Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 173: The Resurgence of Conflict

"Lihua pays respects to Master!"

Entering the main hall of Nanling Peak, Jiang Ruoli immediately knelt down, her eyes filled with tears, overwhelmed with excitement.

Erniu's eyes were also moist. Since following Lihua into the Jiang family, he had enjoyed a good life for a while. But after Jiang Ribai's downfall and Lihua's dantian being shattered, he naturally fell from grace and was subjected to humiliation and neglect.

"Please rise--"

Li An helped them up, a hint of emotion in his eyes.

During this time, he had already heard about Lihua's situation.

Since marrying Jiang Ruoxu, she had been pretending to be crazy and foolish, imprisoned until now when she finally saw the light of day again.

"In the future, you will stay here on Nanling Peak, and no one will dare to bully you again."

Li An comforted, "I will search for spiritual medicine to repair your dantian, and surely help you reestablish your path."

In reality, if Li An truly wanted to cure her, it wouldn't be difficult.

After all, the life seed could repair the dantian, and that green aura within the life seed should be able to heal Lihua.

But Li An had no intention of actually treating her--at least not now.

The reason Li An proposed to cultivate Lihua was simply to gain the trust of the Jiang family.

After all, if he showed deep affection for Lihua as a master, caring about her future, the Jiang family would be less wary of him, which would be beneficial for him.

He would indeed send people to search for spiritual medicine to repair the dantian, whether they found it or not.

Relying solely on spiritual medicine, the possibility of Lihua's dantian recovering was extremely slim.

"As long as I can be by Master's side, whether my dantian is repaired or not is not important."

Lihua smiled through her tears, "Master, your kindness to Lihua is as heavy as a mountain!"

Erniu also said, "The grace of Master, unforgettable in this lifetime!"

Li An nodded, "You two should familiarize yourselves with the situation first. I have already arranged a cultivation cave, a residence, and several volumes of techniques for you. If you have any questions, feel free to come find me."

The two nodded and left.

Leaving the main hall.

"Miss Ruoli..."

Erniu instinctively spoke, but Lihua interrupted, "Erniu, just call me Lihua."

She remained calm, "Jiang Ruoli died today, I am Lihua from Tianning Village."

Erniu was taken aback and said, "Alright, Sister Lihua. I heard people say that Master has become the Jiang family's guardian elder, with a twist and turns along the way...truly like a legend, and now he is the owner of the divine bird."

"I wonder how he managed to do it...Master is also a person with secrets. There are rumors in the Jiang family that he probably obtained the Jiang family's Beast Control Technique..."

Lihua said, "Erniu, remember,"

She looked serious, "In the Jiang family, the only person we can trust forever is Master, no matter what kind of person he is!"

"He saved me twice!"

She remembered years ago when she followed the army to attack Dali, Li An detailed some formations near Wanzhang Abyss...

If it weren't for those formations, she might have died long ago.

Now, she had escaped from that muddy-like marriage and was saved by Li An for the second time.

Erniu nodded, clenching his fist, "I will work hard in my cultivation and not bring shame to Master!"

...

After Lihua and Erniu left.

Li An went to Zhike Peak.

Upon learning that the guardian elder had arrived, many guests at Zhike Peak respectfully welcomed him.

"Pay respects, pay respects to the guardian elder..."

Chen Lin, the master of Xuanwu Hall, was in a state of panic, sweating profusely.

He never expected that Li An would be able to reach this point today...

Becoming a True Dan Grand Cultivator and being appointed as an elder of the Jiang family, despite being an outsider.

Once upon a time, when Li An was down and out, he was once extremely insulting towards Li An. Now, the two of them have completely different identities.

Li An glanced at him indifferently and raised his hand!

His spiritual power took shape and directly sent Chen Lin flying.

Chen Lin crashed heavily dozens of steps away, his chest a bloody mess, and his dantian shattered.

The faces of the crowd changed drastically.

"Chen Lin has connections with Tan Xue, he must be one of their party. Today, we will cripple his cultivation and expel him from the Jiang family."

Li An simply said calmly.

Everyone fell silent.

A True Dan expert made a move, who would dare to speak out against a group of mere Foundation Building cultivators?

Chen Lin's face was filled with grief and despair, but he didn't dare say a word. Trembling all over, he was supported by several Jiang family disciples and thrown out of the Jiang family.

"You are called Wang Ying? From today onwards, you will be the Chief of the Xuanwu Hall."

Li An directly called out a middle-aged man from the crowd. This middle-aged man was an alchemist, and upon hearing this, he was pleasantly surprised.

This Wang Ying used to be respectful in front of Li An.

"While Chen Lin hasn't gone far, go and kill him. Throw his head back to the Southern Spirit Peak to feed the spirit beasts."

Li An gave a secret order, and Wang Ying nodded repeatedly.

Since he had already made a move, Li An would absolutely not leave any future troubles. If he needed to exterminate them all, he would. In fact, just now, he had even used poison in his palm strike, so once Chen Lin left the Jiang family, he would become a corpse.

He was just giving Wang Ying an opportunity to perform, cutting off Chen Lin's head as proof of loyalty, making it easier for him to accept Wang Ying as a trusted subordinate.

Zhang Meng knelt down with a thud, trembling in fear, and pleaded, "Master, spare me, spare me..."

She had once followed Feng Yuancheng to target Li An, and later became Chen Lin's confidante.

"Spare you? It seems you've confessed without being pressed, colluding with Tan Xue..."

Li An pointed out.

Zhang Meng died on the spot!

Everyone on Zhi Ke Peak was filled with fear, while others were relieved.

...

After completing all of this, Li An turned and went to the Sun Residence.

Sun Jinxue did not come out to greet him, but when he entered the residence, he saw Sun Jinxue dressed up beautifully and grandly, as if she was meeting someone extremely important.

"Wu Protector,"

She spoke softly, "Jinxue has submitted her resignation to the family, so she did not come to pay her respects. Please forgive her."

Although she said this, a trace of admiration and adoration could not help but show in her eyes.

Her attitude towards Li An had always been complicated. She had once offered herself to Li An because he was her superior, and later, when Li An fell into poverty, she only felt a little regret and never spoke ill of him.

When she learned that Li An was going to die, she inexplicably felt despair and prepared to leave the Jiang family.

But who would have thought that Li An would turn the tables and reach this point...

She admired strength.

Witnessing Li An's rise step by step, this admiration deepened countless times.

"Leaving Zhi Ke Peak is also good,"

Li An spoke, but she was slightly startled.

"I need people at Southern Spirit Peak, come with me."

Li An spoke, "From now on, you will be in charge of all the industries at Southern Spirit Peak."

As an elder protector, he could easily develop many industries to support his own cultivation, but he also needed a reliable person.

Moreover, Li An's actions were also intentionally done for the Jiang family to see. This was the most important part.

When the Jiang family saw him developing his influence within the Jiang family and cultivating his confidants, they would feel that he had already made up his mind to take root in the Jiang family.

Actually? Li An doesn't care about these things at all. The only thing that can make Li An excited is the third-grade spiritual vein that allows him to absorb the Yin Qi.

When the Jiang family is paralyzed, when the time is right, Li An will turn around and leave.

Sun Jinxue couldn't help but shed tears in her beautiful eyes when she heard this. She smiled faintly, "Okay, Jinxue will obey the orders of the law."

...

In just a few months, Li An has already established a basic foundation in the Jiang family.

The industries under the Nanling Peak, which used to belong to Jiang Ribai, including several shops, talisman stores, and refining shops in Qingzhou, all belong to Li An.

The monthly income of spiritual stones is about seventy to eighty thousand low-grade spiritual stones, which can support Li An's daily consumption with some surplus.

After Sun Jinxue became the Grand Manager of Nanling Peak, she worked hard to cultivate the industry for Li An. It won't be long before she can completely replace all the people in the industry with her trusted subordinates.

...

Li An focuses on his cultivation.

"Sure enough, the spiritual veins naturally contain Yin Qi..."

In the closed-door cultivation, Li An felt the changes in his body and murmured.

He has already created many third-grade formations to protect the surroundings, and then buried a third-grade "Spirit Gathering Formation".

Although it looks like a Spirit Gathering Formation, it actually has a demonic formation as its core, which attracts the Yin Qi from the earth's veins and introduces it into his body through demonic techniques.

The faint Yin Qi fills the dantian, making Li An's soul and divine sense feel extremely comfortable.

Nascent Soul is born in Yin, indeed.

"The demonic technique is indeed unparalleled. If it is absorbed through the collection of spiritual medicines, it would take at least five or six years to absorb the same amount of Yin Qi in one month..."

Li An gradually understood why Shangguan Xiaoxiao and her sisters were so eager for the Heavenly Demon Technique.

For cultivators, this technique is like cheating!

"To forge the Purple Mansion, it should be enough to have five or six third-grade spiritual veins, or one fourth-grade spiritual vein of Yin Qi..."

"But the stronger the Purple Mansion, the easier it is to give birth to a Nascent Soul. If conditions permit, it would be better to absorb more spiritual veins..."

Li An made plans.

In fact, the foundation of the Jiang family is enough for him to achieve the Purple Mansion.

There is a fourth-grade spiritual vein, as well as five third-grade spiritual veins derived from it. If he absorbs all of them, his plan for the Purple Mansion can be realized.

But this is just wishful thinking. Once the Yin Qi is completely absorbed, the spiritual vein will be directly destroyed. At that time, won't the Jiang family fight him to the death?

But there is no problem at the moment, so he will absorb it for a while first.

While he was cultivating, Xiao Qing also stood on his shoulder, closing her eyes as if resting.

In fact, this divine bird was absorbing the green aura in his body.

It was the product of Li An's cultivation of the Life-Nurturing Immortal Casting Technique, which happened to be used to feed the spiritual bird.

...

In the blink of an eye, five years have passed.

In these five years, Li An's Gold Core cultivation has been completely consolidated.

During these five years, the thing he cared most about besides cultivation was treating Li Hua's illness. He invited many true pill physicians to diagnose and treat Li Hua, showing great dedication.

At the same time, he also taught Er Niu wholeheartedly, often educating him to assist Li Hua in the future.

The development of the industry is going well. Li An has shown some arrogance. In addition to his own industry, he has also seized the shares of some other weak elders.

Through his efforts, the Jiang family has become more and more at ease with him.

No matter how you look at it, Li An has taken root in the Jiang family.

On this day,

"Today, I have summoned all the elders because there is a major matter that needs to be discussed with everyone,"

In the Jiang family hall, the patriarch Jiang Rilan called Li An, Jiang Rizhu, Jiang Ridong, Jiang Rihua, and other major true pill elders.

Li An's position is in front of the elders, which initially caused dissatisfaction among many true pill elders, but there is no way, they have already gotten used to it.

Especially Jiang Rihua, she brought Li An and Li Hua back from the border of Dalai. At that time, Li An was just a pawn in her hands, easily controlled.

Now he has become a true person, controlling the divine bird.

Letting her experience a mix of emotions.

"After years of investigation and exploration, we have decided to launch an attack on the northern border of Da Li in one year!"

Jiang Rilan spoke.

Everyone was startled.

"The things inside the Abyss of Ten Thousand Fathoms are extremely important to my Jiang family. If we can obtain them, perhaps the Yan Kingdom will be dominated by our clan from now on--"

Jiang Rilan spoke solemnly.

...

After a long time.

The meeting dispersed.

Li An was burdened with worries.

The Abyss of Ten Thousand Fathoms was too important to the Jiang family. It was said to be the place where a Soul Formation stage cultivator died. Once obtained, the Jiang family might rise.

This kind of opportunity was a fatal temptation for any Nascent Soul family.

Although Jiang Rilan had failed in the battle against Jiang Riba, it couldn't change the interests and will of the Jiang family.

This meeting mainly determined the timing and plan of the operation. Li An was familiar with the northern border of Da Li, so he provided many suggestions.

"The Jiang family is finished..."

This time, the resources and strength that the Jiang family would mobilize far surpassed those of Jiang Riba's time. It could be said that they were going all out.

The timing chosen by the Jiang family was similar to that of Jiang Riba's time. The Da Li Dynasty had already annexed the Chen Kingdom and was currently advancing towards another country, the Zhao Kingdom.

No time to look north.

In fact, in recent years, the Da Li Dynasty had developed rapidly. In the Western Ling Yuan Continent, it was already on par with the Yan Kingdom. Under the expansion of the Da Li Dynasty, the two countries would inevitably have a war.

So the Jiang family's strategy was also the will of the entire Yan Kingdom.

But in front of Shangguan Shengxian...

The Yan Kingdom was nothing.

He had to find an opportunity to escape...

Otherwise, once they started a war with the Da Li Dynasty, there would be a risk of exposing themselves.

"Protector, something bad has happened..."

Just as they returned to the Southern Spirit Peak, Sun Jinxue had already reported, "Our batch of goods was intercepted, and we lost tens of thousands of spirit stones. Dozens of cultivators were injured or killed. According to the clues... it might be the work of Jiang Riba!"

Li An was stunned upon hearing this, then immediately reported to the family.

Jiang Riba's appearance had attracted the attention of the Jiang family.

After all, after Jiang Riba's downfall, he was wanted and hunted down. It was tantamount to being at odds with the Jiang family. He knew too much about the Jiang family and was a great threat.

Jiang Rilan said, "In recent years, I have been investigating as well, and I have some leads... If I'm not mistaken, this person should have fled to the 'Heavenly Slaughter Mountain Range' to hide..."

Heavenly Slaughter Mountain Range!

Li An's heart trembled slightly. He had studied this location many times!

The Heavenly Slaughter Mountain Range was quite famous throughout the Western Ling Yuan Continent. The spiritual energy was chaotic, and the killing intent was astonishing. It was said to be adjacent to the ancient territory of the Yao Clan. No force or sect dared to go there.

On the contrary, many desperate cultivators and fugitives would take refuge there. Over time, it became known as a lawless land.

Many sects and forces had no influence there.

The Yan Kingdom and the Da Li Dynasty were both in the western part of the Western Ling Yuan Continent, while the Heavenly Slaughter Mountain Range was in the northern part, about a hundred thousand miles away from here.

"Our clan is about to prepare for a major war. At this time, if Jiang Riba attacks, it will be troublesome..."

Jiang Rilan frowned.

"Why not let me go?" Li An took the initiative to speak, "Jiang Riba robbed my goods, and I have an irreconcilable feud with him. I will definitely kill him!"

...

Good night.

(End of this chapter)