54: The paths of immortals and mortals differ; punishment arises from the heart.

Qi Yuan patted his eldest son's shoulder, his tone softening.

"It is a good thing that you care for your younger brother.

In the future, Family affairs will only increase. Between you brothers, you must not only support each other but also remind and complement one another.

Xuan Lin's setback this time might not be a bad thing. As the eldest brother, just pay more attention to guiding him in the future."

Qi Yuan watched the figure of his eldest son, Qi Xuanjin, disappear, and the warmth on his face gradually faded away.

He slowly walked back to the stone table and sat down, his fingertips unconsciously tapping lightly on the surface.

The matter of the Jiang Family was like a fine thorn stuck in his heart.

During the long talk with Tao Mingqian just now, both sides had reached a tacit understanding.

Tao Mingqian revealed a lot of information about Linchuan Prefecture, especially regarding the Jiang Family.

This Jiang Family had ancestors who were once wealthy and powerful, but their talent had withered over the last two generations. They were clinging to an ancestral First-Order High Grade Spiritual Vein and a few properties.

Yet, they had no decent Legacy of cultivation techniques to speak of, nor a stable source of wealth.

It was precisely because of this that they began to target 'people.'

Linchuan Prefecture bordered the even more chaotic Shangding Prefecture, where black market trade was rampant and filthy dealings were common occurrences.

Being so close, the Jiang Family had likely already established connections with certain black-market lines.

They would sell those with Spiritual Roots they had kidnapped to Shangding Prefecture in exchange for cultivation resources to keep the Family from falling.

"A dignified Qi Refining Family has actually stooped to consorting with human traffickers and engaging in such wicked, lineage-ending business."

Qi Yuan snorted coldly in his heart, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

According to Tao Mingqian, the Jiang Family currently only had one Late Stage Qi Refining head, Jiang Heming, presiding over them. Their strength could only be considered lower-middle among the Qi Refining families of Linchuan Prefecture.

But because their actions were becoming increasingly sinister, ordinary families were unwilling to provoke them easily.

Tao Mingqian, representing the Tao Family, had stated their stance:

The Jiang Family and the Qi Family belonged to two different prefectures, and it was the Jiang Family that had crossed the border to commit a crime first.

As long as Qi Yuan acted 'cleanly,' the Tao Family would be happy to see it happen and would even provide some convenience.

This was both the Tao Family's test of Qi Yuan's ability and a gesture of sincerity for cooperation.

"Leaving me to act as I please..."

Qi Yuan murmured to himself... A few days later, the stone door of Qi Xuanqing's quiet room slowly opened in the morning light.

He walked out slowly, but deep within those calm eyes, an irrepressible light of excitement flickered.

Success!

He chanted inwardly, feeling the spiritual power flowing freely within his body, now able to move according to his will.

He could perfectly restrain his aura or even transform it into obscure spiritual power fluctuations similar to those of vegetation, earth, or stone.

The Breath Exchange Art—this concealment technique that his father had spent much effort to dismantle and simplify from the Bone-Altering Breath-Exchange Art—he had finally cultivated it to the stage of Minor Achievement!

Although the power of this simplified version was far from the original's miraculous ability to alter bones and change one's aura and appearance...

It was more than enough for hiding his cultivation level.

More importantly, its cultivation threshold was relatively low, yet its requirements for spiritual power control were extremely precise, making it perfect for disciples like them who had just entered the Dao to polish their Foundations.

It was just that... this 'simplified' art had also cost him several years of hard work.

His fourth brother, Qi Xuantian, who had started cultivating it earlier than him, had already reached Minor Achievement a year ago.

He was, after all, a step slower.

This realization caused the excitement in Qi Xuanqing's eyes to settle slightly, replaced by a bit more clarity.

The gap in talent needed to be made up with more sweat.

Living in a quiet room in the mountains all year round, although he didn't feel tired due to the operation of his Mind-Cultivation Technique and the nourishment of spiritual power, it was still somewhat lonely.

Although his mother, concubines, and brothers were all in the mountains, they were each busy with their own cultivation. The days when they could gather together to play and laugh like they did in childhood were, after all, becoming fewer and fewer.

He looked up as the morning light flooded in. On the mountain terrace outside the door, a tall figure was already waiting there.

"Fifth Brother, congratulations. Your Breath Exchange Art has reached Minor Achievement; your aura is harmonious and hidden, and you have grasped its essence. You may descend the mountain."

Qi Xuanjin said with a warm smile on his face, praising him sincerely.

"Eldest Brother."

Qi Xuanqing felt a warmth in his heart and stepped forward to greet him.

Immediately, his gaze instinctively went behind Qi Xuanjin, and he asked in confusion:

"That kid Xuan Lin... why is he so quiet today?"

Hearing this, a look of helplessness appeared on Qi Xuanjin's face, and he shook his head:

"He has been sequestered lately to study the art of spirit plants; he doesn't have time to bother with you."

...Suibo County, Linchuan Prefecture.

The Jiang Residence in the night was brightly lit and occupied a vast area.

The Jiang Family had been entrenched here for over three hundred years. In their early years, they had even produced six Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Cultivators at once, making them prominent for a time.

It was just that the Spiritual Root Aptitudes of the last two generations were generally mediocre, with no more outstanding figures appearing, so the Family's prestige inevitably declined.

In order to maintain the Family Bloodline and scale, the previous Family head set strict rules to encourage the men of the clan to take many wives and concubines, hoping to use numbers to gamble on the chance of high-quality Spiritual Roots appearing.

This move did indeed cause the Jiang Family population to expand rapidly, and the number of offspring with Spiritual Roots increased significantly.

The Family's influence in Suibo County and the surrounding areas became even more deeply entrenched as a result.

However, the quality Bottleneck was difficult to break through.

To this day, among the new generation of the Jiang Family, not a single Medium Grade Spiritual Root had appeared.

Most clansmen were merely Low Grade Four-Spiritual Roots or Five Spiritual Roots.

Family resources were limited, and the Spiritual Qi produced by that First-Order High Grade Spiritual Vein...

Was first supplied to the Family head, the Elders, and a few core disciples who had hope of reaching the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.

For clansmen with low Aptitude, the Family provided no cultivation resources.

Their value was to marry and take concubines to give birth to descendants with Spiritual Roots.

Every time a child with a Spiritual Root was born, they could receive a reward from the Family.

As for whether the premature loss of Primordial Yang made their already difficult path to immortality even more bleak?

In the face of Family interests, no one cared.

Thus, these Jiang Family disciples who had no hope for the immortal path and had been abandoned by the Family mostly indulged themselves in wine and women.

They acted tyrannically in the county town, bullying men and women and seizing the wealth of Mortals.

The wealthy households in the county and even slightly attractive commoners suffered greatly from their harassment, yet they dared not speak out.

As the night deepened, the sound of music from string and wind instruments inside the Jiang Residence still hadn't stopped, mixed with the teasing of men and women and the clamor of drinking games—an air of extravagance and debauchery.

A figure landed silently on the eaves of the highest pavilion in the Jiang Residence.

It was Qi Yuan.

"When the immortal path is cut off, they indulge their bodies, taking procreation as a merit and bullying Mortals as a pleasure... pitiable, and yet detestable."

He whispered in his heart.

He could understand the helplessness of these disciples who had no spiritual land to Cultivate in.

But understanding did not mean approval, and it certainly didn't mean he would tolerate them reaching their hands into the Qi Family's territory.

His gaze turned toward the depths of the residence, where several auras were significantly more condensed; those should be the core figures of the Jiang Family.

Qi Yuan took out an octagonal Formation Plate from his robes.

This item was the control core of the 'Cloud Mist Formation.' Although it was only a First-Order Medium Grade Formation with limited coverage, its power was restricted to trapping enemies, causing them to lose their way, and isolating internal and external auras and sounds.

However, its strength lay in its rapid activation, and it was extremely effective against Mortal residences that lacked Formation protection and had relatively concentrated personnel.

"Since this Mortal place in the county town has no Spiritual Vein or Formation to protect it, it is perfect for my use."

Qi Yuan injected spiritual power into the Formation Plate, and a faint light flowed across it.

Eight streaks of spiritual light shot silently toward eight pre-scouted positions, sinking into the ground or walls.

In the next moment, a thin, gauze-like grey-white mist rose without warning from every corner of the Jiang Residence, quickly spreading and enveloping more than half of the estate.

The mist was not thick, but it carried a sense of sluggishness; once inside, one's sense of direction would quickly be lost, and the transmission of sound would become blurred.