138: Moyang Stone Lotus

"Family: Chu Family. Rank: Ninth-Rank Humble Family. Family Members: ... Family Assets: One residential compound of eighteen mu, one Qixia Mountain, Qixia Village, 500 Source Spirit Stone, 31,100 Origin Rune Stones, one Medicine Beast Shop, one Medical Clinic, 325 mu of Mortal Rank medicinal field, 40 mu of Uncommon Rank medicinal field, moyang stone lotus (Origin Artifact) ... Family Location: ... Family Prestige: 75 points (Renowned in the town). Family Luck: White, five cun."

Chu Mu found "moyang stone lotus (Origin Artifact)" among the Family assets and selected it to view its detailed information.

"Origin Artifact: moyang stone lotus (damaged state). Realm: Upper Tier of the Extraordinary Rank. Contained Source Spirit: 220 points (No Family Bloodline contract, cannot be restored). Attribute Tendency: Shadow, Flower. Abilities: 1. Spirit Opening: Accumulates relevant energy every period of time, can perform Spirit Opening for Mortals. (Origin Artifact damaged, ability unusable). 2. Shadow Conversion: The moyang stone lotus can convert Source Beasts that do not have a shadow tendency into Source Beasts with shadow characteristics, and change their abilities. (Ability unusable). 3. Moyang: Consumes stored Source Spirit to raise a moyang that releases shadow power from the lotus flower. Source Beasts irradiated by the shadow light increase the shadow power within their bodies, and their growth speed accelerates. (Ability unusable). 4. Domain of Moyang: Where the Origin Artifact is located, the ley line energy of the Family territory increases slightly, increasing the growth rate of shadow-side spiritual objects within it. (Ability unusable). Note: Consumes three cun of white Luck and 1,500 Source Spirit to perform devouring and absorption, with a chance to achieve Fusion of its related abilities."

It really was a Origin Artifact, and it could be devoured by him. Chu Mu's eyes lit up suddenly.

Consuming 1,500 Source Spirit was fine; saving up for a few more days would be enough. However, the consumption of three cun of white Luck made Chu Mu somewhat worried. If he used it, would it bring some disaster upon the Chu Family?

He pondered for a moment, then looked at Chu Jingyu. "This stone lotus is indeed a Origin Artifact, but it is currently in a damaged state. Just leave it here in the ancestral hall for now; I will have a use for it after some time."

Upon hearing Chu Mu's words, Chu Jingyu looked at the moyang stone lotus with a hint of uncertainty. He cupped his hands toward Chu Mu. "As you command, Old Ancestor. This Origin Artifact was discovered by that Xu Yinyue. Would you like to meet her? Her eyes can see through the essence of many things. I suspect... I suspect she has seen you before."

Chu Mu raised his palm. He had already had this suspicion. "It would be good to meet her."

It was strange to say that such a small town with such lacking energy could give birth to a girl with such a Talent, and that she happened to be met by the Chu Family. Things like timing and Luck were truly hard to explain clearly.

After a moment, Chu Jingyu brought Xu Yinyue in. Seeing Chu Mu, whose figure was somewhat illusory, standing upright in the main hall, Xu Yinyue's body paused slightly for a moment.

However, very quickly, she returned to normal and followed Chu Jingyu into the main hall without looking sideways. After that, she did not let her gaze fall on Chu Mu, as if he did not exist.

Chu Jingyu was silent as he watched the young girl's performance. When Ancestor Chu was hidden, this performance of yours was fine, but now that Ancestor Chu had actively revealed himself, for you to still act like this, it was somewhat like 'covering one's ears while stealing a bell.'

So, the previous guess was indeed correct; Xu Yinyue had indeed seen Ancestor Chu long ago.

Chu Mu looked at Xu Yinyue, who was standing quietly in the hall without looking sideways, and suddenly said: "No need to pretend. I know you can see me."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yinyue's body trembled slightly, but she still kept her mouth tight, as if she hadn't heard Chu Mu's words.

A rare, awkward silence lasted for a minute in the air.

Suddenly, Xu Yinyue spoke timidly, "Grandpa Chu, why did you bring me to the ancestral hall?"

Not daring to let the Old Ancestor be awkward for too long, Chu Jingyu lightly pressed his own brow, then extended his palm to point at Chu Mu. "I brought you here to meet Ancestor Chu. I think you should have seen the existence of the Old Ancestor long ago."

Although he knew that the 'Old Ancestor' in Chu Jingyu's mouth was just an honorific, being addressed that way really felt strange in his heart. Clearly, before he died, he was still a young lad, and his current appearance was not old at all, alright.

At this moment, Xu Yinyue's body went completely rigid. She looked in the direction of Chu Mu, then knelt down without hesitation. "Xu Yinyue greets Ancestor Chu."

Chu Mu did not let her get up immediately, but said: "You are a smart child. You should know that since you displayed your ability, your destiny has been firmly bound to the Chu Family. Today, you discovered a Spirit Treasure and were able to proactively inform the Chu Family; that is a merit. However, being able to see me but never stating it is a fault. All previous matters are wiped clean. From this moment on, you officially become a Guest Elder of the Chu Family and will enjoy corresponding benefits. I only hope that you will continue to strive and devote yourself to advancing and retreating together with the Chu Family in the future."

Xu Yinyue bowed three times. "Yes, Yinyue will strictly obey the order of Ancestor Chu."

"Get up. Your benefits will be decided after Chu Jingyu and the others discuss it." Chu Mu waved his hand, and colorful silk threads spread out from the book on the offering table, helping Xu Yinyue up.

"However, except in front of the Chu Family Member, your ability cannot be easily displayed; otherwise, it is easy to bring unnecessary disaster upon yourself and the Chu Family. Do you understand?"

"Yinyue understands."

Chu Mu nodded and glanced at Chu Jingyu. "Discuss the rest yourselves." As he spoke, he took a step out, transformed into colorful silk threads, and returned to the stone book.

After sending off Ancestor Chu, Chu Jingyu's gaze fell on Xu Yinyue. "Yinyue, let's start with the benefits of a Second-Rank Guest Elder, shall we?"

After a good period of thought and modification by Chu Qinhui, the preliminary Guest Elder system had been established.

"Guest Elders are temporarily divided into five ranks: First-Rank Guest Elder: Realm requirement Spirit Rank (or have other special contributions, can be promoted to this rank), benefits: 500-1,000 Source Spirit Stone per month. Second-Rank Guest Elder: Realm requirement Uncommon Rank (or have other special contributions), benefits: 50-100 Source Spirit Stone per month. Third-Rank Guest Elder: Realm requirement Mortal Rank, mostly Nanny, Head Steward, high-level Guard, etc., benefits: 500-1,000 Origin Rune Stones per month. Fourth-Rank Guest Elder: No Realm requirement, positions are mostly Chu Family tiered stewards, senior Maidservant, or ordinary Guard, etc., or have a special skill, benefits: 15+ Origin Rune Stones per month. Fifth-Rank Guest Elder: No Realm requirement, mostly junior Maidservant, servants, rough-work Nanny, etc., benefits: 1 Origin Rune Stone per month."

This set of evaluation standards was just for the Chu Family to use on a trial basis for now; it would definitely need to be modified frequently in the future.

Calculating the entire Chu Family now, only Chu Suyuan and Xu Yinyue enjoyed the highest Guest Elder benefits.

Chu Suyuan received this Second-Rank Guest Elder benefit because she participated in the county magistrate's wife-selection as a foster daughter of the Chu Family and later became the director of the Medical Clinic. As for Xu Yinyue, she relied entirely on her pair of eyes—this special Talent allowed her to receive this benefit even without doing anything.

As Xu Yinyue signed her name on the contract brought out by Chu Jingyu, Chu Mu, who was in the internal space of the stone book, also saw her information on the Nameless Book. At this moment, Chu Mu finally knew the name of Xu Yinyue's special Talent, as well as what this pair of eyes could specifically do.