To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

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The old man listened to Yang Ju's suggestion and nodded in agreement.

But he did not agree immediately.

"No rush, let me go and see him first! You give the order that if we reach an agreement, we should hold a banquet to welcome him back. Even if he doesn't want to accept, he did save your life after all, so we should prepare a proper thank-you banquet and send him gifts."

"Nephew understands."

......

A moment later.

As Gu Fan sipped his tea, he pondered how to persuade the Yang family to allow him to extract gas from the Huanglong Stone mine.

The old man stepped into Houde Hall, followed by Yang Ju and two middle-aged men.

Gu Fan was able to sense their cultivation level even before they got close.

"One is in the late Foundation Establishment stage, quite old, and his vital energy is already declining. Even if he has the ancestral energy of the Mysterious Female, he has no chance of forming a Core. The other two are in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, though they are not bad."

"Is this all the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Yang family? Compared to the Lin family, they are indeed much weaker."

Although the two Lin family disciples led by Lin Lie were only at the Foundation Establishment stage, they were still far superior to those at the Qi Refining stage.

In order to plunder the Yang family's tribute, three Foundation Establishment cultivators were dispatched at once. The Lin family must have more than six Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"I am Yang Yifeng, the patriarch of the Yang clan. Your presence here truly brings honor to our humble abode. I apologize for any shortcomings in our hospitality."

The old man spoke first, bowing respectfully.

Gu Fan also stood up and returned the greeting, saying, "My name is Meng Wei, greetings, fellow Daoist."

"These two are my sons, Yang Yue and Yang Tai," the old man introduced, pointing to the two middle-aged men.

"Yang Yue and Yang Tai greet their seniors."

Gu Fan returned the greeting once more.

After everyone was seated, Yang Yifeng tentatively asked, "I heard from Yang Ju that you come from out of town. May I ask where you cultivated your skills?"

Gu Fan hesitated for a moment before replying, "I am from the State of Wei, and I have been stranded here due to some misfortune."

Upon hearing this, Yang Yifeng thought to himself, "They really are from Wei."

They didn't investigate the incident Gu Fan mentioned in detail, simply assuming that he came from a certain family, suffered a calamity, was chased by his enemies, and escaped death.

This was not uncommon in the State of Chu.

Putting aside everything else, if the Yang family's territory is breached by the Lin family, the Yang family cultivators will have to flee far away to seek refuge.

Having made up his mind, Yang Yifeng revealed a friendly smile and said, "Fellow Daoist, you are new to this place. If you have nowhere to stay in Chu, why not become a guest elder at the Yang family?"

"As for the salary..." Yang Yifeng probed, "Ten thousand spirit stones per year, what do you think, fellow Daoist?"

"Ten thousand? That's quite generous," Gu Fan thought.

Taking the Lingxiao Sect's Golden Order recruitment as an example, Gu Fan's annual merit points for guarding the Cloud Mist Sea are only one thousand, equivalent to ten thousand spirit stones.

Although Gu Fan was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment at that time, his current cultivation level is at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and the two are not comparable.

However, the Yang family was not the Lingxiao Sect, which held the reins of Taoism in Wei. Their position as guest ministers was a regular practice, and they were not recruited by imperial decree.

The Golden Decree's summons is a rare occurrence, even among disciples of the Lingxiao Sect.

For a family that is not rich in resources, hiring Gu Fan for 10,000 low-grade spirit stones every year is definitely considered generous, even somewhat extravagant.

This can be seen from the expressions on Yang Tai's and Yang Yue's faces.

They had clearly not communicated beforehand, and when they heard Yang Yifeng say the number "ten thousand," their pupils trembled violently twice, but they remained silent due to the dignity of the family head.

"Ten thousand spirit stones...that's not bad." Gu Fan nodded.

Yang Yifeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Ten thousand spirit stones per year was the limit he could give; any more would mean cutting back on the cultivation resources of the family's disciples.

These were even taken from his own spiritual resources.

"I am getting old after all, and there is no hope of me reaching the Core Formation stage in this lifetime. Wasting any more resources will be futile."

"As long as this person helps hold off the Lin family, the Yang family's situation will improve significantly once the younger generation grows up. The ten thousand spirit stones will then be worthwhile."

"The Lin family would never offer a guest elder a salary of ten thousand spirit stones, but if the Lin family were willing to pay any price..."

"No! We need to use more methods to prevent him from being won over by the Lin family."

Many ideas flashed through Yang Yifeng's mind, but before he could figure out how to win over Gu Fan, Gu Fan suddenly changed the subject.

"However... I have a better suggestion. I wonder if you would be willing to hear it?"

Yang Yifeng was taken aback, then nodded and said, "Fellow Daoist, please speak freely."

Gu Fan smiled and said, "To be honest, fellow Daoist, I am actually preparing to cultivate a secret earth-element technique, which requires condensing earth-element spiritual energy. I might as well exchange half of my salary in spirit stones for yellow dragon stones."

"Furthermore, if you would allow me to cultivate by gathering Qi in the mine, I would be happy to reduce my salary further."

Yang Yifeng was overjoyed upon hearing this.

Firstly, he became even more certain that Gu Fan came from the Wei Kingdom—the secret method of cultivating by absorbing the spiritual energy of the five elements was a common practice of the Creation Lineage.

Secondly, Gu Fan's request was exactly what he wanted to hear.

Paying his salary with Yellow Dragon Stones would save him a lot of spirit stones, and mining the veins would further bind him to the Yang family.

The Lin family doesn't own any earth element mineral veins!

Yang Yifeng immediately laughed and said warmly, "What you say is true, fellow Daoist. In that case, you shall be in charge of guarding the Yellow Dragon Stone mine. This will allow us to mine its energy, and I can finally rest easy."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

That night, the Yang family hosted a banquet to entertain Gu Fan.

As cultivators, they no longer need food, but some spiritual fruits, spiritual wines, and the essence of rare birds and beasts can not only provide spiritual energy, but also taste exceptionally delicious, so they are often used for banquets and entertainment.

Among the various arts of cultivation, there is even a skill called "spiritual food," which can be used to cook spiritual food with extraordinary effects.

However, this path is ultimately inferior to alchemy, and very few people pursue it.

During the banquet, Yang Yifeng also summoned the younger generation of cultivators from the Yang family to pay their respects.

When everyone learned that the Yang family had gained a guest elder in the late Foundation Establishment stage, they stepped forward to pay their respects with a mixture of awe and curiosity.

Gu Fan thus got to know the younger generation of the Yang family.

Of the nearly one hundred Qi Refining cultivators, only a dozen or so are at the late Qi Refining stage. If nothing unexpected happens, the Foundation Establishment seed will be born from among these people.

Among these people, only one female cultivator received special attention from Yang Yifeng.

"Mengyun, why don't you come and pay your respects?"

Yang Yifeng called out, and the crowd suddenly parted to reveal a graceful young woman.

To be honest, the girl's appearance wasn't among the best Gu Fan had ever seen.

Whether it's Song Lian, Qi Lingyun, Cai Xuan, or Li Fengyi, none of them are inferior to Yang Mengyun, let alone the stunningly beautiful Lin Qian'er.

But Yang Mengyun's eyes were exceptionally bright, her black pupils like two sparkling gems, radiating a lively brilliance.

"Mengyun pays her respects to Senior Meng."

Yang Mengyun stepped forward slowly, curtsied, and smiled slightly, as if she were a little shy, not daring to look directly at Gu Fan.

Just then, Yang Yifeng interjected, "Fellow Daoist, Mengyun is my own granddaughter. She has decent spiritual roots and good comprehension. If you don't mind, you can have her serve you by your side."

Gu Fan immediately understood the implication in Yang Yifeng's words.

He wasn't surprised by this; he had experienced firsthand the ways of the powerful families of the Lingxiao Sect.

But Yang Yifeng's straightforwardness surprised him somewhat.

Moreover, he keenly noticed that when Yang Yifeng spoke, Yang Mengyun's hand clenched slightly and her lips pursed, and he immediately realized that Yang Mengyun was not actually happy about it.

"I am used to cultivating alone and do not need anyone to serve me. I appreciate your kindness, fellow Daoist."

Gu Fan declined softly.

Whether Yang Mengyun was willing or not, he was indeed not prepared to have another person by his side.

After all, what he wanted to absorb was the Primordial Qi of Xuanhuang, not the ordinary earth-elemental spiritual energy that Yang Yifeng thought it was.

A hint of regret flashed in Yang Yifeng's eyes, but his expression remained unchanged. He said, "It's alright, we'll do as you say, fellow Daoist."

Yang Mengyun seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and her clenched hands loosened.

The banquet continued, and both hosts and guests enjoyed themselves immensely.

The next day.

Yang Ju presented Gu Fan with a token carved from yellow dragon stone, bearing the character "Yang".

"Senior, this is the Yang family's token. If you travel in the Chu Kingdom in the future, you will be regarded as a member of the Yang family as long as you show this token."

Gu Fan nodded and put the token away.

"I still need to prepare for the tribute. Later, a family disciple will accompany you to the mine. I hope you will forgive me."

Yang Ju said apologetically.

"It's alright, you can go on your own. Do you need me to escort you?" Gu Fan asked.

The Lin family's previous actions disrupted the Yang family's tribute schedule, so this year the tributes to the aristocratic families still need to be delivered on time.

Yang Ju shook his head: "This time, my elder brother will accompany me, and we will be even more discreet on the way. I hope nothing bad will happen. Thank you for your kindness, senior."

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan stopped trying to persuade him.

Not long after Yang Ju left, a disciple of the Yang family came to pay his respects.

"Senior Meng, let me take you to the Huanglong Stone mine."

Gu Fan looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Yang Mengyun.

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