Spirit Vein

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

As the Formation Patterns on the Dragon-Slaying Stone activated, the stone wall slowly opened.

As the Family Secret Vault was revealed, spiritual light flashed brilliantly.

Standing outside the Secret Chamber, Chen Daoxuan was nearly blinded by the glow radiating from the Spirit Stones.

"This..."

He stared at Clan Leader Chen Xianhe in shock, only to see a smug smile on the other man's face, as though he were saying, Scared you, didn't I, kid?

Chen Daoxuan pressed his lips together, trying his best to look calm, but the occasional twitch of his cheeks still betrayed the excitement in his heart.

The family was fucking rich!

There had to be ten thousand Spirit Stones here, right?

Looking at the Spirit Stones stacked neatly upon the shelves, he could not help thinking so.

Aside from Spirit Stones, the Secret Chamber also contained precious Spirit Mines. Beyond Red Copper Mine and several common first-grade Spirit Mines, Chen Daoxuan could even sense the Spiritual Aura fluctuations of second-grade Spirit Mines.

Gulp!

Chen Daoxuan's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

"This... is the entirety of my Chen Family's savings over three hundred years. Impressive, isn't it?"

Chen Xianhe's slightly wistful voice sounded beside Chen Daoxuan's ear. "When I first took over as Clan Leader and saw these things, my reaction was much like yours."

"Thirteenth Uncle, what exactly is going on? Didn't you say the family was poor? And since the family has so many Spirit Stones, why did you give up cultivation? If you traded these things for cultivation resources, surely you could advance further."

As though recalling something, Chen Daoxuan asked anxiously.

Clearly, Chen Xianhe's abandonment of cultivation had always weighed heavily on his mind.

He believed Chen Xianhe had given up cultivation for his sake.

"You're right!"

Chen Xianhe nodded. "Trading these things for cultivation resources could indeed allow my cultivation to advance further. If I were lucky, reaching the ninth layer of Qi Refining would not be impossible. But then what? Could I achieve Foundation Establishment? No!"

Chen Xianhe sighed. "To exhaust three hundred years of accumulation from the Chen Clan's ancestors for the sake of a clansman with such poor aptitude as myself—how foolish would that be!"

After hearing this, Chen Daoxuan could no longer say anything.

Neither failing the ancestors nor failing those to come!

Through his actions, Chen Xianhe had set the finest example for him, a descendant of the Chen Clan.

Faced with such a Thirteenth Uncle, faced with such a Clan Leader of the Chen Clan, what else could Chen Daoxuan say?

Without uttering a word, Chen Daoxuan respectfully bowed deeply to Chen Xianhe.

Chen Xianhe calmly accepted Chen Daoxuan's bow. After a while, he waved his hand. "There are eight thousand seven hundred and forty-three Spirit Stones here in total, along with six hundred and thirty-five catties of various first-grade Spirit Mines. Of these, the most precious are three pieces of second-grade Spirit Mine."

Chen Xianhe pointed to an exquisite wooden box in the farthest corner of the Secret Chamber. "With the amount of these three pieces of second-grade Spirit Mine, they can barely be used to forge one Second-Grade Artifact. But over all these years, apart from you, not a single Artifact Forger has emerged from the Chen Family.

"Now, I am entrusting all of these things to you!"

Having said that, Chen Xianhe looked straight into Chen Daoxuan's eyes. Once he received a resolute look in return, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Clan Leader, I have a question."

"Speak."

After organizing his words, Chen Daoxuan continued, "Since the family has so many Spirit Stones, why not nurture more disciples within the clan?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xianhe first nodded, then shook his head. "I understand what you mean. Such an enormous fortune could indeed nurture several more cultivators for the family and restore the prosperity of the Immortal generation.

"But have you considered this? Before reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, a cultivator's lifespan is at most one hundred and twenty years. Once this generation of cultivators passes away, how will the Chen Clan continue on, with neither the Red Copper Vein nor the family's accumulated savings?"

Seeing Chen Daoxuan remain silent, Chen Xianhe knew that this boy surely did not agree with the ideas of their older generation.

But on second thought, Chen Xianhe felt relieved.

Chen Daoxuan was different from them. He had good aptitude and Artifact Forging talent. He surely wanted to use every ounce of strength to develop and strengthen the family, rather than rely on generations of accumulation to save up a Spirit Vein for it.

"Daoxuan, I know you want to develop and strengthen the family. Not only you—every generation of Chen Clan members has thought the same way. But you must remember: for Cultivation Families to grow strong, aside from the inheritance of Cultivation Techniques, a Spirit Vein is a family's true foundation!"

"A Spirit Vein?"

Chen Daoxuan frowned.

"That's right. Do you know why thirteen cultivators of the Immortal generation emerged from our Chen Clan?"

Chen Daoxuan shook his head.

"It was because of the seven Spirit Eyes in the family."

At this, Chen Xianhe could not help sighing wistfully. "Perhaps our ancestors watched over us, or perhaps we were simply lucky. The previous Clan Leader, Chen Xianzhou, discovered four Spirit Eyes in succession within the Red Copper Mountain Range. Together with the three Spirit Eyes the family already possessed, that was what gave rise to the grand sight of thirteen Chen Family cultivators."

"But Spirit Eyes are, after all, duckweed without roots. Their emergence follows no pattern, and neither does their depletion."

Chen Daoxuan deeply understood Thirteenth Uncle's words.

Because when he had first begun cultivating, the family had possessed two Spirit Eyes, one for him and one for Chen Xianhe.

But when he reached the second layer of Qi Refining, Thirteenth Uncle's Spirit Eye had inexplicably dried up. From then on, only the final Spirit Eye remained in the family.

Seeing Chen Daoxuan's expression of deep agreement, Chen Xianhe continued, "But Spirit Veins are different. So long as the family's cultivators do not court death, they will not dry up.

"For a Cultivation Family, possessing a Spirit Vein means possessing the foundation for inheritance. Unfortunately, although Spirit Veins are widespread throughout the Myriad Star Sea, not a single unclaimed Spirit Vein remains!"

Hearing this, Chen Daoxuan fell into thought. "So the family's savings are intended to artificially nurture a Spirit Vein?"

"That's right!"

Seeing that Chen Daoxuan was stunned speechless, Chen Xianhe smiled. "I know you may think our ancestors were somewhat foolish. Artificially nurturing a Spirit Vein not only requires more than a hundred thousand Spirit Stones, but also the deployment of a Spirit Nurturing Grand Array.

"But if our Chen Family wishes to truly gain a foothold in the Myriad Star Sea, there is no other way but to possess a Spirit Vein!"

Chen Daoxuan fell silent.

He knew Chen Xianhe was right.

Only with a Spirit Vein could they cultivate Spirit Fields, plant Spirit Herbs, and raise spirit beasts. Most importantly, only with a Spirit Vein would Chen Family cultivators have sufficient spiritual energy for cultivation.

Instead of being like Chen Daoxuan now, trembling with fear every day he cultivated, terrified that the Spirit Eye in his Cave Mansion would dry up.

Just as Thirteenth Uncle had said, the feeling was like duckweed without roots.

Chen Daoxuan hated this feeling of having his fate beyond his own control. He wanted to change all of it!