Chapter 208: The Gou Family Past
He also drafted systems for the Scripture Pavilion, Treasure Vault, sect rules, mission hall, contribution system, and enforcement hall.
Everything was ready except for manpower.
Thus, the framework of the Eternal Prosperity Sect was finally completed.
Although it sounded simple, the process was extremely labor intensive.
Building new peaks was especially difficult.
Fortunately, Gou Guangming and Cao Xue both had backgrounds and followers.
Because the spiritual energy of the Eternal Prosperity Mountain Range far exceeded that of other sect territories, even surpassing the cave dwellings of Deity Transformation cultivators, after obtaining approval from Xiao Shou and Fu Young, Gou Guangming returned home with Gou Zhi, Gou Heng, and Gou Yue to discuss matters.
After some twists and turns, they brought back relatives and followers who were willing to swear a heart demon oath of loyalty to the Eternal Prosperity Sect.
Gou Guangming was originally the second son of the direct lineage of the Gou family, one of the three major families of Azure Origin City.
The current family patriarch was his biological grandfather.
However, every family had its own internal struggles, and aristocratic families were even more complicated than sects, involving intricate household politics and constant power struggles over resources.
It was truly impossible to obtain resources without competing for them.
By all logic, as a direct descendant and grandson of the patriarch, with his grandmother being the patriarch’s legal wife, Gou Guangming should have had an easy life.
Unfortunately, his grandfather was a powerful and domineering protagonist-type figure.
But the female lead was not his grandmother.
Instead, it was his grandfather’s secondary wife, Mao Wenlong.
In short, the situation was that the male protagonist, born into a noble background, followed his parents’ arrangement and married a socially equal legal wife.
Soon after, he met his true love.
His true love was a girl from a collateral branch of the Mao family.
She had poor talent and an unattractive appearance.
After they met, the male lead admired her resilience and refusal to give up.
Although she was ugly, she was not self-abased.
Soon after, he accidentally discovered that although her cultivation aptitude was poor, she possessed extraordinary talent in alchemy.
He greatly appreciated this and intended to recruit and cultivate her to serve the Gou family.
Then, by chance, he discovered that the girl’s true appearance was breathtakingly beautiful and unmatched under heaven.
She had concealed her looks only to avoid trouble, so she could focus entirely on cultivation and alchemy.
Because of her character, talent, and appearance, the young master of the Gou family, who was also the current family patriarch, fell for her at first sight.
From then on, he neglected his legal wife and used force and schemes to take Mao Wenlong as his own.
Mao Wenlong hated him for forcing her to enter the household as a lowly concubine.
The family patriarch originally wanted to demote his wife and elevate his true love, but the wife’s family was powerful.
Her father was the direct disciple of a peak master in an immortal sect and a future peak lord himself, with many followers.
In the end, he could only grant Mao Wenlong the status of a noble concubine.
Late at night, Mao Wenlong would show a worried expression and confide in her personal maid, fearing that after the patriarch ascended to the Spirit Realm, the legitimate wife’s son would inherit the family while she would have no support.
The patriarch rarely visited his wife.
After the wife gave birth to a daughter, a son, and a second son, only under the pressure of his father did he reluctantly share a room with her, resulting in the birth of Gou Guangming’s father, the current third branch of the Gou family.
Later, the wife’s father was secretly plotted against by the patriarch and his fellow sect brother.
He suffered hidden injuries that prevented him from advancing to the Deity Transformation stage.
At the same time, accusations were planted against him for bullying fellow disciples and harming junior brothers and sisters.
He was eventually expelled from the immortal sect.
From then on, the wife’s status plummeted.
She moved with her children to a side residence of the Gou family, while the noble concubine was promoted to a co-wife.
Gou Guangming’s father lived through many difficult years.
The woman he married was only the daughter of a independent cultivator with a four spiritual root.
However, they truly loved each other and married willingly.
Their situation where they are ignored by the Gou family patriarch continued until the birth of Gou Guangming’s eldest brother, the true genius of the Gou family.
His birth changed everything.
His eldest brother, Gou Guangyan, possessed a natural Fire Dao Body.
At birth, he burned down the entire residence.
He was taken back and raised like a treasure by the Gou family’s hidden elder.
This Grand Elder’s cultivation surpassed even the patriarch and he could ascend at any time.
However, like the other elders, he suppressed his cultivation to protect the Gou family and refused to ascend.
The elder council was an existence even the patriarch could not control, so the two sides could only watch as the third branch slowly rose under the support of the elders.
Then, ten years ago, the Gou family patriarch reached a point where he could ascend to the Spirit Realm at any time, yet he did not dare to ascend.
The elder council had chosen Gou Guangyan as the next family head, while the patriarch wanted to pass the position only to the eldest son of his true love.
He feared that once he ascended, his true love and her son would be eliminated by the elders.
Seven years ago, the Grand Elder was forced by certain schemes to use power beyond this world and as a result had no choice but to ascend.
The Gou family patriarch spent a huge price to buy off several important elders, persuading them to withdraw their support for Gou Guangyan.
At that time, Gou Guangyan had just reached the early Deity Transformation stage when he was personally severely injuring his soul by the Gou family patriarch.
