Chapter 189: Chapter 189: The Meng Family’s Joy

Time slipped by as Li Ping remained absorbed in his cultivation.

By the middle of the year, Gumu Sheng came to Immortal Peach Mountain to visit Li Ping.

He also brought the Spiritual Materials Li Ping had previously tasked him with purchasing to refine a puppet.

Refining the puppet was a matter of his own personal safety.

Li Ping took no chances. He carefully inspected all the Spiritual Materials Gumu Sheng had delivered, right there in front of him.

His inspection revealed that the quality of the Spiritual Materials was top-notch for their grade. Clearly, Gumu Sheng had put considerable effort into preparing them.

There were not only enough materials to refine a Tier Two Upper Grade puppet, but even a slight surplus.

"Thank you for your trouble." Li Ping took out Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag and paid Gumu Sheng the remaining balance for the Spiritual Materials.

Gumu Sheng accepted the final payment and then spoke of a matter Li Ping was concerned about.

According to official news from the Immortal City, after several major battles, the situation in the Yan Kingdom had barely stabilized.

Large-scale battles had ceased, and the Core Formation Cultivators on both sides had withdrawn from the fray. The fighting had shifted to small-scale conflicts between Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining Cultivators.

The Tuluo People had invaded the Western Wilderness to plunder resources, while the Cultivators of the Western Wilderness had to protect resource points like Spirit Stone mines.

Qi Refining Cultivators from both sides, led by Foundation Establishment Cultivators, constantly fought over one resource point after another.

In this situation, while Core Formation and Foundation Establishment Cultivators suffered few losses, it was exceedingly dangerous for Qi Refining Cultivators.

Ji Shu Xuan, whom Li Ping had asked Gumu Sheng to inquire about, had gone missing in one such battle.

"Shu Xuan is missing." Hearing this, Li Ping couldn’t help but sigh.

In a harsh environment like the battlefield between the two races, for a mere Qi Refining Cultivator, going missing was basically a death sentence.

After all, a missing Foundation Establishment Cultivator might have simply deserted. But a Qi Refining Cultivator’s Tunneling Speed was too slow; they would be caught by military enforcers long before they could flee the Yan Kingdom.

However, going to the Yan Kingdom to fight for a chance at Foundation Establishment was Ji Shu Xuan’s own choice.

Now that disaster had struck, Li Ping could only lament inwardly.

After seeing Gumu Sheng off, Li Ping sat quietly in the pavilion for a while before returning to his Artifact Refining room to begin preparations for refining the Tier Two Upper Grade puppet.

...

While Li Ping was busy refining his puppet, a cold and elegant young woman in a long, crimson dress landed her Escape Light outside the Immortal City. After presenting her Identity Token for the guards to inspect, she calmly walked into the Immortal City.

As she walked, the young woman pondered the results of her trip.

Over a year ago, she had set out from the Qi Kingdom for Fenglan Immortal City to investigate Yan Liming’s leak.

Though Yan Liming’s life tablet had inexplicably shattered during her journey, she hadn’t turned back, arriving at the Immortal City as planned.

In the past year, she had not only thoroughly investigated the entire story of Yan Liming’s appearance in the Immortal City, but she had also gone to the place where he had once committed Possession, trying to find a trace of him.

But of course, it was all in vain.

According to her investigation, there were no recent traces of Yan Liming in the Immortal City.

It seemed that after his Possession was discovered and he fled from the Immortal City’s pursuit, he had never returned.

However, the life tablet’s positioning couldn’t be wrong. Before it shattered, the life tablet Yan Liming had left behind had clearly pointed to the location of Fenglan Immortal City.

Therefore, the young woman believed that Yan Liming must have been in the Immortal City before. The shattering of the life tablet didn’t necessarily mean he was dead.

’That old lecher might still be hiding somewhere in the Immortal City.’

The young woman’s cold, elegant gaze turned to Cyan Dragon Mountain, at the heart of Fenglan Immortal City. ’If anyone in this Immortal City has the ability to capture or shelter Yan Liming, it can only be the lineage of Cyan Dragon Mountain!’

Yan Liming was a Core Formation Cultivator who had used Possession to start over. An ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator might be able to defeat him, but capturing him alive was basically impossible.

Only a Core Formation Cultivator could accomplish such a feat!

Although Fenglan Master was dead now, she had been alive at the time of the leak.

’Fenglan Master’s newly ascended Core Formation disciple colluded with a Demon Cultivator to kill her master,’ the cold, elegant young woman mused. ’Perhaps she colluded with Yan Liming. My best bet would be to capture the current Sect Leader of the Cyan Dragon Mountain lineage and question them.’

Although the young woman had her suspicions, she didn’t dare act recklessly within a Tier Three Array.

Plus, she wasn’t sure if another Core Formation Cultivator was currently presiding over Cyan Dragon Mountain. She decided to play it safe and wait.

Anyway, although the situation back in the Qi Kingdom had entered a stalemate, she didn’t know when the great war would erupt again.

At this thought, a trace of lingering fear flashed in the young woman’s eyes.

In a war of that intensity, even she could perish if she wasn’t careful.

For now, she could use the mission of investigating Yan Liming’s leak as an excuse to lie low for a while.

Here in the Immortal City, there was, at least on the surface, no one who could threaten her.

’In the chaotic Cultivation Realm of the Western Wilderness, this place could truly be called a paradise,’ the cold, elegant young woman thought to herself.

...

Less than a month into refining his puppet, Li Ping was forced to come out of seclusion again.

This time, his visitor was the Old Ancestor of the Meng family. From the Old Ancestor’s excited explanation, he learned that the Immortal City had recently succeeded in refining a batch of Essence Origin Pills. With the help of these pills, Meng Qingyi had successfully broken through to the Late-stage of Foundation Establishment.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Meng." Li Ping smiled and offered his congratulations.

The appearance of a second Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the Immortal City, and one from the Meng family at that, held self-evident significance.

With two Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators in their family, the Meng family could firmly control the situation in the Immortal City.

But the significance of Meng Qingyi’s breakthrough didn’t stop there. For the Meng family, it had an even deeper meaning.

The Meng family’s Old Ancestor was already over two hundred years old. In the foreseeable future, it was impossible for the Immortal City to prepare a Core Formation Spiritual Object for him.

So, in reality, he had already lost his chance to attempt a breakthrough to Core Formation.

Meng Qingyi, however, was different. She was only about one hundred and fifty years old. With her Dual Spirit Root aptitude, she had a chance of reaching the Peak of Foundation Establishment before she was one hundred and ninety.

At that time, if they could pool the resources of the Immortal City and the Meng family to gather a Core Formation Spiritual Object, Meng Qingyi might be able to attempt a breakthrough to Core Formation before she turned two hundred!

Once she achieved the Golden Core Path, the Meng family’s power would naturally rise to a new level!

With the family’s future prospects so bright, the Meng family’s Old Ancestor was of course excited.

"A joyous occasion for us all!" the Meng family’s Old Ancestor said with a chuckle. "Fellow Daoist Li, there are still quite a few Essence Origin Pills left from the batch the Immortal City refined. If you are willing to join the Immortal City, I guarantee you will be able to obtain one in the future."

In the Old Ancestor’s eyes, Li Ping had reached Mid-stage Foundation Establishment at a young age and was also a Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Maker.

Furthermore, he had connections with Zhang Tie, Gumu Sheng, and Cheng Yao, making him an ally of the Meng family and someone worth pulling closer.

He even wouldn’t mind matching Li Ping and Meng Qingyi as Daoist partners if Li Ping could reach Late-stage Foundation Establishment before his own death.

He would arrange for the two of them to jointly hold power over the Immortal City after he passed away.

Li Ping chuckled and shook his head. "Heh... Thank you for your kind offer, Fellow Daoist Meng, but I am used to a lazy and undisciplined life. I have no intention of joining the Immortal City for now."

Hearing this, the Meng family’s Old Ancestor sighed. "Is that so? What a pity."

Having failed to persuade Li Ping to join the Immortal City, he took out an invitation, asking Li Ping to attend the ceremony in one month to celebrate Meng Qingyi’s breakthrough to Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

Li Ping readily agreed.

After delivering the invitation, the Meng family’s Old Ancestor didn’t leave in a hurry. Instead, he sat in the pavilion and chatted with Li Ping.

After reaching the Peak of Foundation Establishment, no matter how much he cultivated, his Cultivation could not advance further.

But without a Core Formation Spiritual Object, he didn’t dare attempt the breakthrough to Core Formation.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of death. Having lived for over two hundred years, the Meng family’s Old Ancestor had long since become indifferent to life and death.

Living for a few more decades held no meaning for him.

He was worried that if he attempted the breakthrough, failed, and died, Meng Qingyi would be left to fend for herself and would be unable to control the situation within the Immortal City.

At that point, the Meng family might be in danger of being overthrown.

Therefore, he could not risk attempting the breakthrough to Core Formation.

If he weren’t burdened by his family, he might have risked it all for one shot and died without regret!

But now that the Meng family’s Old Ancestor didn’t plan to attempt the breakthrough, he had plenty of time.

Besides handling the affairs of the Meng family and the Immortal City, he spent most of his energy maintaining the Meng family’s network of relationships.

Li Ping was one of the key relationships he focused on maintaining.

As it was a time of war, their conversation naturally drifted to the great war sweeping across the Western Wilderness.

From the Meng family’s Old Ancestor, Li Ping obtained more detailed information.

The Old Ancestor vaguely revealed his worries about the war. According to his speculation, the situation in the Yan and Liang Kingdoms had only stabilized because just a portion of the Tuluo People’s tribes had arrived.

After seeing the tribes that went south first reap the benefits, other Tuluo tribes might also join in.

If that happened, the Yan and Liang Kingdoms might gradually fall into a disadvantage.

Of course, what worried him most was the situation on the main battlefield in the Qi Kingdom.

After losing the Yuan Kingdom, under the advance of the four great sects of the Demon Dao, the Daoist Guardian Alliance had lost more than half of the Qi Kingdom. Their main force could only turtle up and defend from within the Array at Donghua Mountain.

Once the Grand Array of Donghua Mountain was breached, the situation would likely take a sharp turn for the worse.

Li Ping had once learned from Yu Menghan that the Grand Array of Donghua Mountain was technically Tier Four. However, because its Spirit Vein was inadequate, it could only exert the power of a Tier Three Array. The difficulty for the four Demon Dao sects to breach it was beyond imagination.

Therefore, he wasn’t as worried as the Meng family’s Old Ancestor.

But this matter involved a secret of the Ying Sea Commerce Association, so he couldn’t possibly tell the Meng family’s Old Ancestor.

Thus, faced with the worried Old Ancestor, he only offered words of comfort.

Wars are won through logistics.

Under the Daoist Guardian Alliance’s rule, the Qi, Yan, and Liang Kingdoms were mired in war, and their production had been disrupted.

But the Cultivators in the remaining eight nations of the Central-South Realm, the five nations of the Western Realm, and several other countries were still continuously producing cultivation resources.

The four sects of the Demon Dao were still manageable.

The Grassland was poor in resources. The Tuluo People sustained their war with plunder. Now that they were blocked in the Yan and Liang Kingdoms, they would sooner or later retreat because they couldn’t seize enough resources.

As for the Old Ancestor’s worry about other Tuluo tribes coming south...

Li Ping believed that, setting aside whether they would come or not, even if they did, it was hard to say who they would fight. The Tuluo tribes were hardly a picture of harmony.

Besides, there were other Alien Races from the Grassland, like the Great Moon People and the Fire Worshipers, watching eagerly from the sidelines.

This was perhaps the Daoist Guardian Alliance’s plan as well.

Hold out until the Tuluo People could no longer sustain themselves. Then, the four Demon Dao sects, left without support, would have no choice but to retreat obediently.

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