Chapter 23: The Deal
Chapter 23: Chapter 23: The Deal
The Bai family’s old ancestor slowly began to explain.
"The Bai family possesses a Tier Two Lower Grade Spiritual Land. When its spirit energy is focused, a small area can reach Tier Two Middle Grade, which is suitable for Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators. As long as you agree to become an Honored Guest Elder, Fellow Daoist, you can cultivate within this Spiritual Land."
"In addition to the Spiritual Land, the Bai family will provide one hundred Spirit Stones annually for your cultivation needs."
"Any task you require, you may command the Bai family’s cultivators to handle it."
"After reaching Foundation Establishment, you have yet to select a primary Cultivation Technique, correct? The Bai family has a collection of several High-tier Cultivation Techniques, all of which would be available to you..."
...
As the Bai family’s old ancestor spoke, he laid out the benefits of being an Honored Guest Elder one by one.
The terms were nothing short of generous: Spiritual Land, Cultivation Techniques, Spirit Stones, authority... Though the title was Honored Guest Elder, if Li Ping were to agree, his status and power within the Bai family would be no less than that of the Patriarch.
All he would need to do was serve as the Bai family’s resident Foundation Establishment Cultivator and intervene to protect them should a crisis arise.
After stating all his conditions, the Bai family’s old ancestor watched Li Ping with a smile, seemingly unconcerned that he might refuse.
After all, according to his information, this Fellow Daoist Li had been turned away from the Immortal City. Not only did he lack a High-tier Cultivation Technique, he didn’t even have a Spiritual Land to cultivate on.
His current proposal was the perfect solution to his new acquaintance’s pressing problems.
...
But what surprised and frustrated the Bai family’s old ancestor was that after Li Ping heard all the proposed conditions, he didn’t even take a moment to consider before directly refusing. "Fellow Daoist Bai, I am truly sorry. I am devoted to my cultivation and truly dislike being burdened by worldly affairs. Regarding this Honored Guest Elder position, please forgive me, but I cannot accept."
"Heh heh... if Fellow Daoist Li is worried about being disturbed by worldly matters, then your fears are misplaced." The old ancestor was unwilling to give up. "In fact, I dislike worldly affairs myself and spend most of my time in seclusion. Such matters are handled by the cultivators beneath me."
Li Ping’s gaze fell upon the Purple-veined Wood on the table, and he sighed internally. The Bai family’s old ancestor had said he planned to use it to craft several Dharma Artifacts for his descendants.
That meant if he refused the Bai family’s invitation, this Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Wood would naturally be out of his reach.
Though reluctant to give up on the Purple-veined Wood, he ultimately shook his head. "There is no need to persuade me further, Fellow Daoist."
Seeing Li Ping’s resolute attitude, the Bai family’s old ancestor sighed and gave up on trying to convince him.
...
But just as Li Ping thought he would be leaving empty-handed, the Bai family’s old ancestor spoke again with a different proposal. "So be it. Since Fellow Daoist Li is unwilling to get involved in worldly matters, I won’t insist. However, if you are unwilling to serve as our Honored Guest Elder, I have another proposal."
Then, as Li Ping listened patiently, the old ancestor laid out the details of his new offer.
Li Ping would serve as the Bai family’s Honored Guest Elder in name only. In practice, he would not be required to guard the Bai family’s Spiritual Land or intervene to resolve their crises.
However, the Bai family would be allowed to leverage his reputation as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and if anyone were to ask, Li Ping could not deny the association.
If the Bai family truly needed his help with something, they would prepare another lavish gift as payment. Whether he chose to act or not would be entirely his decision.
If Li Ping agreed to these terms, the Tier Two Purple-veined Wood would be given to him as payment from the Bai family.
Of course, the Spiritual Land, Cultivation Techniques, and annual stipend... would no longer be on the table.
After a moment’s thought, Li Ping readily agreed to this condition.
The Bai family was a proper Cultivation Clan, not some nefarious force. If he was only lending them his name and not being forced into Magical Combat, he could accept the deal.
Seeing Li Ping agree, the Bai family’s old ancestor finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With that, the two parties swore an oath upon their dao hearts right there in the courtyard, finalizing the agreement.
In truth, this oath was only binding on Li Ping. The two members of the Bai family had long given up hope of advancing on their cultivation path, so Heart Demons held no power over them.
Of course, in this transaction, Li Ping had no intention of trying to constrain them anyway.
...
Li Ping took the Tier Two Purple-veined Wood and left, leaving the old ancestor and Patriarch Bai Mingde alone in the courtyard.
Although they had failed to recruit Li Ping as a true Honored Guest Elder, they had reached an agreement that allowed the Bai family to use his name as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the future.
And since the only price was a piece of Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Wood, Bai Mingde felt it was a reasonably acceptable outcome.
After a moment of thought, Bai Mingde couldn’t help but ask, "Old Ancestor, regarding Elder Li... would you say he’s just being extremely cautious, or... is his heart for the Dao truly that resolute?"
Based on the terms the Bai family had offered, he was essentially being handed a Cultivation Clan to command, free of charge. If he were ambitious, he could have taken multiple wives and produced many descendants. After a few hundred years, he might have even had the chance to make the Bai family’s Gaoji Mountain take the surname Li.
But in the face of such an offer, he remained completely unmoved.
Hearing this, the Bai family’s old ancestor also shook his head; he couldn’t figure out Li Ping’s thinking either.
For cultivators like them, Foundation Establishment was effectively the end of the road. Even with Tier Two skills, the best one could hope for was to advance a bit further within the Foundation Establishment realm.
Core Formation was an impossible dream.
Across all the nations of the Western Wilderness, there are hundreds of thousands of Cultivators, but how many Core Formation Cultivators are there?
The Tier Three Spirit Vein required to break through to Core Formation alone is an insurmountable barrier for the vast majority of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, to say nothing of all the other Spiritual Objects needed to aid the process.
Spiritual Objects of that level were all controlled by the top Core Formation powers in the Western Wilderness; they were not something people like them were even qualified to touch.
The Bai family’s old ancestor sighed wistfully. "Perhaps it’s a bit of both. Fellow Daoist Li has only just broken through, so he still harbors illusions. Once he’s lived a few more years, he’ll realize that ascetic cultivation is just a waste of time. It’s better to start enjoying life while you can."
Bai Mingde nodded in agreement. Suddenly, he spoke up again, "By the way, Old Ancestor, that Purple-veined Wood... we clearly acquired it from a Loose Cultivator just a short while ago. Why did you tell him you found it in your youth and spent years painstakingly nurturing it?"
Hearing Bai Mingde’s question, the Bai family’s old ancestor burst into a self-satisfied laugh. "HAHAHA... If I didn’t say that, how could I make the gift seem more precious? You’re still too young. You have much to learn."
"Ah, I see. I stand corrected," Bai Mingde said, putting on an expression of dawning comprehension.
Seeing his expression, the Bai family’s old ancestor’s smile widened until his eyes were mere slits. He seemed immensely pleased with his clever little move, and his complexion even grew a bit rosier.
But unbeknownst to the old ancestor, Bai Mingde was inwardly rolling his eyes.
’As the saying goes, even the wisest judge can’t settle a family squabble.’ He had been Patriarch for decades, dealing with all sorts of head-scratching clan business day in and day out; he had long since become a master of navigating human nature. The old ancestor, in contrast, possessed a Dual Spirit Root and had been groomed as the family’s future from a young age. He spent most of his time in ascetic cultivation and rarely sullied himself with worldly matters.
When it came to handling interpersonal relationships, the old ancestor was actually no match for him. How could he possibly fail to see through such a simple little trick?
The real reason for his performance was to play along and keep the old ancestor happy.
’The old ancestor is over two hundred years old, yet he still can’t rest easy about the clan. He has to drag his weary body along to secure the family’s future. Foundation Establishment... oh, Foundation Establishment... when will the Bai family produce another Foundation Establishment Cultivator?’ At this thought, Bai Mingde sighed again in his heart.