Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan Chapter 2038 1488: Grand Array
"Now that matters here are settled, I shall take my leave."
After obtaining the Spirit Seed, Li Xinhuai did not hesitate to bid farewell and depart. He did not know why, but staying within the Xiaxian Sect always gave him an inexplicable sense of oppression, making him extremely uncomfortable—as if there were some looming danger.
His spirit sense, usually inactive, was now shouting and howling incessantly, urging him to leave at once!
If not for his family mission, Li Xinhuai would never have suppressed this overwhelming urge in his heart, outwardly pretending nothing was amiss.
The Xiaxian Sect Leader merely extended a few token words of persuasion; seeing Li Xinhuai's resolve to leave, he dispatched a disciple to escort him away.
"Do you suppose he's sensed something?" The Sect Leader suddenly spoke into the empty great hall.
In the next moment, several figures abruptly appeared within the hall.
"Should we send someone to kill him and prevent word from spreading?" One of them spoke coldly, his tone laden with intense killing intent.
The Sect Leader thought for a moment, then decided to let it go. "Forget it. He likely hasn't discovered anything. Instead, if we kill him, it might attract the Li family's attention. If the truth is exposed then, it will only increase the pressure on the sect."
The others had no objection to this decision, merely vanishing silently once more.
"I hope Ancestor succeeds."
The Sect Leader gazed toward the depths of the sect, his eyes full of expectation and prayer.
...
Meanwhile, having left the mountain gate of Xiaxian Sect, Li Xinhuai immediately flew away at his fastest speed.
'What is happening in the Xiaxian Sect? Why does the mountain gate fill me with such terror?'
He did not even dare to utter these words, only thinking them in his mind, still gripped by a sense of urgency.
Only after fleeing via flying escape and leaving Xiaxian Sect's territory did Li Xinhuai finally breathe a sigh of relief.
It took him nearly a month more to return to Mount Wanxian.
"Clan Leader, there's something strange about the Xiaxian Sect!"
Li Xinhuai, upon his return, like Li Xianxun, Li Yunran and the others, first sought out Li Debo to complete his mission, but did not immediately depart. Instead, he shared his feelings.
"Hmm?"
Li Debo certainly didn't think Li Xinhuai was inventing lies out of thin air—this was a forceful warning from the spirit sense of an Earth Immortal!
"Besides that, did you discover anything else?"
Li Xinhuai shook his head. "No. I never delved deep into Xiaxian Sect's mountain gate. I only met the Sect Leader in the outermost Guest Welcoming Hall."
This approach was indeed reasonable; after all, one can't simply invite outsiders into the inner sanctum of their mountain gate.
"Don't mention this matter to anyone else, just treat it as if you know nothing."
Li Debo pondered a while, then decided not to investigate further.
Firstly, Xiaxian Sect was no small sect, but an Immortal Tao top-tier force, its power far outstripping the Li family. If they were to send someone to investigate, exposure would be too easy.
By then, not only would they likely learn nothing, but would offend Xiaxian Sect instead.
Secondly, their distance to the Li family was too great, with Cave Abyss Sect lying in between. Even if something truly happened in Xiaxian Sect, the family wouldn't be the first affected, and would have ample time to prepare.
"Understood."
Li Xinhuai naturally comprehended this principle and had no objections, quickly bidding farewell and leaving.
"Xiaxian Sect... What are they actually doing?"
Li Debo did not dwell on the matter, taking the Spirit Seeds acquired from Xiaxian Sect and heading to Li Zhirui's cave mansion, handing over the six seeds.
The Spirit Seeds previously obtained from Yumen He Family had already been planted in space by Li Zhirui.
But with these twelve Heavenly Immortal Rank Spirit Seeds, he was running out of Spirit Stones once again!
The family's stored Spirit Stones were not convenient for large-scale use, so Li Zhirui devised a method—dispatching family trade caravans to sell pills in other sects' territories, amassing large amounts of Spirit Stones.
Because the Li family's activity was so great, local Spirit Stone shortages arose, boosting the purchasing power of Spirit Stones.
"Ancestor Rui, Xiaxian Sect may be preparing for a major move." Before leaving, Li Debo recounted the news he had heard in full detail.
"Oh?"
Li Zhirui raised his eyebrows slightly, but did not pay it much mind, responding casually, "Don't bother with them—they won't affect the family."
Xiaxian Sect might just have a Heavenly Immortal advancing further, attempting a breakthrough to the Profound Immortal Realm, or perhaps transcending—or maybe something else entirely.
But as always, they are too distant from Shanhai State. Whatever it is, the impact on the family will not be significant.
"Remember to collect more Spirit Stones from outside."
After giving instructions on the most pressing matter, Li Zhirui turned and returned to his cave mansion, continuing to summarize his life's cultivation and alchemy insights.
Seeing his ancestor so unworried about this matter, Li Debo's previously unsettled mental state instantly became calm.
"The accumulation of evil filth between heaven and earth is accelerating…"
Seated cross-legged on a meditation cushion in his quiet chamber, Li Zhirui, as usual, attuned himself to heaven and earth. He did so to find the proper opportunity to purify, hoping to transcend sooner, but suddenly discovered a startling situation.
"Why is this happening?"
As far as he knew, the only wars occurring were on the Western Continent, between Demonic Tao and the Sea Clan, Ghost Clan, as well as some small-scale conflicts.
And in the Southern Domain, there was conflict between the Devil Race and Human Dao.
Aside from that, other regions were relatively peaceful.
"Wrong!"
Li Zhirui was suddenly struck. Why did he just equate evil filth with warfare? Evil filth holds far more significance—many other things also place more pressure on the world!
For instance, the ever-growing numbers of cultivators!
Aside from deities and Earth Immortal Tao cultivators, every other type of cultivation adds another cultivator, increasing pressure on the world—the higher their cultivation, the greater the pressure.
Because their cultivation not only consumes the world's resources, but also generates pollution.
And this is what people call evil filth.
Abandoning his nearly fixed notions from the past, Li Zhirui swiftly grasped what was going on.
Why do cultivators across all paths keep multiplying? One major reason is closely tied to Li Zhirui himself.
That is—the emergence of world-traversing methods!
Over the years, the Yuan Spirit Realm has conquered countless worlds. The Li family alone has subdued no fewer than thirty extradimensional worlds.
With so many extradimensional resources, not only has the Li family's population grown greatly in recent years, their overall strength has advanced by one or two levels.
And this is merely the Li family, not a particularly powerful force. If you expand the view to encompass all of Immortal Tao, all of humanity, and the entire Yuan Spirit Realm, the situation becomes truly terrifying!