Two Years

Chen Nianzhi nodded. "Mm, I gained some insight some time ago and broke through to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining." Having received confirmation, Sixteenth Grand-Uncle's face lit up with excitement. "Eighth Layer of Qi Refining at sixteen—could our Chen Clan produce a Purple Mansion Patriarch?"

He was beside himself with excitement, but after a moment, once his emotions had settled, he sighed again.

"Alas, if this had been sixty years ago, when our Chen Clan was at its peak, we would have found a way to get you another Foundation Establishment Pill."

"But now, the lineage truly has no means to help."

Sixteenth Grand-Uncle shook his head and sighed, his face full of dejection.

Chen Nianzhi listened quietly. Though he had not lived through the events of sixty years ago, he knew the rough outline of the Chen Clan's history.

Sixty years ago had been the Chen Clan's golden age. At the time, they had three Foundation Establishment Ancestors. One of the Dao-generation ancestors had cultivated to the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer and had even possessed the potential to break through into the Purple Mansion realm.

Unfortunately, the Beast Turmoil erupted sixty years ago. Even the great Chu Kingdom sect, the Azure Sun Sect, lost two Purple Mansion Patriarchs in battle, so naturally the Chen Clan could not stay out of it.

To resist the Beast Turmoil, a large number of Chen Clan cultivators were conscripted. Their luck proved terrible—they encountered a Tier 3 Purple Mansion demon beast, and all the clan cultivators, including two Foundation Establishment Ancestors, were utterly wiped out. Only Chen Changxuan, the weakest in cultivation at the time and the clan chief responsible for guarding Qingyuan Peak, survived.

That battle had dealt too grievous a blow. Even after sixty years, the Chen Clan had yet to recover, and only in recent years had their circumstances begun to improve a little.

But after Chen Qingmeng failed to achieve Foundation Establishment, it was like adding frost to snow. For the coming decades, the lineage would have no way to help Chen Nianzhi purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Yet that was not Chen Nianzhi's only concern. He had thought of another troubling matter.

The Chu Kingdom suffered a Beast Turmoil every hundred years. Less than forty years remained until the next one, and he did not know whether the Chen Clan would be able to endure it when the time came.

"Forget it. When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. Cultivating diligently is the true path."

Setting those thoughts aside, Chen Nianzhi led Sixteenth Grand-Uncle and the other two back to Lakeheart Island.

Once they arrived at Spirit Lake Isle, Sixteenth Grand-Uncle discovered the Spirit Peach Tree and the nest of young Purple-Patterned Geese, and could not help revealing a stunned expression.

Chen Nianzhi had long known that the Spirit Peach Tree and Purple-Patterned Geese could not be kept hidden, so he did not avoid the matter. Instead, he took the initiative to tell them.

"I came across the Spirit Peach Tree by chance and specifically transplanted it here."

"Some time ago, a pair of Purple-Patterned Geese passed through during their migration. I killed them and found a nest of eggs, which I later hatched."

As they listened to his account and learned roughly when the Purple-Patterned Geese had migrated through, Nian Gan and Nian Yuan revealed regretful expressions.

They had stayed on Spirit Lake Isle for several years before, but they had not inspected it carefully enough and had thus missed their chance to discover that nest of Purple-Patterned Geese.

"Alas, what rotten luck."

The two regretted it bitterly. This nest of Purple-Patterned Geese and the Spirit Peach Tree had both come from outside the lineage, so they would be counted as Chen Nianzhi's private property.

They felt that if they had wandered around Spirit Lake Isle more often back then, perhaps these two fortuitous opportunities would have become theirs.

Chen Nianzhi took in their expressions and roughly guessed the thoughts behind their regret, unable to stop himself from smiling.

The Spirit Peach Tree had been impossible, but if the two of them had patrolled Spirit Lake Isle more frequently, they might indeed have obtained a few spirit goose eggs. Still, with their Early Stage of Qi Refining cultivation, they likely would not have been able to defeat those two Middle Stage of Qi Refining Purple-Patterned Geese.

Sixteenth Grand-Uncle stroked the Spirit Peach Tree and the young Purple-Patterned Geese, unable to restrain his excitement as he spoke.

"Little Nianzhi, your fortune is truly excellent. With the Spirit Peach Tree and these young Purple-Patterned Geese, you'll have an income of several hundred Spirit Stones every year from now on."

"As long as you wait another twenty or thirty years, you'll be able to save up quite a few Spirit Stones. When the time comes, if the lineage contributes a little as well, it may not be impossible to buy you another Foundation Establishment Pill."

"You're still young. There's no need to hurry—you have enough lifespan to wait."

The old man remained excited for quite some time and encouraged Chen Nianzhi at length. Only after a good while did he regain his composure and begin handling proper business.

The reason the three had come to Spirit Lake Isle this time was that the Spirit Rice they had planted had ripened, and it was time for the harvest.

The spirit plants were exceptionally tough, and only cultivators had enough strength to harvest them. The four worked all afternoon before finally finishing the harvest.

They gathered a total of one hundred and sixty-two jin of Spirit Rice, worth fifty-four Spirit Stones altogether—twelve jin more than Chen Nianzhi had expected.

Sixteenth Grand-Uncle said with some delight, "It seems the water quality of this spirit lake truly is excellent. The yield per mu is actually higher than the Spirit Fields on Qingyuan Mountain."

Of the seventeen mu of Spirit Fields on Qingyuan Mountain, seven were specifically used to grow Spirit Rice. They produced only a little over five hundred jin each year, averaging seventy-five jin per mu. Spirit Isle Lake, meanwhile, yielded eighty-one jin per mu, clearly making it far superior.

After harvesting the Spirit Rice, Sixteenth Grand-Uncle also caught the Azure Spirit Fish in the spirit lake that had just reached maturity, seventeen in total.

These Spirit Fish would be sent to the Chen Family Restaurant in Yuyang Market. They were a prized delicacy for cultivators of Yuyang Commandery entertaining friends, selling out within half a month every time and bringing the restaurant considerable profits.

"Cultivate well. You still have plenty of time."

"When the time comes, the lineage will certainly find a way to lend you a hand."

After encouraging him once more, Sixteenth Grand-Uncle did not linger. That very night, he took the Spirit Rice and Spirit Fish toward Yuyang Market, where they would be sold for Spirit Stones.

Though Spirit Fish possessed strong vitality, they still needed water to survive. To transport live Spirit Fish across thousands of miles to Yuyang Market, the Chen Clan had specially rented a Firecloud Horse-drawn carriage from the Zhang Clan, one of the six great cultivation lineages of Yu Commandery.

The Firecloud Horse was a Tier 1 Mid-grade spirit beast. It could fly at low altitude for short periods, ignoring the restrictions of most terrain. It could even travel a thousand li a day. A single horse could pull an entire carriage of Spirit Fish to Yuyang Market in only a dozen or so days.

With more than a dozen Firecloud Horses, the Zhang Clan earned over three hundred Spirit Stones every year hauling goods for others, making the other great lineages green with envy.

Watching the magnificent Firecloud Horse depart, Chen Nianzhi felt a little envious as well, but then shook his head and laughed.

The Spirit Peaches borne by the Spirit Peach Tree each year were worth nearly three hundred Spirit Stones. Once the Purple-Patterned Geese grew a little larger, they would lay spirit eggs at regular intervals, which would also bring in a substantial income.

An income of several hundred Spirit Stones a year was no small fortune even for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. It would be enough to ensure that his cultivation before Foundation Establishment proceeded without obstruction.

No years passed in the lake; time slipped away in the blink of an eye.

Chen Nianzhi cultivated steadily in the spirit lake. In the blink of an eye, two years passed. On this day, he breathed in the morning glow and slowly exhaled.

"Success."

Joy appeared on his face. After fifteen years of cultivation, during which he had continually tempered his foundation, he had finally broken through to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

Ninth Layer of Qi Refining at eighteen was already remarkably impressive. As long as he waited a few more years and tempered his foundation until it was solid, he could attempt to charge into the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He emerged from seclusion in high spirits, only to find a Message-Sending Eagle waiting outside the bamboo hut for quite some time.