Chapter 38: Four Great Families, Cao Family

Nanshan Fang has a total of six Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators; this is widely recognized.

There is also no one who, after breaking through the Foundation Establishment Realm, hides their cultivation.

Because when a cultivator first establishes the foundation, it triggers a certain degree of heavenly and earthly phenomena; although the disturbance is much smaller than that of forming a Golden Core, in the remote Nanshan Fang, a newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator's breakthrough cannot be concealed.

As for outsiders at the Foundation Establishment Realm, they will certainly rent a Jia-level Cave Dwelling, or the top‑tier Yi-level Cave Dwelling, to ensure a Tier‑two or higher spirit vein supply for cultivation; otherwise their cultivation cannot progress.

So currently Nanshan Fang indeed has only six Foundation Establishment cultivators.

As for whether any of the six have pushed their cultivation beyond the hundred‑foot pole to reach the mid‑stage of the Foundation Establishment, that remains unknown.

On the surface, all six are in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and each has a family or faction behind them.

Among the Foundation Establishment families, there are four in total.

They are the Cao family, the Xu family, and the now precarious, dangerously unstable Mu family and Zhang family.

Among them, the Cao family is the strongest; it has two Foundation Establishment cultivators, a unique situation in Nanshan Fang! The remaining Foundation Establishment cultivator is the owner of Lai Feng Lou. Though he has no clan descendants, he controls Nanshan Fang's only and largest Five‑Star Hotel, with a tremendous gold‑drawing ability; each month he earns a number of Spirit Stones that ordinary Scattered Cultivators can scarcely imagine.

Therefore, even without clan burdens, this Foundation Establishment cultivator is unwilling to leave Nanshan Fang to venture into a great immortal city.

Nanshan Fang's resources and opportunities are a bit lacking, and if they go to the Great Immortal City, hoping to open such a tavern again and earn money through near‑monopolistic operation, that would be a fool's dream.

So he prefers to curl up in Nanshan Fang.

As for the four great cultivation families, they do not monopolize any industry in Nanshan Fang, yet their enterprises pervade every aspect of the place; this accumulation, in a sense, is more terrifying than a monopoly.

For example, Nanshan Fang's "real estate"—over half is in the hands of the four families! Hence the relationships among the four families are extremely complex.

On the surface they claim mutual cooperation to develop Nanshan Fang, but behind the scenes they fight for profit, and even magical duels that leave heads shattered and bloodied are not surprising.

If the common rumors are true, in a few years the Mu and Zhang families' cultivators will collapse, and the Cao and Xu families will unquestionably move to annex them.

……

Cao family, the Cao Clan Spirit Symbol Shop.

As the current top family in Nanshan Fang, possessing two Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Cao family's enterprises are the most numerous in Nanshan Fang, spanning all trades.

Of course, the breadth of involvement is wide, but that does not mean they are the strongest in every field.

For instance, the Cao Clan Spirit Symbol Shop in Nanshan Fang, not to mention comparing it with Lingfu Pavilion, already makes the top five—a key industry the Cao family wishes to develop.

The Cao family's goal, even if they cannot match Lingfu Pavilion, which occupies eighty percent of Nanshan Fang's Talisman Script industry, is to become one of the top two beneath Lingfu Pavilion.

Yet the Cao family has been working toward this for several years, with only modest gains.

The Symbol Masters in Nanshan Fang are few; the overwhelming majority are in Lingfu Pavilion. Those scattered outside are basically Basic Symbol Masters, hard to reach prominence and not the Cao family's target.

There are also a handful—two or three—First‑rank Symbol Masters, but they are First Tier Lower, with poor lineage and few types of Talisman Scripts they can draw, utterly unable to compare with Lingfu Pavilion's exclusive Symbol Masters.

Moreover, each of these First‑rank Symbol Masters is well‑off, not lacking Spirit Stones; recruiting them would cost too much for the Cao family to be worthwhile.

Thus, after several years of effort, the Cao Clan Spirit Symbol Shop, once a "key project", shows no progress and its priority has been lowered.

The current manager of the Cao Clan Spirit Symbol Shop is a relative from a side branch of the Cao family, named Cao Sheng, looking about forty years old.

He possesses some Talisman Path talent; during the early stage of Qi training he began drawing talismans and quickly entered as a Basic Symbol Master. Unfortunately, his Talisman Path talent is limited, and he has never been able to craft Advanced Symbol Talismans.

"Manager Cao, I'm here again," Lin Zixi walked into the shop, greeting with a cheerful smile. Cao Sheng gave a glance, half‑smiling, and said, "So you have something else to sell me? Or have you finally agreed to become my concubine? If it's the former, stop bothering me; I have no interest in your wares. If it's the latter, sit down and we'll discuss it slowly."

Lin Zixi cursed inwardly, "Old lecher! How old are you, still wanting me as your concubine? Go dream your fantasies!" Yet she kept a smile outwardly and said, "The items I brought this time will surely interest you, Manager Cao, you'll even beg to buy them! Because what I've brought today is exactly the Talisman Scripts that the Cao Clan Spirit Symbol Shop most needs!"

Lin Zixi felt confident enough, so she didn't resort to any tricks or teasing.

She directly took out the five Talisman Scripts that Xiao Zhangqing had given her last night.

"Where did you obtain those Basic Symbol Talismans?" Cao Sheng smiled lightly and said, "You're probably overthinking. Although our Cao Clan Spirit Symbol Shop does sell Talisman Scripts, we're not short of Basic Symbol Talismans, so you should put them away."

For this young female Scattered Cultivator venturing into Nanshan Fang, Cao Sheng was genuinely intrigued. Her looks were only a small part of the reason; mainly the vigorous aura she exuded made him quite curious.

Lin Zixi was very down‑to‑earth, not putting on a pretentious, lofty air or pretending to be a sacred, untouchable fairy; in fact, she was even more obvious than most female cultivators.

Yet perhaps it was her unpretentious, cunning nature, or her relentless drive to seize every opportunity, that made Cao Sheng feel this woman was, oddly, like a lotus rising unstained from the mud.

Nevertheless, he was also a very straightforward person, not beating around the bush or using pressure to force Lin Zixi to comply.

"Manager Cao, I think you should look at them before deciding…" Lin Zixi handed over the Talisman Scripts.

She wasn't worried that he would snatch them away and withhold Spirit Stones.

Although the Cultivation World is rife with "cannibalistic" incidents, in Nanshan Fang the Cao family still cares about face.

For just a few dozen Low‑grade Spirit Stones, they wouldn't go as far as to resort to robbery.

Moreover, the main point is that Lin Zixi believes that, despite being an old lecher, Manager Cao is also a clever person.

If he is indeed clever, his attitude will change, becoming friendly toward her, perhaps even pleading with her!

"Vajra Talisman! Frost Talisman! Revival Talisman! Blazing Talisman… This, is it the Calming Spirit Talisman?!"

Cao Sheng originally dismissed Lin Zixi's goods, not even bothering to look.

But when Lin Zixi passed the Talisman Scripts over, his peripheral glance instinctively swept them, and he couldn't look away! Forgetting his composure, he shockedly cupped each script in his hands, examining their resonance one by one.

"Each one is a mid‑tier First‑rank, and the quality is excellent! Especially this Calming Spirit Talisman—outside Lingfu Pavilion, no other place in Nanshan Fang sells it! Lingfu Pavilion also supplies it in limited quantities! Since that Symbol Master Lu left, Lingfu Pavilion hasn't restocked for a long time!" Cao Sheng's eyes widened, his excited hand trembling.

"Zixi… no, Dao Companion Lin! Where did you get these Talisman Scripts? How many do you still have in hand? Is the quantity large?" Cao Sheng pushed all thoughts of men and women completely out of his mind.

"Of course the quantity is large! Moreover, as long as the Cao Clan Spirit Symbol Shop is willing to cooperate and the price is right, we can continue cooperating forever!"

Lin Zixi saw that the man who had once stood lofty before her, like a feudal landlord eyeing a maid, now began to show her respect; naturally, she felt a quiet thrill.

Yet what struck her more was the mystery of that Symbol Master's identity—who could it be? He seemed far more formidable than she had imagined!

She only knew the quality of these Talisman Scripts was high, but she didn't know the overall level of each.

Could they truly be Symbol Masters from Lingfu Pavilion?

Not necessarily.

After all, the so‑called Calming Spirit Talisman's crafting method exists only in Lingfu Pavilion in Nanshan Fang, though its transmission elsewhere is not scarce.

Regardless of who he is, Lin Zixi knew her plan had succeeded! She was about to turn the tables!

(End of Chapter)