There was only emptiness at the end of the long path of cultivation.

It had already been 300 years since Lu Qing came here.

He had crossed over to this True Cultivation World 300 years ago. And by chance, he became the disciple of an unaffiliated cultivator. Then, after his master died, he fought for himself in the Immortal Cultivation World and spent several years there before he finally became a notorious unaffiliated cultivator in the Feiyun State.

It was tough for an unaffiliated cultivator to reach the Golden Core Stage.

When he first stepped onto the path of cultivation, he had been extremely passionate, vowing to become an Almighty Deity.

From the start, he had faced many dangers, though he had always averted the crises without much trouble. He came together with his cultivation spouse when he was nearly 200 years old and birthed nine children in a span of several dozen years. During the next hundred years, the Lu Clan had occupied the spirit vein of Yuyan Mountain and prospered under his protection as a Golden Core Patriarch.

Lu Qing was the founder of the Lu Clan. Counting the three generations under him and their spouses, the Lu Clan had a population of twenty to thirty people.

However, after breaking through to the Golden Core Stage, there was little improvement in Lu Qing's abilities.

Talent, opportunity, and resources… The limit these things had imposed on Lu Qing was like a concrete ceiling that pressed down firmly on his head.

In a battle 50 years ago, he fought and defeated several enemies that were far stronger than him, killing them in the process. But he had injured his core and no longer had a chance of breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage from the Golden Core Stage. His Core Lifespan had been greatly affected.

A cultivator in the Golden Core Stage could typically live from 400 to 500 years. In fact, several cultivators who focused on nurturing their lifespans could live even longer than that. However, after that great battle, it was estimated that Lu Qing—who was only 250 years old—only had 50 years left to live.

As a person who had crossed over to this True Cultivation World, he did not believe in that fate.

He activated the full power of the Lu Clan and took out all of the savings he had accumulated over the years to purchase several healing treasures. He then engaged in closed-door training and tried to reverse his injuries.

Around 50 years had passed since he did his closed-door training.

Yet his injuries had not improved. In fact, he had only managed to sustain his life for the past ten years through the use of healing treasures.

However, the effectiveness of healing treasures had gradually deteriorated. His life was in peril.

He tried many times, but he could not save his life. He did not even have the chance to gather his offspring to listen to his final words.

He had come to terms with it when he was at the end of his life.

"Perhaps, I might be able to return to Earth after I died…"

"It's just that…I can no longer protect my descendants. I exhausted all of the family's money when I was searching for healing treasures in the past. I wonder what would become of the Lu Clan after I died…"

"I feel a little remorseful. I should have saved something for them. Chaoxi must lead this family well…"

Lu Chaoxi was his eldest son.

His last thoughts were about his descendants before his consciousness gradually faded.

******

When he opened his eyes, his first thought was…

"I'm still alive?"

However, the next thing he saw was his body, right in front of him, not far away, entirely devoid of life.

He had really died.

Lu Qing had not reached the Nascent Soul Stage, which meant that his soul could not survive outside of his lifeless body. Furthermore, even a cultivator in the Nascent Soul Stage would suffer from severe injuries if their soul escaped from their dead body.

However, Lu Qing did not felt that his soul was damaged. He felt somewhat normal…

Other than the fact that he had become a soul.

But regardless of the circumstances, this was a major surprise.

He did not know why this was happening. He had thought that his Core Lifespan had been completely depleted and that he was about to enter the wheel of reincarnation. He did not think that his soul could remain in this world.

Since he still had both his soul and his consciousness, there might be a chance that he could be revived.

Suddenly, he sensed that there was something different within his soul.

With a thought, a system interface appeared in his field of vision.

[Clan Development System]

[Clan: Lu Clan]

[Level: Level Two]

[Karma: 100]

[Buildings: Level One, Scroll Depository; Level Two, Forging Room; Level One, Elixir Room; Level One, Training Room; Level One, Arena]

[Savings: 347 Spirit Stones]

[Gross Income: -260 Spirit Stones/Year (Income of 750 Spirit Stones/Year, Expenditure of 1,010 Spirit Stones/Year)]

[Population: 106]

[Resources: Spirit vein of Yuyan Mountain (Level 2), Yuyan Mountain's medicine garden (Level 1), Yuyan Mountain's Energy Stone Mine (Level 2)]

[Territory: Pingyao County (27%)]

[Map]

[Exchange]

[Achievement]

******

"This is a system? This is my ultimate technique? Why did they only give me this after I died?"

Lu Qing had a complicated mix of emotions.

Wouldn't it have been great if they had given him this ultimate technique while he was alive? He had managed to make it to the Golden Core Stage in this treacherous True Cultivation World even without this ultimate technique. Had he possessed this ultimate technique, he would have long been an Almighty Deity!

But what could he do about it?

He understood the primary function of this system when he saw the name "Clan Development System." The function of this system was to develop the strength of his clan.

Karma was akin to the system's currency. He could spend Karma to fulfill various extraordinary functions of the system.

He opened the "Exchange" tab and noticed that it had consolidated all of the functions that he needed to spend Karma on.

Currently, his clan was Level Two, and most of the functions were still locked.

However, there were already several functions that had incredibly extraordinary effects out of those that he could use.

In the "Exchange" tab, there were two categories of the functions he could currently use.

One category was made up of foundational functions. There was only one function here called "Voice Transmission." He could directly send his voice to a family member within the radius of his clan's territory. He could say a sentence every time he spent one Karma.

The other category was made up of randomly appearing "Items." But they would disappear after he had purchased it.

For example, "Level One Status type: Injury Treatment,""Level Two Talent type: Spiritual Root Enhancement," or "Level One Map type: Resource Scouting."

This page would refresh once every ten years. New items would be randomly added to the selection, and there was no fixed quantity or level. The higher the clan's level, the better the items that would appear. These items would also appear in greater quantities.

If Lu Qing were willing to do it, he could spend ten Karma to refresh the page immediately.

These items would not disappear if he did not buy it. The items would be accumulated even if new items were to appear after he had refreshed the page.

Lu Qing generally understood how the system worked after exploring it for quite some time.

He could spend Karma to accomplish any of the functions in the system to cause the clan to improve and rise in level gradually.

The clan's level in the system was directly related to how powerful it was. And its level in the system would increase if the clan had more cultivators—especially powerful cultivators—controlled more factions, had more resources, or had more fame.

There were two ways to gain the currency, Karma.

One was to gain it through normal means, and that required Lu Qing to engage in closed-door training.

He could choose to do it in a manner that was "dead" or "alive."

After he chose the option to train behind closed doors, he could select a time span. He would not be able to operate the system in that specific time span, but he would be able to observe the changes to the data. He could also turn into a soul and wander outside. This method would give him three Karma every year.

If he chose to do the closed-door training in a "dead" manner, he would be limited to the training room. He would have to stay beside his physical body and would not be allowed to leave. He would also not be able to look at the system interface. This method would give him ten Karma every year.

If the level of his clan increased, the Karma he gained through closed-door training would also increase.

The second method of obtaining Karma was through the "Achievement" tab.

There were countless missions to complete in the "Achievement" tab, which spanned an enormous range of areas. He would be able to obtain an "achievement" every time he completed a mission.

These achievements ranged from small ones like "Develop any new resource point to obtain ten Karma" and "Nurture a new Qi Refining Stage cultivator to obtain five Karma" to others like "Fully control Pingyao County,""Become the most powerful clan in Anling Prefecture," and "Exterminate a small enemy clan." There were even bigger missions such as "Establish complete control over the Qingfeng Sect" and "Become a royal clan of the Dayan Dynasty."

After reading it for a while, Lu Qing could confirm that there was no need to complete the missions intentionally. As long as the clan developed steadily, these achievements would naturally be completed and be converted into Karma. They would turn into the currency of the system.

On the whole, didn't this look like a management game? The thing he was managing was his clan.

He had to find ways to obtain Karma and develop his clan. That way, he would be able to obtain more Karma and further increase the level of his clan.

He had played a few of these management games before he crossed over to this world.

However, this time around, the situation was a little special.

It was not just that the target he was managing existed in real life, but more so, it was the clan that he had founded. Every number and name in the "Population" tab represented one of his offspring. They were his sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great-grandsons, and great-granddaughters.

"This…I can't play this game blindly… If I played this game poorly, I would be harming my sons and grandsons. I might even cause my lineage to die out."