Chapter 344

"Hahaha, Old Fu, do you still remember when I beat you as a kid, eh?"

"You old white-haired man, I clearly beat you black and blue."

Fu family.

Old Master Fu is very happy today.

His 200th birthday celebration, many old friends have come.

Old Master Fu's actual age is already a thousand years.

Two hundred years is what he calculates according to Lan Xing time, not the Earth Core Secret Realm.

He was born in the old era, and his childhood and teenage years were spent in the old era.

People like him, who have lived from the old era to the present, are not many on Lan Xing.

Many of these old friends of his are the batch that originally entered the Earth Core Secret Realm.

Some are also his childhood pals.

For example, this white-haired old man.

The two of them often fought when they were young.

"Unknowingly, we have all grown old; alas, if we had not entered the Earth Core Secret Realm back then, we might have lived several hundred more years."

The white-haired old man sighed.

"Yes, who would have thought that the evolution of the Earth Core Secret Realm is imperfect, bringing extra consumption to our lifespans; otherwise, as mighty Eight Realms cultivators, how could we be troubled by lifespan?"

Another old comrade echoed.

Master Ge never personally entered the Earth Core Secret Realm, so he doesn't know another drawback of it.

Staying inside for a long time brings extra consumption to one's lifespan.

This extra consumption is a loss beyond the hundredfold consumption.

This is also one of the reasons why the Earth Core Secret Realm has remained closed to this day.

The evolution of the Earth Core Secret Realm is incomplete; one could even say it has a bit of a bug.

Back then, entering the Earth Core Secret Realm was itself a choice made out of desperation.

After Lan Xing became strong, there was no further attempt to perfect the evolution of the Earth Core Secret Realm.

It inherently has drawbacks and bugs; the source required to perfect its evolution is simply too vast.

Even if it were perfected, the drawbacks might not be eliminated.

The number of Seven and Eight Realms cultivators who grew up through the Earth Core Secret Realm is not small; they can still live for several decades to a century, enough to guard Lan Xing for a considerable time.

"Today is Old Fu's birthday; such a good day, why are you talking about depressing topics? Think from another angle: if we hadn't entered the Earth Core Secret Realm, we might not even be alive today, and our descendants would surely not be as prosperous as we are now."

Yet another old comrade took it in stride.

"That's true, haha."

"Old Wu, it's really you who lives so lucidly."

The other old comrades all echoed in agreement.

While they were chatting, guests coming to celebrate the birthday kept arriving.

The guests who came this time were not just numerous.

Besides being many, these guests' strength and status were extraordinary.

For example, some commanders from the Martial Manor and the War Manor personally came to wish Old Master Fu a happy birthday.

As for the Four Palaces and Six Halls such as the Northern Dipper Palace and the Pure Void Palace, basically each had an Eight Realms vice hall master come.

Other lesser powers, such as the two overseas fairy islands of Penglai and Fangzhang, likewise had strong cultivators come.

The Fu family is stronger than some other Eight Realms families.

Old Master Fu himself is only at the Eight Realms.

But his son is at the Nine Realms.

He is also an ancient reincarnator.

Such reincarnators were at least at the Tenth Realm or higher in their previous lives.

After awakening their past-life memories, they possess the experience of two lifetimes.

In this life, they are very likely to successfully undergo the tribulation and reach the Tenth Realm!

This elevates the Fu family's status far above that of ordinary Eight Realms families.

The various powers in the East naturally placed great importance on Old Master Fu's birthday this time.

Not to mention the East.

Even the officials of some small states surrounding Huaxia dispatched people to come congratulate.

Given the Fu family's strength, if it weren't for the heavenly dao's balance, this single family could have wiped out many neighboring states.

In the West, too, there were people who came.

The Fu family members responsible for receiving guests were Fu Ning, who previously sent the invitation to Lu Xun, together with several other Seven Realms cultivators.

The Fu family has many Seven Realms cultivators.

But aside from Old Master Fu, there is currently no second Eight Realms cultivator.

Advancing from Seven Realms to Eight Realms is not that easy.

Old Master Fu, back when he was in the Earth Core Secret Realm, took several hundred years to break through.

He is actually not a genius; he hasn't even opened the Heaven Earth Meridian.

Back then, Lan Xing's cultivation techniques were far from complete, and very few people managed to open the Heaven Earth Meridian.

Some who possessed rare physiques, due to lacking certain resources, failed to activate their physiques and were thus delayed for most of their lives.

How unlike now, when geniuses are everywhere.

However,

Even if we consider Lan Xing's current strength and the intangible boost it gives cultivators, advancing from the Seventh Realm to the Eighth Realm would still take at least several decades, even over a century.

Specifically, it depends on the individual.

Like Fu Yue and Fu Xue's father, his progress was astonishingly fast—he achieved it in less than ten years.

This is because reincarnators are innately gifted with an understanding of the laws; this step directly saves more than half the time, so cultivation naturally becomes faster.

"Lao Yang Tou has arrived."

At that moment, new guests arrived.

Lao Yang Tou.

This is also one of Old Master Fu's old comrades.

As an old comrade, as soon as Lao Yang Tou arrived, he went straight and squeezed next to Old Master Fu.

"You're all here—perfect timing."

Lao Yang Tou saw Old Master Fu and the others, and a smile appeared on his face.

"What's wrong, Lao Yang Tou?"

An old comrade asked.

"It's like this: my granddaughter and her fiancé are set to marry next month; today is such a joyous occasion, so I'll go ahead and send out the wedding invitations as well."

After saying that, Lao Yang Tou pulled out a thick stack of wedding invitations from his spatial ring and began handing them out one by one.

Old Master Fu's smile vanished instantly.

This Lao Yang Tou.

He really brings up the sore spot.

He actually showed up at his birthday celebration to hand out wedding invitations.

The key is, this guy is too smug.

His granddaughter isn't actually that monstrous; she's merely at the normal level of having opened the Heaven Earth Meridian.

But his son-in-law, however, is a rare genius unparalleled in the world.

At only forty-six years old, he broke through to the Seventh Realm.

And before his son-in-law broke through to the Seventh Realm, he had continuously held first place on the Six Realms ranking list of the Heaven Dao Tower.

On the Six Realms merit list of the Heaven Dao Battlefield, he was also first.

The reason he did not participate in the Heaven Dao Battlefield this time is that his son-in-law only recently broke through to the Seventh Realm and is still in the early stage, making it impossible for him to squeeze into the top ten of the Seventh Realm.

Fu Yue and Fu Xue are the exception.

They relied on the joint-attack technique and the Fu family's secret art, forcing their way into the top ten.

In Old Master Fu's generation, when they were young, they competed against themselves.

In old age, they naturally compare their descendants.

Especially, given their limited lifespans due to the Earth Core Secret Realm, they hope even more to see their descendants bring honor.

Without a doubt, Lao Yang Tou's son-in-law, being excessively monstrous, directly outshone many of the Fu family's sons-in-law.

It would be strange if Old Master Fu could be happy about that.

So last time he brought up Lu Xun, trying to turn the tide.

"Lao Yang Tou, your son-in-law is so formidable—aren't you afraid you won't be able to keep him in check in the future?"

Master Ge said, squinting his eyes half-jokingly.

Lao Yang Tou is so smug; these old comrades all feel a bit envious.

Master Ge is fine; his daughter and granddaughter are nothing special, and he has long since given up hope.

The other old comrades, however, are different.

"Hey, what's there to be afraid of? Zhong Da dotes on my Lian Er; I'm not afraid of you old comrades laughing at me. The reason the marriage is so rushed is because Lian Er's belly is big, so I'm hurrying them to wed..."

The more Lao Yang Tou spoke, the smugger he became.

"Congratulations, then—you're about to become a great-grandfather again."

Old Master Fu interjected out of the blue.

"Hey, thanks, thanks, Old Fu—where is your grandson-in-law Lu Xun? Why hasn't he come yet?"

Lao Yang Tou asked curiously.

"No need for you to worry; my precious grandson-in-law will come when he's supposed to."

Old Master Fu remained calm.

At the same time.

The airship carrying Lu Xun, Fu Yue, and Fu Xue entered Jade Spindle City.

Outsider airships are not allowed to enter Jade Spindle City.

However, the airships of Fu Yue and Fu Xue can fly within Jade Spindle City, though their flight altitude is restricted, and they may only pass above Jade Spindle Avenue.

On Jade Spindle Avenue, the airships are stacked in several layers, coming and going in an endless stream.

The Fu family's residence is in District 68 of Jade Spindle City, not far from District 49 where Master Ge resides.

The Fu family is a colossus in Jade Spindle City, occupying the entirety of District 68 by themselves.

Their population is extraordinarily prosperous; the main house and branch families together number several thousand.

That is what a true great clan looks like.

There are too many people.

If given enough time, the clan would develop into an even greater magnitude.

Not only are there many people, but the quality of those several thousand Fu family members is exceptionally high.

Except for minors, very few adult Fu clan members have not opened their meridians.

Of course, geniuses are still a minority.

"We are arriving."

"Area 68 is arriving."

Even Fu Yue couldn't help feeling a little nervous at this moment.

Because next, she needs to pretend to be a couple with Lu Xun.

Before this, Fu Yue had already told Chu Youqing about this to avoid Chu Youqing misunderstanding.

She didn't intend to pretend to be a couple with Lu Xun in public; she only needed to act the part in front of Fu Lao Yezi's old comrade and their fathers.

A few minutes later.

Area 68 has arrived.

Area 68 is divided into three layers in total.

The Fu clan's territory is on the topmost layer.

The bottom layer is where the Fu clan's industries are located.

The middle layer is where the Fu clan cultivates spiritual medicines.

"What a grand scheme."

Lu Xun stood on the flying vessel, gazing at the territory belonging exclusively to the Fu clan's Area 68, and couldn't help but feel shocked.

This is the foundation of the Fu clan, a top-tier noble house on Lan Xing.

A true noble clan does not pile up gold and silver, but transforms heaven and earth.

The core area of Xuanji City, an entire district, belongs entirely to the Fu clan.

The flying vessel began to ascend, passed through the cloud layer, and arrived at the Fu clan's territory.

Lu Xun's pupils contracted slightly.

This is no manor; it is clearly a self-contained realm!

On three square kilometers of land, undulating mountains, mirror-like jade lakes, vast prairies, winding rivers, and silver-thread waterfalls cascade; pavilions and towers are scattered amidst them, perfectly blending with nature, as if they were originally a single scroll.

Luxury taken to the extreme returns to nature.

The Fu clan... indeed lives up to its reputation.

"Here he comes, here he comes, Great-grandfather, Lu Xun has arrived."

At the same time, a young Fu clan member rushed into the largest building of the Fu clan manor to report.

"Lu Xun has arrived?"

This news made Fu Lao Yezi delighted.

He looked toward Lao Yangtou, and finally a hint of joy appeared in his eyebrows and eyes:

"Lao Yangtou, look, Lu Xun has indeed arrived, hasn't he?"

Fu Lao Yezi burst into laughter.