Ningzhou, Song Dynasty.

Ping'an County is one of the 72 counties of Ningzhou. It is mostly mountainous and hilly, with a sparse population. Lotus Island is the only lake island in Ping'an County.

Lotus Island is named because its appearance resembles a blooming lotus. There are many lotuses planted on the island.

In the early morning, a round of scorching sun rises from the east, shining on Lotus Island, bringing a touch of warmth to Lotus Island.

In the center of the island, there is a very large courtyard with pavilions, gardens and corridors.

In the center of the courtyard, there is a small artificial lake. A large piece of white fog covers the entire lake, and the situation inside is not clear.

As time goes by, the white fog gradually dissipates.

There is a large piece of green lotus in the lake, and a lotus-shaped stone platform stands in the center. There is a two-story green pavilion on the stone platform. Above the entrance of the pavilion, there is a green plaque about ten feet long, with three golden characters "Qinglian Pavilion" written in a flamboyant style.

In a room on the second floor of Qinglian Pavilion, an eighteen or nineteen-year-old young man in a blue shirt sat cross-legged on a green cushion.

The young man in a blue shirt had sword-like eyebrows, clear eyes, and black hair draped over his shoulders, giving people a very comfortable feeling.

The young man in a blue shirt closed his eyes slightly, and his breathing through his nose showed a certain rhythm. As he inhaled and exhaled, there were dots of blue light around him, and a layer of faint blue light enveloped his body.

As time passed, the blue light dots poured into his body.

The young man in a blue shirt opened his eyes, and a gleam of light shot out of his eyes.

"Finally, I have entered the fifth level of Qi Refining."

Wang Changsheng exhaled lightly, and a smile appeared on his thin face.

"Uncle Jiu, breakfast is ready."

A respectful male voice came from outside.

Wang Changsheng smiled slightly and said, "Qiu Sheng, bring in breakfast!"

Wang Changsheng pushed the door and walked out, going downstairs.

A young man in his twenties in a blue shirt pushed the door open and walked in, holding a green tray in his hand.

The tray contained a bowl of white rice, a plate of vegetables and a dish of tofu, which smelled delicious and whetted people's appetite.

"Uncle Nine, this is the breakfast Qiuyue made for you. Take a look and see if it suits your taste."

Wang Qiu Sheng arranged the food and stood aside, looking extremely respectful.

Wang Changsheng frowned slightly and said, "Didn't I say that we should have breakfast together? Why did you only send me my portion?"

"Father has repeatedly reminded me that Uncle Nine is an elder, and I must serve him carefully and not neglect him. I dare not eat at the same table with Uncle Nine. I hope Uncle Nine will understand."

Wang Qiu Sheng's face tightened and he explained carefully.

Wang Changsheng sighed lightly, shook his head, and said, "Forget it, go downstairs and have breakfast! Come back to clean up the dishes after breakfast."

"Grandson, obey your order."

Wang Qiusheng immediately agreed, bowed deeply, and walked backwards out of Qinglian Pavilion.

Five hundred years ago, Wang Yuangang, the ancestor of the Wang family, came to Changping County, Ningzhou with his family to settle down.

At that time, the Wang family was only a family of seven, but under the protection of two foundation-building cultivators, in less than a hundred years, the population of the Wang family has increased by more than ten times. Although only a few lucky people have spiritual roots, it has also laid the foundation for the later Wang family.

After hundreds of years of development, the population of the Wang family has doubled, and the number of cultivators has continued to increase. So far, the Wang family has 145 cultivators and more than 100,000 clansmen without spiritual roots.

The family headquarters of the Wang family is Qinglian Mountain in Changping County. Most of the Wang family members with spiritual roots live in Qinglian Mountain.

Qinglian Mountain originally had a first-grade upper-grade spiritual vein, but with the efforts of the ancestors of the Wang family, the first-grade spiritual vein has been cultivated into a second-grade lower-grade spiritual vein, which can provide enough spiritual energy for foundation-building cultivators.

As for the hundreds of thousands of Wang family members without spiritual roots, they are distributed in three counties in Changping County, namely Ping'an County, Qingyun County, and Qingzhu County.

The current head of the Wang family is Wang Mingyuan, who is also Wang Changsheng's father. Wang Mingyuan has four spiritual roots and his qualifications are not good, but he is fair and humble. He was elected as the head of the Wang family by most of the clan members and is responsible for managing the family's affairs.

Wang Yaozong, a foundation-building cultivator of the Wang family, rarely shows up on weekdays and practices in seclusion all year round.

Wang Changsheng's mother Liu Qing'er is a casual cultivator with three spiritual roots and a better qualification than Wang Mingyuan.

At that time, Wang Changsheng's grandfather Wang Yaozu did not agree to Liu Qing'er's marriage, because Wang Yaozu planned to let Wang Mingyuan marry the daughter of Zhao's family in Guangyang County to strengthen the relationship between the two families. The strength of the Wang family and the Zhao family is similar, and the two foundation-building ancestors are good friends. This marriage is beneficial to both parties.

Wang Mingyuan just refused to agree, and he was determined to marry Liu Qing'er, which made Wang Yaozu so angry that he locked Wang Mingyuan up for three years.

Liu Qing'er waited for Wang Mingyuan near Qinglian Mountain for three years, and moved Wang Yaozu, so he let Liu Qing'er come to meet him.

Liu Qing'er worked in a refining shop for ten years and was an apprentice. When Wang Yaozu learned about this, he happily agreed to the marriage.

Wang Changsheng is the only son, ranking ninth in the same generation. He has three spiritual roots of gold, water and earth, and the main spiritual root is water. The sensitivity of the water spiritual root reaches 60. Among the same generation, his qualifications can only be regarded as average. He practices the "Cloud and Rain Art" handed down by the Wang family.

This technique is a first-level technique for human qualities. It can be practiced from the first level of Qi Refining to the ninth level of Qi Refining. This technique is stable, has few bottlenecks, and is very easy to break through.

Wang Changsheng entered the lecture hall at the age of five, learned to read and write, and was taught knowledge of cultivation by the elders of the clan.

He started practicing at the age of eight and received ten kilograms of first-level low-grade spiritual rice every month.

At the age of thirteen, Wang Changsheng advanced to the fourth level of Qi Refining and could receive three kilograms of first-level middle-grade spiritual rice every month.

When Wang Changsheng was sixteen years old, he was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. According to the clan rules, he did not need to work before the age of eighteen, and the family provided resources for cultivation. If he failed to practice to the fifth level of Qi Refining at the age of eighteen, he had to work for the family in exchange for cultivation resources.

The Wang family is now in deficit, and Wang Mingyuan can only let the younger generation come out to work two years in advance to increase income and reduce expenditure.

This decision was opposed by some elders of the clan. The elders believed that the younger generation was the future of the clan and should be allowed to practice until the age of 18. The elders were willing to take out their monthly salary to subsidize the younger generation.

Wang Mingyuan believed that this was not a solution to the family's predicament. In order to persuade the opposing elders, he invited Wang Yaozong to convene a clan meeting.

As the head of the family, Wang Mingyuan set an example by sending his son to Ping'an County to serve as a heavenly master for four years.

Ping'an County was the worst among the three counties controlled by the Wang family. Wang Mingyuan set an example, and with Wang Yaozong's approval, the voice of opposition disappeared.

Because of this, Liu Qing'er privately complained about Wang Mingyuan, saying that Wang Mingyuan only had the Wang family in his heart, not his own small family.

At the age of 16, Wang Changsheng left Qinglian Mountain and came to Ping'an County with five pounds of spiritual cakes made by his mother overnight, under his mother's reluctant eyes.

Ping'an County is relatively poor and sparsely populated. There are tens of thousands of Wang family members living in the county and nearby villages and towns.

Wang Changsheng's mission is to protect the mortals of Ping'an County from the invasion of evil spirits and monsters.

Although the Wang family members living in the secular world do not have spiritual roots, their ancestors have spiritual roots, so there is a high probability that their descendants have spiritual roots.

For this reason, the Wang family has sent immortal cultivators to garrison in the three counties under their control and regularly test their spiritual roots.

Over the past hundreds of years, more than a dozen Wang family members living in the secular world have spiritual roots. Wang Yaozong's parents are mortals. Because they were tested for spiritual roots, they were sent to Qinglian Mountain to practice. Under the cultivation of the family, they successfully built their foundation.

Because of the living example of Wang Yaozong, the Wang family attaches great importance to the clansmen living in the secular world. Of course, the Wang family also attaches importance to other people. Although the probability of a descendant born of a mortal being a cultivator is very small, the Wang family treats them equally. The Wang family sends people to the secular world every once in a while to test whether the newborn has spiritual roots, so as to replenish fresh blood.

The county magistrate of Ping'an County is appointed by the court. The Wang family will not interfere with the county magistrate's handling of government affairs. If there are evil demons and monsters making trouble, the Wang family will send cultivators to deal with it.

The Wang family will not interfere with the Wang family members who do not have spiritual roots, whether they are doing business or engaging in politics, but if their descendants have spiritual roots, they must be sent to Qinglian Mountain.

Wang Changsheng has been in Ping'an County for three years. He usually lives on Lotus Island and rarely leaves Lotus Island.

There are no spiritual veins on Lotus Island, and the spiritual energy is weak. The speed of cultivation here is very slow. He has been in Ping'an County for three years and has only been promoted to a small realm. This is when he has taken a lot of spiritual grains. If there are no spiritual grains, Wang Changsheng may not be able to advance to the fifth level of Qi Refining in five years.

The price of the elixir is quite expensive, and Wang Changsheng is short of money, so he chooses to eat spiritual grains.

He is now in the middle stage of Qi Refining, which is suitable for eating first-grade medium-quality spiritual grains. First-grade medium-quality spiritual grains mature every two or three years and cost about one or two spiritual stones.

As a heavenly master in Ping'an County, there is almost no opportunity to make meritorious deeds. The monthly salary of one spiritual stone is used up quickly, and he can only eat food without spiritual energy.