Chapter 9 2 Years

Eldrin nodded. "Indeed. I had an epiphany recently and managed to break through to the Qi Refinement, 8th Layer." Upon receiving this confirmation, Sixteenth Granduncle’s face lit up with exhilaration. "The Qi Refinement, 8th Layer at just 16 years old! Could it be that our Chen Clan is about to produce a future Purple Mansion Ancestor?"

He was utterly thrilled, but after a moment, when his emotions had settled, he sighed once more.

"Alas, had it been 60 years ago during the Chen Clan's prime, we would have spared no effort to acquire another Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) for you."

"But now, the family truly has no power to do anything."

The sixteenth granduncle shook his head and sighed, his face etched with utter dejection.

Eldrin listened quietly. Though he had not been present 60 years ago, he was well aware of the general history of the Chen family.

60 years ago marked the peak of the Chen Family's prosperity, when they possessed 3 Foundation Establishment Elders. Among them was an elder of the Dao generation who had cultivated to the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, even showing potential to break through to the Violet Mansion realm.

Alas, 60 years ago, the beast tide erupted. Even the great sects of the Chu Kingdom like the Qingyang Sect lost 2 Violet Mansion Elders in battle. Naturally, the Chen Clan could not remain aloof from the conflict.

To defend against the beast tide, the Chen Clan had many of its cultivators conscripted. Unfortunately, they encountered a third-level Purple Mansion demon beast, resulting in the complete annihilation of the family's cultivators—including the 2 Foundation Establishment ancestors. Only the clan leader Chen Changxuan, who was then the weakest in cultivation and stationed at Qingyuan Peak, survived.

The Chen Clan had yet to recover from the devastating losses of that battle even after 60 years, and it was only in recent years that their circumstances had begun to improve slightly.

However, after Chen Qingmeng’s failed attempt at Foundation Establishment, matters only worsened. For the next several decades, the family would be unable to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) for Eldrin (Person Name).

However, this was not the only thing Eldrin was concerned about, as another troubling thought crossed his mind.

The Chu Kingdom (Location) faced a beast tide once every 100 years. With less than 40 years remaining until the next onslaught, it remained uncertain whether the Chen Family would survive the impending catastrophe.

"Enough. If the heavens fall, the tall will hold them up. Diligent cultivation is my true path."

Putting aside his thoughts, Eldrin brought the 3 including Sixteenth Granduncle back to the Lakeheart Isle.

Upon arriving at Spirit Lake Isle, the Sixteenth Elder discovered the Spirit Peach Tree and a nest of young Purple-Striped Wild Geese (Demon Beast), unable to suppress a look of astonishment.

Eldrin had long known that the spirit peach tree and the Purple-Striped Wild Goose (Demon Beast) could never remain concealed. Instead of evading their inquiries, he took the initiative to disclose their existence to them.

"This spirit peach tree was something I stumbled upon by chance and deliberately transplanted here."

"A while ago, a pair of Purple-Striped Wild Geese (Demon Beast) migrated here. I slew them, discovered a nest of eggs, and ultimately succeeded in hatching 1."

As they listened to his account, Nie Qian and Nie Yuan’s expressions shifted to 1 of bitter regret upon learning the approximate migration period of the Purple-Striped Wild Goose (Demon Beast).

They had spent a few years at Spirit Lake Isle before, but without thorough investigation, they missed the chance to discover this nest of Purple-Striped Wild Goose (Demon Beast).

"Ah, what wretched luck."

The 2 of them were filled with regret. Both the nest of Purple-Striped Wild Goose (Demon Beast) and the spirit peach tree before them came from outside the clan, so they would be counted as Eldrin's (Person Name) private assets.

They felt that if they had lingered a little longer around the Spirit Lake Continent, perhaps these 2 opportunities would have been theirs.

Eldrin noted the expressions on their faces and could almost guess the regretful thoughts running through their minds, unable to suppress a soft chuckle.

A spiritual peach tree was out of the question, but if the 2 of them patrolled Linghu Zhou more frequently, they might indeed obtain a few spirit goose eggs. However, given their Qi Refinement, Early Stage cultivation, it was unlikely they could overcome those 2 Qi Refinement, Mid Stage Purple-Striped Wild Geese.

The sixteenth granduncle stroked the spirit peach tree and the little Purple-Striped Wild Goose (Demon Beast), unable to suppress his excitement as he spoke.

"Little Eldrin, what a stroke of fortune you've encountered! With this Spirit Peach Tree and the small Purple-Striped Wild Goose here, you'll be able to earn several 100 spirit stones every year from now on."

"As long as we wait a couple of decades, we can still accumulate quite a few spirit stones. By then, with the clan's support, it might not be impossible to acquire another Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) for you."

"You're still young, there's no need to rush. Your lifespan can afford to wait."

The old man was excited for a long while, offering words of encouragement to Eldrin (Person Name). It took quite some time before he finally composed himself and began to attend to the matter at hand.

The 3 of them had come to Spirit Lake Isle this time because the spirit rice they had cultivated had ripened, marking the start of the harvest season.

The spirit grains were exceptionally resilient; only cultivators possessed the strength required to harvest them. After toiling for the entire afternoon, the 4 of them finally managed to reap all the spirit rice.

The total harvest amounted to 162 jin of spirit rice, equivalent in value to 54 spirit stones—12 jin more than Eldrin had anticipated.

The sixteenth grand-uncle also remarked with delight, "It seems the water of this spirit lake is truly exceptional—its yield per mu actually surpasses that of the spirit fields on Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location)."

Within the 17 mu of spirit fields on Verdant Chariot Mountain, 7 mu were specifically dedicated to cultivating spirit rice. The annual harvest yielded just over 500 jin of spirit rice, averaging 70-5 jin per mu. In contrast, Spirit Isle Lake produced 80-1 jin per mu—a noticeably superior yield.

After harvesting the spirit rice, Sixteenth Granduncle also gathered the newly matured Cangqing Spirit Fish from the spiritual lake—17 in total.

These spirit fish would be delivered to the Chen Family Restaurant in Yuyang Market, where they became prized delicacies for cultivators hosting banquets in Yuyang County. Each shipment would sell out completely within a mere half-month, generating substantial profits for the establishment.

"Devote yourself to cultivation—you have a long road ahead."

"When the time comes, the family will surely find a way to lend you a helping hand."

The sixteenth grand-uncle offered a few words of encouragement before promptly departing that very night, carrying the spirit rice and spirit fish toward Yuyang Market. These spirit fish and spirit rice were all to be sold for spirit stones.

Although spirit fish possessed tenacious vitality, they still needed water to survive. To transport live spirit fish across 10 1000 li to Yuyang Market, the Chen Family specially rented a Firecloud Horse, a spiritual beast, from the Zhang Family—1 of the 6 major cultivation clans of Yu County—to pull their carriage.

The Firecloud Steed was a mid-grade, first-tier spirit beast. This type of spirit beast could briefly fly at low altitudes, ignoring most terrain restrictions, and could even cover a 1000 miles in a single day. With just 1 of these steeds, it could pull a cart full of spirit fish to Yuyang Market in a dozen or so days.

The Zhang family relied on a dozen or so Flamecloud Steeds, earning over 300 spirit stones annually from freight transport services—a steady stream of income that drew envious glances from the other major clans.

Watching the magnificent Firecloud Steed gallop away, Eldrin felt a twinge of envy, but then shook his head and chuckled wryly.

The spirit peach tree yielded peaches each year worth close to 300 spirit stones. Once the Purple-Striped Wild Goose (Demon Beast) matured a bit further, it would periodically lay spirit eggs—another substantial source of revenue.

An annual income of several 100 spirit stones was a considerable fortune even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, enough to ensure his cultivation would proceed unhindered before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

“…”

By the lake, time held no sway, and in the blink of an eye, the years slipped away.

Eldrin (Person Name) cultivated in serene isolation by the spirit lake. In the blink of an eye, 2 years had passed. On this particular dawn, as he drew in the violet mists of morning light, he slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

"Success."

A look of delight crossed his face. After 15 years of cultivation, through relentless tempering of his foundation, he had finally broken through to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

At 18 years old and at the ninth level of Qi Refining, this was already quite remarkable. In just a few more years, he would be able to solidify his foundation and attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

He emerged from seclusion in high spirits, only to find a messenger hawk had been waiting before his bamboo cottage for quite some time.