Lu Wenen had been a little excited when he returned home with his father.
He had never seen such a large insect. However, he had to maintain his image as an older brother in front of Little Weiwen, though he wanted to share what he witnessed that day when he returned home and saw his grandmother.
However, when he returned home, he saw that his grandmother, Lu Ranting, was arranging the pieces of magic equipment. She had changed her long loose robe for short battle gear that was easier to move around in.
Even though Lu Ranting was already 73, she still looked like a young aunt with a few wrinkles on the side of her eyes.
The three sisters from the Lu Clan's "Chao" generation had exceptional beauty. Lu Ranting looked like her mother, Lu Chaoting. Sometimes, when Lu Qing was floating around Yuyan Mountain, he would occasionally think about his dead eldest daughter when he saw Lu Ranting.
Five years ago, Lu Ranting, as a ninth-tier Qi Refining cultivator, had been stationed at Pingyao County together with Lu Chaojun.
The job was shift-based. Even though the spirit vein at Pingyao County was a Level Two, it was man-made, so it was poorer than the one at Yuyan Mountain. Furthermore, the Lu Clan was only assigned a third of the Cavern Abodes that used the man-made spirit vein at Pingyao County. It was not enough for a cultivator to train in. Lu Ranting had to activate the spiritual energy within the Spirit Stones to train, and that was an expenditure.
Even though Lu Ranting no longer had a chance to advance to the Foundation Building Stage, she had to maintain her cultivation. On the path of cultivation, remaining stagnant meant deterioration for the cultivator. If she did not train well, she might not even be able to maintain her current cultivation level, much less improve.
This was especially so for older cultivators, whose body and spirit had started to weaken. They would become weaker much faster if they stopped training. The decline of their cultivation level would also accelerate.
Of course, the clan would reimburse the Spirit Stones required for training if they got the cultivators of the clan to undertake such a job. Otherwise, no one would be willing to take up a job that would hold back their progress in cultivation.
Lu Ranting had returned to Yuyan Mountain two years ago. Other than heading to the Qingfeng Sect to bring Little Wenen back, she spent nearly all of her time on her cultivation.
It was just that she had to get busy again.
Lu Mingcheng quickly stepped forward when he witnessed the scene and said, "Mother, is there a mission from the clan?"
"Yes." Lu Ranting calmly glanced toward Lu Mingcheng. She had been quite disappointed about the fact that her son did not have any Spiritual Roots. It was just that her feelings of disappointment had greatly lessened after Wenen was confirmed to have Double Spiritual Roots.
She rubbed Little Wenen's head and then told her son, "The clan issued me a mission, that I should head to Anling."
Lu Mingcheng had not said anything when Wenen asked in a hurry after he heard that his grandmother had to leave. "Grandmother, how long would you be gone?"
"A few months, if it's fast." Lu Ranting smiled after she replied to her grandson's question. However, there was a shred of worry at the corners of her eyes.
She looked to the horizon. She was carrying an important mission on her trip to Anling City this time.
Her son did not think much about the matter. However, Wenen was young, and his pure heart was even more sensitive. "Grandmother, would there be any danger?"
Lu Ranting did not want her family to worry about her. However, she then had a thought. Wenen was already ten years old and a Qi Refining cultivator. He had to step into the world of cultivation in the future. She should not view him as a child when it came to some issues.
Thus, she squatted down and looked at Lu Wenen in the eye. "Perhaps."
"Can…Can you not go?"
Lu Ranting shook her head and said, "The clan gives us protection and aids us in our cultivation. Also, you only managed to enter the Qingfeng Sect because the clan mobilized plenty of resources. We cannot forget our roots. When the clan needs us, we, as cultivators, have to step forward. Wenen, even though you are in the sect, you have to remember that you are a child of the Lu Clan. You have to fight for the Lu Clan."
These words counted as a form of legacy.
Her mother had once told her these words. Lu Ranting had seen her mother die in battle and put those words into practice when the Zhao Clan attacked them. Today, when she was about to head out and tackle her mission, she repeated these words to her grandson.
Ever since the great ancestor was severely injured and locked himself in, with no one knowing if he were dead or alive, the five generations of the Lu Clan had resisted the arduous conditions and the consecutive crises that threatened to annihilate them. Without these sacrifices, how would the clan's next generation be able to live in the conditions they had now? No matter how down and out the Lu Clan was, their conditions were far better than being an unaffiliated cultivator and roaming in the outside world.
Additionally, over these past five years, she had witnessed the clan's situation to have gradually improved.
None of the children from her lineage were exceptionally talented. They were all rather ordinary. Only her grandson displayed some form of talent.
She was content, but she also had a reckoning. She hoped that the legacy would not be broken if she indeed met with an accident.
Even though Little Wenen had already become a cultivator of the sect and had to be stationed permanently there as well, she even more so hoped that Little Wenen would not forget his roots.
"I understand, Grandmother."
"Then I'll take my leave."
"Be careful, Mother."
Lu Ranting slowly nodded as she looked at her son. "I know my limits."
******
Anling City was the capital of Anling Prefecture. It was also the largest city in the prefecture. It was much richer and more prosperous than Pingyao County.
In the past, this city was the focal point of the Qingfeng Sect when it came to governing the entire prefecture. After Lu Qing became powerful, the Lu Clan had also obtained several benefits from the area. That was because Lu Qing was a Golden Core cultivator. The Qingfeng Sect had to make several compromises.
However, after Lu Qing sustained severe injures and had to close himself in, the interests of the Lu Clan in Anling City withered drastically within ten years. Anling City once again fell into the control of the Qingfeng Sect. Also, the Zhao Clan had absorbed much of the benefits that once belonged to the Lu Clan.
Currently, the Lu Clan had almost no control over Anling City. Furthermore, the Zhao Clan was the second most powerful faction in Anling City, just falling behind the Qingfeng Sect.
Thus, Lu Ranting was exceptionally cautious when she was heading toward Anling City. She did not want her tracks to be discovered.
The mission she was undertaking had to do with the recipe of the Foundation Building Elixir that her clan had newly obtained.
She had been shocked when she heard the clan master say that the clan had a recipe for the Foundation Building Elixir. While she was in disbelief, her heart was also filled with joy.
Having the recipe meant that the clan would be able to brew their own Foundation Building Elixirs if they had a Level Three alchemist and the materials in the future. That was of strategic importance.
Of course, the recipe of the Foundation Building Elixir was useless to the clan as it was now.
Other than the Foundation Building Elixir, various treasures and powerful elixirs rarely appeared on the market. That was because most factions attempted to monopolize the profits.
However, the current situation of the clan did not allow them to establish a monopoly of resources by preventing the spread of the Foundation Building Elixir's recipe.
Rather than holding onto the recipe, they might as well trade it for benefits that they could actually use.
It was just that selling the recipe was no easy task.
A cultivator might seem high and mighty. To an average person, a cultivator was like a sage surrounded by a saintly aura. However, in the ruthless world of cultivation, there was no shortage of murder, theft, robbery, or even deeds that were even more unethical.
Lu Ranting was heading to Anling City as an advance guard.