Chapter 35: The Secret Scripture of the Departed Heavens, the Ancestor Is Truly Divine!

[Litian Secret Codex]
[Contains twelve secret techniques and martial arts of the Litian Sect's inner gate, including "Blood Explosion Technique," "Green Path Wind-Fostering Method," and "Thunder-Inducing Heaven Scripture: Human Character Formula"......]

Li Xiang stared wide-eyed at the various techniques and martial arts recorded in the Litian Sect's secret codex. Even in the real world, the value of such arts remains immense; for many powerful factions, martial arts are still closely guarded secrets. Even back in the day, his own Li family required descendants to expend contribution points to learn them; everything Li Xiang had learned was acquired through his school.

In the game world, however, the Li family’s collection was mostly common trash. The few Yellow-tier techniques they had obtained from the Hu and Wang families were mediocre at best. But here, in the Litian Sect’s codex, these arts possessed formidable power! Li Xiang had already set his sights on three of them:

The Blood Explosion Technique, which stimulates human potential to elevate one's cultivation by a minor realm for a short duration.
The Thunder-Inducing Heaven Scripture: Human Character Formula, which uses one’s own body to draw lightning and borrow the power of heaven’s thunder to strike enemies.
The "Shadow-Illusion Heavenly Grove Steps."

Li Xiang felt particularly covetous of this one—it was the only Profound-tier technique in the entire codex! It allowed the user to turn their footsteps into a formation, moving like a ghost while creating illusions. Each illusion possessed ten percent of the user's true strength, and when mastered to perfection, it could potentially conjure thousands of them.

"Even among Profound-tier techniques, this is a powerhouse," Li Xiang chuckled. "Although your life hasn't been easy, Yunlin, you really did go to the right place!"

[You have selected the descendant Li Yunlin’s martial art, "Litian Secret Codex"!]
[Detecting restrictions on the martial art: If the learner reveals it verbally or teaches it to others, saying less than a hundred words of the secret codex will result in the punishment of soul annihilation!]
[Do you wish to break the restriction?]
[Incense Value cost: 5,000!]
[Current Incense Value: 7,650]

Li Xiang had roughly calculated that as the Li family lineage grew, he could earn thousands of Incense Value even without special events, and he had accumulated this much over the years. He took a deep breath, pulled a black stone containing the martial arts from his storage ring, and grinned, "Hehehe, it's all mine now!"

......

[The Li family's once-a-decade Grand Sacrifice begins!]
[Your descendants offer you sacrifices!]

Finally, the fortieth year of the Li family had arrived! Everyone in the family, except for Li Yunlin, gathered in the ancestral hall. Time had flown; Li Dalong and his wife were now nearing sixty, though they still maintained a middle-aged appearance. The second generation had matured under the passage of time. The third generation, five in total, stood in a row from tallest to shortest. In their eyes, one could see the youthful vigor and innocence of childhood, yet without exception, they all gazed reverently at the ancestral tablets. They had known since they were small that their ancestor was watching over them from above, protecting the entire Li family as its guardian deity.

"Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. Back then, this child came here alone and took root!" Li Dalong’s eyes were bloodshot. "It was the ancestor who gave me the foundation to stand and the land for the entire Li family to thrive. When we faced natural disasters and droughts, or thieves entered our homes, it was the ancestor who helped us avoid catastrophe time and time again. In the past, the Hu family of Tailin bullied us, calling us mountain bumpkins, but it was the ancestor who let us know that we, the descendants, would never be inferior to others. Now, the Li family is flourishing. I have brought my descendants here to pay our respects to you, Ancestor!"

The Li family members bowed repeatedly. Li Xiang felt deeply moved. While forty years had passed in the game world, only two or three days had gone by in the real world. Yet, he felt as though he had gradually poured his own emotions into the Li family.

[Your descendants offer you sacrifices!]
[You have obtained 100 Beast Blood Fruits!]
[You have obtained 10 portions of Black Jade Interrupted-Bone Ointment!]
[You have obtained 30 portions of Golden Spirit Powder!]
[You have obtained...]
[Would you like to retrieve them?]

Looking at the antique bronze furnace beside him, Li Xiang chose "Yes" without hesitation! Soon, the entire room was filled with the offerings. These were exactly what he wanted—he intended to sell them all to obtain more spirit stones. He was even prepared to find Boss Qi to purchase the Demon King’s Blood Pill to further bolster the Li family's strength!

[Regarding this Grand Sacrifice, would you like to bestow a gift upon your descendants?]

Li Xiang did not hesitate. The pitch-black stone appeared in his hand—the very one containing the "Litian Secret Codex" he had seen after breaking the restriction on Li Yunlin's technique. He didn't learn the codex directly from Li Yunlin because learning a Profound-tier technique would have cost him over a hundred thousand Incense Value. But simply transcribing it cost nothing. This would be his gift. With the "Litian Secret Codex," the Li family would reach a new level!

[You bestow the "Litian Secret Codex" upon your descendants!]

A moment later, the Grand Sacrifice ended. A jade stone appeared on the altar of the ancestral hall.

"The ancestor has bestowed a gift!" Li Dalong saw the jade, but instead of joy, his eyes held a trace of guilt. He hurriedly told his children, "Quick, bring the Direct-Death Heavenly Coffin and offer it to the ancestor!"

"Please, Ancestor, you must accept it. Otherwise, it is always you who provides for the family, while we, your unworthy descendants, have nothing worthy of your eyes. How can we live with our shame?"

Li Xiang scratched his head. Though moved by their filial piety, the Direct-Death Heavenly Coffin was of no use to him. He didn't go out to fight, and while the coffin could cultivate techniques, it wasn't as efficient as simply spending Incense Value to copy them from his descendants. As for the "Heavenly Coffin Corpse-Driving Technique," he could copy that too. But if he used such a technique in the real world... he wouldn't dare. If he were caught killing people to refine corpses, the National Crisis Management Bureau would be knocking on his door.

After inputting some text through the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python's avatar, the Li family finally understood his meaning. However, they still placed the Direct-Death Heavenly Coffin in the ancestral hall, as Li Dalong insisted that the hall was the most important place and the coffin should stay there.

They opened the jade stone.

"Father, it's a cultivation technique, the Litian Secret Codex!" Li Yaozu stared wide-eyed at the twelve techniques recorded inside, exclaiming, "Eleven Yellow-tier techniques, and there’s a Profound-tier one too!"

"Litian Secret Codex?" Li Yaowen was surprised. "Yunlin went to the Litian Sect. I pulled strings to investigate; they have servant disciples, outer disciples, inner disciples, and true disciples. His master is an elder, and Yunlin is an inner disciple. They practice the Litian Secret Codex! But their disciples always have their souls restricted after learning it. How did the ancestor get his hands on it?"

"I understand now!" Li Yaoqing’s eyes lit up.

Xu Cuihua was stunned. "Understand what?"

"When Yunlin was leaving for the Litian Sect, I wanted to break his legs, but the ancestor stopped me. The ancestor was the one who supported Yunlin going to the Litian Sect!" Li Yaoqing slapped his thigh. "The ancestor had a plan all along! He deliberately sent Yunlin to the Litian Sect to get his hands on their techniques! The ancestor set the stage for obtaining these techniques years ago!"

Everyone gasped. Li Yaowen looked at Li Xiang’s tablet with worship. "As expected of the ancestor."

"......" Watching his descendants' imaginations run wild, Li Xiang was dumbfounded. After a long while, he coughed. "That’s some impressive bragging; it even made me blush." He hurriedly accelerated time, not daring to listen to their praises any longer. This had been an accidental windfall, and he was nearly getting carried away.

[The fortieth year of the Li family.]
It was a peaceful year. The Li family had basically dominated the entire Tailin Town; they faced no trouble at all. Li Dalong and Li Yaozu spent most of their time in the Heavenly Coffin, practicing their martial arts.

[Your descendants have opened shops selling various sundries in the towns around Tailin Town, naming them 'Heavenly Reason Hall.']

As the family grew, Li Yaowen was no longer satisfied with the resources of Tailin Town. The purpose of opening the shops was simply to expand the family's trade channels. Many families did this—exchanging goods with other towns to develop their lineage. Every manager of a Heavenly Reason Hall was selected from Zhi'en Village, chosen for their business acumen and loyalty to the Li family.

[The forty-first year of the Li family: Your descendant Li Yaotie emerges from seclusion, having broken through to the early Foundation Establishment stage!]
[His spirit roots transformed, shedding the earth spirit root and retaining only the gold, fire, and wood spirit roots!]

Compared to the transformations of Li Dalong and Li Yaozu, Li Yaotie’s progress was mediocre. Li Dalong had emerged with four feet of aura, and Li Yaozu had reached eight feet, while Li Yaotie had only two. However, to Li Xiang, this was nothing. Li Yaotie was an artificer; every time he gained insight while forging, he would experience a breakthrough. This was one of the benefits of his profession.

Barely two months after he came out, Bai Rourou was pregnant again...

[Your descendant Li Yaowen, while attending the 200th birthday celebration of the Wu family’s ancestor in Lantian Town, was invited by the Wu family, along with seven other families from various towns, to crusade against the Silver-Iron Forest.]

"A special event?" Seeing this notification, Li Xiang frowned. He still remembered that a Demon King lived in the Silver-Iron Forest. The Li family had been developing the forest, but the Demon King had clearly shown respect to the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python, only warning the Li family to stay back. If the creature stopped showing respect and started attacking... Li Xiang didn't dare imagine the disaster that would cause. Thus, over the years, the Li family had never ventured deep into the Silver-Iron Forest, only hunting on the outskirts and knowing when to stop.

Just as Li Xiang was pondering, Bai Rourou arrived at the ancestral hall. To his surprise, this strong-willed woman, who hadn't shed a tear even during childbirth, had red eyes and a choked voice.

"Ancestor, I have no other options; I could only think of you. I really don't want Old Zhu to be killed......"