Chapter 20: Returning Home

“No one is perfect, Changsheng; it’s alright to make mistakes, as long as you correct them. To acknowledge one's errors and promptly rectify them is the greatest virtue. Our family is currently struggling financially, and while everyone has their own selfish desires, if everyone only looks out for themselves during this difficult time, the family will eventually be doomed,” Wang Yaojing instructed with profound meaning.

The Wang family was truly poor, perhaps not even able to afford a spirit artifact for everyone. At such a time, it was natural to set aside personal desires. While selfishness was normal, it couldn't be indulged. Those who made contributions would be rewarded by the family.

Wang Changsheng bowed respectfully to Wang Yaojing and said, “Granduncle Fifth, this grandson will certainly engrave your teachings in his heart.”

Wang Yaojing was very pleased with Wang Changsheng's attitude and inquired about his daily cultivation.

Wang Changsheng answered each question without hiding anything.

“Granduncle Fifth, this grandson discovered a section of a spirit vein some time ago, but hadn’t had time to report it yet.”

The spirit vein was very small, negligible even. Wang Changsheng had no use for it, so reporting it to the family to exchange for cultivation resources seemed like a good idea.

“What? Where is the spirit vein? How big is it?” Wang Yaojing's expression changed slightly, showing some excitement.

“It's in a valley near Wang Family Town. It's a first-tier spirit vein, only about two zhang in size, which I discovered by chance. The spiritual energy is thin, so it's not worth sending people to guard it.”

Wang Yaojing was a little disappointed. He smiled slightly at Wang Changsheng and said, “Regardless, it's still a spirit vein. Perhaps there are other spirit veins nearby. It seems we need to thoroughly survey the areas under our control to see if there are any other discoveries. This spirit vein counts as another contribution from you.”

“That's right. If it weren't for Changsheng this time, we might not have discovered this Profound Gold ore vein. Once we've finished surveying the scale of the Profound Gold mine, we should thoroughly check the area near Qing Shi Town. Since there's a Profound Gold ore vein here, we might discover other metal ore veins as well,” Wang Mingzhong agreed with Wang Yaojing's suggestion.

A quarter of an hour later, a tall, slender youth in yellow robes emerged from the cave. He bowed to Wang Changsheng and the two elders, saying, “Granduncle Ninth, Great-Grandfather Seventh, Great-Great-Grandfather Fifth, this grandson has conducted a preliminary survey. This is a small Profound Gold ore vein. According to our calculations, with ten cultivators working simultaneously and under reasonable mining practices, we can extract two to three thousand jin of Profound Gold ore per day. Generally, one hundred jin of Profound Gold ore can be refined into one liang of Profound Gold. Based on this, the ore extracted in a single day can yield two to three jin of Profound Gold. We estimate it will only be enough for three to four years of mining.”

“Two to three jin of Profound Gold a day!” Wang Yaojing's voice was heavy.

One jin of Profound Gold was worth thirty spirit stones on the market. Two jin of Profound Gold would be sixty spirit stones. Sixty spirit stones a day would amount to twenty-one thousand nine hundred spirit stones a year.

As an elder of the Wang family, Wang Yaojing was quite knowledgeable about the family's finances.

It was important to note that even with hundreds of clan members working hard all year, the Wang family couldn't earn even ten thousand spirit stones. This Profound Gold ore vein, however, could generate over twenty thousand spirit stones for the Wang family in a single year. With this Profound Gold ore vein, the Wang family's urgent financial difficulties would certainly be resolved.

“It can be mined for three to four years!” Wang Mingzhong was extremely excited.

Wang Yaojing took a deep breath, stroked his beard, and asked, “Mingzhong, I remember you have a second-tier low-grade paper crane talisman soldier, whose flying speed is comparable to a low-grade flying magical artifact. Do you still have that?”

“Yes, I do! Uncle Fifth, do you want me to go back and report to Third Brother?”

“Excellent! Immediately use it to return to the clan and inform Mingyuan about the scale of the Profound Gold ore vein. Have Mingyuan send thirty additional Qi Condensation cultivators to guard and mine the Profound Gold ore here. Qinglin, Changsheng, you two will go back with Mingzhong and report the details of this matter to Mingyuan.”

Wang Mingzhong nodded quickly in agreement and accepted the task.

Hearing this, Wang Changsheng was overjoyed, but then he remembered his father. After a slight hesitation, he asked, “Granduncle Fifth, is it appropriate for me to return to the clan now? After all, I am the Celestial Master of Ping'an County and am supposed to be stationed there. I think it would be enough for Uncle Seventh and Qinglin to go back, so I can avoid my father's reprimand.”

“I'm the one sending you back. If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility. The position of Celestial Master will be temporarily filled by someone else. I'm not sending you back to play; I'm sending you back to report the situation. You've been in Ping'an County for three years and are familiar with the situation, and you discovered this Profound Gold ore vein. It's perfectly reasonable for you to go back and report. This is official business; your father won't blame you.”

“That's right! Changsheng, this is official business. If Third Brother blames you, I'll be the first to object,” Wang Mingzhong chimed in.

Hearing this, Wang Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.

To be honest, after three years away from home, he also wanted to go back and see his family.

Wang Mingzhong slapped the storage pouch at his waist, and a green light flew out, revealing a palm-sized green paper crane.

“Expand.”

With a soft command, Wang Mingzhong cast a spell on the green paper crane.

The green paper crane let out a crisp chirp. With a flap of its wings, its body expanded dramatically to two zhang in size. Countless green runes lit up on its surface, radiating brilliant spiritual light.

Talisman soldiers are products combining artifact refining techniques and talisman crafting. The paper crane talisman soldier, specifically, is a type of flying talisman soldier. Different talisman soldiers have different flying speeds and different numbers of engraved runes. However, talisman soldiers share one common characteristic: they are expensive. Even a first-tier low-grade talisman soldier costs three hundred spirit stones.

Every advantage has a disadvantage. Flying talisman soldiers only require a small amount of magic power to operate and do not consume much, but their drawback is a fixed flying speed that cannot be accelerated by injecting more magic power. In contrast, flying spirit artifacts or flying magical artifacts can increase their speed by having a large amount of magic power injected into them. If enough magic power is injected, a low-grade flying spirit artifact can achieve the speed of a mid-grade flying spirit artifact.

Wang Mingzhong was a key cultivation candidate for the Wang family. If resources were sufficient, he would have been prioritized for Foundation Establishment. However, as the family was currently facing difficulties, not many cultivation resources were allocated to him. Thus, Wang Mingzhong had to go out and work, allowing the more talented Chang and Qing generation disciples to cultivate peacefully on Qinglian Mountain.

Concerned about Wang Mingzhong's safety, Wang Yaozong bestowed upon him a second-tier low-grade flying talisman soldier for self-preservation.

“Come aboard! Although it's a second-tier low-grade flying talisman soldier, its speed is comparable to a low-grade flying magical artifact. We should be able to return to Qinglian Mountain in less than an hour.”

Wang Mingzhong was the first to jump on, followed closely by Wang Changsheng and Wang Qinglin.

“Uncle Fifth, I'm taking them back now. I'll leave this place to you.”

The green paper crane let out a crisp cry from its mouth, flapped its wings, and shot into the sky.

The paper crane talisman soldier flew extremely fast. The rushing wind whistled past, making Wang Changsheng's hair fly wildly.

“By the way, Uncle Seventh, how are my father and mother doing recently?” Wang Changsheng asked, settling himself down, his face full of anticipation.

“Third Brother and Third Sister-in-Law are both doing very well. Third Brother is the same as always, spending most of his time in the study handling clan affairs. Third Sister-in-Law and Elder Sister-in-Law, along with the other female family members, have recently been busy harvesting spirit mulberry leaves! I don't know the specifics beyond that; you'll find out when you go back. Since you've finally returned, stay for a couple more days; no one will say anything.”

Wang Changsheng nodded, his heart swelling with joy at the thought of seeing his parents soon.