The Quail Fire Lineage, a Five-Law Great True Person, True Person Heaven-Forging!

Although Li Zhengchen felt that the matter had countless tangled threads and was rather thorny, his face was full of excitement.

In the past, he had carried out his duties as household head with fear and trepidation. Now he suddenly had an entire kingdom to help manage and plan for. Such troubles were as sweet as honey to him, and he readily agreed.

At this point, it seemed that everything requiring a report had been reported.

Li Zhengjun hesitated for a moment, however, then took the thick stack of letters from his robes and told them that the ten young clansmen had written home.

The clan elders all voiced their approval.

"As it should be. They are all fine sons of our Li Household. If even this small comfort were denied them, what would they think of their clan?"

Li Chenbin swept his gaze over the room. He had not let joy go to his head. Rising, he added:

"You are all right, but we must also prepare a thorough explanation for them. These men set out in secret, and their families and friends do not know where they went. Without a plausible reason, sending a letter home out of the blue would only arouse suspicion."

He paused briefly, his expression turning serious.

"More importantly, these letters must be carefully reviewed. What I am about to say may not be pleasant to hear, but the Great Scarlet Realm is currently our Li Household's greatest secret. Not the slightest trace of it can be allowed to leak. These young men are loyal and brave, but unintentional mistakes in their letters are unavoidable. Even the slightest slip, if someone were to catch hold of a thread of evidence, could bring utter disaster upon their families and our Li Household alike."

Only when Li Chenbin saw that everyone had calmed down did he continue.

"I suggest that all correspondence between the two realms be jointly reviewed by at least three of the clan elders present. I know that doing so amounts to prying into those young men's private affairs and is somewhat unfeeling, but it is necessary. An unintentional act on their part could very well invite a fatal blow from someone with designs on us. As for the infamy of spying on our own clansmen, I, Li Chenbin, will bear it alone."

The clan elders' expressions grew grave. They had been so immersed in their immense joy that they had let their guard down for a moment. Fortunately, Li Chenbin had kept a clear head.

Li Zhengchen added, "Do you all remember the lesson of the An Household?"

At the mention of the An Household, the entire hall fell abruptly silent.

"Back then, the An Household was a perfectly sound Purple Mansion immortal clan, with six spirit domains under its rule. It was at the very height of its glory. The clan even produced a qilin child named An Siming, a young man of exceptional talent who cultivated the Quail Fire Dao Path and forged the Immortal Foundation Avoid the Golden Crow at a young age. But what happened? Word leaked out and reached True Person Heaven-Forging, who cultivated the same Quail Fire Dao Path. That Great True Person actually disregarded his status, crossed the Great Void to the An Household's mountain gate in person, and slapped him dead!"

Li Chenbin had felt it most keenly. His expression was grave as he said:

"I happened to be at the An Household back then and witnessed the Great True Person's heaven-reaching abilities with my own eyes. The entire mountain gate was consumed by raging fire, and the An Household's ancestor was grievously injured. At the end, he was even humiliated, with words to the effect of, 'Keep your own bastard in line. If anyone else dares follow the An Household's example and cultivate Quail Fire, kill them without mercy!' Since then, very few in the Chu Kingdom have cultivated this path. Alas, perhaps only when True Person Heaven-Forging seeks Gold will cultivators have another chance to cultivate this path."

Li Zhengjun listened silently and could not help shuddering.

That was just how this damned Yuyu Realm was. Those of higher cultivation attacking those below them was a common occurrence.

There were only so many resources, only so many spirit objects, and only one Fruit Position.

All who cultivated the same path were enemies blocking the Dao!

As though recalling the past, Yuhong spoke.

"The lesson of the An Household was only a hundred years ago. We must remember it at all times. The An Household was at the height of its power, but because of this, its True Person, An Xingyuan, was grievously injured. Before long, he died and his Dao vanished. After the True Person fell, the An Household was swallowed up by the surrounding powers and disappeared without a trace. That True Person Heaven-Forging has now attained five Laws. Presumably, proving Gold is close at hand, and he is frantically gathering all manner of spirit objects to create an imagery. If the matter of the Great Scarlet Realm were exposed, our Li Household would surely be unable to escape a storm of blood."

Li Zhengjun finally remembered what he had learned from the clan history he had read, recalling True Person Heaven-Forging's overbearing conduct.

Now that everything had been laid out so plainly, everyone agreed that they had to keep the matter secret.

The clan elders nodded in agreement.

Almost everyone arrived at the same thought: with someone like Zhengjun offering hope of revival and an otherworld foundation like the Ning Kingdom, the Li Household needed to be more cautious than ever before.

Reviewing letters alone was far from enough. They had to devise a foolproof plan to keep Li Zhengjun safe. They could not allow An Siming's tragedy to repeat itself.

Li Chenbin was the first to speak.

"True Person, household head, my lord bears the future of our Li Household on his shoulders and must be properly protected. The clan originally had one Purple Mansion seed, whom the True Person has always kept at his side and taught personally. Even though rumors have already spread outside, with the True Person guarding that seed without leaving their side, no one else can interfere. That is already a foolproof plan. But now we have another Purple Mansion seed. My lord is just as vital to the lifeblood of our Li Household, so we must draw up a detailed plan to protect him."

Before Li Zhengjun revealed his talents, the so-called "Purple Mansion seed" had been the Li Household's hope for the future, and their identity was extremely mysterious.

Rumor had it that the seed was a disciple True Person Yuhong had brought out of a grotto-heaven somewhere in his early years, a disciple with extraordinary talent for the Bright Yang Dao Path.

But who this child was, what their cultivation was, and what kind of power they possessed-even now, no one but Yuhong himself knew the full picture.

The clan as a whole knew only vaguely that a Purple Mansion seed was hidden deep within the True Person's cave abode.

After listening, Yuhong nodded slightly.

"Your concerns are not without reason. To tell the truth, Zhengjun's aptitude is not the best. If he wishes to attain the Purple Mansion, he must first make up for the deficiencies in his fate and fortune in the Yuyu Realm and transform his physique and Essence Blood. These things are often found in grotto-heavens and blessed lands scattered across the realm. Whether the Great Scarlet Realm has anything similar is still unknown. If it does not, and Zhengjun has to venture out to make up for those deficiencies after attaining an Immortal Foundation, he will inevitably attract particular attention from outsiders. Therefore, we must plan ahead. We cannot keep Zhengjun hidden in the Great Scarlet Realm forever."

That was the truth. The Yuyu Realm was not boundless; nearly every inch of land beneath its skies already had an owner.

Anyone seeking a breakthrough had no choice but to seek fortuitous opportunities in those grotto-heavens and blessed lands.

For young clansmen like Li Zhengjun, whose aptitude was not first-rate, this path was all the more unavoidable if they wished to improve their chances of entering the Purple Mansion.

Fortunately, most of these grotto-heavens and blessed lands were controllable, and Purple Mansion True Persons could keep the overall situation in hand.

With Purple Mansion True Persons overseeing and directing matters, the core disciples of the various clans usually faced no danger to their lives after entering, so long as they did not actively court death.

The real danger did not lie inside the grotto-heavens and blessed lands, but in what happened after they came out.

Everyone who had been inside, regardless of cultivation or aptitude, would attract the attention of the various clans.

Once there was any chance of someone rising to prominence, the various clans might block their Dao at best; at worst, a Great True Person would cross the Great Void and slap them dead, just like An Siming.

"This... this really does require planning ahead. We have to make up for the deficiencies in his fate without letting his talents show. This will be no easy matter."

Hearing this, Li Zhengchen took a deep breath and felt the burden on his shoulders grow heavier still.

He rubbed his brow. The mountain of administrative affairs that had piled up over the past few days was proving a little too much even for an Immortal Foundation cultivator like him.

Because of the difference in the flow of time, fifty days had already passed in the Great Scarlet Realm since Li Zhengjun discovered his ability to travel between the two realms, while only five days had passed in the Yuyu Realm.

For those five days, the Lineage had been working almost without sleep or rest: selecting young clansmen for the expedition, allocating spirit objects and Law Artifacts, requisitioning formation masters and materials for thunder talismans, analyzing the Devil Cultivators' statements, drawing thirty Altar Thunder Evil-Slaying Talismans and three Innate Thunder Sha Evil-Slaying Talismans, and tailoring a trapping formation...

Before they had even caught their breath, Li Zhengjun had assigned another string of new tasks: establishing an otherworld merit system, ensuring communications and logistical support between the two realms, conducting a comprehensive analysis of the Frozen Water spirit objects on Jade Wave Island, drawing up a detailed outline for establishing a Lineage in the other realm, assessing the compatibility of the Great Scarlet Realm's cultivation system with that of the Yuyu Realm...

And that was not all. Now there was a protection plan for Zhengjun as well.

Besides that, a pile of ordinary Lineage affairs still awaited his attention in the Yuyu Realm. He had yet to deal with the guests from those clans and sects at the Observing Brightness Terrace who were taking advantage of the crisis to plunder them, the aftermath of the disaster at the Lesser Cold River had yet to be settled, and repairs and reinforcements at Subduing Tiger Pass had not even begun...

There was simply too much. Just thinking about it made his head ache...

Even Li Zhengchen, who was well versed in administrative affairs, could no longer cope. These were not matters that a handful of clan elders could handle on their own.

Li Zhengchen cleared his throat and first cupped his hands to Li Zhengjun.

"My lord, the Lineage will fulfill each of your requests. It is just that there are countless matters to attend to, and they cannot be accomplished in a day or two. Please give us a little time."

Then he turned to Yuhong and said respectfully:

"True Person, now that my lord has gained a firm foothold in the Great Scarlet Realm, the situation is completely different from what it was five days ago. I fear that the ten clan elders in this hall can no longer manage the complex affairs of conquest across two realms by deliberating alone. In my view, we need to call upon more young clansmen and establish dedicated bodies as needed, such as an Otherworld Conquest Division, a Logistics Support Division, and an Intelligence Analysis Division. Only if each performs its own duties can we ensure that the otherworld conquest plan proceeds efficiently and in an orderly fashion."

Yuhong nodded, fully approving.

"Zhengchen, you are skilled at managing the Household. I leave this matter entirely in your hands. Whether people or resources, mobilize whatever you think necessary. There is no need to report every matter again."

Li Zhengchen accepted the order and promptly said:

"True Person, my lord, if there are no other urgent matters, please allow the clan elders to begin discussing the structure and personnel of the divisions, so that we can assemble the teams as quickly as possible."

He paused, a cold smile crossing his lips.

"I will first make a trip to the Observing Brightness Terrace. That lot from the Luo Household and the Hundred Fei Sect are still waiting for me there."

Yuhong was silent for a moment, then gave his instructions.

"Zhengchen, we swallowed our anger before because we had no way out. Today is different. With Zhengjun and the Ning Kingdom, we finally have something to rely on! This time, you need not swallow your grievances any longer. Do as you see fit, and do not be afraid to tear away the pretense of cordiality. Take this opportunity to show those immortal clans and sects who kicked us while we were down that the Li Household is not so easily pushed around!"

Li Zhengchen had swallowed far too many grievances and made far too many compromises over the years. Hearing his father's instructions, he felt his blood surge and answered in a ringing voice:

"As you command, True Person!"