Chapter 2 Family Meeting

This Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) was acquired through decades of the clan's accumulated wealth. Even the clan leader suffered severe injuries for this very pill, while several Qi Refining ninth-layer elders of the Chang generation fell in battle defending it.

Should the Sixth Elder fail in his breakthrough, it would deal a heavy blow to the already struggling Chen Family.

Sure enough, Third Elder remained silent in contemplation for a long while before finally speaking.

Qing Meng emerged from seclusion yesterday.

"Yet to break through the Foundation Establishment stage..."

Lior had barely finished speaking when the faces of many present turned ashen. Even those who had anticipated this news found it difficult to accept upon hearing it confirmed.

Seventh Elder Chen Changqing, now 1 100 and 7 years of age, felt a sudden dizziness overwhelm him. A surge of rebellious blood rushed to his head, and he spat out a mouthful of crimson before collapsing unconscious.

Seventh Granduncle.

"Seventh Uncle..."

The scene descended into chaos. Everyone hurriedly protected the Seventh Elder's heart meridian before escorting him back to the manor.

After a full shichen of intense work, the crowd finally returned to the Clan Affairs Hall, their faces pale and expressions visibly unsettled.

The failure of Chen Qingmeng's Foundation Establishment was a devastating blow to the Chen Clan. This time, the Chen Clan had been exceptionally unlucky—merely purchasing the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) had already strained their resources to the breaking point. To protect the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), they had lost several Chang-generation great-uncles at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and even the clan leader had suffered severe injuries.

Now that Chen Qingmeng had failed in her breakthrough, it meant the Chen Clan would be unable to purchase another Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) for the family in the next 30 years.

Without the means to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills (Spiritual Object), the Chen family no longer had enough cultivators to maintain their influence. Their income shrank by nearly half almost overnight—a devastating blow to the Qing-generation and Nian-generation cultivators of the Chen family.

The Chen Family would likely face a generational decline from this point onward, destined to fade into obscurity and ultimately vanish from the world of immortal cultivation.

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, their throats parched and hearts weighed down by an invisible burden. As Third Elder Lior swept his gaze across the assembly, he finally broke the silence.

"Even with the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), 1 generally has no more than a 40 percent chance of successfully building their foundation. Qing Meng’s failure to establish his foundation falls well within the realm of expectation."

"Let us set this matter aside for now and take stock of our clan's current situation."

After being injured many years ago, the Third Elder gave up all aspirations of building his foundation. Over the years, he has managed the clan's affairs in perfect order.

Under his management over the past few years, the clan had just begun to thrive, only to be struck by this great calamity. His expression turned somber as he spoke.

"In order to purchase the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), we have taken out a loan of 8,000 spirit stones this time. The longer this debt drags on, the deeper the financial hole becomes—it must be repaid as quickly as possible."

The clan's annual expenditures were far from trivial. Practitioners at the Qi Refinement, Early Stage (Cultivation Realm) received a stipend of 2 spirit stones per year, those at the Qi Refinement, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm) received 5, while Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivators were allotted 10 spirit stones annually.

The Clan Leader receives an annual stipend of 300 spirit stones, while Elders are allotted 30 spirit stones each. With 106 cultivators currently remaining in the clan, the total annual expenditure amounts to approximately 937 spirit stones.

The Third Elder cleared his throat before continuing.

"Now, let's discuss the clan's revenue."

The clan's primary revenue streams consist of elemental essences, the 17-mu spirit fields upon the mountain, the Spirit Lake Isle, and earnings from several shops in the Yuyang Market.

As the Third Elder recounted, Eldrin gained his first true understanding of the family's actual circumstances. This was his first such meeting since ascending to the family's upper echelons.

Among these sources of income, the 5 Elements essence provided the most stable revenue stream.

As the name suggests, the 5 Elements Essence is the purified quintessential energy refined by cultivators possessing the 5 Elements Spiritual Root (Spiritual Root).

This treasure holds great value for high-level cultivators, as it can enhance the grade of their Natal Magic Treasures. Consequently, high-level cultivators often acquire vast quantities of 5 Elements Essence in bulk to refine their Natal Magic Treasures, making it a hard currency on par with spirit stones.

The Chen Family's 1 100 and some Qi Refinement cultivators collectively refined approximately 6 100 wisps of 5 Elements Essence each year. After selling these, they earned around 1 100 and 20 spirit stones annually.

In addition to the 5 Elements' essence qi, the 17 mu of spirit fields on the mountain were cultivated with spiritual herbs that the Chen Family had nurtured for hundreds of years. Over the years, these herbs had yielded intermittent harvests, generating an average annual value of over 150 spirit stones.

余阳坊的三间店铺，用来出售丹药和灵器，每年带来的收益大约在两百二十块灵石左右。

In truth, the Chen family originally owned 5 shops in Yuyang Market. To gather 32,000 spirit stones for purchasing the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), they had to sell 2 of them at a discounted price—a substantial loss by any measure.

In addition, the Chen Clan possessed a Spirit Lake Isle located 5 1000 miles from Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location). The isle housed a Grade 1, Upper Tier spirit vein, and the Azure Azure Spirit Fish bred in its waters were a specialty of the Chen Clan, generating an annual income of 80 spirit stones.

The 5 Elements' Essence Qi, Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location) spirit fields, Spirit Lake Isle, and the shops in Yuyang Market.

"Combined, these 4 sources bring in 5 100 and 70 spirit stones annually. With the additional miscellaneous income, the family’s total yearly revenue now falls short of 600 spirit stones."

After Third Elder Lior finished speaking, everyone present wore rather grim expressions. These meager earnings weren't even enough to cover the clan's stipends, let alone repay the loan of 8,000 spirit stones.

Elder Chen Qingwan couldn't help but ask, "We still had over 1,300 spirit stones in revenue the year before last. How could it decrease this much within a year?"

The Third Elder shook his head. "The family's 10 percent stake in the Great Azure Mountain spirit vein was mortgaged for 12,000 spirit stones last year. Now our annual income has decreased by 300 spirit stones."

"The clan leader is severely wounded this time, and we've lost 7 uncles at the ninth level of Qi Refinement. Our manpower is already stretched thin. We can no longer sustain the 5 Elements Essence trade to Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) going forward—this will cut our annual income by roughly 300 spirit stones."

"Just these 2 items alone have cost us 600 spirit stones annually, and now YuYang Market has lost 2 more shops."

Eldrin listened, unable to suppress a stifling feeling in his chest.

The Great Green Mountain Vein was a micro spirit stone mine discovered 30 years ago, jointly developed through the investments of the 6 great clans of Yu County. Back in the day, the Chen Clan spent 20,000 spirit stones, contributing both resources and manpower, securing a 10 percent stake in the venture.

The Great Azure Mountain spirit stone vein had been mined for 30 years. The Chen Family had already recouped their investment with over 9,000 spirit stones. Last year, they exchanged the vein's revenue rights for the next 40-5 years for 12,000 spirit stones.

Thus, over the next 40-5 years, the Chen family's annual income decreased by 300 spirit stones.

The business of trading 5 Elements Essence Qi at Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) was 1 of the rare means for low-level cultivators to earn spirit stones from high-level practitioners.

Chapter 1 The cultivation of Elder Jiang of Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) was profound, yet he remained a lone cultivator. Unlike sect patriarchs who could rely on numerous disciples to supply the 5 Elements essence, he walked his path alone.

To refine his life-bound magic treasure, he had no choice but to spend a fortune purchasing the 5 Elements essence from low-level cultivators. This was precisely why Elder Jiang was willing to sell Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) and other precious elixirs to earn spirit stones.

Throughout the entire Yu Prefecture, there were at least several 1000 low-level cultivators. Moreover, the Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) lay a full 10 1000 li away—a journey fraught with peril at every step. Naturally, no 1 would travel such a vast distance merely to sell a few spirit stones' worth of 5 Elements Essence.

Thus began the trade of 5 Elements essence. Among the 6 great clans of Yu County, each year 1 family would be responsible for purchasing the county's 5 Elements essence, then form a merchant caravan to sell it to Daoist Jiang at Celestial Ruins Mountain, profiting from the price differential.