Immortality begins with upgrading buildings

Chapter 175 "The struggle for family headship has always been like this!" [Seeking monthly votes]

Hiding in the shadows, Ji Yuan wanted to shout, "What?!"

What surprised him, however, was not the Shui family's claim that there was a real dragon at the bottom of the Pear Blossom River, but rather the young man's statement that he had dug up his family's ancestral graves...

To be honest, daring to dig up one's own ancestral grave... that's a ruthless person.

A cultivation level of six in Qi Refining is probably a bit of a waste of talent.

Given time, it is not impossible to lay a foundation.

With this thought in mind, Ji Yuan began to seriously examine the two people. The Shui family naturally had the surname Shui. Judging from their appearance, they were not unusual, except that their hairstyles were not like those of the locals. Both of them had their hair crossed from their temples and coiled at the back of their heads, while also sticking up on top of their heads... Their heads were somewhat pointed.

However, Ji Yuan could discern that the hairstyle on their heads was that of a coiled snake.

The young man chuckled and said, "Second Grandfather, isn't the story of the real dragon at the bottom of the Peach Blossom River, and our Shui family being the Dragon Tamer Clan, something we've heard since childhood?"

"Why don't you believe there's a real dragon in the water?"

The old man did not answer this question directly, but instead asked with a hint of urgency, "Where is the secret manual?"

The young man crossed his arms and smiled slightly, "Secret Manual...Does Second Grandfather really think I'm that little brat who cries for milk all the time?"

The old man wasn't angry when he heard this; instead, he laughed.

"In Grandpa's eyes, you'll always be that little brat who keeps asking for milk."

A flicker of emotion crossed the young man's eyes, but it vanished in an instant. He waved his hand dismissively and said with a sinister grin, "Alright, Second Grandfather, stop trying to fool the child. Neither of us are fools. Let's just get straight to the point."

"Oh? In that case, Shui Kai, you clever man, tell me, what will it take for you to hand over that secret manual?"

The young man called Shuikai turned his head and looked around, then finally sat down directly on the muddy ground. "Do I even need to say it?"

The old man sat down opposite him.

"The position of young master that you want... is a bit difficult to obtain. As you know, you are only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, while Shui Qian is already at the seventh level of Qi Refining. This alone will not be enough to convince the public."

"To win over the masses?"

Shui Kai sneered, "That Shui Qian, he can reach the seventh level of Qi Refining, isn't that entirely because his father is the family head? Damn it, when he was at the sixth level of Qi Refining, I completely dominated him, is this the kind of young master he is?"

"If the position of family head is handed over to someone like him in the future, our Shui family will probably be ruined."

The old man shrugged and said, "Who told you your father wasn't the head of the family?"

It's that simple; one sentence is enough to sum it all up.

Shui Kai's forehead veins throbbed, but he didn't get angry or upset, as if he had already thought this through.

He leaned closer to the old man and whispered, "Hasn't Second Grandfather ever thought about changing the head of the family? For example... Uncle Huo?"

The man named Huo Shu, who was speaking from the mouth of the water, was the son of the old man before him.

Upon hearing this, the old man immediately shut up.

Ji Yuan's divine sense clearly revealed that the old man's pupils contracted, and his skin tightened all over his body.

In other words, he was tempted.

"Given Second Grandfather's relationship with the other elders, putting aside everything else, once the patriarch is gone, wouldn't it be incredibly easy to push Uncle Huo to the top?"

"Then, with the secret manual in my possession... let's not even talk about whether it's a real dragon or not, just the secret technique in the manual alone will be enough to make our Shui family the dominant force on both sides of the Pear Blossom River."

"From now on, Second Grandfather, you definitely have no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, but my Uncle Huo is only 45 years old this year, so he might still have a chance. Even if he doesn't make it, what about my Brother Quan? He's only 21 years old..."

Brother Quan's real name is Shui Quan. He is the old man's grandson, and also the closest of his four or five grandsons.

Upon hearing this, the old man's breathing became noticeably rapid.

Shui Kai sat back down, looking completely calm.

The old man glanced subconsciously at Shui Kai's storage bag, but even this discreet action was noticed by Shui Kai.

"Grandpa, do you think I'd be foolish enough to put something this important in a storage bag?"

"Don't worry, if I don't take it out myself, you'll never find it in your lifetime."

"This is a serious matter and requires careful consideration," the old man finally spoke.

Shui Kai sneered even more, "So, all you want is for Uncle Huo to take over, and then for my brother Quan to become the young master?"

"Don't worry, I don't want any titles or anything like that. I only need the young master's share of resources. I don't want anything else. To be frank, my ambitions lie elsewhere in Pear Blossom River!"

"good!"

Hearing this, the old man gritted his teeth and agreed.

"Alright, the head of this family, Shui Cang... I've disliked him for a long time. He puts all the good things on his son. Quan'er is more talented than his son, but he gets nothing. He should have been replaced long ago."

"Change?"

Shui Kai said very seriously, "Second Grandfather, if you don't cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back in the spring breeze."

"Don't worry, I understand that much."

After the old man finished speaking, he slowly stood up, shook his sleeves, and his robes flashed with light, becoming clean as ever again. "Let's go, the matter will soon be resolved."

Shui Kai nodded, but did not get up.

"Second Grandpa, you go back first. I'll go back later. If we walk together... it'll be too conspicuous."

"Oh, you're a seasoned veteran. Alright."

The old man smiled, turned around, and left.

Hidden deep within the mist, Ji Yuan pondered for a moment, then opened a passage in the formation, allowing the old man to leave.

Ji Yuan initially thought that the young man named Shui Kai had hidden the secret manual somewhere and wanted to get rid of the old man first before retrieving it.

If that's the case, Ji Yuan wouldn't mind playing the role of the predator and taking the secret manual ahead of time.

Unexpectedly, Shui Kai left after waiting for a while.

Just as he said, he was afraid of being suspected.

"Damn, this young man is quite discerning. Judging from this, he might be someone who can accomplish great things."

Ji Yuan sat cross-legged on the futon and watched the young man leave... He also became somewhat curious about the Shui family matter, and of course, he was still curious about the secret manual.

There is definitely no true dragon. If there were, the entire Canglu Continent wouldn't be enough for it to wield its power.

The clues passed down from the Shui family ancestors are probably related to that dragon energy.

If that's the case, Ji Yuan also wants to go and see. If he can find it and can't take it himself, he can call Hua Yaoyue over.

Who knows, the master and apprentice might be able to get this opportunity.

Even if we don't take the dragon's energy, just looking at it should be fine.

With this thought in mind, Ji Yuan came out of the cave, put away the formation, and followed.

As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, following a Qi Refining Stage 6 cultivator was naturally no problem. However, to be on the safe side, Ji Yuan still attached a Shapeshifting Talisman to his body.

After changing his form and breathing, he used the "Concealing Breath Technique." Once his cultivation level dropped to the peak of Qi Refining, he had completely transformed into a different person.

The Shui family was not far from this mudflat. Ji Yuan followed them north for about half an hour and arrived at the village called "Shui Family Village".

Zhuangzi is not very large; it is divided into two parts, front and back, and is located in this mountain valley.

A water fortress was also built at the entrance of the village.

Judging from the size of this manor, Ji Yuan estimated that there couldn't possibly be any Foundation Establishment cultivators here.

Considering the previous conversation between the two, the fact that a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator is a clan elder suggests that this is likely a Qi Refining-stage clan.

It's probably the kind of family that was rich and powerful in the past.

Using his invisibility spell, Ji Yuan scanned the water village with his divine sense and found the young man named Shui Kai, but he did not find the old man.

He walked further into the village.

The people living in the front village are all ordinary people without spiritual roots or cultivation.

Those with spiritual roots and cultivation are all in the back village.

When Ji Yuan arrived here, he found the old man. He was very quick to act and had already been discussing things with his son, Shui Huo, as soon as he returned.

Upon hearing that he would be made the head of the family, Shui Huo immediately agreed.

They said they'd disliked the current head of the family, Shui Cang, for a long time.

Now he has just taken the birdie spot from him.

Seeing that the father and son had successfully conspired, Ji Yuan found a quiet place in the manor to sit down and observe the situation. Occasionally, he would release his divine sense to detect their movements, and after watching for a while, he would withdraw his divine sense.

The prolonged projection of his divine sense was quite stressful for a Foundation Establishment cultivator like him.

After some investigation, Ji Yuan did not find the "legendary" family head, Shui Cang.

It wasn't until the old man went to see the other clan elders that Ji Yuan realized that the patriarch had taken his family's caravan to other markets to do business and earn spirit stones.

Normally, the head of the family doesn't need to go to such things personally.

But Shui Cang always said that others had embezzled the money, so he had to go himself... He just didn't want others to embezzle that part.

However, this did make it easier for these clan elders to carry out their duties.

There were five clan elders in total, all of whom were late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Three were at the ninth level of Qi Refining, two were at the eighth level of Qi Refining, and there wasn't a single one at the peak of Qi Refining, which was strange.

Ji Yuan could also tell that Shui Cang was at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Of the five clan elders, the second grandfather, Shui Yan, persuaded three of them. The last one initially disagreed, but after the other four clan elders arrived at his house, he had no choice but to agree.

Shui Yan also promised that after the annihilation of the Shui Cang family line, the five families would split the spoils equally.

In this way, they became more united.

One by one, they vowed to eradicate the Shui Cang lineage.

This was the first time Ji Yuan had ever witnessed a "coup" within a cultivation family, and it was quite a spectacle to watch.

Besides observing the elders, he would occasionally go to the water village to check on the young man Shui Kai's movements, and found that this person... was indeed quite capable.

He would cultivate whenever he had time, and he would also use his occasional rest time to build good relationships with the other members of his clan.

So even though he was an orphan, he still got along very well with everyone in the village.

Given time, he may very well achieve great things.

After the elders reached a consensus, they began to plan how to deal with the patriarch of the Shui Cang family... Ji Yuan watched for a while and also felt that the patriarch was quite unsuccessful.

Of the five clan elders, only one sided with him, and even that one was easily "persuaded" to change his stance.

Four days passed in this way.

Four days later, on a sunny afternoon, Ji Yuan was hiding inside the arrow tower, studying the "Sword Canon" in preparation for breaking through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Suddenly, he heard a lively noise coming from the village.

He immediately released his divine sense to perceive the surrounding area, and the entire situation of the manor was immediately taken in.

Oh, so it's the patriarch, Shui Cang, who has finally returned.

He seemed completely unaware of the situation, but it was likely that he had earned quite a few spirit stones on this trade trip, and he was all smiles when he returned. Even his son, who looked a bit unsteady on his feet, was in the same mood.

Over the past few days, Ji Yuan has overheard conversations among the people in the manor and has come to know what kind of person the current young master of the Shui family is.

"Not good at fighting on the battlefield, but good at fighting in bed."

After exchanging pleasantries upon returning, the patriarch, Shui Cang, noticed that the expressions of the clan elders seemed somewhat unnatural.

He then sought out the clan elder he knew well, the one who had previously refused to change the position of clan head, and asked what had happened in the manor.

The clan elder didn't elaborate.

We'll just say that the clan elders will be meeting tonight, and we'll discuss it together then.

Shui Cang nodded in agreement and didn't ask any further questions.

The clan elders' council... was the solution they came up with through discussion.

They were all prepared and lay in ambush, waiting for Shui Cang to enter the clan elders' hall. Then, the three clan elders at the ninth level of Qi Refining, along with the two clan elders at the eighth level of Qi Refining, would make a move together to try and capture Shui Cang in one fell swoop.

With five against one, the advantage naturally lies with the clan elders.

The most realistic internal strife doesn't involve many twists and turns; it only requires accomplishing one thing... eliminating the ringleader!

As for who is evil, then naturally it is whoever loses.

For a moment, Ji Yuan also began to subtly anticipate the internal strife that would take place that night.

In front of the ancestral hall, Shui Kai and two friends passed by the door. He glanced at his second grandfather, Shui Yan, without making a sound. The latter pretended to look up at the sky and nodded casually.

The deal was thus completed.

Ji Yuan originally thought that Shui Kai would go and retrieve the secret manual first, so that he could take it and leave.

Unexpectedly, he still didn't go.

"Damn it, could Shui Kai be bluffing? Could it be that he doesn't have the secret manual at all, and the whole ancestral grave incident was a lie?" Ji Yuan couldn't help but think this way.

After resting for an hour or so, the young master Shui Qian went out to find his childhood sweetheart.

They were both young male and female cultivators, and they started dual cultivation at the drop of a hat. Ji Yuan observed them for a while...

Men are not suitable.

That night.

After taking stock of what he had gained from this trip, the patriarch, Shui Cang, barely ate a few bites of dinner before heading out to the clan elders' hall.

During this time, Shuiqian asked if he needed to go along.

Shui Cang refused.

Ji Yuan, who was sitting cross-legged in the arrow tower, released his divine sense and enveloped the entire ancestral hall. He found that not only were the five ancestral elders there, but also Shui Kai, who was plotting to seize power.

The show is about to begin.

Shui Cang arrived at the ancestral hall as always. The room was brightly lit, as bright as day. He shook his sleeves, stepped through the gate, and went to the front yard.

After passing through the bluestone path in the courtyard, climbing the steps guarded by the stone lions, and finally stepping into the house.

But the moment he stepped into the house... all the magical artifacts and spells inside came out and landed on him. He was initially flustered, but then a light appeared on his body.

As the golden light shone, it not only blocked these spells for him, but also stopped all the magical artifacts.

"Um?"

Even Ji Yuan, who had witnessed the whole thing, was somewhat surprised.

Not to mention the elders in the clan hall.

They stared at the patriarch, Shui Cang, as if they had seen a ghost.

The latter smiled slightly, and his right foot, which had been suspended in mid-air, finally landed. Then, facing the spells and the astonished gazes of the elders, he walked forward step by step until he arrived at his usual seat and sat down.

"What, do you elders intend to overthrow me from my position as head of this family?"

With victory assured, Shui Cang crossed his arms in front of him, leaned forward, and sneered:

"The patriarch asks, elders, why are you plotting a rebellion?"

As he spoke, golden light emanated from his body, and a heavy pressure enveloped the hearts of these clan elders.

Immediately, the elder who had previously been on his side appeared behind him in a flash. "Patriarch, I had no intention of doing this. I was forced by Shui Yan and the others to stand against you. I hope you will understand!"

"Oh?"

Shui Cang looked up at the old man, "Second Uncle, I've never treated you badly, why do you have to harm me?"

Shui Yan's expression was rather grim. He had calculated everything, but he never expected Shui Cang to have such strength and methods.

His expression shifted between light and dark for a moment, then he gritted his teeth and said, "There's no turning back now, do it!"

After saying that, he once again activated the Poison Dragon Drill beside him and charged towards it.

He could sense that Shui Cang's strength was still at the ninth level of Qi Refining, but he had used a technique to withstand everyone's attacks. If that was the case, as long as he could break through this technique, he could kill Shui Cang!

The same applies to the other three clan elders.

If no action had been taken, things would have been fine; even switching sides at the last minute wouldn't have been out of the question. But since action was taken... that's not the case anymore.

Even if they truly surrender, things will never be the same again.

Betrayal is betrayal.

Since that's the case, why not take a gamble... and fail.

Shui Cang sat there, letting them attack him, until the four of them joined forces to dismantle the entire clan elder's hall, but they still couldn't break through his defenses.

Hidden in the shadows, Ji Yuan watched this scene with an increasingly serious expression.

He could tell that Shui Cang's ability was entirely due to a bracelet on his wrist, a bracelet made from human finger bones. Moreover, the bracelet did not emit a protective golden light, but rather a cloud of black smoke.

The bracelet had its own illusion, so to the naked eye it looked like a protective golden light.

"This looks more like the methods of a demonic cultivator."

The protective black mist was most likely a protective spell hidden inside by a Foundation Establishment stage demonic cultivator. Now that Shui Cang had activated it, with their strength at the late Qi Refining stage, they certainly wouldn't be able to break through this defense.

That's why he's so fearless.

The four elders grew increasingly panicked as the battle progressed. Seeing that they couldn't break through Shui Cang's defenses, they became enraged and killed the remaining elder who had betrayed them.

Shui Cang saw it all, but that was all.

After a long fight, seeing that the elders had stopped, he put his hands behind his back and turned to look at a certain place outside the door.

"Shui Kai, didn't you realize how easy it was to dig up your ancestral graves when you were doing it?"

(End of this chapter)