The next day.
Li Family Ancestral Hall.
The ancestral hall was solemn and dignified, and the air was thick with incense.
At the center of the hall stood the ancestral tablets and portraits of the family forebears. Li Haimo, dressed in a plain white robe and holding prayer beads, entered to preside over the ceremony.
More than twenty fourteen-year-old family disciples gathered around the center of the hall, bowing in reverence to the ancestors.
Clan Leader Li Haimo began to recite the prayer:
"Ancestors of generations past, revered father Mo Ran, I, your descendant Li Haimo, lead the heirs of the Li Clan. Today we come to pay our respects, seek good fortune, avert disaster, and beg your protection and compassion. May our ancestors shelter the family, guide us in managing our household, and grant that our line endure from generation to generation, flourishing without end."
The prayer drifted through the air as the mysterious ceremony slowly unfolded amid the heavy clouds of incense. Following the clan leader's lead, the descendants repeatedly called out their ancestors' names, expressing their reverence and longing for them.
At that moment, sunlight glimmered across the surface of the pond, as if heralding a response from the ancestors. Mournful music echoed through the ancestral hall, sending a chill through everyone.
That was how Cultivation Families were. Whenever something important happened, they held a ceremony in the ancestral hall. The hall was the spiritual heart of a family—it sprang from blood ties, yet stood above them.
After the ceremony, Li Shuidao and the other children bowed to the ancestors in farewell, then climbed into carriages bound for Black Mountain Five Poisons Sect.
A grand convoy of ten carriages rumbled away from the Li Family compound.
The more than twenty children were packed into three of the carriages, while the rest carried the goods Li Family was offering to Five Poisons Sect.
Li Shuidao lifted the curtain and looked outside the carriage.
He saw the Li Family gatekeeper and his two sons, standing obsequiously at the entrance to see their masters off.
Why were they so meek, never taking even a needle or thread from their masters?
Why were they willing to be slaves and servants, content to remain in bondage forever?
If they dared betray Li Family, its cultivators would go to their hometowns and slaughter everyone there.
Li Family, which likewise depended on Five Poisons Sect, was no different.
Once you joined Five Poisons Sect and entered the tutelage of a Spirit Refining Realm cultivator, you became that master's servant. You had to bow and scrape, flatter him, and curry his favor just to win his approval. Otherwise, you would work like an animal, and your master might not even pay you a single Moon Coin. Yet you wouldn't dare run away. You couldn't run away. All you could do was work without complaint.
Unless you stopped caring about your parents, your brothers and sisters, your children—even the entire Li Family.
Li Tianjue!
His was a name forbidden within the Li Clan, one no one dared to speak.
Li Shuidao knew about him because he had been unusually precocious. Two family elders had discussed the matter in private, never bothering to hide it from Li Shuidao when he was still a baby.
Fifty years ago, this man had killed the young master of Azure Sea Sect, seized an unknown treasure, and fled to live as a carefree rogue cultivator under an assumed name.
Li Tianjue had gotten away scot-free, but his actions had brought calamity down upon the Li Clan. Fortunately, he was shrewd enough to have his wife take their child and flee before he struck. He had also left the family a hint. The family knew he had brought disaster upon them. They couldn't hand over his immediate family to appease Azure Sea Sect's fury—and even if they did, it wouldn't sate the rage of its old ancestor. So they abandoned everything along the coast and sought the protection of Demonic Sect by joining Five Poisons Sect.
The Li Clan had not escaped unscathed. At least half its members had been wiped out by Azure Sea Sect.
Though Azure Sea Sect was an orthodox sect, it showed no mercy when dealing with a family that dared to betray it.
At least twenty thousand members of the Li Clan had died in that catastrophe.
The family had been devastated, and even now had yet to recover.
Monopolized resources, rigid social strata, love and family affection—all were chains that reinforced the system.
To tear it all apart, you either needed absolute coldness and ruthlessness, caring nothing for the lives of your loved ones, or overwhelming strength enough to rewrite the rules at will.
Li Shuidao lowered the curtain, his expression grave.
"Brother Shuidao, what's wrong? Is something the matter?" Seeing his grave expression, Li Shuilang broke the silence.
Only then did Li Shuidao realize how stern he looked. He had even soured the mood, so he forced a smile and shook his head. "It's nothing."
"You must be nervous about going to Five Poisons Cave," Li Shuilan said with a smile.
"I'm not." Li Shuidao waved a hand.
"Hahahaha... There's no need to be embarrassed. I'm nervous too," Li Haoze said with a hearty laugh.
Li Shuidao looked at Li Haoze and Li Shuilan, speechless. How could either of you be nervous?
"We have Doctor Tianliang with us. What's there to fear from little bugs like geckos and toads?" Li Shuiting said with a smile.
"Bah! Back then, when a centipede crawled into your clothes, you nearly pulled your pants down in front of everyone." Li Shuilang mercilessly teased his own little sister.
"Brother!"
Li Haoze chimed in. "That's right. The doctor told us long ago that those poisonous insects have only just begun to cultivate into demons. Once we enter, as long as we don't move around and let the demon insects choose for themselves, there won't be any danger."
Li Yijun nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Ever since we set out, the doctor's been reminding us about this. We absolutely mustn't move around. We have to let our Spirit Companion choose us."
"Ah... What if a toad chooses me?" Li Shuilan said, frowning miserably.
"Then you'll just have to accept it! Five Poisons Cave is no ordinary place. We're only mortals, and everything in there is a first-tier demon insect. One bite is enough to poison us to death, without even giving us a chance to use an antidote. And you still want to choose for yourself?"
"Exactly. We're lucky just to be able to cultivate. Which Spirit Companion suits us is up to fate. Besides, each of the Five Poisons has its own strengths; none is stronger or weaker than the others," Li Shuilang added.
"That's not the same! The doctor once said that although their venom-based Divine Abilities are broadly similar, their second Divine Abilities are completely different. If a centipede is your Spirit Companion, with its hundred legs and affinity for wood and wind, you'll move swiftly. That'll be a huge advantage, whether you're escaping or fighting."
"Geckos can shed their tails and grow them back. If we have a gecko for a Spirit Companion, we'll gain the ability to heal. After a fight, as long as we still have a breath left, we can recover naturally no matter how badly we're injured."
"The venomous scorpion tail needle. If it's your Spirit Companion, you'll become skilled with poisoned needles, Flying Knives, and hidden weapons. At a low level of cultivation, that's truly the best choice."
"Brother Haoze, what are the advantages of snakes and toads?" Li Shuiting asked curiously.
"Little sister Shuiting, you usually spend the lessons playing around instead of listening. A snake makes you more flexible."
"Wouldn't that overlap with the centipede?"
"It's different. A centipede moves straight ahead, swift as the wind, while a snake is supple and more agile in a confined space. If a woman has a snake for a Spirit Companion, she'll be as lithe and boneless as a slippery loach. In close combat, she can twist and turn so deftly that her enemies won't even touch the hem of her clothes."
"What about the toad?"
"You gain the Water Breath Technique, so you can stay underwater for as long as you like," Li Haoze replied.
"So centipedes, snakes, and scorpions are all pretty powerful," Li Shuiting said with a frown.
"Isn't a gecko's ability to regrow its limbs powerful too?"
"It is, but first you have to make it back alive. And if you can do that, you could just have a physician reattach the limb. There's no need to heal it yourself."
"What about the toad's Water Breath Technique?"
"Big brother! Black Mountain is inland, with mountains everywhere. Where would you find water?"
"Well... There should still be a few ponds, I guess."
"Come on, even if there are, they won't reach past your knees."
"Exactly. Of the Five Poisons, the toad is the most useless!"
"I've heard that most of the experts in Five Poisons Sect have snakes, scorpions, or centipedes for Spirit Companions. Those with geckos usually become physicians. I've never heard of a single expert in the top ten of the Earth Ranking with a toad," Li Haoze said, scratching his head.
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