…

 

When facing Ancestor Long Yan, Wang Shouzhe felt completely different from when he saw Ancestor Ming Sheng. Although Ancestor Ming Sheng looked old on the outside, he gave off a righteous and vigorous aura of a man in his prime.

 

On the other hand, Ancestor Long Yan not only had a thin figure but also seemed to carry a hint of gloominess. It was not surprising, as Ancestor Long Yan's condition had been deteriorating in recent years. She had reduced her consumption of spiritual food significantly to save resources for the younger members of the Wang's Clan.

 

As a spiritual realm cultivator, the strength of the body's functions was far superior to that of a qi refining realm cultivator. However, according to the law of conservation of universal energy, the source of energy would not appear out of thin air. The stronger the body, the more significant the natural consumption.

 

Ordinary food had a low conversion efficiency of qi and blood for spiritual realm cultivators. Therefore, most spiritual realm cultivators usually needed to supplement spiritual food for an extended period to maintain the strength of their body functions or even to strengthen themselves.

 

However, as Wang Xiaohan failed to break through to the spiritual realm, the resources in the family became increasingly scarce. Ancestor Long Yan gradually reduced her consumption of spiritual food, and now she only consumed 80 catties of spiritual rice, 100 catties of spiritual fish and meat, and two second-grade solidifying element pills per year.

 

The total amount of spiritual food consumed was only 36 Top Gold, and the two solidifying element pills were only 60 Top Gold.

 

A spiritual realm cultivator like Ancestor Long Yan consumed less than 100 Top Gold in resources each year! This was probably only enough for her to maintain a state of meditation…

 

In fact, she was not the only one doing this.

 

The elders in the family also only received resources such as spiritual food to maintain their body functions. Their cultivation had been stagnant for many years, and they had given opportunities to younger and more promising successors.

 

"Shouzhe, are you feeling sad?" Ancestor Long Yan did not turn around, and her voice was ethereal and light, without the hoarseness of an ordinary elderly woman.

 

"I am just a little heartbroken for you, Ancestor." Wang Shouzhe spoke honestly.

 

In fact, Ancestor Long Yan was only 115 years old, only a few years older than Ancestor Ming Sheng of the Lu Clan and still far from the limit of the spiritual realm.

 

When Ancestor Long Yan was thirty years old, she had advanced to the spiritual realm. At sixty years old, she had reached the mid-stage of the spiritual realm, and her body functions had always been maintained at a young and beautiful peak state.

 

At that time, she was so ambitious, aiming for a higher level of the Tianren realm!

 

Unfortunately…

 

In the year 3095 of the Changlong calendar, the beast disaster had forcibly dragged the Wang's Clan from the clouds to the ground, and it had also broken Ancestor Long Yan's wings.

 

"The ebb and flow of the tide, the blooming and withering of flowers, are the most ordinary things in the world," Ancestor Long Yan said calmly, turning slowly,"I have heard from Hui'er about your recent experiences, and you have done well."Although her figure was somewhat thin, with a set of ordinary cotton clothes and cloth shoes, she had an ethereal fairy-like quality. Her starry eyes were like an unfathomable abyss, completely impenetrable.

 

The only regret Wang Shouzhe had was that Ancestor Long Yan wore a veil over her face, making it impossible to see her true appearance.

 

However, Ancestor Long Yan had been wearing this attire since Wang Shouzhe could remember, and he had never seen her true face.

 

"Thank you for your praise, Ancestor," Wang Shouzhe said, bowing. "As long as Ancestor doesn't mind my impertinence, I am grateful." Pausing for a moment, he asked curiously, "Did Ancestor come to me with any instructions?"

 

He was slightly anxious, afraid that Ancestor Long Yan would not agree to his implementation of the sequence competition mechanism, as the older generation of clan members emphasized solidarity and friendship among the clan. They might suspect that competing for sequence positions would cause sibling conflicts and other problems.

 

"You are the Clan Leader, Shouzhe," Ancestor Long Yan said calmly. "I won't interfere with your decisions."

 

"Then, Ancestor, what do you need me to arrange, and why do you want me to accompany you to Bai Dao Commandery?" Wang Shouzhe was puzzled. Ancestor Long Yan was not the type of person who would come to him for a chat or to compliment him.

 

"I need you to arrange something for me and accompany me to Bai Dao Commandery," Ancestor Long Yan said.

 

Bai Dao City?

 

Wang Shouzhe was stunned, and it took him a while to remember that it was a commandery near the East Sea. It was normal for him to react slowly, as he had never left Changning Wei before, and his mind would not think that far.

 

Moreover, since the disaster, Ancestor Long Yan had never left the Changning Wei area.

 

He suppressed his curiosity and said, bowing, "I will comply with your orders, Ancestor. Please wait for two days, and I will make arrangements." Regardless of Ancestor Long Yan's intentions, Wang Shouzhe could not refuse her request.

 

After receiving orders from Ancestor Long Yan, Wang Shouzhe returned to his own courtyard, took out the state and commandery maps, and began to study and plan the travel route.

 

The first priority for Ancestor Long Yan's travel was secrecy.

 

It was currently the most severe period of the insect disaster outbreak, and Liu's Clan and Zhao's Clan were in a state of panic, but even so, they could not let their guard down.

 

Secondly, they needed to consider Ancestor Long Yan's physical condition. Whenever possible, they should avoid bumpy roads and have someone attend to her. The person who attended to her needed to be carefully selected.

 

In just a few moments, he formulated the route and plan for this trip.

 

"Wang Gui," Wang Shouzhe called for his servant. "Go and invite my fourth aunt, Xu Shi, and Wang Lici to come over."

 

"Wang Gui was taken aback. "Fourth Aunt Xu Shi? Which Xu Shi?""You little brat, of course you belong to my Fourth Uncle's family. How can't you remember all the family members and relatives of our clan?" Wang Shouzhe frowned and almost kicked him.

 

"Does the Clan Leader want to see Madam Rou?" Wang Gui hurriedly nodded and ran out. "I'll go, I'll go."

 

But it's not surprising that Wang Gui didn't remember Madam Rou. Firstly, there were many members of the Xu clan in the family. Secondly, Wang Shouzhe's Fourth Aunt, Xu Zhirou, was always low-key. After Wang Dingbang, the Fourth Uncle, passed away five years ago, she seldom left her house.

 

However, Wang Shouzhe had a deep impression of Xu Zhirou. She came from the Xu clan of Jinsha and took care of him when his mother passed away. Even after Madam Gongsun Hui, his stepmother, married into the family and needed help taking care of him, Xu Zhirou still taught her hand in hand. In his memory, Xu Zhirou was gentle, meticulous, and good at cooking. She also knew how to make some little things to amuse him.

 

Back then, he was ignorant and sad, and it was Xu Zhirou who helped him through the hardest time. Unfortunately, Xu Zhirou became pregnant with Wang Luoqing, her fifth daughter, and went back to rest after half a year. Since then, Wang Shouzhe had been living with Madam Gongsun Hui until he moved into the current yard of the Young Clan Leader at the age of fourteen.

 

Choosing Xu Zhirou, Wang Shouzhe valued her gentleness and meticulousness. As the Old Ancestor was going on a trip, he needed an experienced and mature woman to take care of him, and Xu Zhirou was very suitable.

 

Putting aside his distractions, Wang Shouzhe continued to perfect his travel plan.

 

In a short while, Xu Zhirou and Wang Lici were brought into his study by Wang Gui.

 

The last time Wang Shouzhe saw Xu Zhirou was during his father's funeral. As a female member of the family, she naturally had to take care of various things. However, Wang Shouzhe was in a daze at that time and didn't talk to her.

 

Now he took a closer look and saw Xu Zhirou wearing a plain cotton skirt without any extra jewelry. She was simple and clean, but slightly aged compared to his memory. It was not surprising since she had given birth to three children and had to take care of them alone after Wang Dingbang passed away five years ago.

 

"Xu pays respect to the Clan Leader." Xu Zhirou bowed.

 

Wang Lici also hurriedly bowed and said, "Lici pays respect to Fourth Uncle.""Fourth Aunt, please don't be so polite. You can still call me Shouzhe like before." Wang Shouzhe quickly returned the greeting to Xu Zhirou, "Come, please have a seat and let's chat." Then he smiled and waved to Wang Lici, "Big Girl, please take a seat too."

 

After thanking each other, they all took their seats.

 

Wang Gui busied himself with serving tea and fruits before leaving.

 

Wang Shouzhe first chatted with Xu Zhirou for a while before turning his attention to Wang Lici. Seeing the girl munching on a piece of preserved fruit, he asked with a smile, "What have you been busy with lately, Big Girl?"

 

Wang Lici quickly swallowed the half-eaten fruit and nervously replied, "Nothing much, Fourth Uncle. I just read books and practiced cultivation every day."

 

This girl was Wang Shouzhe's eldest brother Wang Shouxin's daughter. She was sixteen years old and the oldest among the eighth generation of the Wang family's Lizi branch, so everyone in Wang Shouzhe's generation liked to call her Big Girl.

 

"Well, it sounds like you've been working hard. Good, very good." Wang Shouzhe was pleased to hear that there was at least one girl in the family who knew how to study hard. He then smiled and said, "Let's have Wang Gui check your schoolwork. If you pass, there will be a reward."

 

"What?"

 

Wang Lici's pretty face, which was a little chubby, turned pale with fear. Her calves began to tremble. Wang Gui was ten times scarier than her father Wang Shouxin, and she knew how miserable her cousin Wang Zongwei was after being scolded by him.

 

She regretted it deeply and her eyes were moist. If she had known that she would be tested by Wang Gui today, she would have worked harder and studied more.

 

Who would have thought that something like this would happen?

 

Her head was buzzing…

 

It was really…

 

A disaster! From! The sky!

 

…