Bloodline Tree – [Clan Building]

“These are the locations of the three 3rd-tier spiritual veins, and thus the locations of the most impressive Immortal Cities,” Bian Fenglin explained, pointing to a map of Zhixian Immortal Land. 

It had been about a week since they left the Song Family, and while there was still a long journey ahead, Shu Yang wanted to be prepared when they arrived. So he had visited Bian Fenglin to drink some tea and ask a few questions he had on his mind.

“There are, of course, other options, but I wouldn’t recommend it,” Bian Fenglin continued. “It really isn’t that much cheaper to settle down there, and the resources you have access to are very limited.”

“Yeah. I agree,” Shu Yang said. He knew that those three Immortal Cities would have Golden Core cultivators, which was a bit unsettling. But it was also somewhat of a shield. He imagined that there were countless Foundation cultivators living there already, so the Shu Family wouldn’t attract much attention. 

But that wasn’t the case in smaller cities. Another Founding Clan settling there could attract a lot of curiosity, and perhaps even hostility. Resources were limited, after all. If the Shu Family took over a courtyard, that meant someone else missed out on it. 

That was obviously the case in a bigger city as well, but there were bound to be a lot more options, and his family wouldn’t stand out as the one who got in the way of someone else. 

But most importantly, a bigger city meant more opportunities. Shu Yang would definitely move there eventually, so it was better to go there straight away.

“I suggest you settle down in Jingli Immortal City,” Bian Fenglin said, pointing toward the southernmost of the three Immortal Cities. “Unlike the other two, Jingli Immortal City was established by the Sword Sect, working as a transition point to the Beast Taming Sect and part of the Heaven-Reaching Forest. There are still three Golden Clans living there, but they are pretty weak, and with our sect’s presence, they can’t assert as much control over the city. I would say it’s the place where you’ll have the most freedom and won’t have to worry as much about stepping on someone’s toes. 

“Of course, it’s not a guarantee. Try to get an understanding of the forces in the city when you arrive, and do your best not to get on the wrong side of anyone powerful. Even following the rules the sect has set for the city, there are countless ways for anyone with a background to make your life difficult.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Shu Yang said, taking a deep breath. He was feeling a little nervous.

‘It’s fine. I just need to establish a connection with the local forces, integrating there as quickly as possible.’

‘It would be perfect if we could form a few alliances through marriage.’

He knew his grandchildren weren’t any prodigies, but even in the most powerful of families, there were ordinary people. Surely there was always someone who wouldn’t mind a low-level body cultivator? 

“As for what kind of courtyard you can get, I’m not really sure about prices, you will have to check when you get there. If you show my token, you won’t get taken advantage of, at least,” Bian Fenglin said.

“Yeah. Thank you,” Shu Yang said, nodding gratefully.

If it was possible, Shu Yang definitely wanted to get a place situated on a 2nd tier spiritual vein. But if it was too expensive, or if the area he could afford would be too small, he would have to settle for a high-grade 1st-tier spiritual vein.

No one in his family was even close to needing that high of a concentration of spiritual qi yet, as they were all body cultivators. But spiritual qi wasn’t entirely useless for body cultivation, so the more concentrated the spiritual qi, the better.

In the future, they would definitely need it, though. 

‘Xiaorong might even need it right now. I’m still not sure how she cultivates, but she seems to really like places with a lot of spiritual qi.’

‘Perhaps I can get a huge estate for the family on a weaker part of the spiritual vein, and then get just a small house on top of the 2nd tier one, where Xiaorong could stay most of the time to cultivate.

‘Actually, it would probably be useful for me and Tianyi to stay there as much as we can.’

Especially Tianyi. Her trash-grade spirit roots made it practically impossible to advance to the 4th stage of Qi Refining. Only by benefiting from the spiritual qi concentration well above her grade could she stand a chance.

‘It would be great if there was a way to improve spirit roots.’

Shu Yang had asked Bian Fenglin about it, and apparently resources like that did exist, but they were incredibly rare. Only two types of spiritual plants were known to have that effect, and they were both impossible to grow yourself. They only grew in the wild, seemingly spontaneously sprouting in areas of dense spiritual qi within the Heaven-Reaching Forest.

They were practically impossible to buy for money, too. The top cultivators didn’t need them for themselves, as they wouldn’t have any effect on spirit roots of higher grades, but who didn’t have a descendant they favored, who was just unlucky to be born with weak spirit roots?

The only way Shu Yang could ever get his hands on something like that was if he found it himself, but the odds for that were not in his favor.

‘It would be great if my ‘Lucky’ trait advanced a bit. Then I might really have a chance by just wandering around the Heaven-Reaching Forest for a while.’

“Would you mind telling me a bit about the Heaven-Reaching Forest?” Shu Yang asked. “How big is it? Does it have Beast Clans as powerful as the Sword Sect?”

He knew he should probably ask more about the local forces, but he was just too curious about the larger world. Besides, there would be plenty of opportunities going forward to ask about specifics. He planned to return with everything he found out about Zhixian Immortal land and discuss it with his family later, and then come back to Bian Fenglin with any new questions that had popped up after a few days. 

“How big? I don’t know,” Bian Fenglin said, shaking his head, “I doubt anyone knows.”

“Seriously?” Shu Yang asked, shocked. “No one has ever crossed it?”

The Sword Sect was a force with a Nascent Soul cultivator as its Sect Master, he really couldn’t imagine how big the Heaven-Reaching Forest had to be for someone like that to not be able to cross it.

“No one has crossed and told me about it, at least,” Bian Fenglin said with a laugh. “But it’s not entirely because of its size. It’s huge, of course, at least many times bigger than our province, but what makes it hard to traverse is the Beast Clans living there.

“If you go to the far east, you will reach the territory of the Soaring Turtle Clan. They are pretty peaceful actually, from what I’ve been told, but they don’t like humans crossing their area.”

“Are they very strong?” Shu Yang asked.

“Otherwise? We don’t exactly avoid crossing their territory because we respect their wishes,” Bian Fenglin explained.

“Right,” Shu Yang said, smiling awkwardly.

“But to the north of the Heaven-Reaching Forest things are a lot more troublesome,” Bian Fenglin continued. “That’s where the Winged Tiger Clan lives, and they certainly aren’t a peaceful bunch. Thankfully, they don’t just fight humans, but also other beasts and even their own kind. Otherwise, the Sword Sect wouldn’t be able to hold them back on their own.”

‘That…doesn’t seem very reassuring.’

“Don’t worry, a united effort from the entire clan to invade this deep south is very unlikely,” Bian Fenglin explained. “The Eight Imperial Clans would swoop in from behind right away, they can’t afford to leave themselves open like that.”

“Eight Imperial Clans?” Shu Yang asked, not having heard about it before.

“In the Imperial Province?” Bian Fenglin tested.

“Never heard of it,” Shu Yang said.

“Right. I guess that makes sense,” Bian Fenglin said, nodding. “It’s the province to the north of us. It’s separated by a thick vein of Dust, so there really isn’t much contact between the two areas.”

‘So that’s what lies in the north.’

Unlike the Evil West, Shu Yang had never heard what lay to the north.

“It’s ruled by Family Clans? Not sects?” Shu Yang asked.

“That’s right. Eight Family Clans, each ruling over an Empire. Each headed by a Nascent Soul cultivator,” Bian Fenglin said, nodding. “Their province also borders the Heaven-Reaching Forest to the east, and is much closer to the area that the Winged Tiger Clan lives in, so we really don’t have much to worry about.”

Shu Yang didn’t really feel that there was nothing to worry about. He felt pretty weak and insignificant all of a sudden.

“Right. That’s good, I suppose,” Shu Yang said, “What about the Shadow Fox Clan? You seemed to recognize Xiaorong from there when we first met.”

“I know about all Golden Clans we have records of,” Bian Fenglin said with a shrug, “I also fought against one not that many years ago, so I recognized her straight away.”

“You fought one? In the Heaven-Reaching Forest?” Shu Yang asked.

“No, no. That would be suicide for someone like me,” Bian Fenglin answered, “It was in a tournament. One of the young prodigies of the Beast Taming Sects had one as a contracted beast. That one wasn’t as tricky to spot as Xiaorong, though.”

“Oh,” Shu Yang said, nodding. 

‘Better stay away from the Beast Taming Sect in the future. I at least can’t risk bringing Xiaorong there.’

“She must have inherited the bloodline quite well,” Bian Fenglin continued, “I have quite good senses, but she almost eluded me back then. Do you know if she has a Golden Bloodline?”

“Isn’t the Shadow Fox Clan a Golden Clan?” Shu Yang asked.

“That doesn’t mean every single Shadow Fox inherits the complete bloodline. Just like with us humans, some descendants can inherit the complete bloodline, and not encountering a single bottleneck along their journey, while others, even with the same parents, might struggle to reach the middle-stage of Qi Refining. 

“The Shadow Fox Clan has a Golden Bloodline, true, but not every Shadow Fox has a Golden Bloodline. Just like your Shu Family has a Founding Bloodline, but I think it’s safe to say that not all family members have a Founding Bloodline, right?”

“That makes sense. Well, I have no idea what Xiaorong’s bloodline is,” Shu Yang.

It wasn’t entirely true. While he couldn’t be sure, he was pretty certain she had a Golden Bloodline. Otherwise there was no explaining how she had managed to advance to the Founding stage so quickly, and in such a desolate environment. 

But he didn’t plan on sharing that with Bian Fenglin. He might not care, but it was always better to be cautious. Shu Yang still remembered how her parents had ended up, after all.

“I bet she has one,” Bian Fenglin said, taking a sip of his tea. “She has been avoiding using her Bloodline Ability around me, but I have a feeling I might actually have trouble spotting her if she did.”

Shu Yang realized Bian Fenglin was right. Xiaorong would usually hide herself from time to time, even when they were safe at home. But since Bian Fenglin got there, she had always been out in the open.

‘Is her ability to hide truly that good? Is she afraid Bian Fenglin will figure it out?’

Shu Yang didn’t discuss the topic further, though. Guiding the conversation back on track to discuss the situation in Jingli Immortal City.

‘Perhaps I have to keep XIaorong’s existence, or at least her power, hidden in the future.’

‘At least until I’m powerful enough to fight anyone who could covet her.’