Clan Cultivation: My Intelligence Updated Daily

Chapter 228 The old friend has passed away, the current situation of the shop

Tianliu City.

The outer city area remains largely unchanged, except that the independent cultivators residing there have changed batch after batch.

After leaving Moonlit Valley, it took Zhang Lingyu two whole days to get here. He didn't go straight to the clan's shops, but instead went to see his old friends first.

Gu Dahai.

This rogue cultivator had helped him a great deal in the past, and even provided the Zhang family with a beast-taming inheritance. Although it wouldn't be considered anything special now, it had genuinely helped him a lot.

The last time we met, he was already at the late stage of Qi Refining. This time, he must have reached the peak of Qi Refining.

However, the familiar streets and cave dwellings were not occupied by the honest, burly man. Instead, a strange Qi-refining cultivator stood before them.

Zhang Lingyu stepped forward and asked, "Fellow Daoist, I would like to inquire about a cultivator. I wonder where Gu Dahai, who used to live here, has gone."

Who are you?

The rogue cultivator didn't even look up, casually replying. After a few breaths, seeing no response, he looked up impatiently and saw that the man in front of him was dressed in fine clothes, and his cultivation level was unfathomable, so his identity must be extraordinary.

Foundation Establishment cultivator!

He stood up abruptly, bowed respectfully, and whispered, "If you are looking for Gu Dahai, sir, I'm afraid you will be disappointed."

Why?

"He...he failed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage and has already perished..."

"Is that so..."

"Yes, Fellow Daoist Gu has been cultivating spirit beasts for the cultivators in the inner city for many years, always saving every penny. Although he couldn't afford Foundation Establishment Pills, he still managed to save enough spirit stones to buy a Foundation Establishment spiritual item. We are, after all, rogue cultivators. Even taking Foundation Establishment Pills might not be enough to establish our foundation, let alone..."

Zhang Lingyu's heart sank upon hearing this, and he felt somewhat disappointed. Seeing his expression, the rogue cultivator dared not speak, but he had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

"This esteemed person must be a close friend of Gu Dahai, perhaps even sharing a very deep bond... so why hasn't he offered him any assistance?"

In fact, Zhang Lingyu had considered this friend and invited him to become a guest elder in the family, but Gu Dahai himself was unwilling.

"After Fellow Daoist Gu's passing, I wonder if anyone has taken care of his funeral arrangements?"

"Fellow Daoist Gu had no relatives or friends, but fortunately he was kind and gentle. We, his neighbors, lent a helping hand after his death in his pursuit of the Dao. As for his belongings... we..."

The rogue cultivator became somewhat hesitant at this point, occasionally stealing glances at Zhang Lingyu to see his reaction.

Without a doubt, it was divided up among those few.

"You guys have worked hard."

Although this was immoral, at least they didn't abandon Gu Dahai's body in the wilderness, which could be considered more than enough. So they said, "Take me there to see."

"Yes." The rogue cultivator dared not delay and quickly led the way.

The number of rogue cultivators who perish in Tianliu City every year is unknown. Some are taken back by their relatives, some are placed in a small cemetery like Gu Dahai, and the rest die and become a delicious meal for monsters.

The cemetery was desolate, with countless earthen graves of all sizes. They were simply constructed, uniform small mounds with a plain tombstone bearing only the name of the deceased.

Some don't even have tombstones, just a wooden board stuck there, exposed to the wind and sun, until the writing on it is no longer legible.

Just as they came unnoticed and left unnoticed, even Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators would not be recorded by later generations if they were not so famous.

In the cultivation world, who would remember a cultivator who perished while pursuing the Dao?

Gu Dahai left behind the Beast Taming inheritance in the Zhang family, but as the Zhang family grew stronger, who would care about the inheritance of a Qi Refining cultivator?

Who knows where it will be hidden by then? But if it is found and examined by future generations of the family, at least they will know that it was left behind by a cultivator named Gu Dahai.

Isn't this proof that I came and stayed?

Zhang Lingyu simply paid his respects to Gu Dahai. He didn't stay long. The passing of an old friend was certainly sad, but if he had the opportunity to achieve the Golden Core and enjoy a longer lifespan in the future, such things would only happen more often.

Watching elders, younger generations, and an entire generation slowly pass away, you eventually become numb.

......

"What should we do..."

Inside Zhang's shop, a richly dressed, obese monk was leaning on his hand, deep in thought, his expression suggesting he had something on his mind.

It was Zhang Xingfu.

As a skilled manager of the family's shops, he generated considerable profits for the family during this period of rapid development, while also cultivating many talents. His status and position rose accordingly, and he traveled all the way from Tianyuan Market to this vast immortal city.

Because this place is a gathering place for various forces, and the relationships between them are intricate and complex, not to mention that they are newcomers, the mere fact that they are Foundation Establishment families cannot compare to those Golden Core and Nascent Soul forces.

Upon arriving in Tianliu City, he immediately felt overwhelmed by difficulties. Fortunately, he had accumulated considerable experience in managing shops over the years. With his silver tongue and cunning, he finally managed to improve the shop's business somewhat.

However, I've recently encountered some troubles.

The news of the opening of the Lingkui Sect ruins has been circulating for years, with various forces eager to make their move and many cultivators from other places also taking action upon hearing the news.

The cultivators from Chu and Yue were relatively close by, but those from Wu and even some cultivators from the East Sea cultivation world arrived in Tianliu City much earlier.

The population of the Immortal City has surged. In preparation for the upcoming trip to the Spirit Puppet Sect, everyone is working hard to cultivate, so most of the cave dwellings have been rented out.

Elixirs and other cultivation items were completely swept away.

The Zhang family's business was not doing well, but this one incident alone has sold off most of their stock of pills, not to mention other forces.

Earning spirit stones is certainly a good thing, but unfortunately the inventory can't keep up. The Zhang family is a Foundation Establishment family. Although there are many Foundation Establishment cultivators, the family is in dire need of alchemists because Zhang Yuanhua went to Linhai County to break through.

Most of what they sell is for Qi refining, while Foundation Establishment cultivators still use the ones that Zhang Lingyu and Zhang Yuanhua refined in the past.

Unfortunately, all those who came to buy pills were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

If we don't get any more pills, we'll really run out of stock.

"But the clan leader has gone into seclusion at this crucial moment... and Uncle Yuanshan hasn't broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage either. What are we going to do?"

The entire clan knew that Zhang Lingyu was in seclusion. As a resident of Tianliu City, he understood to some extent why. It was simply because he wanted to break through as soon as possible and gain more opportunities in the Lingkui Sect.

If the family wants to grow stronger, it needs Golden Core cultivators.

The Spirit Puppet Sect has many opportunities for achieving the Golden Core stage, and whether or not one can achieve it depends on this opportunity. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial not to disturb them at this critical juncture.

"Should we hire another Foundation Establishment cultivator to refine pills? But the cost..."

Just as he was lost in thought, shouts from a shop apprentice suddenly came from outside.

"Shopkeeper...shopkeeper..."

Interrupted from his thoughts, Zhang Xingfu was immediately furious and about to unleash a torrent of curses, but he forcibly suppressed it and frowned, asking, "Little Liu, what serious incident has occurred?"

"This is all so chaotic, is it a monster attack or someone vandalizing the shop?"

"Neither...it seems the clan leader has arrived!"

"Clan leader!?"

He suddenly stood up from his seat, first surprised and then feeling that something was wrong. Zhang Lingyu should be in seclusion at this time, and even if he was coming to the clan, he should have notified them in advance.

However, his doubts were quickly dispelled when he heard a familiar voice coming from outside.

"Uncle Xingfu."

"It really is the clan leader!"

Zhang Xingfu immediately rushed out the door, his speed so great that the fat on his stomach jiggled in waves. When he reached the door, he was met by the man and quickly bowed, saying, "Zhang Xingfu greets the clan leader!"

"We have met the clan leader!" The other shop assistants also hurriedly bowed their heads in greeting.

"Uncle Xingfu, I told you long ago that there's no need for formalities."

Zhang Lingyu helped the man up, and he laughed and said, "Oh dear, you are the clan leader, these formalities cannot be omitted. Let's go inside and talk."

"it is good."

Seeing that the clan head nodded in agreement, Zhang Xingfu made a "please" gesture, and at the same time slowed his pace slightly, saying to one of the shop assistants, "Go find Yunniang and have her bring Che'er into the house."

"Understood." The waiter immediately understood and hurriedly went downstairs.

Inside the house, after Zhang Xingfu poured tea for the man, he asked with a smile, "Why did the clan leader come so suddenly today? The clan didn't inform us, so I didn't prepare in advance."

"Uncle Xingfu, you're too kind. Actually, I only came out of seclusion a few days ago. I went out to take care of some things and came to Tianliu City to check on the situation. Most of the clansmen don't know about this."

"I see." After hearing this, Zhang Xingfu wisely refrained from asking any further questions.

"By the way, Uncle Xingfu, how's business at the shop lately? I see a lot of people coming and going, it seems pretty good."

"Thanks to the strong support of the family, the shop's business has improved significantly this year. Most of this is thanks to you, Clan Chief!"

"My credit?"

"yes."

Zhang Xingfu sighed:

"When the shop first opened, those forces had already thoroughly investigated our background. They looked down on us because we were a Foundation Establishment family, and they even suppressed us severely in secret."

"However, ever since news of your deeds in the Water Moon Secret Realm spread, the actions of the various families have quieted down for a while, and after the marriage alliance with the Li family, their actions have stopped completely."

Actually, what they feared was not the Zhang family, nor Zhang Lingyu, but Xuanhao Zhenren and the Li family and Yuguang Pavilion behind him.

Anyone can see that the two families are very close now, but why would a Golden Core faction be close to you for no reason?

The reason for this is that they value Zhang Lingyu.

"Is that so..."

After all, it's good to have a powerful backer. By climbing up to Master Xuanhao, the Zhang family has gained many advantages in various matters.

He then asked many other questions, and just as the two were chatting happily, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Zhang Lingyu raised an eyebrow, and after a quick scan with her divine sense, she understood what was going on. She simply smiled at her uncle, Zhang Xingfu, who stepped forward and opened the door, letting in a man in palace attire. She was also holding the hand of a child who was about five or six years old.

The boy seemed a little shy, only daring to peek from behind, while the latter bowed and said, "Yunniang greets the clan leader. Che'er, why don't you greet the clan leader too?"

"Oh, Auntie, you're too kind. This must be Ling Che. No need to call him Clan Chief, just call him Nineteenth Brother."

Since the family encouraged its members to take more wives, Zhang Xingfu has taken several concubines. This Yunniang was originally married in Yanxing Market. She was also a rogue cultivator with only the third level of Qi Refining.

Although he had many concubines, none of his children were intelligent, and he was getting older without an heir, which worried him greatly.

Fortunately, all those years of hard work paid off, and Zhang Lingche finally came into being.

"Lingche greets...Nineteenth Brother."

"You little rascal, you really have no manners."

Zhang Xingfu pretended to be angry, but dared not actually hit his precious son. He only pulled Zhang Lingche behind him and then gave Yunniang a wink.

The latter immediately understood, bowed, and withdrew.

The man then looked at Zhang Lingyu somewhat nervously and asked cautiously, "Lingyu... Lingche will be able to start cultivating in a few months. Do you think he... has the potential?"

"Uncle Xingfu, don't worry. I've already checked him. Lingche's aptitude is decent. Although he can't compare to Yuan Yao, he still has a high chance of reaching Foundation Establishment in the future."

"real?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xingfu beamed with joy and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He dared not hope that his offspring would be comparable to the geniuses in the clan, after all, neither he nor Yunniang were particularly talented.

I just hope Zhang Lingche won't end up like me; being able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage would be the best thing ever.

"Lingyu, when you return to your clan this time, please take Lingche back with you."

He acquired this spiritual treasure late in life, and although he was reluctant to part with it, he had to do so for the sake of his descendants' future, since cultivation inherently requires enduring loneliness.

Although Tianliu City is a celestial city, it's not appropriate for Zhang Lingche to stay here. Besides, he's very busy and doesn't have much time to take care of the child. He's also afraid that the child will be spoiled.

Zhang Xingfu, regardless of being the pillar of the family or making any significant contributions, has accumulated a considerable amount of contribution points through his hard work over the years, which he naturally intends to use on his children.

With his future achievements and his own efforts, Zhang Lingche may well rise to a high position in the family.

"Alright, Uncle Xingfu, you can rest assured and leave it to me. I'll make the arrangements as soon as I get back. Have you decided what kind of cultivation method he should practice?"

"Let's go with the 'Purple Sun Secret Manual'." Zhang Xingfu pondered for a while and decided to let Zhang Lingche practice the family's original cultivation method.

Zhang Lingyu asked Zhang Lingche a few more questions, and perhaps due to the connection of blood, the latter gradually became familiar with him.

He was a little disappointed to hear that he was about to leave his parents, but fortunately Zhang Xingfu had mentioned it before, so he was prepared.

After a while, Zhang Xingfu asked Yunniang to take Zhang Lingche away first. When the woman came in, there were tear stains in the corners of her eyes, and she seemed to know what it was about.

The child is about to leave home, and is so young. Although it is said to be returning home, it has never been back before. How can a mother not worry?

But for the sake of the future of our descendants, we have no choice but to give it up.

"This woman...she really doesn't know any better."

Zhang Xingfu frowned slightly. Even if Zhang Lingyu was a junior, he was the patriarch of the family. How could he be so disrespectful to him?

He was about to apologize when he noticed the man beside him had a complicated expression. This situation seemed to have touched something in the man. Thinking of his background, he stopped talking and waited silently.

......

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