Five spirit stones a month for one family. A total of nine people had died, which meant an extra expenditure of nearly fifty spirit stones every month. In a year, that would be more than six hundred. This accounted for almost half of the family's annual income. And after this consumption, the remaining spirit stones were already from their stored savings. The ancestor was really sparing no expense this time to appease the family's children.
Those disciples were shocked by the ancestor's generosity, but at the same time, they were also a little jealous. They had also put in effort, they just hadn't died. Was there no reward for them from the family?
The Feng family's ancestor indeed continued, "The clan members who performed outstandingly this time will each have a chance to cultivate in the Yin Tomb in the back mountain for one month."
As the Feng family's ancestor's voice fell, the main disciples and heads of the various branches who remained below were first stunned, and then their faces lit up with great joy. The cultivation method of the Feng family followed a yin and cold path. Although they could cultivate normally by breathing in spiritual energy, if they could use the naturally generated yin and cold energy of the world, their cultivation would be much smoother. This was also the reason why the Feng family had been entrenched here. This place was an ancient burial ground, and the Yin energy was particularly dense and abundant.
Especially inside the Yin Tomb in the back mountain, that was where the Yin energy was most concentrated, and it was also the forbidden area of the Feng family. In previous years, only Feng Zaiyu, as the current family head, and the two ancestors could enter freely to cultivate. Other disciples had to be key core disciples cultivated by the family, or those who had made great contributions to the family, to get a chance to enter, and each time it was only for seven days. This time, it was for a full month. This was something they would not have dared to think of at any time in the past.
"Zaiyu, you will compile a list later. For those disciples who risked their lives for the family this time, the opportunity can only be used by them personally. No branch can allocate or occupy it. Hmm, for the branch that performed outstandingly this time, the one-month opportunity will be awarded to this branch to be used at their own discretion. The number of times will not be limited, but only one person can enter at a time until the time is used up."
After Feng Zaiyu heard this, he quickly acknowledged.
The Feng family's ancestor glanced at the people below and saw some with looks of secret joy. He continued with a calm face. "The list of disciples and that branch submitted by Zaiyu, your third grand-ancestor and I will verify them one by one. No one should think of claiming credit undeservedly. Don't even think about going to Zaiyu to plead. He is only the one in charge this time. I will make all the decisions. With this family crisis, I have a clear idea of who is who."
As soon as the Feng family's ancestor said this, Feng Zaiyu was the first to feel relieved. He was afraid that the heads of the various branches would secretly come to him to plead. At that time, if he didn't give this opportunity, he would definitely offend many people. Although he, as the main branch, was not afraid of them, it would still have a considerable impact on his management of the Feng family. Only when he truly succeeded in Foundation Establishment and had the strength like the two ancestors would he have no more scruples.
At the same time, among the people in the hall who originally had smiles on their faces, three or four of them now had ugly expressions after hearing the Feng family's ancestor's subsequent words. They looked at the ancestor as if they wanted to say something, but seeing the ancestor's face devoid of joy or sorrow, they didn't dare to speak for a moment.
The Feng family's ancestor arranged everything in one go. He seemed not to have seen the expressions of some people below, showing no intention of paying them any mind. At the same time, he was sneering inwardly.
'Do you really think I'm blind? I provide for your cultivation all year round, feed and clothe you, and when trouble comes, you all have your own little schemes. You only think about how to preserve the strength of your own branch, even daring to secretly shirk my direct orders. If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll really think this Feng family is your Feng family. I'll take this opportunity to teach you side branches who are unwilling to contribute a lesson. Watch as the disciples of other branches advance by leaps and bounds, hmph!'
The Feng family's ancestor was already extremely dissatisfied with several of the branches in this great battle. You want to preserve your strength? Then I'll let you preserve it well, along with your cultivation, which will remain stagnant for a long time.
For a time, the faces of the Feng family members were varied. There was surprise, dissatisfaction, silence, and anxiety, but no one dared to step forward and question. On the other side, Li Yan and the others remained silent after hearing the Feng family's ancestor's words, acting as mere spectators. Li Yan also admired the Feng family's ancestor's methods. Old ginger is indeed spicier.
'A cultivator who can control a family is indeed very skillful. They consider all aspects of a matter. Just by nailing down the matter of going to that Yin Tomb to cultivate, giving the opportunity only to the disciples who truly contributed and leaving no room for others, this point alone shows that the Feng family's ancestor does things flawlessly.'
Although Li Yan didn't know what the back mountain Yin Tomb the Feng family's ancestor was talking about was, from the expressions and reactions of the Feng family disciples, even the stupidest person would know that it was a good place that was extremely helpful for cultivation. And for such a place, if the opportunity was rewarded to a disciple, if this disciple was very powerful in the clan, then of course everything would be fine, and no one would dare to plot against him. But if this person had no power or influence, then whether he could use this opportunity would be another matter. If his clan's elders wanted him to take it out and share some time with others, what could he say? It wasn't even impossible for them to secretly take it by force; an arm can't twist a thigh.
And the Feng family's ancestor was the stronger thigh. His words blocked all the thoughts of others. After the Feng family's ancestor finished speaking, he didn't want to leave any time for discussion for the people below and changed the subject.
"In the previous battle, there was still a powerful ghost creature that escaped. Today, we happen to have Elder Fang from Falling Star Valley here to help. So, I just discussed with Elder Fang and plan to ask him to act again and then help the Feng family to completely clean up the area around the tombs of the three Underworld Ghost Creatures in the back mountain Yin Tomb. Therefore, in the following matters, the disciples of each branch still have a chance. Those who perform outstandingly will also receive the previous rewards. Now, let's arrange the specific matters..."
Feng Zaiyu, who had been standing at the side with his hands down, was suddenly moved when he heard the words about cleaning up the back mountain Yin Tomb. Only then did he suddenly realize. He finally understood why the ancestor had dared to say earlier that he could provide supplementary spirit stones to the families of the deceased disciples for the next ten years.
'So, he's taking this opportunity to expand the scope of the Yin Tomb. Then, with the lairs of these three Underworld Ghost Creatures incorporated into the grand formation, it should be no problem to condense twenty 'Ghostly Baleful Pearls.' At that time, even if only ten are sold, we can get at least more than ten thousand low-grade spirit stones in return.'
Matters concerning the "Ghostly Baleful Pearl" were only known to the family head of the main branch and the two ancestors. This was also a major source of the Feng family's spirit stones. In the past, every year, the two ancestors would secretly condense two "Ghostly Baleful Pearls" to sell. Selling one for one thousand three hundred low-grade spirit stones was no problem at all.
The "Ghostly Baleful Pearl" was condensed from extreme Yin energy. Ordinary mortals wouldn't even dare to touch it. Just living within a radius of ten-odd li, within a day, they would be invaded by the extreme yin and cold energy and die violently. Even for cultivators, they had to be at the mid-stage Foundation Establishment or above to dare touch this object directly. A cultivator like Feng Zaiyu, who was already at the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation, would have to flee as far as possible if a "Ghostly Baleful Pearl" was placed in front of him. The extreme Yin energy emanating from the "Ghostly Baleful Pearl" might cause the spiritual power in his body to passively freeze and him to fall unconscious before he could even refine it.
But this thing was of great use to Foundation Establishment cultivators who practiced yin and evil cultivation methods. Their cultivation speed would increase significantly, and it was even of some help to initial-stage Golden Core cultivators. In addition, the "Ghostly Baleful Pearl" was also very precious to alchemists and artifact refiners who were in constant contact with earth fire. It could effectively resist the invasion of Fire Poison from the earth fire. In an alchemy or artifact refining room formed by an earth fire vein, as long as a cultivator was at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation or above, placing this object inside could greatly dissolve the Fire Poison in the air, helping to extend their alchemy and artifact refining time. So, the demand for "Ghostly Baleful Pearls" in the outside world was also very large.
However, the number of "Ghostly Baleful Pearls" that could often be condensed was not many. First, condensing the "Ghostly Baleful Pearl" was very time-consuming for the cultivator themselves and would delay a large amount of cultivation time. No cultivator was willing to spend a long time on this. Second, according to the Feng family's strength, they could only refine "Ghostly Baleful Pearls" for the use of Foundation Establishment cultivators. They were powerless to reach a higher grade. Once the grade was limited, the value of the "Ghostly Baleful Pearl" would naturally be greatly reduced.
Third, even if the Feng family's ancestor wanted to condense "Ghostly Baleful Pearls" day and night, he couldn't do it. The most important thing in condensing "Ghostly Baleful Pearls" was to consume a large amount of the surrounding extreme yin and cold energy. Condensing two "Ghostly Baleful Pearls" in a year had already drawn away about half of the Yin energy in the opened-up Yin Tomb in the Feng family's back mountain. If they continued to condense, then the Feng family cultivators wouldn't be able to cultivate anymore.
With the Feng family's repeated caution over so many years, nothing had ever gone wrong, and no one had discovered that the Feng family had the method to condense "Ghostly Baleful Pearls." Anyway, in a year, they would only secretly sell two. The western part of the Forsaken Continent was vast. The Feng family's ancestor would often not hesitate to cross tens of thousands or even a hundred thousand li. Very few people would think of the Feng family.
And this time, obtaining the tombs of three Foundation Establishment Underworld Ghost Creatures at once was a once-in-a-century opportunity for the Feng family. In the past, after conquering the tomb of a powerful ghost creature, the Feng family had to rest for at least ten, or even dozens of years, to regroup their strength. A tomb that could form a Foundation Establishment ghost creature, one didn't need to think to know how good its feng shui was and how dense the Yin energy was.
Although the Feng family almost had their clan wiped out this time, all in all, they would also receive unexpected benefits because of it.