Building a long-lasting family lineage starting with genealogy

Chapter 163 Xu Family Meeting, Iron-Eating Flying Ants, Separation of Immortals and Mortals (Seeking Subscriptions and Votes)

This type of magic is not as common as the Five Elements magic, and not every household collects it.

Seeing this, Zhou Shaoyuan smiled and said, "In that case, my Zhou family's promise to your Xu family ends here. The rest depends on the sincerity of the Xu family."

“That’s natural,” Xu Chuan said calmly. “This is a prescription.”

As he spoke, he swept his right hand across the storage bag, and a pill formula flew out and landed in Zhou Sen's hand.

"Elder Zhou Sen can study it on his own. If there is anything he does not understand, he can come to Dongxi to ask me for advice at any time. Of course, remember to bring a few copies of the pill formula materials."

If you want guidance, it's more intuitive and convenient to directly refine the elixir.

Furthermore, regarding the trade of True Essence Pills, if the Zhou family wishes to continue, they can collect them and send them over; this arrangement is valid indefinitely.

After reading it, Zhou Sen nodded to Zhou Shaoyuan.

Zhou Shaoyuan smiled and said, "Elder Xu has done my Zhou family a great favor. My Zhou family will remember this kindness. Would you like to take a stroll around my Zhou family?"

"Thank you for your hospitality, Patriarch Zhou." Xu Chuan shook his head and said, "I also have matters to attend to in the clan, so it is inconvenient for me to stay any longer."

"Then I'll see Elder Xu off."

Xu Chuan did not refuse.

Only after Xu Chuan left the Zhou family and flew away on his sword did Zhou Shaoyuan ask, "Elder Zhou Sen, what do you think of this pill formula?"

"The efficacy cannot be verified yet, but judging from the value of its materials, it is indeed about one-third cheaper than the True Essence Pill materials that he asked us to collect before."

Even lower, considering that some of these materials are also grown in my Zhou family's medicinal herb garden.

"That's good. Both the Ancestor and you value the Xu family highly. It's the best possible outcome for the Zhou family to get along with them like this."

Zhou Sen nodded, stroked his beard, and smiled. "What the patriarch says is true."

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They returned to the Xu family home.

Xu Chuan's life returned to normal once again.

He cultivated spirit rice, researched new elixir formulas, and, in his spare time, guided Zhang Wanqing in alchemy, magic, and secret techniques.
Spells were no problem for Xu Chuan; he focused his efforts on the Nine Flames Technique.

Since reaching the Seven Flames level, there has been little progress.

This secret technique is far more difficult than any other spell or secret technique that Xu Chuan has ever practiced.

In addition, there is the study of destiny and talent [withering, flourishing, birth, and death].

I've already gained some insights.

The successful cultivation of the mid-grade spirit rice, crystal rice, is also largely thanks to this special talent.

The Immortal Supervisor had requested all grades of spirit rice seeds from them. The Yellow Millet Rice had been obtained from the Su family earlier and was not difficult to cultivate.

Blood Rice is also a low-grade spiritual rice, which can be successfully planted in one or two months. As for Crystal Rice, it was only after Xu Chuan had a preliminary grasp of the [Withering, Flourishing, Life, and Death] that he was able to truly grow it.

Only Dragon Tooth Rice seems to require not only vitality, but also a certain concentration of spiritual energy, and even the energy or blood of a dragon.

Due to the considerable difficulty in cultivation, Xu Chuan had to temporarily put the project on hold.

Now the Xu family owns 100 mu of Huangliang rice spiritual fields, 300 mu of blood rice spiritual fields, and 10 mu of crystal rice spiritual fields.

The reason why blood rice can be cultivated in such large quantities is mainly because, compared with yellow millet rice and crystal rice, it requires less spiritual energy and more vitality.

This also gives Xu Chuan's [Withering and Flourishing, Life and Death] talent more room to be displayed.

Besides, this spiritual rice is extremely beneficial to martial arts practitioners. Since the Xu family currently has a large number of martial arts practitioners, they naturally need to grow more blood rice.

The other two types of spirit rice were not because Xu Chuan was unwilling or unable to grow more, but because of the limited spiritual energy concentration.

All three spirit fields are currently covered by spirit-gathering arrays.

As time goes on, the concentration of spiritual energy around the spiritual field will rise again, and several more acres can be cultivated.

At this time, there were still nearly ten months before the Xu family paid their first tax on spirit rice.

As for the spirit rice, the Xu family had naturally prepared it long ago.

Even without ever cultivating the spirit fields, the Su family's income alone would be enough to pay the spirit rice tax for more than ten years.

Of course, Xu Chuan didn't know if Chen Mi was suitable, so he planned to prepare for both possibilities.

The spirit rice was not handed over in the imperial city, but rather by all the Qi Refining families gathering at the Foundation Establishment families, where the imperial city's spirit tax envoy would come to collect it.

The same applies to the other prefectures and cities.

Half a month later.

The Xu family held a clan meeting.

All cultivators were present.

"Elder Mingsheng, how is your research on high-quality magical artifacts going?" Xu Chuan asked casually.

"It's acceptable. In another year or two, it should be able to reach the level of refining high-quality magic weapons, but it may not be enough to meet your original requirements, Elder."

Xu Chuan understood that Wu Mingsheng was referring to the most common and exquisite magical artifacts among flying swords, while what Xu Chuan originally wanted was an exquisite treasure bow that matched Xu Mingwei.

When Wu Mingsheng was crafting this type of set of treasure bows, the success rate for high-grade magical artifacts was not high, and he only succeeded on the first try when crafting mid-grade ones.

To forge a high-quality set of treasure bows nowadays would likely require a certain level of familiarity with high-quality magical artifacts.

Seeing Xu Chuan remain silent, Wu Mingsheng clasped his hands and said, "I am truly ashamed for failing the Grand Elder's trust."

“None of the various arts of cultivation can be easily mastered. Elder Mingsheng has already shown considerable talent to have reached this point through his own exploration.”

After a pause, he added, "Elder Mingsheng, you may continue your research, but do not attempt it lightly unless you are 70 or 80% certain."

Although I, this elder, am not skilled in weapon crafting, there are similarities between alchemy and weapon crafting. The stronger one's foundation, the easier it will be to learn more advanced weapon crafting techniques.

Wu Mingsheng seemed to be deep in thought. After a moment of contemplation, he clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I have learned a lot from you. I will definitely go through the basics of weapon crafting from scratch."

Xu Chuan nodded slightly, then looked at Wu Da and the others, "How is the equipment shop doing?"

"Without a master overseeing things, selling only low-grade magic artifacts is barely enough to keep us afloat."

Xu Chuan frowned slightly and said, "The three of you should spend more time cultivating and studying magical artifacts. If it really doesn't work, then change your path. There's no need to obsess over artifact crafting."

"Please enlighten me, Elder," Wu Da asked, clasping his hands in greeting.

"You must be confident in your ability to refining mid-grade magic weapons. If you lack confidence, you should give up as soon as possible. My Xu family has other places to employ people."

"I'll understand later."

Xu Chuan's gaze swept over Zhang Wanqing, but only lingered for a moment before shifting to another person.

He often gave her guidance, so he was well aware of Zhang Wanqing's level of alchemy.

Currently, the Qi-Inducing Pill and the Innate Martial Pill can maintain a condensation rate of over 50%, and the refining of Grandmaster Martial Pills has begun.

However, compared to other pills, the Grandmaster Martial Pill is much more difficult to make, and it is not something that can be accomplished in just one or two months.

Other matters, such as Xu Mingshu controlling spirit insects and Xu Mingyuan training the Dark Army, are not suitable to be discussed openly.

A few moments.

Xu Chuan asked, "How about the family's restructuring?"

“My third brother and I are in charge of this matter. The Daoist Pavilion has been completed and an array has been set up. Only those with special tokens can enter and exit. However, we are still short of someone to oversee it.”

"I think the fifth brother can temporarily take on this role."

“I agree with what you said, elder brother,” Xu Mingyuan said.

"I also agree."

Xu Chuan looked at Xu Mingxian and said, "Then you will take care of it for the time being, and we will replace you when a more suitable candidate is found."

"Yes, Elder." Xu Mingxian nodded.

"The rest of the roads, mountain paths, and new houses on the mountain are nearing completion. The new medicinal garden is also complete, divided into two major areas: ordinary medicinal herbs and spiritual herbs for cultivating immortality."

About three months later, my family members who cultivate immortality, along with their parents and children, can move to the mountain.

From that moment on, immortals and mortals were separated.

Xu Chuan nodded slightly, then asked, "How about the Discipline Hall and Discipline Team?"

"The Discipline Team was formerly the family guard team," Xu Mingyuan said slowly. "We selected and selected their elites to form two Discipline Teams. One team is led by a Grandmaster, and all of its members are at least in the mid-to-late stage of the Innate Realm. They are responsible for patrolling and inspecting the mountain."

Another team, led by a person with innate talent, consists of members who are all at the peak of acquired talent, and is responsible for patrolling and inspecting the area below the mountain.

As more people cultivate immortality in the future, the discipline team on the mountain can be led by cultivators, but they must have at least the fourth level of Qi Refining cultivation.

"Let's leave it at that for now." Xu Chuan glanced around and said calmly, "Is there anything else we need to discuss?"

Xu Mingwei said, "Regarding the Elders' Hall, I suggest that only those at the ninth level of Qi Refining can be nominated as elders. If more than 70% of the people approve, they can enter the Elders' Hall and be granted an elder's token."

In addition, Grandmaster-level experts can also be nominated.

Of course, whether it's a Grandmaster-level martial artist or a Qi Refining Stage 9 cultivator, their character and contributions to the family must be considered.

Wu Mingsheng and Wu Da, along with the others, looked surprised.

Cultivators are high above others; they have never heard of any family that would give martial artists the opportunity to be on equal footing with them.

Xu Chuan looked at the others, "What do you think?"

Xu Mingyuan said, "I second that."

Xu Mingxuan, Xu Mingshu, and Xu Mingxian all expressed the same sentiment.

"Elder Mingsheng, what do you mean?"

If your whole family is in agreement, what can I say?
"This is a good thing. Martial artists above the Innate Realm are also a formidable fighting force," Wu Mingsheng said with a faint smile.

“Then this matter is considered approved.” Xu Chuan continued, “Three months from now, all the halls must be completed. The Elder Hall and the Immortal Arts Hall will be built on the mountain, while the Discipline Hall, the Mission Hall, and the Battle Hall will be built both on and off the mountain.”

Mingwei, Mingxuan, is there a problem?

"No problem," they both said in unison.

"Three months later, each hall will officially recruit people. Martial artists who have reached the peak of the Acquired Realm or above, and cultivators who have reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining or above, can apply to join."

Those who fall below these two levels will receive a certain amount of cultivation resources each month, based on their aptitude and progress.

As for those who haven't joined any of the halls, they need to accept tasks to accumulate family contribution points, which can then be exchanged for cultivation resources.

"Tasks can be issued by the elders of the Task Hall, and the rewards are provided by themselves. In addition to family contribution points, task rewards can also include pills, spirit stones, spiritual herbs, magic weapons, cultivation techniques, etc."

"Mingwei, you need to communicate with Mingxuan frequently about the family's current resources. Any shortages can be posted as family tasks in the Task Hall."

"At present, these are all in the initial stage. The elders of each hall should pay close attention to them. If there are any unsuitable suggestions or better suggestions, they can be raised at the elders' meeting."

The disciples of each hall must report their suggestions to the hall master or an elder.

The clan will appropriately reward disciples whose suggestions are adopted with contribution points or resources.

That's brilliant!

Wu Mingsheng was secretly amazed. By pooling everyone's efforts to improve the system, he had also provided some of the family members with a way to obtain resources.

He could clearly sense the Xu family's vibrant energy and their limitless future.

"Thereafter, the council of elders will be held once a month. If they are busy, the elders may not participate. However, they must participate in the annual grand gathering before the yearly festival to summarize the year's affairs."

If they try to evade responsibility, I will consider removing them from the Elders' Hall.

"Yes, Great Elder!"

"This meeting is now adjourned. Deling and Mingshu, you two stay here. The rest of you may leave."

"Yes."

After the others left, Xu Mingshu asked in surprise, "Father, why did you keep me and Ling'er here?" Xu Deling also looked at Xu Chuan with curiosity.

Xu Chuan smiled faintly and said, "Asking about the progress, Ling'er, how's your weapon forging going?"

So that's what it was about!

Xu Deling smiled and said, "It's strange, Grandfather, Ling'er seems to have suddenly become more skilled in the past year. In the past, she had a 40% to 50% failure rate when refining low-grade magic weapons, but recently her success rate has reached over 80% to 90%."

"Eighty to ninety percent?!"

Xu Mingshu gasped, "Little Ling'er, is this really true?"

"Although it's a low-grade magic weapon, it's still too mysterious. If you were a seasoned master craftsman, perhaps this would be normal."

Xu Deling raised her pretty face slightly, "Aunt, how could Ling'er dare to lie in front of Grandfather?"

Xu Chuan was not surprised and smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right. Apart from your father and a few uncles, you must not tell anyone about this. You don't need to refine a lot of weapons later. Focus on the research of various low-grade magic weapons."

They could even unleash their imagination to create special magical artifacts, such as those that combine offense and defense, bind and seal magical power, weigh as much as a thousand pounds but feel as light as a feather to the user.

The Xu family members do not need to be bound by what is recorded in the classics when doing things.

As the saying goes, one should not blindly follow the ways of one's ancestors, nor should one fear the ways of Heaven.

Modern weapon crafting techniques may not be inferior to ancient cultivation techniques!

Xu Deling's eyes flashed with a sharp light; Xu Chuan's words seemed to have opened a door to a new world for her.

"Your fifth uncle is studying the art of formations, also wanting to forge his own unique path in battle formations."

"Father, what is a battle formation?" Xu Mingshu asked in surprise.

"A single thought can create an array. Once formed, the array can trap people, provide protection, attack, or conceal oneself. This requires simplifying various arrays and allowing the mind to act at will."

Xu Mingshu was so shocked that she didn't know how to comment.

"Fifth Uncle is truly a man of great vision and spirit. Ling'er should also learn from Fifth Uncle."

Xu Chuan nodded slightly, then looked at Xu Mingshu, "And you, have you managed to subdue the spirit insects in the sunken silver ore sent by the Yang family?"

When it came to herself, Xu Mingshu immediately perked up and said proudly, "Of course."

"Even without that half of the Insect Control Manual, I am confident that I can subdue it. The intelligence of spirit insects seems to be lower than that of ordinary spirit beasts and demon beasts."

"Can a restriction be set?"

“Yes.” Xu Mingshu nodded. “The same goes for Xiaobai and the others.”

"According to the Insect Control Manual, those spirit insects should belong to the ancient strange insects, the Iron-Eating Flying Ants. These ants only have one pair of wings when they are young, and they can only grow by devouring various kinds of spirit iron ores. When they grow up, they can have two pairs of wings."

The Twin-Winged Iron-Eating Flying Ant can grow to a level comparable to the peak of Qi Refining.

To become stronger, a third pair of wings needs to be evolved.

This is no easy feat; it requires a large quantity of second-tier spirit ore, spirit iron, and even third-tier spirit ore.

"Auntie, is cultivating spirit insects so resource-intensive?"

Xu Mingshu looked at Xu Deling and explained with a smile, "Ordinary spirit insects shouldn't be like that, but the Iron-Eating Flying Ant is an ancient and rare insect. Spirit insects are never known for their individual strength, but rather for their swarm attacks."

Ling'er, imagine if these spirit insects reached the double-wing stage, and there were tens of thousands of them. Even the lowest-ranking Iron-Eating Flying Ants would have the strength of the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining, and the strongest would reach the peak of Qi Refining.

In addition, this spirit insect has a sturdy body. Even the larvae, after consuming a lot of spirit iron, can withstand attacks from magic weapons with their bodies. I estimate that if the wings are cultivated to their limit, they should be able to withstand high-grade magic weapons.

If your aunt were to control these swarms of flying insects, even those in the early or mid-stages of the Foundation Establishment realm would likely flee in terror.

The scene flashed through Xu Deling's mind: a dense, overwhelming mass that made her delicate body tremble slightly.

"It is indeed terrifying!"

"The Xu family does not currently have that many resources, so you need to control the reproduction of the Iron-Eating Flying Ants."

“Father, the reproduction of Iron-Eating Flying Ants is not as simple as you think.” Xu Mingshu said with a wry smile, “The ‘Insect Control Manual’ does not mention it either.”

I guess it needs some special item, or it will reproduce on its own when it grows to a certain stage.

In short, we still need to try it gradually.

"I see."

Xu Chuandun agreed. If the ancient strange insects could be easily cultivated into tens of thousands of numbers, even if they were all larvae, they would be almost invincible in the Qi Refining stage.

"You can handle this yourself. There's no one in the clan who can help you with this at the moment."

"My daughter understands."

"You can have your third brother issue a long-term family mission to collect various iron ores, spirit iron, etc., which will be used to cultivate iron-devouring flying ants. You can also cultivate a head ant by the way."

These types of insects are basically controlled by the head ant, similar to the relationship between the queen bee and worker bees.

Xu Mingshu nodded thoughtfully again and said, "Father's words make sense."

Xu Deling's eyes shone brightly, filled with admiration and respect.

Xu Chuan seemed to know everything; even though he didn't know how to refine weapons or control insects, he could still guide her and her aunt.

"By the way, Father, have you recently researched any pills for spirit beasts? Unlike the Iron-Eating Flying Ants, Xiaobai and the others also need pills to grow quickly."

Whether it's the Crimson Gold Eyes White Tiger or the three Azure Fire Eagle brothers.

Xu Mingshu treated them all as her own family, so naturally she didn't want to mistreat them.

“Spirit beasts can devour spirit herbs to grow rapidly, similar to us cultivators. However, our Xu family also has a shortage of such resources, so let’s arrange a monthly stipend for them as well.”

Another task is to patrol the Broken Tooth Mountain Range and report back if any traces of spiritual herbs or demonic beasts are found.

If they stay still for too long, they will also develop lazy habits.

"Thank you father."

Now Xiaobai and his companions are also beasts with secure jobs.

"Whether it's Ling'er's progress in weapon crafting or Ming Shu's progress in insect control, neither should be disclosed to the public. Only Ming Wei and a few others, including myself, can disclose this information."

Do you understand?

"Yes, Father (Auntie)."

"Okay, you guys go too."

After the two left, Xu Chuan returned to the bamboo house at Bihantan.

Xu Chuan is arguably the busiest person in the Xu family. He is currently in charge of the spiritual fields and spiritual rice, as well as the cultivation of spiritual herbs.

He was indispensable for researching new elixir formulas, cultivating his own magical techniques and secret arts, and acquiring cultivation resources for those at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Once he has gained experience in cultivating spirit rice, he can find someone to take over. The same applies to the cultivation of spirit herbs, but both require time.

In the early days of the Xu family business, the core members, including Xu Chuan, Xu Mingwei, and Xu Mingyuan, almost all held multiple positions.

This meeting is about...

The news also spread throughout Dongxi and even to the vassal families of various counties.

The Xu family also issued a public notice.

"Three months later, the immortals and mortals will be separated, and cultivators will move to the mountain. Their parents and children may also move if they wish. All the halls of the family will be officially opened, and there will also be a battle hall, discipline hall, and mission hall at the foot of the mountain, which martial artists can join and choose missions."

This announcement caused a huge uproar in Dongxi Village and even among the various vassal families.

They knew that the phase of providing free training was over, and the next step was to obtain resources based on family contributions; the more capable a family was, the more resources it would receive.

However, for those with exceptional talent, one or two individuals can be selected every three years to be sent to Dongxi for further training until they reach the Innate level.

While each vassal family can currently train its own members, the other families inevitably have limited or even no resources, which is detrimental to the family's development.

Of course, this is entirely up to each party's discretion.

After more than ten years of training, each vassal family has basically produced one or two innate talents.

The Li family, for example, produced a grandmaster martial artist like Li Zhi.

The Xu family has laid a solid foundation for them, doing their utmost to be kind and righteous.

The rise and fall of the family in the future will depend on their individual development.

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Time is long.

Three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

A large formation was deployed, separating the mountaintop from the foot of the mountain.

The mountain does not refer to a single peak, but rather to the several mountains surrounding Bihan Pool.

As the core control hub of the grand formation, Bihan Pool is now only accessible to Xu Chuan, Xu Mingxian, and the head of the Xu family; no one else has the authority to enter without permission.

A bluestone path leads up the steps.

There are three forks, one of which leads to Bihan Pool.

One route leads to the Xu family's new residence and the homes of other cultivators' families; any future expansion will also take place in this area.

The last path leads to five halls: the Hall of Elders, the Hall of Discipline, the Hall of War, the Hall of Missions, and the Hall of Immortal Arts.

Each of them occupies a small hillside, and each is covered by an array. Apart from the people of each hall, only the elders have the authority to freely pass through the array light curtains of each hall.

Each entrance to the formation is guarded by two innate martial artists.

For a while.

Members of all the vassal families flocked to the mission hall to receive their missions.

Currently, there are five long-term missions in the Mission Hall: first, to find various ores, including spirit ores; second, to collect spirit herbs; third, to collect immortal scriptures and secret techniques; fourth, to collect monster materials; and fifth, to recruit cultivators.

If any of the vassal families produce disciples with the aptitude for cultivation, they can be sent to the Xu family and receive resource rewards.

In each hall.

The Battle Hall has the lowest entry requirements, requiring only the Innate Realm and Qi Refining Level 4 or above. It mainly trains talents in combat, and also undertakes various combat-related tasks such as patrolling, guarding, and fighting against external forces.

Secondly, there's the Task Hall, which mainly updates daily tasks and checks task completion. The tasks are easy, but there's a limit to the number of people that can be recruited; currently, only ten people are being recruited.

The Discipline Hall requires candidates to pass an examination; most are loyal to the Xu family, calm in nature, and strict in enforcing the law.

The Immortal Arts Hall is basically unrelated to ordinary martial artists.

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On the bluestone steps, the younger members of the Xu family traveled in twos and threes to their respective halls.

"Brother, which gang are you planning to join?"

Xu Dewen looked at Xu Dezhao with curiosity.

"I will probably join the Battle Hall."

“That makes sense, after all, Father is the head of the Battle Hall.” Xu Dewen nodded.

"That's not the case. It depends on whether it suits you, and the same goes for everyone else," Xu Dezhao said to his younger siblings behind him.

"If you want an easy life, you can join the Mission Hall, where you rarely leave your family. If you are passionate about fighting and enjoy battling with others, you can join the Battle Hall."

If you wish to uphold the dignity of your family's laws and punish those who are corrupt and lawless, you can join the Discipline Hall.

They don't join whichever hall their father is the head of.

The various halls are not of the same lineage. The reason my grandfather has chosen the hall masters is simply because my Xu family is short-handed in the early stages.”

(End of this chapter)