Ambush

Li Cunliu kept Li Qianqing behind mainly to instruct him that he needed to keep a lower profile in the future.

She placed particular emphasis on his Alchemy Talent.

Once Li Qianqing grew up, he would be of immense help to the Li Family. Li Cunliu did not want to see such an outstanding junior die halfway through his journey.

Li Qianqing listened very seriously to Li Cunliu's reminders.

On the very day Li Qianqing returned, he left Changqing Mountain again.

Leaving with him were Li Dizhong of the Di Generation and Li Liling of the Li Generation. The former had entered the Qi Refining Ninth Layer two years ago, while the latter had been in the Qi Refining Seventh Layer for quite some time.

Li Liling ranked sixth among the Li Generation cultivators.

Li Dizhong ranked third among the Di Generation cultivators and was somewhat younger than Li Ditu.

Li Ditu was now past seventy, while Li Dizhong was nearing seventy. Though he had already reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, his advanced age meant that without the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill, his chances of successfully achieving Foundation Establishment were close to zero. Even with one, his chances were not high.

Sixth Aunt Li Liling, according to the Lineage's previous rate of development, could not possibly reach the Qi Refining Ninth Layer Peak before turning sixty.

But things were different now. The Li Family's next great crisis would also be an opportunity. If handled well, the Li Family could obtain more cultivation resources.

With more resources, there would be more to distribute.

Whether Li Dizhong or Li Liling, both were cultivators with Three Spiritual Roots. Among the Li Family's Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivators, those with Three Spiritual Roots were the most numerous, followed by those with Four Spiritual Roots, while those with Dual Spiritual Roots were the fewest.

At present, the Li Family had only one Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivator with a Dual Spiritual Root: Li Lilong.

Li Lilong was now at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer. By his calculations, twenty years later, he would make his first breakthrough. If the next crisis was handled well, Li Lilong's first breakthrough would certainly come earlier.

For the time being, Li Qianqing had not considered whether Li Lilong could lend him a hand during his first breakthrough. In any case, his second breakthrough would succeed, only five years apart.

Sometimes, help was not necessarily a good thing.

Failing a breakthrough, then succeeding in another attempt within five years—and without using a Foundation Establishment Pill—showed that Li Lilong's gains over those five years had been considerable.

Changle Mountain.

After the three climbed the mountain, they went straight to Li Ditu's residence.

"Second Brother."

"Second Uncle."

"Dizhong, Little Ling, I more or less guessed you would come." Li Ditu invited the three inside first.

Li Qianqing listened from the side. After the elders reminisced about old times, they began discussing how to deal with the Loose Cultivators.

Li Dizhong relayed the Patriarch's arrangements and explained to Li Ditu that this had been Li Qianqing's idea.

They had also brought a small First-Grade High-Quality Mist Cloud Array.

The Mist Cloud Formation was a type of Bewildering Formation. As a First Order High-Grade spiritual array, it was difficult for Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivators to break it in a short time—unless there was also a Formation Master among the Loose Cultivators.

Compared to alchemists and Artifact Refiners, Formation Masters were even rarer.

It was almost impossible for Formation Masters to become Loose Cultivators. They could thrive in any faction, and most cultivation factions welcomed Formation Masters with open arms.

Compared with miniature spiritual arrays, small spiritual arrays covered a much wider area. Setting one up along the only route up Changle Mountain would produce excellent results.

Once Li Cunlan had Passed Away, the Loose Cultivators would rush to Changle Mountain at top speed upon receiving the news.

The route they spoke of was a place the Loose Cultivators would definitely pass through.

Unless the Loose Cultivators had holes in their brains, they would choose to climb the cliffside.

If they truly did not trust Li Qianbao, they might as well not come at all.

"After setting up the spiritual array, it would be best to choose nighttime."

"Mm. That would better fit the time the traitor would send word."

The incident had happened at night, so naturally, they would also choose nighttime to send the message.

Once they had decided, they began setting up the First-Grade High-Quality Mist Cloud Array.

The array plate and array flags for the Mist Cloud Formation were ready-made. The Formation Master had already imprinted the array's mysteries into them. Even laymen could complete the setup simply by following the instructions and expending a certain amount of spirit stones. If a Formation Master operated it personally, the effect would be even better, the Bewildering Formation's transformations more varied, and the energy consumption somewhat lower.

Using the ready-made array plate and array flags, they did not spend much time setting up the First-Grade High-Quality Mist Cloud Array.

Next came the arrangements for the other cultivators of Changle Mountain.

All Mid-Stage Qi Refining Li Clan Cultivators on Changle Mountain had to participate in the battle. Those in the Early-Stage Qi Refining, aside from handling their own work, also had to help other clan cultivators complete their daily tasks today.

During the time Li Qianqing had returned to Changqing Mountain and then come back, the three mu of Rank 1 Low-Grade Spiritual Fields under his care had naturally been tended by other Li Family cultivators.

Nightfall.

Three Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivators and six Mid-Stage Qi Refining Li Family cultivators were ready. The Mid-Stage Qi Refining cultivators included Li Qianqing and Li Qianyin.

There were six Mid-Stage Qi Refining cultivators on Changle Mountain in total.

Most of the Li Family's strength was on Changqing Mountain. Aside from the Patriarch being on Changqing Mountain, Changqing Mountain also had the most Li Family cultivators in all three levels of the Qi Refining stage.

"Second Grandfather, should be about time, right?" Seeing that night had fallen, Li Qianyin immediately urged him.

What came next would be the first true battle of her life.

She would finally have the chance to put many of the combat theories she had learned into actual battle.

Li Ditu glanced at Li Qianyin. "Little girl, what are you rushing for? You may not even get a chance to fight later."

Though he said that, Li Ditu took out the Sound Transmission Talisman he had obtained from Li Qianbao's corpse, fabricated the message he wanted to send word for word, then sealed it within the talisman.

Before long, the Sound Transmission Talisman had been used.

Li Qianyin was brimming with excitement at the battle about to arrive.

Li Qianqing remembered that Li Qianyin's combat talent was quite good. Otherwise, in his previous life, she would not have so easily beaten him flat.

At that time, there had been gaps between the two of them in every respect.

The Sound Transmission Talisman turned into a stream of light invisible to the naked eye and flew into the distance at tremendous speed.

A Sound Transmission Talisman of this level could only be intercepted by cultivators in the Core Formation stage at the very least.

In a concealed area more than four hundred li from Changle Mountain.

This was where the Loose Cultivators stayed.

"There's news! Li Cunlan of Changle Mountain has already Passed Away! That brat Li Qianbao really pulled it off."

The bearded Loose Cultivator saw the Sound Transmission Talisman stop before him and immediately received it. Upon obtaining the news, he was overjoyed.

The bearded Loose Cultivator was named Qiu Peichang. He was the leader and boss of this band of Loose Cultivators. His cultivation had only just entered the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, yet the group he led could still be considered notable among the Loose Cultivators of Xiangshui Prefecture.

"Boss, time waits for no one. We need to act quickly. Once cultivators from the Li Family's Changqing Mountain return to take charge, we won't have another chance."

Inside the large house, aside from Qiu Peichang, there was also Ying Wanfeng, the second-ranking figure among this group of Loose Cultivators.

Ying Wanfeng was at the Late-Stage Qi Refining Seventh Layer and one of only two Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivators in this group.

A typical band of Loose Cultivators in Xiangshui Prefecture had two or three Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivators. In that regard, many Qi Refining stage cultivation families were much the same as them.