Spirit Vein Centennial Token

Compared to her husband's lazy, unambitious nature, Han Qingqing was a true cultivation fanatic.

Other than the two months when she was giving birth, she spent all year in seclusion cultivating in the quiet room, never leaving home unless necessary.

Hearing his son's excuses, Zhao Sheng grew even angrier. "Your wife was born with useless spiritual roots. It's simply impossible for her to reach Foundation Establishment. Giving her the Spirit Essence Pill would be a waste; it would be better given to Xuan Han and Lanlan."

Zhao Xuanhan was Zhao Chengle's eldest son. He was twelve this year, at Qi Refining Level Two, and like his father, possessed Four Spiritual Roots.

Lanlan's full name was Zhao Xuanlan. Only six this year, she was the treasure of Zhao Sheng and his wife, born with gold, earth, and wood Three Spiritual Roots.

She was the Zhao Family's hope, with a promising future in Foundation Establishment.

Zhao Chengle froze at this, then muttered, "Father, I think practicing martial arts is quite good. Why must you insist that I cultivate? Weren't you a congenital martial artist first?"

Zhao Sheng angrily rebuked him, "Nonsense! What is so good about martial arts? Can it grant longevity? A hundred years from now, no matter how heaven-reaching your martial prowess is, you will still end as a pile of yellow earth. Tell me, what is the family's ancestral teaching?"

No sooner had Zhao Sheng finished speaking than a tiny figure bounced in through the doorway, crying out in a childish voice, "Grandpa, I know! Of all pursuits, all are lowly; only cultivation stands high!"

"Oh, Lanlan is here! Come quickly, come to Grandpa. Where is your grandmother?" The moment Zhao Sheng saw his eldest granddaughter arrive, his expression turned from stormy to sunny, and a smile immediately spread across his face.

He casually tossed aside the vine switch in his hand, strode over, and scooped up his precious granddaughter.

"Where is your grandmother?" Zhao Sheng asked as he teased the little girl.

"Grandmother is behind me."

Nestled against her grandfather's chest, Zhao Xuanlan answered earnestly in her sweet, childish voice.

As they spoke, an aged, stooped figure also appeared before the three of them.

Since ancient times, few lived to seventy!

Wang Yuqi, now in her seventies, no longer retained the beauty of her youth. Her hair had gone completely white, and her face was covered in wrinkles.

When she saw her son kneeling on the ground, she immediately complained, "You old fool, Old Eighth is nearly forty already. Why do you make him kneel at every turn? If he does not want to cultivate, it is useless no matter how hard you force him."

Zhao Sheng said angrily, "Foolishness! You came from a Cultivation Family too. Do you not know that in this world, only cultivators stand above all others?"

"Hmph, Zhao Zhiqin, are you saying that because you despise me for growing old? After all the hardship I went through bearing eight children for your Zhao Family!"

Seeing that she could not outargue the old man, Wang Yuqi suddenly began to weep and complain.

Zhao Sheng feared this move of hers most. Seeing this, he hurriedly softened and apologized, while ordering his son to get out at once.

Wang Yuqi was immensely pleased. Her husband had been held firmly in the palm of her hand by this trick all his life.

Yet as she looked at her husband, who appeared only around fifty, with a full head of black hair and not a single wrinkle, then at herself, white-haired and so aged—

For a moment, Wang Yuqi's heart was filled with the sorrow of passing years.

But the feeling soon faded, and her attention quickly shifted entirely to her granddaughter.

A bout of family turmoil swiftly came to an end.

At this moment, Zhao Chengle, who had only just left the ancestral hall, hurried back again.

"Father, my father-in-law has arrived! He is waiting for you in the reception hall."

A sharp gleam flashed through Zhao Sheng's eyes upon hearing this, and he immediately instructed, "Stay with your mother first. I'll go see your father-in-law."

After apologizing once more to Wang Yuqi, he quickly left the ancestral hall and headed toward the reception hall.

Two years ago, the Purple Sun Sect had sent Han Xuanwu to Heaven Pillar Mountain as its specially appointed commercial disciple in charge of hosting trade fairs.

Zhao Sheng had benefited greatly because of this.

A specially appointed commercial disciple was a position overflowing with profit. Buying low and selling high, exploiting Herb Gatherers, picking up overlooked treasures, reselling pills and magical artifacts to profit off both sides—their methods of easily earning Spirit Stones were far too numerous.

Two months ago, after recovering from his injuries, Zhao Sheng had sold a thousand-year-old Nine Section Ink Jade Dendrobium through Han Xuanwu.

Not only had he obtained a batch of basic cultivation resources such as Five Elements Spell Talismans and Spirit Essence Pills, he had also gained an important piece of intelligence.

Now that Han Xuanwu had come calling again, he must have brought good news.

Zhao Sheng and Han Xuanwu were in-laws through their children, so there was no need for deliberate pleasantries.

After exchanging a few simple words, Zhao Sheng eagerly asked, "Xuanwu, has the news been confirmed? How many Centennial Tokens will the Purple Sun Sect release this year?"

Han Xuanwu crossed his hands into the shape of a ten. "Exactly ten."

Before Zhao Sheng could ask another question, he quickly explained the entire matter from beginning to end.

More than twenty years ago, a Golden Core Great Perfection True Person within the Purple Sun Sect had been preparing to charge into the Nascent Soul Realm.

To raise the odds of success, the Purple Sun Sect had spared no expense in its determination to refine a Nascent Soul Pill.

A fourth-rank supreme treasure pill like the Nascent Soul Pill naturally had an extremely low success rate.

Thus, after failing twice in a row, the Purple Sun Sect had suffered grave losses and recently had no choice but to sell off large quantities of resources to recover.

The Centennial Token was one of the most important of those resources.

It was not a magical treasure, yet it was more precious than one, because it represented a hundred years of ownership over a first-rank spirit vein. And a first-rank spirit vein was enough to support a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Cultivation Families that possessed a Centennial Token would also receive the Purple Sun Sect's protection.

As a major force with a Nascent Soul Ancestor in residence, the Purple Sun Sect had more Golden Core True Persons than could be counted on both hands, over a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, and exceptionally formidable strength. Few forces dared stroke its tiger's whiskers.

Therefore, the Centennial Token was extraordinarily important to Cultivation Families, especially tiny Qi Refining families like Zhao Sheng's.

Conversely, the price of a Centennial Token was naturally exceptionally high.

Zhao Sheng's eyes lit up as he urgently asked, "What is the starting bid? How many Spirit Stones must be paid in installments each year?"

Han Xuanwu sighed. "Alas, the starting bid is fifty thousand Spirit Stones, and the upper limit is unknown, but it will take at least sixty thousand. Even if we piled both our families together, we could not afford it. As for the annual rent, it is not even worth mentioning."

"How do you know I cannot afford it?" Zhao Sheng said with a smile.

"Do you have fifty thousand Spirit Stones?"

"I really don't."

"Then what are you talking about? The Centennial Token is not something people like us can even dream of."

Unlike Han Xuanwu, who had sunk into dejection, Zhao Sheng pondered it and felt that he had to take a risk and give it a try.

Because this opportunity was simply too rare.

Every spirit vein under the Purple Sun Sect's name was equipped with a matching, powerful Mountain Protection Array. Once activated, it could withstand the attacks of ordinary Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators.

In addition, each was supplied with a Ten Thousand Miles One Line Talisman. In an emergency, it could send a talisman message to the Purple Sun Sect calling for aid.

For decades, the Great Yong Zhou Family had remained a blade hanging over his heart. He was always on edge, afraid that one day the Zhou Family would suddenly come knocking.

As long as he obtained a Centennial Token, the Zhao Family would no longer fear an attack from the Zhou Family and could develop peacefully for a hundred years.

Thus, Zhao Sheng said with a resolute expression, "The ten spirit veins differ in quality and resource output, so their prices will certainly vary. We will specifically bid on the cheaper ones. I may not have fifty or sixty thousand Spirit Stones, but I never said I could not produce treasures of equivalent value."

"Brother Zhao, you mean?"

Thinking of the thousand-year spiritual herb that had been sold only two months ago, Han Xuanwu's eyes instantly lit up like lanterns.

His daughter Han Qing had already married into the Zhao Family. As her father, Han Xuanwu sought nothing else; he simply greatly hoped that the Zhao Family would prosper further.

Zhao Sheng gestured for him to wait, then rose and left the reception hall.