Grand Elder Handover (2,600 Words, Sorry)

After leaving the Spirit Field area, Ling Yunhong went to the Affairs Hall.

At this time, there were two people in the Affairs Hall.

One of them was Great Elder Ling Ruxian, and the other was Ling Pengliang.

The two were using an abacus together to check the numbers in the Ling Clan's account books and to see if there were any errors.

Ling Pengliang, who was fiddling with the abacus, saw Ling Yunhong arrive, so he quickly stopped fiddling with the abacus, cupped his hands, and greeted him.

"My Third Grandfather."

Ling Ruxian seeing Ling Yunhong arrive, Ling Ruxian's expression lit up, and he asked in a slightly expectant tone.

"Yun Hong, how many of the Stone Spirit Walnut from Stone Spirit Walnut Stone Spirit Walnut Tree on the mountaintop have successfully advanced to the second stage?"

Ling Ruxian also knew about the Stone Spirit Walnut Tree absorbing a large amount of Spiritual Qi from Lingxiao Mountain three days ago.

During the process of the fifty-eight Stone Spirit Walnut Tree Stone Spirit Walnut breaking through to the second stage, he often went up to the mountaintop to observe.

However, since he couldn't leave the mountain to attend to matters, he couldn't stay by the Stone Spirit Walnut Tree Stone Spirit Walnut Tree Ling Yunhong, watching the spiritual fruits it produced help break through their bottlenecks.

Upon hearing this, Ling Yunhong smiled and said.

"Eleventh Uncle, of the fifty-eight Stone Spirit Walnut on that Stone Spirit Walnut Tree this time, a full thirty-three have successfully entered the second stage."

After saying that, Ling Yunhong took out fifty-eight jade lock boxes from his Storage Bag.

The fifty-eight Spirit-Locking Jade Box contained the fifty-eight Stone Spirit Walnut that the Stone Spirit Walnut Tree had produced this time.

Ling Yunhong divided the fifty-eight Spirit-Locking Jade Box into two parts.

Among them, twenty-five First-Tier Superior-Grade Stone Spirit Walnut and twenty Second Rank Low Grade Stone Spirit Walnut were placed on the counter of the Affairs Hall.

"Eleventh Uncle, those twenty-five First-Tier Superior-Grade Stone Spirit Walnut contain more spiritual energy than ordinary First-Tier Superior-Grade Stone Spirit Walnut. Keep them for the clan members to use."

"As for those twenty Second Rank Low Grade Stone Spirit Walnut, they belong to the other Lineage of Huai River County. In a few days, you should send someone to inform the other Lineage about this matter and let them come to the Ling Clan to collect the fruit. This will also avoid the risk of accidents that might occur on the way when we personally deliver the spirit fruit to the Lineage."

The Stone Spirit Walnut Tree Lingxiao Mountain was acquired by the Ling Clan and the other four Foundation Establishment Family during the Demon Extermination War. Each of the five families naturally received a share of the second-tier Stone Spirit Walnut they harvested, though the portions varied.

Then, Ling Yunhong pointed to the remaining thirteen Spirit-Locking Jade Box containing Second Rank Low Grade Stone Spirit Walnut in front of him and said.

"Eleventh Uncle, these thirteen Second Rank Low Grade spirit fruits are the ones that need to be given to the other four families in Huai River County. I plan to use these thirteen spirit fruits to try to break through my cultivation, so I will not give them to Peng Yun and Peng Xing for now. If I have any extra Second Rank Low Grade Stone Spirit Walnut after I break through my cultivation, I will share them with Peng Yun and Peng Xing."

"As for these thirteen Second Rank Low Grade Stone Spirit Walnut, the Contribution Points spent on Lineage will be deducted from my account."

Ling Ruxian heard that after giving them to the other Lineage in Huai River County, there were still thirteen Second Rank Low Grade Stone Spirit Walnut left, he was overjoyed and asked with a smile.

"Yun Hong, with these thirteen Second Rank Low Grade fruits, are you confident you can break through to the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer?"

"Yes," Ling Yunhong nodded in response.

"It's good that you're confident." Upon Ling Ruxian's face lit up with even greater joy.

Ling Yunhong's entry into the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer was key to the Ling Clan's future plan to jointly occupy the Snake Den Spirit Vein with the Yang Clan.

"Eleventh Uncle, do you still remember the promise we made three years ago that when the Stone Spirit Walnut Tree reached the second tier, you would retire to the second line and enjoy your retirement?" Ling Yunhong asked Ling Pengliang with a smile.

Ling Ruxian paused for a moment, and after a half-breath, he came to his senses and replied.

"Of course I remember. After these three years, Peng Liang is now able to handle all the clan's affairs independently and is qualified to take on the position of the Lineage's Great Elder."

Ling Yunhong said with a smile, "That's good, Eleventh Uncle. You can start immediately. Peng Liang will temporarily take over the position of the Lineage's Great Elder, handle Lineage affairs, and receive the elder's salary. When Peng Liang reaches the Qi Training Completion stage, he will officially become the Lineage's Great Elder."

"As for Eleventh Uncle, you will retire to the second line and enjoy your retirement. In view of your hard work and great contributions during your tenure as the Great Elder, you have been specially appointed and granted the title of Lifetime Grand Elder. Your salary will continue to be paid according to the original amount. Your salary will not be reduced just because you are retiring in the clan."

"I already said three years ago that Peng Liang would succeed you, so I didn't want to summon the high-ranking members of the clan, as it would be too troublesome."

"Eleventh Uncle, you should pass on the news that Peng Liang will succeed you to the clan members. This will help Peng Liang establish his authority and prevent any clan members from being dissatisfied."

Upon hearing this, Ling Pengliang and Ling Ruxian reacted differently.

The former couldn't contain his joy. Although Ling Pengliang had understood that Ling Ruxian to promote him when he followed Ling Ruxian to learn "the way of management" three years ago.

But when the moment of promotion actually arrived, the joy in my heart was still hard to suppress.

After all, Clan Head is a high-ranking member of the Lineage, not to mention the position of the Great Elder, who is among the most important members.

The position of elder was something he had longed for.

As for the latter, Ling Ruxian felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and his back straightened a little.

He was never someone who was obsessed with power. Decades ago, he was just like Ling Yunhong and others, focusing on cultivation. Moreover, he had extraordinary talent. Although he had Three Spirit Roots, his cultivation speed was no weaker than that of ordinary Dual Spirit Root Cultivator.

He reached the Qi Training Completion stage at the age of forty-eight. If the Ling Clan family hadn't Qi Refining a small Qi Refining Lineage at the time, although they had a lot of Spirit Stone in reserve, they wouldn't have dared to show off their wealth and buy Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object because of the rampant Devil Cultivator in Cloudwater County, which caused them to miss the Foundation Establishment time.

If it weren't for the previous generation's Great Elder entrusting the mature Ling Ruxian to serve as the Lineage's Great Elder on his Ling Ruxian would never have taken on the position of Great Elder, which requires handling numerous clan affairs and consumes a great deal of time.

The position of Great Elder may seem glamorous to others, but Ling Ruxian does not like it.

"If it were decades ago, in my generation, when the Lineage had Foundation Establishment Cultivator in charge, we could simply spend Spirit Stone to buy Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object. With the help of those Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object, I would have dared to try Foundation Establishment, who knows..."

Ling Ruxian secretly regretted it and sighed softly.

While Ling Ruxian, Ling Yunhong spoke again. "The spiritual fruits from that Stone Spirit Walnut Tree and the matter of the succession of the position of Great Elder have all been settled. I will return to my Cultivation Abode on the mountaintop to consume the remaining thirteen Second Rank Low Grade Stone Spirit Walnut and go into seclusion to seek a breakthrough."

"As for the complicated matter of the succession of the Great Elder, I will leave it to you, Eleventh Uncle, and Peng Liang to handle."

Ling Yunhong left these words behind, then transformed into Qing Feng and swiftly departed from the Affairs Hall.

Meanwhile, inside the Affairs Hall Ling Pengliang, with a grateful expression, bowed to the absent-minded former Lineage Great Elder, Ling Ruxian, and thanked him after Ling Yunhong left.

"Eleventh Great Grandfather, thank you for your kindness in promoting me. I will never forget this kindness. If any talented people emerge from your lineage in the future, I will do my best to promote them to repay your kindness today."

Upon Ling Ruxian came to his senses and was extremely satisfied, saying...

"Your words are enough. But you must remember that although the Lineage's Great Elder has many affairs to handle, they are all very simple matters, though they may be troublesome. The real difficulty in holding this position is resisting the temptation of large sums of resources flowing through your hands. If you cannot hold on and embezzle the clan's spiritual treasures, you will surely come to no good end."

"Although the Clan Head does not manage clan affairs, he often visits the Clan Repository and is generally aware of the number of spiritual items in the Clan Head."

"Furthermore, at the end of the year, you must hand over the annual account books to the Clan Head for verification. If any loopholes are found, you will not be the only one to be blamed; it may even affect your descendants."

You definitely need to pay attention to this.

"Of course, once you become the Lineage's Great Elder, your monthly salary will be more than enough for your daily needs and cultivation, and there will even be some left over."

"I understand, Eleventh Great Grandfather. I will certainly remember your warning." Upon hearing Ling Pengliang's warning, Ling Ruxian's expression hardened, and he nodded solemnly.

Embezzling spirits within the clan is a grave offense, punishable by ostracization from the entire clan.

"Yes, come with me and gather all the clan members outside the ancestral hall so they can witness the changing of the guard among the elders. This will be beneficial for you when you become the Lineage's Great Elder, and will save you a lot of trouble," Ling Ruxian nodded in response.

Ling Pengliang naturally understood the significance of the elder taking over for the clansmen, and quickly agreed. Together with Ling Ruxian, they gathered the women, children, the elderly, the weak, and some of the clansmen's Daoist partners outside the ancestral hall halfway up the mountain.