Chapter 179: Attack on Shanyue

Shamo Li walked out of the courtyard with his head held high, expecting to see his large retinue of wives and concubines. Instead, the courtyard was empty, with only a few withered leaves scattered on the ground. Only a middle-aged man stood by the stone chamber, watching him silently.

"I am Chen Donghe. Greetings, Great King. Congratulations on your breakthrough to Qi Cultivation."

Chen Donghe offered his quiet congratulations. Shamo Li felt a surge of comfort and joy at being addressed as "Great King" twice. He happily shook his head. His spiritual sense swept over the man, revealing a Qi Cultivation second-level cultivation. Shamo Li had often seen this man near Li Yuanxiu but didn't know his name. He now cupped his hands and said:

"Greetings, fellow Daoist."

Chen Donghe, however, ignored him. He respectfully bowed and said in a deep voice:

"Second Uncle, this is Shamo Li."

Shamo Li was slightly stunned. Only then did he realize another person had appeared before him. Cold sweat immediately broke out, and he was secretly terrified.

The man simply wore a grey robe. His eyebrows were long and gentle, and he exuded a powerful and profound aura. A sword, tightly wrapped in cloth, was strapped to his back, yet another sword hung at his waist, which was quite peculiar. His cultivation had already reached the ninth level of Qi Cultivation.

"Shamo Li... greetings, senior..."

Shamo Li immediately realized that this person was Li Tongya, the Old Ancestor of the Li family. He instantly half-knelt on the ground, cupped his fists, and dared not speak, his heart filled with trepidation.

Li Tongya glanced at him and said softly:

"Condense your true essence and show me."

After observing the arcane lightning true essence in Shamo Li's palm, Li Tongya nodded slightly. This "Purple Lightning Arcane Essence Art" was indeed extraordinary, quite powerful, and possessed rare lightning energy. No wonder the required Profound Yin Thunder Liquid was so difficult to collect. If Shamo Li had cultivated Qi using pure Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, he would likely be considered a strong practitioner among those in the early stages of Qi Cultivation.

Li Tongya's spiritual sense lingered on Shamo Li for a while. Only then did he speak:

"Get up. We'll send you back to Shanyue to be your Great King."

Although Shamo Li had prepared himself, he was still incredibly excited upon hearing this. He repeatedly kowtowed several times on the ground, offering words of gratitude. When he looked up, Li Tongya was already gone.

Before Shamo Li could react, several people quickly walked in through the courtyard gate. They held him down and stripped him of his Easterner clothes, adorning him with various sizes of animal bones and jade stones. The coiled hair crown Shamo Li had adopted from the Easterners was also removed, and the jade hairpin was pulled out. His long hair immediately fell loose, giving him the appearance of a Shanyue person.

"This..."

Shamo Li felt itchy with his long hair. Having lived among the Easterners for so long, he had secretly come to despise this disheveled appearance. He was now incredibly embarrassed, chuckling foolishly.

After changing into his clothes and ornaments, he was escorted out of the courtyard. Shamo Li saw a group of Shanyue people kneeling on the steps before him. This was the retinue the Li family had prepared for him. Over a dozen of them were companions he had made among the Easterners in recent years. He quickly walked down and called out:

"You are all my trusted supporters; please rise quickly!"

Shamo Li blurted out these words. However, they sounded nothing like what a Shanyue Great King should say. Everyone rose with strange expressions. Shamo Li then cheerfully walked through the crowd, stepping onto wooden stilts, and ascended the carriage pulled by two large horses.

"Whoosh..."

Shamo Li's banner was unfurled. Surrounded by soldiers and horses, he majestically proceeded out of the town.

Shamo Li lay in the spacious carriage. Listening to the clanging of weapons and footsteps, he repeatedly stroked the comfortable fabric. He picked up a fruit, put it in his mouth, and a smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Now this is living! What kind of life did I have for the past few decades..."

Unexpectedly, the curtain was suddenly pulled open with a swish. An old man with white hair and beard, and a face full of saggy flesh, walked in. His two wide, staring eyes fixed directly on Shamo Li. This startled Shamo Li, causing him to choke. He quickly straightened himself and, putting on an air of importance, said:

"And who might you be?"

The old man, a cultivator at the peak of Fetal Breath stage, wore Easterner clothing. His white whiskers curled upwards, and the saggy flesh on his face relaxed as he spoke with a distinctly aged demeanor:

"Allow this old man to inform Your Majesty: I was once part of the Shanyue tribe that occupied the Eastern Shanyue territory. When Ganixi advanced eastward and defeated us, I sought refuge with the Easterners. Subsequently, I followed Lord Xiangping, campaigning repeatedly in Shanyue, accumulating numerous merits. It has been twenty-one years since then."

"An opponent of Ganixi?!"

Shamo Li was truly startled by the man's arrogant tone. One must understand that figures of Ganixi's caliber were considered fated rulers in Shanyue. His own father had merely been a general under Ganixi. He immediately became respectful and said courteously:

"May I inquire your esteemed name, senior?"

"Ahuila!"

The old man grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth. His eyes fixed on Shamo Li's face as he slowly began to speak:

"Despite my lack of talent, I have the honor of being the Great Shaman-Priest for Your Majesty, overseeing all matters of hunting, shamanic medicine, and cultivation."

Shamo Li instantly stiffened. The Great Shaman-Priest in Shanyue held a status akin to a vice-king. He hadn't even warmed his seat as king, yet the Li family had already arranged everything. This made him incredibly awkward, but he dared not show it. Instead, he put on a fawning smile and said:

"From now on, I will rely heavily on your assistance, Shaman-Priest!"

"Naturally."

Shamo Li looked at Ahuila's neat appearance with his coiled hair. Feeling utterly uncomfortable, he shifted restlessly. Finally, he couldn't resist coiling his own hair. He picked up a jade chopstick from the table to secure it. Only then did he let out a long breath and chuckled:

"I really can't stand this wild appearance."

Ahuila laughed heartily. He raised his head rather proudly and said earnestly:

"Easterner etiquette is complex, Your Majesty still has much to learn!"

"Indeed!"

Shamo Li nodded solemnly.

"Elder Brother, have you considered how to govern the Shanyue territory?"

Li Yuanjiao stood in the swaying carriage, gazing at the distant, rugged mountain path. The carriage he and Li Yuanxiu rode was different from Shamo Li's; it was a war chariot designed for charges, offering an expansive view, with cold wind buffeting their faces. Fortunately, both were cultivators at the second level of Fetal Breath, so they felt no chill.

"Hmm."

Li Yuanxiu nodded slightly. Resting his arm on a support, he said softly:

"The Shanyue people will be under Shamo Li's governance. We will operate from behind the scenes, governing everything according to our usual procedures. All positions related to the immortal path will be controlled by our people. Once we conquer Eastern Shanyue, we will immediately survey the land and measure the spirit fields."

"These spirit fields and spirit resources will naturally belong to our Li family, and we will send our people to cultivate and harvest them. Eastern Shanyue is vast; there should be many spirit fields."

Li Yuanjiao nodded and said in a low voice:

"Our family's cultivators might not be sufficient; we'll have to prioritize cultivating the most fertile spirit fields first."

Li Yuanxiu smiled. Glancing at Shamo Li's carriage ahead, he replied:

"Eastern Shanyue has over two hundred thousand people; they can support numerous Fetal Breath cultivators. While these individuals may not be able to participate in battles, cultivating spirit fields poses no issue for them. Even if these Shanyue people are not skilled in farming, after living in the east for a few years, they will naturally learn eagerly."

The two brothers exchanged a smile. Over the years, they had seen too many Shanyue people who had come eastward, influenced by the luxurious and refined life of the east. They voluntarily donned Eastern robes, wore hair crowns, and spoke fluent official dialect. They even despised the Shanyue more than native Easterners. Naturally, they were fully confident in their ability to transform these people.

"When barbarians enter our Eastern lands, their customs will shift, and they will become Easterners!"

Li Yuanxiu chuckled. Patting the long sword in his hand, he whispered:

"The more unattainable something is, the more precious it becomes. Once we control Eastern Shanyue, we will strictly restrict the eastward migration of the Shanyue people. We will make it so that Shanyue nobles have to sell everything they own just to glimpse the east. This will create a top-down trend of admiring the east within Shanyue. Within twenty years, they will be indistinguishable from Easterners!"