Liu Family Ancestral Land

Liu Yuanchen was somewhat surprised. His full-force strike had actually failed to work; this man was no weakling.

Before the black-robed man could cast a spell, he closed in.

A yellow talisman suddenly appeared in the black-robed man's hand. With a flash of silver light, a small silver sword burst forth from it.

Liu Yuanchen hurriedly dodged. He avoided the direct thrust, but the little sword still slashed into his abdomen at an angle.

The black-robed man laughed loudly. "Liu Yuanchen, you were hit by a first-rank high-grade Silver Sword Talisman. You're dead for sure.

"Liu Qingsong, don't even think about surviving today."

After being struck, Liu Yuanchen felt a burning pain in his abdomen.

But the circulation of his blood and spiritual power was not noticeably affected, and he rushed forward again.

The black-robed man failed to evade in time and took a solid punch to the face.

The bamboo hat on his head shattered. Azure smoke swirled beneath his feet, and he retreated at extreme speed.

"Cough, cough..." Only after opening a distance of more than twenty zhang did the black-robed man spit out a mouthful of blood, along with half a back tooth.

Liu Yuanchen was astonished. He had launched a full-force surprise attack at close range, yet he had only knocked out one of the man's teeth.

He had some brute strength, but he lacked offensive methods.

The only spells he had mastered were Wood-Shadow Evasion, Entangling Art, Azure Thorn Art, and Sweet Rain Art.

Wood-Shadow Evasion allowed him to hide within the shadows of vegetation. Once mastered to perfection, it could even evade Divine Sense to a certain extent.

Entangling Art barely counted as an offensive method, but it merely controlled vines.

Azure Thorn Art and Sweet Rain Art were both spells needed to tend Spirit Fields. Azure Thorn Art condensed spiritual power into thorn-like rays that could kill field pests without harming spirit plants.

As for Sweet Rain Art, it used wood-attributed spiritual power to draw in moisture and bring down sweet rain.

It could bolster the vitality of vegetation, cure plant ailments, and even improve yields somewhat.

Unfortunately, none of these methods possessed much offensive power.

When he had the chance later, he needed to cultivate one or two offensive techniques.

He sensed the wound on his abdomen. The Vine Armor, woven from two interlaced layers of Azure Silk Vine, had been cut open by the Silver Sword Talisman, leaving a five-inch-long gash.

However, the Vine Armor had also blocked most of the Silver Sword Talisman's power.

The abdominal wound was shallow, only about half an inch deep. Still, quite a bit of blood had flowed, leaving a palm-sized dark-red stain on his Daoist robe.

He poured spiritual power into the vines, causing them to continue growing. The Vine Armor soon returned to normal.

His strength was lacking, and the black-robed man was now on guard. Attacking again would be unlikely to achieve anything and might even get him killed.

Liu Yuanchen used Wood-Shadow Evasion again, fleeing several dozen zhang eastward and keeping his distance from all the rogue cultivators.

If things turned bad, he could run at any time.

Liu Qingsong sneered. "Chen Changming, so it was you.

"All of you fellow cultivators saw it. What this man used just now was the Chen Household's Azure-Smoke Evasion.

"The conflict between my Liu Family and the Chen Household is something you all know about. You have fallen for the Chen Household's scheme to kill with a borrowed blade."

"I'll say it again: my Liu Family only purchased a few spirit talismans. We have nothing else."

Upon hearing this, the rogue cultivators all halted. The greed in their eyes vanished.

They did not flee. Instead, they looked as though they intended to watch the show.

Seeing that the rogue cultivators had begun to waver, Liu Qingsong forcefully threw more than twenty Spirit Stones toward the rear of the ship. "This conflict was stirred up by the Chen Household.

"My Liu Family bears no grudge against you fellow cultivators. Please show us some mercy.

"Consider these Spirit Stones travel expenses for you all."

The moment they saw the Spirit Stones, the rogue cultivators lost all interest in watching the spectacle and each used their own methods to scramble for them.

Once they dispersed, Chen Changming was the only one left blocking the way.

Rogue cultivators were a disorganized rabble to begin with. With shared interests driving them, they could still be put to use.

Now that there was no common interest, they could no longer be gathered together.

He pointed at Liu Yuanchen. "The plan had been flawless, yet this brat ruined it.

"You actually cultivated Wood-Shadow Evasion to the point of completely concealing your form. Even this old man's Divine Sense could not fully lock onto you.

"I am curious how you managed to withstand my Silver Sword Talisman."

Liu Yuanchen felt that Chen Changming was even somewhat stronger than his own second uncle. Even if he joined forces with his second uncle, it would be difficult to keep the man here.

If he did not fool him, word of him taking the Silver Sword Talisman head-on might be exaggerated beyond belief.

It was hard to say how much influence that would have, but it would ultimately be troublesome.

With that in mind, he pulled several snapped vine strands from the tear in his Daoist robe.

"I hid a few vines on my body. Your Silver Sword Talisman happened to strike the vines."

Chen Changming did not doubt him. Perhaps he thought Liu Yuanchen had the temperament of a youth and liked to show off.

He sighed. "What an unjust defeat."

With that, his entire body turned into a wisp of azure smoke and vanished into the reed marsh.

Liu Yuanchen returned to the ship, and Liu Qingsong took out a packet of medicinal powder. "This is Blood-Staunching Powder. Hurry and apply it to the wound."

Liu Yuanchen did as instructed. This Blood-Staunching Powder was quite effective.

The wound had been slowly seeping blood, but only a few breaths after he scattered the dark-red powder over it, the bleeding stopped.

More than ten breaths later, the wound began to scab over.

Liu Yuanchen relaxed. "Second Uncle, I got dragged into this mess without knowing why and nearly lost my life.

"If not for my Wood-Shadow Evasion, with your methods, it would probably have been difficult for you to expose Chen Changming.

"You have to put in a good word about my contribution to the family head and the others.

"I do not ask for much. Compensation and reward together should amount to several dozen Spirit Stones at least, right?"

Liu Qingsong took out sixteen Spirit Stones and secretly slipped them into Liu Yuanchen's sleeve.

"Don't worry. Your second uncle won't steal your credit.

"This time, I lost a packet of Blood-Staunching Powder and more than fifty Spirit Stones. I'll have to seek compensation from the family head as well."

Liu Yuanchen was somewhat surprised. His second uncle looked stern and humorless, yet he was quite skilled at inflating losses.

He had thrown out just over twenty Spirit Stones, yet he would report more than fifty.

The extra thirty-odd stones would be split evenly between the two of them.

Although there were two family juniors steering the ship, they had remained inside the cabin and did not dare show their faces. They had no idea how many Spirit Stones Liu Qingsong had actually thrown out.

Feeling the Spirit Stones inside his sleeve, Liu Yuanchen felt much better.

As long as the price was right, what did losing a little blood matter?

Liu Qingsong acted to clear away the large trees blocking the route, and the cargo ship continued onward.

The storage pouch and magical artifact of that burly rogue cultivator had both fallen into his hands.

When it came to picking up spoils, the first to act had the advantage.

And since Liu Yuanchen had taken payment from him, he was too embarrassed to ask for them.

The cargo ship moved slowly onward. After passing through the marshland, the river ahead became much more normal.

Though it was still narrow, there were no longer any twisting bends, and the cargo ship could proceed at full speed.

More than an hour later, several low mountains appeared ahead.

The mountains were lush with vegetation, utterly out of place amid the surrounding red desert.

At this moment, even Liu Qingsong's breathing became much more relaxed.

His face broke into a smile. "We finally reached Dongyang Lake. Along the way, I hardly dared breathe."

Liu Yuanchen did not care much. "What exactly was it that made you so nervous?"

Liu Qingsong smiled. "Nothing much. Just a few talismans left behind by ancient cultivators. I don't know how much power they have left."

Naturally, Liu Yuanchen did not believe him. If they really were talismans from ancient cultivators, he would never reveal it so easily.

Then he heard Liu Qingsong's Divine Sense transmission. "The ancient cultivator talismans are only a cover. They are actually two Blood Jade Pills."

As a disciple of the Azure Elixir Sect, Liu Yuanchen naturally knew of Blood Jade Pills. They were auxiliary pills for Qi-Nourishing Realm cultivators breaking through to the Sea of Qi Realm.

The spiritual power of Qi-Nourishing Realm cultivators was gaseous, while that of Sea of Qi Realm cultivators was liquid.

The process of breaking through was the conversion of gaseous spiritual power into liquid spiritual power.

During this process, one used vital blood as a vessel and Divine Sense as external pressure to gradually compress spiritual power.

Once vital blood was insufficient, the vessel could no longer contain the spiritual power. A massive amount of spiritual power would erupt instantly, bursting a cultivator's meridians and dantian.

At that point, death was highly likely. Even in the best-case scenario, one would become crippled.

The purpose of the Blood Jade Pill was to replenish the power of vital blood, preventing insufficient vital blood from failing to suppress spiritual power.

Breaking through to the Sea of Qi Realm also required pills to replenish Divine Sense, pills to protect the meridians, and pills to replenish pure spiritual power.

Blood Jade Pills alone were far from enough.

A single Blood Jade Pill was worth less than a thousand Spirit Stones.

Such strategic resources were rarely sold on the market, but a few occasionally appeared at auctions held by the Myriad Treasures Trading Association in Azure Elixir City.

Breaking through to the Sea of Qi Realm was indeed extremely dangerous, but so long as one had sufficient Divine Sense, vital blood, and spiritual power, the success rate was not low.

These auxiliary spirit medicines were simply prepared for cultivators whose own foundations were insufficient.

Liu Yuanchen had no interest whatsoever in Blood Jade Pills. With the Heaven-Reaching Divine Wood Technique and the Blessed Land Embryo, he had no need to worry about vital blood or spiritual power.

"I thought it was something valuable. It's just this?"

Liu Qingsong's expression stiffened, then he accepted it and transmitted, "True. To you, this thing is merely a somewhat precious candy pill.

"You are only at the fifth level of the Qi-Nourishing Realm, yet your vital blood already does not fall short of mine.

"By the time you reach the Peak Qi-Nourishing Realm, your vital blood will probably rival that of some Early Sea of Qi Realm cultivators.

"When you break through, you will not need to replenish vital blood at all."

In the blink of an eye, the cargo ship had arrived at the foot of the mountains.

There was a gap between the two mountains ahead, and the Qingshui River flowed through it.

Beyond the gap lay a small lake more than ten li in diameter. This was the Liu Family Ancestral Land—Dongyang Lake.

The lake water was emerald green, like a piece of jade set amid numerous small hills.

Besides the Qingshui River, several streams also flowed into the small lake.

Vegetation flourished along both banks of the streams.

They were like several azure dragons guarding Dongyang Lake, a jewel of green jade.

The mountain directly north of Dongyang Lake was the tallest, and it was called Eastsun Peak.

A second-rank low-grade Spirit Vein passed through Dongyang Lake and Eastsun Peak, with a Spirit Nexus in both the lake and the mountain.

The lake water was rich in spiritual energy. With the lake water for irrigation, the Liu Family had opened up many Spirit Fields along its shores.

The Liu Family's pillar industry was the sale of various spirit plants, all supported by the Spirit Fields beside the lake.

Though they were in the same line of business as the Azure Elixir Sect, resources on the Red Wasteland were scarce, and all kinds of spirit materials were in short supply. There was not much competition.

The cargo ship carrying Liu Yuanchen docked at a small ferry crossing at the foot of Eastsun Peak.

Before the ship had even fully stopped, Liu Qingsong leaped down from the bow and ran up the mountain.

Because Eastsun Peak had a Spirit Nexus of a second-rank Spirit Vein, the Liu Family's upper ranks all lived on the mountain.

Even the family's important institutions were located there.

Liu Qingsong had rushed off in such a panic because he was naturally going to report the completion of his assignment.

Liu Yuanchen was still waiting for the family's reward and compensation, so he did not wish to leave just yet. He waited at the docks.

Before long, a clansman came down from Eastsun Peak with a message telling him to go to the Affairs Hall.

The Affairs Hall was where the family's upper ranks handled daily affairs, and an elder was always on duty there.

Liu Yuanchen climbed Eastsun Peak. Though this mountain was the highest peak around Dongyang Lake, it was only around fifty zhang tall.

At the summit was a gently sloping area about one li across, covered in various buildings. The Affairs Hall was there as well.

The so-called Affairs Hall was merely a small courtyard.

Liu Yuanchen pushed open the gate and entered. The small courtyard was laid out as a single-entry quadrangle, with a main house and east and west wing rooms.

A deep, powerful voice came from the main house. "Yuan Chen, come in."

Liu Yuanchen entered the main house and saw a desk and a grandmaster's chair inside.

A lean cultivator in his forties sat in the chair, while Liu Qingsong stood to one side.

Liu Yuanchen cupped his hands. "Yuan Chen greets the Great Elder."

This burly man was Liu Qingming, the Liu Family's Great Elder, its second most important figure, and fourth in birth order.

He nodded slightly. "You deserve great credit for safely bringing back the Blood Jade Pills this time.

"Second Brother said that you have cultivated your Wood-Shadow Evasion to the level of perfection?"

Liu Yuanchen replied, "Within the Azure Elixir Sect, I have always guarded the Spirit Fields on Yujin Mountain. There was not much to do, so I had plenty of time to cultivate Wood-Shadow Evasion.

"After several years, I finally brought Wood-Shadow Evasion to its current level."

Over the past few years, he had never relaxed his cultivation of Wood-Shadow Evasion.

After all, whether he could win a fight was unimportant. Staying alive was what mattered most.

Although his Wood-Shadow Evasion was fairly proficient, it was far from the level of perfection.

His ability to become completely invisible in the shadows of vegetation and evade Divine Sense to some extent should have been the augmentation of his cultivation technique.

Liu Qingming's face was full of approval. "Not bad. Sixth Brother wrote in his letter that you also learned alchemy and can refine Spirit-Restoring Pills approaching good quality?"

Liu Yuanchen answered truthfully, "That is indeed the case. At present, I can only refine Grain-Banishing Pills and Spirit-Restoring Pills."

The satisfaction on Liu Qingming's face deepened. "The family's main business is cultivating all kinds of spirit plants. Although we have focused on training Alchemy Masters over the years, we have achieved little.

"To this day, the family does not have a single second-rank Alchemy Master.

"Since you possess such talent, you must work hard.

"Once you become a second-rank Alchemy Master, the family's annual income can increase by over a thousand Spirit Stones."

"You rendered merit this time. What reward do you want?"

Liu Yuanchen's heart stirred. This was exactly what he had been waiting for.

However, he still intended to play hard to get. "Doing things for the family is only my duty. I dare not ask for a reward."

Liu Qingming waved his hand. "Merit must be rewarded, and faults must be punished. Only then can people's hearts be settled.

"Tell me what reward you want. So long as the clan rules permit it, I will do my best to arrange it."

His words sounded nice enough, but the main branch held the authority to interpret the clan rules.

Whether the clan rules permitted it or not was ultimately up to him.

Liu Yuanchen stopped playing dumb. "I heard that Salt Marsh has been targeted by a pack of Red Sand Wolves. My father and elder brother are both over there.

If the Red Sand Wolves strike again, their lives will be in danger as well. I hope the Grand Elder can transfer my father and elder brother somewhere safer."

Liu Qingming fell silent for a moment. "The family is short on cultivators; every place needs more hands.

After the Red Sand Wolves attacked Salt Marsh, several more cultivators were transferred there to stand guard.

If we transfer your third brother away now, it will surely cause dissatisfaction among the other clansmen. This matter must be handled slowly.

But your elder brother is only an ordinary person, so that is easy enough.

The family plans to open up more Spirit Fields around Dongyang Lake. Safety will not be an issue.

We can transfer your elder brother there first and have him lend a hand in the Spirit Fields. What do you think?"