Li Shiqing instructed Li Shiren and Li Shiting to make sure the secular clansmen on the Spirit Boat were settled down, while he himself led Li Zhirui and other members of the family toward the gathering area in the center of Da Rong Island.
It was here that Li Zhirui and the others saw another Foundation Establishment cultivator of the family, Li Shilian, who was of the same generation as Li Shiqing.
"Second Brother, has something happened to the family?" Li Shilian, who had been pacing back and forth upon seeing Li Shiqing, approached with a worried frown.
Seeing that all the members of the family on the island were present, Li Shiqing did not hide anything and recounted the whole incident truthfully.
"As long as no one is hurt, that's good. Moreover, after so many years of development, Da Rong Island can already serve as the family's clan territory," Li Shilian said with eyes and eyebrows brightening up, expressing his relief from the bottom of his heart.
"Mm." Li Shiqing nodded and then said to the other clan members, "There is still some time before dawn. You all go back to rest."
As for whether there were enough rooms, Li Shiqing did not consider this issue, as it was quite normal for cultivators to use the sky as their blanket and the earth as their bed.
"Second Brother, did you clean up all the traces before leaving?" Li Shilian asked somewhat uneasily once everyone had left.
"Don't worry, we scattered Chaos Fragrance Powder before leaving and cleared all the tracks," Li Shiqing reassured.
Chaos Fragrance Powder, a spiritual object specifically used to disrupt scents, can hinder certain spells and the tracking abilities of spirit beasts.
Of course, that didn't mean there were no problems after using Chaos Fragrance Powder, but the White Jade Sect wouldn't possibly cling to a Foundation Establishment family, would they?
Li Shilian nodded, then began discussing the family's development on Da Rong Island and the surrounding environment with Li Shiqing, doing his best to give Li Shiqing a faster and more comprehensive understanding of the situation under the Yuanming Sect's rule.
"By the way, since the family has decided to relocate to Da Rong Island, the spiritual energy here will definitely not be sufficient. How do you plan to resolve this, Second Brother?"
Li Shiqing smiled and said, "The family has brought all the Spirit Stones, including those that were nurturing by the Spirit Vein, so don't worry about the spiritual energy issue."
'Nurturing' actually means placing Spirit Stones devoid of spiritual energy by the side of the Spirit Vein and using the power of the Spirit Vein to charge them. However, this process is very slow; it takes about a hundred years to fully charge a lower-grade Spirit Stone.
"After setting aside the one hundred thousand Spirit Stones for the family's advancement through the Spirit Veins, there probably aren't many Spirit Stones left, are there?"
Although Li Shilian had been staying on Da Rong Island for many years, he was not entirely ignorant of the family's affairs. He was well aware that the family could not save up many Spirit Stones every year.
Li Shiqing's face instantly became somber, and after a moment, he replied with a bitter smile, "We will take it slow."
Early the next morning, with the sound of the bronze bell ringing, cultivators opened their eyes and stood up, heading toward the family's main hall.
Once everyone had arrived, Li Shiqing began to speak, "You are all well aware of the family's current situation. In order to recover as quickly as possible, the following period will be extremely busy. I hope everyone can withstand this pressure."
"I believe that the Li family will not be defeated by this difficulty. Instead, we will use this opportunity to be reborn from the ashes!"
Li Shiqing's words settled many of the clan members, including Li Zhirui, who had been feeling anxious inside.
"Next, we will assign tasks," Li Shiqing said, listing each of the things that had to be done that he had thought of the night before.
"First, settle the Spirit Beasts brought from Bailang County. Li Shiren will lead the team, with Li Zhihua, Li Zhirui... to calm the Spirit Beasts down."
The types of Spirit Beasts that the Li family had bred over the years were not many, only six kinds of first-order Spirit Beasts: the Crimson Feather Chicken, Green-headed Fish, White Silkworm, Black Duck, Yellow Hornet, and Tusked Swine.
From now on, however, the Cloud Fish, which they had caught on their journey, would need to be added to the list.
Although there were not many types, they were still the biggest source of the Li family's yearly Spirit Stone earnings, accounting for almost forty percent of the income.
And the reason why the Li family only nurtured these six types of Spirit Beasts over hundreds of years was firstly because almost all the vassal forces of the Beast Taming Sect were breeding Spirit Beasts. In order to avoid competition in the market, the family deliberately avoided other forces.
Secondly, nurturing Spirit Beasts is not a simple thing. The time and effort invested and the various Spiritual Objects needed to feed the Spirit Beasts limit the Li family's desire to expand their scale.
Of course, over the years, the Li family also nurtured some second-tier Spirit Beasts on a small scale, but these were not for sale, they were treated as Contracted Spirit Beasts for the clan's younger generation.
Next, there were also tasks such as opening up Spirit Fields on the plains beneath the eastern mountains and planting the Spiritual Medicines and Spirit Grains brought over from Bailang County.
Underneath those mountains lies the least developed of the three Spirit Veins on Da Rong Island, because with just over twenty clansmen on the island, properly managing two Spirit Veins is already commendable—any more would encroach on their cultivation time!
For a cultivator, cultivation level is the foundation. Why would the family ever do something so self-destructive as to overburden their clansmen?
However, it was foreseeable that this year's harvest of Spiritual Medicines and Spirit Grains would not be very good, since the Li family's relocation had been so rushed and the transplantation would definitely have damaged the root systems.
Besides these two most important matters, the remaining tasks included building houses, promoting the Spirit Veins, etc., which were either not so urgent or did not require many clansmen.
...
"Eh? Uncle Ren, are there other types of Spirit Beasts being raised on the island?" As Li Zhirui and the others arrived at the side of a large lake, they saw Spirit Fish swimming in the waters.
Beneath this lake, dozens of miles in size, hid the last Spirit Vein on Da Rong Island.
In fact, in addition to being recognized as a genius within the family, Li Zhirui also had another shining point—that was his affinity with magical creatures!
As long as it was a Spirit Beast nurtured by cultivators, upon seeing Li Zhirui for the first time, they would unconsciously draw close to him, unlike with other cultivators who would have to pay a certain price to achieve this.
As for the reason, no one could give a clear explanation. After all, the Li family was just a small Foundation Establishment lineage, and in order to protect Li Zhirui, the family did not widely seek answers.
Nevertheless, because of this particular constitution, Li Zhirui was like a fish in water when it came to nurturing Spirit Beasts; he could be said to be the most talented individual among his generation within the clan.
"Yes, over the years, the family has nurtured two types of first-tier Spirit Beasts on Da Rong Island, namely the White Water Shrimp and the Flower-scaled Fish, which sell rather well under the jurisdiction of the Yuanming Sect," Li Shiren said, clearly very familiar with the matters of Da Rong Island as he listed them off like the back of his hand.
However, right now the priority was to settle the original six types of Spirit Beasts. Li Shiren replied and began to set up a Formation, first needing to channel the Spirit Energy locked within the lake to the shore to create a suitable environment for the various terrestrial Spirit Beasts.
Beyond that, he also needed to modify the lake's Formation to demarcate living areas for the Green-headed Fish and the Black Duck.
Li Shiren was not only adept in Formations but also the only second-tier Array Master in the family!
And this was the fundamental reason why the Clan Leader entrusted the task of settling the Spirit Beasts to Li Shiren.
Once everything was in place, it would be Li Zhirui and the others' turn to step in.
Li Zhirui walked to the area designated for the Tusked Swine and released twenty-five Tusked Swine of various sizes from the Spirit Beast Bag into the pigpen.
The unfamiliar environment made the Tusked Swine extremely unsettled, constantly grunting and snorting; the two breeder pigs even had bloodshot eyes—a sign that Tusked Swine were about to attack.
Fortunately, at that moment, Li Zhirui's special constitution took effect, and with the temptation of food, he managed to calm the Tusked Swine down.
Li Zhirui heaved a sigh of relief to himself; Tusked Swine were not exactly docile Spirit Beasts, and if they really got angry, his little body would not be able to withstand it.
As for the other types of Spirit Beasts, settling them in was much easier compared to the Tusked Swine—just release them and feed them a bit of food, and they were easily pacified.