Chương 118: The Golden Crystal

Yang Jing's presence still commanded respect, his authority keeping the younger generation of the Yang family firmly in check. Two days later, dragging his frail, failing body, he led his family's juniors up Green Bamboo Mountain. Huaijin had been preparing to leave. But when word came that Yang Jing had arrived seeking an audience, he paused. Standing before him was a man worn beyond recognition by time. Huaijin's gaze softened with melancholy.

He could still recall, with startling clarity, the vigor Yang Jing and Miao Tianhong had once possessed in their prime. But thirty years had passed. Everything between them had changed. They had both withered into frailty, while the Zhang family had risen to become a Tier 2 power. If their legacy continued without interruption, they would secure two hundred years of prosperity.

"Fellow Daoist Yang, you should be resting at home, recovering your strength. Your juniors are thoughtless to have dragged you all the way here," Zhang Chongwen said, his brow furrowed with concern. He and Yang Jing hadn't met in over twenty years. Thanks to longevity resources, Zhang Chongwen remained relatively robust. But Yang Jing, nearly a hundred and ten years old now, had only a handful of years left.

"Heh! I'm a dead man walking. What do I have left to fear?" Yang Jing's weathered face cracked into a bright, genuine smile.

"When I received word that Yen Tianyang was dead, I could barely contain my joy. I took the liberty of coming here in person to thank you, Senior." Zhang Chongwen frowned at Yang Jing's excessive deference.

"Come now, Huaijin is your junior. There's no need for such formality!" The cultivators of their generation had all failed to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm. In years past, the Miao and Yang families had worked alongside the Zhangs at the Mystic Iron Mine. The three families had been close allies. But as the Zhangs rose to prominence, the Miao and Yangs gradually became their vassals. One by one, their old friends were vanishing, and soon there would be no one left to share memories with.

"Patriarch, in my eyes, you will always be my elder," Huaijin said quietly, his voice carrying a weight of emotion. This was the cruel truth of the cultivation path. If you didn't forge ahead, shatter the barriers before you, and ascend to greater heights, you would eventually find yourself in the same state. In that moment, Huaijin finally understood why his elder brother had risked everything to break through. Zhang Hanren couldn't bear the thought of watching himself fade away, dying in bitterness and regret.

He had to seize that last, fleeting chance, even if he failed, at least he would have glimpsed the world beyond the Foundation Establishment Realm. He would die with no regrets. Succeed, or die trying.

"Senior, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for granting my Yang family what we could never achieve ourselves. My descendants have been so helpless, so powerless to claim vengeance on our own." Yang Jing's voice cracked with emotion, and a few tears slipped from his aged eyes. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Zhang Chongwen's heart churned with conflicting feelings.

If Huaijin hadn't risen to power, the Zhang family would be in a worse state than the Yangs. Instead, they now stood as an exalted Foundation Establishment force, looking down upon all of Langya County. Yang Jing continued to address Huaijin as "Senior," and Huaijin did not correct him. He had to admit, Yang Jing and Miao Tianhong had both been worthy patriarchs. They simply lacked fortune. Otherwise, Langya County would surely have two more Tier 2 families.

"Jing, old friend, besides offering your thanks, there's something else you came for, isn't there?" Zhang Chongwen asked. After a century of life, he could tell when someone had ulterior motives. Yang Jing took a black jade box from one of his juniors.

"Chongwen, this is a treasure my family has guarded for generations." He opened the box. Inside lay a golden crystal. It was flawless and translucent, with fine threads of gold swirling within like the heart of a brilliant star, dazzling, otherworldly. Then, in the next instant, it seemed to transform, becoming as dense and unyielding as the earth itself, radiating a sense of immovable solidity. Yang Jing held the crystal out to Huaijin.

"Senior, I don't know what this golden crystal truly is, only that it's unquestionably a treasure. My eyesight may be failing, and I'm merely a cultivator at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, but even I can sense its extraordinary nature. A Tier 3 spirit artifact couldn't leave a scratch on it." As Yang Jing spoke, the Yang family cultivators behind him watched with barely concealed reluctance. This relic had been left by their founding ancestor, and now they were giving it away.

But Yang Jing's words still echoed in their minds: for the family to survive, for it to rise again, they had to make sacrifices. Huaijin took the crystal, his expression betraying nothing. He couldn't identify its material, and it emitted no energy fluctuations. He squeezed it with all his strength. It didn't budge. Surprise flickered in his eyes. His body cultivation was now at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Even a Tier 2 upper grade spirit artifact might not withstand his full strength, yet this golden crystal hadn't even trembled. At minimum, it was a Tier 3 treasure. Huaijin turned it over in his palm, where it caught the light with a mysterious gleam.

"Patriarch Yang, name your terms." He was intrigued. There might be secrets hidden within this crystal. And Yang Jing certainly hadn't traveled all this way just to offer thanks.

"I beg of you, Senior, give my family a chance. A chance to rise to the Foundation Establishment Realm!" Yang Jing's body trembled as he slowly bowed to Huaijin, his hunched form seeming to prostrate itself against the ground. Zhang Chongwen's expression shifted. Yang Jing's meaning was clear: he wanted to trade this golden crystal for a Foundation Establishment Pill. Though Zhang Hanren was already in seclusion, attempting his own breakthrough, the Zhang family still had other members waiting for their turn.

They couldn't simply hand over such a precious pill for a single treasure.

"I can promise your family a Foundation Establishment Pill, but not immediately," Zhang Huaijin said.

"We don't yet have a stable source, but I believe that day is coming soon. When we have a spare pill available, the Yang family will be the first to receive it." His voice carried unwavering confidence. He was already a Tier 2, mid grade alchemist. The stone chamber he'd discovered in the Zimo Mountains still held three Golden Yang Flowers. The Zhangs had already begun gathering the herbs needed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills.

Once he advanced to the later stages, he would make his push to become a Tier 2, upper grade alchemist. With his natural talent and mastery of alchemical arts, he was certain that he could refine Foundation Establishment Pills at that level.

"Agreed!" Resolve gleamed in Yang Jing's eyes. Huaijin's potential was simply too monstrous. He had no choice but to place his faith in him. The Yang juniors were clearly dissatisfied with the answer. But since their patriarch had accepted, they swallowed their objections and held their tongues. Just then, Yang Jing straightened up slowly and added, "There's something else, Senior. When this golden crystal was first discovered, there were two large characters carved beside it." Huaijin raised an eyebrow.

"What characters?"

"Hou Tu (Profound Earth)."