After they finished their breakfast of Spirit Rice, Old Man Yu suddenly called back his three sons, who were about to go work in the fields.
Facing the puzzled looks of his three sons, Old Man Yu said, "From now on, we only need one person to stay in the Spirit Field during the day. The rest of you can go carry stones. I'm planning to raise the courtyard wall a little higher. That should help keep those insects out, too."
At his words, the Yu brothers' expressions changed.
To them, their father's words meant he had made up his mind to stay behind.
There was still some time. Why give up now?
"Father!"
Yu Dashan sprang to his feet.
"Father, trust me. There must be another way."
Yu Ershan stood up as well.
Old Man Yu was willing to leave his chance at survival to his sons. How could they, as his sons, possibly stand by and watch him go to his death?
Even Yu Xiaoshan, the youngest, had red-rimmed eyes.
Old Man Yu had said earlier that if they hid in the cellar, they would lose, at most, a decade or so of their lives. But who would dare take that gamble?
If the insects sensed them, even the deepest cellar would be no help.
"That's enough. It's settled. If you don't want to see me eaten by insects, build the courtyard wall nice and sturdy."
Old Man Yu held back, not telling them about the Rare Species.
It wasn't that he didn't trust his three sons. He understood that a Rare Species was both a blessing and a curse.
One wrong step, and it could bring disaster upon the whole family.
He knew his three sons' temperaments all too well.
His eldest was honest and simple, with few crooked thoughts. He was devoted, but easily ruled by his feelings, and not good at hiding what he thought.
In short, he couldn't act the part, and people would quickly notice something was wrong.
His youngest was too young, impulsive, and unable to keep himself in check.
Only his second son had been clever from childhood. Unfortunately, he had suffered a fundamental injury during Fetal Movement. Ever since, he had grown increasingly quiet, often thought things through at length, and tended to be a little too cautious.
If Old Man Yu had to choose one son to tell the secret, it could only be his second.
So he planned to watch for a few more days. Once he could confirm beyond all doubt that the little tree was a Rare Species, he would tell his second son first.
That way, he could avoid a false alarm and the bitter disappointment of celebrating too soon.
Of course, if one of his sons discovered the little tree's unusual nature before then and guessed the truth, that would be another matter.
But either way, reinforcing the courtyard wall was the most urgent task.
And his choice to stay behind was one he had made only after carefully weighing the pros and cons.
Because this wasn't just about a Rare Species. It might also be the hope that could lift his family to greater heights.
Ordinary trees had almost no chance of surviving the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster, but a Rare Species had a very good chance.
As long as they were careful and held on for a few years, until his eldest reached Perfection of Fetal Movement, it would all be worth it.
When the time came, he would trade the Rare Species directly for a chance at Immortal Destiny, allowing his eldest to break through into the Qi Refining Realm.
The reason they still had to wait a few years instead of making the trade now was simple.
They wouldn't be able to keep it secret.
The moment someone came to dig up the Rare Species, the truth would inevitably come out. By then, his family wouldn't be able to hold on to the Immortal Destiny they had obtained. Countless people would set their sights on it, and the longer they waited, the greater the danger.
But if his eldest had already reached Perfection of Fetal Movement by then, he could refine the Immortal Destiny as soon as he obtained it and attempt a breakthrough.
Who could take it away from him then?
So in the end, it all came down to a lack of strength.
Of course, keeping the Rare Species now carried its own risks. If it couldn't survive this year's Black Annihilation Wind Disaster, then it would all be over. They would have to treat it as if they had never had it at all—as if the Yu Family simply wasn't blessed enough.
For his family, and so his sons could go further on the path of cultivation, he was willing to wager everything, even his life.
Only by staying behind could he find an excuse and a reason to build up the courtyard wall without arousing suspicion.
Fortunately, the little tree in the courtyard only looked a bit livelier than before. Its appearance hadn't changed much, and it showed no signs of anything unusual in broad daylight.
Besides, planting a tree in one's courtyard was perfectly ordinary. It could provide shade in summer, and the following year it could be chopped up for firewood.
So even if someone came to his home, they wouldn't pay it any mind.
After all, if he hadn't seen that sight the night before, he wouldn't have made the connection himself.
And in the settlement, most people's homes—aside from those in the central area—were built right next to the Spirit Fields, scattered here and there.
The nearest home to his was over a hundred meters away.
On an ordinary day, hardly anyone would come by.
So all they had to do was build the courtyard wall a little higher, blocking the little tree from view outside.
As for everything else, that depended on whether his eldest could make something of himself—and on fate!
Under Old Man Yu's almost angry insistence, the three brothers reluctantly accepted the arrangement. Yu Xiaoshan stayed behind to watch the Spirit Field, while the other two went with Old Man Yu to carry stones.
There was a huge Stone Ridge on Ox Ridge. Most of the houses in the settlement were built with stone from there. Only stone houses could withstand the onslaught of the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.
Otherwise, even if no one lived in them during the disaster, they would probably find nothing but ruins when they returned the following year—and have to build everything again from scratch.
As it happened, when Old Man Yu brought his sons to the Stone Ridge, he found that his family wasn't the only one carrying stones.
Clearly, there were others in the settlement who had chosen to stay behind.
A Blessed Land quota cost fifteen Spirit Stones. Not every household could afford that.
Old Man Yu's family was made up mostly of able-bodied adults, and they were good at tending Spirit Fields. Their income was among the highest in the settlement.
If even his family couldn't afford it, how much less could those worse off than them?
By that reckoning, the number of people choosing to stay this year was probably greater than anyone imagined.
"Uncle Yu, are you planning to stay, too?"
A man who looked to be in his thirties stepped forward to greet him.
"What choice do I have?"
Old Man Yu sighed, looking utterly helpless.
"Exactly. Those big shots in the Blessed Land are clearly trying to drive us to our deaths. If—"
The middle-aged man spoke through clenched teeth.
"Zhuzi!"
Old Man Yu scolded him in a low voice. Zhuzi jolted, a sheen of cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.
In private, it was one thing to mutter a few complaints to himself. But if he openly cursed those big shots in the Blessed Land and someone with an agenda reported him, his whole family would be dragged into it.
Because of the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster, ordinary people like them could only survive by sheltering under the Blessed Land.
To them, the Blessed Land was the sky itself.
And those big shots represented the will of heaven.
That was why, even as the price of a Blessed Land quota soared, everyone could only grit their teeth and endure it, scrambling to gather the money however they could instead of joining together to protest.
Never mind the lofty Golden Core True Persons, or those so-called Foundation Establishment "ancestors." Even a single cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm could easily slaughter an entire settlement.
What right did they have to protest?
Old Man Yu had heard that some Blessed Lands treated ordinary people like grass dogs. By comparison, New Moon Blessed Land was already considered relatively benevolent.
Only the ignorant had no fear.
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