The several Alchemists serving the Li Family were all loyal and righteous individuals. Although Li Lei said the Li Family's situation was dire, none of them left. They even urged Li Lei to give the Pills to Li Zhenxuan first.
Li Lei felt touched and didn't delay. He went to the secret chamber and fed the Rejuvenation Pill to Li Zhenxuan.
After taking the Rejuvenation Pill, not long after, the medicinal power spread. A vast amount of Life Force suddenly surged within Li Zhenxuan. His brows relaxed, and he woke up.
Looking around, he saw only Li Lei's surprised gaze and understood what had happened.
He didn't ask further, propped himself up, and sat cross-legged on the stone bed, palms facing upwards, using the medicinal power to recover.
Under the immense Life Force of the Rejuvenation Pill, Li Zhenxuan's spirit was lifted. He controlled the medicinal power to repair his Meridians, quickly recovering from his injuries.
However, he looked at the mass of black mist within his body, which he didn't know what it was, and still couldn't do anything about it.
Li Zhenxuan furrowed his brows, feeling somewhat anxious. It was this mysterious black mist that had prevented him from recovering all this time.
He had agreed to explore with a friend and accidentally stumbled upon some Ruins. They entered the Ruins, but in the end, his friend betrayed him, severely injuring him in one move.
To escape him, Li Zhenxuan fled in a panic, rushing into the Ruins' tomb chamber, hiding inside a stone coffin. After he came out, he discovered this mass of black mist.
Although his injuries were severe, they weren't enough to cause him to fall into an unconscious sleep.
It was that unknown mass of black mist, constantly absorbing his Dou Qi and energy. He only lasted for about a month, completely lacking the energy to heal himself, and eventually could only fall into a deep sleep.
Dou Qi was useless, Soul Power was useless. Li Zhenxuan felt frustrated. Even though his injuries were nearly healed, he was still helpless against this black mist.
Whether it was Dou Qi or Soul Power, both were absorbed by the black mist. However, it didn't grow stronger or move wildly; it just stayed within his Dantian. Li Zhenxuan felt a sense of despair.
"What in the world is this thing...?"
Ultimately, he could only place another layer of Space Lock around the black mist to slow down its effect of absorbing his spirit and Dou Qi.
Fortunately, his injuries had recovered, and there was still some residual medicinal power from the Rejuvenation Pill, allowing him to move freely for a while longer.
To untie the bell, one must find the person who tied it. To resolve the black mist, he feared he would have to go back to those Ruins.
After he escaped from the Ruins, Li Lei had asked him several times, but he remained silent, fearing that Li Lei would go to the Ruins. The Li Family, after all, needed someone to oversee the overall situation.
After setting up several layers of Space Lock around the black mist, Li Zhenxuan could temporarily move freely and no longer worried about it. He decided to explore the Ruins again.
If he didn't resolve it, he feared he would fall into sleep again in the future. Even worse, if the black mist grew stronger...
Li Zhenxuan didn't dare to continue thinking.
Then, he looked at Li Lei, seeing his expectant gaze, and nodded:
"Lei'er, don't worry, I'm fine. No need to worry. The effect of this pill is very, very strong. Oh, right, what happened?"
Li Zhenxuan sensed the rich Life Force within his body. He naturally knew this was Ji Changlin's Rejuvenation Pill, but he also knew that since Ji Changlin's grandfather passed away, no one in the Li Family could refine Seventh-Grade Pills anymore.
Li Lei felt relieved upon receiving his father's reply. He then recounted how Sun Xiaochuan had taken advantage of their misfortune and repeatedly oppressed the Li Family.
Li Zhenxuan was furious upon hearing this and comforted Li Lei:
"You've been wronged. Don't worry, as long as I'm here, he won't be able to stir up any trouble. It's just a pity about Grandpa Ji's legacy, sigh~"
Li Zhenxuan and Sun Xiaochuan were both raised by Ji Changlin. He just didn't expect Sun Xiaochuan to become like this after Ji Changlin left. He felt quite indignant for that kind old man.
Li Lei naturally knew that Sun Xiaochuan couldn't stir up any trouble, as he had personally witnessed Sun Xiaochuan being killed by Zhao Li, the kind where his soul was scattered.
"Father, Sun Xiaochuan is already dead. Don't worry."
Hearing this, Li Zhenxuan was stunned.
He had thought that Li Lei, in order to save him, had gritted his teeth and agreed to Sun Xiaochuan's demands, assuming this Rejuvenation Pill was refined by Sun Xiaochuan.
Li Zhenxuan knew Li Lei was capable of doing such a thing, but hearing Li Lei say this, he feared there were other matters involved.
Even if Sun Xiaochuan's character was poor, he was still a genuine Seventh-Grade Alchemist. For him to die like this, Li Zhenxuan was greatly surprised and extremely curious, so he asked:
"Oh, huh? Sun Xiaochuan is dead? What happened?"
Li Lei then told him how Li Ming had made a friend on the road, and then this friend had resolved the Li Family's predicament, refined this Rejuvenation Pill, and even repelled a Dou Venerate from the Soul Hall.
Li Zhenxuan's gaze towards Li Lei revealed suspicion. These things sounded like stories made up by a Storyteller; he found it hard to believe.
He even thought that because the Li Family had suffered a great change, Li Lei had deliberately fabricated this story to entertain him and keep him from worrying.
"Lei'er, just tell me the truth. I'm this old, I've seen all sorts of storms, I can handle it."
Hearing this, and seeing his father's serious expression, Li Lei was full of question marks. His small eyes were filled with great confusion as he looked at his father:
"Huh? Tell you what truth? What I just said is the truth! Why are you looking at me like that? I haven't even seen a Dou Sect fight, how could I fabricate what a Dou Venerate battle looks like? Besides, the Rejuvenation Pill you took, it can't be fake, right?"
Seeing his son's appearance, Li Zhenxuan swallowed hard, and finally, with difficulty, believed him.
"Gulp. Take me to meet this senior. We must thank them properly. As for Ming'er, this is probably his destiny; let him be."
Thinking of the scene where Li Ming called such a strong person "Brother Li," Li Zhenxuan shivered, then sighed deeply.
...
Over there, when Li Ming saw Zhao Li leave alone, he felt worried and followed him. However, when he saw Zhao Li return to his room and close the door, he didn't disturb him and stayed outside.
The next day, when the sun was high in the sky, Zhao Li woke up, stretched, and felt happy.
He opened the door and saw Li Ming leaning against the railing.
Li Ming heard the movement, turned, and saw Zhao Li come out. His heart filled with joy, and he said happily:
"Brother Zhao Li, you're awake! Is everything okay? If you need anything at all, just say the word, don't be shy with me."
This time, they were truly going all out. The Li Family really had no way to repay what Zhao Li had done.
Zhao Li shook his head and smiled.
"Brother Li, I'm fine. I just got into a fight yesterday and was a little tired. After some rest, I'm all better. Seeing you here so early, I thought something else had happened."
Li Ming heard Zhao Li's understated words – that huge commotion yesterday was just "a fight" in his mouth – and roared internally.
"That Dou Venerate battle! How can you talk about it like it was just kids messing around and fighting..."
Li Ming just watched Zhao Li quietly, wondering what other astonishing things he could come up with.
Zhao Li felt Li Ming's gaze was a bit strange. He followed his line of sight and looked around, but found nothing. He could only say:
"I'm really fine, perfectly alright."
Seeing Zhao Li like that, as if he truly didn't think it was a big deal, and hearing that he was fine, Li Ming also relaxed. He stepped forward, ready to pull him out.
"It's good that you're fine, it's good that you're fine. Come on, let's get something to eat."
Zhao Li dodged, pointed at himself, and said helplessly:
"At least let me get cleaned up."
Li Ming scratched his head and laughed heartily.
Not long after, Zhao Li came out again, looking handsome and refined. But his handsomeness only lasted three seconds before Li Ming pulled him away again.
Li Ming took Zhao Li to gorge on food and drink. Although cultivating to this point meant ordinary food didn't have much effect anymore, just satisfying the craving for good taste was better than many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
The two slowly returned home, where Liu Ying'an, Li Ming's wife, was waiting for them.
Seeing his wife from a distance, Li Ming's heart tightened. He quickly went up to her and asked about things.
Although Liu Ying'an was the Young Master's Wife, she disliked the power struggles within the clan. Unless something was wrong, she usually wouldn't come here to wait for him.
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