A Visit from the Seven Wonders Wang Household
After looking over the information on all the upgraded buildings,
Li Yunjing rubbed his temples.
"I really want to keep upgrading every one of them!" Li Yunjing murmured to himself.
Upgrading buildings was like taking a hit of that stuff,
making Li Yunjing incredibly excited.
Forcing down his excitement, Li Yunjing turned his attention to the cultivation room's interface.
"At lv3, it can directly trigger an empowerment and increase cultivation by five percent. I have to upgrade the cultivation room to lv3 right away," Li Yunjing thought to himself.
It directly increased cultivation, with no side effects.
That was a little heaven-defying.
In reality, cultivators had only a few ways to improve their cultivation.
They could absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and cultivate diligently, take spirit pills, or consume spirit medicines.
Empowerment was another possibility.
For example, a Late Qi Refining cultivator could transfer all his cultivation to an Early Qi Refining cultivator.
That would allow the Early Qi Refining cultivator's cultivation to rise rapidly in a short time.
It might even allow the recipient to reach Late Qi Refining in a short time.
But this kind of empowerment had side effects.
For one, it left the recipient with an unstable foundation and much weaker than a cultivator who had reached Late Qi Refining through normal, diligent cultivation.
For another, it caused irreversible damage to the cultivator's body.
Once a hidden ailment was left behind, things would be fine as long as it didn't flare up,
but once it did, it could be fatal.
The cultivation room's empowerment, however, had no side effects whatsoever.
It merely had a ten-day cooldown.
Given enough time, the Luozhen Sect could produce a large number of cultivators with stable foundations who had reached Foundation Establishment or even higher realms.
This concerned the Luozhen Sect's overall strength in the future.
Li Yunjing couldn't afford to overlook it.
After all, cultivators with poor Root Bones like Zhang Hanpeng and Ge Shuyuan
could only dream of rapidly improving their cultivation without some kind of cheat.
Since Li Yunjing had accepted them into the Luozhen Sect,
he naturally had to take responsibility for them.
Nurturing them into immortals was too lofty a goal.
He would set a small goal first:
just have those few stand at the peak of Tianyuan.
"A first-grade Soul-Calming Jade and first-grade Heart-Clearing Condensed Dew. Not bad," Li Yunjing said to himself.
Both were within an acceptable price range.
Together, they could be bought for 150 Spirit Stones.
Li Yunjing had just returned from Xunxian Town, but he planned to make another trip there.
While he was at it, he would find Zhang Hongzhi and have him come to the Luozhen Sect to build a talisman room.
But before Li Yunjing could leave the Luozhen Sect,
a warning came from the mountain gate.
Someone was approaching the Luozhen Sect.
Li Yunjing was still wondering whether it was friend or foe
when he suddenly heard a shout.
"Li Wan of the Li Household has come to request an audience with the Luozhen sect leader!"
Li Yunjing was taken aback. The Li Household had come rather quickly.
Less than two hours had passed since he had emerged from seclusion.
Li Yunjing had thought the Li Household would wait until tomorrow.
Li Yunjing waved to Zhang Hanpeng.
Zhang Hanpeng trotted over to him.
"Go and welcome the Li Household's cultivators in. Don't neglect the proper courtesies."
Zhang Hanpeng acknowledged the order and immediately went to welcome the Li Household's cultivators.
Li Yunjing went to Luozhen Hall and had Lü Hong prepare spirit tea.
Then he waited for the Li Household's cultivators to arrive.
Before long, Zhang Hanpeng led three people into Luozhen Hall.
Li Yunjing had met two of them before:
the Li Household's ancestor and its head.
The last was a young man about Li Yunjing's age.
Li Yunjing watched the three members of the Li Household with a calm expression.
Li Wan, the Li Household's ancestor, stood in the middle of Luozhen Hall with the other two.
Then Li Wan was the first to cup his hands to Li Yunjing.
"Greetings, Sect Leader Li."
The other two did the same.
Li Yunjing smiled faintly. "Please, sit."
Once the three had sat down, Li Wan spoke.
"Sect Leader Li, you reached Foundation Establishment at such a young age. Your prospects are boundless.
These old bones of mine simply can't compare to you."
Li Yunjing smiled. "You jest, fellow Daoist."
Li Wan was also at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, so there was nothing wrong with Li Yunjing addressing him as a fellow Daoist.
Li Wan looked slightly awkward. He had intended to offer a word or two of flattery.
Who would have thought Li Yunjing wasn't impressed?
Seeing this, Li Wan decided to get straight to the point.
"Sect Leader Li, I've come this time to offer an apology to the Luozhen Sect on behalf of the Li Household.
The Li Household acted rashly before and offended the Luozhen Sect. On behalf of everyone in the Li Household, I apologize to the Luozhen Sect."
Li Wan stood and bowed respectfully to Li Yunjing.
Li Yunjing waved a hand. "It's all right. That's all in the past."
Hearing this, Li Wan breathed a sigh of relief.
He had been afraid Li Yunjing would latch onto that matter and refuse to let it go.
Although the Luozhen Sect still couldn't compare to the Li Household at present,
given Li Yunjing's potential, he would sooner or later lead the Luozhen Sect past the Li Household.
It was better to resolve a feud than deepen it.
The fewer enemies the Li Household had, the longer it could endure.
"You're magnanimous, Sect Leader Li. I admire you," Li Wan said, cupping his hands.
Then Li Wan looked at Li Qiuchen.
Li Qiuchen was somewhat reluctant.
But under the warning in Li Wan's gaze,
Li Qiuchen also stood and apologized.
Li Yunjing chuckled, appearing unconcerned.
The storage ring on Li Wan's right index finger flashed.
Two large rosewood chests appeared on the floor.
"Sect Leader Li, this is a small token of our sincerity. I hope you'll accept it," Li Wan said with a smile.
Li Yunjing didn't even look at what was inside the large rosewood chests.
"You're too courteous, fellow Daoist. Put them away. The Luozhen Sect doesn't need them," Li Yunjing said.
Li Wan was surprised. "Sect Leader Li, are you unwilling to forgive the Li Household?"
Li Yunjing said, "Why do you say that?"
Li Wan looked at the two large rosewood chests.
They were clearly gifts of apology.
Since Li Yunjing wouldn't accept them, Li Wan naturally thought that way.
Li Yunjing understood perfectly well, but he was playing dumb.
Li Wan thought for a moment, then chuckled.
"Of course, I didn't consider this carefully enough.
Sect Leader Li, I have a piece of yin-yang primordial magnet stone.
It's a modest treasure, so I'll give it to you as well."
Smiling, Li Wan took out a silver stone the size of a fist.
Surprise flashed in Li Yunjing's eyes.
Yin-yang primordial magnet stone was a top-quality second-grade treasure.
It was extremely rare and highly valuable.
Law Artifacts refined from it were all high-grade goods.
Li Yunjing thought for a moment. "You're too courteous, fellow Daoist. I'll accept this fine treasure.
Ruizhu, serve the tea."
Only then did Hu Ruizhu bring the spirit tea she had brewed earlier and set it before the three visitors.
Li Wan picked up a cup of spirit tea and let out a long breath.
Though Li Yunjing was a little greedy, the matter had at least been put behind them.
Li Yunjing had Zhang Hanpeng carry away the two large rosewood chests.
Then he chatted and laughed with Li Wan.
After they had talked for a while, Li Yunjing looked at the young man among the three.
"Fellow Daoist, you haven't introduced this gentleman yet. He is...?"
Li Wan slapped his forehead. "Look at my memory. Sect Leader Li, this is Wang Shanming, the Wang Household's eldest young master."
"The Wang Household?" Li Yunjing was puzzled.
Li Wan explained, "Yes, the Wang Household of Seven Ingenuities Mountain."
Li Yunjing frowned and searched his memories carefully.
At last, Li Yunjing recalled what he knew about the Wang Household of Seven Ingenuities Mountain.
Seven Ingenuities Mountain lay a little over a hundred li east of Serene Valley.
It had a first-grade Spirit Vein,
allowing Qi Refining cultivators to live and cultivate there.
As a result, quite a few Rogue Cultivators had gathered on Seven Ingenuities Mountain.
Later, some of the Rogue Cultivators became dao companions and had children.
Eventually, they formed a number of small Lineages.
The Wang Household was one of the seven small Lineages currently on Seven Ingenuities Mountain.
Its overall strength was decent, with a Qi Refining Completion cultivator holding the fort.
"So you're the Wang Household's eldest young master. May I ask how you're related to him, fellow Daoist?" Li Yunjing asked curiously.
Li Wan chuckled. "You're reading too much into it, Sect Leader Li. Shanming's father and I used to be good friends.
But Shanming's father died young, and he entrusted Shanming to my care.
Not long ago, Shanming came to me. The Wang Household was being pushed out on Seven Ingenuities Mountain, so he wanted the Li Household to intervene.
But the Li Household doesn't have the resources to spare, so I thought of the Luozhen Sect.
As long as the Luozhen Sect helps the Wang Household resolve its troubles, the Wang Household is willing to acknowledge the Luozhen Sect as its superior sect."