Chapter 554 - 299: The 1st Daughter (Part 2)

Liu Ying Ziyi’s eyes twinkled as she said with a radiant smile, "Actually, if you want heirs, the best method is to cast a wide net. So... Husband, why don’t you just marry a few more?"

"That’s right! All those girls in the Sect are getting awfully impatient!"

Bai Qingyi immediately chimed in. After all, besides the women from the Ling Family’s own clan, the female cultivators from the Mu Family were now the most numerous. Even the Lu Hua Palace and the Liu Ying Clan each had a sizable group.

The Deep Sea Dragon Race, however, was only represented by her and Luo Qingxuan. It was no wonder she felt their faction in the harem was weak and felt a little disgruntled.

"Sister Bai has a point. Husband, shouldn’t you... also save some spots for the female cultivators of Xianyin Pavilion?"

Ziyunxi chimed in with a smile.

For the longest time, Meng Feiyu had been the only one from Xianyin Pavilion by Ling Changqing’s side. With the recent addition of Ziyunxi herself, it was clearly still not enough.

Of course, the Yu Family also had only three women at present—Yu Ruoshuang, Yu Yalan, and Yu Youqin. Thus, they were similarly dissatisfied and were trying to think of ways to persuade Ling Changqing to marry more.

Ling Changqing mused, "That’s not an option right now. The uncontrollable risks are too great. We should wait a while longer."

’No matter what they thought, he couldn’t open those floodgates. At least, not right now.’

’There were already enough female cultivators in the harem. If he added any more people, he simply wouldn’t be able to give them all the attention they deserved.’

’He would have to wait until he reached the Divinity Transformation Realm. Ling Changqing felt that only then would he have enough energy to care for even more women.’

"Sisters, please don’t make things difficult for our husband. It’s not a problem to wait a little longer."

The previously silent Xue Qingtan couldn’t help but speak up. ’On a matter like this, if Ling Changqing himself didn’t yield, nothing anyone said would work.’

Meng Feiyu smiled. "Yes, we all have to listen to our husband on this. Let’s leave it at that for now."

The women actually understood Ling Changqing’s predicament, so they all tacitly dropped the subject. Xue Qingtan seized the opportunity to change the topic, shifting the discussion to the Ling Family’s external trade affairs.

From under the table, Yu Ruoshuang, who had been massaging Ling Changqing’s legs, lifted her beautiful head with its cascade of black hair. Her curvaceous body emerged, and with her face flushed red, she took out a white silk handkerchief to gently dab her glossy, alluring lips.

Nearby, Luo Qingxuan blinked her lovely eyes, then slid smoothly under the table to take Yu Ruoshuang’s place, continuing to massage his legs.

"I will arrange for a group of my most trusted disciples to come here as soon as possible. They will be permanently stationed on the Linsha Continent to help the Ling Family disciples improve their Cultivation."

Ziyunxi told him, her expression grave.

Ling Changqing nodded. "The first group shouldn’t be too large, and loyalty is the number one priority. I’ll leave the arrangements to you."

"You don’t need to worry about that. We at Xianyin Pavilion have special methods to verify the loyalty of our disciples."

Ziyunxi said with a touch of pride.

"That’s good, then."

Ling Changqing nodded.

’He had heard rumors about Xianyin Pavilion before, saying that traitors and spies were exceptionally rare within their Sect. It was obviously thanks to these special methods.’

’Therefore, as one of the most mysterious Sects in the Yuzhou Cultivation Realm, Xianyin Pavilion possessed the strongest internal cohesion. Coupled with the fact that it was composed mainly of female cultivators, the outside world knew very little about them.’

’Over thousands of years, some of the great powers that coveted Xianyin Pavilion had tried everything to secretly infiltrate their ranks, but their attempts always ended in failure. Some even backfired, costing them dearly.’

’Over time, those great powers gave up. Meanwhile, Xianyin Pavilion’s latent power continued to grow, and it now had branch academies in several of the surrounding prefectures.’

’Perhaps in the future, he could ask an Elder from Xianyin Pavilion to help screen the Ling Family for any potential hidden agents or spies.’

’After all, with the Ling Family’s power growing so rapidly, it was inevitable that they would attract the attention of other powers. Given enough time, infiltration would be unavoidable.’

Ling Changqing mused to himself. ’However, this is one of Xianyin Pavilion’s most guarded secrets, so it wouldn’t be right to ask rashly. Or maybe... I’d have to offer terms of sufficient value to convince the Xianyin Pavilion’s leadership to relent?’

Ziyunxi set down her Glazed Wine Cup, her mind already racing. ’When I get back, I’ll bring over the most outstanding Elders and disciples, along with enough resources to expand the branch here by several dozen times.’

’If not for the limited conditions here, which couldn’t compare with the main headquarters of Xianyin Pavilion, she would have even considered moving a group of Supreme Elders to live here.’

And so, the matter was settled.

「One month later.」

Ziyunxi bid farewell to Ling Changqing and Meng Feiyu and reluctantly embarked on her journey home.

The past few months on the Linsha Continent had been the happiest time of her life. If not for the many Sect affairs awaiting her attention, she would have wanted to stay by Ling Changqing’s side forever.

Over the next several months, the Ling Family’s leadership quietly ramped up their procurement, beginning to stockpile various resources.

Spirit Stone Talismans, Elixirs and Magical Artifacts, Array Puppets, and even high-end ingredients like Spirit Rice and Spirit Fruits, Spirit Wine Nectar, and Spirit Beast and Spirit Bird Meat—as long as a resource was for sale, they bought as much as they could.

The three major merchant guilds—Xingyun Sun, Illusory Treasure Pavilion, and Gathering Sea Pavilion—were also cooperative and didn’t try to create any bottlenecks. Apart from Rank Four resources, which had purchasing limits, they were able to procure nearly all resources of the Third Grade and below in massive quantities.

The Ling Family was no longer short on Spirit Stone resources. After all, the Deep Sea Region below a depth of three thousand zhang was incredibly rich in resources, and it had effectively become Ling Changqing’s home turf, where he could mine and collect as he pleased.

Ling Changqing had even discovered several Third Grade and Rank Four Spirit Ore Veins and Spirit Stone Mines, not to mention some exceptionally rare Rank Four Spirit Medicines. All these resources had become part of the Ling Family’s foundational wealth.

Therefore, on Ling Changqing’s orders, the resource allowance for all Ling Family disciples was doubled once again. This applied to everyone from the Qi Cultivation Stage all the way to the Nascent Soul Stage.

Aside from mining and hoarding resources, the only thing left to do was to supervise the younger generation’s Cultivation. This task was primarily the responsibility of the Elders, while Ling Changqing needed only to focus on his own group of women.

「More than half a year later.」

Song Xuelan’s Cultivation hit a bottleneck. Ling Changqing decided to personally stand guard while she entered seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Blessed by his supreme Luck and Fortune, her Crossing the Tribulation was perilous but ultimately safe, and she passed without a hitch. This meant the Ling Family now had another Nascent Soul True Monarch in its ranks.

When the news spread, countless people both inside and outside the family were consumed with envy and jealousy. This Song Xuelan had originally been nothing more than a lowly handmaiden, someone who couldn’t even be considered a Low Grade Loose Cultivator.

It was only by a stroke of luck that she met a Noble like Ling Changqing and received the chance to change her fate and soar to the heavens. It was a truth that... made certain people burn with secret envy.

The other lucky woman, Ling Menghuan, had also reached the Golden Core Peak Level in her Cultivation. However, because her foundation was slightly weaker, she would have to wait some time before she could attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage.

As for Mu Yu Xin, Xiao Meiniang, and Yang Yunfei, they were all still at the Golden Core Level and would have to grind away for several more years.