As Ding Yun was using the power of creation to cultivate medicinal herbs and attempt to refine low-grade pills, the people sent by the Liu family patriarch to gather information finally brought back the latest news.
Yang Xiao Zhenjun still needed concubines.
Not only did he need concubines, but he also needed fertile ones. He had even made it known that any concubine who bore him a child with spiritual roots would be rewarded with a Foundation Establishment Pill.
The recipient could use it as they pleased or send it back to their family.
A Foundation Establishment Pill could be considered a treasure for Qi Refining cultivators, or even Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, for a Golden Core Zhenjun, while still precious, it was by no means rare. If they were willing, they could easily obtain a few.
This was why the Zhenjun dared to make such a proclamation.
Upon hearing this news, whether it was the Liu family patriarch, who had already successfully established his foundation, or the other elders present who were far from the peak of Qi Refining, their faces flushed with excitement. Those who had harbored any hesitation moments before instantly solidified their original plan.
They must send Ding Yun.
This was a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Their family had several elders who had been stuck at the twelfth layer of Qi Refining, the peak, and unable to advance further precisely because they lacked Foundation Establishment Pills. Although a Foundation Establishment Pill could not guarantee a 100% success rate for establishing a foundation, this applied to ordinary cultivators at the peak of Qi Refining, not to those who had been stuck for over a decade.
For cultivators who had been stuck at the peak of Qi Refining for over a decade, it was almost guaranteed that they would break through successfully after taking a Foundation Establishment Pill.
In fact, theoretically, as long as the cultivation technique was not too poor, their aptitude was good enough, or they spent enough time, any cultivator should be able to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm without a Foundation Establishment Pill. Using one would actually affect the quality of the Golden Core later.
However, their family did not have good cultivation techniques.
The quality of their family's cultivation techniques was too low.
So low that without a Foundation Establishment Pill, unless they had exceptional talent, breaking through on their own was practically impossible. But if they had descendants with exceptional talent, they would have long been sent to major sects to become disciples. They wouldn't still be merely a Foundation Establishment family. Thus, their family could only strive for Foundation Establishment Pills generation after generation, relying on them to maintain their status as a Foundation Establishment family.
Therefore, now that they had learned that bearing a child with spiritual roots for Yang Xiao Zhenjun would yield a Foundation Establishment Pill, how could they suppress their excitement?
They wished they could pack Ding Yun up and send her off immediately, have her conceive the next day, and give birth to a child with spiritual roots next year. Ideally, she would have seven or eight children in one go.
Some elders even began to murmur about whether they should send the family's other two girls, who had broken through to the middle stage of Qi Refining at thirteen or fourteen and were now adults. After all, it would be difficult for them to establish their foundations without Foundation Establishment Pills.
It would be better to send them to bear children for a Golden Core Zhenjun.
If they gave birth to multiple children, wouldn't their future as elders have the hope of taking Foundation Establishment Pills? It was important to remember that breaking through to Foundation Establishment was not just about cultivating higher.
It also meant living an additional seven or eight decades!
However, some elders felt that this approach was too crude and embarrassing if word got out. Furthermore, some girls had worked hard to cultivate precisely to avoid arranged marriages. If they acted this way, the girls who worked hard in the future might not be willing to do so anymore.
Originally, cultivating hard meant they could avoid marriage. Now, cultivating hard only meant becoming a concubine, while those who didn't cultivate hard could marry and become the main wife or matriarch.
Who could stand this?
Even being a concubine to a Golden Core Zhenjun was still being a concubine.
After much deliberation and discussion, they ultimately decided to sacrifice Ding Yun for the time being and let her be a concubine to scout the situation.
If they could successfully obtain Foundation Establishment Pills, then losing face wouldn't matter. After all, how important could face be compared to living another seven or eight decades by establishing a foundation?
After the discussion concluded,
The elders unanimously decided that Ding Yun's father, Liu Xiangjun, should personally convey this matter to Ding Yun, and ideally, persuade her with reason and emotion to agree voluntarily.
This way, the benefits would be maximized.
If it came to coercion or enticement,
They probably wouldn't feel entirely at ease.
Liu Xiangjun, after receiving the assurance that he would definitely get one Foundation Establishment Pill if his daughter managed to obtain two or more, immediately and gleefully went to find Ding Yun.
Upon meeting her, he directly stated:
"Ah Yan, Dad has found a good marriage for you today, a marriage that you'll regret missing for a lifetime."
"What?"
"Don't I have the right to choose my own marriage?"
Although Ding Yun didn't worry about Liu Xiangjun forcing her into marriage, she still stood up and questioned him indignantly.
"What 'right to choose your own marriage'? The clan has never said such a thing. The clan only said that if you broke through to the middle stage of Qi Refining before adulthood, you wouldn't have to undergo arranged marriage. It never mentioned any personal choice. Don't you go around thinking wild thoughts.
Marriage has always been determined by parents and arranged by matchmakers.
Where does personal choice come in?
The person I've found for you this time is not for an arranged marriage within the clan. Your stepmother and I have already agreed. This is a parental decree, and you are not allowed to object.
Prepare yourself early, say goodbye to your aunt, it'll be difficult to come back once you're married!"
Liu Xiangjun did not believe that his illegitimate daughter, who had only just broken through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, had any room to resist. Therefore, he didn't bother with subtlety or gentle persuasion; he chose to speak directly and commandingly.
Perhaps he thought that it was natural for children to obey their parents' commands, and who would dare to resist or defy them?
Hearing this, Ding Yun wasn't too angry. After all, if she got angry every time something like this happened, she would have died of anger long ago. More importantly, she was confident and wasn't afraid that anyone in the Liu family could force her to do anything.
Therefore, she calmly asked:
"Since that's the case, there shouldn't be any problem telling me who I'm marrying, right? You should tell me who this person is that I'll regret missing for a lifetime."
"How dare you be so flippant! You must address him as Zhenjun. It seems your etiquette truly needs training. If we send you over like this, speaking such words, it might bring disaster upon our clan!"
He is a Golden Core Zhenjun, and this brat is referring to him as 'this person.' Isn't this courting death?
As the elders in the clan said,
She must undergo intensive training before being sent.
"Zhenjun? Send over?"
"Isn't only a Golden Core cultivator addressed as Zhenjun? Also, what do you mean by 'send over'? Wait, you're not thinking of sending me over to be a concubine, are you!"
By grasping at his words, Ding Yun immediately had a sudden realization and then glared at her father with dissatisfaction, her anger already rising within her.
"What else? Do you think you can still be the main wife for a Golden Core Zhenjun? What kind of daydreaming is this? Even sending you over to be a concubine was an effort that strained the family to its limits, involving the expenditure of countless favors.
Just be content.
This is a concubine of a Golden Core Zhenjun.
Haven't you heard of 'ascending to heaven with chickens and dogs'? Haven't you heard of 'a doorkeeper of a prime minister is a seventh-rank official'? The family went to such great lengths to send you to be a concubine to a Golden Core Zhenjun, you should be grateful and content.
Please him well.
Give birth to a child for the Golden Core Zhenjun soon, a child with spiritual roots, so you can contribute more to the family!"
One must admit, Liu Xiangjun's righteous tone and the implication that she was getting a great bargain truly opened Ding Yun's eyes. To think that such a shameless person existed in this world, truly a rare and extraordinary individual.