Essence-Nourishing Spirit Fruit, Becoming In-Laws!

South of Xuan City, there are dozens of hills.

Among the hills stands a mountain named Xuan River, which is the ancestral territory of the Xuan River Zhang Clan.

On the mountainside of the Xuan River, a protruding flat cliff forms a natural scenic spot. From here, one can overlook the entire panoramic view of Xuan City...

At this moment-in this place.

At the stone pavilion of the flat cliff corridor bridge, a blue-robed Daoist drinks tea and contemplates, while a black-robed hermit depicts a painting, capturing this magnificent landscape of mountains and rivers...

Zhang Xuan puts down his jade cup and gazes into the distance, where a trace of the Unseen Dao rhythm gathers entirely upon his person.

"Qin Family Head, you truly are a person of exceptional talent..."

"Hailing from a barren land and a grassroots background, you have cultivated for barely more than a decade yet managed to reach the True Martial Nine Realms Completion; it is truly admirable."

"I presume Qin Family Head's purpose for this trip is that Qi Condensation Pill?"

"It is, and it isn't."

"Hehe~"

"It seems Qin Family Head has long since plotted this out, which is indeed a good thing..."

Qin Lu stops his paintbrush, picks up a teacup, gently swirls the tea soup, and asks with slight puzzlement:

"Oh?"

"How so?"

"Could this Qi Condensation Pill be entangled with some other personal matters?"

"That is not entirely the case..."

"It is just that the skies of Longchuan are about to change~"

With that said-

Zhang Xuan turns around, his fingertips lightly tapping, and an influx of spirit essence emerges into the void, transforming into successive maps of mountains and great rivers marked with numerous runic symbols...

"Our two lineages frequently interact."

"This poor Daoist shall mention a few points so Qin Family Head can have some peace of mind..."

As they speak-

The illusory projection changes once more, gradually magnifying until it encompasses the entire Great Zhou State!

"This Longchuan Prefecture is the northernmost tip among the one hundred and eight prefectures of the Great Zhou State, belonging to the territory of Xuan Prefecture, one of the Nine Prefectures..."

"Its overlord is the Xiashang Dao Academy where this poor Daoist learned his craft."

"I imagine Qin Family Head has heard of it."

"The Xiashang Dao Academy has cultivated countless talented cultivators for the state, many of whom later settled down to govern a region and establish lineage Dao traditions."

"Over these past years..."

"With the Immortal Clans multiplying and the nation's strength flourishing day by day, the Da Zhou imperial family has naturally developed thoughts of a northern expedition and expansion..."

"Coupled with the fact that sixty or seventy years ago, the northern Daliang State suffered the loss of a Dao Foundation realm power."

"Because of this, their national strength declined, and compounded with the domestic political turmoil in recent years, it is rumored that their protective Core Formation True Person has also reached old age..."

"With such favorable timing, geographical advantages, and human harmony, the Da Zhou Imperial Family has developed the intention to launch a northern expedition against Daliang!"

"And Longchuan is the northernmost tip."

"In the future, it will also become the front line, or even the main battlefield..."

"Precisely because of this, this poor Daoist received orders and had no choice but to descend the mountain and return to the clan, establish the foundation of the Immortal Clan, and become a barrier on this front line."

"Therefore, with a great war imminent and a leaning momentum, this time's share of Qi Condensation Pills..."

"Was long ago divided up entirely by several factions in the prefecture to actively prepare for war and strengthen their forces, and thus it will by no means flow outward."

"This poor Daoist says this..."

"I also wanted to advise Qin Family Head not to get tainted by the bad luck of any faction."

When the words reached this point-

Qin Lu raises his brows slightly, finding it almost hard to believe...

How is it that things are going well, and before even developing for a few years, a national war is about to break out?

Yet, when he considers that Zhang Xuan is a student of the Xiashang Dao Academy, he has no reason to spout nonsense and inform him in such a grandiose manner...

Clearly, he wants to draw the two lineages closer together to huddle together for warmth!

Yet for some reason-

Qin Lu always feels a trace of strangeness, much like the sensation of being schemed against by someone...

"This..."

"Since it is so, I ask Senior Zhang to instruct me."

Hearing this-

Zhang Xuan's expression relaxes, and amidst a flick of his robes, a jade box appears out of thin air and lands before Qin Lu!

Upon opening it, one sees a peculiar spirit fruit resting inside that is as white as jade throughout, shaped like a flat peach, and patterned with white cloud and great river markings...

"This is?"

Seeing Qin Lu's curious expression, Zhang Xuan smiles calmly and introduces it to him:

"This is the Peiyuan Spirit Fruit, which requires ten years to flower, ten years to bear fruit, and another ten years to finally ripen. It is the fruit of the tier-two upper-grade spirit plant, the Guyuan Spirit Tree."

"Acquired from the Xiashang Dao Academy, its efficacy is roughly comparable to the Qi Condensation Pill, as it can smoothly add a twenty percent chance of condensation."

"This fruit costs seventy-five spirit stones and shall belong to you, Clan Head Qin."

"An Origin-Nurturing Spiritual Object!"

Qin Lu is suddenly startled. The Zhang Household only has a single Qi Condensation realm cultivator; would they actually sell such a Qi Condensation item?

And it originates from a tier-two upper-grade spirit plant.

Among numerous auxiliary Qi Condensation spirit treasures, this also belongs to the higher-grade goods!

Moreover, given the current situation where a great war is imminent, it is truly somewhat suspicious, yet Qin Lu cannot think of any flaws...

Though filled with misgivings-

Qin Lu is hardly a hesitant person, and he immediately pulls sixty spirit stones from his embrace, saying:

"Here are sixty spirit stones."

"For the lacking spirit stones, I shall use a section of Yellow Flower Osmanthus Forest Wood as collateral. It is a tier-two lower-grade spirit material; I wonder if Senior Zhang recognizes it?"

"Any will do."

Zhang Xuan readily agrees, and he appears to be in rather good spirits...

"Right, Qin Family Head."

"Now that a great war is imminent, why don't our two lineages form a marital alliance and become even closer?"

"Furthermore, we can rely upon the Ying River to keep watch for each other; wouldn't that be delightful?"

Seeing this-

What objection could Qin Lu possibly raise? Even though he is honored as an Alchemist and his status is naturally elevated a notch.

Yet after all, he has yet to break through to Qi Condensation, and a Qi Condensation realm cultivator has proactively proposed a marriage alliance-what reason does he have to refuse...

"Then we shall follow Senior's words."

"My eldest son, although somewhat young, is capable of shouldering heavy burdens."

"Our two lineages can first become engaged and hold the wedding ceremony another day upon choosing a date; how does that sound?"

"Splendid!"

Zhang Xuan readily agrees to everything, completely satisfied.

This transaction is naturally one where the Zhang Household takes advantage; by marrying off a collateral clan daughter, he can bind the next-generation successor of the Qin Family...

No matter how one thinks of it, it is a profit!

Furthermore, he can tie Qin Lu, an Alchemist, onto his own family's warship, which can truly be described as winning big and making a killing!

Longchuan Prefecture City-Hundred Arts Office Branch.

At this moment, within the mansion's courtyard...

Two people are seated discussing the Dao and playing chess, chatting about everything under the sun, thoroughly enjoying themselves...

A white dove flutters down onto a branch, drops a strip of paper an inch long, and then flies up into the air, transforming into a streak of glowing white cloud that dissipates into nothingness...

One of them intercepts it from afar and glances at it.

Immediately, the paper undergoes spontaneous combustion and turns into a patch of dust.

"Heh~"

"This brat Zhang Xuan is yet another millennium-old old fox. Those goods coming out of the Xiashang Dao Academy are all cut from the same cloth..."

"What is it, Old Wu?"

Hearing this-

Wu Yanmian gives a sneering laugh, shakes his head, and says:

"Old Zhe, you know as well that the imperial court has been massing troops at the northern border in recent years, clearly indicating that the imperial family has stirred up some thoughts..."

"This time, in order to strengthen their own household, this furnace of Qi Condensation Pills has just been successfully refined."

"Several factions in the prefecture came knocking on the door."

"My original intention was to give each faction one pill, and reserve the remaining few for those Immortal Arts Warriors in the prefecture who show promise in breaking through their realms..."

"In this way, for the state..."

"If a Four Arts cultivator can be born, it is clearly much more cost-effective than ordinary cultivators..."