The Banquet Begins

"Things have not been going well for the Lu Clan lately. If the Lu Clan is truly destroyed, Uncle will lose his backing in the Danyang Sect as well," Lu Xuanji said. "Brothers fight side by side in battle; fathers and sons take the field together. In this world, the most reliable people are one's father, son, and kin. If even family cannot be trusted, then who can? Can outsiders be trusted?"

Lu Tianwen said, "Your uncle has no great abilities. I am merely someone warming a cold bench in the sect, with limited authority within the school. But if anyone moves against my Lu Clan, I will fight to the death."

"The situation has not yet deteriorated that far. The Danyang Sect still has rules. As long as there are rules, we have nothing to fear."

Lu Xuanji spoke calmly.

"There are rules, but some people have ways to skirt the sect's rules! It is only a matter of how great a price they must pay!" Lu Tianwen said, a trace of worry flashing through his eyes. "Some forces have given up suppressing the Lu Clan, but others still refuse to let go."

Some clans withdrew their hands for profit;

Some clans struck out for profit as well.

As long as the Lu Clan existed, it would inevitably clash with certain clans, with disputes never ceasing.

"It is no matter. If that day truly comes, my Lu Clan will not be afraid!" Lu Xuanji said, a hint of ruthlessness flashing across his face.

After arriving at Changyuan Mountain and meeting the Grand Elder,

Lu Tianwen departed for Ziyang Mountain to pay respects to his parents.

The Lu Clan had lived on Ziyang Mountain for a thousand years. Cultivators who had passed away there were all buried near Ziyang Mountain.

Before his parents' graves, he laid out offerings and burned paper.

He sat before the graves in silence.

His parents had been dead for many years. Their memories in his mind were gradually fading, and their features had become ever more indistinct.

After a long while, Lu Tianwen rose and vanished.

"Who was he?"

On Ziyang Mountain, Ancestor Jin stood there and asked.

"That was a Lu Family cultivator. Over the years, some Lu Family cultivators and mortals have always come to Ziyang Mountain to pay respects to their relatives," the maid Long Xuan said.

"Pay respects?"

Ancestor Jin looked down the slopes of Ziyang Mountain toward a certain area, where the graves of Lu Family cultivators lay.

Many Lu Family cultivators were buried there after they passed away.

Some graves had gone uncleared for a long time and were already overgrown with weeds.

The mounds atop other graves had vanished completely, no different from ordinary grassland.

Human nature was forgetful. One might remember one's parents' graves, yet not necessarily remember the graves of one's grandfather and grandmother, let alone great-grandfather and great-grandmother, or other relatives.

As the Lu Clan declined and the elderly passed away, fewer and fewer people would come to Ziyang Mountain to pay respects, until they disappeared entirely.

The banquet was underway, with over a hundred tables of food and wine laid out.

Seated at the tables were Lu Family cultivators, along with the invited guests.

The Ye Family, Wu Family, Li Family, Sun Family, and more than a dozen other clans friendly with the Ye Family attended the banquet one after another. Some smaller cultivator clans merely sent a late Qi Refining cultivator to attend; other clans had Foundation Establishment Cultivators leading their delegations.

Among the congratulatory gifts, some were worth only a dozen or so spirit stones, while others were worth more than a hundred.

Those bearing expensive gifts received no excessive courtesy; those whose gifts were ordinary were not looked down upon either.

The gifts were secondary. Coming to attend the banquet itself was giving the Lu Clan face.

Fine wine and good meat were served with warm hospitality.

Once the banquet began, Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue made their appearance. They took turns visiting the tables, offering toasts and exchanging a few words. They did not seek to forge deep friendships, only to become familiar faces and build a few connections.

The entire Lu Clan was filled with joy and relief.

The Grand Elder was already over a hundred and fifty years old and could live at most another fifty or sixty years. If the Grand Elder was gone by then, whether Changyuan Mountain could still be kept would be another matter entirely.

At that time, Lu Family cultivators could only become Rogue Cultivators, without a fixed place to live.

Now that the Lu Clan had produced two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, there were successors to carry on the line.

Many low-level cultivators were delighted.

The Ye Family, Wu Family, and the other cultivator clans, however, had complicated feelings.

At the same time, they were inquiring about Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue.

Yet the information they obtained was limited.

In his youth, Lu Xuanji had cultivated within the clan. Later, when the Lu Clan was destroyed, he left the clan and traveled outside for several years. Not long ago, he consumed a Foundation Establishment Pill and became a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

When he achieved Foundation Establishment, many cultivators of his generation were only at Qi Refining Layer 3 or Qi Refining Layer 4.

Though he had cultivated for more than thirty years, he had no particularly close friends and only occasionally associated with a few elders.

There was even less information about Ye Feixue.

Had it not been for this banquet, many clan cultivators would not even have known that the Lu Clan had such an outsider woman.

According to the information circulating outside, Ye Feixue had been born in a remote village. Lu Xuanji discovered her and brought her into the Lu Clan, where she became a Lu Family cultivator. She had taken only twenty-five years to become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, even a step faster than Lu Xuanji.

Looking at such scant intelligence, which was nearly worthless, many cultivators had the urge to cough up blood.

They did not know whether to complain that their own intelligence was too outdated or that the Lu Clan was too skilled at concealing things.

The only intelligence they could draw from it was that Lu Xuanji possessed a Triple Spirit Root, while Ye Feixue possessed a Dual Spirit Root.

As for their Spiritual Root attributes, those remained secret as well, lest enemies target them.

After walking among the various tables and making a round of toasts, Lu Xuanji felt slightly weary, but this procedure had to be followed.

Cultivation was not merely secluded bitter training; it also involved the ways of the world and human relationships.

After making a round of toasts, Lu Xuanji returned to his table and sat down. Ye Feixue sat down shortly afterward as well.

The Grand Elder smiled. "How does it feel?"

"A little tiring."

Lu Xuanji said, "And somewhat irritating."

The Grand Elder smiled placidly. "You will become the Patriarch in the future and take over some of the clan's affairs. Some matters are complicated, but you must become familiar with them and understand the clan's businesses."

"I would rather not. I intend to devote most of my time to cultivation. As long as I become a Purple Mansion cultivator, the Lu Clan can rise again. Otherwise, no matter how much money we earn, it cannot compare to a single Purple Mansion cultivator." Lu Xuanji said calmly, "In the Lu Clan's current state, can it accumulate one piece of Purple Sun Jade for me in a few hundred years?"

"No. At the Lu Clan's peak, two hundred years of the clan's savings could buy one piece of Purple Sun Jade, but not now," the Grand Elder said.

"That is exactly it. The poor rely on luck; the rich rely on paying to win."

Lu Xuanji spoke calmly.

The essence of this world was that the strong grew stronger and possessed ever greater wealth, while the weak grew weaker and held ever less wealth.

Relying on the clan to farm and manage businesses, accumulating enough resources to reach the Purple Mansion Stage was almost impossible. The only certainty was to continuously temper his foundation and strengthen his basics. At the same time, he had to reach the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer as quickly as possible, gain more time, and then charge toward the Purple Mansion Realm.