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

Anyang County, Wutong Lane.

The entrance to the "Qian Lai Ye" money exchange was packed with people, making it impossible to move.

Three months ago, those who placed bets here on which of the fifteen Qi-refining families in Anyang County would advance to the top five were now crowding at the entrance, craning their necks and discussing amongst themselves.

"Let me tell you, the Sun family is a sure thing! They have three peak Qi Refining experts, plus the secret support of the seventh branch of the Yun family. If they don't make it into the top five, I'll rip my head off and use it as a football!"

"The Zhou family is not bad either. Although their Supreme Elder, who is at the peak of Qi Refining, did not enter the Ten Thousand Ghosts Cave, the few he sent out were all good fighters."

"The Wu family, the Zheng family, the Nangong family... that's about it, there won't be much difference."

Among the crowd, the loudest discussions were about the Sun, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, and Nangong families. No one mentioned the Li or Du families, as if those two names didn't exist.

On the outermost edge of the crowd, Old Man Jiang, leaning on his cane and supported by his granddaughter Jiang Xiaowan, stood shakily on a stone stool, craning his neck to look towards the entrance of the money exchange. He had staked his entire fortune on the Li family's name—four hundred spirit stones, all the savings he had accumulated over a decade of scavenging on the edge of the Bloodstained Forbidden Land. He was hoping to turn things around and leave some inheritance for his granddaughter.

Someone in the crowd recognized him and sneered:

"Hey, old man Jiang, you're still waiting here? The highest cultivation level in the Li family is only the fifth level of Qi Refining. It's already a miracle they survived the Ten Thousand Ghosts Cave, let alone making it into the top five? Dream on!"

"Exactly, four hundred spirit stones down the drain, not even a ripple. Old Jiang, are you nearing the end of your life, getting senile?"

Old Man Jiang's face flushed red, his lips trembled a few times, but he didn't refute them. Jiang Xiaowan supported him and whispered, "Grandpa, don't pay them any mind."

Old Man Jiang patted his granddaughter's hand without saying a word, but stared intently at the entrance of the money exchange.

……

The backyard of the money exchange.

Manager Qian sat leisurely in his armchair, sipping a cup of spiritual tea. He had specifically asked someone to calculate the odds for this round of betting; as long as the bottom-ranked Du and Li families didn't make it into the top five, the money shop was guaranteed a profit. The Du and Li families? One had only been established for a little over two years, their highest cultivation level only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. They were lucky to even survive, let alone make it into the top five? A pipe dream.

He took a sip of tea, feeling relaxed and content.

The communication jade talisman at his waist suddenly lit up.

Manager Qian put down his teacup and cast a spell into the jade talisman. The assistant manager's voice came from within, trembling slightly: "Manager, the results are in."

"read."

"The top five families are: the Sun family, the Nangong family, the Du family of Huai'an County, the Du family of Qinglan County, and the Li family."

Manager Qian's hand froze in mid-air.

"What did you say? The Li family? The Li family from Qinglan County?" He jumped up, knocking over his teacup, shards of porcelain flying everywhere. "Are you mistaken? How could the Li family possibly be in the top five?"

"Shopkeeper, I've checked three times, it's correct. The Sun family, the Nangong family, the Du family of Huai'an County, the Du family of Qinglan County, and the Li family. Only six aristocratic families are still alive. The Zheng family's storage bags are all gone, they were wiped out. The Zhou family, the Wu family, the Wang family... none of them have come out."

Manager Qian slumped back into his armchair, his face deathly pale. Suddenly remembering something, he grabbed the betting ledger on the table and flipped to the page with the Li family.

Thirty-one thousand four hundred spirit stones.

The odds are 1 to 10.

Three hundred and fourteen thousand spirit stones.

His hand trembled slightly involuntarily.

The Li family alone will have to pay 314,000 spirit stones.

The accountant, flustered, stammered:

"Shopkeeper, what... what kind of incredible luck did the Li family have? How did they get into the top five? What... what do we do?"

Manager Qian took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He opened the ledger and calculated page by page. Many people bet on the Sun family, but the Sun family made it into the top five, so there was no need to pay; many people bet on the Zhou family, but the Zhou family didn't make it, so there was a need to pay; many people bet on the Wu family, but the Wu family didn't make it, so there was a need to pay; many people bet on the Zheng family, but the Zheng family didn't make it, so there was a need to pay... Almost no one bet on the Du family of Qinglan County, so there was no need to pay; betting on the Li family cost 31,400 spirit stones.

After calculating, I lost seventy or eighty thousand spirit stones.

Seventy or eighty thousand. That's acceptable.

The accountant leaned closer, lowered his voice, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes:

"Shopkeeper, that mysterious person who bet the most on the Li family, thirty thousand spirit stones, should we... secretly send someone to snatch those spirit stones back? Anyway, we don't know who placed the bet."

Manager Qian glared at him and cursed:

"Brainless idiot! Anyone who can wager 30,000 spirit stones must be at least a Foundation Establishment cultivator. They accurately predicted that the Li family would be among the top five; they must have some extraordinary abilities. We shouldn't mess with people like that."

The accountant shrank back, then said cautiously:

"What about the others from the Li family? Old Man Jiang, four hundred spirit stones, and that female cultivator surnamed Du, six hundred spirit stones... Surely we can recoup some of these debts?"

Manager Qian looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly smiled. That smile sent a chill down the accountant's spine.

"Our money exchange operates with integrity," Manager Qian stood up, dusted off his robes, and said, "If we were to do such a despicable thing, what reputation would we have left?"

He turned and walked towards the front yard. When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and, without turning his head, transmitted his voice to the assistant manager: "That accountant has impure intentions. There's no need to keep him."

The assistant manager responded.

……

When the crowd saw Manager Qian walk out of the money exchange, they immediately erupted in excitement.

"Manager Qian! Have the results come out yet?"

"Tell us quickly! Who made it into the top five?"

"My family bet five hundred spirit stones on the Zhou family! The Zhou family must have won, right?"

Manager Qian raised his hand to quiet the crowd, and then announced loudly, "The top five families in the Anyang Prefecture Aristocratic Family Competition are—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"The Sun family."

A cheer erupted from the crowd, and the members of the Ya Sun family beamed with joy.

"The Nangong family."

Another round of cheers erupted.

"Du Family, Huai'an County".

The cheers subsided a bit, but many people still clapped and applauded.

"The Du family of Qinglan County."

Silence fell. No one cheered. Who would bet spirit stones on a bottom-tier, small family?

"The Li family."

A deathly silence.

Old Man Jiang stood on the outermost edge of the crowd; his hearing was failing, and he hadn't heard clearly. He tugged at his granddaughter's sleeve and asked in a trembling voice, "Xiao Wan, what did he say? The Li family? Did the Li family go in?"

Jiang Xiaowan's tears welled up instantly. She hugged her grandfather's arm, crying and laughing at the same time, "Grandpa! We made it! The Li family made it into the top five! Grandpa, we won! We won!"

Old Jiang stood there stunned for a long while, tears welling up in his cloudy old eyes. His lips trembled as he murmured, "It's in...it really is in...I told you...I told you that young man wouldn't lie to me..."

In the crowd, the man who had just mocked Old Man Jiang said sourly, "He just got lucky."

A group of ill-intentioned people huddled together, whispering among themselves, their eyes occasionally glancing at Old Man Jiang and his beautiful granddaughter beside him.

"This old man Jiang is nearing the end of his life and won't live for many more years. His granddaughter is only at the third level of Qi Refining, and possesses four thousand spirit stones..."

"Exactly! One shouldn't flaunt their wealth, but he's brazenly coming to collect spirit stones. Doesn't that just attract unwanted attention?"

"Follow them and see where they live."

Unaware of what was happening, Old Man Jiang, supported by his granddaughter, squeezed his way to the counter, trembling. The accountant had been replaced; the new waiter, all smiles, neatly arranged four thousand spirit stones on a tray and presented it with both hands.

"Grandpa, please keep this safe."

Old Man Jiang looked at the pile of spirit stones, tears streaming down his face. He turned around and bowed deeply to the entrance of the money shop, though it was unclear who he was thanking.

Just then, someone came running from the direction of the city gate, shouting as they ran, "They're back! The aristocratic families who participated in the competition are back!"

The crowd immediately stirred and surged toward the city gate.

"I heard that fifteen prominent families went in, and only six came out alive!"

"What? Six? That means most of them are dead?"

"That's right! The Zhou family, the Wu family, the Zheng family... several powerful families were wiped out, not a single one of them escaped!"

Jiang Xiaowan supported her grandfather, avoiding joining the crowd. She carefully put the spirit stones into her storage bag and helped her grandfather leave from the edge of the crowd.

……

From the direction of the city gate, Li Changsheng and his family of three followed the flow of people back to Wutong Lane.

The news spread even faster than they could—the Li family had made it into the top five, received a reward of ten thousand spirit stones, and all three members of the Li family had returned unharmed. These words spread like wildfire throughout the entire Wutong Lane.

As soon as Li Changsheng stepped into the alley, he became the center of attention.

Countless eyes fell upon him, scrutinizing, examining, greedily anticipating, and envious—a complex mix of emotions. People saw that his cultivation level was indeed at the fifth level of Qi Refining, without the slightest hint of superficiality. Some whispered among themselves:

"I heard that the Li family hid in a cave and escaped the ghost tide, which is how they managed to survive."

"Just good luck, what's so great about it?"

"Ten thousand spirit stones, just like that, I got them for free..."

Some people are envious, some are jealous, and some are already secretly plotting.

Beside the tea stall at the alley entrance, several cultivators dressed in black exchanged glances, said nothing, and silently stood up and walked out of the alley. They left the city and stopped in the woods beside the official road. The leader took out a communication talisman from his pocket, whispered a few words, and then looked up in the direction of Wutong Alley, a cold glint in his eyes.

In Wutong Lane, Li Changsheng seemed oblivious to the greedy gazes. He went straight to the money exchange and collected the reward of ten thousand spirit stones. Holding the heavy bag of spirit stones in his hand, his face showed no joy, but rather a hint of solemnity.

He turned around, looked at Yun Jiuniang who had been following him, and cupped his hands, saying, "Miss Jiu, I have a request."

Yun Jiuniang looked at him with a smile: "Speak."

Li Changsheng handed the bag of spirit stones in his hand to her: "This junior would like to ask Miss Jiu for help. I would like to use these spirit stones to ask the array master of the Yun family to upgrade the spiritual veins of Qinglan Mountain."

After these words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent for a moment.

Yun Jiuniang looked at him, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, which quickly turned into understanding. She didn't refuse, took the spirit stone bag, and smiled, "Alright, I'll make the arrangements for you."

Li Changsheng bowed and thanked him.

Those eyes hidden in the shadows watched as the spirit stone pouch fell into Yun Jiu Niang's hands, their expressions turning grim. The ninth young lady of the Yun family, the eldest daughter of the Yun family's main branch—who dared to snatch something from her?

Some spat in frustration and turned to leave. Others hesitated for a moment, then dispersed as well.

Li Changsheng watched Yun Jiuniang leave, then turned and walked into the depths of Wutong Lane.

Behind them, most of those greedy gazes had disappeared.