Family

Xia Dong slowly gathered his thoughts, drawing the surging Mysterious Yin Mana and his abundant qi and blood back into his dantian and viscera.

Though he had succeeded in breaking through, he didn't rush to keep cultivating the Mysterious Yin Kidney-Refining Art recklessly.

The transformation of the five viscera and six bowels in the Internal Strengthening Realm was meant to be as gradual as a spring breeze and drizzle, progressing step by step.

The viscera were the most fragile parts of the human body. If he pressed forward too aggressively, he would only go too far and end up doing more harm than good.

For now, he needed only to do one thing: let everything settle.

He would stabilize his qi and blood and allow his body to slowly adapt to the transformation of the Internal Strengthening Realm.

In his spare time, Xia Dong stayed in the secret chamber and drew talismans.

With the foundation of One Proof Eternal Proof, drawing basic Talismans was as effortless as flowing clouds and running water. Not only was his success rate extremely high, but the quality of his work was remarkably consistent.

And the more he practiced, the deeper his understanding of the Wind-Riding Talisman became. He was gradually approaching perfection in the Wind-Riding Technique.

He could clearly sense that once he perfected the Wind-Riding Technique, he would be able to break through its limits.

This was because his bond with the Bronze Ancient Bell was growing ever deeper.

It seemed the Bronze Ancient Bell itself was incomplete and broken, and it had begun to awaken as he cultivated. There was a subtle sense of symbiosis between the man and the bell.

After some time, he had accumulated a thick stack of Wind-Riding Talismans and Disease-Dispelling Talismans.

Then Xia Dong emerged from seclusion and met Qin Wan at their usual place.

After a few cups of tea, Qin Wan's brows revealed a hint of fatigue.

She didn't hide anything. She gave Xia Dong a general account of how Pei Hongling and the others had been closing in on her at Lone Moon Peak, and how she had burned her bridges by destroying the secret vault key in front of everyone to put an end to their schemes.

Xia Dong paused with his teacup in hand, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.

He studied the seemingly delicate young woman before him, and couldn't help admiring her decisiveness. "Wan'er, that was a beautiful and clean move."

Qin Wan gave a bitter smile and met Xia Dong's eyes, speaking candidly. "Big Brother Xia, the key may be gone, and their crooked schemes put to rest, but I can't let my businesses grind to a halt. Right now, I desperately need your help acquiring cultivation resources."

Xia Dong set down his teacup and smiled with an air of ease.

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he casually dropped a bombshell. "Don't worry, Wan'er. I forgot to tell you—I've now taken over as the Eagle-Wolf Guard's Flag-Bearer for Pingyang County."

"Flag-Bearer?"

After a brief moment of surprise, Qin Wan's eyes glimmered.

With Big Brother Xia's public standing as both an "official of the imperial court" and an "Eagle-Wolf Guard Flag-Bearer," she would have even more leverage to cow Pei Hongling and the others in the future.

Qin Wan let out a long breath. "Congratulations, Big Brother."

Xia Dong took a heavy cloth bundle from his sleeve and pushed it across to Qin Wan. "These are the Talismans I've accumulated lately. Aside from exchanging them for the Spirit Stones I need day to day, this time I'd like you to help me buy two things: a copy of the Basic Alchemy Sutra and an alchemy furnace."

Qin Wan furrowed her brows slightly and quickly worked out the details. "The Basic Alchemy Sutra shouldn't be hard to get. It's regulated on the market, but as an inner disciple of the Immortal Sect, I can buy it directly. It's just that an alchemy furnace artifact is very expensive..."

Then she changed tack and said decisively, "Big Brother Xia, I think we can rent one. If I guarantee it under my name, I should have no trouble renting a decent alchemy furnace from the sect's Marketplace."

"Renting works too, as long as it's usable." Xia Dong agreed readily.

Then Xia Dong added, "Also, help me get some more jade slips on making other basic Talismans."

He had no choice.

The Peaceful Yin Talisman Scripture was exquisite, but it recorded far too few types of basic Talismans. It only had a handful, repeated over and over.

As for the advanced Talismans with tremendous power, they required not only vast reserves of mana but, more demanding still, a Talisman Seed condensed within the body before they could be drawn.

Cultivating a Talisman Seed was extremely difficult. For him, it was still a distant prospect.

For now, mastering a few more basic Talismans and broadening his methods and sources of income was the most practical path.

After hearing Xia Dong's request, Qin Wan merely nodded, wisely suppressing all the questions in her heart without asking a single one.

She knew all too well the rules of survival in this world: the less you knew about certain secrets, the safer you were. But within her, waves of emotion rose, and her thoughts raced.

First came that large batch of exceptionally high-quality Wind-Riding Talismans, and now he wants jade slips on basic talisman-making. There must be a talisman master of no small skill standing behind Big Brother Xia. And now he urgently needs an alchemy furnace and an alchemy sutra... Could he have recruited a cultivator with alchemical potential as well?

Qin Wan was secretly startled. Whether talisman masters or alchemists, they were scarce talents whom all manner of factions in the cultivation world sought to win over. Even the lowest-ranked among them would never be at the beck and call of a mortal martial artist.

Countless guesses flashed through her mind.

Behind all this, is it some faction within the Eagle-Wolf Guard? Or... does it come from the Dao Registry Clan behind Big Brother Xia?

Could it be that Big Brother Xia's family has finally contacted him in secret, preparing to have him return to his ancestral lineage and even assigning cultivators to serve as his household retainers?

The more Qin Wan thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

The thirty-six Dao Registry clans, whose lineages had endured since the founding of Great You, possessed unfathomable foundations.

Equipping a core family member who had been living abroad with a few low-ranked cultivators to serve as attendants and manage the family's businesses would be child's play.

If that's the case, perhaps Big Brother Xia suddenly needs these basic alchemy tools and manuals because he wants to cultivate his own confidants. Or perhaps... he's already been drawn against his will into a power struggle within the family, and is secretly building up strength of his own?

At that thought, Qin Wan couldn't help looking at Xia Dong with a little more reverence and anticipation.

How could a golden-scaled carp be content to dwell in a pond? At the first winds of change, it would transform into a dragon.

Even if Big Brother Xia had no Spirit Root and had been declared incapable of setting foot on the path to immortality, as long as he seized the resources of his family and the Eagle-Wolf Guard and surged ever forward in martial cultivation...

If Big Brother Xia were to one day become a martial grandmaster of the True Intent Realm...

Qin Wan's heart gave a powerful thump.

A martial grandmaster of the True Intent Realm could give form to his spirit and manifest his qi and blood.

His strength alone would be enough to contend with a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Whatever the truth might be, the potential Xia Dong had shown and the unfathomable cards he held had already far exceeded her expectations.

Perhaps she really had missed the greatest opportunity of her life.

What was past could not be recovered.

All she could do now was her best to make up for it.

"Don't worry, Big Brother." Qin Wan put her scattered thoughts aside, her eyes bright and her voice growing ever more resolute and fervent. "I'll go to the Marketplace right away and get you the alchemy furnace, the alchemy sutra, and the jade slips on talisman-making. I'll take care of everything as quickly as I can and won't delay your important plans."