Therefore, these main branches of the family naturally need to do everything they can to become stronger in order to withstand the adverse situation in the future. Now that the sixth branch has become a burden, it would be better to simply remove them from the family register for the sake of the family's continuation, as Zhou Jianwen suggested.
The Zhou family has a history spanning thousands of years. Although they haven't had much good fortune in producing Nascent Soul stage experts, they have still managed to produce about ten Golden Core stage experts since the Yunxiao Sect was established in such a sacred cultivation ground.
This is precisely why the Zhou family's seven branches are now the main lineage. Each of these seven branches has produced a Golden Core Ancestor in its history, thereby inheriting ancient treasures and establishing the main lineage's status.
Currently, the Sixth Branch possesses two ancient heirloom treasures! If they are removed from the list, two more slots for these treasures will become available, and they will likely be in the possession of their branch, as they have more cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage, making them more effective. This will also allow their branch to prevent the outbreak of the life-threatening calamity and avoid the extinction of the Zhou bloodline!
Therefore, if the Sixth Branch had another Foundation Establishment cultivator, it would be difficult to remove them from the family register. Regardless of whether Lin Xiuyuan intended to return, once Zhou Qin was buried in the ancestral land and reinstated in the family genealogy, how could the Sixth Branch ignore Lin Xiuyuan? They could only refuse outright!
Zhou Jianwen's move was undeniably well-considered.
However, Zhou Honghe frowned when he thought of the marriage alliance and said, "By the way, the Seventh Master Zhou of the Sixth Branch arranged a marriage between him and the Wang family. Isn't Lin Xiuyuan a Foundation Establishment disciple now? Does the clan leader remember?"
"What? A marriage? Is it that Seventh Master Zhou?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jianwen pondered for a while before remembering what had happened.
This matter happened so long ago; that Seventh Master Zhou has been dead for almost two hundred years. Not to mention him, even his Fifth Uncle Zhou Honghe is a generation younger.
He had only heard his elders mention the marriage alliance briefly after becoming the clan leader, so he had never taken it to heart.
It wasn't until Zhou Honghe brought up the old matter again that he was able to recall it after careful recollection, thanks to the cultivator's photographic memory.
That Master Zhou was once an elder of the Purple Mansion stage in the Sixth Branch. Later, he went into seclusion and became possessed by a demon, and encountered an external demon, so he died unexpectedly.
Because the Zhou family and the Wang family had always had a very good relationship, when this Seventh Master Zhou was still a junior and had just reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he went out to gain experience and traveled with a member of the Wang family. Along the way, the two families formed a deep friendship.
In the days that followed, they went out together to compete for opportunities, sat down and discussed the Dao, and cultivated together until they reached the Purple Mansion stage. They were as close as brothers.
The two then agreed that if either family's child of the same generation achieved Foundation Establishment, they would become even closer in marriage.
However, after the death of this Master Zhou, it seems that the Sixth Branch was cursed, and several of its younger members perished when they broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
In the two hundred years since, not a single Foundation Establishment cultivator of the same generation has been born in the Sixth Branch to complete this marriage. In addition, the older generation of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Sixth Branch have passed away one after another, which is why this lineage has declined.
Thus, the agreement was shelved and almost forgotten until Zhou Honghe brought it up, at which point the matter was remembered.
The powerful expert from the Wang family at the Purple Mansion stage is still alive. His great-granddaughter seems to have cultivated to the Foundation Establishment stage, making her the same generation as Lin Xiuyuan.
“I remember now, it is true, but this matter is a bit difficult to handle, isn’t it?” Zhou Jianwen frowned. They had just settled the sixth branch of the family. If they didn’t let Lin Xiuyuan join the Zhou family, how could they turn around and let Lin Xiuyuan go for a marriage alliance?
"It is indeed difficult to handle, but this matter must be done. Although the Wang family member has been at the Purple Mansion stage for a long time and has no hope of breaking through to the Golden Core stage, he has an excellent relationship with our Zhou family. If our ancestor were to perish first, with his help, the Wang family would definitely continue to maintain a firm alliance with us."
"The old ancestor of the Wang family still has a long lifespan and is currently a member of the Yunxiao Sect's Elder Council. If he assists the Zhou family, we will have more confidence to resist the covetousness of all sides."
As Zhou Honghe spoke, he proposed an idea, saying, "How about this: first, let's release the news to the Wang family and see if there's any possibility of success. If not, we'll let it go. But if there is, we can have Lin Xiuyuan change his name and be included in the Zhou family genealogy to solidify this relationship. Then, we can use the matter of Xiaoqin burying the ancestral land as leverage to make him lead the Sixth Branch to hand over the quota for inheriting the ancient treasure. Wouldn't that achieve the same goal? Or we could finalize the matter of removing the Sixth Branch from the list first!"
"Yes, Fifth Uncle is right, let's do it that way!"
After some thought, Zhou Jianwen concluded that this was indeed a good idea. If it succeeded, it would offer the Zhou family a glimmer of hope for weathering the storm that was about to befall them.
In Pingshan City.
The streets weren't crowded, but they were still bustling with people. As one of the major cities in the vicinity, many cultivators lived or traded here. From here, one could conveniently travel to the Hengduan Mountains to explore and seek opportunities, so there were quite a few foreign caravans and cultivators, making it a rather prosperous place.
However, naturally, a city built here is basically a gathering place for cultivators, so there's no reason why it wouldn't be prosperous.
Lin Xiuyuan had just left the Zhou family and was walking in Pingshan City when he heard a voice behind him.
"Cousin Xiuyuan, please wait!"
Lin Xiuyuan turned his head and looked at it, a look of surprise on his face.
Didn't Zhou Qingxue have an appointment and leave early? Why does she seem to be waiting for him?
Zhou Qingxue came running over alone and asked curiously, "So? You've returned to our Zhou family!"
Lin Xiuyuan shook his head and said briefly, "No, that's not why I came here."
"Is that so? Then what are you doing here?" A strange look flashed across Zhou Qingxue's face. Clearly, she also thought that Lin Xiuyuan had come to seek refuge with the Zhou family, but she said that this was not the reason.
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