From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 234 Reclusive Cultivator
into the night.

In the desolate countryside, in an inconspicuous ravine.

Du Wanyun sat cross-legged in the weeds, her clothes and hair covered with dust and withered branches and leaves.

However, her demeanor was completely different from her disheveled appearance.

She was practicing her cultivation technique, absorbing the sparse spiritual energy in the surrounding space, and exuding an extraordinary aura.

"Hu~~"

After completing the circulation of her internal energy, she exhaled a breath of stale air and opened her eyes.

"The spiritual energy of the outside world is too thin, not even a tenth of that of Mount Ru'an."

She sighed helplessly.

She used to cultivate in the second-tier spiritual land of Ru'an Mountain, but she didn't realize how difficult cultivation would be.

Leaving Ru'an Mountain, she deeply realized the importance of a sacred place.

According to her estimation, although she has the aptitude of four spiritual roots, without relying on spiritual land and spiritual stone resources, she can only cultivate to the sixth level of Qi Refining at most in this lifetime, and it is impossible for her to reach the late stage of Qi Refining.

Looking up at the sky, the rising moon was faintly visible through the clouds.

Taking advantage of the darkness of night, she prepared to continue her journey.

At this point, she was about 500 li away from Ru'an Mountain. The further away she was, the lower the chance of being discovered by the Chu family.

She had no map and didn't know her exact location, only a rough direction, and tried her best to find her way forward in the desolate countryside.

She dared not approach towns, or even villages. Soldiers and messengers with arrest warrants were searching for her at every crossroads and intersections.

As the night passed, dawn broke.

Du Wanyun walked fifty or sixty miles and arrived at a deep mountain.

"The scenery here is beautiful, and the concentration of spiritual energy is relatively high. We can hide here for a few days."

With these thoughts in mind, she walked deeper into the mountains and forests.

The deeper you go, the denser the vegetation becomes, and the higher the concentration of spiritual energy. Of course, it is far inferior to a second-tier spiritual land, and even less than a first-tier spiritual land; it is only 20-30% higher in spiritual energy than other places.

"If I weren't wanted by the police, this would be a great place to live in seclusion."

She climbed a low hill.

The hills here have the best scenery, surrounded by several mountain peaks, and the concentration of spiritual energy is also the highest, 50% higher than the outside world.

"what?"

On the flat hilltop, several stone houses suddenly came into Du Wanyun's view.

"Is there anyone here?"

She never imagined that there were people living in this remote mountain forest.

Taking a few steps forward, I saw that the front yard of the stone house had tables and chairs carved entirely from stone, and a neat garden.

Further away, there are several acres of cultivated farmland, where melons, fruits, and tea trees are planted.

She continued closer and saw several brightly colored carp in a clear pond.

It was early morning, and the rising sun cast a ray of sunlight onto a huge rock, about ten feet high, behind the stone house.

A figure dressed in coarse linen clothes sat cross-legged with his back to Du Wanyun, facing the open mountain stream.

"Is that person the owner of this place?"

Du Wanyun guessed, and stood there awkwardly for a moment, not knowing whether to leave or stay.

She was clearly uninvited and had mistakenly trespassed on someone else's territory.

Considering her wanted status and the fact that the other party seemed not to have noticed her, she quietly turned around and prepared to leave.

He had only taken two steps when he heard a voice behind him.

"Young lady, what's going on here?"

Du Wanyun came to her senses and saw that the person who had been sitting cross-legged on the rock was now right in front of her.

The person in front of him was a young man with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. He exuded spiritual energy and was slightly weaker than Du Wanyun, probably at the second level of Qi Refining.

It turns out he was a rogue cultivator.

She thought to herself, and released a spiritual aura that was slightly weaker than that of the man in front of her, thus revealing her identity as a cultivator.

"Greetings, fellow Daoist. I was unaware that anyone lived here. I apologize for the intrusion and will leave immediately."

As she spoke, she made a move to leave.

Is this young and beautiful woman also a cultivator? No wonder she was able to walk alone into this deep mountain forest.

Cheng Ye sensed that her aura was weaker than his own, probably at the first or second level of Qi Refining. He smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, please stop. It is fate that we meet. This place was originally unclaimed. I saw that the spiritual energy concentration here was higher than in other places, so I decided to stay here."

Borderlands?

Du Wanyun said with a hint of envy, "Fellow Daoist has good taste. This place is beautiful with clear waters and lush mountains, and it's full of spiritual energy. It's truly a perfect place for solitary cultivation."

"Haha, right? It's not easy being a rogue cultivator. We have no source of spirit stones, and all the spiritual lands have been taken over by those immortal cultivation families. I finally found this treasure land and have been living here for over ten years."

Cheng Ye usually lives in this deep mountain forest, where no one talks to him. It's rare for someone to come, especially a young and beautiful female cultivator. He is very enthusiastic and talks a lot.

"By the way, fellow Daoist, my name is Cheng Ye. May I ask how you are addressed?"

"Du...Du Xiaoyun."

Du Wanyun quickly changed her tune, saying that her name was probably on the wanted poster.

"Miss Du, you look very young. May I call you Miss Xiaoyun?"

Cheng Ye cupped his hands in greeting, unable to determine Du Wanyun's exact age. Cultivators, due to their long lifespans and the nourishment of spiritual energy, often looked like young women even in their thirties or forties.

I am eighteen years old this year.

"Oh? No wonder your eyes are so clear and innocent. I'm already forty this year, and to my shame, I'm still only at the meager second level of Qi Refining, haha~~"

“Then I must address you as Brother Chengye. Brother Chengye, there’s no need to belittle yourself. Resources are scarce for independent cultivators, so it’s quite good that you’ve reached the second level of Qi Refining.”

Du Wanyun returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

Hearing her say that, Cheng Ye felt relieved. He thought to himself: Indeed, only rogue cultivators can truly understand the hardships of being a rogue cultivator.

"Please come quickly to my humble abode. I'll make you some tea and let you try my spiritual melon. It's not a real spiritual melon, but it's grown in this place where the spiritual energy is a bit abundant. It's much sweeter than ordinary melons."

Chengye gestured for him to proceed.

Unable to refuse his hospitality, Du Wanyun followed him to the stone house and sat down on the stone bench.

This stone house, stone table, and stone benches were all built and carved by Cheng Ye himself.

Cheng Ye poured Du Wanyun a cup of tea and washed some fruits for her.

After chatting for a while, Cheng Ye asked why Du Wanyun was there.

Du Wanyun pondered for a moment and replied, "I offended a family of cultivators and fled overnight, which is how I ended up here by accident."

Did I offend a cultivation family?
Upon hearing this answer, Cheng Ye was startled, yet also felt a pang of sympathy, saying, "Alas, the cultivation families are too much; we rogue cultivators suffer greatly. May I ask, what did you do to offend them?"

Du Wanyun waved her hand, half-jokingly saying, "It's nothing serious. That cultivation family wanted to marry me, but I didn't want to, and I couldn't stand the harassment, so I just left. We rogue cultivators don't have family backgrounds, so we can roam the world freely."

Cheng Ye breathed a sigh of relief, worried that Du Wanyun had caused a major disaster that would implicate him.

"Yes, female rogue cultivators are hard to find. No one pays attention to male rogue cultivators like me, but Miss Xiaoyun, you are young and beautiful, so you can choose a satisfactory cultivation family to marry into."

You have noble character; you refuse to marry someone you don't love just to seek protection. I admire you.

he praised.

"..."

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.

Wutong County, the county seat.

The warrant for the arrest of the Demon Extermination Bureau has been issued for several days, but there is still no news.

The Chu family members were extremely anxious.

After searching the outside world for several days without finding anything, Chu Lingfeng returned to the Du family mansion.

He had visited this Du family mansion once on the very first day after Du Wanyun fled, and even sent members of the Chu family to keep an eye on it nearby.

After learning the truth about Du Wanyun's "spirit-inflicted body", Chu Lingfeng sent two more people.

"She hasn't shown up for several days?"

Chu Lingfeng asked the Chu family members. "No, we've been keeping an eye on things nearby, but we didn't see anything."

"damn it!"

He cursed and barged back into the Du family mansion. His volatile temper had completely robbed him of his usual composure.

"Du Tiansheng, come out!"

This shout startled Du Tiansheng.

These past few days he has been living in constant fear and anxiety, unable to eat or sleep, and the entire Du family has been shrouded in a cloud of gloom.

Upon appearing, Du Tiansheng immediately bowed to Chu Lingfeng: "Immortal Lingfeng, this humble subject is here. Has something happened to my sister Wanyun? Someone must have framed her; she couldn't possibly be a demonic cultivator."

This is Du Wanyun's hometown; several groups of people from the Wutong County government have come here.

"Hmph, just you wait and see!"

Chu Lingfeng didn't bother to listen to Du Tiansheng's explanation. He grabbed Du Tiansheng by the collar and brought him close to his face.

The two looked at each other, and Chu Lingfeng's eyes seemed to see through Du Tiansheng's pupils and into his very soul.

"Tell me, has Du Wanyun come back or not? She's never shown up at all?"

"No, my sister hasn't come back."

"Didn't she write a letter or have someone deliver a message?"

"No, no, you're so useless, I don't know anything."

Du Tiansheng's throat bobbed, and he blinked.

Ok?
Chu Lingfeng vaguely felt that Du Tiansheng might be lying, but he was a Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator, not a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and therefore could not perform soul searching.

"You come with me!"

Chu Lingfeng doesn't know how to search souls, but the head of the Chu family does.

As long as there's even the slightest suspicion, a soul search can be performed; no reason is needed. Does the Chu family need a reason to deal with a mere mortal family?
So he took Du Tiansheng and soared into the sky, flying back to Ru'an Mountain.

---

Ru'an Mountain.

Based on Chu Lingfeng's deduction, Chu Shuyue ignored Du Tiansheng's pleas for mercy and began searching his soul.

The innocent Du Tiansheng died just like that.

Chu Shuyue, who was in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, refined Du Tiansheng's soul.

Du Tiansheng vividly remembered the letter that had terrified him a few days prior. Such memories were easily retrieved through a soul-searching technique.

"Sure enough, Du Wanyun wrote a letter home. Heh, she escaped to the outskirts of Yuanli County, saved up enough spirit stones to return to my Chu family, and that's it?"

Chu Shuyue sneered.

Du Wanyun was too young and naive; she thought the Chu family was making a big fuss about searching for her because of her "elopement."

"This girl has no idea that she herself is the most precious treasure, a treasure that could drive many families crazy!"

"Patriarch, what do we do now? The Du family dares to conceal the truth; they're courting death!"

Chu Lingfeng exuded murderous intent; he would annihilate the entire Du family at Chu Shuyue's command.

"Arrest Du Wanyun's family and relatives, lock them up on the mountain, and wait for her to come to us. We tried to save face for each other before, but now it seems she's asking for it."

"If she doesn't give birth to a son with the surname Chu, none of her family members will live."

Chu Shuyue narrowed her eyes, her gaze filled with ruthlessness and viciousness.

She no longer cared about Du Wanyun's identity; whether she was a daughter-in-law of the Chu family was unimportant, as long as she gave birth to a child with spiritual roots for the Chu family. After the child was born, Du Wanyun would have no further use.

"Yes!"

Chu Lingfeng responded and went to capture the Du family members. He couldn't kill them now; if he captured Du Wanyun, it would be difficult to explain the massacre of the entire Du family.

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.

three days later.

Late at night, Du Wanyun sat cross-legged on a rock, the bright moon overhead, practicing her cultivation techniques.

She circulated her internal energy, causing it to form circular cycles.

Unbeknownst to her, her abdomen began to emit a barely perceptible glow.

Du Wanyun was unaware that she possessed a "spirit-bearing body," but she was not entirely ignorant of her unique constitution.

After embarking on the path of cultivation, she was able to introspect and perceive subtle changes in her body.

When she first started learning the exercises, she learned that there were seven main meridians, twelve branch meridians, and seven hundred and twenty acupoints in the human body.

By drawing qi into the body, one can use spiritual energy to open up the meridians and acupoints, circulate spiritual energy, and enhance spiritual energy in the dantian and dantian.

Reiki is said to have the miraculous effects of cleansing the marrow and tendons, prolonging life, and improving physical constitution.

These are the basics.

However, Du Wanyun discovered that the meridians and acupoints in her lower abdomen were unusually active, unlike other meridians and acupoints.

Among her internal organs, besides the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, there is another particularly "spiritual" organ: the uterus, which nurtures the fetus.

The meridians and acupoints surrounding the uterus form a unique micro-circulation during the practice of qigong, allowing spiritual energy to continuously nourish the uterus.

Du Wanyun was unaware that she possessed a spirit-bearing body, but she knew that this phenomenon was not mentioned in cultivation techniques, nor had anyone ever discussed it. She knew it was her unique characteristic, but she didn't pay much attention to it.

Each leaf is different.

Du Wanyun thought this was human nature; everyone is different to some extent, and it's impossible for everyone to be exactly the same. She thought this was a normal phenomenon.

The various events that have occurred recently have given her pause for thought.

Although she is young and hasn't experienced much, she's not stupid.

Why did the Chu family go to such great lengths to find her?
Du Wanyun wasn't the only rogue cultivator affiliated with the Chu family. But she had never heard of anyone as unique as Du Wanyun.

"Ok?"

Du Wanyun suddenly opened her eyes and found that it was already broad daylight, with the sun high in the sky.

Because she was thinking about everything that had happened during this time, she spent a long time cultivating and lost track of time.

"The Chu family insists on marrying me to the son of the Chu family patriarch, and they've even gone so far as to issue a warrant for my arrest. What do they want?"

"What do I, a rogue cultivator with mixed spiritual roots of four elements and a peasant background, have that they would covet?"

Du Wanyun couldn't understand it.

"Wait, my family?"

She suddenly realized that if she was really that important, her family would be in danger.

"I need to go back to Wutong County to see how my parents are doing."

Although she came from a poor family, her family treated her very well when she was a child. The family found joy even in hardship and lived happily together.

This family bond is something that can never be severed.

Thinking of this, she stood up, ready to say goodbye and leave.

For the past three days, she has been staying at Chengye's place because of his warm invitation.

The environment here is beautiful, secluded in the deep mountains and forests, and has a touch of spiritual energy.

Du Wanyun decided to stay and live there for a while. This secluded and leisurely life was exactly what she had been longing for.

During this time, Cheng Ye also subtly expressed his affection for Du Wanyun, wanting to become her cultivation partner.

"Brother Chengye, Brother Chengye?"

She called out a few times, but didn't see Chengye.

"Perhaps they went fishing."

She knew that Naruno sometimes went fishing in a nearby river.

wrong!

She suddenly thought of something and, without hesitation, immediately left the area.

Having gone through what happened recently, she will no longer easily trust others.

(End of this chapter)