A monthter, the day finally arrived when Elder Long was to step down from his position. His sessor was a beautiful Gu cultivator from the Long n. Long Xuan also prepared to depart for the Long family estate along with Elder Long.


    Originally, Long Xuan had nned to send one of his clones instead of going himself, but ns changed quickly. It turned out that Elder Long''s Evil Dragon Emperor Eye could see through his clone.


    As a result, Long Xuan had to change his n and decided to go in person for the time being. He figured it wouldn''t be toote to send his clone once it was perfected to the point where the Evil Dragon Emperor Eye couldn''t detect it.


    However, with a Rank-3 alchemist as his backer, Long Xuan didn''t expect to encounter any danger on this trip.


    One shouldn''t underestimate the status of a Rank-3 alchemist within a family. Elder Long’s current standing in the Long family was just below that of the Long n’s ancestor, almost on par with the head of the family.


    Even if the current family head were to break through to the Gu King level, they would still need to rely on this Rank-3 alchemist. As the personal disciple of such an alchemist, Long Xuan could walk freely within the Long n without fear, as no one would dare provoke him.


    Since this journey would take some time, Long Xuan entrusted his medicine garden to wood clone to manage.


    Elder Long’s medicine garden was left to the new female Gu cultivator from the Long n, allowing Long Xuan’s wood clone to be freed up. Given his status as the personal disciple of a Rank-3 alchemist, Long Xuan wasn''t worried that the new Gu cultivator would target his medicine garden, so he could leave with peace of mind.


    ...The only reason the Long family managed to govern Great Stone Vige was its proximity; it was only two days'' travel at full speed between the two locations.


    Two dayster...


    Long Xuan stared at the barren mountain, his mouth slightly agape in surprise.


    On the way, he had seen other mountains, either filled with medicine gardens or teeming with cattle and sheep. Some even had fish ponds with various spirit fish. Everywhere he looked was a sight to behold, all of which were the property of the Long n. It seemed that the Long n head managed the entire family estate quite well.


    So why was Elder Long''s ce so different? The mountain was barren, as if stripped of its clothes, standing out starkly against the surrounding peaks. It was like a crane among chickens, simply too eye-catching.


    Could this be the legendary "Little Poor Peak"? Long Xuan was utterly shocked.


    Aren''t alchemists supposed to be filthy rich? How did things turn out so differently for Elder Long?


    "Master, you wouldn’t happen to be the poverty alleviation target in your vige, would you?" Long Xuan muttered, staring at the deste mountain before him.


    Elder Long looked slightly embarrassed, his old face flushing a bit.


    "I’ve been away for too long, and the mountain has been neglected. I ended up selling everything on the mountain."


    "Plus, there were too many debt collectors, so I let them take whatever they wanted. But I never thought they would be so excessive, pulling out even the weeds and draining the fish pond dry. Is that something people would do?"


    Elder Long''s face was filled with helplessness.


    Long Xuan''s heart sank. He suddenly wondered if bing Elder Long’s disciple was a mistake, if he had been too hasty in his decision. What if those hordes of debt collectors found out that Elder Long had a personal disciple? Wouldn''t theye running to him for repayment? The more he thought about it, the more his scalp tingled, and he felt utterly unsettled.


    This ce was a pit—a huge pit. He had truly jumped into a fiery pit. From now on, he had better never mention being Elder Long’s disciple when out in the world.


    But it might already be toote. As soon as Elder Long arrived here, he had bragged incessantly about bing a Rank-3 alchemist and taking on a once-in-a-millennium alchemy prodigy as a disciple, announcing it to the world with a voice as loud as possible. He wanted everyone to know.


    Now, all the people with the surname Long here likely knew that Elder Long had a disciple named Long Xuan. He was famous now!


    Long Xuan waspletely numb.


    "Since I am one of the few alchemists in the Long family, I’ve been assigned arge territory. Now, all of thisnd is yours to manage," Elder Long said.


    "Don’t you have a lot of clones? Send them to nt spirit herbs as quickly as possible. Also, refill the fish pond with water and add some fish fry."


    "As a Rank-3 alchemy master, I can’t have a barren home, can I? It would be a joke to others."


    Hearing this, Long Xuan was stunned. Let his clones do the work? Something about that didn''t feel right.


    Long Xuan extended his hand to Elder Long, who looked puzzled. Long Xuan reminded him, "The money for fish fry and herb seeds—you’re not expecting your disciple to pay out of his own pocket, are you?"


    Elder Long’s expression turned bitter. Asking him for money? His pockets were even cleaner than his face. How could he dare ask for money? He was broke!


    After refining a few Rank-3 spirit pills, he was really out of money, unable to even scrape together half a spirit stone. He had even been freeloading meals from his disciple recently.


    But if he borrowed money from his disciple or asked him to pay first, even with his thick skin, Elder Long found it hard to say out loud. So he could onlyugh dryly and say, "Master is a bit tight on money recently."


    "How about this? You nt as much as you can, as long as thend isn''t left empty. Even if it''s just first-grade spirit herbs, that’s fine."


    "When the spirit herbs mature, they’ll be all yours. For me, it’s more profitable to casually refine a few Rank-3 spirit pills. I don''t even care about small money anymore."


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the Long n’s council hall...


    The current n head, Long Wanli, sat at the head of the conference table. Ten elders, each exuding a Spiritual Sea stage aura, sat symmetrically on either side of the oval-shaped table.


    Each person was d in a ck robe, with dragons embroidered on them—a traditional attire of the Long n.


    The dragon was the symbol of the Long n, its totem. The dragons embroidered on their clothing reflected their status within the family.


    Stewards had three-wed divine dragons, hall masters had four-wed divine dragons, while the n head and the venerable elders present at the meeting had five-wed divine dragons. The seldom-seen ancestors who rarely participate had twin dragons embroidered on their robes.


    Ordinary disciples had no dragons on their robes or only embroidered broken dragons. No one could overstep these boundaries, or they would face severe punishment ording to family rules.


    Those who made outstanding contributions to the family could even have dragon tattoos. The Long n’s rules were strict, and its ceremonies were numerous.


    Once all the elders had arrived, n Head Long Wanli nced around the room before finally speaking: "Since our n obtained the right to mine one-seventh of the fossilized ore vein, our revenues have increased daily, and the family’s total ie has reached new heights year after year."


    "But we still face the problem of uneven distribution. No one can say whether a given area is rich in minerals or poor, and the underground tunnels are asplex as a maze. When two families happen to mine close to each other, conflicts arise."


    "Recently, our n has frequently shed with the Feng n, and many miners have died in the process. If these conflicts continue, both sides will lose too many people, and mining will no longer be profitable."


    "The purpose of this meeting today is to discuss this issue. Do any of you have good suggestions?"


    The n head''s words made all the elders'' expressions turn serious, and the atmosphere in the meeting grew heavy.


    The first elder, whose status was second only to the n head, stroked his beard and spoke first: "You must understand, there is no good solution to this problem."


    "With Feng Qingyang’s temperament, even if nothing is wrong, he’ll find something to cause trouble. Even if wee up with the perfect solution, so what? Even if we concede, it won’t prevent conflicts from arising."


    Hearing this, the other elders all nodded in agreement, clearly well aware of Feng Qingyang''s personality.


    The second elder then chimed in: "Though there’s no perfect solution, we can’t just leave the issue unresolved."


    "In the past, almost all disputes were settled through duels, where the losing side would concede."


    "I suggest we use the same method to resolve this matter."


    Long Wanli responded immediately: "I’ve considered that approach, but there''s no guarantee of winning in a fight. Duels are risky, and idents can happen. If we lose a genius because of this, it would be a huge loss."


    At this point, the third elder chuckled and said, "I heard that Long Ao recently took on a prodigy with the Ten Absolute Bodies. With such a physique, he’s invincible among those of the same level and highly likely to defeat those above his level. Sending him would guarantee victory."


    The tenth elder, who seemed out of the loop, was surprised upon hearing this. He said in astonishment, "But isn’t the Ten Absolute Bodies unable to cultivate? Did the world change after I came out of seclusion?"


    The fourth elder, a female Gu cultivator, smiled and exined, "You may not know, but after the emergence of the Yaoguang Ancient Tomb, the cultivation technique she practiced spread everywhere."


    "Coincidentally, her ''Sun and Moon Heart Sutra'' can perfectly match with the Ten Absolute Bodies. You must know that the clone cultivated from the ''Sun and Moon Heart Sutra'' can cultivate on behalf of the main body, perfectly solving the drawbacks of the Ten Absolute Bodies."


    "So this Ten Absolute Bodies has now be a peerless genius capable of cultivation, already qualified to enter the Long family for training. Otherwise, how could we agree to let Long Ao bring him into the family?"


    Hearing this, the tenth elder was even more shocked. The idea that an clone could cultivate on behalf of the main body made his eyes burn with desire, but the fourth elder quickly poured cold water on him.


    The fourth elder, seemingly seeing through his thoughts, hurriedly warned, "I advise you not to get any ideas about that technique. It''s already spread everywhere and can be learned by anyone."


    "But without exception, everyone who has learned it has encountered problems. They''ve either been killed by their clone or reced by it and are now mingling among the masses. This technique has been ssified as a forbidden art by all ns and races, and it''s prohibited for anyone to study it."


    "The owner of that tomb was a lunatic. She seemed intent on spreading her technique far and wide, letting everyone learn the world''s top cultivation technique. It''s absolute madness!"


    ........................................................................


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