Building a Martial Dao Celestial Family by Laying Low

"An opportunity?" Chen Li was surprised.

However, after saying this, Li Weikun fell silent, merely watching Chen Li without another word.

Chen Li was taken aback for a moment, but then understanding dawned. A knowing smile touched his lips. "My dear in-law," he said, "have you run into some trouble? Please, speak freely."

Li Weikun nodded, no longer holding back. "To be perfectly honest, this is about my son Jiwei’s future."

Chen Li had already suspected as much. He followed this line of thought and asked, "Is it about breaking through to the Spirit Realm?"

"Precisely."

Li Weikun admitted frankly, "I do have some connection to the Kao Mountain Ancestor, but he never passed his Cultivation Technique on to me. All these years, Jiwei and I have been stagnating, unable to make any progress. Jiwei’s talent and disposition are both excellent. I can’t bear to see his path cut short, just like mine."

He looked at Chen Li with a burning intensity and stated his purpose. "Therefore, I must be so bold as to ask you, my dear in-law... if the opportunity arises, could you find a Martial Dao Inner Qi Heart Method for Jiwei? One that can be passed down to continue the Li Family’s legacy?"

Chen Li was taken aback.

He had guessed Li Weikun might be seeking resources to help his son break through to the Spirit Realm. He never imagined the man would ask for an Inner Qi Heart Method that could be passed down through generations.

The difference between the two requests was enormous.

Letting Li Jiwei alone practice an Inner Qi Heart Method was one thing. Giving the Li Family a technique that could be passed down for generations, to serve as the very foundation of their house, was another concept entirely.

This was a heavy request indeed.

Chen Li didn’t answer right away, sinking into contemplation.

After a moment, he looked up. "I will keep this matter in mind. If an opportunity presents itself, I will certainly do my best to find a suitable Inner Qi Heart Method for the Li Family."

He hadn’t made an absolute promise, but his positive stance was enough to make Li Weikun heave a sigh of relief. He cupped his fist. "My dear in-law, your magnanimity is something the Li Family will never forget!"

Chen Li gestured for him to dispense with the formalities.

Li Weikun wasted no more words, rising to his feet. "Please, follow me."

The two of them left the side hall and made their way to the rear courtyard.

They passed through a moon gate and arrived before a freestanding building—an ancestral hall.

Inside the hall, rows upon rows of black memorial tablets were packed together tightly.

On the altar, the single, pea-sized flame of an ever-burning lamp flickered silently.

Li Weikun silently bowed on the central prayer cushion. Then he rose and took a memorial tablet from an inconspicuous spot on a middle shelf to the side.

Gripping the tablet by its ends, he applied a bit of force.

SNAP!

The crisp sound was faint but clear.

The memorial tablet snapped in two.

A Stone Bead, roughly the size of a thumb-pad and with a slightly uneven surface, rolled out. With lightning-fast reflexes, Li Weikun caught it in his hand.

Chen Li watched, stunned.

He had guessed Li Weikun might have hidden the item somewhere in the ancestral hall, but he never would have imagined it would be inside an ancestral tablet.

"My dear in-law, take this and keep it safe."

Li Weikun turned, opening his palm to present the Stone Bead to Chen Li. "After you enter the Little World, you can use this bead to find your way. As far as I know, it will react when you are close to the opportunity. As for the specifics—what the opportunity is, where it’s located, how to obtain it... I have no idea. You’ll have to figure all that out on your own."

Chen Li took the bead and examined it closely, but he found nothing unusual about it. He put it away safely. "Thank you for this generous gift," he said. "I will remember it."

The two men left the ancestral hall and returned to the side hall, where they drank half a cup of tea.

Seeing that their business was concluded, Chen Li rose to take his leave.

Li Weikun didn’t try to detain him, personally escorting him to the main gate of the martial arts hall. He stood there a long time, not speaking a word.

...

A light rain was still falling, and the road from Jingshan County Town to Lingxi Town was muddy.

Chen Li rode hard, returning to Lingxi in the afternoon.

As he dismounted at the front gate, a servant was already there to take his horse’s reins.

Chen Li took off his rain-soaked, mud-splattered straw cloak and handed it to a nearby servant. "Fetch me a clean set of clothes," he ordered.

After riding so fast, his outer robe and boots were inevitably spattered with mud.

He changed into a fresh set of blue everyday robes and washed up briefly. He had just sat down and taken a sip of hot tea when his eldest son, Chen Shouheng, hearing of his arrival, hurried over.

"Father, you’re back."

After bowing, Chen Shouheng said, "Father, Luo Pingyuan has come to the estate looking for you three times in the last few days. From his expression, it seems to be quite urgent."

The hand Chen Li was using to hold his teacup paused. He frowned. "Send someone to the County Magistrate’s Office. Invite him to the estate for a talk and tell him I’ve returned."

"Yes, Father."

Chen Shouheng acknowledged the order and quickly went out to make the arrangements.

Chen Li, meanwhile, got up and headed for the storehouse.

The silver coins and medicinal herbs he had acquired on this trip were still in the Treasure Basin. They needed to be taken out, sorted, and stored as soon as possible.

However, when he reached the storehouse and unlocked the iron door, the sight before him made him freeze. A wry expression appeared on his face.

The once-spacious storehouse was now stuffed to the brim with wooden crates of all sizes. Only a narrow aisle remained down the middle, and many of the crates were stacked so high they nearly touched the rafters.

’I’d forgotten about this...’

Chen Li rubbed his temples.

When he had the old residence rebuilt years ago, he’d expanded the storehouse. But he never could have anticipated that his family would one day have such an enormous need for copper coins.

Now, the copper coins exchanged from all over, along with their reserves of silver taels, had stuffed the storehouse to capacity.

He shook his head and got to work.

First, he separated the crates that had been delivered most recently and hadn’t yet been processed.

Then, he took out the Treasure Basin. One by one, he absorbed the new crates into the basin’s storage space and then brought them back out.

As the Wealth Qi from the massive number of copper coins was absorbed, Chen Li could clearly see the mist of Wealth Qi already swirling within the Treasure Basin begin to roil and expand violently.