"Since the spirit fields and such cannot be moved, they will be compensated with this middle-grade storage bag. What does Family Head Xu think?"
Xu Mingwei swept his gaze across the plaza, his face showing neither sorrow nor joy. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Then let it be so."
Previously, he had thought the Zhou family would compensate with spirit stones, but unexpectedly it was a middle-grade storage bag.
"It seems that after the Zhou family plundered the Su family, they discovered more than one middle-grade storage bag. If there had been only one, they probably wouldn't have been generous enough to offer it."
Zhou Sen paused before continuing, "Although the Xu family has gained thirty percent of the Su family's foundation, I observe your guards and it seems there are no particularly outstanding individuals among them. If you want to become an immortal cultivation family, the road ahead is long and arduous."
"Elder Zhou Sen speaks truly," Xu Mingwei said indifferently.
"This old man excels at pill refinement. If the Xu family needs pills and such, you can trade with my Zhou family. Whether martial Dao pills or immortal cultivation pills, considering that Family Head Xu once assisted my Zhou family's ancestor on the battlefield, we can offer favorable terms.
This is a matter of mutual benefit. Family Head Xu should give it careful consideration."
Xu Mingwei took a light sip of tea. After setting it down, the corners of his mouth curved into a slight smile as he said, "Regarding this matter, I will deliberate carefully."
As for those martial Dao families, most cannot even reach my Zhou family's threshold."
Xu Mingwei nodded slightly and said unhurriedly, "Understood."
Seeing his attitude, Zhou Sen knew he had no intention of making this deal with the Zhou family. Frowning slightly, he then stood up and said, "The items have been delivered, so we won't linger any longer."
"Family Head Xu, no need to see us out."
With those words, he and Zhou Shaocheng headed outside.
"Elder Zhou Sen, please wait."
Zhou Shaocheng turned around with a smile, "What is it? Has Family Head Xu changed his mind?"
"Not so. I still need to deliberate on this matter."
"Then what other business do you have? Do you intend to forcibly detain us?"
Xu Mingwei waved his hand with a smile, "Young Master Zhou misunderstands. How would my Xu family dare act against Elder Zhou Sen? His position in the Zhou family, I have also heard about."
"Good that you know."
"Shaocheng, do not speak further." Zhou Sen reprimanded him, then looked at Xu Mingwei, "What other matter does Family Head Xu have?"
"There is indeed one more thing."
Xu Mingwei swept his hand over the storage bag at his waist, and a streak of light flew out with a "swoosh," flying before Zhou Sen.
"Please take this token back, Elder Zhou Sen."
Zhou Sen fixed his gaze on it, and his pupils instantly contracted sharply. He grabbed the token and examined it carefully before saying, "How did this token come into your hands?"
"The token's owner asked me to return it to the Zhou family, saying that as the Grand Elder of the Xu family, he naturally cannot continue serving as a guest elder for the Zhou family. However, he also cherishes his friendship with Elder Zhou Sen and welcomes you to visit my Xu family at any time."
"Grand Elder of the Xu family?" Zhou Sen revealed a shocked expression, "When did Fellow Daoist Sanshu become your Xu family's Grand Elder? Could it be..."
The position of family Grand Elder in any family could never be given to an outsider.
"Just as Elder Zhou Sen has guessed, the Daoist Sanshu's secular family name is indeed Xu, given name Chuan."
"He is also my father!"
"Master Sanshu is actually a member of the Xu family, and the father of Family Head Xu?!"
Zhou Shaocheng's eyes widened, his pupils contracting like needles, both eyes filled with shock.
He had heard his grandfather Zhou Sen mention the name Daoist Sanshu more than once, praising his rare talent in the pill Dao and hoping to exchange knowledge with him again.
Now this Daoist Sanshu had transformed and turned out to be a member of the Xu clan that the Zhou family was guarding against and he was the father of the current Xu family head.
One could imagine how high his status was in the Xu family.
"No wonder Xu Mingwei was unmoved by grandfather's proposal to trade pills earlier. With a pill refinement master in the family whose pill Dao achievements rank among the best in Great Wei, why would they need to seek help from afar?" Zhou Shaocheng thought secretly.
Zhou Sen's eyes rippled with emotion, his expression changing repeatedly before he let out a long sigh, "Where is Fellow Daoist Sanshu? May I go pay him a visit?"
"Naturally there is no problem, but Young Master Zhou and his attendants should wait here temporarily."
"Grandfather..."
Zhou Sen raised his hand to stop him, "I have my own judgment. Fellow Daoist Sanshu would not harm me, and the Xu family would not be so shortsighted, right, Family Head Xu?"
"Elder Zhou Sen speaks reasonably. My Xu family has no grievances with the Zhou family. My father even hopes to establish good relations with the Zhou family. There is no reason to oppose the Zhou family, nor would we dare to oppose the Zhou family."
"You all remain here."
"Yes, Grandfather."
After Xu Mingwei collected the items from the plaza into the middle-grade storage bag, he led Zhou Sen to the study in the courtyard.
"Father, Elder Zhou Sen has come to visit."
There was a restriction outside the study that could block divine sense probing, but it could transmit sound inside.
After speaking, the study door swung wide open, and standing at the doorway was none other than Xu Chuan himself, whom Zhou Sen greatly admired.
"Elder Zhou Sen, it has been a long time. Please come in."
"Your son still has matters to attend to, so I won't disturb Father and Elder Zhou Sen's reunion."
Xu Chuan nodded slightly.
Xu Mingwei closed the door and turned to leave.
Zhou Sen looked at Xu Chuan with a complicated expression. After a moment, he sighed, "Fellow Daoist Sanshu, you have kept me in the dark quite thoroughly."
"Elder Zhou Sen, that is not quite right. My Xu family is humble. As one of the few immortal cultivators in the clan, when traveling outside, how am I different from a rogue cultivator?"
"Forget it, this old man will not dwell on this matter. Any family rising from humble beginnings must be cautious and careful, otherwise they are easily plotted against and absorbed by others."
Then Zhou Sen said with surprise, "This old man remembers that last time at the Prince Yong's Manor in Tongshan Commandery, you should have gone to the Imperial City with Senior Yunding from the Dan Hall. But now..."
"I stayed for a period of time, then left under the pretext of traveling," Xu Chuan said with a light smile.
"So that's how it is. I had heard rumors before, but I didn't expect the Dan Hall's rules to truly be like this. However, it is extremely difficult to enter, requiring one to be a true pill Dao master."
After a moment, he laughed self-deprecatingly, "Just now I told Family Head Xu that he could trade pills with my Zhou family to strengthen the Xu family's foundation, but with Fellow Daoist Sanshu here, this old man has truly made himself a laughingstock."
"Speaking of this matter, if the Zhou family has need, I can help out."
"Oh, how would you help?"
Zhou Sen's eyes shifted.
His own pill Dao achievements were limited. Refining first-grade pills was fine, but for the second-grade pills that the Zhou family ancestor needed, especially pills for advancing cultivation, his success rate was too low.
Particularly for pills that advanced cultivation, the difficulty was extremely high. Out of ten sets of materials, he could at most successfully refine one or two low-grade pills.
It was truly wasteful.
The Zhou family could not afford such waste.
If Xu Chuan were to take action and refine enough pills to advance cultivation, the Zhou family ancestor could also grow stronger quickly and have sufficient time to plan for the next Foundation Establishment cultivator in the family.
Families like the Zhou family that had just been promoted to fourth-rank status followed the principle of the first getting rich helping the later ones prosper.
If they couldn't sustain Foundation Establishment cultivators, once their clan's ancestor reached his limit, they would either be destroyed and divided like the Su family, or offer large amounts of resources to other Foundation Establishment families in exchange for their protection.
At such times, one would need to rely on the reputation accumulated in the past.
Families like the Su family with their previously domineering style would naturally be devoured by everyone when they weakened, and divided up.
"What a pity that such a master of the pill Dao is not part of my Zhou family," Zhou Sen sighed inwardly.
"For each set of second-grade pill materials, I have a thirty percent pill condensation rate, and the number of successful pills will be at least four, with a chance of superior-grade pills. Your family provides the spirit medicine, and payment will be one-third of the refined pills' value, which your family can pay with first-grade pill spirit medicines, secret techniques, magical artifacts, or spirit stones."
"This..."
This proposal was truly beyond Zhou Sen's expectations, causing him to ponder.
After a long while, he felt inwardly that it was feasible.
After all, the Zhou family's entire confidence came from their ancestor Zhou Qingfang. As long as they could rapidly increase his strength, even if it were half the value, they would agree.
In other words, with this cooperation between the two families, the Zhou family would only need to pay one-third of the market price for second-grade pills.
The Xu family could also obtain the Qi Refining resources they wanted. However, his face showed a hesitant expression.
"This is a major matter. This old man needs to return and report to our ancestor before I can give a reply."
"This is natural."
A cup of tea's time later.
Xu Chuan escorted Zhou Sen out and they arrived at the main hall.
Seeing Zhou Sen appear safely, Zhou Shaocheng and the other four attendants finally relaxed completely in their hearts.
After all, Zhou Sen was too important to the Zhou family.
"Shaocheng, come meet Master Sanshu," Zhou Sen said with a smile.
Zhou Shaocheng immediately stepped forward and cupped his hands, "Greetings to Master Sanshu."
"Fellow Daoist Sanshu, this is my young grandson. What do you think?"
"Dignified appearance, extraordinary bearing. At around thirty years of age, he has already reached the grandmaster realm. Truly worthy of being a direct descendant of the Zhou family."
"Many thanks for Master Sanshu's praise."
Zhou Shaocheng was somewhat proud, but thinking of Xu Mingwei, the smile at the corner of his mouth suddenly vanished.
"I wonder if the Xu family has any daughters of suitable age? My young grandson is not yet married," Zhou Sen stroked his beard.
Arranging a marriage for me?
Zhou Shaocheng found it surprising and too sudden but when elders were conversing, he had no place to interject.
Xu Chuan said with a light smile, "I have four sons and one daughter. There is still one son and one daughter who are unmarried. However, my daughter is too unruly and has stated that she will only marry someone whose strength surpasses hers and who is devoted to her alone.
I'm not trying to discourage you, but Shaocheng still cannot suppress my daughter."
Zhou Shaocheng almost laughed in anger.
I, a dignified grandmaster martial artist and grandson of Zhou Sen, the Zhou family's foremost pill refiner, cannot suppress a mere young woman?
Moreover, she's not even married yet at such an old age. Who would want such an old maiden?!
Zhou Sen stroked his beard thoughtfully, "May this old man meet her?"
"Please wait. I'll have someone call my daughter here."
Half an incense stick's time later.
Xu Mingshu came up from the Jade Cold Pool and entered the main hall. First, she cupped her hands toward Xu Chuan in salute, "Greetings, Father."
She wore her usual red riding outfit with crimson silk binding her hair, displaying a heroic and dashing bearing with radiant elegance that made Zhou Shaocheng suddenly stand up, dumbstruck.
Could there be such a magnificent woman in the world?
Zhou Sen's gaze remained calm. His divine sense swept over her, and his brows immediately furrowed slightly as he sighed, "Indeed, Shaocheng is not worthy."
"Grandfather, I am not lacking!" Zhou Shaocheng blurted out.
"She is a fourth layer Qi Refining immortal cultivator," Zhou Sen transmitted.
At this time, Xu Mingshu was using the Breath Concealment Technique to conceal two minor realms.
Zhou Sen also could not see through it.
"An immortal cultivator?!"
"The Xu family has few immortal cultivators. They could not possibly allow a female with immortal cultivation aptitude to marry out. Give it up," Zhou Sen transmitted again.
Although Zhou Shaocheng was moved by her at first sight, he was also rational and not the type of spoiled brat who would make unreasonable demands.
"Forget it. We can discuss this matter later. The day is getting late, so we will return to the commandery city first. I will come visit you again another day, Fellow Daoist."
Xu Chuan escorted Zhou Sen and his group to the entrance and watched them depart into the distance.
"Father, from what that old man said, he wanted to arrange a match for me?"
"What old man? That is Zhou Sen, the Zhou family's foremost pill refiner. His status in the Zhou family is even above the family head, second in importance only to the Zhou family's Foundation Establishment cultivator.
If you are so disrespectful when you meet next time, don't blame me for punishing you."
Xu Mingshu stuck out her tongue, "Father, Xueji was wrong. When someone is present, Xueji absolutely wouldn't dare."
"You must be cautious even when no one is present. Be careful that disaster comes from your mouth, after all, you cannot know whether someone is secretly watching nearby."
"Xueji understands."
Xu Chuan nodded slightly, "However, since the Zhou family has proposed a marriage alliance, they presumably won't give up easily."
"Why so sudden?" Xu Mingshu asked in confusion.
"Your father made a deal with the Zhou family. They should not refuse, and when they come next time, besides agreeing, they will likely also bring up the matter of mutual marriage alliance. Your father will find it difficult to refuse."
"Why must we trade? Didn't our Xu family obtain thirty percent of the Su family's resources?"
"That's correct, but resources also need time to digest. Thirty percent of the Su family's resources is enough to elevate an ordinary immortal cultivation family in the commandery city to the level of a top fifth-rank family.
My Xu family doesn't have that many immortal cultivators. This requires accumulation over generations."
Xu Chuan continued, "Furthermore, the thirty percent of the Su family's foundation we obtained was literally bitten out of the Zhou family's mouth. If you were in their position, would you be content?
Even if they don't act immediately due to face concerns, what about later?
The Zhou family is different from other families in Yuehu Commandery. My Xu family must admit their hegemonic position at this moment."
Xu Mingshu pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.
Indeed, the current Zhou family truly could not be shaken by the Xu family.
"In order to ease the conflict between both sides, Father is trading with the Zhou family?"
"Correct. Your father deeply understands what the Zhou family most urgently needs, so they absolutely will not refuse. Once the cooperation is established, at least in the short term, our Xu family can develop stably in Yuehu Commandery.
While mutually benefiting, we might even obtain Foundation Establishment opportunities through the Zhou family."
"Foundation Establishment opportunities?" Xu Mingshu was slightly startled.
Xu Chuan explained, "If the Zhou family wants to maintain their position as the hegemonic family, they must have Foundation Establishment cultivators in every generation. If there's a gap in succession, their hegemonic position will only last a bit more than two cycles of sixty years."
"Father's foresight is profound. Xueji admires it, but must there be a marriage alliance?"
"It's always inevitable between families. Didn't your second brother have an arranged marriage?"
Xu Mingshu's expression became solemn, and she sighed deeply, "Whom does Father plan to choose? Among the second generation, there's only me and Yunnu. Among the third generation, those suitable would be Dewen. Deling is close, but Deling is a prodigy of my Xu family, so a marriage alliance is naturally impossible. The others are all too young."
Xu Chuan patted her shoulder, "Your father will consider this matter and will also respect everyone's opinions. If truly no one is suitable, your father also has ways to maneuver around it."
"Mm." Hearing this, Xu Mingshu smiled.
Xu Chuan gently patted her head again, saying, "Go on, continue your cultivation. Don't neglect the Breath Concealment Technique and such either."
"Among you five, Mingwei and Mingxian need not hide, but the rest should conceal your abilities as much as possible."
"Yes, Father."
Xu Mingshu immediately returned to the Jade Cold Pool.
Xu Chuan then went to find Xu Mingwei, and together they sorted through the thirty percent of the Su family's foundation that the Zhou family had brought.
All the spirit medicines and part of the spirit rice were taken by Xu Chuan. There were quite a lot of Dao texts, and the entire ancestral hall's hidden chamber bookshelves were far from enough.
After the two consulted with each other, they decided to construct a Dao Repository Tower specifically to store various martial arts and immortal cultivation techniques, secret arts, and texts.
The entire Dongxi Village would also undergo certain changes.
As for the hidden chamber, it would only store the Innate Five Elements Creation Art.