26: Visitor

In a flash, Zhou Kaiding's fourth son, Zhou Lihai, had also turned six.

Now it was time for spirit testing again.

On this day, inside the Zhou Family ancestral hall, Zhou Kaiding and his wife stood side-by-side, holding little Zhou Linuo, while Zhou Licheng and his two siblings stood outside watching.

Zhou Lihai, inside the ancestral hall, was a bit nervous; having often followed his elder brother and the others, he already knew what this represented.

The spirit testing plate was in his hand, and as Zhou Lihai's heart pounded with unease, a fiery red light illuminated his small face.

The gems lit up one by one, until the fifth one glowed, and then it stabilized.

Zhou Kaiding and his wife exchanged glances, their eyes filled with joy, thinking to themselves that the Heavens blessed the Zhou Family, and another person with Cultivation talent had appeared in the Zhou Family.

Moreover, his talent was quite good, only slightly inferior to Zhou Liyue, and even a notch higher than Zhou Licheng.

Zhou Liye saw that his younger brother had good Cultivation talent, and while he was happy for him and for the Family, his heart couldn't help but grow dimmer.

Why was it that only he couldn't Cultivate?

Zhou Liye forced a smile, not wanting to spoil everyone's mood on this happy day.

Zhou Lihai's talent was the same as Zhou Kaiding's, but the difference was that Zhou Lihai had a fire attribute, making him most suitable for Cultivating fire-attribute Cultivation Techniques.

Thus, the Azure Flame Art obtained earlier was perfect.

Regarding the method of nurturing after the spirit testing, Zhou Kaiding and his wife were already familiar and experienced.

Furthermore, with his elder brother and second sister as role models, Zhou Lihai didn't resist; he followed the steps and learned extremely quickly.

On this day, Zhou Kaiding was teaching Zhou Lihai how to read scriptures and recognize meridians, when a voice transmitted through the mountain protecting grand array, attracting everyone's attention.

"Yang Huaiyuan of Qizhi Peak is visiting and humbly requests an audience!"

"Yang Huaiyuan..."

Zhou Kaiding pondered in his heart; he didn't know this person, nor had he heard of him in Qingyuan Town, so he didn't know his purpose in coming.

He shook his head, no longer thinking about it, deciding to meet him to find out.

After casually giving Zhou Lihai a few instructions, Zhou Kaiding left his room and headed towards the mountainside.

On the way, he met Lin Muwan, who had just finished taking care of Zhou Linuo; Lin Muwan had also come out to find Zhou Kaiding because of that voice.

Neither of them knew this person, and after discussing for a moment, they thought it wouldn't be good to directly turn him away, so they decided to see him first.

Arriving at the mountainside, through the thick fog, a person indeed stood outside the Great Formation.

The visitor appeared to be around thirty or forty years old, seemingly similar in age to Zhou Kaiding.

He had a kind face and sincere eyes, which made people feel good about him.

They sensed that there was indeed only this person around.

Only then did Zhou Kaiding and his wife open a gap in the Great Formation, revealing their figures.

Seeing the Great Formation open, and the couple-like pair.

Yang Huaiyuan's eyes lit up, and he understood in his heart.

With a smile, he greeted them:

"Presumably, you two are the Head of the Zhou Family of Jade Moon Peak and his wife, correct? I am Yang Huaiyuan of Qizhi Peak, I greet you two Fellow Daoists."

Zhou Kaiding and his wife exchanged glances; seeing his polite, neither humble nor overbearing, and composed demeanor, their guard lowered slightly.

They returned the greeting:

"Zhou Kaiding / Lin Muwan greets Fellow Daoist Yang."

Then they welcomed him in, closed the Great Formation, and the three of them went together to the Zhou Family's reception hall.

Along the way, Yang Huaiyuan explained his purpose to the two of them.

It turned out that Yang Huaiyuan's Family had only arrived in Qingyuan Town a year ago, rented Qizhi Peak, and established their Foundation.

Qizhi Peak was not far from Jade Moon Peak, so after settling down, Yang Huaiyuan intended to visit the surrounding families.

This would also help them integrate into the area faster, solidify their Foundation, and at the same time, allow them to investigate the local situation.

Having stated his purpose, Zhou Kaiding and his wife finally completely relaxed and had a very pleasant conversation with Yang Huaiyuan.

They introduced the situation of the various large and small families in the surrounding area; after all, the Zhou Family had been established here for many years and knew much more than the newly arrived Yang Huaiyuan.

Yang Huaiyuan listened to the introduction, nodding from time to time, thinking: This visit was indeed worthwhile.

The few families he had visited before had also shared a lot of information, and combined with what he learned from the Zhou Family, he now had a clear understanding of the entire Qingyuan Town's structure.

These were not secret messages, and Zhou Kaiding was happy to do him a favor.

After all, this person's Cultivation was not weak; with just a brief interaction, he could feel that his Cultivation was similar to his own, but he didn't inquire about the specifics.

Yang Huaiyuan stayed at the Zhou Family for about an hour before getting up to bid farewell.

Zhou Kaiding and his wife tried to make him stay but didn't press too hard, as the two parties had only just met.

Although they had a good impression, knowing a person's face doesn't mean knowing their heart, so vigilance was still necessary.

Before leaving, Yang Huaiyuan took out a jade box and handed it to Lin Muwan.

He claimed it was a gift of apology for his abrupt visit, and inside the box were several first-tier Medium Grade Talismans, drawn by Yang Huaiyuan himself.

Seeing his resolute attitude, the two accepted it and expressed their thanks.

After Yang Huaiyuan left, the two discussed, and Zhou Kaiding said:

"This person seems good; in the future, we can have more dealings with the Yang Family. We'll observe his character and see how things develop."

"Moreover, this person is actually a Talisman Master, and can even draw first-tier Medium Grade Talismans. It seems we'll have to deal with him quite a bit in the future."

Lin Muwan nodded in agreement; she also had a good impression of this person.

After placing those Talismans into the Family's treasury, the two no longer thought about other matters.

Yang Huaiyuan's arrival was just a small interlude for the Zhou Family.

Finally, a few months later, the qingling rice ripened.

They harvested all the qingling rice, kept the seeds, and processed the rest by hulling and peeling, which took a great deal of effort to complete.

A month ago, Zhou Kaiding had already found a shop in the Lake Heart Island Market; although the location wasn't ideal, the rent was cheap.

This qingling rice was unique, so it didn't need to occupy a prime location to compete with other large families.

It only needed to be sold a few times, and its effects publicized, and sales would naturally not be low.

After setting aside what the Family needed, a small portion of the remaining spirit rice was taken to the market to see how the profits would be.

Thus, in the Lake Heart Island Market, a shop named Green Spirit Pavilion quietly opened.

This shop was quite peculiar; the entire store only sold one item.

The Zhou Family had been in Qingyuan Town for several years, and although they usually kept a low profile, they were not completely unknown.

Now that the Zhou Family suddenly made a move, everyone naturally wanted to know what the Zhou Family was up to, and whether it would affect their own interests, so they could prepare countermeasures early.

Therefore, even though Zhou Kaiding didn't advertise, there were quite a few Cultivators who came to inquire and purchase.

Among them were many people from other surrounding families, which Zhou Kaiding didn't mind; since there was no conflict of interest, he let them be.

On the contrary, other Cultivators showed considerable interest after learning about the effects of the qingling rice.

By a strange twist of fate, the effect was so good that the first batch of spirit rice sold out in just over a month.

This was an unexpected surprise.