BXBX NOVEL Chapter 184: A Change in the War
Chapter 184: A Change in the War
"So, it\'s finally come to this."
Lan Chang\'an murmured to himself as he put away a letter, his gaze drifting southward of Wuqi Mountain.
Squeak!
The Earth Burrowing Rat scratched the back of its head, its eyes rolling curiously as it looked at its master in confusion.
Not far away, the Profound Water Turtle, which had grown to a width of eighteen feet, lazily sprawled by the lotus-filled pond, staring off into the distance. It maintained this habit for over twenty years, day in and day out, always gazing in the same direction.
The Profound Water Turtle was still far from maturity.
It was unaware that the female human cultivator it had once been closest to was nearing a hundred years old and had already stepped into her twilight years.
...Half a month later.
A young man in early Foundation Establishment, clad in martial attire, flew toward Little Turtle Peak on a streak of light.
"Junior Li Congren greets Grandpa Lan."
The young man smiled, performing a respectful but not obsequious salute.
"Congren ah, come in and have a seat."
Lan Chang\'an sitting in the pavilion, opened the mountain\'s formation.
The young man before him, Li Congren, was the grandson of Li Ergou, once known as Mu Congren.
Squeak, squeak!
The Earth Burrowing Rat poked its head out from a nearby hole, licking its lips as it stared intently at the distant visitor.
Mu Congren\'s heart tightened, a trace of wariness flashing in his eyes as he glanced at the late second-rank Earth Burrowing Rat.
He instinctively reached for the spirit pet pouch at his waist.
"Grandpa Lan, this is my first visit since establishing my Foundation. Please accept these local specialties as a token of respect."
As he entered the pavilion, Li Congren presented a large gift box.
Lan Chang\'an scanned it with his spiritual sense, slightly surprised. The gift included several superior-grade second-rank ores, among them a piece of quasi-third-rank cold iron essence.
"You\'ve been thoughtful, Congren."
Over the years, Lan Chang\'an had been experimenting with creating top-grade second-rank puppets and had a demand for high-quality materials.
As he accepted Li Congren\'s tribute, Lan Chang\'an couldn\'t help but think of Lin Lu.
The last junior who had shown such respect had ended up lost on the battlefield of a neighboring country, with his fate unknown.
"Grandpa Lan, I\'m also here to repay a debt on behalf of my grandfather."
Li Congren handed over a brocade pouch.
"Hmm."
Lan Chang\'an weighed it in his hand, feeling the presence of two thousand low-grade spirit stones inside.
Before Mu Congren\'s external expansion, Li Erqing had approached Lan Chang\'an to purchase a batch of valuable war supplies, including mid-to-superior-grade second-rank talismans and two second-rank puppets.
At that time, Li Erqing and his grandson\'s years of spirit stone reserves had been drained and they still owed Lan Chang\'an two thousand spirit stones.
Since Li Erqing had many descendants, Lan Chang\'an had never worried about the debt being repaid.
"Congren has one thing to thank Grandpa Lan for, those supplies you sold to us at a favorable price twenty years ago, they played a crucial role in helping this junior fend off demonic cultivators and protect our family\'s land." Li Congren said gratefully.
"Not long ago, your grandfather mentioned you in a letter. Leading a branch of the family to establish roots in a remote and harsh land and achieving such development is no small feat."
Lan Chang\'an sized up the composed and capable Li Congren, nodding in approval.
Li Congren\'s qualifications were similar to that of Mu Bingyun.
Although this son lacked any exceptional skills, he excelled in management.
The branch lineage that he brought out had developed well. In just a few decades, it had reached the level of an established Foundation Establishment family, though it still lacked deep foundations.
Recently, Li Congren formally changed his surname back to "Li," and the branch he led had established itself as a new family under the name "Li Family of Snow Plum Mountain."
The branch he led consisted entirely of Li Erqing\'s direct descendants. After nearly two decades of groundwork, the split faced little resistance.
Some of the elder clansmen from Feiyue Lake had voiced complaints, but none had gone so far as to take action.
Mu Bingyun had tacitly approved the split.
Years ago, when the Mu Family at Feiyue Lake had three Foundation Establishment cultivators simultaneously, the spiritual vein couldn\'t accommodate so many.
At that time, the conflict and interests between the new and old factions of the Mu Family had reached a bottleneck. It was Li Congren who voluntarily took Li Erqing\'s direct descendants to a remote, harsh land to establish their own foothold.
Had Li Congren not stepped up, Feiyue Lake, after a failed expansion, would sooner or later split due to internal strife.
"Although establishing a branch outside the family is tough, it comes without the internal constraints of the main family. With everyone working together, and with a bit of luck, we\'ve managed to secure our position." Li Congren replied humbly.
Lan Chang\'an knew that managing people was often harder than managing circumstances.
Li Congren\'s management skills far surpassed those of his grandfather, and even Mu Bingyun.
Now, although the Li branch had formally split off, it maintained close ties and cooperation with the Mu Family of Feiyue Lake.
After all, the two families shared the same bloodline.
Moreover, Li Erqing himself had no desire to leave the Mu Family, having sworn to protect Feiyue Lake until the last day.
This was an important bond that kept the two families closely allied.
...
After chatting for half an hour, Lan Chang\'an had a good understanding of Li Congren\'s current situation.
The Li Family that Li Congren had established was located in the northwest of Liang, near the border.
Specifically, it was southwest of the Beast Taming Zhou Family.
If one were to travel from the Zhou Family\'s territory to the Liang Kingdom\'s western "Zijing Immortal City," they would pass near the Snow Plum Mountain Li Family.
Zijing Immortal City was also near the border, and engaged in trade with the Jing Kingdom in the Western region.
Li Congren had managed to establish roots in such a chaotic and harsh land, partly due to his diplomatic skills.
For example, the Beast Taming Zhou Family was the strongest cultivation family in that region.
Li Congren leveraged his relationship with Lan Chang\'an, coupled with offerings, to maintain good relations with the Zhou Family\'s Zhou Jingxuan.
On a personal level, Li Congren had also formed a life-and-death bond with a mid-Foundation Establishment loose cultivator.
This loose cultivator became an esteemed guest of the Li Family.
Moreover, Li Congren had secretly formed a Dao companionship with a female cultivator in early Foundation Establishment, though this was not publicly known.
The rapid development of the Li branch was also due to what Li Congren referred to as the "right place, right time."
In simple terms, they had profited from the war.
The Li Family had purchased the development rights to a mine for fifty years at a low price ten years before the war.
When the war broke out, the prices of various materials skyrocketed, and iron-related ores were no exception.
In addition to the increased value of their mines, the flow of war supplies from the Jing Kingdom to the Liang Kingdom boosted trade in the Li Family\'s region.
"What is the current situation in Jing Kingdom?" Lan Chang\'an asked with apparent curiosity.
At present, several nearby countries—Liang Kingdom, Feng Kingdom, Yan Kingdom, and Chen Kingdom—were all embroiled in cultivation wars.
However, the battlefield was confined to Feng Kingdom.
"The Jing Kingdom is a neutral cultivation nation, without fourth-rank spiritual veins or Nascent Soul-level sects, and it never gets involved in disputes between neighboring countries."
"The country is situated at the intersection of the Chen Kingdom, the Liang Kingdom, and the Black Fog Mountain Range. It\'s rich in materials and has a well-developed trade network. In recent years, the sects and families of Jing Kingdom have profited greatly from the cultivation wars..."
Li Congren explained the situation in Jing Kingdom.
The Li branch was close to the Liang Kingdom\'s northwest border and had dealings with merchants from the Jing Kingdom.
Seeing that Lan Chang\'an was interested, Li Congren gifted him a jade slip containing detailed information about the cultivation world of Jing Kingdom.
"Jing Kingdom, as a neutral cultivation nation that avoids involvement in wars, has a stable situation. It can serve as a potential fallback option."
Lan Chang\'an mused to himself.
...
Afterward, Lan Chang\'an gave Li Congren some guidance on his cultivation.
Li Congren, nearly ten years younger than Mu Bingyun, had already reached the peak of early Foundation Establishment. However, breaking through the bottleneck would require several more years of polishing.
Before leaving, Li Congren purchased a batch of war supplies from Lan Chang\'an.
Li Congren\'s wealth surprised Lan Chang\'an.
The young man bought three puppets, one each at the early, mid, and late second-rank stages.
In terms of talismans, he primarily purchased mid-to-superior-grade second-rank ones, acquiring around a dozen, including two top second-rank talismans.
Of course, such financial power belonged to the family\'s resources, not Li Congren\'s personal wealth.
Squeak!
The Earth Burrowing Rat looked restless, showing an unsatisfied expression as it watched Li Congren take off.
"Forgive me for the embarrassment, Grandpa Lan. I have a spirit rat as a pet, but it\'s only at the early second rank and isn\'t good at fighting, so I didn\'t dare bring it out to meet the Earth Burrowing Rat."
Li Congren explained with a smile.
"Oh? Is your spirit rat male or female?"
"It\'s male," Li Congren replied.
Lan Chang\'an glanced at the Earth Burrowing Rat with a knowing smile.
After Li Congren left Wuqi Mountain.
Lan Chang\'an communicated with the Earth Burrowing Rat for a while.
"Mu Congren\'s spirit rat pet isn\'t inferior to the current Earth Burrowing Rat in terms of bloodline quality. Not good at fighting? Could it be one of those rare types specialized in treasure or ore hunting? If so, its value would be much higher than the Earth Burrowing Rat."
"It seems that the rapid development of the branch led by Mu Congren isn\'t solely due to the increasing value of existing minerals," considering the quasi-third-rank ore that Mu Congren had gifted, Lan Chang\'an couldn\'t help but speculate.
He didn\'t harbor any intent to pry or covet.
For Foundation Establishment cultivators, such opportunities were within the normal range, aided by the winds of war.
...
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
Lan Chang\'an had been cultivating at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment for seven or eight years.
One day, Shi Manrong came to Little Turtle Peak with news.
"Shen Bixin and Song Wenshu\'s wedding has been postponed?"
Lan Chang\'an was taken aback, almost thinking that Fairy Shi was joking.
A few months ago, they had received an invitation from Song Wenshu, with the wedding scheduled for half a year later.
"At first, I didn\'t believe it either. But this news comes from a disciple of Flame Departing Palace." Shi Manrong said, her expression puzzled.
"A postponed wedding is not the same as a canceled one. What could have happened?"
Lan Chang\'an found it strange and pondered.
Although Song Wenshu wasn\'t from the core disciples or the direct line of elders in Flame Departing Palace, he was still considered to have a notable background.
"Have there been any price increases in formations recently?"
"The demand and prices for lower-tier formations haven\'t moved, but for quasi-third-rank formations, both demand and prices have increased abnormally." Fairy Shi quickly responded, her eyes turning thoughtful.
"Are you suggesting that this is related to the war?" She then looked at Lan Chang\'an with clear eyes.
"If Song Wenshu was suddenly summoned by the sect to the frontlines, then postponing the wedding due to an unavoidable reason wouldn\'t be disgraceful." Lan Chang\'an considered one possibility.
"Three years ago, Liang Kingdom\'s sects conscripted a third batch of cultivators. The fourth round of conscription is indeed approaching..." Fairy Shi murmured.
But Lan Chang\'an had a feeling that things weren\'t that simple.
In the past year, he hadn\'t received any war updates from Zhao Tan\'er in Jin Yun Valley.
Lan Chang\'an speculated that there might have been an unknown change on the frontlines of the neighboring country.
Perhaps Zhao Tan\'er had been forbidden by her sect from sending out any information regarding the war.
With his channels for obtaining war information cut off, Lan Chang\'an felt uneasy.
If the cultivation war was a massive storm, then he was like a small boat on the sea.
The current situation was akin to saying that the boat had lost its ability to predict the weather of the storm.
In a few more years, Lan Chang\'an would advance to the late Foundation Establishment stage, significantly boosting his strength. He didn\'t want to face unexpected challenges.
"There is one place where I should be able to obtain the latest war intelligence..."
(End of chapter)