The Li Household Head Really Was a Good Man
Li Zhengjun paused upon hearing this. His Lineage had mentioned Southern Yang before, and he was wondering how to make contact with him when the other party took the initiative to come to him.
He had read the clan's analysis and learned that East Cliff Island was a large island, Yang Household was in charge of it.
At that time, the Yang Household patriarch Peak Qi Refinement and had connections within the sect. The Sun Household was also overshadowed by him, so the Yang Household was ordered to take charge of the nearby sea area.
Later, when the Yang Household patriarch broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage and died, the Sun Household of Red Maple Island seized the opportunity to take power. They first contacted the upper sect under the pretext of paying the annual tribute and gained favor. Then, they secretly supported the second and eldest sons of the Yang Household in seizing power and divided East Cliff Island into north and south.
In this way, East Cliff Island lost its competitive edge, and the Sun Household officially came to power.
The Northern Yang is led by Yang Lieshen, the second son of the Sun Household, while the Southern Yang faction is led by Yang Lielin's eldest son.
For example, not long ago, Sun Household instigated people to come to Jade Wave Island, it was Yang Lieshen of the Northern Yang who took the initiative to stand up and show his loyalty, directly announcing that the two families from the North and South would come together.
Southern Yang has been suppressed and has lost its voice, so it has no choice but to echo them.
Of course, besides feeling helpless, Yang Lielin had another consideration.
They were looking to make contact with the Li Household, so they readily agreed.
The man standing before Li Zhengjun was Yang Lei, the son of Yang Lielin from Southern Yang.
Upon seeing Southern Yang arrive, he immediately guessed that this person was here because of the Sun Household. He didn't show it on his face, but simply raised his chin to signal the other person to continue.
Yang Lei felt somewhat embarrassed when he saw that Li Zhengjun remained unmoved and merely looked at him indifferently.
Fortunately, he had prepared himself for being ignored before he arrived. He coughed lightly and continued:
"I know that our Yang Household is under the jurisdiction of the Sun Household. If we suddenly say that we have good things to give you, the Li Household head may not believe it. But you are new to this place, so you may not know that our East Cliff Island is a bit complicated."
Li Zhengjun feigned defensiveness, waving his hand to interrupt the other person, and asked knowingly:
"I only know about the matter of you two Yangs dividing the administration. The matter of capturing the tiger at Gold-Bearing Mountain is still waiting for me. Fellow Daoist Yang, if you have anything to say, please speak directly."
Yang Lei was taken aback. He hadn't expected the Li Household, these outsiders, to know so much about this place. He quickly gathered his thoughts and said:
"Since that's the case, I won't beat around the bush. I have a cousin who joined the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect a few years ago and became a concubine of Liu Deyuan, the second elder's closed-door disciple. Liu Deyuan, like Sun Hongyao, the second young master of the Sun Household, has already reached the Foundation Establishment True Disciple."
"However, the number of Foundation Establishment Pill in the sect is limited, and even True Disciple are not guaranteed a share. Sun Hongyao has recently gone to great lengths to capture this Ginseng-Cloud Tiger in order to increase his chances of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage."
He paused for a moment, then took out a silk scroll.
Li Zhengjun did not take it; he scanned the contents of the silk scroll with his Divine Sense.
It lists how the Sun Household has been using the name of the upper sect to collect excessive tributes and line their own pockets for many years, and also states that the Sun Household has allowed Devil Cultivator to occupy Jade Wave Island.
Below the silk scroll, several cultivators had already signed their names as evidence, but Li Zhengjun remembered that his Lineage had analyzed the intelligence of this place, and these were all insignificant small forces.
"Just as the Lineage said, some people are already dissatisfied with the Sun Household."
Yang Lei, thinking Li Zhengjun didn't want to watch, added:
"Patriarch Li Household, your Li Household is an outsider. Although the Sun Household publicly claims that you are their vassals, they secretly slander you in every way. Therefore, we know that this is not the case. The powers in this sea area are very xenophobic, especially the Sun Household. If you want to establish yourself here, you will have to confront them head-on sooner or later. And we, Southern Yang, are the ones who least want to see the Sun Household grow stronger. Therefore, we have a common enemy."
"As long as Li Household is willing to sign this silk scroll with us, the Sun Household will be severely punished by the higher sect for these crimes. Afterwards, we can join forces to intercept them during the tiger hunt, preventing Sun Hongyao from obtaining the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger. Without the spirit beast's assistance, and without his Lineage's support, he will be eliminated from this Foundation Establishment Pill competition without a doubt."
"At that time, not only will the Li Household head be able to truly establish himself here, but he might even gain the favor of Senior Brother Liu Deyuan and even the Second Elder."
Li Zhengjun finally understood that Yang Lei's Lineage wanted to take advantage of the Sun Household's mistake to bring them down.
This two-pronged approach deprives Sun Hongyao of both a suitable spirit beast to assist him in Foundation Establishment and the support of his Lineage, making it impossible for him to achieve Foundation Establishment.
Li Zhengjun pondered for a moment, thinking to himself:
"This is indeed an opportunity to muddy the waters of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect. However, this move is somewhat reckless. Who knows what the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect thinks about the matter of signing the name?"
The Li Household did not want to integrate into the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect, nor did they want to be pawns for others. Instead, they wanted to watch the surrounding forces fight amongst themselves and take advantage of the chaos to establish their own foothold.
Having thought this through, he already had a plan in mind.
"I appreciate Fellow Daoist Yang's kindness, but my Li Household is new here and knows nothing about the affairs of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect. Moreover, the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect has not officially recognized my Li Household. If we rashly sign the silk scroll as outsiders, they may not believe us. Instead, we may be seen as trying to stir up trouble, or even incur their dissatisfaction, which would ruin your plans."
Yang Lei was taken aback, and secretly guessed:
"The Li Household is being overly cautious, which is understandable. After all, they can't stay in other sea areas and have come to the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect's territory, so naturally they have to keep a low profile."
But with one less person to help him, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Then he heard Li Zhengjun say:
"However, I can provide you with some details about the Sun Household's indulgence of Devil Cultivator."
Yang Lei's eyes lit up, and he said, "It would be wonderful if Patriarch Li Household would tell us about the demon-slaying. To be honest, we had also heard the news that the Li Household and the Sun Household were 'joining forces to exorcise demons,' and we were just about to verify it with you."
Li Zhengjun frowned, his face showing displeasure:
"What joint effort to eliminate demons? The Devil Cultivator of the Ning Kingdom were wiped out by my Li Household alone. The Sun Household only came knocking after the Devil Cultivator were exterminated."
Yang Lei couldn't believe what he had heard and quickly pressed for details.
Li Zhengjun then recounted the main points he could, deliberately exaggerating the extent of the Li Household's losses.
Even so, Yang Lei was still greatly shocked and filled with deep respect for the Li Household.
"No wonder! No wonder! No wonder the Sun Household was so wary of you; it turns out your noble family is exceptionally powerful! How laughable that they claimed the Li Household only barely won because of their help—it was all just self-aggrandizement! Patriarch Li Household, you have rid the people of a scourge; I admire you!"
He was excited for a moment, but his shock turned into anger.
"What a despicable Sun Household, the Sun! I thought their leniency towards Devil Cultivator was already unforgivable, but I never imagined they would also deceive their superiors and subordinates, nurturing bandits to enhance their own power, keeping all our families in the dark. This is even more hateful than falsifying annual tribute reports! Despicable! Shameless! If this matter reaches the ears of the higher sects, even if Sun Hongyao is favored, he will not be able to protect the Sun Household!"
Li Zhengjun was also speechless. He hadn't expected the Sun Household to be so shameless. Seeing Yang Lei's burning anger, he decided to add fuel to the fire.
"Fellow Daoist Yang, perhaps the extra tributes you've paid over the years have all been used by the Sun Household on Sun Hongyao, so that he would be qualified to be a True Disciple."
These words struck a chord with Yang Lei. Having managed the Lineage's affairs for so many years, he knew all too well how ruthless the Sun Household was when they exploited others. It wasn't just their family; all the other families were the same, and they dared not speak out against it.
Now that Li Zhengjun had pointed it out, the resentment that had been building up in his heart for many years suddenly erupted and he could no longer suppress it.
Yang Lei gritted his teeth in hatred, clasped his hands, and said, "Thank you for informing me, Patriarch Li Household. With this information, I'm sure the forces under the Sun Household's control will see through his true colors! The upper sect will certainly not tolerate such a deceitful scoundrel!"
Li Zhengjun put on a serious face, adopting an expression of shared hatred and indignation:
"I never imagined the Sun Household could be so shameless. To be honest, some time ago my Li Household captured two Sun Household spies. Their confessions largely match what Fellow Daoist Yang said. I will have a copy of their confessions made and give it to Fellow Daoist Yang later."
He paused, then said coldly:
"As for that Ginseng-Cloud Tiger, my Li Household will do everything in our power to stop him. Not for any other reason than to prevent such a shameless scoundrel as the Sun Household from gaining power. If he is already like this at the Qi Refining Stage, if he were to be allowed to reach the Foundation Establishment by chance, the Rogue Cultivator and Lineage in this area would probably never have a good life again!"
Yang Lei was overjoyed upon hearing this and bowed deeply in gratitude, saying, "Patriarch Li Household are truly virtuous!"
The two then discussed some details, and after finishing their conversation, Yang Lei got up to take his leave.
He couldn't stay any longer, or the Sun Household would become suspicious.
Although no other signatory was added, they received even stronger support.
Before leaving, Yang Lei repeatedly expressed his gratitude, his mind filled with thoughts of gratitude:
"Master Li Household is such a righteous man, and he's even willing to stand up for us small forces. He's truly a good person!"
After seeing Yang Lei off, Li Zhengjun waited for a while before heading towards the main hall.
The closer you get to the main hall, the more different the atmosphere becomes; even before you enter, the bustling sounds of people can be faintly heard.
With a slight sweep of his Divine Sense, he could clearly see the situation inside.
There were more than sixty cultivators sitting in the hall, more than ten times the number when Sun Ming came last time.
"With this kind of setup, using a tiger is truly a waste of talent."