togophonebook Chapter 86: The Five-Year Term
Chapter 86: The Five-Year Term
After becoming a mid-grade first-level alchemist, Liu Yuelong frequently socialized and got to know many of the previous batches of promising young talents from the Li family.
Yang Jiuli was not in a hurry.
He first focused on his cultivation and waited for an opportunity.
After all, puppetry, beast taming, and talisman-making skills all need to be passed down.
Even if Yang Jiuli had some knowledge of this in his previous life, he couldn't show it to avoid arousing suspicion.
He needs a catalyst.
Spring passes and autumn comes.
Another year has passed.
In the blink of an eye, five years have passed since Yang Jiuli came to the Li family in Yunmeng Lake!
Yang Jiuli had already turned twenty-nine and his cultivation had reached the Great Perfection of the Third Level of Qi Refining.
His success rate in refining mid-grade first-level pills has reached 70%, making him an excellent mid-grade first-level alchemist!
Thus, Yang Jiuli can be considered to have successfully fulfilled the requirements of the contract and did not need to marry into the Li family.
Li Wannian, the steward of the Li family, personally received him, praised him, and bestowed upon him a first-grade mid-level magic weapon, the Crimson Flame Shield.
Li Wannian also mentioned that if Yang Jiuli didn't mind, he could choose a woman from the Li family as his wife, and he was not required to marry into the family.
Yang Jiuli politely declined, saying that his cultivation was still shallow and he was not yet able to protect his wife and children, so he had no intention of getting married.
Seeing this, Li Wannian had no choice but to give up.
Although Huang Cheng had an extremely low success rate in refining mid-grade first-order pills, he still managed to refine some inferior pills.
He barely managed to become a mid-grade first-level alchemist and complete the contract.
Liu Yuelong also became a mid-grade first-level alchemist and married a woman with a low-grade spiritual root from the Li family.
He didn't marry into the Li family, so he was naturally happy to establish a relationship with them.
……
The third day of March.
Lu Wenzheng held a banquet to celebrate the one-month anniversary of his son's birth.
Yang Jiuli delivered two spirit stones as a congratulatory gift.
After having a son, Lu Wenzheng finally had something to look forward to in his life.
If his son is found to have spiritual roots, then he can be considered to have truly settled down in the Li family.
Li Feiyu also attended the banquet and subtly suggested that she could introduce a cousin to Yang Jiuli.
"My cousin is well-educated and reasonable, and is a well-known genius and beauty in the Li family. She has a low-grade high-quality spiritual root. If you two get together, you might be able to give birth to a genius with a mid-grade spiritual root." Li Feiyu looked at Yang Jiuli with a hopeful smile.
He already had a good impression of Yang Jiuli and regarded him as a brother.
Now that Yang Jiuli has become a mid-grade first-level alchemist, he will most likely become a high-grade first-level alchemist in the future.
Such a person is highly sought after even among the most established Foundation Establishment families!
After all, even with the Li family's recent efforts to cultivate alchemists, there are not many people who have the opportunity to become a first-grade high-level alchemist.
"Qi Refining cultivators are ultimately just at the bottom level. After a hundred years, they will turn into a handful of dust. If I don't reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, Jiu Li doesn't intend to marry a Daoist partner, lest I mislead a good person." Yang Jiu Li raised his cup, politely declining Li Fei Yu's offer.
"This..." Li Feiyu was taken aback, then suddenly realized, raised his cup and said, "So Ninth Brother's ambition is to reach the Foundation Establishment stage. I was being presumptuous! If there's an opportunity next time, I'll find you a clan sister with a mid-grade spiritual root. I think she'd be a good match for you!"
He thought Yang Jiuli had lofty ambitions and looked down on low-grade spiritual roots.
He immediately punished himself with three cups of wine.
Seeing this, Yang Jiuli shook his head and smiled, without saying anything more.
It's good that Li Feiyu misunderstood.
As for the latter saying he would find an opportunity to introduce a cousin with a mid-grade spiritual root, it was merely a way for both sides to save face.
After all, a mid-grade spiritual root is already a foundation-building seed.
Even within the Li family, it would be difficult to find many women with such talent.
Li Yourong, on the other hand, met the standard for a mid-grade spiritual root.
But how could someone like that get married so easily?
……
In the days that followed, the Li family did not mention the matter of Yang Jiuli marrying a woman from their family again.
Yang Jiuli finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The sixth day of the fifth lunar month.
The Li family was bustling with activity that day.
The entire Yunmeng Lake was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, creating a joyous atmosphere.
The formation in the lake was activated, and Li clan cultivators were constantly welcoming foreign cultivators inside, keeping them extremely busy.
This was all because Li Xian, the great-grandson of the Li family head, married Fu Jiaojiao, the direct descendant of the Fu family, a foundation-building and beast-taming family in the Yue Kingdom.
The Yue Kingdom was located in the southern part of the Chu Kingdom.
Daze County was located at the border between the states of Chu and Yue.
The Fu family's Beiyi County and Daze County are separated only by the Nanling Mountains.
They are neighbors.
The Fu family established themselves in the cultivation world through their skills in controlling beasts and cultivating spiritual herbs.
Now that the Li family wants to make a name for themselves in the field of elixirs, they should join forces with the Fu family. Therefore, they arranged for the great-grandchildren of the two families to get married.
Three months ago, the Li family married off a direct descendant to the Fu family.
In this way, it can be said that you are in me and I am in you, and the cooperation between the two parties will involve more conflicts of interest.
The wedding was held on Flame Island in the middle of the lake.
Yang Jiuli, Liu Yuelong, and other immortal seedlings were fortunate enough to come here again.
With so many guests at the Li family's residence, no one paid any attention to Yang Jiuli and his companions.
Yang Jiuli, on the other hand, arrived at Earth Flame Island early and waited at a ferry crossing on the island's edge.
"It's here..." Lu Wenzheng looked up, his face full of anticipation as he gazed at the sky ahead.
There, a puppet eagle made of metal flew by.
This puppet, with its wings spread out, is twelve meters long, and its eagle back is three meters wide and six and eight-tenths meters long, capable of supporting more than a dozen people.
The eagle's eyes were sharp, radiating a powerful aura.
It was clearly a second-tier low-grade puppet.
This puppet eagle is a mechanical puppet made of metal, not from the corpse of a demon beast.
The Zhou family is skilled at crafting mechanical puppets from metal.
Such secret techniques are rare even in the State of Chu, and were obtained by the Zhou family's ancestor from ancient relics.
Standing atop the puppet eagle is Zhou Li, who once went to select a seedling of immortality.
Beside Zhou Li stood a familiar figure—Tang Yifan.
However, there was a boy of about four years old standing next to Tang Yifan.
The little boy, dressed in brocade robes and with exquisite features, was none other than Tang Yifan's eldest son, Zhou Changqing.
A month ago, Zhou Changqing was found to have a mid-grade spiritual root, with a metal attribute compatibility of 46.
Although it was only a mid-grade spiritual root, it still brought great joy to the Zhou family.
Just six months ago, Tang Yifan's wife, Zhou Qianqian, gave birth to their third child, a daughter.
The Zhou family was slightly disappointed by this. After Zhou Changqing was found to have a mid-grade spiritual root, they immediately arranged for two more clan girls to marry Tang Yifan.
Both of these clan women possessed talent approaching that of a mid-grade spiritual root.
The reason for marrying them to Tang Yifan is that he hopes to give birth to a few more geniuses with mid-grade spiritual roots.
One of the women was even Zhou Li's granddaughter, named Zhou Xiaoyu.
Tang Yifan did not refuse and readily accepted.
It's simply because the Zhou family gave them too much.
Not only did they increase his monthly allowance to twenty low-grade spirit stones, but they also began teaching him first-order puppetry techniques.
If Tang Yifan can have another child with a mid-grade spiritual root, the Zhou family will teach him a first-grade high-grade puppet technique.
This greatly encouraged Tang Yifan, who seemed to have already seen his own smooth path to immortality.
After arriving at Earthflame Island, the puppet eagle slowed down and gently landed on a wide open area of the harbor.
Tang Yifan, carrying his eldest son Zhou Changqing, jumped down and headed towards Yang Jiuli and the others.
Zhou Li and the other members of the Zhou family were led to the VIP room by the Li family.
"Brother Tang..." Lu Wenzheng immediately stepped forward to greet him.
"Wenzheng, it's been a long time. You're a father now!" Tang Yifan patted Lu Wenzheng on the shoulder. Tang Yifan was noticeably fatter than he was five years ago. As he spoke, he looked wistful, reminiscing about the past as he saw his old friend again after so many years.
He would never forget the three months he and Ninth Brother spent in Longhu Town.
Those three months were truly like walking on thin ice, I was cautious in everything I did, for fear that people would discover that I was an alien.
Fortunately, it's all over now.
He is already a father of three.
The husband of three women.
"Yes, I'm a father now!" Lu Wenzheng smiled and said, "This must be Changqing, right?" He looked at Zhou Changqing.
"That's right!" Tang Yifan looked at his son and said, "Changqing, this is Uncle Lu that your father often tells you about."
"Nephew Zhou Changqing greets Uncle Lu!" Zhou Changqing stepped forward obediently and bowed to Lu Wenzheng.
"Good, good, what a good boy!" Lu Wenzheng was quite pleased and looked at Zhou Changqing with a face full of emotion.
"If my son could also be found to have a mid-grade spiritual root like Changqing..." Lu Wenzheng thought to himself.
At this moment, Yang Jiuli had already arrived.
Tang Yifan led Zhou Changqing forward.
"Ninth Brother!" Tang Yifan opened his arms and gave Yang Jiuli a hug.
"These past five years have truly been a nightmare for me!" Tang Yifan said with great excitement, speaking from the bottom of his heart.
These past five years have really been suffocating him.
There were countless things he wanted to say to Yang Jiuli.
Although I write to you frequently.
It is believed that many things cannot be said explicitly, but can only be mentioned veiledly, for fear that people will find out their identity as extraterrestrials.
"The path to immortality is long, and the future is bright. As long as we are both well, why should we care about temporary separations?" Yang Jiuli said, patting Tang Yifan on the shoulder.
"Ninth Brother is absolutely right. I have been following your instructions and cultivating diligently all these years. This is the first time I have left the Zhou family!" Tang Yifan released Yang Jiuli and said. He looked at Yang Jiuli as if he were still a little mystery to him.
These words sound like a primary school student who has done something right and is waiting for the teacher's praise!
"Excellent, just like the bento box!" Yang Jiuli praised.
Tang Yifan smiled broadly, then looked at his son Zhou Changqing beside him and said seriously, "Changqing, this is your father's good brother, Uncle Yang. Your father owes his success entirely to his help. From now on, you should respect him as you would respect me, understand?"
"Yes!" Zhou Changqing nodded obediently, bowing to Yang Jiuli and saying, "Your nephew Changqing greets Uncle Yang!"
"Good, good!" Yang Jiuli patted Zhou Changqing's head and said, "Since it's our first meeting, your uncle doesn't have anything good to give you. Besides this gift, I'll also give you a piece of advice: 'Be cautious and you'll catch a cicada for a thousand autumns; be careful and you'll sail for ten thousand years. Cultivate diligently day and night, and you'll achieve immortality by not fighting or grabbing.' As he spoke, he flipped his left hand, and a small jade box appeared."
There is a low-grade first-tier magic weapon here, which is a hammer, but it is suitable for forging.
Despite his resistance as Yang Jiuli patted his head, Zhou Changqing obediently nodded, took the jade box, and opened it.
Upon seeing that it was a low-grade first-tier magic artifact, he frowned.
"That Uncle Yang is so stingy. He gave me a low-grade magic artifact on our first meeting and even said something to me? I noticed his aura isn't as strong as Father's, so his cultivation level probably isn't that great either. Why does Father keep praising him and telling me to respect and learn from him?"
Zhou Changqing muttered to himself that he didn't have a good impression of Yang Jiuli.
Seeing his son's obedient appearance, Tang Yifan nodded with satisfaction.
Yang Jiuli also released his hand from stroking Zhou Changqing's head.
"Come on, Brother Tang, I've already prepared fine wine. This time, we must drink three thousand cups!"
Beside him, Liu Yuelong walked up and pulled Tang Yifan aside.
"Okay..." Tang Yifan laughed loudly, and the group walked towards a lakeside restaurant on Earth Flame Island.