Chapter 29: Requesting Help

Li Xiangping was instantly startled. Seeing Wan Yuankai's beaming face, he thought to himself, "The Wan family is overly enthusiastic; I must be cautious."

Maintaining his smile, he cupped his hands towards Wan Yuankai, shaking his head repeatedly, and said, "Your esteemed father is far too generous! I truly cannot accept this."

Wan Yuankai shook his head and produced a small pine wood box from his sleeve. Opening its polished lid, he revealed a blue-white fruit nestled inside on a cloth lining. The fruit was covered in a smooth, scale-like cuticle, resembling snake skin, with a shimmering blue-white hue that reflected light beautifully under the sun. It looked quite impressive.

Wan Yuankai, however, looked somewhat embarrassed and whispered, "My Wan family is struggling both internally and externally, and we operate at a deficit every year. This Pine Yue fruit is beneficial for shaping the Chengming Wheel. It's merely a small token, truly insignificant. Please, Brother Li, I urge you to accept it so I can report back."

Noticing Li Xiangping's scrutiny of the fruit, Wan Yuankai had an epiphany and quickly explained, "Simply cut open the skin with a small knife and drink the juice."

As Li Xiangping gazed at the fruit, his mind was constantly weighing options. He thought to himself, "Why would they tell me about the Wan family's internal and external struggles? Wouldn't that just invite unnecessary covetousness?" He then decided, "Never mind! Whatever game he's playing, I'll observe the situation first!"

"In that case, I shan't decline!" Li Xiangping chuckled. After seeing Li Yesheng step forward to carefully take the box away, he changed his tone and said seriously, "However, there is a matter I need to trouble you with, Brother Wan."

"Please just call me Yuankai," Wan Yuankai said, waving his hands dismissively. "Go on, please."

"My Li family has just arrived and knows nothing about the surrounding families. Would you be willing to enlighten me, Brother Wan?"

"Certainly," Wan Yuankai nodded. As Li Yesheng retrieved paper and a pen, Wan Yuankai rolled up his sleeve and drew a thin line, explaining, "This is the Ancient Li Path."

He then drew a circle in the middle of the Ancient Li Path and wrote the character "Li". Li Xiangping nodded, took a pen himself, dipped it in ink, and drew a circle above and below the "Li" character, labeling them "Wangyue Lake" and "Dali Mountain."

"My Li family is situated with Dali Mountain at our back, facing Wangyue Lake, and the Ancient Li Path runs right through us."

Wan Yuankai nodded, then drew a small circle to the right of the "Li" family's position, explaining, "To the east is my Wan family." He then lifted his pen and drew a large circle directly above the Wan family's position, stating solemnly, "This is the Ji clan of the Tangjin Gate."

"The Ji clan of the Tangjin Gate?" Li Xiangping's heart immediately tightened as he echoed the name.

"Precisely! The Tangjin Gate is an immortal sect from Daxi to the north, and its strength is comparable to our Green Pond Sect. Wangyue Lake is vast; traveling north across its center leads to the Tangjin Gate's main mountain, Tangdao Mountain. The Ji family is an influential power under the Tangjin Gate's jurisdiction."

Li Xiangping nodded at Wan Yuankai, motioning him to continue, and thought with a wry smile, "It really is a case of what you dread most coming to pass."

"For over a decade, the Tangjin Gate and the Green Pond Sect have been in constant conflict. While the two sects haven't yet declared war, more than ten families in the border regions have been annihilated, and tens of thousands of mortals have been displaced. Both sides are merely probing each other." Wan Yuankai's expression was troubled, as if he was voicing a long-held anxiety. "This Ji family has also repeatedly attacked, infringing upon my Wan family's territory and causing us immense suffering. Their patriarch, Ji Dengqi, reached the Qi Cultivation stage years ago, while my father has only recently advanced to Yujing and cannot contend with him."

"Whenever our spiritual rice ripens, members of the Ji family don their masks, impersonate rogue cultivators, and raid our village. For years, we've been forced to retreat into the mountains, allowing the Ji family to plunder our spiritual rice." By this point, Wan Yuankai's eyes were slightly red, and his fists were tightly clenched.

Hearing this, Li Xiangping already understood Wan Yuankai's true purpose. His expression soured slightly, and he stated, "My Li family is small and weak; I'm afraid we can't be of much assistance."

Observing Wan Yuankai's pained and indignant expression, Li Xiangping quickly asked, "How many cultivators remain in the entire Wan family?"

Wan Yuankai paused abruptly, looked at Li Xiangping with hesitation, then gritted his teeth and replied, "Father is at the peak of the Yujing Wheel, and I've only just achieved the Qingyuan Wheel. There are also two younger family members who recently attained the Xuanjing Wheel. As for the Ji family, besides that old scoundrel who has reached Qi Cultivation, they also have two Zhouxing Wheel cultivators and one Chengming Wheel cultivator. Regarding Xuanjing Wheel cultivators, there should be several, but they never participate in the raids."

Hearing this, Li Xiangping asked with some confusion, "Someone from the sect once told me that in the event of an enemy attack, you can use a jade seal to request assistance from the sect. A single Foundation Establishment immortal cultivator dispatched by the sect should be able to resolve your urgent situation."

"How could we possibly enlist a Foundation Establishment cultivator?" Wan Yuankai exclaimed, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, a picture of deep-seated resentment. "If we activate the jade seal, it would take at least two hours for Qi Cultivation cultivators from the city to arrive. By then, it would be too late for everything. Not only would our spiritual rice be completely lost, but repeatedly requesting aid would also needlessly offend the cultivators who come to our rescue!"

Just as he finished speaking, seeing Li Xiangping about to interject, Wan Yuankai quickly continued, "My father sent me to visit you all precisely because he wishes to form an alliance, to borrow the strength of your esteemed family..."

Li Xiangping sighed inwardly. Since Wan Yuankai had already broached the subject, he abandoned the thought of probing for more information and said with a wry smile, "It's not that I'm unwilling, but rather that I'm unable! My Li family is small in number; we only entered the path of cultivation last year. My father had four sons: my eldest brother passed away young, and my youngest brother, though highly cultivated, has already gone to an immortal sect for training. My older brother and I are both shallow in cultivation, not even as skilled as you. How can we possibly contend with the Ji family?"

"But isn't your esteemed father still here?" Wan Yuankai asked, his face full of hope as he looked at Li Xiangping.

"To be perfectly honest, my father is merely a mortal..."

"Impossible! How could a mere mortal possibly produce three children with spiritual apertures? My father, with his Yujing Wheel cultivation, had seventeen children before he got me, his only one with a spiritual aperture." Wan Yuankai's face instantly filled with doubt. Li Xiangping was greatly alarmed, his mind racing, and almost without hesitation, he forced a bitter smile and followed up, "My father had an encounter years ago and his cultivation was crippled..."

Wan Yuankai's expression immediately shifted. He replied, somewhat abashed, "That was truly thoughtless of me! Your esteemed father must have already achieved the foundation of the Great Dao; Yuankai was terribly impolite." With that, he settled back into his seat, his gaze filled with sorrow.

Li Xiangping, for his part, was also internally shaken. Wan Yuankai's sudden outburst had sent a chill down his spine, and he'd almost failed to maintain his composure. He thought, "So, the higher a cultivator's cultivation, the greater the chance of their offspring possessing spiritual apertures. I almost revealed myself over such a seemingly insignificant detail!"

Observing Wan Yuankai's somber expression, Li Xiangping composed himself and asked, "Then, regarding the western end of this Ancient Li Path, beyond my Li family's territory, Brother Wan, do you know what the situation is there?"

"West of the Ancient Li Path..." Wan Yuankai paused, gazing thoughtfully at the drawing. He mused, "Dali Mountain's terrain slopes westward, so the Ancient Li Path probably leads deeper into the mountains. I've never heard of any human habitation in that section. However, I have heard..."

"Heard what?" Li Xiangping quickly pressed.

"My father said our ancestors explored westward and encountered Shan Yue to the west of the Li Path."

"Shan Yue?"