Chapter 34: Your Grandfather

The competition for the mining rights to the Spirit Stone mine has been going on for many years…

Five hundred miles east of Jingchuan City, there is a Spirit Stone mine. The Family that originally discovered it was weak, caught the attention of various top Families, and was eventually wiped out because of this mine.

After the small Family that controlled the mine was destroyed, the participating Families divided it up. Although the mine was large, it was only a low-quality Spirit Stone mine, and the output of Spirit Stones was limited.

Therefore, the various Families decided that they would compete for it every three years, and the winner would receive mining rights for three years.

Due to various concerns, the method of competition was eventually settled as a sparring match between individuals under the age of twenty-five, with the requirement that they must be internal members of the Family.

After Long Anhai finished saying this, he smiled and added, "Originally, the person participating this time was to be Long Xiaotian… but he hasn't recovered from his injuries, and furthermore, his strength is far inferior to yours."

Xiao Fan thought for a moment, then nodded and agreed.

"Good, good, good. Xiao Fan, you truly are a good son-in-law of my Long Family."

Long Anhai was overjoyed. In reality, he knew best that even if Long Xiaotian participated, his Long Family had almost no hope.

At the very least, Long Xiaotian was definitely no match for Wang Xuan, not to mention that the requirement this time was for those under twenty-five… Some Family disciples who had already joined Sects to Cultivate had specifically rushed back to help their Families compete for the Spirit Stone mine.

In the earlier years, the Long Family had actually never obtained the usage rights to the mine; the Long Family had long since stopped holding out any hope.

But now it was different. With the addition of Xiao Fan, the Long Family had reignited their hopes for the Spirit Stone mine.

…

After leaving Long Anhai, Xiao Fan returned directly to the courtyard.

Inside the hall, Long Caiwei had already left, and only Long Miaoyin remained.

Xiao Fan told Long Miaoyin about the Spirit Stone mine and, while he was at it, listened to Long Miaoyin talk about recent events in Jingchuan City and the Long Family.

"Nothing much is happening in Jingchuan. The Long Family has… improved our treatment quite a bit. Even our monthly allowance has been raised to thirty Spirit Stones per month…" Long Miaoyin said.

Thirty Spirit Stones was not a small amount; the Long Family elders only received twenty per month…

Xiao Fan nodded. It was naturally a good thing that the Long Family had changed their view of them. After saying this, Xiao Fan whispered to Long Miaoyin, "Miaoyin, take off your veil. I want to see your face."

"Hm?" Long Miaoyin was stunned; she hadn't expected Xiao Fan to say such a thing.

The two were husband and wife in name only, but nothing had ever happened between them, and they hadn't even held hands…

"What's wrong? I… I am very ugly." Long Miaoyin's voice was full of nervousness.

Xiao Fan laughed softly and said, "You and I are already married. Even if you are ugly, I am still your husband. I want to see your birthmark to see if there is any way to remove it."

"The birthmark on my face… After I was born, my father sought out many famous doctors, but they were all helpless…"

Long Miaoyin's eyes were filled with disappointment: "I'm afraid it's very difficult to remove…"

"You are my wife, and we are already married."

Xiao Fan spoke very seriously, "I would definitely not lie to you about this matter. No matter what, I will find a way to remove the birthmark on your face."

Tears slid from the corners of Long Miaoyin's eyes… In the Long Family, she had suffered endless cold shoulders. Her mother had disappeared after she was born, and because of the birthmark on her face, her father had ignored her ever since…

Because of the birthmark, she had worn a veil since she was young, which made her feel very inferior, as if her entire world was dark.

But Xiao Fan's appearance allowed her to see a glimmer of light in this darkness.

At the very least, there was someone who treated her sincerely, regardless of how she looked…

Long Miaoyin gently took off the veil on her face. One side was a fair, almond-shaped face with clear, bright eyes and a high nose bridge—describing her as a peerless beauty would not be an exaggeration. However, on the other side, over the same features, was a layer of bright red birthmark…

Just as outsiders said, half her face was like a ghost…

Long Miaoyin was very nervous, afraid that her appearance would scare Xiao Fan. Her hands were trembling, and her attention was fixed unmoving on Xiao Fan.

Seeming to notice her nervousness, Xiao Fan stepped forward, grabbed Long Miaoyin's hand, and said softly, "Don't be afraid, it's okay."

This sentence seemed to possess magic; it entered Long Miaoyin's heart, and she nodded obediently.

"Rest assured, no matter what, I will restore your normal appearance. Believe me."

Xiao Fan's tone was very sincere; this was his promise to Long Miaoyin.

Long Miaoyin nodded, and she couldn't help but cry, leaning into Xiao Fan's embrace—the embrace of her husband in name only.

…

In the following seven days, Xiao Tian stayed in the Secret Room every day. Besides Cultivating, he also read and studied various ancient texts…

This also greatly increased his knowledge regarding many Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicines. He did not read few ancient texts related to Alchemy, and he learned a lot.

In seven days, with the help of various resources within the star chart, Xiao Fan successfully reached the Middle Stage of the fourth level of the Huaqi Realm.

His own strength had improved by a small margin. Although he did not know how strong he was now, with the support of the Nine Transformations of Qi Cultivation Technique, fighting a Cultivator with the strength of the fifth level of the Huaqi Realm should not be a problem.

Moreover, Xiao Fan felt that if he encountered the middle-aged man surnamed Pang who had given him trouble on the second floor of the Treasure Pavilion last time, even if he were not his match, he should at least have the power to fight him.

At the very least, if they fought and Xiao Fan was determined to run, the other party definitely wouldn't be able to keep him.

"It is time to leave."

Inside the Secret Room, Xiao Fan slowly opened his eyes, his aura restrained. Today was the day to participate in the Spirit Stone mine competition.

Xiao Fan changed into a clean white robe, left the Secret Room, and after greeting Long Miaoyin, headed directly to the Long Family main hall.

At this moment, all the Long Family elders were in the main hall. Long Anhai stood beside the main seat, and sitting on the main seat was the Long Family Ancestor.

This time, he was personally leading the team to compete for the Spirit Stone mine.

The Spirit Stone mine was of vital importance; it could even be said that it concerned whether or not a Family could rise!

Compared to those Families that had competed for and mined Spirit Stone mines, the Long Family had already fallen far behind. If this continued, it wouldn't be long before the Long Family became a third-rate power compared to other Families!

Xiao Fan walked in with large strides; seeing the formation inside the hall made him pause…

It seems I still underestimated the importance of the Spirit Stone mine to the Long Family… Xiao Fan muttered in his heart, though he remained very serious on the surface.

When Xiao Fan entered, the gaze of all the Long Family elders was very gentle, just like looking at their own Junior…

"Xiao Fan, this is my father, which is to say, your… Grandfather!"

Long Anhai introduced the Long Family Ancestor sitting on the main seat to Xiao Fan!