After briefly studying the system interface, Lu Qing controlled his spirit form and floated outward.

  After fifty years in seclusion, completely unaware of outside events, he now urgently wanted to know the current situation of his family.

  Popution 106? When he had entered seclusion, the Lu cn didn't have nearly so many people. Were his children really that fertile?

  Moreover, as a Golden Core elder, his dwelling, Jade Smoke Mountain, used to be a Four-Star Spirit Vein!

  How had it become just Two Stars after fifty years?

  The cn's annual income was only 750 Spirit Stones? Was this a joke? He, the great Elder Lu, would spend more than that on a single meal!

  During his fifty-year absence, something major must have happened to the cn!

  He needed to see what was going on. Had a wastrel emerged, or were there external enemies?

  A wastrel seemed unlikely. His children were all raised by him personally, and although their cultivation talents were just average, their characters were decent. It shouldn't be possible that in just fifty years of his absence, they could ruin the family to this extent.

  So it must be powerful external enemies? Who would dare provoke Elder Lu Qing?! He was a Golden Core cultivator, and even Qingfeng Sect, the rgest sect in Flying Cloud State's Anling Prefecture, had to show him respect!

  Lu Qing's meditation chamber was built on the back mountain of Jade Smoke Mountain. It was originally a cave, but ter a magnificent structure was built around it. All members of the Lu cn knew their ancestor was cultivating in seclusion there, and cn rules strictly prohibited members from approaching the area to avoid disturbing him.

  Floating out of the warded dwelling, Lu Qing saw two cn members standing guard outside.

  These two appeared to be in their thirties. Lu Qing didn't recognize them, but through their bloodline, he could sense a feeling of kinship.

  They were definitely members of the Lu cn, possibly his grandsons' generation. Perhaps when he entered seclusion, these young men weren't even born yet.

  As he floated past them, they didn't notice him at all.

  Lu Qing found this strange. These two should both be at the Qi Condensation stage. Even without specific training in detecting soul or spirit forms, as Qi Condensation cultivators, they should have some sense when a spirit form passed by at close range.

  His heart sank as he had an unpleasant thought.

  He began trying to mobilize his soul power.

  As a Golden Core cultivator, although he didn't have the ability to separate his soul from his body, he was still somewhat versed in soul and mental techniques. He had mastered several decent mental spells.

  Theoretically, mental spells shouldn't need a physical body to release spiritual power.

  However... after trying, he discovered he couldn't.

  "I... could it be that not only has my physical body died, but my soul is also dead? What remains is merely consciousness?"

  This terrifying thought formed in his mind.

  The spirit form stood in the sunlight for a long time, and he eventually had to admit that his guess was probably correct.

  He was truly dead, both body and soul, with only his consciousness remaining.

  The preservation of his consciousness must be reted to that '[Family Rise System].' Or perhaps more directly, his consciousness now depended entirely on that system.

  And this system was dependent on the Lu cn. If one day the Lu cn were destroyed and the system dispersed, Lu Qing's consciousness would also completely disappear.

  That would be true soul scattering.

  In his spirit form, he felt lost.

  But immediately after, he thought of his '[Family Rise System].'

  "The items in the exchange list look quite abundant. Is it possible that in the future, a resurrection option might appear?"

  It was at least some hope.

  The conversation between two descendants pulled Lu Qing from his contemption.

  "Brother Mingsi, after you finish your guard duty today, you'll be on leave, right?"

  "Yes."

  "I'm so envious. I have to guard until the beginning of next month... The Qingfeng Sect people should have arrived by now. Your Weiwen is three years old this year and has been clever since childhood. She must have good Spirit Roots and will definitely be able to enter the sect for cultivation."

  The man named Lu Mingsi, looking toward the front hall of Jade Smoke Mountain, said, "I hope so."

  After hearing these words, Lu Qing was displeased.

  Had the Lu family now reached the point where they had to send their best cn members to be trained at Qingfeng Sect?

  Controlling his spirit form, he continued to float onward.

  With Qingfeng Sect coming to select disciples, Lu Qing, as the ancestor, naturally wanted to see what was happening. He flew toward the main hall of Jade Smoke Mountain.

  Along the way, he took the opportunity to thoroughly observe the current state of Jade Smoke Mountain.

  Jade Smoke Mountain was still Jade Smoke Mountain, but everywhere revealed traces of decline.

  Lu Qing had cimed this pce one hundred and fifty years ago and gradually developed it. It had transformed from his personal cultivation cave into the gathering pce for the Lu cn. With a Golden Core cultivator presiding, the Lu cn became quite famous in Flying Cloud State. Although still considered a subsidiary family of Qingfeng Sect, they were more like partners.

  After all, the entire Flying Cloud State didn't have any Nascent Soul cultivators and only four Golden Core cultivators in total—three from Qingfeng Sect and one independent cultivator, Lu Qing.

  Qingfeng Sect had always been quite courteous toward the Lu family, with its Golden Core independent cultivator presiding.

  Because of this, even though the Lu family had not been established for long, it had developed very well in just a few decades.

  As an emerging family, it was full of vigor, and with close blood retions, their cohesion was beyond question.

  Logically, this should have been a period of great development for the family.

  But due to Lu Qing's sudden serious injury, he had to go into seclusion. Without a Golden Core cultivator presiding, and with the rge amount of healing treasures purchased before his seclusion causing a significant deficit in the family's savings, all these factors affected the family's subsequent development.

  But regardless, a mere fifty years shouldn't have brought things to this state.

  Without him, the family still had four or five Foundation Establishment cultivators. Although not significant in the entire Flying Cloud State, in Anling Prefecture, they were still considered a major power.

  It was bad enough that the family was in difficulty, but what worried Lu Qing most was that all the cn members he saw appeared listless. Everyone was frowning, their hearts filled with depression.

  ...

  Lost in his concerns, he arrived at the main hall of Jade Smoke Mountain.

  This was where the family held ceremonies and received important guests—the face of the family.

  This main hall had been built under Lu Qing's direct supervision, and its overall style was quite magnificent and imposing.

  Four cn members stood guard at the entrance to the main hall.

  Lu Qing floated directly through them and entered the hall.

  Compared to the magnificent exterior, the interior decorations and various furnishings looked much more austere.

  It wasn't like this fifty years ago.

  At this moment, inside the main hall, about thirty Lu cn members had gathered, bringing with them more than ten children. These children were generally only three or four years old, most with the generational name "Wen," with very few younger ones from the "Ming" generation.

  Besides these, there were five people dressed in dark blue Daoist robes, standing impassively in the center of the great hall.