Chapter 38: The Four Great Families, the Cao Family It is generally acknowledged that there are six cultivators at the foundation-building stage in Nanshanfang. There is no such thing as someone hiding their cultivation level after breaking through the Foundation Establishment Stage. First of all, when a cultivator builds his foundation, it will cause a certain degree of strange phenomena in heaven and earth. Although the movement is much smaller than that of forming a pill, but in such a remote place like Nanshanfang, if there is a breakthrough of a new foundation-building cultivator, the movement will definitely not be concealed. As for those who come from outside to the Foundation Establishment Stage, they will definitely rent an A-level cave, or the top-level B-level cave, to ensure that there are second-level or above spiritual veins for cultivation, otherwise it will be difficult to improve their cultivation. Therefore, there should be only six people in the Foundation Establishment Stage in Nanshanfang today. As for whether any of the six people in the Foundation Establishment Stage can make further progress and reach the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment Stage, it is unknown. On the surface, all six of them are in the early stage of foundation building, and they all have families or forces behind them. There are four foundation-building families in total. They are the Cao family, the Xu family, and the Mu family and the Zhang family, which are now on the verge of collapse and in a precarious situation.
Among them, the Cao family is the strongest, with two foundation-building cultivators in the family, which is unique in Nanshanfang! As for the last foundation-building cultivator, he is the owner of Laifeng Tower. Although this foundation-building cultivator has no descendants, he is the only one in Nanshanfang who controls the largest "five-star hotel" in Nanshanfang. He has a very strong ability to attract money, and the number of spirit stones he earns every month is an astronomical figure that is unimaginable for ordinary cultivators. Therefore, even if this foundation-building cultivator was not burdened by his clansmen, he was unwilling to leave Nanshanfang and go to a large immortal city to venture out. Nanshanfang lacks in resources and opportunities, but if they go to Daxian City, it would be wishful thinking for them to open such a restaurant again and run it in an almost monopolistic manner to make money. So he would rather hide in Nanshanfang. As for the four major immortal cultivation families, they do not actually monopolize any industry in Nanshanfang, but their industries are spread across all aspects of Nanshanfang. This accumulation of small amounts into large amounts is, in a sense, more terrifying than monopoly. For example, more than half of the real estate in Nanshanfang is in the hands of the four major families! Therefore, the relationship between the four major families is also very complicated. On the surface, they want to cooperate with each other and jointly develop Nanshanfang, but secretly they fight each other and grab interests. It is not surprising that they even fight to the point of bloodshed. If the common rumors are true, in a few years all the cultivators of the Mu and Zhang families will perish, and the Cao and Xu families will definitely take over without hesitation. …… Cao family, Cao’s talisman shop. As the current number one family in Nanshanfang, with two foundation-building cultivators, the Cao family also has the most industries in Nanshanfang, involving all walks of life. Of course, covering a wide range does not mean being the strongest. For example, Cao's Talisman Shop in Nanshanfang can't even be compared with the Talisman Pavilion, let alone be ranked in the top five! It is an industry that the Cao family wants to focus on developing. The goal of the Cao family is to become one of the best under the Lingfu Pavilion, even if it cannot be compared with the Lingfu Pavilion which occupies 80% of the talisman industry in Nanshanfang. But the Cao family has worked hard for this for several years, but with little success. There were only so many talisman masters in Nanshanfang, and most of them were in Lingfu Pavilion. Those who were wandering outside were basically some basic talisman masters, who were not worthy of being in the upper class, and were not the target of the Cao family. There are indeed two or three first-rank talisman masters, but they are all of lower grade, with poor inheritance, and can draw very few types of talismans. They are totally incomparable with the exclusive talisman masters of Lingfu Pavilion. Moreover, each of these first-level talisman masters is well-off and not short of spirit stones. If the Cao family wants to recruit them, the cost is too high and not worth it. Therefore, after several years of hard work, the Cao's Talisman Shop saw no improvement from its original 'key project' and its priority was lowered.
The current manager of Cao's talismans is a member of the Cao family's side branch, named Cao Sheng, who looks to be around 40 years old. He had a certain talent for talismans, and was introduced to drawing talismans in the early stages of Qi training. It didn't take him too long to become a basic talisman master. But unfortunately, his talent for talismans was not great, and he was unable to draw entry-level talismans. "Shopkeeper Cao, I'm here again." Lin Zixi walked into the shop and greeted him with a smile. Cao Sheng took a look and said with a half-smile, "Do you want to sell me something again? Or have you thought it through and agreed to be my concubine? If it's the former, don't bother. I'm not interested in any of your things. If it's the latter, then sit down and let's talk slowly." Lin Zixi cursed the old pervert in his heart! You are so old, and you still want me to be your concubine? Dream on! He maintained a smile on his face and said, "I'm sure you, Shopkeeper Cao, will be interested in what I brought this time! You may even beg me to buy it! Because what I brought today is exactly what Cao's Talisman Shop needs the most, talismans!" Lin Zixi was confident enough, so he didn't play any tricks to keep people in suspense. She directly took out the five talismans that Xiao Changqing had given her last night. "Where did you get those basic talismans?" Cao Sheng smiled faintly and said, "You're probably overthinking it. Although my Cao's Talisman Shop is short of talismans, we still have enough basic ones. You should keep them." Cao Sheng was really interested in this young female cultivator who came to Nanshanfang. Her appearance was only a small part of the reason, but the main reason was the vigorous feeling she had, which made him feel itchy. Lin Zixi is very materialistic. She does not pretend to be noble or pretend to be a sacred and inviolable fairy. This is even more obvious than most female cultivators. But maybe it was because of her unconcealed and cunning nature, or her enthusiasm to fight and seize every opportunity, that made Cao Sheng feel that this girl was a bit different, untainted by the mud. However, he is also a very direct person. He did not try to find a solution in a roundabout way, or use his power to force Lin Zixi to submit. "Shopkeeper Cao, I think you should take a look first..." Lin Zixi handed over a few talismans. She was not worried that the other party would snatch the spirit stones away and not give them to her. Although there are many cases of "cannibalism" in the world of immortal cultivation, the Cao family still needs to maintain their reputation in Nanshanfang. For a few dozen low-grade spirit stones, there is no need to rob them. And the most important thing is that Lin Zixi thinks that although Manager Cao is an old pervert, he is also a smart man. If he is a smart person, he will change his attitude, be kind to her, or even beg her! "Vajra Talisman! Ice Talisman! Rejuvenation Talisman! Prairie Fire Talisman... This is actually a Calming Talisman?!" Cao Sheng was originally dismissive of Lin Zixi's goods and didn't even bother to look at them. But when Lin Zixi handed him the talisman, he subconsciously glanced at it and couldn't look away! Without caring about his image, he held the talismans in his hands in shock and tested them one by one. “Each one is of mid-grade first-class quality, and of excellent quality! Especially this Calming Soul Talisman, which is not sold anywhere else in Nanshanfang except the Ling Fu Pavilion! The Ling Fu Pavilion also has a limited supply! Ever since Master Lu left, the Ling Fu Pavilion hasn’t had a new one for a long time!” Cao Sheng’s eyes widened, and his hands began to tremble with excitement. "Zi Xi... No, Fellow Daoist Lin! Where did you get these talismans? How many do you have left? Is the quantity large?" Cao Sheng completely put aside the little things between men and women. "Of course the quantity is large! And as long as the Cao Family Talisman Shop is willing to cooperate and the price is right, we can continue to cooperate in the future!" Lin Zixi was secretly happy to see that the girl who used to be so high and mighty in front of her, like a vulgar landlord looking at a maid, now began to respect her. But what he was more shocked about was the identity of the mysterious talisman master. Who was he? It seems that it is much more powerful than she imagined! She only knew that these talismans were of high quality, but she didn't know the overall quality of each one. Could it really be the talisman master from Lingfu Pavilion? Not necessarily.
After all, only Lingfu Pavilion in Nanshanfang knows how to make this so-called calming talisman, but it has been passed down to many other places. But no matter who he is, Lin Zixi knows that her plan has worked! She is going to turn things around next! (End of this chapter)