Chapter 162: The Sheng Family’s Consideration
Just as the Dingyuan Earl’s Mansion’s three generations of grandfather and grandson were discussing the Hua family’s situation, Sheng Xuan and his group also returned to the Sheng residence.
Sheng Xiu, the Sheng family patriarch and Left Vice Minister of the Heavenly Department, and Sheng Pengyun, a Colonel in the Demon Suppressing Army, had already returned from their assignments and were waiting in the main courtyard for Sheng Xuan and the others to report on the Hua family’s situation.
The Sheng family’s descendants were not numerous. Sheng Xiu had two sons and one daughter, and Sheng Xuan only had Sheng Pengfei as his sole heir. Although the Sheng family and the Hua family had a marriage alliance for strategic interests, the Sheng family still hoped that Sheng Yuntang, who was marrying Hua Da Lang, would have a stable and happy life.
Sheng Pengyun saw his father frowning and knew he was worried about his younger sister’s marriage. He couldn’t help but try to comfort him, “Father, the Hua family’s status is a bit lower, but Hua Da Lang is a good person.”
“Now that Spiritual Energy is reviving, many things will change drastically. The Hua family has a direct disciple of the Taisu Palace Sect Leader, and with everyone in the Hua family being cultivators, my sister marrying into the Hua family will have a secure future.”
Sheng Xiu sighed, “How can one be sure about the future?”
The Heavenly Department was a secret department of the Imperial Court responsible for matters concerning the Spiritual Energy Revival. After joining the Heavenly Department, he had witnessed too many instances of families rising and falling.
The Spiritual Energy Revival did not begin in recent years. According to some information he had learned, the appearance of Spiritual Energy could even be traced back to before the founding of the Great Jin by the founding emperor, but it was only in recent years that Spiritual Energy had suddenly erupted.
The Great Jin had been established for nearly a thousand years. During this period, many families had risen by glimpsing the Spiritual Energy Revival, but before long, they either faded into obscurity or were annihilated.
The entire Hua family being cultivators sounded astonishing, but it did not mean they could go far.
Cultivators needed a large amount of cultivation resources to grow. So many cultivators in the Hua family meant they needed countless resources.
However, the ruins, secret realms, and cave heavens blessed lands that had appeared so far were all occupied by the Royal Family and noble families. Even with Hua Shi Niang, a direct disciple of the Taisu Palace Sect Leader, it might not be enough to supply the Hua family’s consumption.
Unless, when new ruins appeared, the Hua family could secure a territory rich in resources.
But how difficult was that!
The Royal Family, nobles, and noble families had long since cultivated a group of cultivators by occupying resources first. Those who had just begun cultivating, or families, had no ability to compete with them for resources.
Even though the entire Hua family were cultivators, they actually had little self-preservation ability. The only one the Hua family could rely on now was Hua Shi Niang.
However, the path of cultivation was fraught with danger. Who knew if Hua Shi Niang would encounter any accidents.
Without Hua Shi Niang leading the way, the Hua family actually had little competitive power among the many cultivating families.
Sheng Xiu sighed again. Even though he was aware of the Hua family’s many shortcomings, the Hua family was currently the Sheng family’s best choice.
Fortunately, the Hua family still had the Dingyuan Earl’s Mansion as their backing.
Although the Dingyuan Earl’s Mansion was not very prominent in the capital’s noble circles, it still had some influence.
Unlike the Six Ministries, the Heavenly Department, from its inception, was directly under the command of the Royal Family. To put it bluntly, the people of the Heavenly Department were the Royal Family’s private soldiers.
Now that various factions were in turmoil, many people were extending their influence into the Heavenly Department.
When Sheng Xiu thought of the nobles secretly trying to win him over, he felt an immense headache.
As the Left Vice Minister of the Heavenly Department, he could sense that the Heavenly Department Minister was no longer obeying the Royal Family’s orders in every matter, but he had never openly defied the Royal Family’s orders.
If the Minister dared not directly betray the Royal Family, he dared even less. Naturally, he would not accept the overtures of the nobles.
However, it was not easy to offend the nobles entirely. After repeated consideration, they chose the Hua family, with the Dingyuan Earl’s Mansion as their backing, for this marriage alliance.
The Dingyuan Earl’s Mansion had some influence, but not much. In the struggle for interests, they could snatch some scraps and could not enter the core competition circle. This was the best outcome for the Sheng family, which sought stability and long-term development.
He had personally witnessed how brutal the core competition circle for interests was. The Sheng family lacked foundation and had few descendants. If they got involved, they would only serve as stepping stones.
He was not greedy. By marrying into the Hua family and aligning with the Dingyuan Earl’s Mansion, they could snatch some resources, which would be enough for the Sheng family to steadily develop and grow.
“Eldest 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 finally asked, “What is the situation with the Hua family?”
He had personally investigated Hua Da Lang, but he only knew the general details about the other members of the Hua family.
Sheng Xuan smiled and said, “They are tougher than we imagined.” He then recounted everything that had happened at the Hua family’s residence, emphasizing the strength displayed by Hua Jiu Niang and the fact that Hua Liu Lang distributed Spirit Stones to the guests at the end.
Sheng Pengyun, as a member of the Demon Suppressing Army, had killed many Demonic Beasts. Upon hearing that Hua Changxi had instantly killed two Qi Sea Realm Demonic Beasts with just two wisps of flame, his eyes lit up.
Sheng Xuan: “We underestimated the Hua family’s strength. Besides Hua Shi Niang from Taisu Palace, this Hua Jiu Niang is also not to be underestimated. I guess she is at least a Core Formation Realm cultivator.”
Hearing that the Hua family had a Core Formation cultivator, Sheng Xiu’s brows relaxed slightly.
Currently, the vast majority of cultivators were still hovering in the Qi Refining Realm and Qi Sea Realm stages. Even among the Royal Family, nobles, and noble families, Core Formation Realm cultivators were considered experts. With a Core Formation Realm cultivator in charge, the Hua family would have a certain deterrent force for self-preservation.
Sheng Xiu took the Spirit Stone handed to him by Sheng Xuan and, after examining it, asked in surprise, “Does the Hua family have a Spirit Mine?”
Both the Royal Family and the noble families placed great importance on cultivation resources. Every year, they would send countless people to search all over the place. As soon as they found any signs of Spiritual Energy, even in a barren land, they would be the first to claim it.
With such intensive searches, the Hua family was still able to find a hidden gem and occupy a Spirit Mine. Their luck was too good!
Sheng Pengyun was also shocked that the Hua family had a Spirit Mine. “Discovering a Spirit Mine might rely on luck, but controlling it in hand likely requires strength.”
Sheng Xuan nodded and said, “Indeed, we still don’t have a comprehensive understanding of the Hua family.” He then smiled and added, “With Yun Tang marrying into the Hua family, I believe our family has made the right move.”
Sheng Pengfei heard this and pouted, “Father, you’re speaking too soon. Putting aside other things, just Hua Jiu Niang’s temperament. Yun Tang having such a sister-in-law will likely give her a headache in the future.”
As he spoke, he complained about how Hua Jiu Niang had killed their Demonic Beasts and then thrown them out of the Hua family courtyard.
“Eldest Uncle, Eldest Brother, do you know that Hua Jiu Niang not only gave her elder brother a cold shoulder but also dared to disobey 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. “Yun Tang is marrying Hua Da Lang, not living with Hua Jiu Niang. Even if Yun Tang marries into the Hua family and has to interact with Hua Jiu Niang, cultivators spend most of their time cultivating, so their interactions won’t be too frequent.”
Sheng Xiu also didn’t pay much attention to this aspect. The current situation was different from the past. Daughters were also cultivators and didn’t need to obey their in-laws in everything.
Seeing their reactions, Sheng Pengfei felt a bit stifled and looked at Sheng Pengyun, “Eldest Brother, Hua Jiu Niang killed my Demonic Beast pet. You must find me another one.”
Sheng Pengyun looked at him and smiled, “You sacrificed a Demonic Beast to test the Hua family’s strength. Don’t worry, I’ll help you find one.”
