txolops Chapter 167 The Bai Family's Thoughts
Chapter 167 The Bai Family's Thoughts
"A thousand-year-old ironwood, about ten feet long?"
Hearing Li Ping's words, Yu Menghan breathed a sigh of relief: "Fellow Daoist Li's suggestion is naturally no problem. However, I don't have a spiritual item like thousand-year ironwood on hand, so I need to transport it through the Chamber of Commerce. Fellow Daoist Li will probably need to wait patiently for a while. As for making up the price difference, there's no need for that, as the value of the two is actually quite similar."
Thousand-year-old ironwood is considered one of the more common types of third-tier spirit wood, although it can be used to refine magical artifacts.
However, generally speaking, even those rogue cultivators who have reached the Core Formation stage look down on the magical treasures they refine.
In reality, thousand-year-old ironwood is mostly used to refine second-tier top-grade magic artifacts.
In terms of value, a ten-foot-long piece of thousand-year-old ironwood is about the same as the originally agreed-upon reward.
Therefore, Yu Menghan agreed to Li Ping's request to change his compensation without hesitation.
Having received a satisfactory reply, Li Ping smiled and said, "Then I'll leave it to Fairy Yu."
After seeing Yu Menghan off, he turned and walked towards Bai Lin's residence, pushing the door open.
His gaze swept across the room, finally settling on the desk.
The desk was neatly tidy, and a letter was placed on it.
Li Ping approached, picked up the letter, and saw the words "To be opened by the young master" on the envelope.
It was left to him by Berlin.
Upon seeing this, Li Ping couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding.
It seems that this time, Bailin's departure from the cave was not temporary, but rather there was another hidden reason.
Tearing open the envelope, Li Ping carefully read the letter Bai Lin had left for him. As he read, his expression turned grim.
In the letter, Bai Lin told Li Ping:
She is already forty-five years old this year, and has four spiritual roots. She is not a primordial yin body. Even with the help of the Foundation Establishment Pill, the probability of successfully establishing her foundation is pitifully low, and she will most likely waste the Foundation Establishment Pill.
She had no confidence that she would succeed in establishing her foundation.
Her younger brother, Bai Zhengheng, is a cultivator with two spiritual roots. He had already reached the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining two years ago, but he dared not attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage because he did not have a Foundation Establishment Pill.
After much deliberation, she decided to give the Foundation Establishment Pill to her younger brother, so that the Bai family could have another Foundation Establishment cultivator.
At the end of the letter, she said that she had let Li Ping down.
At the same time, she also hoped that Li Pingnian would not blame the Bai family or Zheng Heng for the sake of their relationship over the years, and that if anyone should blame someone, it should be her.
Upon reading the last letter, Li Ping snorted coldly and tore it to shreds.
Although he was angry, Bai Lin had been gone for more than half a month, and it was too late for him to stop her no matter how angry he was.
He never expected that Bai Lin could be so 'selfless,' even willing to give up the opportunity to establish her foundation to her clan.
"Idiot, nobody cares about you!"
……
Sitting cross-legged in the training room, Li Ping took out the Myriad Craftsmanship Puppet from his storage bag.
By giving the Foundation Establishment Pill to her younger brother without his consent, Bai Lin had thoroughly disappointed Li Ping.
In the past few years, he had painstakingly used his health preservation techniques to nourish Bai Lin's essence, but he hadn't put in this much effort when treating the Seven-Colored Illusionary Light Butterfly.
Now it seems he's become a complete clown!
So he had made up his mind that since Bai Lin liked the family so much, she should stay in the family from now on and not come to Xiantao Mountain anymore.
It just so happens that he acquired the Wan Gong puppet last year.
This puppet can move freely once a mid-grade spirit stone is placed inside it.
Moreover, as long as it's not during intense combat, a single mid-grade spirit stone can power a Myriad Craftsman Puppet for decades.
From now on, the Immortal Peach Mountain cave will be taken care of by the Wan Gong puppeteers, and she will no longer be needed.
Thinking of this, Li Ping took out a thumb-sized mid-grade spirit stone from his storage bag and inserted it into the heart of the Myriad Craftsmanship Puppet, activating the humanoid puppet.
Immediately following the instructions given by Yu Menghan, he separated a wisp of his divine consciousness and sank it into the Myriad Craftsmanship Puppet, focusing on merging with the spirit within the puppet.
Several days later, he suddenly opened his eyes and threw the puppet in his hand onto the ground.
Under his control, the Wan Gong puppet, which was originally only the size of a palm, rapidly expanded and eventually grew to the height of a normal person. Its spiritual pressure, comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, also erupted from it.
Li Ping pondered for a moment.
Then, by controlling the puppet's face to resemble an old servant, and then draping it in a robe, it would look no different from a real person.
Immediately, under Li Ping's divine control, the Wan Gong puppet stepped outside and took the initiative to manage matters inside the cave.
Puppets are different from magical artifacts.
Magical artifacts require constant control by cultivators; once the cultivator stops infusing them with magical power, they will become lifeless objects.
The puppet's power source is the spirit stone within its body. As long as the spiritual power within the spirit stone is not exhausted, the puppet can act on its own and execute various commands given by its master.
At this moment, Li Ping assigned all of Bai Lin's previous miscellaneous tasks to the puppet.
Of course, the puppet could perform these simple tasks on its own without Li Ping having to give instructions.
However, if it's about controlling puppets in battle, in that complex environment, Li Ping has to personally command them.
In combat, even if his spiritual sense is 50% stronger than that of other cultivators of the same level, he can only focus on controlling one puppet at most, and he can't manage more than that.
Controlling puppets requires far more spiritual energy than controlling magical artifacts.
Li Ping didn't care about this.
Anyway, he only has one puppet now.
……
Perhaps worried about being blamed by Li Ping, Bai Lin really didn't come back.
The Bai family has not sent anyone to explain the situation to him.
Time flies, and the end of the year is just around the corner.
After nearly half a year, the Bai family finally sent someone.
The newcomers were the Bai family patriarch, Bai Qing, and a young Foundation Establishment cultivator. Behind them followed a young girl with eyes full of curiosity.
"Fellow Daoist Li." Upon seeing Li Ping, the Bai family patriarch immediately called out.
Li Ping ignored him and focused his gaze on Bai Qing and the young Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Bai Qing quickly called out, "Big Brother."
The young Foundation Establishment cultivator remained silent.
Seeing that Li Ping ignored him, the Bai family patriarch couldn't help but show a hint of embarrassment on his face.
Li Ping ignored Bai Qing's shouts as well.
Just as the situation was becoming awkward, Li Ping sneered and said, "What brings you three distinguished guests to my humble abode? The Bai family has three Foundation Establishment cultivators; I, a mere rogue cultivator, am not worthy of such an honor."
Upon hearing this, Bai Qing couldn't help but smile wryly, knowing that his elder brother was truly angry this time.
Under the watchful eye of the Bai family patriarch, he had no choice but to speak up: "Brother, we have come to apologize to you for what happened to Bai Lin."
Bai Lin returned to the Bai family half a year ago with the Foundation Establishment Pill.
She admitted that the Foundation Establishment Pill was given to her by Li Ping, but she was worried that her success rate in establishing her foundation was not high, so she wanted to give the Foundation Establishment Pill to her younger brother, Bai Zhengheng.
The two Foundation Establishment cultivators, Bai Qing and the Bai family patriarch, also discussed her actions.
From a rational perspective, both of them agreed with Berlin's approach.
After all, the Bai family patriarch was about to pass away, and they relied on the strength of Bai Qing, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
They are good at maintaining the status quo, but lack the ability to expand!
However, if Bai Zhengheng successfully establishes his foundation using the Foundation Establishment Pill brought back by Bai Lin, then the Bai family will have three Foundation Establishment cultivators in a short period of time.
Even after the Bai family patriarch passed away several years later, the Bai family still had two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Such strength can not only safeguard the foundation of Gaojishan, but also allow for attempts to expand outwards.
A thriving business is good for everyone in the family.
Bai Qing was still somewhat concerned about his elder brother's attitude, but the Bai family patriarch directly stated: "You will both be cultivating in the Immortal City from now on, and you will inevitably have interactions with each other. After this, there will be enough time to repair your relationship."
In the end, Bai Qing was persuaded and agreed to the decision of the Bai family patriarch.
Six months later, Bai Zhengheng successfully completed the foundation building.
Now, three cultivators from the Bai family have come to Immortal Peach Mountain to mend their relationship with Li Ping.
……
"An apology is unnecessary," Li Ping said coldly, shaking his head.
At this moment, he didn't even intend to invite the three Bai family members to sit down and chat; instead, he stood beside the formation and talked with them.
Seeing this, the Bai family patriarch knew that it was not advisable to continue the conflict today.
He smiled and pointed to the bewildered girl behind him: "Bai Lin is getting old and only wishes to retire in Gaoji Mountain. This is Bai Ya, personally chosen by Bai Lin. She just turned eighteen this year. Fellow Daoist Li's cave dwelling is left unattended, so why not let Bai Ya stay and manage it for you?"
Li Ping looked in the direction he was pointing and his eyes met a pair of bright, intelligent eyes.
After a moment, he shook his head again, saying, "No need."
"Very well, then the three of us will take our leave and visit Fellow Daoist Li again later." The Bai family patriarch sighed, no longer pressing the matter, and then took the initiative to leave with Bai Qing and the other two.
After watching the four members of the Bai family leave, Li Ping stood there for a long time before finally letting out a sigh.
The young girl Bai Ya, brought by the Bai family patriarch, had a similar temperament and similar attire to Bai Lin, who had just arrived at Xiantao Mountain, suggesting they were old acquaintances.
He guessed that Bai Lin might think he was fickle and that's why she refused to come to Xiantao Mountain again.
Bai Lin is forty-five years old this year. Since she was thirty, Li Ping has rarely been close to her.
Perhaps, Bai Lin also realized this, which is why she sent Bai Ya.
But is Li Ping such a superficial person?
He devoted all his energy to cultivating immortality and longevity, and his relationships with men and women were only superficial and he never became obsessed with them.
Besides Bai Lin, Bai Qing also disappointed him.
Li Ping believed that he must have known that Bai Lin had taken the Foundation Establishment Pill back to Gaojishan.
However, he did not stop Bai Lin, but instead allowed Bai Zhengheng to use the Foundation Establishment Pill to attempt to establish his foundation.
As for the reason, Li Ping could guess it.
Having another Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Bai family would strengthen the family's power, which would be beneficial to him.
Perhaps in his view, giving up the Foundation Establishment Pill was Bai Lin's own choice, and his elder brother wouldn't blame him for such a small matter.
"Never mind... People's hearts are fickle!"
Li Ping felt mentally exhausted, but he could understand.
After all, people can't stay in the past forever; everyone has to live for themselves.
Bai Qing is the head of the Bai family and bears the responsibility of protecting the entire Bai clan.
Therefore, everything he does must serve his own interests and those of the Bai family.
"Cultivation, cultivation." Li Ping turned around and walked back into the training room, where he sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.
Everything else is illusory; only one's own cultivation is real.