Chapter 431: Could This Be Father’s True Intent in Establishing the Caravan?

“Biyun Peak now has abundant spiritual energy. We can start planning for several Foundation Establishment Cave Dwellings.”

Lu Changsheng withdrew his gaze, looking towards Biyun Peak’s spiritual veins, and pondered.

The spiritual veins of Biyun Peak had advanced to Second-Tier Top-Tier, not only increasing the overall concentration of spiritual energy.

The Xuantian Spirit Vine rooted in the spiritual veins also thrived, radiating pure and dense spiritual energy.

Under these conditions, it’s possible to connect the spiritual veins and establish multiple Foundation Establishment Cave Dwellings for the family’s Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After all, the family’s Foundation Establishment dwellings had been insufficient.

Because of that, none of the family’s children had their own Foundation Establishment dwellings, and they all had to share a few cottages in the Sumeru Cave Heaven.

“It’s a pity I can’t observe the flow of fortune to determine how much the vein’s advancement affects gathering fortune.”

Lu Changsheng’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the jade-green, vibrant Xuantian Spirit Vine, flowing with intricate vital energies, and pondered.

After examining for a moment, Lu Changsheng returned to the Lu Family Mansion.

“Husband, what should we name these two small peaks?”

Qu Zhenzhen asked, her pink dress flowing gently. Her face was delicate and lovely, appearing both fresh and elegant as a young girl while exuding the charm of a young married woman.

“Names? Zhenzhen, do you have any thoughts?”

Lu Changsheng didn’t place much importance on naming these peaks.

After discussing for a while, they named the two peaks ‘Xuanfu Peak’ and ‘Hundred Refinements Peak’.

Xuanfu symbolizes divine auspices.

The Bihu Mountain Lu Family is known for Talisman Making, so the new spiritual veins cultivated by the family should bear some relation to talismans.

As for the Hundred Refinements Peak, Lu Changsheng planned to incorporate the Earth Fiend Fire Vein he acquired into this peak, creating a workshop for refining pills and equipment.

After naming the peaks, Lu Changsheng instructed his son Lu Xingyang to cultivate and plan the two small peaks, and then called for his son Lu Yun.

Now that the spiritual veins were formed, it was time to plant the world spirit plants to practice the Heaven and Earth Longevity Technique.

Although the two small peaks only had first-Tier Top-Tier spiritual veins, which couldn’t support Third-Tier world spirit plants.

But the spiritual veins of these peaks weren’t independent. They were connected to Biyun Peak, so spiritual energy could be channeled from Biyun Peak.

In addition, Lu Changsheng planned to invest some spiritual vein essence into the two small peaks, so maintaining the vitality of the spirit trees shouldn’t be a big issue.

Moreover, Lu Changsheng had Lu Miaoyun, Lu Miaohuan, and Q Zhenzhen in the family.

As long as the spirit plants didn’t face major problems, the three women could stabilize their vitality using the Heaven and Earth Longevity Technique.

“Greetings, Father.”

Upon hearing Lu Changsheng’s summons, Lu Yun quickly came forth to pay his respects.

“I have three types of world spirit plants in my possession. One is the Dragon Blood Tree, the second is the Fire Mulberry Tree, and the third is the Golden Flame Vine Tree.”

“You can choose one of them to cultivate the Heaven and Earth Longevity Technique.”

Lu Changsheng flicked his fingers, and a mirrored image appeared, displaying the three world spirit plants, allowing Lu Yun to choose.

“Three plants.”

Lu Yun was shocked.

He knew how valuable world spirit plants were.

He didn’t expect his father would have three of them.

Staring at the three spirit plants before him, Lu Yun pondered for a moment and then asked, “Father, what are the effects and characteristics of these three spirit trees?”

Among the three trees, the Golden Flame Vine Tree was the most aesthetically pleasing, followed by the Fire Mulberry Tree, and lastly, the Dragon Blood Tree.

But after deciding to cultivate the Heaven and Earth Longevity Technique, his mother Lu Miaoyun had explained this echnique in detail to him.

He knew that the technique’s effects and characteristics were closely related to his innate spirit plant.

So, given the choice, he wouldn’t just choose based on appearance but would select the plant most suited to him.

“Effects and characteristics?”

Lu Changsheng paused for a moment before saying, “This Dragon Blood Tree was originally an ironwood tree that, after being nourished by dragon blood, transformed into a Dragon Blood Tree. It contains the essence of a dragon, making it especially potent for refining magical treasures.”

“If used with the Heaven and Earth Longevity Technique, it might help with physical enhancement.”

“The Fire Mulberry Tree is a fire-attribute world spirit plant. Cultivating next to it improves the results of fire-attribute techniques. Using it with the Heaven and Earth Longevity Technique could grant fire-related abilities.”

“The Golden Flame Vine Tree lies between the two, being a gold-fire attribute world spirit plant.”

Lu Changsheng briefly explained the effects of the three spirit trees.

He knew the Heaven and Earth Longevity Technique would gather a Foundation Establishment seed after foundation formation.

But even he wasn’t sure about the abilities that the Foundation Establishment seeds of these spirit trees would grant.

“Father, I choose the Dragon Blood Tree.”

After hearing the explanation, Lu Yun spoke up.

He decided that after refining the Heaven and Earth Longevity Technique and forming his foundation, he would also start having many children, just like his father.

The Fire Mulberry Tree and the Golden Flame Vine Tree wouldn’t be of much help in that regard.

The Dragon Blood Tree, having been transformed with dragon blood, might help enhance his physique, which could be beneficial for his future.

“The Dragon Blood Tree.”

Lu Changsheng chuckled lightly at how quickly his son made a choice.

Having recently broken through to the Golden Core Formation, he awakened the Taiyi Divine Soul, allowing him to sense his children’s emotions and mental fluctuations without much effort.

So from his son’s words, he could guess what was on his mind.

“Alright, in that case, plant the Dragon Blood Tree on Xuanfu Peak.”

Lu Changsheng smiled.

He then took Lu Yun, Lu Miaoyun, and Qu Zhenzhen tothe summit of Xuanfu Peak.

With Ling Zixiao absent from the family, setting up formations was indeed a bit troublesome.

So Lu Changsheng directly deployed his personal ‘Small Five Elements Reversal Formation’ to mask the situation and retrieved the Dragon Blood Tree from the system space.

This Dragon Blood Tree was somewhat similar to the Lingming Treasure Tree; it had no leaves, only branches that gleamed with a black-gold sheen.

The veins on the tree bark were twisted, resembling a fierce and terrifying dragon coiled, giving a very intimidating feeling.

As soon as the Dragon Blood Tree appeared, an invisible aura of pressure spread, causing Lu Yun beside it to shiver violently, feeling as if he was facing some terrifying beast.

Seeing this, Lu Changsheng flicked his fingers, removing the pressure from his son, and said, “This Dragon Blood Tree was transformed with dragon blood, so it carries a bit of dragon might.”

“Get used to it over time, but if you really can’t bear it, just bow and salute in the direction of Biyun Peak and call out, ‘Senior Sumeru,’ and it will relieve this pressure for you.”

Lu Changsheng instructed his son.

He felt the Dragon Blood Tree’s aura was quite useful.

It could allow the family’s children to experience and adapt to it.

If they could withstand such pressure, even Qi Refining cultivators could face the pressure of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

“Yes, Father.”

Lu Yun looked at the Dragon Blood Tree before him, overjoyed, thinking that it was indeed worthy of being a Third-Tier world spirit plant.

Afterward, Lu Changsheng planted the Dragon Blood Tree and had Lu Miaoyun and Qu Zhenzhen stailize its vitality. He then handed over the formation disc for the Small Five Elements Reversal Formation to his son Lu Yun, instructing him to occasionally come and refine the spirit plant.

After resolving Lu Yun’s situation, Lu Changsheng also integrated a mass of spiritual vein essence and the Earth Fiend Fire Vein into Xuanfu Peak and Hundred Refinements Peak, respectively.

Afterward, he took Lu Miaoyun and Qu Zhenzhen bac to the mansion to relax and continue his goal of having more children.

In the mountains dozens of miles away from the Nine Linked Mountains.

A caravan was stationed there.

“If it weren’t for the Sima Family’s pre-arranged formation, setting up a high-level formation in this timeframe would have been difficult.”

Ling Zixiao held a formation disc, accompanied by Lu Lingxiao and several Lu Family disciples, setting up the formation.

She had detected the formation trap laid by Sima Shu in advance.

So she directly modified the opponent’s formation, allowing her formation to take shape quickly.

“Cousin Ruyi, what’s this?”

In the carriage, Lu Linghe and Lu Ruyi were sorting through the Storage Bags belonging to the Four Talents of the Sima Family.

Every now and then, Lu Linghe would pull out an item and ask her cousin.

If Lu Ruyi didn’t recognize it, she would ask her mother, Ling Zixiao.

“This is a piece of Ghost Spirit Vine, worth around 700 Spirit Stones.”

Lu Ruyi examined it for a few moments and then spoke.

Because the family had appointed her to manage the business side of things, she had spent much time recognizing Natural Treasures over the years.

“Ghost Spirit Vine, 700 Spirit Stones.”

Lu Linghe nodded her small head and then took out her notebook, drawing the Ghost Spirit Vine and recording its price.

“The Ghost Spirit Vine is quite helpful for ghosts and ghost cultivators. Xiao’an should be able to use it. Linghe, give this Ghost Spirit Vine to your elder brother later.”

Lu Ruyi continued.

“Mhm, mhm.”

Lu Linghe nodded her tiny head, placing the piece of Ghost Spirit Vine into her own Storage Bag.

After a long time, the two sisters finished sorting through the Storage Bags of the Four Talents of the Sima Family.

The valuable items included Spirit Stones, Spirit Tools, pills, and spiritual herbs, with the total value reaching about 300,000 Spirit Stones.

After calculating, Lu Ruyi was a bit dazed.

After all, in her decades of cultivation, she had never seen so many Spirit Stones.

“For an ordinary Foundation Establishment family, earning 10,000 Spirit Stones in a year after expenses is considered good.”

“Even with a caravan, making just over 10,000 Spirit Stones on a trip is about average.”

Lu Ruyi couldn’t help but be amazed.

Suddenly, it dawned on her why every cultivation level had its share of robbers.

No matter how hard one works, making an honest living can never compare to robbing people.

“This caravan has been on the road for four months, earning only 2,000 Spirit Stones. Older Brother killed these people along the way, and their loot totals nearly 400,000 Spirit Stones.”

“Could it be that Father’s true purpose in establishing the caravan wasn’t trade?”

A thought suddenly crossed Lu Ruyi’s mind.

But she quickly shook her head to dismiss it.

Her father was upright, gentle, and like a true gentleman; how could he resort to such means to gather wealth?

Moreover, the people her elder brother had eliminated were all those who proactively caused trouble for their family, attacking them on sight.

Families like the Xie Family of Lingxi, as long they weren’t overly aggressive, her older brother wouldn’t deal with them harshly.

Sometimes Lu Ruyi couldn’t help but think her elder brother inherited this righteousness from their father, making him far too upright.

“Auntie.”

Lu Ruyi got out of the carriage to tell Ling Zixiao about their spoils.

“Decent wealth.”

Ling Zixiao replied with a faint smile, not much impressed by the 300,000 Spirit Stones.

After all, the family had spent money like water in recent years.

Three hundred thousand Spirit Stones really wasn’t much.

One could say the Four Talents of the Sima Family were well-off among family cultivators.

But among wandering cultivators, they didn’t quite live up to their reputation.

“Ruyi, thank you for your hard work. After your brother picks what he wants later, convert the rest into family contribution points.”

Ling Zixiao said.

Currently, Bihu Mountain had a family contribution system.

But this system had its flaws.

The main reason was that Lu Changsheng was too generous with benefits.

In other forces, acquiring a Breaking Stage Pill or Foundation Establishment Pill required competing for contribution points.

But on Bihu Mountain, anyone who reached the peak of Qi Refining would directly receive the Foundation Establishment Pill and the Three Yang Pill, these rare pills.

And certain sons and daughters, who were either high-performing or favored by Lu Changsheng, would receive a heap of good items without needing contribution points.

For this reason, the family contribution system was purely a family welfare program for the Lu Family.

Contribution points earned through family tasks could be used for discounts when purchasing rare pills, Artifacts, talismans, and more.

“Okay.”

Lu Ruyi nodded and then asked if there was anything she could help with regarding the formation.

A few days later.

Near the Nine Linked Mountains.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t the Lu Family caravan moving?”

“Could they have given up?”

“That doesn’t make sense. The Lu Family caravan didn’t seem to have suffered any losses earlier.”

“We saw someone from the Sima Family approach the Lu Family caravan earlier, but then there was no movement.”

“Not just the Sima Family; I heard people from the Xie Family of Lingxi, Yuan Family of Great Ape Mountain, and Feng Family of Divine Wind Valley also made a move, but there’s been no news since.”

“Did they all fail, lose face, and keep quiet about it?”

“Impossible. This caravan isn’t led by Lu Changsheng or Lu Miaoge, after all.””

Due to the Hongye Valley Marketplace incident, many Foundation Establishment forces had given up trying to intercept the Lu Family caravan, but they still sent people to monitor its movements.

When the Lu Family caravan suddenly went quiet for several days, these forces were puzzled.

But wary of causing trouble, none dared to approach too closely, leaving them unsure of what had happened.

“What’s going on? Wasn’t it the Four Talents of the Sima Family who made their move? Even with all four of them stepping in, why hasn’t there been any news?”

A cultivator wearing a gray robe felt confused.

He was from Jinlong Ridge, so he knew the Sima Family would make a move.

He had heard that the Four Talents of the Sima Family were setting an ambush at Nine Linked Mountains.

But with so much time passing and no news, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

As these forces were mired in confusion, debating whether to investigate the situation themselves.

“Screech!”

They suddenly saw a dark shadow flying swiftly toward the Nine Linked Mountains, accompanied by a loud screech.

The shadow grew larger and larger, making the sky howl with powerful winds and filling it with ominous clouds.

Upon closer inspection, it was a majestic and imposing eagle with jet-black feathers.

On its back, two figures stood faintly visible.

“Which force could this be? Are they after the Lu Family’s caravan as well?”

“That eagle… it looks a lot like the Sima Family’s Black Scaled Eagle.”

One of the cultivators recognized the black eagle and identified it as the spirit beast of the Sima Family.

But given that the Four Talents of the Sima Family had already made their move earlier, they weren’t sure if this Black Scaled Eagle belonged to the Sima Family.

At the same time, at the Lu Family’s caravan’s camp.

“It’s here.”

“Could it be the Sima Patriarch?”

Ling Zixiao and Lu Ping’an both had a sense of foreboding and looked toward the sky.

They saw the fierce black eagle flying towards them, displaying an overwhelming momentum.

Lu Ruyi, Lu Lingxiao, Zhou Datong, and other Lu Family members also looked up, observing the eagle growing larger.

“Is it a False Core master?”

“This eagle looks formidable, likely a Second-Tier Top-Tier demon beast.”

Among everyone present, only Ling Zixiao remained calm, while the others felt tense as though about to face a formidable enemy.

Even Lu Ping’an was somewhat anxious, uncertain if he could handle this situation.

However, alongside the anxiety and apprehension, Lu Ping’an also felt a bit excited.

He was eager to see how he measured up against a False Core master!

“Hmm?”

On the Black Scaled Eagle, the Sima Patriarch used his Divine Sense to scan the surroundings, searching for the Lu Family caravan.

Soon, he spotted the Lu Family’s camp in the distance, and his anger flared.

Based on the information he had received, the Lu Family’s caravan should have moved far from here by now.

The fact that they were still here meant they hadn’t moved for some time.

Did that mean the Lu Family caravan was waiting for his arrival?

“Good, good! Very good! The Bihu Mountain Lu Family!”

The Sima Patriarch’s face turned grim, his eyes filled with killing intent. Feeling challenged, he directed the Black Scaled Eagle to descend towards the Lu Family’s camp.

“From Xuanwu Ridge, the False Core patriarch Sima Tong and Third Elder Sima Tai.”

Lu Ruyi identified the two figures on the eagle’s back and her pupils contracted.

She immediately sent a transmission to inform her elder brother about the two and briefly introduced the False Core Patriarch Sima Tong.

The Sima Family had two False Core masters.

This Sima Tong had broken through eighty years ago and was likely to have mastered Divine Abilities. With magical treasures at his disposal, his combat strength was extraordinary.

“Whoo, whoo, whoo—”

As the Black Scaled Eagle landed, its black feathers flared, causing strong winds to sweep through the area, kicking up clouds of dust.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz—”

Ling Zixiao saw this and immediately activated the formation disc, setting off the pre-arranged formation.

Otherwise, the sheer force of the wind could be enough to cause many Qi Refining cultivators and ordinary warriors to spit blood and be blown away.

“Why has the Sima Patriarch come with such aggressive intent to disturb our caravan? What’s the matter?”

Ling Zixiao, dressed in an azure blue dress with her hair styled elegantly, looked up at the Sima Patriarch standing on the Black Scaled Eagle and spoke calmly.