Unveiling the Mystery

Facing the confusion of his two sons, Old Man Yu took a deep breath and slowly said, "Originally, I wasn't planning to tell you about this matter now, especially you, the eldest. But I've realized I was wrong. If I keep holding back, I don't know what else you two might end up doing."

"Dad, stop beating around the bush. What kind of opportunity does our family have? Why didn't you say it sooner?" Yu Ershan couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah, Dad, just say it already." Yu Dashan also muttered.

But Old Man Yu didn't reveal the answer immediately. Instead, he said to Yu Ershan, "Second son, go take a lap outside."

"Alright." Though not explicitly stated, Yu Ershan understood his father's meaning. He immediately left the house, taking the chance to check on Yu Xiaoshan at the Spirit Field and telling him not to slack off, while circling their home once.

"Dad, no one's around." After returning, Yu Ershan looked at his father and eldest brother, who were already standing in the yard, and nodded.

"See this tree?" Old Man Yu pointed.

"A tree?" Yu Dashan naturally spotted the small sapling in the corner at a glance, but his face was full of confusion. Yu Ershan, on the other hand, had a flicker of realization.

"This isn't just any ordinary sapling. It's a Rare Species." Old Man Yu lowered his voice.

"What? Rare—" Yu Dashan couldn't hold back, his voice rising a few notches. If Old Man Yu hadn't glared at him, those last two words would have slipped out.

"Dad, can you be sure?" Yu Ershan also asked in a low voice, his eyes suddenly blazing with brightness.

"No mistake. I've seen it several times already. Every night, it breathes under the moonlight, its whole body giving off a faint glow, as if it's cultivating. Based on that extraordinary appearance, it's definitely a Rare Species." Old Man Yu said with certainty. He had lived for fifty years, after all. Even if he'd never seen a Rare Species with his own eyes, he'd heard plenty about their extraordinary signs. After repeated confirmation, there was no mistake.

"Dad, then let's sell it quickly. Once we do, we'll have enough Spirit Stones to enter the Blessed Land, and we won't have to take any more risks." Yu Dashan said without hesitation.

"Second son, what do you think?" Old Man Yu had no expectations for his eldest son.

"We can't sell it!" Yu Ershan said firmly, without a moment's hesitation.

"Why can't we sell it? If we don't, where will we get the Spirit Stones? Second son, are you telling me you want to just watch Dad stay here and die?" Yu Dashan said anxiously.

"Shut up. Say one more word, and you're out." Old Man Yu glared at his eldest son again, then turned to his second son. "Second son, tell me why we can't sell it."

"At this moment, selling it isn't even an option. If even a shred of news gets out, everyone in this family will die." Yu Ershan said calmly.

"Right. That's why I didn't tell you before. I was planning to quietly let Second son know before you two went to the Blessed Land, but..." Old Man Yu shook his head. Plans never kept up with changes. If Second son hadn't discovered the eldest secretly signing up in time and stopped him, the consequences would have been unthinkable. So he decided not to hide it anymore. Fortunately, after this incident, outsiders would have even less reason to suspect anything. After all, even Yu Dashan had gone off to secretly join the Insect Hunter Team—how could their family possibly still be hiding anything valuable?

In truth, it wasn't that Old Man Yu was being overly secretive for no reason. This matter truly concerned the life and death of the entire family. No amount of caution was too much.

Seeing that Yu Dashan still seemed confused, Yu Ershan patiently explained, "Big Brother, a single Rare Species is worth at least tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, and some special varieties fetch even higher prices.

How many factions in the entire settlement can actually come up with that many Spirit Stones right now?

If we'd discovered it earlier, we could have sold it to a merchant caravan. Those caravans travel between settlements and rely on their reputation.

For those caravans and the families behind them, they wouldn't risk tarnishing their own brand over a few tens of thousands of Spirit Stones—that would only cost them more in the long run.

We could also choose to ask for fewer Spirit Stones, treating it as payment for escorting us to the Blessed Land.

But this year's situation is special. All the merchant caravans have already returned to the Blessed Land ahead of time.

As for the settlement, whether it's the Zhou Family or that Qi Refining Realm cultivator representing the New Moon Blessed Land, even if they agree to trade on the surface and can produce that many Spirit Stones, who's to say they won't turn around and rob us afterward?

Even if they don't rob us, don't forget—there are over three hundred people in the settlement this year who had to stay behind because they didn't have enough Spirit Stones.

Most of them are ordinary people who haven't even reached Fetal Movement, but many of their family members who went to the Blessed Land are at Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment.

If they find out our family has a Rare Species and sold it for tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, do you think they'll just look the other way?

For the sake of their own loved ones, quite a few of them have even chosen to join the Insect Hunter Team or sell themselves into servitude.

So why should our family be allowed to take tens of thousands of Spirit Stones to the Blessed Land and live a good life from now on?"

By the end, Yu Ershan's voice had dropped very, very low, but it sent chills down Yu Dashan's spine.

Yeah, why?

"Now do you understand why I didn't dare tell you? With your straightforward personality, if I had told you, you'd definitely have let something slip and gotten caught by outsiders," Old Man Yu said, looking at his eldest son.

"So now that I know, what do I do? How about you give me another good beating, make it so I can't get out of bed, and I'll just stay home every day. That way I won't have to go out, and I won't have to worry about slipping up." Yu Dashan, knowing he was in the wrong, scrambled to make amends.

"Idiot!"

Old Man Yu kicked him directly, sending Yu Dashan stumbling and nearly falling.

Yu Dashan just grinned, completely unfazed.

He had long understood that when it came to scheming, he was no match for his younger brother. Since the family already had a smart one, it was fine if he was a bit dull. Besides, when it came to a real fight, his younger brother couldn't beat him.

"Second Son, what do you think we should do?" Old Man Yu turned to look at his second son instead.

The words he had just spoken proved that his earlier decision had been the right one.

"Father, you're planning to keep this Rare Species and treat it as our family's opportunity, aren't you?" Yu Ershan didn't answer immediately but asked a question in return.

"That's right. Since heaven has given this opportunity to our family, we have to hold on to it tightly," Old Man Yu said.

"In my opinion, we definitely can't sell it this year. As for when to sell it, that actually depends on Big Brother," Yu Ershan said after thinking it over.

"Depends on me?" Yu Dashan was baffled. Was he supposed to make this decision?

But thinking back to the deductions his younger brother had just laid out, his head started to ache. What could he possibly do?