From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 222 The Entire Clan Cultivates Immortality
In the heart of the bustling and vibrant Jiurong City lies Jiurong Mountain, a second-tier spiritual land.

The highest peak soars into the clouds, shrouded in spiritual energy and layers of ethereal mist.

At the summit of the main peak stands a magnificent and resplendent hall.

The main hall is nearly twenty feet high, and the main gate is five feet wide.

The pillars are made of Phoebe zhennan wood, the steps are made of jade, and the eaves and gates are gilded...

This is the main hall of the Tuoba family.

Inside the spacious hall, the head seat at the top was empty, while four Golden Core cultivators sat in the seats on either side.

The Tuoba family has a total of five Golden Core cultivators: two in the middle stage and three in the early stage. Only the clan leader has not yet arrived.

Tuoba Yaowu sat upright, a hint of smugness on his face.

He brought back the "Five Elements Stance Exercise" this time, which is a great achievement.

A dozen meters away from him sat a gaunt old man, Tuoba Wenzhong, a three-patterned Golden Core cultivator from the Tuoba family.

"Yaowu, that martial arts stance training you mentioned is not suitable for widespread dissemination within the clan. In my opinion, we should discuss it carefully and not rush into a decision."

Tuoba Wenzhong was somewhat worried about the drawbacks that the Five Elements Stance Technique would bring to his family.

"hehe."

Tuoba Yaowu let out a sarcastic laugh, his voice echoing in the empty hall: "Wenzhong, I know you have always looked down on me, but this time I have made such a great contribution, and instead of praising me, you have repeatedly opposed me. What is the meaning of this?"
Could it be that she's jealous of my contributions to the family?

Tuoba Wenzhong's original intention was to discuss things amicably, but he couldn't stand Tuoba Yaowu's sarcastic remarks.

He genuinely disliked Tuoba Yaowu, because he was the oldest and most senior among the Golden Core cultivators in the clan. Tuoba Yaowu, known for "murdering his brother and slaughtering his grandfather," was notorious for his actions and reputation, which showed him to only value strength and cultivation level and disrespect his elders.

When Tuoba Yaowu was still in the Foundation Establishment stage, he was punished by his family. The person who ordered the punishment was Tuoba Wenzhong.

The two had always disliked each other.

"I'm jealous of you? When I was contributing to the family, you weren't even born yet. Why would I be jealous of a junior like you?"

"If you're not jealous of me, why are you spouting nonsense? The effects of this secret technique are clear to everyone without me having to explain. I paid a high price to snatch it from the Nie family, and you dismiss it with just a few words?"

"you……"

The two engaged in a heated exchange, neither willing to concede to the other.

The other two Golden Core cultivators were clearly used to the two's verbal sparring and advised, "Alright, alright, stop arguing. Let's wait for the clan leader to arrive before discussing it further."

At this moment, Tuoba Xianfeng, the patriarch of the Tuoba family, arrived.

He is a sixth-level Golden Core cultivator, the highest-ranking member of the Tuoba family.

Upon entering the main hall, he went straight to sit on the golden throne in the main seat.

The golden throne was carved from a single piece of natural jade, over two zhang long, and inlaid with real gold ornaments.

"What's the matter?"

Tuoba Xianfeng was unaware of what had happened. He had been in seclusion for three years and had been instructed not to disturb him unless it was something extremely important.

"Let me tell you..."

Tuoba Yaowu couldn't wait to show off his achievements, and recounted the whole story of how he obtained the "Five Elements Stance Technique".

Is there a martial arts stance training method that can enable ordinary people to develop five pseudo-spiritual roots?

Tuoba Xianfeng was somewhat surprised. He fell into thought and remained silent.

The silence lasted for a full half hour, leaving the four Golden Core cultivators present completely baffled and unable to guess what the clan leader was thinking.

Tuoba Wenzhong couldn't wait any longer and spoke up: "Clan leader, Yaowu means that this martial arts stance training should be widely promoted in Jiurong City, so that all clansmen without spiritual roots can cultivate spiritual roots and embark on the path of cultivation."

I, however, think this is inappropriate. Currently, our Jiurong City has a million clansmen, of whom more than 90% are ordinary clansmen without spiritual roots, while there are only about 20,000 clansmen with spiritual roots who are cultivators.

This is all the cultivators the clan can support. The clan's income and expenditure are balanced, and it is even difficult to have a surplus, so it cannot accumulate much resources and wealth.

If the entire clan were to cultivate immortality, our clan simply wouldn't have the resources to support them. It would inevitably lead to financial difficulties and chaos.

"Clan leader, Wenzhong is exaggerating and worrying unnecessarily. Our Tuoba family has grown from nothing to what it is today, from little to much. Wasn't this vast Jiurong City built up bit by bit by us?"

As the saying goes, "Where there's a will, there's a way." With more people cultivating immortality within the clan, there will be more ways to earn resources.

More importantly, with such a large number of Qi Refining cultivators, there must be some exceptionally talented individuals who can establish their foundation or even reach the Golden Core stage.

Within a century, our Tuoba family will surely become one of the most prominent families in Zhennan Prefecture!

Tuoba Yaowu retorted.

"..."

After listening to the two men, Tuoba Xianfeng remained expressionless, simply nodding slightly to indicate that he had taken their words to heart.

He was still thinking.

After another quarter of an hour, he spoke: "What you both say makes sense. As the clan leader, I want to witness the Tuoba clan rise to the ranks of the top clans in Zhennan Prefecture!"

There may be some price to pay, but if you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight; nothing is easy.

The difficulties before us, once overcome, will pave the way to a smooth path, the foundation for the glorious future of my Tuoba family!

"The entire clan will cultivate immortality!"

He spoke loudly, his voice echoing throughout the empty hall.

As for the predicament that Tuoba Wenzhong mentioned, he had taken it into consideration.

The Tuoba family has developed to the point where its family values ​​encourage competition.

Lacking resources? Then fight, grab, and struggle!
If this can become a reason to hinder the development of the family, then the Tuoba family does not deserve to be a powerful family.

In Tuoba Xianfeng's view, promoting this martial arts stance training throughout the clan was more beneficial than harmful.

The Tuoba family has a total of five Golden Core cultivators: two in the middle stage, three in the early stage, and the strongest, Tuoba Xianfeng, is a six-patterned Golden Core cultivator.

Throughout Zhennan Prefecture, there are countless families, large and small, but those with overall strength stronger than the Tuoba family are no more than a handful.

However, upon closer examination, the Tuoba family could not be considered a top-tier family.

The higher the ranking of the families, the greater the difference in their strength.

Those top-ranking families are all figures that the Tuoba family can only look up to.

Tuoba Xianfeng really wanted to see the Tuoba family rise to the next level and become a true top family in Zhennan Prefecture.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After the clan chief Tuoba Xianfeng made his decision, no one else said anything more.

In such a large family, it is enough for one person to have the right to speak; further discussion only adds to the trouble.

Tuoba Yaowu gave Tuoba Wenzhong a smug look, and the clan chief finally agreed with his statement.

The matter of "the entire clan cultivating immortality" no longer needs to be discussed, but there are still many details that need to be addressed.

For example, how to spread and promote the Five Elements Stance Exercise within the clan, and how to keep it secret.

"The easiest way to keep this a secret is the method for refining the Five Elements Spiritual Medicine Soup. I suggest that this be classified as a top family secret, managed by an alchemist, and ideally, refined into a pill..."

"As for the method of practicing the Five Elements Stance Technique, ordinary clansmen should practice it in stages, and it should be kept strictly confidential. Only after reaching a certain level can they know the subsequent content; they must not know in advance."

After reaching the Qi Refining stage, first practice the Soul Sealing Secret Technique to prevent soul searching.

Those who cannot learn the Soul Sealing Technique for the time being will be helped by Foundation Establishment cultivators who are skilled in the Soul Sealing Technique…”

In families like the Tuoba clan, which are known for their Golden Core cultivation, there are alchemists and secret methods to "prevent soul searching."

The difference lies in the fact that different families excel in different areas. Some families are skilled in alchemy, some in talisman drawing, and some in weapon crafting. However, these common cultivation techniques are not lacking in Golden Core families.

For example, although the Tuoba family is not good at alchemy and cannot produce third-grade spiritual pills, they have an alchemy heritage and can produce first-grade spiritual pills and a small number of second-grade spiritual pills without any problem.

"Anyone in the clan who dares to spread their martial arts techniques outside the clan will be punished according to clan rules!"

Over the years, the Tuoba family has developed to the point that it's hard to guarantee that no one has ever leaked family secrets for various reasons. Once such a person is discovered, they will be severely punished according to the family rules, with the consequences often including the abolition of their cultivation or even being killed on the spot.

"Like the secret techniques of other clans, anyone from the outside who dares to steal them will be killed without mercy if discovered!"

This is the Tuoba family's rule for dealing with outsiders. It's like the cultivation techniques that the imperial court provides for the immortal officials to learn. If they are leaked, they will be thoroughly investigated, and neither the person who leaks the techniques nor the person who steals them will have a good ending.

In the entire Zhennan Prefecture, there are only a handful of families who can consistently suppress the Tuoba family.

Those families disdained to steal the martial arts stance training of the Tuoba family.

Therefore, this rule of the Tuoba family was very intimidating.

As Tuoba Wenzhong listened to the group discussing various details, a sense of unease crept into his heart.

The rest of the people, apart from Tuoba Yaowu who climbed up from the bottom, all came from relatively noble backgrounds.

In particular, the clan leader, Tuoba Xianfeng, came from a family of cultivators within the clan; both his parents were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

They didn't know enough about the true lower-level members of the Tuoba family.

Tuoba Wenzhong was old and often dealt with disputes among the lower-ranking members of the clan, as well as monitoring the adherence of the cultivators to the clan rules. He knew how difficult life was for the ordinary people and cultivators at the bottom of the clan.

The Golden Core cultivator stood too high to see the tiny, insignificant ants below.

Most of the resources of the Tuoba family are allocated to members with good aptitude, talent, high cultivation level, and high status. Ordinary members do not receive many resources.

Golden Core cultivators like Tuoba Xianfeng, or Foundation Establishment cultivators, can casually spend thousands of spirit stones. Ordinary Qi Refining clansmen, on the other hand, might only receive a fixed share of one spirit stone per month and still have to do chores for the clan.

"If this technique spreads within the clan, either my Tuoba clan will become a pack of wolves that devour the surrounding area, or it will fall apart and be shattered into pieces..."

Tuoba Wenzhong speculated about the future of his family, but he couldn't see through it.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

half a month later.

Jiurong City, a crowded urban area.

This is the area where ordinary people live, and it is not much different from ordinary cities.

The only difference is that 90% of the residents here share the surname "Tuoba".

Some families are so poorly developed that no one in their family, spanning more than ten generations, has ever been a cultivator with spiritual roots. They have completely fallen into the status of ordinary families, and their standard of living is about the same as that of outsiders who come to Jiurong City to do hard labor and serve others.

"Everyone from the third lane of Willow Street, come and gather here!"

A member of the Tuoba family, who was at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, gathered together dozens of households in a certain area.

He is the "street chief" in charge of managing the tribespeople in this area.

"Street Chief, what's wrong?"

"What do we need to do in return?"

"..."

These ordinary clansmen were used to it; it was always the important figures in the clan who needed their help.

"Great news! Great news! From today onwards, all households with members under the age of thirty shall practice a martial arts stance training method!"

Although Tuoba Xianfeng ordered the entire clan to cultivate immortality, he considered that whether it was practicing martial arts stance training or cultivating immortality, the younger the better.

Older people have more fixed physical structure and tendons, so their potential is much less than that of younger people.

Under thirty is already a very broad age range. You should know that most people start practicing martial arts at the age of seven or eight.

"Practicing martial arts stance training? Why?"

"What's the point of practicing martial arts? At best, you can only reach the Innate Realm, and then you'll be instantly killed by a Qi Refining cultivator's spell. Besides, you might as well live longer than a Qi Refining cultivator, and all that hard work would be for nothing."

"..."

For ordinary clansmen, spending so much time and resources to practice martial arts, even if they manage to reach the Innate Realm, is not very beneficial and is not worthwhile.

The ordinary members of the Tuoba clan are different from ordinary members of other clans.

The villagers in the countryside or the city dwellers under the rule of the imperial court were in a worse situation. If they had good talent in martial arts and could reach the innate realm, it could be considered as defying fate and improving their family's life.

However, the Tuoba family is perfectly safe and need not worry about threats from outsiders. Moreover, there are countless cultivators in the family who can cultivate immortality, and the innate martial artists are hardly noticeable, so there is really no need for them to painstakingly practice martial arts.

"Listen to me!"

The street chief's voice, imbued with spiritual energy, resonated, silencing the ordinary tribespeople.

"This martial arts stance training was ordered by the clan leader to be practiced by all ordinary clansmen under the age of thirty who do not have spiritual roots, as an opportunity for everyone to cultivate immortality! I heard that if this stance training is practiced to the Innate Realm, one can cultivate five spiritual roots and embark on the path of cultivation!"

This is incredible news! From now on, everyone in our Tuoba family can cultivate immortality!

His voice was filled with excitement.

The crowd fell silent.

After a moment of stunned silence, someone finally came to their senses: "Street Chief, are you serious? That can't be right."

"Does such a martial arts stance training really exist in this world?"

"What is the name of this skill?"

"..."

"How could the clan leader's order be false? The clan has asked you ordinary people without spiritual roots to practice martial arts stance training. How could it be a waste of effort? This martial arts stance training is called the Nine Glory Stance Training. It is a secret method that the clan leader and several Golden Core cultivators searched for in the outside world and then improved upon before developing it."

"Nine Glory Stance Technique" was renamed by Tuoba Xianfeng and several others after discussion, in order to highlight the role of the clan leader and downplay the Xu family.

"Of course, simply practicing stance training doesn't guarantee the acquisition of five elemental roots; one also needs genuine elixirs refined by the family to assist and complement them."

The street chief added.

Hearing him say that, the crowd erupted in excitement.

"Long live the patriarch!"

"May the clan leader live forever!"

For ordinary people, the allure of "cultivating immortality" is too great.

Once you step into the realm of cultivation and become a Qi Refining cultivator, you will have a lifespan of over a hundred years and will no longer be an ordinary person.

(End of this chapter)