Re-cultivating a Seventh-Tier High-Grade Cultivation Method
Full support?
Conquering another realm?
The Mystic Mirror within him was indeed formidable in the long run, but the Lineage's crisis hung over his head, and he had only a few decades.
As long as his grandfather lived, the resources a Purple Mansion Immortal Lineage could pour into him over those decades would be countless times greater than what he could obtain on his own.
"You must plan out your Dao Path and select the first group of descendants for the conquest as quickly as possible. For every day wasted in the Yuyu Realm, ten days are wasted in the Great Scarlet Realm."
True Person Yuhong understood the value of time better than anyone. After sending out the first sword message, he still felt he was wasting time, so he actually stepped out to find the two men himself!
Before leaving, True Person Yuhong did not forget to leave him with an instruction:
"Zhengjun, go cultivate in the Great Scarlet Realm first. Come back after a few hours of cultivation. Don't waste time in the Yuyu Realm!"
Li Zhengjun stood there in a daze, murmuring:
"Grandfather's taking this too far... He isn't even willing to waste a few hours..."
Even so, he did as he was told. The most important thing right now was to show his grandfather his attitude.
Observing Brightness Terrace.
This was where Li Zhengchen handled general affairs. The Li Household had suffered heavy losses in the battle at the Lesser Cold River: cultivators had fallen, spiritual treasures had been seized, and there were also bereaved clansmen to compensate and displaced people to resettle. A thousand loose ends weighed on his shoulders alone, leaving him at his wits' end.
Ever since word had spread that the old ancestor's lifespan was nearing its end, the Lineage had been tested repeatedly. This time, their enemies had simply made a direct attack, catching the Li Household off guard.
Even though the True Person had arrived in time, the losses were still shocking.
"Never mind another True Person. If our Li Household had just a few more Immortal Foundation cultivators, how could things have come to this?"
Li Zhengchen put down his brush and sighed deeply.
He had just finished the calculations. Counting the Purple Mansion seed hidden in the shadows, the entire Li Household now had only eleven Immortal Foundation cultivators.
The Li Household controlled five spiritual domains. He and the Purple Mansion seed could only hold White Jade Mountain in the heartland, leaving fewer than three Immortal Foundation cultivators on average to guard each of the other four.
"At our peak, our Li Household had twenty-four Immortal Foundation cultivators. Who would have thought that in a mere century, we would decline to this point?"
Whenever Li Zhengchen thought of this, he could not help lamenting it.
He did not blame the True Person. In fact, if Yuhong had not taken a firm hand, they would have lost even more Immortal Foundation cultivators over the years-some to schemes, some to conflict, and still more fighting for the Lineage.
"Grandfather has less than sixty years left. I wonder whether another True Person can emerge in these years."
Li Zhengchen was an Immortal Foundation cultivator himself, so he naturally knew how difficult the road to seeking the True was.
As he lamented, alarm bells suddenly rang out.
A sword message cut through the Great Void toward him. Li Zhengchen hurriedly knelt and received it.
This was a summons from his grandfather, generally sent only in an emergency.
"Come to Chongming Hall at once!"
Seeing the words, Li Zhengchen's breath caught.
"Has Grandfather ever used such an urgent tone before? Did Second Uncle fail to hold on after all? No, that's not right. There must be something else even more urgent!"
Li Zhengchen paid no heed to the mountain of documents on his desk and hurriedly rose on the wind. Before he had flown far, however, the Great Void above him suddenly split open. His grandfather descended from the sky and swept him into his sleeve.
Within the Great Void, Li Zhengchen dared not speak, much less ask what had happened. There were always True Persons spying within the Great Void, making it inconvenient to talk.
But he saw clearly that there was no panic on his grandfather's face, only urgency. That suggested it should not be bad news, and Li Zhengchen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Before long, the two arrived near a high mountain.
This was Subduing Tiger Pass, guarded by the Li Household. The pass was steep and perilous, with cities and fertile fields stretching for dozens of li behind it.
It stood at the meeting point of the Chu Kingdom, Wei, Shu, the Demon Race, and other powers. More than a dozen forces, large and small, were interlocked like dogs' teeth; nowhere within a thousand li had a more complicated situation.
More importantly, Subduing Tiger Pass was where the Li Household gathered Qi for its Bright Yang Dao Lineage.
For a Fetal Breath cultivator to enter the Qi Ingestion realm, he had to ingest a kind of Spiritual Qi corresponding to his own Dao Lineage.
In the world today, the Three Yang Dao Lineage was declining by the day, while the Three Yin Dao Tradition was gradually rising. Subduing Tiger Pass was one of the few places in the Land of Chu that could still supply Bright Yang Spiritual Qi in abundance.
That was why Li Chenfeng, the foremost Immortal Foundation cultivator of the Li Household, personally guarded this vital location.
"Could something have happened to Cousin Uncle?"
Li Zhengchen dared not dwell on it. He saw his grandfather break straight through the Great Void and, without a word, sweep the still-stunned Li Chenfeng away as well.
Yuhong used a Divine Ability to conceal the two men's presences, blocking all nearby attempts to spy on their fate.
Before long, the three of them had landed in Chongming Hall.
Once inside the grand formation, Li Chenfeng could no longer restrain himself and was the first to speak:
"True Person, what has happened in the clan?"
He guarded Subduing Tiger Pass year-round and never left it lightly, not even for a matter as great as the heavens.
Unless... that matter as great as the heavens decided the life or death of the Lineage!
"Could it be that the True Person's lifespan is nearing its end?"
Apart from that, Li Chenfeng truly could not imagine what other matter could be important enough to warrant summoning him back so urgently.
Seeing the anxiety written all over Li Chenfeng's and Li Zhengchen's faces, Yuhong did something unprecedented: he laughed.
"Set your minds at ease. It's not bad news, but good."
Li Chenfeng's and Li Zhengchen's eyes lit up. For who knew how many years, the True Person had labored for the Lineage without showing the slightest sign of pleasure. Now, he had actually laughed!
It had to be tremendously good news!
The two hurriedly asked, "Has the True Person found a way to extend his lifespan?"
"Or is our Li Household about to gain another True Person?"
Yuhong nodded and said, "I have yet to find a way to extend my lifespan, but our Li Household has found a way out of this predicament."
Their breath caught. Immense delight surged from the depths of their hearts, nearly sending a rush of hot blood to the heads of these two Immortal Foundation cultivators, seasoned though they were by great storms.
Before Yuhong could explain the whole story, a figure appeared out of thin air in the great hall.
It was Li Zhengjun.
He had appeared before their eyes just like that, without the slightest fluctuation of Spiritual Qi.
Li Zhengjun had just completed one circulation. Estimating that enough time had passed, he had returned to take a look and happened to find the True Person back. He respectfully said:
"Greetings, Cousin Uncle. Greetings, Household Head."
Of the two Immortal Foundation cultivators, one managed the entire clan's general affairs, while the other guarded a region. Both were now stunned.
"Crossing the Great Void—a True Person?!"
"No, that's not right! How is he at the Embryonic Breathing Realm?"
Both were bewildered. They knew that only those at the Purple Mansion realm or above could cross the void without assistance.
But they knew the person before them: Li Zhengjun, a junior of the clan, and he was only at the Embryonic Breathing Realm.
Yuhong cut short their astonishment. There was no time to waste now.
He formed a hand seal, and dawnlight poured into the crowns of their heads, instantly telling them everything that had happened recently.
A moment later, the two understood the whole story, and their gazes burned with fervor.
They had less composure than Yuhong, and their bodies were trembling slightly with excitement.
"With Zhengjun here, why should our Li Household fear it won't prosper?"
The two spoke in unison, urgently saying:
"True Person, give us your orders. We will do everything in our power to assist Zhengjun!"
They knew that the True Person had personally brought them back for far more than simply telling them the news.
Yuhong nodded, his gaze sweeping over the two as he spoke in a calm, decisive tone:
"Since it is another realm, it is highly likely to contain spiritual treasures of the Bright Yang Dao Lineage. Therefore, I will have Zhengjun continue cultivating our clan's Bright Yang Secret Method. Right now, I need the two of you to do two things."
"Chenfeng, Zhengjun can take ten people in on his first trip. Select the six most capable clansmen from Subduing Tiger Pass to form a protection squad. They must be descendants of absolute loyalty and close blood relation. Those six will be responsible for gathering intelligence, establishing a foothold, and protecting Zhengjun."
"Zhengchen, gather all the formations, talismans, pills, Law Artifacts, puppets, and every other spiritual resource that can be used at the Embryonic Breathing Realm. Make absolutely sure he has the utmost protection. Spare no expense and hold nothing back!"
"Besides the six Chenfeng selects, Zhengchen will fill the remaining four places with cultivators from the clan who are proficient in formations. They will enter the other realm and set up a formation to help Zhengjun gather Bright Yang Dawnlight, so he can break through realms as quickly as possible. Only when Zhengjun's realm rises can the Lineage send in more and stronger cultivators."
Yuhong paused for a moment. His voice lowered as he spoke slowly:
"But make it clear to them that once they enter the other realm, they can never return to the Yuyu Realm. If any are unwilling, do not force them under any circumstances. Simply erase their memories and let them go back. You must never conscript them by force, or it will only have the opposite effect."
The two cupped their fists and accepted their orders, their expressions solemn to the utmost.
This concerned the Lineage's survival, and there was no room for the slightest oversight. Neither dared delay for a moment; they immediately turned and left.
In the vast Chongming Hall, only Yuhong and Li Zhengjun remained.
"Zhengjun, come here."
Yuhong's voice softened somewhat, but it carried an unquestionable solemnity.
"I will cleanse and refine your cultivation and teach you the seventh-tier high-grade Double Radiance Bright Yang Breathing Scripture. This method is the foundational method of the Bright Yang Dao Path."
"Seventh-tier high-grade!"
Li Zhengjun remembered that the Jingyang Wheel-Nourishing Scripture he had cultivated before was a fourth-tier mid-grade method, and even that was already a formidable Cultivation Method.
Who would have thought his grandfather also possessed a seventh-tier Cultivation Method!
Yuhong seemed to see through his thoughts and slowly said:
"I did not teach it to you before because this method is overbearing, consumes enormous quantities of spiritual resources, and has extremely exacting cultivation requirements. Forcing yourself to cultivate it would only bring a backlash upon yourself. But things are different for you now..."
He gazed at Li Zhengjun, his eyes deep as an abyss and filled with great expectation.
"Zhengjun, you are a Purple Mansion seed, and you may even have a chance of seeking the Golden realm in the future! You must cultivate this method. Even if the process is exceedingly painful, you must endure it!"