From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 230 Ru'an Mountain

"Such a vast amount of spiritual energy?"

Xu Xiaohou felt the boundless spiritual energy surging like the sea within his muscles and meridians, and was overjoyed.

With so much spiritual energy, he was more than capable of breaking through to the third level of Foundation Establishment.

The "Immortal Farmer's Yuan-Building Technique" circulates within the meridians and acupoints, condensing spiritual energy into drops of pure spiritual power that flow into the dantian.

After several days of secluded cultivation, he finally broke through the bottleneck and reached the third level of Foundation Establishment!

The entire Hundred Valleys Mountain spiritual land produced strange phenomena because of Xu Xiaohou's breakthrough. A vortex of spiritual energy seemed to form around him, drawing all the spiritual energy in the spirit gathering array to his side.

After breaking through his cultivation realm, Xu Xiaohou realized that he had not yet fully digested the spiritual energy of the Spirit Branch Dew, so he continued to circulate his cultivation technique.

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.

Not far from Xu Xiaohou's training room, there is a five-story tower.

The top floor of the tower is a somewhat empty room containing only a simple desk.

An old man sat at his desk, holding a thick book in his hands.

At the age of 120, Xu Fugui failed to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Approaching the end of his lifespan, he showed signs of aging, unlike his previous appearance as a 50-year-old farmer.

However, he was, after all, a cultivator who had reached the peak of Qi Refining, with sharp hearing and keen eyesight, and a radiant spirit, unlike a real, frail old man from the countryside.

"This formation is truly unfathomable."

The book he was holding was "Basic Formations".

Although he has not broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm in the past twenty years, he has not been idle while stuck in a bottleneck.

In terms of martial arts realm, through years of accumulation, he finally reached the limit of a Grandmaster of Martial Arts.

He cultivated dozens of second-tier spiritual plants in his internal space and also helped a large number of century-old first-tier spiritual plants grow, replenishing the Xu family's spiritual plant resources.

He recited the entire "Illustrated Compendium of Spiritual Plants" given to him by the empowering spiritual fruit from memory.

The "Illustrated Compendium of Spiritual Plants" appeared in Xu Fugui's mind along with the "Spiritual Farmer's Spiritual Energy Manual," and only he knew about it.

He wouldn't selfishly keep such valuable and meaningful content for himself, but rather provide it to the family as a knowledge resource for the family's development.

The "Illustrated Compendium of Spiritual Plants" records thousands of spiritual plants, ranging from low-level to high-level, including both common and rare species. It includes descriptions of the plants' physical characteristics and images, as well as instructions on how to cultivate, care for, and breed them.

Xu Fugui copied it down completely from memory, word for word, and even drew pictures of the spiritual plants in it.

Because there was so much content, he spent half a year writing it down from memory on and off, and the finished product filled an entire bookshelf. Xu Jiafan could consult the "Illustrated Compendium of Spiritual Plants" for any clan member interested in spiritual plants.

Besides the "Illustrated Compendium of Spiritual Plants," the spiritual fruit at the top of the family's treasure tree, which was nurtured by the auras of sixteen Xu family descendants eight years ago, has been upgraded to a Foundation Establishment level spiritual fruit.

After Xu Fugui swallowed the Enlightenment Fruit, the "Basic Formation Techniques" appeared in his mind.

The art of array formations is too profound. Even though the Enlightenment Fruit directly imparted the entire content of "Basic Array Formations" to Xu Fugui, he was still completely confused and unable to get started.

So he wrote it down from memory.

Each book was as thick as a palm's breadth, and he wrote thirty-three such books before he could finish writing the "Basic Formation" in his mind.

He studied day and night, working diligently, and it took him eight years to barely grasp the basics of array formations.

He has only managed to understand half of the thirty-three volumes of "Basic Formations".

Don't assume he's inefficient, because others are too.

After Xu Fugui had memorized the entire "Basic Formations," he had his children and grandchildren, including Xu Xiaoniu and Xu Xiaohou, study it. However, they all shared the same fate as him: they were full of questions and knew nothing about it.

The others quickly gave up; they had their own cultivation plans.

Only Xu Fugui, who was stuck in a bottleneck and had nothing to do, had a lot of time to work hard on the formation.

Having mastered half of the book in eight years, he was already the most accomplished in formations within the entire Xu family.

The half-book of formations had already proven useful. Last year, Xu Fugui realized that the "Spirit Gathering Formation" he had set up in the spiritual land had flaws, so he rearranged it.

The spirit-gathering array plate in his family came from the Lü family, a Qi-cultivating family in Tonggu County that was destroyed long ago.

The effectiveness of a formation can vary greatly depending on whether the person understands formations or not.

Xu Fugui rearranged the Spirit Gathering Array, bringing out its true effect. The area of ​​the Hundred Valleys Mountain Spirit Land expanded further, reaching eight acres in size.

This is the limit of the Spirit Gathering Array. The limitation is that the quality of the spiritual veins in Hundred Valleys Mountain is too low, and it is still a bit short of the standard first-order spiritual vein. Even if all the spiritual energy of the spiritual veins is gathered, this is the only step that can be taken.

"Ok?"

Xu Fugui, who was holding a book, suddenly looked up and looked through the window in the direction of Xu Xiaohou.

"Sixth Brother broke through? This commotion..."

Xu Fugui noticed the "vortex" that suddenly appeared in the spiritual land, and a large amount of spiritual energy surged towards it.

One of the reasons for this commotion is that the sacred site is too small.

“My Hundred Valleys Mountain Spirit Land is indeed a bit too small.”

he thought.

In recent years, as the number of Xu family members has increased, the already small Baihe Mountain spiritual land has become crowded and cramped.

So Xu Fugui, Xu Xiaoniu, Xu Xiaohou and others discussed finding a new burial site for the Xu family.

They will not give up on Baihe Mountain, the spiritual land. This is where the Xu family made their fortune, their hometown. After so many years of hard work, they are reluctant to give up this spiritual land that they created from scratch.

Since the annual occupation tax for the Hundred Valleys Mountain spiritual land is only fifty spirit stones, I might as well just keep occupying it.

Considering the future development of the Xu family and the large number of Foundation Establishment cultivators, they should find another second-tier spiritual land as the Xu family's territory.

However, second-tier spiritual lands are not so easy to find.

There are only a handful of second-tier spiritual lands in Yuanli County.

Many newly established Foundation Establishment families do not have second-tier spiritual lands, such as Yan Yijin and Jiang Hao.

Throughout the Xu family's development, the change of ownership of second-tier spiritual lands has always been due to special circumstances, such as Qingqiu Mountain and Yunze Mountain.

The earth veins of Qingqiu Mountain were shaken and the spiritual veins were altered, and the spiritual veins in the entire area around Qingqiu Mountain were changed to varying degrees.

After the Xue family was destroyed, Yunze Mountain was occupied by a family with even greater power than the Xue family before.

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.

after one day.

"This spiritual dew contains an immense amount of primordial energy from heaven and earth."

After breaking through to the third level of Foundation Establishment, Xu Xiaohou spent another day digesting the energy in the Spirit Branch Dew.

He flashed out of the secluded room and found Xu Fugui.

"Father! I've broken through!"

He shared the good news.

"Yes, I sensed it before. So, how many spirit stones is that Spirit Branch Dew roughly equivalent to?"

This was Xu Fugui's first time testing the effects of Lingzhi Ganlu, and he hoped to give himself a pleasant surprise.

This is a new function that the family's treasure tree has evolved over the past century.

"How many spirit stones?"

After careful calculation, Xu Xiaohou said, "It is at least equivalent to the spiritual energy I would gain from absorbing three thousand spirit stones."

"Three thousand spirit stones?!" Xu Fugui was overjoyed; it was much more than he had imagined.

Every year, a drop of spiritual dew condenses on the top leaf of his family's precious tree.

That's equivalent to three thousand spirit stones. Doesn't that mean he gets three thousand spirit stones for free every year?

Even for an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, three thousand spirit stones is a large sum of money, enough to buy a Three-in-One Pill.

"I wonder if this Spirit Branch Dew can be used as a Three-in-One Pill to break through the bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment Realm?"

he thought.

The Spirit Branch Dew is composed of pure essence of heaven and earth, equivalent to a large amount of spirit stones. Its effects are definitely different from those of elixirs.

His lack of progress in Foundation Establishment is not due to a lack of spirit stones.

"I'll try to break through after I consume the Longevity Fruit."

The longevity fruit on the family's treasure tree only needs the nourishment of the aura of two more offspring to upgrade to an eighty-year-old fruit.

Xu Fugui is waiting for the Longevity Fruit to be upgraded.

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.

Four or five hundred li northeast of Tonggu County, there is a second-tier spiritual land called Ru'an Mountain.

Ru'an Mountain was not originally a second-tier spiritual land, but a first-tier spiritual land with a first-tier spiritual vein and a wide area. It was located on the edge of Changyue County and belonged to Changyue County.

Its spiritual veins cover almost the entire Ru'an Mountain, stretching for more than ten miles in length and five or six miles in width.

Such a large area is considered to be of extremely high quality among first-tier spiritual lands.

Occupying Ruan Mountain is the Tang family, the largest Qi-cultivation family in Changyue County.

The Tang family has a long history of development and a large number of members, with forty to fifty Qi Refining cultivators. It is the most well-known and powerful Qi Refining family in the surrounding counties. Two hundred years ago, at the height of its power, the family produced a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

However, the Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Tang family did not lead the Tang family any further. Instead, his influence was fleeting, allowing the Tang family to prosper for a brief period of several decades.

Fifty or sixty years ago, the Lan family of Qingqiu Mountain was wiped out, and a massive earthquake shook half of Yuanli County.

Centered on Qingqiu Mountain, the spiritual veins within a radius of a thousand miles were all affected.

Some of the spiritual veins are of higher quality and have increased spiritual energy concentration than before.

Some spiritual veins have been downgraded, and the concentration of spiritual energy is much lower than before.

There are also places like Baihe Mountain where spiritual veins were born out of thin air.

The spiritual veins of Ru'an Mountain were positively affected. Originally a first-order spiritual vein of extremely high quality, the spiritual energy concentration of the veins was increased to that of a second-order spiritual vein after the earthquake.

The Tang family viewed the upgrade from a first-tier to a second-tier spiritual vein as a windfall.

Initially, they kept the news a secret, as only those entering the Ru'an Mountain spiritual land could feel the increased concentration of spiritual energy. The occupation tax for a second-tier spiritual land differed significantly from that for a first-tier spiritual land.

To save spirit stones and avoid attracting unwanted attention, the Tang family kept it strictly confidential.

Unfortunately, the sacred land of Ru'an Mountain was too vast, and this secret could not be kept. It was discovered in less than two years and quickly spread to everyone.

Second-tier spiritual lands are extremely rare. Many Foundation Establishment families don't even have second-tier spiritual lands. How could they possibly sit idly by and watch a Qi Refining family occupy a second-tier spiritual land?

As a result, many eyes were secretly watching the Tang family's territory.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator came to the Tang family to peacefully negotiate, intending to buy the ownership of the Ru'an Mountain spiritual land with spirit stones. On the surface, Ru'an Mountain is registered under the Tang family's name with the Forestry Bureau, making it difficult for others to openly seize it.

However, the Tang family was reluctant to part with their sacred land, and the negotiations failed.

After that, the Tang family encountered all sorts of underhanded tactics: celestial officials causing trouble, demonic cultivators attempting assassination, and framing others...

In just a few years, the Tang family suffered a severe blow. Leaving aside the loss of resources, the large number of deaths and injuries among its members was too much for them to bear. Ultimately, they had no choice but to abandon Mount Ru'an.

When the Tang family gave up Ru'an Mountain, they voluntarily allowed the Forestry Bureau to take it back, without accepting a single spirit stone from anyone else.

If they had known this would happen, they should have given the second-tier spiritual land to the Foundation Establishment family and made a profit from spirit stones. After several years of turmoil, by the time they understood the ruthless methods of the Foundation Establishment family, it was too late.

The Tang family ultimately lost its sacred land and a large amount of resources, and many of its members died, leaving it in a state of decline.

After the Tang family left Ru'an Mountain, it was quickly occupied by the Chu family, a Foundation Establishment family from Yuanli City.

The Chu family has two Foundation Establishment cultivators, one in the early stage and the other in the middle stage.

In terms of overall strength, the Chu family is not considered powerful among the Foundation Establishment families in Yuanli County.

However, the powerful Foundation Establishment families in Yuanli County all have their own second-tier spiritual lands.

Among Foundation Establishment families without a second-tier spiritual land, the Chu family's overall strength is considered quite strong.

After the Chu family occupied Ru'an Mountain, Ru'an Mountain was separated from the jurisdiction of Changyue County and became a territory independent of Changyue County.

The difference is that from now on, when the Chu family pays taxes such as those related to the mountain occupation, they will do so through the county government of Yuanli County, instead of the Changyue County government.

At this moment, on Mount Ru'an, the Chu family is holding a wedding banquet.

Everywhere was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, creating a joyous atmosphere, with red carpets stretching from the mountaintop all the way down to the foot of the mountain.

In the family hall, the two were dressed in festive red formal attire, but their faces showed little joy.

"Chu Luo, what do you mean by that?"

Chu Shuyue stared coldly at the man in front of her, her eyes filled with anger.

She is the head of the Chu family, with a cultivation level of the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment.

The man's name was Chu Luo, and he was her husband, a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the second level.

Chu Luo's original surname was not Chu. He married into the Chu family and, according to the Chu family's rules, he had to change his surname.

When questioned, Chu Luo forced a smile and said ingratiatingly, "Madam, I was just mentioning it casually. It was for the better of the family, and I had no other selfish motives."

"Ha, I think you're just being selfish! You, a son-in-law who married into my family, dare to mention taking a concubine? You've really gone too far!"

Chu Shuyue said sternly.

Today, they are holding a happy event at Ruanshan Mountain: the wedding of their youngest son.

The couple had been married for over a hundred years, but due to difficulty conceiving, they only had four children: two sons and two daughters.

Chu Shuyue has a mixed spiritual root of four elements, while Chu Luo has a true spiritual root of three elements.

Of the four children, three were ordinary people without spiritual roots, while only the youngest son had three true spiritual roots.

Their eldest son passed away a few years ago.

Their youngest son was conceived after a difficult pregnancy and was born. He is thirty years old this year, but he was born with intellectual disabilities and impaired intelligence.

They originally thought that they would just raise their child peacefully, and even if he was mentally challenged, they would still let him enjoy life.

When he was seven years old, a test revealed that their seemingly simple-minded son actually possessed a triple-elemental true spiritual root. This was an extremely rare occurrence, something the couple had never seen before.

With such a good spiritual root, of course one should cultivate.

With the forceful intervention of the two, and the assistance of various elixirs and spirit stones, the foolish son finally managed to become a Qi Refining cultivator.

Foundation building? Impossible.

They didn't want to waste their son's innate talent, so they carefully selected and raised a "child bride".

This child bride was to bear children and carry on the Chu family's lineage.

Just now, Chu Luo casually mentioned that instead of letting his son marry his adopted daughter-in-law, it would be better for the family to let him take her as a concubine.

(End of this chapter)