Chapter 139 Return

Words : 1403 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

"All the items meant to be sold are gone—time to head back to Da Rong Island!" Li Zhirui stretched languidly, exhaling a long breath of stale air. In the past few days, in his efforts to sell the Spiritual Objects, he had assumed numerous identities and had to evade the prying eyes that watched him from the shadows. He was utterly exhausted. Fortunately, it had all come to an end, and the results were extremely gratifying! The next morning, Li Zhirui stepped out of the Marketplace gates and immediately summoned his Spirit Boat, racing through the sky. "Big brother, that guy's too fast, we can't catch up!" A Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivator complained, trailing several miles behind Li Zhirui. "Forget it, let's head back," said the 'big brother', as he looked up at the disappearing Spirit Boat and decided to return home. Li Zhirui's seemingly perfect disguise had actually been detected long ago. When he passed the large river at the border of two states, Li Zhirui slowed down a bit but, after a brief reflection, he accelerated again to leave. By the time he reached Yunping State, the sun had already set. Yet, he didn't stay in the Marketplace, opting instead to continue towards Da Rong Island under the cover of night. After half an hour, Li Zhirui finally returned to his homeland, which he had longed for day and night. "I'm back!" Li Zhirui silently said to himself. If it hadn't been so late, he would have liked to shout out loud and tell all his clansmen. "I wonder if Uncle has returned." He glanced towards the back hall but, seeing no one, he turned and walked back to his own courtyard. Although no one had resided there for a year, the courtyard remained remarkably clean, thanks to the protective Formation. It was just too quiet. Chirp! Chatter! Hearing the surprised chirps of his two pets, Li Zhirui nodded in satisfaction. Now things felt livelier, especially with the presence of Xiaoqing, the energetic little creature. There would be no peace from now on. "I'm going to rest now; don't play too late," he told his pets before entering his meditation room to begin treating his Spiritual Soul as usual. Before leaving the Wood Spirit Market, he had bought several types of Spirit Pills for treating the Spiritual Soul, which were somewhat expensive but effective, and unavailable in Yunping State. Li Zhirui estimated that his Spiritual Soul would be healed once he refined all the Spirit Pills in his possession, roughly half a year from now. However, until then, Li Zhirui knew he must be cautious with his Divine Sense to avoid aggravating the injury to his Spiritual Soul. Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire The night passed without incident, and soon it was the next day. "Big brother, I'm back!" Li Zhirui said with a smile as he walked into the main hall, "I didn't exceed our one-year agreement, did I?" "The fact that you're back safe and sound is what matters," Li Zhizhun sighed in relief. Li Zhirui, with his keen senses, detected something amiss and furrowed his brows as he asked, "Is there something wrong with Uncle?" "Don't worry, Uncle wasn't injured; he's safely back with the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Medicine," Li Zhizhun quickly explained, worried that Li Zhirui might misunderstand. After hearing about what Li Shiqing had experienced during this period, Li Zhirui fell silent for a while before forcing a smile, "It's fortunate that Uncle returned unharmed and even brought so many benefits to our family." Foundation Establishment Spiritual Medicine, Island Moving Minor Divine Ability, and a third-tier Spirit Vein—should the Li family assimilate these resources, they would maintain high-speed development and strengthen the family's power for decades to come! Li Zhirui recounted his experience but altered the part about being possessed, making it sound like he had to escape in a sorry state after being injured by someone while fighting over some treasures. Li Shiqing gazed at Li Zhirui for a long time before finally sighing, "Don't take such risks in the future." "Understood!" Li Zhirui, worried that his injury to the Spiritual Soul might be discovered, hurriedly handed over the Magical Treasures to Li Shiqing and left shortly afterwards. In the following days, apart from healing, Li Zhirui spent all his time stimulating the growth of the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Medicine at hand. Fortunately, he had obtained quite a few Spirit Stones previously; otherwise, he couldn't have sustained such a significant expenditure. A second-rank Spiritual Medicine required the consumption of seven to eight hundred Spirit Stones. The refining of a Foundation Establishment Pill involved three kinds of second-rank Spiritual Medicines, using over two thousand Spirit Stones for a single batch. That didn't even include the cost of cultivating first-rank Spiritual Medicines! Luckily, first-rank Spiritual Medicines had shorter maturation periods, and since Li Zhirui was injured and unable to refine Spirit Pills for the time being, he could let them grow naturally in the space, saving him quite a few Spirit Stones. While Li Zhirui was in seclusion, the clan members on the island could hardly find peace, as everyone had affairs to manage. Li Shiqing learned the Island Moving Divine Ability and began to integrate small islands reported by the clan members into the east side of Da Rong Island. But since Li Shiqing was not of high cultivation, he could not move large islands and could only initially form a bridge of islands connecting Da Rong Island with Red Pine Island, planning to fill in the sides later. Li Shiren was working under the Earth Master, ending each day covered in dust, but his beaming smile suggested that he was gaining much from the experience. Li Shiting and Li Shilian were leading a group of clan members, overseeing two other islands, maintaining the environment and the Marketplaces there. Of course, the busiest among them were Li Zhizhun and Li Shile among the few Elders. They had to oversee all matters, such as ensuring the Red Pine Market had enough Spirit Pills and other Spiritual Objects, coordinating the making of Spiritual Objects by the clan members, and so on—it was non-stop busyness. Once everything was on the right track, the vitality of these Elders of the Li generation was depleted, and their condition worsened significantly. It was then that people started to realize just how old these Elders had become! The life expectancy of a Qi Cultivation cultivator was up to 120 years—an upper limit in theory. In reality, due to conflicts, training, and other reasons faced by cultivators, their life span rarely exceeded a hundred years. And they were already in their eighties or even nineties! For cultivators, this was also considered the twilight years. Elders like Li Shile began to semi-retire, handing over their affairs to clan members of the Shi generation, and started to pass down their experiences and insights from behind the scenes. The Li and Shi generations were transitioning and transferring responsibilities, while the youthful and robust Zhi generation started entering the family's management as Executors. They were aware that choosing this path meant it would become difficult for them to advance further on the path of cultivation, as the multitude of trivial matters would occupy their time. But they were clear in their hearts that, with their capabilities, they would not receive the family's resource prioritization and had to find their own way. This was not only because they had reached the end of their own path but also because many of them had families and descendants to consider. Among the Zhi generation clan members of the Li family, not counting the younger ones, only a few, such as Li Zhizhun, Li Zhirui, and Li Zhixuan, had yet to start their own families. Li Zhizhun was hoping to find a Foundation Establishment female cultivator of similar age to live and age together with. Li Zhirui had the same idea but with slightly higher standards; at least she should be able to reach Core Formation, lest they had to enact a separation of yin and yang, a drama of parting by life and death. As for Li Zhixuan and Li Zhiyue, they had grand aspirations and were not eager to settle down so easily.@@@@

Chapter 139 Return

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