Spirit Peaches Mature, Eighth Layer of Qi Refining

A day later.

"Hey, eat slowly."

Watching the flock of fluffy little ducklings chirping noisily before him, he could not help but smile wryly.

The twelve Purple-Patterned Geese had hatched one after another, becoming this adorable flock of goslings. Their fluffy appearance was strikingly like the ducklings from his previous life.

They looked gentle and adorable, but the one unfortunate thing was that raising them cost rather a lot.

The Purple-Patterned Geese were still extremely young, and a moment of carelessness could lead to their premature deaths. To raise them, Chen Nianzhi could only cook Spirit Rice into porridge and feed it to them.

But Spirit Rice was exceedingly precious. One Spirit Stone could only buy three jin of Spirit Rice on the market.

Previously, the Lineage had given him an annual subsidy of thirty jin of Spirit Rice, equivalent to a salary worth ten Spirit Stones. Together with the Spirit Stones, it had been more than enough to support his cultivation.

But now the Chen Clan was in dire straits. Most of its Spirit Rice had been sold to pay debts, so naturally, the Spirit Rice stipend had been cut off.

If the Third Elder had not firmly stuffed ten jin of Spirit Rice into his hands when he came to Spirit Lake Isle, he probably would not have had any Spirit Rice to feed the Purple-Patterned Geese now.

This Spirit Rice was Chen Nianzhi's food supply and could accelerate his cultivation. During the four months he had spent at Spirit Lake Isle, he had only been willing to eat one liang every three days. By now, only six jin remained.

Who would have thought that twelve more mouths would suddenly appear? These little fellows had no idea how precious Spirit Rice was. They crowded around the Spirit Rice porridge, fighting and tussling over it. Once they finished, they cried out at Chen Nianzhi again, making such a racket that his head throbbed.

"Eat, eat, eat."

"At this rate, you'll strip my family fortune bare."

Chen Nianzhi said irritably, but despite his words, he still took out one liang of Spirit Rice and cooked another bowl of porridge for the little fellows.

After feeding the dozen-odd little creatures, he sat cross-legged on the ground, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry.

"In the cultivation novels from my previous life, the protagonists were all peerless in bearing, like banished immortals descending into the mortal world, roaming the world unchecked."

"Who would have thought that after truly coming to the cultivation world, I would be farming, feeding fish, and raising ducks?"

"Cultivating to this point... I'm afraid even novels wouldn't dare write it this way, would they?"

At the thought, Chen Nianzhi smiled. Looking at the ancient zither in the loft before the bamboo house, a calm smile appeared on his face again.

He had been an art student in his previous life, and this ancient zither was the only hobby he had retained from that life.

"No one ever said cultivation had to be all about fighting and killing."

"Playing the zither when I have time, planting a few mu of Spirit Fields, feeding some Spirit Fish, raising a few immortal birds—how is that not a form of cultivation?"

He murmured calmly to himself, his heart peaceful.

Cultivation, cultivation—resources were the foremost priority. If no one farmed or planted renewable resources, and everyone simply robbed one another, where would resources come from?

The reason Demonic Cultivators were reviled by everyone in the cultivation world was because they produced nothing. They slaughtered mortals and cultivators in great numbers, using the flesh, blood, and souls of the Human Race to refine magical artifacts. That was destroying the foundations of the cultivation world.

They were selfish and self-serving, believing that if a man did not act for himself, heaven and earth would destroy him. They would even drain the potential of heaven and earth for their own cultivation. Killing the hen to get the eggs was a common occurrence.

If the Chen Clan were destroyed one day, its hundred thousand or so mortal descendants would most likely become food for Demonic Cultivators and demon beasts. Even their souls would find no peace after death. That was also why the Chen Clan's First Elder and many cultivators had guarded Pingyang County Town year-round.

"Three liang of Spirit Rice a day. The remaining six jin can only last twenty days."

"Fortunately, after twenty days, they'll have passed their most fragile infancy."

Chen Nianzhi calculated how long the remaining Spirit Rice could last. Fortunately, Purple-Patterned Geese were Spirit Beasts after all. Once that time came, they could be fed ordinary rice and released into Spirit Isle Lake.

Aside from the docile Azure Spirit Fish, Spirit Isle Lake held no other demon beasts. As long as the Purple-Patterned Geese survived their infancy, they would no longer need fear attacks from ordinary wild beasts and could hunt for food in the lake.

In the days that followed, Chen Nianzhi returned to his usual cultivation routine.

In his spare time, he nourished the Spirit Fields every half month, tended to the precious spirit herbs, occasionally counted the Azure Spirit Fish, and fed the Spirit Geese. The days slipped by in a hurry.

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of July. That day, Chen Nianzhi stood beneath the Spirit Peach Tree. Looking at the fifty-six Spirit Peaches hanging from its branches, he could not help but reveal a delighted expression.

By this day, the Spirit Peaches on the Spirit Peach Tree had finally ripened. There were fifty-six Spirit Peaches in total, worth two hundred and eighty Spirit Stones.

Amid his delight, he picked a Spirit Peach and took a bite. He found that it was not only rich in spiritual energy, but also fragrant, sweet, and incomparably delicious.

"This Spirit Peach truly is extraordinary."

"No wonder it sells for so much."

Chen Nianzhi looked pleasantly surprised. This was the best peach he had ever eaten.

Once the Spirit Peach entered his stomach, he felt as though he had refined a Precious Pill. The true qi within his body increased by a small measure, and he even touched upon the threshold of the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining once more.

It had been eight months since he broke through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining. Going by his cultivation speed, it should have taken around another two years for him to reach the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

But he had previously hunted and eaten two Purple-Patterned Geese. This kind of demon bird was a great tonic for cultivators, and after steaming and eating the two geese, he had saved quite a bit of cultivation time.

Now, after eating another Spirit Peach, his cultivation had finally reached the threshold of the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

"One Spirit Peach isn't quite enough."

Seeing that the opportunity to break through to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining had arrived, Chen Nianzhi swallowed seven or eight Spirit Peaches in succession. At last, he had accumulated enough true qi and began to charge toward the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

After just half an hour, the spiritual energy around his body trembled slightly. He opened his mouth and exhaled a wisp of white mist, then opened his eyes in delight.

"Eighth Layer of Qi Refining."

Chen Nianzhi felt his true qi grow stronger again and could not help but beam with joy.

He had only just turned sixteen. Breaking through to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining at this age was already exceedingly rare. Even in a great cultivation sect, he would be considered outstanding among the outstanding.

At this rate, he was very likely to break through to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining before the age of twenty, then begin making plans for Foundation Establishment.

"And with more than fifty Spirit Peaches every year, they can speed up my cultivation too..."

"This can save me a great deal of time and let me reach the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining sooner."

With that thought, Chen Nianzhi looked at the Spirit Peach Tree, his heart stirred with excitement.

With these Spirit Peaches, he was finally no longer too short on cultivation resources. Even if he received no Lineage stipend for the next few years, it would not affect the pace of his cultivation.

Refining Spirit Peaches, raising ducks, farming, feeding fish, cultivating—the days that followed were both leisurely and peaceful.

In the blink of an eye, late autumn arrived. That day, a small boat sailed over from outside Spirit Lake Isle, and a voice carried over from afar.

"Little Nianzhi, I'm here."

Chen Nianzhi walked out from Lakeheart Island and saw three figures approaching.

The moment he saw who had come, he could not help but smile.

"Sixteenth Grand-Uncle."

The newcomer was Chen Changlu of the Chen Clan's Chang generation. He ranked sixteenth among the cultivators of the Chang generation, so he was Chen Nianzhi's Sixteenth Grand-Uncle.

The other two were his clansmen Nian Gan and Nian Yuan. Though both were older than Chen Nianzhi, their cultivation and status were already far inferior to his.

Sixteenth Grand-Uncle was eighty-nine this year and only at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining. It was precisely because his cultivation was not high that he had escaped the calamity a year ago.

When he approached Chen Nianzhi, the first thing he noticed was the change in Chen Nianzhi's cultivation. Somewhat uncertainly, he asked,

"Eighth Layer of Qi Refining?"