22: Chapter 22 Second Stage Spirit Gathering, Eighth Level of Qi Refining

A hundred miles away, Dingzhou City.

Dingyuan Trading Firm.

In just a short year, this newly opened trading firm had established a firm foothold in the chaotic Dingzhou City with thunderous momentum, even implicitly monopolizing two main commercial routes in the south of the city.

In the Mortal Jianghu, rules were all dictated by blades and swords.

Su Cheng, a newcomer, naturally encountered joint harassment from local bullies and several major Gangs.

But he did not retreat.

Relying on the martial arts techniques taught by Su Yu, at a trap banquet set by the chamber of commerce, he single-handedly crushed the throat of the leader of Dingzhou City's largest Gang.

There were no complex Spells, only extreme physical explosive power and the crushing force of blood and Qi.

His Mortal martial arts had tempered his blood and Qi until it was like a dragon, thoroughly intimidating those Jianghu rogues.

On the surface, Dingyuan Trading Firm was bustling with traffic, selling cloth, medicinal herbs, and ironware.

In secret, the quiet backyard of the firm was quietly visited every month by several low-level Loose Cultivators concealing their appearances.

The Spirit Medicine embezzled from the Qingmu Su Clan, the Magical Artifact fragments left behind by that demonic Cultivator, and the Cultivation Technique Jade Slips.

All were quietly sold off in batches by Su Cheng at prices twenty percent lower than the black market.

Low-level Loose Cultivators were extremely lacking in resources, often fighting fiercely over a few Spirit Stones.

Faced with these high-quality Magical Artifacts and Jade Slips at such low prices, they would never ask about their origins, nor did they care whose blood was on them.

It was simply a case of each taking what they needed.

...

Black Wind Valley, Hidden Dragon Manor.

In the secret chamber deep underground, Su Yu looked at the completely closed Formation light curtain in front of him and nodded slightly.

The "Second-Rank Spirit Gathering Array" scroll obtained from the treasure vault of the Qingmu main lineage had finally been properly set up.

Consuming a large amount of Low-Grade Spirit Stones embezzled as Formation bases, the grand array slowly began to operate.

The weak Spiritual Qi emitted by that first-grade Low Grade Spiritual Vein was tightly locked in the core area of the manor by the Formation, constantly compressed and purified.

The concentration of Spiritual Qi here was naturally incomparable to the former Qingmu Su Family main lineage.

All told, it was exactly half of what the Su Family used to have.

But for this group of Cultivators in the early to middle Qi Refining Stage, it was already abundant enough.

With a stable environment and abundant resources, Hidden Dragon Manor began to truly flourish.

Su Yu was not stingy with the collateral lineage who had escaped with him that year.

The Medicinal Pills and Spirit Stones obtained from laundering were distributed in full to everyone every month.

Su Tie and the dozen or so collateral descendants naturally became the first batch of stewards and Elders of Hidden Dragon Manor.

Under the pile-up of resources without any deduction, Su Tie, who had been stagnant for many years, finally broke through the shackles on a deep night and stepped into the Qi Refining 5th Layer.

The others also made progress, successively stepping into the threshold of the Qi Refining 4th Layer or 5th Layer.

However, the limitations of inferior Spiritual Roots and the early-year depletion of their foundations were ultimately an uncrossable chasm.

The gap had already been opened too wide.

They also knew in their hearts that reaching the Middle Stage of Qi Refining in this lifetime was their limit, and it would be difficult to achieve anything more.

But this was already enough.

No longer having to suffer the endless exploitation of the main lineage, no longer having to work like cattle and horses in the Spirit Fields, and their families could live peacefully under the protection of the Formation.

Their loyalty to Su Yu had long been as solid as a rock, irrigated by these tangible benefits and stability.

With the internal and external affairs of the manor on the right track.

Su Yu handed over the worldly affairs to Su Tie and others, while he himself stepped into the quiet room and began a long period of seclusion.

The cultivation of the Peak of the Qi Refining 7th Layer had long been polished to a rounded and seamless state within his body.

He sat cross-legged at the very core of the Spirit Gathering Array, breathing in the rich Spiritual Qi.

Time passed quietly in meditation.

One year later.

The Spiritual Qi pool in the quiet room suddenly rippled slightly.

The surging spiritual power around Su Yu contracted inward like a tide, eventually returning entirely to the depths of his Dantian.

There were no shocking celestial phenomena, nor any danger of Qi Deviation.

Everything was a matter of course.

Su Yu slowly opened his eyes, a flash of piercing brilliance passing through the depths of his eyes, which then quickly restrained and returned to calm.

Feeling the True Essence in his Meridians that was several times more powerful than before, he gently exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Qi Refining Stage 8.

In the surrounding area where there were no Foundation Establishment Stage great Cultivators, this was absolute high-level combat power.

Even for those immortal cultivation families with a hundred-year heritage, Qi Refining Stage 8 was enough to qualify for a position of real power as an Elder.

Only at this moment could Su Yu truly be said to have grasped his own voice in this cruel bottom layer of the cultivation world.

The heavy stone door slowly opened to both sides.

Su Yu stepped out of the quiet room.

He did not deliberately restrain his aura, and the solid coercion belonging to a Qi Refining Stage 8 Cultivator swept through the inner courtyard of Hidden Dragon Manor like an invisible wave.

Su Tie, who was counting the Spirit Rice accounts in the front yard, shook all over and suddenly looked up.

He walked quickly through the corridor and came to the steps outside the quiet room.

When he saw the abyss-like unfathomable True Essence fluctuations around Su Yu, Su Tie's breathing stalled, and then an unhideable ecstasy erupted in his eyes.

"Family Head, you... have broken through to Qi Refining Stage 8?!"

Now that the plaque of Hidden Dragon Manor had been erected, Su Tie's address for Su Yu had naturally changed accordingly.

Su Yu's expression was calm, and he nodded slightly.

"After a year of seclusion, I have gained a little."

Receiving a definite reply, the several collateral Elders who rushed over looked at each other, all trembling with excitement.

Qi Refining Stage 8.

In this remote area far from immortal cultivation Sects and large trading markets, a great Cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage 8 was enough to create an immortal cultivation Family that could be passed down for a hundred years.

The real-power Elders sent out by the Qingmu Su Family to control the trading markets in the past were only at this Realm.

With this absolute deterrence of force, Hidden Dragon Manor could truly be said to have the foundation to stand, no longer having to worry about being easily manipulated by passing Loose Cultivators or ordinary bandits.

"Congratulations to the Family Head!"

Everyone bowed in unison, their voices filled with heartfelt awe and peace of mind.

In this cruel bottom layer of the cultivation world, it is good to enjoy the shade under a big tree; following a superior who is powerful and acts steadily is the greatest fortune for their group of collateral lineages.

Su Yu raised his right hand slightly, signaling everyone to rise.

"This year, have there been any abnormalities in the manor and Dingzhou City?"

Su Tie straightened up and reported respectfully.

"Replying to the Family Head, everything is well in the manor, the output of the Spirit Fields is stable, and the several overt and covert sentries have not discovered any strangers approaching Black Wind Valley."

"The Young Master's trading firm in Dingzhou City has also completely opened up the situation. Last month, he secretly sent back over a thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, as well as a batch of high-quality Medicinal Pills for the Qi Refining Stage."

"Nearly forty percent of the unspeakable spiritual items we brought out that year have been laundered."

Su Yu nodded slightly.

Su Cheng's methods and Heart-Nature were even more seasoned than he had expected.

Mortal martial arts combined with merchant skills, supplemented by a secret underground network, were indeed the perfect cover for handling this batch of black goods.

Just at this moment, a slender figure walked slowly from outside the courtyard.

The eighteen-year-old second son, Su Yuan, was wearing a green shirt, his figure upright.

He came to Su Yu and performed a standard salute.

"This child welcomes Father out of seclusion."

Su Yu's gaze fell on Su Yuan, scanning slightly with his Divine Sense, and a hint of approval flashed in his eyes.

Qi Refining 4th Layer.

Silently, this second son with a Seventh-grade Spirit Root had already crossed the threshold of the early Qi Refining Stage and stepped into the Middle Stage.

If it were in the previous main lineage Family school, reaching the Qi Refining 4th Layer at his age would surely have made him unable to help but show off, attracting the attention of classmates and the flattery of Elders.

But at this moment, Su Yuan's aura was restrained, and there was no longer any arrogance in his brows.

The blood and wind of the night the Qingmu Su Family was destroyed, and Su Yu's cruel teachings like knives, had completely shattered his innocence.

He understood how to hide his clumsiness and understood that the truth of the cultivation world always lies only in absolute strength.

"Qi Refining 4th Layer, not bad," Su Yu commented in a calm tone.

Su Tie and the others nearby were stunned when they heard this, and then their faces were filled with amazement again.

They were all in the same manor, yet they hadn't even noticed that the Second Young Master had quietly broken through.

Su Yuan lowered his head slightly, his tone calm, without any self-satisfaction.

"It is all thanks to the Medicinal Pills and Formation provided by Father. This child just practiced breathing exercises step by step, and does not dare to claim credit."

Su Yu looked at him and spoke lightly.

"On the road of cultivation, resources are certainly important, but being able to calm down and endure the loneliness to refine is your own ability."

"You have now entered the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, and you have also passed your eighteenth birthday."

Su Yu turned around and walked to the main hall with his hands behind his back.

"Since the manor is already stable, the matter of Bloodline reproduction should no longer be delayed."

"Starting tomorrow, go to Dingzhou City to assist your brother in managing the trading firm for a period of time."

"By the way, let your mother decide and pick a few Mortal women with clean Family backgrounds and abundant blood and Qi for you to marry."

Su Yuan followed behind, without the slightest hesitation or resentment, and respectfully agreed.

"This child obeys."

He was no longer the young child who held unrealistic fantasies about cultivation.

He knew very well that his father built Hidden Dragon Manor to allow the Bloodline to take root and continue in this world.

As a descendant with a Spiritual Root, taking a wife and having children, and spreading branches and leaves, was a Family responsibility he had to shoulder.

What's more, with the current foundation of the manor, supporting him in having offspring was more than enough.