Chương 100: The Planting of Purple Cloud Peak

The Tier 2, second level Blazing Sun Chicken sensed the Soul Imprint buried deep within its sea of consciousness. Without a moment's hesitation, it chose to submit. By controlling this single Tier 2 chicken, Huaijin effectively gained command over the entire flock of several dozen Blazing Sun Chickens. His demand was simple: reproduce, maintain its bloodline, and do so without harming its own vitality. For the Zhang family, this would become a steady, reliable stream of income.

The environment of the former Green Ape Peak had already been reshaped by the Blazing Sun Chickens. Now, at Zhang Huaijin's command, a massive redevelopment project began sweeping across the mountain. He also laid down the Flame Beacon Mystery Array. Clang! Zhang Huaijin's Blue Bamboo Serenity Sword flashed through the air, its strokes fluid and powerful, like a serpent coiling. On a massive boulder at the mountain's highest point, three large words appeared. [Purple Cloud Peak.] Huaijin had renamed it.

From this day forward, the former Green Ape Peak would be known as Purple Cloud Peak. He was building this place as his personal cultivation abode. With the Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree in his possession, Zhang Huaijin had no worries about spiritual energy. And that was without even mentioning that Purple Cloud Peak itself already sat atop a Tier 2 spirit vein. Huaijin stepped into a cave at the mountain's summit and planted the Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree there.

He had taken the peach tree from the family estate when he left. The spiritual energy concentration above Green Bamboo Mountain had immediately dropped by half. He had discussed it with his father and Liwei beforehand, and they didn't mind. After all, the spiritual energy from a Tier 2, low grade spirit vein was more than enough for a cultivator in the early stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm like himself. Rumble… The roots of the Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree burrowed deep into the earth.

The entire mountain seemed to tremble. Waves of dense, rich spiritual energy were drawn toward it from every direction. From the void itself, wisps of chaotic energy gathered and flowed into the tree's being. The spiritual energy atop Purple Cloud Peak surged rapidly. In less than fifteen minutes, it rivaled the output of a Tier 2, mid grade spirit vein. The dozens of Blazing Sun Chickens became visibly excited.

The Purple Spirit Tiger, Haihu raised its majestic head and scanned its territory with awe inspiring power. It still hadn't fully refined the body of that fifth level cultivator it had devoured earlier. The family members dispatched by the Zhangs had also arrived. In less than half a month, a cluster of green pavilions and towers rose across the slopes of Purple Cloud Peak. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The Flame Beacon Mystery Array now covered most of the mountain. As time passed, the power stored within the array grew deeper and more formidable by the day. … Zhang Huaijin finally allowed himself to relax. Each day, after finishing his own cultivation, the Purple Spirit Tiger (Haihu) would lead the Blazing Sun Chickens on hunts against the surrounding spirit beasts. The Zhang family members joined in as well! The family's spirit beast hunting team grew larger and stronger. Their numbers were approaching fifty!

They had split into five smaller teams, each one led by a cultivator in the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Huaijin needed spirit beast flesh and blood to fuel his Realm-Breaking Pearl. He also fed it any crushed, low grade herbs and the slag left over from his failed pill refinings. In the area bordering Langya County Town and the Purple Dusk Mountain Range, the Foundation Establishment Realm spirit beasts faced annihilation.

No Tier 2, low grade beast could stand against the Purple Spirit Tiger (Haihu) and the Blazing Sun Chicken. The hunting teams from the other major families also found their work becoming much easier. As for Zhang Huaijin's merit points within the Zhang family? They had already reached an astronomical figure. His contributions to the family were immeasurable. —— Five years passed in the blink of an eye. This year, Zhang Huaijin turned forty-three years old.

His own cultivation base had reached the peak of the fourth level. The Zhang family's power had grown steadily. They now had nearly twenty cultivators in the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm. The family gained another elder: Zhang Huaijin's older brother, Zhang Hanren. At fifty-eight years old, Zhang Hanren had been at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, the Perfection stage for four years. He was less than two years away from attempting a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

And yet, his heart remained calm and steady, without a single ripple of anxiety. After all, there were no Foundation Establishment Pills in the family right now. Worrying would do no good. Over the past five years, the area within ten kilometers of Purple Cloud Peak had become a forbidden zone for spirit beasts. Not a single one dared to enter. The Purple Spirit Tiger (Haihu) had reached the peak first level.

Zhang Huaijin gave it the remaining three corpses he had, letting the tiger use them freely to grow stronger. The number of Blazing Sun Chickens had exploded to several hundred. The Zhang family opened another restaurant in Langya County Town, this one specializing in spirit meals paired with the family's spirit wines. Business was incredibly hot. Zhang Chongwen hadn't wasted his efforts either. He finally succeeded in brewing a Tier 2 spirit wine. Every single year, the Zhang family's strength grew steadily.

And Zhang Lixian finally broke through to the third level. Zhang Huaijin didn't focus solely on his own cultivation. His alchemy and artifact forging skills had successfully advanced to the mid grade. His talisman crafting was still at Tier 2, low grade. In addition, he selected five clan members from the fourth generation who had just begun cultivating. One of them was his own nephew, Zhang Rende (Hanren's son). Zhang Rende was only the third person in the family's history to possess Three Spiritual Roots.

The other four had Four Spiritual Roots. The fastest cultivator was naturally Zhang Rende, who had already reached the second level of the Qi Refining Realm. Living on Purple Cloud Peak, he lacked neither spiritual energy nor resources. The black and white energy inside the Realm-Breaking Pearl accumulated very slowly. After five years, it was only a quarter full and that was even with the pearl constantly absorbing ambient spiritual energy.

Maintaining his good habit of frugality, Zhang Huaijin fed the pearl the slag from his failed pill concoctions and any crushed herbs. If the pearl had a mind of its own, it probably would have beaten Zhang Huaijin over the head. And today, he sensed a change from the Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree, so he came out of seclusion. In the open air nest at the very peak of Purple Cloud Peak. The Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree had grown to over six meters tall. Its branches and leaves shimmered with a gorgeous light.

Hidden among the dense foliage were eighteen spirit peaches, each one emitting a faint, sweet fragrance. Unnoticed by him, the two varieties of peaches were nearly ripe again.

"Tier 2, mid grade," Zhang Huaijin murmured.

"I didn't expect it to advance so quickly." As he spoke, he felt the mountain tremble slightly. The entire peak suddenly rose nearly a hundred meters higher, and the surrounding spiritual energy surged once more. The spirit vein running through Purple Cloud Peak had followed the peach tree's lead, advancing to become a Tier 2, mid grade spirit vein. The spiritual energy concentration on the mountain now surpassed even that of a mountain with a newly advanced upper grade spirit vein.

Zhang Rende and the other four young disciples exchanged astonished glances but dared not move. They suppressed their curiosity and focused hard on their cultivation, hoping to reach the mid stage of the Qi Refining Realm soon. Then, they could follow Zhang Huaijin and learn his crafts. The thought filled each of them with powerful motivation.