The Golden Crow sank in the west, the dying sun red as blood.
Xu Chuan returned to the little courtyard and saw Xu Mingxian meditating cross-legged on a slab of bluestone. He smiled in amusement. "Why are you cultivating out in the courtyard?"
Xu Mingxian opened his eyes, a trace of joy flashing through them. He sprang up and landed before Xu Chuan. "Father, you're back."
Xu Chuan nodded with a smile.
"Father, do you see any change in me?"
At those words, Xu Chuan swept him with his divine sense. A smile touched his lips as he praised him. "Not bad. You've broken through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining. You're getting closer and closer to your father.
"Perhaps you'll reach the ninth layer of Qi Refining before I even attain Qi Refining perfection, Yunnu."
"It's all thanks to your High-Grade Qi-Gathering Pills, Father."
"A pity you weren't born into a great cultivation clan. Otherwise, you would certainly have a place among those selected for Foundation Establishment." Xu Chuan looked at Xu Mingxian and sighed before continuing, "With your talent, you'll surely reach Qi Refining perfection within three to five years. But I fear the barrier to Foundation Establishment may hold you back for decades."
"Not at all." Xu Mingxian shook his head and grinned. "I consider myself fortunate to have been born into the Xu Household."
"Without the blessings of our household's inheritance, I would have only mixed spiritual roots, and no great cultivation clan would value me. If I weren't your son, no one would put so much thought into my future, finding me a Formation Path inheritance, supplying me with high-grade pills, and seeking high-grade magical artifacts for me."
Everything Xu Chuan had sought when refining Jade Sprout Pills back then had been for Xu