Ancestor Above

While Lu Wenen was being escorted to Anling City by two of the clan’s cultivators, on Yuyan Mountain, the three siblings had managed to crack open the storage bags of the four Foundation Building cultivators.

The most valuable item was the two Level Two high-grade magic equipment that belonged to Zhang Xican.

They were the “Jade Wind Clarity Sword” and the “Cloud-Stepping Flying Sword.” Just these two items alone were worth a fortune.

Along with Ma Sixian’s “Cleaving Flame Blade” and “Spirit-Sweeping Giant Banner,” they had four Level Two mid-grade magic equipment.

They also looted five Level Two low-grade magic equipment, though the Level One magic equipment they got was not worth mentioning. The disparity between their values was too great.

They managed to obtain nine pieces of Level Two magic equipment. The total value of these pieces of magic equipment reached nearly 6,000 Spirit Stones. They comfortably exceeded that total number if they counted the ordinary Level One magic equipment.

Robbing and looting were indeed the quickest ways to get rich.

The pieces of magic equipment were not the only things they gained.

The Foundation Building cultivators also carried some Spirit Stones. Ma Sixian and Zhang Xican did not carry many Spirit Stones on them. After all, they had their clans in Anling City. They would not carry a fortune on them. Instead, it was the two unaffiliated Foundation Building cultivators who had all of their assets on them that contributed over 1,000 Spirit Stones.

There were also a few amulets and elixirs...

The total value of all the items reached around 8,000 Spirit Stones.

The three siblings were elated. Just the amount of Spirit Stones they obtained during this battle was enough to offset the cost of the “Infernal Extinction Flame Amulet.” They even made a decent profit.

Of course, the value of items that were of a higher level could not be estimated just based on money alone. There was a short supply of Level Three amulets. While these amulets could be bought for 5,000 Spirit Stones on the market, it was not easy to get ahold of them using only Spirit Stones within the Anling Prefecture. There was some luck involved.

Other than these items, there were two other items that the siblings paid attention to.

They were two techniques.

Techniques were regarded as a representation of a clan’s strength. The Lu Clan was rather strong in this area.

Lu Qing cultivated the “Unlimited Infernal Flame Mantra.” This technique favored cultivators who had heavily Fire Spiritual Roots. Cultivators with Wood Spiritual Roots could also cultivate this technique, though it was best if the cultivator had Fire-Wood Double Spiritual Roots. The technique was marvelous-grade, and Lu Qing had the entire set. It allowed him to reach the Golden Core Stage. The cultivators of the clan who had Fire or Wood Spiritual Root did not have to worry that they had no techniques to cultivate.

Next in the clan’s arsenal was the “Bright Yang Lightning Ceremony.” This was also a marvelous-grade technique, but it was not too complete. It only consisted of techniques up to the Initial Enlightenment Stage. They would have to look to the Qingfeng Sect if they wanted to complete this technique. Lu Qing had traded for this technique with the Qingfeng Sect many years ago for his eldest son.

This technique was a blessing for the cultivators in the clan who had Lightning Spiritual Roots. A Strange Spiritual Root like that was a sign of exceptional talent. However, even if a genius like that were to show up among the unaffiliated cultivators or smaller clans, it was hard for them to be nurtured. That was because techniques that were suited for cultivators with Strange Spiritual Roots were extremely hard to obtain. The members of the Lu Clan, at least for those with Lightning Spiritual Roots, did not have to worry about this problem.

Meanwhile, the techniques that the clan could provide for its cultivators with Water, Wood, and Earth Spiritual Roots were not as good. The “Score of Water and Cloud” that Lu Mingchao cultivated, Lu Chaohe’s “Score of the Roaring Mountain,” and a wood-element “Green Smoke Life Mantra” were all only high-grade.

High-grade techniques were considered decent in the world of cultivation. A cultivator would have no problems reaching the Foundation Building Stage with those techniques.

That was also the benefit of having a clan, a legacy, and a good background. No matter how pitiful the Lu Clan had become, the cultivators of the clan would not have a problem cultivating a technique if they were confirmed to have a talent in cultivation. This was unlike the unaffiliated cultivators who did not belong to a sect or clan. They had to put in a ton of effort to obtain a good technique to cultivate. The technique that they got might not even be suited for them.

However, of all the collection of the Lu Clan, the Metal Elemental Technique was the poorest. It was a low-grade technique called the “Eight-Styled Metal Blade Mantra.” The cultivators of the Lu Clan, who had Metal Spiritual Roots, were a little worse off in terms of techniques.

They had to solve this problem. For example, Lu Weiwen, who had great potential as a cultivator with Metal-Earth Spiritual Roots, could only cultivate a weak low-grade technique. It was a waste of her talents.

This time around, they managed to obtain a high-grade technique from the hands of the four Foundation Building cultivators. It was called the “Three Reversal Heavy Core Technique,” and it could be cultivated to the Foundation Building Stage. This technique had no requirements when it came to Spiritual Roots. A cultivator who had Metal Spiritual Roots should have no problems cultivating this technique. Lu Weiwen could cultivate this technique exclusively.

Also, there was another valuable technique called the “Body Flicker Technique.” That was the evasion technique that the unaffiliated cultivator who wielded the pitch-black shortsword used to get close to Lu Chaoxi.

Lu Chaoxi had a deep impression of this technique. This evasion technique was rather peculiar. It allowed the user to flicker a short distance and change their position. It should have wonderful effects if used during special circumstances.

After they researched the “Body Flicker Technique,” they realized that the evasion technique was not without weakness. For one, it required a large amount of spiritual strength. Second, the technique could not be used to phase through obstacles. The journey between the user’s original position and the target destination had to be unobstructed.

No matter what, the technique was another addition to the clan’s collection.

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Two more years passed in a flash. Lu Qing’s closed-door training had ended.

The system interface was summoned, and he was once again swarmed with notifications of various kinds.

[Achievement: Qi Refining Cultivator, Level One achieved] x

[There is a new Qi Refining cultivator in the clan. Reward: 5 Karma]

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[A Level Three resource, the Energy Stone Mine, has been put into operation once again.]

[Achievement: New Resource, Level Three achieved (Energy Stone Mine)]

[There is a new Level Three resource in operation in the clan. Reward: 120 Karma]

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[Achievement: New Resource, Level Two achieved (Horde of Steel Red Bugs)]

[There is a new Level Two resource in operation in the clan. Reward: 50 Karma]

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[A new spirit herb, the Sanqing Flower, has been grown in the Level One Medicine Garden. Income increased.]

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[Conquest mission accomplished, please tap for more information] x

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[Achievement: A clan member killed a Foundation Building cultivator for the first time.]

[Reward: 50 Karma]

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[Level One Amulet Room has been constructed on Yuyan Mountain.]

[Level Two Cavern Abode has been constructed on Yuyan Mountain.]

[Achievement: New Building, Level Two achieved (Cavern Abode)]

...

[There is a new Level Two building in operation in the clan. Reward: 50 Karma]

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[Number of high-grade techniques accumulated by the clan reached more than five (currently six). Reward: 100 Karma. Reward: Building Blueprint, Level Two Scroll Depository]

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[Automatic refresh of the system’s exchange functions complete. Seven new options added.]

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There were too many notifications. Lu Qing had to organize his thoughts.

He did not have to think about the new Qi Refining cultivators. That would happen as long as the clan naturally developed. What was worth mentioning was that the current population of the clan had reached 140, which was double the population increase from five years ago. It must have been the effects of the “Family Planning” he got back then. It was worth being happy about.

There was strength in numbers.

Furthermore, the greater the clan’s population was, the more descendants with Spiritual Roots in the Lu Clan there would be. The result was more cultivators in the clan in the future.

Currently, all of the clan members had descended from Lu Qing’s lineage. It meant that all of the clan members had the bloodline of a Golden Core cultivator. All of the splinter bloodlines from the clan would have the pedigree of a cultivator. This way, the probability of the Lu Clan producing children with Spiritual Roots was several times higher than a gathering of normal humans.

...

In terms of resources, the Level Three Energy Stone Mine was a resource that he had dealt with before he engaged in closed-door training. It was just that the situation with the Stonemother delayed the production of the resource. Thus, the achievement had only popped out later on. The horde of Steel Red Bugs was something he did not expect. Now that he thought about it, his descendants might have captured the bug queen when they went for the conquest mission.

They were quite intelligent.

As for the Sanqing Flowers, those were the herbs that the clan obtained from the conquest mission for the Tiger King. He had told Lu Chaohe about this matter after he scouted the area and specially instructed him to transplant the Sanqing Flowers back to Yuyan Mountain. Lu Chaohe had done as he asked.

The rest of the new buildings, the conquest missions, and the automatic refresh of the system’s exchange options were all within his expectations.

The only notification that surprised him was the achievement “First Foundation Building Cultivator Killed.” He had to summon his children over and ask them about what happened later on.