4 Chapter 4: Arrival

The journey of over twenty thousand li, even aboard a Spirit Boat, still required some time to complete.

But as the Spirit Boat flew halfway, sudden flecks of white light began twinkling before Li Zhirui's eyes, startling the drowsy boy awake,

"Ren Uncle, look outside, what is that thing!" Li Zhirui quickly sent a message through his thoughts.

Li Shiren, who was controlling the Spirit Boat, followed Li Zhirui's words and looked. When he saw what the white lights were, he was stunned for half a breath before his face was overtaken by joy.

"It's Cloud Fish!" he responded hurriedly before disregarding Li Zhirui to activate a Communication Talisman and inform Li Shiqing on another ship.

Li Zhirui felt he had heard the term "Cloud Fish" somewhere before, but try as he might, he couldn't recall where.

Not until every Cultivator was awakened and the Spirit Boat was hovering motionless, and three Foundation Establishment Cultivators made a move to catch these Cloud Fish, did Li Zhirui manage to get a clear view of them and remembered what Cloud Fish were.

Cloud Fish are a very precious and rare grade-one Spirit Fish. Despite their low rank, they hold extremely high value!

Since Cloud Fish grow amidst the clouds and feed on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, their bodies contain not the slightest impurity, perfectly pure. They can be used in cooking or directly consumed to increase a Cultivator's mana and, unlike pills, they do not cause drug resistance or pill poison.

However, due to the rarity of Cloud Fish, they are seldom seen for sale in the market. There were even rumors that Cloud Fish had become extinct, which was why Li Zhirui took so long to remember them.

Half an hour later, the Cloud Fish in the area had been completely gathered by the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

"Hahaha..." Li Shiren laughed heartily as he returned to the Spirit Boat, went up to Li Zhirui, and patted his shoulder, saying, "Good lad! Without you, we might have missed this great opportunity!"

"I was too panicked earlier to celebrate your breakthrough to the later stage of Qi Cultivation, and now you've made such a significant contribution to the family again," Clan Leader Li Shiqing looked at Li Zhirui with eyes filled with satisfaction and praise.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "Since you discovered the Cloud Fish, you will be rewarded with two pairs as a celebration of your breakthrough."

"These were caught by you, Clan Leader, not me," Li Zhirui quickly declined, worried that he wouldn't be able to care for such precious Cloud Fish.

"How could we have caught the Cloud Fish if not for you?" Seeing Li Zhirui still wanting to refuse, Li Shiqing waved his hand decisively, leaving no room for rebuttal, "That settles it!"

"Thank you, Clan Leader." Li Zhirui, seeing this, could only accept the two pairs of Cloud Fish, thinking that once they reached their destination, he would ask for advice from Uncle Shiling, the most skilled Beast Tamer in the family.

The rest of the journey was extremely peaceful, with no more surprises. This only made Li Zhirui's peers in the clan even more envious of his good fortune.

Currently, there were thirteen clansmen of Li Zhirui's generation, and by age, Li Zhirui was the ninth, with four younger brothers and sisters beneath him.

As for the eight older brothers and sisters, the eldest was already in his thirties or forties, and the youngest was just a few months older than Li Zhirui.

"Ninth Brother, your luck is truly enviable," said Li Zhihao, who was ranked eighth and had a relatively good relationship with him, joining Li Zhirui with a face full of envy.

Li Zhirui smiled, "Eighth Brother, your turn for good fortune will come soon, don't be anxious."

"Hahaha, then I'll take your auspicious words to heart," Li Zhihao laughed heartily, obviously very happy.

This also caused many clansmen to turn their gazes away.

"We're almost at Da Rong Island!"

Li Shiren's words immediately drew everyone's attention, and they hurried to the edge of the boat, looking towards the island not far away.

"Ren Uncle, Da Rong Island looks quite large! Why hadn't it been occupied by other families before?" asked Li Zhirui, somewhat puzzled.

Da Rong Island, stretching three hundred li from north to south and over one hundred fifty li from east to west, faintly revealed a high mountain range to the east, as well as the lofty banyan trees that covered the hills and fields.

Li Shiren did not immediately answer the question but instead asked, "Do you still remember your Uncle Fifteen?"

Li Zhirui nodded; he did remember that great-uncle of his, but if he wasn't mistaken, Uncle Fifteen had fallen a few years ago, hadn't he?

"The reason Da Rong Island has not been occupied by other forces is that the Spirit Veins are hidden too deeply on the island. If it weren't for Uncle Fifteen's Spirit Seeking Beast, we wouldn't have known that the island is hiding three first-order Spirit Veins."

To this number, Li Zhirui didn't show much reaction, because as far as he knew, Bailang County didn't just have more Spirit Veins but also had a second-order Spirit Vein.

"All first-order Spirit Veins? Then the spiritual energy on the island probably isn't enough for the family's cultivators to breathe and cultivate," he said.

The grade of Spirit Veins corresponds to the realms of cultivators, from the lowest first-order Spirit Veins to the highest ninth-order Spirit Veins, each matching the Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Divine Transformation, Void Refinement, Integration, Mahayana, and Tribulation Transcendence respectively.

The spiritual energy produced by a first-order Spirit Vein can satisfy the cultivation needs of up to fifteen Qi Cultivators, but for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it can only satisfy one at most!

The three first-order Spirit Veins on the island were not enough to meet the needs of the Li family's Qi Cultivators, not to mention the four Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Li family.

"Don't worry, the family's complete relocation to Da Rong Island this time has brought enough Spirit Stones to upgrade one Spirit Vein to the second order," Li Shiren reassured him.

Li Shiren patted Li Zhirui on the back and said in annoyance, "You're young, so don't think too much. Many of us elders are still alive!"

"I understand," Li Zhirui replied, aware of his own tendency to overthink, which was something he had carried over from his previous life and couldn't change overnight.

...

"Who goes there!"

The moment the two Spirit Boats hovered in the air above Da Rong Island, a voice filled with vigilance burst out from within the island.

"Second Brother, have you forgotten your little brother after only a few years?" Li Shiren flew out of the Spirit Boat, feigning an utterly heartbroken demeanor.

Li Zhirui and the other younger generation were dumbfounded by such a display from Uncle Shiren. Although Li Shiren usually lacked the dignity of an elder, they had never seen him act so frivolously.

"Ahem." Li Shiqing stepped forward to give a reminder before saying, "Let's enter the island first. After settling the secular clansmen, we'll talk."

As soon as Li Shijue heard this and saw the figures on the Spirit Boat, he realized that the family was facing a severe crisis. Otherwise, they wouldn't have brought so many clansmen to Da Rong Island. He immediately opened the Formation to hurry the Spirit Boats inside.

"Fifth Brother, has something happened in Bailang County?" Li Shijue asked anxiously.

Li Shiren sighed and recounted the sequence of events in detail. At the end, he forced a smile and said, "This way is also good. At least now all family members are together and don't have to wait a decade to see each other."

To prevent the clansmen on Da Rong Island from feeling disconnected from the main family, they would replace those stationed on the island every ten years, under the pretense of traveling.

Moreover, to keep it a secret, only a few core members of the family knew the complete route.

"That's true, and Da Rong Island may not necessarily be worse than Bailang County," Li Shijue added.

At that moment, the cultivators stationed on the island heard the commotion and rushed over. Seeing the family members they hadn't seen in years, their first reaction was joy, but they quickly sensed that something was amiss.

Before they could ask, Li Shiqing said, "Let's talk in the main hall."