woman was wearing a red dress with true fire patterns, a golden silk ribbon tied around her waist, and a golden cup in her slender hands, with a little red and white jumping in it. Li Cheng stood up to salute and smiled: "Eldest sister is here."

Li Minggong held the golden and bright 【Six-Corner Red Flame Cup】 in her hand, and the fluffy 【Pure Feather Li Fire】 emitting red and white brilliance was pointing in this lamp. Just lifting it up had already turned the thorns on the road into ash.

She smiled: "I came a step ahead, the family head will follow. I came to see if the younger brother's Fuyun Cave matter is finished?"

"Only the pacification of the demon objects is left."

Li Cheng responded and frowned: "Since he is in seclusion to cultivate, and my family is a Zifu immortal clan, it is fine if we don't provoke each other. My family is not short of that mountain, let him cultivate there."

"This..."

Qu Bushi was good at observing words and colors. After these few days of contact, he had long known the style of his master, and reminded:

"It's just... this demon snake is very fierce. Usually, he doesn't give Fu Dou face, and he comes to demand blood food every August... It's September now, he probably woke up early."

Li Cheng couldn't understand this meaning? Even Li Minggong raised her eyebrows, and Li Cheng said in a deep voice:

"Oh? That means he doesn't want to see my family?"

Li Minggong laughed:

"Whether he wants to see or not, not to mention that Zifu is here now, does he dare to say another word?"

Li Minggong said this, but in her heart she laughed at him even more: "Not to mention a dragon genus dependent who is separated by a generation, even if it is the dragon son himself... my family head has also talked and laughed, but it involves foxes and dragons, and the family cannot reveal it..."

When Li Zhouwei broke through, the dragon invited the snake to worship! Although the Li family was afraid of borrowing the dragon's power to provoke a bigger enemy and did not spread it in the sea, and their own aunt's life and death were unknown, they were even less willing to say more, but many old Zifu in Jiangnan knew about this. Otherwise, no matter how Li Zhouwei turned the tide, he would definitely not be able to hold on for more than ten years and would have been harmed long ago!

Li Cheng also understood and didn't care, only ordering: "But the invitation still has to be sent, at least meet him once. My family is going to migrate the population here. If he goes crazy one day... and goes out of the mountain to eat blood food, that is a matter that will cause lives!"

Li Cheng said this obscurely. Whether it was human lives or demon lives, it was really hard to say. Qu Bushi understood and smiled bitterly in his heart, euphemistically saying: "It is more important to pet the King of the North Jin River. This snake demon is just a reliance. I am afraid that the patterned tiger of the Dense Cloud Cave will take a step ahead and curry favor with this King of the North Jin River... My lake... will be sad..."