#1256 - One door, two dan

"Fellow Daoist Wen, I'm truly sorry, but my abilities are limited. I can't afford to focus too much on earning spirit stones. I'm content with things as they are now."

"Furthermore, I've known Senior Qi Ling for many years and received many favors from him. Getting too deeply involved with the Merchant Guild would make it difficult to sever those ties."

"Therefore, I have no plans to leave the Sea Tower Merchant Guild for the time being. If a suitable opportunity arises, I'll consider cooperating with the Taiyi Alliance."

Lu Xuan pondered for a moment, speaking earnestly.

"It's a pity. A logistical-type Nascent Soul cultivator as capable as Fellow Daoist Lu is hard to find."

The old man shook his head, a hint of regret in his expression.

He had no choice but to accept Lu Xuan's polite refusal.

After all, the other party was a Sword Sect cultivator with a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation base. He could only try to influence him through the Merchant Guild, afraid of displeasing Lu Xuan.

If it were a rogue cultivator, he would have many ways to bring them under the Taiyi Alliance's control. But Lu Xuan held a crucial position within the Sword Sect, and those petty tricks wouldn't work on him.

As for Lin Beihai, he listened the entire time without expressing any opinions, showing great respect to Lu Xuan.

The two didn't stay long in the cave. After drinking a few cups of spirit wine, they bid farewell and left.

Lu Xuan watched their figures disappear into the sea of sword Qi clouds. As he turned to return to his cave, the words Wen Wuchen had said earlier flashed through his mind.

"In the mouths of the Taiyi Alliance cultivators, Senior Qi Ling is actually so worthless."

"I wonder if it's the arrogance of a large power or if they have some designs on Senior Qi Ling."

He thought to himself, deciding to find an opportunity to discuss this with the Treasure Pagoda's artifact spirit.

More than a year passed, and Wen Qian, well-prepared, came to find Lu Xuan.

After Lu Xuan broke through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, his status rose accordingly. Finding a breakthrough spiritual site within the sect was no problem.

"What dense spiritual Qi."

Wen Qian followed Lu Xuan into the spirit gathering array and immediately noticed the unusual spiritual Qi inside. His usually calm heart experienced some fluctuations.

Breaking through in such an environment naturally had a much higher success rate than for rogue cultivators. This was the foundation of a sect.

"Even in the Wen family, even the most talented direct descendants couldn't enjoy such a superb array, let alone a collateral descendant with ordinary talent like me."

"No, if I were still in the Wen family, I would probably have exhausted my lifespan and turned into a pile of dust long ago. There's no way I could have broken through to the Core Formation stage."

Thinking of this, countless thoughts ran through his mind.

"Calm your mind and focus on breaking through."

"With me here, you don't have to worry about your safety."

Lu Xuan's gentle voice entered his ears, and a hazy clear light swept over him, instantly making his state of mind peaceful and serene.

"Thank you, Senior."

"Master, I've broken through to the Core Formation realm!"

Her expression was full of gratitude.

"Congratulations, congratulations. You're at the same realm as your senior brother."

"I can be considered to have two Core Formation cultivators in my lineage."

Lu Xuan congratulated her with a smile.

"Congratulations, Junior Sister."

"Congratulations, Senior Sister. I'll work hard to catch up to Senior Brother and Senior Sister."

Li Haotian and Mu Yuanping were both waiting outside. When they saw Chen Qing霜, they congratulated her.

Chen Qing霜's eyes were bright and she shared her breakthrough experience with Li Haotian with a beaming smile.

"Qing Shuang, now that you've broken through to Core Formation, the Chen family finally has a successor. You can finally give an account to the former Chen family ancestor."

"I heard that Chen Yuqiu, the Chen family head, came to the Sword Sect when you were preparing to break through, wanting to get your good news as soon as possible. Go and inform him."

Lu Xuan reminded her from the side.

"Yes! Disciple understands!"

Chen Qing霜 immediately came to her senses and drove her flying sword towards the outer sect at top speed.

Her status within the Sword Sect was different from what it used to be, so she was able to arrange a residence for the Chen family head directly within the sect.

The outer sect was surrounded by mountains, with celestial cranes flying gracefully, a scene of magnificent splendor.

Compared to when he entered the Sword Sect last time, Chen Yuqiu had aged a lot, and it was noticeable that the vitality within his body had weakened significantly.

"I wonder how Qing Shuang is doing now? With Senior Lu personally protecting her, breaking through to Core Formation shouldn't be a problem."

"But no one can guarantee that she will definitely break through to Core Formation. The Chen family, other than me, hasn't had a clansman successfully advance to Core Formation for two or three hundred years."

He had been full of confidence, but when he thought of this, he instantly became restless, pacing back and forth.

"After that Nascent Soul ancestor of the Sword Sect, the Chen family has declined for too long."

He looked at the completely unfamiliar environment of the outer sect, as if seeing the scene of that exceptionally talented Chen family ancestor cultivating here.

Amidst the changing scenes, his figure seemed to become Chen Qing Shuang, the Chen family's only hope.

"My old eyes are failing me."

He subconsciously rubbed his eyes, only feeling that the figure was becoming clearer and clearer, to the point that his hands were trembling slightly.

"It's Qing Shuang..."

Chen Yuqiu murmured to himself. The figure was getting closer and closer, but his vision was getting blurrier and blurrier.

"Granduncle, I've advanced to Core Formation!"

A clear and melodious voice entered Chen Yuqiu's ears, constantly echoing in his heart.

"Good! Good! Good!!!"

Chen Yuqiu's voice was hoarse, and infinite vitality and boldness surged from his body.

The Chen family has a successor!

At this moment, he was extremely gratified.

The Chen family currently only had him, a Core Formation cultivator, struggling to support it. Although the family's status in the surrounding area had greatly improved after Chen Qing Shuang became a disciple of Lu Xuan, these were, after all, flowers in a mirror and the moon in the water. One's own strength was the foundation.

Now that Chen Qing Shuang had successfully advanced to Core Formation, given her current age, coupled with being a personal disciple of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator of the Sword Sect, she could be said to have a limitless future.

"She might even catch up to that Chen family prodigy from back then..."

The figures of the two in his eyes overlapped again, and finally, Chen Qing Shuang's lively face emerged.

"Since the Chen family ancestor passed away, the Chen family has declined year after year, eventually only being able to end up withdrawing from the Sword Sect in disappointment. If that ancestor knew in the afterlife, I wonder how disappointed he would be."

"Fortunately, the ancestors are blessing us. We finally have a genius like Qing Shuang who was fortunate enough to meet a famous teacher like Senior Lu, and finally managed to break through to the Core Formation realm."

Chen Yuqiu said with mixed feelings and a complex expression.

"You can have what you have today, and the Chen family can have what it has today, all thanks to Senior Lu's care and help."

"Qing Shuang, in the future, you must stay by Senior Lu's side and serve him well, handling some trivial matters for him."

He solemnly instructed.

"Granduncle, Qing Shuang understands."

Chen Qing Shuang nodded firmly.

"It's not easy for Granduncle to come to the Sword Sect, so stay for a while longer. After I go to Master's place and consolidate my cultivation a little, I'll take you to see the place where the ancestor used to live."

A smile appeared on her face as she said softly.

"Go ahead, don't worry about this old man."

Chen Yuqiu nodded gently.

Chen Qing Shuang immediately summoned her flying sword. With a whistling sound of sword Qi, it drew a beautiful arc and disappeared into the horizon.

"She has some of the grace of the ancestor back then."

The scene in Chen Yuqiu's eyes became blurred again.