From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 181 Siblings
"Uncle, Father, I can see! I can see!"

Li Yuan's eyes widened, and he shouted excitedly.

It feels so good to see the light again.

"Nephew, are you feeling unwell?"

Xu Zhongche inquired with concern. If Li Yuan was unwell, he could concoct medicinal pills to help him recover.

"No."

As Li Yuan spoke, he stepped toward the door: "Father, I have something to do and need to go out for a bit."

As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly walked out the door, leaving only his back view.

what?
Zhonghuai was surprised. Was he so eager to go out and play right after recovering?
He called out, "Where are you going?"

From afar came Li Yuan's reply: "Go find Li Jing, my younger brother."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At Xu Zhongchao's home.

Four-year-old Li Jing sat listlessly on a straw mat spread on the floor, with several fluffy rag dolls in front of him.

He had no interest in the dolls and just sat there in a daze.

He was well protected in his home. Since his birth, because he was blind, all the thresholds in the house had been removed.

From the yard to the room, the ground was flat, without a single step or threshold, and not even a single raised tile.

The edges of all the furniture in the house, such as tables, chairs, and beds, were covered to prevent them from hitting the mirror. Items that could injure him, such as scissors and kitchen knives, were all placed where he would not be able to reach them.

He was always accompanied by at least one maidservant. Whatever he needed, he only needed to give the order, and the maidservant would do it for him.

Just then, Li Yuan arrived.

"Little brother Li Jing~~!"

Li Yuan called out as he entered Xu Zhongchao's house.

Xu Zhongchao and Ma Shujie happened to be home. When they heard Li Yuan's voice, their expressions changed slightly.

Especially Ma Shujie, who couldn't sleep at night and secretly cried after learning that Li Yuan had teased her son Li Jing.

"Li Yuan, what are you doing here?"

Ma Shujie had a cold expression and her brows were furrowed.

“Aunt Shujie, I’ve come to find Lijing’s brother and apologize to him.”

Li Yuan experienced life without sight firsthand and realized his mistake. He took advantage of Li Jing's blindness to play with him and even frighten him, making him "alone" find his way home in an unfamiliar place.

It should be noted that Li Jing was born blind, and he could not even imagine the colors of various objects in his mind. He relied on "touching" to understand the appearance of everything in the world.

One can imagine their fear of this world.

“Li Yuan”.

Xu Zhongchao walked out of the room wearing a ceremonial mirror: "I heard you had an eye ailment, has it recovered now?"

"Yes, Uncle Zhongchao, my eyes are better. I know I made a mistake last time, so I came here specifically to apologize to Brother Lijing. I'm sorry, Lijing!"

He sincerely apologized to Li Jing.

He saw Li Jing take two steps back after hearing his voice. Clearly, the previous incident had left a psychological scar on Li Jing.

He felt even more guilty.

Before Li Jing could speak, Ma Shujie said, "Now that your eye condition has recovered, you must attend class on time tomorrow. As punishment, you will have to recite the Hundred Character Classic from memory."

"Yes, Aunt Shujie, I accept the punishment."

After apologizing and accepting the punishment, Liyuan said, "Can I stay and play with my younger brother Lijing?"

"..."

Xu Zhongchao hesitated, worried that Li Yuan might have some other trick up his sleeve, and politely declined, saying, "It's getting late, Li Jing should wash up and rest. Maybe next time."

"Ok."

Li Yuan had no choice but to take his leave.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the following days, Li Yuan would come to play with Li Jing whenever he had free time.

At first, Xu Zhongchao and Ma Shujie disagreed, but they couldn't resist his repeated visits. Seeing that he really realized his mistake and would no longer tease Li Jing, they agreed to let the two of them play together.

Li Yuan quickly became familiar with Li Jing.

Li Jing was only four years old, and children don't hold grudges. He quickly forgot about the unpleasantness of the past.

A few days later, Li Yuan took Li Jing out to play.

He carried the mirror up the mountain and showed it to the wind: "This is the highest peak in our Baihe Mountain. If you look over there, you can see your house."

Li Yuan grasped Li Jing's hand and pointed him in the right direction.

"And over there, there are vast terraced fields, layer upon layer, it's quite a sight. And there are fish ponds..."

"That's a place we children shouldn't go..."

Li Yuan took Li Jing to catch toads by the pond. He put the toad he caught into Li Jing's hand and said, "This kind of croaking toad is called a toad, or a frog. You can feel its wet, slippery, and sticky body, but it doesn't bite."

"There are also loaches and crabs. I killed this crab. You can touch it; its shell is hard, and it has pincers. Getting pinched by its pincers hurts a lot..."

Although Li Jing is well taken care of at home, his parents are adults and don't play with him.

Li Yuan, through his perspective, presents this world to Li Jing.

Li Yuan also introduced Li Jing to many children, and they played together and had a great time.

"Li Jing, from now on, I'll be your eyes. Tell me wherever you want to go and whatever you want to do."

Li Yuan patted his chest, looking every bit the righteous and chivalrous man.

"Brother Yuan, thank you, you're so kind."

Hearing Li Jing's thanks and praise, Li Yuan felt his cheeks burning and ashamed when he thought about what he had done to Li Jing that time.

Fortunately, he realized his mistake in time and didn't repeat it.

"No need for thanks, we're all from the Xu family's Li generation, we're brothers!"

He vaguely guessed that his father might have deliberately caused his inexplicable eye disease.

But he won't pursue the truth anymore; he has already understood his father's intentions.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Yunze Mountain.

The Kurozuma Mountain, used to cultivate the "main ingredient".

Xue Yimiao welcomed another batch of dozens of girls, who were collected by her demonic cultivators from outside.

Centered on Yunze Mountain, dozens of counties within a radius of a thousand miles became their "hunting grounds," occupying almost half of Yuanli County. Sometimes they would even venture further afield.

To avoid attracting attention, they usually arrest a few dozen to no more than a hundred people in a county, and don't arrest too many people at once.

Furthermore, after operating in a county, they would try to avoid appearing in that county for the next ten years.

"Strange, why hasn't Granny Jin returned for so long?"

Xue Yimiao recently sent Granny Jin out on a mission. With Granny Jin's rich experience and the fact that she was accompanied by three subordinates at the late stage of Qi Refining, nothing should have happened to her.

"Could it have been damaged?"

It's normal for one or two of the people she sends out to be lost, but it's rare for an entire squad to be wiped out.

Those who worked for the Xue family were just "expendable resources," and it didn't matter if they died; the Xue family wouldn't seek revenge.

But Xue Yimiao couldn't help but feel heartbroken when her loyal subordinate, whom she had painstakingly trained, died.

These "demonic cultivators" are all considered resources for the Xue family.

"Reporting to the master, the head of the household requests your presence."

At this moment, a subordinate came to deliver a message.

Xue Yimiao arrived at the Xue family's main hall and met the family head, Xue Fanyu.

Xue Fanyu just received intelligence.

"Tell your men to be careful. Lord Fan said that the Demon Subduing Division of Tonggu County captured several demonic cultivators and sent them to the county government; they are all your men."

He reminded Xue Yimiao.

"Oh?"

Xue Yimiao thought of Granny Jin's group, which was wiped out by the Demon Subduing Division of Tonggu County.
"The people from Tonggu County didn't find anything, did they?"

"According to Lord Fan, there shouldn't be any."

"That's good. We've arrested about two hundred people recently. I've told them to come back and we're not taking any action for a while."

With over two hundred people, if they're lucky, they could cultivate enough to make a Foundation Establishment Pill, the "main ingredient."

The "Lord Fan" they mentioned was Fan Kongye, the deputy director of the Demon Subduing Division of Yuanli County and a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!

The Fan family was the "protective umbrella" for the Xue family in its early development, and now they are the Xue family's partners.

Some Foundation Establishment cultivators in Yuanli County know the source of the "main ingredient" of the Xue family's Foundation Establishment Pill.

Given the relationship between the Fan and Xue families, and Fan Kongye's identity, he already knew about it and helped the Xue family conceal it.

The fact that the Xue family was using demonic cultivation methods to refine Foundation Establishment Pills was something the Fan and Baili families certainly didn't want others to know. This was because the Xue family could provide them with Foundation Establishment Pills. They were willing to sacrifice hundreds of ordinary people for a single Foundation Establishment Pill.

They can accept this price.

Apart from a very few Foundation Establishment cultivators, no one else knew the Xue family's secret.

In particular, the heads of the Demon Subduing Divisions in each county are all at the Qi Refining stage, so they couldn't possibly know about the Xue family's situation.

If the Xue family were to leak the secret, they would definitely try to "eliminate the hidden danger."

Those at the Qi Refining stage are not qualified to know the Xue family's secrets.

Otherwise, if the Xue family's situation were to spread among the lower-level cultivators or even among the general public, it would cause great panic and severely damage the Xue family's reputation.

In order to maintain stability among the people, the imperial court will very likely eliminate the Xue family, this "malignant tumor."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Two months later.

Baihe Mountain.

Xu Zhong'er's second son, Xu Lijue, is three years old.

His eldest son is Xu Lijie, who is eight years old.

Xu Fugui seized a good opportunity to collect the aura of Xu Lizi's offspring.

The family's precious tree has gained another branch among the "Li" generation. Furthermore, the initiation fruit, nourished by its bloodline, has transformed into a Qi Refining level spiritual fruit!

[Immunization Fruit (Qi Refining Level): Consuming it beside the Treasure Tree will grant you the initiation and transmission of Qi Refining level cultivation techniques and secret arts.]

[The skills and secret techniques obtained depend on the current state of the treasure tree.]

[Further nourished by the bloodlines of eight descendants, it can be upgraded to the (Foundation Establishment) Initiation Spirit Fruit.]

As Xu Fugui expected, the Enlightenment Fruit was upgraded to the Qi Refining level, but the notification about the "Foundation Establishment level" Enlightenment Fruit was beyond his expectations.

"Eight offspring, all at the Foundation Establishment level?!"

The Xu family currently has no shortage of Qi Refining techniques; they possess Qi Refining techniques from all five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—and their quality is quite good.

There's also "Flying Sword Techniques: Basic Chapter" and "Meditation and Soul Refining Technique" given by the Enlightenment Fruit.

These reserves are sufficient for the current Xu family's use.

Xu Fugui hesitated for a moment, then made a decision: "Wait for the Foundation Establishment level cultivation technique!"

"The fifth son's children all married young and are very fertile. Zhong San's son is two years old, and Zhong Si just got married... Eight descendants will be coming soon..."

With eight offspring, compared to the previous requirement of only four offspring to advance to the Qi Refining level, the difficulty of upgrading has clearly increased.

At the current rate of population growth in the Xu family, eight more offspring will be born in just a few years.

More importantly, given the speed at which Xu Xiaoniu and Xu Xiaohou are improving their strength, the Xu family definitely needs a foundation-building technique.

If someone in the family establishes a foundation, the Xu family will achieve a leap forward, like a carp leaping over the dragon gate.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Spring goes and autumn comes, and the seasons change.

Five years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Baihe Mountain has become more prosperous, with green mountains and clear waters, lush farmland, and herds of pigs and sheep.

The outer layer consists of tens of thousands of acres of neatly terraced fields planted with grains, vegetables, fruits, and medicinal herbs.

The hired laborers settled here, built houses, married, and had children.

They depended on the Xu family for their livelihood, and together they numbered several thousand, forming a small village.

The residential area in the middle of Baihe Mountain is inhabited by the Xu family.

In the courtyard where Xu Zhongyao lived.

With her round belly sticking out, Miao Yingying took the mattress and quilt from the room and put them in the yard to air them out.

At this moment, Xu Zhongyao, who had returned from his spiritual practice at Baihe Mountain, entered the room and saw this scene.

"Wait, my lady~~"

He darted to Miao Yingying's side and quickly helped her up, saying, "Your belly is so big, why are you still working? Go and rest."

His identity as a cultivator was common knowledge, so he didn't need to hide it from his wife, which saved him a lot of trouble.

Miao Yingying said softly with a smile, "I'm just airing out a quilt, it's fine."

She had maids to serve her, but she was used to doing chores and felt restless if she didn't do something every day.

When she first arrived at Baihe Mountain, Xu Zhongyao arranged for her to work as a maid in Xu Xiaoniu's household.

At that time, Xu Zhongyao was unmarried and lived with his parents.

Two years later, thanks to the good food and comfortable living conditions, Miao Yingying grew up to be even more beautiful, with a slender figure and graceful posture.

Xu Zhongyao rescued Miao Yingying, learned about her background, and felt pity for her.

Miao Yingying had long admired him.

Despite their vastly different social statuses, the two fell in love.

Xu Xiaoniu did not object and readily agreed. Back then, Da Niu and Chen Xiulian married because of love. In his view, as long as two people love each other, there is no need to care about their background.

When they got married, Xu Zhongyao chose another place in Baihe Mountain and built a brand new house as their new home.

The newlyweds moved into their new home and began their life together.

Miao Yingying suffered from malnutrition and was frail and sickly as a child. Although conditions have improved now, it is difficult to make up for the damage, and she is still somewhat weak.

She couldn't conceive for the first two years of her marriage.

She ate all sorts of supplements and received nourishing pills from Xu Zhongche before finally getting pregnant this year.

"My lady, I'll go and get you a pill to help you recover. Your body is still a bit weak."

Xu Zhongyao held Miao Yingying's hand, which still appeared fair and slender.

Even when she was pregnant, Miao Yingying remained thin and frail, with only her belly protruding roundly while her arms and legs remained slender.

With this kind of physical condition, childbirth is very likely to be difficult.

Xu Zhongyao was worried that she would have difficulty giving birth, so he went to see Xu Zhongche.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A sacred place in Baihe Mountain.

Xu Zhongche's alchemy room.

He is currently at the sixth level of Qi Refining and controls six kinds of spiritual fire in the "Nine Flames Spiritual Fire Technique".

"Brother Zhongche, I've come to ask for a pregnancy-preserving pill for my wife. She's weak, and I'm worried about a difficult childbirth."

Xu Zhongyao knew that Li Jing was able to survive back then because of a pregnancy-preserving pill refined by Zhong Che.

That single elixir brought back to life even fetuses that the celestial physician couldn't save.

"I happen to have some in stock, I'll get it for you right away."

As Xu Zhongche spoke, he took out a jade bottle containing pills and handed it to Zhongyao.

"This pregnancy-preserving pill is my latest improved version, and it's even more effective."

He had finally managed to refine the Half-Spirit Pill for Pregnancy Protection, and he wouldn't let his skills become rusty.

Besides practicing his cultivation techniques, he spent his days refining elixirs.

He refined the Half-Spirit Pill for Pregnancy Protection several more times and even tried to improve it, striving to make the pill more effective.

The semi-spirit pills for preventing miscarriage that were refined were all used by the wives of the Xu family when they gave birth.

Over the years, every child born into the Xu family had a mother who took pregnancy-preserving pills during her pregnancy.

"Thanks."

Zhongyao gladly accepted the porcelain bottle containing the elixir.

He returned home with the nearly miraculous pregnancy-preserving pills and gave them to his wife, Miao Yingying.

"This is something you can't buy even with spirit stones outside, my wife, you should eat it."

He presented the elixir to Miao Yingying as if it were a precious treasure.

You can't even buy it with spirit stones?
Miao Yingying was astonished. Her life in the Xu family had undergone a complete transformation compared to before, and marrying Zhongyao was like "defying fate." Even so, she never thought she could obtain something that spirit stones couldn't buy.

"Brother Yao, you are so good to me."

She called Xu Zhongyao "Brother Yao," a playful nickname between the two.

"You are my wife, if I don't treat you well, who else should I treat well?"

Under Xu Zhongyao's feeding, Miao Yingying took the pregnancy-preserving pills.

Moments later, a large amount of the elixir's medicinal power surged into her abdomen and the uterus where the baby was growing.

She could clearly feel the heartbeat of the baby in her womb: "Wow, what a powerful elixir! Brother Yao, feel it quickly, it's so active!"

Xu Zhongyao placed his palm on his round belly, and through the thin skin, he could feel the little one moving inside.

"Really? I can't wait to see him. According to my family tradition, it should be another boy."

It's already a strange story that Xu Jiasheng had a son; no one can explain it.

(End of this chapter)