"Hmm, that makes sense." Lan Chang'an chuckled, not dismissing Li Ergou's thoughts.
For someone like Li Ergou, from a farming background, being able to marry and have children was the pinnacle of success in life; cultivating immortality might just be a side pursuit.
Lan Chang'an, on the other hand, was interested in the Mu family's spiritual vein and had no interest in marrying and bearing children for them.
In his previous life, he came from a prestigious cultivation family, reaching the pinnacle of Core Formation Realm, with numerous wives and offspring.
"Junior Lan, you might want to consider it. The cultivation world in Liang Kingdom isn't stable right now, and our Mu family, as a righteous cultivation family, has a good reputation."
The head of the Mu family didn't press the matter and turned to other young men.
Lan Chang'an hadn't made a decision yet and decided to inquire about the Mu family's situation first.
Lin Yi, who was well-informed, was approached by Lan Chang'an for information.
Lin Yi didn't refuse and pondered, "I seem to have heard of the Mu family by the Feiyue Lake..."
"Don't rush. Let me look into it for you."
Saying so, Lin Yi went into the crowd to inquire about the cultivation families.
"Lan Big Brother, why is Young Master Lin so easy to talk to now?" Li Ergou muttered.
Before this, Lin Yi had been dismissive of them. Towards the two of them, he had even been somewhat disdainful.
Lan Chang'an smiled. Lin Yi was adapting to the role of a cultivator.
Everyone had been eliminated by the sect and were now at the bottom of the cultivation world. Once Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou joined a cultivation family, their future prospects would be better than those of bottom-tier wandering cultivators.
In the cultivation world, It was always better to have one more friend rather than an enemy.
...
Shortly after, Lin Yi hurried back, saying seriously:
"I've inquired. The Mu family by Feiyue Lake is a legitimate cultivation family with no bad reputation."
"In recent years, they've suffered heavy losses from a dispute with the Zheng family over the ownership of a spiritual mine, losing nearly half of their young cultivators. Additionally, the Mu family hasn't had many new recruits with spiritual roots in the past few years, so they urgently need to replenish their numbers!" Lan Chang'an understood immediately after hearing this.
The young talents eliminated by the sect, had little value except for their spiritual roots.
Since the head of the Mu family had personally come to recruit and wasn't resorting to underhanded tactics, it was unlikely that they would face any problems.
"Rumor has it that the Mu family's only Foundation Establishment ancestor was seriously injured in a battle several years ago and might not live for more than ten years." Lin Yi suddenly lowered his voice. The implication was that the future prospects of the Mu family weren't very optimistic.
"I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Brother Lin." Lan Chang'an wasn't concerned.
If it weren't for this special situation, how could outsiders like them have the opportunity to join a cultivation family? As for how long the Mu family's ancestor would live and what the future held for the Mu family...
It had nothing to do with him!
Anyway, the Mu family was just a transitional place in Lan Chang'an's cultivation journey. If he encountered any trouble, he could just leave.
...
"Junior Lan, what do you think?"
The elegant-looking head of the Mu family, dressed in green robes, looked towards Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou, who had returned.
"We both agree to join the Mu family. But this junior has a small request." Lan Chang'an arched his hand.
"Oh, what is it?"
"I, this junior, am sincerely dedicated to the immortal path. At the beginning of my cultivation journey, I do not wish to indulge in relationships with women. I hope Senior Mu can give me a ten-year grace period. After ten years, I have no objection to marrying and having children."
"Ten years?"
The head of the Mu family snorted as if a muffled thunder echoed in the void.
Li Ergou stumbled, his face pale, unable to say a word.
At the Eighth Stage of Qi Refining, Mu Maode's absolute dominance over the First Stage was evident.
Lan Chang'an struggled to stabilize himself, feigning a frightened expression. But he didn't retract his request.
"Your will is admirable." After a moment of silence, the head of the Mu family made a concession:
"My Mu family doesn't raise idle people. I can give you a maximum of five years!"
"Five years... Alright!" Lan Chang'an "reluctantly" agreed. Actually, he hadn't expected to postpone for ten years. He just wanted to leave room for negotiation.
Five years' time was within his expectations.
"In five years, if you violate the agreement, you'll have to pay three times the resources provided by my Mu family." The head of the Mu family added with some meaning.
He wasn't stupid. He wouldn't let a junior freeload on the family's resources for several years and then run away. The concession was made because of Lan Chang'an's medium-grade spiritual root.
...
An hour later.
The head of the Mu family selected ten young men with spiritual roots, including Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou. They were all young men with no background.
"Alright, from now on, you will be the external disciples of the Mu family. Follow me back to our residence by Feiyue Lake." The Mu family head led the ten young men down the mountain.
In addition to the Mu family head, there were four Mu family cultivators with Qi Refining stages ranging from the Fourth to the Sixth Layer accompanying them.
After leaving Jin Yun Valley.
The Mu family didn't fly, but rode on sturdy horses. These horses had a trace of spiritual horse bloodline, so even Li Ergou, who didn't know how to ride, wasn't uncomfortable riding it.
"Big Brother Lan, why aren't these cultivators flying us back to the family's residence?" Li Ergou was somewhat disappointed. When they went to Jin Yun Valley for the assessment, they had ridden a flying boat.
"Well... maybe the seniors want to toughen our bodies and wills on the journey." Lan Chang'an said with a solemn expression.
He knew the reason, but as newcomers to the cultivation world without any background, they absolutely couldn't act arrogant.
At the Qi Refining stage, their mana was too weak, and they could only fly using magical tools, which wasn't suitable for long-distance travel. Moreover, flying wasn't fast enough, even slower than an ordinary car on Earth. And it would be burdensome to carry a group of newcomers along.
Compared to flying, riding horses was more practical. It saved mana and energy. If they used up too much mana on a long-distance flight and were picked off by enemies, it would be a big joke.
"Toughening our bodies and wills? That must be it! Big Brother Lan, you know so much!" Li Ergou suddenly realized and believed firmly.
Their conversation couldn't escape the Mu family members leading the way. The head of the Mu family remained silent, while the four Mu family cultivators had strange expressions, and their lips twitched slightly.
...
As night fell.
The Mu family rested in the wilderness.
Hunting, setting up campfires, feeding the horses... The four Mu family cultivators instructed the young men to work.
"Not even sparing any Vitality Restoration Pills?" Lan Chang'an looked at the wild boars and rabbits on the campfire rack, falling into contemplation. The economic situation of the Mu family by Feiyue Lake might be worse than he had imagined.
"Excuse me, Head of the Family, how long will it take to reach the family residence?" One young man asked.
"The horses you're riding have a trace of the bloodline of spiritual horses, so it will only take three months to reach the family." The head of the Mu family sat in front of a separate campfire, with several Mu family disciples on guard near him.
Three months? The 10 young men with spiritual roots looked at each other. Among them were some who were meditating, and their expressions looked grim.
Before reaching the Mu family, they will be in the "spiritually poor area" of the mundane world, and their progress in cultivation would be abysmally slow. This didn't even include the time spent resting on the journey.
It was equivalent to saying that during the two or three months on the road, their cultivation would almost come to a standstill!
"Yunfei, give each of them a piece of spiritual stone." The head of the Mu family hesitated for a moment and called over a handsome young Mu family member who was at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.
"Spiritual stones?" Lan Chang'an felt a slight joy. It seemed he had misjudged the head of the Mu family.
Soon, ten young men with spiritual roots received the distributed spiritual stones.
Lan Chang'an looked at the handful of crystal particles in his palm, emitting a faint spiritual energy fluctuation, with a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. This was spiritual sand.
In the cultivation world, it was a smaller denomination currency than spiritual stones.
1 standard Low-Grade Spiritual Stone = 50 units of Spiritual Sand.
"Hmm, about 20 units of Spiritual Sand, less than half a Low-Grade Spiritual Stone." Lan Chang'an weighed it in his hand and fell into contemplation again. He shouldn't have expected too much.
Anyway, he valued the Mu family's spiritual vein, a place for cultivation. He could figure out how to earn spiritual stones later.
"We have spiritual stones now! Thank you, Head of the Family..." The young men who had just embarked on the path of immortality smiled. Spiritual sand could also provide spiritual energy for cultivation.
"As long as you sincerely join the Mu family and birth offspring, there will be more rewards in the future." The head of the Mu family looked generous. He glanced at the distributed spiritual sand, and his lips twitched imperceptibly.
Receiving the spiritual sand, those young men with cultivation techniques immediately began to cultivate, absorbing the pure spiritual energy from the spiritual sand.
"The first level of the Origin-Opening Scripture, just starting out?" Lan Chang'an inspected the state of mana in his body. He was the Young Lord of the Angry River Gang, and he embarked on the path of immortality after befriending a destitute wandering cultivator, setting foot on the cultivation path.
The Origin-Opening Scripture was a basic technique he had obtained at a great cost from the other party. This technique had no attributes but was advantageous in its ability to smoothly switch to other techniques.
After two lifetimes of cultivation, Lan Chang'an naturally wouldn't cultivate such a common technique. He closed his eyes, recalling the powerful advanced techniques he possessed in his previous life when he reached the pinnacle of the Core Formation stage.
"The Ninefold Inferno Technique, a high-grade fire attribute technique, cultivates nine layers of flames, incinerating all things, with formidable combat power among the same level..."
"The Wind Shadow Scripture, a demonic technique, with peculiar methods, exceptional speed, and decent survival ability..."
...
"No, the goal of this life is to attain the Nascent Soul Realm!" After a long time, he finally made a decision.
"Looks like I can only choose that ancient technique..."