Clan Cultivation: Starting with Plundering Demonic Beast Talents

Half a month after Lin Qingyang broke through to the late stage of Qi Refining, the Elders' Council convened.

In the eyes of others, his breakthrough to the late stage of Qi Refining with an inferior spiritual root should have been the focus of everyone's recent discussions.

Unfortunately, an even more significant piece of news caught the attention of everyone in the Lin family, and even the four major families turned their attention to this matter.

The Lin family patriarch has emerged from seclusion and is presiding over the elders' meeting for the first time in thirty years!

Within a radius of tens of thousands of miles around Nanhefang, a Foundation Establishment cultivator is a figure of great importance.

The Lin family is currently enjoying great success due to the recent discovery of a cold iron ore vein.

Because Lin Yaojiang had not shown his face for many years, several Foundation Establishment cultivators were secretly plotting to seize the spiritual vein of Qingchi Mountain and this mineral vein once he passed away.

But once the news of his departure spread, they immediately fell silent, and all the people they had sent out were recalled.

If Lin Yaojiang were a half-crippled Foundation Establishment cultivator unable to take action, it would be difficult to detect the presence of his subordinates.

However, if they were publicly exposed and implicated, the Lightning-Binding Rope of the Qingyuan Sect's Enforcement Hall would not be polite to them.

On this day, the first rays of light appeared on Qingchi Mountain.

At least 80% of the Lin family's hundred cultivators came out of their cave dwellings and waited neatly outside the Elder Hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of the family patriarch.

Compared to them, Lin Qingyang was much luckier.

Amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, he stepped into the hall.

With his spiritual pressure at the seventh level of Qi Refining and his status as a high-grade talisman master, even without the merits of the Battle of Qishui Pool.

His position as deacon is a foregone conclusion.

Upon entering the hall, one is greeted by a row of long tables, with twenty seats arranged around them.

Each chair is made of mid-grade first-level nanmu wood, which has the effect of gathering spiritual energy. It takes more than a hundred spirit stones to make these chairs. This is the glory of the Lin family in the past.

Hundreds of years ago, when the Taiyan Ancestor was still alive, the family was the second largest in the vicinity. That was their peak period, with a full twenty late-stage Qi Refining cultivators standing side by side!

At the head of the table are three large armchairs made of jade.

When the Taiyan Ancestor was alive, he supported his third son to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. With the addition of the Mountain and Water Apes, the Lin family was undeniably powerful.

Unfortunately, he later passed away from illness, leaving the Water Ape alone to struggle. Coupled with encountering a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, it declined.

Even thirty years ago, there were only two or three people at the late stage of Qi Refining. It has only improved in the last ten years, and now it has barely filled half of the seats.

"Qingyang, come this way."

Upon seeing him enter the store, Lin Zongbo was naturally the first to extend a gesture of goodwill.

Lin Qingyang nodded slightly, bowed slightly to the others, and then sat down next to them.

"Uncle Zongbai, how are the Azure Spirit Deer and the Water Python growing? Do they still require my magic?"

Lin Zongbai nodded, his face beaming with joy. "Thanks to the life force you provided, these demonic beasts will be able to reproduce and grow to a sufficient scale in three to five years, thus providing materials for drawing talismans."

He then glanced at Lin Qingyang's cultivation level, his expression somewhat complicated. "If I had known that you could break through to the late stage of Qi Refining, I would have advised you against it that day. Damaging your life force will inevitably have some impact on your Foundation Establishment."

"However, at the Nanhe Small Fair a year from now, there will be pills that restore life. Remember to bid for one then."

Lin Qingyang felt a little embarrassed. His words were just to give himself more say, but he couldn't explain them well, so he could only nod repeatedly.

"There's one more thing. After being promoted to steward, you'll have one chance to enter the treasury, where most of the items are exchanged for us at a discount."

Lin Zongbai took out his Xuanren Disc, quite emotionally, "Our ancestor left us many good things back then."

"This array plate was obtained after I was promoted to elder. It would cost at least 1,200 spirit stones outside, but it only cost me 800 merit points in the clan."

After he finished speaking, he said in a low voice, "If you hadn't been able to advance to the late stage of Qi Refining, this position of steward would have required you to use up this reward."

"However, now that you are in the late stage of Qi Refining, it is customary to appoint you to the position of steward."

"Therefore, the merits earned at Qishui Pool and the promotion to steward are two opportunities to exchange for spiritual items. Do you understand?"

Lin Qingyang initially didn't think much of it, but the last sentence made his expression become much more serious.

The exchange rate between family merits and spirit stones is close to one to one, but people generally don't exchange for spirit stones, but instead choose pills or talismans.

He had previously inquired with Lin Zongyue and Lin Zongbai and learned that the family still had four drops of Water Ape essence blood left. There were two requirements for exchanging it: the first was to make meritorious contributions and gain access to the treasury.

Secondly, one drop can be exchanged for four hundred good deeds.

He had previously used all his merits to exchange for resources.

Half a month ago, he handed over two high-grade offensive magic weapons and one mid-grade defensive magic weapon from the Black Wind Stronghold bandits to his family.

These three magical artifacts are of excellent quality. For a newly promoted Qi Refining Stage 3 cultivator, obtaining even one of them would be considered very lucky.

Therefore, the family offered 600 merit points, which is enough to exchange for a drop of second-tier water ape blood essence.

But now, he has the opportunity to exchange for an extra drop of water ape blood essence, which he cannot miss.

Thinking of this, Lin Qingyang quickly took out some magical artifacts from his storage bag. "Uncle Zongbai, I obtained some magical artifacts from killing the Black Wind Stronghold's raiders. Can I use them as collateral for two hundred merit points?"

"There's no need for that. Since your third uncle has spoken up, he certainly won't let you be troubled by these good deeds."

Lin Zongbai smiled, took the storage bag, then took out his identity token, transferred three hundred merit points, and said, "Consider it as me accepting these spiritual items from you."

"In addition, your superior defensive magic weapon will be forged from cold iron ore. I have already asked Elder Zong Kai to deliver the first batch of forged magic weapons to Nanhefang in six months."

Lin Qingyang hesitated for a moment, then took out the six high-grade talismans he had drawn from his storage bag. "How can I let the elder spend so much? These six talismans are barely worth a hundred spirit stones. I'll borrow the rest from the elder."

The magical artifacts and talismans he obtained through his own cultivation were, after all, second-hand. At most, they could be exchanged for two hundred merit points, and he might not even be able to get them.

As for high-grade defensive magic artifacts, even using the cold iron ore and deer demon spirit bones that the family has collected this time, it would probably cost three hundred merit points.

He was just joking around at Qishuitan; he didn't really intend to take Lin Zongbai's benefits for free. After all, the Fire Thunder and Heavy Water Shield were gifts from Lin Zongbai, which helped him survive the relatively weak years.

"Alright, don't be so polite with your third uncle. I only have about twenty years left before I'm buried."

"My children are all mortals without spiritual roots. If my grandchildren have spiritual roots, I would like to ask you, Qingyang, to take good care of them."

Lin Zongbo did not accept the talismans, and with a touch of emotion, he expressed his request.

"Uncle Zongbai, rest assured, Qingyang will take care of the situation and offer amnesty."

Lin Qingyang then realized that half of the people in the Zong generation had already reached the age of one hundred.

The lifespan of a Qi Refining cultivator is around 150 years. Someone like Lin Zongbai, who grew up amidst turmoil, likely has many hidden injuries in his body, which probably cost him several decades of his lifespan.

Lin Qingyang has great respect for elders of the Zong generation.

After all, they supported the Lin family during its weakest thirty years, which were also their own weakest thirty years.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a powerful spiritual pressure suddenly appeared, causing Lin Qingyang's magical power to stagnate.

This spiritual pressure covered the Elder Hall and did not stop; instead, it spread to cover the entire Qingchi Mountain.

Halfway up the mountain, the Lin family members felt that familiar spiritual pressure once again after more than thirty years.

Instead of panicking, they felt exceptionally calm and knelt down.

"Welcome back, Clan Chief!"

The crowd chanted in unison, and some of the older cultivators were even moved to tears. Every member of the Lin family held the patriarch, who had saved the family from collapse, in the highest esteem.

As long as their family's Foundation Establishment cultivators are still alive, Qingchi Mountain will remain their sanctuary, and their family legacy will continue!

Several miles outside Qingchi Mountain, spies from various families naturally also sensed this spiritual pressure.

A person dressed in a black robe, wearing a ghost mask, and holding a special spirit-testing disc that emitted a crimson light.

"His spiritual pressure is very stable, and his injuries have recovered by at least 70%."

This person was from Black Wind Stronghold. Ever since they suffered heavy losses after getting involved in the conflict between the Lin and Zhao families, they have been extremely cautious about Foundation Establishment forces, only providing intelligence services and no longer daring to interfere.

Representatives from the other four major families also arrived to observe the situation.

Even the Liu family is very cautious about matters between the four major families.

After all, the presence of a Purple Mansion cultivator in this generation does not guarantee that there will be one in the next.

The leaders of these families naturally understand the principle that fortunes change, so they don't suppress other families' living space too much.

Instead, they will try their best to unite and resist calamities such as beast tides or demonic cultivators.

……