Pulling Chestnuts from the Fire—and Aiming at My Luotian Association?

Inside Qinhua Water Abode. Luo Chen looked at Li Jinhuang. The man sat cross-legged, gaunt and pale. The loose robes that had once fit him well now hung hollow and empty around his emaciated frame. Was this what a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator looked like when his longevity neared its end, on the verge of passing away? An ordinary cultivator might not have noticed, but with Luo Chen's keen eyesight and sharp spiritual sense, he could clearly perceive the steady drain of qi and blood from the elder's body. It could no longer be locked in! A decaying Dao foundation was utterly incapable of retaining a cultivator's qi and blood. At this moment, his body was like a sieve, his essence, qi, and spirit constantly leaking outward. Facing Luo Chen's scrutinizing gaze, Li Jinhuang appeared very composed. He made no attempt to disguise anything, candidly displaying his full condition before Luo Chen. This was a gesture of goodwill—allowing Luo Chen to understand as much as possible the circumstances a Foundation Establishment cultivator faced in the final stages of life. If Luo Chen ever found himself in a similar plight one day, he might be able to make preparations in advance. Or rather, such gestures of goodwill had been continuous ever since the Qinhua River Li family had connected with Danxia Peak's Luotian Association. A marriage alliance involving his direct granddaughter marrying into Danxia Mountain; Yielding a quota for a Foundation Establishment Pill; Handling the Nether-Passage Pills on Luo Chen's behalf; And now, even as his life approached its twilight, radiating his remaining warmth. Luo Chen could understand his thoughts. It was nothing more than hoping that after his passing, Luo Chen would look after the Li family more closely. After a long silence, Luo Chen withdrew his gaze. "Fellow Daoist invited me here, surely not just for this!" Li Jinhuang opened his mouth, his voice hoarse and muddy. "What I ask for, Fellow Daoist should know full well. Today's Li family stands at its most dangerous juncture. The moment I collapse, the wolves circling all around will likely pounce, tearing apart and dividing this juicy morsel that is the Li family. That would be a catastrophe leaving me unable to rest in peace!" Luo Chen frowned slightly. "With my Luotian Association looking after you, the Li family's enemies shouldn't dare to act rashly, should they?" Li Jinhuang let out a miserable smile. "Yet some were not enemies before!" Luo Chen was puzzled. Soon, under Li Jinhuang's explanation, he learned of the enemies who hadn't been enemies before. The Danyuan Sect! Hearing that name, Luo Chen was somewhat surprised. The Danyuan Sect had been one of the primary competitors the Luotian Association faced when first entering Tianlan's low-tier pill market. Minor concoctions aside, the Yangyuan Pills they refined held quite a market share. It was only under continuous competition from the Luotian Association and the Zheng family that the Danyuan Sect gradually failed to keep pace. Nowadays, times were tough for the Danyuan Sect. Their Yangyuan Pills possessed decent medicinal potency, but they were quite expensive, and the sect stubbornly refused to lower the price. As a result, sales had steadily dwindled, leaving only habituated, long-time customers continuing to buy them. To tell the truth, Luo Chen had long stopped taking the Danyuan Sect seriously. Their pills lacked competitiveness, and their sect possessed only an elderly mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. Moreover, the Qinhua River Li family had also sold Tier 1 cultivation pills in the past. "Weren't they your Li family's longtime competitors?" Li Jinhuang shook his head and said slowly, "Competitors, yet also partners. A primary ingredient required by the Danyuan Sect to refine Yangyuan Pills is cultivated on a large scale in Tianlan Immortal City only by my Qinhua River Li family. Before the former sect master of the Danyuan Sect passed away, our two families had formed a cooperative relationship. Because that primary ingredient was controlled by my Li family, their Yangyuan Pills couldn't lower their price." Realization dawned on Luo Chen. "You mean that once you pass away, the Danyuan Sect won't be able to resist taking action?" "Indeed. Who would want their lifeline held in someone else's hands?" The name of the Danyuan Sect's current sect master was unrecorded; many years ago, by virtue of his exquisite alchemy skills, he had been honored with the Daoist title Danyuanzi. It sounded somewhat similar to Danchenzi, the Daoist title Luo Chen had frequently used during the Dahe Market period. If he were to move against the Li family... "What is his specific cultivation level?" Luo Chen asked. "One layer lower than mine, roughly the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment," Li Jinhuang answered promptly. Hearing that cultivation level, Luo Chen gained some confidence. "No matter. When the time comes, I will intervene!" "You?" Li Jinhuang looked half-convinced, half-skeptical. It was not that he lacked faith in Luo Chen, but merely that the latter's early Foundation Establishment realm... Amid his doubts, Luo Chen formed an incantation gesture. A surging wave of vigorous spiritual power rolled out slowly. Its momentum was sharp and piercing, no weaker than Li Jinhuang at his peak—in fact, faintly superior! Li Jinhuang's eyes widened. "When did you reach mid-Foundation Establishment?" "Just these past few days," Luo Chen said calmly, his tone brimming with immense confidence. Protecting the Li family was not only because of Li Jinhuang's continuous gestures of goodwill over these past few years. It was also because the Li family could provide immense benefits to the Luotian Association! Although the Li family was known as an alchemical clan, the earnings generated from refining pills accounted for only a tiny portion. Their clan's primary source of wealth was the herb trade. Back when the Luotian Association's Jade Marrow Pills had barged into the market, it had dealt a devastating blow to other peers. Among them, the Zheng family had benefited, while the least affected had been the Qinhua River Li family! Because their primary business had never been pill refining in the first place. And their medicinal herb business was something even Luo Chen coveted intensely. Upholding righteousness and promises, Luo Chen would not usurp the Li family's herb business after Li Jinhuang passed away. But the Luotian Association could cooperate deeply with the Li family, expanding and strengthening that herb business, and carving out a portion of the profits. If nothing else, simply purchasing certain medicinal herbs at cost for their own use would save the Luotian Association a massive sum in spirit stones! Sensing Luo Chen's vigorous spiritual power, Li Jinhuang's shock gave way to uncontrollable praise. "Good! Good! Good! With you possessing such strength, nothing could be better!" Alongside his self-assured satisfaction, Luo Chen was also somewhat curious. "Even if I hadn't advanced to mid-Foundation Establishment, the strength of my Luotian Association's four Foundation Establishment True Cultivators would suffice to deter Danyuanzi. There was no need for you to worry over this matter, was there?" Li Jinhuang stopped smiling. His expression grew solemn once more. "Wolves circle on every side; it is hardly just the Danyuan Sect." Luo Chen shook his head. "Then it seems your Li family's customary connections weren't handled very well!" "It has nothing to do with close relationships or connections. It is simply that an ordinary man incurs no guilt, yet harboring a jade brings calamity!" Li Jinhuang said indifferently. "The territory occupied by the Li family holds potential that surpasses even your Danxia Peak. Because of these profits, no matter how adept I was at dealing with people in ordinary times, someone will inevitably be unable to hold back once I am gone." Pausing, he took a deep breath. "The other enemies, in my judgment, will mostly just sit on the sidelines for the time being. Only the Hu family shares an irreconcilable feud with my Li family! To make matters worse, over these years, they have drained their entire clan of wealth in reckless militarism, forcibly cultivating three Foundation Establishment True Cultivators! If I pass away, whether for profit or for hatred, they will inevitably strike against my Li family!" Luo Chen's expression gradually turned solemn as well. He certainly knew of the Hu family the elder mentioned. The Tanqiu Hu family, three Foundation Establishments under one roof! Over the past decade, their momentum had been immense, not lagging behind the Luotian Association, which had seen Foundation Establishment True Cultivators emerge one after another. Because they were a local family of Tianlan, rogue cultivators of the immortal city even looked upon them with higher regard, comparing them with the Zheng family of Gunlong Ridge, who likewise boasted three Foundation Establishments under one roof. However, in the eyes of truly discerning people, this Tanqiu Hu family was hardly respectable. The three Foundation Establishments within the clan had been elevated at any cost by bleeding the entire family's resources dry, and all three were merely at early Foundation Establishment. The words "bleeding dry" were by no means hyperbole. It was a literal bleeding dry. Logically speaking, with three Foundation Establishment True Cultivators above, there should surely be a multitude of Qi Refining cultivators below. Yet the Hu family was not like that. The Qi Refining cultivators of their clan lived in sheer agony. The Hu family was also an alchemical clan, and had even been one of the competitors when the Luotian Association first broke into the pill market. In their clan, those who assisted in pill refining were not called herb apprentices or fire workers, but herb slaves and fire slaves. Day and night, without rest, they refined pills. Countless individuals had their Dao pathways severed, perished from cauldron explosions, or exhausted their spiritual power to the point where making further progress became impossible. At present, the Qi Refining cultivators in the Hu family capable of combat numbered only a dozen or so. One could say that the foundation accumulated by the Hu family over centuries had been completely squandered by this generation. Only through this method had three Foundation Establishment True Cultivators been forcibly heaped together. Such an aggressive, militaristic management style would be looked down upon anywhere. Li Jinhuang said they would brazenly strike against the Li family, and Luo Chen believed it. They were already on the verge of a dead end. Their clan foundation was bled dry! Their pill business had suffered devastating blows from the Luotian Association and the Zheng family. And their three Foundation Establishment True Cultivators desperately required cultivation resources. Compounded by all these unfavorable factors, they had long salivated over the Li family. It was only because Li Jinhuang hung on by a thread, refusing to die of old age and suppressing their impulses with his mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation. If they moved after Li Jinhuang passed away? Luo Chen contemplated how he should handle the situation under those circumstances. After a long silence, he spoke slowly: "One mid-Foundation Establishment, three early Foundation Establishments. My Luotian Association can manage." Hearing Luo Chen say this, the decrepit Li Jinhuang smiled with gratification. He saw Luo Chen's determination to protect the Li family! Seeing his smile, Luo Chen rolled his eyes in exasperation. "If matters truly develop that way, then since my Luotian Association will expend such tremendous effort, your Li family naturally must pay a corresponding price. At minimum, I want half of the profits from the Li family's future medicinal herb business!" Half! For any cultivation family, this was an unbearable burden! Yet Li Jinhuang continued to smile. "If I am gone, the remaining half of the profits will still be enough to support Yingzhang's cultivation in the Foundation Establishment stage." Luo Chen nodded in agreement. Taking away that much profit still wouldn't drive the Li family into a dead end. The remaining scraps were sufficient for the Qinhua River Li family to survive. In life and affairs, he either eliminated enemies completely or ensured everyone walked away content; his grasp of propriety had always been spot-on. However, he felt something faintly amiss. Suddenly, his gaze landed on the lingering smile on Li Jinhuang's face. "Do you still have something left unsaid?" Li Jinhuang nodded. Luo Chen looked speechlessly at him; he knew that even on the brink of death, this old man's calculations remained thorough. The reason he had felt something was off was that, after some thought, he realized that whether it was the Danyuan Sect or the Tanqiu Hu family, both fell within what the Luotian Association could handle. Even if they joined forces, Luo Chen would not fear them! The share of profits Luo Chen demanded seemed to have been anticipated by Li Jinhuang as well. If that was all, there was no reason for Li Jinhuang to meet with him with such solemn gravity right before his death. As events unfolded, Luo Chen would naturally proceed as previously discussed. Why make this redundant gesture? Under Luo Chen's gaze, Li Jinhuang spoke slowly: "The immortal city's rotating sect is about to change!" "I know this." "Then do you know that every time the rotation takes place, it is the most chaotic period for the powers around Tianlan Immortal City?" "Hm?" "At such times, the immortal city changes hands. The sect cultivators are preoccupied with handing over various affairs; there is no leadership from top to bottom, and the enforcement teams do nothing. When disorder gradually emerges, someone always tries to pull chestnuts from the fire." "My Luotian Association has Ice Fort as our backing. Would anyone dare commit insubordination?" "Factions with backing are a dime a dozen. My Li family even has old ties with Azure Pill Valley, but in times of crisis, would they bother meddling?" Luo Chen shook his head. His relationship with Ice Fort went far beyond mere old ties. The interests involved were deeply valued even by the Golden Core Master, Fairy Jueqing. If a true existential crisis arose, even if Ice Fort was no longer master of the immortal city, they wouldn't stand by and watch Luo Chen perish. One had to realize that early on, Fairy Jueqing had already invested tremendous costs in Luo Chen. Seeing that Luo Chen was unconvinced, Li Jinhuang sighed. "A hundred years ago, the Min family of Danxia Peak was destroyed when the sects rotated and the immortal city changed hands. Twenty years ago, the Fu family of Little Mirror Lake declined around that very period. Lessons of the past serve as a guide for the future. Fellow Daoist, you must not be careless!" Luo Chen remained indifferent. The other man didn't understand just how vital the Jade Dew Pills he refined were to Ice Fort. At times, relationships sustained by mutual benefit far surpassed so-called sentiment among old acquaintances. Seeing the evident fatigue on Li Jinhuang's face, Luo Chen didn't intend to disturb him any longer. "If there is nothing else, I will take my leave. After Fellow Daoist passes away, I will surely see you off!" "There is one more thing!" Li Jinhuang called out to Luo Chen, who was preparing to depart. "Hm?" "I possess a Tier 3 spell, and I hope Fellow Daoist will study it!"