Chapter 14: The Clan Competition Assembly

  In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and the once peaceful and serene White Stone Town was bustling again. The small rumors spreading from the Liu family's mansion had greatly satisfied the curiosity of the townspeople.

  First, the second young master of the Qin family went missing. Later, the old lady of the Liu family fell critically ill. Then, a mysterious figure tore down the Liu family's medicine-seeking notice. Now, news has spread that the old lady's illness has miraculously improved over the past three days.

  Upon hearing this news, the streets and alleys were filled with discussions and speculations, as everyone was guessing who the mastermind behind the removal of the Medicine Seeking List was.

  Even Xue Shen, a renowned doctor in Qianjiang City known as the "Sage of Apricot Forest", was at a loss when it came to Old Lady Liu's condition. This mysterious expert managed to cure her strange illness in just three short days, and one can only imagine how extraordinary his methods must be - calling him a master of the healing arts is no exaggeration.

  As for the rumors that were spreading like wildfire outside, Du Feiyun naturally didn't pay any attention to them. After returning home, he had been focusing on cultivating and improving his strength.

  That day, he was suppressed by Liu Xiangtian's aura three times in a row, and only then did he understand the enormous gap between Body Refining stage cultivators and Qi Refining stage cultivators. His desire for strength grew even stronger in his heart.

  In three days, except for eating and going to the toilet, he was crazy about practicing, and had hardly stepped out of the small courtyard.

  It was already late at night, and after dinner, Du Fei Yun did not immediately start cultivating, but instead lay on his bed thinking about the events of the day.

  Just at dinner time today, Mrs. Liu, who had just recovered from a serious illness, came to the Du family with her maid, and handed over 1,000 taels of silver and three pieces of hundred-year-old ginseng and Chinese angelica to Du Feiyun.

  Mrs. Liu hadn't been to the Du's house for many years, and this time she came to visit, it was somewhat unexpected.

  Of course, Du was also emotionally stirred when he saw Mrs. Liu come in person, and tears flowed freely. The mother and daughter hugged each other and cried, telling each other about the hardships in their hearts, and chatted for a long time.

  While everyone was chatting, Mrs. Liu asked why Du Feiyun had such superb medical skills that even the great doctor Xue was at a loss for what to do with the illness, and he was able to cure it with medicine.

  Du Feiyun had not yet responded, when Madam Du already beamed with joy and pride as she told Old Lady about how Du Feiyun had learned from a superior master and acquired a set of exquisite martial skills and medical techniques.

  All along, his son had been carrying the reputation of being mediocre, but now Du Feiyun has changed a lot, so it's natural for the Du family to have some pride, which is why he would proudly say these things to his own mother.

  Du Feiyun originally did not want to reveal his true abilities and strength, but he could not stop his mother, so he could only shake his head and smile bitterly.

  Although he was helpless, he couldn't blame his mother for anything, after all, this is human nature.

  On one hand, it's for Mother to be proud of herself, and on the other hand, in Mother Du's heart, Grandma is not an outsider either, so these words can't be said.

  Upon learning of Du Fei Yun's strange encounter, Mrs. Liu was suddenly overjoyed and praised Du Fei Yun profusely.

  Then, Mrs. Liu explicitly stated her intention and proposed that Du Feiyun and his mother return to the Liu family.

  However, Du Feiyun politely declined at the time.

  At first, the Liu family drove them out of their home. Now that so many years have passed, both sides have long since developed a grudge against each other.

  Even if Mrs. Liu went against Mr. Liu's will and let them return to the Liu family on her own, Du Feiyun would not have agreed to it.

  Seeing Du Feiyun's persistence in not agreeing, Mrs. Liu's mood was somewhat low, and she immediately retreated to seek a second best, proposing another request, which was to ask Du Feiyun to participate in the triennial family comparison conference between the three major families in Baishi Town.

  This clan comparison conference is a trial meeting jointly negotiated by the three major families in Baishi Town, held once every ten years, participated by young descendants of each family, with the purpose of motivating the younger generation of each family to work hard and practice diligently.

  Originally, Du Feiyun did not want to help the Liu family with anything again and naturally refused Madam Liu's request. However, Madam Liu begged persistently and declared that this clan comparison conference was a matter of life and death for the Liu family, and his mother, Du Shi, also persuaded him on the side, so Du Feiyun could only say that he would consider it again.

  Then, Mrs. Liu told Du Feiyun about the situation of this family comparison conference in detail.

  The Baishi River next to Baishi Town has fat and delicious fish and shrimp, with many aquatic products, which is the meat that the three big families are fighting for.

  It is decided by the three major families negotiating every ten years at the Family Comparison Conference, with the control of Baishi River being decided by the outcome of winning or losing.

  In the past decade, Baishi River has been controlled by the Liu family, and this year it's time for the control right to be transferred again.

  The Liu family currently has few descendants, with only one male heir, who is Liu Xiangtian's son, Liu Heng.

  Moreover, Liu Heng was born with a stubborn and unruly nature, not thinking of cultivating himself, his strength is extremely low. The other four juniors were all mediocre women, also with average strength, under the circumstances, Old Lady Liu had no choice but to ask Du Feiyun to represent the Liu family in battle.

  The Zhubi Conference is meant to motivate the younger generation of the three families to work hard and cultivate, so it's only natural that there would be valuable prizes to reward the winners.

  Moreover, the three big families agreed that the treasure to be used as a prize should be worth at least 2,000 taels. A treasure of such magnitude would require the three big families to spend some effort, but it wouldn't be too strenuous for them either.

  This year's Clan Competition, the Qin family brought out a martial skill called "Lieti Zhang", which is a cultivation method that Body Refining stage cultivators dream of.

  The treasure produced by the Qin family was a sword named Autumn Water, while the treasure produced by the Bai family was a hundred-year-old heavenly material and earthly treasure called Nine-leaf Purple Lotus.

  When he heard the first two treasures, Du Feiyun was still unmoved. However, when he heard the Nine-Leafed Purple Lotus, his expression changed drastically.

  With a calm expression, he pretended to deliberate for a moment before nodding in agreement under the old lady's expectant gaze.

  If attending the tribal comparison meeting is dangerous or has no benefits, he will not agree to Mrs. Liu's request. In a situation where there are no benefits or life-threatening risks, he absolutely will not help the Liu family.

  He agreed to Mrs. Liu's request mainly because of the reward for the championship, which was the white family's nine-leaf purple lotus!

  Since the day he obtained the Li Shan Yao Dian, Du Fei Yun had been searching through it to find a suitable elixir for his current stage and also to find a cure for his mother's illness.

  Du Feiyun had always had only two wishes, one was to work hard and make money to let his mother and sister live a good life with enough food and clothing, the other was to cure his mother's strange illness and no longer let her suffer from the torture of the disease.

  Of course, after obtaining the Nine Dragon Cauldron, his wish increased by one, that is to strive to improve his own strength and set foot on the path of longevity.

  Mother's illness is very strange, and the cause of the disease cannot be found for many years. After many doctors have seen it, the conclusion is similar, that is, mother is born with cold body and excessive yin energy.

  Due to excessive cold energy in her body, Du's physical condition was extremely weak, fearing cold and chill. With even slight changes in the weather, she would experience unbearable pain, with her entire body feeling icy as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

  Du Feiyun rummaged through the Lie Shan Yao Dian for a long time, seeing many kinds of elixirs that could treat internal yin energy stagnation or were suitable for taking after being invaded by yin toxic energy. However, most of them required a cultivation level above the Innate Realm to concoct, which he couldn't do temporarily, and Du Feiyun also couldn't take them.

  It is said that hard work will pay off for those who are diligent, and after a whole month of searching, Du Fei Yun had almost flipped through the entire Lie Shan Yao Dian, finally finding a kind of dan medicine that could be barely refined and taken.

  This Dan medicine is called Chi Yun Dan, belonging to Yang, with a strong and pure Yang power that does not lose its softness, able to dissolve the accumulated Yin cold air inside the body.

  Moreover, what's more important is that this kind of elixir can be barely refined by him, and Du Shi can also take it, but the materials listed in the recipe are extremely rare and difficult to find.

  This medicine may not necessarily cure Du's strange illness, but it can effectively dissolve the stagnant cold air in her body, temporarily relieve the symptoms and alleviate the pain.

  Since finding the prescription for Chi Yun Dan, Du Fei Yun had been memorizing it, silently committing to memory all the required medicinal herbs and refining techniques.

  The White family's Nine-leaf Purple Lotus is one of the thirty-six medicinal materials needed to refine the Chi Yun Dan!

  It was precisely because of this that Du Fei Yun would decide to participate in the Clan Competition without hesitation when he heard about Jiu Ye Zi Lian. He not only wanted to participate in the Clan Competition, but also had to find a way to win, and as for Jiu Ye Zi Lian, it was even more necessary!