Chapter 260: Wolf Demon

At the edge of Yan Mountain in Xu State, a recently formed Foundation Establishment wolf demon…

Li Xuanxuan looked at the small note in his hand, feeling uneasy. He wondered about the wolf demon’s strength and whether it had any hidden backing.

The five sects in Xu State constantly attacked each other, compounded by rampant demonic cultivators and wandering Zen practitioners. The situation had long devolved into chaos. The sects could only protect a few towns beneath their mountain gates; the rest of the land was overrun by demons. This particular demon had claimed the edge of Yan Mountain, deep within Xu State's mountains, as its territory. It styled itself as the "Yan Mountain Demon General" and lived a rather carefree life.

After all, it was a Foundation Establishment demon, cultivating independently in the mountains. For a time, no one bothered it. It only became known when it occasionally emerged to stir up trouble and devour a few cultivators.

Li Xuanling pondered for a moment, smacked his lips, and hesitated:

“We’ll have to ask that fox about matters concerning demons. For now, send this up for Uncle to review.”

A subordinate stepped forward, took the note, and headed up the mountain. Li Xuanxuan lowered his head and began drawing talismans. The Yu family was currently in complete disarray. Since the Li family had just merged two mountains, the allocation of personnel and spirit fields all required his oversight. As Li Xuanxuan's talent wasn't particularly high, he often stayed down the mountain to draw talismans and manage affairs.

“Jiao’er’s wedding is also in the next few months; it won't be easy to make everything look good.”

The Xiao family’s envoy had visited several times. It was Xiao Jiuqing, a truly eloquent man who had meticulously planned and arranged everything, saving Li Xuanxuan a great deal of effort. Looking at the congratulatory letter handed to him, Li Xuanxuan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

“This man is articulate and capable. If our family had someone like him, it would save us so much trouble.”

No sooner had he spoken than Li Xuanxuan thought of Li Yuanxiu, feeling a pang of sorrow. He mused:

“I should have found wives for the children earlier…”

“Patriarch.”

As Li Xuanxuan was pondering, Li Xiewen hurried up from below and respectfully said:

“Master Liu Changdie has repaired the formation. He bade farewell to Second Master and has flown north.”

“Oh.”

Li Xuanxuan responded and instructed:

“I understand. How are the selections for the Jade Court Guards progressing?”

“Reporting to the Patriarch, three are surnamed Li, one Chen, and one Xu. All are trusted relatives.”

Li Xuanxuan nodded and replied:

“Make sure they are well-vetted. In a few days, the Old Ancestor will want to meet them personally.”

He watched Li Xiewen nod and withdraw, then put down his vermilion brush. Suddenly, he thought of Li Xuanfeng and felt a considerable dilemma. When cultivators advanced too quickly, their ability to have offspring often diminished. Li Xuanfeng already had no sons, and now he shunned female company. How could this not trouble him, as the elder brother?

“Although Donghe married into the family, Jing Tian only bore a daughter, Qingxiao, and there seems to be no further news of children. Qingxiao will likely marry into the Xiao family in the future. With Xuanfeng in his current state, won't our uncle's line be cut off...?”

Li Xuanxuan sighed softly. Though he was the elder brother, his personality wasn't assertive, and he couldn't persuade Li Xuanfeng. He could only consider finding a day to consult Li Tongya.

The talisman brush moved lightly in his hand, and the talisman he was drawing radiated brilliance, finally condensing into a shimmering glow that flowed across the smooth talisman paper. Li Xuanxuan chuckled softly and whispered:

“Done!”

This talisman was a Qi Condensation level “Elemental Shield Talisman.” The two talisman arts obtained by the Li family were "Spirit Talisman Arts" and "Autumn Refinement Notes." The former was brought back by Li Chijing years ago and contained three Qi Condensation realm talisman techniques, one of which Li Xuanxuan had just completed. The latter also primarily consisted of Qi Condensation talismans, but their difficulty was higher, and Li Xuanxuan had not yet managed to draw any of them successfully.

“To succeed in one or two out of ten attempts is still quite good.”

Li Xuanxuan put away the talisman in his hand. Although his talent in talisman arts was the highest in the Li family, it wasn't outstanding; it wasn't considered good. His ability to draw Qi Condensation realm talismans was purely due to his hard work. Feeling content, he laughed:

“With these talismans, the younger generations in the family will be better protected during combat.”

Lijing Mountain.

Currently, only Li Tongya remained as a cultivator on Lijing Mountain. Li Yuanjiao and Li Xuanfeng had been sent to Huaqian Mountain, while Li Qinghong and Li Xuanling (father and daughter) had gone to Huazhong Mountain. Several Qi Condensation cultivators, not of the Li surname, were busy below with demon eradication and surveying spirit fields, allowing the core family members more time to cultivate.

The combined spiritual energy from Meichi Peak and Lijing Peak finally allowed Li Tongya to cultivate freely. The spiritual aura of Lijing Mountain as a whole wasn't particularly dense, and Li Tongya, having cultivated the "Heavy Sea Long Whale Scroll," absorbed spiritual energy like a whale, making his cultivation more demanding than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Li Tongya held a purple jade slip, reading it carefully while sitting on a low couch. Beside him, Liu Rouxuan, with her head full of white hair, was soundly asleep.

Li Tongya was now sixty-three years old. Liu Rouxuan was about the same age, but due to multiple failed breakthroughs, her lifespan had dwindled, and her vitality was low. The Li family couldn't provide any spirit items to extend her lifespan, so they could only watch her approach death.

Liu Rouxuan didn't have much time left and had damaged her fundamental essence. She spent more time sleeping than awake. So, Li Tongya no longer entered seclusion for cultivation but instead came to her couch to read, wanting to spend a few more days accompanying his wife in her final moments.

“Old Ancestor.”

Li Xiewen from below tiptoed towards Li Tongya, offering the small note in his hand. Li Tongya took it, glanced at it, nodded, put the letter away, drew the bed curtain, and then walked out of the courtyard, whispering:

“I am aware.”

With that, he rose on the wind and departed the formation. The speed of a Foundation Establishment immortal cultivator was astonishing. Crossing over the dense, layered forests below, he landed moments later beneath a giant white banyan tree.

All around was quiet, not even a fox hair was in sight. Li Tongya was not in a hurry; he sat cross-legged under the tree and cultivated silently. After a moment, he saw a fiery red figure flying rapidly from the horizon, landing before him.

“You came looking for me.”

The fox looked dejected, letting out a cheerless cry, and squeaked:

“You all caused quite a stir at the lake, and we all know about it. Now there are two fewer foraging spots, which has made the demons of the northern foothills quite displeased…”

“What do you mean by that?”

Li Tongya asked, somewhat puzzled. The fox then said:

“Those man-eating demons, they just change their form, slip into a city, cast a few spells, eat a few people, and leave immediately. Cultivators never bothered them. A few commoners dying was nothing; as long as they didn’t provoke the influential families, eating a few people was an easy matter.”

The fox sat down on the ground, spreading its paws in a rather expressive gesture, and continued:

“But ever since your Li family rose to power, things have changed. Now, even if a demon goes to eat a few commoners, someone will relentlessly pursue them, using tracking and illusion-breaking spells. Careless demons are caught and killed within days of entering a city. The cautious ones eat and run, but even a small Fetal Breath realm demon who eats a few people gets Qi Condensation cultivators chasing them all the way into the mountains! It’s utterly unreasonable!”

Li Tongya was speechless. The fox continued rambling:

“As your Li family rises, human flesh and blood in the entire northern foothills have become increasingly precious. Many demons are unwilling to take risks and have resorted to eating other demons instead, creating a chaotic mess—dog-eat-dog, wolf-eat-wolf—it hasn’t been peaceful for quite some time.”

“In the past six months, your Li family has expanded again, and these demons have lost two more foraging grounds, so they are naturally quite displeased.”

Li Tongya could only shake his head. Then the fox said:

“I went to that demon cave and heard that pig demon talking about this, saying they wanted to teach your family a good lesson. I merely tried to dissuade them a few times, and that idiotic pig demon actually threw me out of the demon cave…”

“My apologies for implicating you, fellow Daoist.”

Li Tongya didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he noted the mention of the pig demon and asked, puzzled:

“The demon cave and the Azure Pool Sect are two separate entities. Can that pig demon really lead demon soldiers to attack? Or are they planning some insidious plot to harm my family?”