Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 853 The Twelfth Floor: Tian Shu Tower

On Youhuang Peak.

Inside the simple bamboo house, Chu Lingxiao, dressed in a dark green outfit, sat by the window, sipping fine wine with a dashing air.

"Qianqian, you killed your husband as a sacrifice, haha, these are your words!"

Her voice had a metallic quality, strong and straightforward.

Li Qianqian lowered her head and pouted, "Grandmother, I don't like Wang Qisheng!"

"I know!"

"Then why did Grandmother still insist that I marry him!"

"Because this is beneficial to the Li family!"

“But I don’t like it!” Li Qianqian said stubbornly.

Chu Lingxiao gazed wistfully at the bamboo forest outside, "Back then, I disliked your grandfather just the same! Until he died, I never liked your grandfather!"

"Ah!" Li Qianqian looked up in surprise.

"Hehe, nobody cares whether you like it or not, not even your grandmother!" Chu Lingxiao said in a flat tone.

Li Qianqian's face turned pale. If even her grandmother didn't support her, then she really had no other choice.

"grandmother!"

“If you want to sacrifice your husband to the Tao, then go ahead and do it! Your parents will decide this matter.”

Li Qianqian's eyelashes trembled slightly, tears welling up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to fall.

"It's no use you coming to me; I won't get involved in this matter!"

Chu Lingxiao continued to gaze out the window, not looking at Li Qianqian, because she understood this stubborn granddaughter.

Li Qianqian's marriage was not her decision, but she did not object after she found out.

This kind of thing is very common, both within the Xuanqing Sect and in other families in the Lingxiu Sea.

When marriages are arranged by parents and matchmakers, who cares about the thoughts of the parties involved?

It's just a marriage alliance; everything is based on considerations of self-interest.

Seeing that her grandmother was ignoring her, Li Qianqian left sadly.

At this moment, she was filled with fear, because she had no idea what to do.

She dared to treat Wang Qisheng that way before because she thought her grandmother would help her, but this is how it turned out.

……

Nanyuan Peak, where the disciples reside.

Yang Qinting was unaware of Li Qianqian's fear; at that moment, he was packing his luggage to go home.

Having been a disciple of the Xuanqing Sect for twenty years, this was his first time returning home.

His reason for returning home was simple: he wanted to marry Li Qianqian.

There wasn't much to pack up. The only valuable thing he had here was the resources his family had given him, and those resources were all in his storage bag.

After quickly packing up, he left the Xuanqing Sect.

Little did he know that as he stepped out of the Xuanqing Sect, several figures dressed in close-fitting clothes were quietly following behind him.

Yang Qinting did not return directly to the Spirit Source Land, but instead came to Qingyu City, walked through the bustling streets, and knocked on the gate of an ordinary courtyard.

"Who!"

"Grandpa Zhang, it's me! Qinting!"

The courtyard gate opened, revealing a burly old man with gray hair and a dark face covered in wrinkles.

"Why did you come out, young master?"

The old man greeted Yang Qinting as he entered the courtyard and asked in confusion.

"I want to go back," Yang Qinting said with a smile.

"Very well, young master hasn't been back for twenty years, it's really time to go back and take a look!" the old man chuckled.

"Thank you for all your hard work, Grandpa Zhang!" Yang Qinting bowed deeply to the old man.

"What's so hard about it? I'm perfectly content here!" the old man said nonchalantly.

His name is Zhang Cheng. He was originally Yang Zhengshan's close follower. Later, he joined the Secret Martial Guard with Yang Chengxian. Since Yang Qinting joined the Xuanqing Sect, he has been guarding Qingyu City as Yang Qinting's liaison.

"Young Master, did you encounter some trouble when you went back this time?" Zhang Cheng entered the main room and poured tea for Yang Qinting.

"It's not a difficult matter, it's just that I'm planning to get married and want to tell my elders!" Yang Qinting said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cheng's face immediately lit up with joy. "Young Master has a girl he likes?"

Although he lived in Qingyu City, he didn't know much about the internal affairs of the Xuanqing Sect, so he was unaware of the relationship between Yang Qinting and Li Qianqian.

"Yes, there is one!"

"Then this old man will congratulate you in advance, young master!"

"Hehe, I'll definitely have to invite Grandpa Zhang to the wedding banquet!"

Just then, Zhang Cheng suddenly turned his head to look outside the door, his expression becoming serious.

"Grandpa Zhang, what's wrong?" Yang Qinting asked, puzzled.

Zhang Cheng made a shushing gesture and slowly walked towards the courtyard gate.

He opened the courtyard gate and looked around, but didn't see anyone.

However, his expression did not relax.

"Young Master, have you offended someone within the sect?"

Yang Qinting narrowed his eyes slightly. "You mean someone is following me?"

"That should be right, I rarely have any customers here."

Zhang Cheng was certain that someone had been peeking through the door, and when he went to open it, the person quickly left.

He always kept to himself here, avoiding any trouble except for cultivating his skills.

At this moment, someone suddenly appeared outside the door, who must have come with Yang Qinting.

Yang Qinting pondered for a moment, "They might really be after me!"

It was expected that Wang Qisheng would hold a grudge against him, but he couldn't be sure whether Wang Qisheng would actually harm him.

"Young Master, should we lure them out of the city to find out what's going on?" Zhang Cheng asked.

"Do you have manpower here?" Yang Qinting asked.

“Some, but their strength isn’t that great. Young Master, have you forgotten about the jade token you have?” Zhang Cheng reminded him.

Although Yang Zhengshan has produced some more tokens over the years, the number of tokens is far from enough to provide one for each person.

Secret agents like Zhang Cheng, who were stationed outside the military, almost never had jade tokens in their possession.

Yang Qinting took out the token, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Then should I go back first?"

“Yes, this matter still needs to be handled by Tian Shu Tower!” Zhang Cheng said.

The Secret Guard is now under the jurisdiction of Tian Shu Tower, with Yang Chengye serving as the tower master, and Yang Chengxian, Lü Hua, and Chen Zhongshu serving as deputy tower masters. Tian Shu Tower is responsible for intelligence gathering, Tian Quan Tower is responsible for commerce and trade, and Yu Heng Tower is responsible for managing external industries.

Normally, any changes that occur in the outside world should be handled by Yuheng Tower. However, Zhang Cheng belongs to the Secret Martial Guard, and Yang Qinting is also nominally affiliated with the Secret Martial Guard, so this is an internal matter of the Secret Martial Guard and naturally needs to be handled by Tianshu Tower.

Yang Qinting thought about it and felt that this was the only way to do it for the time being.

"Then I'll head back now, Grandpa Zhang, take care!"

"Ok!"

Yang Qinting took out the jade token, infused it with his true essence, and the next moment his figure disappeared from the main hall.

……

The Longevity City no longer exists in the Land of Spiritual Origin; it has been renamed Jade Capital City.

However, the name Changshou City will be retained until the new city is completed. After all, the name Changshou City was personally chosen by Yang Zhengshan.

The white jade capital in the sky has five cities on the twelfth floor.

Currently, the Lingyuan Land only has one city, Twelve Towers. From Lingquan Waterfall to the original Longevity City, all the villages and towns along the river for a hundred miles to the south belong to Yujing City.

The twelve buildings have all been completed and are distributed around the ancestral hall and within the original Longevity City.

The Tian Shu Tower, Tian Quan Tower, and Yu Heng Tower were all built around the Jie Yin Hall.

These three floors were built around the main hall of reception because people often had to go out.

The newly built Tian Shu Tower is magnificent and splendid, with flying eaves, a dark blue glazed tile roof, and vermilion brackets supporting the eaves.

The building is divided into five levels, each narrowing in size. The bottom level features a blue stone door frame with a relief of a dragon swimming in the clouds. The dragon's whiskers are outlined with real gold, and its eyes are inlaid with tourmaline. As the light and shadow shift, it seems as if the dragon's roar is hidden in the stone's texture.

If you were to ask what the most powerful skill in the Land of Spiritual Origin is, it wouldn't be alchemy or weapon crafting, but architecture.

Since Yang Zhengshan began migrating people to Lingyuan, Lingyuan has been under construction, from a city to a village, and then to a magnificent palace and exquisite courtyard. Construction has never stopped.

Nowadays, the land of spiritual energy has even incorporated formations into its architecture, with each newly built building possessing ingenious craftsmanship and mysterious formations.

This Tian Shu Tower, for example, appears on the surface merely magnificent and imposing. However, once inside, the floor of the first-floor hall is engraved with mysterious and ancient patterns, each containing a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy. Inside the hall, twelve coiled dragon pillars stand in a row, the dragons on the pillars covered with gold leaf scales, and beneath the gold leaf are countless runes.

This technique of integrating formations into architecture was learned by the Spirit Origin Land from ancient remnant formations.

It is a reinforcement array that can protect buildings from collapsing for a thousand years.

In the ancient ruins, they also found a stone pillar that had stood unchanged for ten thousand years. It was also reinforced with a magic array, but it was a second-order magic array. At present, the Spirit Source Land has not mastered a second-order reinforcement magic array.

When Yang Qinting arrived at Tian Shu Tower, he was like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden, looking around carefully and feeling an overwhelming sense of awe.

He wasn't someone who hadn't seen the world; after all, the Xuanqing Sect had a very deep foundation, and its foundation in array formations was even greater than that of the Spirit Origin Land.

However, the Xuanqing Sect is not so extravagant as to integrate magic arrays into every building; at most, the runes of magic arrays can be seen on a few important buildings.

Although he had stayed in the Xuanqing Sect for twenty years, he had never been exposed to the Dao of Arrays.

The art of array formations is a closely guarded secret within the Xuanqing Sect; even inner disciples cannot learn it except for core disciples.

His shock stemmed not only from the application of formations in the Spirit Source Land, but also from the profound impact of the changes that had occurred there.

Twenty years ago, Changshou City was just a small city, and the tallest building in the city was the current Jieyin Hall.

But now?

Within Changshou City stand numerous pavilions, with the five-story Tian Shu Tower reaching a height of seventeen or eighteen zhang (approximately 33-40 meters). The interior is exquisitely crafted, from the bronze ornaments with intertwined floral patterns on the corner railings to the gilded lotus flower borders on the window sills and the malachite powder filling the brick seams—all contributing to the building's warm and noble aura in the morning light. Even the bronze handrails of the staircases are carved with lotus patterns, the lotus hearts inlaid with pearls, warm to the touch. Truly, every detail, from the carved beams to the painted rafters, is meticulously crafted, a testament to the ingenuity of the artisans hidden within its golden splendor.

If you only look at the details, none of the many buildings of the Xuanqing Sect can compare to this Tian Shu Tower.

"Young Master Qinting, please come with me. The master is already waiting for you upstairs!" A middle-aged man who looked honest and simple led Yang Qinting upstairs.

"Are you also a member of the Secret Guard?" Yang Qinting asked with some curiosity.

"No, I am a sixth-rank steward of Tian Shu Tower. I used to work in the Foreign Affairs Hall!" the middle-aged man said with a smile.

"May I ask your surname?"

"Hehe, my surname is Zhou, and my Eighth Madam is my aunt!"

Yang Qinting suddenly realized.

Since her surname is Zhou, she must be a member of the Zhou family. The Eighth Madam is Zhou Yunxian, the wife of Yang Cheng'an, and Zhou Yunxian is Yang Qinting's mother.

"So it's my cousin!"

"Haha~~ Young Master Qinting, please!"

If we're talking about relatives, then the Spirit Source Land is full of relatives; you could pick anyone and call them a relative.

The two chatted and laughed as they arrived at the fifth floor.

"Greetings, Master!"

"I've met uncle!"

The two stood before Yang Chengye and bowed.

Yang Chengye smiled and said, "No need for formalities!"

"You must be Qinting! Haha, this is the first time we've met!"

When Yang Qinting joined the Xuanqing Sect, Yang Chengye was still on Shenmu Island, so this was their first meeting.

“I have long admired my uncle! He was the founding emperor!” Yang Qinting said.

"Stop flattering me, kid!" Yang Chengye slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Not bad, it seems you haven't neglected your cultivation these past years at the Xuanqing Sect!"

The two chatted for a while before getting down to business.

Yang Qinting briefly explained that he might be being followed and the conflict between himself and Wang Qisheng within the sect.

"Is Wang Qisheng Wang Qiutang's youngest son?" Yang Chengye asked.

"That's right!"

Yang Chengye nodded slightly and instructed the attendant beside him, "Go and fetch the files of the Wang and Li families of the Xuanqing Sect for a look!"

Wang Qiutang was no nobody, and the Wang family of the Xuanqing Sect was also a considerable force. Naturally, the Tian Shu Tower's archives contained detailed information about the Wang family.

Soon, the servants brought back the files of the Wang and Li families.

Yang Chengye first opened the Wang family's files and read through them. "This Wang family is not simple. Wang Qiutang has the cultivation of the late Golden Body Realm. Moreover, the Wang family is considered an old family within the Xuanqing Sect. Including Wang Qiutang, they have produced three Golden Body Realm martial artists!"

"As for the Li family, it's a newly rising family. Their ancestors did produce a Golden Body Realm martial artist, but now they're only supported by a woman!"

"Chu Lingxiao, it was her!"

Yang Qinting asked in surprise, "Uncle, what happened to Elder Chu?"

Yang Chengye smiled and said, "The Secret Martial Guard has evaluated every Golden Body Realm martial artist in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty. Among them, there are three martial artists who have the best chance of becoming Martial Immortals within a hundred years: Chu Lingxiao of the Xuanqing Sect, Yue Ming of the Huanyue Sect, and Zhang Xian of the Wuxiang Sect!"

"If nothing unexpected happens, Chu Lingxiao will likely receive special training from the Xuanqing Sect in the future!"

Yang Qinting suddenly realized, "So that's how it is!"

Although he was a disciple of the Xuanqing Sect, he could not come into contact with martial arts elders like Chu Lingxiao. At most, he could only obtain some inaccurate information through hearsay.

In comparison, the Secret Guard's investigations were much clearer, and many secrets could not escape their notice.

"What about my marriage with Qianqian?" Yang Qinting looked at Yang Chengye with some worry.

“There will be a lot of resistance, but it’s not impossible. At this point, we’ll probably need our ancestors to step in!” Yang Chengye said.

(End of this chapter)