Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

"Zhirui, why have you taken a liking to that girl?" Li Shiqing asked with curiosity.

Li Zhirui cracked a smile and said, "Just a feeling!"

"Clan Leader, I'll go back to alchemy now." Without regard for the astonished gazes of others, Li Zhirui left the hall directly.

Li Shiqing's brows furrowed slightly; he couldn't believe Li Zhirui would leave such a meaningful statement just because of an intangible feeling, but he also didn't believe that Li Zhixuan would achieve much in the future.

That was because no cultivator with Four Spiritual Roots had ever achieved Foundation Establishment in the Li family's three-hundred-year history!

Li Zhirui didn't concern himself with the thoughts and speculations of others. After he returned to his courtyard, he began the process of making Strong Vein Pills.

Perhaps due to his good mood, he succeeded after several attempts!

When Li Zhirui opened the Green Jade Pill Furnace, he saw a round and lustrous Strong Vein Pill suspended in the Spirit Water.

To capture that sensation, Li Zhirui made several more batches, some successful and some not, but his success rate increased the more he made.

Li Zhirui wanted to continue, but unfortunately, he had run out of materials and had no choice but to stop reluctantly.

"How are you hungry again?" Before he even had a chance to clean up the Alchemy Room, Li Zhirui heard Da Qing's cry and spoke helplessly.

Li Zhirui couldn't understand why Da Qing, who was still far from a breakthrough, had recently become so ravenous, consuming twice its usual amount!

He also suspected Da Qing might be ill but after thoroughly checking several times, found no issues, and Da Qing didn't seem to be uncomfortable anywhere.

"It's only because of me. If it were someone else, they wouldn't be able to feed you, you glutton!" said Li Zhirui as he took out a dozen Spirit Fruits and piled them in front of Da Qing, speaking in annoyance.

"Chirp chirp—"

Da Qing cried out discontentedly, quickly consuming the Spirit Fruits before gazing eagerly at Li Zhirui, looking as if it hadn't had its fill.

"You want more?" Li Zhirui was stunned and said, "You couldn't really be sick, could you?"

Da Qing shook its head, calling out insistently, urging Li Zhirui to bring more Spirit Fruits.

Having no other choice, Li Zhirui complied and then watched Da Qing eat more than fifty Spirit Fruits.

"You best rest at home," Li Zhirui said, now truly concerned, and he hurriedly headed to the Scripture Pavilion to see if he could find the reason for Da Qing's sudden ravenous hunger.

No one in the Li family besides Li Zhirui was raising a turtle Spirit Beast. Although they lived long, they grew too slowly, so he had to go to the Scripture Pavilion to find the reason.

"Matters of Turtle Spirit Beasts," "How to Cultivate Turtle Spirit Beasts"… Li Zhirui borrowed every book containing the word "turtle," since he had plenty of Contribution Value at his disposal.

After perusing a large number of books, Li Zhirui finally found the reason, but he was dumbfounded by the discovery. Was Da Qing preparing to molt? Turtle Spirit Beasts can molt?!

"As turtle Spirit Beasts continue to grow, their shells fail to change to accommodate their increasingly larger body size...

During molting, the spirit turtle falls into slumber, thus it needs to accumulate a significant amount of Spiritual Energy to avoid dangers that might arise from an insufficiency of Spiritual Energy...

Each time a spirit turtle molts, it can take as little as over a month or as long as half a year to a year."

Now knowing that it was a normal phenomenon, Li Zhirui felt reassured, even though he still couldn't understand why turtle Spirit Beasts would molt.

As for the dangers that spirit turtles might encounter during molting, Li Zhirui wasn't overly concerned, for he had enough Spirit Fruits and Spirit Pills to satisfy Da Qing's needs.

After returning to the courtyard, Li Zhirui piled up a large number of Spirit Fruits in front of Da Qing and said, "If you're hungry, just help yourself to these."

Possibly because it had accumulated enough Spiritual Energy, it didn't take many days before Da Qing fell into a deep slumber, beginning its first ever molt in its turtle life.

Li Zhirui checked on Da Qing's condition every day to ensure there were no sudden mishaps, only then could he rest easy.

...

Inside the Spirit Wisdom Court, Li Zhixuan, with a dull sword weighing ten jins on her back, was training with gritted teeth under the surprised and puzzled gazes of those around her.

This iron sword was something Li Zhixuan found in the armory. She took a liking to it at first glance. Because it was a dull sword, and she was young, the armory staff didn't mind and let her take the iron sword out of the armory.

Before the age of eight, every member of the Li family with a Spiritual Root had to train to temper their bodies and strengthen their meridians. That was what they were doing now.

This kind of training was extremely arduous. After each session, they were utterly exhausted and had to rely on herbal baths and sleep to nourish their bodies, so they could regain their strength for the next day.

When Li Zhirui was at the Spirit Wisdom Court, even he, with the mindset of an adult, almost couldn't persist through this devilish training. That showed just how terrible the training was.

But Li Zhixuan, a little girl nearing the age of five, was actually carrying a ten-jin iron sword on her back to undergo this dreadful training!

The Elder who managed the Spirit Wisdom Court and was responsible for teaching these children looked at Li Zhixuan with eyes full of gratification. But upon thinking of her aptitude, a hint of pity flashed across their face.

"Zhixuan, you are still young. Overtraining will not benefit you and may even damage your meridians. Therefore, don't carry the iron sword during training anymore," The Elder said softly.

Seeing Li Zhixuan remain silent, the amiable Elder said helplessly, "I'll give you the iron sword, but you can only carry it at other times. Otherwise, I will take it back."

"Okay!" Only then did Li Zhixuan obediently untie and set the iron sword aside, then ran back to continue training.

Half an hour later, Li Zhixuan's group of children was the first to be dismissed. While the other five were still sighing, Li Zhixuan had already picked up her iron sword and headed to the dining hall.

Although they were not yet Cultivators, what they ate was no longer ordinary food, but the mildest first-grade low-quality Spirit Rice and Spirit Food.

Even though they couldn't absorb the Spiritual Energy within, this energy would accumulate in their flesh, helping them to quickly break through the first layer of Qi Cultivation once they officially became Cultivators.

"Zhixuan, why are you working so hard?" asked Li Zhiyue curiously.

It had been several days since the group of children moved into the Spirit Wisdom Court, but Li Zhixuan had always kept to herself. This was the first time someone had approached her for a chat.

"Because I want to live a better life," Li Zhixuan said, then she walked past Li Zhiyue to her room, quietly waiting for the medicinal solution for her bath.

After preparing the herbal bath, Li Zhixuan went back to her bed and softly recited, "Wind blows but the grass doesn't bend, extreme weakness gives birth to strength," as she began to ponder the meaning of these words.

Regrettably, although the Spirit Wisdom Court also taught them to read and write, there simply wasn't enough time. Given her level of education, she couldn't yet understand the phrase.

Exhausted, Li Zhixuan soon fell asleep.

The next morning, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, Li Zhixuan climbed out of bed, took her iron sword, and went to the practice field for some simple exercises, remembering the Elder's words from yesterday, so she didn't carry the iron sword on her back.

After over half an hour, Li Zhixuan left the practice field, washed up, ate in the dining hall, and made it to school just on time.

"Today, we'll talk about Sword Cultivators, the most formidable in battle among Cultivators," the Elder declared as he entered the classroom.

"The saying 'Sword Qi spans thirty thousand miles, one sword's chill extends over nineteen provinces,' speaks of the powerful Sword Cultivators..."

Under the Elder's description, everyone present longed for the power of Sword Cultivators. Li Zhixuan listened even more intently, enchanted, focusing on every word, not wishing to miss a single one!