Chapter 41: My Descendants Gradually Become Perverted
Now, Li Yunlin was twenty-two years old. Given his natural aptitude, he should have been the shining pride of the Li family.
Yet life was like a fickle, unpredictable bitch.
Not only had Li Yunlin’s fate been plagued with hardships—forced into solitary confinement to face the wall, entirely devoid of spiritual energy—he had somehow broken through to the seventh layer of Qi Condensation purely through sheer willpower.
This made Li Xiang rather appreciative of Li Yunlin’s current disposition. The sharp, youthful edge from before was gone, replaced entirely by calm and restraint.
"Life can break a person down, but it can also forge a rebirth from the cocoon."
Seizing the moment, Li Xiang bestowed upon Li Yunlin a "token of paternal love from the ancestor." "May you forge ahead with all your might."
At that very moment, Li Yunlin, having just stepped out of the Cliff of Reflection, sensed a warm current flooding into his body.
After five long years.
He once again felt the encouragement of his ancestor!
He hurriedly dropped to one knee and kowtowed toward the heavens. Compared to his emotional state of five years ago, he was now far more composed. "Thank you, Ancestor. After five years of reflection, this child understands now. Perhaps I should never have come to the Leaving Heaven Sect in the first place, but I do not regret it."
"Where I fell, I shall climb back up. Step by step, I will claw my way to the very top!"
"I will never let down the expectations of my ancestor and my family!"
With those words, he quietly departed in the direction of the Leaving Heaven Sect.
"......"
Why did those words sound so familiar?
Still, Li Xiang didn't mind. As long as Li Yunlin did nothing to harm the family's interests, Li Xiang would support whatever decision he made.
Among all the third-generation descendants, only Li Yunlin had suffered such a stormy and calamitous path.
As for the others...
Li Xiang switched the view.
Outside the village of Zhien, there was an enclosure surrounded by massive walls—a training ground exclusively built for the children of the village.
These children possessed the fierce, unyielding valor passed down through generations of Zhien villagers.
Many of the youngsters were sparring hand-to-hand, blows landing with solid thuds of flesh against flesh.
The descendants of the Li family were also cultivating alongside the village children in this arena. According to Li Dalong’s philosophy, the Li children should grow up shoulder to shoulder with the children of Zhien Village so that they would truly integrate into the community. This would prevent the Li youths from turning into arrogant, pampered scions like those found in outside noble houses, thereby forging the character of the younger generation.
The children of the Li family already possessed ample resources.
If they wished to carve out a place for themselves within the family's ever-growing sphere of influence, they had to earn the recognition of the clan and integrate into its domains. If someone proved to be both talentless and virtue-free, only knowing how to squander family resources and tarnish the clan's reputation day in and day out, it would be better to simply cast them out into the world and let the harshness of society teach them a lesson.
Li Xiang fully agreed with this sentiment.
Fortunately, the third-generation descendants had all received a proper upbringing.
"Especially this rascal Li Yunbing."
Li Xiang grinned.
He clicked on Li Yunbing’s avatar, and the game screen shifted.
"A body-refining martial artist harnesses the breath of heaven and earth, the essence of the sun and the moon, driving them forth through the meridians, bursting through the flesh, enduring the agony of skin and bone!"
"This is the Lower Realm: the body becomes as tough as vines and wood, capable of resisting swords and blades!"
"When Qi erupts within the flesh and blood, enduring the torment of a thousand needles piercing the body, this is the Upper Realm!"
"With a body like unyielding stone, lifting objects weighing hundreds of pounds is mere child's play."
"When the five viscera and six bowels resonate in unison, and spiritual energy flows freely through the meridians, this is the Ultimate Realm. The physical body itself becomes a lower-grade magical artifact!"
Li Yunbing, barely thirteen years old, stood upon the training ground acting as an instructor to the younger children.
His face still retained a hint of childish youth, as handsome as that of his elder brother Li Yunlin, save for his eyes, which possessed an indescribably pure and ethereal quality, accompanied by a crisp, clear voice.
"This technique was once the *Wang Family Body-Refining Art*, a Yellow-tier physical cultivation method. Now it is practiced by everyone up and down our Zhien Village. You must not waste your time and must practice diligently. Whoever reaches the Lower Realm shall be appointed to an official post in the Black Blood Hall upon reaching adulthood."
Among the crowd of children below, some were even two or three years older than Li Yunbing.
Yet as they looked at him, their expressions were filled with profound reverence.
An older child looked at Li Yunbing in confusion and asked, "Instructor, what realm have you reached then?"
"Little Aunt won't let me say."
Li Yunbing shook his head with earnest innocence before continuing to instruct the children in their physical cultivation.
Seeing this scene, Li Xiang’s eyes lit up brightly.
"Li Yunbing has the immense potential to surpass Li Yunlin."
He had already opened Li Yunbing’s personal profile.
【Li Yunbing (Third-generation member)】
【Realm: Peak of the Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation】
【Cultivation Techniques: Shadow-Tracing Heavenly Steps, Body-Refining Art, Breath-Prolonging Everlasting Skill, Lightning-Guiding Heavenly Scripture】
【Traits: Pure Heart】
Li Yunbing was born with four spiritual roots, making his innate aptitude inferior to his elder brother Li Yunlin’s, but he made up for it with family resources. Even so, that alone shouldn't have allowed him to reach the peak of the Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation at such a tender age.
The key factor was...
His aptitude!
【Pure Heart】
【Innocent and kind-hearted, with a mind untainted by external distractions. Thus, during cultivation, he is undisturbed by outside affairs and more prone to sudden epiphanies. Comprehension of cultivation techniques increased by 80%. Cultivation speed increased by 30%!】
Clearly.
He had not been troubled by the matter of his mother, Qu Xiaoxiao, being expelled from the family, and he had understood the reasons behind it at an early age.
The only downside was...
Li Xiang flipped through his past event log.
【At age 3, he was tricked out of his candy by a child of the same age and cried bitterly, burying his head in his hands.】
【At age 5, taking pity on an assassin disguised as a beggar, he was nearly killed, only to be saved at the last moment by the Ancestor's divine intervention.】
【At age 7, he acquired the Pure Heart trait.】
【At age 9, upon hearing Li Dalong claim that practicing the *Wang Family Body-Refining Art* didn't hurt at all, he found the subsequent training agonizingly painful. Believing it was his own fault, he practiced all the harder...】
【At age 12, upon hearing Li Yaozu say that practicing the *Shadow-Tracing Heavenly Steps* inside the Death-Directing Heavenly Coffin was very simple, he spent 27 days dying on the first floor before finally catching a glimpse of the threshold.】
"Ah, a rare fool of the Li family."
Li Xiang rubbed his forehead and smiled wryly, unsure whether Li Yunbing’s personality was a blessing or a curse.
Then he shifted the screen once more.
Li Yaotie now had five children. Because the Silver Iron Forest was relatively close to the Li residence, all five children were currently staying in the Silver Iron Forest.
"Oh, Grandpa, look, I can fly!"
"Grandpa, Grandpa, today I'm definitely going to run faster than Uncle Turtle!"
"Fifth Sister is bullying me! She broke my nose again... It's fine, Grandpa, look how tough I am, I straightened my nose back out all by myself."
"......"
Li Xiang witnessed a rather bizarre scene. Li Yaotie’s children had perfectly inherited the genes of both Li Yaotie and Bai Rourou. Every single one of them was exceptionally robust, looking almost carved from the same mold.
Even the young girl Li Yunjie looked like a miniature cheetah.
Take the third and eldest among them, Li Yundou, for instance.
At only eight years of age, he had already grown to a height of one and a half meters. Bare-chested with dark, sun-baked skin, he calmly bent his bloody nose back into place with his bare hands while his biceps flexed with obvious definition...
From the physique of these children—so vastly different from their peers—one could easily predict just how towering and muscular they would grow to be as they aged.
At this moment, the center of the Silver Iron Forest resembled a playground for them, as they engaged in extreme sports with spirit beasts that children had no business playing with—a lifestyle characterized entirely by sheer wildness and grit.
The Pig Demon King, overlord of the Silver Iron Forest, looked on with a kindly, beaming smile as this pack of wild children froc-ked and wrestled before him.
"Li Yaotie and Bai Rourou are truly something else, raising a brood of kids like this."
Li Xiang didn't even know what to say.
Yet he felt thoroughly reassured. After all, Bai Rourou, raised by the Pig Demon King, had an impeccable moral character. Now that Li Yaotie’s five children were being jointly nurtured by the Pig Demon King and the Li family, something would have to be seriously wrong for them to go astray.
As he ate a roasted chicken delivered to his room by Yuexian.
He switched screens once more.
Li Xiang’s gaze was instantly arrested by a line of text in the event log. His meat-stuffed mouth split into a grin as he began clicking his mouse.
【Your descendant Li Yaoqing has broken through to the early stage of Foundation Establishment.】
【Her aptitude has undergone a metamorphosis: Four-element miscellaneous spiritual roots!】
【After nearly five years of profound enlightenment, she suddenly discovered within the *Classic of a Thousand Herbs* that ancient apothecaries all used plant and floral spirits as their dantians, forging divine infant souls and cultivating primordial spirits to attain the Daoist Medicine Body.】
【Therefore, having obtained the consent of the family's spirit beast, the 'Eight-Leaf Flower Sprite,' she forged the 'Eight-Leaf Flower Sprite' into her dantian, achieving symbiosis with it and acquiring the *Heaven-Punishing Flora Divine Art*!】
【As a result, the Eight-Leaf Flower Sprite has mutated into a Nine-Leaf Elixir Fetus!】
【Trait acquired: Immortal Fetus】
"I..."
Li Xiang stood dumbfounded, staring in a daze at Li Yaoqing, who had just emerged from secluded cultivation and immediately rushed to the Ancestor's ancestral hall to kowtow, crying out, "Ancestor, protect me!"
At this moment, Li Yaoqing had been completely reborn.
Though she was already thirty-eight years old, she looked as fresh as a young maiden, yet her appearance remained unkempt—still wearing filthy robes, sloppy and unpolished, weeping a torrential mess.
"Ancestor, Yaoqing hasn't offered incense to you in several years. Please, Ancestor, do not blame me."
Li Xiang casually applied the 'token of paternal love from the ancestor' to Li Yaoqing.
With trembling hands, he clicked open Li Yaoqing’s profile.
【Li Yaoqing (Second-generation descendant)】
【Occupation: Ninth-Rank Apothecary】
【Realm: Early Foundation Establishment】
【Cultivation Techniques: Classic of a Thousand Herbs, Heaven-Punishing Flora Divine Art】
【Traits: Plant Affinity, Immortal Fetus】
Li Yaoqing’s current state was far more than a simple metamorphosis; the gains she had extracted from that *Classic of a Thousand Herbs* might even surpass the supreme spiritual treasure known as the Death-Directing Heavenly Coffin!
After all, Earth’s millennium spiritual Qi revival had once birthed immortals.
Anything associated with the word 'Immortal' was never simple!
He clicked on the *Heaven-Punishing Flora Divine Art* and the *Immortal Fetus* trait, only to find that the descriptions for both techniques and traits were identical, closely linked to the 'Nine-Leaf Elixir Fetus' that had transformed into a dantian within Li Yaoqing’s body!
【Heaven-Punishing Flora Divine Art: Cultivate the Nine-Leaf Elixir Fetus. Each realm broken represents a breakthrough, eventually transforming into an Immortal Fetus!】
【Cultivation speed increased by 30%, herb cultivation speed increased by 100%. From this moment on, you shall instantly recognize the medicinal properties of all herbs across the world.】
Succinct and to the point.
Based on Li Xiang's current understanding of the introduction:
Every time Li Yaoqing broke through a major cultivation realm, her elixir fetus would sprout another leaf, simultaneously enhancing her aptitude until it finally condensed into an Immortal Fetus.
And right now, Li Yaoqing’s Nine-Leaf Elixir fetus had already sprouted two leaves, elevating her aptitude to four spiritual roots.
Upon sprouting three leaves, her aptitude would become three spiritual roots.
Four leaves would mean dual spiritual roots.
And so on.
With each successive breakthrough, Li Yaoqing’s aptitude would grow stronger, and her power would surge in tandem with her rising potential!
Li Xiang had never heard of such a monstrous physique before.
Without a doubt, as long as Li Yaoqing could break through steadily step by step, she would one day achieve immortality. Even if her current power fell short of others, as her aptitude progressed into dual roots, single roots, or even a far superior Heavenly Spiritual Root...
Her strength would multiply exponentially.
Moreover, her *Heaven-Punishing Flora Divine Art* was likewise growing stronger. It already possessed two tiers of spells: the first-tier spell was of Common grade, while the second-tier spell was of Yellow grade.
If she continued to break through layer by layer, Li Yaoqing would eventually wield Heaven-grade spells, or perhaps even greater ones.
Most terrifying of all was that once unlocked, the cultivation progress of her spells instantly reached 100%, achieving the mastery-defying realm of perfection!
"Monstrous."
Li Xiang swallowed hard and clicked on the *Heaven-Punishing Flora Divine Art*.
A bold idea formed in his mind.
【You have selected your descendant's cultivation technique, the *Heaven-Punishing Flora Divine Art*.】
【Do you wish to replicate this technique?】
【Incense points required: 9,999,999....】
"???"
"Even more monstrous."