Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 18 Guess
Li Xiangren is a rare swordsman in the Li family, and one of the very few who does not cultivate Hunyuan Ruyi Jin. This means that his swordsmanship is no less than any family-inherited technique.

From the moment he made his move, the old man's tragic end was sealed.

At least in Li Xiangming's eyes, the sword wound in his abdomen was fatal enough.

But the white-faced old man didn't want to die, or rather, he was in a state of tension and fear and didn't realize that he was beyond saving.

When the old man looked up and saw Li Xiangren's tall figure, he panicked and, ignoring the blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, knelt on the ground and begged, "Spare me, I was wrong, please let me go."

"Please."

"late."

Standing before him, Li Xiangren replied calmly, "Those who abduct women and children within my Li family's territory shall die."

"Those children aren't from your Li family."

"The presence of looters within the Li family's territory shall be regarded as looting."

Li Xiangren's indifferent voice made the pale-faced old man feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"You forced me to do this."

The old man's face hardened, and he swung his arm out, a cold glint appearing from his sleeve.

In the blink of an eye, he did not choose Li Xiangren, but flew straight towards Li Xiangming.

"So fast."

Li Xiangming was alarmed; this old fellow was on his deathbed, yet he still had a fighting chance.

However, all efforts were in vain, before Li Xiangming could even react.

A sword light rose from the ground, followed by a torrent of blood that splattered across the sky.

Several silver needles also fell to the ground.

Li Xiangming touched his face; it was warm. Then he glanced at the white-faced old man lying on the ground, his body torn into several pieces, and couldn't help but swallow hard.

The clan has always recognized Li Xiangren as the most outstanding member of the Xiang generation, a genius who is no less than those from prestigious families. Today, he has witnessed it firsthand.

With a single sword strike, a dignified late-stage Qi Refining cultivator was dismembered before he could even react.

He had only ever seen such speed of attack from his master, Fairy Green Cloud.

Thinking of this, Li Xiangming felt a little sad. Even though he worked so hard, he was still very different from the true prodigies of this world—at least he had never heard of Li Xiangren having any bottlenecks.

"Big brother, Xiangming!"

Just then, Li Xiangru, who sensed the violent fluctuations in magical power behind him, flew over quickly.

Li Xiangming turned around and saw several members of the police station arriving. Soon after, another seven or eight people arrived.

"What is this person's background?"

Li Xiangru stepped forward and asked in confusion.

"I couldn't find out, but I guess he's a rogue cultivator from out of town, otherwise he wouldn't be so secretive about his identity."

Li Xiangming replied.

Pu County is under control. Any cultivator who sets foot here must have a pass from Hengyue Sect, otherwise they will be treated as traitors.

Those who could obtain clearance documents were mostly from wealthy families or from respectable but humble backgrounds.

Independent cultivators all have their share of troubles, which are not within the scope of Hengyue Sect's consideration.

Judging from the old man's furtive manner, it was clear that he did not have any travel documents, which was why he traveled through Danggui Mountain in the middle of the night, fearing that he would be discovered.

What's the situation with these children?

Li Xiangru thought of something and handed over a bamboo basket: "I've checked, they've drugged him, he's still not awake."

"Judging from the person's reaction, what was taken from him is extremely valuable, but the fact that he used such methods to deal with the child suggests that he has committed the dirty act of child trafficking."

Li Xiangming spoke slowly, the tragic scene in the bamboo basket also stirring up his anger, otherwise he wouldn't have desperately stopped the white-faced old man.

To be honest, this was his first time fighting against a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining.

“These evil practitioners are truly despicable. They abduct children and bring them to Danggui Mountain. They really don’t take us seriously.”

Li Xianglin, who was standing to the side, spoke up angrily.

"This means it's not the first time. Let's think about how to explain this to the head of the family."

Li Xianghua's cold voice silenced everyone.

Dangui Mountain had become an important trade route for evil cultivators to sell children, but the Li family was completely unaware of it. The shame and disgrace were beyond description.

If this matter gets back to the family, it will surely cause turmoil. The police department has failed in its duty, and it's uncertain whether Li Xiangren, the head of the department, can continue to hold his position.

With Li Xiangren out of power, things will definitely not be easy for them either. If we're talking about responsibility, Li Xiangren is at most guilty of incompetent leadership, while they are the actual people in charge of each region, and the evil cultivators slipped away right under their noses.

"This is my oversight. I will report it to the head of the family. You don't need to worry too much. Go back to your jurisdiction first."

Li Xiangren spoke first.

Upon hearing this, the group exchanged glances, none of them having a better solution, and could only leave silently.

Only Li Xiangren, Li Xiangru, and Li Xiangming remained at the scene.

Li Xiangren broke the silence first: "Xiangming, are you alright?"

"It's alright, I'll be fine after a while of rest."

Li Xiangming had already taken the elixir; his main injury was due to overuse of his magical power, and he wasn't seriously injured.

The old man with the white face was strong, but he had cultivated Yin energy for ten years, and his move 'Phantom Wave' was equally powerful, almost negating the opponent's spell.

Moreover, he also had a second-tier red armor talisman to protect his life, which was the source of his confidence to confront the white-faced old man head-on.

"It's good that you're alright. You did a great job. I'll recommend you for commendation."

"At home."

Li Xiangming hesitated before speaking, just as Li Xianghua had said, the police station had made a grave mistake this time.

"No matter what, you stopped the evil cultivator and retrieved the abducted baby. You are a hero of the police station and a hero of your family. That will never change."

Li Xiangming lowered his head, feeling somewhat ashamed. He admitted that he frequently traveled back and forth to Tailai Peak, making him one of those who had neglected their duties.

The police station was newly established, and many of its systems were not perfect. Its members were mostly young people, and nearly half of them were working for the family for the first time, so they had limited experience.

In addition, since everyone was born in Hao County of Zhangning Prefecture, which had been peaceful for a long time, they had only moved to Shun'an Prefecture a few years ago and had always lived a peaceful life.

Even though Li Qianxiong repeatedly emphasized the importance of the police station's duties, the relaxed environment led to lax supervision. Including Li Xiangming, many people treated patrol duties as a means to gain merit, and few people were wholeheartedly committed to the defense of their jurisdiction.

Ultimately, the police department reaped the bitter fruits of its own actions, and was given a harsh wake-up call.

"There's one more thing, what should we do with these children?"

Li Xiangru sighed and asked.

“According to the clan rules, those who are not surnamed Li are not allowed to go up the mountain, but it is not appropriate to put them in Changtai Township.”

The child in the bamboo basket was so badly injured that it would be too much of a burden for a mortal doctor to treat him.

Even if it is cured, if the aftereffects are not eliminated, it is still destined to die young.

"There's no need to worry about Fourth Brother. The fact that he's been brought to the side of an evil cultivator means he must have something worth coveting. The family will also be interested."

Li Xiangming interjected.

"You mean these children possess spiritual roots?"

"pretty close."

"This"

Li Xiangru had nothing to say and turned his attention to Li Xiangren.

The matter of spiritual infants is beyond his ability to make decisions.

Li Xiangren was quite interested in Li Xiangming's statement and asked, "How do you know?"

“Our Danggui Mountain area is located east of Puxian County, near Puyin Mountain. It is a barren land with many monsters, and even some lurking monsters.”

"Although this place is secluded, it is still risky for him to travel through the night with his cultivation level. It is too unreasonable if he is only abducting a few ordinary children."

At this point, Li Xiangming paused for a moment, and finally said, "Recently, there have been quite a few people in Pu County selling children with spiritual roots."

"Selling children with spiritual roots?"

Li Xiangru was extremely surprised. Pu County was special. Cultivators might not interfere with the sale of mortals here, but the sale of spiritual roots was a serious crime under the Hengyue Sect.

Lee Sang-in narrowed his eyes, not too surprised, seemingly aware of the news, but his eyes turned cold.

"Where did you get the news?"

"Pushui Market".

Li Xiangming confessed honestly that his father, Li Qianhe, was able to find out a lot of information about what was going on in Pushuifang City.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangren pondered for a moment, then said, "Let's take these children up the mountain and let the head of the family decide what to do with them."

"Xiangming, go back along the road and erase all traces of this person."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)