A public notice was posted seeking a wife, and a female saint from the Immortal Sect was found.

The Chen family's main hall.

Chen Yi sat in the main seat, breathing softly, and found that the stabbing pain in his chest was no longer like being pricked by needles, which made him feel relieved.

Three days have passed since Chen Yi transmigrated here, and he has come to understand his situation. Three days ago, when the original owner of this body broke through to the third level of the Qi Refining stage, he failed and was seriously injured. Chen Yi had just taken a nap and woke up to find himself transmigrated here.

"My parents passed away a year ago, and I have no siblings. I am the only child left. I was an orphan in my previous life, and I never thought it would be the same in this life."

Chen Yi felt a little emotional. There were some similarities between his past and present lives, but that was no longer important. What mattered was the days to come.

This world is filled with numerous sects and countless cultivators. The Chen family began cultivating spiritual herbs a hundred years ago, and most of them were supplied to the Purple Pill Sect, which was located two hundred miles away, thus enabling them to prosper.

At its peak, the Chen family even had a Foundation Establishment cultivator in charge. However, this was all in the past. After a brief period of prosperity lasting a hundred years, the family declined.

"Master, are you feeling any better today?" An elderly man with gray hair, standing below Chen Yi with a slight bend in his back, finally spoke.

Chen Yi snapped out of his daze, looked at the other person, and nodded, saying, "Uncle Liu, don't worry, I'm recovering well, and I should be fine in a few more days."

Uncle Liu, whose real name is Liu Shen, is the steward of the Chen family. In this life, his parents have passed away, and Liu Shen is in charge of most of the affairs of the Chen family.

In addition, although he was the only one left in the Chen family, even in decline, the Chen family still had three medicinal herb gardens and a shop in Qingyang Market, dozens of miles away. With the addition of the guards, the Chen family still had more than a hundred people in total.

Therefore, it is impossible for the family to be without a master for even a day, which is why Liu Shen calls him the head of the family.

Liu Shen visibly breathed a sigh of relief, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Master, if this old servant dares to speak out, the family is indeed going through a turbulent time right now. However, when you are cultivating, you must not be hasty or reckless. What happened this time was far too dangerous."

At this point, Liu Shen sighed several times inwardly, feeling somewhat nervous.

The Chen family's situation is not what it used to be. This time, Chen Yi failed to break through and was seriously injured, causing panic throughout the Chen family. After all, if anything unexpected happened to Chen Yi, the entire Chen family would fall apart in an instant.

He had no choice but to say these things, but even after saying them, he felt apprehensive. The head of the family was always impatient and had some of the arrogance of a young man.

If the head of the family can accept these words, that's fine; if not, he'll probably fly into a rage immediately.

"This failed breakthrough has caused you, Uncle Liu, a lot of worry. I will not force a breakthrough again unless I am absolutely certain of success," Chen Yi said, nodding.

Liu Shen blinked a few times, his heart filled with astonishment. He was quite surprised that the patriarch had not been furious, but instead listened to his advice so calmly.

Chen Yi didn't think too much about it. Liu Shen always considered his and the Chen family's interests, so he wouldn't let a few words of advice chill the heart of this old man of the Chen family.

Thinking of this, Chen Yi then asked, "Has anything urgent or difficult happened in the family recently?"

The three medicinal gardens together cover about thirty acres of spiritual fields. Sowing, cultivating, and drying the medicinal herbs are all very complicated tasks, and the shops in Qingyang Market are also busy every day.

At this point, Liu Shen immediately stopped thinking about why the family head was so gentle and answered seriously, "The medicine garden has been operating smoothly in all aspects. There are naturally problems, but it can still be maintained. The shops in Qingyang Market are doing reasonably well every day."

"The most urgent task now is to transport the medicinal herbs to the Zidan Sect in half a month. The warehouse already has more than 8,000 catties of various medicinal herbs, but we are still short about 2,000 catties. Half a month is a bit of a rush, so this old servant will personally oversee this matter."

Chen Yi nodded. The family would send 20,000 catties of medicinal herbs to the Purple Pill Sect every year, once every six months. This was the most important foundation of the Chen family's existence.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Yi asked, "Is there a shortage of manpower in the herb garden? Considering the scale of three herb gardens and that there are still half a month left, it should be easy to gather 10,000 catties."

Liu Shen looked helpless and said with a wry smile, "We are indeed short-handed. In the past three months, seven master craftsmen from the herb garden have resigned and gone to work for other companies. In addition, more than ten handymen have also left."

"Manpower is very tight, and the drying of medicinal herbs also takes time, so it is a bit of a challenge to gather 10,000 catties of medicinal herbs in half a month."

Within a 300-mile radius, there are more than 30 spiritual springs, and the underground spiritual veins are intertwined like jagged teeth, making it the most suitable place for the cultivation of spiritual herbs. Therefore, the Chen family is not the only one cultivating medicinal herbs.

When the old patriarch was still alive, they were able to compete with the other families that cultivated medicinal herbs. But after the old patriarch passed away, the other families immediately became restless, and their intention to target the Chen family was very obvious.

Those seven master craftsmen and the handymen were poached by other companies.

Chen Yi fell silent. People strive for higher positions, just as water flows downhill; this is human nature. Whether we admit it or not, the Chen family is clearly declining, and people's hearts are naturally unsettled.

The other families' deliberate probing and targeting are only the beginning. As time goes on, they will inevitably become more and more aggressive until they completely devour the Chen family.

Rubbing his temples, Chen Yi didn't sigh or feel discouraged. Instead, he directly ordered, "Starting today, the salaries of all family members will be increased by half. Also, Uncle Liu, you should give instructions to gather 10,000 catties of medicinal herbs within half a month. I will reward you accordingly."

The most important thing for the Chen family right now is stability, and the best way to stabilize people's hearts is naturally to let their subordinates gain more benefits.

"This will indeed bring peace of mind to the family for a while, but with the benefits increased by half, the burden will become heavier, and it may not last long. Given that those families are deliberately targeting us, there is no way we will give up now." Liu Shen nodded repeatedly, then sighed.

Chen Yi naturally understood this and said, "Let's solve the current predicament first, get through this period, and then seek change while maintaining stability."

Liu Shen said no more and quickly agreed. In fact, he understood that this was the wisest and most appropriate way to handle the situation.

He was even somewhat surprised that the patriarch could make such a decision. Compared to his usual volatile temper, the patriarch's words just now showed more courage and a calm approach.

"Besides this, is there anything else?" Chen Yi asked, ignoring Liu Shen's thoughts.

Liu Shen immediately replied, "Yes, according to the late patriarch's dying wish, we have been posting notices to find a wife for you, patriarch, for about half a year now..."

Before Liu Shen could finish speaking, Chen Yi was already stunned. Then, memories of the incident surfaced in his mind, and he looked helpless. Usually, it was only women who held martial arts contests to find husbands, but in his case, it had become a public notice to find a wife.

He almost instinctively waved his hand, interrupting Liu Shen, and said, "The matter of posting notices to find a wife ends here. Do not continue."

The patriarch has always been extremely disgusted with this matter, so Liu Shen was not surprised that he said to stop now.

He smiled, then said with a serious expression, "Patriarch, the old patriarch's dying wish was definitely well thought out. Just look at the conditions in the list; they were clearly all for your benefit."

"For example, the most important requirement is that the woman be between 25 and 30 years old, and have a cultivation level of around the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage."

"Female cultivators over the age of twenty-five who are at around the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage have virtually no chance of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage. However, with the support of our Chen family's resources, there is a great chance of them breaking through to the eighth or even ninth level of the Qi Refining stage."

"During this period, the patriarch and he had many children, and their relationship deepened day by day. This gave him a sense of belonging. At this point, the family had another late-stage Qi Refining expert, which was enough to stabilize the family and allow you, the patriarch, to have more descendants. Naturally, the family would have hope of prosperity."

"Therefore, if you really think about it, posting notices to find a wife is definitely a win-win situation."

Chen Yi listened attentively. He actually found Liu Shen's analysis quite reasonable, and posting a notice to find a wife wouldn't do him any harm.

However, times have changed, and he felt that instead of relying on public notices to find a wife to bring prosperity to the family, it would be better to rely on himself.

Thinking of this, a thought struck him, and a transparent panel appeared before his eyes.

Name: Chen Yi

Lifespan: 22/86

[Realm: Qi Refining Stage 2 (192/200)]

[Martial Arts Skill: Triple Mountain-Splitting Saber Technique (Minor Mastery 36/50)]

[Spell/Art: None]

[System Function: Authentication (Can authenticate the authenticity of anything in the world, once per day)]

"This is what I rely on," Chen Yi muttered to himself.

On the first day after he transmigrated, he became aware of the system's existence. However, due to his severe injuries, he had not cultivated for the past few days and was therefore unaware of how the system would affect his cultivation path.

"Master, regarding the matter of posting a notice to find a wife..." Liu Shen's voice rang out again.

Chen Yi put aside his study of the system for the moment, looked up at Liu Shen, and said firmly, "Do as I say. The matter of posting the notice to find a wife ends here. Don't mention it again."

Having said that, Liu Shen dared not say anything more and could only nod. However, he then said, "Patriarch, the matter of finding a wife has been stopped. However, there was already a suitable candidate in all aspects. She is twenty-eight years old, has the cultivation level of the sixth level of Qi Refining, and has been living in the family for half a month."

"In the past two weeks, not only me, but also Master Fang has observed that female cultivator. He has a very high opinion of her, saying that she is meticulous, insightful, and will surely be able to manage a household well."

Master Fang, whose real name is Zhou Fang, is over a hundred years old. He has witnessed the rise, prosperity and decline of the Chen family and possesses the cultivation level of the eighth level of Qi Refining.

The other families that cultivate medicinal herbs have only targeted the Chen family so far and haven't dared to really go all out, precisely because the Chen family still has Zhou Fang.

Chen Yi could no longer remain calm. He glared and asked, "A female cultivator has been living in the family for half a month? Why didn't I know about this?"

Liu Shen quickly replied, "Master, you have been diligently cultivating and preparing for a breakthrough for the past two weeks, so this old servant did not report it to you, so as not to distract you."

"Master, that female cultivator does indeed meet the requirements. Master Fang has a discerning eye, and his evaluation of her is still so high. This old servant thinks we should still meet her."

After saying this, Liu Shen shut his mouth and bowed. He had said everything he needed to say, and whether or not to see him was naturally up to the head of the family to decide.

Chen Yi hesitated for only a moment before saying, "We can't refuse to see them. They came here specifically because of the notice to find a wife, so we have to give them an explanation. Otherwise, it will only worsen our family's current situation and attract their hostility."

Even if you can't befriend a cultivator at the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage, you absolutely cannot make enemies. He understands this principle. His family cannot afford the cost of making new enemies.

"Let's invite them over. We'll have to meet them eventually, so let's meet them now," Chen Yi said.

Liu Shen nodded quickly: "This old servant understands, I will go and invite the person over right away."

He took this matter very seriously. The patriarch was young, and if he could get married soon, and his partner was a female cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining, it would be a reassuring thing for the entire family.