Chương 67: A Treasure Beyond Measure

"Huh? Why has the mountain's spiritual energy suddenly surged so much?" All across Green Bamboo Mountain, clan members looked up, shock reverberating through their hearts. Zhang Liliang's heart burned even hotter. With the spiritual energy on Green Bamboo Mountain skyrocketing, his cultivation speed would increase dramatically. He was fifty two years old this year.

In two years, after refining the Spirit Peach, he would definitely break through to the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm, and that would still leave him six more years. The spiritual power contained within the Spirit Peach was so potent that even after reaching the ninth level, he wouldn't be able to absorb it all. It would be enough to shorten the time he needed to reach the perfection stage of Qi Refining Realm.

Even in the worst case scenario, he was confident of achieving Qi Refining perfection by the age of fifty seven. While cultivating, he also frantically crafted talismans, hoarding merit points to exchange for the Foundation Establishment Pill. Success or failure, he had to try. The family had this opportunity now. If he missed it, he would spend the rest of his life drowning in regret. Zhang Hong and Zhang Linyi exchanged knowing smiles. The stronger the family grew, the happier they felt.

As elders who had witnessed the clan's founding, watching it rise and thrive step by step filled them with immense joy. The Zhang family wasn't Zhang Chongwen's alone, they too had shed blood and tears to build it. Zhang Liwei also looked up, relentlessly attacking the bottleneck to the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm. He was another three spirit root cultivator in the Zhang family, and thanks to the mutual generation cycle of his five elements, his cultivation speed was a bit faster than Zhang Lixian's.

At twenty seven years old, he had already reached the peak of the seventh level. Now he was charging toward the eighth. In the current Zhang family, Zhang Liwei was the undisputed Foundation Establishment Realm candidate. At his current advancement rate, he would reach the perfection stage of Qi Refining Realm before the age of thirty five. That would leave him a full twenty five years to assault the Foundation Establishment Realm. The third generation of the clan was also cultivating with utter desperation.

The beast tide was imminent. Every shred of increased cultivation raised their odds of survival. No one dared to relax for a single moment. —— Meanwhile, Zhang Huaijin stared blankly at the Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree. He finally understood the purpose of the new nine green peaches growing on it. This was a longevity spiritual resource, capable of extending the lifespan of any living being in the world. Once ripe, they would become tier 2 spirit fruits.

Each green peach, if consumed, would extend the eater's life by ten years. Longevity resources were priceless, impossible to buy even with a fortune. For a cultivator whose lifespan was nearing its end, this was nothing short of a peerless treasure. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. · A tier 2, low grade longevity fruit added ten years. · A tier 2, mid grade fruit added fifteen years. · A tier 2, upper grade fruit added twenty years.

Each fruit required six years to mature. But the most important feature was wherever the Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree was planted, it would spontaneously nurture a Spirit Vein. Right now, the tree was at tier 2, low grade. After some time, a tier 2, low grade Spirit Vein would form in the soil beneath it. If the tree advanced to tier 2, mid grade, that Spirit Vein would also evolve to tier 2, mid grade.

In other words, the Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree would provide Zhang Huaijin with a continuously upgradeable Spirit Vein, without requiring him to spend a single spirit stone. This alone would save the the Zhang family a massive amount of resources. Every time the tree advanced a major realm, it would bear new Spirit Peaches with entirely different effects. The green peaches contained dense life essence, which extended lifespan.

(A cultivator could only consume a longevity resource three times in their life, further consumption would have no effect.) —— Even more crucially, once the Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree reached tier 2, upper grade, it would directly split off nine tier 1, upper grade Azure Peach Spirit Trees, which would continue producing Azure Peaches for cultivation.

Then, when the main tree reached tier 3, upper grade, it would split into nine tier 2 Azure Peach Spirit Trees, and those nine tier 1 trees would each split further into eighty one more trees, and so on, layer by layer. Because the Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree was so outrageously heaven defying, only the Azure Peach Spirit Trees, the original tree would propagate. The other varieties of Spirit Peaches would remain exclusive to the main tree.

Even so, this tree alone could become the Zhang family's eternal foundation, a treasure that would ensure generation after generation of powerful cultivators. The peach tree was also the real reason Green Bamboo Mountain now had spiritual energy comparable to a tier 2, mid grade Spirit Vein. —— Zhang Chongwen stepped outside again, staring at the transformed Seven Colored Spirit Peach Tree with a look of shock.

"Huaijin… what did you do? How did the Azure Peach Spirit Tree suddenly advance to tier 2?" Zhang Chongwen was deeply astonished. Though the tree had been tier 1, upper grade, he had estimated it would take decades to reach tier 2. Spirit trees advanced with immense difficulty. But in less than fifteen minutes, it had simply… broken through. Zhang Huaijin smiled.

"Grandfather, it just broke through on its own. In the future, I might need to take the Spirit Peach Tree with me when I establish my own cultivation abode." No one yet understood the tree's true nature. Only when it reached tier 2, upper grade would its divine characteristics become fully apparent. More and more clan members were gathering on Green Bamboo Mountain. The fewer who knew the whole truth, the better. The current Zhang family, even as a Foundation Establishment Realm clan, was still too weak.

They needed time to develop. Zhang Chongwen looked confused. But this grandson of his was always so mysterious. And since Huaijin was the one who had brought the Spirit Peach Tree to the family in the first place, he naturally had the right to decide its fate.

"But… what about the Spirit Peaches for the family…?" Zhang Chongwen hesitated. Zhang Huaijin's face broke into a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Grandfather. Other than what I use myself, I will put all the remaining Spirit Peaches into the family treasury." Zhang Chongwen let out a small sigh of relief. Spirit Peaches had a shelf life, if not used within a certain time, their energy would dissipate, or they would simply rot. Even under optimal storage conditions, they wouldn't last more than twenty years. If he couldn't consume them himself, the only sensible thing was to add them to the family treasury.

Now that the Zhang family had also acquired a tier 2 spirit wine recipe, perhaps they could even brew Azure Peach Spirit Wine someday. As for Huaijin himself, his hands were already full with his existing cultivation techniques. For now, he had no interest in becoming a wine maker. Maybe when his cultivation progress slowed in the future, he would dabble in brewing wine.

"That's good," Zhang Chongwen said with a nod. The Azure Peaches had already helped the Zhang family's third generation immensely. They owed much of their current cultivation to those very fruits. (Sorry for the info-dump hope you all understood how the tree works, write a comment if you want further explanation🍑🌳)