Protecting the Rare Species

"Dad, what are you talking about?

Aren't we no longer short on Spirit Stones?

Why do you still want to stay behind?"

Yu Xiaoshan looked at his father and asked, his voice trembling.

After speaking, he turned to Yu Ershan. "Second Brother, that person came to see you a few days ago. Wasn't he bringing you Spirit Stones? Why are you still letting Dad stay?"

At first, Yu Xiaoshan thought he'd guessed the whole truth.

But his father still wanted to stay, shattering that illusion.

Why was none of this happening the way he'd imagined?

"Xiaoshan, things have come to this. I won't hide it from you anymore."

Old Man Yu pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly.

As he began, Yu Dashan quietly left the house.

"A few days ago, someone did bring your second brother some Spirit Stones. And I could go straight to the Blessed Land too, but I have a reason I have to stay."

Old Man Yu continued.

"What reason?"

Yu Xiaoshan couldn't understand. What reason could be more important than life?

Why weren't his older brothers stopping him?

"See that little tree?"

Old Man Yu pointed.

He and his second son had discussed whether to tell Yu Xiaoshan about this. In the end, they'd agreed: they would tell him!

Not only because Yu Xiaoshan was part of the family, but also to keep things like Yu Dashan secretly joining the Insect Hunter Team from happening again.

Yu Xiaoshan was at an age when he was just beginning to form his own opinions.

He thought he was grown up, and that his family shouldn't treat him like a child anymore.

Likewise, children of that age always tried to prove themselves.

It was one thing to keep other matters from him. But if Old Man Yu chose to stay despite risking his lifespan, even his life, failing to explain would inevitably cause misunderstandings and rifts between father and sons, and between brothers.

According to Yu Ershan's plan, over the next few years, the family would have to stand together and pull in the same direction. Hiding the truth from Yu Xiaoshan would only create a source of instability.

Who knew what he might do in his rebelliousness?

Twelve wasn't so young anymore.

He was fully capable of shouldering the family's burdens.

Besides, these past few days, Yu Ershan had also wanted to see whether Yu Xiaoshan could hold back his curiosity.

As it turned out, after he'd asked the person who brought him a parcel one more time and been warned, he hadn't asked again. The boy clearly knew how to tell what mattered.

On top of that, the most important point was that the Rare Species was growing right in their courtyard. Its changes were still small enough to hide, but how could they conceal it once it grew more pronounced?

They might be able to hide it from outsiders, but could they hide it from Yu Xiaoshan, who lived with them day in and day out?

For all these reasons, Yu Ershan had finally decided to tell Yu Xiaoshan the family secret.

Then Yu Ershan explained the whole story, from beginning to end. After listening, Yu Xiaoshan opened his mouth several times, wanting to say something, but no words came out.

Just a few mornings ago, he'd been talking to that little tree, telling it to hurry up and become a Rare Species.

He'd even thought about keeping it from his family for a while.

And yet he was the last one in the whole family to find out?

"Second Brother, does Dad really have to stay? With his strength, he won't be able to help much when the time comes anyway. Why don't we all go to the Blessed Land, then come back next year? Wouldn't that be the same?"

Yu Xiaoshan asked, baffled.

It wasn't that he looked down on someone at Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment. He'd simply heard too much about the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster and how terrifying the Insect Race was.

As he saw it, if the Insect Race didn't come, then all would be well.

If it did, then even someone at Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment would just be walking to his death.

No matter how he looked at it, there didn't seem to be any reason for his father to stay.

"Dad said before that he'd stay in the settlement. We've reinforced our courtyard walls so well they're among the strongest in the settlement. If Dad suddenly had Spirit Stones and left now, don't you think the people staying behind would get curious and come take a look at our home?

"And if they saw how sturdy our walls are, and how deep we dug the cellar, might they sneak in and hide there?

"If they spotted the little tree in the corner, might they vent their anger by chopping it down?

"Sure, all of this is just speculation, but we can't take that gamble. We can't afford to.

"Most importantly, our Rare Species can absorb Spirit Stones and grow. Dad can look after it if he stays.

"Next, we'll dig a tunnel from the cellar straight to the ground beneath the Rare Species. Trees like this can naturally conceal auras to some extent.

"With its concealment, the odds of the Insect Race detecting Dad will drop considerably.

"As long as the Insect Race doesn't find him, Dad should normally live to a hundred, given his strength at Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment. Even if he loses more than a decade of his lifespan, as long as he holds on until Big Brother breaks through to the Qi Refining Realm, we may be able to find him Spirit Medicine that extends his life.

"And all of that depends on us protecting this Rare Species.

"Do you understand now why Dad absolutely has to stay?"

"Second Brother, are you serious? There really is Spirit Medicine that can extend someone's life?"

Yu Xiaoshan fell silent for a moment, then asked with a solemn expression.

"There is. And compared with Spirit Medicine that extends the lifespan of cultivators, the kind that extends an ordinary person's life is easier to obtain."

Yu Ershan replied firmly.

That was one of the reasons he'd ultimately agreed to let his father stay.

As long as they hid well and the Insect Race didn't discover him, there was still a chance to make up for the lifespan he lost.

And although he'd given Yu Dashan three years, he wouldn't make his father stay here for all three.

His father was already fifty. At the rate of losing more than a decade of life each year, even with his Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment, he'd be at the end of the road after three years.

So at most, in a year or two, Yu Ershan would take his place.

He was young, after all, just twenty, with plenty of time left.

Whether the Yu Family could produce a cultivator at the Qi Refining Realm and rise into a lineage had never depended on one person. It depended on everyone working together.

That was true of him now, and it would be true of Yu Xiaoshan in the future.

"Okay. I'll work hard too. I'll definitely find Spirit Medicine to extend Dad's life someday."

Yu Xiaoshan clenched his fists, his expression resolute.

Seeing this, Old Man Yu rubbed his youngest son's head with relief.

He'd never hoped to extend his own life. If he could just see his eldest son break through to the Qi Refining Realm, his second son recover his foundation, and his youngest son achieve Fetal Movement without a hitch, he'd be content with his life.

That was the last wish he had as a father.

That evening, the Yu Family cooked Broken Spirit Rice. After a hearty meal, they all got to work.

The youngest, Yu Xiaoshan, kept watch while everyone else began digging a tunnel from the cellar to the ground beneath the little tree in the courtyard.

Just as Yu Ershan had explained earlier, there were several reasons.

First, the Rare Species' roots could conceal Old Man Yu's aura and lower the odds of the Insect Race sensing him.

The trees of this world had their own ways of survival. When the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster arrived, they would enter dormancy. In this state, their life force settled into a hidden state, much like feigning death, greatly reducing the disaster's ability to drain their vitality.

Some flowers, grasses, and special plants went even further, gathering all their life force into seeds.

It was the same principle as the trees' dormant state.

But for some trees, the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster wasn't the most dangerous thing. The Insect Race was.

The Insect Race arrived with the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster and devoured everything across the land, especially dormant trees, which were often chewed down to nothing.

But as long as their roots weren't completely destroyed, they would grow back the following year.

That was why most trees and plants in this world had one thing in common: their roots were especially well-developed.

It was because of this trait, along with the Rare Species' extraordinary nature, that Yu Ershan had thought of this plan.

Second, they would quietly replace the ordinary soil around the Rare Species' roots with soil dug from the Spirit Field.

Changing the soil underground also kept anyone above the courtyard from noticing anything amiss.

Third, given how extraordinary the little Rare Species was, perhaps it could absorb the power of Spirit Stones even while dormant and withstand the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.

That way, Old Man Yu wouldn't need to go aboveground and dig a pit. He could feed the little tree crushed Spirit Stones instead, reducing the danger of exposure.

They also had plenty of useless stones piled in the Yu Family courtyard. Before the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster arrived, they planned to stack them around the little tree as another form of protection.

It could be said that the Yu Family had thought of every possible way to protect the little Rare Species—and Old Man Yu.