The three members of the Yang Family were all at a loss, not knowing what to say.
He Shenglai looked at the young-faced Yang Lingrui.
"You drank quite a bit of that spirit liquid, one drop every three months, didn't you?"
Yang Lingrui looked nervous. He glanced at his two elders, then nodded fearfully.
"Ah... a small family in some remote and desolate place would indeed be like this. Even a single Qi Gathering spiritual plant could be treated as a family heirloom."
He Shenglai continued, "What a pity your family has no one who knows alchemy. Drinking spirit liquid directly lets more than half its effects dissipate from the body. If it could be refined into Spirit-Nesting Pills, the effects would be far better."
Having said that, He Shenglai revealed a satisfied expression.
His curiosity and sense of superiority had both been satisfied by the Yang Family today, so naturally, he was in high spirits.
"Enough, enough. Let today's matter end here. Town Chief Gao and I will not spread this everywhere, so rest assured."
With a pat at his waist, he scattered a handful of Spirit Crystals—exactly thirty pieces.
"I will not take advantage of your family. I shall compensate you with these Spirit Crystals in my personal capacity."
Yang Guanfeng immediately beamed with delight and stepped forward to bend down, picking them up one by one.
With the matter settled, He Shenglai and Gao Hui left the Yang Family together and headed for Willow Leaf Town.
After the two departed, the Yang Family Forbidden Ground returned to peace.
Yang Lingrui wiped the tear tracks from his face, then eagerly asked,
"Two ancestors, did Ling Rui act well this time?"
Yang Guanfeng and Elder Yu no longer kept up their disguises, both letting out soft laughter.
"Hahaha, more than well—it was simply excellent!" Elder Yu praised.
Since they had not known when Ling Rui would emerge from seclusion, the original plan had only called for Elder Yu and Yang Guanfeng to perform this act.
Yet Yang Lingrui had happened to emerge from seclusion today, so they had added him in at the last minute.
Who would have thought the child had such talent? Not only had he slipped into character quickly, but he had even managed to shed real tears later on, letting He Shenglai see them clearly. From beginning to end, He Shenglai had not harbored the slightest suspicion.
"After this, in another half year, Linghu and Lingqing will no longer need to hide from others," Yang Guanfeng said with a smile.
He was an old fox through and through. The moment he heard Gao Hui say that the Dynasty would send people down to purchase Demon Beast corpses, a rough plan had already formed in his mind.
He had guessed that when the Dynasty cultivator arrived at the Yang Family, he would most likely grow suspicious.
They certainly could not hide forever, so they might as well turn the tables and let him see the "secret" hidden within the Yang Family Forbidden Ground.
That way, not only could they explain the advances in his and Yang Lingrui's cultivation, but if the Yang Family produced another two cultivators in the future, it would no longer seem strange.
The Four-leaf Spirit-Nesting Grass was valuable, but just as He Shenglai had said,
it was merely a Qi Gathering spiritual plant. It meant a great deal to the Yang Family, but to any somewhat stronger faction, it was nothing much—not nearly enough to bring disaster upon them for possessing a precious jade.
Thus, he had arranged in advance for Yang Linghu and Yang Lingqing to take the spirit stones and hide deep within Little Pine Mountain.
He, Elder Yu, and Yang Lingrui had put on a fine show together, deceiving both He Shenglai and Gao Hui.
And after all these maneuvers, they had even obtained an extra thirty Spirit Crystals. That counted as an unexpected delight.
Once Linghu and Lingqing returned from the mountains, the five of them discussed how the one hundred and sixty Spirit Crystals should be allocated.
Yang Guanfeng had never treated the three children with the one-man rule of a family patriarch. Instead, he encouraged them to think more and voice their own opinions.
That way, when the day came that he and Elder Yu were no longer around, they would still be able to hold up the Yang Family.
"Two ancestors, I think the protective formation of the Forbidden Ground remains the family's foremost priority. We should set aside the money for that first."
Yang Lingrui spoke first.
After him, Yang Linghu also said, "Then there are storage items! Our family now has five cultivators, yet not a single storage bag. It is truly too inconvenient whenever we go out."
He had always remembered how they had been unable to transport the Demon Beast corpses before.
If the Yang Family had enough storage bags, he could take the Demon Beast corpses to the market himself to sell, earning even more Spirit Crystals.
At last, everyone looked toward Yang Lingqing, awaiting her answer.
After thinking briefly, the young girl said, "Since the two ancestors have already expanded the Forbidden Ground, there will definitely be cultivators with other surnames in the family later. My suggestion is to use the remaining money to buy some complete sets of basic cultivation arts and spells. The quality need not be too high; those suited for the middle and later stages of the Qi Gathering Realm will do. We can imitate those sects and establish a Yang Family library."
As soon as her words fell, Yang Lingrui realized, "That is indeed what we should do. Sister Qing has thought things through more thoroughly."
Naturally, cultivators with other surnames could not receive the same treatment as Yang Family cultivators.
With a library, the Yang Family could control the cultivation levels and strength of those outside cultivators, preventing a situation where outsiders devoured their masters.
"Lingqing's method is a good one."
Elder Yu nodded in praise. "In the future, cultivators of the main family branch can stay in the main courtyard like Direct Disciples, while cultivators with other surnames stay in the side courtyards and seek cultivation arts from the library, like ordinary disciples."
Listening to the three children each express their views, Yang Guanfeng nodded repeatedly.
"Then these three matters are settled for now. Elder Yu, you may set out in the next couple of days and invite Liu Zihao here first."
Yang Guanfeng said, "The three of you should continue cultivating diligently under Immortal Venerable Spirit Stone. Though the Beast Tide has passed, the family will still face many challenges ahead. You must not slack off."
"We obey the ancestors' decree and shall remember it well!"
Early the next morning, Elder Yu set out for Yuling River Market with one hundred Spirit Crystals.
After several days of quiet cultivation, Chen Yang in the Forbidden Ground sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy and emerged from his half-asleep, half-awake state.
"Oh? It is finally Linghu's turn, huh?"
The source of the spiritual energy fluctuation was Yang Linghu.
He had been stuck at the peak of the First Level of Qi Gathering for some time. The several perilous battles during the Beast Tide had allowed him to seize an opportunity for a breakthrough.
After a month of quiet cultivation and digestion, he finally gained insight today and began directly attacking the bottleneck where he sat.
From this, Yang Linghu was actually the most like Yang Guanfeng. Both could only improve through the method of nurturing battle with battle.
The other two children, who had also been meditating, sensed Yang Linghu's change and withdrew from their meditative states as well.
They knew full well how rare an opportunity to break through was. Without saying much, they silently watched Yang Linghu's breakthrough.
Though Yang Linghu's aptitude was somewhat weaker and his cultivation progressed slowly, his talents in other aspects were quite outstanding.
For instance, in the cultivation of spells, despite not having even broken through to the Second Level of Qi Gathering, he had already cultivated the Brute Force Art to the second level.
The same was true of his current breakthrough.
When Yang Lingrui and Yang Lingqing had broken through to the second level, they had basically needed to enter seclusion for several days. Yet he completed the breakthrough in only two hours, without the slightest fuss.
"Phew—"
After breaking through, Yang Linghu let out a long breath. "After more than a year, I have finally reached the Second Level of Qi Gathering."
"Congratulations, Brother Hu!"
"You worked hard, Tiger!"
The two stepped forward to congratulate him, and Yang Linghu laughed as he accepted their well wishes.
At the same time, a new precious pearl appeared within Chen Yang. He picked it up and began slowly digesting and absorbing it.
After completely digesting the precious pearl returned as feedback from Yang Lingrui's breakthrough, he had gained a year's worth of spiritual energy.
The pearl from Yang Linghu's breakthrough to the second level this time was somewhat smaller. Chen Yang estimated that it contained roughly half a year's worth of spiritual energy.
After digesting all the spiritual energy and insights, Chen Yang became even more certain that Linghu was extraordinarily gifted in spell cultivation.
He had previously thought Linghu had merely cultivated the first level into the second, but now it seemed that he had already touched the edge of the third level of the Brute Force Art, just one step short of crossing the threshold.
After a brief exchange, the three children continued meditating.
After experiencing the Beast Tide, they had come to feel ever more deeply how difficult it was for a family to survive.
Though Immortal Venerable Spirit Stone stood guard over them, iron still had to be forged by its own hardness. They could not rely on the spirit stone to display its might in every matter.
If they did, its existence would likely be exposed before long.
When that time came, the Yang Family would be facing a calamity crashing down upon their heads.
Thus, the three children now cultivated with all their strength every day, striving to gain the ability to stand on their own as soon as possible.
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