Chương 30: Six Years Remaining

Zhang Huaijin Emerges from Seclusion! Dressed in flowing white robes, handsome and refined, he stood atop the mountain peak. Over the past three years, the Zhang family's strength had grown steadily and methodically. The spirit wine shop and the artifact forging shop were doing better business than ever. And because the family's three spiritual veins had all been upgraded to tier 1, mid grade, they could finally begin cultivating and expanding their spirit fields.

The Zhang family members stationed at each of the three spirit mountains were all Spirit Plant Cultivators. Every day, aside from their meditation and cultivation, they devoted themselves wholeheartedly to breaking open new fields. The family had promised that anyone who opened new fields would receive one-tenth of the harvest from those fields for the next thirty years. On top of that, they still drew their regular salary for guarding the spirit mountain.

Every family cultivator stationed on a mountain worked with tireless diligence. They understood that the spirit veins belonged to the family. The spirit seeds belonged to the family. The only reason they could safely cultivate these fields was because of the family's protection. An attack like the one the rogue cultivators had launched on Heavenly Yang Mountain would never happen again. The Zhang family had also gained five new cultivators.

Granted, they all had four or five spirit roots, but to the Zhang family, every child with a spirit root was precious. The family's existing cultivators had also made breakthroughs. Zhang Huaijin's father, the current clan leader, had officially stepped into the Qi Refining perfection stage. Zhang Lixian was only fifty four years old. If he could get his hands on a Foundation Establishment Pill, he could attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm right now.

Over the past few years, thanks to the steady mining of Mystic Iron Ore, the Zhang family had gained access to far more resources than before. Zhang Liliang's cultivation had also advanced. He had reached the eighth level of Qi Refining Realm. So had Zhang Linyi. Zhang Hong, on the other hand, had not broken through because he was still recovering from old injuries, but he had reached the peak of the seventh level of Qi Refining Realm.

And Zhang Huaijin's older brother, Zhang Hanren, had also advanced to the seventh level of Qi Refining Realm, entering the late Qi Refining stage. Over these three years, the Zhang family had gained two new late stage Qi Refining Realm cultivators: Zhang Huaijin and Zhang Hanren. Because of the family's struggles in the past, Zhang Hanren's progress had been delayed. But precisely because of that, his foundation was far more solid than that of most mid stage Qi Refining cultivators.

Now that the family was both increasing its income and cutting unnecessary expenses, the resources available were several times what they had been before. The family had also begun investing more heavily in training its cultivators. Several more mid stage Qi Refining cultivators had emerged. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. But in the end, it all came down to the same truth: the Zhang family had been weak in the past, with insufficient resources.

Think about Foundation Establishment families. Even a cultivator with five spirit roots, as long as they worked hard and cultivated diligently, could reach Qi Refining perfection. In the world of cultivation, talent was important, but resources were even more important.

"Wealth, companions, methods, and location" none of the four essential conditions could be missing. With enough resources, you could even push a pig all the way to the Nascent Soul Realm. Take the children of high level cultivators. Even with five spirit roots, under their parents' protection, the worst they could do was still reach the Purple Mansion Realm.

A Foundation Establishment Pill, something a Qi Refining Realm family or even a Foundation Establishment Realm family might not see once in decades, was just an ordinary pill to someone like that. Can't break through with one pill? Take five. Take ten. Zhang Huaijin wondered when his own family would ever reach such heights. He exhaled softly, pushing the stray thoughts from his mind. Just then, he received a voice transmission from Zhang Lixian.

"Family business. Come at once." Zhang Huaijin didn't delay. He walked calmly toward the main family hall. Zhang Lixian looked at his son and felt genuine satisfaction. Twenty one years old, seventh level of Qi Refining Realm, Foundation Establishment was within reach. Zhang Lixian knew in his heart that he had only six years left before the age limit of sixty for attempting Foundation Establishment. And with the Zhang family's current lack of resources, they had no way to even buy a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The family's foundation was too shallow. He would never have a chance to reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime. Everything would have to wait until six years from now. If by then Zhang Huaijin had grown strong enough and the Zhang family was powerful enough that the future was secure, then Zhang Lixian might attempt Foundation Establishment anyway, just so he could have no regrets.

Without a Foundation Establishment Pill, some cultivators with unshakable Dao hearts could still break through to Foundation Establishment on their own. But if you passed sixty, your chances dropped drastically. If you failed to achieve your Dao, you could only wait, year by year, for your vitality to fade. If you succeeded, you would become a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, your lifespan soaring to two hundred and forty years.

If you failed, your meridians would shatter, and you would quietly fade into nothing. The path of cultivation was cruel.

"Father, what's happened?" Zhang Huaijin asked. The Zhang family was currently on a fast track of development. Had they come into conflict with another Qi Refining Realm family…?

"The family's Spirit Root Testing Assembly is about to begin. You'll preside over it this year. You just came out of seclusion, it'll be good for you to get out and clear your head." Zhang Lixian's words made Zhang Huaijin relax. So that was all it was.

"All right." The assembly was held once every three years. Other families did much the same. Every Zhang child between the ages of six and ten was eligible. Each child got at least two chances to test whether they had a spirit root and the potential to become a cultivator. Right now, there were no children of that age on Green Bamboo Mountain. Green Bamboo Town's population had now surpassed six thousand. For mortals living under a cultivation family, life wasn't too harsh.

If you gave birth to a child with a spirit root, your life in Green Bamboo Town became like an emperor's, no worries about food or drink. The Zhang family would shower you with rewards. After all, only by increasing the number of cultivators could the family continue to grow. —— Zhang Yunli was five years younger than Zhang Huaijin. She was sixteen now. She had grown into a graceful young woman in a crimson dress. Her cultivation had reached the third level of Qi Refining Realm.

Zhang Yunli had a four spirit root, so she couldn't cultivate that fast. But with two older brothers looking out for her? She had no shortage of spirit rice or spirit stones. Naturally, she progressed a bit faster than the other four root cultivators. When she learned that Zhang Huaijin had left seclusion and was going to Green Bamboo Town to test the clan children, she begged to tag along. Zhang Huaijin agreed. A mid stage Qi Refining cultivator named Zhang Hunin also came along.

He also had a four spirit root, was half a year younger than Zhang Yunli, and had reached the fourth level of Qi Refining. Among the third generation of the Zhang family, he ranked seventh. Zhang Wujian, another clansman, had advanced to the fourth level of Qi Refining Realm a year ago and was now approaching the mid fourth level. The three of them left Green Bamboo Mountain and set out for Green Bamboo Town.

Because Green Bamboo Town's population had grown so large, the Zhang family had cultivated a tier 1, low grade spirit vein there. A third level Qi Refining Realm clansman was stationed there year round. Since the demonic cultivators had been wiped out in the Tang Kingdom decades ago, there had been no sign of them since. A mortal town didn't need a particularly strong cultivator to guard it. The Zhang clansman in Green Bamboo Town had already made all the preparations, waiting for the family cultivators to arrive.