Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 61 Jiang Liang's Visit
That night.

Li Xiangming was quietly cultivating in his room at Fengming Tower.

Suddenly, Li Xiangqi came and knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Li Xiangqi apologized and explained his purpose.

"You mean people from the Lingwu Sect came looking for me?"

Li Xiangming exclaimed in surprise.

“That’s right, he is the third disciple of Master Lingwu, and his name is Jiang Liang.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming pondered for a moment.

Of course he knew this person; he had personally received him on the day he arrived at Changyang Valley.

However, the two had virtually no personal relationship and had no idea why the other would visit so late at night.

"Call him in."

After thinking it over, Li Xiangming still felt he should meet them, after all, they were from the Lingwu Sect.

As someone representing the Li family, refusing to meet them would label the Li family as arrogant.

A short while later, a man with a slender build but a handsome face walked in; it was Jiang Liang.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, please have a seat."

"I apologize for disturbing Steward Li."

Jiang Liang cupped his hands in greeting and also sized up the somewhat thin young man in front of him.

"But what does the Lingwu Sect need?"

Li Xiangming got straight to the point.

Since the Changyang Valley market was open for two days, Master Lingwu bought the Youth Preservation Pill and still didn't leave.

The others are the same; they basically stay where they are, waiting to try their luck again tomorrow.

"Even if it's not Lingwu Sect, it still counts, right?"

Jiang Liang's gaze was complex, and his tone was conflicted.

"Oh?"

Li Xiangming became curious and said, "Tell me about it."

"I suspect that the youth-preserving pills my master bought during the day are fake."

"Under the watchful eyes of everyone, how could it be fake?"

Li Xiangming frowned.

Seeing is not always believing.

Jiang Liang slowly said, "From the perspective of Lingwu Sect or the Li family, the Youth Preservation Pill is genuine, but judging from the stall owner's actions, there must be something wrong with the Youth Preservation Pill."

"Putting myself in their shoes, if I obtained this treasure, I would definitely go to Pushui Market and sell it. I could easily live comfortably in the market for several years without any problem."

"However, the stall owner chose to come to Changyang Valley. The Changyang Valley market is only open for two days. Even if he sells a huge amount of 500 spirit stones, he will eventually be surrounded by wolves and tigers. This is illogical."

"Perhaps the stall owner urgently needs the money?"

Li Xiangming speculated that perhaps Jiang Liang's words made some sense, but to conclude that the Youth Preservation Pill was problematic based on this was far-fetched.

"The stall owner must be targeting the Li family, not the Lingwu Sect."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming was startled.

At first, he thought the Li family wouldn't buy the Youth Preservation Pill, since it was useless.

However, he had asked Li Qianxiong during the day, and the Li family did indeed have designs on the Youth-Preserving Pill.

According to Li Qianxiong, the Li family is considering giving the Youth Preservation Pill as a gift to a Foundation Establishment female cultivator of the White Dew Sect in order to bring the two families closer together.

It was only because Master Lingwu also wanted to buy it that it was given away.

After all, the Li family had many gifts to choose from; it didn't have to be the Youth Preservation Pill. Doing a favor for Master Lingwu was also a good idea.

This made Li Xiangming wary.

Changyang Valley is mostly populated by independent cultivators with limited funds. The remaining small families, such as the Chen and Luo families, are unlikely to be willing to spend these spirit stones.

The fact that the stall owner still chose to sell the youth-preserving pills under these circumstances undoubtedly shows that he had his eye on the Li family.

Just then, the Li family had another idea. If it weren't for Master Lingwu, the Li family would most likely have bought this Youth Preservation Pill.

Could it be a coincidence?
Li Xiangming pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "Even if the other party takes a liking to the Li family, it's normal and doesn't prove anything."

It's not surprising that the Li family, as the largest seller in Changyang Valley and also the largest potential buyer, has been targeted.

This is similar to the Li family bringing their goods to Pushui Market, their primary target buyer being Bailumen. The motivation itself is not problematic.

"Even if the other party is genuinely interested in doing business, their identity is questionable, and the Li family must be wary."

Seeing that Li Xiangming remained unmoved, Jiang Liang grew slightly anxious and blurted out his speculations all at once.

It turned out that Jiang Liang couldn't be sure if the Youth Preservation Pill was genuine or not, but he had noticed the stubble-faced man's unusual behavior since he first arrived at Changyang Valley, so he had always been wary of him.

Today, seeing that my master spent a huge sum of money to buy the other party's youth-preserving pill, I felt uneasy and suspected that my master had been taken advantage of.

"Were there any alchemists present at the time?"

Li Xiangming reminded him.

"It is precisely because the alchemist gave everyone confidence that I am even more worried."

"After Master bought the Youth Preservation Pill, he treasured it and wouldn't even let us disciples see it. I told him my reasoning, but Master only replied that the Li family was the witness and there was nothing to worry about."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming gently tapped the back of the chair with his fingers.

That is indeed a problem. Master Lingwu trusts the Li family so much. If it is ultimately proven that the Youth Preservation Pill is fake, it will be a major blow to the Li family's reputation.

But will there be any problems with the Youth Preservation Pill?
Li Xiangming remained silent. He was not familiar with Ninth Uncle Li Chengweng and could not judge his alchemy skills.

But he had great confidence in the Taoist Qingyang.

Although Qingyang Daoist encountered many setbacks in refining the Grass God Pill, it was because the Grass God Pill was a second-tier pill.

His alchemy skills are quite good.

Li Xiangming had personally witnessed him refining elixirs and found it pleasing to the eye, so he did not question his judgment at all.

In comparison, Jiang Liang's words seemed much weaker.

Seeing that Li Xiangming remained silent, Jiang Liang's expression darkened.

His master doesn't believe him, and he can't even see the head of the Li family. If he can't persuade this young head of the Li family, Lingwu Sect will have to take the fake Youth Preservation Pill back to the mountain tomorrow.

Thinking of this, Jiang Liang's expression turned solemn. As a disciple of the Lingwu Sect, he absolutely could not allow his sect to suffer the greatest possible losses.

"Does Steward Li still remember Nie Rong?"

"I certainly remember the champion of this year's competition."

"I dare to guess that the Li family has considered recruiting Nie Rong, haven't they?"

Li Xiangming narrowed his eyes.

"I dare to guess once again that the Li family's recruitment attempt failed?"

Jiang Liang claimed it was a guess, but his tone was extremely certain.

Li Xiangming looked at him quietly without saying a word.

Jiang Liang felt pressured. As a fellow Qi Refining Level 7 cultivator, he actually saw the shadow of Lingwu Shangren in Li Xiangming.

But he couldn't show weakness at this moment. Jiang Liang raised his head and said heavily, "The reason I dare to say that the Li family's recruitment has failed is because Nie Rong is in cahoots with the stall owner who sells the Youth Preservation Pill, and the stall owner is the master and Nie Rong is the servant."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming stood up abruptly, his face flushed with anger.

He then sat down, returning to normal, but still stared intently into Jiang Liang's eyes: "Do you know what you're saying?"

The Li family held this small contest of magic simply to promote the Changyang Valley market.

If Nie Rong was planted by someone with ulterior motives, he would surely disappear without a trace once the order was given.

At that time, no one will remember Nie Rong, and therefore no one will remember Changyang Valley.

What is the point of this gathering that the Li family has poured so much effort into organizing?
Moreover, the Li family also acquired a flying sword.

I bet people are laughing at me behind my back right now.

Thinking of this, Li Xiangming clenched his fingers tightly, making a crisp "clucking" sound.

Jiang Liang naturally saw Li Xiangming's anger, and at the same time, he was under great pressure, because the above was all his speculation.

But it's enough to plant the seeds of doubt in the Li family.

Recalling the strange smile of the stubble-faced man that had captivated him yesterday, he couldn't believe the man was clean-cut.

Thinking of this, Jiang Liang gritted his teeth and continued, "I have been observing for a long time. Except during the small competition, wherever the stall owner appears, Nie Rong is always there. The reason why the stall owner dares to hold such a large sum of money in Changyang Valley is because he is under Nie Rong's protection."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming's mind flashed back to Nie Rong's wooden face.

Whether the Youth-Preserving Pill is genuine or not is no longer important; the Li family must find out the identities of the stall owner and Nie Rong.

"Go back first, and don't make a fuss about this."

After seeing Jiang Liang off, Li Xiangming stayed in his room alone for a long time, lost in thought.

It wasn't until late at night that they called Li Xiangqi to visit the courtyard where the Chen family was temporarily staying.

(End of this chapter)