From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 282 The Five Great Families
The Tuoba family has been expelled from Zhennan Prefecture?!
Lin Shengping was shocked when he heard the words of the carefree king.

How many people would die to expel a Golden Core family that has been passed down for thousands of years?
What did the Tuoba family do to offend the Prince of Xiaoyao that made him so angry?
He was slightly taken aback. This was no easy task, but since the Prince of Xiaoyao had spoken, he couldn't refuse.

He didn't actually have a good impression of the Tuoba family. In recent decades, many demonic cultivators had appeared in the Tuoba family, and the things they did disgusted him.

For example, decades ago, when Nie Tingjun was still the governor of Yuanli County, he sent a message to Lin Shengping saying that Tuoba Hongyang had arbitrarily slaughtered a Foundation Establishment family in Yuanli County under some pretext. Similar incidents were not isolated.

However, expelling a Golden Core family from the official register was a major event, and Prefect Lin Shengping could not make the decision on his own.

"Your Highness, I will certainly keep this matter in mind. I will summon the officials of the government office and the people of the five major families to discuss it and do my best to make this happen."

Lin Shengping neither agreed nor refused outright, but promised to do his best to make it happen.

Yi Ze had a cold face.

He knew he had gone too far by saying that; even as a prince, he couldn't possibly decide the life or death of a large Golden Core clan with a single word.

But he almost died in the desolate mountains, and he truly hated the Tuoba family.

"The Tuoba family secretly betrayed Zhennan Prefecture's intelligence and colluded with the Baiyue Immortal Dynasty, which is tantamount to betraying Zhennan Prefecture and our Great Qian! Investigate this thoroughly. The Tuoba family deserved to die!"

He was not a willful prince who acted recklessly according to his own whims, and he did not forcibly order Lin Shengping around.

Betrayal of the Great Qian Dynasty?

This is indeed a heinous crime that would implicate the entire clan.

Lin Shengping reassured him again: "Your Highness, rest assured, the Tuoba family is indeed corrupt, and many demonic cultivators have emerged from the clan. The Demon Extermination Bureaus of each prefecture have a great deal of evidence. After discussing with the five major families, I will expedite this matter and strive to eliminate this black sheep of the Tuoba family as soon as possible."

He still did not agree, but his words reiterated his determination to eliminate the Tuoba family and serve the Prince of Xiaoyao.

"So good."

Yi Ze was finally satisfied and was just waiting to hear the good news that the Tuoba family had been wiped out.

He didn't linger and took his leave.

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.

Not long after Yi Ze left the government office, Xiang Qingtian arrived.

"Prefect Lin~~"

When he saw Lin Shengping, he bowed respectfully.

"Chief Xiang, it's been a while. How have you been?"

Lin Shengping returned the greeting.

In terms of status, the Xiang family patriarch's position was no lower than Lin Shengping's. This demonstrates the prestige of the five great families.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two got down to business with Qingtian.

"Prefect Lin, what impressions do you have of the Tuoba family of Jiurong City?"

He probed Lin Shengping's intentions to find out his relationship with the Tuoba family.

If Lin Shengping had a good relationship with the Tuoba family, the conflict between the Xiang family and the Tuoba family wouldn't have escalated. It's very likely that Lin Shengping would have mediated the conflict between the two sides, made the Tuoba family pay some price, and then the matter would have been settled.

"The Tuoba family?"

Lin Shengping wondered, could it be that the Xiang family was also here for the sake of the Tuoba family?

"My impression of the Tuoba family is so-so. There just happens to be an important matter concerning them that I need to discuss with the five major families. Tell me first, what's going on between your Xiang family and the Tuoba family?"

"Alas, this matter saddens me greatly. Not long ago, my clan's Golden Core cultivator, Xiang Zhiye, tragically perished in the desolate mountains. He was still young, only a little over a hundred years old. I sent people to investigate, and they discovered that it was the Tuoba family who murdered him!"

When our clan's True Immortals learned of this, they were filled with righteous indignation, wishing they could rush to Jiurong City and annihilate the Tuoba family on the spot. If it weren't for the steady and composed ones stopping them, several True Immortals would probably have already stormed Jiurong City.

"Prefect Lin, what do you think we should do about this grudge?"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Lin Shengping thought to himself, the Tuoba family has offended so many people, and they brought it all upon themselves. They deserve to end up in this state.

Do not live by committing sins.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you have concrete evidence?"

"Yes, there is, but the evidence is a secret of our clan and cannot be revealed to the outside world."

Xiang Qingtian didn't actually know who killed Xiang Zhiye, but that person was definitely in Jiurong Mountain.

"Ten days later, bring Xiang Huifen back to the government office. I have something to discuss with the five major families."

Lin Shengping summoned several important celestial officials from the five major families and the government office. Each family had at least two people present: a clan leader and another high-ranking official from their clan.

These people are the highest-ranking individuals in the entire Zhennan Prefecture, and they can influence the overall situation in the prefecture.

He rarely convened meetings of this caliber, and to ensure that everyone had time in case they were in seclusion or had other matters to attend to, he allowed an extra ten days for preparation.

Ten days is but a blink of an eye for a Golden Core cultivator.

"Here."

Xiang Qingtian nodded in agreement.

He didn't know what Lin Shengping wanted to do, or why he ignored the problem of the Tuoba family and made the people of the five major families gather together.
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.

Yuanli County.

Moon Spring Mountain, the sacred site of the Baili family.

Xu Xiaoniu came to visit; he was looking for Bailiwei.

"Brother Wei, it's so good that you're back safely."

Xu Xiaoniu had only been back for a few days when he came to visit, to see if Bailiwei had returned safely.

"Alas, it's a pity my uncle died protecting me..."

Bailiwei looked dejected.

When he went to the Desolate Marsh Mountains, he was accompanied by a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Baili family, who was his uncle and had reached the sixth level of Foundation Establishment.

When his uncle was at Liuli Mountain, he died in the chaos while protecting him and holding off the enemy Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Baiyue Immortal Dynasty.

"Please grief."

Xu Xiaoniu only learned of this news at this moment and comforted Bailiwei.

"It's a pity I couldn't even bring his body back; I could only build him a cenotaph and hold a funeral for him. Ever since I showed my true spiritual root talent at a young age, my uncle has been very good to me; he taught me many of my skills..."

Bai Liwei was heartbroken; his Bai Li family had just held a funeral a few days ago.

Xu Xiaoniu knew that they had a deep bond, which he could see when they were in the Wilderness Mountains.

He didn't know what to do either, and could only try his best to comfort Bailiwei.

Bai Liwei was happy to learn that the Xu family and Jiang Hao had all returned safely.

"Brother Wei, can your clan repair high-grade spiritual artifacts?"

Xu Xiaoniu chatted with Bailiwei for a while, and seeing that he had recovered his spirits and overcome the grief of losing his loved ones, he brought up another matter.

"What kind of high-grade spiritual artifact? It depends on the type and the degree of damage."

Bai Liwei replied.

"This is it, a high-grade defensive magical artifact, a set of armor."

Xu Xiaoniu took out a broken piece of armor from his storage bag; it was the same golden spirit armor that Yan Yijin had worn back then.

Bai Liwei had a sharp eye: "This armor is quite good. If it were in good condition, it would be worth over 30,000 to 40,000 spirit stones. Judging from the extent of the damage, it would be worth 20,000 spirit stones if repaired. You can sell it too. My family can buy it for 10,000 spirit stones. That's a fair price. Other weapon-refining families would only offer 8,000 spirit stones at most."

Xu Xiaoniu figured it would be more cost-effective to repair it for his own use.

However, a repaired magical artifact is definitely not as valuable as a brand new one, and since others want to make some profit from the spirit stones, the purchase price seems a bit low.

After some deliberation, he handed the Golden Armor to Bailiwei: "You should have it repaired. I'll bring you the 20,000 spirit stones in a few days; some of them may have to be offset by spirit plants."

The price will be offset by spiritual plants, calculated at 90% of the market price.

Their family doesn't even have a decent defensive magical artifact, so it would be better to repair this golden armor and leave it in their home.

Armor-style defensive magical artifacts are extremely useful in actual combat.

"Row."

Bai Liwei nodded. Although he always gave Xu Xiaoniu many discounts because of their friendship, his family still made a profit, just a smaller one.

"By the way, there's something else I'd like to ask Brother Wei. You know about cultivation jade slips, right? They're the jade slips that the imperial court records the foundation-building cultivation methods. You can memorize the methods by scanning them with your divine sense."

Do you know about the sealed cultivation technique jade slip?

What Xu Xiaoniu wanted to find out was that unknown, mysterious sealed jade slip.

Their family has been inquiring everywhere these past few days, but hasn't yet found any news about the sealed jade slip. Their Xu family has only been around for a short time, especially lacking in experience and knowledge.

"I know about cultivation technique jade slips, but there are also sealed cultivation technique jade slips?"

Bailiwei was surprised; he had never seen the sealed jade slip before. "I'll check my family's library later. Several of my ancestors recorded various miscellaneous events and observations; perhaps we can find something there."

"Thanks."

Xu Xiaoniu expressed his gratitude.

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.

Ancient South City, government office.

Ten days later.

The members of the five major families arrived on time.

The five major Golden Core families in Zhennan Prefecture are the Lin family, the Wuma family, the Xiang family, the Yue family, and the Jin family.

Because the Lin family possesses a soul-seizing formation, they select some commoner geniuses with earth-spirit roots for the five major families to choose from during the selection of immortal officials in Zhennan Prefecture, allowing them to possess bodies and "reborn".

Therefore, the Lin family was able to secure their positions as "prefects".

The position of prefectural governor would occasionally be held by one of the other four of the five major families, but half the time it was held by the Lin family, and the other half it was held by people from the other four families depending on the situation.

Two Golden Core cultivators from each of the five major families were present, including the clan leader and another highly respected Golden Core cultivator from the clan.

Besides the five major families, Lin Shengping also summoned two other officials from the government offices: the Director of the Demon Subduing Division and the Commander of the government army. When dealing with the Tuoba family, the government army would need to be deployed, and the Demon Subduing Division might also send troops to assist.

As for the other affiliated offices of the prefectural government, they had nothing to do with the Tuoba family, so Lin Shengping did not inform them.

Lin Shengping was the prefect of Zhennan Prefecture, but he was not the head of the Lin family. He had eight Golden Core stages, which ranked him third among the Golden Core cultivators in the Lin family.

Another member of the Lin family present was Lin Ye'an, the head of the Lin family.

The Xiang family is headed by Xiang Qingtian and Xiang Huifen.

The Wuma family is headed by Wuma Shuhua and Wuma Boyi.

The Jin family, one of the five great families, is the most mysterious Golden Core family. They are extremely low-key and unassuming, and the outside world is unaware of their terrifying strength. Only the five great families and those first-rate Golden Core families know about the Jin family's methods.

A total of twelve people gathered in the main hall.

"Prefect Lin, what brings you here today?"

Wu Ma Shuhua asked a question.

Every twenty years, when Zhennan Prefecture selects its immortal officials, the five major families gather to discuss the matter, but only one person needs to come, and the clan leader need not come in person.

Lin Shengping's request for the clan chief to come in person must mean something important is happening.

Lin Shengping slowly recounted: "Some time ago, the Prince of Xiaoyao came to see me and mentioned something. He asked me to remove the Tuoba family from Zhennan Prefecture."

His tone was calm, but what he said greatly surprised the people present.

Xiang Qingtian was surprised but also secretly pleased: The Tuoba family had offended the Prince of Xiaoyao? Wouldn't that make it easy for the Xiang family to avenge their family?

"How did the Tuoba family offend the Prince of Xiaoyao?"

"Did the prince say that himself? The Tuoba family is in grave danger."

"..."

They were speculating about what had happened.

However, Wuma Shuhua said worriedly, "Your Highness shouldn't have interfered in court affairs. But the Carefree Prince went and directly ordered the Prefect to wipe out a Golden Core family?"
Even if the Tuoba family offended the Prince of Xiaoyao, it shouldn't be a crime punishable by the extermination of the entire clan.

Today, the carefree king can destroy the Tuoba family with a single word; tomorrow, he can wipe out your family or mine with a flick of his wrist.

Gentlemen, who among you can guarantee that your family members will never offend the Carefree King?

His words silenced everyone.

This question really hit their "Achilles' heel".

Their clan has many members, and one day one of them might make a mistake and offend the carefree king.

The Golden Core Clan has over a million members. With such a large number of members, various undesirable members will inevitably emerge. As clan leaders, they are well aware of this; it is unavoidable.

After a moment of awkward silence, Lin Ye'an spoke up to smooth things over: "The Prince of Xiaoyao must have his reasons. Why don't we listen to Shengping's news first?"

The topic they had just discussed was difficult for them to discuss openly.

They were definitely somewhat afraid of the "Prince" and dared not discuss the carefree prince here.

If word gets out and reaches the ears of the Carefree Prince, they will have offended him.

The essence of the problem is this: they are the "heaven" of Zhennan Prefecture, the top five Golden Core families, seemingly high above with no natural enemies and able to do whatever they want, but in reality, there is an even greater royal family pressing down on them.

The most powerful family in the Qian Yuan Immortal Dynasty: the Royal Family!

Despite the rule that princes should not interfere in court affairs, even if the Prince of Xiaoyao gave orders to Lin Shengping, Lin Shengping had to obey respectfully.

The only people they couldn't afford to offend were the royal family.

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.

Lin Shengping picked up the thread: "According to my investigation, the Tuoba family sold information about our Zhennan Prefecture to the Baiyue Immortal Dynasty in the Huangze Mountains so that they could take advantage of the chaos and compete for resources."

Many of the people who died or were injured in our Zhennan Prefecture were killed by the Tuoba family.

The final battle in the Wilderness Mountains took place at Liuli Mountain. The Carefree King was ambushed by the Baiyue Immortal Dynasty but managed to escape. Afterwards, someone saw members of the Tuoba family present.

It's highly likely that the Tuoba family leaked the whereabouts of the Carefree Prince.

After hearing these words, everyone understood why the Carefree King wanted to exterminate the Tuoba family.

"A traitor who eats one's own flesh and blood, no wonder the prince resents him so much."

"Such a heinous crime deserves to be punished along with the entire family."

"..."

Lin Shengping continued, "This is the reason why the Tuoba family offended the Prince of Xiaoyao. In the battle at Liuli Mountain, Xiang Zhiye, a Golden Core cultivator from the Xiang family, died. According to the Xiang family's investigation, it was also done by someone from the Tuoba family."

(End of this chapter)