Chapter 1243: Chapter 431: Could This Be the True Purpose Behind Father Establishing the Caravan?_2 At the very instant the Dragon Blood Tree appeared, an invisible oppressive aura pervaded the air, startling Lu Yun beside it as if he were facing some terrifying fierce beast. Seeing this, Lu Changsheng flicked a finger and dissipated this pressure for his son, saying, "This Dragon Blood Tree is nurtured with the blood and flesh of a Jiaolong, thus it bears a touch of dragon’s might." "On normal days, just try getting used to it. But if you really can’t bear it, bow in the direction of Bi Yun Peak and call for ’Elder Mount Sumeru’; it will lift this mightiness for you," Lu Changsheng said to his son. In his view, the aura of the Dragon Blood Tree was quite beneficial. It would be good to let the children of the family come and experience it. If they could adapt to such pressure, even an Energy Refining Cultivator would be able to face a Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s spiritual pressure head-on. "Yes, Father." Lu Yun looked at the Dragon Blood Tree before him, delighted at heart, thinking to himself that this truly was worthy of a Third Rank Heaven-and-Earth Spiritual Plant. Afterward, Lu Changsheng planted the Dragon Blood Tree and had Lu Miaoyun and Qu Zhenzhen stabilize the vitality of the spirit plant, then he handed the Array Plate of the Small Reversed Five Elements Formation to his son, Lu Yun, so he could come over and refine the spirit plant by himself on regular days. Having dealt with Lu Yun’s matters, Lu Changsheng then integrated a clump of Spiritual Vein Origin and Earth Sha Fire Vein into Xuanfu Peak and Bailian Peak, respectively. After finishing these tasks, he took Lu Miaoyun and Qu Zhenzhen back to the mansion to relax and continue with his own business of child-rearing. ... Jiulian Mountain, in a stretch of mountains dozens of miles away. A trading caravan was encamped here. "If it weren’t for the Sima Family having set up the formation in advance, it would be somewhat troublesome to set up a high-rank formation during this period," Ling Zixiao held an Array Plate, leading Lu Lingxiao and several Lu family disciples as they arranged the formation. As they detected that Sima Shu had set up a formation here in advance for an ambush. She simply modified the existing formation, allowing the formation to take shape quickly. "Ruyi Sister, what is this?" Inside the compartment, Lu Linghe and Lu Ruyi were sorting through the Storage Bags of the Sima Sijie, occasionally taking out an item and asking her sister. If Lu Ruyi didn’t recognize something, she would then ask their mother, Ling Zixiao. "This is a half-segment of Ghost Spirit Vine, probably worth around seven hundred Spirit Stones..." After looking it over for a moment, Lu Ruyi spoke. Since the family had arranged for her to manage business matters, she had spent considerable time identifying heavenly and earthly treasures over the years. "Ghost Spirit Vine, seven hundred Spirit Stones." Lu Linghe nodded her little head, then took out her notebook, illustrated the Ghost Spirit Vine, and noted the price. "Ghost Spirit Vine is quite beneficial for Yin spirits and Ghost Cultivators. Little An could probably use it. Xiaohe, give this Ghost Spirit Vine to your big brother later." Lu Ruyi had seen the Ghost Slave that accompanied their eldest brother and continued to speak. "Yes, yes." Lu Linghe nodded her little head and placed the half-segment of Ghost Spirit Vine into her Storage Bag. After a while, the sisters finished sorting through the Storage Bags of the Sima Sijie. Spirit Stones, Spiritual Artifacts, Elixir Medicines, Spiritual Medicines, and other heavenly and earthly treasures amounted to a total value of nearly three hundred thousand Spirit Stones. After Lu Ruyi calculated everything, she felt somewhat dazed. After all, it had been decades since she’d seen so many Spirit Stones. "An ordinary Foundation Establishment Family, excluding various expenses, would consider an annual profit of ten thousand Spirit Stones as quite good." "Even if they set up a trading caravan, a single trade journey would only yield a surplus of around ten thousand Spirit Stones..." Lu Ruyi felt a wave of emotion in her heart. Suddenly, she understood why at every stage of cultivation—Energy Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation—there were always Robber Cultivators. Because earning money through hard work, no matter how diligent, was nowhere near as fast as robbing. "For this caravan journey of four months, we earned a little over two thousand Spirit Stones. Brother dealt with these people along the way and the Spirit Stones he gained are almost four hundred thousand." "Could this be the real reason Father established the caravan?" Lu Ruyi pondered suddenly. However, she immediately shook her head to dismiss the thought. Her father was a man of integrity and gentle nature, like a modest gentleman, how could he possibly accumulate wealth in such a way. Moreover, those they encountered and eliminated along the way were the ones who sought trouble with them first, attacking as soon as they met. Even with families like the Lingxi Xie Family, as long as they were not overly aggressive, her eldest brother would not strike harshly. Sometimes, Lu Ruyi would lament that her brother was too upright, inheriting this trait from their father. "Auntie." Lu Ruyi came out of the carriage and reported the sorted gains to Ling Zixiao. "That’s some wealth," Ling Zixiao heard and laughed softly, not too moved by the three hundred thousand Spirit Stones. After all, the family had been spending money like water over the years. Three hundred thousand Spirit Stones was hardly a significant sum. It only meant that the Sima Sijie were relatively well-off among family cultivators. Yet in the eyes of a loose cultivator, it hardly lived up to the reputation of these four. "Ruyi, thank you for your hard work. Later, after your brother has made his selection, the rest should be converted into family contribution value," Ling Zixiao said. Currently, Bihu Lake Mountain had a family contribution system in place. It appeared somewhat perfunctory, however. The main reason was that Lu Changsheng provided too many benefits. In other powers, family disciples had to earn breakthrough elixirs and Foundation Establishment elixirs through contributions and competition. Whereas in Bihu Lake Mountain, as long as one reaches the Peak of Qi Refining, they can directly receive rare pills like the Foundation Establishment Elixir and Three Suns Elixir. For some who perform outstandingly or those favored by Lu Changsheng, they receive a pile of good things without spending any contribution values. Because of this, the family contribution system was merely a family welfare for the Lu family disciples. Through family missions, the contribution points obtained enable family members to enjoy discounts when purchasing rare elixirs, magic artifacts, and talismans that are uncommon on ordinary days.