Ningyu Mountain, Chen Family Territory.
"Patriarch! The Lin family has returned the marriage scrolls for this year's proposed union. They claim to have already formed a marriage alliance with the Wang family."
A Chen clansman held a stack of portraits depicting female cultivators, speaking with urgency as he stood before Patriarch Chen Zhixing.
"What about the Wang family? What's their explanation?" Chen Zhixing furrowed his brows slightly, a visible trace of panic flashing across his face.
"They returned them too. Said they had already confirmed an alliance with the Liu family."
"And the Li family? Our ancestor and the Li clan's forebear were sworn brothers. Surely they wouldn't turn us away?"
The Chen cultivator holding the scrolls lowered his head slightly.
"Why is this happening? Has the heavens decided to doom the Chen family?" Chen Zhixing's lips trembled as if his graying hair grew a few more strands of white before their eyes.
The idea that the Chen family, upheld for centuries, might collapse under his leadership etched bitterness deep into his expression. How would he ever face the ancestors in his twilight years?
"Summon all the elders for a meeting!" Chen Zhixing barked the order, struck by a sudden thought.
"Yes, Patriarch!"
Moments later, the elders of the Chen family gathered. When they saw the portraits laid out before them, combined with the whispers circulating outside, they quickly grasped the situation.
"Patriarch! Disaster is looming for the Chen family. We must act quickly. Should we abandon the ancestral land to preserve the bloodline, or resist to the end?" The Third Elder asked with earnest concern.
"Silence! Ningyu Mountain is a spiritual land hard-won by our ancestors! How can we give it up so easily?!"
Chen Zhixing's voice cracked with intensity, as if the Third Elder had struck a raw nerve. The emotion he'd held back burst forth in a rush.
"Right now, the Chen family has only two Foundation Establishment cultivators. The Li, Lin, and Wang families each have several. How exactly do you expect us to fight back?"
"Then let the Patriarch devise a flawless plan," the Third Elder replied calmly, his tone neutral, though his eyes held a hint of amusement as he regarded the flushed face of the patriarch.
Chen Wentan, the second uncle of Chen Jinshu, had broken through to the ninth layer two years ago and had since become the family's Tenth Elder.
Now, he stood silently at the back of the group, listening to the hushed murmurs without offering his own opinion. He had planned to marry the woman he had long admired after his breakthrough, but internal strife with other families had derailed those hopes.
He couldn't bring her into a clan so unstable, and yet he couldn't abandon his family because of their blood ties. So he had delayed. And felt deep guilt toward the woman for doing so.
"Many of the clan's young women are like Jinshu—triple spiritual roots and good potential. The Patriarch and others believed this would prove our sincerity in alliances."
"But now, with a broken line of strong descendants, how can the family move forward?"
Back when he wasn't yet an elder, he had no say in major decisions. And now that the crisis was upon them, he had no idea what the right course of action was. Even if the other families weren't ready to openly attack the Chens, in ten years or less, the family's decline would be inevitable.
"What suggestions do the elders have?" Chen Zhixing asked quietly after a long pause.
"If marriage alliances are no longer an option," the Grand Elder said after a moment's thought, "we could consider relinquishing part of our spiritual ore holdings to ensure a few years of peace."
The families jointly operated several spiritual ore mines. Though the Chen family's share was small, it was still profitable—and tempting to the others.
"Has it really come to this?" Chen Zhixing's eyes dimmed, as if he had finally surrendered to the weight of his convictions.
Three Months Later – Bìshuǐ Peak, a secluded courtyard.
Above, shimmering icy blue mist gathered in the sky like blooming spiritual flowers—stunningly beautiful. In an instant, the surrounding spiritual energy surged toward the courtyard below.
A passing cultivator shouted, "Someone's forming their Foundation!"
Inside the courtyard, a woman sat bathed in bubble-like spiritual energy, her body glowing with an unmistakable blue light. This was Chen Qiaozhen, who had traded with Chen Jinshu for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Using various spiritual items, she had reached the ninth layer in under two weeks. Then, she entered seclusion for over a month.
At last, a month ago, she began her Foundation breakthrough. Thanks to various fortuitous encounters she'd had while out traveling, she successfully established her Foundation even with just a mid-grade pill. She quickly circulated her cultivation method to stabilize her foundation, absorbing the blue aura back into her body.
"One month to reach Foundation—smoother than expected."
"Let's hope the Chen family can hold out until I return."
The Chen clan's territory lay tens of thousands of miles away from Xuánmíng Sect—impossible to reach quickly without Foundation cultivation.
Now that she had formed her Foundation, she could take sect missions and board spirit ships that traveled to trade markets, saving considerable time. After another five days of consolidating her cultivation, she refined a Tier-2 spirit sword.
"It's time to go! First, I'll update my status to inner disciple at Xuánmíng Sect. With that title, those clans will think twice."
After a moment's thought, she used a message talisman to inform Chen Jinshu. If Jinshu could arrive in time, perhaps she could exchange her help for a reward—making the effort less dangerous.
Now that she held dual identities—as an inner disciple of Xuánmíng Sect and Chen Jinshu as a personal disciple—she could guarantee that the Chen family wouldn't be bullied for the next century.
"So this is the power of personal strength. Marriage alliances are just begging the heavens for mercy—what a weakling's strategy."
Medicine King Peak – Plum Ink Courtyard.
Chen Jinshu's cultivation had reached the peak of Qi Refining—she was only one Foundation Pill and a brief seclusion away from breaking through. Still, to ensure a thorough advancement, she had spent the past three months using Condensation Pills to strengthen her spiritual consciousness.
Her spiritual sense had initially progressed the fastest, but later, her body cultivation—bolstered by her master's medicinal meals—had overtaken it. Years of stored cultivation allowed her to reach the peak of Qi Refining naturally. Only her spiritual consciousness now lagged slightly, sitting at the late Qi Refining stage. Striving for perfection, she wouldn't rush the breakthrough.
At this moment, the last batch of Condensation Pills had just finished refining in the cauldron before her.
Then a message talisman from Chen Qiaozhen floated into view.
She picked it up, read the contents, and sighed.
"So she broke through in three months. I underestimated her."
She'd thought she'd reach Foundation first, given that Qiaozhen was only at the late eighth layer when they last met. She assumed Qiaozhen would take five to six months. She hadn't expected her to be so far ahead.
"Looks like she really did gain something valuable from that prophetic dream of hers."
Still, Chen Jinshu wasn't envious. Everyone had their own fate. She would go at her own pace. A fast breakthrough wasn't always a good one.
"Now that she's Foundation and promoted to inner disciple, maybe the Chen family's crisis can be resolved. Hopefully, she makes it in time."
Two months ago, her uncle and mother had sent letters warning that the Lin family, no longer able to sit still, had joined forces with the Wang and Liu families to harass and infringe on Chen territory.
Though the Chens had already surrendered part of their spiritual ore profits, the Lin family remained unsatisfied, pushing for more.