Transform into ancestral tablets and create a supreme immortal clan.

Shen Xiao originally intended to bestow the Foundation Establishment Pill and the Python Spirit Fruit that the system had previously rewarded him with.

After all, the Shen family does need a new Foundation Establishment cultivator to stabilize its precarious situation.

But after thinking about it, I decided to wait a little longer.

Breaking through realms and establishing a foundation is no easy feat and cannot be rushed.

The Shen family has just weathered a crisis, and everyone's mindset is still unstable. Taking a break is a good thing.

Most importantly, the principle of equivalent exchange must not be broken.

Even if Shen Zhe wanted to support the Shen family, they would need to exchange it for what they needed.

Support is not the same as poverty alleviation.

This balance and tacit understanding cannot be broken by anyone.

It was thought that Shen Shichu would need some time to prepare the next offering, but unexpectedly, only five days later, Shen Shichu arrived at the ancestral hall with a group of people in a great hurry.

Almost half of the Shen family cultivators have arrived.

Two servants followed closely behind, carrying a stretcher.

Shen Xiao immediately felt a bit disgusted. Could it be that the feng shui of this Shen family ancestral land was bad?

Of the dozen or so cultivators present, none were injured, and none were on their way to being injured.

Shen Xiao didn't even need to look to know that it was another family member so badly injured that he was on the verge of death.

Otherwise, things wouldn't have escalated to the point where it's happening right in front of me.

This time, before Shen Shichu could even speak, an elderly man with white hair, who looked even older than Shen Shichu, stepped into the ancestral hall and knelt down impatiently.

"My unworthy descendant, Shen Shixiu, begs my ancestors for mercy and to save my great-grandson!"

Shen Shixiu is a clan elder of the same generation as the patriarch Shen Shichu. He has the cultivation level of the sixth level of Qi Refining and the aptitude of four spiritual roots. He seems to be 105 years old this year.

In ordinary terms, he's quite old.

Shen Xiao didn't think much of the first two ancestral worship ceremonies, since cultivators' physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people.

But seeing his white hair, tears streaming down his face, and him kowtowing and begging repeatedly, I felt a strange pang of pity.

Shen Shichu, who was standing nearby, hurriedly stepped forward and added, "I would like to inform our ancestors that my elder brother's lineage has only this one descendant with spiritual roots."

With dual spiritual roots of metal and fire, as well as a three-yang spiritual body, he possesses outstanding talent and has been a disciple of Liu Ruochen, the head of Yuheng Peak of Seven Star Mountain, since childhood.

I thought this child had a bright future, but I never expected him to suffer such a misfortune.

Not only did he contract the cold poison during the mission to annihilate demonic cultivators, but he also had his cultivation completely destroyed.

What's even more despicable is that the thief also severed his manhood and falsely accused him of having an affair with a demonic witch.

Now, instead of investigating the truth and giving him justice, Seven Star Mountain has taken the opportunity to expel him from the sect.

This is absolutely outrageous!

Upon hearing this, not only the Shen family cultivators but even Shen Xiao himself was unusually furious.

Regardless of whether the affair with the demonic witch is true or not, even if it is true, the outcome is far too tragic.

This is outrageous!

This reason is rather far-fetched; it's not like they committed any unforgivable, heinous crime.

But the reason this disciple suffered these injuries was not because of the attack from the Seven Star Mountain.

At least not on the surface.

All the blame was placed on the demonic cultivators.

Upon closer inspection, it's all eerie.

Shen Xiao never believed in coincidences; everything must have a cause and effect.

What could be the reason that the entire Seven Star Mountain community would so blatantly disregard a highly talented inner disciple?

A gut feeling led Shen Xiao to suspect that there must be a deeper reason behind this.

It might be related to the Shen family itself.

Just like how the Bei family had been secretly plotting against the Shen family.

As one of the four great immortal sects of the Chu Kingdom, Qixing Mountain still has some dignity to maintain.

Even if they were truly plotting against a family of cultivators, they wouldn't do it openly.

However, if this family has connections with demonic cultivators, then they have a legitimate reason to do so, and everything becomes a different story.

Shen Xiao thought of many things in an instant.

He was not, after all, a native of this land, and when looking at problems, he habitually broke free from conventional thinking and looked at the big picture.

This is not because he has a dark mind, but because his ancestors in China gave him the wisdom to see the essence of things from different perspectives.

Otherwise, Seven Star Mountain's current reaction would be too strange.

"Bring him forward so I can have a look at him!"

This was a handsome young man, about sixteen or seventeen years old.

Her eyebrows and eyes were like a painting, and her lips were red and her teeth were white.

Even when faced with such a great calamity, he did not cry out loudly, but instead had a deep and calm gaze.

Sweat beaded on his forehead; his excellent physical condition prevented him from fainting immediately.

Instead, it was an extreme form of forbearance, enduring all of this in humiliation.

Shen Xiao sighed inwardly.

Just one glance was enough to tell that this boy was having a very unpleasant time at Seven Star Mountain.

Otherwise, one cannot cultivate such a resilient character.

How much hardship must a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy endure to become so calm?

Thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem surprising.

The Shen family has fallen into decline.

The cultivation world is a higher level of the mortal world, where the complexity of human nature and desires are not reduced because of different social classes.

Seven Star Mountain is probably a place where filth and evil are hidden.

"Ancestor, Mu Ge has not colluded with the demonic path, nor has he had any dealings with demonic witches."

"Disciple... has been tricked!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Shixiu, who was standing to the side, was already sobbing uncontrollably.

Even the other Shen family cultivators couldn't help but shed tears.

Shen Muge looks absolutely terrible now!

On the offering table, Shen Xiao's spirit tablet emitted a clear light, which fell directly onto Shen Muge.

Although it cannot cure him, it can suppress the cold poison in his body and alleviate his physical pain.

"Since Mu Ge has been expelled from the sect and his cultivation has been destroyed, he has no further connection with Seven Star Mountain."

Seeking justice requires careful consideration.

The most urgent task right now is to treat his injuries.

Shen Xiao stopped there.

For a declining cultivation family like the Shen family, simple support is not a sustainable solution.

The key is whether this family can unite its members.

Shen Xiao did not directly agree to treat Shen Muge.

We also want to see how the Shen family cultivators, when faced with this calamity befalling their patriarch's son, deal with such a descendant whose future is ruined.

The choice is to give up or to fight to the end.

This is the moment that truly tests human nature.

This also relates to Shen Xiao's ultimate attitude towards the Shen family in the future.

At this moment, the ancestral hall was deathly silent.

Through these days of adjustment, everyone in the Shen family has come to understand one thing.

Shen Xiao, this ancestor, always required his clansmen to pay an equivalent return for every action he took.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, none of us were fools.

Judging from Shen Xiao's past behavior, he had already figured it out.

Perhaps our ancestors had special circumstances; every action they took came at a price.

Just look at the situation of our ancestor Shen Jiuyang, and you can get a glimpse of the situation.

They can all understand this.

But now, the key issue is whether or not to sacrifice the clan's precious and rare spiritual artifacts in order to save Shen Muge, this cripple.

Inside the silent ancestral hall, only Shen Shixiu's low sobs mingled with Shen Muge's rapid breathing on the stretcher.

All eyes of the clansmen were on the patriarch, Shen Shichu, awaiting the decision of the man who had led the Shen family for over twenty years.

Shen Shichu's face was more solemn than ever before.

He slowly walked to the stretcher, squatted down, and gently placed one hand on Shen Muge's wrist.

As his spiritual energy probed in, the biting cold almost made him instinctively pull his hand back.

The cold poison invaded his marrow, ruining his cultivation. His dantian was shattered, and his meridians were severed, not to mention the cruel pain of having his roots severed.

Shen Muge's ability to remain conscious at this moment is an astonishing display of willpower.

"May I ask my ancestors, is there any hope for Mu Ge's condition?" Shen Shichu looked up at the spirit tablet on the altar, his voice hoarse.

Shen Xiao's voice echoed in the ancestral hall, calm and undisturbed: "The cold poison needs to be expelled with the Blazing Sun Pill, the reconstruction of the dantian meridians requires rare treasures, and the severed wound... there is a way to restore it, but the price will be high."

"What is the price?" Shen Shiqian, another clan elder, couldn't help but ask. He was the third in line and in charge of the family treasury.