Chapter 50: The Peerless Prodigy of the Fourth Generation, Li Tianyi!

"What a true man!"

Li Xiang was overjoyed. The "Ancestor's Blessing of Warmth" was cast on the spot, penetrating the roof tiles straight into Li Yunbing's room. A moment later, a commotion echoed from within, startling away the resting birds perched on the branches of the large tree outside.

The newlyweds were quickly dressed and bustling throughout the Li household, offering tea.

Li Dalong and his wife, who had been waiting in the ancestral hall, offered incense to the ancestors. As they just received the tea from their grandson and granddaughter-in-law, their faces broke into wide smiles, but they suddenly froze for a moment. Li Dalong turned his head and looked at Xu Cuihua, "Wife, our granddaughter-in-law... she's expecting!"

"What?"

Li Yunbing and his wife were both stunned.

Having reached the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, one could perceive the vitality of human blood and breath, not to mention that Li Dalong was already approaching the peak realm!

"That means I'm going to be a great-grandmother." Xu Cuihua beamed with joy, hurriedly kneeling before the ancestral tablets. "Ancestor bless us, may our Li family enjoy four generations living under one roof."

Shortly after.

The newlywed couple was taken on a tour by Li Dalong and his wife.

Especially upon arriving at the Silver Iron Forest, meeting the Boar Demon King for the first time, the new bride of the Li family was so startled she stood frozen. She simply couldn't adapt to the fact that her husband's family actually had a demon king, and moreover, such a dominant demon king capable of ruling a region was her husband's maternal grandfather!

"Hahaha, I've become a maternal grandfather! Never would I have thought that I, an old boar in a demonic body, would enjoy the supreme blessing of children and grandchildren filling the hall."

Ever since he acquired the Li family as in-laws, the Demon King of the Silver Iron Forest had been smiling in his sleep for nearly twenty years.

Being a demon king was an extremely lonely existence. Despite the countless fierce beasts in the Silver Iron Forest, due to bloodline suppression, none of them dared to step out of line. Only the seven maternal grandsons from the Li family brought joy to this lonely demon king day after day. For thousands of years, he had never felt such a carefree state of mind.

He could never get tired of these children; he even wanted more, preferably enough to fill his entire valley.

...

[Year 53 of the Li Family]

[The two major clans of Tailin Town, having planned for a long time, quietly fled their hometown with their clansmen. As they departed, the heads of the two clans looked back with every step they took, leaving under the watchful eyes of the Li family members. Chen Chuan earnestly pleaded with the Li family to treat his daughter Chen Lin and his unborn grandchild well, and bestowed a top-grade magical artifact—the Heart of Heaven Jade Pendant.]

[In return, the Li family gifted the Chen family thirty sets of Black Iron Beast Blood Armor, wishing them great success in building their enterprise abroad.]

[Congratulations, your family has successfully gained control of Tailin Town!]

[Received Incense Value +1000!]

The two clans of Tailin Town had ultimately left, as resolute as they had claimed during the wedding banquet. Near Tailin Town, the Li family had become the sole major clan.

This also meant that if people from Qingyun County continued to invade Tailin Town, the Li family would become the sole target!

Yet, several months passed in this year.

Even though the Li family had prepared themselves for a showdown with the Yunshu Wanghai Tower, Tailin Town did not experience any large-scale incursions. Only some petty thieves and opportunistic scoundrels from Qingyun County tried to sneak around trying their luck.

Until—

[Chen Lin, carrying the child for ten months, gave birth to a son, named Li Tianyi!]

[Congratulations, you have gained Incense +50!]

[During the prenatal period, this child was nourished by the Golden Core within the Demon King's enlightened state of mind, protected by the residual power of the first layer of the Death-Warranting Heavenly Coffin invoked by Li Dalong and his wife, and further blessed by the blood-pill energy accumulated over many years from the eighth-grade Blood Spirit Fruit Tree. Before the infant was born, Li Yaozu comprehended a strand of sword intent, bestowing upon the child the lingering majesty of sword shadow perception, resulting in the acquisition of the trait—]

[Flawless Spirit Body!]

[No cultivation bottlenecks prior to the Golden Core stage, cultivation speed increased by 100%!]

"Waaah~"

Inside the delivery room, the midwife who had assisted in delivering the Li family's children thirty years ago was now nearing sixty. Trembling, she handed the baby to Li Dalong and his wife. Even she could sense the extraordinary nature of this child, and stammered, "Master, Madam, this baby of ours..."

"Great-grandson Tianyi possesses the natural aptitude of an immortal!"

...

The Li family members were overjoyed. Even they could witness that at the moment of Li Tianyi's birth, natural phenomena manifested, and all surrounding spiritual energy converged upon him!

Li Xiang, sitting before the screen, also sprang to his feet, staring excitedly at the child in the game.

"My Li family has finally produced a favored son of heaven!"

Even Li Xiang couldn't help but envy this child's sheer luck.

He still remembered that because Chen Lin was a daughter of the Chen family, at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, and coupled with the declining lineage of the Chen family, she had constantly fought alongside her kin, accumulating numerous hidden injuries over the years. By the sixth month of her pregnancy, she had nearly lost the child.

It was only because multiple members of the Li family channeled their spiritual power to drive the Death-Warranting Heavenly Coffin to secure the pregnancy, and because he himself used the "Ancestor's Embrace" technique, that the child was successfully saved.

Moreover, Li Tianyi's luck was truly formidable; he happened to catch up with the Boar Demon King's breakthrough in state of mind and Li Yaozu's sudden epiphany.

Especially his spiritual roots: naturally endowed with three spiritual roots, and these three were far from ordinary.

Aside from the metal and wood dual elements of the standard five-element spiritual roots reaching a natural 60 points, he actually possessed a wind spiritual root that soared straight to 78 points!

"Awesome!"

Every single member of the Li family rejoiced over the birth of Li Tianyi.

Especially the Boar Demon King in the Silver Iron Forest; upon hearing the news, he was so happy he instantly grabbed the baby in his jaws and bounded around the valley for half a day. Though Li Yaotie and his wife, along with their seven children, had grown accustomed to this, it scared Chen Lin into a cold sweat.

This news even reached Li Yaoqing and Li Yunlin, who were far away.

[The Li family sent a message via hundred-mile carrier pigeon. Li Yaoqing paid respects to the ancestors outside the Thunder Fire Demonic Cave.]

Following the event log to click on Li Yaoqing's avatar.

Li Xiang once again beheld the scene of the Thunder Fire Demonic Cave. This demonic cultivation ground was riddled with scars, clearly showing signs of assaults by cultivators. Furthermore, at the demonic cave, the gathered cultivators had already reached over 500 in number, all righteous demon-slaying volunteers hailing from Taiqing County and surrounding counties.

At this moment, Li Yaoqing was still dressed in plain, unadorned robes with disheveled hair.

Yet outside the room where Li Yaoqing resided in the imagery, wounded individuals were lined up waiting for rescue.

Although Li Yaoqing had been stationed in the Thunder Fire Demonic Cave all this time, Li Xiang occasionally observed her current condition. This child... her status now was anything but simple!

Opening the character history log.

[Year 49 of the Li Family: Li Yaoqing arrived at the demonic cave.]

[Year 50 of the Li Family: Maintained a low profile.]

[Year 51: Li Yaoqing began healing the wounded and saving the dying, becoming a renowned apothecary within the demon-slaying squad. Due to the trait 'Divine Physician's Miraculous Hands,' she always managed to save her comrades.]

[Year 52: A demonic lord among the demonic cultivators was severely injured, and a loyal demonic cultivator risked entering the demon-slaying squad to beg Li Yaoqing to save his life. She wrote back to the Li family, and Li Yaowen offered her a suggestion. From then on, Li Yaoqing saved members of the demon-slaying squad by day and demonic cultivators by night, her medical skills growing increasingly profound.]

[For saving lives, obtained a reward: a low-grade magical artifact, the Shadowless Hairpin.]

[Obtained reward: Heart of Heaven Herb.]

[Obtained reward: ordinary cultivation technique, Profound Heaven Circling Steps.]

[Obtained...]

[Through healing the sick and injured, and coming into contact with an increasing number of toxic herbs within the demonic cave, the trait 'Divine Physician's Miraculous Hands' evolved into—]

[Boundless Great Medicine: Medicinal properties of unfamiliar herbs become increasingly easy to comprehend; medical skills increased by 100%, toxicology increased by 100%.]

If one were to speak of who harvested the most during the year of the war between the two sects.

It was definitely not Li Yunlin, who became a direct disciple of the Litian Sect, but Li Yaoqing!

By playing both sides and mingling effortlessly, she had reaped massive gains.

Even...

...

[Year 53 of the Li Family: Li Yaoqing crafted a hundred medicines and refined a hundred poisons, gaining profound insights. Integrating both medicine and poison into her body, she anchored her essence with earthly herbs and the heavy qi of the land, breaking through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment!]

And that was not all.

At this very moment, Li Yaoqing was kneeling in prostration before Li Xiang's ancestral tablet, her face innocent, devoid of the scheming and caution she usually displayed when playing all sides, just like the child who used to happily stroke the beast blood fruits beneath the tree back then. "Ancestors, this child already knows. I have a grand-nephew with extraordinary talent. With Tianyi in our Li family, our lineage shall endure for a thousand years."

"Heehee."

As she spoke, Li Yaoqing suddenly giggled. "Ancestors, this child has amounted to something. When I save people, they all owe me favors. No physician compares to me, and even if they know, they dare not say no to me. This demonic cave is simply the best place in the world."

"Ancestors, please rest assured. As long as this child manages things well, when our temple-guarding divine beast enters the demonic cave, it will be like entering an uninhabited realm!"

A warm current flowed into her body, and Li Yaoqing immediately realized it was a blessing from the ancestors, growing even more ecstatic.

"......"

Li Xiang's mouth twitched slightly. He now somewhat understood why the number of cultivators lingering near the demonic cave was increasing, and why neither side was suffering many casualties. "The trait 'Boundless Great Medicine,' what a remarkable Boundless Great Medicine."

"As expected of the idea hatched by Yaowen."

Seeing the current situation, Li Xiang felt at ease regarding Li Yaoqing's condition, and subsequently turned his gaze toward the Litian Sect.

A location appeared on the map.

[Litian Hall]

Looking closely, it seemed to be a place accessible only to past sect masters of the Litian Sect—a subterranean cavern wrapped in total darkness, yet dotted with tiny specks of starlight resembling a dark cosmos.

Li Yunlin and Sect Master Zhenyang Daoist sat facing each other in cross-legged meditation.

Zhenyang Daoist watched as Li Yunlin refined the sect's secret arts to an increasingly profound degree, yet frowned and questioned, "Yunlin, I heard you received another family letter today?"

Li Yunlin slowly opened his eyes.

His expression calm, he replied, "Mm, I burned it. Yunlin has long since severed all mortal ties; it is merely members of the Li family attempting to climb high branches, pay them no heed."

"Very good."

Zhenyang Daoist nodded slightly, though lingering doubts remained. "I heard you frequently carry an ancestral spirit tablet with you?"

"Yes."

Li Yunlin remained unfazed, calmly pulling the ancestral spirit tablet from his bosom and shattering it with a flick of his hand. "Keeping it constantly by one's side is also part of severing mortal ties. Now, even looking at the ancestral tablet, Yunlin no longer yearns for secular days. If you find it an eyesore, Master, Yunlin destroys it simply."

"Hah." Zhenyang Daoist finally exhaled a breath of relief, smiling. "Very good. You must remember, disciple, for a cultivator, decades pass in the blink of an eye. Only by severing mortal ties can one truly cultivate; this is the supreme truth of the Great Dao!"

"Yunlin understands."

When night fell.

Li Yunlin returned to his bedchamber, vigilantly sensing his surroundings. Confirming no other presence, he entered the room, slowly lifted the bed, and unsealed thirty-six arrays to reveal a hidden stash of engraved ancestral tablets. Selecting one from among them, he lit incense and knelt in prostration.

"Old thief Zhenyang, how dare he attempt to corrupt this child's original heart?"

"Please rest assured, ancestors, though he accepts me as a disciple, to this day I have never once addressed him as master."

"During my years in Litian, several elders already revere me as the next sect master. Last year, when Qingyun County attempted to invade our family's territory, I already dispatched three inner sect disciples loyal to me to lead them astray."

"This time, hearing that the third brother, Yundou, has fathered a son, the gift I prepared will arrive by the full moon. It will serve as the hidden trump card for our Li family to secure our survival amidst this war between the two sects!"