Clan Establishment Order

"Husband, there's no need to worry about so much now. The Myriad Pills Pavilion being powerful is a good thing for us!"

"At least if anything happens to our Lu Family, they'll have to think twice because of the Myriad Pills Pavilion. It'll be enough if Xiao Ting can keep her master pleased."

Baili Qiuyue replied.

"Alas, we were too hasty with our decision back then. We sent her out to handle things at such a young age."

"Xiao Ting probably isn't having an easy time at the Myriad Pills Pavilion now. Her talent is simply too astonishing, so she's bound to face jealousy and attacks from others."

"I wonder how she's dealing with it."

Lu Wanyuan wore a worried expression.

"Exactly. We haven't seen her in almost two months. Shouldn't you go check on her?"

Seeing this, Baili Qiuyue suggested.

"Mm, you're right. I should go see how things are going for her at the Myriad Pills Pavilion."

"Lei'er will be in your care. I told you a while ago to buy a few servants, but you wouldn't listen. It's not as though we're short of Spirit Stones now!"

"Just look at how large this Lu Household is. There are only three of us here, and it feels so deserted. My younger brothers and sister hardly ever come back, either. They stay where they work."

Lu Wanyuan complained.

"Mm, that's true, but I never had the time. Maybe we can go when we're free?"

"No, let's go now. Otherwise, we'll be busy again before long!"

"Let's take care of it together. Once we've bought the servants, we'll have time for other things. Let them handle all the daily chores."

"Once that's settled, I'll go see Xiao Ting!"

"Mm, you're right, husband. Ever since Lei'er was born, I don't think I've practiced cultivation even once!"

Baili Qiuyue said thoughtfully.

"Of course you haven't. You didn't trust anyone else to look after Lei'er, so you insisted on taking care of him yourself. No wonder you're exhausted. And this is only one child. When we have more, you can't spend all your time looking after them!"

Lu Wanyuan looked at her with a mischievous expression.

"You're always dreaming up these wonderful things. Do you think I'm a sow, meant to give birth to all of them? Strengthening the Lineage isn't my responsibility alone. If you want to expand the Lu Family quickly, take a few more concubines. That way, we can spread our branches and leaves."

"Or have Second Brother and Third Brother marry sooner. They should do their part to strengthen the Lineage, too. They're both old enough to start families and build their lives!"

Baili Qiuyue glanced at him with a resentful expression.

"As for Second Brother and Third Brother's marriages, it's not really my place to interfere. It'll happen when the time is right. Once they find Cultivation Partners, they'll get married!"

"How can that work? If we leave it like that, when will they find Cultivation Partners? In five years? Ten? Fifty? A hundred? Are they just going to keep searching forever?"

"That's clearly no way to solve the problem. In the end, the pressure will fall on me again!"

Baili Qiuyue raised her voice by several notches.

"I think we should find a few concubines for them first, so they can start having children. That way, the Lu Family can flourish!"

"Husband, what do you think of my suggestion?"

After she finished speaking, Baili Qiuyue looked at him smugly.

She was already thinking to herself: There's no way you can turn down an idea like mine.

You want me to be the only one giving birth to all those children? Not a chance!

Lu Wanyuan was embarrassed. He hadn't expected Baili Qiuyue to resist so strongly.

But she was right, too. The Lu Family's prosperity couldn't be her responsibility alone. If they wanted to expand the family quickly, they would have to take more women as wives.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Mm, you're absolutely right. But strengthening the Lu Family's numbers isn't something that needs to happen all at once. It's a long-term process."

"Besides, our Lu Family still isn't stable. We haven't even obtained the 'Clan Establishment Order' yet. Even if we do get one, it'll still take some time."

"Establishing a Cultivation Family is a major undertaking. Choosing a Spirit Vein for the family requires especially careful consideration!"

"It determines the entire Cultivation Family's future development. It's the foundation on which the family stands."

"We haven't even established a proper Cultivation Family yet, and you're already worrying about expanding the Lu Family's numbers. Isn't it a little too soon to be thinking about that?"

As he spoke, he looked at Baili Qiuyue.

The Clan Establishment Order was a kind of reward established by the local overlord, Qingyun Sect, for independent cultivators and Cultivation Families in the surrounding area.

With a Clan Establishment Order, one could establish a Cultivation Family within Qingyun Sect's territory. Naturally, such a Cultivation Family had to be established atop a Spirit Vein.

It was obvious that a Cultivation Family needed to be established on a Spirit Vein if it was to develop over the long term.

After all, Cultivation Families had large populations. Without a Spirit Vein, their members would have to use Spirit Stones to cultivate. With so many people cultivating, the family simply couldn't afford enough Spirit Stones to sustain itself for long.

That was why Cultivation Families had to be established on Spirit Veins.

And the higher the Spirit Vein's grade, the better. A higher grade meant richer, purer spiritual energy, allowing more cultivators to practice there and meeting the needs of cultivators with higher Cultivation Realms.

Conversely, the higher a cultivator's realm, the higher the grade of Spirit Vein they needed. Only then could the vein sustain their daily cultivation. Otherwise, if there wasn't enough spiritual energy, a high-level cultivator might even regress in their realm.

The grades of Spirit Veins corresponded to cultivation levels: first-tier Spirit Veins corresponded to the Qi Refining Realm, second-tier Spirit Veins to Foundation Establishment, and so on.

Each tier was further divided into four grades, from lowest to highest: low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, and top-grade.

A Spirit Vein's grade was determined mainly by how many cultivators of the corresponding realm it could support.

For example, a low-grade first-tier Spirit Vein could support two Qi Refining cultivators, while a middle-grade first-tier Spirit Vein could support four. The same pattern continued for the rest.

A top-grade Spirit Vein could provide the spiritual energy needed by eight cultivators of the corresponding realm.

Spirit Veins were places where the spiritual energy between heaven and earth had gathered over millions of years. They could also draw in spiritual energy from the world, especially from the earth's veins. That was why they usually took the form of mountain ranges. A Spirit Stone mine was what remained after all the spiritual energy in a Spirit Vein had dispersed.

So Spirit Veins like these were not found just anywhere. Whenever one appeared, it brought a bloody struggle in its wake.

Spirit Veins were strategic cultivation resources, so Qingyun Sect kept a register of every one within its territory and protected them.

Without that system, cultivators throughout the territory would fight over Spirit Veins.

Qingyun Sect controlled the Spirit Veins and used them to limit the number of Cultivation Families, while also consolidating its position as the local overlord.

It then distributed the Spirit Veins to those Cultivation Families as rewards.

This served several purposes. First, it limited the number of Cultivation Families and underscored Qingyun Sect's dominance. Second, it united affiliated Cultivation Families, since there were times when cannon fodder was needed.

This meant Qingyun Sect recognized the family and placed it under the sect's protection, preventing independent cultivators from wantonly plundering it. Of course, the family was expected to pay tribute to Qingyun Sect.

But the Clan Establishment Order was not easy to obtain. Usually, one had to render great service to Qingyun Sect to earn one.

Qingyun Sect generally awarded Clan Establishment Orders during campaigns to reclaim the wilderness.

But such campaigns were almost always one-way trips, with devastating losses and countless casualties.

"Husband, you're looking at this the wrong way. A Cultivation Family needs a large population to prosper. It's precisely because the family has grown that people start considering a Clan Establishment Order and creating a Cultivation Family."

"It's not that you wait until you have a Clan Establishment Order before thinking about growing the family."

"So I suggest that we find a few more concubines for Second Brother and Third Brother as soon as possible, so they can start families and help the Lu Family flourish!"

After she finished, Baili Qiuyue looked at Lu Wanyuan with a bright smile, eager to see what he would say.