Time passed amid Liu Changxu's intense cultivation routine. In the blink of an eye, two months had gone by, and the Liu Household's spirit peaches on Peach Blossom Mountain had ripened.
The fragrance of ripe spirit peaches began to fill the air across the mountain. Traces of various demonic beasts also began appearing near Peach Blossom Mountain.
After two months of frenzied cultivation, Liu Changxu had made some progress in his cultivation, and his physical strength had improved considerably. His Fireball Spell, Water Arrow Technique, Wooden Shield Technique, Entangling Technique, Sword-Controlling Art, Wind and Rain Sword Technique, and Primordial Unity Vacuous Palm had all reached a level where he could use them against enemies.
Liu Changxu was full of anticipation for the battles to come.
Ever since the Peach Blossom Mountain Liu Lineage had been founded, it had continuously cultivated and planted spirit peach trees and other spirit fruit trees on Peach Blossom Mountain. After more than a hundred years of effort by its members, the mountain now held 818 spirit peach trees and 180 other spirit fruit trees.
Virtually every spot on Peach Blossom Mountain suitable for growing spirit fruit trees had been planted with them. This had also more or less reached the carrying capacity of its upper-grade first-tier spirit vein. To expand the planted area any further, they would have to upgrade the spirit vein.
Among these 818 spirit peach trees, nine upper-grade first-tier trees were on the verge of advancing to the second tier. They were also the mother trees of all the lineage's jade spirit peach trees, making them the most important of all.
The spirit peach trees covering the mountain were the Liu Lineage's most important assets, but they were also a source of trouble. This was another important reason why the lineage urgently needed a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Without powerful martial strength, it was difficult to protect such a treasured land.
Of the spirit peaches the lineage harvested each year, some were kept for its members to eat and cultivate with, some were sold, and some were used to brew spirit peach wine. Every year, they brought the lineage more than ten thousand low-grade spirit stones in revenue.
With so much income at stake, the entire Liu Lineage would turn out at this time of year to ensure the spirit peaches could be harvested smoothly.
That morning, Patriarch Liu Baishan gathered all the lineage's cultivators to assign duties and organize the spirit peach harvest.
At the previous day's Elder Council meeting, the patriarch and the elders had already discussed the harvest thoroughly. They had examined and settled every detail, from specific personnel assignments to ways of handling the various problems that might arise.
According to the personnel assignments made at the Elder Council meeting, the lineage's cultivators were divided into five teams. Teams one through four were responsible for harvesting in the four directions, with each team consisting of two late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, five middle-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, and eight early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators. The final team remained at Peach Blossom Manor under Patriarch Liu Baishan's leadership to operate the Evergreen Yi-Wood Formation. They were also the lineage's last reserve force.
During the harvest, teams one through four divided their duties as follows: the early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators picked the spirit peaches, while the late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators led the middle-stage cultivators in defending against attacks from demonic beasts and evil cultivators.
Once the assignments were settled, Patriarch Liu Baishan explained several more points that required attention. He repeatedly reminded the lineage members that their personal safety came first, and that they must not throw away their lives for spirit peaches. After all, in this dangerous world, every cultivator in the lineage was immensely precious.
After the meeting ended, the four teams of cultivators left Peach Blossom Manor to harvest the spirit peaches in the orchards outside.
Because the lineage's Evergreen Yi-Wood Formation had a limited range, it could only cover the ten-li area around its home, Peach Blossom Manor. As a result, most of the lineage's spirit peach trees were planted outside the formation's coverage.
Of course, formations capable of covering all of Peach Blossom Mountain did exist. However, the mountain spanned more than sixty li, and a grand formation capable of covering such a vast area would cost at least two or three hundred thousand spirit stones. How could a small Qi Refinement lineage possibly afford that?
The spirit peach trees planted outside the manor were mainly distributed among eight orchards. Each orchard was protected by a middle-grade first-tier Peach Blossom Formation laid out by the lineage's formation master, Fifth Elder Liu Baiqiang.
Fifth Elder Liu Baiqiang was a middle-grade first-tier formation master, and also the best formation master in the lineage. The most essential requirements for becoming a formation master were a cultivator's aptitude and an inheritance of formation knowledge.
Thus, training formation masters within the lineage was exceedingly difficult. It was already no small achievement for Fifth Elder Liu Baiqiang to have become a middle-grade first-tier formation master.
As the lineage's cultivators stepped out of the Evergreen Yi-Wood Formation, they saw that quite a few demonic beasts had already gathered outside the Peach Blossom Formations protecting several nearby spirit peach orchards and were attacking them.
The battle to defend the spirit peaches had begun!
Before you continue