The Xu family follows Taoism and seeks longevity

Chapter 296: Current Situation of the Family ( words long chapter, please subscribe!)

Taking out the token, activating the formation, and looking at the empty courtyard, Xu Zhiyu couldn't help but sigh. It was full before, with people everywhere, but now because he was out on a mission, he was the only one left in the huge family residence.

Standing in the yard, recalling what Granny Wen said about his grandfather's success in the Purple Mansion, he turned to the direction of his family and looked up, trying to penetrate the million-mile distance to take a look at the clan mountain and the clansmen left behind.

Xu Family Mountain, the family meeting hall.

The person sitting on the main seat at the top is the patriarch Xu Shengsheng, and the people sitting on the chairs on the left and right below are all family foundation-building monks. At this time, the atmosphere in the hall is very good, everyone is congratulating and congratulating, and laughing. , just because the clan leader’s cultivation level broke through the Zi Mansion.

"Okay, we are all a family, so don't say too much flattery. Let's discuss the current situation of the family when I was in seclusion! Zhikai, tell me!"

During the period of Xu Shengsheng's retreat, Xu Zhikai was responsible for taking care of all the affairs of the Xu family. When he heard the patriarch's question, he stood up, bowed his hands and responded:
  "Clan Chief, after you retreated, the Clan Mountain closed the family formation according to your instructions. No one broke in or anything happened for a year! However, there were a few communication talismans intercepted by the formation. Dao, after I activated the formation according to your order, I took them all, do you want to take a look at them?"

"No, just tell me. Is there anything my ancestor has sent back to me?"

Xu Shengsheng asked. He is now particularly concerned about the news about his long-lost clan members, especially his grandson Xu Zhiyu, and is eager to know their news and current situation.

Xu Zhikai, who was standing below, heard this and smiled bitterly:
  "There is no news from the ancestors and others. They are all news from the tribesmen stationed everywhere!"

Xu Shengsheng nodded with some disappointment and continued:

"Then tell me, what do these communication talismans say?"

"First of all, there are Zhiqiang and Zhinan who are stationed in Fang City. They sent a message saying that they had exchanged the Taiyang Tower enshrinement token that Brother Nineteen gave to the family before leaving half a year ago from Shopkeeper Xi. I have a Foundation Building Pill, but I don’t know what to do with it, so I sent a summons to ask!”

"Also, after receiving the news that you successfully broke through the Zifu, it happened that the triennial auction of Taiyang Tower will be held next month. They would like to invite you to go to Fangshi to show your appearance and participate in the auction. meeting!"

Xu Shengsheng rubbed the armrest of the seat, pondered for a moment and then said:

"Well, next month I will go to Fangshi and bring back the Foundation Establishment Pill! By the way, speaking of the Foundation Establishment Pill, when I was in retreat, weren't there two family members who were in retreat to break through the Foundation Establishment Pill? ?How are they doing?"

"Zhixiu failed, Zhimin succeeded! After Zhimin converted to Kung Fu, he has been assisting me in managing family affairs. He has done a good job and is very effective!"

Xu Zhikai greatly praised his clan brother Xu Zhimin, who had recently established a foundation, because this clan brother was a good hand no matter what he did, and he shared a lot of clan affairs for him.

"Okay! The family is full of talents, so it will develop better and better! Since he is good at handling family affairs, you can train him more so that he can grow up soon, share my worries and contribute to the family!"

Xu Shengsheng said happily. In his opinion, there is nothing more gratifying than the emergence of a rising star in the family.

"Yes, patriarch! I will help him a lot to make him grow up as soon as possible!" Xu Zhikai agreed, and then continued to report:
  "Brother Eleven, who took over from Grandpa Sixteen to guard the red copper veins, also sent a messenger, saying that because of the huge quantity of the red copper mined this year, there is no place to pile it up. He was worried about the long nights and dreams, so he sent a message. Come with the messenger and ask the family to send someone to collect the raw ore from the mine as soon as possible. He has to guard the mine, so he can't get away!"

"This matter is no small matter. I will personally go to the mine and bring back all the raw ore!"

This mineral vein was of great significance to the development of the family, so Xu Shengsheng decided to take action personally. When talking about the red copper ore, he thought of the family's raw ore smelting, and asked:
  "Zhikai, who is guarding the family smelting furnace? How is the progress? Can all the raw ore produced last year be smelted this year?"

Having said this, Xu Zhikai did not answer, but gestured with his eyes to Xu Zhijuan, who was sitting aside, asking her to answer.

"To inform the patriarch, my granddaughter has been in charge of the family's ore smelting for the past year. I will report to you now!" Xu Zhijuan took out a jade slip from her storage bag and reported while scanning it with her spiritual sense. road:

"At the beginning of last year, the family brought home a total of more than 17,000 kilograms of raw copper ore. By the end of the year, a total of 1,800 kilograms of copper was smelted. The production rate was about ten to one. Compared with previous years, there was a big difference. Don’t leave!”

After hearing what she said, Xu Shengsheng said with emotion:
  "This is because the family replaced the original second-level mid-grade smelting furnace with a second-level high-grade one. This resulted in a production rate of about ten to one. In the past, there was not even this ratio!"

Xu Zhijuan's eyes lit up when she heard this. During this year of managing the smelting of raw ore, she always felt that there was some red copper in the raw ore that had not been smelted. Now when she heard the words of the clan leader, she immediately asked:

"Clan Chief, if that's the case, doesn't it mean that the higher the grade of the smelting furnace, the higher the productivity? Then why don't we use a third-level smelting furnace? In this way, wouldn't it be possible to extract all the red copper from the raw ore?"

Looking at the innocent Xu Zhijuan, Xu Shengsheng smiled slightly and said:

"Zhijuan's idea is good, but it is quite difficult to implement in practice!" After a pause, seeing that she didn't understand, he continued to explain:
  "A second-level high-grade smelting furnace only requires one foundation-building monk to lead ten Qi-training monks to operate it. If it is upgraded to a third-level low-grade smelting furnace, it will require five foundation-building monks to lead thirty Qi-training monks. It is operable, but the manpower investment is too large and not cost-effective. Moreover, the production rate of the third-level low-grade smelting furnace is not much higher than that of the second-level high-grade smelting furnace. Compared with the two, it is better to maintain the status quo!"

Xu Zhijuan is frugal by nature and often feels sorry for the slag that still has red copper left in it, so she wants to make a last-ditch effort to fight for it.

"So, aren't those unsmelted red coppers being wasted? You know, because of the war, the prices of all refining materials have soared. Last time I went to Taiyang Tower, I heard about the third-level refining materials. Materials are generally priced at 20%. One kilogram of red copper originally costs one thousand spirit stones. After the price increase, the price will definitely not be less than one thousand, two hundred spirit stones. Seeing that so much copper remains in the waste residue, it cannot be refined. When I came out, I really felt like it was a waste!”

After hearing her words, Xu Shengsheng smiled and said jokingly:
  "I didn't expect our Zhijuan to be such a diligent and frugal person. She will definitely be an expert in running a household in the future! It seems that we will need to consult you more for your advice on the financial affairs of the family in the future!"

"Yes, Sister Thirty-Third, you are really talented in this area. Please give me more advice in the future!" Xu Zhikai said with the same smile.

Xu Zhijuan blushed a little when they teased her, and immediately said:

"No! How do I know that? It's just that I have been smelting the raw copper ore day and night over the past year, and I feel sad to see the valuable copper being wasted!"

Hearing what the younger generation said, Xu Shengsheng's face straightened, and he immediately said seriously:
  "Good boy, you are thoughtful! Don't worry, those slags will not be wasted. More than two years ago, my ancestor and your 19th brother jointly sent a communication talisman, saying that the family members are weak in combat and their actual combat ability is not strong. , let me open up a place in my family specifically for clan fighting and learning. I have already chosen the place. It is in the valley below the west peak of the clan mountain. I named it 'War Valley'. The waste residue from smelting raw ore will be Used to build the 'War Valley', nothing will be wasted!"

The two people standing below looked at each other and praised tacitly:

"Ancestor is far-sighted and far-sighted, but I can't wait to catch up!"

"Okay, you should wait until the ancestor returns in triumph to talk about these flattery words!" Xu Shengsheng scolded with a smile. "By the way, Patriarch! I have one more thing to ask you, and that is to go to Master Taiyang Louwei and bring me back the second-level low-grade alchemy furnace that I entrusted him to refine. He promised to deliver it at that time. It has been more than three months since now. If the family formation had not been closed all the time, I would have gone to get it myself!"

Xu Zhijuan said that two years ago, under the guidance of the Taiyang Tower Alchemist, she successfully broke through and became a second-level low-grade alchemist. When she first broke through in alchemy, she had been using a second-level low-grade alchemy furnace collected by her family that she spent 20,000 family contribution points in exchange for in the family treasury. However, it had not been very easy to use, so she simply Hualingshi ordered one at Taiyang Tower. Don’t doubt it, the alchemist is so rich.

"Okay, I've written it down. I'll pick it up when I go to Taiyang Tower! Is there anything else you need to do? Tell me, I'll help you all by the way when I go to Fangshi. Now the family is short of manpower, so we can only I ask you to work harder if you are able, stay in Clan Mountain and help me handle family affairs!"

Xu Shengsheng agreed smoothly, encouraged the two of them, and then continued to ask them about their needs.

"When you said this, Patriarch, I remembered it! I now need a lot of elixirs to refine second-level low-grade elixirs. In the past, it was fine in the market, but now it is a bit inconvenient to buy them if you are a permanent member of the family. !”

"Sister Thirty-Third, I have been to the family elixir garden. There are more than three hundred kinds of first-level elixirs growing there, and there are nearly a hundred kinds of second-level elixirs. So many elixirs are not enough for you to refine. Do you need the elixir?" Xu Zhikai asked.

"Zhikai, we are separated by mountains. You are a second-level weapon refiner. To refine a second-level magic weapon, you may not need a few spiritual materials. However, when we make alchemy together, it is very different. Let's use you. For the Scrophulariaceae Pill that we usually take, in addition to three second-level lower-grade main drugs, it also requires the use of more than 40 first-level auxiliary drugs. Some of the auxiliary drugs are not produced in Yongzhou or even Qin State at all. Forget about our elixir garden!" Xu Zhijuan explained.

"That's it! Sister Thirty-Third, my little brother has learned a lesson!"

"Okay, we are all a family, so you two don't have to be polite! Let's do this, Zhijuan, burn the elixir you need and the quantity on the jade slip, and then give it to me. I will go to Fangshi to give it to you. When you were getting the alchemy furnace, I bought it for you by the way!"

Xu Zhijuan was so happy that she immediately took out a blank jade slip and started burning it.

Xu Zhikai did not return to his seat, but saluted solemnly and asked:
  "Clan Chief, you have now broken through to the Zi Mansion. According to the rules, you should hold a ceremony in the Zi Mansion and invite all the forces you have good relations with to come and watch the ceremony. I wonder how you considered this matter?"

"Let's not hold the ceremony! The ancestor is leading the family's children and is fighting bloody battles on the front line. We are not doing well in the family. Besides, the forces we have good friends with, basically all the monks of the Zifu are taking their children to the battlefield. , if we choose this time to hold the Purple Mansion Ceremony with great fanfare, it will make people suspicious of our motives, and it will make people misunderstand that our family has impure motives and intends to expand, which is not good!"

Xu Shengyi refused sternly. As he said, the family elite was not there, including his most valued grandson. How could he be in the mood to hold the Lao Shizi ceremony?
  Originally, Xu Zhikai wanted to give some more advice, but looking at the determined patriarch, he swallowed the words on his lips and turned to talk about other things.

"Clan leader, you don't have to hold the ceremony, but does the news of your breakthrough into the Zi Mansion need to be revealed to the forces we have good relations with?"

"No need, I will go to Fangshi next month, and the news will spread naturally by then. We don't need to say anything else!"

Xu Shengsheng replied that this time he went to Fangshi not only to do business, but also to demonstrate. Since the Xu family monopolized Taoshui County after the demise of the Wei family and the loose cultivator alliance, the Zifu forces in the surrounding counties or They are more or less jealous of the Xu family.

They believe that the Xu family is too weak and does not deserve to have such a large territory. Although they have only sent out some messages and have not taken any actual actions, they are all ready to make a move. Moreover, after the family's only Zifu ancestor led people to go on an expedition, this kind of The phenomenon is particularly obvious.

In Fangshi, this kind of provocative incident has happened several times. Of course, the Xu family has no mercy on this and directly suppressed it. Fortunately, the ones who took action were all minor characters in the Qi training period. The blatant attack on Foundation Establishment has never happened. , but he believes that as time goes by, this kind of incident will happen sooner or later.

Therefore, in order to completely shock Xiao Xiao, he planned to appear in Taoyuanfang City to let those forces with evil intentions towards the Xu family see the true strength of the Xu family! As for dealing with the provocateurs, it's still a little early. After the ancestors come back, they will settle the account with them. The Xu family is not someone who is bullied, and they also have no habit of not fighting back when beaten!

"Oh, that's right!" Xu Shengsheng, who was deep in thought, seemed to have thought of something else, and continued to ask Xu Zhikai:

"You have to keep a close eye on the family spirit lake. Those spirit fish and shrimps in the lake were brought back from the field by your 19th brother with great difficulty. Don't make any mistakes!"

After he finished speaking, he saw Xu Zhikai standing there smiling bitterly, and Xu Zhijuan, who had already burned the required medicinal materials, heard his words and covered her mouth and snickered, as if she had thought of something interesting.

"Why are you two laughing?" Xu Shengsheng asked doubtfully.

"Clan leader, since Linghu has been temporarily set up as a family restricted area, most clan members have not dared to approach it, but..." Xu Zhikai said hesitantly.

"Stop whining and whining, just say what you have to say!"

"Although no clan member defies the ban, Brother Nineteen's iron-eating beast often sneaks out of the Spirit Beast Valley and runs to the Spirit Lake to catch spirit fish to eat! However, it is always discovered by the family on duty there. Then he reported it to me, and Sister Thirty-Third and I worked together to subdue it and send it back to the family spirit beast valley, but it always found an opening and escaped from the spirit beast valley many times!"

"Isn't Zhi'an responsible for the Spirit Beast Valley? In addition, it is protected by a second-level high-grade formation. Why is it that the iron-eating beast Huahua, whose cultivation is not in the early stage of foundation establishment, is allowed to escape repeatedly?" Xu Shengsheng asked.

"I also asked Third Brother about this. He said that the Iron-eating Beast might be used to traveling around with Brother Nineteen. As long as it stays in the Spirit Beast Valley for a long time, it will make trouble to come out. If it doesn't obey it, it will resort to violence. The people guarding the Spirit Beast Valley are all members of the family's Qi training tribe. It is difficult to deal with the second-level iron-eating beast, so they are allowed to escape repeatedly. However, it does not hurt anyone. It just likes to run to the Spirit Lake. Thinking Catch the spirit fish and eat it!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Zhijuan covered her mouth and said with a smile:

"Clan leader, once Zhikai and I subdued the iron-eating beast and sent it back to the Spirit Beast Valley. We saw the third brother and the clan members raising the spirit beasts. Everyone's eyes were blue. After asking carefully, I found out It was the Iron-Eating Beast that was responsible for the fight. You don’t know how funny that scene was at that time! Ouch, it really made me laugh! They looked so much like the Iron-Eating Beast at that time!"

After talking about it, she burst into laughter and was so happy that she couldn't stand upright. Xu Zhikai, who had experienced the same scene as him, performed much better. There was just a slight smile on the corner of his mouth. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't be able to see it. out.

"Okay, tell Zhi'an and ask him to be more vigilant. If he really can't control it, let him release the iron-eating beast Huahua. You can just keep an eye on it. After all, it has made great contributions to the family. , can't wait any longer!" Xu Shengsheng ordered.

"Yes, clan leader!" The two of them bowed to accept the order.

"By the way, the family spirit testing thing should be over, right? What was the result this time?" Xu Shengsheng turned to ask about other family affairs.

"The spirit testing conference was hosted by Sister Thirty-Third and I together. The results of this spirit testing were very good. A total of 62 people with spiritual roots were detected, of which 36 people with five spiritual roots accounted for more than half, and four spiritual roots accounted for more than half. Next to the roots, there are twenty people, and the remaining six people all have three spiritual roots!"

It was Xu Zhikai who was making the report, and his face showed some real joy at this time, which was completely different from the way Xu Zhijuan showed it just now when he told about the embarrassing things of his tribe.

"Okay, not bad! Now in the family spirit testing conference, more and more tribesmen with spiritual roots are detected each time, which shows that the family is becoming more and more prosperous! However, you must also make proper arrangements for the teaching of the new tribesmen so that they don't have to worry. To practice Qi, first teach them how to behave, learn more knowledge, and then practice again!"

"Yes, patriarch!"

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  (End of this chapter)