I'm not Afraid of Them

After getting the Nether Flame Grass from the Yuan Ling Sect. Li Shen decided to leave the volcano. Now, Li Shen only needed the remaining two materials he had not yet obtained, Nature's Baby Fruit and Rain Pearl Essence Liquid.

For Nature's Baby Fruit, Li Shen didn't know where it was. It was different with the Rain Pearl Essence Liquid which was rumored to be auctioned off in the Qing Capital. Even so, there were other conditions regarding one's participation in the auction.

Only well-known cultivator families were allowed to join, those who had been admitted by the Qing Yan Kingdom as part of the family that brought forth the best cultivators in the entire mainland.

'I have to go to the Li family to confirm if they have a Nobility Plate. Only Xun'er knows about it,' Li Shen explained.

Li Shen flew away from the Ling volcano, leaving the Yuan Ling Sect behind to arrive at Gong City. The distance between the two places wasn't so far, Li Shen only took 15 minutes to arrive at the city.

Arriving in Gong City, Li Shen landed softly in the main yard of the Li Family residence. There was nobody there, the Li Family's children were focusing on their cultivation quietly in the family cultivation hall.

As Li Shen slowly approached the main building, he met one of the Li Family elders. The man clasped his hands together and bowed his head in respect. Li Shen nodded in greeting to the man.

"Is Xun'er inside?" asked Li Shen, the man nodded as he said that Li Xun was cultivating in the backyard of the Li Family residence compound.

Li Shen knew where it was. He immediately flew away leaving the main yard towards the backyard. What the old man said was fully true, Li Xun was sitting cross-legged while cultivating.

Her realm being at Nascent Soul Peak made her have to cultivate much diligently and hard to have a chance of breaking through to Soul Formation. Before that, Li Xun had to learn the concept of dao first.

Li Xun felt a magic aura approaching her. She stopped cultivation and opened her eyes, the approaching magic aura felt familiar to her.

"Father?" asked Li Xun.

Li Shen landed gently enough to blow away the grass and small flowers. Li Xun got up and bowed his head, paying respect.

"Forgive me for interrupting your cultivation," Li Shen replied.

The woman before Li Shen shook her head. Her father's presence at the place did not disturb her cultivation at all. Li Shen could come whenever he wanted, because the Li Family was part of his life.

"Is the Li Family part of a well-known cultivator family?" asked Li Shen.

"Why do you ask that, Father?" Li Xun asked him back.

"In two months, there will be a big auction in the Qing Royal Capital. One of the items they are auctioning off is Rain Pearl Essence Liquid. I need that material to help recover your mother," Li Shen replied.

"What do you mean Palace Auction?" asked Li Xun, Li Shen nodded slowly.

"The Li family received an invitation. We also have a nobility plate. But, we initially planned to refuse because it would be difficult to compete for items at the auction," explained Li Xun, stepping closer to Li Shen.

"Moreover, the three great families of the Qing Empire are coming, the Tang, Ji, and Yuan," Li Xun chimed in.

"There's a chance they'll participate in this auction. It'll be hard to get Rain Pearl Essence Liquid," Li Xun revealed.

As Li Shen remembered, the three major families of practitioners in Qing Yan Kingdom 10,000 years ago were still held by the Yao, Xiao, and Ji Families. But, only the Ji family still survived in the top three strongest practitioner families.

As such, Li Shen didn't know what the Tang Family and Yuan Family's capabilities were. Still, as long as their practitioners had not reached the True Immortal stage, then they were not worthy opponents to him.

Li Shen nodded in response to Li Xun. With their influence as three great practitioner families, it would be difficult for a family like Li to obtain high-level materials.

"No problem. I'm sure, they won't be able to afford it if I bid at a high price," Li Shen replied firmly.

Li Xun looked at Li Shen's eyes intently, a high level of confidence in him was implied by his words just now. 

If indeed her father was confident of being able to get Rain Pearl Essence Liquid, then Li Xun couldn't argue.

"Alright. I'll accompany you there, Father."

"But I can't be sure whether I can get the material or not," Li Xun explained.

Li Shen cleared his throat. Li Xun didn't need to do anything because everything would be done by Li Shen. He would make sure that he got the material.

"If you miss your mother, you can come to Azure Hill. There, I will make sure Ruo Fei is well taken care of," Li Shen replied.

"Sure. I'll go there to visit her later," Li Xun said.

From his magic pouch, Li Shen handed over a special scroll that he had used when he wanted to break through to the Soul Formation realm. Li Shen immediately handed the scroll to Li Xun.

"It seems that you're trying to raise your realm to the Soul Formation stage. That's good, but you need a foundation to do that," Li Shen replied.

"That is the Heaven and Earth Comprehension Scroll. It'll be useful for a Peak Nascent Soul realm practitioner like you," Li Shen continued.

"To gain the momentum to break through, you must obtain your dao concept plan. You can get that from various ways, such as your personal life, self-obsession, or mortal life," said Li Shen.

Li Xun listened carefully. The woman accepted the scroll of comprehension and put it into storage. To her, it was a priceless heirloom treasure.

Perhaps with the help of the Heaven and Earth Comprehension Scroll, Li Xun would gain the momentum to break through to Soul Formation and obtain her own dao concept.

"Alright. I understand, Father."

After getting Li Xun's approval, Li Shen left the place to return to Azure Hill. There, he directly met Ye Fa who stood before Hao Ziyue and Xiao Bai. Both of them had survived the Ghost Mist Forest with much improved abilities than before.

Li Shen arrived at the Azure Pillar Sect. The man's arrival caught the attention of Ye Fa, Hao Ziyue, and Xiao Bai. The three put their hands together and bowed in respect. Li Shen fell silent.

"Although you guys returned early, your abilities have improved a lot. It seems that you've managed to use the techniques I gave you well," Li Shen replied.

"Thank you, Sect Leader," Hao Ziyue and Xiao Bai said in unison.

"Now, you must train extra for the Huang Valley Trials," Li Shen said.

"We've already heard about it from Master Ye. We'll train hard and won't let the Azure Pillar Sect down."

Li Shen nodded. Ye Fa asked about the materials Li Shen was looking for. The man showed it directly to them, Nether Flame Grass.

"This is the first time I've seen it directly. This is a sixth-level rare material."

"Where did you get it, Senior?" asked Ye Fa again.

"The Yuan Ling Sect," said Li Shen.

"Yuan Ling Sect? But aren't they a fifth-level sect? How did you get those materials?" asked Ye Fa, shocked.

The man before Ye Fa gave a faint smile, "I was just bluffing to them."