Integrating Forces

Li Xiangping watched Si Yuanbai ride the Flying Shuttle into the horizon, then rose and picked up the Wooden Slip on the table. Undoing the cloth strip around it, he spread it open and read.

"Azure Origin Nurturing Wheel Method, first grade."

He skimmed through it. This was a cultivation method for the Embryonic Breath Realm. As he frowned over the text, he heard Li Tongya give a soft cry of surprise. "This breathing art only requires daily breathing exercises; there is no need to refine moonlight?"

"Of course, it cannot compare to that Mirror... our clan's cultivation art."

Li Xiangping had been about to mention the Mirror Fragment, but feared Si Yuanbai might return, so he changed his words.

"Is that Si Yuanbai truly some peak master of the Green Pool Sect? Letting Jing Er go off with him just like that seems rather hasty."

Li Tongya spoke with a bitter smile.

"What choice did we have? If he were some evil cultivator, he could simply have abducted him. Why waste his breath arguing with us and leave behind cultivation arts and proof?"

Li Xiangping nodded and picked up the second Wooden Slip from the table. Opening it, he read, "Heaven Origin Qi Refining Art, a cultivation method for the Qi Refining Realm, second grade."

Li Tongya picked up another one and read on his own.

"Li Xia Secret Note."

After reading several more lines, delight appeared on his face. He said to Li Xiangping, "This secret note records much common knowledge of cultivation, the distribution of powers in Li Xia County, and trading markets for Rogue Cultivators. It is precisely what we need most right now."

Li Xiangping took the Wooden Slip and looked it over, answering thoughtfully, "So cultivation methods are divided into nine grades, with first grade being the lowest and ninth grade the best. Arts, pills, and artifacts correspond to one's realm. I only wonder what grade our clan's cultivation art is."

Seeing his younger brother engrossed in the secret note, Li Tongya picked up the pale green Jade Seal left behind by Si Yuanbai and silently channeled his dharma power into it.

"Under the Governance of Green Pool."

Several pale golden characters immediately appeared upon the Jade Seal. They slowly faded away, replaced by a bright white character for "Li" and a small map.

"Li Jing Village, Li Chuankou, Jingyang Village, Li Daokou."

Li Mutian narrowed his eyes and identified them for a while, reading out the names of the villages one by one. These Four Villages were precisely those Si Yuanbai had mentioned, stretching from Gu Li Road to the foot of Great Li Mountain.

"With the Green Pool Immortal Sect to rely on, our Li Clan now has sufficient strength. There is no need to hide any longer. We can cultivate our power openly and honorably!"

"These villages belong to the Li Clan now."

Li Xiangping, who had been reading with his head lowered, suddenly looked up and spoke calmly.

"We begin tomorrow night."

Chen Erniu rose early in the morning and saw the Li Clan's Tenants darting from one end of the village to the other like fish, going door to door to gather people.

"Auntie Li! Tell Brother Li that after he gets out of the fields tonight, he should head behind the village. Uncle Tian has important matters to discuss!"

"Ah! All right..."

"Brother Liu! The Li Clan invites you..."

The village was thrown into an uproar, chickens flapping and dogs barking, everyone filled with questions. At last, dusk arrived, and Chen Erniu hurried behind the village as soon as he had finished dinner.

As one of the foremost great households in the village, the Li Clan held enormous influence. Chen Erniu looked up and saw that every large and small household in the village had arrived. Even Xu Wenshan, the middle-aged leader of the refugees from several years ago, stood respectfully behind Li Xiangping.

"Damn it, I'm late."

Chen Erniu cursed under his breath. Xu Wenshan had now become one of the Li Clan's Tenants as well. He spoke pleasantly and knew how to conduct himself, gathering more than ten refugee households together for mutual support. He had already begun to replace Chen Erniu as the leader of the Tenants, making Chen Erniu grit his teeth in fury.

He looked around but did not see Li Mutian. Instead, Li Xiangping stepped forward and spoke with a smile. "My apologies for disturbing everyone. However, I have good news to share with you all."

Seeing everyone Listen Attentively, Li Xiangping continued, "Last night, an immortal from the Green Pool Immortal Sect passed through this place. Seeing that my younger brother Li Chijing possessed exceptional talent, he accepted him and took him to the immortal mountain to study immortal arts."

The words struck like a huge boulder cast into a placid lake, leaving the entire gathering stunned. Everyone looked at one another, staring blankly at Li Xiangping as though listening to a tale.

"Congratulations."

It was Han Wenxu, the teacher, who let out a long sigh and called out his congratulations.

Han Wenxu had come from the city and was widely experienced. When he heard Li Xiangping mention the Green Pool Immortal Sect, he knew the matter was almost certainly true. Jing Er most likely possessed a spiritual aperture and had been taken away by a cultivator of the Green Pool Sect.

"Each person has their own fate."

Han Wenxu murmured softly, then spoke on Li Xiangping's behalf.

"For Chi Jing to enter an immortal sect is a blessing for the entire village."

Han Wenxu had lived in the village for more than twenty years, practicing medicine to save lives and teaching others to resolve their doubts. He had long since become an authority in the village. Once he spoke, Li Xiangping's words gained some credibility. Still, most of the villagers could not help whispering among themselves.

Li Xiangping remained calm. He displayed a Jade Seal in his hand, and under the urging of dharma power, four glittering golden characters appeared.

"Under the Governance of Green Pool."

"An immortal!"

At the sight of this immortal method, the crowd erupted in an uproar. Many people dropped to their knees and kowtowed repeatedly, shouting loudly. Chen Erniu was likewise startled, gazing upward in uncertain astonishment.

Once the character "Li" had fully appeared, Li Xiangping put away the Jade Seal. Looking over the crowd below, he declared, "That immortal also bestowed immortal arts upon us and commanded the Li Clan to guard Li Jing Village, Li Chuankou, Jingyang Village, Li Daokou, and the other villages."

As he spoke, he gave a light squeeze with his palm. Dazzling golden light emerged from his hand. With a gentle flick of his wrist, the golden light whistled away into the rolling forests. A boom rang out, startling flocks of birds into flight.

The moment he displayed the Golden Light Art, people below fell to their knees in a clatter. Even Liu Linfeng, head of the Liu Family, knelt trembling, staring blankly at him.

"There is no need for this, everyone. We are relatives and neighbors; Xiang Ping cannot accept such courtesy."

Li Xiangping looked down at the kneeling crowd, yet remained as unmoving as a mountain as he spoke indifferently.

Hearing Li Xiangping's voice, Chen Erniu pressed his head tightly to the ground. Beyond his shock, his thoughts were in utter turmoil. Only a few words remained in his mind.

The heavens are about to change.

Li Tongya slowly emerged from Li Chuankou. Behind him, Li Yesheng held a piece of cloth in one hand and a charcoal pencil in the other, awkwardly recording something.

"Li Chuankou suffered that drought more than twenty years ago and has yet to recover. There are only a little over a hundred households now. It is truly pitiable."

As he walked, Li Tongya turned his head and spoke to Li Yesheng.

"Brother, we have dealt with the great households in Li Chuankou and redistributed the land evenly. The villagers no longer have rent to pay, and this ten-percent field tax is very light!"

Li Yesheng answered respectfully. He put away the charcoal pencil in his hand and passed it to the villager following behind them, then bowed and spoke softly.

"In the end, we must send someone to manage affairs here. But among the legitimate and collateral branches of our Li Clan, we truly have no one who has studied reading and writing and can be put forward."

"There is no need to worry."

Li Tongya waved a hand. Under Li Yesheng's envious gaze, he formed a hand seal for the Clean Clothes Art and brushed the dust from his body. Then he answered unhurriedly, "Father and Xiang Ping will make arrangements."