111: Chapter 111 Use Spirit Stones to Smash Me

Wang Chongyang frowned and shook his head almost without hesitation.

"Impossible. Although this old man has a friendship with Dantuzi, how precious is an Alchemist's Legacy? How many Sect Disciples yearn to join the Lingdan Sect to no avail? Why would he pass on his mantle to an outsider for a mere tens of thousands of Spirit Stones? If this old man were in his shoes, I would flatly refuse such a thing."

"Sixth Grandpa, do not be anxious, and let your grandson finish."

Wang Shouren met the old man's skeptical gaze, his tone remaining steady, "May I ask, Sixth Grandpa, how much Lifespan does that Senior Dantuzi still have left?"

Wang Chongyang was slightly taken aback. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "He is not much younger than this old man; it is a matter of these three to five years at most."

"That is it then." Wang Shouren sat up straight, laying out the calculations he had repeatedly deliberated in his mind before everyone, word by word.

"Senior Dantuzi's cultivation might be higher, but since he is of a similar age to Sixth Grandpa, he has also nearly reached his limit.

When a person reaches this stage, what they can let go of least is no longer their own cultivation progress, but the descendants and younger generations they leave behind.

May I ask, Sixth Grandpa, has Senior Dantuzi ever sought any path out for those descendants of his with insufficient talent?"

Wang Chongyang did not answer, but neither did he refute it.

The result of Wang Shouren's inner conjecture had already been verified by seven or eight parts, and he continued speaking.

"Our Wang Family is currently flourishing with a massive estate. Just the Spirit Stones moved out of the treasury on the night we destroyed the Ning Family number no less than fifty thousand."

He turned to Wang Yaowen, "Second Uncle, if those Magical Artifacts, Medicinal Pills, and Ores are all sold off together, how much can we exchange them for?"

Wang Yaowen blurted out a figure without hesitation: "Around two hundred thousand Spirit Stones."

"Two hundred thousand." Wang Shouren repeated the number, his gaze sweeping across everyone present.

"With so many Spirit Stones, our Wang Family cannot possibly spend them all in a short time. Spirit Stones are just stones when piled up in the treasury; only when they are spent do they truly become Spirit Stones."

He paused, pulling the topic back to Dantuzi, "I want to patronize Dantuzi and offer sufficient benefits. The Wang Family only needs an apprentice's position, and all Alchemy Materials will be provided by the Wang Family itself. When the three-year term expires, Shoudong will return.

That way, Dantuzi does not need to impart his lifelong learning without reservation; he only needs to let Shoudong observe by his side for three years and act as his assistant for three years. Influenced day by day, Shoudong will learn as much as he can.

And during these three years, Dantuzi will receive a sum of Spirit Stones every year sufficient for his descendants to live in peace. More importantly—"

He emphasized his tone, "He can use this to forge a favorable bond with our Wang Family. Once he passes away, his descendants will have the Wang Family as an auxiliary arm within this Three Counties region.

After Sixth Grandpa passes away, if the two families lack this layer of connection, the friendship will be a tree without roots and can snap at any moment. But with this connection, the Wang Family will look after his descendants for him."

The bamboo building fell silent once more.

Wang Yaozu was silent for a long time before finally letting out a slow breath. In his voice was an irrepressible shock, alongside a trace of undisguised pride: "Shouren, this isn't apprenticing to learn arts at all; you're clearly smashing them with Spirit Stones."

Wang Yaowen then lowered his voice and said, "If it were me, I'm afraid I would agree as well. For a dying person, what they worry about most are matters after their death. Spirit Stones are temporary, but a favorable bond can span for several generations."

Wang Yaowu had been holding back for a long time, and the latch on his mouth finally broke, a sentence popping out rigidly: "Shouren's final words hit the nail on the head. Sixth Uncle, please don't take offense—in case you really pass away one day, what will maintain this bit of friendship between the two families? That Dantuzi will definitely have to plan for his nephews and younger relatives."

Wang Chongyang's beard trembled and quivered as he glared at Wang Yaowu, yet he didn't scold him back.

He remained silent for a very long time, so long that even the mountain wind outside the bamboo building paused for a split second.

He had lived for one hundred and seventy-one years and had seen everything—he had seen Cultivators turn on each other for resources, families slaughtering their own brothers over Spirit Stones, and Sect Disciples turning their backs on their own flesh and blood for an Opportunity.

The only thing he had never seen was a young man in his early twenties who was willing to part with fifty thousand Spirit Stones, not to trade for Magic Treasures or Medicinal Pills for himself, but to pave a path of learning arts for a cousin.

Fifty thousand Spirit Stones were enough for the entire Wang Family to live on for several years. To spend them on an apprentice who might not necessarily succeed in learning seemed far too extravagant, even to someone who had lived for nearly two hundred years.

So extravagant that this old man, who had served as the head of the Family for a lifetime, couldn't help but inwardly think the word "profligate".

Yet, after running this ledger back and forth in his mind several times, he had to admit that Shouren was right.

Two hundred thousand Spirit Stones piled up in the treasury were just stones if unspent; once spent, what they bought in return were a Legacy, a pathway, and a favorable bond.

Even if Dantuzi only let Shoudong act as an assistant for three years, those would still be three years of genuine, hands-on experience.

With Shoudong's Divine Soul being this strong, the things he could learn in three years would be far more than cultivating diligently behind closed doors within the Family.

He finally spoke.

"You scoundrel." He first scolded Wang Yaowu, then turned his head to look at Wang Shouren, a trace of an extremely complex expression rising on his aged face.

There was emotion, there was gratification, and more than anything, a sense of relief after handing such a massive Family estate over to the next generation.

"Let things be done as Shouren said. This old man will write a letter tomorrow asking Dantuzi to come out of seclusion. Let the patronage be set at fifty thousand Spirit Stones—fifty thousand a year."

Wang Yaowu chuckled with a grin, picked up his teacup, and gulped down a mouthful.

Wang Yaowen also secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slightly toward Wang Shouren. Within that nod were gratitude, approval, and a trace of indescribable respect.

Wang Shoudong, who had been sitting in the corner, had not spoken the entire time; he only tightly clutched the corner of his clothes, his knuckles pinching white.

He had originally thought he would have to make a choice between the Family and the Sect, but he never expected that Brother Shouren would pave this middle path for him in just a few words.

Without having to leave the Wang Family, without cutting off worldly ties, he could still learn genuine arts.

He didn't know how to repay this favor, but he had etched it in his heart.

Wang Shouren stood up and bowed to Wang Chongyang.

"That being the case, this grandson has one more matter he wishes to discuss with Sixth Grandpa. The snake bones and a portion of the fire marrow crystal obtained from slaying the Ridge-backed Fire-scaled Python that day, this grandson intends to hand them over for Shoudong to bring along.

Firstly, to provide him Materials to practice with; secondly, if Senior Dantuzi is willing to make a move and refine a few furnaces of fire-attribute Medicinal Pills for us, it can also be considered the beginning of exchanges between the two families."

Wang Chongyang stroked his beard and smiled: "Arrangements for things you brought down yourself are entirely up to you."

The moon had already risen to the mid-heaven, and the mountain wind swept through the bamboo grove, causing the lamplight to flicker slightly.

The six figures in the bamboo building were stretched long and short, yet they remained steadily reflected beneath that solitary lamp.