The Delegate! [Second Update, Asking for Recommendation Votes!]

Another day passed.

Qian Yu came to the house again. Meng Nan received her, with Zhao Xiaoshuang accompanying them.

The three gathered together.

Based on the "Art of Alchemy," Meng Nan spoke of his plans for what came next. "To be honest with you, Auntie, I'm extremely talented in alchemy. Besides refining Hemostasis Powder and Detoxification Pills, I can also refine Qi Circulation Powder and Yellow Spirit Pills. The latter two are wonderfully useful for cultivating internal energy and true qi. But my cultivation is too weak, so I don't dare venture outside."

Meng Nan looked at Qian Yu. "Within Yinlian Village, Auntie's character ranks first in my heart. You've also already reached the True Qi Stage and can travel outside with ease. Beyond ordinary cooperation, your nephew would like to pursue a deeper partnership with you."

Rather than calling it cooperation—

It would be more accurate to say that Meng Nan wanted Qian Yu to act as his delegate for a time—

To travel in his stead.

Having lived through four lives, Meng Nan understood Yinlian Village and its surroundings inside and out.

Where there were mines.

Where there were demons.

Where there were people.

Where there were magical artifacts and rare treasures.

The time, place, people, cause, process, and outcome—he knew every last detail.

During this period, first, he needed to stay with Zhao Xiaoshuang as she gave birth.

Second, he needed to cultivate—

To raise his cultivation and construct the first thirty layers of the Giant Spirit God's Qi Circulation Diagram.

Thus, for the next four or five months, he would remain in Yinlian Village.

But he could not truly trap himself here and do nothing.

With Qian Yu's help, Meng Nan could act ahead of time. He could point out gathering places for Rogue Cultivators and the right times for her to go, have her use Qi Circulation Powder to open the way, and purchase medicinal ingredients from those Rogue Cultivators—especially the ingredients needed to refine Qi Circulation Powder and Yellow Spirit Pills—to improve the cultivation of himself, Zhao Xiaoshuang, and Qian Yu.

On the other hand—

There were quite a few noteworthy people among these Rogue Cultivators.

Meng Nan had paid close attention to them in his third and fourth lives. So long as they could cultivate true essence and possessed passable character, he had recorded brief notes on each of them, more or less.

Having Qian Yu contact them in advance now would be a three-way win—

For him.

For Qian Yu.

For the Rogue Cultivators.

All three sides could benefit and rapidly grow under the momentum of Meng Nan's foresight and alchemy.

On the path of cultivation, resources were important, but connections were equally important.

These Rogue Cultivators were Meng Nan's first step toward building his network.

Beyond that, Qian Yu could also take advantage of entering the medicinal ingredient trade to select promising talents in Yinlian Village and form an herb-gathering team.

It would both make money and nurture the next generation.

This way—

One would operate outside.

One would remain within.

The basic outline of their team would take shape.

Meng Nan only needed to sit firmly at the center and focus on cultivation.

The difficult part was whether Qian Yu would be willing to be directed by an insignificant eighteen-year-old junior like him.

Dusk deepened.

Qian Yu left and returned home.

"Mother."

"Mother."

The moment she returned, all three children came forward to greet her.

Qian Yu was thirty this year. She had married early and borne three children early.

The eldest was already twelve.

Her husband was an ordinary man—

A male chauvinist.

He had no interest in cultivation.

No ambition.

Life had to go on somehow.

When Qian Yu had first married into the family, she had clashed with him quite a few times.

Usually, she was the one who suffered.

There was no helping it.

This was Yinlian Village, after all. The husband's side had more people.

Qian Yu could only swallow her anger and endure in silence, cultivating diligently in secret. Fortunately, she had already reached Fetal Breath Contemplation when she married in. Gritting her teeth and cultivating bitterly, she unexpectedly advanced to Internal Qi before long.

Her status immediately changed. At first, her husband and the rest of the family still dared to pull long faces at her, but after Qian Yu suppressed them with force several times, her position in the household was thoroughly established.

And now—

Qian Yu had advanced to True Qi. Her family became even more eager to fawn over and please her. The contrast before and after was so stark that their faces were nauseating to behold.

For that very reason, Qian Yu became even more absorbed in cultivation, even more stubbornly devoted to it.

But as for what came next, how she should continue down the road ahead, Qian Yu was also lost.

For the past few months, she had never been able to grasp the way forward.

Until Meng Nan appeared.

"This kid is so mysterious—"

Qian Yu thought of Meng Nan.

Zhou Shan.

Alchemy.

And the grand plan they had only lightly touched upon today.

Back then, regarding Zhou Shan, Qian Yu had thought that Meng Nan possessed a conscience but was timid. Looking at it now, however, that panic and remorse from back then had most likely been an act.

"True Qi."

"True Essence."

"Qi Refinement."

Thinking of Meng Nan, Qian Yu thought again of cultivation. Thinking of cultivation, she recalled the affection between Meng Nan and Zhao Xiaoshuang.

Then she raised her head and saw her own man emerging from the house, wearing a flattering, slightly obsequious smile. A laugh rose in her heart. "Scheming and scrambling like flies and dogs! I refuse!"

"Auntie Yu really is an extraordinary woman!"

At home—

Zhao Xiaoshuang was also talking with Meng Nan about Qian Yu.

She often went to chat with her sister-in-law, Sun Mei. Back and forth, she had learned much of the gossip in the village.

Including Qian Yu's story.

Qian Yu had advanced to True Qi at the age of thirty and become one of Yinlian Village's upper ranks. She was a role model to many women, and many wives admired her.

But cultivation was difficult and bitter. There were those who admired Qian Yu, yet few truly followed her example.

After their admiration passed, most people still went on doing whatever they had always done.

It was the result of the broader environment's long-term influence.

In the end, only a tiny few could rise above it, and every one of them was exceedingly precious.

In Yinlian Village, over the span of more than ten years, among one or two thousand women—not counting Zhao Xiaoshuang—those who could be called ambitious and willing to act included Qian Yu before, and Feng Ying after.

There was no fourth.

One's environment shaped one's character.

Once formed, it was difficult to change.

Meng Nan felt this more deeply than anyone.

In his first three lives, all three of his children had grown up in Yinlian Village. Even with his guidance, living in the village had subtly influenced them. Their personalities had all turned somewhat soft, without much distinction.

Not until his fourth life.

In this life, Meng Nan had entered Tianlin Cave to cultivate early on and brought his three children there with him. With a changed environment and broadened horizons, each of their personalities became more distinct, and they grew faster as well. Their future achievements would certainly be greater.

Poverty was not frightening.

Hardship was not frightening.

Yinlian Village's flaw lay in its atmosphere—overall, it was too decadent, too steeped in the air of decline.

"Once our children are born, we won't stay in Yinlian Village. We'll go somewhere else."

Meng Nan chatted with Zhao Xiaoshuang about Qian Yu, discussing and analyzing this phenomenon with her before voicing his own thoughts.

They had to leave.

Not only for the children, but for Zhao Xiaoshuang as well.

Walk more.

See more.

Listen more.

Only then could one grow richer and keep improving.

"I'll listen to you."

Supporting her waist, Zhao Xiaoshuang smiled at Meng Nan.

Pregnant Zhao Xiaoshuang looked somewhat simple-minded, bearing a slight resemblance to Meng Santan of later generations. For now, she still drifted with the current. Meng Nan treated her well, so she was willing to follow him and heed him. Only after cultivating continuously in the future would her battle-loving nature gradually reveal itself.

That was a good thing.

Blind obedience alone was detrimental to growth.

Only with greater independence could one make progress.

Inside the little house.

The husband and wife chatted—sometimes about people, sometimes about cultivation, sometimes looking ahead to the future.

The future Zhao Xiaoshuang anticipated at this moment was still very simple. Even she herself likely could not imagine that one day, she would roam alone with a sword in hand, revealing a side of herself that loved courage and relished fighting.