Chapter 17: Mother Advances

The next day, Lin Zhangqing completed his daily cultivation.

Upon arriving in the courtyard, he saw his mother's face full of joy and asked her if something good had happened.

His mother, Xu Wenying, said she wanted to give him a surprise. She brought him to the secret room and took out a jade box from her storage bag for Lin Zhangqing.

Lin Zhangqing roughly knew what it was, and the corners of his eyes grew slightly moist.

Whenever his mother had good things, she always thought of her children first.

Lin Zhangqing shook his head and also took out a jade box from his storage bag. He said, "Mother, Grandfather gave me some too. You should use this one yourself.

If you cultivate to the Qi Refining Great Perfection sooner, you might have a chance to reach Foundation Establishment in the future!

Besides, Father has one too, so don't you worry about it. Advance to the seventh layer of Qi Refining as soon as possible!"

His mother thought for a moment, then nodded and agreed.

Lin Zhangqing pushed his mother into the cultivation room; there is no time like the present, so she should advance today.

His mother had no choice but to agree, and she entered the cultivation room to prepare for the breakthrough.

Lin Zhangqing knew that his mother would have no problems; she had been at the sixth layer of Qi Refining for many years. This time, she would definitely break through smoothly.

Lin Zhangqing sat cross-legged outside the cultivation room to stand guard.

After two hours, a sudden, violent fluctuation of spiritual energy occurred, and Lin Zhangqing knew his mother had succeeded.

After waiting a while longer, the door to the cultivation room opened, and his mother walked out happily.

Lin Zhangqing went up to meet her, "Did you succeed?"

His mother nodded, "I circulated my energy for several cycles, and after taking the Vermilion Fruit, I advanced smoothly. The excess medicinal power wasn't wasted either; my cultivation base has improved quite a bit.

I'm halfway closer to the eighth layer of Qi Refining now," his mother said happily, and it was clear she was in a good mood.

Lin Zhangqing was also very happy; his mood was relaxed, and he felt everything was wonderful.

He bid farewell to his mother and went to find his Second Uncle to send him to Aoyun Peak.

When his Second Uncle saw Lin Zhangqing, he also took out a Vermilion Fruit to give to him.

He said he had already taken one and couldn't take another in the short term, so this one should go to Lin Zhangqing.

Lin Zhangqing was left between laughter and tears; he could only repeat what he said before and took out the Vermilion Fruit to show his Second Uncle.

It seemed that in the future, he would have to make things clear to Grandfather and his family to avoid this constant back-and-forth.

Arriving at the Aoyun Peak spirit fields, Lin Zhangqing began to inspect them; the first-grade spirit rice was growing well.

The 480 spirit herbs were also growing sturdily and flourishing, and he began to complete today's catalysis task.

When his spiritual power was exhausted, he went to the cultivation room to sit and recover. After going back and forth two or three times, he finally finished.

Using spiritual energy so frequently and then sitting to recover was also beneficial for his cultivation base. It was because Lin Zhangqing felt this benefit that he persisted tirelessly. It could be considered that Heaven rewards the diligent.

After finishing his work, he and his Second Uncle each lay on a recliner, watching the layers of clouds and mist swirling around the mountain-protecting great array in the distance, which felt quite ethereal.

If they could brew a pot of hot tea, plant two fruit trees nearby, and dig a pond to raise some fish, it would be even more perfect.

He shared this thought with his Second Uncle, and his Second Uncle also said it was good and suitable for his retirement in the future.

Lin Zhangqing was speechless. He wanted to make this place more vibrant and leisurely, so why was his Second Uncle thinking about retirement? "Second Uncle, you will soon reach the Qi Refining Great Perfection; you might even become a Foundation Establishment expert in the future. It's still far too early to consider retirement," Lin Zhangqing said with a serious face.

His Second Uncle laughed heartily upon hearing this and said, "I wouldn't dare think about Foundation Establishment. A Foundation Establishment Pill costs forty or fifty thousand spirit stones. Even if you exchange for it with family contribution points, it still costs thirty-five thousand.

Even if I had one, I would have to give it to your aunt first; she has three spirit roots, so her success rate for Foundation Establishment is higher.

If I can cultivate to the Qi Refining Great Perfection in this lifetime, I will be satisfied; I have never dared to think about Foundation Establishment."

"That's not true, Second Uncle. There will definitely be a chance for you to reach Foundation Establishment in the future."

The uncle and nephew chatted back and forth like this.

When the time was about right, his Second Uncle took Lin Zhangqing home.

Upon returning home, everyone congratulated his mother on her advancement, and after a lively time, they finished the sumptuous meal his mother had carefully prepared.

Lin Zhangqing returned to his room, where Chuyi's bird's nest had remained in the room without being moved. He called out to Chuyi, telling it to come over. Lin Zhangqing now had four century-old Vermilion Fruits in his hands, but he had broken through to the third layer of Qi Refining less than a year ago; if he broke through again now, it would seem too sudden.

Therefore, he planned to wait a bit longer; anyway, he was still young and not in a rush.

Chuyi had been born for nearly a year now, and Lin Zhangqing wanted to give the century-old Vermilion Fruit to Chuyi first to see if there would be any changes.

Thinking of it, he did it. He held Chuyi in his arms and took out a century-old Vermilion Fruit, placing it in front of Chuyi.

Chuyi's feathers immediately stood up. Although it didn't recognize this spirit fruit, it could feel the overwhelming spiritual energy within it. It couldn't believe this was really for it.

It glanced at Lin Zhangqing and received an affirmative look from him. It immediately began to act cute and act like a spoiled child, nudging Lin Zhangqing with its head, which Lin Zhangqing found very enjoyable.

Usually, when Chuyi saw Lin Zhangqing, it only expressed affection; this was the first time it had acted so cute and spoiled. Sure enough, flattery never fails.

Lin Zhangqing cut open the century-old Vermilion Fruit, put away the pit, and fed the flesh to Chuyi.

After Chuyi finished eating, it nudged Lin Zhangqing with its head and then fell into a deep sleep in his arms.

Lin Zhangqing knew this was absorbing and digesting the spiritual energy of the Vermilion Fruit. When Chuyi woke up, he would know the effect. He put it back into the bird's nest.

He then began his evening spell cultivation.

A night passed, and in the early morning, Lin Zhangqing heard chirping sounds by his ear. He opened his eyes and saw that Chuyi had woken up, and its appearance had changed significantly.

It was much taller and stronger than before. Its claws were golden, bright, and powerful, and its wings, and even parts of its body, had turned golden. The pupils of its eyes had also turned into transparent gold. It looked incomparably majestic.

He spread its wings to take a look; before, its wingspan was only 30 centimeters, but now it was estimated to be 80 centimeters. Its body height was 60 centimeters. Its size had grown by a large margin.

It was now a genuine first-grade lower-grade spirit beast, and it would be of even greater help to Lin Zhangqing in the future.

After playing with Chuyi for a while, he let it fly out on its own to adapt to the power it had gained after advancing, so it wouldn't accidentally hurt the spirit herbs or spirit plants while catching insects.

Then he began his cultivation for the day, and when Lin Zhangqing came out, his grandfather was already waiting for him.

He handed Lin Zhangqing a spirit plant bag; this type was specifically used for transplanting spirit herbs and spirit plants, and it could keep them from dying during the transplant as much as possible.

He glanced inside the bag and saw a spirit fruit tree one zhang tall; it should be the Earth Soul Fruit tree.

But that wasn't the problem; the problem was that Lin Zhangqing saw a purple halo around this Earth Soul Fruit tree.

Lin Zhangqing rubbed his eyes. He looked again, and there was still a purple halo.

Lin Zhangqing calmed himself down; now was not the time to study this.

Lin Zhangqing nodded to his grandfather, indicating there was no problem. He would transplant it into the space in a moment.

His grandfather spoke, "I plan to set off for the neighboring Dongyang Prefecture in a moment. The market in Dongyang Prefecture City will have a large-scale auction at the Wanbao Pavilion next month."

"Why go so far? Is it safe? How long does it take to get from our Pingyang Prefecture to Dongyang Prefecture?" Lin Zhangqing asked with some surprise.

"Grandfather is at the Foundation Establishment stage, I travel alone and fast, and besides, I've been there several times already, it's very safe.

It will take about ten days to reach Dongyang Prefecture. I will try to return home within two months, at the latest before the end of the year, so don't you worry."

"Why don't I go with Grandfather?"

"That won't do, you are still too young. Wait until you are two years older before talking about it. Stay obediently on the Ancestral Mountain to avoid Grandfather worrying while outside."

"Alright, I'll listen to Grandfather.

Grandfather, please also keep an eye out for the follow-up cultivation methods for the Five Elements Return to Origin Scripture, or other Chaos attribute cultivation methods."

"Alright, Grandfather will remember. I won't forget."

"Grandfather, please also be careful while outside and come back early."

"Don't you worry! Your grandfather is an old hand.

Even if I go to the Wanbao Pavilion, I will disguise myself; I won't be careless. You just stay home and wait for Grandfather to return."

Lin Zhangqing had no choice but to look forward to his grandfather's early return.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 18 =====