Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 81 Intelligence

Li Xiangping looked down at the obsequiously smiling Ahuilar, his gaze resting on the man’s thick neck, and he thought to himself:

"This man does still have some uses, but he’s slippery and disloyal. The Shanyue under his command are unruly and difficult to manage; if not handled properly, it could harm my own interests."

Ahuilar looked at Li Xiangping, and seeing his gaze sweep back and forth across his own neck, he instantly felt a chilling dread, as if a thorn was pricking his back. His mind raced, searching for a way to escape as he pleaded:

"Great King! We were all forced to move eastward due to the slaughter and oppression of Ganixi, seeking only a place to settle down. Please spare our lives, Great King. If Ganixi doesn’t move east within ten years, we will still be of use to you... "

Li Xiangping laughed, waved his hand, and Li Xuanxuan and Li Qiuyang stepped forward to seize Ahuilar. Li Xiangping then turned and instructed:

"Return all of the belongings to their rightful homes, and these Shanyue tribesmen shall all be taken away. As for you..."

"You will first be taken to Lijing Mountain."

Watching Li Xiangping and Li Tongya walk forward together, Chen Erniu shook his head behind the crowd and glanced at Chen Sanshui, who was hanging his head behind him, and muttered:

"It’s bad enough that I was thoroughly subdued by Li Mutian, but what kind of sons have we fathered! This blockhead can’t even compare to... to Li Yesheng’s son, Li Xiewen, who at least knows to work diligently at Lidao Entrance these past years!"

Remembering Li Mutian, Chen Erniu’s mood suddenly soured; he looked up at the distant Lijing Mountain with a complicated expression on his face and murmured to himself:

"Why hasn’t this old wolf died yet? Could he have taken some Immortal Elixir? Lying low on the mountain for over a decade has always kept us on tenterhooks."

————

"Speak."

Li Xiangping sat in the seat of honor, with Li Tongya standing beside him, sword in hand, staring intently at Ahuilar. Li Xiangping looked down at Ahuilar, who was kneeling obediently below, sipping hot tea with a smile:

"What kind of person is this Ganixi?"

Ahuilar broke into a profuse sweat. He looked up at Li Xiangping and was stunned for a moment until Li Tongya frowned, prompting Li Xuanxuan to rap harshly on his head with the hilt of his sword. Ahuilar then trembled all over and hastily responded, his voice trembling:

"Ganixi... Ganixi is a personage like the Great King."

In his heart, though, Ahuilar was terrified and he thought to himself:

"Although these two men look different, their demeanor and expressions are truly identical, both possessing the bearing of a tiger eying its prey."

While Ahuilar was still mulling over this, he was hit on the back of his head again. He lifted his head resentfully, only to see Li Xuanxuan with a flushed face, grinding his teeth:

"How dare a mere Shanyue chieftain compare himself to my uncle!"

Li Xiangping frowned and waved his hand, saying in a deep voice:

"Stop talking about those useless matters. How many troops does he have? What’s his strength like? And how many shamans are in his command?"

Ahuilar promptly bowed his head and said with an ingratiating smile:

"When we were driven from our ancestral lands in the North Foothills, Ganixi had already united more than a dozen tribes, with three to four thousand troops under his command. Ganixi himself is a Qi Cultivator, served by two diviners who have ingested nature’s spiritual energy. As for tribesmen and tribal shamans in the Fetal Breathing Realm, there are more than a dozen."

"Four thousand troops, three Qi Cultivators, and over a dozen Fetal Breathing Realm Cultivators."

Li Xiangping and Li Tongya exchanged a glance, each seeing a heavy seriousness in the other’s eyes.

The Li Family had been cultivating and nurturing for many years, but the able-bodied men from its four villages barely numbered ten thousand, and at best, could muster just over a thousand clan soldiers. In case of war, they might barely gather one or two thousand additional fighters of scattered combat ability.

"It would be better to face Ji Dengqi than deal with this Ganixi."

Li Xiangping sighed inwardly, then turned back with an impassive expression. Gently setting down his teacup, he softly said:

"Do you Shanyue know any agriculture, aside from your usual gathering and hunting?"

Ahuilar paused, then hesitantly replied:

"Yes, somewhat, like planting medicinal herbs and cotton and the like."

"So be it."

Li Xiangping stroked his chin and said in a low voice,

"Disperse those remaining five to six hundred followers among the villages to become tenants or hunters. Those with skills can work as leatherworkers or carpenters. Ensure you make an honest living. Fortunately, the previous looting did not result in too much harm, and the villagers will not hold deep grudges against you. You must behave appropriately and avoid causing unrest!"

Ahulie knelt on the ground and hurriedly nodded, stammering in response,

"My followers were originally just living peacefully and hunting in the fort. If it weren’t for our homes being destroyed and our clan annihilated, we wouldn’t have resorted to looting in the east. I will certainly instruct my followers well..."

"You, Ahulie, start by planting some Spirit Rice at the foot of Lijing Mountain."

Li Xiangping gently stood up and smiled,

"I will send someone to teach you literacy and how to cultivate Spirit Rice. After all, having the strength of the Fetal Breathing fourth level, it would be quite a pity to kill you outright."

————

Green Pond Peak.

Si Yuanbai was kneeling quietly in front of a stone door engraved with complex Spirit Patterns, his lips tightly pursed as he looked complicatedly at the Formation before him.

"Ancestor, please retract your order!"

His clear voice echoed in the Cave Mansion for a while, gradually fading into the wind.

"Yuanbai, why go to such lengths..."

A sigh followed by a heavy and ancient voice echoed in the Cave Mansion as well.

Si Yuanbai closed his eyes and showed a weary expression, opened his mouth, and continued,

"Please, Ancestor... retract your order!"

Seeing that the person behind the stone wall remained silent, Si Yuanbai’s gaze hardened, and he said in a low voice,

"My Qing Sui Peak will not go to the Southern Border."

"Ridiculous!"

A thunderbolt-like shout resounded in Si Yuanbai’s ears, causing him to bleed from both ears. Si Yuanbai let out a cold laugh and continued,

"You think I don’t know what you’re planning? You merely want to sacrifice Jing’er to fill their deficiencies! Perhaps the pots of a few Demon Kings in the Southern Border are already hot, bargaining over how many ordinary people to be delivered, how much treasure and Spiritual Objects the Southern Border will offer in return!"

"Si Yuanbai! How dare you!"

The overwhelming pressure of the Zifu Stage erupted, causing Si Yuanbai to spit out a mouthful of blood. He angrily wiped his mouth and said through clenched teeth,

"Back when Yuxie was sent there, you said it was to complete the twelve cycles of Taiyin Moonlight. I pleaded desperately for one hundred and fifty-six days, and you told me it was the last one. I actually believed you lot..."

"Silence!"

Si Yuanbai was struck down by an invisible force, hitting the stone wall hard and spitting out another mouthful of blood. He laughed loudly,

"Green Pond Immortal Sect, what a Green Pond Immortal Sect!"

"What an Immortal Sect!"

Si Yuanbai’s long hair disheveled, a departure from his usual gentle and refined demeanor, he stood up with red eyes, his robust and ceaselessly flowing Mana swirling around his body.

"Si Yuanbai, you are under the influence of inner demons, and we won’t hold you accountable,"

reclaimed the first heavy and aged voice, suppressing Si Yuanbai with force as it softly said,

"Just seal his Cultivation Level and take him to the tower."