The Pig Demon staggered out of the Li Family's boundaries, wiped the wound on its face, and flew quietly to the depths of Da Li Mountain before daring to curse loudly.

"Stupid dog... What a lousy idea! Made me take this damn sword strike for nothing! Thankfully it wasn't Li Tongya in person... Lucky, lucky."

He didn't dare harbor resentment towards the Li Family, but in his heart, he had already loathed the crested dog in the Demon Cave that suggested the idea, cursing all the way.

Only after riding the winds to the Demon Cave did he stop, where a light grey crested dog hurriedly came forward, eyes shifting craftily as it said in a shrill voice:

"Pig Two! What's the word from the Li Family?"

Just as Pig Two was looking for someone to blame, this demon came hurling at him. Although he was submissive in front of the Li Family, he still had some status in this cave. His eyes now bulged with rage as he cursed:

"Damn dog! Stinking dog! Roll the hell away!"

No sooner had he spoken than he lashed out with his foot, and the crested dog, being only at the initial stages of Qi Cultivation, let out a pitiful yelp and rolled away listlessly, as Pig Two stormed into the cave, where a staunch Great Han with tangled whiskers was sitting.

This Great Han was devouring something with big bites, holding a chunk of flesh in his hand, the blood dripping down his brownish-red beard, sticky and wet. With bloodshot eyes, he stared at Pig Two and hissed:

"What did Li Tongya say?"

Pig Two's courage shriveled, and he stammered out the whole story, to which the Demon General flew into a rage and swore:

"How dare they!"

His eyes blood-red with Demonic Qi boiling, he cursed:

"Waving the flag of the Demon Sect! Pretending to be one of those pretentious Noble Families! When I ruled the mountains, that Li Er was nothing but a minor child in the gardens! A small cultivator with only a few layers of Fetal Breathing! Without Si Yuanbai, where would their Li Family be jumping around!"

"Now that I've sent an Envoy, that Li Tongya dares not even see him! An extreme insult to demons! Ah! An extreme insult to demons!"

The Foundation Establishment Pig Demon roared in madness, and the few demon soldiers below knew his temperament, silently curling into a ball, until he smashed the tables and chairs, scattering blood and filth everywhere, and finally caught his breath.

The grey-haired crested dog, new to the cave and the one who suggested testing the Li Family, thinking himself clever, crept forward and whispered:

"Great King! The Li Family is reckless, why not send..."

The burly Great Han showed a fierce light in his eyes and, without waiting for him to finish, swung back a slap that sent him flying, teeth scattering and blood dripping as he wailed in pain.

"Don't bring up the Li Family ever again!"

With that roar from the Demon General, the demon soldiers felt as if they had been granted amnesty, all understanding that their king was afraid, turning into shrinking turtles, looking at each other with a sense of fortune:

"At least we don't have to face the edge of the Immortal Sword now..."

────

The Li Family.

The spring breeze brushed once again over the earth, the lake water turning back to a gentle aquamarine, perhaps because the season had come, and with ample nourishment from the Spirit Mechanism, the Li Family's Wanling Flowers finally sprouted.

These tender green shoots looked delicate and frail, but being Foundation Establishment Spirit Roots, the members of the Li Family treasured them, pouring Spiritual Spring water over them and inscribing Arrays, planting Spirit Stones in the soil, fearing any damage to the Spirit Root.

Fortunately, with the careful attention of an old monkey that adjusted the soil and arranged the Earth Vein Spirit Mechanism, the Spirit Root, albeit lackluster, grew day by day, giving the members of the Li family some relief.

Lijing Mountain.

"The Spirit Rice is growing nicely this year."

Li Xuanxuan walked along the mountain path with hands behind his back. Since returning home after the market disaster, Li Xuanxuan suddenly found himself with nothing to do. Everyone had their place in the Li Family, and no one dared to command him, allowing him to idle.

Besides the daily Talisman drawing, Li Xuanxuan had nowhere else to go, so he wandered around, spending time with his grandson.

"It's ironic... Back when our family had few cultivators, this Spirit Rice was as tough as iron. Initially, it was the common folk who chopped it with axes imbued with the Golden Light Technique..."

Li Yuanjiao, listening to him ramble, gently nodded. Although Li Xuanxuan was his biological father, he was brought up following his elder brother Li Yuanxiu and didn't have much contact with Li Xuanxuan.

Li Xuanxuan, aware of his past, similarly wasn't very close to him and felt a silent guilt. Now talking non-stop about trivial matters, Li Yuanjiao could sense a touch of nervousness from him and remained silent with a pursed mouth.

After this recent brush with death, Li Xuanxuan finally broke through the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation he'd been longing for, though his progress was tortoise-like. Now at fifty-nine, he saw that after turning sixty, his cultivation speed would drop further, mumbling:

"With my mediocre aptitude, after sixty it will probably take over a decade to advance one layer, might as well take the Talisman Pill to push through the Fifth Layer first... save the hassle after turning sixty..."

While he was pondering this, a cheerful call came from behind:

"Grandfather! Uncle!"

Li Xuanxuan turned around to see two young lads approaching on the mountain trail, both around twelve or thirteen years old. The one in the lead, at the Third Layer of Fetal Breathing, had a smiling face that was refreshing to behold, wearing brocade robes with a blue Jade Bead swinging on his wrist.

The one following had a tall stature and a handsome, composed appearance, with a sword on his back, speaking with a restrained smile:

"Xijun pays respects to Great-Uncle and Uncle."

"Very good, very good."

Li Xuanxuan happily took the hands of the two youngsters, warmly inquiring after them and asking about their cultivation progress. Li Yuanjiao simply watched with a smile as the group chatted and laughed their way to a small courtyard on the mountain.

Li Yuanping sat at the head of the table, silently unfolding a letter in his hands.

This month, the Li Family received two letters, one from Chen Donghe in the west, which reported that the Jin Yu Sect's territory also encountered Devil Cultivators, with both of the Miscellaneous Qi Mountain Yue disciples ending up one dead and one injured.