Chapter 279 - 276: Wang Xingwei’s Cultivation

Chapter 279: Chapter 276: Wang Xingwei’s Cultivation

Why are you staying at an inn instead of returning to Immortal Peach Mountain?

Li Ping glanced at Zhang Tie and saw his face was full of sincerity. He was clearly asking in earnest.

’Still so simple-minded,’ Li Ping sighed inwardly.

In fact, when he had previously mentioned to Gumu Sheng that he was staying at an inn, Gumu Sheng hadn’t asked too many questions. He had obviously guessed that Li Ping wouldn’t be staying in the Immortal City for long.

But Zhang Tie hadn’t caught his underlying meaning.

Li Ping wasn’t sure if it was because Zhang Tie had held a high position for many years and grown rusty in social interactions, or if he was just too excited to be in front of his big brother and let his true nature show.

He thought for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "I only returned to the Immortal City this time to see you all. I’ll be leaving in a few days, so there’s naturally no need to think about a new residence."

"Big Brother, you’re leaving again?" Zhang Tie was shocked by Li Ping’s answer. Confused, he asked, "Big Brother, weren’t you living perfectly fine in the Immortal City before? Why all of a sudden..."

Li Ping didn’t answer Zhang Tie’s question, instead smiling and asking about the younger generation of his family.

Truthfully, back when he lived in the Immortal City, he really had entertained the idea of taking the entire city for himself.

In his view at the time, Fenglan Master was old, and Dai Sangyu, the disciple with the most hope of reaching Core Formation, was trapped by her Heart Demon, her prospects of advancing bleak.

Meanwhile, his own people—Zhang Tie, Gumu Sheng, and the others—had joined the Cyan Dragon Mountain faction one after another after reaching Foundation Establishment, and now held important positions.

All he needed to do was successfully form his Golden Core and become a Core Formation Cultivator.

With both people and power on his side, the entire Immortal City would be his for the taking once Fenglan Master died.

Then, he would forcibly take Dai Sangyu as a concubine. Just seeing the humiliated and helpless look on her face in bed every day would have put him in a much better mood.

But after experiencing a series of upheavals, he had lost that ambition.

Especially now, when the Immortal City was, in essence, the property of Purple Cloud Valley and two other Sects.

Since he wasn’t lacking cultivation resources or Spiritual Lands, Li Ping had no interest in starting a feud with three major Core Formation Sects over a single Immortal City.

He certainly had no intention of sticking his neck out and stirring up trouble for the sake of old acquaintances like the Meng family.

Now, he just wanted to lie low and quietly cultivate his way to eternal life.

Zhang Tie sat for a while longer, and only after easing the sorrow of his impending separation from his big brother did he rise to take his leave.

However, the glum expression on his face as he left made it clear he was reluctant to see his big brother depart again so soon.

...

Five Clouds Pool.

This was a secluded pool dozens of li in circumference, nestled within a cluster of mountains. Through an Array, one could see many plots of Spiritual Land cleared by the water’s edge, with numerous Cultivators toiling away on them.

In the pool itself, other Cultivators were feeding spirit fish.

In the main hall.

Bai Zhengheng was speaking with Bai Qing, who had recently hurried over from Gaoji Mountain.

As the Bai family’s only two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, both in the prime of their lives, they each oversaw a Tier Two Spiritual Land. Their relationship wasn’t particularly close, but it wasn’t bad either.

After hearing Bai Qing’s account, Bai Zhengheng shook his head slightly. "Brother Qing, you’re saying that man has returned? But with my sister’s passing, I have no connection to him anymore. There’s no need for me to see him."

Bai Zhengheng was grateful for his sister’s sacrifice and for her giving him the Foundation Establishment Pill.

That was why he had remained deeply respectful of his sister, even after becoming a Foundation Establishment Ancestor.

He hadn’t even interfered when his sister had acted willfully, forcing a portion of the Bai family members to change their surname.

Moreover, after his sister died, he forbade those who had changed their surname from changing it back, preserving the name of ’the Li family of Five Clouds Pool’.

But in truth, he felt nothing for Li Ping—in fact, he harbored a faint sense of disgust toward him.

From his perspective, Li Ping had never given his sister proper recognition. To Li Ping, his sister had been nothing more than a tool and had suffered greatly for it.

It was true that the Foundation Establishment Pill he used had come from Li Ping, but to put it bluntly, his sister had sold her body to get it.

From beginning to end, the only person he owed was his sister.

Hearing Bai Zhengheng’s firm reply, Bai Qing could only nod helplessly. "Since you won’t go, I’ll take a clansman with the Li surname."

At these words, Bai Zhengheng couldn’t help but frown.

But in the end, he still nodded. "Brother Qing, go and ask who is willing to go."

...

「A few days later, at the Immortal’s Arrival Inn.」

Four figures appeared one after another outside the inn, drawing the curious gazes of passing Cultivators. However, once the onlookers got a clear sense of the aura emanating from the four, they all quickened their pace and left.

Three Early-stage Foundation Establishment masters and a Mid-stage one—how could Low-tier Cultivators like them dare to offend such seniors?

The manager of the Immortal’s Arrival Inn also hurried out with a smile, eagerly calling out "Seniors," hoping to usher the four inside first.

But the four paid him no mind.

The ordinary-looking young woman among them impatiently waved him away. "Go about your business. Don’t be an eyesore here."

The manager didn’t dare say another word and obediently departed.

Thankfully, he had at least confirmed that the four were not there to cause trouble for his inn.

The four waited for a moment before another young man in a navy blue robe arrived in a hurry, with one person in tow.

Cheng Yao nodded in satisfaction. "Everyone’s here. Let’s go up and pay our respects to Big Brother together!"

And so, the four sworn siblings—Zhang Tie, Gumu Sheng, Cheng Yao, and Bai Qing—along with Wang Xingwei, who had been brought by Cheng Yao, and the junior brought by Bai Qing, all six of them entered the inn together and headed for the superior suite where Li Ping was staying.

The junior Bai Qing had brought was a round-faced young man of about twenty, who looked a little green.

He had a faint look of anticipation on his face as he thought about the person he was about to meet.

The other members of the Five Clouds Pool’s Li family had heard beforehand that Heng Ancestor did not want them coming to the Immortal City, so they all made themselves scarce when Qing Ancestor came to select someone.

They were perfectly clear about the origins of the Five Clouds Pool’s Li family and didn’t truly consider Li Ping their ancestor. They certainly weren’t going to risk displeasing Heng Ancestor by traveling to the Immortal City to pay their respects to Li Ping.

He was the only one who had answered the call.

’His own reasoning was simple. His father was an orphan adopted by his grandmother, and he just wanted to see the man his grandmother had never been able to forget!’

The round-faced youth followed behind the five Foundation Establishment seniors and soon arrived outside a very large guest room.

The door opened with a CREAK. Before he could get a clear look at the person inside, the surprised, unified voices of the five Foundation Establishment seniors reached his ears.

"Big Brother!"

...

"You’re here." Li Ping smiled, sizing up the six people who had appeared at his door.

He had already seen Zhang Tie and Gumu Sheng. Cheng Yao looked the same as before, only now she carried herself with more calm and grace. Bai Qing’s face had matured a great deal, and he now looked like someone who never let his emotions show.

What surprised Li Ping the most was Wang Xingwei, who was standing with Cheng Yao and had also called him Big Brother.

His appearance hadn’t changed much; he still had the same air as seventy years ago—that of a noble young master in white robes, a perfect gentleman as gentle as jade.

What truly surprised Li Ping was his Cultivation. Not only was he the only Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator among the five, but Li Ping’s Divine Sense scan revealed that he was also not far from the bottleneck to Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

This speed of cultivation was actually very fast.

If Li Ping remembered correctly, Wang Xingwei should be about the same age as his fifth brother, Qi Hanmo—only around one hundred and twenty years old.

To reach such a level of Cultivation at this age meant he had a good chance of achieving Core Formation.

But on second thought, Li Ping felt it made sense.

After all, Wang Xingwei had a Dual Spirit Root aptitude, and he hadn’t used a Foundation Establishment Pill. Instead, he had risked his life to break through to Foundation Establishment on his own.

Therefore, breaking through bottlenecks after Foundation Establishment was already easier for him than for other Cultivators with a Dual Spirit Root aptitude. On top of that, his personality was a rather pure one, and he was completely dedicated to his cultivation.

It didn’t seem so strange that he could have his current level of Cultivation.

In fact, it was a good thing for one of the four sworn siblings to become a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. It would greatly enhance the strength of their small group.

Gumu Sheng smiled and proposed, "Big Brother, I’ve already booked a banquet at Shicui Tower. Why don’t we head over and talk while we eat?"

"A fine idea," Li Ping nodded with a smile.

The group immediately surrounded Li Ping and began walking toward Shicui Tower.

...

「A moment later, in the private room.」

The six of them sat down in order as the restaurant’s attendants brought in Spiritual Food and Spirit Wine.

Amid their cheerful conversation, Li Ping’s gaze fell upon the round-faced youth standing in attendance. He smiled and said, "Bai Qing, is this a junior from your family? Since he’s here, he shouldn’t just stand there. Have him join us at the table."

Hearing Li Ping’s question, Bai Qing’s expression faltered.

When he received the news that Big Brother had returned, his first thought had been of the Five Clouds Pool’s Li family, which Bai Lin had established to carry on Big Brother’s bloodline. He had then hastily brought a member of that Li family with him.

But now that he was actually face-to-face with Big Brother, he didn’t know how to bring it up.

After some thought, he said with a bit of awkwardness, "Big Brother, this isn’t a junior of my family. He’s a junior of your family."

Before Li Ping could react, Bai Qing, trying to cover his own embarrassment, hastily beckoned to the round-faced youth. "Li Qingshan, hurry up and greet the ancestor of your Li family."

"Hm?" At first, Li Ping was completely baffled.

But as the round-faced youth actually walked up to him and respectfully called out "Ancestor," he recalled what Yan Hengchuan had once told him about ’the Li family of Five Clouds Pool’.

He quickly guessed that this round-faced youth named ’Li Qingshan’ was likely a Cultivator from the Five Clouds Pool’s Li family.

Understanding the situation, Li Ping shook his head slightly. He didn’t say much, merely motioning for Li Qingshan to take a seat at the end of the table.

Seeing that his ’Ancestor’ didn’t seem to care much about him, Li Qingshan felt a little disappointed.

The other four also fell silent, caught off guard by Bai Qing’s sudden, awkward maneuver.

For a moment, the atmosphere at the table turned strange.

To break the tension, Gumu Sheng stood up with his cup. "Big Brother has finally returned to the Immortal City. Let’s all have a drink together to welcome him back!"

"Yes! To welcome Big Brother back!"

...

The others also raised their cups one after another.

With the deadlock at the banquet broken, the atmosphere improved significantly.

Except for Li Qingshan, who was sitting on pins and needles, and the mild-mannered Wang Xingwei, the rest of the group couldn’t help but start reminiscing about their past struggles.

But just as the mood in the private room was at its liveliest, the door was pushed open with a CREAK.

A middle-aged man dressed as a scholar walked in from outside, his sarcastic voice drifting in ahead of him. "It seems I’m about to spoil your fine gathering. Junior Brother Gu, there are some problems with the Ten Thousand Laws Pavilion’s accounts. Please come with me."