Chương 66: The Seven Colored Transformation

Zhang Huaijin had no idea what the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators of the Tian family were thinking. Now that Zhang Lixian had left for the Gao family, Huaijin was the only Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator remaining on Green Bamboo Mountain. The mountain now possessed a Tier 2, Lower Grade spirit vein, a resource that absolutely required a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator to guard. He couldn't afford a single moment of carelessness.

Meanwhile, the family's Azure Peach Spirit Tree had ripened another nine spirit peaches. But the moment Zhang Huaijin placed them in the clan treasury, they vanished, snapped up by eager clansmen. Because of the impending beast tide, all cultivation resources were being sold at half the usual merit points. Each azure peach was potent enough to push a mid stage Qi Refining Realm cultivator all the way to the late stage.

And even after that breakthrough, plenty of energy remained within the fruit to continue boosting their cultivation. For a late stage cultivator, consuming a single peach was enough to advance an entire level. Take Zhang Liliang, for example. He had already reached the eighth level of Qi Refining Realm. With a peach, the ninth level was finally within his grasp. And he was only fifty two years old. The family had already informed him about the Foundation Establishment Pill they'd acquired.

True, the pill was damaged, tainted with a strand of baleful tribulation energy, but it was still a glimmer of hope. Zhang Hong and Zhang Linyi had also reached the eighth level of Qi Refining Realm. They each exchanged merit points for a peach, which would push them directly to the ninth level. The clan's high ranking members all knew about the Foundation Establishment Pill. But for Zhang Hong and Zhang Linyi, that door had already closed.

Both were over seventy, well past the age where attempting to Establish a Foundation remained viable. Their vitality hadn't yet begun to decline, but their prime was undeniably behind them. Perhaps that was why the two had recently started taking wives and having children. In the past, when the Zhang bloodline was thin, the two of them, despite sharing the Zhang surname, weren't direct descendants of Zhang Chongwen's line. Zhang Chongwen never once mentioned it, but they were acutely aware of their place.

But now, the Zhang Family was on the rise. The number of cultivators within the clan was exploding. The population of Green Bamboo Town had surpassed ten thousand. The clan's spirit root testing ceremony had been switched from once every three years to an annual event. The Zhangs were now a legitimate Foundation Establishment Realm family, poised for rapid development. More people meant more clansmen with spirit roots, which meant more cultivators for the family. A virtuous cycle.

Each year, the family added two or three new cultivators. And as time passed, the Zhang family's power would only grow. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. With no further concerns about affecting the main bloodline, Zhang Hong and Zhang Linyi began focusing on their own legacy. They married over a dozen mortal women, and within six months, all of them were pregnant. Such was the stamina of a cultivator.

Still going strong at seventy or eighty years old. Zhang Chongwen scolded them half heartedly, but deep down, he was pleased. The more people in the Zhang family, the more cultivators they would produce. Zhang Hong and Zhang Linyi were more than satisfied with simply reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining Realm. The Zhang Family was now a Foundation Establishment Realm clan. A decade ago, they wouldn't have even dared to dream of this.

The family's third generation was growing up as well, most of them at the sixth level of Qi Refining Realm. Meanwhile, Zhang Huaijin's Purple Spirit Tiger had advanced to Tier 1, Upper Grade, equivalent to the seventh level of Qi Refining Realm. The beast had grown thicker, its purple stripes more prominent, its claws gleaming with cold, deadly light. It was the undisputed king of its own little pride. Huaijin even gave it a name, Zhang Haihu.

And now that Zhang Haihu had reached maturity, he too had begun producing offspring, dedicating his descendants to the family's spirit beast garden. —— With more cultivators, the once quiet slopes of Green Bamboo Mountain grew noticeably livelier. The family's resources increased steadily as well. Several talisman crafters and artifact forgers had emerged. Zhang Huaijin and Zhang Lixian no longer had to personally forge Tier 1, Low Grade or Mid Grade artifacts anymore.

And since the brewery opened, the number of clan brewers had also grown. The family no longer lacked Tier 1 resources. With a solid heritage and ample materials for practice, success had become almost inevitable. —— Right now, Zhang Huaijin stood deep within Green Bamboo Mountain. The clan's restricted zone. A place only Zhang Huaijin, Zhang Lixian, and Zhang Chongwen could enter. Not even Zhang Liliang had access.

"Huaijin? What brings you here?" Zhang Chongwen's figure emerged from the shadows, his brow furrowed in confusion. The beast tide was less than two years away. Huaijin was now twenty eight. By the time the tide erupted, he would be exactly thirty. Shouldn't he be in secluded meditation, polishing his cultivation base? What was he doing wandering around?

"Grandfather, I'm just checking on the Azure Peach Spirit Tree," Zhang Huaijin said. Zhang Chongwen nodded and disappeared back into the medicine garden. After all, the Azure Peach Spirit Tree belonged to Huaijin. He had every right to do with it as he pleased. Zhang Huaijin stood before the three meter tall tree. Suddenly, the Realm-Breaking Sub Pearl within his Sea of Consciousness began to spin. A moment later, it shot forth as a beam of light and plunged into the tree's very core.

The Azure Peach Spirit Tree underwent an immediate transformation. Crack. Zhang Huaijin heard it first, the shattering of the tree's internal bottleneck. The trunk surged upward by a full meter, reaching four meters in height. Its branches and leaves grew thicker, a richer, more verdant green. A refreshing, fragrant scent wafted through the air, invigorating the soul. The entire spirit tree became inextricably linked to Zhang Huaijin. An invisible bond now connected them.

The power of the Realm-Breaking Sub Pearl erupted, smashing through the barrier to Tier 2 in an instant. The tree had become a Tier 2, Lower Grade spirit tree. Its very foundation had been fundamentally transformed. He could sense that, in addition to absorbing ambient spiritual energy, the tree was now drawing in an incredibly profound power from the void. Chaos Qi. Chaos Qi was a type of energy countless levels higher than ordinary spiritual energy. Even wispy strands were an incomparable treasure for the tree.

Even more importantly, because of the Realm-Breaking Sub Pearl, the tree no longer faced any growth bottlenecks. Given enough time, it could continue advancing endlessly. The Azure Peach Spirit Tree's foundation had been reborn. It could no longer be called the Azure Peach Spirit Tree. This spirit tree had become Zhang Huaijin's companion treasure, something that could grow alongside him forever. And it had a name, the Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree.

With a mere thought, Zhang Huaijin could make it vanish into his Sea of Consciousness. And now, besides the azure peaches, the tree had produced new fruit! Hidden among the lush branches, invisible to anyone without Zhang Huaijin's connection to the tree, were nine azure peaches and nine new, marble sized green peaches. Eighteen spirit peaches in total, nestled amidst the leaves.

With the Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree's advancement to Tier 2, Lower Grade, the spiritual energy on Green Bamboo Mountain intensified to three times its previous concentration. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought the mountain's spirit vein had jumped all the way to Tier 2, Mid Grade.