Gathering Spirits

This pale golden card lay quietly in Yun Long's palm. It was the very card Yun Jiang had obtained through that precious draw opportunity when Yun Long broke through to the Qi Refining stage.

Unlike the three initial cards from the novice gift pack, this was the first card the Yun Clan had truly drawn through their own fortune.

Their luck was indeed not bad.

Although it wasn't the "More Children More Blessings" functional card Yun Jiang had hoped for to boost the clan's population, nor the coveted Character Inheritance Card, a Second-Order Mid-Grade functional card—Spirit Gathering—was already an unexpected delight.

After all, the three Character Inheritance Cards from the novice gift pack were all First-Order Low-Grade.

Those three cards could only support the Yun siblings' cultivation up to the threshold of the Third Layer of Qi Refining at best.

Now, with this Second-Order Mid-Grade Spirit Gathering Card, the Yun Clan's future cultivation path would undoubtedly be much smoother.

[Second-Order Mid-Grade Spirit Gathering Card]: Upon activation, it produces a spirit-gathering effect equivalent to a Second-Order Mid-Grade Spirit Gathering Formation. Its marvel lies in being formless and traceless when in use, undetectable and indestructible by external forces. Effects are enhanced when used atop a spirit vein.

The coverage of a Second-Order formation was vast enough to encompass all the territory the Yun Clan currently occupied.

But Yun Long did not choose that.

After careful deliberation, he precisely controlled the spirit-gathering effect to the core area inside Evergreen Valley.

The front courtyard of the Yun Clan estate was excluded.

In the future, any servants the Yun Clan recruited would be housed in the front courtyard.

The clan's reception hall for hosting guests would also be located there.

Once the Spirit Gathering Card was activated, its pale golden surface instantly turned a deep, ink-like black.

Holding this black card allowed continuous control over the formation's range and intensity.

Yun Long did not keep the card on himself. Instead, he solemnly placed it back into the Family Genealogy.

Only after becoming clan leader did he gain the right to peruse this mysterious genealogy, gradually understanding the clan's fortune it contained.

The moment the Spirit Gathering Card's effect unfolded, every Yun Clan member within Evergreen Valley sensed the significant change in the surrounding Spiritual Energy almost simultaneously.

Yun Ji, in particular, who had been making slow progress with his cultivation of the Wudang Xiantian Gong, now clearly felt his cultivation speed increase by nearly twenty percent out of nowhere!

He was already past fifty, and with Yun Long handling all major and minor affairs, he had plenty of time to devote to cultivation.

Previously, he had always felt his cultivation pace was sluggish and his age advanced, believing he would never touch the mysterious Qi Refining realm in this lifetime.

But now, the change brought by the Spirit Gathering Card rekindled a glimmer of hope.

As for Li Lingyue and Shi Chen, who possessed spiritual roots, their sensitivity to Spiritual Energy was even keener.

They felt their spiritual roots stir restlessly under the stimulation of the dense Spiritual Energy, as if struggling to break free and actively devour the abundant Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.

The Wudang Xiantian Gong that Li Lingyue cultivated, and the Bodhidharma Muscle-Tendon Classic that Shi Chen had just begun learning, both suppressed this instinct of the spiritual roots to absorb Spiritual Energy on their own.

Later, Yun Long found his father, Yun Ji.

"Father, I'd like to ask you to teach the Wudang Xiantian Gong to Uncle Li and Uncle Shi," Yun Long said directly.

Yun Ji's expression turned serious. "Along, have you thought this through clearly?"

"Our Yun Clan's techniques can be cultivated even without spiritual roots. Once one enters the gate, they've set foot on the path of immortality."

"However," Yun Ji's tone shifted, carrying a note of caution, "I already noticed when teaching Xiao Chen that without guidance, directly cultivating these techniques is extremely difficult. To succeed through self-exploration alone, something crucial seems to be missing."

"Xiao Chen is still young. Starting now, he still has a chance of success." Yun Long nodded, his voice steady. "But Uncle Li and the others are older. Without technique guidance, relying solely on self-exploration would be nearly impossible."

Yun Long held back, not voicing his deepest concern.

What if the technique leaked?

What if the secret behind the technique—the very foundation of the clan's survival—was exposed?

Yun Ji gave his son a long, searching look.

He understood Yun Long. The way Yun Long acted now meant he had already weighed all possibilities.

"The change in the clan's Spiritual Energy just now—I can tell you clearly that I feel I have a chance to break through to the Qi Refining stage." Yun Ji spoke slowly, his gaze deep. "If so, then those two also have that possibility in theory. Even knowing that, you still want to teach them?"

He vaguely guessed that this strange change in the clan was tied to that mysterious genealogy.

But he didn't ask.

Some secrets were best known by as few as possible. This was destined to be a core clan matter only the clan leader could touch.

"Yes." Yun Long's answer was decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

He wasn't worried about Li Pinghu and Shi Tie breaking through to Qi Refining.

Even if they did, it would only bring greater benefit to the clan.

Moreover, the chance of that was incredibly slim.

As long as they cultivated the Wudang Xiantian Gong and entered its gate, their strength would greatly increase.

That way, when he didn't act personally, the Yun Clan could better establish itself on Wanfang Lake.

"As for the essence related to 'great completion' in the technique, it can wait until they have cultivated it to the peak of their current realm before being taught," Yun Long added, his thinking thorough.

Trust those you employ; don't employ those you doubt.

Li Pinghu and Shi Tie had both shared life-and-death hardships with the Yun Clan. Naturally, Yun Ji had no objection to Yun Long's decision.

"Mm." Yun Ji nodded, then his tone shifted abruptly, a hint of teasing in his gaze. "That's easy enough. But when do you plan to marry Lingyue? The bridal chamber has been ready for you for some time now."

Yun Long was taken aback, then fell into a brief silence and contemplation.

He lifted his head, a flicker of tenderness and guilt in his eyes.

"She's already waited too long."

"Tomorrow, then, Father."

The next day, Yun Long, the third-generation patriarch of the Yun Clan, wed Li Lingyue.

The wedding was simple yet dignified.

No throngs of guests were invited, no elaborate displays arranged.

Only a few close tenant farmers of the Yun Clan, along with Shi Tie and his son Shi Chen, were present.

Within Evergreen Valley, red candles blazed high, and joy filled the air.

Yun Long gently lifted the red bridal veil from Li Lingyue's head.

What met his eyes was her tear-streaked face, radiant with boundless happiness.

Tears traced down her smooth cheeks—not from sorrow, but from an overflow of bliss.

The two had grown up together, their bond deep and true.

Due to the Yun Clan's past rules and concerns, she had waited silently, without regret.

Finally, today, she had reached the day that was hers—the moment to walk hand in hand with the one she loved for a lifetime.

The wedding guests were only a few Yun Clan tenant farmers and the father-and-son pair, Shi Tie and Shi Chen.

Yun Long lifted Li Lingyue's veil, and her face was covered in joyful tears. The two had been childhood sweethearts, and because of the Yun Clan's rules, she had waited—until she finally reached this day.