Chapter 204: Self‑Delivered

Because the ancestral mansion of the He family is so vast, Yunhe's current spiritual insect chamber is not an ordinary size.

The large room has been turned by him into a series of insect chambers of varying sizes.

Most of them house six‑winged Crimson Shadow Golden‑winged Bees, except for one small compartment that contains a Crimson Shadow Golden‑winged Bee in metamorphosis.

Although he has obtained many egg shells, it is impossible to make all the Crimson Shadow Golden‑winged Bees metamorphose using only those shells.

First let a small portion complete metamorphosis, then use that as a basis for large‑scale breeding—that is the correct method.

However, each time a new bee swarm is cultivated, a huge amount of resources is consumed, which ordinary cultivators could not possibly bear.

He approached the smallest insect chamber.

Because Crimson Shadow Golden‑winged Bees have the instinct to cannibalize each other during metamorphosis, they cannot be raised singly.

Therefore, at the beginning he selected a thousand Crimson Shadow Golden‑winged Bees for batch cultivation.

After several decades, fewer than fifty remain in this chamber.

Yunhe reached out and grasped; a Crimson Shadow Golden‑winged Bee landed in his hand.

With puppets helping to feed and tend them, he does not need to expend much energy feeding spiritual insects or gu insects.

Looking closely.

This bee's abdomen is full, its color vivid, wings strong, tail sting sharp, mouthparts keen; clearly it is in excellent condition and has been cultivated superbly.

The demonic power it harbors is also quite impressive; a single Crimson Shadow Golden‑winged Bee would likely be beyond a Qi Refinement cultivator's handling, and a Foundation Establishment cultivator would still need to consider Cultivation Base and methods.

What concerns Yunhe most is the pair of smaller wings tucked between its six wings.

Now, that fourth pair of wings, which originally was only a faint outline, has grown to about two‑thirds the size of a normal wing.

It can barely be said to have four pairs of eight bee wings, and that is not impossible.

Yunhe squinted, then placed it back into the insect chamber.

Although this bee still differs from his target Golden Shadow Eight‑winged Bee, it is undoubtedly far stronger than a six‑winged Crimson Shadow Golden‑winged Bee.

Yet Yunhe still has not decided to commence large‑scale breeding.

He plans to let the remaining fewer than fifty spiritual bees devour each other once more, observing carefully whether they can still make further progress.

If they can continue metamorphosing, he can wait; if they cease or only show minor changes, then large‑scale breeding can proceed.

Though he does not lack resources for insect cultivation, his supplies are not infinite, and he still needs to conserve.

After checking the bees' condition, Yunhe looked at the Dormant Cicada.

The Dormant Cicada now has undergone a complete transformation since Yunhe first discovered it; had Yunhe not watched its change from start to finish, he might not even recognize it as the same cicada.

The once withered Dormant Cicada, dry as dead wood, is now plump and full, exuding a vibrant vitality from within; its previously dull yellow bark has turned into a crystal‑clear emerald hue, like dead wood meeting spring.

Its demonic power can already compare to that of a late‑stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Apart from a faint yellow halo on its head and wing tips, most of its body no longer shows any trace of the former wilted appearance.

Yunhe estimates that when the last of the Dormant Cicada's yellowed hue fades, it will be ready to re‑enter the dormant state again.

He just does not know how long this next dormancy will last.

He wonders what level of demonic power and strength it will have upon awakening.

With his current mid‑stage Core Formation Cultivation Base, Yunhe has no combat need for the Dormant Cicada; he simply wishes to see what secrets lie within this peculiar spiritual insect's repeated dormancy, decay, and resurgence.

Afterwards.

He then inspected the corpse soul gu, corpse bone, and other various spiritual insects and gu insects he had been breeding.

After confirming their conditions, he left the insect and gu chambers and exited the mansion.

Feeling a beam of golden sunlight streaming down, its gentle warmth made his mind and spirit feel refreshed.

Yunhe took a long breath.

He exhaled slowly.

A smile appeared on his face as he muttered to himself:

"After secluding for so long, people of the He family must be guessing whether I perished while in seclusion, right?"

In fact, the speculation is not limited to He family cultivators.

He Family Council Hall.

The main seat was empty, while the family head He Yuanlin sat on a secondary seat beneath it, his face composed.

Below.

He family cultivators debated, recounting the changes the family has undergone during this period, including the shifts in markets, mines, cloud seas, and many other He family enterprises.

It can be said that.

Apart from the spirit fields surrounding the He family, all of the family's enterprises have recently faced targeted suppression to varying degrees.

As for why such changes have arisen, the reason is obvious.

The He family patriarch "He Wen" is about to pass away and ascend, and some clans can no longer restrain their covetous eyes on the millennial assets the He family has accumulated.

"Family head, this year two of our family's market shops were forced to close; even the ones still operating have seen at least a thirty‑percent drop in revenue compared to previous years."

"Family head, half a month ago at the Nanlong Mountain Mine, the resident disciples were inexplicably attacked by a group of cultivators, losing a month's worth of Spirit Stone deposits and injuring five disciples!"

"Family head, not only on Nansu Island, but across all our family's island markets and enterprises, we have suffered countless provocations and suppressions."

Listening to the complaints below, He Yuanlin's complexion grew darker.

Apart from the darkness, he truly had no solution.

In fact, everyone present is a backbone elite of the He family; they all know that no matter how they discuss, no substantive change will result.

The only one who can bring change is the Core Formation patriarch!

Yet they know even more about their own patriarch's situation: the mansion has been shrouded by arrays for years, and they are not even sure whether the patriarch is still alive.

So today they actually hope to extract information about the patriarch from He Yuanlin through these questions.

Patriarch, is he truly still alive?

If we are alive, how many more days can we live?

As for the He Clan's future, where should it go?

"Bang!!"

"Silence!"

He Yuanlin slammed the table, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone present, and said in a deep voice: "All chattering, like a market, what kind of decorum is this?!"

Although He Yuanlin is only in the later stage of Foundation Establishment, his years of orderly management of the He Clan show his prestige within the family.

The entire council hall fell into silence.

However, even though he enjoys great prestige, the He Clan now teeters on the brink of decline and even extinction, yet someone still stood up against the pressure, bowed, and said with a stiff neck:

"Patriarch, what we seek cannot be a single answer. These years the Ancestor has been in seclusion; only you, the patriarch, have contact with him. We just want to know whether the Ancestor is…"

Hearing this, He Yuanlin's pupils contracted, and anger flashed across his face as he scolded:

"Scoundrel! Dare to speak of the Ancestor! He Yuanqi, are you trying to see whether our He Clan's laws still hold?!"

Though he said so outwardly, He Yuanlin felt helpless deep inside.

Since the Ancestor's last return from a trip, he indeed still had some contact with him, but in the past two or three years, each time he went outside the Ancestor's residence seeking information, he received no response.

Even the two gate‑keeping puppets showed no sign of movement.

Counting the time, in fact, a very bad thought had already formed in his mind.

But he also knew that the more this happened, the less the He Clan could afford disorder.

Otherwise, they might not need any other clan to intervene; the He Clan would descend into internal chaos first.

A clan inherited for over a thousand years, with countless internal factions and branches, is certainly rather chaotic; even as patriarch, without enough power he cannot forcefully suppress everyone.

He Yuanlin sometimes wonders whether some branches within the He Clan have already been bought off by outsiders.

Listening to He Yuanlin's threat, He Yuanqi today seemed resolute in wanting to know the outcome, staring at He Yuanlin and saying:

"He Yuanlin, although you are the patriarch, we are now at the He Clan's moment of life and death; whether yes or no, you will eventually have to give everyone an answer!"

"Indeed, patriarch, you will eventually have to give us an answer. The sooner, the better, so we can arrange what comes next."

"Right! Patriarch! Even if you stall now, how long can you stall? Until the Liu Clan or Wang Clan come knocking on the door?"

Surprisingly, two more people stood up to support He Yuanqi, saying:

He Yuanlin stared at the three for a long time, and in the end said nothing, merely looking dejected.

But his demeanor already explained many things.

Even though he had already prepared in his heart, the He Clan cultivators in the council hall were all startled.

Some had reddened eyes showing sorrow, some lowered their heads with complex expressions, and others' inner changes were hard to read.

"Then we…"

He Yuanlin, as if he had aged ten years in an instant, waved his hand and said, "The preparations that need to be made, I have already completed them."

For a moment.

The council hall fell into a strange silence.

Immediately, someone sprang up, face filled with terror, and said, "What about Elder Bee…"

If the Ancestor is gone, the He Clan's sole order‑taking cultivator, the Bee Daoist, becomes the biggest problem.

Hearing this, everyone's expression changed.

At that moment.

Buzz—

A gentle tremor of spiritual energy rippled through the council hall, followed by an old yet steady voice.

"No problem."

The faint voice evoked various expressions among everyone in the hall—great joy, surprise, even terror.

But all cultivators' gazes turned to the previously vacant chief seat.

Seated now was Yunhe, or rather the He Clan's Ancestor, He Wen!

"Ancestor!"

"Ancestor!"

Yunhe wore a half‑smile, his gaze scanning the He Clan cultivators with a hint of deeper meaning.

No one dared meet his eyes; each lowered their heads.

Of course, excitement and delight were the majority.

Yunhe ignored them, looked at He Yuanlin, and said calmly, "The thing I sent you to find, how is it?"

Hearing this, He Yuanlin immediately reacted, hurriedly pulling out two storage bags.

"Ancestor, these are the scriptures you asked me to collect. And these, per your orders, are the mined ores, spirit plants, and other items."

Before Yunhe attempted to break through the mid‑stage of the Golden Core, he ordered He Yuanlin to collect some ancient scriptures.

If Yunhe relied on himself, he could still collect many precious spirit plants and ores.

Then such a myriad of ancient scriptures would not be something he could gather in ten or eight years, unless he placed huge orders with some intelligence organization.

On the contrary, for the He Clan, with its massive population and many cultivators, it is quite easy.

He raised his hand and seized the storage bag.

Injecting his divine sense with a simple sweep, Yunhe showed a satisfied expression.

One storage bag was filled with various ancient books and Jade Slips, while another bag held a large assortment of relatively rare materials, even including two high‑grade Spirit Stones!

According to market price, one high‑grade Spirit Stone can replace ten thousand low‑grade Spirit Stones, similar to exchanging low‑grade for medium‑grade, thus it commands a considerable premium.

In fact, a single high‑grade Spirit Stone can at least offset twelve thousand low‑grade Spirit Stones, a rarity indeed.

"Not bad."

Besides that, during the years he resided with the He family, the tribute he received from the He family was still quite considerable.

Of course, a large part of the reason is that Yunhe authorized He Yuanlin to use some of the He family's treasury, and with the He family's accumulation of over a thousand years, to purchase things according to his demands.

Originally, he was planning to take advantage of the situation to leave the He family and search for treasures to aid his breakthrough to mid Golden Core, but he didn't expect that he would breakthrough just by going along with it, so he naturally was a bit reluctant to abandon such a convenient family.

Upholding the principle of "using money to get things done," Yunhe also didn't want to see the He family just perish like that, so he stepped out.

"Old Ancestor"

He Yuanlin opened his mouth, about to say something, but saw Yunhe slowly rise.

With a light step, he came outside the Council Hall.

With another step, he reached mid-air.

His divine sense spread out.

On his face appeared a smile with a hint of deep meaning.

"Good, I didn't go looking for trouble with you, but you actually came to my door yourself."

Immediately a surge of magical power welled up from his body.

At the same time, outside the He family's Mountain Guard Grand Formation, two figures also flew up, arriving in mid-air.

Looking at Yunhe, astonishment appeared on both of their faces.

"Mid Golden Core?!"

(End of chapter)