Gold-Bearing Mountain
In the two months since Li Zhengjun broke through to the Qi Refinement Twelfth Layer, the Sun Household has also been busy.
Knowing he could not break through to the Foundation Establishment, the patriarch Sun Chengfeng placed all his hopes on his second son Sun Hongyao.
In recent days, he has been making inquiries everywhere, trying to find out about the Foundation Establishment Pill. He learned that Chunyuan Monastery had no Foundation Establishment Pill produced this year, and the Foundation Establishment Master who was in charge of the temple had gone into seclusion.
This period was quite delicate. The surrounding seas were not peaceful to begin with, and the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect had already sent a Foundation Establishment cultivator to the border region to oversee the situation. The sea area under Sun Chengfeng's jurisdiction also happened to be part of the border region.
Driven by this sense of crisis, he urgently needed his son to break through to the Foundation Establishment.
If Sun Hongyao can achieve Foundation Establishment, their Sun Household will have the resources to leave this impoverished and remote area and relocate to the core area of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect.
He wasn't the only one with this idea. All the disciples who were ranked among the True Disciple disciples and the forces behind them were eyeing the Foundation Establishment Pill. As a result, the value of this pill skyrocketed. Not only did one need sufficient spiritual resources, but one also had to compete for the possession of a powerful spiritual beast.
Ultimately, the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect is a sect of beast-taming immortals.
To ensure they could obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, Sun Chengfeng specifically arranged for his younger brother, Sun Chengling, to personally go to Gold-Bearing Mountain to capture the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger.
Sun Chengling was also at the Peak Qi Refinement Refining, and was one of the best in the clan in both beast taming and combat techniques.
Because he damaged his manhood when he was young, making it impossible for him to have children, he treated his nephews as his own. This time, he was going all out and made a solemn vow to take down Ginseng-Cloud Tiger and help his nephew Sun Hongyao Foundation Establishment.
After repeatedly analyzing the current situation, the Sun Household decided to sow discord in Gold-Bearing Mountain, causing the families under their jurisdiction to fight against the newly arrived Li Household.
As long as both sides suffer heavy losses, they can reap the benefits, taking the opportunity to annex the properties of various families and suppress the rising Li Household.
Sun Chengling's physical disability made him increasingly sinister and ruthless, making him adept at such underhanded acts.
At this moment, he led several cultivators from his own clan to the Li Household's territory, spreading the message that he had come to "give the Li Household a warning" and that the ownership and division of Jade Wave Island would be discussed later.
Therefore, all the families brought were elites, especially the four families near Jade Wave Island, whose core members, including clan leaders and elders, personally took to the field, showing an attitude of tearing the Li Household apart and dividing it up.
These days, everyone has gathered at the Li Household and witnessed the prosperity under the Li Household's governance. The number of Spirit Root has also increased significantly. They are already envious and eager to pounce on the family and get a share of the benefits.
They were talking with Li Yuankai in the hall, and the day's wait had made everyone a little impatient.
"This Li Household head is really making quite a show of himself. What? He's been in seclusion for so long, could it be that he's breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage?"
"If you're too scared to go up the mountain to catch the tiger, we'll go ourselves!"
Li Yuankai's face was ashen, while Li Dongping kept rubbing his fingers, suppressing his inner rage.
Both of them were born into the immortal race; when had they ever been subjected to such blatant mockery?
Just then, a clear voice came from outside the hall.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
As soon as he finished speaking, a heavy spiritual pressure, as solid as a mountain, crashed down, and the noisy hall fell silent instantly.
Those cultivators who had been speaking sarcastically just moments before suddenly felt an immense pressure pressing down on them, and immediately shrank back and fell silent.
After all, they knew that Li Zhengjun, the head of the Li Household family, was at the Peak Qi Refinement Refining, so they only dared to make threats behind his back. If they actually met the person in question, they wouldn't dare to utter a single word.
Li Zhengjun entered with his hands behind his back, followed by Li Huchan and Li Dongsheng on his left and right.
The Li Household members' eyes lit up. Their vision was far superior to that of the cultivators from the Great Scarlet Realm. They could tell at a glance that Li Zhengjun had reached the Fetal Breath Sixth Layer, Embryonic Breathing Perfection.
At this crucial juncture, the fact that the master's cultivation has advanced further is tantamount to reassuring everyone.
The two men behind the adult were clearly carefully selected for their families; one possessed a restrained Yao Qi and a hidden Sha Qi and concealed spiritual light. Their presence at Gold-Bearing Mountain would be even more advantageous.
The cultivators from the Great Scarlet Realm, unaware of the situation, could only sense the oppressive aura emanating from Li Zhengjun, which was enough to silence them.
But it was precisely this sense of oppression that increased their apprehension rather than decreased it; almost everyone had the same thought flash through their minds:
"The Li Household is quite powerful; we must seize this opportunity to weaken their influence!"
Sun Chengling narrowed his eyes, sized Li Zhengjun up from head to toe, then stood up and gave a curt bow, saying indifferently:
"Sun Chengling, elder of the Sun Household, greets Patriarch Li Household."
As he spoke, he subtly released his aura, as if he wanted to test his skills against Li Zhengjun.
Li Zhengjun only needed to scan the man with his Divine Sense to clearly see his cultivation level. It was only similar to the Embryonic Breathing Fifth Layer. Moreover, his physique was incomplete and his essence was depleted. He had a lot of cultivation, but he was inferior to other cultivators of the same level when fighting.
He didn't say much, just nodded slightly. "Greetings, Elder Sun."
After exchanging pleasantries, Li Zhengjun's gaze swept over the dense crowd in the hall, and he said loudly:
"It is now late spring, the mountain air is filled with rising yang energy, and the vegetation is lush, making it the peak season for Demon Beast activity. Since you are all gathered here, let's take this opportunity to Gold-Bearing Mountain together and slay that tiger demon. Furthermore, let's use this opportunity to get to know each other better, as we will have many more dealings with each other in the future."
He spoke politely, and everyone lowered their heads and echoed him, creating a seemingly harmonious atmosphere in the hall.
The two sides briefly discussed the matter of entering the mountain, and it took half an hour to finalize the details. Without further delay, the group immediately set off for Gold-Bearing Mountain.
Li Zhengjun only selected four disciples from Subduing Tiger Pass to accompany him on this trip, plus Li Huchan and Li Dongsheng.
As for the rest of the Li Household members, apart from Uncle Li Chenxuan and two guards, Li Yuankai and the others went to Jade Wave Pool on Gold-Bearing Mountain early on.
Li Zhengjun knew that this battle was not as simple as capturing a tiger, and that a battle between the two sides was inevitable. Therefore, he sent Li Yuankai into the mountain ahead of time to set up the magic array.
They also have something to rely on in case of an accident.
Ye Xiufan was also assigned to the team. The spiritual items in Gold-Bearing Mountain were not easy to find, and the remnant soul in Ye Xiufan's body would definitely know. Originally, this boy planned to retrieve the spiritual items during the three-way battle, so it was a good opportunity to let him go and scout ahead.
Li Zhengjun had passed on a magic technique to the Owl, so he could naturally find Ye Xiufan, who had escaped in the chaos, through the Owl.
When Ye Xiufan heard that he was to serve the seniors, he didn't think anything of it and went into the mountain with them.
With each person harboring their own thoughts, the group set off.
In just half a day, Gold-Bearing Mountain appeared before everyone's eyes.
It was late spring, a time when all things were flourishing.
Looking at Gold-Bearing Mountain from afar, it appears as layers of verdant peaks shrouded in mist, its undulating terrain stretching for dozens of miles, with its main peak soaring into the clouds and its summit enveloped in a pale golden glow.
Li Zhengjun looked over and thought to himself:
"This must be the origin of the name Gold-Bearing Mountain."
Upon arriving at this place, even Sun Chengling was stunned.
It had only been a little over a decade, so why did Gold-Bearing Mountain look so different from what they remembered?
The valleys on both sides of the river are wide open, and one can see large tracts of uncultivated spiritual fields and fertile land, where spiritual energy rises and almost condenses into white mist.
Previously, the spiritual energy of the entire Jade Wave Island was quite average, so no one occupied it; it was only used as a temporary resting place and a place to replenish Spirit Root.
But looking at it now, the abundance of spiritual energy in this mountain is no less than that of the main cultivation peak of their Red Maple Island.
What exactly happened over the past decade or so?
The cultivators exchanged glances, their initial astonishment turning into fervor.
"Such a sacred mountain! It seems we really must drive the Li Household off Jade Wave Island!"