Chapter 391: The Rui Family (I)
Li Xicheng wandered in the forest for a whole day. The clan soldiers complained endlessly, feigning illness and refusing to move. Li Xicheng continued on his own, with only about forty percent of the troops remaining, until they finally reached the hills bordering the Li Family's territory.
These hills contained a Qi Cultivation Realm spirit jade mine, jointly controlled by five Embryonic Breathing Realm families who mined for the Xiao Family, known as the Five Spirit Jade Families.
A few more li brought them into the territory of the Rui Family, which bordered the Li Family. There, they saw two small fields of Spirit Paddies. The remaining soldiers immediately scattered, jumping into the fields to pull up the paddies, leaving only a hundred or so following behind him.
"These are Spirit Paddies!" one of the soldiers shouted jubilantly.
The four previous groups of clan soldiers had passed by without touching the Spirit Paddies, but now it was being trampled on and destroyed in the blink of an eye. Li Xicheng reined in his horse and shouted a few reprimands.
Although Li Xicheng cherished the talented members of his clan and often provided them with money and food, he had no sympathy for these wastrels who tarnished the family's reputation. He continued riding along the narrow path, thinking to himself, The lazy and foolish ones already ran off on the way here. Now we have gotten rid of a batch of greedy and foolish ones, and what remains are...
As he was contemplating, a group of soldiers came forward, respectfully reporting, "Young Master, the formation has been broken. Please ascend the mountain."
Li Xicheng nodded and surveyed the terrain, then spurred his horse forward, wondering aloud, "With such a large spirit jade mine, why is the local earth vein and spiritual energy so impoverished?"
The spirit fields here were so poor that even the humblest Li Family member would not bother planting them. Yet, the Rui Family used them for growing Spirit Paddies. It was evident that the spiritual energy here was severely lacking. Li Xicheng thought to himself, This land probably takes seven or eight years to mature a single crop… No wonder the Five Spirit Jade Families haven't produced a single Qi Cultivator in all these years!