Chapter 40: Transformation of the Beast Blood Fruit Tree into the Blood Spirit Fruit Tree!

[Congratulations! Your family helped your in-laws, the Boar Demon King, defend their homeland!]
[Obtained Incense +2000!]
[Your family witnessed you risking your life to manipulate the war puppet and stall Master Shancai, greatly increasing their admiration for you.]
[Obtained Incense +1000]

3,000 Incense Points!
Li Xiang had already exited the manipulation of the war puppet. Looking at the top right corner where his Incense Points had once again exceeded 7,000, a smile appeared on his face.

They won.
Once again, alongside the Li family, he had resolved a crisis. Even a mid-stage Golden Core expert had perished under the cooperation of the Li family and the Boar Demon King!
Who would dare believe this was accomplished by a minor family that arose from the countryside?

"The Patriarch’s divine might! He knew the Death-Directing Heavenly Coffin could counter the monk Shancai!"
"The Patriarch is invincible!"
"If not for the Patriarch, that fat bald donkey probably would have escaped!"
The eyes of everyone in the Li family were filled with reverence.

It wasn't until the scarred Boar Demon King walked up to them that their expressions returned to normal.
The Boar Demon King said gratefully, "If not for the assistance of everyone from my in-laws today, I fear this Silver-Iron Forest would have been destroyed at my hands. I will spare you the polite words; from this day forward, the Silver-Iron Forest is the closest friend of the Li family. The Li family may mine within the Silver-Iron Forest, and you shall have the eternal gratitude of all monsters here."

The moment the words fell, a cyan brilliance emanated from the earth of the Silver-Iron Forest, enveloping everyone in the Li family!
In an instant, they felt a warm sensation throughout their bodies, and even their spiritual energy increased by a fraction!

[Your descendants are protected by the Silver-Iron Forest. The Boar Demon King, guardian of the forest, has bestowed fifty percent of the Silver-Iron Forest's vital spiritual energy upon the Li family!]
[Congratulations! The Li family has acquired the group trait: Guardians of the Silver-Iron Forest!]
[When Li family descendants battle within the Silver-Iron Forest below the Golden Core stage, their combat power increases by 50%. When cultivating within the Silver-Iron Forest, sheltered by its flora, their cultivation speed increases by 10% below the Golden Core stage. All beasts in the Silver-Iron Forest will feel a natural affinity toward the Li family's descendants. Descendants who possess wood spiritual roots will have their roots increased by 2 points.]

"A group trait!"
This was the first time Li Xiang had ever seen such a thing, glowing brightly right there on the member list.
A trait like this was immensely powerful.
A 10% increase in cultivation speed meant the Li family could simply move their training chambers straight into the Silver-Iron Forest, especially since the two places weren't far apart!
Furthermore...
Every descendant born would gain 2 points to their wood spiritual root. While it might seem small, even newly born children in the future would enjoy a minor enhancement in their innate aptitude!

"A massive jackpot!"
Li Xiang was beaming with joy.
A group trait of this caliber was already formidable.
Yet, looking at the present, the true benefit was that the Li family had secured the Silver-Iron Forest as an ally, gained the protection of a mid-stage Golden Core expert, and acquired the entire forest's spiritual beasts at their disposal.
The hidden combat power the Li family currently possessed was already enough to sweep through any town in Taiqing City!

This battle had provided the Li family with a solid foundation of martial might.
Soon, the Li family members cleaned up the battlefield, bid farewell to the Boar Demon King, and promised that in a few days they would bring Bai Rurou's descendants to meet their maternal grandfather.
......

With major events successfully concluded, the mature descendants of the Li family were now capable of developing independently. Li Xiang instructed Yuexian to roast a chicken to reward himself.
On the screen right now, the group from the Li family was on their way home.

"Wife, we won! Hahaha, the Patriarch flexed his might and saved the boar... No, Father-in-law!"
Li Yaozhi laughed heartily as he walked toward the house.
Yet, just as he reached the delivery room...

"Waa—"
A loud, piercing cry seemed to embellish today's joy for the Li family!

[After a full ten months of pregnancy, Bai Rurou has given birth to a son, named Li Yunlie!]
[Congratulations, obtained Incense +10!]

"Hahaha, Patriarch! Your child not only saved his father-in-law, he also brought a new baby into the family!"
Li Yaozhi held the infant high. The nearly two-meter-tall fierce man was actually shedding tears of joy.

"Splendid!"
Joyous event followed joyous event. Li Xiang picked up the intercom, "Yuexian, roast two chickens!"
The family was beside themselves with elation.

Next, Li Xiang watched as the Li family members brought the corpses of the deceased from the Lantian Wu family, along with the body of Master Shancai, to the spirit herb garden, where they completely drained their blood to nourish the beast-blood fruit trees.
Currently, there were already three beast-blood fruit trees.
Among them, the first beast-blood fruit tree that had been transplanted had grown increasingly lush foliage, reaching a height of ten meters!
However, Li Xiang no longer placed much value on the beast-blood fruit trees.
While the beast-blood fruit trees could be sold for money, the elixirs refined by Li Yaoqing were equally valuable. Crucially, there was no fear of anyone discovering the formulas because such materials simply did not exist on Earth!

Just as Li Xiang was pondering how to spend his newly acquired fortune of spiritual stones, on the screen, Li Dalong was draining Master Shancai's blood, letting it drip onto the largest beast-blood fruit tree.
Suddenly, roots and stems of the beast-blood fruit tree burst forth from beneath the earth, piercing into the corpse's dantian. Like a creature's feeding tubes, the roots began to suck voraciously!
The beast-blood fruit tree underwent a mutation.
It actually caused rain to fall from the skies, the droplets splashing upon its lush leaves and producing a profound yellow sheen of virtue and energy!

[Congratulations! Your descendants used the blood of a mid-stage Golden Core expert to nourish the beast-blood fruit tree. The tree has mutated, absorbing the Golden Core energy, and has begun advancing—]
[Rank 8, Blood Spirit Fruit Tree!]
[The Blood Spirit Fruit Tree has developed a faint sentience. Sensing the Li family's offerings, its roots will anchor themselves within the Li family's sphere of influence, protecting the family with its life!]
[The Blood Spirit Fruit Tree bears fruit once every thirty years.]

"Holy... cow?"
Li Xiang was stunned. This was his very first time witnessing the evolution of a spirit tree!
Like a starving child who had just eaten its fill after centuries of hunger, the Blood Spirit Fruit Tree swayed its branches and leaves, conveying its joy.

"It must be the Patriarch once again descending with great divine power to cause the beast-blood fruit tree to transform! The Patriarch's might is comparable to that of immortals and gods!"
Seeing this scene, Li Dalong immediately pulled out the ancestral tablet right on the spot and kowtowed repeatedly.

Li Xiang, sitting in front of the screen, didn't bother trying to reason through Li Dalong's wild imagination.
He casually picked up the intercom, "Yuexian, three! I want to eat three chickens!"
"Master, there are only two chickens left."
Yuexian's helpless voice came from the other end of the intercom.
"Then roast ducks instead!"
Li Xiang hung up the intercom.

Since the beast-blood fruit tree had become a blood spirit tree, it meant that the fruits it bore would also have their efficacy multiplied manifold!
Moreover, plant evolution was definitely a special existence; they usually required years upon years of accumulation to grow. The oldest known tree on Earth was only Rank 6, and that was because it had already lived for nearly ten thousand years when the spiritual qi recovery began!

Amidst immense joy, Li Xiang continued to accelerate time, watching the Li family's growth.
He casually checked the event log.
This harvest had actually yielded a great deal of equipment!

[Your family slew sixteen experts of the Lantian Wu family and obtained a massive haul of loot!]
[Obtained Low-Grade Spirit Artifact, Lingshen Xinsheng Robe!]

This was a garment formerly worn by Wu Mengqiu of the Lantian Wu family, though it now appeared no different from ordinary cloth.
Yet this robe was extraordinary. When numerous spiritual beasts had surrounded Wu Mengqiu, relying on this robe, she was able to withstand the full-strength attacks of all the beasts before finally being slain. Though the robe was pierced through, it could fully recover within the span of a cup of tea.

[Lingshen Xinsheng Robe]
[Can automatically regenerate and autonomously alter its form. In the event of a crisis, the robe will protect its wearer, shielding them from any full-strength attack below the False Core stage. It keeps the wearer’s mind clear and protects them from all illnesses!]

The Li family had gained yet another low-grade spirit artifact.
As for the Lingshen Xinsheng Robe, Li Dalong gave it to Li Yaowen. After all, this young woman traveled outside the most frequently, having faced danger several times to the point where Li Xiang had even had to use the ancestral tablet to slay a few assassins for her.

[Obtained Low-Grade Dharma Artifact...]
[Obtained Mid-Grade Dharma Artifact...]
[Obtained Huang-Grade Cultivation Manual, Everlasting Breath Longevity Art!]

Only the cultivation manual obtained from the Wu family caught Li Xiang's eye.
While this manual allowed for faster cultivation than the Qi Gathering Technique, it wasn't as powerful as the Qi-to-Essence refining techniques found in the Litian Secret Tome. However, it had one distinct advantage: it could subtly increase the practitioner's lifespan!
Other than that, there was nothing particularly special for the Li family at present.

[Congratulations! Your family fought the Lantian Wu family and emerged victorious.]
[Through the multi-day plotting of your descendant Li Yaowen, in conspiracy with the Qingping Gu family, you have subjugated a cultivation family in Lantian Town to act as your proxy, managing all of the Wu family's former industries in Lantian Town on behalf of both your families!]
[Obtained a massive amount of mineral resources!]

Li Xiang quickly opened the map.
There, in the northwest of the Tailin Town map, a region marked [Lantian Town] had entirely turned green!

"Patriarch, wonderful news! Half of Lantian Town is now essentially ours! The Qingping Gu family holds forty percent, and the subjugated family holds ten percent!"
In the ancestral hall,
Li Yaowen was already reporting the good news to Li Xiang.
At this moment, although the young lady was wearing a low-grade spirit artifact that could freely alter its form, she was still dressed in her customary scholar's robe. Even though the spirit artifact had cured her of her frail constitution, she still preferred to sit in a wheelchair, which, in her own words, was a way to feign weakness to the enemy.

"Big Brother currently possesses one top-grade dharma artifact and two high-grade dharma artifacts; he has no rivals left among early-stage Foundation Establishment practitioners!"
"Second Sister will undoubtedly be overjoyed once she comes out of seclusion. Since Lantian Town has a herb garden, we can add eight new types of spiritual herbs, allowing Second Sister to attempt concocting the Rank 8 elixir from the Classic of a Thousand Herbs, the Tianyuan Huiling Powder!"
"And Third Brother has five types of mineral materials, along with the Lantian Wu family's accumulated stores of many years. It's enough to keep our forging pavilion well-supplied for ten or twenty years!"
"We've even secured the allegiance of a Rank 9 alchemist!"

The Li family's sphere of influence had expanded once more!
With the sustenance of two towns, the Li family basically wouldn't have to worry about resources for the next twenty years.

Li Xiang let out a long breath.
They could even refine elixirs now. Combined with the Li family's previously acquired greedy alchemist, the family now possessed two alchemists!

A bountiful year quickly passed.
[The 43rd year of the Li family.]
[Your family spent a busy year, with a vast amount of resources waiting to be consumed.]
[Your descendant in the Litian Sect, Li Yunlin, has broken out of seclusion!]
[After five years of wall-facing and self-reflection, he has broken through to the seventh layer of Qi Condensation and acquired the trait: Silent Lone Wolf!]
[No matter what situation he faces, he is always able to endure in silence like a lone wolf. During battle, his physical strength increases by 10%. When cultivating alone, his cultivation speed increases by 10%.]

Looking at Li Yunlin, who had emerged from seclusion sporting stubble, yet appearing far steadier than before, Li Xiang's lips curled into a slight smile.
This kid seemed to have matured during these five years of cultivation.

"A silent lone wolf? I like it."