Immortal Cultivation Families: The Rise of the Jinling Immortal Clan

Xia Guangzheng: "Greetings, fellow Daoists. I am Xia Guangzheng. This gentleman beside me is my cousin, currently an inner disciple of the Guiyun Sect. These two behind me are my juniors, Yu Hui and Yu Feng."

"It was widely rumored in the county that the Xia family had declined. But seeing them today, it is clear that the Xia family has accumulated strength and is now making a comeback. Once you two generations have grown up, the Xia family may be able to regain its former glory." Jin Yeqiao replied with a look of surprise after checking the cultivation levels of these Xia family cultivators.

"Hehe, Brother Jin, you flatter me. The Xia family has indeed shown signs of decline in recent years, but fortunately it has not reached the worst point, and the family lineage can still be maintained."

Jin Yeqiao: "Don't worry, the Xia family will surely have a place in the world in the future. I wonder what Brother Xia thinks of this mission?"

"I will follow Senior Yang's instructions and do my best to complete the mission," Xia Guangzheng replied after a moment's thought, not understanding Jin Yeqiao's intentions.

Jin Yeqiao did not refute, but simply smiled and remained silent. He then used magic to transmit his voice to Xia Guangzheng: "Fellow Daoist Xia, to be honest, besides investigating the situation of the demonic beasts in the Northern Frontier, Guiyun Sect probably also intends to weaken our family cultivators for this mission. In the past ten years or so, the family power in the seven prefectures has grown stronger day by day, and several Foundation Establishment peak cultivators have already appeared. As for the Golden Core Ancestor of Guiyun Sect, True Person Liu, his lifespan is coming to an end, and he should pass away within the next ten years or so."

"As for Zhu Qingyun, who is at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, he has only recently broken through to the Golden Core realm and is unable to suppress the other countries around the ancient kingdom that are also Golden Core forces. I anticipate that as soon as Master Liu passes away, other forces will immediately attack. Therefore, Guiyun Sect must be trying to weaken us, these unstable factors, so that our families will have no choice but to follow Guiyun Sect."

Upon hearing this, Xia Guangzheng immediately sensed an impending storm, for his Xia family also harbored this thought. It had first arisen during a clan gathering, and even the clan head had mentioned it to him upon their departure. However, given Jin Lingjun's relatively weak family power, they were unlikely to be a primary target in this attack, and therefore, the Guiyun Sect was unlikely to be overly harsh.

However, he would never utter such words, and retorted, "Is that so? Isn't this Black Cloud Daoist about to break through?"

"Hehehe, Fellow Daoist Xia, you overestimate this person. Breaking through to the Golden Core stage is incredibly difficult, requiring immeasurable resources. In hundreds of years, the Guiyun Sect has only managed to cultivate one Golden Core cultivator. How could they possibly have the strength to cultivate another one now? Even if the Guiyun Sect truly exerts all its efforts to cultivate Daoist Heiyun to the Golden Core stage, so what? He's just another cultivator who has just entered the Golden Core stage."

“The forces surrounding Guiyun Sect are incredibly powerful, each with Golden Core cultivators who have lived for hundreds of years. They will surely come and take a few bites, and even after they are full, they will continue to come and swallow Guiyun Sect whole.”

Xia Guangzheng: "Then what brings Fellow Daoist Jin to this humble one?"

"To be honest, I fear that the Guiyun Sect will resort to underhanded tactics to use our family cultivators as cannon fodder. Therefore, I hope that our families in Jinling County will temporarily put aside their grudges and unite as one. Is that alright?"

Xia Guangzheng chuckled, his face full of honesty. “Fellow Daoist, you flatter me. When facing external enemies, it is a tradition of our old families in Jinling County to unite and fight together. Moreover, our Xia family has always adhered to the principle of ‘we will not attack others unless they attack us,’ so there is no such thing as letting go of grudges.”

Jin Yeqiao: "???"

Good heavens! Just a few months ago, news came that the Yan Xia family had killed three Cai family cultivators, but now they're saying, "We won't attack unless our enemies attack us."

If Xia Guangzheng knew Jin Yeqiao's thoughts at this moment, he would surely adhere to the principle of "I will not attack unless attacked." The Cai family killed one member of the Xia family, so the Xia family killed three members of the Cai family in return—a classic case of tit for tat.

Jin Yeqiao: "Since Brother Xia has already agreed, I hope that in this mission, Brother Xia can restrain his clansmen and cooperate with us merchants. Rest assured, I have already made it clear to those two families that they have agreed to put aside their personal grudges for the time being."

"It must be so!"

Seeing that the matter was settled, Jin Yeqiao turned his head and stopped transmitting his voice. He then said to Xia Yuhui, "I heard from fellow Daoist Cai that although you are still young, your ability to fight is quite remarkable. I wonder if this is true."

Xia Yuhui revealed two rows of white teeth and said in a deep voice, "It must be that the fellow Daoist from the Cai family believed the nonsense of some rogue cultivators. This humble Daoist truly does not possess such abilities."

"Haha, truly a hero emerges from among the young. Yu Shu, come and get to know this prodigy of our Jinling County. Don't always stay indoors. Learn more from young friend Xia; it will surely benefit you in the future."

Jin Yeshu, who was standing behind the group, immediately stepped forward and said, "This humble servant greets Fellow Daoist Xia."

Xia Yuhui returned the greeting.

Jin Yeqiao: "Hahaha, speaking of which, a hundred years ago, my Jin family and the Xia family had many marriage alliances. Yu Shu, you and Xia Xiaoyou should go elsewhere to discuss matters."

Upon hearing her uncle's words, Jin Yushu's expression changed slightly, but she did not refuse. After all, Xia Yuhui was about the same age as her, and she had only recently broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, which showed that Xia Yuhui's talent was no less than hers. Just as Jin Yeqiao said, getting to know this person would not do her any harm.

So she blinked her large eyes slightly, gazing at Xia Yuhui, clearly waiting for him to speak first. After all, as a woman, it wasn't appropriate for her to take the initiative to invite him.

Xia Yuhui pondered for a moment, then looked at his fifth uncle. Seeing Xia Guang nodding to him, he immediately said in a deep voice, "Then please, fairy."

After saying this, the two left the crowd one after the other. On the way, seeing that Xia Yuhui still hadn't spoken, Jin Yushu couldn't help but ask first, "Fellow Daoist Xia, I've heard rumors that you killed three cultivators from the Cai family. Is this true?"

Xia Yuhui: "Fairy, don't believe these rumors. They are just slanders from the Cai family. I did not do this. Moreover, my experience in combat is still shallow. These rumors are just an attempt to flatter me to my death."

"Hmph, I don't believe it. After all, it was the Cai family who admitted it themselves. When Uncle Qiao and I went to the Cai family just now, they threatened to kill you and refused to agree to our request no matter what. In the end, it was Uncle Qiao who persuaded them personally before they reluctantly agreed."

"Fairy, don't believe their nonsense. It's just the Cai family making trouble out of nothing. Let's not mention this matter again. Just now, I heard Senior Jin say that the Xia family and the Jin family had a marriage alliance a hundred years ago."

Upon hearing Xia Yuhui's question, she immediately adopted a knowledgeable demeanor and said, "That is indeed true. In fact, your Xia family once had a marriage alliance with the Chimu family, and one of your Xia family cultivators is still with the Chimu family. However, the Xia family declined later, and no other family has formed a marriage alliance with you since."

"I see, thank you for telling me, fairy."

Xia Yuhui was puzzled; he knew nothing about these things. It seemed he would have to investigate the family's history upon returning. He did have a general understanding of the family's development over the years, but the specific details were unclear.