Cultivating Tea Trees and Raising Human Pills!

... ...

"Han has fallen, Zhao is discarded, Qin and Chu are intertwined, and Qi and Yan are at peace."

"My Wei Family has instead become a solitary tree."

Wei Cheng murmured softly, gazing north.

In the span of just a few short years, this Qin Family had already gained momentum. The disaster of the Han Family remained fresh in his memory, making him feel a trace of threat.

"Now that the Zhao Household is in decline, eight out of ten, it's because that old dog Zhao Zhong is dead, leaving only Zhao Zhen to hold up the facade, alongside a mere child named Zhao Tian."

"At this point, nibbling away at the Zhao Household to strengthen our own is the right course."

With his mind made up, Wei Cheng gave his orders:

"Tell the clansmen that the old ghost Zhao is dead. The moves to nibble away at the Zhao Household can be bolder; it does not matter even if they are made openly."

"Dispatch Weicai as well, taking the opportunity to coerce the Zhao Household."

"Lure Zhao Zhen or Zhao Tian out, and if there is a chance, ambush and kill them!"

"Send others to deliver a letter to Yan and Qi, to see whether these two families are willing to be on friendly terms. Since Qin and Chu are allied, we too must seek allies."

"Also, send men to the county office."

"About Qin Lu's alchemy... Never mind... It is better not to make a fuss about this matter. Bayi is too small and cannot withstand the turmoil."

"It is better to be on good terms with the Qin Family and exchange for some precious pills instead."

"There is still room in this Bayi Town, and the two families are not yet driven to mutual destruction. When the time is right in the future, we shall slowly plot..."

"Yes, Family Head."

A servant acknowledged the order and then withdrew.

Once the general strategy was set, this bloodline machine that was the Wei Family began its efficient operation!

In an instant-

The mountain goods business upon which the Zhao Household depended for survival was continually encroached upon by the Wei Family, especially the category of medicinal herbs, where competition was extremely fierce.

The Wei Family obtained medicinal herbs and turned right around to trade them with the Qin Family.

Under this waxing and waning-

The Wei Family would only grow stronger, while the Zhao Household would only decline further. The saying goes: cutting off a person's path to wealth is like killing their parents.

How could the Zhao Household not be angry?

Yet they were helpless, like meat on a chopping board, continually being nibbled away.

Make the Qin Family cut off their business with the Wei Family?

But how could that be possible?

Although the Qin and Zhao families were related by marriage, they still prioritized their own interests, and Qin Lu would never abandon his own trade for this reason.

Zhao Zhen was well aware of this.

Now that the Wei Family had their eyes on them, if he dared to go up the mountain to occupy land, the Wei Family would dare to make him die on the mountain.

If warriors did not step out-

The Zhao Household's business would only become increasingly difficult to run, until they were worn to death...

Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!

At present, they could only stubbornly endure, or else defect to another family...

Muxuan Mountain.

Ever since the Han Family scattered, two Han households had settled at the foot of the mountain.

Moreover, both had gained Qin Lu's heavy trust.

South of the waist of Muxuan Mountain, they cleared a tea garden of more than twenty mu, specializing in planting tea, raising tea, and building workshops for the Qin Family.

They produced tea cakes, tea bricks, and cultivated new tea trees.

Their days passed peacefully enough.

Right now-

The new tea trees had already been planted, all of them being old tea saplings from the Han Family of the past. Their yield and quality were of the higher vehicle, requiring no two or three years of seedling cultivation.

It took only a year, and when spring arrived next year, the first crop could be harvested.

From then on, with intensive cultivation and meticulous care,

the tea yield would only grow higher and higher. By the fifth year, they could grow into old bushes, developing far more rapidly than ordinary tea trees.

After all, these were tea strains that the Han Family had cultivated for sixty or seventy years.

Naturally, they possessed unique qualities.

In addition-

There was the search for Han Xuan's surviving daughter.

Under the probing of the Han people, Qin Lu actually managed to find some traces.

Barely a week's time passed,

and that young female was dragged back to Muxuan Mountain, placed under house arrest on the mountain. Her natural talent and spiritual light were of eight parts, how could Qin Lu not be overjoyed?

The higher her talent, the better the effect of using the secret method!

He was almost reluctant to part with her.

With this female here, if he united with her to give birth to descendants, he imagined her talent would surely be extraordinary, and perhaps she could even produce an immortal seedling with one inch of spiritual light!

To just treat her as a human pill like this inevitably wasted such talent to some extent.

"Let's wait a little longer..."

"When I cultivate to True Martial perfection, if there is no way out, I will use this female as medicine to help me break through to Condensing Qi!"

"After all, it is an evil method, so one must still be cautious..."

"If the path ahead is clear, then utilizing this female's womb to continue the incense for my Qin Family would not be bad either, or else raising her to the first realm of True Martial."

"Once she has cultivation, even if she serves as a cauldron, it will yield twice the result with half the effort..."

At this thought,

Qin Lu temporarily suppressed this matter.

It was at most one more mouth to feed, and his Qin Family could still afford to raise her. He would just treat her as having raised a concubine, and this was his, Qin Lu's, great medicine.

She must be served well...

In the blink of an eye-another three years passed.

On Muxuan Mountain, within the Qin Estate.

Qin Xiao and Qin Hui both began cultivation this year.

Added to the foundation Qin Lu had laid for them, in no more than half a year, both of them stepped into True Martial, successively condensing True Essence and stepping into the first realm of True Martial!

Visually, the two of them were a head taller than children of the same age.

At the age of six, they looked like eight or nine-year-olds.

The eldest, Qin Xiao, was naturally strong.

Now he was even as sturdy as an ox, able to carry a heavy load of a hundred catties. Ever since he practiced the Xuanyuan Skill, his strength had become even greater; killing a calf with a single punch was no joke.

The second, Qin Hui, was naturally clever.

He practiced the Azure Wood Scripture, following Qin Lu every day to learn medical theory, and in his spare time, he would go down the mountain to treat the sick and save people, winning considerable praise.

He earned the title: Benevolent Child of the Qin Family!

Flowers bloom on two branches, each expressing its own beauty, and the Qin Family's prestige began to show initial results.

Inside the alchemy room-

Qin Lu focused his gaze and regulated his breath, having already reached True Martial Four Realms perfection, not far off from the fifth realm, lacking only a single opportunity.

This was largely thanks to the Wei Family, who had continuously traded with him over these years.

Having sufficient medicinal herbs,

Qin Lu could continuously forge pills, and his craft had advanced considerably, each successful batch yielding four to six pills.

Yet every time, he only gave back a single pill to the Wei Family.

The rest were all tearfully pocketed by him, causing his cultivation to skyrocket as a result, along with his two offspring, who also had abundant cultivation provisions.

Just look at the other families.

Which family's children did not bitterly grind and polish until they were ten-odd years old before stepping into True Martial?

And that was still with the assistance of medicinal pills; without the support of cultivation provisions, bitter cultivation might last until their twenties or thirties without them necessarily setting foot in True Martial.

After all-

They were all pseudo-immortal seedlings with only a few parts of spiritual light, and being able to cultivate at all was already hard-come-by.

"Hoo~"

"The aura is complete, separated by a single wall."

Just as Qin Lu was feeling leisurely and self-satisfied, preparing to light the furnace for alchemy,

a servant-

frantically knocked on the door, stammering with urgency:

"N... Not good, Family Head!"

"At the foot of the mountain... There are demonic creatures harming people! There are many wild wolves, everywhere! One of them is frighteningly large, bigger even than a calf!"

"That Wang family fellow has already been bitten to death!"

The next instant-

Before the servant could continue his wails, Qin Lu threw the door open.

An imposing pressure instantly enshrouded him!

"Speak clearly, where is it!"

The servant was startled, shivering as he said, "To the north, they rushed out from the northern wild woods, and are heading toward the foot of the mountain!"

With those words spoken,

Qin Lu flashed and rushed toward the North Mountain's foot.

His figure swayed like a spirit snake, carrying the Tai'e Sword on his back. His imposing aura was like a rainbow, growing countless times stronger than it was a few years ago!

"You've come at the right time!"

"Let me thoroughly test what I have learned over these years, to make up for any shortcomings..."