Chapter 78

Wei Changfeng originally only hoped to purchase half of the spiritual materials needed for refining the Nine-Zhi Nourishing Essence Pill at the Four Seas Pavilion.

Since his rebirth, he has come to understand more and more about the current state of the Eternal Continent.

A thousand years ago, due to the existence of the Ten Great Spirit Sources and numerous smaller spirit sources and spirit pools, cultivating spirit herbs and materials was a very simple and easy task. Many great alchemists could freely squander all kinds of precious materials.

The sects and major factions that controlled the spirit sources had unique methods for cultivating spirit plants. A high-quality White Jade Zhi, when planted and cultivated in the spirit fields of a spirit source, could have the medicinal efficacy of ten years in just one year!

Therefore, at that time, spirit materials with decades or even hundreds of years of age were common, making it a golden age for alchemists.

However, with the changes in the earth's veins, the spirit sources began to collapse, and a massive amount of heaven and earth's spiritual energy was lost to various parts of the continent, causing countless demonic beasts to appear. Cultivating and harvesting spirit herbs and materials became increasingly difficult.

Firstly, in cultivation, without the abundant spiritual energy of the spirit sources, it was already very fortunate to be able to plant and grow them, let alone achieve the effect of one year equating to ten.

To obtain spirit herbs with many years of age, one had to venture deep into dangerous mountains and forests. Alchemists could no longer have an inexhaustible supply of materials, and the cost of refining pills to advance in rank became increasingly high.

Now, the number of alchemists on the Eternal Continent is probably less than one-tenth of what it was a thousand years ago, and there are very few high-ranking alchemists. Most are supported by major sects, imperial dynasties, and powerful clans.

Given the current situation, Wei Changfeng needed to spend a lot of effort and money to gather the materials for refining the Nine-Zhi Nourishing Essence Pill. It was impossible to have everything he wanted.

"That's great!" he said sincerely. "I'm troubling you, Manager Wan!"

Wan Haoming smiled and said, "You are a distinguished guest of our Four Seas Pavilion. We will do our best to meet the reasonable requests of our guests. I guarantee that I will gather the seven types of Zhi for you within a month!"

He paused and continued, "As for the Butterfly Zhi and Water Zhi, if you really want them, you might want to visit the old village of the Miao people in the southwestern part of the Green Ridge Mountains. The tribal leaders there might have some private reserves."

"Of course, to get them, you need to offer something that will make them interested in the exchange."

The Green Ridge Mountains stretch for thousands of miles, and many indigenous people have lived in the mountains for generations, such as the Miao, the Wu, and the Man. They live in villages, self-sufficient, and have little contact with the outside world.

However, there are a few merchants who travel between the indigenous villages and Jingyun City.

Wan Haoming undoubtedly pointed Wei Changfeng in the right direction.

Wei Changfeng nodded and said, "Thank you for the reminder..."

He took out five thousand-tael silver bills and placed them on the table: "These can be considered a deposit."

Spirit materials with many years of age are very valuable. To gather all nine types of Zhi needed by Wei Changfeng, ten thousand taels of silver might not be enough, but as a deposit, five thousand taels was more than sufficient.

Wan Haoming did not hesitate and signed a contract, handing it back to Wei Changfeng: "I will arrange it as soon as possible!"

After chatting with the manager of the Four Seas Pavilion for a while, Wei Changfeng got up and bid farewell.

"Master!"

As soon as he walked out of the Four Seas Pavilion, he saw Tieyi waiting on the street.

Wei Changfeng was a bit surprised: "Old Tie, didn't you go home?"

Tieyi's expression was unusual, and he said, "I just came from the manor. Lady Wei sent me to find you!"

Wei Changfeng frowned: "What happened?"

Tieyi hesitated for a moment and then said, "It seems that someone from the main family has come, but I don't know what it's about!"

Main family? The Wei family!

The Wei family actually sent someone to his new home?

Without hesitation, Wei Changfeng said, "Let's go!"

The main street where the Four Seas Pavilion is located is not far from the Willow Leaf Lane in the north of Jingyun City.

With the speed of Wei Changfeng and Tieyi, it took them less than a quarter of an hour to return home.

Wei Changfeng noticed that a very grand carriage was parked at his door.

He walked straight into the front hall.

In the reception hall, four people were sitting. In the main seat was Murong Wan, and next to her on the right was a withered, blue-robed old man. The two guest seats were occupied by two young men.

Murong Wan's brows were furrowed, looking quite helpless and even a bit angry.

The blue-robed old man who was talking to her had a haughty expression, looking down on everyone.

As for the two young men, one was dressed in brocade and had a handsome face, but his expression was lazy, as if the matter did not concern him.

The other had an ordinary appearance but looked very tough.

As Wei Changfeng stepped into the front hall, everyone's eyes immediately focused on him.

"Changfeng!"

Murong Wan stood up and introduced him: "This is an elder from the Wei family. He has something to discuss with you."

Wei Changfeng could see the worry in his mother's eyes, nodded, and said, "I understand. Please sit down, and we can talk about it calmly."

He bowed slightly to the blue-robed old man: "Wei Changfeng greets the elder..."

Seeing Wei Changfeng's perfunctory attitude, the blue-robed old man's eyes flashed with dissatisfaction.

He coldly snorted and nodded indifferently as a greeting.

Wei Changfeng did not bother to argue with him and bowed to the young man in brocade: "Brother Chengye is here too?"

This young man in brocade was none other than Wei Chengye, Wei Changfeng's half-brother and a well-known playboy in Jingyun City, skilled in all kinds of vices!

Unlike Wei Yiping, who viewed Wei Changfeng as an enemy, Wei Chengye had always treated Wei Changfeng as if he did not exist.

But today, he managed to force a smile and replied, "Little brother has made great progress. The family sent me to check on you."

It was clear that Wei Chengye was very unwilling, but he had to come for some reason.

Wei Changfeng had a vague idea.

The tough young man stood up and bowed to Wei Changfeng: "Wei Rongping greets Senior Brother Changfeng!"

Wei Changfeng was moved: "You are also a student at the Martial Academy?"

The other person was clearly a martial artist, and the aura he exuded was not ordinary.

Wei Rongping smiled and replied, "I have been at the Martial Academy for four years and am still a junior student."

Wei Changfeng nodded and looked back at the blue-robed old man, asking calmly, "Elder, what brings you here?"

Elders in the family are like elders or senior members in a sect, respected and influential, and mostly from the main line, giving them a certain degree of authority.

In a large family, the number of elders is not small. If they unite, they can decide the selection of the family head and are high-ranking figures for the family members!

As a collateral descendant of a branch line, Wei Changfeng's status was vastly different from theirs.

But this did not mean he would be intimidated, because even his predecessor, after being expelled from the family with Murong Wan, no longer considered himself a member of the Wei family.

In fact, in the eyes of the Jingyun Wei family, Wei Changfeng and his mother did not exist at all!

Even if Wei Changfeng used his toes to think, he knew that this elder's visit was related to his promotion to a senior student at the Martial Academy!

The blue-robed old man sipped his tea and said after a moment, "The family has already learned about your situation. The elders are unwilling to see the Wei family's bloodline scattered outside and have specially allowed you to return to the family."

"As long as you are willing to serve the family, your names will be added to the family register!"

Wei Changfeng immediately laughed.

What a load of nonsense! It was just a pretense to make him a dog for the Wei family!

What did he, a great alchemist, care about being added to the family register?

Anger burned in his heart, but Wei Changfeng remained calm on the surface: "Oh? What does the Wei family need me to do?"

The blue-robed old man thought Wei Changfeng was moved and a hint of disdain appeared on his lips.

He put down his teacup and said, "What you need to do is actually very simple. First, you need to fully support your second brother, Wei Yiping, in his competition for the nine Dragon Selection spots at Yunhai Mountain."

"The Essence Nourishing Pills granted by the Martial Academy, you should give them up. The family will compensate you with silver..."

The treatment of senior students at the Jingyun Martial Academy is vastly different from that of junior students. In addition to guidance from senior masters and elders in martial techniques and cultivation methods, they receive additional benefits every month.

This includes two third-grade Essence Nourishing Pills, which are high-quality pills carefully refined by high-ranking alchemists at the Jingyun Alchemy Academy and are hard to find on the market.

The blue-robed old man did not notice Wei Changfeng's expression and continued, "In addition, on the first day of next month, during the Martial Academy's grand competition, Wei Rongping will challenge you. You should lose to him and give up your senior student position."

Wei Changfeng almost burst out laughing.

The Wei family's calculations were too precise. They wanted to swallow him whole!

Without the status of a senior student, he would definitely not be able to participate in the Dragon Selection at Yunhai Mountain. If he fell back to being a junior student, it would be extremely difficult to rise again.

And without this status, would the Wei family still tolerate his existence?

The blue-robed old man continued, "This is for your own good. Since you can't keep your position, it's better to let the benefits stay within the family rather than..."

"Enough!"

Wei Changfeng had no patience to listen anymore. His face was cold, and his eyes were icy: "Get out!"

"What did you say?"

The blue-robed old man could hardly believe his ears and immediately flew into a rage: "How dare you be disrespectful to me?"

"I don't care what kind of elder you are!"

Wei Changfeng stared at him, his eyes filled with killing intent: "Now, immediately, get out!"

In his anger, he infused his last words with true qi, and his voice thundered, instantly exploding in the blue-robed old man's ears!

The blue-robed old man was just an ordinary person. After being hit by Wei Changfeng's roar, he trembled all over, his legs shaking, and he even wet his pants on the spot!