The Rise of a Family: Starting from Daily Intelligence - Chapter 410 (Patreon)

Chapter 410: Spendthrift Son, Remarriage, Crime of Passion

At the Fu clan’s victory banquet.

Fu Changli, who had been arranged at the head seat, clinked one cup with those below and then walked out of the banquet hall alone with a wine bottle in hand. Laughter and clamor rolled behind him. The Fu clan had returned triumphant from the grand competition among the great families, and he was truly glad at heart.

Yet there was a faint loss inside him.

Because—

This time there were only five slots for Foundation Establishment to enter the Kunlun Minor World.

The three who competed—Gan Muwan and the others—had already taken three. No matter what, none would ever fall to a mediocre old fellow like him.

He had wanted to seize this chance and fight for it.

Now…

“Ah!”

Fu Changli tilted back his head and gulped down a whole bottle of Huangyi wine. The spirit wine that was usually mellow and sweet tasted like nothing at all.

Just then—

Footsteps sounded behind him.

He turned to see his son Fu Yongshe swaggering out with a courtesan tucked under each arm. The moment he saw his father, Fu Yongshe hastily shoved the two women away and, like a mouse meeting a cat, cupped his hands and said, “It’s lively inside. Father, why have you come out by yourself?”

As he spoke, he cast the courtesans a glare.

They took the hint and withdrew.

Seeing this useless son—already past fifty and only at mid-stage Qi Refining—Fu Changli thought of how he’d once said he was coming to Huizhou Prefecture to make his mark. Who knew he’d only used the chance to avoid him, spending his days in wine and women? Even with fifty clan slots for Qi Refining to enter the Kunlun Minor World, none had landed on him.

Fu Changli opened his mouth.

He wanted to scold a few lines.

But the words stuck in his throat and he swallowed them back.

Back then, he had married a daughter of the ninth-rank Yu clan that had been founded by rogue cultivators. While his first wife lived, he was obsessed with the brewing Technique and neglected the children. By the time she passed away a few years ago and the burden fell on his shoulders, he discovered that not a single one of his offspring had amounted to anything.

By contrast, the Patriarch’s children—

Whether it was Fange’er, Yao Yao, Jing ge’er, Fu ge’er, or Shou ge’er, every one of them was a dragon among men.

Compared to that—

His chest felt all the tighter.

So he simply closed his eyes. What the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve.

Fu Yongshe, unaware, flattered cautiously, “Father, there are fifty Kunlun Minor World slots for Qi Refining this time. Do you think… you could say a good word to the Patriarch for your child? Beg one slot for me? Given your relationship with the Patriarch, I believe that if you speak, he’ll surely agree.”

This was also why Fu Yongshe had been so merry at the banquet.

Of the “four youths of cultivation” of those years, only three remained.

No matter what, the Patriarch would sell his father a favor.

And among his father’s many children, his cultivation was the highest. Shouldn’t the slot land on him? Otherwise, in a few decades when his father passed on, their third branch would not even have a single Foundation Establishment—then they truly would be on the road to decline.

He was thinking of the long-term future of their third branch!

Not hearing a reply and thinking his father hadn’t heard, Fu Yongshe couldn’t help but press on, “Father, this isn’t for my selfish desire. I’m thinking of our third branch—”

“Get out!”

Before he finished, Fu Changli snapped his eyes open and glared viciously at this wastrel!

He himself hadn’t considered pleading for a slot out of personal ties, and this son dared to plot on his head. What he’d seen in that illusion back then must truly have been a warning.

A bleak chill ran through his heart.

“Your child will go—going at once. Father, don’t anger yourself and harm your body.”

Fu Yongshe fled like smoke from his heels and vanished in the blink of an eye. Back in his own courtyard, he muttered, “Father’s a block of elm. Sigh…”

Then he tossed the thought aside.

He didn’t really want to enter the Kunlun Minor World anyway. It was dangerous; one misstep and you could lose your life. How could that compare to beauties in his arms and fine wine at hand? With his shares of his father’s brewing recipe yielding a steady flow of spirit stones, he was destined to want for nothing.

He, Fu Yongshe, was born with a young master’s fate.

Why toil and risk life and limb?

“My beauties, I’m back!”

“Lord Husband!”

In an instant, a few dozen beauties—each with her own charms—flowed out of their rooms, swaying like willows.

…

Inside the Five Elements Space.

After returning to Spirit Mountain from Beichuan, Fu Changsheng’s gaze fell on the Message Tree. He saw its message-leaves quiver, and then a line of text surfaced:

[Junior, when was the last demonic incursion into your lower realm?]

What?

Fu Changsheng jolted.

A demonic incursion?

That meant parts of the realms could in fact overlap.

If—if he could find the knack of it, wouldn’t he be able to traverse to the Cangling Realm to seek his father?

His heart hammered. Suppressing his excitement, he replied swiftly, “Senior, how may one reach other realms? Have you heard of the Cangling Realm?”

When he finished, he stared unblinking at the leaf.

The upper realm message had just arrived; that transmitting senior shouldn’t have left yet. After a moment, a soft hum—another line of text appeared:

[If this seat remembers right, the Cangling Realm is a lower realm of the upper third rank. Travel among lower realms only requires—]

Huh?

What happened?

He thought it was a lag, but the message cut off mid-line.

“What a pity.”

Fu Changsheng was somewhat disappointed, but the exchange wasn’t fruitless. From the senior’s words, it seemed the cultivation worlds were divided into upper, middle, and lower realms by grade, and each grade again into first through ninth ranks.

“I wonder which rank in the lower realms Great Zhou belongs to?”

He told Qiu Niang to keep a close eye on the Message Tree for any movement.

With a thought, he left the Five Elements Space. When he stepped into the courtyard, he found Liu Meizhen returning from the banquet. With only husband and wife present, a soft charm glinted in her eyes. She drew his hand to her lower abdomen and smiled. “Husband, you’re about to be a father again.”

This—he had already known.

But Fu Changsheng still put on the right smile. “Meizhen, I have good news to share with you too.”

As he spoke, he flicked his sleeve.

A white vial veined with demonic patterns appeared in his hand. He unstopped it to reveal a single Blood-Scale Pearl within.

“Husband, this is…?”

Liu Meizhen was a master of alchemy.

She felt the surging, pure spiritual energy spilling from the pearl, and the spirit blossoms and herbs flickering around it. She was moved; even the finest third-tier pills she refined never showed such an omen.

“This pearl was something Jing ge’er chanced upon in the Ten Thousand Phoenix Mountain Range. It’s extremely effective for those who are newly pregnant.”

Hearing the details of its effects, Liu Meizhen was both shocked and pleased, and a flush of pride crept in. Smiling with eyes narrowed, she said, “Our Jing ge’er has grown up—he knows to honor his parents when he gets something good. By the way, he’s not young anymore. After his performance in the hunt in the Ten Thousand Phoenix Mountains, other families must have taken note. Someone may come to propose as early as tomorrow. Husband, have you decided whom to ally with?”

Fu Changsheng shook his head.

Jing ge’er had already reached Purple Mansion and carried a strange treasure like the Void-Heaven Tower. He lacked worldly tempering; once he had a pillow-side companion, he might not be able to keep his secrets. He didn’t want the other party to repeat Ningning’s path. Ningning’s fate likely had much to do with that Wood Flying Squirrel on the other party.

“Let’s postpone Jing ge’er’s marriage.”

Liu Meizhen’s eyes flickered, but she didn’t press.

Fu Changsheng shifted the topic. “The Kunlun Minor World is about to open. We should finalize our entrants quickly so they can make preparations.”

“Husband is right.”

They had fifty slots for Qi Refining.

Nearly all of the clan’s young elites would be included. But there were only five Foundation Establishment slots.

Those were won back by Fu Yongshou, Gan Muwan, and Fairy Tianyin; they rightly should have a share. That left two.

Liu Meizhen mused. “Husband, should we choose from the fourth and fifth place finishers of the clan meet?”

Fourth was Fu Yongqi.

He had once been on the hunting squad; after the War Hall was founded, he moved there, and later he replaced Fu Yongfan as the chief steward of the Yunshan Commandery fief. While his tenure had no dazzling feats, it had been steady and safe.

Whether in merit or toil, few would object if the fourth slot went to him.

Fu Changsheng nodded. “Yongqi’s ability is plain to see. Give the fourth slot to Yongqi. As for the fifth…”

By the rankings, it would be Fu ge’er’s wife, Hai Yun.

However—

He had another candidate in mind.

Seeing this, Liu Meizhen’s heart stirred. “Husband, you want to give the last slot to Third Brother?”

Third Brother was over a hundred. He had once been obsessed with brewing; after he could no longer advance in that, especially after the illusion where he saw his descendants losing one after another, he resolved to apply himself to cultivation.

“Though Third Brother ranked low in the clan meet, he was one of the ‘four youths of cultivation’ when the Fu clan was still small. The brewing recipes he developed were not only the Fu clan’s firsts, but among the best in Anyang Commandery. His contributions are great. It’s rare that he’s fired up again; if he can seize an opportunity in the Kunlun Minor World, he may lead our brewing industry even farther.”

A century had passed.

No one in the clan had shown greater talent for brewing than Third Brother.

Liu Meizhen didn’t object. “All right. We’ll have the Merit Hall disciples compile Third Brother’s achievements. I doubt the clan will raise objections.”

“As for Purple Mansion slots—”

“At present, our Purple Mansion cultivators,” she counted softly, “besides you and me, there’s Fourth Sister Changli, Changlei, Uncle Fei… Counting Yao Yao and Yi ge’er, we only have seven. We still need people to sit on our various holdings. At most three or four can go.”

Fu Changsheng had already planned it.

He would have Qiu Chan guard Yinan Mountain in the Eastern Wilds. The Skywolf Tribe had sealed their mountains; the Tianyin Tribe was riven with internal chaos. Nothing would change in the short term. With a Mountain-Guarding Array and Qiu Chan at peak third rank, it would suffice.

As for Huizhou Prefecture—

It already had a powerful Mountain-Guarding Array.

When he left, he would have Qiu Niang emerge from the Five Elements Space to sit in the Demon-Subduing Tower, and declare the tower a forbidden ground. Qiu Niang had advanced to a third-rank Formation Master; there should be no issue.

The Yunshan Commandery fief had stood for a hundred years.

There was also a third-rank Featherwing Beast tending the Heavenly-Soul Fruit tree in the rear mountains. No worries there.

“This time, I plan to have all Purple Mansion members of the clan enter the Kunlun Minor World,” Fu Changsheng said.

This was a once-in-an-era chance for the Fu clan’s rise.

Miss it once—

Who knew in what distant year it would open again?

Liu Meizhen nodded repeatedly. “Husband has thought it through. But we’re still short three Purple Mansion candidates. Should we recruit a batch of guest elders at Purple Mansion, or…?”

Fu Changsheng shook his head.

Back when Falling Phoenix Mountain was sacked by the Heavenly Dragon Tribe, it was outside guest elders who stabbed them in the back. He had never thought of recruiting guest elders—least of all at Purple Mansion. The variables for the Fu clan would be too great.

“Yongwei and Fu ge’er have been in seclusion for some time. If nothing goes wrong, the two of them should step into Purple Mansion before the Minor World opens. As for the last slot…”

He paused.

Feeling a touch guilty, he looked at Liu Meizhen, opened his mouth, but didn’t know how to say it.

So clever, she guessed at once.

In a complex tone, she said softly, “Husband, you wish to welcome Qingru into the family?”

These years—

Though Yu Qingru had never formally married into the Fu clan, whenever the Fu clan asked, she never hesitated to help. Of the children she had borne with Fu Changsheng, aside from three left with the Yu clan, nearly all had been brought to the Fu clan to be raised. Everyone tacitly acknowledged her status.

The procedures alone had not been done.

Fu Changsheng nodded. “After Ningning’s accident, Qingru has blamed herself. Her cultivation has stalled. Letting her enter the Minor World is both compensation and hope. She has significant talent in the Dao of Formations—if she can advance another step, it will be all benefit and no harm to our long-term development.”

Besides—

He had completed the first stage of the Imperial Court Dao Body Technique.

He also hoped Qingru could give him a few more children.

So long as they had spiritual roots, he could use the system to add points and make up for any lack in aptitude. Unlike now, when even finding ten Purple Mansion candidates in the clan felt tight. Moreover, he had noticed that as his children multiplied, the Dragon-Gathering Jade in the space seemed faintly affected.

Liu Meizhen lowered her gaze. “Younger Sister Yu has followed you for years without name or title. It’s time to acknowledge her. In that case, should the wedding be in Huizhou Prefecture or back at the clan seat?”

Seeing that his lady did not object, Fu Changsheng secretly breathed easier.

He said, “Qingru is still in the Misty Ghost Forest dealing with the Tianyin lode. It will take some time. Traveling to and from the clan seat is too costly. Let’s hold it in Huizhou Prefecture. As for the date, we’ll decide later. There’s no need to invite other families. We’ll keep it simple at home.”

“Wouldn’t that wrong Younger Sister Yu?”

“The Kunlun Minor World is imminent. We’ll be leaving Wuzhou. We don’t know the details of the other families, and there’s no need to let them into our fief. If they plant any hidden danger, it would be disastrous. Qingru will understand.”

“As you say, Husband.”

Fu Changsheng intended to make it up later with a proper ceremony at the clan seat.

But—

Now was not the time to say so.

After the couple discussed several smaller matters, Fu Changsheng said, “I’ll make a trip to the Misty Ghost Forest and see how the Tianyin lode is progressing.”

Leaving the main peak, he mounted the Azure Flood Dragon and sped toward the Misty Ghost Forest.

…

A thousand li from the forest, deep under a mountain range.

Ding ding dang dang—metallic clamor echoed.

A dark mine tunnel twisted like a serpent, running deep. A few fragments of Heavenly Sound Stone were embedded in the rock wall, shedding a faint silver glow.

At the end of the tunnel, a man and a woman in Purple Mansion wore Xuanxiao Sect robes now gray with stone dust. Their sleeves were tattered from razor-edged rock. Behind them, Heavenly Sound Stone they had mined was piled like a small hill.

Heavenly Sound Stone veins were rare indeed.

They were indispensable for building teleportation arrays.

But mining them was extremely hard. Even Purple Mansion cultivators had to go all out—hence their bedraggled state.

On the left, Ren Ziming formed a hand seal. The “Mountain-Piercing Cone” hovering in midair hummed, then streaked as a stream of light into the rock face.

Boom!

Sparks fountained from the cone’s tip.

Look closely—

Cracks webbed its core.

It was the third lower third-tier spirit tool he had worn out. He winced, but compared to the value of Heavenly Sound Stone, it was nothing.

“Crack!”

The cone pried off a fist-sized chunk of gray rock, which held only a grain-sized Heavenly Sound crystal inside.

Wiping sweat, Ren Ziming sighed. “Wife, this vein may truly be exhausted. And we’ve been away from the sect too long. They may grow suspicious. Let’s pack up and leave sooner rather than later—especially since this is right beside the Fu clan’s fief, a seventh-rank family.”

“Husband, let’s dig a bit deeper first.”

On the right, Ye Huanhuan’s eyes still gleamed with greed. She swung a Broken-Tooth Stone Hoe, slamming the rock wall again and again. Each strike left a new crack down the haft. At the same time, she tapped the “Spirit-Seeking Stone” at her waist.

In the next instant—

The stone, dim as a dead fish’s eye, quivered and lit faintly, pointing southwest.

“Husband!” Ye Huanhuan’s voice trembled with excitement. “A hundred zhang deeper—there’s still a cluster of spiritual resonance!”

Heavenly Sound Stone fetched an excellent price.

Each extra piece meant more resources for their future cultivation. Such fortune could not be wasted.

Ren Ziming swallowed. “Wife, the rock at a hundred zhang is too thick. It’ll be hard to mine. And our essence is nearly spent. What if—”

Before he finished, Ye Huanhuan shot him a glare. “Husband, don’t you want me to bear you sons and daughters? Without resources, how will we raise them?”

“Wife, you… you mean—”

Until now, Ye Huanhuan had always refused to have children, saying they lacked the resources. Ren Ziming loved children by nature, longing for days with grandchildren crowding his knees. Hearing her relent, he was instantly fired up. He bit his tongue, spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the Mountain-Piercing Cone—

Hum!

Wrapped in bloodlight, the cone flared—

And punched through a hundred feet of rock.

Crack!

His stone hoe shattered completely. The jagged haft drove into his palm, yet he didn’t even notice.

As the rock face split—

Ting!

A clear tone, like a plucked zither string, rang from the crack. Dust shivered from the tunnel roof. A fist-sized Heavenly Sound Stone was embedded in the rock core, and natural cloud-like lines of soundruned patterns rippled across its surface.

“Wife, marvelous—there truly was a Heavenly Sound Stone!”

Pale as paper, Ren Ziming pried out the stone with trembling hands. As its stone skin fell away, it spontaneously played a short “Pure Heart Chant.”

“This is… a prime-grade Heavenly Sound Stone!”

They had mined the entire vein and found only this one.

It was worth hundreds of lower Heavenly Sound Stones.

Ren Ziming carefully took out a delicate coffer, sealed the stone again, and grinned. “All thanks to your insistence. Otherwise, we would have missed this prime-grade piece.”

Next—

Ye Huanhuan probed for a long time with the Spirit-Seeking Stone. Only after confirming nothing else remained did she stop. She glanced at Ren Ziming, who was packing Heavenly Sound Stones into separate cases, and her eyes dimmed. She slapped her pouch; a flash of glow, and a pill bottle appeared in her hand. A trace of hesitation crossed her face, but she grit her teeth and said, “Husband, your essence is drained. Take this pill first.”

“My wife still loves me best.”

Ren Ziming took the pill and swallowed it in one go.

Just as he thought to keep packing, his expression changed. He found he couldn’t move.

“This—”

His pupils shrank. He stared at Ye Huanhuan, who was sweeping up the packed Heavenly Sound Stones into her bag. “Wife… please tell me this is a joke. We are husband and wife—one body. These stones are enough for us to reach the False Core realm together. What are you doing?”

“Husband, your dantian is damaged. Your cultivation will never advance. I’ve never intended to stop at Purple Mansion. Forgive me.”

A bolt of palm-force shot out, slamming his heavenly crown.

Boom!

Ren Ziming’s vision flashed—

And the world vanished forever.

Only—

In the instant he lost consciousness, a scene flickered in his mind: Ye Huanhuan, among a pack of beggars, wrestling a meat bun from a wolf-dog’s mouth. That small body erupted with inhuman strength. The dog mangled her face, but she ripped the bun free and even bit off the ear of a companion who tried to snatch it.

That was their first meeting.

It was he who brought her up the mountain. He guided her hand in hand to draw qi into her body, ran everywhere to find Foundation Establishment Pills for her. After she established her foundation, she gave him the first hard-won Soul-Guiding Pill instead of taking it herself.

He would never have believed—

That the wife who had followed him since they entered the sect would strike the killing blow!

Ye Huanhuan crooked a finger.

Ren Ziming’s storage pouch flew to her.

Hurriedly, she rifled through it until a white coffer traced with dragon patterns lay in her palm. She undid its seals and, confirming the contents were intact, finally exhaled.

When her gaze returned to Ren Ziming’s corpse, a clear tear slid down. With a sweep of her sleeve, stones tumbled and buried the body. She bowed three times, rose, and said hoarsely, “Husband, if there is a next life, I will repay this grace a hundredfold.”

Then—

She took out a dark communication jade slip, injected a hand seal. The slip hummed to life. Ye Huanhuan’s voice turned respectful. “Master, Ren Ziming has been taken care of. The item is in hand!”

…

A thousand li beyond the mountains.

Fu Changlei, Yu Qingru, and Fu Yongyi were lying in wait to the southwest of the range. Yu Qingru twisted a Formation Disk, and delight lit her eyes. “The array eye lies at Qian in the Heavenly Stems!”

At that, all three breathed easier.

Months earlier—

The three had come to the Misty Ghost Forest at Liu Meizhen’s message. After Fu Yongyi scouted the area, they found the Heavenly Sound Stone lode lay in this range. But a formation had been laid over the mountains. To trap the quarry in a pot—

Yu Qingru had quietly set down a Four Elephants Black Tortoise Array outside the mountains.

And then—

After more than a month of work—

She found the critical breaking point of the Water Dragon Grand Array laid by the Xuanxiao Sect pair.

“Daoist Friend Changlei, do we break it now, or…?”

Of the three—

Fu Changlei faintly led.

“Patriarch is already on his way,” he said softly. “To be safe, we wait for him.”

That meant the grand competition in the Ten Thousand Phoenix Range was over.

Fu Yongyi couldn’t help asking, “Uncle Changlei, did Father say how the competition went?”

Huizhou’s seven-ranked families had only twenty slots for the Kunlun Minor World. He had heard there were three False Core participants. The Fu clan could at best struggle to fourth; even then the slots would be few. Two or three would be good.

Which meant—

Either way, none would land on him.

Even so—

A sliver of hope stirred in his heart.

“Patriarch sent word: on the day the Kunlun Minor World opens, all Purple Mansion members of the Fu clan may enter.”

“What?!”

Fu Yongyi blinked and asked again in disbelief. Hearing that his father had seized a fourth-rank demon core and reversed the situation, his face filled with worship. “As expected of Father! Even before three strong False Core powers, he took first place!”

Yu Qingru offered her congratulations as well.

Only—

The Kunlun Minor World would not admit those outside seventh-rank families.

Even as she rejoiced—

She couldn’t hide her loss.

Thinking of Ningning’s untimely death, she felt all the more guilty.

Had she obeyed her grandmother back then and married Changsheng directly, none of this would have happened. An’an wouldn’t have to bear up a great household alone. With An’an’s aptitude, she might even have become the heir-apparent of the Fu clan.

Sensing her mood, Fu Changlei flicked a glance and signaled Fu Yongyi, who at once reined in the joy on his face.

After a while—

A familiar voice sounded behind them.

They turned.

Fu Changsheng stood before them, his mysterious robe withdrawn. “How is it?”

“Patriarch, we’ve set a Four Elephants Black Tortoise Array outside the range and found the array eye of the Xuanxiao Sect’s Water Dragon Grand Array. But from the traces in the mountains, those two have been inside for months. We don’t know if they’ve sent word back to their sect.”

If they had—

Xuanxiao would surely dispatch reinforcements.

Fu Changsheng was certain their intelligence was right—the Xuanxiao pair meant to swallow the prize alone.

“At this point, we’ll avoid alerting those inside,” he said at once. “No extra branches on this tree. We’ll sit outside the pot and wait for the fish. The instant anyone comes out—give them no chance to signal. Kill on the spot!”

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