Chương 18: Crimson Under Snow

"Uncle?" At the sound of that word, a vague figure stirred in Zhang Huaijin's memory. Langya Country shares a border with Shangfu Country. And within Shangfu County resided two Foundation Establishment families. The Wu Family was one of them. Huaijin's uncle by marriage was a cultivator of the Wu Family. Now in his fifties, he had already reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm and was considered a candidate for Foundation Establishment. But that wasn't all. He was also a Tier 1, Upper Rank Alchemist.

With these two identities combined, he commanded a high position within the Wu Family. Even the two Foundation Establishment cultivators regarded him with great importance. Back then, Huaijin's aunt, Zhang Xue, and Wu Anhe of the Wu Family had fallen in love at first sight. One was a Five Spirit Root cultivator from a humble Qi Refining Realm family. The other was a Foundation Establishment candidate from a powerful clan. Unsurprisingly, the Wu Family had opposed the match.

But in the end, unable to sway Wu Anhe, they reluctantly gave their consent. And the Zhang Family, through this connection, had gained a vital lifeline. At that time, the Zhang and Hu Families were locked in a bitter struggle, with the Zhangs constantly on the losing side. But after this alliance, the Hu Family grew wary. The conflict died down, and the two sides enjoyed over a decade of uneasy peace, each keeping to their own territory, neither daring to provoke the other.

Zhang Hong's injuries had been sustained in those early battles against the Hu Family. So when Huaijin had killed those two Hu Family cultivators, he felt not a shred of guilt. Now, the Hu Family had discovered the loss of their men and had launched a search. All they found were crushed bones, tattered robes, and the storage pouches. The pouches hadn't been touched. And at the scene of the battle, there were no traces of techniques of cultivators. That ruled out a rogue cultivator attack.

The Hu Family searched obsessively for an entire month without finding a single clue. Their first suspect was, of course, the Zhang Family. After all, the relationship between the two families was far from cordial. But after repeated investigations, none of the Zhang Family's late stage Qi Refining Realm cultivators showed any signs of guilt. Left with no other choice, the Hu Family had to swallow their anger.

They tracked down the dozen or so spirit beasts that had devoured the flesh of their fallen members and slaughtered them all. The two lost Hu cultivators, one at the seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm, the other at the fifth level, represented one fifth of the family's total fighting strength. The Hu Family patriarch's heart was dripping blood. To lose two cultivators for no apparent reason was a devastating blow to the family. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

For a Qi Refining Realm family, every member born with a Spirit Root was precious beyond measure.

"Yes, your uncle is a Tier 1 Upper Grade Alchemist. If anyone can refine the Purple Sun Pill, it's him," Zhang Lixian said with absolute certainty. Huaijin nodded. Whether the Wu Family actually possessed the pill formula for the Purple Sun Pill was not his concern.

"That's settled, then."

"Time is of the essence. I'll take these two Purple Spirit Tigers and the Purple Sun Flower back with me now. Around the New Year, I'll send someone to relieve you of your duties." Zhang Lixan turned and walked over to the thatched hut, pulling out his younger brother, Zhang Wujian, and interrupting his cultivation practice.

"Your second brother has already returned to the mountain. You're coming back to Green Bamboo Mountain with me." Wujian made a sour face and looked at Huaijin.

"Second brother, I'm leaving! Don't forget our promise!"

"Fine, I remember. We'll talk when you've actually reached the mid stage of the Qi Refining Realm," Huaijin replied with mock annoyance, then ruffled Wujian's hair again.

"How many times have I told you? Don't touch my head!" Wujian said indignantly.

"Don't worry. You'll grow taller," Huaijin teased.

"You're lying! I can already tell I'm not growing anymore." And so, amidst the bickering of the brothers, Zhang Lixian led Zhang Wujian away from Heavenly Yang Mountain. Now, the spirit rice paddies were submerged in a sea of crimson. The rice had broken through the soil, standing an inch tall. The flames within the Six Ren Crimson Flame Array radiated heat, providing the Red Sun Spirit Rice with the perfect temperature.

It required the meticulous care of a Spirit Plant Cultivator to help the Red Sun Spirit Rice thrive and produce abundant grain. Thus, Huaijin was still needed to guard Heavenly Yang Mountain. Time flowed like water, fleeting as a snap of the fingers. In the blink of an eye, the New Year was less than three days away. Outside the Six Ren Crimson Flame Array, the world was a vast expanse of white. Dressed in silver, the earth lay silent (it's snowing).

Inside the array, however, fire attribute energy blazed with scorching heat, creating the ideal environment for the Red Sun Spirit Rice. The rice was growing beautifully. It had now reached three feet in height, and the forty acres of paddies were once again filled with the fragrant scent of ripening grain. Over the past three months, Huaijin had done little besides cultivate, practice his techniques, and tending to the rice. In another month, this crop would be ready to harvest.

Two months ago, Zhang Xian had sent word, the Zhang Family had paid a certain price in resources, and Wu Anhe had successfully refined the Purple Sun Flower into Purple Sun Pills. As a Tier 1 Upper Rank Alchemist, the Wu Family possessed the Purple Sun Pill formula. Wu Anhe's success rate was decent. He had produced six pills. Wu Anhe kept two for himself and gave the remaining four to the Zhang Family. That was only because of the family connection. Otherwise, the Zhangs would have been lucky to receive even two.

Normally, when hiring an alchemist, you had to provide three sets of raw materials. Regardless of how many sets the alchemist actually used, they would simply hand over the finished pills. The Zhang Family had provided only one set of materials. Most alchemists wouldn't even accept such a request, they'd be outright offended. Ultimately, Wu Anhe did it for Zhang Xue's sake. Zhang Xue had been married into the Wu Family for nearly twenty years now. She had borne Wu Anhe two children, a son and a daughter.

And to everyone's envy, both children possessed Spirit Roots. That had earned Zhang Xue respect within the Wu Family. —— Zhang Hong had already taken the Purple Sun Pill. His injuries were healed, and he was now refining the medicinal energy within, attempting to break through to the seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm. He had a good chance of advancing to the late stage. As for the two Purple Spirit Tigers, they had been successfully tamed. They had also reached the first level of the Qi Refining Realm.

The Zhang Family had now begun searching for tiger type beasts. When the Purple Spirit Tigers reached maturity, they would attempt to breed them. If any cubs carried the Purple Spirit Tiger bloodline, they would be raised. If not, once the cubs grew up, they would be slaughtered. Either way, this was a way to bolster the family's combat power. The family was also searching for a Beast Taming inheritance to better raise the Purple Spirit Tigers.

As for Huaijin, his cultivation had now reached the peak of the fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm. During his earlier excursions, he had killed over thirty spirit beasts, large and small. Most of the beast flesh had been devoured by his Realm-Breaking Pearl. And now, the pearl's black and white energy was once again brimming to the point of overflowing. Having consumed the flesh of nearly eight mid stage Qi Refining Realm beasts, the energy it could generate was ten times that of ordinary spiritual energy!

So it was no surprise that the pearl had finished accumulating power. As for Huaijin breaking through to the sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm… that would still take several more months.