Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 93 - 92: Chen Family Shows Goodwill

Chen Ping’an’s cave dwelling is located in the area near the summit of White Camel Peak. Further up is the cave dwelling of the Chen Family Ancestor.

The cave dwelling is divided into two layers, with the one inside the mountain being Chen Ping’an’s private cultivation area, and the palace and pavillions occupying several dozen acres on the mountain serving as the residence for his descendants and a place for daily hospitality.

When Zhou Family’s three members followed Chen Ping’an into the outer part of his surface cave dwelling, their gazes suddenly focused as they looked toward a few of Chen Ping’an’s descendants standing in front of a grand hall.

"Seventh Sister, why are you here? Since you haven’t perished, why haven’t you returned to the clan?"

Zhouyang looked at the woman with her head lowered, clearly avoiding their eyes, and his voice carried a hint of anger.

It turns out, among the few descendants of Chen Ping’an standing in front of the hall, there were two whom he knew well.

One of them was Chen Fangping, Chen Ping’an’s son, who once tricked him out of over a hundred spirit stones for a meal when he first arrived at Baisha River Oasis. The other was Zhou Yuanxia, the Zhou Family female cultivator who went missing during the sand bandit attack on Baisha River Oasis.

Now, these two familiar faces stood hand in hand, with Zhou Yuanxia even holding a young boy of about four or five years old.

Upon seeing this, how could Zhouyang not understand what kind of relationship these two had?

So it turns out that Zhou Yuanxia hadn’t gone missing or perished, but had climbed the social ladder to become the daughter-in-law of Chen Ping’an. No wonder she was unwilling to return to the Zhou Family.

Hearing the angered questioning from Zhouyang, Zhou Yuanxia trembled, lacking the courage to respond, merely clutching Chen Fangping’s hand tightly beside her.

Seeing this, Chen Fangping lightly patted his Dao companion’s hand to comfort her, then stepped forward with a smile, cupping his hands to Zhouyang, "Elder Zhou, please calm your anger. Keeping Yuanxia in the Chen family is all my idea. If you wish to punish someone, I alone will bear it."

"What does Elder Chen mean by this?" Zhouyang ignored Chen Fangping and looked directly at the calm-faced Chen Ping’an, knowing that calling them here meant Chen Ping’an had plans in place.

Seeing Zhouyang disregard his words, Chen Fangping’s smile froze, and he felt indescribably distressed.

It truly is thirty years east of the river, thirty years west.

How things have turned. Once upon a time, Zhouyang was a lowly clan child he could toy with at will without fear of retaliation.

But in just a few short years, this junior cultivator at the beginning of his journey has grown to the point of being able to dismiss him, becoming a Foundation Establishment Cultivator like his father, whom he used as a backbone.

This feeling is truly indescribable to anyone who hasn’t personally experienced it.

"Regarding the matter with Xia’er and this young man, at first, Chen was unaware. By the time Chen became aware, their child was already three years old. Even if Chen could have separated the couple, Chen couldn’t very well deny my own grandchild, could I?"

Chen Ping’an glanced at his son with a calm face, first explaining the situation and making clear his stance.

Then he looked solemnly at the three members of the Zhou Family and said, "All of us come from an established clan, so Chen won’t bother with hypocritical drivel and will just get straight to Chen’s decision."

"Your Zhou Family hasn’t been established long, and you’ve never produced a Tier Three Array Master. The Bloodline Divine Ban is probably something you couldn’t set up, which is the foundation for our mutual compromise on this issue."

"So, Chen can offer you two options: first, Chen can provide your Zhou Family with a Tier Three Pill Formula as an apology; second, Chen can owe your Zhou Family a favor, which you may redeem for one task within Chen’s ability in the future."

The three Zhou Family members looked at each other, not expecting Chen Ping’an to propose this.

Their expressions didn’t look too pleased.

It’s not that Chen Ping’an’s offer wasn’t good. On the contrary, both the Tier Three Pill Formula and the favor from a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment Cultivator from a prominent family are invaluable.

Zhou Yuanxia, with her low-grade spiritual root and as merely a junior cultivator in the fifth layer of Qi Cultivation, could trade for either of these options would be a huge gain for the Zhou Family.

But they couldn’t see it like that.

No matter how poor Zhou Yuanxia’s talent or cultivation was, she was still a cultivator of the Zhou Family.

Her decision to marry and have a child with an outsider without notifying the clan was essentially a betrayal. How could the clan leader and Supreme Elders, like Zhouyang and the others, condone such betrayal and expect to lead the clan in the future?

If outsiders found out that the Zhou Family married off one of their female cultivators to the Chen Family, how would they regard them?

Those who knew the situation might understand their predicament, but those who didn’t would think the Zhou Family was selling their daughter for glory, trying to curry favor with the Chen Family!

In short, this whole affair is quite a predicament. As the present Patriarch of the Zhou Family, Zhouyang truly didn’t know how to deal with this matter for a moment.

Luckily, at this point, the experienced Zhou Minghan stepped in again to solve this dilemma for Zhouyang with his expertise.

Zhou Minghan suddenly widened his eyes, staring at Zhou Yuanxia as he questioned, "Yuanxia, what’s your choice? If you wish to return to the family, even if it means falling out with Brother Chen, this old man will bring you back to the clan!"

Upon hearing Zhou Minghan’s words, Chen Ping’an narrowed his eyes, saying nothing.

Chen Fangping was astonished, looking at the three Zhou Family members with disbelief, never expecting they would really dare to disregard his father’s face.

As for Zhou Yuanxia, the subject of the matter, she too raised her head, looking at Zhou Minghan with a face full of panic and helplessness.

Chen Fangping had confidently assured her that as long as Chen Ping’an was present, Zhou Minghan and the others wouldn’t dare take her away by force, giving her the courage to make an appearance.

What she hadn’t anticipated was that, after squinting his eyes, Chen Ping’an, her and Chen Fangping’s pillar of support, not only showed no displeasure at Zhou Minghan’s indelicate words but, instead, looked at her with a friendly demeanor and said, "It’s alright, Xia’er. You can safely answer Brother Minghan. If you truly wish to return to the Zhou Family, your father won’t stop you."

"I, I don’t want to be separated from Xin’er." Zhou Yuanxia tightly held onto her son’s little hand, her voice trembling as she made her choice.

As soon as her voice fell, Zhou Minghan angrily said, "Fine, since you’ve said that, don’t blame this old man for being harsh."

Upon finishing, he glared with wide eyes at Zhouyang and loudly said, "Zhou Family cultivator Zhou Yuanxia eloped with someone, betraying the clan. As the Zhou Family’s First Supreme Elder, I request the Clan Leader to expel her from the clan registry, never to be reinstated!"

"I, Zhou Xuanhao, Second Supreme Elder of the Zhou Family, second the motion." At this moment, Zhou Xuanhao also caught on and voiced support for Zhou Minghan’s proposal.

Seeing this, Zhouyang looked deeply at Zhou Yuanxia, whose pretty face turned pale, and gently nodded, saying, "Since both Supreme Elders have made this proposal, and upon investigation and confirmation, the matter is indeed true, I, in my capacity as the Zhou Family Patriarch, agree with this proposal and will execute it immediately."

After saying this, he, in front of several members of the Chen Family, directly took out a copy of the clan’s genealogy from his Storage Bag and erased the three big characters "Zhou Yuanxia" on the spot.

Chen Ping’an, witnessing this scene, couldn’t help but nod lightly and said, "From now on, there will only be the Chen Family’s Chen Xia’Er, and no more Zhou Yuanxia!"

"Brother Chen, farewell!"

"Take care!"

Leaving the Chen Family, the three of them returned temporarily to "Jade Spring Tower" in Ping’an Marketplace.

"Father, why did you previously transmit a sound to me not to choose the Pill Formula? Although Chen Ping’an’s favor is valuable, the Tier Three Pill Formula concerns your advancement to a Tier Three Alchemist, which should be more important to our Zhou Family at the moment, shouldn’t it?"

In "Jade Spring Tower", after the three of them settled in, Zhouyang immediately expressed his doubts and confusion to his father, Zhou Xuanhao.

The Zhou Family’s hundred skills of cultivation, only the artifact refining path has a complete Tier Three or above inheritance, while others such as arrays, talisman making, alchemy, spirit planting, and beast taming, only have Tier Two inheritances.

The Tier Three array "Earth and Metal Spear Array" at "Haoyang Cave" is not considered a complete inheritance because Elder Zhou Qian, who refined this set of the array, passed away after creating it, leaving no relevant inheritance, only leaving behind a broken array map that even a Tier Two High-grade Array Master finds difficult to understand.

Therefore, in Zhouyang’s view, if his father Zhou Xuanhao could break through to a Tier Three Alchemist with the Tier Three Pill Formula provided by Chen Ping’an, it would definitely be ten times more beneficial for the Zhou Family than his own breakthrough to a Tier Three Refiner.

"Yang’Er, you are still young, so it’s normal not to understand these things. Even if you didn’t ask about this matter, as your father, I would have explained it to you!"

Zhou Xuanhao sighed lightly and then explained with a face full of wry smiles.

"Do you think that as an alchemist, I don’t want a Tier Three Pill Formula? But you have no idea that near the Baisha River cultivation realm, the spirit herbs and elixirs needed for refining common Tier Three Spirit Pills are basically monopolized by the Chen Family and Yellow Sand Sect. Only those herbs and elixirs that they can’t use are circulated for others to get."

"So the Pill Formula that Chen Ping’an is willing to offer is either a waste formula with materials that are hard to find and impossible to gather or a niche formula with little practical use."

"It’s true that our Zhou Family lacks a Tier Three Alchemist, but we’re not yet desperate enough to clutch at straws. There’s simply no need to fall for this trap!"

Zhouyang said nothing at this point.

He is an Artifact Refiner, not an Alchemist, and indeed has no say in alchemy matters.

Since his father Zhou Xuanhao said so, it certainly wouldn’t be wrong.

At this moment, Zhou Minghan, who had been silent, also nodded and said, "Xuanhao is right. We can slowly plan the Tier Three Pill Formula in the future. Instead, Chen Ping’an’s favor, under the circumstances of the current demon cultivator invasion, might prove invaluable at any moment."

After he finished speaking, he smiled slightly and said, "The matter with Yuanxia, on the surface, seems like something that disgraces our Zhou Family, but it actually proves a point. As Xuanhao and Xiao Jiu both succeeded in Foundation Establishment, and with the demon cultivators invading, our Zhou Family has transitioned from being an inconsequential small sidekick in the eyes of the Chen Family to a crucial ally worthy of their attention and wooing."

"Otherwise, with the Chen Family’s power, they could have easily hidden Yuanxia without us discovering it. Why would they need to expose it on purpose and offer us benefits under its pretext?"

Hearing this, Zhouyang couldn’t help but nod in agreement and said, "Great-grandfather is right. The Chen Family is indeed in a hurry. In the battle of Golden Dawn Mountain, they lost three Foundation Establishment cultivators. In this fight against the demon cultivators, they lost another Foundation Establishment cultivator. And the last time they used three Foundation Establishment Pills, only one person succeeded in Foundation Establishment. Adding the previous loss of Chen Pingzhi, they have barely eight Foundation Establishment cultivators now."

"Because of this, the Chen Family lacks sufficient Foundation Establishment cultivators. In the future, they will undoubtedly rely more on the Foundation Establishment cultivators of allied families, like ours. Some Tier Three treasures they previously kept from us and strictly controlled in quantity will likely be offered openly to win people’s hearts, which is definitely a great opportunity for our Zhou Family!"

Zhou Minghan stroked his beard with a smile, his face full of joy.

"It is indeed a good thing. Our Zhou Family has, after all, been established for only a short time. In terms of heritage, we can’t compare with the Chen Family, a Purple Mansion Clan, or even with the Liu Family on Chixia Mountain or the Yang Family in Golden Spring Valley, two clans with five or six hundred years of Foundation Establishment legacy."

"Now our Zhou Family has three Foundation Establishment cultivators, marking the most prosperous time since our establishment, and coinciding with the demon cultivator invasion and turmoil in the cultivation realm. At such a time, if we don’t seize the opportunity to accumulate some family heritage, it won’t be easy to have the clan’s heritage achieve a leap forward once the situation stabilizes later."

Zhouyang, too, knows one’s own household affairs best. Before reaching Foundation Establishment, except for Foundation Establishment Pills, it seemed like the Zhou Family lacked nothing and had everything he wanted.

But only after his own Foundation Establishment did he realize that the Zhou Family’s self-sufficiency was only applicable to low-tier cultivators. For the Zhou Family’s Foundation Establishment cultivators, apart from magical artifacts, there was basically nothing useful the family could provide.

It’s similar to those countries from his previous life; some small countries could at most sustain their citizens by shutting their doors, but to consume high-tech products beyond basic needs, they basically had to rely on purchasing imports.

To give a simple example, Zhouyang has never taken even one Tier Three Spirit Pill to enhance his cultivation after achieving Foundation Establishment, showing just how poor the Zhou Family is in terms of family heritage.

Like the Liu Family on Chixia Mountain, even if they don’t have a Tier Three Alchemist, the reason that every generation has people achieving Foundation Establishment means their clan’s treasure vault consistently stores many Tier Three Spirit Pills. Foundation Establishment cultivators can exchange spirit stones at preferential prices to obtain these pills for use.

The Liu Family uses public funds to buy high-priced Spirit Pills, keeping them in the treasury and allowing family Foundation Establishment cultivators to exchange them at fair prices. This approach seemingly puts the clan’s finances in deficit, yet it stabilizes the loyalty of family Foundation Establishment cultivators, boosting their sense of belonging and cohesion with the clan.

As long as the family’s Foundation Establishment cultivators continue serving the clan, aren’t those spirit pills swapped at fair prices effectively remaining with the clan in another form?

People are pragmatic. If a family can no longer provide cultivation support to high-tier cultivators, those high-tier cultivators will gradually become indifferent to the family. After all, once detached, they can live well on their own. The family, then, may become a burden, and given the choice, no one willingly shoulders unnecessary burdens.

Zhouyang can guarantee his loyalty to the clan and believes in the loyalty of the old patriarch Zhou Minghan and his father Zhou Xuanhao as well. But loyalty can’t fill the belly.

The three of them, who survived the family’s difficult times and benefited from the kindness of many former family cultivators, can "generate electricity with love" to support the clan. However, will their descendants, those future Foundation Establishment cultivators who grow up during prosperous times for the clan, still "generate electricity with love" and remain loyal to the clan?

Zhouyang’s worldly knowledge tells him that’s absolutely impossible!

Therefore, to prevent talent loss in the family in the future, he, as the clan leader, must elevate the family’s heritage before those junior cultivators rise.

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