Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 337

Volume 3 - Chapter 65: Thus Should It Be Observed

“Is there… no other way?” Wang Xiangru asked, her face pale as she sat below.

Her husband, Li Fenghua, had hurried back with the army from Cangzhou. In the previous great battle defending Qingzhou, he had barely escaped with his life and was now gravely injured, his complexion haggard and weak.

Li Xiaoran cast her a cold glance but said nothing, his gaze fixed instead on Li Tiangang.

Li Tiangang’s expression was grim. He had not anticipated that in just over a month, the Li family would find itself in such dire straits.

“I will go immediately to request the ancestor’s blood sacrifice!”

Gritting his teeth slightly, Li Tiangang stood up and spoke.

He glanced at Li Xiaoran, wanting to say something to his fourth uncle. However, the icy, indifferent look in Li Xiaoran’s eyes—one that regarded him as a stranger—stabbed at his heart.

He knew why.

When he had returned with his wife, Ji Qingqing, he had also told everyone the truth about Li Hao’s fate: not only had he failed to bring Li Hao back, but Li Hao had died because of him.

This news had left Li Muxiu, Li Xiaoran, and others stunned. That day, furious roars echoed throughout the Divine General Mansion, and several rooms in the Shanhe Courtyard were smashed to pieces. Only the one that the young man had once lived in remained untouched.

The next morning, Li Muxiu seemed to have aged a decade overnight. He never spoke to Li Tiangang again, and every time Li Xiaoran saw him, his gaze was as cold as ice, treating him as though he were an outsider. This caused Li Tiangang immense pain.

As Li Tiangang moved forward, Li Xiaoran merely stepped slightly aside to let him pass without a word.

The others remained silent as well, already accustomed to it. Over the past few days, whenever Li Xiaoran approached Li Tiangang, it was only about the war reports from Liangzhou, and his tone was invariably frosty.

They all vividly remembered the uproar in the Shanhe Courtyard when Li Hao’s death was revealed. The most hot-tempered elder, who had been closest to Li Hao, disregarded the spiritual oath binding the Li family and lashed out, giving Li Tiangang several heavy slaps that left the elder himself coughing blood.

This was during the demonic invasion of Qingzhou, when that second uncle was still needed to defend the city.

It was only then that they realized how deep the bond between that second uncle and the boy had been—to the point of risking everything in his grief and rage, even the larger picture.

But the pain wasn’t limited to Li Muxiu alone. Many of the women present had been deeply saddened as well. Though the boy wasn’t their direct kin, he was of the Li family’s bloodline, its pride. Yet due to old misunderstandings, it was now impossible to undo the damage or make amends.

“This time, with the ancestor’s blood calling, let’s see if your precious children return,” He Jianlan said, her gaze cold as she looked at Wang Xiangru.

In the past, He Jianlan might have held back out of respect for her position as the main wife, avoiding any actions that could be seen as bullying a junior sister-in-law. Moreover, Wang Xiangru’s family had ties to officials in court, and tongues would wag if such matters spread.

But after learning of Li Hao’s death and now with the crisis in Qingzhou, He Jianlan could no longer suppress her anger.

When reflecting on the events, she often felt pangs of regret and sorrow. While Liu Yurong had been foolish and malicious, He Jianlan believed that the true root of the problem was Wang Xiangru’s overindulgence of her children.

From a young age, Wang Xiangru had forbidden her children from training with others in the martial courtyard. Her domineering indulgence led to her children having no bond with Li Hao, Li Yuanzhao, Li Zhining, and others of their generation. Her daughter’s lack of manners had even provoked Li Hao’s mother, which resulted in Li Hao slapping her in anger.

At the height of these tensions, her daughter Li Rumeng’s tearful accusations acted as the final spark, tearing the father and son apart completely.

There was Li Tiangang’s inexplicable stubbornness, Liu Yurong’s stupidity and malice, and Wang Xiangru’s pampering and spoiling of her children. All these factors culminated in the great tragedy. Yet, the one who bore the consequences was that lonely child.

Every time He Jianlan thought of this, she couldn’t stop her tears and hated herself for failing to prevent it all.

But everything had happened too suddenly, with one event following another. No one had foreseen the eventual outcome.

Now, hearing He Jianlan’s frosty tone, Wang Xiangru’s face changed slightly. Since Li Tiangang brought back the news of Li Hao’s death, her status in the Divine General Mansion had plummeted. She felt as though she had become another Liu Yurong, except Liu Yurong was imprisoned while she remained free, forced to endure the cold looks of others.

“Sister-in-law, what do you mean by that? If Jiangying and Rumeng sense the ancestor’s blood calling, they will surely return—unless something is holding them back,” Wang Xiangru said angrily.

He Jianlan sneered. “We shall see, then.”

Hearing the sarcasm in He Jianlan’s words, Wang Xiangru retorted furiously, “Are you hoping for them to come back and die? In the current situation, they haven’t even reached the Heaven and Man Realm. Even if they return, what can they do?”

This remark caused the expressions of the other wives to change slightly. They looked at her coldly.

After Li Hao’s death, they were no fools. Reflecting on the event, they realized how destructive Wang Xiangru’s daughter’s false accusations had been in that context. Her family was one of the culprits behind Li Hao’s departure, and Wang Xiangru’s indulgence of her children had been infamous for years.

In the past, they merely avoided each other. But now that this indulgence had led to disaster, Wang Xiangru’s words carried an even greater offense.

“If everyone thought like you, all the soldiers could simply disperse, and you might as well leave too,” He Jianlan said coldly, her gaze icy.

“Li family bloodlines live and die together, regardless of cultivation level,” Xiao Yujing said, casting a cold glance at Wang Xiangru.

“Xian’er is a royal, yet she’s willing to stand with the Li family until the bitter end. That’s not because of cultivation,” Gao Qingqing added, her tone more reserved.

Jiang Xian’er was Li Junye’s fiancée. Though they had only signed a betrothal agreement and had never consummated their relationship, she was determined to remain a widow for him for life. When the crisis in Qingzhou arose, Li Muxiu had suggested Jiang Xian’er leave because of her royal bloodline. After all, she and Li Junye had never even shared a room, their relationship bound only by a piece of paper. But Jiang Xian’er refused.

Hearing Gao Qingqing’s words, Wang Xiangru’s expression darkened. She realized she had misspoken.

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Wang Xiangru said, biting her lip. “I simply misunderstood Sister-in-law’s tone. It sounded as though you wanted to see my children in trouble. Since I married into the Li family, I am part of the Li family. Even if the city falls, I will die alongside everyone else. Why must you all make things difficult for me?”

The other women glanced at her but said nothing more. Words were easy to say, but actions revealed the truth. Whether she truly saw herself as part of the Li family would be shown by her deeds. From her indulgence of her children, it was clear that she did not.

Her children were closer to her maiden family, the Wang family, than to the Li family. This was entirely her doing.

“Marrying the wrong wife can curse three generations,” Li Xiaoran scoffed coldly. He glanced at the silent Li Fenghua, knowing the man’s situation wasn’t any better.

The women present were all Li Fenghua’s sisters-in-law. As harsh as their words were, he could not refute them, especially since they were true. His wife, Wang Xiangru, was beyond his control. If he defended her, he would appear unreasonable. If he didn’t, he would seem weak. If he didn’t protect his children, he would fail as a father. He could do nothing but silently endure the humiliation.

Hearing Li Xiaoran’s remark, Wang Xiangru’s face turned ashen. As an elder, she dared not argue with him.

Li Xiaoran had never established his soul in the ancestral shrine, but his reputation as a youth was stellar, and his authority now was even greater.

“What a pity,” Li Xiaoran said, his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze directed toward the ancestral shrine in the back mountain. His expression grew somber. “That child will never return… Perhaps it’s for the best. From what you’ve all said, the Li family treated him so poorly that even if he were alive, he’d have no reason to return.”

The others fell silent at his words.

Indeed, even if he lived, he should not return. Outside, the enemies were two Supreme Dao Realm demons. To confront them, one would need to face a Supreme Dao Realm foe alone.

Now, by summoning all Li family members through the ancestor’s blood calling, they were not relying on the strength of individuals but intending to combine their power into a military formation. Supplemented with the Sacred Heart Treasure and other rare resources from the family’s secret vault, they would fight to the death.

After all, if these treasures were not used, they would end up in the hands of the demons.

This final stand would drain the Li family’s bloodline to its last drop and exhaust all its heritage.

Combined, this might allow them to contend with one Supreme Dao Realm foe.

Such was the power of three thousand years of heritage.

...

Not long after, a towering blood formation rose from the ancestral shrine in the back mountain, covering half of the Divine General Mansion.

Within the mansion, everyone with Li family blood felt their blood boil, as if it were on fire. A sense of calling and guidance emanated from within their veins—a wordless summons filled with urgency and sorrow.

It was the sacrifice of an ancestor’s spirit, offering itself up and dissolving entirely to summon all members of the Li family bloodline.

The Blood Calling Array, fueled by an ancestor’s soul sacrifice, was a measure of last resort.

He Jianlan and the other wives, as women married into the family, felt nothing. But they saw divine flames ignite around Li Xiaoran, whose powerful cultivation caused his aura to fluctuate as his bloodline resonated with the call.

In the hall, the anger from earlier dissipated, replaced by a deep melancholy.

The women felt it too—a flickering presence of Li family bloodlines scattered across the mansion. Like fireflies, these lights illuminated the Divine General Mansion.

This was their final glow.

“Ancestor, you are calling us…”

In the courtyard, Li Yuanzhao and Li Zhining looked toward the ancestral shrine and the soaring blood formation.

They felt the summons in their blood, clutching their chests with a mix of sorrow and determination.

Like them, many Li family members throughout the mansion stopped what they were doing and looked up. The call in their blood told them that the Li family was at a moment of life and death.

...

...

In the Boundless Mountain, within the Brahma Pure Land world…

Endless mountain ranges stretched in layers, shrouded in ethereal mist, as if this were a paradise on earth.

Atop one of the towering peaks…

“My body…”

“My father says this is the ancestor’s blood calling. The ancestor is summoning me…”

“Is the family in trouble?”

Within the inner sect peaks of the Boundless Mountain, several Li family descendants of collateral bloodlines had also become disciples of the sect, cultivating here.

Now, they felt their bodies burning with heat and an inexplicable sense of calling. It was a wordless beckoning that filled them with urgency and sadness.

“I must return home!”

“Master, I must descend the mountain!”

These collateral descendants, though less talented than the main bloodline prodigies, were still considered geniuses among the Boundless Mountain’s inner sect disciples, with the potential to become grandmasters.

To reach the Three Immortals Realm, however, required both comprehension and great fortune.

One by one, they hurried to the mountain gate to explain their reasons to their masters. After packing their belongings, they descended the mountain.

...

On the Spirit Peak within the Brahma Pure Land, where the Buddha resided…

A young figure sat cross-legged on the lofty mountain, draped in a snow-white kasaya, exuding an air of serenity and purity.

Suddenly, his eyes opened. He looked down, feeling his chest grow hot.

“This is… bloodline guidance?”

The youth paused, his face changing. What could have caused his family to use the ancestor’s blood calling?

He couldn’t afford to continue meditating. Rising quickly, he headed toward the Buddha Hall at the peak.

When he reached the hall, he immediately requested an audience with the Buddha. Before the attendants could announce his presence, the Buddha’s voice echoed from within, granting him permission to enter.

Li Qianfeng rushed inside and knelt before the Buddha seated high above.

“Master, my family is in trouble. I wish to descend the mountain,” he said urgently.

The Buddha’s expression remained compassionate as he replied, “Guardian of the Universe, do not act rashly. Though you have reached the pinnacle of the Heaven and Man Realm, in this calamity, your cultivation is too low. Even if you return, it would only add another soul to the Li family’s losses.”

Li Qianfeng froze, his body trembling. He knew that the use of the ancestor’s blood calling meant his family faced great peril. His return would make little difference.

“Master, I beg you to intervene and save the Li family!” Li Qianfeng pleaded, bowing low in desperation.

The Buddha spoke calmly, “The Li family’s destiny has not yet reached its end. There remains a sliver of hope. They will survive this. You should remain here and cultivate in peace.”

Li Qianfeng looked up at him, dazed. “But my family is in such danger. I… I…”

“If your heart is not at peace, how can you transcend?” the Buddha said. “At twenty, you have already achieved Heaven and Man Realm perfection. Such accomplishments are rare, born of your tireless efforts. As long as your bloodline persists, the Li family will not fall. This trial is also your opportunity. Once the calamity passes, you may return to lead the Li family and rebuild its glory.”

Images of his family and his mother flashed through Li Qianfeng’s mind. “But my mother…”

“I will send Pujie Bodhisattva to bring your mother here and help guide the Li family through this tribulation,” the Buddha said gently. “Your thoughts should not linger on such matters. With six senses purified, you must sever all worldly attachments. Only then can you reach the Three Immortals Realm.

“Remember, all phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows. Like dew and lightning, thus should you observe them.”

Li Qianfeng was silent for a long moment. Gradually, he felt the heat in his blood subside. Finally, he lowered his head and said softly,

“Disciple understands.”

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