Starting on the second day after the Grand Sacrifice concluded, various factions from across the two towns began arriving one after another.

The Yang Family's Grand Sacrifice had been grand and imposing, and they had received news of it quite early.

On ordinary days, they had no pretext to interact with the Yang Family, so they took this opportunity to pay a visit.

Any mortal families who came to pay their respects were received by the Yang Family at the foot of the mountain.

If cultivators arrived, Zhao Qi and Liang Yi would guide them up Mist Mountain.

Yang Lingqing had issued the family head's order: visitors were guests and must be treated with complete courtesy, without any slights.

However, regardless of the reason, any gifts brought by these families were categorically refused.

When the Yang Family had struggled and suffered in Liuye Town in their early years, no one had come to see them. Now that they had established themselves independently, these people came with smiles and gifts, hoping to curry favor?

How could such a good thing exist in this world?

The Yang Family truly did not lack their meager trinkets.

Seeing this stance, these people soon understood the situation. After two or three days of bustling activity, the stream of visitors quieted down.

Knowing that the Yang Family needed to deal with these people, Gao Hui only came calling on the fourth day after the Grand Sacrifice ended.

He came to deliver this month's Spirit Crystals bestowed by the Wangchao, and he also brought an important piece of news.

The Golden Scale Dharma Assembly, hosted by Wangyue City and held once every ten years, would begin in half a year.

And this time, the Songshan Yang Family was also among those invited.

Upon learning this news, the members of the Yang Family were all greatly surprised and delighted.

How could a golden scale remain a creature of the pond? Once it meets wind and clouds, it transforms into a dragon!

The Golden Scale Dharma Assembly was a grand gathering organized by the City Lord of Wangyue City, bringing together outstanding young cultivators under his jurisdiction to exchange ideas. Only invited families and individuals could participate.

On one hand, this Dharma Assembly served to unearth ambitious talents for the Wangchao; on the other, it provided a platform for various factions to exchange intelligence and resources.

In the past, because the Yang Family had been too weak and possessed no one to recommend them, they had naturally never been invited to participate.

"We are truly grateful that Town Chief Gao was able to recommend our family."

All the Yang Family members believed that this invitation was due to Gao Hui's help and recommendation.

But unexpectedly, as soon as these words were spoken, Gao Hui repeatedly waved his hand.

"You misunderstand. The Golden Scale Dharma Assembly is personally hosted by the City Lord himself. All influential factions under Wangyue's jurisdiction will participate. With my status and position, I do not have the qualifications to recommend others."

Upon hearing this, Yang Lingqing became puzzled. "If it wasn't Town Chief Gao, then who recommended our family?"

Besides her, the other Yang Family members were also somewhat confused.

"It was the Southern Mountain Li Family who recommended you. It is said that the Li Family's second young master strongly pushed for the Yang Family, thus securing your place."

"The Li Family!"

Hearing these words, Elder Yu, Yang Lingqing, and Yang Linghu almost simultaneously locked their gazes onto Yang Lingrui.

"Wait, why are you looking at me?" Yang Lingrui said, somewhat flustered under their stares.

Seeing this, Gao Hui also became curious. "When I came, I was wondering how you managed to establish a connection with the Li Family. Could it be that this matter is related to Lingrui?"

"Related! It's extremely related!"

Yang Linghu then recounted how Yang Lingrui had met Li Cheng in Fengling, and how the latter had expressed an intention to form a marriage alliance.

After hearing this, Gao Hui immediately sat up straight, turning to look at Yang Lingrui with an expression of admiration.

"So such a thing happened during the Fengling trip. Lingrui, to have caught the eye of the Li Family's second young master-that is remarkable! Although that man has a wide circle of acquaintances, I know there are truly few people he actually thinks highly of."

Gao Hui continued, "This is a good thing. Whether it ultimately works out or not, it will be beneficial to your family."

Knowing that such a major matter would require the Yang Family to internally discuss and prepare, he did not linger and took his leave.

After Gao Hui left, Yang Lingrui breathed a sigh of relief.

Whether it was cultivation or fighting enemies, he could handle himself. But when it came to matters between men and women, he was completely clueless and had absolutely no interest.

"Elder Yu, Sister Qing, Brother Hu, you don't think there's no trickery in this, do you?" Yang Lingrui asked.

Back in Fengling, he and Zhao Qi had already suspected the Li Family's motives, feeling that things couldn't be that simple.

"Of course there's trickery. The Li Family's second young master must want something from us. If it were only about you personally, that certainly wouldn't be enough. Your suspicion, along with Zhao Qi's, is correct-there must be something going on within the Li Family that we don't know about."

Yang Lingqing said, "But weighing the pros and cons, the Dharma Assembly is beneficial to the Yang Family's future development. It is a rare opportunity and worth attending."

Between the two towns, the Yang Family was now undoubtedly the top faction.

But just as their development had been limited back in Liuye Town, they faced a similar constraint now.

Becoming the top faction meant that the Yang Family's growth in this area had nearly reached its limit.

In the past year, they had seized and absorbed all the available resources. Now was the time to digest those gains and recuperate.

If they wanted to expand further, they would have to resort to using their power to oppress others and engage in unscrupulous plundering.

Such lowly tactics lacked vision and foresight, and Yang Lingqing naturally disdained them.

Thus, for the Yang Family to seek a larger space for future development, they needed to broaden their horizons. They could no longer limit themselves to the two towns, but had to look toward a higher level.

Above the eight towns was, naturally, Wangyue City.

Yang Lingqing had been contemplating this ever since she took charge of the family, but no matter how she thought about it, the Yang Family had no channels to reach Wangyue City.

But now it was different.

The Golden Scale Dharma Assembly!

All the influential factions under Wangyue's jurisdiction would participate, including genuine aristocratic family disciples.

This was an excellent opportunity for the Yang Family!

"Lingqing is right. Setting aside the marriage alliance for now, this Dharma Assembly alone is of great significance to our family," Elder Yu nodded.

Yang Linghu also expressed his agreement after listening, but he quickly spotted a problem. "It's fine if we really let Lingrui go, but Wangyue City isn't like the two towns-there are actual Condensed Origin cultivators there. When the time comes, Lingrui's realm won't be concealable. What do we do about that?"

Elder Yu and Yang Lingrui nodded at this, tilting their heads in thought.

Although Elder Yu's concealment methods were clever, at his current realm, he could at most fool Qi Gathering Perfection cultivators. If they encountered a Condensed Origin cultivator, they would be exposed at a glance.

Breaking through to the third level of Qi Gathering in three years could still be explained away using the matter of the Spirit Liquid.

But now, after just over a year, he had achieved another breakthrough, crossing from the early stage of Qi Gathering to the middle stage. Anyone who saw it would sense something amiss.

How could this be resolved?

Seeing the three deep in thought, Yang Lingqing revealed a reassuring smile.

"There is no need to agonize over this. Since I agreed to this matter, I naturally have a solution."

"As expected of Lingqing! Quickly, tell us about it," Yang Linghu said expectantly.

Yang Lingqing cleared her throat and then explained her plan in detail.

"First, regarding that Strange Stone Lingrui obtained from exploring the ancient tomb-others do not know its effects. We will say it is a treasure with the ability to gather spiritual energy."

"Second, outsiders do not know we obtained the complete Talisman Art Inheritance. We will say that Elder Yu came into contact with talisman arts during his early years at the Sect and luckily obtained the methods for making a few basic Talismans from fragmented texts. Coincidentally, the Immortal Venerable has refined many Talismans for our family. We will select some of them to sell at the market next season. Then, using the Spirit Crystals our family has accumulated, we will buy Pills capable of enhancing early-stage Qi Gathering cultivation."

"Finally, just before Lingrui leaves, under the Immortal Venerable's supervision, he will deliberately disrupt his qi circulation."

Yang Lingqing looked up and said, "In a little over a year, with the help of the spirit-gathering Strange Stone and the Spirit Liquid, relying on various Pills to forcibly build up his cultivation, combined with his naturally outstanding talent, Yang Lingrui forcefully broke through to the fourth level."

"It is just a pity that although he barely succeeded, he was too eager for quick results in the process, which led to a deviation. As a result, his Qi Channels were damaged, leaving him with depleted qi and blood, and unstable spiritual power."