The journey home went smoothly all the way.
Several days after leaving Qingping Mountain Oasis, Zhou Yang successfully returned to Jade Spring Peak, which he had been away from for five years.
When he had descended the mountain five years ago, he had merely been a dashing youth who had just broken through to Qi Refining Layer Six, full of high spirits.
Five years later, although his cultivation was still at Qi Refining Layer Six, that high-spirited youth had grown into a handsome young man six chi tall, with an imposing and refined bearing. (One chi was 33 cm.)
According to Lineage rules, Family Cultivators returning from an outside posting had to first report their circumstances to the Lineage's Steward Elder and submit a duty report.
The Zhou Lineage's Steward Elder was currently Seventh Elder Zhou Xuanyu. She was the only female cultivator among the Zhou Lineage's eight elders, as well as the female cultivator with the highest cultivation in the Zhou Lineage.
Zhou Xuanyu ranked third among the "Xuan" generation and was a direct descendant of Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan. She possessed a Mid-grade Spiritual Root. When her cultivation had reached Qi Refining Layer Nine, she had not yet turned sixty. Had she taken a Foundation Establishment Pill to attempt Foundation Establishment then, her chances of success would have been quite high.
Unfortunately, as a woman, she was naturally at a disadvantage compared to men when it came to obtaining Lineage resources. Even though she was a direct descendant of Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, she had ultimately failed to persuade all the Lineage elders to pool the entire Lineage's strength to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill for her to attempt Foundation Establishment.
A High-grade Spiritual Root cultivator still had a one-in-three chance of achieving Foundation Establishment without using a Foundation Establishment Pill. But for a Mid-grade Spiritual Root cultivator, the chance of achieving Foundation Establishment without taking a Foundation Establishment Pill was less than one in ten.
Foundation Establishment was the first great trial of cultivation. Without a spiritual pill like the Foundation Establishment Pill to protect a cultivator, once the attempt failed, ninety percent of cultivators would have their meridians burst apart by the rampaging spiritual power within them, their bodies exploding as they died. Even if they survived by sheer luck, all their cultivation would dissipate, leaving them crippled.
After standing high above others as a Qi Refining Layer Nine cultivator, what cultivator could bear the blow of becoming a cripple?
Thus, even if someone could survive Qi Deviation, they would not choose to live on in miserable compromise. Instead, they would die for the Dao.
The dangers of Foundation Establishment were so great that in the present Cultivation World, among a hundred Ninth Layer Qi Refining Cultivators who lacked both a High-grade Spiritual Root and a Foundation Establishment Pill, it was difficult to find even a few who dared risk attempting Foundation Establishment.
Cultivators capable of reaching Qi Refining Layer Nine had no idea how much hardship and exhaustion they had endured in their lives. No one wished for the cultivation they had obtained with such difficulty to vanish overnight.
This was especially true for cultivators of a Foundation Establishment Family like the Zhou Lineage. So long as they cultivated to Qi Refining Layer Nine, they could enter the Lineage's upper ranks and wield immense authority. There was truly no need to take such a risk.
For these Family Cultivators, rather than risk nine deaths for one chance at life in attempting Foundation Establishment, it was better to work hard during the rest of their lives to earn spirit stones and nurture their bloodline descendants. By pooling the efforts of two or three generations of cultivators, they might perhaps gather enough spirit stones to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill.
By then, they themselves might already be dead, but their descendants could possibly achieve Foundation Establishment with the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill. If so, their deaths would have been worthwhile.
Only those Ninth Layer Qi Refining Rogue Cultivators who had no ties and stood alone, envying the long lifespans and mighty divine abilities and spiritual power of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, would dare stake everything on a single gamble and forcibly attempt Foundation Establishment.
If they succeeded, their lifespan would double to two hundred and forty years. Whether they occupied an oasis spirit vein and founded a Cultivation Family, or joined some powerful Cultivation Family as a Guest Elder, either path would be countless times better than remaining a Rogue Cultivator.
Even if they failed, they would not have cultivated in vain. It could still be considered dying for the Dao.
Yet there was a very practical problem. Rogue Cultivators lacked resources and good cultivation techniques. Even among those with Mid-grade Spiritual Roots, few could cultivate to Qi Refining Layer Nine before turning sixty. Without the help of a Foundation Establishment Pill, the chances of successfully attempting Foundation Establishment after sixty dropped drastically, leaving almost no possibility of survival.
Therefore, all things considered, although Rogue Cultivators formed an enormous population and were far more determined than Family Cultivators to attempt Foundation Establishment, the number who truly achieved Foundation Establishment was instead far lower than the number from major Cultivation Families who relied on Foundation Establishment Pills.
As a Zhou Lineage descendant and a direct junior of Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, even if Zhou Xuanyu had wanted to risk attempting Foundation Establishment, Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan would have stopped her. Besides, she had been pampered since childhood and lacked that resolve.
It would have been false to say she was not disappointed that the Lineage had not prepared a Foundation Establishment Pill for her. Yet she did not resent the Lineage for it. Instead, she quickly brought in a young Mid Qi Refining Stage Rogue Cultivator from outside as a live-in son-in-law, having him join the Zhou Lineage, proving her loyalty to the Lineage through her actions.
Because of this, every member of the Lineage's upper ranks, including Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, felt they owed her. Thus, they appointed her Steward Elder as compensation, allowing her to remain in the Lineage for the long term and care for her children and descendants.
Zhou Yang's mother, Lin Yuting, had a close personal friendship with this Third Aunt, and he himself had been deeply doted on by her since childhood. Therefore, he was not worried in the slightest about this so-called duty report.
"Oh my, it has only been a few years, and our Little Nine has become more and more handsome. I wonder which family's daughter will be fortunate enough to marry the Zhou Lineage's qilin child in the future."
Inside the Lineage Affairs Hall, Zhou Yang had barely entered when he saw a beautiful middle-aged woman in a white lotus-patterned dharma dress organizing documents. Upon seeing him enter, her beautiful eyes immediately lit up. She hurriedly set down the documents in her hands and looked at him with a beaming smile as she teased him.
Even though Zhou Yang had long since matured mentally, his face still burned at such teasing. He could not help but smile bitterly as he repeatedly cupped his hands and begged for mercy. "Third Aunt, please stop teasing your nephew. Your nephew is still young. It is far too early to speak of marriage."
Unless they were Low-grade Spiritual Root cultivators with no hope of Foundation Establishment, any cultivator who still harbored hopes of Foundation Establishment would not lose their primal yang or primal yin before achieving Foundation Establishment.
According to the experience summarized by their predecessors, cultivators who maintained their primal yang or primal yin bodies not only cultivated somewhat faster in ordinary times, but also had a significantly greater chance of Foundation Establishment than cultivators who had lost their primal yang or primal yin.
Thus, even High-grade Spiritual Root cultivators, who had an extremely high chance of achieving Foundation Establishment, would not break their virginity prematurely before Foundation Establishment.
Although Cultivation Families like the Zhou Lineage valued bloodline inheritance, in this regard, they instead encouraged talented Lineage descendants to marry late and have children late, preferably only taking wives and fathering children after the age of sixty.
Zhou Yang's father, Zhou Xuanhao, and the Third Aunt before him, Zhou Xuanyu, had both married and borne descendants only after passing sixty and losing hope of Foundation Establishment.
Fortunately, cultivators possessed powerful constitutions and could use healing spells to mend injuries. Even giving birth after sixty did not carry the mortal danger faced by ordinary women in childbirth. However, once they bore descendants, it would more or less damage their cultivation, slowing their future cultivation progress.
When Zhou Yang's mother, Lin Yuting, gave birth to him, she had been at Qi Refining Layer Seven. Yet more than twenty years had passed, and she was still at that same cultivation level. This showed just how great the harm of childbirth was to low-level female cultivators.
Zhou Xuanyu, on the other hand, had fared much better. Before marrying and having children, she had already been at Qi Refining Layer Nine. Unless she achieved Foundation Establishment, her cultivation could not advance another inch for the rest of her life. Thus, childbirth had little effect on her cultivation, though it might slightly reduce her lifespan.
Unfortunately, Zhou Yang's Third Aunt seemed to have always been unlucky. Even though both husband and wife possessed Mid-grade Spiritual Roots, among the three descendants they produced—two sons and one daughter—only one daughter possessed a Low-grade Spiritual Root.
Although giving birth repeatedly had not caused Zhou Xuanyu's cultivation to regress, it had accelerated the aging of her appearance considerably. Though she herself did not care much about it, Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan feared that this would greatly diminish her lifespan and cause her to perish early. Ignoring her objections and complaints, he forcibly used medicinal pills to destroy her fertility and forbade her from continuing to bear children.
Ever since Zhou Yang had learned of this Third Aunt's story, he had felt immense respect for her. She was a great woman worthy of the respect of everyone in the Lineage.
"That is true. With your aptitude, you will have a great chance of achieving Foundation Establishment in the future. The Lineage's circumstances have improved greatly compared to back then, and with your parents' own savings, they should be able to prepare a Foundation Establishment Pill for you. Once you achieve Foundation Establishment, you will naturally have plenty of time to slowly seek a suitable Dao companion."
Zhou Xuanyu looked at her handsome nephew with his refined bearing, and her beautiful eyes grew distant. It was as though she saw herself at the same age all those years ago. Back then, she too had wanted only to follow in her grandfather's footsteps and become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator admired by all. Marriage had never crossed her mind.
Unfortunately, her luck had been poor. When she had been Zhou Yang's age, the Zhou Lineage had happened to spend a vast amount of resources to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill for the current Great Elder Zhou Qian. The Lineage's savings accumulated over many years had nearly been exhausted, and it had taken decades to recover.
Yet Great Elder Zhou Qian, on whom such high hopes had been placed, had unexpectedly failed to achieve Foundation Establishment after taking the Foundation Establishment Pill. His cultivation had merely advanced another level, making him a Qi Refining Layer Ten cultivator—commonly known as Qi Refining Perfection.
Although Qi Refining Perfection cultivators were far stronger than Qi Refining Layer Nine cultivators, compared to Foundation Establishment Cultivators, the difference was as vast as heaven and earth. Moreover, Qi Refining Perfection was still within the Qi Refining Stage and brought no increase whatsoever in lifespan.
Zhou Qian had thus wasted a Foundation Establishment Pill and thereafter carried an enormous debt to the Lineage. Not only had he spent his entire life laboring tirelessly for the Lineage to repay what he owed, he had not even left behind any descendants.
Because the Lineage's accumulated savings had been drained, Zhou Xuanyu likewise lost her opportunity to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill and attempt Foundation Establishment, leaving her with a lifelong regret.
A single tiny Foundation Establishment Pill had directly changed the fates of two generations of Zhou Lineage elders!
Ever since he was young, Zhou Yang had been warned by his parents never to mention Foundation Establishment Pills before Third Aunt, lest he wound this elder's heart.
Now that he heard Zhou Xuanyu bring up Foundation Establishment Pills of her own accord, his heart gave a jump. His original plan of catching up and chatting with Third Aunt vanished in an instant. He hurriedly presented the duty report he had long prepared, then used visiting Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan as an excuse to flee the Affairs Hall as though escaping for his life.
The early bird catches the worm. Please vote with recommendation tickets, and please join the new book investment group. It is still a little over fifty investors short of one hundred; once it reaches one hundred, it will get a small recommendation. Those who have not invested in this book yet, please invest after seeing this, all right?
Before you continue