Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 7 Going Home
The Li family of Dangui Mountain is a newly emerging cultivation family in Pu County, but in fact, the Li family is not young. The lineage of the Li family can be traced back to four hundred years ago.

Four hundred years ago, the Li family was an affiliated family of the Lingli Sect, the leading power in Jinhua Prefecture of Heng Kingdom, and once had a glorious history of producing four Golden Core cultivators in one family.

Unfortunately, their good fortune didn't last long. With the decline of the Lingli Sect, the Li family also quickly fell into decline, even losing their ancestral home, Tianzhu Mountain.

A small number of Li family cultivators led their relatives south and settled in Hanjiang Prefecture. Unexpectedly, the Longyuan Sect in Hanjiang Prefecture rebelled, causing turmoil throughout the entire Linan Road. The Li family, led by Li Huinan, simply continued south and eventually established themselves in Zhangning Prefecture.

After that came the campaign against the demons of Nanbin, for which he was granted a spiritual vein and moved to Dangui Mountain in Pu County.

The establishment of the Li family in Dangui Mountain marked the rebirth of the Li family. The Li family members no longer had to be in exile or live under the roof of others. Every cultivator or mortal in the Li family shared in the glory.

At least along Li Xiangming's journey, everyone he encountered—whether it was a woman breastfeeding on the street, a child playing and fiddling with a windmill, or an old farmer working in the fields—had a very positive outlook.

They couldn't help but think highly of their family; with this sense of unity, even if they didn't achieve great things, they were at least less likely to be bullied.

Passing through Changtai Township means entering the heart of the Li family territory, but it is still dozens of miles away from the true core area and the location of the spiritual vein—Tailai Peak.

Taking the opportunity, Li Qianbai introduced his family situation to Li Xiangming. Li Xiangming nodded repeatedly. He had been cultivating in the Green Cloud Cave and had also been to Pu County, but he always went to Pu Shui Fang Market to meet his father, Li Qianhe. He hadn't been home for ten years and knew very little about his family.

During the conversation, Li Xiangming also learned that Li Qianbai was a branch cultivator with a cultivation level comparable to his own.

Thus, the two arrived at Tailai Peak, and Li Qianbai left alone, citing his duty.

Watching Li Qianbai's retreating figure, Li Xiangming sighed inwardly. The family was not entirely monolithic; at least the conflict between the branches and the main lineage had never disappeared.

Li Qianbai clearly had a good impression of him, but as a branch cultivator, he obviously couldn't have too much contact with him.

"Is it because my nephew Xiangming is present?"

Just then, a hearty laugh rang out. Li Xiangming turned his head and looked over. A man who looked to be in his thirties was striding forward.

Li Xiangming quickly bowed and replied, "It is indeed my nephew."

"A message from Changtai Township said you've arrived home, and it's true. I am Li Qianyuan from the fourth branch of the family. According to seniority, you should call me Uncle Forty-One, but never mind, just call me Uncle Qianyuan."

Li Qianyuan was very talkative. He grabbed Li Xiangming's hand and asked him all sorts of questions, especially about whether the young man had a girlfriend.

Li Xiangming made various excuses and finally managed to skip the topic.

As the two climbed the mountain, they gradually encountered other tribesmen, many of whom looked at Li Xiangming with curious eyes.

Li Qianyuan smiled and said, "This is the outer courtyard, it's quite lively here."

He then explained the layout of Tailai Peak to Li Xiangming.

Tailai Peak is not tall, but it is very large, with a fat triangular shape. The Li family built a large settlement on its waist.

The area near the foot of the mountain is called the outer courtyard, while the area above it is called the middle courtyard and the inner courtyard.

The outer courtyard is the largest, and most of the Li family's functional departments are located here, so there is a constant flow of people.

Next to the central courtyard, numerous houses and cave dwellings were built, serving as the living and cultivation place for the Li family cultivators and their relatives.

The inner courtyard is the smallest, and it houses some special buildings—such as ancestral halls and storehouses—which are heavily guarded.

"You've come back at an inopportune time. The head of the family has just gone out on business and won't be back for at least three to five days. Let me show you to your place first."

After saying this, Li Qianyuan led Li Xiangming to the central courtyard and settled him into a single-room courtyard.

With a place to stay settled, Li Qianyuan took Li Xiangming to meet many of the fourth branch of the clan, with a special focus on paying respects to Li Chenglu.

As the head of the fourth branch, Li Chenglu was not only highly respected, but also had the power to influence the allocation of resources among the cultivators of the fourth branch.

Therefore, Li Xiangming appeared very humble, referring to himself as "Sixth Uncle" repeatedly—Li Chenglu is the sixth in the Cheng generation.

Looking at the well-behaved Li Xiangming, whose cultivation had reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, Li Chenglu was very pleased. He encouraged him several times and then gave Li Xiangming one of his treasured second-tier talismans—the Crimson Armor Talisman.

The Crimson Armor Talisman is a well-known defensive talisman. After use, it conjures an inner armor to protect the user, supposedly capable of withstanding an attack from a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Of course, this is just talk; Foundation Establishment cultivators vary in strength. If one were to encounter someone with the cultivation level of the black-robed man who attacked the White Dew Sect, even three or five Crimson Armor Talismans wouldn't be enough to withstand the attack.

However, the value of the Crimson Armor Talisman to Qi Refining stage cultivators is beyond doubt, and Li Xiangming was very pleased.

Then Li Chenglu personally led Li Xiangming to the ancestral hall to report to the ancestors, and used many methods to verify his identity during the process.

Li Xiangming complied with everything. Although he was a time traveler, he had used this body since childhood, so there was nothing to worry about.

After finishing everything, Li Chenglu handed Li Xiangming a jade slip containing a portion of the Li family's genealogy.

And so, Li Xiangming officially settled down in Danggui Mountain.
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Back in the courtyard, Li Xiangming scanned the jade slip with his divine sense, imprinting the names and relationships of the people in it into his mind.

It is said that a truly complete family genealogy is in paper form, which is very inconvenient to read. However, this is also for security reasons, as a family genealogy is, after all, a core secret of a family and should not be leaked.

While ordinary items are a bit more troublesome, they are not as conspicuous as jade slips, which is enough. After all, such things are not meant to be seen by the majority of people.

After reviewing the abridged version of the family tree in his hand, Li Xiangming had a clear understanding of his family.

The Li family nearly perished with the fall of the Lingli Sect, and although they fled to Zhangning Prefecture, they have only existed for a century.

Over the course of a century, the Li family's mortal members multiplied to around 30,000 households, and a total of over 270 cultivators were born. However, after accounting for those who died of natural causes and those who perished in the Battle of Nanbin, only a little over 200 remained.

Of these two hundred people, only a few dozen are truly useful, excluding those with low cultivation levels and the young. No wonder Li Qianxiong exclaimed that there was no one available.

The Li family of today is no longer the glorious Golden Elixir family it once was.

Even so, Li Huinan, Li Qianxiong and others did not give up their fate. Who said that the Li family would not rise again one day?

The reason why Dangui Mountain is called Dangui Mountain is because of the Li family's desire to rebuild their glory.

The Li family of Danggui Mountain, who consider themselves the legitimate lineage of Tianzhu Mountain, has continued to use many old systems within the family, including generational naming conventions.

The Li family's generational names are taken from a poem about generational names, as follows:
The great ancestor inherited his virtuous legacy, and his benevolent influence shines brightly.

Sincerity and humility emerge one after another, and simplicity holds profound beauty.

Those of the same lineage repair the trees in the courtyard, sharing the ambition to make the forest grow strong.

As time changes, things change, and auspicious omens remain forever.

Currently, the Li family has fourteen generations. Among the Hui generation, there is only Li Huinan, while most of the Ji generation are still learning to speak.

The generation with the character "Cheng" (诚) such as Li Chenglu (李诚陆) numbered only about ten people, and they are all very old. Now, the generation with the character "Qian" (谦) is taking on the main responsibility for the Li family.

Of course, the Xiang generation is also beginning to show their talent; the Li family's Xiang generation has produced quite a few outstanding individuals.

Take Li Xiangren and Li Xiangyu for example. Both of them have dual spiritual roots. One is at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and the other is at the eighth level of Qi Refining. According to the family's prediction, it will take at least three to five years, or at most eight or nine years, for one of them to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

When the Li family first entered Zhangning Prefecture, they had four Foundation Establishment cultivators. After the Battle of Nanbin, they lost three of them, leaving only Li Huinan.

However, with Li Chengkang and Li Chenggeng of the Cheng generation and Li Qianxiong of the Qian generation successively establishing their foundations, the overall strength of the Li family has only slightly declined.

Once Li Xiangren or Li Xiangyu establish their foundation, the Li family will instantly transform and become even more powerful.

This is also why Li Qianhe chose to sell the Blood Aperture Stone to pave the way for his son. These two people are too important to the family, and it is almost impossible for Li Xiangming to win the family's favor under their sharp edge.

However, Li Xiangming himself was quite calm. He had already spent ten years living under someone else's roof and being ignored, and he was used to it.

So what if we don't have Foundation Establishment Pills?

He believed in his abilities.

(End of this chapter)