Ancestral Home lv.3

While Jiang Fu'an spent his days cooped up in the cellar, burying himself in cultivation with Spirit Beast meat.

The human cultivators outside had finally begun to strike back against the demon beasts.

At first, the Beast Tide had come too fiercely, like floodwaters bursting through a broken dam. No one had dared to meet its edge head-on.

Every sect and faction had chosen to lie low for the time being, pulling back their defenses to avoid needlessly losing manpower.

Things were different now.

The major powers had successfully crushed the incoming Beast Tide.

Led by the Song Kingdom's foremost cultivation sect—the Mysterious Elixir Valley—every family had sent disciples down the mountain to sweep away the remaining demon beasts within their territories.

Jiang Xianghe was among the counterattack forces as well.

Her cultivation had remained stuck at the Qi Refining Early-Stage Peak. It was not that she could not break through, but that the Foundation Establishment senior who had introduced her to cultivation had specifically warned her back then:

"Don't chase speed in the early stages. Hammer your foundation solid, and thoroughly master every aspect of cultivation.

"Only when your foundation is deep and thick will you cross the Foundation Establishment hurdle steadily in the future."

She had kept those words firmly in mind, patiently tempering her foundation all this time.

She had also used this Beast Tide as an opportunity to temper herself.

On the tenth day of Jiang Fu'an's cultivation in the cellar, a sudden burst of urgent gong-beating rang out from outside. Then a booming voice pierced through the earth and drilled its way in:

"The Beast Tide has retreated! Every household may come out now!"

He hurriedly rose and went to the periscope. He picked up Yue'er, who was peering through it, moved her aside, and leaned in to look himself.

A group of people had arrived on the yellow dirt road at the village entrance.

At the front were two cultivators clad in flowing Daoist robes, their eyes sharp as they swept their surroundings.

More than ten armored constables carrying sabers followed behind them, seemingly searching for any Spirit Beasts that had slipped through the net and might be hiding nearby.

The village, silent for days, came back to life.

In every corner, cellar hatches covered with weeds and branches were pushed open, and one dirt-smudged head after another poked out, squinting as they adjusted to the long-missed daylight.

Jiang Fu'an did not look any longer. He returned the periscope to Yue'er, then turned to Xu the Elder and the others, who were preparing to push open the wooden door at the cellar exit.

"Exactly how many Half-Spirit Beasts we hunted—once we're out, none of you say a word about it."

At those words, the excitement on Xu the Elder's face immediately collapsed.

He had originally been planning to give those Hunting Team members in the village—those who had not believed the master back then and had not dared to follow along—a proper talking-to after they got out, finally holding his head high.

Wealth should not be displayed. Jiang Fu'an did not want this matter to breed further trouble.

He did not explain much, only adding another warning:

"Also, for this next month, you'd best all stay in the village. Don't go running around outside.

"The Beast Tide has retreated, but who can say whether some demon beast hasn't been left behind, hiding somewhere in the wilderness?"

"Yes, Master!"

Xu the Elder and the other two exchanged glances. Though somewhat puzzled, they now trusted their master completely. They answered in unison and asked no further questions.

The first thing Jiang Fu'an did upon seeing daylight again was drill into the Talisman Room.

The recent hunting had not lasted long, yet it had used up every one of the twenty-odd talismans he had saved before.

It could not be helped. Neither he nor Stone had learned a single spell even now.

It was not because they had not worked hard. They simply had limited talent in that area.

They needed repeated practice before they could learn one.

And every attempt drained all the spiritual power from their bodies. In the home's thin spiritual energy environment, once their spiritual power ran dry, they had to meditate for an entire day before recovering.

At this rate, without half a year or several months, they likely would not even make it through the door.

Drawing talismans, however, was different.

Jiang Fu'an was gifted in that regard. For beginner talismans such as First-Rank Lower-Grade talismans,

he usually only needed to attempt drawing them a few times before learning them. He did not need to expend large amounts of spiritual power practicing.

That day, he bent over his talismans in the Talisman Room for a long time. Only when his mind was utterly exhausted did he push open the door and emerge, his face full of fatigue.

The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he ran into Xu the Elder, who was hurrying along.

Upon seeing him, Xu the Elder spoke at once:

"Master, something happened. Those people from the Hunting Team were killed by demon beasts!"

"What?"

Jiang Fu'an froze, his weariness instantly swept away.

"Didn't the Beast Tide already pass? Tell me carefully—what happened?"

Xu the Elder sighed.

"They were the ones who hid in the cellar during the Beast Tide. After they came out and saw that we'd made a good haul, they started regretting it.

"They wanted to pull Second Ox, Iron Pillar, me, and the others into the fields to look for stray Half-Spirit Beasts.

"The three of us remembered your instructions, so naturally, we refused outright.

"Who knew they would go by themselves? And their luck was bad—they ran into a real demon beast."

By the end, Xu the Elder's voice had lowered.

His heart ached. On one hand, he remembered the affection of old neighbors; several of them had grown up playing together, and now they were simply gone.

On the other hand, he thought of his younger brother.

Back then, hadn't his brother suffered at the hands of Mountain-Calming Martial Hall because he had not listened to the master's warning?

Yet Jiang Fu'an caught a crucial point in his words and pressed further:

"How did they know we'd made a good haul? Who let it slip?"

Xu the Elder's face immediately reddened as he hurriedly said:

"Master, we truly didn't say it on purpose! We all live so close together, and when we moved things in and out, it was inevitable that people would notice some clues."

"You..."

The words reached Jiang Fu'an's lips, then suddenly stopped. He stood there stiffly, utterly motionless.

"Master? What's wrong with you?"

Xu the Elder asked carefully.

"Nothing."

Jiang Fu'an quickly came back to himself, his face returning to calm. He turned and went inside, took out fifty taels of snowflake silver, and stuffed them into Xu the Elder's hand.

"Here are fifty taels of silver. Take them and visit those families who lost someone. If any household is struggling, help them out."

After seeing Xu the Elder off, Jiang Fu'an could no longer suppress the delight on his face.

It was not that he was taking pleasure in those people's misfortune. Rather, the light sphere deep in his mind had suddenly trembled just now.

Based on his past experience, he immediately understood.

The Ancestral Home had leveled up again.

He impatiently sank his consciousness into the light sphere.

Yet strangely, there were still only those two rooms inside. They appeared unchanged.

With doubt in his heart, he shifted his attention to the information panel beside the light sphere:

[Ancestral Home lv.3]

[Inherited: 12 years]

[Owned Buildings]

[Bedroom (Selective Breeding): Descendants conceived in the Bedroom have a greatly increased chance of possessing a Spiritual Root, fate, or special physique]

[Hall of Sacrifice (Fu Yuan): Every year, there is a certain chance of receiving a Fu Yuan opportunity]

[Foundation (Spiritual Vein): If there is originally no Spiritual Vein beneath the house, the Foundation will produce the effect of a First-Rank Lower-Grade Spiritual Vein; if a Spiritual Vein already exists, the Foundation will enhance its effects]

[Personal Rewards]

[Lifespan: +100 years]

[Copy Uses: +1 (used to copy a descendant's fate or special physique)]

[Upgrade Requirements: Among Lineage members, possess one Qi Refining Late-Stage cultivator and three Qi Refining Mid-Stage cultivators, and possess one thousand mu of Spiritual Fields]

"So it gained a Foundation. No wonder nothing showed on the surface."

Jiang Fu'an suddenly understood.

Looking at the newly added building effect, he murmured again and again:

"Foundation... Spiritual Vein..."

After spending this period cultivating in an environment barren of spiritual energy, where every thread of spiritual power had to be painstakingly drawn in,

he understood more deeply than anyone what a Spiritual Vein meant to a cultivation Lineage.

It was like the cornerstone of a towering building stretching ten thousand zhang into the sky.

Without it, the Lineage's path of cultivation would be water without a source, a tree without roots. It was destined not to go far or climb high.

And now, their Jiang Family finally possessed its own "cornerstone"!