It was said that Second Elder Ling Ruxian was a sword cultivator who had mastered a sword formation. He had once slain over a hundred cultivators with it and had even, with Qi Training Ninth Layer cultivation, fought three Qi Training Completion cultivators head-on.
His severed arm had been lost during the decades he spent traveling and training outside. It was said that after killing the descendant of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he had enraged that cultivator and had his arm cut off.
After standing dumbfounded for a moment, Ling Pengyun finally came back to his senses and solemnly accepted the two manuals floating before him.
The Azure Water Art was Ling Pengyun's main cultivation technique. It counted as an excellent Qi Refining technique and was one of the mandatory arts for Ling Clan spirit plant farmers. After more than two hundred years of cultivation and refinement by the Ling Clan, it also contained many cultivation notes left behind by previous generations.
As for the Lingxiao Ripening Technique, it was a spirit plant secret method that could accelerate the growth of spirit plants. It had gradually been improved by dozens of Ling Clan spirit plant farmers over successive generations from the common spirit plant secret method, "Ripening Technique," and its effectiveness had become considerably stronger.
These two manuals could both be considered vital parts of the Ling Clan. If they were leaked, the efforts of countless Ling Clan predecessors would go down the drain, all their labor reduced to wasted effort. Ling Pengyun naturally understood the gravity of such a matter.
"Thirteenth Grandfather, this junior will never pass these items on to outsiders. I, Ling Pengyun, am willing to swear a Heavenly Dao Oath: if I ever divulge the Azure Water Art or the Lingxiao Ripening Technique, my cultivation shall never advance another inch in this life!" To put the lineage elders at ease, Ling Pengyun decisively swore a Heavenly Dao Oath.
For cultivators with Dao-seeking hearts and decent potential, a Heavenly Dao Oath was extremely binding. Breaking it would give rise to inner demons and might even invite suppression from the Heavenly Dao itself, slowing one's cultivation progress.
As for cultivation truly becoming unable to advance another inch after breaking the oath, that was merely an exaggeration.
Ling Pengyun's actions earned Ling Ruxian's approval. He spoke again in a cold voice. "Your temperament is not bad. I heard that your Divine Sense far surpasses that of cultivators at the same level. Once you break through to Qi Training Late Stage, come find me at the Technique Pavilion. I have a fortuitous opportunity to give you!"
Joy rose in Ling Pengyun's heart as he thought secretly, Could it be the sword formation Fifteenth Great Grandfather knows?
During his youthful travels, Ling Ruxian had obtained a sword formation. Its cultivation requirements were exceedingly demanding, but its power was also tremendous. In the entire Ling Clan, only three people had cultivated it: Ling Ruxian himself, Clan Head Ling Yunhong, and Ling Pengxing, the foremost genius of the Peng Generation.
Three years ago, Clan Head Ling Yunhong, then at Foundation Establishment Third Layer, had relied on this sword formation to wipe out the Foundation Establishment wolf king of the Gale Wolf Pack that occupied Lingxiao Mountain.
Ling Pengyun naturally held anything that could strengthen his power in the highest regard. The ability to wave one's hand and unleash dozens, hundreds, even thousands of sword lights at once was also something Ling Pengyun, a fan of immortal-hero novels in his previous life, had dreamed of day and night.
Only this sword formation on Ling Ruxian's person could be considered a fortuitous opportunity.
Other than that, Ling Pengyun had never heard of Ling Ruxian possessing any other abilities or legends.
Hearing Ling Ruxian's words, Ling Yunhong, seated in the main seat, stirred slightly. However, he did not interfere. He merely dismissed Ling Pengyun. "All right, Pengyun. You may leave first. We still have important matters to discuss. Tomorrow, collect the Control Array Disk for the Mountain Protection Formation of Azure Stone Mountain from the General Affairs Hall, then follow the Spirit Vein Distribution Map and head to the place you are to guard."
Having received the signal, Ling Pengyun naturally did not dare linger. He hurried down the small path by which he had come, and along the way, he ran into Ling Ruda.
"Eleventh Great Grandfather!" Ling Pengyun greeted him.
Ling Ruda had just escorted someone down the mountain and had not been in the Council Hall, so he had not heard what Ling Pengyun had said there. To prevent Ling Pengyun from harboring misgivings about the lineage's arrangements, he explained again.
"Pengyun, the lineage had no choice in this matter. Our lineage prospers through the path of spirit plants, and among the current clan members, you possess the greatest talent in that field. The Clan Head's decision to send you out this time is actually meant to cultivate you as well. My position..."
At this point, Ling Ruda stopped speaking and did not finish his sentence.
However, it was not difficult for Ling Pengyun to guess what Ling Ruda had meant. Excitement immediately surged within him. Ling Ruda's position was that of the lineage's Grand Elder, the person with the greatest authority besides the Clan Head. Becoming one of the lineage's upper echelon was the small dream of every clan cultivator; the great dream was Foundation Establishment.
Naturally, Ling Pengyun's dream was the same.
"This great-grandson has no other thoughts. Serving the clan is our duty!" Ling Pengyun said.
"You brat, and you're still feeding me this official nonsense. There are three Earth-Turning Earthworms at Innate Perfection inside this Beast Taming Pouch. I took them from the high-grade spirit field area at the mountain summit. Consider them an extra helper for you when you tend that First Grade Middle Rank Spirit Vein outside in the future!" Although Ling Ruda was quite satisfied with Ling Pengyun's words, he still laughed and scolded him. He took a Beast Taming Pouch from his robes and handed it over.
Ever since the lineage had discovered Ling Pengyun's talent for spirit plants, Ling Ruda had kept him by his side and taught him the path of spirit plants. Thus, the two were very familiar with one another and shared a close relationship.
"Earth-Turning Earthworms?" Ling Pengyun stared at the Beast Taming Pouch in his hand in disbelief.
"That's right. I carefully selected these three for you. Their aptitudes are all quite good, and they have a chance of breaking through into the Qi Refining realm. All right, I still need to return to the Council Hall for discussion. When you leave the Clan Mountain this time, do not forget to read the lineage's copy of the Lingxiao Spirit Plant Scripture every day. When you return in five years, I will test you!" With that, Ling Ruda quickly departed.
Only after Ling Ruda's departing figure vanished from sight did Ling Pengyun lower his head and look at the Storage Bag in his hand. A hint of joy appeared on his face as he thought of another implication.
Earth-Turning Earthworms have always been precious. Even after more than two hundred years of inheritance, the lineage has bred only a little over a hundred of them. They have always been kept for the lineage's own use. Now Eleventh Great Grandfather has given me three Earth-Turning Earthworms at Innate Perfection. He must have received the Clan Head's tacit approval!
Inside the Council Hall.
Seeing Ling Ruda return after seeing someone off, Ling Yunhong, seated in the main seat, spoke with a grave expression. "Everyone, now that our Ling Clan has become a Foundation Establishment Family, the number of Spirit Veins under our control has increased more than tenfold. If we continue living solely by planting spirit plants as we did when we were a Qi Refining family, it will be difficult to support the clan's growth! At most, it can keep our Ling Clan fed and clothed, but our Ling Clan will also stagnate!"
"Two paths now lie before our Ling Clan. The first is to rely on our original trade, the path of planting: plant Sword Star Grass, advance the spirit talisman path that our Ling Clan already excels at, increase the cultivation of Spirit Talisman Masters among our clan members, and search for a Second-Order Talisman Crafter Inheritance. We shall make our living through spirit talismans and, after a hundred years, earn the name of a Spirit Talisman Family!"
"The second is to plant Qi Training Grass, Yellow Sprout Grass, Azure Spirit Grass, and other main ingredients for refining pills; seek out alchemy inheritances; and cultivate alchemists! After a hundred years, we shall earn the name of an Alchemy Family!"
"Everyone, you all understand the advantages and disadvantages of these two paths!"
"As for the spirit talisman path, among Huai River County's five great Foundation Establishment Families, there is already one Spirit Talisman Family, and that family is far stronger than our Ling Clan. If our Ling Clan also makes spirit talismans our main pursuit, conflict with them will be inevitable! Furthermore, the spirit talismans our Ling Clan produces in the future may not even compare to those of that Spirit Talisman Family, which has a second-order talisman crafter overseeing it!"
"The alchemy path earns many Spirit Stones, and among Huai River County's five great Foundation Establishment Families, none has made this path its primary pursuit. But the problem is that our Ling Clan possesses only low- and middle-grade first-order alchemy inheritances! With such inheritances, it will be impossible to expand our Ling Clan's alchemists, let alone become an Alchemy Family centered on alchemy."
"Everyone, which of these two paths do you think we should choose?"
Ling Yunhong had laid out the pros and cons of the two paths crystal clear. It was not only him who did not know which path to choose; the other three elders present also hesitated for a time. Both paths had their benefits and drawbacks, and they furrowed their brows as they pondered carefully.
The Council Hall remained silent for the time it took to drink half a cup of tea. Then Ling Ruda, the Grand Elder who normally managed the lineage's miscellaneous affairs and resource allocation, suddenly spoke with firm resolve.
"I have an idea. We should seek out the Pingyun Mountain Yang Family, an Alchemy Family in Cloudwater County related to our Ling Clan, and purchase a set of Second-Order Alchemist Inheritance from them. At the same time, we should increase the lineage's cultivation of Spirit Talisman Masters!"
"Pursue and cultivate both paths at once!"
"That would consume no small amount of lineage resources!" Fifth Elder Ling Yunxi was the first to object.
"For the alchemy path and the talisman crafting path, the main ingredients and Talisman Crafting Grass we need can be planted by the lineage itself. We have planted them in previous years, and we still have quite a bit of last year's year-end harvest left unsold!"
"As for talisman ink needed for talisman crafting, the lineage can form a Monster Hunting Team and send it out to hunt demonic beasts, using their blood to refine it! The supplementary ingredients needed for refining pills can be bought with a small amount of Spirit Stones!"
"The lineage only needs to spend more Spirit Stones on alchemy furnaces and talisman brushes, that is all!" Ling Ruxian, who had managed the lineage's finances for many years, had long prepared a response and spoke up.
"Feasible. We shall proceed in this manner!" After thinking it over, Clan Head Ling Yunhong approved Ling Ruda's proposal.
With the Clan Head's approval, no one dared speak in opposition.
Afterward, the latter half of the meeting began discussing in detail which clan members should receive focused cultivation in the paths of spirit talismans and alchemy.
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