Three Years

Where does the water come from?

After using the Divine Travel Talisman, Tang Tiansong began to survey the surrounding terrain of the thatched hut. Two hours later, he returned to the same spot.

The edge of Gazing Dragon Lake is a sand dune that is about fifty feet higher than the surrounding area and several miles wide.

Walking inwards from the edge, descending all the way down to about a hundred feet below the edge of the sand dunes, you reach the true Dragon-Gazing Lake Desert.

In other words, the Dragon-Gazing Lake Desert is about 50 zhang lower than the surrounding plain at the foot of Dangwu Mountain.

The place where Tang Tiansong is standing now—the location of the thatched hut where his father, Tang Yuan, built last year—is situated at the foot of the main peak of a giant stone mountain.

This mountain is called Dragon Slumber Mountain, stretching for nearly 300 miles in the Dragon-Gazing Lake Desert.

Legend has it that this mountain was the resting place of the divine dragon of Gazing Dragon Lake a thousand years ago.

Although it is at the foot of the mountain, it is still nearly 150 zhang higher than the desert at the bottom of Gazing Dragon Lake.

Starting from the desert at the bottom, the main peak of Dragon Slumber Mountain, Dragon Ascension Peak, is about 450 zhang high.

If we start from the flat ground at the foot of Dangwu Mountain, Dragon Ascension Peak is about 350 zhang high.

"Where I stand, if measured from the flat ground at the foot of Dangwu Mountain, is about a hundred zhang high." Tang Tiansong looked north at the lush greenery of Dangwu Mountain, a smile on his face.

"The Wenqu Spring on the Dangwu Mountain seems to be about 120 zhang above the ground."

Moreover, the Dangwu Mountain seems to be less than ten miles away from the outer edge of the sand dunes of Gazing Dragon Lake.

If the spring water from Dangwu Spring were diverted here, the area within sight could definitely be transformed into thousands, even tens of thousands, of acres of fertile land.

Without hesitation, Tang Tiansong, the clan leader of Dangwu Village, gave the order, and the craftsmen and young people of Dangwu Village began a massive earthwork project comparable to moving mountains and filling seas.

Or cut through mountains and dig canals,

Or build a canal with stones,

Alternatively, a bamboo pole split in half could be used as a water pipe to guide the water from the Wenqu Spring on the Dangwu Mountain to the thatched hut overlooking Tang Yuan in Gazing Dragon Lake.

While diverting spring water, Tang Tiansong renovated the thatched house and built a three-courtyard mansion with a front yard, a back yard, and a corridor around it.

In the courtyard, Tang Tiansong transplanted and replanted boxwood, locust, and osmanthus trees, and named the residence "Boxwood Thatched Cottage," meaning. "A family with boxwood will have many descendants. A family with boxwood will surely produce pillars of society."

With the introduction of spring water from Dangwu Mountain, gradually, greenery began to appear around Huangyang Thatched Cottage and throughout the surrounding area...

While the villagers of Dangwu Village were diverting spring water into the Dragon-Gazing Lake Desert, Tang Tiansong and his white lynx had already plunged into the vast Three Graves Mountain, stretching for tens of thousands of miles.

Because Tang Tiansong didn't fully trust the lynx at first, Tang Tiansong was the only one who followed the lynx to kill Demon Beast in the Three Graves Mountain.

Although the lynx was quite familiar with the Three Graves Mountain, its cultivation had reached the Meridian Opening Seventh Layer - the Linking Vessel Gathering Stage.

There are Demon Beast with Qi Refinement and even Foundation Establishment cultivation levels in Three Graves Mountain.

Furthermore, Tang Tiansong had only just begun cultivating, barely reaching the Meridian Opening First Layer stage. Therefore, the man and the beast only operated on the outskirts of Three Graves Mountain, killing some low-level Demon Beast that had just awakened their intelligence.

Although Tang Tiansong said that the lynx was only responsible for leading the way, seeing that Tang Tiansong's cultivation level was really low and he was just relying on brute force to exhaust the Demon Beast, the white lynx gradually joined the battle.

The white lynx was responsible for scouting the area, finding low-level Demon Beast, and then having Tang Tiansong ambush them.

If an ambush was truly impossible, Tang Tiansong would simply endure the attack.

Just as the battle between the Demon Beast and Tang Tiansong was in full swing, the white lynx suddenly attacked from the shadows.

Whether biting the neck or gouging out the eyes, the lynx's attack either kills the Demon Beast instantly or renders it essentially incapable of fighting.

After several days of cooperation, Tang Tiansong gradually came to believe that the lynx had deliberately allowed the demon rat to capture it.

Because Tang Tiansong discovered the lynx's strength: besides being meticulous, agile, and ruthless, the white lynx also had a way to save its life: it seemed to know some kind of Cultivation Method, and once it used it, not to mention the sharp teeth and claws of Demon Beast, even a cultivator's spiritual sword, below the Qi Refining Stage, would be unable to pierce the lynx's white fur.

In order to improve his cultivation level more quickly and obtain more beast cores, Tang Tiansong lived and ate at Three Graves Mountain.

Tang Tiansong only returned to his home in Dangwu Mountain once a month, under the pretext of bringing home the beast pills and medicinal herbs he had received so that his younger siblings could sell them in Huai'an City.

After working together with the white lynx to kill Demon Beast in Three Graves Mountain for a long time, and with the lynx saving Tang Tiansong several times, Tang Tiansong gradually began to trust the lynx.

After all, many hands make light work. A year later, Tang Tiansong gradually sent Tang Tianlan, Tang Tianzi, and Tang Tiandong to Three Graves Mountain to kill Demon Beast.

As for the Carefree Cave on the back mountain of Dangwu Village, Tang Tiandong and Tang Miao were allowed to cultivate there.

More than a year later, when Tang Tianya, the fifth son of the Tang Household, was nine years old, it was verified that he was not a naturally gifted "Aperture Opener".

With the consent of his mother, Miao, and Tang Tianya, he swore a mysterious oath, surrendering half of his soul and one of his spirits. Tang Tianya also consumed the [Aperture-Opening Pill] given to him by the Central Lands Dragon in the Mysterious Mystic Spoon, and began cultivating immortality...

Time flies, and life is like a song.

On the fourth day of the fourth month of the new Celestial Calendar year 4040, the crescent moon hung high in the sky.

The area surrounding Three Graves Mountain was filled with laughter and joy.

Beside the campfire,

Tang Tianya played the zither, and Tang Miao played the flute.

Cui Xueyong clapped and cheered continuously, keeping time with the beat.

Tang Tianlan was dressed in green, carrying a green sword.

Tang Tianzi was dressed in red, holding a long spear in his hand.

The two sisters wielded spears and swords to the rhythm of music.

Tang Tiandong was on guard duty atop a tree more than ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) high.

Tang Tiansong, with a smile on his face, was roasting the rabbit. He had no choice but to keep a close eye on the heat to avoid burning the meat and getting teased by his younger siblings...

When the music ended, the Tang Tianlan sisters sat down to rest.

"Brother Cui, how was my performance of ' The Azure Sea, Forgotten Feelings, Desolation '?" Ten-year-old Tang Tianya looked at Cui Xueyong with a smug expression.

"Hmm, not bad, you're ready to graduate."

But...

Tianya, why are you still calling me brother?

"Shouldn't you change your tune?" Cui Xueyong pursed his lips.

"Then what should I call you?" Tang Tianya asked, knowing the answer already.

"Of course you should call me sister..." Seeing Tang Tianzi's angry glare, Cui Xueyong swallowed his words.

"Brother Miao, are you going to relieve yourself?"

Wait for me...

Cui Xueyong stood up and ran away as if fleeing.

Tang Tianlan smiled, "Tianzi, Cui Xueyong is eighteen this year, and you are seventeen."

Based on your ages, you are both of marriageable age.

Over the past two years, Cui Xueyong has often joined us in hunting Demon Beast around the Three Graves Mountain.

He didn't ask for any beast cores, just a few would be fine; he said he would treat this place as a place for cultivation.

In particular, Cui Xueyong taught you a lot of formations, both openly and secretly, which made it much easier for us to kill Demon Beast.

With your formation and our eldest brother already at the Meridian Opening Sixth Layer Refining stage, the rest of us can now hunt low-level Qi Refining Stage Demon Beast.

Cui Xueyong does indeed have feelings for you.

"I think if this really doesn't work, let Cui Xueyong hire a matchmaker another day to formally propose marriage."

"Sister...

Look at Cui Mingfei now, wearing such a bright blue outfit, it's too flashy.

"I think we should let him wait a little longer and temper his character..." Tang Tianzi pouted.

"Besides, my elder brother and Yu Wei aren't married yet."

"You're not married yet, and I'm the younger one, how can I get married?"

"Hey, you can't say that."

Your marriage will not affect your older brother's wedding.

As for me...

"I have no feelings for my children..." Tang Tianlan gave a bitter smile, gazing thoughtfully at the campfire.

Tang Tianzi glanced at the direction Cui Xueyong had gone in the darkness, then at Tang Tianlan, but ultimately remained silent...