From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 229 Evolution of the Treasure Tree
The overall shape of the internal space resembles a giant bowl turned upside down on the ground.

At the very center is the family's precious tree.

The ground area forms a circle centered on the treasure tree, with a radius equal to the height of the treasure tree.

The top of the treasure tree's canopy marks the height limit of the internal space.

Boundaries act like an invisible barrier, separating the internal space from the chaos of the outside world.

Just now, as Xu Fugui turned one hundred years old, the treasure tree grew to ten meters tall, and the space inside his body expanded outward and upward a little.

A faint, iridescent light flashed across the precious tree.

Beside the sacred fruit atop the tree canopy, a tender green leaf sprouted. On the leaf, a crystal-clear dewdrop condensed.

Then, a thin mist rose from within the body.

Information suddenly appeared in Xu Fugui's mind, concerning the changes in the family's treasure tree and the space within his body.

"Now that the family tree has grown to its current state, I no longer need to touch its top to absorb the bloodline aura of the Xu family. As long as the Xu family members are within ten meters of me, they can automatically absorb the bloodline aura."

"As before, the offspring still need to be at least three years old."

"The condensed dew is called: Spirit Branch Dew. It contains the purest essence of heaven and earth, and consuming it can greatly increase one's spiritual power. Every year thereafter, a drop of Spirit Branch Dew will condense on this leaf."

"The thin white mist that suddenly appeared in the body space is due to the increase in the concentration of spiritual energy."

Xu Fugui was overjoyed to learn of the changes in the precious tree and the space within his body.

The family's treasure tree, now a century old, has become even more mysterious and powerful.

Previously, the spiritual energy concentration within the body's internal space was at the standard level one spiritual vein. After this upgrade, it has reached the standard level two spiritual vein concentration.

"Hush-huh-"

Xu Fugui took a few deep breaths and could clearly feel the increase in the concentration of spiritual energy.

However, what limited his strength was not the level of the spiritual land, but his spiritual root aptitude and the bottleneck of breaking through the Foundation Establishment stage.

"By the way, now that my internal space has reached the second-tier spiritual land level, I can plant second-tier spiritual plants, right?"

He thought of that.

Second-tier spiritual plants are much more precious than first-tier spiritual plants.

With second-tier spiritual plants as medicinal materials for alchemy, the Xu family's alchemy heritage could potentially advance further.

"The most urgent task is to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm as soon as possible!"

If he reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, he can advance from the "Spirit Farmer's Qi Cultivation Technique" to the "Immortal Farmer's Yuan Building Technique." With a higher-level cultivation method and corresponding spells, he can better cultivate spiritual plants.

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 few days later.

Xu Fugui opened his eyes beside the family's treasure tree: "Alas, there is no chance of a breakthrough at all."

He was helpless.

His dantian was already overflowing, and no matter how he practiced his cultivation techniques, he could not gain even a trace of spiritual energy.

He also had no indication that he was about to break through.

"This is probably how most cultivators who are stuck at the bottleneck of Qi Refining feel."

he thought.

His situation is the normal situation for most Qi Refining cultivators who cannot break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

If one's spiritual root aptitude is poor and one's comprehension is insufficient, even if one cultivates to the Qi Refining Perfection realm with ample spiritual stone resources, one will still be stuck at a bottleneck and unable to establish a foundation.

In reality, the situation for independent cultivators is even more difficult, because those with insufficient spiritual roots find it hard to even reach the late stage of Qi Refining, and at most they can only reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining in their entire lives.

"Never mind, I need to rest and recuperate first."

Xu Fugui was no longer in a hurry to make a breakthrough, for haste makes waste.

He was just over a hundred years old; cultivators at the Qi Refining stage typically have a lifespan of 120 to 130 years.

He has at least twenty years left to live.

More importantly, he also possesses the Longevity Fruit!
On the family's treasure tree, the Longevity Fruit grows on a branch symbolizing "Xu Xiaoan." As long as this branch continues to produce offspring, the quality of the Longevity Fruit will improve.

Currently, the Longevity Fruit is a [Forty Years] Fruit.

Upgrading a Longevity Fruit from a [Forty-Year] to an [Eighty-Year] requires the nourishment of the bloodlines of sixteen offspring.

Based on the rate at which the Xu family members are increasing, the Longevity Fruit will definitely be able to be upgraded to [eighty years] before Xu Fugui passes away.

The Longevity Fruit, which can increase lifespan by eighty years, extended Xu Fugui's life by eighty years.

If he couldn't establish his foundation at 120, does that mean he still can't establish his foundation at 200?
His lifespan will be much longer than that of ordinary Qi Refining cultivators, which is his advantage.

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.

Exit the body space.

Xu Fugui remembered that Li Yuan's son had turned three: "It's a good time to test how the upgraded Treasure Tree can collect the bloodline essence of offspring."

He went to the residence where Li Yuan lived.

In the courtyard, Yiqing was running around wildly, and Su Shiqian was playing with him.

"Great grandpa?"

When Su Shiqian saw Xu Fugui suddenly appear, she quickly bowed and greeted him.

“Li Yuan is cultivating in the spiritual land. I sent someone to call him back.”

Su Shiqian thought Xu Fugui had come to see Li Yuan.

"No need, I've come to see my great-grandson."

Xu Fugui smiled and waved his hand, indicating that Su Shiqian didn't need to trouble herself.

"Yiqing, quickly call him Grandpa Gao."

Su Shiqian explained to the child.

Three-year-old Xu Yiqing could already speak. He opened his big eyes and called out in a childish voice, "Grandpa Gao."

"Oh, my dear great-grandson. Your great-grandfather went into seclusion a few days ago and forgot to attend your third birthday celebration. Here, this is for you."

As Xu Fugui spoke, he placed a spirit stone into Yiqing's hand.

Three-year-old Yiqing didn't understand what spirit stones were. He saw the crystal-clear spirit stones, which were very beautiful, and thought they were candies, so he put them directly into his mouth.

Su Shiqian quickly stopped him, saying, "Yiqing, quickly say thank you to Grandpa Gao."

"Thank you, Grandpa Gao."

"Hey~~"

Within Xu Fugui's body, the family's treasure tree had already absorbed Yiqing's bloodline essence.

At the end of Liyuan's branch, another branch sprouted.

The newly grown branches are about a foot long, slender, and dotted with a few tender green leaf buds.

Xu Fugui had witnessed this situation many times.

However, at that moment, three more flower buds appeared on this branch, a sight that had never been seen before.

The strange phenomenon within his body surprised Xu Fugui. He remained outwardly calm, smiling as he looked at Yiqing, while also showing concern for Su Shiqian: "Have you settled into the Xu family? Please feel free to offer any suggestions or opinions."

"Replying to Great-Grandpa, I'm fine. Li Yuan treats me very well."

Su Shiqian replied respectfully.

She knew Xu Fugui was just being polite, but she still felt a warmth in her heart. After all, Xu Fugui and Yiqing were separated by so many generations, so they shouldn't have been very close.

However, Xu Fugui remembered Yiqing's third birthday banquet and even sent him a spirit stone, which shows that he cared about his junior.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Xu Fugui took his leave. He couldn't wait to return to his secluded meditation room in the spiritual land and enter his inner space.

With spiritual energy surging beneath his feet, he ascended into the air, observing the newly sprouted, tender green branch in the tree canopy.

"What do the three flower buds mean?"

Xu Fugui carefully observed the unusual phenomenon that had appeared for the first time, and was filled with doubt.

The internal space did not provide any prompts or information.

"Could it be that he was born with the spiritual root for cultivating immortality?!"

he guessed.

Of all the members of the Xu family, none have ever had a child with innate spiritual roots; all their spiritual roots were created through practicing the Five Elements Stance Technique.

The proportion of offspring born with spiritual roots is extremely low, regardless of the cultivation family.

In the mortal world, the proportion of ordinary people with spiritual roots is one in ten thousand, and even then, it's only the worst of the five elements—pseudo-spiritual roots.

The birth of a mixed spiritual root with four elements or a true spiritual root with three elements is extremely rare and exceptional.

Only with a large population base can a mortal county produce a "cultivation genius" with three true spiritual roots every ten years or so.

In cultivation families, the probability of having a member with spiritual roots is slightly higher, but only slightly higher.

That being said, even a small probability is still possible.

Decades ago, when Xu Xiaoniu and Xu Xiaohou reached the late stage of Qi Refining, Xu Fugui had told them that before the Xu family members started practicing martial arts at the age of seven, they must first have their spiritual roots tested.

At the age of seven, one's physical constitution is beginning to develop, making it an age when one can practice martial arts, and it is also the age when one's spiritual roots begin to manifest.

Unsurprisingly, no one in the Xu family has been born with spiritual roots in recent years.

“Yiqing’s mother has four spiritual roots. Logically speaking, the probability of her child having a spiritual root is indeed higher.”

Xu Fugui thought.

As for the three flower buds that appeared on the branch representing "Xu Yiqing", Xu Fugui speculated that Xu Yiqing was born with spiritual roots.

"We'll have to wait four years to find out if Xu Yiqing has any spiritual roots."

A spiritual root can only manifest at the earliest age of seven.

If, as Xu Fugui predicted, the flower bud represents a spiritual root, then Xu Fugui will be able to tell whether a member of the Xu family possesses a spiritual root when they appear on the family's treasure tree in the future.

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.

Xu Fugui is 100 years old. After the family's treasure tree evolved, the Xu family continues to develop in an orderly manner.

The process of a Foundation Establishment family starting out is quite slow.

Everything must be built from scratch, and resources need to be accumulated little by little.

Spiritual practice knows no time, year after year.

Xu Fugui grew older year by year.

Xu Xiaoniu, Xu Xiaoan, and Xu Xiaohou are getting older year by year.

In order to ensure the continuation of the Xu family and to nurture the family's precious tree as soon as possible, Xu Fugui asked the family head, Xu Zhonghuai, to add some encouraging rules.

For example, the family that gives birth to its first child will be rewarded with ten spirit stones.

The reward for giving birth to a second child is twenty spirit stones.

The third child will receive a reward of thirty spirit stones! And so on...

As the Xu family grew, more and more people began cultivating immortality, and the allocation and rewards of resources were strictly implemented according to the various rules set by the family head, Xu Zhonghuai.

Rewarding children with spirit stones might not directly encourage Xu family members to get married, but it certainly increases the enthusiasm of married family members to have children.

The members of the clan with the character "Li" in their name all got married and had children one after another.

Some men are not picky and marry the daughters of wealthy families in the county town.

Some married members of several Qi-cultivating and immortal-cultivating families near Tonggu County.

The female members of those cultivation families may not have spiritual roots themselves, but their parents do. Such women have a higher probability of giving birth to children with spiritual roots than ordinary people.

The number of Xu family members of the "Yi" generation has increased and they have grown up year by year.

Xu Yizhi, the eldest of the three generations, is the son of Xu Lijia, the grandson of Xu Zhongyi, and the great-grandson of Xu Xiaoan. His talent in martial arts is average. Like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, he did not reach the Innate Martial Artist realm and was unable to cultivate immortality.

So he married and had children early, and brought the first member of the Xu family with the character "Ren" in his name, named "Xu Renxin".

It is worth mentioning that several girls have appeared among the clan members born in recent years with the character "Yi" in their name.

Four years later, Xu Yiqing turned seven, confirming Xu Fugui's conjecture!
It not only possesses spiritual roots, but also true spiritual roots of the three elements: metal, wood, and water.

The three flower buds bloomed when his spiritual root manifested. The three buds blossomed into flowers of three colors: one was pale gold, one was light blue, and the other was emerald green.

The three-colored flower buds symbolize his three true spiritual roots.

Xu Yiqing was the first member of the Xu family to be born with spiritual roots, and he possessed three true spiritual roots. Naturally, he did not need to practice the Five Elements Stance Technique and could directly begin cultivating immortality.

The Lingnong Qi Cultivation Technique is a dual-system cultivation method based on wood and earth, while Xu Yiqing's method is based on three systems: metal, wood, and water.

Having the three elemental roots of metal, wood, and water means that Xu Yiqing can only cultivate techniques related to these three elements.

Among the few cultivation techniques possessed by the Xu family, he chose the "Water Control and Ice Technique".

His cultivation of the three true spiritual roots was different from that of other members of his clan from the very beginning; his cultivation speed was much faster than that of others.

Within the same first-tier spiritual land of Baihe Mountain, his advancement speed was more than three times that of others, truly envied by everyone.

Time passed by as the Xu family multiplied and their strength increased.

More than a decade has passed.

That year, Xu Fugui turned 120 years old!
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 Xiaohou practiced his cultivation techniques cross-legged in his secluded room.

Twenty years ago, he had just reached the second level of Foundation Establishment.

Twenty years have passed, and he remains at the second level of Foundation Establishment, without any advancement.

For Foundation Establishment cultivators, time is merciless.

In recent years, nothing major has happened, and the Xu family has not received any additional spirit stone resources. With so many members in the Xu family, their need for resources is constantly increasing, and he simply doesn't have any extra resources for himself.

Moreover, a few hundred spirit stones are insignificant if one wants to accelerate the advancement of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Xu Xiaohou tried to improve his cultivation using spirit stones, but it consumed too many spirit stones. One hundred spirit stones were just a drop in the bucket, so he gave up the idea and left the resources to the younger generation of the clan. He relied on spiritual lands to cultivate.

Therefore, the improvement is very slow.

It took Xu Xiaohou more than ten years to advance from the first to the second level of Foundation Establishment. Now, twenty years have passed, and it is normal that he has not advanced to the third level of Foundation Establishment, as he is also hampered by his spiritual root aptitude.

"How useful is this thing that my father gave me?"

He held a jade bottle in his hand and poured it into his palm; there was only one drop of crystal-clear liquid.

The liquid did not disperse in the water, but remained in a rounded shape.

Xu Fugui had given him this drop of "spiritual dew" not long ago, so that he could use it to break through to the third level of Foundation Establishment.

This was also the first time Xu Fugui had used the Spirit Branch Dew. He had accumulated twenty drops over the past twenty years, but had never used them.

According to the family's treasure tree, this spiritual dew, containing the pure essence of heaven and earth, can greatly enhance one's spiritual power.

Xu Xiaohou drank it and immediately began to practice his internal energy cultivation.

As the spiritual dew entered his stomach, he felt a massive amount of heaven and earth energy surging into his body, as if he were absorbing countless spirit stones at the same time.

(End of this chapter)