The Sanhui Market had long been established under the name of the Alliance, led by Pingyang Mountain, and was the only market in the entire Chidi Mountain Range.
It represented the economic dominance Pingyang Mountain held over the region.
While Pingyang Mountain profited handsomely from it, most of those profits were offered to Xu Pingyang. The other mountains and families merely followed behind, picking up the scraps left over.
This power structure existed solely because Xu Pingyang, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, maintained firm suppression over the various mountain factions.
Without matching strength, no one could break that hold!
But now, the Chang and Luo families had joined forces to do exactly that even though not long ago, Xu Pingyang had personally stepped in to intimidate them.
"Could it be that someone in their families has broken through to Foundation Establishment?"
That was the only possibility Li Ye could think of.
Otherwise, how would they dare challenge Pingyang Mountain, try to take food from its mouth, and provoke Xu Pingyang's authority?
Though constrained by the alliance pact, and unable to directly prevent the creation of another market, Pingyang Mountain could still cause plenty of trouble behind the scenes.
If the new market managed to pull too much business away from Sanhui Market, who knew if Xu Pingyang might lose patience and simply wipe them out?
This fragile peace in the Chidi Mountains might soon erupt into chaos again, with the two markets as the spark!
"These people are always stirring up trouble. Can't they just behave for once?"
Li Ye muttered in exasperation.
Shaking his head, he turned and left.
"Let them fight it out. With the Green Vine Verdant Wood Formation now capable of unleashing second-tier power, anyone who tries something funny around me will only end up dead."
He was just one step away from the Foundation Establishment now. No matter how turbulent the outside world became, nothing could deter him from his path of seclusion and cultivation.
A month later.
"Li Lang, the new Tengyun Market just opened why don't we go take a look together?"
Lan Xinyi had dressed carefully before coming to see Li Ye, her voice coy and soft.
Over the past two years, Lan Xinyi's figure, face, and even temperament had grown increasingly mature.
Gone was the youthful radiance she once had. Years of leading the Lan family had left their mark, and the girl of the past was nowhere to be seen.
Yet, Li Ye hadn't aged at all.
Compared to when they had first met, he looked even younger.
Now he seemed like a youth carved from jade vital, graceful, and dazzling.
Lan Xinyi noticed all of this, and couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy as she compared herself to him. She was constantly anxious and worried about holding on to him.
Especially since, after all this time, she still hadn't shown any signs of pregnancy. She didn't need Li Ye to say anything she already understood his attitude clearly.
Her heart ached with quiet resentment, yet the Lan family still heavily relied on Li Ye's support.
Now that he had broken through to the eighth level of Qi Refining at such a young age, his potential was simply too great. Lan Xinyi had become even more attentive and flattering toward him.
The Lan family had even begun planning to send a young girl with spiritual roots currently being raised among the mortals as a maid to serve Li Ye and support Lan Xinyi.
Though Lan Xinyi resented the idea, the growing gap between them left her no room to argue. For the sake of securing Li Ye, she could only acquiesce.
But before that happened, she was determined to keep him close through her efforts.
As she pouted and flirted, she paid no attention to the boy behind her her younger brother, Lan Ming.
Now twelve years old, he had finally reached the age where he could begin cultivating.
Though his face still bore traces of childishness, his eyes often showed signs of thoughtfulness like a little adult.
Lan Xinyi and the elders of the Lan family had already begun plotting to have Li Ye accept Lan Ming as a disciple, hoping their past connection would sway him.
They believed that if Lan Ming could learn some formation techniques from Li Ye, the Lan family would still have leverage even if Lan Xinyi couldn't hold onto him.
So recently, Lan Ming was brought before Li Ye at every opportunity, likely as part of a slow campaign to win his favor.
Even for a trip to the new market today, he wasn't left behind.
However, when he saw his sister acting so coquettishly in front of Li Ye, Lan Ming couldn't help but frown slightly but quickly composed himself.
He cast a glance at Li Ye and, seeing that Li Ye hadn't noticed, let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"You two go ahead. I'm backed by Pingyang Mountain now it wouldn't be appropriate for me to show support during their grand opening."
Li Ye shook his head, his reasoning entirely valid.
"I was being thoughtless to forget that,"
Lan Xinyi said, blinking as she realized her mistake. She glanced at her brother, then bowed politely.
"Then my brother and I will go check it out. Another time, perhaps, Li Lang, we can tour it together."
"No need to rush. Another time."
Li Ye replied, reassuring her.
Lan Ming followed up with a respectful salute, and the two siblings turned and left.
Watching them walk away, Li Ye couldn't help but chuckle.
"That kid's seen a lot despite his age. Growing up in an environment like this, he's certainly mature beyond his years. But to be this scheming already… hasn't suffered enough hardship."
"Hopefully he's clever enough. I'm not interested in taking on a disciple but I'd rather not be forced to 'help him relive his childhood' either."
....
When the siblings left, Li Ye went straight back to the top of the mountain, under the Voidrealm Tree.
What he said wasn't wrong.
For a while, the new Tengyun Market created by the Chang and Luo families had been widely publicized. It had become the most talked-about place in the Chidi Mountain Range.
It had also become a thorn in Pingyang Mountain's side.
It was a focal point of a brewing storm!
This was bound to cause a lot of trouble... Even if the Chang and Luo families had some good things to offer, it certainly wouldn't be for him. Since that was the case, Li Ye couldn't be bothered to go and get involved.
Furthermore, ever since his spiritual root quality improved, Li Ye's accumulation in body cultivation had grown even stronger, nearing a bottleneck.
After refining another Voidrealm Spiritual Essence, Li Ye's vitality foundation had increased, and the life force he had lost over the past year had been replenished, improving his physical constitution even further.
His sensitivity to spiritual energy had also greatly improved, which led to a qualitative leap in the efficiency of his body's absorption of spiritual energy while refining his body.
With body cultivation nearing perfection, he naturally had no interest in going to the market for excitement.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh
His fists and legs moved like the wind, stirring up gusts of air.
One punch seemed to echo like the roar of an elephant, and one foot stomped the ground, causing cracks to spread outward.
Li Ye's body shone like jade, soft yet strong. Threads of spiritual energy continuously merged into his body. As his blood and energy surged, he could feel another surge of growth within him.
Seizing the moment, without hesitation, he took the last of his blood-replenishing pills and swallowed them.
The powerful medicinal energy erupted within him. His crystalline jade-like skin began to faintly show a blood-red hue, but it was still tightly bound by his body, quickly transforming into nutrients that pushed his body to the next level.
"Roar!"
Li Ye let out a powerful breath, his body suddenly locking in place. The overwhelming force erupted, causing the ground to crack and raising dust and grass.
At that moment, his surging blood and energy broke through their limits, suddenly shifting from a wild surge to a smooth and harmonious flow.
Slowly standing still, Li Ye's energy and blood receded in an instant, as though he had never practiced body cultivation at all.
He clenched his fist, and astonishing strength gathered and dispersed within his palm.
"Body cultivation is complete... in the end, my spiritual power cultivation is still a step behind!"
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