Swordholder

"Two months from now, the aristocratic families' assessment conference will be held."

Chen Yuan's gaze swept over everyone present, his expression serious and sharp. "I want you all to take advantage of this time to cultivate diligently and break through your cultivation levels. The more strength you have, the more confidence you will have in surviving."

"At the same time, we must hone our own cultivation skills. When the conference begins, join me in fighting for more cultivation resources and qualifications for the Chen family."

Everyone looked at Chen Yuan, their hearts filled with excitement.

It's rare to find a young master who is so considerate of his subordinates, and who is always thinking about their safety!

For a moment, everyone was filled with gratitude, and many people's eyes reddened.

"Alright, no need for this pretense. Everyone, go back to your secluded cultivation."

Chen Yuan smiled faintly, waved his hand to signal everyone to step back and focus on their cultivation.

Knowing that Chen Yuan was about to go into seclusion to break through to the Yellow Court Realm, Chen Zhaoning did not want to disturb him any further and gracefully departed.

She secretly vowed to diligently cultivate herself and catch up with Chen Yuan as soon as possible.

Only Nuomi obediently stayed in place, without moving an inch.

Chen Yuan gently told her that he was about to go into seclusion to cultivate, and asked her to stay with Chen Zhaoning for the time being.

Before he finished speaking, Chen Qingcang walked over slowly and said that he would personally guide Nuomi in her cultivation.

"Grandpa, you actually intend to personally teach glutinous rice the art of cultivation?"

Chen Yuan's face was full of surprise.

Whether or not one has a master to guide their cultivation makes a world of difference.

The old man before me possessed unfathomable depth and wisdom, far beyond my own reach.

Having him personally teach Nuomi is naturally a hundred times more reliable than doing it yourself.

"Um."

Chen Qingcang turned to look at Nuomi, a rare gentle smile appearing in his eyes.

"The evil god seed within her has already taken root and sprouted. I will tailor a cultivation method for her to help her completely control the power of the alien origin, and then find two supreme cultivation techniques that suit her physique."

"Brother Ayuan..."

Nuomi looked up at Chen Yuan, her little face full of reluctance.

Chen Yuan crouched down and gently comforted her:

"Be a good boy and follow Grandpa in your cultivation. Only when Nuomi becomes strong enough can she truly help and protect me in the future."

Upon hearing that she could help Brother Yuan, Nuomi's eyes immediately lit up, her little fists clenched tightly, and she earnestly raised her voice:

"Alright! Nuomi must become stronger quickly! From now on, if anyone dares to bully Brother Yuan, Nuomi will bite them all to death!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Nuomi's eyes faintly glowed with an eerie red light, her small pearly teeth suddenly became sharp and pointed, like two rows of fine serrations, and a strange and malevolent aura quietly emanated from her body.

Upon seeing this, Chen Yuan's heart tightened, and a worried expression appeared on his face.

Chen Qingcang's gaze also narrowed slightly, and he gently placed his hand on Nuomi's shoulder.

A gentle and profound power slowly flowed into her body, instantly calming the restless alien energy and restoring her to normal.

"Good girl, I'll wait for Little Nuomi to cultivate to the Great Dao, and then she can come and protect me."

Chen Yuan gently patted her head and chuckled softly.

Nuomi nodded emphatically, her expression unwavering.

"Let's go, little Nuomi, let's go with Grandpa to cultivate."

Chen Qingcang smiled faintly, casually handed a storage bag to Chen Yuan, and then turned and left with Nuomi in his hand.

Holding the heavy storage bag in his hand, Chen Yuan had no more distracting thoughts. He immediately stepped into the meditation room to formally begin his secluded cultivation and attempt to break through to the Yellow Court Realm.

"Drawing all the magical power in one's body into the Yellow Court, condensing the origin, tempering and sublimating it, allowing the magical power and the soul to merge, stepping into the realm of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation..."

"The transformation of the Yellow Court Realm is not only a surge in physical speed and strength, but also a strengthening of the soul and consciousness."

At that time, it will be possible to retrieve objects remotely, and those with profound cultivation will even be able to control flying swords.

"But controlling flying swords is ultimately too much of a stretch for cultivators in the Yellow Court Realm; it's really a useless skill."

It's nowhere near as impressive as the Purple Mansion True Man's ability to travel thousands of miles on a sword and take a person's head invisibly.

……

As Lu Chengfeng's words explaining the Yellow Court Realm to him kept flashing through his mind, Chen Yuan felt a deep sense of sorrow.

"Uncle Lu..."

A thin layer of mist gradually settled over Chen Yuan's eyes.

After a moment, he composed himself, his eyes regained their clarity, and his expression became even more resolute.

He took out the storage bag given to him by Chen Qingcang and emptied out all the contents.

slam-la-

Amidst the flowing light, treasures piled up like mountains, all top-tier cultivation resources. Each item was enveloped in shimmering light and contained a vast and rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

"These are all..."

Chen Yuan looked surprised and casually picked up a square, white stone about the size of two fingers.

"Could this be the legendary... spirit stone?"

Chen Yuan's eyes suddenly narrowed, and his heart was filled with shock.

Cultivators can either absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through their own techniques, or they can use treasures like spirit stones, which are born in the earth's veins and contain pure spiritual power, to assist their cultivation.

Spirit stones are extremely rare, and he never expected that Chen Qingcang would give him a whole bunch of them at once.

Chen Yuan's gaze swept over the remaining resources. In addition to a massive amount of spirit stones, there were also many high-level cultivation pills, as well as valuable items such as Yang Gold, Moon Silver, and Star Copper.

He took a deep breath, his heart filled with warm gratitude.

The value of such a large quantity of Yang Gold, Moon Silver, and Star Copper is immeasurable.

It is also the core material for his cultivation of the "Heavenly Light Demon-Slaying Technique" and the Heavenly Light Daoist Method.

Unexpectedly, Chen Qingcang was so generous, casually giving away a large number of rare resources.

With gratitude in his heart, Chen Yuan cleared his mind of distractions and officially began his secluded cultivation.

In the following days, the entire Five Finger Peak suddenly trembled.

Above the Middle Finger Peak, the wind and clouds surged, and the spiritual energy from all directions converged wildly, condensing into a vast sea of ​​spiritual energy clouds.

The sea of ​​clouds roared and trembled, transforming into a massive vortex of spiritual energy that heavily enveloped the entire Middle Finger Peak.

This astonishing phenomenon instantly attracted attention from all directions.

"Good heavens, what is this commotion?"

"Could someone be in seclusion here, cultivating their skills?"

"How could ordinary cultivation possibly trigger such a celestial phenomenon?"

"Could it be that a rare treasure has appeared in the world? Could it be that the Chen family has produced an extraordinary treasure?"

……

Before the Palm Lake, a group of cultivators who had come to seek the Heavenly Grade Pills were immediately in an uproar when they saw the spiritual energy storm above the Middle Finger Peak.

Many cultivators of the Beastman Clan originally intended to rely on their Beastman Clan talent to force the Chen family to sell the Heavenly Grade Black Pill.

Witnessing such a terrifying phenomenon of spiritual power, everyone couldn't help but feel apprehensive and began to speculate among themselves.

"Such a terrifying convergence of spiritual energy, could it be that Chen Qingcang is about to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm?"

Someone muttered to themselves in a low voice.

These words immediately caused a huge uproar.

The gazes of the many cultivators present shifted, their hearts churning with turmoil.

Chen Yuan, the young master of the Chen family, had previously taken out dozens of top-grade pills in public, including one saint-grade pill.

It's not impossible for Chen Qingcang to use these pills to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm.

Thinking of this, the group of cultivators dared not linger any longer and quietly retreated, preparing to report the matter to their respective sects.

……

On the Middle Finger Peak, not far from Chen Yuan's residence, Chen Qingcang looked at Nuomi, who was sitting cross-legged beside him with her figure appearing and disappearing, and then looked up at the swirling and boiling spiritual energy vortex in the sky, his expression full of astonishment.

"This brat, the phenomena his cultivation has triggered are so vast?"

He murmured to himself, his eyes filled with shock, "He really is a cultivation prodigy with full spiritual apertures. The speed at which he absorbs and releases the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is simply too terrifying."

"No, this strange phenomenon is too conspicuous; we must conceal the spiritual energy storm."

After saying this, Chen Qingcang immediately summoned his three other brothers and quietly activated the protective array for the Chen family's Zhifeng Peak.

The four of them simultaneously activated their cultivation, working together to suppress the strange phenomena in the heavens and earth caused by Chen Yuan's cultivation.

Soon, the spiritual energy vortex and storm in the sky quietly dissipated.

However, the matter had already spread in secret, causing a great uproar throughout the entire Tianqing County.

……

Tianqing County, Lu Family Residence.

"What? Such a massive spiritual energy storm has been stirred up above the Chen family's territory?"

"Rumors are circulating that Chen Qingcang is preparing to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm and become a Purple Mansion True Person?"

The Lu family's senior members looked solemn. After discussing for a moment, they all turned their gazes to Lu Sidao, who was sitting in the main seat.

Lu Sidao's face was gloomy. He hated the Chen family to the core and wished he could wipe them out.

Upon hearing this news, I was utterly shocked!

My mind is in complete turmoil.

A moment later, he suddenly calmed down and snorted coldly.

"Hmph! A mere human dares to attempt to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm? They're simply courting death!"

Lu Sidao's face was contorted with rage, and his tone was low and cold.

Everyone was stunned at first, then instantly realized what was going on.

"That's right! The Purple Mansion Realm is the death penalty for human cultivators!"

Anyone who dares to cross this line without authorization will be annihilated by the imperial court!

An elder's eyes flashed with pleasure as he excitedly exclaimed, "Chen Qingcang is courting death!"

"Hmph, without the court's tacit permission to break through to the Purple Mansion realm, even if his daughter is the Princess Consort of Zhen Dong, she can't save his life!"

"Keep a close watch on the Chen family. If any Purple Mansion Realm aura leaks out, immediately send a messenger to the Zhen Dong Prefecture!"

A sinister glint flashed in Lu Sidao's eyes as he surveyed the crowd. "Besides that, we have another plan. At the aristocratic family assessment conference two months from now, we must wipe out all the young members of the Chen family!"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the Lu family executives present showed a fierce expression.

"That's right! Slaughter all the younger generation of the Chen family, and make sure the Chen family completely loses its qualifications for alchemy and cultivation for the next ten years!"

An elderly man with white hair narrowed his eyes and said in a cold voice.

The rules of the Clan Tournament have always been extremely cruel, with victory determined by life-or-death battles!

Only the surviving members of the family can earn the legal right to refine pills, forge weapons, cultivate spiritual rice, and even purchase and sell cultivation resources for the family.

This qualification is known to the world as a "license to practice".

Without this certificate, a family has no right to grow spiritual rice, purchase cultivation supplies, or privately refine elixirs or craft artifacts.

Any clansman who privately consumes cultivation resources or practices without a license is guilty of a serious crime and should be executed according to the law!

This is the Great Xiang Empire's means of checks and balances: using strict laws to firmly control the number of cultivators from various powerful families.

As for rootless and unaffiliated cultivators, they have no qualifications whatsoever. They either have to submit to the imperial court and be incorporated into it, or they can only cultivate in secret without a certificate.

Unlicensed practitioners, once discovered by the Wuxiang Guard, will have their cultivation abolished at the very least!

In severe cases, they will be killed on the spot!

The thought that the Chen family's path to cultivation would be completely blocked for the next ten years, leading to their utter decline, filled Lu Sidao with uncontrollable excitement.

"Alright, let's proceed with this plan. To ensure everything goes smoothly, we'll secretly recruit a group of young Daoists at the Yellow Court Realm to participate in the Aristocratic Clan Conference!"

Lu Sidao's eyes were cold and sharp as he gave the order in a deep voice.

……