Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

As for those young eunuchs who lacked martial arts cultivation or even reached the Qi Refining Realm, Su Mu would also focus on cultivating them, providing them with elixirs and teaching them martial arts so that they could gradually grow. They may be insignificant now, but given time, they might become his capable assistants and the cornerstone of building a thousand-year-old family.

The news of Su Mu taking in many adopted sons spread like wildfire throughout the palace, and more and more people came to the library, almost wearing down the threshold.

However, those who came to plead for adoption were all palace eunuchs, not maids. Firstly, the palace had strict rules, and maids could not wander around or enter the library at will; secondly, it would be too indecent for a maid to adopt a eunuch as her adoptive father, which would ruin the reputation of both parties; most importantly, most palace maids could leave the palace to marry at the age of twenty-five, and they only wanted to live a peaceful life and did not want to get involved in disputes or curry favor with the powerful.

Feng Bao stood aside, watching his adoptive father take in one son after another, his face devoid of joy, instead filled with worry. He couldn't help but sigh softly. He was secretly anxious: although his adoptive father's cultivation resources were abundant, they couldn't withstand so many adopted sons dividing them up. In the future, he would probably have very little left.

"Sigh!" Feng Bao sighed helplessly, his eyes filled with grievance and resentment. He wanted to stop his adoptive father, but he didn't dare—he was just an adopted son and had no right to interfere with his adoptive father's decision. Moreover, he knew that if his adoptive father didn't even look down on others, then he, as the earliest adopted son, probably wouldn't be valued for long either.

Days passed by, and soon it was January 12th.

That night, Su Mu was meditating in his study when a familiar system notification suddenly sounded in his ear. The cold, mechanical tone carried a hint of joy: "Congratulations, host! Your adopted son, Feng Bao, has successfully broken through to the Innate Realm, completing this stage of growth and receiving a generous reward. Please check!"

Su Mu was overjoyed and opened his eyes, a smile flashing in them—Feng Bao had indeed broken through to the Innate Realm! This child has good talent and works hard enough; it's truly remarkable that he was able to break through in such a short time.

He immediately checked the system rewards, which were extremely generous: not only were there a large number of ordinary spirit pills, but also ten precious high-grade Xuan-level pills called "Essence Flame Pills." Essence Flame Pills are extremely helpful for martial artists breaking through to the Grandmaster level, enabling them to quickly condense innate essence fire and make up for insufficient Yang energy, laying a solid foundation for the breakthrough.

During this period, he took in many adopted sons, including Cao You, and received a lot of system rewards, but most of them were ordinary pills and low-level magic weapons. The best one was only a mid-grade Xuan-level weapon. This was the first time he had received a high-grade Xuan-level reward, so he had gained a lot.

Su Mu would hand over any low-level pills and magical artifacts that he couldn't use to Cheng Ping'an and Yu Tian, ​​letting them distribute them as they saw fit—either for their own use or to train other talented adopted sons.

In addition to the Essence Flame Pill and ordinary elixirs, the system also rewarded Su Mu with a high-grade Xuan-level magic artifact, the "Concealing Breath Pearl," which would be extremely useful to him. The Concealing Breath Pearl he currently used was only a mid-grade Xuan-level one, which could only conceal part of his aura and was not enough to fool a Grandmaster. However, this high-grade Xuan-level Concealing Breath Pearl could perfectly conceal his aura, so even a Grandmaster would only see him as an ordinary person without cultivation and would not be able to see his true level.

Su Mu pondered to himself, "If Xiao Yuanhou were still alive and reappeared, with this Concealing Aura Pearl, even if he were a Grandmaster, he might not be able to detect my true strength. At that time, I would be able to take the initiative and no longer need to be on the defensive!"

Just as he was pondering, the system notification sounded again in the study late at night: "Congratulations, host! Your adopted son, Yutian, has successfully broken through to the Innate Realm, completing this stage of growth and receiving a generous reward. Please check!"

Su Mu was overjoyed again. The fact that two of his adopted sons had broken through to the Innate Realm in succession was undoubtedly a double surprise for him. He immediately checked his rewards. This time, the system rewarded him with ten Spirit Transformation Pills and a high-grade Xuan-level magic artifact—the Spirit Silkworm Silver Silk Robe.

The Spirit Transformation Pill is a high-grade Xuan-level elixir that has an extremely strong nourishing effect on a martial artist's primordial spirit. It can help strengthen the divine soul and enhance the intensity of divine sense, playing an irreplaceable role in breaking through to the Grandmaster level and condensing the primordial spirit in the future.

That Spirit Silkworm Silver Silk Robe is an even rarer treasure. It is woven from rare Spirit Silkworm Silver Silk, and its texture is light and thin, making it feel weightless when worn, yet it has extremely strong defensive capabilities. It can withstand a full-force attack from a Grandmaster-level expert, and it can even barely withstand a normal attack from a Great Grandmaster, greatly enhancing Su Mu's survivability.

Without hesitation, Su Mu took off his black silk robe and put on a silver silk robe made of spirit silkworms. The silk robe clung to his skin, cool and comfortable, and a faint spiritual energy surrounded him, making him feel relaxed and greatly increasing his sense of security.

"Yutian has also broken through, faster than I expected." Su Mu thought to himself, "Cheng Ping'an had already broken through to the Innate Realm, and now Yutian has caught up. Only Feng Bao, although he has also broken through, his foundation is still somewhat unstable."

"The three of them advanced too quickly in the Qi Refining and Acquired Realms. Although they have great talent, their foundation is ultimately weak. The old guys in the Martial Arts Bureau always pay attention to the foundation. They will definitely tell them to stabilize their realm and not to be impatient for quick results. In the short term, it will probably be difficult to get system rewards from them again."

Thinking of this, Su Mu's gaze gradually became serious as he pondered, "I am now at the Grandmaster level, and although the Qi Sea is abundant with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it is not refined enough. I am still far from being able to condense my primordial spirit and break through to the Grandmaster level. Perhaps, I can first ignite the innate essence fire to lay the foundation for condensing my primordial spirit in the future?"

He knew clearly that to become a Grandmaster, he had to accomplish two things—ignite the innate true fire and condense the primordial spirit. These two things complemented each other and were indispensable. Usually, these two steps were performed sequentially and very close to each other. Once the innate true fire was ignited, one could begin to condense the primordial spirit.

The most crucial element for igniting the innate true fire is having sufficient essence and yang energy within the body. Yutian was able to ignite it successfully because his yang energy was extremely strong and powerful, which naturally ignited the innate true energy dissipating from his dantian, thereby igniting all the vital energy and condensing it into the innate true fire.

Su Mu possessed abundant energy, with his true essence and vital essence far surpassing those of ordinary grandmasters. However, as a eunuch, his yang essence was naturally weaker than that of ordinary martial artists. Fortunately, he had previously consumed a Dragon Blood Fruit, which contained domineering and scorching yang energy. After consuming it, he completely filled the gap in his yang attribute, even making his yang essence more vigorous than that of some ordinary young martial artists.

"It's worth a try!" A determined glint flashed in Su Mu's eyes. "Even if I fail, it'll only be a waste of one Essence Flame Pill. I have ten now, so it doesn't matter."

Having made up his mind, Su Mu no longer hesitated. He took out a Spirit Flame Pill from his storage space, put it in his mouth, and began to refine the medicinal effects by circulating his cultivation technique.

The Essence Flame Pill melted instantly upon entering his mouth, and a surge of scorching medicinal power rushed into his body, erupting like a volcano through his meridians and converging towards his dantian. Su Mu immediately activated the Imperial Supreme Body Technique, guiding this scorching medicinal power to merge with his true essence and yang essence.