Eternal Life by Dual Cultivation-Chapter 159 - 126: The Legend of the Child of Destiny (Part 2)

"The Patriarch… she's already at Middle Stage Golden Core Cultivation, isn't she?"

Ling Changqing glanced at her, slightly surprised, and nodded. "That's right. She just broke through a few days ago." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Ling Qiyue and the Ling Family's upper echelons had no intention of hiding this matter.

The higher her cultivation, the greater the deterrent against hostile forces, making them even more hesitant to act rashly.

Xue Qingtan's eyes narrowed, and she said pointedly, "Junior Brother Ling, I've noticed that the female cultivators around you, especially the women you're close to, seem to be improving their cultivation at quite a fast pace…"

"Is that so? They work hard enough on their own, and it's not like they lack resources. What does that have to do with me?" Ling Changqing said dismissively.

His only public Dao Companion right now was Tang Qiu Yao. His relationship with Ling Qiyue was not public, and the same was true for Qin Yun, Ling Bingyun, and Ling Xueyu.

In the Cultivation Realm, as long as a pair of Dao Companions had a decent Dual Cultivation Technique Manual, their cultivation speed would indeed be somewhat faster, relatively speaking.

But that was only relative. If a cultivator's own aptitude was too poor, then it wouldn't matter how many Dao Companions they found.

"Heh, well, perhaps I was mistaken…" Xue Qingtan said meaningfully, her gaze focused.

'It doesn't matter whether this guy is playing dumb; I already have the answer I want.'

'To put it simply, for the Ling Family's rapid rise over the past decade or so, this handsome, purple-robed young man before me is responsible for at least half the credit. The other half should go to Ling Qiyue.'

'It's foreseeable that in a few more decades, the Ling Family will undoubtedly become the masters of the entire Feiyu Sea Region.'

'And once Ling Changqing reaches the Golden Core Master Realm, won't Hanyue Continent and Fuyue Continent also become the Ling Family's territory sooner or later?'

'As for goals further in the future, I can't really predict them right now.'

'Just how high the Ling Family will reach in the future, whether they'll have the chance to grow into a great power on the Nascent Soul Level, is still uncertain. There are too many unknown variables.'

Xue Qingtan's expression was complicated, and she sighed inwardly.

According to the rules of the Xingyun sun Commerce Association, an Immortal Seed like Ling Changqing—one with a special Life Chart, immense Destiny, and great Blessed Fortune—must be reported immediately, bypassing the usual chain of command.

Afterward, a special envoy from the highest levels would come to confirm the matter, bring the target back to the organization, and hand them over to a high-ranking figure.

Xue Qingtan had never really believed the various legends about the Children of Destiny before. However, after meeting Ling Changqing, she felt her views starting to change.

If she reported Ling Changqing to her superiors, the rewards Xue Qingtan would receive would be enough for her to cultivate to the Golden Core Peak Realm. She could even choose a high-ranking figure to take as her master.

For anyone else, this would be an irresistible temptation.

After all, in the Cultivation Realm, where a single Foundation Establishment Pill was enough to make people abandon all principles and fight to the death, examples of turning against family and friends for cultivation resources were everywhere.

But so far, Xue Qingtan still hadn't considered this option, for no logical reason at all.

She herself didn't even know what she was hoping for.

"How many mortals have been moved to Changqing Continent so far?" Ling Changqing asked.

Qin Yun replied, "About forty percent. There won't be too many more to move, since we can't abandon Zenxin Island and Longhuan Island either."

Ling Changqing nodded and said nothing more.

The number of mortals in the Ling Family's territory was limited. Even including the population on Longhuan Island, the total was less than two hundred million people.

So they would have to encourage them to have more children, relying on time to slowly grow the population. Only then could they ensure there was enough manpower to develop and build up Changqing Continent.

After another look around, Ling Changqing ordered the Flying Ship to depart and return to the family headquarters.

「In the Women's Embroidery Tower.」

At the moment, Ling Qiyue was not refining pills in the Alchemy Room, nor was she attending to family business.

She was sitting by the window, her dress as white as snow, a Pill Scripture in her jade-like hands, which she was slowly flipping through.

Nearby, the noble and charming Tang Qiu Yao, dressed in a bright red gown, was organizing and checking the family's income and expense ledgers from the previous month, occasionally exchanging a few words with Ling Qiyue.

Ling Changqing walked in with a light step, immediately wrapping his arms around Ling Qiyue's voluptuous body and letting his hands roam. This earned him a coquettish protest as she snatched a Jade Scroll from the table and tried to hit him with it.

He dodged it nimbly, then familiarly made his way over to Tang Qiu Yao, wrapping his arms around the stunning beauty and delightedly nuzzling against her.

"Senior Sister, they're too big. Why don't I help you hold them?"

Ling Changqing said, feeling the heavy weight on his conscience.

"You scoundrel, can't you be serious for a moment in broad daylight?" Ling Qiyue chided, her beautiful face blushing like a sunset.

Ling Changqing just smiled, not letting go. "Senior Sister, when are we going out to sea to take a look? I've been back for so many days, and I'm getting restless just sitting around at home!"

It had been over a year since they returned from exploring the Immortal Mansion Ruins.

Having been idle for a long time, Ling Changqing was itching for some action. He naturally wanted to go "work" at sea with his senior sisters again, or maybe stir up some trouble for those three rival powers.

Ling Qiyue mused, "It's not a good time to start a conflict with those three. As long as they don't provoke us, there's no need for us to make an unnecessary move."

Right now, everyone in the Ling Family, except for Ling Changqing, was busy. They had a ton of matters to deal with, and if not that, they were focused on their cultivation. They really didn't have the spare time to proactively start a war.

Tang Qiu Yao put down the ledger in her hands and said, "Junior Brother, while you were in seclusion last time, I took a trip around the nearby sea regions. The seafloor… well, I wouldn't say it's completely desolate, but it's not far from it."

In short, the population of living creatures on the seabed off the coast of Changqing Continent had drastically decreased. There were very few high-grade beasts still alive.

This was an aftereffect of the eruption of the undersea super-volcanoes, and it still hadn't completely subsided.

The situation was similar in the waters near Longhuan Island and Zenxin Island, as well as in the territories of the smaller surrounding powers.

"So, you're saying the family's Pearl Gatherer teams are basically out of a job now?" Ling Changqing asked thoughtfully.

"Exactly," Ling Qiyue said. "If we want to find resources in the sea now, we'll have to go to the depths of the Feiyu Sea Region."

She looked at Ling Changqing, a charming glint dancing in her beautiful, clear eyes, and said softly,

"Don't be impatient. Once we're done with this busy period, we'll go take a trip to the depths of the Eastern Pole Ocean and bring back a batch of resources."

She was now at Middle Stage Golden Core Cultivation and had several Low Grade and Middle Grade Magical Treasures. With the protection of Ling Changqing's Destiny, even going a thousand zhang deep into the sea wouldn't be a problem.

"Alright then, it's a deal!" Ling Changqing agreed.

Tang Qiu Yao snorted, then suddenly twisted his ear with a backhand grip and said with a smirk,

"I almost forgot. There's something you need to explain to us, isn't there?"

"Uh… what thing?"

Ling Changqing was clearly baffled.

"Still playing dumb, are you?" Tang Qiu Yao asked through gritted teeth. "Those little fox spirits who are always hanging around you, their cultivation seems to have improved quite a bit, hasn't it? Just how much did you 'help' them?"

Following the mother-daughter pair of Qin Yun and Ling Bingyun, the cultivation of two more mother-daughter pairs, Ling Xueyu and Ling Yuzhu, and Ling Yulu and Ling Zhiqing, had also advanced rapidly.

And of course, there were his two personal Maids, Song Xuelan and Ling Menghuan, who were both now at the Late stage Qi Cultivation.

This kind of situation was rare even among established Golden Core powers, let alone an up-and-coming power like the Ling Family.

As for what role Ling Changqing played in all of this, that remained unknown.

Ling Changqing's expression changed slightly, and he quickly explained, "I just exchanged some cultivation insights with them, that's all! I didn't do anything else!"

"Really?"

"Of course! I would never dare to deceive you, Senior Sister!"

"Heh. Believe you? I'd sooner believe in ghosts."

Tang Qiu Yao huffed coquettishly and finally let go of his ear.

Ling Qiyue smiled faintly. "Within the family, there are only a handful of female cultivators with good aptitude who are worth nurturing,

It's fine if you help them out when you have time, Little Junior Brother. Just remember not to go chasing skirts outside."

"That won't happen, Senior Sister. You can rest assured!" Ling Changqing said. He truly hadn't thought about going out and getting involved with female cultivators of unknown origins.

When he went to the Celestial Fate Pavilion before, it was only to 'fleece the sheep' and harvest Divine Soul Origin. He never actually thought about bringing any female cultivators back with him.