522: Chapter 522 Merit

"You all follow me to the First Madam's place to register first, then I'll take you to Madam Xia He to arrange work for you."

Wen Zhihua led Yao Qian, Luo Xin, and the other new women from the academy deep into the backyard, explaining the rules and situation of the Liu Mansion in detail as they walked.

"Since you've just arrived, if you have any talent in cultivation arts, you can go directly to the Pill Refining Tower or the Artifact Refining Workshop to work. The Family provides immense support in these areas; as long as there's even a sliver of potential for progress, they will invest heavily in your training."

"If you don't have cultivation arts, you can work in the Merchant Alliance. The Family business is vast, and the demand for management talent is constantly increasing."

"If you don't want to manage Merchant Alliance business, you can also go to the Peach Blossom Palace or the Star Hall to handle administrative affairs."

"If you don't want to do anything, you can even teach introductory classes to children at the Clan School; the compensation is also very good."

Yao Qian frowned and asked cautiously, "Sister Zhihua, is it mandatory to work? Can we do nothing at all, just read books every day and play around when bored?"

Wen Zhihua slowed her pace and nodded gently, "Naturally, it's possible. The Master gives us a generous stipend, enough to maintain cultivation without working, but..."

She lowered her voice even further, so low that they could barely hear without using mana.

"The positions arranged for us in the manor all come with generous benefits and significant power. For some non-core positions, even if you don't want to work, you can just hold the title and have your trusted aides handle things. It's essentially a benefit from the Master; it would be a waste not to take it."

Yao Qian's eyes lit up, "That's an option?"

The Star Academy had developed peacefully for nearly ten years, with well-ordered rules in all aspects, looking even more prosperous than the Biyou Pool did in its Early Stages.

After entering the city, Yao Qian had the illusion of being back in the Immortal City within the territory of the Beast Taming Sect's Main Mountain.

Therefore, she habitually assumed that for a cultivation Family like the Liu Family, arranging work for them was just a means of exploitation; the tasks would be troublesome, and the pay would be poor.

Wen Zhihua said proudly, "Our Liu Family is different from ordinary cultivation families, the Master has always been generous to us." Her expression suddenly turned serious, with a hint of warning, "The Master is extremely good to us, but there are certain bottom lines that must not be crossed, including..."

Wen Zhihua first took the women to Lin Xue'er to register their information, then led them to Madam Xia He, who was in charge of the personnel arrangements for Concubines below the Foundation Establishment stage.

The positions weren't immediate; Wen Zhihua then took them to find Zi Lan to arrange their living quarters.

It didn't end there; she also took everyone to pay their respects to the Golden Core Immortal Masters Yue Li, An Yunxi, Shen Yunshu, Shuang Xue, and Yun Xian, as well as the two Nascent Soul powerhouses, Yun Yao and Bai Jie.

The Liu Family's foundation was much deeper than Yao Qian and Luo Xin had imagined. The more they learned, the more excited they became; this was a super powerful backer, and clinging to it would allow them to soar.

...

The backyard.

Liu Xuan held his five-year-old daughter, Yu Chi. "Yu Chi, you're not allowed to sneak out to play next time."

The little one was as cute as a porcelain doll, and even her anger was adorable. Since Liu Xuan had been away for so long and hadn't spent time with her, it took a while to soothe her.

"Alright, alright, next time Daddy goes out to play, I'll bring Yu Chi along, how about that?"

"Yay! Yay!" The little one clapped her hands happily, completely forgetting she had just been angry.

Despite being only five, Yu Chi possessed a top-tier fifth-order Chi Tiger Bloodline and was already at the Late Qi Refining Stage; few of her brothers and sisters in the clan below Foundation Establishment could defeat her.

Yu Chi was the most pampered in her age group. Liu Xuan carried her around the Clan School to see all his children.

The Family had gained a few more Foundation Establishment members. De Ming, only in his early twenties, was beginning to show the power of a First-grade Spirit Root, successfully breaking through to become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator a month ago.

Additionally, De Yun and Xinrou, who had Third-grade Spirit Roots, as well as Xin Ci with the Ten Thousand Poisons Spirit Body, were not far from Foundation Establishment.

The number of offspring was nearing a thousand. Unfortunately, the time had been too short; the eldest, Dao Yuan, was not yet fifty. Otherwise, they alone could have pushed Liu Xuan's cultivation to the Nascent Soul Realm.

'Cultivation is difficult!'

No matter how good the talent or how abundant the resources, it required a long period of accumulation. The Liu Family disciples were already extraordinary, growing much faster than the Core Disciples of those Nascent Soul Sects.

After meeting with his children and getting a sense of their status, Liu Xuan went alone to the Yin Sha Hall.

"Not bad! The yin fiend has become a bit denser."

During Liu Xuan's absence, the Yin Sha Hall had been managed by the Eldest Son, Dao Yuan, who used the Merchant Alliance to collect yin fiend to fill the ten thousand soul banner.

"Master!"

Liu Xuan's Divine Sense swept through, finding that the Peak Foundation Establishment Refined Corpse, Little Shadow, had not broken through, but the Eldest Son's natal spirit beast, Big Black Ox, had advanced to the Early Golden Core stage.

The Big Black Ox possessed a fourth-order Low Grade Ancient Barbarian Bull Bloodline, belonging to the Water element of the Five Elements; the underground yin fiend was perfectly suited for its cultivation.

"Very good!" Liu Xuan nodded with satisfaction. "Help your master Cultivate well."

Liu Xuan waved him off, then controlled the ten thousand soul banner to summon all the thousands of yin souls.

"Boom!"

yin fiend energy condensed into a layer of armor over the yin soul ghost soldiers. All the ghost soldiers bowed in unison, their Aura overwhelming.

Although most of these ghost soldiers were just ordinary yin souls when first captured, after being nurtured by the dense yin fiend of the ten thousand soul banner, they had basically reached the Fierce Ghost stage, equivalent to a Qi Refining Cultivator.

Among them were over a dozen ferocious ghosts comparable to the Foundation Establishment Realm. With the support of the ten thousand soul banner, when the ghost soldiers were all deployed, even a Golden Core Immortal Master could not stop them.

Liu Xuan controlled the ten thousand soul banner; all the ghost soldiers could be commanded at will, and they wouldn't hesitate even if ordered to end their own lives.

Ignoring the ghost soldiers, Liu Xuan opened his palm, a red light appeared, and a ball of eerie flame ignited.

"Whoosh!"

The yin fiend seemed to become fuel as the karmic fire suddenly expanded, illuminating the originally dark Yin Sha Hall in an eerie blood-red.

"Ah!!!"

"Ugh!!!"

Under the red light, all the ghost soldiers let out shrill, suppressed screams, and the yin fiend armor on their bodies melted like wax.

"Karmic fire indeed counters ghost cultivators!"

The avici karmic fire mirror appeared in Liu Xuan's hand. He waved it to draw the Aura of the ghost soldiers into the mirror, and only then did the burning of the karmic fire stop.

The screaming stopped, the yin fiend armor on the ghost soldiers slowly recovered, and faint dark-red flame patterns appeared on them, their Aura becoming significantly stronger.

"It works!"

Liu Xuan nodded with satisfaction; just as he thought, the combination of the avici karmic fire mirror and the ten thousand soul banner could produce even greater effects.

With karmic fire burning within the yin fiend, the ghost soldiers would no longer be countered by Yang-attribute Spells, and they would carry a powerful soul-burning effect, their power increasing several-fold.

yin fiend ghost cultivators developing a hint of Yang-fire attribute was more than just a power boost; their talent and potential would also increase, giving them a better chance of breaking through and a faster growth rate in the future.

yin fiend, karmic fire, and the ghost soldiers shared a mutually beneficial relationship. With a wave of his hand, Liu Xuan left a trace of the karmic fire Origin within the ten thousand soul banner.

"In the future, when capturing yin soul ghost cultivators, I can first judge their sins. Those without sin will be taken as ghost soldiers, and those with sin will be turned into fuel for the karmic fire. Perfect!"

"In that case, calling it the ten thousand soul banner is no longer appropriate. It should be called..."

"Karmic Banner!"

"Or the Human Emperor Banner!"