Chapter 106: Rank Restrictions?

"Senior Li, you must stand up for our Lan family!" 

A group of old men stood before Li Ye, faces covered in snot and tears, desperately pouring out their grievances. 

Lan Xinyi's eyes were slightly red, quietly sobbing, clearly too exhausted to say much more. 

It was just their luck. 

After careful research and consulting with other mountain clans who had long profited from raising spirit beasts, the Lan family finally sent people with ample funds to Tengyun Market to purchase a batch of mature spirit beasts and cubs. 

They were all set to start a new venture and add another income stream for the family. 

However, on their way back, the three elders assigned to this task ran into bandit cultivators. 

Even after handing over their most valuable beasts in exchange for their lives, the bandits still showed no mercy. In the end, only two of the three made it back, and one of them was seriously injured, and unconscious, and it was unclear whether he would survive. 

The Lan family was already short on manpower, and the younger generation with spiritual roots selected from the village below had yet to be properly trained it was truly a time of transition. 

Losing two elders and the purchased spirit beasts was like a fatal blow straight to their lifeline! 

To run into trouble like that, at that exact time, was pure bad luck...

Li Ye looked at their pitiful state but felt little emotion. He almost wanted to laugh. Still, he kept a neutral expression and said helplessly, 

"Bandit cultivators are elusive by nature even Tengyun Market hasn't been able to track them down. Even if I wanted to help you seek revenge, I wouldn't know where to find them…" 

"I do have a high-grade healing pill here. Take it and give it to the injured Lan clansman… What's lost is already gone, but don't let someone who can still be saved lose their life due to neglect." 

He took a small jade bottle out of his storage pouch, placed it in Lan Xinyi's hand, and gave her a gentle pat, his tone somewhat admonishing. 

This was the best he could offer as consolation for the unfortunate elder. 

"Li Lang…" 

Lan Xinyi looked up with reddened eyes and moved to tears. 

A top-grade healing pill was quite valuable more than enough to keep her seriously injured grand-uncle alive. 

Even if one pill wasn't sufficient, the Lan family would pitch in. 

As long as the old man could pull through, he'd still be able to contribute to the family for years to come. 

Li Ye's words were spot on, and giving such a pill left these old men with nothing to complain about. 

With the lessons from the past, they knew better than to push their luck. If they dared to ask for more and angered Li Ye, even this pill might be taken back! 

"Thank you, Senior Li, for the pill. Old Liu still has hope!" 

One by one, the old men bowed deeply in gratitude. 

Li Ye nodded and added, 

"Hmm… Keep an eye on the situation. If there's any news of the bandits, come find me… As long as you're willing to pay the price, I'll make a move on your behalf." 

With that, he didn't say anything more and left the courtyard halfway up the mountain, heading up alone. 

The remaining old men exchanged glances and then looked at Lan Xinyi. One by one, they sighed. 

Lan Xinyi's expression grew calmer. 

"Uncles, don't just sit there. Let's hurry down the mountain and give this pill to Sixth Uncle…" 

.... 

Sitting on the hillside, watching the scattered group from the Lan family make their way down the mountain and exit the formation, Li Ye wore an unreadable expression. 

"Bandit cultivators… put on a mask and anyone could play the part these days, huh?" 

To appear and disappear like ghosts, these powerful bandits hadn't been so rampant in the past. 

For things to escalate to this level, no one would believe there wasn't some local force within the Chidi Mountains backing them. 

Over the past few days, with bandit cultivators popping up everywhere, cultivators had grown wary of traveling to Tengyun Market. Many had started turning back toward Sanhui Market instead. 

This shift had unexpectedly revitalized Sanhui's once-declining business after the rise of Tengyun Market. 

Even without going by the logic of "who benefits the most is the likeliest suspect," Li Ye could immediately think of Pingyang Mountain. 

After having their profits affected, they clearly couldn't sit still any longer. 

This tactic using bandit cultivators was crude, yes, but undeniably effective at disrupting business. 

For Tengyun Market, which had only just opened and was drawing crowds through price cuts and novelty, this was a potentially fatal blow.

If the issue wasn't resolved quickly, the families who had invested heavily in the early stages of Tengyun Market would be facing major losses. 

Meanwhile, if Pingyang Mountain was behind the attacks, this wave of plundering might be just what they needed to recoup their recent losses. 

"Tsk. Watching the drama unfold each day isn't a bad way to spend time while cultivating…" 

Li Ye chuckled, then shut the formation and stood up, heading up the mountain to where the Voidrealm Tree stood. 

The tree had now grown to nineteen meters tall, with a lush, flourishing canopy full of vibrant life. 

Gently stroking its trunk, Li Ye's gaze grew contemplative. 

"Ever since I obtained the [Tongtian] trait, it's been a long time without another spiritual essence solidification from the Voidrealm Tree…" 

"From what I've learned through the Blood Grain Rice and Evergreen Flower, spirit plants of the same tier usually only grant traits of the same tier…" 

"But this tree has the essence of a Tier Four plant, and the [Tongtian] trait it gave me was only Tier One. By that logic, it should still be able to give me more!" 

"But there's been nothing. So is it that the same plant can only give a single trait? Or… is it because the Voidrealm Tree itself is still technically Tier One and hasn't broken through to Tier Two yet?" 

If it was the latter, then it would make sense. Due to the limited spiritual veins in this place, even if the tree had grown to the peak of Tier One, it couldn't advance further. 

As for that one mu of artificial spiritual field, it was already a feat to construct it in the first place. Trying to expand it further might destabilize the entire formation. In the case of the Voidrealm Tree, it wouldn't be sustainable. 

"Wait… the Voidrealm Tree also received the [Absorption] enhancement. What if I fed it a large quantity of high-grade flesh and blood? Would that help it break through?" 

The idea suddenly came to Li Ye. 

Spiritual stones and Tier Two materials were too costly, but high-grade beast meat and blood were relatively cheap and easier to acquire! 

But he quickly dismissed the thought. 

"If I wanted to go down that road, the current chaos might give me cover to try robbing and looting… but the risk of being labeled as demonic is way too high. It'd be a huge mess, and I'd probably get hunted down by everyone."

"Forget it. With my current mid-grade spiritual root, I already have enough to break through to Foundation Establishment. I'll aim for Tier Two spiritual veins after that to verify this theory."

"I mean, Pingyang Mountain and Woyun Mountain both look like solid candidates."

With his mind made up, Li Ye calmed himself, took out a Wood Origin Pill, swallowed it, and began cultivating. 

... 

As for how things developed well, it was just a matter of adapting to the situation. 

It hadn't even been a few days since the bandit attacks became rampant when 

The Chang and Luo families, taking the lead, announced the formation of patrol squads in alliance with several other families. The purpose was to protect the market and hunt down the bandit cultivators. 

All mountain sects were welcome to join, with proper rewards and shares of any spoils to be offered. 

The Lan family seemed interested in joining, but unfortunately, most of them were elderly and barely able to hold their own. Going out to fight just wasn't within their capabilities. All they could do was watch. 

And so, with the patrol squads growing in strength, open conflict soon broke out between them and the bandits around Tengyun Market!

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