Family Conference

This Foundation Establishment Pill had been bought with wealth the clan had accumulated over decades. Even the clan chief had suffered grave injuries over it, while several Ninth Layer of Qi Refining uncles from the Chang Generation had fallen protecting it.

If Sixth Elder failed to break through, it would be a crushing blow to the already impoverished Chen Clan.

Sure enough, Third Elder pondered for a long while before finally speaking.

"Qing Meng emerged from seclusion yesterday."

"He did not break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm..."

The moment Chen Qinghao finished speaking, many people present underwent a drastic change in expression. Even though they had expected it, hearing the news still made it hard to accept.

Seventh Uncle Patriarch Chen Changqing was already one hundred and seven years old. His mind went dizzy on the spot; he felt rebellious blood rush to his forehead, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed unconscious.

"Seventh Uncle Patriarch!"

"Seventh Uncle..."

The scene descended into chaos. Everyone hurriedly protected Seventh Uncle Patriarch's heart meridians before carrying him back to his residence.

After bustling about for an hour, everyone returned to the Clan Affairs Hall. Their faces were pale, and each of them looked restless and unsettled.

Chen Qingmeng's failure at Foundation Establishment was too devastating a blow to the Chen Clan. The clan had suffered terrible luck this time. Buying the Foundation Establishment Pill had already wounded its sinews and broken its bones; several Ninth Layer of Qi Refining uncles from the Chang Generation had died protecting it, and even the clan chief had been gravely injured.

Now that Chen Qingmeng had failed his breakthrough, it meant that for the next thirty years, the Chen Clan would no longer have the means to purchase another Foundation Establishment Pill for the clan.

Without any way to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills, the clan lacked enough cultivators to hold the fort, and its income would immediately shrink by nearly half. To Chen Clan cultivators of the Qing Generation and Nian Generation, this was nothing less than a devastating blow.

The Chen Clan might well become a generation of yellow followed by a generation of green—without heirs to carry on—then decline completely and vanish from the cultivation world.

Everyone looked at one another, their throats dry and their hearts unbearably heavy. Third Elder Chen Qinghao swept his gaze across the room before speaking.

"Even with the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill, there is generally only a forty percent chance of Foundation Establishment. Qing Meng's failure is within reason."

"Let us put this matter aside for now and calculate the clan's current circumstances instead."

After being injured many years ago, Third Elder had given up on attempting Foundation Establishment. Over the years, he had managed the clan in perfect order.

Under his management, the clan had only begun to show signs of recovery these past few years, yet it had unexpectedly encountered this great calamity. With a sorrowful expression, he said,

"To purchase the Foundation Establishment Pill, we borrowed eight thousand Spirit Stones. The longer this debt drags on, the larger the hole becomes. We must repay it as soon as possible."

"The clan's annual expenses are considerable as well. Early Stage of Qi Refining cultivators receive two Spirit Stones a year, Middle Stage of Qi Refining cultivators receive five, and Late Stage of Qi Refining cultivators receive ten."

"The clan chief's annual stipend is three hundred Spirit Stones, while elders receive thirty Spirit Stones. The clan now has one hundred and six cultivators remaining, for a total annual expenditure of roughly nine hundred and thirty-seven Spirit Stones."

Third Elder cleared his throat and continued.

"Now, let us discuss the clan's income."

"The clan's main sources of income are Five Elements Essence, the seventeen mu of Spirit Fields on the mountain, Spirit Lake Isle, and several shops in Yuyang Market."

As Third Elder spoke, Chen Nianzhi gained his first real understanding of the clan's actual situation. This was his first such meeting since entering the clan's upper ranks.

Of these sources of income, Five Elements Essence was the most stable.

As its name suggested, Five Elements Essence was the pure essence of the five elements refined by cultivators with Five-Element Spirit Roots.

This treasure was immensely useful to high-level cultivators, capable of raising the grade of a Life-bound Magical Treasure. Thus, high-level cultivators often purchased Five Elements Essence in bulk to refine their Life-bound Magical Treasures, making it hard currency on par with Spirit Stones.

The Chen Clan's hundred-odd Qi Refining Cultivators could refine more than six hundred strands of Five Elements Essence each year. Once sold, they brought in roughly one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones annually.

Aside from Five Elements Essence, the seventeen mu of Spirit Fields on the mountain grew spirit herbs that the Chen Clan had cultivated for centuries. Over the years, these herbs had gradually yielded harvests worth an average of more than one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones each year.

The three shops in Yuyang Market sold pills and Spirit Artifacts, bringing in roughly two hundred and twenty Spirit Stones a year.

In truth, the Chen Clan had originally owned five shops in Yuyang Market. To gather enough Spirit Stones to purchase the Foundation Establishment Pill, it had sold two of them at low prices, suffering no small loss.

Beyond that, the Chen Clan also possessed a Spirit Lake Isle five thousand li from Qingyuan Mountain. Spirit Lake Isle had a Tier 1 High-grade Spirit Vein, and the Azure Spiritfish nurtured in its lake were a Chen Clan specialty, bringing in eighty Spirit Stones each year.

"Five Elements Essence, the Spirit Fields of Qingyuan Mountain, Spirit Lake Isle, and the shops in Yuyang Market."

"Together, these four bring us five hundred and seventy Spirit Stones annually. Adding the scattered minor sources of income, the clan's yearly revenue is now less than six hundred Spirit Stones."

After Third Elder Chen Qinghao finished, everyone present looked grim. This little income was not even enough to pay the clan's stipends, so how could they possibly fill the eight-thousand-Spirit-Stone debt?

Fifth Elder Chen Qingwan could not help asking, "The income from the year before last was still over one thousand three hundred Spirit Stones. Why has it fallen by so much this year?"

Third Elder shook his head. "The clan's ten percent share in the Great Azure Mountain Spiritstone Mine was mortgaged last year for twelve thousand Spirit Stones. We now lose three hundred Spirit Stones of income every year."

"This time, the clan chief was gravely injured, and seven Ninth Layer of Qi Refining uncles died. We no longer have enough hands, so we will be unable to continue the Five Elements Essence business to Heavenly Ruins Mountain. That means another loss of roughly three hundred Spirit Stones each year."

"From these two matters alone, we lose six hundred Spirit Stones annually. And now Yuyang Market has two fewer shops as well."

Listening, Chen Nianzhi could not help feeling stifled in his chest.

The Great Azure Mountain Spiritstone Mine was a miniature Spirit Stone mine discovered thirty years ago. The Six Great Families of Yu Commandery had jointly invested in developing it. Back then, the Chen Clan had spent twenty thousand Spirit Stones and contributed both manpower and effort, gaining a ten percent share.

The Great Azure Mountain Spiritstone Mine had been mined for thirty years, and the Chen Clan had already recovered more than nine thousand Spirit Stones of its investment. Last year, the Chen Clan had exchanged the mine's income rights for the next forty-five years for twelve thousand Spirit Stones.

Thus, for the next forty-five years, the Chen Clan's annual income would be reduced by three hundred Spirit Stones.

The Five Elements Essence trade to Heavenly Ruins Mountain was one of the rare ways low-level cultivators could earn Spirit Stones from high-level cultivators.

Patriarch Jiang of Heavenly Ruins Mountain possessed profound cultivation, but he was a Rogue Cultivator. Unlike patriarchs of great sects, he did not have a great many disciples supplying him with Five Elements Essence.

To refine his Life-bound Magical Treasure, he could only spend heavily to purchase Five Elements Essence from low-level cultivators. This was also why Jiang Daoist was willing to sell precious pills such as Foundation Establishment Pills in exchange for Spirit Stones.

Throughout Yu Commandery, there were no fewer than several thousand low-level cultivators, while Heavenly Ruins Mountain lay a full hundred thousand li away. The journey was fraught with peril, so naturally, no one would travel thousands of li merely to sell Five Elements Essence for a few Spirit Stones.

Thus arose the Five Elements Essence trade. Each year, one of the Six Great Families of Yu Commandery would take responsibility for purchasing the Five Elements Essence of Yu Commandery, then form a merchant caravan to sell it to Jiang Daoist at Heavenly Ruins Mountain, earning the difference in price.