Eternal Life by Dual Cultivation-Chapter 161 - 127: Fuyue Continent
"I see. That makes sense."
Shentu Hong nodded slightly.
The vastness of the Cultivation Realm was beyond imagination. Countless orthodoxies, powers, and masters of great power had been lost to the river of time, leaving behind all sorts of Immortal Mansion Ruins and Extreme Forbidden Realms that emerged one after another.
Almost every year, some Immortal Mansion Ruins would reappear across the continent. It was natural for numerous cultivators to obtain all kinds of opportunities from them, so it wasn't anything to be concerned about.
Next, Xue Qingtan gave a brief report on the branch's finances and presented several large-capacity Spatial Magical Artifacts. They were filled with various specialty resources from the Feiyu Sea Region, acquired for the organization.
"Well done. I've always been confident in your abilities."
After hearing the report, Shentu Hong nodded in satisfaction. Although she had provided considerable support to the Ling Family, Xue Qingtan hadn't forgotten her duties, acquiring a large quantity of specialty resources for the organization at reasonable prices.
"How have things been on the Yuzhou Continent recently? Has anything important happened?"
Having finished with business, Xue Qingtan continued her questions.
Shentu Hong pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly.
"Not good. I feel like a storm is brewing. The few masters within the organization who are proficient in the Path of Celestial Secret Art and Divination are not optimistic at all."
"The Feng Family and the Yu Family had some problems with a business partnership. I heard a few important family members died, and the higher-ups from both families are on very bad terms over it."
"The Yin Family's first-in-line heir died in an accident while exploring an otherworldly Extreme Forbidden Realm. Now, the Patriarch's dozen or so children are all fighting for the position. They're just short of coming to blows!"
"As for the Mu Family's Patriarch, I don't know what's gotten into him, but he suddenly summoned all of his thirty-plus children back for a blood recognition ceremony..."
"A blood recognition ceremony? What is he trying to do?"
Xue Qingtan's expression faltered, and she asked in confusion.
Unlike in the Mortal Realm, "blood recognition" in the Cultivation Realm is a general term that actually covers tens of thousands of bloodline identification Secret Techniques.
Simply put, within a Cultivation Family, it's impossible to pass off an illegitimate child as one's own, as such a thing could never be concealed.
Therefore, situations where a man is cuckolded, becomes an unwitting stepfather, or raises another's child simply don't happen.
Shentu Hong's expression suddenly turned strange. He lowered his voice and said,
"I'm not sure what happened either. I only heard that after repeated testing with various Secret Techniques, not a single one of the Mu Family Patriarch's thirty-plus children was his own!"
"..."
Xue Qingtan was completely dumbfounded. Her beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief, and for a moment, she thought she had heard wrong.
The implication was that the Mu Family Patriarch had been cuckolded? And not just by one or two women?
Once this news got out, it would surely become a major scandal and a huge joke in the Yuzhou Cultivation Realm!
"This is absolutely unheard of! How is that possible? A situation like this should be impossible, right?"
Xue Qingtan said, finding it hard to believe.
The current Mu Family Patriarch is a Great Power at the late-stage Nascent Soul realm. What kind of method could deceive him so thoroughly? And who would dare to cuckold him?
Shentu Hong sighed. "According to the latest test results, the Mu Family Patriarch is actually infertile, but he himself never knew!"
Moreover, from his first marriage until now, he has taken over a hundred wives and concubines over a period of several hundred years.
"I can't help but feel that there's more to this than meets the eye. It's likely a grand conspiracy against the Mu Family..."
Under normal circumstances, such a thing would be unimaginable and simply shouldn't happen.
However, given the vastness of the Cultivation Realm and the endless emergence of incredible Secret Technique Divine Techniques, one can never say never.
It's just that the power behind such a grand scheme would have to be stronger than, not weaker than, the Nine Great Cultivation Families.
"So what's happening now? What's the outcome?"
Xue Qingtan blinked and couldn't help but ask, her gossipy nature as a woman taking over.
"What else? He ordered all those children to be executed. Now, the entire Mu Family is mustering its forces, preparing to wage war on the neighboring Yu Family!"
Shentu Hong said with a frown. The more he looked at this bizarre and abnormal situation, the more confused he became.
'Oh well,' he thought. 'As long as the chaos among those great Noble Families doesn't affect the interests of the Xingyun sun Commerce Association, I can't be bothered to care about the rest.'
However, from Xue Qingtan's perspective, with the great powers of the Yuzhou Continent constantly embroiled in conflict, they naturally wouldn't have the spare energy to pay attention to the changes in the Feiyu Sea Region.
Therefore, the Ling Family could seize this once-in-a-millennium opportunity to accelerate their own development and operations, growing into an established Golden Core power or even a major Nascent Soul power in one fell swoop.
...
「In the Women's Embroidery Tower.」
"...Little Junior Brother, this is your first time traveling far on your own. Remember to be cautious and low-key out there. Don't go looking for trouble!"
Beneath the hanging brocade curtains, Ling Qiyue embraced the young man in her arms on the embroidered bed, instructing him in a soft, gentle voice.
"Don't worry, Senior Sister. I understand."
Ling Changqing spoke warmly, gently caressing his Senior Sister's smooth, delicate skin, which was as flawless as beautiful jade.
This time, he had been entrusted by Ling Qiyue and Tang Qiu Yao to travel to the Fuyue Continent to purchase a batch of special Medicinal Herbs. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The two women's arrangement was also intended to give Ling Changqing some practical experience. As the future Clan Patriach of the Ling Family, he couldn't have any weaknesses in his abilities.
Although they had an important partner in the Xingyun sun Commerce Association, as an independent power, they obviously couldn't put all their eggs in one basket.
What if, for some special reason in the future, the Xingyun sun Commerce Association stopped cooperating with the family? Wouldn't that sever most of their resource trade channels?
Therefore, Ling Qiyue's considerations were perfectly reasonable. Entrusting this matter to Ling Changqing, with his extraordinary Luck and Fortune, would also greatly increase the chances of success.
Beside them, Tang Qiu Yao, her beautiful face flushed red and her charming eyes rippling with allure, lazily rolled over. She pressed her long, smooth legs against the young man and said in a sweet, cloying voice,
"Oh, don't you worry, Senior Sister. Little Junior Brother has never disappointed us. He'll definitely handle this perfectly!"
"I hope so!"
Ling Qiyue smiled. Of course, she didn't doubt Ling Changqing's performance; she was just nagging him a little out of concern.
After that, the three of them engaged in dozens more rounds of deep cultivation, only stopping, still wanting more, after a full day and night had passed.
Ling Changqing was helped by the two women to soak in a hot spring bath. After getting dressed, he enjoyed a sumptuous feast before finally taking his leave.
His movements were, of course, top secret. Besides the two women, no third person knew his destination. Even Ling Bingyun, Qin Yun, and the other girls were kept in the dark.
In the vast and lonely Celestial Vault, a Celestial Boat shimmering with Spiritual Light accelerated into the distance, leaving a faint, glowing trail.
Inside the cabin, Ling Changqing took out the Jade Scroll containing the map and began to familiarize himself with the information about the Fuyue Continent.
As for the detailed list of resources to be purchased and the required Middle grade Spirit Stones, they were now all lying in his Storage Pouch.
In truth, the task wasn't complicated. He just needed to reach the Fuyue Continent, find a large merchant firm there to buy the resources, and then bring them back safely to Changqing Continent.
The only thing to worry about was possibly being targeted by Tribulation Cultivators along the way. However, with Ling Changqing's current strength, protecting himself was not a problem at all.
Due to the long journey, the Top Grade Spiritual Artifact Level Flying Ship took a full month to finally reach the Outer Sea Region of the Fuyue Continent.
Looking down from high above, a dark green landmass hundreds of thousands of miles in area—several times larger than Changqing Continent—appeared at the edge of his vision.
A winding coastline was dotted with natural harbors like pearls. Countless ships of all sizes sailed in and out of these ports, making the area a hundred times more bustling than Changqing Continent.
After all, the Fuyue Continent had been developed and managed for tens of thousands of years. Although it had never been unified, its population had reached the tens of billions.
Dozens of Mortal Dynasties of varying sizes were rooted in this land, playing out a constant drama of shifting alliances and endless warfare, reminiscent of the Warring States period, at every moment.
Seeing that he wasn't far from land, Ling Changqing put away the Flying Ship and flew on the wind toward a bustling port Marketplace.
Here, cultivators riding beams of Escape Light and flying high in the sky were a common sight. Most were at the Qi Cultivation Stage, and there were quite a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators as well.
However, Pseudo Core and True Pill Cultivators were relatively rare. Even on the Fuyue Continent, individuals of this Cultivation level belonged to the true upper class and would not show themselves easily.
