Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Sparring

The overall Spirit Vein environment of Bifeng Lake was roughly Tier One.

On the island at the center of the lake, there was also a Tier Two Spirit Vein, which could support the cultivation of Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The Yu family, who occupied Bifeng Lake, had an ancestor who was an early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Relying on this Foundation Establishment Ancestor and the formidable combat strength of several hundred Qi Refining Cultivators, the Yu family had become the undisputed hegemon within a thousand-li radius.

Within that thousand-li radius, all the Cultivation Clans, large and small, looked to the Yu family for leadership.

The market city where Li Ping had stayed back when he was a Loose Cultivator in the Jiang Kingdom belonged to the Yu family.

Speaking of which, Li Ping and the Yu family had a rather complicated history.

As the beautiful figure who loved to wear bright red robes flashed through his mind, Li Ping couldn’t help but feel a pang of melancholy.

But he quickly shook his head, casting the memories aside. He was here on official business.

...

Li Ping took out a Sound Transmission Talisman, whispered a few words into it, and then tossed it toward Lake Heart Island. After doing so, he put away his Flying Shuttle and stood waiting quietly in mid-air.

Li Ping didn’t have to wait long.

Below, the Array enveloping the island suddenly split open, and a white Escape Light flew out. Before the light even arrived, a hearty voice carried over from a great distance.

"Hahaha... Which Fellow Daoist has come to visit? Forgive me for not greeting you from afar."

WHOOSH!

The Escape Light landed in front of Li Ping and gradually solidified, revealing a middle-aged cultivator in a white robe.

Seeing the man, Li Ping smiled with a peculiar expression. "Senior Yu, you don’t recognize me anymore?"

"Senior... Huh? It’s you, Young Li!" The middle-aged man’s face first showed confusion, but after recognizing Li Ping, his expression turned to one of shock and astonishment. "You’ve reached Foundation Establishment!"

Li Ping smiled and nodded. "Senior, you’re not mistaken. It is I. Is it so strange that I’ve reached Foundation Establishment?"

"I misspoke," the white-robed man said, his shock receding as he offered a smile. "Since Fellow Daoist Li has already reached Foundation Establishment, you must no longer address me as ’Senior’. ’Fellow Daoist Yu’ will suffice!"

He smiled and extended an invitation. "I have already ordered someone to prepare tea. Come, come, Fellow Daoist Li, let’s go down and talk."

"Since Fellow Daoist Yu is so hospitable, I won’t stand on ceremony," Li Ping said with a smile, smoothly adopting the new form of address.

The two flew down to Lake Heart Island and entered a pavilion together.

This was Li Ping’s first time on the Yu family’s Lake Heart Island. He surveyed the surrounding fairyland-like pavilions, terraces, exotic flowers, and strange plants, and couldn’t help but sigh internally. ’Fenglan Immortal City really is a desolate place.’

Immortal Peach Mountain possessed a Tier Two Upper Grade Spirit Vein, which was a much higher grade than Bifeng Lake’s.

But the cultivators in the Immortal City were more concerned with practicality. When it came to the exquisiteness of the architecture or the beauty of the gardens, Immortal Peach Mountain couldn’t compare to the Yu family’s Lake Heart Island at all.

Li Ping and the Yu Ancestor sat down at opposite ends of a stone table. The Yu Ancestor immediately began asking about Li Ping’s experiences after leaving the Jiang Kingdom.

He was clearly quite curious as to how Li Ping had managed to break through to become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator in such a short time.

Li Ping had no intention of hiding anything and briefly described his experiences, leaving out only his involvement with the Friends Association.

When he heard that Li Ping had become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator as early as five years ago, the Yu Ancestor was even more shocked and remained silent for a long time.

Next, the Yu Ancestor began to eagerly question Li Ping about the situation in the Immortal City.

After all, if even a Loose Cultivator like Li Ping, who had no backing, could reach Foundation Establishment in the Immortal City...

In his eyes, the Immortal City had clearly become a holy land paved with Spirit Stones and overgrown with Spirit Medicines.

Because Li Ping had a favor to ask of him, he answered the man’s questions patiently.

Before they had talked for long, a member of the Yu family brought them Spirit Tea.

The person who brought the Spirit Tea was a sixteen-year-old girl in a pale red dress. After serving the tea, she didn’t leave, but stood to the side, staring blankly at Li Ping as if trying to memorize his appearance.

Li Ping couldn’t help but find this a little strange.

Seeing this, the Yu Ancestor laughed and said, "Peiling, why are you staring at Fellow Daoist Li?"

The girl named Peiling foolishly nodded, then frantically shook her head. "Great Ancestor, ah... I wasn’t!"

As she spoke, her face instantly turned crimson, as if from telling a lie.

After denying the Yu Ancestor’s words, she immediately waved her hands. "Ah... Great Ancestor, I’ll be going now."

Without waiting for the Yu Ancestor to reply, she left in a fluster, as if afraid he would expose her lie.

Li Ping was completely baffled, but the Yu Ancestor explained with profound meaning, "That girl, Peiling, is Xuewei’s daughter."

Upon hearing this, Li Ping finally understood. His expression turned a little wistful as he murmured, "So the young lady is Fellow Daoist Xuewei’s daughter. I can’t believe it’s been decades. Not only did Fellow Daoist Xuewei get married, but her daughter is already so grown up."

"Indeed," the Yu Ancestor nodded, his eyes also seeming to recall past scenes. "I still remember how you, Fellow Daoist Li, resolutely refused Xuewei’s proposal to marry into our family, choosing without hesitation to head for the Immortal City!"

He smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Li’s Dao heart is firm. I greatly admired you for it back then. Now that you’ve successfully reached Foundation Establishment, your wish has truly been fulfilled!"

Hearing this, Li Ping couldn’t help but sigh.

The Xuewei the Yu Ancestor spoke of was named Yu Xuewei, and she was a year older than Li Ping. He had met her back when he was working in the Yu family’s market city.

Although Li Ping was a Loose Cultivator, deep down he carried the pride of a Transmigrator.

And though Yu Xuewei was a woman, she had a carefree personality and was very capable, possessing an ingrained pride that seemed to say, ’Who says women are inferior to men?’

Having spent a lot of time together, they grew to admire each other and developed mutual feelings.

But members of a Cultivation Clan, while enjoying the clan’s benefits, must also bear its responsibilities. They were not as free as Loose Cultivators.

For example, Yu Xuewei was a cultivator with a five-element Spiritual Root. Even if the clan had Foundation Establishment Pills, it would never be her turn to use one.

On the contrary, the clan needed her to marry as soon as possible to bear children and propagate more clan members with Spiritual Roots.

Therefore, after reaching marriageable age, Yu Xuewei took the initiative to approach Li Ping and asked him directly if he was willing to marry into the Yu family.

The result was... Li Ping refused her outright.

Admittedly, he had feelings for Yu Xuewei, and as a modern man, he didn’t find the idea of marrying into his wife’s family repulsive or distasteful.

But if he married into the Yu family, he would likely never have the chance to reach Foundation Establishment in his lifetime, and that was something he could not accept.

Forced to choose between Yu Xuewei and his cultivation path, Li Ping did not hesitate for a moment.

However, he hadn’t left her completely without hope back then. He had asked if she was willing to wait for him until he turned fifty.

If, by the age of fifty, he still saw no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment, Li Ping would resolutely give up his cultivation path.

If Yu Xuewei had been a Loose Cultivator, Li Ping was certain that, with her personality, she would have waited for him—she might have even accompanied him to the Immortal City to pursue her own cultivation path.

And Li Ping would have definitely kept his promise.

But she was a clan cultivator. So, after being rejected by Li Ping, and not long after he left the Jiang Kingdom, she married a Loose Cultivator who joined the family under the clan’s arrangement.

Now, her child was already so grown up.

...

’Did Xuewei know I was back and send her daughter to see how I’ve changed?’ Li Ping guessed.

Over twenty years ago, Yu Xuewei was a cultivator from the Yu family, a Foundation Establishment Immortal Race, while Li Ping was a mere Loose Cultivator.

But now, as a forty-six-year-old Qi Refining Cultivator, even if she had maintained herself well, she probably had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. Li Ping, on the other hand, had successfully reached Foundation Establishment and become a lofty senior.

Their respective identities and statuses had completely reversed.

...

The Yu Ancestor noticed Li Ping’s somber expression and said tentatively, "Fellow Daoist Li may not know this, but Xuewei has had a rather hard time raising Peiling by herself all these years."

"Oh? What about her husband?" Li Ping asked casually.

The Yu Ancestor shook his head. "Not long after they married, he died in battle."

Li Ping nodded. He knew that although Demon Beasts were rare in the Jiang Kingdom,

as the saying goes, wherever you find people, you’ll find conflict.

Fights between cultivators in the Jiang Kingdom over Spiritual Lands and resources were inevitable.

Li Ping understood the Yu Ancestor’s unspoken implication, but the past was the past. He had no intention of rekindling their old flame.

Moving on from the topic of Yu Xuewei, Li Ping brought up another matter.

Although slightly disappointed by Li Ping’s reaction, the Yu Ancestor still listened patiently.

A moment later, Li Ping finished speaking and calmly looked at the Yu Ancestor, waiting for him to respond.

But unexpectedly, after hearing Li Ping out, the Yu Ancestor frowned slightly. "Other matters are easy to handle, but for Fellow Daoist Li to want to purchase the Little Plum Mountain Spiritual Land from my family..."

Seeing his hesitation, Li Ping smiled faintly. "The Yu family possesses a fairyland like Bifeng Lake. Surely you’re not reluctant to part with a run-down place like Little Plum Mountain?"

The Yu Ancestor shook his head. "It’s not that I’m reluctant, but the Yu family’s Spiritual Lands have always been for rent, never for sale. Before me, there has never been a precedent of the Yu family selling a Spiritual Land."

Hearing this, Li Ping didn’t waste any more words.

He simply smiled faintly and said, "Back in my early years at the market city, I had long heard of Fellow Daoist Yu’s Divine Abilities. Now that I’ve reached Foundation Establishment, my hands are itching for a spar. I wonder if you would grant my request?"

The Yu Ancestor looked at Li Ping with great interest. "It seems Fellow Daoist Li is quite confident in his abilities! Since you wish to spar, it wouldn’t be right for me to refuse."

He had been a Foundation Establishment Cultivator for nearly a hundred years. Although his Cultivation was still stuck at the early-stage Foundation Establishment realm after all this time,

’after a century of accumulation, how could the depth of his Magical Power possibly be matched by a novice like Li Ping?’

’This young brat doesn’t know his own limits!’

He had absolute confidence he could defeat Li Ping in Magical Combat!

...

「Several hours later.」

Aboard a black Flying Ship, Li Ping sat cross-legged, toying with a black deed in his hand, a smile in his eyes.

A short while ago, he had proposed a spar with the Yu Ancestor, and the other man had gladly agreed.

The two had then moved to the lake’s surface, far from Lake Heart Island. Facing the Yu Ancestor, Li Ping hadn’t even used a single Spirit Talisman. He easily defeated him relying solely on two Tier Two Upper Grade Dharma Artifacts and the advantage of his powerful Divine Sense.

After that, Li Ping didn’t even need to say another word.

The Yu Ancestor took the initiative to offer the Little Plum Mountain Spiritual Land to him as a gift.

However, Li Ping didn’t accept it for free. Instead, he purchased the one-hundred-mu, Tier One Middle Grade Spiritual Land for the price of 1,100 Spirit Stones.

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