Xiuxian: I use magnetic fields to prove my truth

Chapter 146 Forced
Wei Kuang stubbornly replied, "Forgive my ignorance, but I cannot see what benefits this place brings to the sect."

Elder Jinmang said, "Zhou Qing is a very talented person, but unfortunately he is too selfish. You were inscribing the formation for him, so you should know how powerful this formation is."

"If we make it into talismans and sell it in all the sect's shops, how much revenue can it bring to the sect every month, and how many disciples can benefit from it?"

"Now he has a firm grip on the talismans and only sells them in a few shops that he approves of."

"Most of the product's potential has been wasted. Isn't this harming the sect?"

Wei Kuang said, "Array masters can retain the arrays they create; this is a sect's ancestral precept."

Jin Mang said, "Ancestral precepts are not always reasonable."

"Sometimes, in order to protect the interests of our sect, we need to violate our ancestral teachings and even our own principles."

"But can we value our own principles more than the interests of our sect?"

“Wei Kuang, you are not that kind of child.”

Wei Kuang fell silent.

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Elder Jinmang did not rush to persuade him, but waited for Wei Kuang to figure it out on his own.

A look of confusion flashed across Wei Kuang's eyes.

His loyalty to his senior brother and his consideration for the sect's interests were locked in a fierce battle within him, nearly tearing his spirit apart.

Suddenly he snapped to attention, his eyes clearing, and said, “I know my senior brother’s character. He’s not a selfish person. The reason he only gives the talismans to shops he approves of is not because he’s selfish, but precisely because he doesn’t trust that the shopkeepers of other shops are all selfless.”

"Handing over the talismans will only feed the parasites, and will not benefit the sect much."

"If the elder makes just one promise, I believe my senior brother will be happy to hand over the talisman."

Jin Mang asked, "What promise?"

Wei Kuang said, "Senior Brother will be in charge of selecting a manager for each shop."

The golden light fell silent.

If this condition is agreed to, Zhou Qing will definitely replace all the shops with Mu Zhuosha and his group, and the affiliated family will completely lose control of all the shops and also lose the biggest source of income for the family business.

How could they possibly agree to that?

Jin Mang felt somewhat annoyed.

Wei Kuang's words completely shattered the facade he had been trying to maintain.

He kept accusing Zhou Qing of selfishness, but if he and the other members of the affiliated families did not harbor selfish thoughts, why did they firmly control the operation of the sect's shops?

"Child, you are too naive!"

Wei Xing's slightly aged voice came from the doorway, and then he led his aunt into the house.

He was clearly listening to the conversation inside from the outside.

Wei Kuang hurriedly prepared to bow.

Wei Xing waved his hand to indicate that he did not need to bow, and then said, "The sect's shops have always been managed by our affiliated families. In order to accumulate wealth for the sect, our affiliated families have devoted countless efforts, and even sacrificed their lives, generation after generation, just like your father and your grandfather, who died in battles against foreign enemies."

“It can be said that every brick in these shops is soaked with the blood of our ancestors. How can an outsider, who has not contributed anything, take these shops away? Is that reasonable?”

Wei Kuang said, "But the affiliated families also benefit from it..."

"That's what we deserve."

Wei Xingdao said, "Are we here to consolidate the sect's borders just so we can hand over the fruits of our labor to others?" Wei Kuang's mind was in turmoil once again.

Wei Xing winked at his aunt.

The aunt looked at Wei Kuang and saw that he was hanging his head, looking fragile and confused. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

She wanted to suggest to the old man that he shouldn't pressure Wei Kuang too much and should let him think it over himself, but when she saw the old man glaring at her with a stern look, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine and couldn't utter a word of advice.

She stepped forward and gently patted Wei Kuang's back, just as she would do when he was a child and encountered something sad. She said, "Wei Kuang, your aunt doesn't know what's troubling you, but I think the sect and its affiliated families are one. If the affiliated families are strong, the sect will be even stronger."

"Even if we gain more profit from business, we will eventually give it back to the sect."

Wei Kuang's body trembled.

He suddenly remembered what his aunt had said when he first met her: the old man had personally sent her along.

Now it seems that the old man brought his aunt along simply because he valued her influence over him.

He suddenly felt as if he had been betrayed by his family, a feeling that filled him with desolation.

The three people inside the room looked at Wei Kuang, waiting for his response.

After a long pause, Wei Kuang nodded and said, "Alright, I'm convinced."

Both Jin Mang and Wei Xing showed joy on their faces.

A hint of pity flashed in her aunt's eyes. Just now at Wei Kuang's house, they had talked about the senior brother who had caused all these troubles.

She could sense how much Wei Kuang respected his senior brother, yet now he was being forced by an elder he also respected and loved to betray his senior brother's trust. How painful it must be for him.

If the elders and the old man hadn't been there, the aunt would have loved to hold this child, whom she considered her own son, in her arms and comfort him.

Elder Jinmang handed over a piece of paper and pen and said, "Good child, quickly write it down from memory."

Wei Kuang picked up his pen and silently wrote out a complex formation on the paper. He then threw the pen aside, and without saying goodbye to the elders, he turned and walked out of Elder Jinmang's courtyard.

Elder Jinmang and the old man happily picked up the paper with the array written on it and began to discuss how to divide the profits.

Now that the formation diagram is in their hands, it's natural that they should decide which families are qualified to share in this big business.

This is a good opportunity to win them over and strike them down.

Seeing that the old man and the elders were discussing important matters and no one was paying attention to her, the aunt hurriedly ran out of the Transmission Hall. She looked down the mountain path, but Wei Kuang was nowhere to be seen.

The aunt rushed to Wei Kuang's house, only to find the gate locked and Wei Kuang clearly not back. So she had no choice but to turn back.

……

The day after returning to Ziyun Mountain, the sect's servants prepared the materials as Zhou Qing requested and began building a courtyard for Qingyuan.

Qingyuan directed the work with great interest. Although she didn't understand anything, she would occasionally use her cultivation to help the craftsmen.

The craftsmen had never encountered such an unassuming cultivator, who was said to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator. They all felt deeply honored and quickly became friends with Qingyuan.

Zhou Qing paced back and forth, pondering the secret method for reviving withered trees that Qingyuan had given him.

Secret methods are different from spells.

Spells have ranks, and when one's cultivation surpasses the rank of a spell, the spell's power becomes less efficient.

The secret technique has no ranking system, and can produce full effect regardless of cultivation level.

However, the secret techniques are correspondingly more complex.

(End of this chapter)