Even if the Lu Household's four Foundation Establishment cultivators could take down the Wang Household with their current strength,
it certainly would not be easy.
What Lu Chenxing feared most was casualties.
That was an utterly unacceptable outcome.
It was better to wait until his cultivation grew a little stronger.
The Foundation Establishment middle stage, late stage, or even peak.
Aside from him, the Lu Household had another hidden powerhouse.
That was Lu Changfeng, who had already embarked on the path of a sword immortal.
Lu Changfeng's existence had come as a surprise to Lu Chenxing. He had never expected the Lu Household he had reincarnated into to be extraordinary too-a mere Foundation Establishment force had produced a sword prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years.
A legendary sword immortal who fought above his realm as easily as eating and drinking.
Since Lu Changfeng could fight above his realm,
if he could break through to the Foundation Establishment late stage, wouldn't he be able to slay someone at Foundation Establishment perfection with his sword?
Though the Wang Household possessed that eerie dagger, judging by the might it had unleashed,
its upper limit would not exceed the Foundation Establishment realm.
So,
they would lie low first, focusing on two goals during that time.
The first was to raise Lu Chenxing's cultivation, and the second was to raise Lu Changfeng's.
Lu Changfeng's hesitation stemmed from exactly the same concern as Lu Chenxing's.
It was not that he was afraid.
He simply did not want to fight a battle he was not confident of winning.
That had been true above the Mystic Wood Forest last time, and it remained true now.
"Good!"
"Little Chenxing has a unique insight."
"Then let's listen to him and let the Wang Household hop around a while longer. Once I successfully break through to the Foundation Establishment late stage, we'll settle old grudges and new together!"
Lu Changgeng and Lu Xuanming both nodded in agreement.
Thus, they left one after another, unwilling to waste even a sliver of cultivation time.
Unless cultivators had other matters to attend to,
they basically spent all their time cultivating.
Very few simply gave up and slacked off.
The temptation of longevity was too great.
Lu Chenxing stayed in the cave abode to keep watch. A few more days passed before Lu Xuanqing woke up.
"Grandpa, you're awake!"
A familiar voice reached his ears. Lu Xuanqing looked over, and a smile immediately appeared on his lips.
"Little Chenxing, Grandpa thought he'd never see you again."
His injuries had been extremely severe, and he had also suffered the backlash of the secret method.
He had returned to the Lu Household with only a thread of life remaining.
If not for Lu Changfeng's lifesaving Heart-Protecting Pill,
Lu Xuanqing would certainly have died.
Seeing him like this, Lu Chenxing could not bear to blame him, but he was still very angry.
"Grandpa, I told you to lie low and wait for me to carry you."
As he spoke, he released his presence. "I'm already in the Foundation Establishment realm now. Even a little of the resources slipping through my fingers would be enough for your everyday cultivation."
When Lu Xuanqing felt that towering might, he froze on the spot.
What?
What was this?
Foundation Establishment? Foundation Establishment?
Little Chenxing had already reached Foundation Establishment?
This...
Counting the time, only about half a year had passed since he first arrived at Heavenly Traversal Peak.
A two-and-a-half-month-old infant had grown to seven or eight months old. He was not even a year old, yet he had already reached Foundation Establishment.
He himself had begun Qi Refining at ten and reached the Qi Refining seventh layer at seventy.
Sixty whole years!
Foundation Establishment still felt far beyond his reach.
Yet looking at his own grandson, there was simply no comparison!
"So this is what it feels like for a mayfly to gaze up at the heavens?"
Lu Xuanqing muttered inwardly, then sensed the condition inside his body. He could not help shaking his head, a bitter smile rising on his lips.
He said,
"Ah, if I'd known my dear grandson would be so outstanding, Grandpa wouldn't have taken that mission."
"What a pity..."
What a pity.
His severed meridians were a minor matter; with proper care, they could still be repaired.
But his Dantian's sea of Qi and his collapsed foundation were gone for good.
His path to immortality had been severed. Even if Lu Chenxing could provide enough cultivation resources for him to reach Foundation Establishment, it would be of no use.
Seeing the deathly despair appear on Lu Xuanqing's face, Lu Chenxing immediately comforted him.
"Don't be discouraged, Grandpa."
"Grandpa Patriarch said there's still a chance to restore your path to immortality!"
There was still a chance to restore his path to immortality.
Really?
Lu Xuanqing instantly grew excited.
If it truly was possible, then with a few cultivation resources slipping through the fingernails of his monstrously gifted grandson, perhaps he really would have a chance to reach Foundation Establishment.
Or even a higher realm.
But Lu Chenxing's next words instantly stilled Lu Xuanqing's burning heart.
"All it takes is a fifth-tier Nirvana Pill or a drop of fifth-tier Heavenly Spirit Liquid!"
A fifth-tier Nirvana Pill, fifth-tier Heavenly Spirit Liquid.
Better forget it.
Even if they really had such treasures, wouldn't it be better to save them for Little Chenxing or give them to the lineage's other younger disciples?
Why go to such lengths to renew the Dao path of a useless old relic like him?
"Forget it!"
"Actually, a mortal life is quite good too. Although Grandpa's path to immortality has been severed, this body has been nourished by spiritual power for so long that living another fifty or sixty years won't be a problem."
"That's enough. Cultivation is too bitter and exhausting. It's time to leave and enjoy life."
Lu Chenxing did not try to persuade him further.
He knew his grandfather thought the Nirvana Pill and Heavenly Spirit Liquid were too precious, and that he was unworthy of using them.
But one day in the near future,
Lu Chenxing would bring them back and stuff them into his mouth.
He would have to take them whether he wanted to or not.
Anyone who treated him well
had to receive blessings a hundredfold, a thousandfold in return!
"Grandpa, what are your plans from now on?"
Lu Xuanqing thought for a moment. "Heavenly Traversal Peak is full of the lineage's cultivators. There's not much point staying here. Once I've recovered a little more, I'll go down the mountain and live out my old age with your father. Little Chenxing, you can come back to visit when you're free. I think your father and mother must both be missing you."
His father and mother.
Lu Chenxing had never forgotten them.
It was just that, in his current state, he really did not quite know how to face them.
His father, Lu Yunzhao, was not much of a concern.
He had noticed something unusual about him long ago and immediately sent him to Heavenly Traversal Peak, where the Lu Household's cultivators resided.
The main issue was his mother.
That great woman who had carried him for ten months and given birth to him.
"All right. Your grandson will definitely come home often to visit."
The lineage's great hall.
"Go home?" Lu Changfeng pondered for a moment.
"You've been away for half a year. It is time to go home for a visit."
The more Lu Chenxing missed his loved ones, the stronger his sense of belonging to the Lu Household.
Lu Changfeng considered this a good thing.
As for cultivation requiring a clear, focused mind, undisturbed by worldly ties,
that was a problem for ordinary cultivators.
For someone as monstrously gifted as Lu Chenxing, it had no effect whatsoever.
It did not interfere in the slightest with the fact that he had begun Qi Refining at two and a half months old and reached Foundation Establishment half a year later.
Spirit Creek Town, where the Lu Household's mortal clansmen gathered, was not far from Heavenly Traversal Peak, making it convenient to look after them at any time.
Lu Changfeng rode his flying sword with Lu Chenxing seated on his shoulder.
The grandfather and grandson chatted and laughed along the way.
They reached their destination in less than an hour.
The Lu residence.
Ever since the day Lu Yunzhao had taken Lu Chenxing away, the atmosphere throughout the residence had grown cold and desolate.
The lady of the household, Zhong Hui, spent every day in low spirits, with no appetite for tea or food.
Even after exhausting every trick he knew, Lu Yunzhao could hardly cheer her up.
All she kept muttering was one sentence.
I want to see Xing'er.
With her like this, not a single person throughout the Lu residence dared show a smile.
They were even more cautious in their work, not daring to make loud noises for fear of displeasing their mistress.
That day,
Zhong Hui sat on the stone stool in the courtyard as usual, her elbows resting on the stone table, her chin propped in her hands as she gazed at the sky with empty, listless eyes.
Everything about Lu Chenxing kept flashing through her mind.
"Xing'er, my Xing'er, are you doing well on the mountain?"
"Mother misses you. I really, really miss you!"
It was naturally a good thing that Lu Chenxing could cultivate and had earned the old master's regard, but all Zhong Hui wanted was to see him once.
As his mother, she ought to have that right.
But Lu Yunzhao, he...
Alas.