Chapter 144, Meridian Protection Pill and Zhou Clan’s Situation

Translator: Raznick

 

Ridge Province, Eastern Hill market.

 

As Zhou Chun presented the spiritual musk from a Musk Spirit Stag, Master Jiang’s expression  shifted.

 

“Genuine Musk Spirit Stag spiritual musk!”

 

He exclaimed, and promptly took the jade vial that Zhou Chun offered for inspection.

 

He merely poured out a bit of the fragrant powder, tasted it lightly, and then nodded repeatedly, saying, “Indeed, it’s authentic spiritual musk, original and unadulterated!”

 

Then he quickly capped the jade vial, preventing the fragrance from escaping.

 

Zhou Chun, seeing this, immediately smiled, saying, “How is it? With this vial of spiritual musk, should it be enough to exchange for Master Jiang’s Meridian Protection Pill?”

 

Hearing his words, a strange light flashed in Master Jiang’s eyes, and he nodded repeatedly, saying, “Enough, enough. With this vial of spiritual musk and these herbs, it’s sufficient to exchange for a Meridian Protection Pill.”

 

Having said that, he gazed intently at Zhou Chun, saying, “But Fellow Daoist Zhou, since you can produce a vial of spiritual musk, you must have more. I wonder if you could spare some more for me? I’m willing to exchange other precious pills for it!”

 

Zhou Chun, hearing this, also had a flicker of interest in his eyes, and said, “Oh, does Master Jiang have a Meridian Nurturing Pill?”

 

Master Jiang, hearing his words, knew that he certainly had more spiritual musk.

 

He immediately said, “I currently don’t have a Meridian Nurturing Pill, but if Fellow Daoist Zhou is willing to exchange spiritual musk, I can find another alchemist to obtain this item for you!”

 

“Then Master Jiang can exchange with me once he obtains this item!”

 

Zhou Chun nodded, signifying his agreement.

 

“Alright, it’s settled then!”

 

“This is the Meridian Protection Pill you requested, Fellow Daoist.”

 

Master Jiang spoke, and retrieved a vial from his storage bag, handing it to Zhou Chun.

 

Zhou Chun took the vial, opened the stopper, and peered inside, finding a single pill the size of a longan, a greenish-brown hue.

 

Its fragrance and form were identical to the records left by the Clan Zhou elders, confirming its authenticity without a doubt.

 

He quickly closed the vial with its stopper and nodded, saying, “It is indeed a Meridian Protection Pill.”

 

With both parties confirming the items were correct, they exchanged and put away what they needed.

 

Then Master Jiang said, “I will need a couple of months to acquire a Meridian Nurturing Pill. I wonder how I should I find Fellow Daoists?”

 

Zhou Chun pondered before answering solemnly, “Master Jiang, you need only send a message to the Wang Clan of Red Herb Valley. The Wang Clan will naturally inform me.”

 

By relying on the Wang Clan, this Master Jiang would not likely take offense at the Wang Clan regarding the leakage of news about the Meridian Protection Pill.

 

Master Jiang naturally recognized this point, nodding immediately and saying, “Very well, I understand your meaning, Fellow Daoist Zhou.”

 

After speaking, he smiled faintly, “Today is a happy occasion. Two Fellow Daoists, please wait a moment, I will go and brew a pot of self-made medicinal wine for the two of you.”

 

He started to rise to brew tea.

 

Zhou Daoquan, who had remained silent beside Zhou Chun, suddenly spoke, “We appreciate Master Jiang’s kindness, but we won’t be drinking any wine. We have urgent matters to attend to, so we’re going to take our leave.”

 

Zhou Chun’s mind stirred, and he quickly chimed in, “Yes, let’s skip the wine. Master Jiang, you don’t need to be so courteous. We’ve been away from home for quite some time, and we should return quickly to avoid worrying our family.”

 

“Very well. Since both Fellow Daoists are in a hurry, I won’t detain you further. I’ll see you out.”

 

Master Jiang said, rising to escort Zhou Chun and the others out of the pharmacy.

 

Having left the pharmacy, Zhou Chun and Zhou Daoquan headed directly towards the market outskirts, quickly mounting a Vermillion Flame Crane to leave the market.

 

This time, the pair didn’t rest at all, instead having the Vermillion Flame Crane expend its spiritual power in rapid flight. When its power waned, they took turns flying, reaching Nine Peaks in less than a day.

 

“A second-grade demon beast?”

 

Inside the Eastern Hill Market, Master Jiang looked at the transmission talisman in his hand, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

 

Then he shook his head slightly, immediately leaving the pill shop to seek out friends and exchange for Meridian Nurturing Pills.

 

On the other side, after safely returning to the clan, Zhou Chun and Zhou Daoquan breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Then Zhou Chun thanked Zhou Daoquan for accompanying him, and the pair returned to their respective mountains to attend to their duties.

 

With the Meridian Protection Pill now in hand, and a good chance of obtaining Meridian Nurturing Pills as well, Zhou Chun’s mood was quite pleasant.

 

If everything went smoothly, he wouldn’t need eight or ten years, but within three to five years, he could cultivate the Golden Cauldron Mystic Art.

 

Of course, since he had promised Grand Elder Zhou Mingde and Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi, he would still try to wait until Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi broke through to late Foundation Establishment before changing his cultivation method.

 

At this time, after his preliminary preparations, some groundwork for reforming the Zhou Clan had already been completed.

 

He then summoned Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi and all four elders of my clan to the Central Palace, preparing to begin his performance.

 

Within the Central Palace, Zhou Daoyi and the elders were seated, with four mortal scribes positioned behind the tables lining the walls.

 

At that moment, one scribe, after meticulously cross-referencing several ledgers on his table, respectfully addressed Zhou Chun, who was seated on the floor: “Reporting to Deputy Clan Leader, I have verified the relevant data multiple times and confirm that there are no discrepancies.”

 

“Then begin.”

 

Zhou Chun nodded slightly, giving the instruction.

 

“Yes, as you command.”

 

The scribe took a deep breath to quell the excitement within him, briefly glancing at the assembled leadership of my clan, and then respectfully stated: “Clan Leader, elders, in accordance with Deputy Clan Leader’s instruction, I will now report the verified details concerning my clan.

 

“Currently, the clan comprises 157 cultivators, including 126 cultivators of the Zhou Clan itself and 31 non-Zhou cultivators. There are 96 male cultivators and 61 female cultivators.

 

“In addition to the Grand Elder, Clan Leader, Deputy Clan Leader, and the elders, there are 11 core clan members, including non-Zhou cultivators, 32 elite clan members, and 107 ordinary clan members.

 

“Among these clan members, there are 38 late Qi Refining cultivators, 86 mid Qi Refining cultivators, and 8 early Qi Refining cultivators. Additionally, 18 clan members are too young to have begun their cultivation journey.”

 

Having spoken this far, the scribe paused at the signal of Zhou Chun’s gaze.

 

“Fourth Elder, you seem to have something to say.”

 

Zhou Chun’s gaze turned to Zhou Jiarui, smiling as he spoke.

 

“I simply feel a sense of melancholy.”

 

Zhou Jiarui sighed lightly, his tone imbued with feeling: “I recall when we established our foundation at Nine Peaks, we had over 140 members. I never imagined that after just a few decades, the number would have only increased by a dozen or so, many of whom are non-Zhou members brought in by marriage!”

 

Hearing his words, the other elders of the Zhou Clan also couldn’t help but reveal expressions of melancholy.

 

Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi spoke at this moment, “Actually, the number of cultivators our Zhou Clan has increased by nearly forty in the past ten years. However, the problem is that the number of cultivators from our Zhou Clan who have disappeared, died, or married out is also around twenty. After adding and subtracting, we only increased the clan by a few dozen!”

 

Second Elder Zhou Chongshan heard this and shook his head, “That’s still too few. I remember when we were still in Feng Kingdom, the clan would discover seven or more ordinary people possessing spirit root every year, sometimes even ten or more with good luck!”

 

“What can be done?”

 

“Now the number of ordinary people in Jing Kingdom is less than one-tenth of what it was in Feng Kingdom. Even these few tens of thousands of people, even if they have children every year, can only produce three or four children with spirit root.”

 

“It will take at least another ten years for these children to grow up, cultivate, and attain the Dao!”

 

Zhou Daoyi said this, a look of bitterness spread across his face.

 

The importance of cultivator population to a clan was something they all understood.

 

A clan certainly needed high-level powers like Violet Palace cultivator to anchor it, but the number of lower-level Qi Refining cultivator could not be lacking.

 

If the number of Qi Refining cultivator decreased, it would not only affect the number of Foundation Establishment cultivator, but would also have a major impact on the daily operations of the clan.

 

After all, many of the clan’s chores were handled by Qi Refining cultivator.

 

And just as these Zhou Clan leadership sighed over the failure of the clan’s population to increase, Zhou Chun delivered a merciless blow.

 

He opened his mouth to say, “There is actually another important problem now. The cultivators in the Jia generation are the most numerous, and nearly twenty of them are over eighty years old, and several of their Dao companions are also about that age.

 

“In the next twenty or thirty years, even if we don’t calculate the number of cultivators who leave home or pass away due to other reasons, their natural departure will also have a significant impact on the clan’s population!”

 

Sure enough, upon hearing his words, the faces of the several elders grew even more somber, with more sorrow etched upon them.

The Third Elder, Zhou Daoquan, a flicker of unusual color in his eyes, immediately turned to address Zhou Chun, saying, “Zhengchun, since you brought this up today, could it be that you have some solution?”

 

Hearing this, the others also turned their gazes toward Zhou Chun, their eyes hinting at anticipation.

 

Facing the eager expectations of the elders, Zhou Chun simply smiled faintly, saying, “I do have some ideas, but let’s wait until later. Let the elders hear the rest first.”

 

At his words, the Zhou Clan leadership was filled with even greater expectation.

 

“Yes, continue. We’re listening.”

 

Zhou Daoquan also smiled, settling down to listen intently.

 

Seeing this, Zhou Chun told the stopped copyist, “Continue.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The scribe responded and continued, “The Zhou Clan’s spirit coin income over the past year amounts to approximately thirty-two thousand eight hundred and a few coins, of which seventeen thousand coins come from the market shops of the Spirit Beast Pavilion, seven thousand coins come from the rent of the cultivate zone, two thousand coins come from the share of the Scarlet Glow Iron vein, and five thousand coins come from trade with other forces.

 

“The Zhou Clan’s spirit coin expenditure over the past year amounts to approximately twenty-five thousand coins, excluding the expenditures given to the rogue cultivator assisting the clan in guarding the Purification Pavilion, the vast majority of which are used to purchase various materials.

 

“In addition, statistics show that the Zhou Clan has provided a total of seventeen thousand merits in the past year, of which seven thousand three hundred provided as normal welfare offerings, five thousand provided as task rewards, and four thousand provided for acquiring spiritual items from the clan members’ hands.”

 

“At the same time, the Zhou Clan has written off a total of nine thousand merits in the past year, mainly used by the clan members to redeem treasures stored within the clan.

 

“Currently, the total amount of clan merits accumulated by the Zhou Clan members is fifty-eight thousand.”

 

The scribe said this and looked at Zhou Chun.

“Alright, let’s wrap things up here.” Zhou Chun raised a hand, halting the discussion.

 

Then his gaze shifted to the Clan Leader and the assembled elders, his voice taking on a somber tone. “Population and wealth—these are the two most vital assets for any power. Elders surely won’t object to that.

 

“The matter of the population earlier aside, the current issue of wealth is a serious problem!”

 

“At first glance, the clan’s annual spirit coin income appears higher than its expenses. But that’s because the clan is exchanging the spirit coin that should be provided, for merits.

 

“The actual spirit coin remaining is simply not enough to offset the merits that remain after annual verification!

 

“And the merits accumulated in the hands of the clan members are steadily increasing year by year!

 

“If they accumulate enough merits, and then discover that merits are difficult to exchange for the things needed for their cultivate, the clan will be unable to provide enough spirit coin for the exchange, and a massive crisis of trust will erupt within the clan!”

 

As he finished speaking, the expressions of several Zhou Clan elders visibly changed.

 

They considered the matter from their own perspective, imagining themselves in that situation: having painstakingly accumulated merits for fifteen or twenty years, only to find that they couldn’t be exchanged for spirit coin, or the things they desired.

 

The resentment that would stir then was unimaginable!

 

“How many spirit coin does the clan currently have in reserve?”

 

Second Elder Zhou Chongshan’s eyes flashed, immediately recognizing the key issue.

 

“Thirteen thousand spirit coin!”

 

Zhou Chun answered his question somberly.

 

“This measly amount of spirit coin will barely cover an exchange for a short while, it’s certainly not enough to supply a large-scale exchange for the entire clan!”

 

Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi interjected at this moment, hitting the nail on the head with his observation: “Furthermore, if the channel for directly exchanging merits for spirit coin is opened, I fear many clan members will choose to exchange their merits for spirit coin!”

 

Merits were merely equivalent to spirit coin issued internally by the Zhou Clan, usable only within the Zhou Clan.

 

Whereas spirit coin were universally accepted throughout the cultivation world.

 

Everyone knew which option to choose after deregulation.

 

Zhou Chun also spoke solemnly at this time: “Precisely because of this, compared to matters concerning the population, resolving the clan’s financial issues is truly an urgent and pressing need!”