Chapter 162: Sheng's Balance

Just as the three generations of the Dingyuan Earl's mansion were discussing the Hua family's situation, Sheng Xuan and his party also returned to the Sheng mansion.

Sheng Xiu, the head of the Sheng family and Left Vice Minister of the Heavenly Department, along with Sheng Pengyun, the Lieutenant General of the Demon-Suppressing Army, had already returned from duty and were waiting early in the main courtyard for Sheng Xuan and the others to come back and report on the Hua family's situation.

The Sheng family's descendants were not thriving. Sheng Xiu had two sons and one daughter, while Sheng Xuan had only Sheng Pengfei as his sole child. Although the marriage alliance between the Sheng and Hua families involved weighing interests, the Sheng family still hoped that Sheng Yuntang, who was married to Hua Dalang, could have a stable and happy life.

Seeing his father's furrowed brows, Sheng Pengyun knew he was worried about his younger sister's marriage, so he couldn't help but console him: "Father, the Hua family's social standing is a bit low, but Hua Dalang himself is quite good."

"Now that spiritual energy is reviving, many things will change greatly. The Hua family has a direct disciple of the Tai Su Palace sect leader, and since the entire Hua family consists of cultivators, if Little Sister marries into the Hua family, her future will still be secure."

Sheng Xiu sighed: "How can one be certain about future matters?"

The Heavenly Department was a secret department of the imperial court that handled cultivator affairs. Since entering the department, he had seen too many records of families rising and falling.

The revival of spiritual energy had not only started in recent years. According to some things he had learned, the emergence of spiritual energy could even be traced back to before the founding emperor established the dynasty; it was just that spiritual energy had suddenly burst forth in these recent years.

The Great Jin dynasty had been established for nearly a thousand years. During this time, many families had risen because they detected the revival of spiritual energy, but before long, they either faded into obscurity on their own or were exterminated by others.

The entire Hua family being cultivators sounds astonishing, but that does not mean they can go far.

Cultivators need a massive amount of cultivation resources to grow. With so many cultivators in the Hua family, it means they require incalculable resources.

However, the ruins, secret realms, and blessed lands that have appeared have all been occupied by the imperial family, nobles, and aristocratic clans. Even with Hua Shiniang being a direct disciple of the Tai Su Palace sect leader, she may not be able to supply the Hua family's consumption.

Unless, when a new ruin appears, the Hua family can compete for a territory rich in resources.

But how difficult that is!

The imperial family, nobles, and aristocratic clans have long relied on their pre-occupied resources to cultivate a batch of cultivators. Those who have just stepped into cultivation simply have no ability to contend with them.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the entire Hua family are cultivators; they actually have little ability to protect themselves. The only one the Hua family can currently put forward is Hua Shiniang.

But the path of cultivation is fraught with dangers; who knows if Hua Shiniang might encounter some accident.

Without Hua Shiniang as their front, the Hua family would actually have little competitive power among the many cultivation families.

Sheng Xiu sighed again. Even though he was well aware of the many shortcomings of the Hua family, it was still the best choice for the Sheng family at present.

Fortunately, the Hua family had the backing of the Dingyuan Earl's mansion.

Although the Dingyuan Earl's mansion was not very prominent among the capital's noble circles, it still had some influence.

The Heavenly Department was different from the Six Ministries; from its very establishment, it was directly under the imperial family's control. To put it bluntly, the people of the Heavenly Department were the imperial family's private soldiers.

Now, with various forces surging, many people had reached into the Heavenly Department.

Whenever Sheng Xiu thought about those nobles who secretly wanted to win him over, he got an immense headache.

As the Left Vice Minister of the Heavenly Department, he could sense that the Minister of the Heavenly Department no longer followed the imperial family's orders in every matter, but he had also not openly defied the imperial family's commands on the surface.

Since the Minister did not dare to directly betray the imperial family, he dared even less, so naturally he would not side with the nobles.

But it was also not good to completely offend the nobles. After weighing the options repeatedly, he chose the marriage alliance with the Hua family, which had the Dingyuan Earl's mansion as its backing.

The Dingyuan Earl's mansion had some influence, but not great. In the scramble for benefits, it could grab some scraps but couldn't squeeze into the core competition circle. For the Sheng family, which sought stability and long-term development, this was ideal.

He had personally seen how cruel the core competition circle for benefits was. The Sheng family's foundation was insufficient, and they had few members. If they got involved, they would only serve as stepping stones for others.

He was not greedy. By allying with the Hua family and binding himself to the Dingyuan Earl's mansion, if he could grab a bit of resources enough for the Sheng family to steadily develop and grow, that would suffice.

"Elder Brother, we're back."

Seeing Sheng Xuan and the others return, Sheng Xiu immediately sat up straight, and Sheng Pengyun also became serious.

After Sheng Xuan, Sheng Pengye, and Sheng Pengfei sat down and had a cup of tea, Sheng Xiu began to ask: "How is the situation on the Hua family's side?"

He had personally inspected Hua Dalang, but he only knew the general situation of the other members of the Hua family.

Sheng Xuan smiled and said: "More resilient than imagined." As he spoke, he recounted everything they had experienced at the Hua family's place, emphasizing the strength displayed by Hua Jiuniang and how Hua Liulang had distributed spirit stones to the guests at the end.

Sheng Pengyun, as a member of the Demon-Suppressing Army, had killed many demon beasts. When he heard that Hua Changxi had instantly killed two Qi Sea realm demon beasts with just two wisps of flame, his eyes lit up.

Sheng Xuan said: "We have somewhat underestimated the Hua family's strength. Besides Hua Shiniang of Tai Su Palace, this Hua Jiuniang is also not to be underestimated. I suspect she is at least a Core Formation stage cultivator."

Upon hearing that the Hua family had produced a Core Formation cultivator, Sheng Xiu's brows relaxed a bit.

Given that most cultivators have only just stepped onto the path of cultivation, a Core Formation stage cultivator is considered an expert. With a Core Formation cultivator stationed in the Hua family, they indeed have a certain deterrent power.

Sheng Xiu took the spirit stone that Sheng Xuan handed over, examined it, and said in surprise: "Could it be that the Hua family has a spirit stone mine?"

Whether it's the royal family or noble families, they all place great importance on cultivation resources. Every year, they send countless people to search everywhere. As soon as they detect any sign of spiritual energy, even if it's just a patch of wasteland, they will seize it first.

Under such intensive searching, the Hua family was still able to find a bargain and occupy a spirit mine. Their luck is too good.

Sheng Pengyun was also shocked that the Hua family actually had a spirit mine. "Discovering a spirit mine might rely on luck, but controlling it probably requires strength."

Sheng Xuan nodded. "Our understanding of the Hua family is still not comprehensive enough." Then he smiled and said, "Yuntang marrying into the Hua family—this step our family took should not be wrong."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Pengfei curled his lips. "Father, you're speaking too soon. Not to mention anything else, just take Hua Jiuniang's temperament. With such a sister-in-law, Yuntang will probably have headaches in the future."

Then, as if complaining, he recounted how Hua Jiuniang killed their demon beast and then threw them out of the Hua family courtyard.

"Uncle, big brother, do you know? That Hua Jiuniang not only gives her brother a cold shoulder, but also disobeys her father. Such a person is definitely not easy to get along with."

Sheng Pengyun's judgment was not affected by Sheng Pengfei's complaints. "The person Yuntang is marrying is Hua Dalang, not living with Hua Jiuniang. Even if Yuntang marries into the Hua family and has to interact with Hua Jiuniang, cultivators spend most of their time cultivating, so their interactions won't be too frequent."

Sheng Xiu also didn't care much about this matter. Now the situation was different from before; his daughter was also a cultivator and didn't need to obey her husband's family in everything.

Sheng Pengfei saw their reactions and felt a bit stifled. He looked at Sheng Pengyun and said, "Big brother, Hua Jiuniang killed my spirit pet. You'll have to find me another one."

Sheng Pengyun looked at him and smiled. "You sacrificed a demon beast to test the Hua family's strength. Don't worry, I'll help you find one."