From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 299 Thirty Years, Three Golden Cores of the Xu Family!
Xu Yiqing spent a full year refining the "Mountain-Suppressing Wutong" into his natal spiritual plant.

After another five years, he finally reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

He originally practiced ice-based techniques, but the Xu family did not have any ice-based Golden Core techniques available for him to use.

If he were to switch to cultivating the "Shennong Creation Technique," he would need to "rebuild" it, which would come at a great cost and consume a lot of resources.

Fortunately, the Xu family found an ice-based Golden Core cultivation technique in the ancient southern city: "Frosty Cold Mystic Method".

This Golden Core cultivation technique was obtained by the Xu family in exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill and several third-tier spiritual plants.

Xu Yiqing resigned from his position as an immortal official in Yuanli County and went into seclusion to study the Golden Elixir cultivation method.

Several years later, Xu Yiqing, with his three true spiritual roots, successfully advanced to the Golden Core Realm, becoming the second Golden Core True Person in the Xu 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.

More than a decade has passed in the blink of an eye.

Ru'an Mountain.

An inconspicuous hilltop.

Xu Renkai sat on the ground, his eyes vacant and somewhat dazed as he stared at the valley in front of him, his hair and beard slightly disheveled.

He didn't know how many days he had been sitting there; perhaps three to five days, or maybe more than ten days.

Because they remained motionless for a long time, a layer of dust settled on their clothes.

On the ground in front of him, there was a complex array drawn, with a large number of stones arranged in a special rhythm.

His current cultivation level is at the second level of Foundation Establishment, which is not a fast pace of improvement.

He had little talent in cultivation, and even in the relatively easy early stage of Foundation Establishment, his progress was slow.

He knew he had no hope of advancing to the Golden Core stage, so he didn't deliberately try to improve his cultivation level. After all, the lifespan limit was the same for both the early and late Foundation Establishment stages, which was 250 years.

Therefore, he devoted most of his time to studying formations.

Even before he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he had already understood all the contents of the "Basic Formation" book in the library.

After advancing to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he began to create his own formations based on his own insights.

However, creating a formation based solely on the limited content of "Basic Formations" is far too difficult. Formations are among the most profound and complex of all cultivation arts, and even if Xu Renkai were a formation genius, he would find it difficult to create one on his own.

Of course, he did not come away empty-handed. He improved some formations based on his own understanding and perfected and enhanced the original spirit-gathering formation on Ru'an Mountain.

In the cultivation room in the core area of ​​Ru'an Mountain, Xu Renkai set up some "breath-concealing arrays". The purpose of these breath-concealing arrays is to conceal the aura within the array and prevent it from being detected by people outside the array.

The "Concealing Breath Array" he set up could block the divine sense probing of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even a Golden Core cultivator could not see through the "Concealing Breath Array" unless they got close and examined it carefully.

In addition to the "Concealing Breath Array," Xu Renkai also set up auxiliary arrays such as the Silent Array in the residential area.

These auxiliary formations are not very effective, but they can improve people's lives to some extent.

After setting up formations for several years, Xu Renkai hit a bottleneck.

Having exhausted his knowledge of formations from "Basic Formations," he was unable to develop any new formations.

The years of mediocrity and inaction dealt a heavy blow to Xu Renkai. No matter how much he secluded himself or how much he deduced, he could not develop any new formations or verify the various ideas about formations in his mind.

He was lost in the art of formations.

There is no direction, no goal, and no way forward.

He drifted aimlessly for several years, and was almost a cripple.

"Ren Kai, Ren Kai~"

Just then, several calls came from afar.

Xu Fugui searched for a while before finding Xu Renkai sitting alone on a remote hilltop.

"Ancestor~"

Xu Renkai was startled awake, his eyes regaining their light. Realizing he had lost his composure, he quickly got up and cast a cleansing spell on himself.

"Ren Kai, I have good news for you."

Seeing Xu Renkai's appearance, Xu Fugui knew that he had been feeling lost and confused in recent years because he had hit a bottleneck in the art of formations.

"Ancestor, what news?"

"The Way of Formations has a sequel!"

There's more to this story?!
Upon hearing this news, Xu Renkai was overjoyed, his eyes gleaming as he eagerly inquired, "Where is the sequel to the Dao of Formations?"

"right here!"

Xu Fugui took out several square wooden book boxes from his storage bag. Each book box was about half a person's height and filled with books.

These books are titled "Advanced Formation (I)", "Advanced Formation (II)"... all the way up to "Advanced Formation (Thirty-Two)".

Just a few days ago, the Xu family's family treasure tree was once again nourished to the "Golden Core level" by the empowerment fruit, and the empowerment was passed on to Xu Fugui in the "Advanced Formation Techniques".

The previous "Basic Formations" was taught by the Foundation Establishment level's initiation spirit fruit.

When the Xu family needed further information on the Dao of Formations, the Enlightenment Spirit Fruit was used to impart the "Advanced Formation Techniques" manual.

Due to the profound nature of the formations, even though Xu Fugui was taught them, he still found it difficult to understand their contents. Therefore, he copied the contents into a book in their entirety.

The sheer volume of content led Xu Fugui to write thirty-two thick books, filling several book boxes.

"Advanced Formation Techniques?!"

Xu Renkai was overjoyed when he saw the books in the book box: "Ancestor, this is wonderful, it's exactly what I need!"

He eagerly opened the first volume and began to read it with great anticipation.

"So that's how it is!"

His many doubts over the years have now been answered and confirmed.

"Don't look at them here. Put them away in the secluded training room in the core area. Ren Kai, the contents of these formations are very precious and must not be leaked. After you've finished reading them, store all these books in the Golden Core Hall of the library."

"Ok!"

Xu Renkai nodded and carefully put the book box into his storage bag. The array formations recorded in these books were even more profound and complex, enough for him to study for decades or even centuries. He might not even be able to comprehend these array formations until he died of old age.

Xu Renkai did not inquire about the origin of the contents of these formations.

Given the rarity of array formation inheritance, Xu Fugui could only obtain it from the family's treasure tree; it was impossible to acquire it from outsiders.

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.

The sun and the moon rotate.

Time flies.

That year, Xu Fugui was 230 years old.

More than twenty years have passed since Xu Yiqing broke through to the Golden Core stage.

Ru'an Mountain.

"Sigh, two hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye."

Xu Xiaoniu and Xu Xiaohou had just returned from Jiang Hao's funeral.

Xu Xiaoniu sighed that he and Jiang Hao had known each other for two hundred years.

He is 210 years old this year. Jiang Hao was much older than him and reached the end of his lifespan. He passed away some time ago.

Xu Xiaoniu, Xu Xiaohou, and Jiang Hao had known each other for a long time and attended the funeral.

"Yes, time flies. It seems like just yesterday that our family lived in Baihe Village."

Xu Xiaohou also sighed.

"Six-Headed Son~~"

Xu Xiaoniu suddenly sighed deeply, as if he were thinking of something.

"What's wrong, brother?"

"In a few decades, when I'm gone, you'll be the only one left among us brothers. You must take good care of the younger generation of the Xu family. Once you break through to the Golden Core Realm, you can live for another three hundred years." Xu Xiaoniu thought of himself; his spiritual root aptitude was poor, and his comprehension was far inferior to Xiaohou's. Although he was currently at the eighth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, he had almost no hope of breaking through to the Golden Core Realm.

"Brother, don't say that, it's still early."

Xu Xiaohou recalled the past, his mother and his brothers had all passed away one after another, leaving only his father and his eldest brother.

Based on the lifespan limit of the Foundation Establishment Realm, his father is also nearing the end of his life.

He was truly afraid that when that day came, he would be the only one left among his peers.

Just as the two were talking, Xu Fugui and Xu Zhongxu arrived.

"Filial piety and kindness".

"Dad~"

Not long ago, the second immortal spiritual plant cultivated on Mount Ru'an acquired the aura of immortality!
More than 20 years ago, after Xu Yiqing refined the Zhenshan Wutong tree, Xu Zhongxu began to cultivate the second immortal spiritual plant.

However, he hesitated for a long time about which spiritual plant to choose for the second immortal spiritual plant.

Although the Mountain-Suppressing Phoenix Tree is easy to cultivate, its large size makes it inconvenient to refine. Furthermore, the Mountain-Suppressing Phoenix Tree is not a high-ranking spiritual plant among third-tier plants.

Having gained experience in cultivating immortal spiritual plants, Xu Zhongxu decided to cultivate higher-quality third-tier spiritual plants.

This immortal plant was cultivated for Xu Xiaohou.

Among the late-stage Foundation Establishment members of the Xu family, Xu Xiaoniu, Xu Xiaohou, and Xu Likun are all potential candidates to be cultivated into future "Golden Core True Persons".

But which one should you choose?
Xu Yiqing previously possessed three true spiritual roots, giving him a much greater chance of advancing to the Golden Core realm, making him a suitable choice.

Apart from Xu Yiqing, the rest of them all had pseudo-spiritual roots of the five elements.

Considering Xu Xiaoniu's advanced age and relatively poor comprehension, Xu Fugui ultimately had to reluctantly give up on choosing him. Given Xu Xiaoniu's situation, he would likely waste this opportunity and fail to advance to the Golden Core stage.

Xu Xiaohou is undoubtedly a more suitable candidate.

This decision was not made by Xu Fugui alone, but was agreed upon by them after discussion.

Xu Zhongxu spent several months selecting the third-tier spiritual plant "Fufeng Thousand-Mile Willow" from the "Illustrated Compendium of Spiritual Plants".

This third-tier spiritual plant is not as large as the Mountain-Suppressing Wutong tree; it is about the size of an ordinary willow tree. Its characteristic is that its willow leaves are slender and perfectly suited to the wind attribute, allowing them to drift thousands of miles away on the wind.

The willow leaves of Fufeng Qianli Liu can be used as talisman paper material for some special talismans, and also as material for some spiritual artifacts and clothing.

Unlike the "Mountain-Suppressing Wutong", the Fufeng Thousand-Mile Willow is not an upgraded second-tier spiritual plant; it is a third-tier spiritual plant in its own right.

The Xu family did not have any saplings of the Fufeng Thousand-Mile Willow, but instead bought a section of Fufeng Thousand-Mile Willow branch from the ancient southern city.

If it is a seedling of a third-tier spiritual plant, it is very valuable.

However, if it's just a section of willow twig, the price is much cheaper, costing only two hundred spirit stones.

Xu Zhongxu possesses the "Shennong Creation Skill," which allows him to cultivate even a single willow leaf into a thousand-mile-long willow in Fufeng.

He successfully propagated the willow cutting, nurtured it into a sapling, and transplanted it to the core area of ​​Ru'an Mountain.

The area where it is planted is the most suitable terrain for the Fufeng Thousand Mile Willow.

It is cultivated daily using the "Shennong Creation Technique" and nourished with the true essence of the Golden Elixir...

Like the phoenix tree that guards the mountain, after a few years, the willow tree in Fufeng grew to a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters) and was a thousand years old.

Its willow branches sway in the wind.

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.

“That Fufeng Willow has already obtained the aura of immortality, Xiaohou, you can refine it now.”

Xu Fugui brought this good news.

"It can be refined now?"

While Xu Xiaohou was excited, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

He is now 190 years old and recently achieved the Foundation Establishment stage. Now, he has the opportunity to advance to the Golden Core stage!

When he first started cultivating immortality, his basic techniques were the same as Xu Fugui's, from Lingnong Qi Refining Technique to Xiannong Yuan Building Technique.

He has already mastered the "Shennong Creation Technique" at the Golden Core stage.

He only needs the opportunity to reach the Golden Core stage to break through!
"Father, it's not just ordinary refining, but turning it into a natal spiritual plant. The Primordial Spirit Plant Control Secret Technique is the Xiang family's unique skill, and it's a long story."

Xu Zhongxu had not yet told Xu Xiaohou the secret method of "Yuan Shen Yu Zhi".

"A natal spiritual plant? The Xiang family's secret technique?"

"..."

After some explanation, Xu Xiaohou learned the origin of this miraculous secret technique and also understood why Xu Yiqing had to conceal his cultivation level.

When Xu Xiaohou advances to the Golden Core stage, he will also have to conceal his cultivation level and the secret technique "Primordial Spirit Planting".

Afterwards, Xu Xiaohou spent a month learning "Yuan Shen Yu Zhi".

It took another two months to refine the Fufeng Thousand Mile Willow into his own natal spiritual plant.

Next, the breakthrough!
To everyone's surprise, Xu Xiaohou's first attempt failed.

Not only did he fail to advance to the Golden Core realm, but his cultivation level also declined, and he lost a significant amount of spiritual energy in his dantian. It wasn't a normal reduction in consumption, but rather an injury resembling a decline in cultivation.

He had achieved Foundation Establishment perfection, the opportunity to attain Golden Core, and the Golden Core cultivation method, yet he failed to advance to the next level.

Upon closer examination, it wasn't "unexpected."

Xu Xiaohou's spiritual root aptitude was too poor, so it was understandable that he failed his first breakthrough; it couldn't have been that smooth.

Fortunately, he still has a chance.

He spent three years restoring himself to his peak condition. His spiritual power was restored to its maximum perfection, and his soul strength was raised to the limit of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

This time, he did not rush to break through to the Golden Core stage.

To ensure everything went smoothly, the Xu family purchased a Grade 3 spiritual pill, the "Condensing Pill," in the ancient southern city.

As its name suggests, this is a spiritual elixir that can help condense the golden core.

For Foundation Establishment cultivators advancing to the Golden Core realm, the opportunity to condense the Golden Core is paramount; the "Golden Core Condensation Pill" is less important. This "Golden Core Condensation Pill" not only assists in condensing the Golden Core but also aids in the advancement of early-stage Golden Core cultivators.

Its price is not expensive, 20,000 spirit stones.

After all, it's a grade three spirit pill, and the price of 20,000 spirit stones is just a relatively common price for a grade three spirit pill.

With the help of a third-grade elixir, Xu Xiaohou attempted a breakthrough for the second time.

This breakthrough was successful, advancing to the Golden Core Realm and becoming a Golden Core True Person!

The Xu family quietly acquired three Golden Core cultivators.

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.

As time went by, the Xu family grew rapidly.

Each new member of the clan is born, nourishing the family's precious tree and various spiritual fruits.

The spirit-gathering array on Mount Ru'an granted the Xu family a third-tier spiritual land, allowing them to enhance their cultivation.

The mountains and fields are covered with spiritual plants.

These spiritual plants are the Xu family's greatest source of resources.

Xu Zhongxu continued to cultivate immortal spiritual plants and third-tier spiritual plants for the family. His cultivation had reached the second level of the Golden Core realm, and he was steadily progressing towards the third level of the Golden Core realm.

Xu Renkai was studying the formation.

Xu Zhongche not only refined elixirs but also trained several alchemists for the Xu family. Several of the younger generation of alchemists are already capable of refining first-grade elixirs.

Xu Xiaohou and Xu Yiqing are the two hidden Golden Core cultivators of the Xu family, quietly improving their cultivation.

(End of this chapter)