Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror

Chapter 450 370: Immortals and Mortals Live Apart

Li Yuanping returned to the town center, still seething with anger and frustration, his eyes bloodshot as he entered the Central Hall. All around him was dim, only two dots of light flickering weakly like beans.

Dragging his weary body, he took a seat in the highest position, pulled out a document, but couldn't focus on it no matter how he tried, coughing irritably twice, swallowing the blood in his throat.

Dou Yi bustled in, scurrying up the steps. Li Yuanping said in a low voice,

"Prepare the ink."

Dou Yi diligently ground the ink, and once Li Yuanping waved his hand, he retreated. Li Yuanping picked up the brush and slowly calmed down, thinking carefully for a while.

The position of the Family Head required balancing the external surnames within the clan, managing the Spiritual Fields, distributing the clan's stipend, and involved the interests of nearly all clan members from Fetal Breathing to Qi Cultivation. From the time Li Xuanxuan became the Family Head, the rule for single inheritance had been established when the four branches were set up.

Now, the Li Family, thanks to the support of the Talisman Seed of the Great Divine Skills' direct lineage, was oppressing the clan and could arbitrarily designate the Family Head. The wise would rule, and the foolish would follow.

But once this precedent was set, if in the future the direct lineage bearing the Talisman Seed became distant, with each originating from different backgrounds and conflicting interests, each supporting their own branch, chaos would ensue.

"If it comes to that, the position of the Family Head will become a means for several Talisman-bearing cultivators to fight over power and profit, exploiting the clan..."

"Moreover..."

As Li Yuanping's emotions steadied, his thoughts became sharper, and he thought to himself,

"Looking at Ming'er's demeanor, he ultimately lacks the capacity to shoulder great responsibilities. If the Li Family were passed into his hands, how could he suppress the external surnames? How could he control Li Jiman?"

In the hall, only Li Yuanping sat atop his high seat in the dimness. His gaze lingered on the faint light, his voice deep,

"In the end, the absence of a Great Divine Ability Practitioner to suppress the family, with Foundation Establishment achievable but Zifu a distant dream, without the addition of great fortune, will inevitably lead to decline or splitting..."

He gazed vacantly, as the morning light slowly rose before the hall; his brother, Li Yuanjiao, stood silently in front of the hall's door. Li Yuanping was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice at all.

As the dawn light slowly crept up the steps of the Central Hall, Li Yuanping said in a muffled voice,

"The clan's current laws were crafted by our great-grandfather when the family had only a few Fetal Breathing members... Who could have foreseen today's situation? Blindly adhering to ancestral laws may not be the best solution."

That's when Li Yuanping noticed Li Yuanjiao standing before him. His gaze flickered, and he spoke softly,

"Brother, should I pass away, who should take the principal position in the family to suppress the external surnames, drive the Shanyue, manage the clan, and nurture the younger generations?"

Li Yuanjiao hesitated for a moment before replying tentatively,

"Right now, the only one capable of such responsibility is Xijun. Aside from him, Xihong is too kind, and Ximing..."

"The Chengming generation is already so difficult! All of them have high talents. None should have been singled out to be the head."

Li Yuanping continued,

"If the Chengming generation just passed like this, and there's no dominant figure in the Chengming generation, what then?"

Li Yuanjiao vaguely understood something and answered,

"If that's the case, there's nothing to be done."

"Brother, I must reform the clan's laws."

He suddenly stood and said,

"The authority of the Family Head is too great; it was a system set up by Xiangping when he was in power. But how many in the clan can match him? This method can centralize power and profits, but it's really too difficult to manage."

"The younger generations will not always have ones with clever strategies and high talents. It's not by chance that such an incident as Ximing's has occurred—it's a sign that our family can no longer adhere to this method of rule. Sooner or later, issues will arise."

Li Yuanjiao looked at him intently for a moment, without saying anything. After a while, he replied calmly,

"Go ahead. Your brother will watch over you."

It seemed Li Yuanping had fully recovered from his disappointment with his eldest son, but now there was a hint of melancholy in his voice as he said gravely,

"First measure the Spiritual Lands, compile the records... decentralize the power!"

...

For Noble Families, accurately calculating privately owned Spiritual Fields was nearly impossible; even the Green Pond Sect couldn't tally the Spiritual Fields of the Noble Families under its control, only roughly estimating based on the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators to collect Tribute.

After all, with an Illusion Array concealing them, a small plot of land in the vast mountains and seas was inconspicuous; unless by chance, a light sweep of one's Spiritual Sense would discover nothing.

Although the Green Pond Sect had specialized Secret Techniques for breaking arrays, it was impossible to visit and inspect every inch of land in person, so naturally, they had to estimate based on the Earth Vein and Spirit Vein.

This was also why many relics from before the war between immortals and demons still exist today—the arrays laid by these Sects are even more advanced; you could break your head trying without finding an entrance.

However, Li Yuanjiao only needed to summon the Dharma Mirror, and with a slight move, every inch of the Li Family's land was clearly visible. Those with different surnames who had secretly built small courtyards and covertly demarcated Spiritual Fields were all exposed before his eyes.

"As expected..."

This was inevitable. Every prestigious surname under the Li Family had developed their own Spiritual Fields, secretly setting up courtyards on the barren lands in the wilderness that the Li Family disregarded, placing Illusion Arrays, and secretly planting crops on their own.

This was already the lighter side; over the years, more external-surname cultivators slowly emerged. They had access to numerous cultivation methods from Loose Cultivators and not all Spiritual Aperture Seeds went to the Li Family. Some external-surname cultivators even went out in search of opportunities and never returned.

Li Yuanjiao's gaze swept over the scene, noting that a few of the Chengming generation's lesser clan cultivators were involved, and he could only silently sigh,

"This land is barren indeed, but it comes at no cost! After all, no matter how good the clan's own fields, most of the yield still has to be turned in. There's no joy like cultivating one's own field and keeping the harvest."