Establishing a Clan in the Eastern Wilderness: A Daily Divination, Cultivating Longevity in a Grotto

Old Man Jiang's stall only had a few items on it—a few pieces of ore whose grade was indistinguishable, a cracked jade slip, a chipped broken bowl, and a pile of miscellaneous items.

Seeing someone coming in, he quickly forced a smile and greeted them, "Fellow Daoist, take a look. Pick whatever you like. The price is negotiable."

The smile looked particularly grotesque on his festering face.

Li Changsheng's expression remained unchanged. He squatted down and began browsing the stall. His gaze swept over the cracked jade slip, and he picked it up to examine it.

"This is... a note on alchemy insights?"

Old Man Jiang nodded:

"Yes, I traded it for from an old alchemist when I was young. I'm not very talented and couldn't learn how to use it, so I've kept it ever since. If you want it, just give me... give me twenty spirit stones."

Li Changsheng flipped through it.

Finding it quite helpful, he didn't haggle and handed over twenty spirit stones.

Old Man Jiang took the spirit stone, and seeing Li Changsheng get up to leave, he quickly added:

"Fellow Daoist, how about we look at something else? These few pieces of ore, though not of high grade, are of good quality. This broken bowl, though chipped, is said to have been dug out of an ancient site..."

He talked on and on, his eyes full of sincerity.

He longed to sell one more item, and to save up a few more spirit stones for his granddaughter.

Li Changsheng stopped and squatted down again.

He had seen the petrified seed long ago—it was mixed in with the pile of junk, gray and inconspicuous, and no one would have noticed it if it weren't for the divination.

But he can't just take it directly; that would be too deliberate.

So he started rummaging through the stall again.

He first picked up a piece of ore, examined it, shook his head, and put it down. Then he picked up the chipped bowl, looked at it for a moment, and put it down as well. Finally, he "casually" picked up the petrified seed and rummaged through the clutter to find a palm-sized, blood-red broken bowl.

"How much are these two?"

Old Man Jiang looked at the seed—he didn't know what it was either. It had been mixed in with other junk when it was brought out of the Crimson Forbidden Zone. It looked like a stone, but it was lighter than a stone. As for the broken bowl, it was just a worthless piece of junk that no one cared about.

"Well... Fellow Daoist, just give me whatever you think is appropriate," Old Man Jiang said honestly.

He has always been an honest man, and even in this predicament, he would never do anything to rip off his customers.

Li Changsheng looked at his festering face and sighed inwardly.

He took out ten spirit stones from his pocket.

The female stall owner next door, witnessing this scene, was furious.

"Didn't you say you ran out of spirit stones? This many spirit stones could buy so many osmanthus cakes..."

...

...

Wutong Lane is located on the east side of Anyang County.

The Yun family specially cleared out a row of courtyards on the left side of the alley to accommodate the fifteen Qi-refining families who came to participate in the competition. Each courtyard had a lantern hanging in front of it, with the family name written on it. From a distance, the red lanterns created a festive atmosphere.

The third house in the alley has a lantern that reads "Sun Family".

A dark figure silently slipped through the back gate. The servant guarding the gate seemed to have been warned in advance; he kept his head down, his eyes fixed straight ahead, as if he hadn't seen anything.

The dark figure moved unimpeded through the corridor and arrived at the study door.

Clan Chief Sun had been waiting for a long time in front of the study.

Upon seeing the visitor, he quickly ushered them inside, closed the door, and activated the magic array.

The man in black robes then took off his hood, revealing himself to be Yun Qilang.

Clan Chief Sun was Yun Qilang's maternal uncle. Although he was an elder, he treated his nephew with more respect than affection, personally pouring tea and water for him.

"Seventh Brother, how is your mother doing lately?"

Yun Qilang picked up his teacup and said calmly:

"After the Second Elder took over, Father obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill for Mother. Mother is now in seclusion to accelerate her progress, and we believe good news will come soon."

Sun Zheng was overjoyed and quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Then I must congratulate you in advance, sister!"

If my younger sister breaks through to the Foundation Establishment stage, the Sun family will have a great chance of becoming a ninth-rank family in the future!

Since my younger sister married into the Yun family, she has been very supportive of her family.

Otherwise, the Sun family would not have been able to grow from being penniless to becoming one of the five major alchemy families in Huaishan County.

Yun Qilang put down his teacup and got straight to the point:

"Uncle, the grand competition among the aristocratic families will be held at the Ten Thousand Ghosts Cave."

Sun Zhenghe's expression hardened.

Yun Qilang continued, "The Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts is teeming with ghosts. Slaying them yields Soul Pearls, which can be exchanged for Imperial Merit Points. This grand competition is an excellent opportunity to earn these merit points, and the competition results are determined by the number of Soul Pearls one possesses."

He paused, then asked, "Uncle, how many of the ten thousand imperial merit points needed for your Sun family to advance to the ninth-rank aristocratic family are you still short?"

Sun Zhenghe honestly replied, "Currently, we have a little over seven thousand."

Yun Qilang said, "That means we're still short three thousand. This competition is the perfect opportunity."

He stood up, walked to the window, his back to Sun Zhenghe, and said in a calm but chilling voice: "After entering the Ten Thousand Ghosts Cave, the outside world knows nothing about what happens inside. Not everyone from the fifteen Qi Refining families is at the peak of Qi Refining."

Sun Zhenghe understood immediately, and his heart beat slightly faster.

This is to... steal someone else's Soul Pearl.

Yun Qilang turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Among them, the highest cultivation level of the Du and Li families in Qinglan County is only the fifth level of Qi Refining."

He paused deliberately, his eyes narrowing slightly: "Especially the Li family, make sure... not a single one of them gets out."

Sun Zhenghe was startled, but dared not ask any more questions, and simply nodded emphatically.

Yun Qilang took out a treasure pouch from his sleeve and placed it on the table: "This is what my father asked me to give you. Don't let us down."

...

...

As Li Changsheng left the stall area, he paused when he passed a magnificent three-story pavilion.

"Huang Yun Chamber of Commerce"

This chamber of commerce already has a branch in Qinglan County, but I didn't expect it to have a branch in Anyang County as well.

Back in Qinglan County, he had heard that this chamber of commerce had an excellent reputation. Their goods were slightly more expensive than those in the market, but the quality was guaranteed, prices were clearly marked, and they treated everyone fairly. For someone like him who didn't frequent markets, spending a little more spirit stones for peace of mind was worthwhile.

He stepped inside.

The spacious and bright lobby on the first floor was filled with a dazzling array of goods: elixirs, talismans, magical artifacts, and spiritual materials, all neatly arranged and categorized. Several waiters were attending to customers; upon his arrival, a young servant in blue robes stepped forward with a beaming smile.

"Fellow Daoist, what would you like to see?"

"An elixir for replenishing mana and healing wounds."

The waiter's eyes lit up, and he led him toward the elixir section:

"Fellow Daoist, you've come at the right time. Our shop has just received a batch of top-quality goods."

On the shelf, rows of jade bottles are neatly arranged, with labels on the bottles indicating the name, grade, and efficacy of the pills.

Li Changsheng glanced around, then casually picked up a bottle. He uncorked it and poured out a pill. The pill was round and smooth, reddish-brown in color, and had a rich medicinal aroma.

"Few impurities, pure medicinal properties, a good pill."

Li Changsheng took three bottles each of Qi Gathering Pills, Life-Sustaining Pills, Qi-Recovering Pills, Mind-Clearing Pills, and Detoxifying Pills, paid with spirit stones, and then said:

"Let's take a look at the talisman section."

The waiter's attitude became even more respectful than before.

"Fellow Daoist, this way please." The waiter led him upstairs to the second floor.

The talisman section was much quieter than the first floor, with only a few cultivators browsing. The shopkeeper pointed to the shelves and introduced, "These are all top-grade first-tier talismans; they're our best-selling items."

"Golden Shield Talisman, Tier 1 Top Grade. When activated, it forms a shield of spiritual light that can withstand three attacks of Tier 1 High Grade or lower. Suitable for defense."

"Heavenly Thunder Talisman, a top-grade first-tier item. When activated, it unleashes a strike of heavenly thunder, with power comparable to a peak first-tier cultivator's full-force attack. Suitable for offensive purposes."

"Five Elements Escape Talisman, a top-grade first-tier item. Once activated, it allows one to briefly escape among the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. It's very useful for escaping."

The waiter introduced each item one by one, speaking fluently and persuasively.

After hearing this, Li Changsheng took a few of each.

"Do you have protective robes?" Li Changsheng asked.

The waiter's eyes lit up, and he took down three neatly folded robes from the top shelf.

"This one is woven from black iron wire, a first-grade superior quality, resistant to swords and blades, worth 120 spirit stones." He shook out a dusty gray robe.

"This one is made of ice silkworm silk, a first-grade superior quality, impervious to water and fire, worth 150 spirit stones." He then unfolded a snow-white robe.

"This is a golden silk soft armor, a top-grade first-tier item. It can withstand a full-force attack from a peak first-tier cultivator. It costs three hundred spirit stones." Finally, a golden inner armor as thin as a cicada's wing was unfolded.

Li Changsheng pondered for a moment, then decided to take all three items.

I, my father, and my younger sister each received one, giving us an extra layer of protection during the competition.

The spirit stones were spent like flowing water.

But you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub; with the competition just around the corner, survival is the priority.

……

There's still some distance to Wutong Lane after leaving Huangyun Chamber of Commerce.

The entrance to a large shop was packed with people, three or four layers deep, making it impossible to move.

A man who looked like a shopkeeper came out from inside, his face glowing, and bowed in a circle.

"Fellow Daoists, the Anyang County Qi Refining Family Grand Competition is just around the corner. To add to the excitement of the competition, our money shop owner has specially set up a betting game."