Meng Bohai slowly walked out from the door and solemnly cupped his hands. "Bohai has not failed his mission!"
Hearing this, the elderly Meng Jingshan slightly raised his face to the sky and let out a long breath. Smiling, he said, "The ancestors have blessed us!"
Meng Haoran also clasped his hands and smiled. "Haoran congratulates Clan Uncle Bohai on successfully breaking through!"
Seeing the expressions and gestures of the two men, Meng Bohai could not help but feel his nose sting.
Ever since ten years ago, when the Meng Family had suffered the unexpected loss of many clansmen during the encirclement of the Black Mountain Bandits—including Meng Haoran's father, Meng Liuhai, and another clansman at the Half-step Foundation Establishment Realm—the Meng Family had endured the joint oppression of the Lin and Chen Families.
Why was that?
Because the Lin and Chen Families each had two cultivators at the Half-step Foundation Establishment Realm. Such cultivators would absolutely play a decisive role in future struggles between lineages.
And now, the Meng Family once more had two cultivators at the Half-step Foundation Establishment Realm.
In the future, if conflict truly arose, the Meng Family would no longer yield step by step out of fear of the Lin and Chen Families' strength!
Meng Jingshan gently patted Meng Bohai's shoulder. "Bohai, from this day onward, you can be considered half a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. Once our Meng Family has accumulated enough cultivation resources, you will be able to become a true Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator at the fastest possible speed!"
Meng Bohai nodded. "I understand! Bohai will certainly not betray the trust the Lineage has placed in me!"
Having remained at the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining for many years, Meng Bohai naturally possessed a deep understanding of the five grades of Foundation Establishment.
Meng Bohai naturally did not dare hope for One-Day Foundation Establishment, Ten-Day Foundation Establishment, or Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment.
But compared with Meng Jingshan's Ten-Thousand-Day Foundation Establishment, Meng Bohai was still confident that he could strive for Thousand-Day Foundation Establishment!
After all, the cultivation resources the Meng Family could accumulate each day were now several times greater than before!
The Six-Pattern Wheat in the Spirit Plant Field...
The Spirit Taming Talismans at Xinghua Meng Pavilion...
The Spirit Beasts sold at West Market in Qingyang County Town...
All of these could bring the Meng Family immense income!
Amid this joyful atmosphere, another month swiftly passed.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for the second harvest of the Second-Tier Spirit Plants, Six-Pattern Wheat, in the Meng Family's rear Spirit Plant Field.
Meng Haoran sat upright atop a stone platform, watching Little Tiger, the Thunderfire Tiger, play freely in the courtyard. His mood unconsciously relaxed.
Tomorrow is the day to harvest that Six-Pattern Wheat. Once we hand this batch over to Elder Jiang, it will surely bring the Meng Family another large income of Spirit Stones. At that time, Clan Leader Jingshan will have a chance to strike at true Foundation Establishment!
Thinking of this, Meng Haoran felt slightly excited and murmured, "Once Clan Leader Jingshan becomes a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, not to mention the heads of the Lin and Chen Families, even those Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families in the county town would not dare act rashly against our Meng Family!"
Though Meng Haoran was merely a minor cultivator at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, he also knew the true might of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.
For an unranked, bottom-tier lineage, having one when facing a Ninth-Rank Cultivation Family was equivalent to possessing one final means of preserving its life.
No matter which of the seven Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families in Qingyang County Town wanted to attack the Meng Family, they would have to carefully weigh the Meng Family's Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.
If Meng Jingshan succeeded in breaking through in the future and truly became a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, then when faced with the Meng Family being attacked and destroyed, he would certainly fight the seven Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families to the death with the determination to perish together.
This was a situation the seven Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families absolutely did not wish to see.
Thinking of this, Meng Haoran remembered his late father.
He stretched out a hand and called Little Tiger to his side. Meng Haoran smiled. "Little Tiger, come. I'll take you to meet my father."
As he spoke, Meng Haoran led Little Tiger out of the Meng Family residence and headed toward the Meng Family's back mountain.
Halfway up the mountain stood rows of bluish-black stone tablets. Every one of them belonged to a clansman who had contributed their life to the rise of the Meng Family!
With practiced familiarity, Meng Haoran came before the grave marker of his father, Meng Liuhai. He knelt on the ground and cleared away every last weed beside it.
One hand gently stroked Little Tiger's head, while the other touched the cool grave marker. He said softly, "Father, Haoran has come to see you!"
"Father, under Clan Leader Jingshan's leadership, our Meng Family has gradually gotten back on the right track. Whether it is Spirit Beasts, talismans, or Spirit Plants, all have improved greatly. I believe that if the Meng Family is given more time, it will certainly become a ranked cultivation lineage!"
Meng Haoran's eyes reddened slightly as he continued in a choked voice, "Father, your son has not failed the hopes you held for me in life. I have finally advanced to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining and gained some ability to protect myself. You and Mother can rest easy in the underworld now!"
As he spoke, a gentle breeze suddenly swept past.
Meng Haoran spread his hands and felt the breeze. Smiling, he said, "Father, your lifelong unfulfilled wish was for the Meng Family to rise in Xinghua Village. Now that you are gone, Haoran will fulfill that wish for you!"
The moment his words fell, Meng Haoran felt the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within him surge chaotically.
Meng Haoran exclaimed in delight, "I'm about to advance!"
During this period, the Meng Family's Spirit Taming Talismans, the Six-Pattern Wheat in the Meng Family's Spirit Plant Field, and the Spirit Beasts sold by the Meng Family at West Market—all of these had borne Meng Haoran's busy figure.
It was precisely because Meng Haoran had frequented those three places that his cultivation had steadily improved. Added to that, the Spirit Gathering Pill Meng Luohai had secretly given him earlier had been completely absorbed into his body, further accelerating the rise of Meng Haoran's cultivation.
Meng Haoran hesitated no longer. In an instant, he sat cross-legged and assumed a cultivation posture.
This was the Meng Family's back mountain, private territory of the Meng Family and the eternal resting place of its ancestors. Few people came to this area.
Meng Haoran thought of nothing else. He had to seize this opportunity to advance.
Meng Haoran threw the Storage Bag hanging from his waist onto the ground. After opening it, nearly a thousand Spirit Stones poured out, instantly throwing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in this stretch of mountain land into turmoil.
The Forging Yin Refining Yang Method within!
Eight hundred Spirit Stones without!
The Heavenly Cauldron balances the two!
In the span of a breath, Meng Haoran's aura gradually stabilized. Dense spiritual energy of heaven and earth emanated from those Spirit Stones, flowing through the meridians circulating within his body and entering his dantian, where it was then refined one strand at a time under the guidance of the Forging Yin Refining Yang Method.
The Heavenly Cauldron floated gently above Meng Haoran's dantian like a supreme treasure, watching as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was absorbed and refined by Meng Haoran in orderly fashion.
Time trickled by, and the sun slowly sank beyond the mountains as darkness gradually swallowed everything around him.
Only the spot where Meng Haoran sat gave off a faint glow.
At the instant Meng Haoran opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashed through them.
"Sixth Layer of Qi Refining!"
Meng Haoran raised his head toward the grave marker engraved with the name "Meng Luohai" and murmured, "Father, was it you who blessed me?"
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