3: Chapter 3 Qi Refining Level 1

Arriving at the entrance of his home, Chen Changqing saw his mother and sister working in the courtyard.

“Mother, Qingling,” Chen Changqing said happily as he looked at them.

“So it's Xiao Qi! You brat, once you start cultivating, you forget your parents and Qingling. You haven't come to see us for three months.” Seeing Chen Changqing, the gentle woman, Li Chenghui, and Li Qingling both had eyes filled with surprise and joy.

After Chen Changqing entered the door, Li Chenghui rolled her eyes at him.

Li Qingling stood behind her mother, looking delicate and clinging like a little bird. Her plain white clothes, paired with her fresh and refined appearance, made her look like a Fairy who had transcended the mortal world.

When she saw Chen Changqing, her eyes curved into crescents.

“Brother Changqing.”

“Yeah, I haven't seen you for a few months, and you've grown taller again.” Chen Changqing stepped forward and pinched her cheek.

Li Qingling wanted to struggle, but the more she struggled, the less Chen Changqing wanted to let her go.

“Brother, let me go!” Li Qingling protested to Chen Changqing, clenching one of her hands into a fist.

“Hehe, sorry, Mother. Once I start cultivating, I lose track of everything.” Chen Changqing then turned to look at Li Chenghui, subconsciously scratching the back of his head.

“Alright, you tease your sister as soon as you arrive. Have you eaten yet? Come in quickly, Mother will make you your favorite lotus seed soup,” Li Chenghui said happily.

“Okay, Mother.” Chen Changqing followed behind Li Chenghui.

“Mother, where is Father?”

Hearing Chen Changqing's question, a trace of anxiety flashed across her brow, but she quickly calmed down.

“Your father is cultivating. He's a cultivation fanatic just like you, and I don't know when he'll emerge from seclusion.”

Although she said this, Chen Changqing keenly caught her expression just now.

“Mother, tell me the truth. What exactly happened to Father?” A trace of unease also flashed in Chen Changqing's heart.

“Nothing, what could possibly happen to your father?”

However, Chen Changqing was somewhat anxious. He knew that once his mother lied, her eyelids would twitch unconsciously.

“Mother, don't lie to me. I've grown up, and I'm a Cultivator now too.”

Li Chenghui also knew she couldn't lie anymore. Since he was a child, she had felt her son was somewhat precocious. Not only was he more composed and intelligent than other children, but he also had an extremely stubborn nature to his core, which was just like his father's.

Li Qingling stood to the side, at a complete loss.

“Sigh! Since the two Spiritual Veins were sold and there was no new source of Spirit Stones, our Family's situation has become increasingly difficult. The Family's income plummeted, so we had no choice but to organize people to go to the Monster Mountain Range to hunt monsters.”

“Your father and the other clansmen have been gone for a whole month. According to past monster hunting missions, they shouldn't have been gone this long. However, I believe your father must be fine.” Although she said this, Chen Changqing could still hear the worry in her voice.

“I understand, Mother. I also believe Father must be fine.” He couldn't say much at this moment, so he could only comfort his mother.

“I also believe Father is fine,” Li Qingling clenched her fists and said seriously.

Looking at her serious expression, Chen Changqing and Li Chenghui felt a bit more relieved.

Chen Changqing patted her head, feeling somewhat emotional.

His strength is still too weak! If he had the Late Qi Refining Stage Realm now, it wouldn't matter even if he went down the mountain to search for his father. However, he had only just entered the first layer of Qi Refining. With this kind of strength, let alone going to the Monster Mountain Range, he would surely die if he encountered rogue cultivators after going down the mountain.

After hurriedly finishing the lotus seed soup, he immediately entered seclusion again.

A month later, there was still no news of the Monster Hunting Team led by Chen Yuanzhan.

In the end, even the Clan Chief couldn't sit still and personally mobilized people to go to the Monster Mountain Range to search for them. However, the six-member Monster Hunting Team seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no clues or even a trace behind.

Although this matter was undoubtedly a major event for the Chen Family, for the entire cultivation world of the Cang Prefecture, such a small matter was not enough to cause any ripples.

The relatives of the Monster Hunting Team vaguely guessed their fate and washed their faces with tears almost all day long.

Chen Changqing also came out of seclusion occasionally to visit. After the Clan Chief spread this news, he showed no anger or sadness, only focusing solely on bitter cultivation.

He was not like the protagonists in the novels he wrote; the Family would not slowly improve just because of his presence. On the contrary, because they had lost quite a few Cultivators, the Family's overall strength declined severely. In particular, other Qi Refining families also discovered the Chen Family's current situation and pressed them hard at every step.

In particular, the Chen Family's two neighbors, the Wu Family and the Xu Family, had long coveted the Chen Family's two Legacies of Talismans and Artifacts, and they even paid a direct visit.

They called it a visit, but it was actually a threat.

In the Chen Family Ancestral Hall, two Qi Condensation 7th Layer Cultivators from the Wu and Xu families, each leading their own Family's Cultivators, sat on both sides below the main seats.

“Clan Chief Chen, our Clan Chief said that we are willing to purchase your Family's Talisman Dao Legacy at a high price, and the Spirit Stones will surely satisfy you,” said a grey-robed elder at the Qi Condensation 7th Layer from the Wu Family. He spoke with apparent sincerity, but his eyes drifted toward the Chen Family Cultivators from time to time, the threat in them completely obvious.

“Clan Chief Chen, our Clan Chief has the same intention. Not only are we willing to pay a high price to purchase your Family's Artifact Dao Legacy, but we are also willing to form an alliance with your Family. After all, what your Family currently needs most are allies.

“With our Family's help, if those petty scoundrels dare to infringe upon the Chen Family, they will be crossing all three of our families. I believe the Wu Family feels the same way,” said a beautiful woman in red from the Xu Family. Though she looked only in her twenties or thirties, she was actually already octogenarian.

Although her words sounded as if she were thinking of the Chen Family's benefit, she actually just wanted to encroach upon the Chen Family's interests step by step through this method.

After the beautiful woman in red finished speaking, she looked at the Wu Family elder opposite her.

The elder smiled and said, “Indeed! As long as your Chen Family is willing, our two families will not only form an alliance with the Chen Family, but the Chen Family's affairs will also be our affairs in the future.”

How nice it sounds! The Chen Family Cultivators sneered in their hearts.

“Hehe! Thank you for the kind intentions of your two Clan Chiefs, but our Chen Family has not yet reached that point,” Clan Leader Chen Xuanlin said with a fake smile.

“Of course, your Family can choose not to accept our goodwill. Our Clan Chief had also expected this situation.

However, our Clan Chief had me deliver a message: whatever our Wu Family sets its eyes on will definitely belong to our Wu Family.” The grey-robed elder of the Wu Family said with a smile on his lips, but the coldness in his eyes carried an extreme threat.

“Our Xu Family feels the same. The Clan Chief also specifically instructed me that since the Chen Family does not appreciate our kindness, it doesn't matter; your Chen Family will eventually appreciate it,” the beautiful woman in red giggled, covering her mouth.

Hearing this, the Chen Family Cultivators looked furious, while the Cultivators from the Wu and Xu families were not only unafraid but instead looked at everyone with provocative expressions.

“Is that so? Then please pass a message to your Clan Chiefs for me: the things of our Chen Family will only ever belong to the Chen Family. If they want them, they'll have to come and take them with their lives,” Clan Leader Chen Xuanlin said calmly.

“Clan Chief Chen, we will definitely deliver the message. We'll see if you can still be so unyielding then.”

“Show them out,” Clan Leader Chen Xuanlin ordered.

With disdain on their faces, the grey-robed elder and the beautiful woman in red each led their Family's Cultivators away from the Chen Family.

“Hmph, these two families are going too far! I now suspect whether Eighth Uncle and Fifth Brother were murdered by them,” a robust clansman of the Yuan generation said angrily.

“These two families speak better than they sing, but they just want to carve up our Family's interests. They put it so elegantly; if I didn't know their true colors, I would have almost believed them,” Chen Yuanhe, who ranked second in the Yuan generation, said speechlessly.

“Regardless, we have completely offended these two families now. Although these two families belong to the bottom tier of Qi Refining families just like us, their strength is much greater than ours.

“We need to prepare countermeasures to prevent them from doing anything to harm our clan,” Chen Yuanwen spoke up. He felt extreme disgust toward the way these two families conducted themselves, but he could not deny their strength.

After all, these two families have settled in Qinghe County for two hundred years, and they are also neighbors of the Chen Family.

The number of Cultivators they have is much greater than the Chen Family, with even more than five Late Qi Refining Stage Cultivators. Unlike the Chen Family, most of their Late Qi Refining Stage Cultivators are at the Peak state.

“Indeed, in any case, these two Legacies of Talismans and Artifacts cannot be handed over to others. This is the foundation of our clan's establishment. If we hand them over, is there still any need for our Family to exist?” Clan Leader Chen Xuanlin said.