Chapter 166: The Bai Family’s Intentions
Chapter 166: Chapter 166: The Bai Family’s Intentions
"A ten-foot length of thousand-year-old Ironwood?"
Hearing Li Ping’s words, Yu Menghan let out a sigh of relief. "That’s certainly no problem, Fellow Daoist Li. However, I don’t have a Spiritual Object like thousand-year-old Ironwood on hand, so I’ll need to procure it through the chamber of commerce’s channels. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for a while. As for making up the price difference, that won’t be necessary. Their values are actually quite similar."
Thousand-year-old Ironwood was considered one of the more common types of Tier Three Spirit Wood. While it could be used to forge Magical Treasures...
...typically, even Core Formation Loose Cultivators looked down on Magical Treasures forged from it.
In reality, thousand-year-old Ironwood was more often used to forge Top-Grade Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts.
In terms of value, a ten-foot length of thousand-year-old Ironwood was worth about the same as the originally agreed-upon reward.
That was why Yu Menghan agreed to Li Ping’s request to change the reward without the slightest hesitation.
Pleased with her response, Li Ping smiled. "Then I’ll leave it in your hands, Fairy Yu."
After seeing Yu Menghan off, he turned and walked toward Bai Lin’s quarters, pushing the door open.
His gaze swept across the room, finally landing on the desk.
The desk was neat and tidy, and a letter was placed upon it.
Li Ping walked over, picked up the letter, and saw the four words written on the envelope: "For the Young Master."
It was from Bai Lin.
Seeing this, Li Ping couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding.
’It seems Bai Lin hasn’t just left the residence for a short while this time. There must be something else going on.’
He tore open the envelope and began to read the letter from Bai Lin. As he read, his expression darkened.
In the letter, Bai Lin told Li Ping that:
She was already forty-five years old, possessed Four Spirit Roots, and did not have a Primordial Yin Body. Even with the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill, her chances of successfully reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage were pitifully low. She would most likely just waste the pill.
She had no confidence in her ability to succeed.
Her younger brother, Bai Zhengheng, on the other hand, was a Cultivator with a Dual Spirit Root and had already reached the peak of the Qi Refining Ninth Level two years ago. He had only been held back from attempting Foundation Establishment by the lack of a Foundation Establishment Pill.
After much consideration, she had decided to give the Foundation Establishment Pill to her brother, to add another Foundation Establishment Cultivator to the Bai family.
At the end of the letter, she wrote that she had failed to live up to Li Ping’s expectations.
She also hoped that, for the sake of their years together, Li Ping would not blame the Bai family or Zheng Heng. If he had to blame someone, he should blame only her.
By the time he reached the end, Li Ping let out a cold snort and tore the letter to shreds.
He was furious, but Bai Lin had been gone for over half a month. It was too late to stop her, no matter how angry he was.
He had never expected Bai Lin could be so "selfless," casually giving away even the chance at Foundation Establishment to a member of her family.
"You idiot! I’m done with you!"
...
Sitting cross-legged in his training room, Li Ping took the Myriad Works Puppet from his Storage Bag.
Giving the Foundation Establishment Pill to her younger brother without his permission—Bai Lin’s actions had utterly disappointed him.
And to think that for the past several years, he had painstakingly used his Nourishing Life Skill Power to nurture Bai Lin’s Origin. He hadn’t even been this meticulous when treating his Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly.
’Now it seems I’ve just been made a fool!’
He had already made up his mind. ’Since Bai Lin loves her family so much, she can just stay with them from now on. She doesn’t need to come back to Immortal Peach Mountain ever again.’
Conveniently, he had just acquired the Myriad Works Puppet last year.
This puppet only needed a single Middle-grade Spirit Stone to move about freely.
Furthermore, as long as it wasn’t engaged in intense combat, a single Middle-grade Spirit Stone could power the Myriad Works Puppet for decades.
From now on, the Myriad Works Puppet could manage his residence on Immortal Peach Mountain. He didn’t need her anymore.
At this thought, Li Ping took a thumb-sized Middle-grade Spirit Stone from his Storage Bag, inserted it into the heart-cavity of the Myriad Works Puppet, and activated the humanoid puppet.
Then, following the instructions Yu Menghan had given him, he sent a thread of his Divine Sense into the Myriad Works Puppet, focusing on merging it with the puppet’s spirit core.
Several days later, he abruptly opened his eyes and tossed the puppet in his hand onto the ground.
Under his control, the once palm-sized Myriad Works Puppet rapidly expanded, growing to the height of a normal person as a Spiritual Pressure comparable to the Foundation Establishment Stage erupted from its body.
Li Ping thought for a moment.
He then had the puppet’s face change to resemble that of an old servant and draped a Magic Robe over it, making it look indistinguishable from a real person.
Then, guided by Li Ping’s Divine Sense, the Myriad Works Puppet walked out of the room and began tending to the chores around the residence.
Puppets were different from Dharma Artifacts.
Dharma Artifacts required a Cultivator’s constant control; the moment a Cultivator stopped infusing them with Magical Power, they would become inert.
A puppet, however, was powered by an internal Spirit Stone. As long as the Spiritual Power in the stone was not depleted, the puppet could move on its own and carry out its master’s commands.
Li Ping promptly assigned all of Bai Lin’s former chores to the puppet.
Of course, the puppet could perform these simple tasks on its own without Li Ping needing to divert his attention to command it.
However, controlling the puppet in a complex battle environment would require his personal command.
In battle, even with a Divine Sense fifty percent stronger than that of his peers, he could at most control one puppet at a time. Any more than that would be too much to handle.
Controlling a puppet consumed far more Divine Sense than controlling a Dharma Artifact.
Li Ping didn’t mind, however.
After all, he only had one puppet for now.
...
Whether it was out of fear of being blamed by Li Ping or not, Bai Lin never returned.
And no one from the Bai family ever came to explain the situation.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year.
After nearly half a year, someone from the Bai family finally arrived.
The visitors were the Bai family’s ancestor, Bai Qing, and a young Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Following behind them was a young lady whose eyes were filled with curiosity.
"Fellow Daoist Li," the Bai family’s ancestor called out hurriedly upon seeing Li Ping.
Li Ping ignored him, his gaze falling upon Bai Qing and the young Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
Bai Qing quickly called out, "Brother."
The young Foundation Establishment Cultivator, however, remained silent.
Seeing Li Ping ignore him, a flicker of embarrassment crossed the Bai family ancestor’s face.
Li Ping ignored Bai Qing’s greeting as well.
Just as the atmosphere grew awkward, Li Ping spoke with a cold sneer. "To what do I owe the pleasure of you three honored guests visiting my humble hovel? With three Foundation Establishment Cultivators in one family, the Bai family is far too lofty for a mere Loose Cultivator like me to associate with."
Hearing this, Bai Qing gave a wry smile. He knew his brother was truly furious this time.
At a pointed glance from the Bai family ancestor, he had no choice but to speak. "Brother, we’ve come to apologize for what happened with Bai Lin."
Bai Lin had returned to the Bai family six months ago with the Foundation Establishment Pill.
She had confessed that Li Ping had bestowed the pill upon her, but she was worried about her low chances of success and wanted to give it to her younger brother, Bai Zhengheng, instead.
The Bai family ancestor and Bai Qing, both Foundation Establishment Cultivators, had discussed her proposal.
From a rational standpoint, both of them agreed with her.
After all, the Bai family ancestor’s time was nearly up. Relying on the strength of a single Foundation Establishment Cultivator like Bai Qing... was enough to defend their existing territory, but not enough to expand it!
But if Bai Zhengheng successfully used the pill to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage, the Bai family would temporarily have three Foundation Establishment Cultivators overseeing it.
Even after the ancestor passed away in a few years, the family would still have two.
With that kind of power, they could not only protect their foundation at Gaoji Mountain but also attempt to expand their influence.
A stronger foundation would benefit everyone in the family.
Bai Qing was still worried about his brother’s reaction, but the Bai family ancestor had been direct: "You will all be cultivating in the Immortal City in the future; you’re bound to interact. There will be plenty of time to mend the relationship after this."
Ultimately, Bai Qing was persuaded and agreed with the ancestor’s decision.
Six months later, Bai Zhengheng successfully reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Now, the three Bai family Cultivators had come to Immortal Peach Mountain to mend their relationship with Li Ping.
...
"An apology isn’t necessary," Li Ping said, shaking his head coldly.
He didn’t even intend to invite the three Bai family members to sit and talk, simply standing by the array to address them.
Seeing this, the Bai family ancestor knew it was best not to press the issue today.
He smiled and gestured to the innocent-looking young woman behind him. "Bai Lin is getting on in years and wishes to live out her days at Gaoji Mountain. This is Bai Ya; Bai Lin herself personally chose her. She just turned eighteen. Your residence is unattended, Fellow Daoist Li. Why not let Bai Ya stay and look after it for you?"
Li Ping followed his gesture and his gaze met a pair of bright, intelligent eyes.
After a moment, he shook his head again. "There’s no need."
"Very well. The three of us will take our leave for now. We will visit you again in the future, Fellow Daoist Li." The Bai family ancestor sighed, not pressing the matter further, and led Bai Qing and the others away.
Watching the four members of the Bai family depart, Li Ping stood in place for a long time before finally letting out a sigh.
The young woman, Bai Ya, had a similar temperament and was dressed just like Bai Lin when she first arrived at Immortal Peach Mountain. She was the very image of his old acquaintance.
He guessed, ’Does Bai Lin think I’m the type to discard the old for the new? Is that why she refuses to return to Immortal Peach Mountain?’
Bai Lin was forty-five now. Ever since she had turned thirty, Li Ping had rarely been intimate with her.
’Perhaps Bai Lin noticed this and sent Bai Ya as a result.’
’But was he really that shallow?’
He poured all his energy into cultivation and the pursuit of longevity. The affairs of men and women were something to be sampled lightly, not something in which to become engrossed.
It wasn’t just Bai Lin; Bai Qing had disappointed him as well.
Li Ping believed Bai Qing must have known that Bai Lin was taking the Foundation Establishment Pill back to Gaoji Mountain.
Yet he hadn’t stopped her. Instead, he had tacitly approved of Bai Zhengheng using the pill to attempt his breakthrough.
And Li Ping could guess the reason why.
One more Foundation Establishment Cultivator meant a stronger Bai family, which was naturally beneficial for him.
’Perhaps from his perspective, giving away the Foundation Establishment Pill was Bai Lin’s own choice, and his brother wouldn’t blame him over such a trivial matter.’
"Forget it, just forget it... People’s hearts are so fickle!"
Li Ping just felt weary, but he could also understand their reasoning.
After all, people can’t dwell in the past forever. Everyone has to live for themselves.
Bai Qing was a person in power in the Bai family, shouldering the responsibility of protecting his entire clan.
Everything he did was naturally in service of himself and the interests of the Bai family.
"Cultivation, cultivation." Li Ping turned, walked back into his training room, sat cross-legged, and began to cultivate.
’Everything else is an illusion. Only one’s own cultivation is real.’