Dongting Immortal Clan

Chen Changhe turned around and his gaze fell on the land deeds that Zhang Xiuwen had brought. The Zhou family's properties around Qingxi Town had basically fallen into his hands.

"From the Baling official road in the east to Dongting Lake in the west, from Yunmeng County in the north to Linglu Mountain and Miluo Abyss in the south..."

A map naturally appeared within Chen Changhe's spiritual consciousness.

"Now all the spiritual fields in this large area belong to my Chen family."

The Zhou family has prospered for a century, and naturally owns more than just these lands. Worldly assets are not important to a cultivator like him who has already embarked on the path of cultivation.

The purpose of consolidating the Zhou family's assets was solely for the "spiritual fields" within these lands.

And the pond deep inside the old house.

After three days of searching, Chen Changhe thoroughly searched the Zhou family's old house, inside and out, but found nothing except some gold and silver.

The family members had differing attitudes toward the large house they had suddenly acquired.

As Chen Chuansheng grew older and had just renovated his ancestral home into a new house, he naturally did not want to move.

Old Zhang had no intention of moving; he simply instructed Chen Changhe to make good use of the pond for his cultivation.

On the contrary, four-year-old Zhang Nianci was full of curiosity about the new home, running around secretly while the yard was being renovated. She pushed open each door, constantly asking questions:

"Father, what will this bright and spacious house be used for in the future?"

"Father, is that tall stone platform for Uncle to practice archery?"

"Father, could Nianci go to that large, overgrown garden in the back and plant some things she likes?"

Chen Changhe smiled and picked her up, walking slowly towards the dilapidated courtyard behind the house.

Although the courtyard had been abandoned for a long time, several osmanthus trees were still in full bloom, a locust tree of unknown age had its roots intertwined, and a row of green bamboo was growing wildly in the corner, making it look full of vitality.

Little Nianci's eyes lit up when she saw the flowers and plants. She wriggled out of Chen Changhe's arms, squatted on the ground, and reached out her little hands to touch the wildflowers.

"Daddy, can we plant vegetables in the garden?"

She tilted her little face up, her dark eyes shining.

Chen Changhe paused for a moment, then smiled.

Growing vegetables?

The garden, meticulously tended by three generations of the Zhou family, was given to their daughter by the first thing she thought of: planting vegetables.

He knelt down, stroked his daughter's head, and said gently:

"sure."

What do you want to plant?

"Plant radishes! And cabbages too!"

Xiao Nianci immediately started counting on her fingers, as if reciting a familiar story.

"Mom said that radishes are good for your health, and cabbages will make you grow taller."

"Okay, then let's plant radishes and cabbages."

Chen Changhe smiled and agreed, ruffling his daughter's hair, but his gaze involuntarily swept over the artificial hill and the clear pond.

"If left undisturbed, that Yuan River dragon carp, nourished by this spiritual energy and ancient formation, might truly have a chance to transform into a dragon..."

He pondered this in his heart.

Standing by the pool, gazing at the water whose spiritual energy had greatly diminished, his eyes were slightly dazed.

The area around Dongting Lake is sparsely populated with spiritual energy, and few cultivators come here.

That dragon carp was born with supernatural abilities and knew how to conceal its strengths. It would quietly inhale and exhale spiritual energy in the dead of night, and was extremely alert.

If it weren't for my own fortuitous encounter, which allowed me to detect something amiss using my spiritual observation skills and attract someone like Li Kaihe, this dragon carp might have remained hidden for much longer.

Now that Qingchi has lost the dragon carp, its spiritual essence is almost gone, and the evil spirit has also completely dissipated.

Compared to other places, this place has a relatively rich spiritual energy due to the formation, which is just right for him and Chen Dajiang to use for cultivation.

As for what's in the ancient well at the bottom of the pool...

Chen Changhe did not act rashly, fearing that he might cause something terrible.

……

In the following two weeks, Chen Changhe hired craftsmen to renovate the old house.

Many extravagant decorations were removed, the walls were reinforced, a quiet room and a pill room were added, and the residence was officially renamed "Qingchi Bieyuan" as a place for the Chen family to cultivate themselves.

While repairing the pond, he discovered the three characters deeply engraved in ancient seal script at the bottom of the pond.

【Shangyuan Pond】.

At night, the moonlight shone like a ribbon, hanging high in the sky.

The "Qingchi Bieyuan" is bathed in a bright, clear light, making it seem like a fairyland.

Chen Changhe and Chen Dajiang sat cross-legged on the flat bluestone beside the "Shangyuan Pond".

Chen Changhe also brought the small bronze cauldron from his home and placed it on top of the artificial hill to gather moonlight.

A thin layer of water mist condensed on the dark blue cauldron, and the moonlight shone on it, giving it a silvery-white luster.

The two brothers held their breath and focused their minds, circulating their cultivation techniques to draw upon the moonlight and slowly refine it with the fire in their dantian.

I practiced meditation until late at night.

suddenly--

Chen Changhe's brow twitched slightly, his spiritual sense seemingly detecting something amiss.

"Is the small cauldron moving?"

Chen Changhe opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the small cauldron.

The originally dim inscriptions on the cauldron suddenly became clear, began to slowly rotate, and shimmered with silver light.

The next instant, a beam of silvery-white light burst forth from the mouth of the cauldron, shooting straight into the sky and connecting with the bright moon in the distance, like a bridge connecting heaven and earth.

Where the moonlight and the light from the cauldron meet, a vortex is formed that can only be perceived by spiritual consciousness.

The vortex slowly rotated, drawing spiritual energy from all directions towards the small cauldron.

But Chen Changhe soon discovered that it wasn't just spiritual energy that was being attracted.

There's also a malevolent aura!

The dark gray aura seeped out from the cracks in the bluestone slabs at the bottom of the pool, silently swimming towards the small cauldron.

Wherever the malevolent energy passed, the soil turned grayish-white, the moss withered instantly, and a faint stench of decay filled the air.

Chen Changhe's heart skipped a beat, and he was about to intervene.

"Buzz!"

The small cauldron trembled slightly.

The beam of light from the cauldron's mouth suddenly expanded, swallowing the wisp of malevolent energy whole.

As the malevolent energy entered the cauldron, the small cauldron began to vibrate more noticeably.

The inscriptions on the cauldron flowed rapidly, with silver-white light intertwining with gray-black malevolent energy, emitting a hissing sound.

Chen Changhe probed the cauldron with his spiritual sense and saw that the baleful aura was being squeezed by an invisible force deep inside the cauldron, gradually condensing into a fist-sized ball of spiritual energy.

"This is... the embryonic form of a spirit demon?!"

Chen Changhe was taken aback, and the image of the Yuan River dragon carp that Li Kaihe had taken away came to mind.

The spirit and the dragon carp combined, and the spirit gained sentience, becoming a rare and precious creature.

Now, the small cauldron has condensed another ball of spiritual energy.

Although it wasn't as potent as the Yuan River dragon carp, it was still much more viscous than ordinary spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy was enveloped by the malevolent energy, and the malevolent energy was nurtured by the spiritual energy.

The two are complementary and interdependent, like the yin and yang fish in the Tai Chi symbol.

You have me I have you.

He wanted to investigate further.

"Eeya..."

The ebony rosary beads floated out of his storage bag on their own and hovered above the small cauldron.

The thin, frail figure of the child quietly emerged, seemingly a little more solid than usual, with a pair of dark, hollow "eyes" staring intently at the spiritual energy within the small cauldron.

The next moment, the child actually reached out his little hand and gently touched the small cauldron.

The small cauldron trembled violently, and as if summoned, a wisp of spiritual energy surged from the cauldron's mouth and drifted toward the child.

The child slightly opened his mouth and inhaled the wisp of spiritual energy.

The originally gray soul solidified at a speed visible to the naked eye, the yin and filth aura on its body also faded a lot, and its body seemed to have a more "warm" feeling.

Having tasted the benefits, the child continued to absorb spiritual energy.

A second wisp of grayish-white air drifted out from the mouth of the cauldron and disappeared into its opening.

This time, its soul's outline became even clearer, and its eyebrows and eyes could even be seen clearly.

The "spiritual evil" that it absorbed was slowly "spit out" after swirling in its soul for two or three breaths!

The malevolent energy was completely eliminated, leaving only a misty spiritual aura that drifted from its mouth, spreading above the Shangyuan Pool like a thin layer of fog, carrying a refreshing and pleasant charm.

After taking a few breaths, I felt my mind clear, my body comfortable, and my internal energy more active.

Chen Changhe was stunned.

"You actually managed to dispel the malevolent energy, leaving only the spiritual energy?!"