Myriad Spirits Immortal Clan

The setting sun cast its golden rays evenly across the sky, bathing the entire market town in a yellowish hue.

Aside from the main road, most of the paths in Taihang Market were paved with stone slabs, so each step produced a 'dong, dong, dong' sound.

If one stepped on a hollow section, the sound would become much duller.

Ye Jingcheng saw the spirit beast shop in the distance drawing near and suddenly felt the 'dong, dong, dong' of the stone slabs growing faster.

At this moment, his mind was less occupied with thoughts of the family and the market town, and more with the image of a beautiful figure.

And the promise made two years ago.

Ye Haicheng couldn't help but glance back at Ye Jingcheng, but he didn't say anything.

The group quickly arrived at the entrance of the spirit beast shop, where they saw Ye Xinghong still attending to a customer, examining the spirit beasts.

Today's customer was a young cultivator in brocade robes, clearly from a small family.

He had high demands for the spirit beasts, and many failed to satisfy him.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, I want a Goldscale Beast!"

"We don't have any Goldscale Beasts at the moment. You'd have to go to Earth Dragon Valley to find such a rare beast," Ye Xinghong explained.

This was the truth. After the conflict at Scarlet Cloud Ridge, Earth Dragon Valley, Lion King Ridge, and Scarlet Cloud Ridge had all shrunk back considerably. Spirit beasts like Goldscale Beasts and Armored Beasts had become extremely difficult to capture recently.

As for going to Earth Dragon Valley to capture one, that was a joke. After all, it was a Demon King's territory, and even ordinary Golden Core True Men wouldn't dare venture there alone to capture a Goldscale Beast.

The customer's face immediately fell with disappointment. He spent some time choosing in the courtyard, but ultimately couldn't make up his mind and left directly.

"Patriarch, Grand Uncle!" Ye Xinghong saw Ye Jingcheng and Ye Haicheng approaching and quickly bowed in greeting, a hint of embarrassment on her face.

After all, she hadn't managed to sell a spirit beast to the customer.

Any spirit beast from the Ye family cost over a hundred spirit stones, which was a considerable price, especially given the prevalence of Qi Refining cultivators in Taihang Market.

Moreover, selling one would reduce the amount of spirit food needed to feed them.

Although the Ye family cultivated a lot of ordinary spirit rice, the shop was ultimately meant to generate profit. Leaving them unsold consumed spirit food and prevented them from raising prices, as spirit beasts were often more valuable when they were younger.

Young spirit beasts had greater potential.

Ye Xinghe, who had returned earlier, came out from inside and welcomed Ye Jingcheng and the others in.

Ye Haicheng and the other cultivators entered the courtyard, but Ye Jingcheng remained at the entrance, looking at Ye Xinghong.

"Thirteenth Aunt, can I ask you about something?"

"Has a Foundation Establishment female cultivator come here recently?" Ye Jingcheng asked.

He had made a promise with Xu Xiuqing years ago, and now more than two years had passed. Xu Xiuqing's age was approaching sixty, and if she didn't break through with a Foundation Establishment Pill, she would miss the deadline.

So, in theory, she should have come.

She had promised him that she would celebrate his becoming the family head.

However, Ye Xinghong shook her head. She hadn't seen any Foundation Establishment female cultivators. There were very few Foundation Establishment cultivators in Taihang Market, and if there were, she would have remembered.

But she quickly thought of something and added:

"Patriarch, the female cultivator who placed the Goldscale Beast here came by, but she only bought a Jade Ring Rat and left."

The female cultivator who placed the Goldscale Beast here was indeed Xu Xiuqing, which surprised Ye Jingcheng.

But then his face turned bitter.

He suddenly remembered that even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, not all cultivators could break through.

The odds were even lower for rogue cultivators.

Xu Xiuqing's spiritual root was an ordinary three-attribute root. It wasn't particularly good. She was able to break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining because she had obtained the inheritance of a Purple Mansion Immortal. The possibility of her failing to break through was quite high.

The reason the Ye family rarely failed was because the Ye family also had the Beast Communication Mark, which was almost like a double insurance.

In addition, the Ye family had various Foundation Establishment experiences to consult and a good spirit vein.

It was much better than being a rogue cultivator.

But even so, it was rare for Ye family members to break through to Foundation Establishment without a Foundation Establishment Pill. Ye Jingcheng had rarely heard of it.

"Did she say anything?" Ye Jingcheng continued to ask.

Ye Xinghong shook her head. Perhaps the Jade Ring Rat was Xu Xiuqing's best answer.

Furthermore, Ye Xinghong didn't even know where Xu Xiuqing had gone.

It wasn't that she had broken her promise, but that she had already failed to break through.

It took great courage to accept one's failure to break through, let alone to accept the sixty-year blood vitality threshold, which might mean there would be no chance at all.

"Please help me inquire about her, Thirteenth Aunt," Ye Jingcheng added.

His eyes couldn't help but dim a little. Perhaps this was the norm in the world of cultivation: regret, separation, missed opportunities.

The scenery of the cultivation world was certainly beautiful, but all beauty would gradually fade away, sooner or later.

Ye Jingcheng sighed. He had originally thought that after Ye Haiyun, his heart would be as still as water, and no longer stirred by any ripples.

After all, he was no longer in his twenties. If he were in the mortal world, he would already be half an old man.

But now, he realized that his heart was just as lost, inexplicably empty.

"Alright," Ye Xinghong replied.

The Ye family still had some face in Taihang Market. Unlike Taihang Prefecture, even if the Ye family wanted to find someone, it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

But in Taihang County, it was different. Most rogue cultivators would give the Ye family some face.

Of course, except for rogue cultivators who were robbers.

Ye Jingcheng entered the courtyard. Ye Xinghe and Ye Haicheng, who were secretly watching, glanced at each other and sighed.

For cultivation families, there were certainly many advantages and benefits.

But at the same time, they also lost a lot.

As a member of the Ye family, when marrying into other families, one had to worry about whether secrets would be leaked.

And when marrying ordinary rogue cultivators, one had to fear whether they were spies from enemy forces.

Ye Jingcheng was a cautious person, so he could handle both family and cultivation well, and he wouldn't make things difficult for the family.

But this caution was destined to create obstacles when he wanted to form a marriage alliance.

This world didn't favor women pursuing men.

"He will handle this matter himself. Just help him find that female cultivator!" Ye Haicheng finally instructed Ye Xinghe with confidence.

Ye Xinghe also nodded.

The Ye family was naturally paying attention to the matter between Ye Jingcheng and Xu Xiuqing.

The family was willing to provide Ye Jingcheng with a Foundation Establishment Pill, firstly because of their trust in Ye Jingcheng, and secondly because if they could bring them together, it could also create a good story.

It was just that if she failed to break through, the family shouldn't continue to look for her.

After all, whether they found her or not, it wouldn't be good news for the Ye family.

If they found her, would the Ye family continue to provide Foundation Establishment Pills? Or would they just watch Ye Jingcheng be sad?

… …

In the following time, Ye Jingcheng sat in his room, drinking spirit tea.

At his feet, unusually, was the Jade Ring Rat.

Under so many years of support, the Jade Ring Rat's aura had finally reached the late stage of the first rank, equivalent to the eighth level of Qi Refining for human cultivators.

For other spirit beasts, this might only be a small step.

But for the Jade Ring Rat, it was a leap across most of its life.

It squeaked, sensing that Ye Jingcheng seemed inexplicably melancholic today. It struggled to understand this sadness, and could only flap its ears, gently patting Ye Jingcheng's calf.

Ye Jingcheng sighed even more as he looked at the cleverness of the Jade Ring Rat.

Next time, it might be the Jade Ring Rat's turn to leave.

Although spirit beasts lived much longer than ordinary wild beasts, it would be a miracle for a first-order spirit rat to live for a hundred years.

Yet Ye Jingcheng couldn't do anything to help, as the Jade Ring Rat had no bloodline talent after all.

Even the powder from the Golden Scale Pill was a bit too much for it to handle.

The refreshing and palatable Spring Welcome Tea of the past now felt dry and irritating.

The spiritual sandalwood in the room had also lost its divine fragrance, and seemed to carry a hint of acridness.

A series of chirps pulled Ye Jingcheng back to reality.

He saw the Crimson Flame Fox emerge from the side, chirping to indicate that Ye Jingcheng hadn't asked it to concoct pills for a long time.

Ye Jingcheng nodded in response and began to concoct pills. However, he made many mistakes during the process, which greatly puzzled the Crimson Flame Fox.

Only after half a day did he manage to produce a furnace of Spirit Nurturing Pills.

And only four or five of them at that.

...

The morning light on the horizon shone once more. Taihang Market Town's location in Taihang Prefecture was definitely not considered central.

If it weren't for the abundance of bamboo forests here, it would even be an excellent place to overlook the mountains.

Ye Jingcheng also composed himself and walked out of the courtyard. As he faced the glaring morning sun, a hint of determination returned to his eyes.

There was even a sense of enlightenment.

Ye Haicheng and Ye Xinghe walked over together.

The three of them would be participating in this reallocation meeting of the auction house.

When the three of them arrived at the auction hall of Taihang Market Town, there were already many cultivators inside.

The Chu family was represented by Chu Xiyu, Chu Yanhao, and Chu Tianfen.

The Xu family was represented by Xu Chunlin and Xu Wenjin.

The Chen family sent Chen Haobin, but everyone knew that Chen Haobin was practically a puppet.

Inside the hall, Jiang Jinghe had also arrived early. He was currently holding a teapot, pouring tea for everyone.

Although pouring tea meant losing face, he would definitely not interfere with today's allocation.

After all, no matter how fiercely the families below fought, no one would dare to swallow the sect's 40% share.

Therefore, he didn't care about today's outcome at all. He only needed to ensure that he didn't cause any problems.

Moreover, he had already decided that he would not leave Taihang Market Town during his tenure, so even if some families secretly had designs on him, they would be unable to act.

"Market Master Jiang, Fellow Daoist Ye, Fellow Daoist Xu, Fellow Daoist Chu, I am glad to see you all today!" A voice suddenly came from the entrance, and soon Kong Yulong was seen leading a group of Kong family disciples toward the inside.

Following behind him was Jin Zongliang of the Jin family, also a Violet Palace cultivator. The two families appeared together with great tacit understanding, which was not good news for the three families present.

"Fellow Daoist Kong, if we didn't show up, I'm afraid Taihang Prefecture wouldn't be called Taihang Prefecture anymore, but Kong Prefecture!" Ye Haicheng was the first to speak.

The Ye family and the Kong family had long been at odds, so naturally there was no need to give the Kong family any face.

These words greatly changed the expression of Market Master Jiang. If he could, he wouldn't want to hear a single word right now.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, you jest," Kong Yulong's aura was not weak at all.

"We are following the sect's rules. For the sect, protecting the entire Taihang Market Town and the territory of Taihang Prefecture is the most important thing. But now, in the territories of various families, rogue cultivators and demonic cultivators are emerging endlessly. If it weren't for my Jin family and Kong family, this situation might be even worse!"

"Could it be that the Ye family thinks that they can handle the rogue cultivators and demonic cultivators of Taihang Prefecture without the need for our two families?"

"The Kong family of Taichang Prefecture naturally believes this, but Fellow Daoist Kong, don't forget that you are just a branch family now!" Ye Haicheng didn't back down at all.

"Fellow Daoist Ye is right. Although none of our families have Golden Core True Persons, we can still encircle and kill some Violet Palace demonic cultivators. Otherwise, before the arrival of the Jin family and the Kong family, there wouldn't have been such a harmonious and prosperous age."

This made Xu Chunlin breathe a sigh of relief.

Since the Ye family was standing in front, he naturally didn't want to change the market town's share.

Now that all the families were Violet Palace families, it would be best to divide it into five shares.

"What does Fellow Daoist Chu think?" Jin Zongliang asked at this time.

Jin Zongliang's current calmness was extremely terrifying.

This caused Ye Haicheng and Ye Jingcheng to have a bad premonition.

"I, Chu, believe that the overall situation should be the priority. In extraordinary times, we must adopt extraordinary attitudes!" As soon as Chu Tianfen spoke, confusion appeared on the faces of Ye Haicheng and Xu Chunlin, followed by a drastic change in expression.

This Chu Tianfen was clearly being pressured by the Jin family.

Coupled with the fact that the Chu family's magical artifact shops were being maliciously targeted, and they didn't come out to resist.

I'm afraid this was inseparable from Chu Xiyu.

This point was actually very clear upon careful consideration.

After all, the Chu family was previously just a Foundation Establishment family, and still a Foundation Establishment family with insufficient foundation. But in just over forty years, the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators exceeded twenty, they could afford Violet Palace Jade Liquid, and they could afford the research of third-order magical treasures.

They also showed great talent at the auction house.

There were only two possible results for this. The Chu family discovered a good spirit stone mine, or the Chu family had been conducting undisclosed transactions.

And regardless of which it was, the Jin family should have known about it.

"Then let's start discussing how to divide the shares!" Jiang Jinghe also spoke from the side.

Seeing that the Jin family and the Kong family had the upper hand, he naturally followed the Jin family and the Kong family.

And as soon as this proposal came out, no one else objected.

"Then let's continue to follow the past, either the Violet Palace Competition, or the Foundation Establishment Competition!"

"The shares will be divided according to four, four, and two!"

"The two strongest families will get four, and then the remaining four families will divide the remaining two!" Kong Yulong spoke again.

At this moment, everyone's expression changed drastically, especially Xu Chunlin.

In the past, only the Xu family could divide it this way. This time, it was clear that the Xu family would not get even one share.

Moreover, according to this meaning, the Chen family seemed to be getting a share as well.

But everyone knew that the Foundation Establishment Chen family had already been annexed by the Jin family, existing in name only.

"Of course, you can admit defeat. The minimum for admitting defeat is half a share!"

"The Chu family admits defeat, half a share is fine." Chu Tianfen spoke almost instantly.

At this moment, this old man looked particularly helpless, and the bitterness in the corners of his eyes had almost filled his entire face.

Ye Jingcheng knew that the Chu family must have been threatened.

Considering that the Chu family's magic tool shops were being maliciously targeted, and they didn't resist.

I'm afraid this is inseparable from Chu Xiyu.

"Let's compete in Violet Palace!" Since the Chu family admitted defeat, Xu Chunlin couldn't. In the past three years, he had been suppressed by the Kong family. In addition, in the secret realm three years ago, Xu Hanqing buried all of the Xu family's Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the Xu family couldn't even spare a Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator.

By comparing Violet Palace cultivation, Xu Chunlin could still have some chances.

At least Kong Yulong and Jin Zongliang were not Violet Palace cultivators who had already made a name for themselves, and their cultivation had not reached the late stage of Violet Palace.