Bestowing Rewards

Yang Lingqing stood on the mountain for another night.

Only after personally witnessing the safe return of the Yang family members did her hand, clenched tightly behind her back, finally relax.

Though she knew through the Immortal Venerable's connection that the family members were unharmed, she still needed to see it for herself before the stone in her heart could drop.

All the arrangements and schemes for this journey were her doing, but as the acting Family Head, she was bound to the estate and could not personally travel to Qinghe.

In truth, it was not just this once. Every time Yang Lingqing finalized a strategy, she worried that her plans drawn on paper might contain fatal oversights.

After all, in true battles and struggles, the situation changed in the blink of an eye and would only ever be more complex than anticipated.

Bound by the limits of her experience and cultivation realm, she could not possibly account for every sudden variable; she could only try her utmost to make her thoughts a little more thorough.

Fortunately, although the family's cultivators had encountered trouble during their outings, they always managed to turn danger into safety in the end.

This inevitably brought to mind the family's Immortal Venerable.

Ultimately, Chen Yang was the greatest foundation of confidence behind all of Yang Lingqing's schemes. It was precisely because of his unwavering support that the Yang family cultivators could repeatedly emerge from peril unscathed.

Whenever she thought of this, Yang Lingqing felt a deep gratitude welling in her heart.

"Basking in the Immortal Venerable's divine protection; the Yang family shall not dare forget it for generations!"

After the group returned home, Elder Yu recounted everything they had encountered on their journey. Hearing this, Yang Lingqing assumed her authority as Family Head and bestowed Spirit Crystals upon everyone as a reward for venturing down the mountain.

The Yang family had exerted tremendous effort to aid Qinghe this time. Not only had they dispatched all their cultivators aside from Yang Lingqing, but they had also spent a heavy price requesting Chen Yang to refine a massive number of talismans for support.

Having paid such a steep price, what they plotted for naturally had to be greater.

Regarding the matter in Qinghe, Yang Lingqing had thought it through with absolute clarity.

At its core, this affair had nothing to do with the Yang family. They had no obligation whatsoever, nor any need, to intervene.

But if they were to involve themselves, they had to commit their full strength and become the ones to turn back the raging tide. They had to achieve a result that would gain reputation, favor, and profit together.

She wanted to expand the Yang family's influence from the two towns northward into Qinghe, to hand Gao Hui a fated chance to break through his realm, and to ensure that their final gains far exceeded the single inferior Marrow-Washing Pill Tian Yu had offered.

Judging by the results, the Yang family had achieved all three of these aims.

Now, the name of the Songshan Yang Family was known to everyone in the Qinghe region. In the streets and alleys, the common folk passed around tales of the Yang family's immortal masters descending the mountain to slay demons, eradicate evil, and save the people.

In passing, they had also done Gao Hui a great favor. By using the evil creature of Sanglu Valley, they forged a path for him to advance in realm. After Tian Yu was transferred away, the Wangchao merit for purging the evil would fall squarely on Gao Hui's head.

As for profit, they had filled their pockets to bursting.

Aside from the Marrow-Washing Pill Tian Yu had initially promised, they had now claimed the Zhang Family's Sanglu Valley, and there would be further rewards bestowed by the Wangchao in the days to come.

Of course, more important than all of this was the Mother Jade recovered from the cave dwelling in Sanglu Valley.

The Immortal Venerable was the very foundation of the Yang family's survival, so the family placed unparalleled importance on such stone-attribute treasures that could be offered as tribute!

Upon returning to the main courtyard of the Restricted Grounds, the four Yang family members immediately offered this Mother Jade to Chen Yang.

"So big!"

That was Chen Yang's first reaction upon seeing the Mother Jade.

Its volume was nearly five times that of the previous Child Jade. Sweeping it with his spiritual sense, Chen Yang felt an extremely pure fluctuation of Spiritual Qi radiating from within.

Calculated proportionally, consuming this Mother Jade would instantly fill the white space within his body, pushing him straight to the Qi Gathering Perfection realm.

The chance to break through was right before his eyes, but Chen Yang was in no rush to consume the Mother Jade.

Such a massive object would require a significant amount of time to digest, which would inevitably force him into a deep slumber.

Coupled with the sleep required to break through his realm, he would be unconscious for at least a year.

If he simply fell asleep right now, the Yang family's Fire Talisman contracts for this year and the next, along with the hundred Divine Movement Talismans promised to the Su Family, would all fall through.

Moreover, Chen Yang did not want to wake up only to find that some massive disaster had befallen the Yang family.

He had watched these children grow up. Though he could not protect them perfectly forever, he still wanted to ensure they did not walk ahead of Yang Guanfeng into the grave.

Therefore, before consuming the stone, Chen Yang had to make some preparations.

He transmitted his will to Elder Yu and Yang Lingqing separately, informing them that he would enter Secluded Cultivation in one year's time and required a secure location for his breakthrough.

After a swift discussion, the Yang family decided to repurpose the vacant cave dwelling beneath Sanglu Valley as Chen Yang's site for Secluded Cultivation.

Guarded by natural terrain, Sanglu Valley was geographically much safer than the Yang family estate.

Furthermore, the spiritual dynamics at the bottom of the valley were stable, making it highly suitable for Secluded Cultivation.

For now, they only needed to sweep away the remnants of the Zhang Family and reconstruct the protective formation to bring it back into use.

Anything entrusted by the Immortal Venerable was a matter of paramount importance to the Yang family.

Upon receiving Chen Yang's transmission, they immediately moved into action.

Yang Lingrui and Yang Linghu traveled to Sanglu Valley to clear out the mess left by the Zhang Family, while Elder Yu went ahead to stake out the Fish Ridge River Market. On the very first day the market opened its gates, he invited Liu Zihao from the Formation Pavilion out to Sanglu Valley.

One month later.

The Wangchao's rewards were issued and personally delivered to the Yang family by Gao Hui.

Four thousand Spirit Crystals, one high-grade Marrow-Washing Pill for the late Qi Gathering stage, and one high-grade Heaven-Blessing Talisman for the late Qi Gathering stage.

Added together, the total value easily exceeded six thousand Spirit Crystals!

"This reward is far too heavy. I fear my Yang family cannot bear the weight of it."

Looking clearly at these items, Yang Lingqing felt that something was amiss.

The total cost the Yang family had expended for this journey, even by the most generous estimates, was only around a thousand Spirit Crystals. Even accounting for the price of dispatching six cultivators, it peaked at no more than fifteen hundred Spirit Crystals.

Yang Lingqing kept her own ledgers. By her calculations, a final Wangchao reward of roughly three thousand, five hundred Spirit Crystals would have been more than sufficient.

Yet the bounty before her was nearly double her estimate.

If someone told her there were no hidden motives behind this, Yang Lingqing absolutely would not believe it.

Seeing her misgivings, Gao Hui spoke up to explain, "Family Head Yang, your suspicions are correct. In truth, only those four thousand Spirit Crystals are the Wangchao's reward. The remaining high-grade Marrow-Washing Pill and high-grade Heaven-Blessing Talisman were added by Lord He in the name of the He Family."

"The He Family?"

Yang Lingqing was slightly startled.

The He Family, much like the Su Family, was a genuine aristocratic clan.

The difference lay in their foundations: the Su Family maneuvered between the factions of the Wangchao and the Sects, playing both sides, whereas the He Family firmly stood with the Wangchao.

It was precisely for this reason that Su Lingyun had let Yang Lingrui and the Yang family go; his family's neutral stance made him unwilling to completely offend any faction.

But this He Family was entirely different. Whether it was the recommendation letter given to Yang Lingrui or the supplementary rewards presented today, they were clearly sending a signal-they wanted to pull the Yang family into their fold.

"Then... does this Lord He require my family to do something in return?" Yang Lingqing asked, a trace of worry on her face.

"I understand Family Head Yang's concerns, but you may set your heart at ease. This is a massive layout set by the Wangchao, encompassing a vast web of factions. Simply completing the arrangement of pieces on the board might take as long as ten years."

Gao Hui steadied his expression and said solemnly, "The Yang family has shown me great kindness. If I did not know the roots of this matter, I would never drag your family into the muddy waters. I cannot explain the specific details to you, but regarding the future development of the Yang family, this is absolutely a fated chance that comes only once in a thousand years!"

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