When Li Dalong emerged from Death-Stilling Heavenly Coffin.
The ordinary-looking coffin had turned a dazzling silver, mysterious patterns appearing across its surface.
Li Xiang didn't need Li Dalong to say a word; he could see the information about Death-Stilling Heavenly Coffin for himself!
[Death-Stilling Heavenly Coffin] [Rank: Supreme-grade Spirit Treasure] [Unsealed: First Layer!] [The owner of the first layer may open access to the Heavenly Coffin and battle its endless Qi Refining Realm zombies. Trial participants are undying and have an endless supply of true qi.] [Heavenly Coffin Corpse-Drivers can use the Heavenly Coffin Corpse-Driving Technique to place the bodies of the dead inside the Heavenly Coffin and refine them into zombies!]
"Holy shit!"
This was only the first layer of Death-Stilling Heavenly Coffin, yet its powerful functions still left Li Xiang stunned.
It was fair to say that once the family obtained this opportunity, they'd take off right where they stood!
"If I need to, I can bring out the Heavenly Coffin and use it too."
One day in the real world was a year in the game world. He could take it out and send it back to the Li Family on the very same day!
"Phew."
Li Xiang could even feel his heart pounding. This was a Supreme-grade Spirit Treasure! If it appeared in the real world, it would unleash a storm of blood and fury in an instant!
"Stay calm. Stay calm."
He forced down his excitement and managed to compose himself.
He watched as Li Dalong entered Death-Stilling Heavenly Coffin again, this time to challenge the second layer.
The space was just as pitch-black as before.
But this time.
Li Dalong faced a seemingly endless horde of Hopping Zombies!
These creatures had stronger bodies than the zombies before. They could even unleash black true qi and leap several meters into the air. Every single one of them possessed the strength of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
He hadn't been in there for long.
The Hopping Zombies had already overwhelmed Li Dalong. He'd died several times in barely a minute and had no choice but to withdraw from Death-Stilling Heavenly Coffin.
"Terrifying. Even a False Core cultivator might not be able to unlock the second layer!"
After emerging from the Heavenly Coffin,
Li Dalong was still shaken.
Ever since obtaining Death-Stilling Heavenly Coffin, the Li Family members had taken to lying inside it for a couple of days whenever they had nothing to do. Their combat experience kept growing.
[Li Family, Year 39.] [Your family has taken the lead in establishing the Ancestral Spirit Array at your family's stronghold!]
"So this is the power of the Ancestral Spirit Array Diagram?"
"Thank you for your blessing, Ancestor. With the Ancestral Spirit Array, our family has another trump card to deal with our enemies!"
"Even if a False Core expert breaks into our home, we can kill him with a single strike if the whole family joins forces!"
All the clan members had gathered inside the Ancestral Hall.
The ground was glowing. Mysterious ancient characters appeared across it, forming the diagram of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams.
At the same time,
spiritual power rose from everyone's bodies and converged on Li Dalong, who held his right hand aloft, forming a long sword as dazzling as the blazing sun!
This sword held the combined strength of all the Li Family members.
"Finally, it's done."
Li Xiang was delighted that they'd completed the Ancestral Spirit Array Diagram. And this was only Li Dalong gathering the strength of the clan.
Once the diagram was gradually carved across all of Zhien Village,
every person in Zhien Village would be able to pour their strength into the sword. Without a doubt, it would be the strongest way to protect the clan.
But that year's surprises weren't over yet.
[Bai Rourou gave birth to a son after ten months of pregnancy and named him Li Yunzhen.] [Incense +10]
The Li Family members were already kneeling in the ancestral hall, and Li Yaotie was bowing repeatedly with his chubby little son in his arms.
"Ancestor, thank you for your blessing! I've had four children now, hahaha! I'm going to have even more!"
Bai Rourou rolled her eyes at her husband. "You're the one who gave birth? It's all because my butt's big!"
"Hahaha!"
In an instant, the ancestral hall rang with laughter and cheerful voices.
Li Xiang couldn't help laughing too.
Come to think of it, Bai Rourou was a far better Li Family daughter-in-law than Qu Xiaoxiao had been.
Her personality was just as bold as her build, and she spoke her mind. The Li Family members had all come from the countryside, so they liked her even more for it. On top of that, Bai Rourou was hardworking and had gradually started helping out with the family's affairs as soon as she married in.
They said women were weak by nature, but Bai Rourou was different. When she heard that horse bandits had robbed people from Zhien Village while she was only just showing, she grabbed a pair of battle axes and went to settle the score. She captured the bandits from an entire stronghold and turned them over to the authorities in Tailin Town.
Li Xiang sped time up again.
He was ready to welcome the tenth-year sacrifice.
But the Li Family still had new surprises in store for him that year.
[Your descendant Li Yaoqing successfully refined Black Jade Intermittent Ointment!]
"Ancestor, Yaoqing finally did it!"
An ointment that could regrow severed limbs!
The stuff was pitch-black and came in a specially made little gourd.
"A genius!"
Li Xiang praised him from the bottom of his heart, then gave Li Yaoqing a dose of "Love from the Ancestor."
Perhaps Li Yaoqing had poor talent for cultivation.
But when it came to his aptitude for alchemy, he was an absolute genius. Alchemists were rare in the real world, but they did exist. They had formulas too, yet even with a formula, refining medicine was no easy feat.
It required using one's own spiritual energy to wash and refine the medicine, purging the impurities through multiple painstaking steps.
"Thank you for the reward, Ancestor. Yaoqing is going into seclusion. Once I reach the Foundation Establishment Realm and have Dantian Fire, I'll be able to try refining eighth-grade medicine!"
With that,
Li Yaoqing left the ancestral hall and headed to the training room to enter seclusion.
As Li Yaoqing went into seclusion, Li Yaotie came to the ancestral hall too.
"Ancestor, your child is going into seclusion as well. Once I have Dantian Fire, I'll be able to try refining this arm of mine!"
Li Yaotie grinned, showing his teeth.
The boy had always wanted to build a War Puppet, but he'd never figured out how. After all, the biotechnology involved in War Puppets was beyond Li Yaotie's understanding. But after he lost his arm and got a prosthetic, he began to have other ideas.
"So you're taking the path of mechanical ascension..."
Li Xiang raised an eyebrow. Still, he knew he was only joking. The most important parts of turning oneself into a machine were things like the chip. But Li Yaotie always came up with ideas that surprised people.
Like the equipment Li Yaotie forged... Its attributes were completely random...
The same forging process could produce two sets of Black Iron Beast Blood Armor with different attributes.
The two siblings had only just entered seclusion
when a torrent of true qi shot into the sky from the Li Family stronghold, its presence flaring into view.
[Your descendant Li Yaozu has successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and emerged from seclusion!] [After many years of seclusion, his spiritual roots transformed, and he shed his worst earth and fire roots.] [His Basic Sword Technique reached the pinnacle of mastery. Drawing on years of insight, he fused it with the Sword Technique "Sword Radiance" and comprehended the ordinary pinnacle sword art Hundred Shadow Sword Radiance!] [Class obtained—Swordsman!]
"Holy shit!"
Li Xiang slapped the table. Only then did he understand why Li Yaozu had been in seclusion for so many years.
The kid had been saving up a big move!
Comprehending a sword art of his own was enough to start a whole new school. His self-created sword art might only be an ordinary pinnacle technique, but self-created techniques and martial arts often let their creators unleash twice the power. In Li Yaozu's hands, this ordinary pinnacle sword art would probably reach the Yellow Rank!
Looking at Li Yaozu's spiritual roots, his strongest, the Wood Spirit Root, had risen all the way to 83 points.
"With the sword, I've established my heart. Ancestor, I understand now. From this day forward, I, Yaozu, will be the sword of the Li Family!"
Li Yaozu stood straight and tall.
Li Xiang was proud of the Li Family's eldest son. The boy had never been the most talented member of the family.
But because of his age, Li Yaozu had experienced more than anyone else. He was also more diligent than anyone else, which was why he could stay at the forefront despite having five spiritual roots.
Even nine-year-old Li Yunbing, who was terribly afraid of Li Yaozu, looked up to him and trained day and night.
As for Li Yunlin...
"What's this kid up to?"
Li Xiang suddenly remembered Li Yunlin, who had gone to cultivate at the Litian Sect, and clicked on his portrait.
Time had flown by. The stubborn child from back then had grown into a handsome young man.
But now...
He sat alone in a cave, meditating. A stone tablet stood at the entrance. Cliff of Reflection?
"Huh???"
Li Xiang scratched his head. Hadn't an elder of the Litian Sect taken a liking to this child?
How had he ended up in solitary confinement?
Wondering if Li Yunlin had gone to the wrong place, Li Xiang checked the map. It really was the Litian Sect. The sect was immense, occupying an entire mountain that soared into the clouds. Its exquisite palaces and jade towers made it a true abode of immortals beyond the mortal world.
[Li Yunlin (third-generation member)] [Realm: Peak sixth level of Qi Refining] [Techniques and martial arts: Litian Secret Canon (restricted), Basic Sword Technique, Wang Clan Body-Tempering Art, Gale Step...] [Trait: Humiliating Self-Proof]
Several years had passed, but Li Yunlin, who had hoped to advance his studies at the Litian Sect, had only risen by a single minor realm.
Puzzled, Li Xiang opened Li Yunlin's character history.
[Li Family, Year 35: Joined the Litian Sect.] [September of the same year: During a battle between the Litian Sect and the Xuanwu Sect, his master was killed.] [Li Family, Year 36: Demoted to an outer disciple.] [Year 37: He risked his life to recover his master's body and killed a disciple of the Xuanwu Sect, nearly sparking another war between the two sects. Punished with five years of meditation at the Cliff of Reflection.]
"..."
Li Xiang suddenly regretted letting Li Yunlin join the Litian Sect. He would've been better off cultivating with the Li Family!
But now,
Li Yunlin had joined the Litian Sect, and there wasn't much he could do. The Litian Sect had a Nascent Soul ancestor watching over it, after all!
"Forget it. Everyone has their own path to choose, and everyone's Fate is different. Li Yunlin, you'll have to fend for yourself."
Li Xiang shook his head and gave Li Yunlin another dose of "Love from the Ancestor."
At the Cliff of Reflection, Li Yunlin felt warmth spread through his body. He knew the sensation all too well. In an instant, his eyes reddened.
"Ancestor, are you watching over me from the heavens?"
"I don't regret it, Ancestor. I've never forgotten that I'm part of the Li Family."
"Please rest assured, Ancestor. I'll make a name for myself in the Litian Sect. I won't be any worse than Father!"
Li Xiang could only sigh and shake his head.
But soon, his gaze fixed on the techniques and martial arts listed under Li Yunlin's name.
"Litian Secret Canon? It's restricted? I wonder if I can..."
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