The Clan's Great Hall.
Li Jianshu swallowed the "Ling Tian's Meridian Blood" delivered by the clan this year.
This item was also a supreme clan treasure and could not be revealed to outsiders.
Diluting a drop of blood in his wine gourd, he took only a light sip and immediately felt a majestic surge of spiritual power galloping like ten thousand horses through his limbs and bones, leaving Li Jianshu filled with deep emotion.
"With my current realm, one drop of blood takes a year to digest, saving me twenty years of bitter cultivation.
I truly don't know how the clan's Old Ancestors fought out in the world all those years to allow our descendants to enjoy such blessings."
Li Xinnian had made Li Jianshu the Patriarch with a light, fluttering letter, catching him completely off guard.
Now that he truly wielded the clan's supreme authority, he gradually understood the clan's profound foundation.
Yet despite that power, he was still moving forward step by careful step, testing uncertain ground beneath his feet.
Thinking of his plan to turn all cultivators in the Azure Cloud Prefecture into soldiers, Li Jianshu murmured,
"Great-Grandfather has gone to Deston Prefecture, and the old man has already laid down the foundation.
The Azure Cloud Prefecture is prosperous, but many factions are ignorant of the world's affairs.
Our Azure Cloud Li Clan has protected them too well.
Now is precisely the time to let them gradually accept the changes in the world.
Aside from deploying heavy troops, we must also have them expand into the sea regions and dispatch forces to various parts of the dynasty to fight the Wu tribe."
"Our clan has been fiercely brave generation after generation, and the people of Azure Cloud have forged ahead for generations.
But as hundreds of years pass, I fear they will lose their blood-lust. If they lose even their blood-lust, what difference is there between them and weak power?
It's time to let them see blood.
The descendants of our Li Clan should be the same. They cannot endlessly receive the protection of the clan elders for nothing, or else it will only lead to an inevitable decline."
Just as he made this decision in his heart, he saw his grandfather, Li Zhiheng, approaching.
Li Jianshu hastily bowed. "Grandfather."
"Sit."
With a casual wave of Li Zhiheng's hand, Li Jianshu was already seated back in his original position.
Sensing his grandfather's Spiritual power, Li Jianshu was filled with utmost admiration.
Afterward, the grandfather and grandson discussed the matter of crossing the Endless Forest and going with the Immortal Suppression Department to "reap easy profits."
"Cross the Endless Forest?" Li Jianshu pondered for a moment.
"Grandson believes it is feasible.
Great-Grandfather once replied in a letter that Duanmu Yushu of the Eternal Immortal Sect had already gone to the Wu tribe to set up schemes, intending to use the Wu tribe members for a blood sacrifice to break through the peak of the Divinity Transformation realm, or even reach the Void Refinement realm.
Duanmu Yushu must have achieved some success for them to plan on imitating him on a massive scale."
"Currently, whether it is Deston Prefecture or the Northern Border Demon race, it is far too perilous for our clan's descendants.
Those at the Golden Core realm could die at any moment in those two places.
The Endless Forest and those two great immortal nations, comparatively speaking, are much safer.
It is a good place for experiential learning, and the various Grotto-Heavens of our clan can easily dispatch descendants there."
"Our ancestors fought their way out of a single village; we have not lost the courage to compete against this grand era."
Hearing this, Li Zhiheng tapped his finger lightly on the desk.
Li Zhiheng had spent his entire life cultivating. Even though the elders had gone to Deston Prefecture and he eradicated disasters for the clan, his mindset was far more "conservative."
Throughout his life, his philosophy had been "we will not attack unless we are attacked."
Hearing that his grandson wanted the clan's descendants to venture into strange lands, he couldn't help but feel a sense of compassion and hesitation.
Finally, seeing Li Jianshu's persistence, he could only sigh.
"That is fine as well. I will inform the clan elders, so they can request an expert to protect them. The clan acted similarly in the past and suffered a great disaster. Remember, we must not repeat the same mistakes."
"Grandson understands."
Li Jianshu nodded heavily. Even they knew of the incident back then, when the clan elders left Azure Cloud, arrived at the former Eternal Sun Prefecture, and were slaughtered by Tian Xing.
"This child will make a trip to the immortal sect to seek an audience with Ancestor Lan.
The interests of our two families are aligned; at the very least, the Perfected Sect Master of the Eternal Immortal Sect will devise a way to shelter our Li Clan."
The two finalized their decision.
Suddenly, they noticed the branches and leaves of the ancient tree outside the great hall trembling, and dark clouds gathering in the sky.
How could Li Jianshu not see that this was the ancient tree's lightning tribulation?
The grandfather and grandson hurriedly went before the ancient tree.
They saw a human face emerge on its trunk, and the two immediately bowed in greeting.
Li Jianshu said, "Divine Tree, are you going to break through to the Void Refinement realm?"
The ancient tree sighed,
"I have Mahayana blood and Body Integration blood within my body, and the Master sent me the natal artifact of a Void Refinement tree demon. Yet, I do not dare to break through.
Breaking through the barrier means becoming a Demon Venerable, but a spiritual demon breaking through is a hundred times more difficult than a human's breakthrough.
The old snake beneath me is the same."
Li Zhiheng took a deep breath.
The ancient tree and the old snake had followed the clan for eight hundred years.
He could already sense that their lightning tribulations were imminent and extremely perilous.
The ancient tree was to become a Demon Venerable, and the old snake... was about to turn into a dragon!
---
Donate on Ko-fi ➡️ [https://ko-fi.com/darktea] ⬅️
Get Early Access to 90 Chapters: Search for "Dark Tea" on Ko-fi (Explore tab) and join my membership to read ahead!