There’s an old saying, "Wealth doesn't last past three generations," which suggests that heirs to fortunes often lack the discipline to preserve their wealth, preferring indulgence and extravagance until the family declines. But that applies to ordinary people.

True great families, the ancient, established houses, boast lineages that stretch back through centuries. The Huyan family has a history spanning over thirteen hundred years.

Never mind thirteen centuries—even a mere fraction of that time accumulated staggering wealth. Just how many treasures have been amassed over a millennium, no one knows, except perhaps Huyan Ming and Huyan Baisheng, and even then, maybe only the immediate family does.

"We struck it rich! Ten-thousand-year Purple Orchid Vine—this is the genuine article!" Deep inside a hidden cavern, almost impossible to find the entrance to, Zhang Yuan’an was frantically rummaging through the contents, shouting his excitement.

He held a slender, purple vine that looked unremarkable, yet the energy contained within that small piece was immense. It was a ten-thousand-year-old Purple Orchid Vine.

This vine is a naturally cold-attribute treasure, growing only in the Tianshan Mountains, and even there, it is rarely seen. A Purple Orchid Vine that has matured for a thousand years is already extremely precious, qualifying as a spirit herb.

A ten-thousand-year-old one? Its value is beyond comprehension; it is undoubtedly a top-tier spirit medicinal ingredient.

"Not bad, very good indeed!" A smile finally touched Zhang Pinglu's face. He hadn't expected the Huyan family to possess a treasure of the Purple Orchid Vine's caliber.

This haul looked promising. The cavern was about fifty square meters in size, filled with various cabinets and chests.

It resembled a secret chamber where they had discovered the Huyan family’s vast collection of valuables. This location was incredibly difficult to find, situated deep underground.

Anyone unaware of its existence would never locate it, even if they dug three feet down. Of course, others might fail, but Zhang Yang did not.

Guided by Wuying, this secret room packed with treasures was quickly uncovered, revealing the Huyan family’s millennium of hoarding before them. "Six-thousand-year Flower Bud!

Old Man, this is a six-thousand-year Flower Bud!" Moments later, Zhang Yuan’an erupted again. The Flower Bud is a high-grade spirit herb, requiring an exceptionally complex and arduous growth environment.

It is rare for such an herb to survive a thousand years; a six-thousand-year specimen is a treasure beyond previous reports. Though it is only six thousand years old, its worth slightly exceeds that of the ten-thousand-year Purple Orchid Vine.

If this Flower Bud were traded with the Shaolin Temple, they would pay any price. The primary ingredient for the Shaolin Great Reversion Pill is the Flower Bud.

Furthermore, the Zhang family could use the Flower Bud to refine another extremely valuable spirit medicine, one whose effects differ from the Shaolin Great Reversion Pill. "The Huyan family truly is wealthy.

They have six spirit herbs alone that are over three thousand years old. They let these go unused, what a waste!" After sorting through these treasures, Zhang Yuan’an sighed again, remarking on the sheer richness of the Huyan clan.

They possessed over twenty spirit herbs of various ages. In addition, there were two large chests filled with hundreds of other extremely valuable supplementary herbs.

Beyond the herbs, they found over a dozen bottles containing nearly a hundred spirit pills in total, encompassing a comprehensive variety. All these now belonged to the Zhang family as spoils of war.

"For a great family like them, this isn't a huge amount, but calculate carefully: if distributed among every member, how much would each person actually receive?" Zhang Pinglu chuckled, gently dampening Zhang Yuan’an’s excitement. The Huyan family has far more members than the Zhang family.

The Zhangs are few in number, and their spirit medicines are often used for healing, meaning their reserves naturally pale in comparison to these ancient, established houses. Zhang Yuan’an paused for a moment, then let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"You’re right. If we used it all for refinement, each person would only get a few pills.

Based on what we have now, everyone might get one, at most!" One pill each—that certainly wasn't much. In truth, all the major families possessed numerous spirit medicines, but they could not simply divide them; once distributed, the amount each individual received became meager.

Even the Long family was like this. That is why Long Feng coveted Zhang Yang’s spirit medicines—the Long family could allocate very little to him.

He might receive one to aid a breakthrough, but otherwise, obtaining a spirit medicine was impossible. And that was the Long family, whose reserves were greater than the Huyans.

At least they could guarantee their disciples received a spirit medicine at the critical moment of advancement. The Huyan family, despite having nearly a hundred various spirit pills, could not afford such consumption.

For them, only truly outstanding disciples were allocated spirit medicines; those with average talent or slow cultivation might never receive a single pill. "Black Plume Staff, Blood Silkworm Gold, Sky Feather Fan—the Huyan family really did hoard some excellent artifacts!" Zhang Yang also walked over, slowly examining the row of shelves.

The items he named were all exceptionally fine divine weapons and artifacts. Although they weren't listed on the Divine Weapon Rankings, they were far from inferior.

Most of these divine weapons originated from the Tang family. The quantity of divine weapons and artifacts the Huyan family possessed significantly outnumbered their spirit herbs.

The majority of items in this cavern were these powerful implements. Divine weapons and artifacts can be passed down; when one generation departs, the next can still use them.

The longer a family line endures, the greater their collection of such artifacts. However, the Medical Sage Zhang family is an exception.

Over their one thousand eight hundred years, the Zhangs have relocated countless times, lacking a permanent residence. Consequently, their stores of divine weapons have never been large.

They usually traded them for other materials, as the Medical Sage Zhang family’s primary interest has always been medicinal herbs. There were over three hundred divine weapons and artifacts displayed here.

Even after accounting for those already distributed, the Huyan family possessed more than four hundred various divine implements in total—that’s an average of three items per person among the current generation, excluding those already claimed. When the old hag of the Southern Border coveted a single divine weapon, seeing this many here clearly revealed the true foundation of these ancient houses.

"Old Man, what should we do with all this? Are we going to build our own treasure vault and hide it all away?" Zhang Yang turned to Zhang Pinglu, asking for direction.

So many divine weapons were visually appealing, but figuring out their disposition was a headache. "Why not?

The more good things, the better! We'll find a place to stash them all when we get back!" Zhang Pinglu chuckled.

He already had plans for how to manage these divine weapons, but now was not the time to tell Zhang Yang and the others. "Old Man, before we hide them, I want to pick a few things first!" Zhang Yuan’an quickly interjected.

The Zhang family’s legacy collection of divine weapons was small; the only artifact he previously used was the herb-gathering gloves passed down through generations of Zhang ancestors. "Old Man, I need a few pieces as well!" Zhang Yang quickly followed suit.

While he had the Cold Spring Sword and didn't need a weapon, he lacked a decent defensive artifact. And Mi Xue—he planned to start her on internal energy cultivation upon their return, so preparing a set of fine divine implements for her was necessary.

Moreover, Qu Meilan—since there were so many, giving her one wouldn't be a stretch. The girl had been performing well lately, constantly keeping Mi Xue company and helping her immensely during his absences.

"Haha, what's the rush? Haven't you started building that house?

Add a secret underground chamber there later, and store all these things in your place. Take whatever you want then!" Zhang Pinglu laughed heartily, shaking his head lightly.

These items would be useful later, but there was no suitable storage location at the moment. Keeping them with Zhang Yang was quite convenient, especially since his new villa construction was already underway.

Adding a secret chamber wouldn't be an issue; Zhang Yang had actually already included one during the initial planning, as he himself had many valuables requiring safekeeping. Zhang Yang hadn't anticipated the Old Man entrusting him with the custody of such treasures—the accumulated hoard of a millennium-old aristocratic family.

"I am getting old, and I might spend less time traveling from now on. I’ll stay at your place when I have nothing else to do.

But you, boy, cannot slack off! You must cultivate quickly.

I expect to see you reach Great Perfection, and even the Fifth Level, as soon as possible!" Zhang Pinglu spoke slowly, his eyes burning with fervor. Once Zhang Yang reached Great Perfection and then the Fifth Level, the true glory of the Zhang family would arrive.

Witnessing his family’s resurgence in his lifetime was Zhang Pinglu's greatest current desire. This aspiration outweighed his desire for more extensive travels.

The playful man was willing to settle down for this cause. Zhang Yang paused slightly but quickly understood Zhang Pinglu’s underlying meaning.

Ultimately, Zhang Pinglu was still concerned for him, worried about other Great Perfection experts arriving. He was staying behind specifically to protect him.

Although Zhang Pinglu was injured this time, his wounds were far less severe than Huyan Feng’s; he retained at least seventy to eighty percent of his former strength. With that power, combined with Zhang Yang’s own strength, they need not fear the arrival of a single Great Perfection master.

Of course, if Zhang Yang could advance to Great Perfection quickly, they would fear such threats even less. Zhang Yuan’an and the others began moving the haul.

With so many fine items, leaving them behind was out of the question. The Huyan family hadn't been entirely eradicated, and if any stragglers returned to claim their treasures, they would be devastated.

The three of them worked together, quickly clearing the cavern until nothing remained but the cabinets fixed to the walls. "Jee-jee-jee!" Just as they finished clearing everything and Zhang Yang was about to leave, Wuying suddenly jumped down and began chirping frantically near a corner of one cabinet.

As it called out, it kept hopping excitedly. Zhang Daofeng and Zhang Pinglu both looked toward Wuying, while Zhang Yang’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Old Man, Grandfather, Wuying says there is still one more treasure here!" Zhang Yang turned back and whispered to the two elders. They couldn't understand Wuying, but Zhang Yang heard its meaning clearly and distinctly.

Wuying was signaling that they had overlooked an item—a significant one—and they couldn't leave yet; even if they did, they had to take this last treasure with them. "There's more?" Zhang Pinglu was the first to approach.

The three converged on the spot where Wuying stood, and only then did Wuying leap back onto Zhang Yang’s shoulder. Zhang Pinglu stared for a moment, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes, before suddenly reaching out and plunging his hand straight downward.

Fourth update for today, more to come. The next chapter should be released around eight o'clock!

RS