Chapter 44: Rebuilding Misty Valley
"No need to invite them. I'll send you down to reunite with them now."
Li Changsheng took a single step forward and lightly tapped his right hand.
Thousands of sword beams shot out, racing toward the Wan family members.
Sword Light Division Technique!
Li Changsheng's mastery of this technique was at least ten times more powerful than Qi Mingsi's execution of it.
Even the Qi Refining peak cultivators at the entrance couldn't withstand a single sword beam. They were instantly reduced to dust.
"Who are you?"
"When did the Wan family ever offend a killer like you?"
A Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator, severely wounded by a sword beam, struggled out of the courtyard, his face filled with venom as he stared at Li Changsheng.
Those who lived and cultivated on the spiritual eye of the Misty Spiritual Vein were all core members of the Wan family. In a single sword strike, this young man had nearly wiped out the entire Wan family, leaving only those with no spiritual roots or poor aptitudes who lived outside the market.
"The Wan family actually has four Foundation Establishment cultivators. As expected of a family with hundreds of years of heritage!"
Li Changsheng shook his head slightly, speaking indifferently, "As a Wan family Foundation Establishment cultivator, didn't you know about Wan Chongshan and Zhou Qi ambushing me?"
The Wan family Foundation Establishment cultivator's heart tightened. He had held onto a sliver of hope that as long as the family head and the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators were alive, the Wan family could still rise again. But now, it seemed they were likely already dead or in grave danger.
"It seems you knew about Wan Chongshan's plan to attack me." Li Changsheng shook his head and delivered a palm strike.
Boom!
The Wan family Foundation Establishment cultivator was crushed in mid-air, turning into a cloud of blood mist.
At that moment, three streaks of light landed near the Wan family's main gate—it was Su Qingyu and her two companions.
Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, the three of them showed no change in expression.
The cultivation world was one of survival of the fittest. The Wan family had made the first move against Li Changsheng, so no one could fault him for this.
"What do you plan to do with the Misty Valley spiritual vein?"
Su Qingyu walked up to Li Changsheng, slightly frowning. Her intuition told her that Li Changsheng's cultivation had improved yet again.
"I plan to leave this place in the hands of those close to me." Li Changsheng didn't hold back, directly sharing his intentions with Su Qingyu.
"In that case, I'll have my family send two Foundation Establishment cultivators to oversee it." Su Qingyu nodded. With Li Changsheng's current cultivation level, occupying a mid-tier spiritual vein was more than enough.
"You handle things here first. We'll return to the family in a month. Is that acceptable?"
"Our family's Foundation Establishment cultivators will arrive within a month."
"That works."
Li Changsheng nodded.
Without further conversation, Su Qingyu left with her maids.
Three days later.
Li Changsheng had taken full control of the Wan family's assets in the market. The people in the market also learned that the Tunmen Market now had a new owner, suspected to be a Golden Core cultivator. However, seeing that Li Changsheng had no intention of driving them out of Misty Valley or confiscating their assets, they breathed a sigh of relief.
The Golden Mountain Auction House also approached Li Changsheng the next day with a large amount of compensation. Li Changsheng didn't haggle with them and simply asked them to convert it into spirit stones, receiving a hundred thousand spirit stones as an apology.
A hundred thousand spirit stones wasn't much for the entire Golden Mountain Auction House, but it was a significant sum for a single branch like the Tunmen Market branch. After consulting their headquarters, they handed the spirit stones over to Li Changsheng.
Meanwhile, Bai Qing'er had organized the Wan family's possessions. The family's spirit stones alone amounted to over a hundred thousand, and that wasn't even counting the assets of the Foundation Establishment cultivators Li Changsheng had killed.
Li Changsheng didn't exterminate the Wan family entirely, only expelling the non-core members from the Misty Valley spiritual vein.
The Wan family had managed the Tunmen Market for years, and it wasn't something they could handle alone. They had relied on many stewards to help manage things. Only these people knew the details of the Wan family's spirit stones, spiritual herbs, and materials.
In the future, Zhao San would manage the Tunmen Market, and in the early stages, he would undoubtedly need the help of these people.
"Sir, this is the complete list of the Wan family's assets and the remaining spirit stones over the years."
A Qi Refining peak steward from the Wan family respectfully handed over a ledger.
The ledger clearly listed all the Wan family's assets and the remaining spirit stones and materials. It was all laid out in an easily understandable manner.
"Qing'er, keep this. In a month, I'll be leaving Misty Valley. These spirit stones will be enough to sustain the market's operations."
Li Changsheng directly handed the ledger to Bai Qing'er.
"Master, I'll go with you!"
Bai Qing'er quickly said.
Li Changsheng shook his head slightly, gently patting Bai Qing'er's head. "Wait until I've settled down on the other side, and then I'll come back for you."
"Your task now is to guard this base for me."
"Understood." Bai Qing'er knew her aptitude wasn't sufficient to help her master, so she could only nod in agreement.
Li Changsheng then turned to Zhao San, speaking indifferently, "Zhao San, your only task during this time is to protect Qing'er."
"With cultivation here, you might even reach the Golden Core stage in the future!"
"Yes!" Zhao San nodded repeatedly, but then a bitter expression appeared on his face.
"Master, with my strength, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold onto the Misty Valley spiritual vein."
He was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage and couldn't possibly defend a mid-tier spiritual vein. Moreover, the Tunmen Market was one of the largest markets in Qi State, second only to the Sunset Valley Market. At least a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator would be needed to hold it.
"No need to worry."
"I've already found someone to oversee the Misty Valley spiritual vein. Unless it's a matter of life and death, don't disturb them."
Li Changsheng spoke calmly.
Although Su Qingyu had sent people to oversee the valley, the foundation still needed to be strong. Zhao San was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, but with the formation Li Changsheng had set up, Misty Valley would remain safe as long as no Golden Core mid-stage or above cultivators came.
Over the past few days, Li Changsheng had upgraded the formations in Misty Valley. Originally, there was only one large second-tier formation. After his modifications, it had become a third-tier formation capable of holding off early Golden Core cultivators for several hours.
After giving his instructions, Li Changsheng took the spoils of this battle and went to the stone chamber closest to the spiritual eye.
"Recharge."
Li Changsheng murmured.
[Recharge successful. Balance: 450,000 gold coins.]
[Would you like to use the Cultivation Simulator immediately? One simulation costs 10,000 gold coins.]
"Whew!"
Looking at the balance in the simulator, Li Changsheng let out a long breath.
"This is still the fastest way to make money!"
"If I weren't already invincible, I'd be tempted to just rob all the major factions!"
Li Changsheng muttered to himself.
"Use it!"
[Simulation begins.]
[At twenty-one, you wreaked havoc in Misty Valley, and the name Li Changsheng spread across the Southern Domain.]
[One month later, you accompanied Su Qingyu to the Su family's ancestral land, where you secluded yourself to focus on refining your alchemy skills.]
[...]
[At one hundred and forty, countless voids appeared in the skies of the Southern Domain, and powerful beings descended. You proactively sought out the strong of the Medicine King Sect, leading them to the Vajra Sect's secret realm.]
[The Medicine King Sect's strong shattered the secret realm's formation with a single hand, engaging in battle with Elder Su. Elder Su was no match and was rescued by a mysterious young man.]
[The Medicine King Sect didn't kill you but kept you within their ranks.]
[Nine days later, the mysterious young man appeared by your side, killing you with a single sword strike before vanishing.]
[You have died!]