Moving

The Yang Family had produced another Qi Gathering Cultivator, and the news directly shook all of Willow Leaf Town.

"Another cultivator? And a child at that? Is that true?"

"Alas... Two Qi Gathering Mid-stage cultivators already had us gasping for breath. Now they've added another young Qi Gathering cultivator..."

"Willow Leaf Town is only so big. If the Yang Family keeps growing like this, how are we supposed to survive?"

The other forces within the town could not be happy upon hearing the news.

Though they were worried, since the other party had come to invite them, they still had to attend.

That night, during the grand banquet, Yang Guanfeng and the town magistrate spoke most congenially.

Later, before all the families of Willow Leaf Town, he handed over the tax payment for this year's additional Qi Gathering Cultivator to the town magistrate.

The other factions felt their hearts skip a beat at the sight.

"Good heavens, they've already paid the money? They're dead set on staying in Willow Leaf Town!"

A few of them had even begun calculating their escape routes in their hearts.

Yet just then, to everyone's utter surprise, Yang Guanfeng publicly announced that the Yang Family would soon be relocating.

"Huh?"

"The Yang Family is leaving?"

"Did I hear that right?"

They found it hard to believe.

But upon further thought, if they traded places with Yang Guanfeng, relocating seemed like the most sensible choice for the Yang Family.

It was good to dominate Willow Leaf Town alone, but the town only had so much land. They had to feed such a large family, support the cultivation of three cultivators, and pay hefty taxes.

By that calculation, the Yang Family would not have much surplus left each year.

Once everyone came around to it, they rose one after another to offer the Yang Family their congratulations.

With the Yang Family relocating, they no longer had to worry about their interests in town being seized. No matter how they looked at it, it was a good thing for them.

After the banquet ended, Yang Guanfeng invited the town magistrate to the Council Hall.

Seated with them were his two younger brothers, Elder Yu, and Yang Lingrui, who had just successfully entered Qi Gathering.

Willow Leaf Town's magistrate was named Xu Guang. His main family was also a great clan in the northern region of the Tiger Chasing Dynasty, though he belonged to a collateral branch.

Because he was not valued within the family and realized he had been pushed to the margins, while his talent was also ordinary, he had taken the initiative to seek refuge with the Dynasty and become the magistrate of this small town.

"I see that Yang Family Patriarch's aura has grown fuller again. I presume you are not far from the Sixth Level of Qi Gathering?" Xu Guang said.

Yang Guanfeng smiled. "Easier said than done. Town Magistrate, you know as well as I do that the further one goes, the firmer these bottlenecks become. Without the right flash of inspiration, breaking through is truly difficult."

Xu Guang nodded at this. Like Yang Guanfeng, he was at the Peak of Fifth Level of Qi Gathering and had yet to break through to the sixth level.

Yet his circumstances differed from Yang Guanfeng's.

Xu Guang had already reached the Peak of Fifth Level of Qi Gathering several years ago and had made every preparation for a breakthrough.

But the Dynasty had not issued him a "Promotion Order," leaving him no choice but to waste away at this realm.

This was because of an agreement reached between the dynasties below the mountains and the sects above them.

Sect cultivators were forbidden from attacking towns under the Dynasty's rule, and they were likewise forbidden from fighting others within those towns.

The Dynasty had to strictly control the number and realms of cultivators and could not casually raise their cultivation.

This agreement had been in place for several hundred years. Its details were numerous, so there was no need to explain them one by one here.

However, rules were dead, while people were alive.

When facing sudden circumstances, such as the appearance of a powerful Demon Beast, Dynasty cultivators could break through in order to defend the city and face the enemy.

And if Dynasty cultivators colluded with demonic cultivators to harm and slaughter the common people, sects could take action and kill them.

Of course, there was another possibility.

If your backing reached the heavens, or your cultivation reached the heavens, then you could ignore all these messy agreements.

But for Xu Guang and the Yang Family as they currently were, these rules had to be obeyed.

The moment Xu Guang entered the Council Hall, his gaze was drawn to Yang Lingrui, who sat beside Elder Yu.

"What an unclouded, otherworldly bearing. This child's future achievements will surely be extraordinary!"

A shrewd man through and through, he had reached a conclusion about Yang Lingrui after only one glance.

At the same time, the Yang Family's standing in his heart changed.

Yang Guanfeng had invited Xu Guang here to discuss the Yang Family's relocation and the matters that would follow it.

The Dynasty stipulated that families within towns were taxed according to population.

If the Yang Family moved out but still retained shops along three streets in town, how should that be calculated?

Faced with this question, Xu Guang said, "In principle, there can be no reduction or exemption. You still have to pay taxes as before."

Upon hearing this, Yang Guanfeng smiled.

No reduction in principle meant there could be a reduction in practice.

Xu Guang's words indicated that the matter was negotiable.

After some bargaining, they finally settled on a forty-sixty split.

The Yang Family's shops within the town would be taxed as ordinary shops, only paying per household. However, Xu Guang would take forty percent of the shops' revenue.

The price slightly exceeded Yang Guanfeng's expectations, but it was not unacceptable.

For even after giving up forty percent of the profits, as long as the hefty taxes were gone, the Yang Family would still earn more than before.

As for Xu Guang, the taxes the Yang Family paid to the Dynasty brought him not the slightest benefit.

Now that he could take forty percent of the profits for nothing, he was naturally delighted to facilitate this win-win arrangement.

As for the Yang Family's mines outside town, Willow Leaf Town had previously sent troops to guard them while the Yang Family remained in town.

But if they relocated, deploying troops would require paying to hire them.

Yang Guanfeng could accept this as well. The remaining matter was the specifics of the move.

At that point, Xu Guang generously stated that since the Yang Family had already paid the remainder of this year's taxes, he would have the troops under his command lend a hand with the relocation.

With everything settled, everyone dispersed in high spirits.

After Xu Guang left, Yang Guanfeng asked Yang Lingrui, "What do you think of this man?"

Yang Lingrui fell into thought upon hearing this.

Now that he was a Qi Gathering Realm cultivator, his body had been cleansed by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. His thoughts were quicker than before, and he saw matters more clearly.

After a brief moment of thought, he gave only four words.

"He can be used for gain."

Yang Guanfeng nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad. Now that the Yang Family is on the rise, he will follow along and lend us support. But when the day comes that we decline, this man will stand aside and neither intervene nor care."

"So when striking iron, one must be hard oneself. Strength is the foundation of everything, isn't that right, Ancestor?"

"That is indeed the truth."

Three days later, construction began on the Yang Family's new estate outside the town.

Besides Yang Guang sending troops to help, the other several factions also contributed money and labor to show their goodwill.

With everyone's help, the new Yang Family estate was completed in less than half a month.

During this period, Chen Yang's working hours were also reduced. Most of the time, he stayed inside Old Yang's sleeve, freeloading on spiritual energy.

After all this time, Chen Yang had begun calling Yang Guanfeng Old Yang and Elder Yu Old Man.

"Old Yang picked a fine spot. Nestled against the mountains and beside the water, the surroundings are quite good."

Chen Yang had followed Yang Guanfeng to inspect the Yang Family's new location several times.

The scenery here was indeed beautiful, and there were also vast stretches of flat land that could be used to develop agriculture in the future.

This place was called Little Pine Mountain, situated directly between Willow Leaf Town and White Stone Town to the west.

This meant that the Yang Family would no longer be confined to Willow Leaf Town and could open up a larger market.

"The family members and servants have all moved over. Tonight, it should be the main attraction's turn, right?"

The main attraction Chen Yang referred to was the Four-leaf Spirit-Nesting Grass in the Forbidden Ground.

At present, only Yang Guanfeng and Elder Yu knew of this spirit plant's existence. It was the Yang Family's highest secret.

Sure enough, just as Chen Yang had guessed, Yang Guanfeng returned alone to the Yang Family Forbidden Ground that night and packed the Four-leaf Spirit-Nesting Grass into a box to take away.

At the same time, he destroyed that spirit field and completely erased every trace of spirit plants having been cultivated there.

From that day onward, the Yang residence in Willow Leaf Town ceased to exist. Only the new Yang Family of Little Pine Mountain remained.