Vermilion Fruit and Secluded Cultivation

Only after they left the eastern administrative office did his eldest uncle, who had kept a smile on his face and his back slightly bowed the entire time, straighten up and let his smile fade. On the way back to their residence, he turned to Kong Wenxuan and asked:

"Wenxuan, how do you feel about coming to pay taxes this time?"

Hearing this, Kong Wenxuan realized that his eldest uncle had brought him to the office to pay taxes for more than simply showing him the ropes and familiarizing him with the procedure. Thinking of how his uncle had behaved at the office, he said in a grave voice, "The weak get beaten, and the strong prey on the weak!"

His eldest uncle, Kong Yushuo, could not help laughing. "You really are a sword cultivator. What a heavy killing aura."

"But you're not far off. Our Kong Household is weak, while the Du Household is a Ninth-Grade True Spirit lineage. We shelter under the Du Household, so we can only bow and scrape and submit to their exploitation. There's nothing we can do about it."

"To escape this situation, we have to raise our lineage's Peacock Bloodline back to the rank of a True Spirit and restore our lineage's status as a Ninth-Grade True Spirit lineage."

His expression grew solemn as he looked at Kong Wenxuan. "Wenxuan, the patriarch and the lineage have high hopes for you."

"Practically all the cultivators in the lineage today cultivate the bloodline inheritance passed down by Ancestor Jianling, the Peacock Soul-Bewitching Scripture. But even Ancestor Jianling only succeeded in raising the lineage's Peacock Bloodline to the rank of a Ninth-Grade True Spirit back then thanks to the help of a benefactor."

"We descendants fall far short of Ancestor Jianling, and we have no benefactor to help us. There's practically no chance of us raising the Peacock Bloodline to the rank of a Ninth-Grade True Spirit ourselves."

"Only you, Wenxuan!" His eldest uncle grew somewhat excited. "Only you have shown us a glimmer of hope."

"The bloodline inheritance you awakened isn't Ancestor Jianling's Peacock Soul-Bewitching Scripture, but the more powerful Five Elements True Scripture. Although the lineage has no record of it, it must have been passed down by an even more formidable ancestor of our Kong Household, from before Ancestor Jianling's time."

"In the years you've spent cultivating the Five Elements True Scripture's bloodline inheritance, not only have you advanced faster, but your strength and combat prowess have also far surpassed those at the same tier! That only proves the point."

"So if there's anyone in our Kong Household today who has a hope of turning the lineage's Peacock Bloodline into a star and setting it among the stars in the sky, it's you, Wenxuan!"

His eldest uncle reached out and patted Kong Wenxuan on the shoulder. In that instant, Kong Wenxuan seemed to feel a thousand-jun burden settle on his shoulders.

But Kong Wenxuan lifted his face with a smile and said confidently, "Don't worry, Eldest Uncle. I'll revive the lineage and restore it to the rank of a Ninth-Grade True Spirit lineage."

That had been his own wish and intention for years. Besides, with the help of the Five-Colored Divine Light inheritance, Kong Wenxuan was confident that he could raise the lineage's bloodline to the rank of a Ninth-Grade True Spirit when he reached Foundation Establishment.

"Haha... Good! You truly are the phoenix of our Kong Household!" His eldest uncle laughed heartily. "Then we'll sit back and wait for you to revive the lineage and share in your good fortune."

Then he changed the subject. "We harvested eight Vermilion Fruits this time. Four were paid to the Du Household as tax, so we have four left."

"I'll give two of them to the patriarch to take back to the lineage. You can have the remaining two."

"These mature first-tier superior-grade Vermilion Fruits are very beneficial for increasing the Law Power and cultivation of Late Qi Refining cultivators."

"Ah, but..." Kong Wenxuan said in surprise. "Eldest Uncle, you were the ones who found the Vermilion Fruits, guarded them, and picked them. I hardly contributed anything..."

Kong Yushuo waved a hand. "Who says you didn't contribute? In the fighting against the Lang Household cultivators and the wolf demons, you killed the most enemies. If you hadn't been there this time, even with the second-tier illusion array, there's no way we could have returned to the Demon-Suppressing Pass so smoothly."

"Besides, of all the clansmen serving here at the Demon-Suppressing Pass, your cultivation is the lowest. If we don't give you the Vermilion Fruits to improve it, who else should we give them to?"

"If I could, I'd keep all four Vermilion Fruits and give them to you to speed up your cultivation."

At that point, his third aunt and eldest brother, who were beside them, both urged him to accept. "Wenxuan, take them. You need these Vermilion Fruits more than anyone else in the lineage."

"That's right, Cousin Wenxuan. After fighting the Lang Household cultivators this time, I've seen just how deadly those three divine swords of yours are. Take the Vermilion Fruits and refine the remaining two divine swords as soon as you can. Then couldn't you lead us in sweeping through the mountains beyond the pass and plundering as many resources and treasures as we want?"

Seeing this, Kong Wenxuan could hardly keep refusing. He took the two Vermilion Fruits his eldest uncle handed him and put them away. "Eldest Uncle, Third Aunt, Eldest Brother, don't worry. I won't let you or the lineage down."

"Haha... Wenxuan, you've earned these. There's no need to put too much pressure on yourself." His eldest uncle instead laughed and urged him to relax, then changed the subject. "The four Vermilion Fruits we paid this time covered four months of taxes. On top of that, we've killed so many Lang Household cultivators and wolf demons beyond the pass that we've thoroughly offended the Lang Household. It won't be convenient for us to leave the pass again for a while. We'll wait and see how things develop out there first."

"During this time, Wenxuan, stay here in the Demon-Suppressing Pass and refine the Vermilion Fruits to cultivate. We also need to contact the patriarch and send the Vermilion Fruit tree back to the lineage to see if we can grow it there. If we really can't keep it alive, I'm afraid we'll have to send it into the Du Household's Cuckoo Secret Realm in the end."

"All right." Kong Wenxuan raised no objection and nodded his agreement at once.

After returning to the Kong Household's residence in the Demon-Suppressing Pass, his eldest uncle gathered everyone in the service squad and told them the arrangements for the next few months. Then they dispersed.

Kong Wenxuan entered the secluded cultivation chamber at the residence and began consuming the Vermilion Fruits, refining spirit fire, and refining the Crimson Fire Divine Sword to improve his cultivation.

Because he was refining the Five Elements Divine Swords, his cultivation method differed greatly from that of ordinary cultivators. He refined Qi through refining swords, increasing his Law Power and cultivation.

But the Vermilion Fruits, which could directly increase Law Power and cultivation, were just as useful to him.

After he consumed a Vermilion Fruit, the large amount of Law Power gained from refining it allowed him to refine the Crimson Fire Divine Sword faster and for longer periods. It greatly increased the speed and efficiency with which the red peacock feather refined first-tier superior-grade spirit fire, greatly speeding up and improving the efficiency of his refinement of the Crimson Fire Divine Sword and shortening the time needed to improve his cultivation.

Two months later, when he finished refining one Vermilion Fruit, he was halfway through refining the Crimson Fire Divine Sword.

By Kong Wenxuan's original estimate, if nothing unexpected delayed him, it would take the red peacock feather at least a year to consume and refine six portions of first-tier superior-grade spirit fire, successfully refine the Crimson Fire Divine Sword, and advance to Qi Refinement Eighth Layer.

Before coming to the Demon-Suppressing Pass, he had already spent nearly a month cultivating in seclusion within the lineage, consuming and refining half a portion of first-tier superior-grade spirit fire. Later, while waiting two months in the persimmon grove in the mountains beyond the pass for the Vermilion Fruits to ripen, he had cultivated and refined another portion.

Normally, after another two months in seclusion, he should have consumed and refined one portion of superior-grade spirit fire. But with the help of the Law Power from the Vermilion Fruit, his efficiency at refining spirit fire during those two months in seclusion had doubled, and he had refined two portions of first-tier superior-grade spirit fire.

By now, his red peacock feather had consumed and refined three and a half portions of first-tier superior-grade spirit fire, leaving two and a half of the six portions. His refinement of the Crimson Fire Divine Sword was also more than halfway complete.

He even had one Vermilion Fruit left. Over the next two months, he could refine another two portions of first-tier superior-grade spirit fire. After that, even without a Vermilion Fruit to help him, it would take him at most a month to finish refining the remaining half portion.

In other words, if all went quickly, he could finish refining the Crimson Fire Divine Sword and advance to Qi Refinement Eighth Layer in at most three months. That was much faster than his initial estimate: the two Vermilion Fruits had saved him at least four months.

The faster progress in his cultivation made Kong Wenxuan very happy. He ended his secluded cultivation for the time being and came out to relax, taking the opportunity to find out about the situation outside.