Starting with the creation of the Immortal Clan through the compilation of the family genealogy.

Chapter 41 Late Stage of Qi Refining, Family Magic Weapon?
Bai Muyun slowly opened her eyes in the quiet room. A deep, calm light shone in her eyes, flowing like ripples on water, as profound as the earth and gentle as a silent rain. The air in the entire room seemed to have been cleansed, moist and fresh, with a faint scent of earth and spring water.

With a slight thought, she subconsciously joined her fingers together like orchids, and a rich and warm spiritual energy, like the intertwining of yellow-brown soil and spring water, surged from her fingertips, enveloping the calming flower in the corner like a thin mist.

The next moment, a magical scene happened.

Enveloped in the nourishing and stabilizing spiritual energy of the soil and water, the roots and stems of the Tranquilizing Flower visibly grew stronger and greener, its leaves unfurled and glossy, as if nourished by sweet rain and fertile soil. The entire plant exuded a more vigorous vitality, and its calming fragrance became more serene and lingering.

"Xihong, I've broken through!" Bai Muyun exclaimed joyfully, but then subconsciously stroked her slightly protruding belly, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes, "But will the spiritual energy surge during this breakthrough affect our baby?"

"Don't worry, Yunniang," Meng Xihong's voice rang out with a reassuring smile. "The spiritual energy flowing into his body will only nourish him without causing him any harm. Perhaps our child will be born with spiritual essence, and his future cultivation path will be smoother than others."

Bai Muyun was finally at ease, carefully experiencing the unprecedented abundance of power within her body, as well as the almost instinctive affinity and sense of control she felt towards plants and vegetation.

She exclaimed excitedly, "Moreover... I seem to have grasped the basics of the 'Spiritual Plant Transformation' technique recorded in the 'Flowing Earth Life Technique'! In the future, the output of our herb garden, whether in quantity or quality, will definitely reach a new level!"

This means they can cultivate more and more perfect "pseudo-spiritual plants," thereby supporting that dangerous underworld transaction and obtaining even greater returns!

Seeing his wife's transformative change, Meng Xihong felt a great weight lifted from his heart and was filled with immense relief.

"Good! Heaven truly blesses the Meng family! Yunniang, this medicinal garden is the foundation and lifeline of our clan's survival and development. From now on, we will rely entirely on you." Bai Muyun's breakthrough not only enhanced her combat power but also brought about a qualitative leap in the family's core industry, "spiritual plant cultivation."

However, the family's steady growth has clearly become an even bigger nuisance to some people.

The covert commercial mafia has already begun!
Manager Qian's underhanded tricks came one after another, becoming increasingly vicious and cunning.

The malicious rumors escalated again, spreading like sewage overflowing. In the villages and alleys, there were sayings such as "Huimin Pharmacy uses fertile soil to grow medicinal herbs, and long-term use will damage the roots and source of health" and "Meng Family Medicine Powder contains dangerous and dangerous drugs. Old Zhang from the neighboring village vomited three liters of blood after taking it."

The various slanders were fabricated in a very serious manner, attempting to tarnish the reputation of the Meng family's pharmacy from the root.

At the same time, Jishetang launched a fierce price war, drastically reducing the prices of several commonly used medicinal materials and prepared medicines, with many even falling below cost, clearly intending to compete for market share at a loss.

Furthermore, they launched additional initiatives such as "a free 'immortal master's blessing' amulet with every medicine purchase" and "a 10-coin discount for every 100 coins spent on medicine" to attract customers, clearly demonstrating their determination to win back customers at all costs.

That wasn't all. Manager Qian went even further, using his connections with the county government to coerce and bribe the merchants who had long supplied Huimin Pharmacy with common medicinal materials such as licorice and dried tangerine peel, intending to cut off their source of supply.

He even resorted to tactics against the mature and prudent Ji Fu, sending people to contact him privately, offering him substantial benefits and promising to set up a new shop in a prime location in the county town, all in an attempt to poach this trusted and experienced pharmacy owner from the Meng family.

Ji Fu reported these circumstances to Meng Xihong with great concern.

Meng Xihong responded calmly.

In response to the slanderous rumors, he instructed Ji Fu to set up a medicine stove in public at the entrance of the pharmacy and openly brew the ingredients for the calming powder.

These ingredients are all common medicinal herbs diluted with spiritual spring water. We invite the village elders and passersby to witness and taste them for themselves.

They announced that three days later, a free medical clinic would be held in the open space in front of the village ancestral hall to treat the so-called "possession by evil spirits" and "vomiting blood after taking medicine," using open and transparent facts and actions that benefit the people to completely shatter those unfounded rumors.

In order to stabilize its customer base, Huimin Pharmacy did not blindly follow the price reduction trend, but instead launched a unique "Huike Bamboo Token" system.

Villagers who purchased medicine for ten coins or more would receive a bamboo token as a gift. Once they had accumulated ten tokens, they could redeem a packet of hemostatic powder or half a packet of calming powder for free.

Meanwhile, for those loyal customers who trusted Huimin Pharmacy and elderly people with limited mobility, Bai Muyun would secretly use her newly developed spiritual energy to gently nourish the medicinal herbs they picked, subtly enhancing their efficacy and maintaining the pharmacy's reputation and customer trust with tangible therapeutic effects.

In terms of ensuring supply, Meng Xihong immediately used his connections at the Jibeichuan Wharf to quickly find new and reliable suppliers of common medicinal herbs from neighboring townships and even neighboring counties, cleverly bypassing Manager Qian's blockade.

At the same time, they proactively adjusted the planting structure of their own medicinal herb garden, appropriately increasing the proportion of commonly used medicinal herbs and gradually reducing their dependence on external sources.

Faced with Manager Qian's attempt to poach him, Meng Xihong personally had a heart-to-heart talk with Ji Fu.

He calmly analyzed the promising future of the Meng family and the superficial strength but inner weakness of Jishetang, and also spoke emotionally about the deep trust and years of friendship among the villagers. Finally, he presented a pre-prepared contract regarding the future profit sharing of the pharmacy, showing his sincerity.

Ji Fu was so moved that tears streamed down his face. He pointed to the sky and swore that he would never betray the Meng family and would stand with them through thick and thin to overcome the difficulties together.

"Manager Qian wants to play games?" Meng Xihong stood in the courtyard, looking in the direction of Jishetang, his gaze deep. "Then I'll let him know what 'gentle breeze and pleasant weather' and 'the will of the people' really mean! Let's see how long he can hold out with this losing business! Perhaps it is precisely this situation of being pressured from both inside and outside, and having to focus on control, that has become a whetstone for tempering his soul and will."

The spiritual energy in his dantian had already reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining, and he was just one step away from breaking through.

At this moment, he channeled the surging spiritual energy within his body, continuously assaulting that seemingly thin yet exceptionally resilient barrier of his realm. His spiritual energy flowed like a tide, his divine soul acted as a steed, precisely controlling every ounce of power, converging it all at a single point.

The process of quantitative change leading to qualitative change appears remarkably calm at the moment when things naturally fall into place.

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a faint, almost imperceptible murmur emanating from the depths of the soul.

As if some kind of constraint had been broken, the dantian and qi sea expanded instantly, and the spiritual power it could contain increased exponentially!

The originally abundant spiritual energy suddenly became "thin," and then it frantically absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth drawn by the miniature spirit-gathering array in the quiet room, as well as the energy from the spirit stones prepared beside it and the small piece of "warm jade raw stone."

His aura surged, and the acupoints throughout his body eagerly absorbed the gifts of his breakthrough. His soul grew stronger in tandem, his perception became clearer, his thoughts quickened, and his control over spiritual power entered a whole new level.

Qi Refining Stage 7!

At this point, he truly entered the late stage of Qi Refining, his foundation was more solid, and his future looked promising.

Just as his state of mind was stable and he relaxed slightly, a sudden change occurred.

The mysterious "family tree" deep within his consciousness appeared automatically, shimmering with golden light.

Deep within his consciousness, the mysterious "family tree" appeared on its own, shimmering with a golden aura.

The aura of green, representing the family's fortune, converged and solidified towards the axis at an unprecedented speed, seemingly due to his significant breakthrough in personal cultivation, which also brought the family's fortune to a critical point.

The family genealogy moved without wind, and a page at the back suddenly lit up—[Family Magical Artifact].

However, there was no specific content on the page, only a line of text that was faintly visible.

Foundation Establishment is the beginning of the Dao, only then can one bear the weight of magical artifacts. Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, one can view the initial blueprints.

“Family artifacts…more than one? 'First chapter'…means that higher cultivation and stronger luck are required for the later stages?” Meng Xihong’s mind raced, and he suddenly understood.

The activation of this family tree function is indeed closely related to two major factors: one's own cultivation level and the family's fortune! Personal cultivation and family development complement each other and are indispensable!

"What a family tree! What a family artifact!" he thought excitedly.

Just as he was immersed in the joy of the breakthrough and the reverie of the new function, his exceptionally sharp spiritual sense after the advancement suddenly caught a very subtle and hidden fluctuation.

A faint spiritual sense, like a soft veil, silently swept across the entire Meng family courtyard. Its control was so exquisite that it would have been almost imperceptible had he not just recently broken through to the next level.

Meng Xihong's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly suppressed the matter of the family genealogy in his mind, turning all his attention to the outside world and quickly consolidating the aura of his breakthrough.

"This feeling...this spiritual sense...the intruder's cultivation is far above mine. What is their purpose in probing so secretly?"

Almost simultaneously, Bai Muyun's slightly hurried call came from outside the courtyard, interrupting his thoughts and confirming his perception:
“Xihong, a senior who calls himself Yunsongzi has come to visit. He said he was passing through Yunni Township and came to visit us specifically.”

A glint flashed in Meng Xihong's eyes, which quickly disappeared before he regained his composure. He carefully put away the half-finished azure stone beside him and straightened his clothes.

"It was him." Meng Xihong thought to himself, but his face remained expressionless, displaying just the right amount of surprise and enthusiasm.

"Please invite the senior in quickly, no, I will go to greet him myself."

　There's a big meeting this afternoon! I'm secretly writing during the meeting; I expect to have another chapter at 6 pm.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)