Chapter 162: The Sheng Family

Just as the three generations of the Count Dingyuan's Prefecture were discussing the situation of the Hua family, Sheng Xuan's group also returned to the Sheng Mansion.

Sheng Xiu, the head of the Sheng family and Left Vice Minister of the Heaven Department, as well as Sheng Pengyun, an Assistant Regional Commander in the Demon Suppression Army, had already finished their shifts and returned to the mansion, waiting early in the main courtyard for Sheng Xuan and the others to return and report the situation of the Hua family.

The Sheng family's descendants were not prosperous. Sheng Xiu had two sons and one daughter, and Sheng Xuan only had one son, Sheng Pengfei. Although the marriage between the Sheng family and the Hua family involved interest trade-offs, the Sheng family still hoped that Sheng Yuntang, who was marrying Hua Dalang, could live a stable and happy life.

Seeing his father's frowning, Sheng Pengyun knew that he was worried about his younger sister's marriage, so he couldn't help but open up: "Father, the Hua family's status is a bit low, but Hua Dalang is a good person."

"Now that spiritual energy is recovering, many things will change greatly. The Hua family has a direct disciple of the Taisui Palace Sect Master, and the whole Hua family are cultivators. My sister marrying into the Hua family will have a guarantee in the future."

Sheng Xiu sighed: "How can the future be clearly stated?"

The Heaven Department was a secret department of the imperial court for handling cultivator affairs. After entering the Heaven Department, he had seen too many stories of family rise and fall.

Spiritual energy recovery didn't start in these few years. According to some things he learned, the appearance of spiritual energy could even be traced back to before the founding of the country by the Great Ancestor, but it was only in these few years that spiritual energy suddenly exploded.

The Great Jin had been founded for nearly a thousand years. During this period, many families rose because they glimpsed the recovery of spiritual energy, but not long after, they either subsided themselves or were exterminated.

The Hua family being all cultivators sounded shocking, but this didn't mean they could go far.

Cultivators needed a large amount of cultivation resources to grow. The Hua family having so many cultivators meant they needed countless resources.

However, the ruins, secret realms, and blessed lands that had appeared were all occupied by the royal family and powerful families. Even with Hua Tenth Daughter, the direct disciple of the Taisui Palace Sect Master, it might not be able to supply the Hua family's consumption.

Unless, when new ruins appeared, the Hua family could fight for a piece of land with sufficient resources.

But how difficult this was!

The royal family, powerful families, and clans had long relied on the resources they occupied first to cultivate a batch of cultivators. Families or people who had just stepped into the path of cultivation had no ability to compete with them.

Don't look at the Hua family being all cultivators; they actually didn't have much self-protection ability. The only thing the Hua family could take out now was a Hua Tenth Daughter.

However, the path of cultivation was full of dangers. Who knew if Hua Tenth Daughter would encounter any accidents.

Without Hua Tenth Daughter as a face, the Hua family actually didn't have much competitive power among the many cultivation families.

Sheng Xiu sighed again. Even if he knew that the Hua family had many shortcomings, it was the best choice for the Sheng family at the moment.

Fortunately, the Hua family still relied on the Count Dingyuan's Prefecture.

Although the Count Dingyuan's Prefecture was not prominent in the capital's circle of nobles, it still had some influence.

The Heaven Department was different from the Six Ministries. From the beginning of its establishment, it was directly under the royal family. To put it bluntly, the people of the Heaven Department were the private soldiers of the royal family.

Now that all parties were surging, many people had reached into the Heaven Department.

As the Left Vice Minister of the Heaven Department, Sheng Xiu could perceive that the Minister of the Heaven Department didn't listen to the royal family's orders in everything now, but on the surface, he hadn't openly violated the royal family's orders either.

The Minister didn't dare to directly betray the royal family, so he dared even less, naturally not defecting to the powerful families.

However, the powerful families couldn't be completely offended either. After weighing again and again, he chose this marriage with the Hua family, which had the Count Dingyuan's Prefecture as a backer.

The Count Dingyuan's Prefecture had some influence, but the influence was not great. In the struggle for interests, they could grab some scraps and couldn't squeeze into the core struggle circle. This was the best for the Sheng family, who sought stability and long-term development.

He had seen how cruel the core struggle circle of interests was. The Sheng family's foundation was insufficient, and the people were thin. Getting involved would only mean being a stepping stone for others.

He was not greedy. Marrying into the Hua family and binding the Count Dingyuan's Prefecture could grab some resources, which was enough for the Sheng family to develop and grow steadily.

"Eldest Brother, we are back."

Seeing Sheng Xuan and the others return, Sheng Xiu immediately sat up straight, and Sheng Pengyun also straightened his expression. After Sheng Xuan, Sheng Pengye, and Sheng Pengfei sat down and drank a cup of tea, Sheng Xiu asked: "How is the situation at the Hua family?"

He had personally investigated Hua Dalang, but he only knew a general idea about the others in the Hua family.

Sheng Xuan smiled: "Harder than imagined." As he spoke, he told the things that happened in the Hua family one by one, focusing on the strength shown by Hua Ninth Daughter, as well as the matter of Hua Liulang distributing spirit stones to guests at the end.

Sheng Pengyun was a member of the Demon Suppression Army and had killed many spirit beasts. Hearing that Hua Changxi used two wisps of flame to instantly kill two Qi Sea stage spirit beasts, his eyes lit up.

Sheng Xuan: "We underestimated the Hua family's strength a bit. Besides Hua Tenth Daughter of the Taisui Palace, this Hua Ninth Daughter is also not to be underestimated. I guess she is at least a Golden Core stage cultivator."

Hearing that the Hua family had a Golden Core cultivator, Sheng Xiu's brows relaxed a bit.

Judging from the fact that most cultivators had just stepped into the path of cultivation, a Golden Core stage cultivator was considered an expert. The Hua family having a Golden Core stage cultivator sitting in town did indeed have a certain deterrent power.

Sheng Xiu took the spirit stones handed over by Sheng Xuan and was surprised after looking at them: "Could it be that the Hua family has a spirit mine?"

Whether it was the royal family or powerful families, they attached great importance to cultivation resources and would send countless people to search everywhere every year. But if they found signs of spiritual energy, even if it was a piece of wasteland, they would occupy it first.

Under such a strong search, the Hua family could actually pick up a leak and occupy a spirit mine. This luck was 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 the spirit mine in one's hands might rely on strength."

Sheng Xuan nodded: "Regarding the Hua family, our understanding is still not comprehensive enough." As he spoke, he smiled. "Yuntang marrying into the Hua family, this step our family should not have gone wrong."

Sheng Pengfei curled his lips: "Father, you said this too early. Not to mention anything else, just look at Hua Ninth Daughter's personality. Yuntang will have such a sister-in-law in the future, and she will probably have a headache."

As he spoke, he complained about the process of Hua Ninth Daughter killing their spirit pets and throwing them out of the Hua family courtyard.

"Uncle, Eldest Brother, do you know? That Hua Ninth Daughter not only gave her eldest brother a cold face but also didn't listen to her father. Such a person is definitely not easy to get along with."

Sheng Pengyun was not affected by Sheng Pengfei's complaints: "The person Yuntang is marrying is Hua Dalang, not living with Hua Ninth Daughter. Even if Yuntang marries into the Hua family, she will have to interact with Hua Ninth Daughter, but cultivators spend most of their time practicing, so they won't have many interactions."

Sheng Xiu didn't care much about this aspect either. The situation now was different from before. His daughter was also a cultivator, so she didn't have to follow the husband's family in everything.

Seeing the two's reaction, Sheng Pengfei felt suffocated and looked at Sheng Pengyun: "Eldest Brother, Hua Ninth Daughter killed my spirit pet, you must help me find another one."

Sheng Pengyun looked at him and smiled: "You sacrificed a spirit pet to test the Hua family's strength. Don't worry, I will help you find one." ===== CHAPTER 163 =====

Seeing the two react this way, Sheng Pengfei felt somewhat stifled and looked at Sheng Pengyun: "Big Brother, Hua Jiuniang killed my spirit pet. You must find me another one."

Sheng Pengyun looked at him and smiled: "You sacrificed a spirit beast to test the strength of the Hua family. Rest assured, I will help you find one."