From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 92 The Spirit Farmer's Secret
The old residence of the Xu family.

Several tables were set up in the front yard, creating a lively scene.

The Xu family was already large, and now with the addition of several half-grown children of the "Zhong" generation, the atmosphere became even more joyful.

Two robust hunting dogs wagged their tails and darted around under the tables and chairs, playing and frolicking with the children.

An old dog lay by the door, its intelligent eyes, full of human-like understanding, gently watching the people in the yard. Big Black was seventeen, a very long lifespan for a dog, and was now nearing the end of its lifespan.

Those two young hunting dogs that looked very much like him were his offspring, whom he had brought back from outside three years ago.

The gray hound is called "Big Gray," and the other hound is called "Short Tail."

While everyone was busy and flustered, Xu Fugui carried three-year-old Zhonglei to the bedroom.

As is customary, he gently placed his right palm on Zhonglei's head and murmured, "My grandson Xu Zhonglei, Xu Fugui, is three years old today! May he grow up safely, without illness or disaster, and with outstanding talent."

A faint aura emerged from the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head, flowed into Xu Fugui's body, and was absorbed by the family's treasure tree.

At the end of the first branch representing Xu Xiaoniu, a 30-centimeter-long emerald green branch sprouts tender buds.

The green spiritual fruit hanging in the center of the tree canopy transformed into a yellow spiritual fruit.

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

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

Now was not the time to consume the spiritual fruit, so Xu Fugui carried Zhong Lei out of the room.

A sumptuous feast has been laid out, and everyone has taken their seats.

Xu Zhonglei's third birthday celebration begins.

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.

Looking at the lively family banquet, Jiazhen saw her promising sons, virtuous and beautiful daughters-in-law, and well-behaved and adorable grandchildren... While feeling gratified, she also felt a strange sense of melancholy and reluctance to part.

She is fifty-two years old this year and can clearly feel herself aging.

Aging is bad enough, but what saddens her most is the loss of her beauty. She was a beautiful woman in her forties, but in recent years she has deteriorated and turned into an old lady in the blink of an eye.

She looked at Xu Fugui beside her, who looked no different from twenty years ago, and it would be a lie to say she wasn't envious. No matter how much beauty cream she applied, like Poria cocos ointment, she couldn't slow down the aging process.

"what happened?"

Xu Fugui noticed that his wife was staring at him intently.

"I envy you, you haven't changed in over twenty years."

"Forehead…"

When Xu Fugui was thirty, his skin was rough and dark from years of farm work exposed to the wind and sun, and no one would doubt that he was fifty years old. When he and Jiazhen walked together, people would only sigh that a beautiful flower was stuck in cow dung.

Who would have thought that twenty years later, his wife would envy his simple, rustic appearance as a country farmer.

He thought to himself that perhaps he could get his wife a youth-preserving elixir.

The cultivation world has many miraculous pills and elixirs, with various effects.

"correct……"

Thinking of the elixir, he recalled discussing with his sons the matter of finding a pharmacist to inherit Zhongche's legacy. So he sent word that after the banquet, the group should go to the secret room in the backyard to discuss important matters.

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 the sumptuous banquet ended, the maids and servants cleaned up the leftovers.

Xu Xiaoniu, carrying the dog food bowl, gave Dahei a few bones: "Before, we didn't have enough food to feed you, but now we have enough leftovers to feed all three of you."

As he spoke, he stroked the fur on the big black dog's back.

He knew his old friend was nearing the end of his life and might not see him again on his next trip home.

"Big brother, we've been waiting for you!"

Xu Xiaogou's call came from afar.

"coming."

Xu Xiaoniu responded, went into the backyard, closed the door, and then headed towards the underground secret room.

Xu Xiaohou witnessed this scene.

"I don't know what they're saying, they always do it behind my back."

He was so young that he was not included in his father's or brothers' discussions.

At this moment, in the underground secret room.

Xu Xiaoniu, the last to enter, locked the door from the inside. He casually picked up a thick futon and sat down on the ground with everyone else.

"Now that everyone's here, I'll get straight to the point..."

Xu Fugui recounted in detail how he discovered Xu Zhongche's talent and listened to everyone's thoughts.

"Ah? Is that true?"

Xu Xiaogou was surprised; how could he not know about his eldest son's talent?

He only knew that Chungcheol's martial arts talent was average, not as good as his when he was a child.

"Third brother, you're so careless. Luckily, Dad noticed, otherwise this talent would have been wasted."

The speaker was Xu Xiaoyun.

"I……"

Xu Xiaogou had no reply.

"I discovered this by chance. What do you think we should do?"

"Such a talent for pharmacists, send him to the pharmacy to learn how to make pills."

Xu Xiaoan blurted it out. He spent most of his time managing the family's farmland in the village and knew nothing about the pharmacy.

"How could that be? The pharmacies and medicine shops in the city value prescriptions and alchemy methods more than their own lives."

The art of alchemy is passed down through a single lineage. I heard the manager of Yiwu Pharmacy say that even within the family, people fight tooth and nail for the inheritance; how could it possibly be passed on to an outsider?

Xu Xiaoyun shook his head repeatedly.

"What should I do?"

"Father, can we exchange our family's 'Earth Element Technique' for the inheritance of a pharmacist?" Xu Xiaogou suggested, since spreading this cultivation technique would not affect his family.

"The medicine shop won't agree. Cultivation techniques are useless to them."

If the pharmacy passes on its medicine-making skills to others, it means that others will produce the same pills and compete with its business, which is tantamount to undermining its own foundation.

"Father, can we exchange it with spirit crystals? We still have spirit crystals at home."

Xu Fugui still had three spirit crystals in front of him; they were the only spare spirit crystals his family had left.

"There's a risk involved. Let's think of another way..."

If the pharmacy refuses to use the spirit crystals, it would expose that they possess spirit crystals, which would be risky.

Despite brainstorming, no satisfactory result could be reached.

A lineage of pharmacists represents a continuous stream of wealth; it's normal that they couldn't think of that.

If the pharmacist's legacy were so easy to obtain, the Qi and Blood Pills wouldn't be so exorbitantly priced.

Finally, they decided to split up and try their luck at various pharmacies. If all else failed, they would have to look for solutions outside of Tonggu County.

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 everyone had left, Xu Fugui was alone in the underground secret room.

He locked the door and couldn't wait to enter his inner space.

Looking up at the fist-sized yellow spiritual fruit on the tree canopy, he couldn't contain his excitement.

The first spiritual fruit he received taught him the "Five Elements Stance Technique," which enabled the Xu family to develop into what it is today.

"Lightness Technique"

With his spiritual energy flowing through his body, he easily leaped several meters high, climbed the treetop, and plucked the spiritual fruit.

The "Earth Element Technique" he practiced included several practical minor spells such as the Lightness Technique, the Cleansing Technique, and the Illumination Technique.

Holding the spirit fruit in his hands, he sat cross-legged beside the treasure tree, opened his mouth and took a bite; the spirit fruit melted in his mouth.

"This is?"

The difference between this yellow "Qi Refining" level spiritual fruit and the previous blue spiritual fruit is that this yellow "Qi Refining" level spiritual fruit contains a large amount of spiritual energy, which is transferred into Xu Fugui's body as it is digested.

Overjoyed, he immediately circulated his internal energy to absorb the spiritual energy.

At the same time, a refreshing stream flowed into my mind, and a large amount of information poured into my memory.

"Om~~"

He didn't know how much time had passed when Xu Fugui regained consciousness. He felt dizzy and his temples were throbbing with pain.

The spiritual fruit imparted so much knowledge that even he, at the second level of Qi Refining, found it difficult to digest in a short time.

After catching his breath, he checked the contents of the cultivation technique.

[Spiritual Farmer's Qi Cultivation Technique: Spiritual plants absorb nutrients from the earth and the light of the sun and moon, generating endless and mysterious effects... By skillfully utilizing the wonders of spiritual plants, one can obtain the resources for cultivating immortality...]

Plant hundreds of herbs, cultivate thousands of trees, and nurture tens of thousands of plants.

Wood and Earth Dual-Element Qi Cultivation Methods…

The name "Lingnong Qi Cultivation Technique" seems unremarkable.

"The dual-elemental cultivation method of wood and earth seems pretty good."

Judging from its content and accompanying spells, Xu Fugui believed it was far superior to the most common Qi cultivation method, the "Earth Element Technique."

The memory that he found difficult to digest in a short time was not the "Spirit Farmer's Qi Cultivation Technique" itself, but the accompanying content: "Illustrated Compendium of Spirit Plants"!
The "Illustrated Compendium of Spiritual Plants" accompanying "The Spiritual Farmer's Qi Cultivation Manual" contains information on thousands of spiritual plants.

The names, physical characteristics, effects, and cultivation methods of the medicinal plants are all recorded in detail.

The list includes the most common spiritual plants that Xu Fugui currently knows, such as the withered leaf cress and the flame gooseberry. The encyclopedia contains many other magical spiritual plants that he has never heard of or even dared to imagine.

He desired dozens of spiritual plants that could preserve youth and extend the lifespan of mortals.

"Change your cultivation method!"

Following the instructions in his mind, he switched from the "Earth Element Technique" to the "Spirit Farmer's Qi Cultivation Technique".

The spiritual energy from the spiritual fruit remained in his body, and he absorbed it all after a short while.

He sensed the "wood-type" spiritual energy in the surrounding space and drew it into his body.

The circulation of spiritual energy within the meridians is far more complex than that of the "Earth Element Technique," increasing the time required to complete one cycle by 50%.

After several cycles of circulation, he gradually became proficient in the new technique.

"The cultivation efficiency of the Spirit Farmer Technique is 20-30% faster than the Earth Element Technique. The spiritual energy from the spirit fruit just now saved me several months of hard cultivation time. I estimate that I will be able to enter the third level of Qi Refining in less than half a year."

Xu Fugui thought to himself, and then began his secluded cultivation, working day and night without rest.

The "Spirit Farmer's Manual" gave him a goal: to reach the third level of Qi Refining as soon as possible and then go to Qingqiu Market.

Based on his understanding of spiritual plants, if he could find a few useful spiritual plant seedlings and saplings, planting them in his body space would have a great effect.

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 county town, the three brothers Xu Xiaoniu, Xu Xiaogou, and Xu Xiaoyun are trying to find a way to inherit the profession of pharmacist.

However, the result was worse than they had imagined.

Xu Xiaoyun asked someone to inquire at Yiwu Pharmacy, but was scolded and almost broke off their friendship.

Xu Xiaoniu fared better; he held the position of county magistrate and was not verbally abused to his face.

However, his offer to exchange spirit crystals was still rejected.

He was a military officer with official status, and many people knew that he had five spiritual roots, so it was normal for him to have spirit crystals.

Other cultivators wouldn't target Xu Xiaoniu just because of a few spirit crystals.

Those low-level rogue cultivators who coveted even a few spirit crystals posed no threat to Xu Xiaoniu.

The two gave up.

Only Xu Xiaogou continued to try each and every pharmacy in the county that sold pills; he personally visited them with gifts.

(End of this chapter)