Chapter 19

"After deducting the cost of the cultivation method from these 30,000 spirit stones, there are 27,000 left. How does Qing'er plan to handle them?"

"Grandfather, please give me 10,000 spirit stones first, and keep the rest for now.

Aunt will soon reach the ninth layer of Qi Refining; we need to prepare a Foundation Establishment Pill for her.

In a few months, there will be another batch of 24 Vermilion Fruits. Once we sell those, we can combine the spirit stones to buy the Foundation Establishment Pill for Aunt.

It just so happens that in a year, our Pingyang Prefecture will hold an auction, and there will definitely be Foundation Establishment Pills for sale."

"You silly grandson! At every auction, there are only five to ten Foundation Establishment Pills. Pingyang Prefecture has thirteen Foundation Establishment families, plus those Qi Refining families and loose cultivators.

Others won't let you buy two Foundation Establishment Pills at once; it's lucky enough to be able to buy one.

There is a tacit understanding among everyone here that won't be easily broken.

Besides, your Fifth Grandfather's family has been working hard for forty years for this one Foundation Establishment Pill.

Grandfather cannot bear to, and cannot, compete with him. If the family's spirit stones aren't enough, we must help out first. We must secure one Foundation Establishment Pill.

Your Fifth Grandfather was severely injured for the family in the past, and he has been holding on all these years just by a single breath.

He just wants to see your Fourteenth Uncle, Lin Maoxiang, succeed in Foundation Establishment, so no one will compete for this pill."

Lin Zhangqing nodded. "Qing'er understands. Then what about Aunt's Foundation Establishment Pill?"

"We can only go to Jinzhou Prefecture to participate in the auction! But the journey is long. When the time comes, we will rent a cave abode in Jinzhou Prefecture City first and let your aunt establish her foundation inside! Moreover, even if your aunt is at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, she will need some time to polish her cultivation to reach Great Perfection; it won't be that fast.

Foundation Establishment is not as simple as you think; it involves every aspect—divine sense, Qi and blood, spiritual energy, confidence, willpower, and so on. These are the keys that influence whether Foundation Establishment succeeds or fails.

I'm not worried about your aunt; if she truly has a Foundation Establishment Pill, she has a fifty to sixty percent success rate.

What I worry about are your parents and your Second Uncle; even if we give them Foundation Establishment Pills, they only have a twenty to thirty percent success rate.

As long as their Qi and blood are within the 60-year limit, they can attempt Foundation Establishment. Of course, the earlier, the more opportunities.

As for spiritual energy, if they are willing to put in the hard work, they can always polish it to perfection.

The problem is that their divine sense is too weak. Your parents and Second Uncle haven't even awakened their divine sense at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. And their confidence and willpower are also insufficient."

"Otherwise, Grandfather, why don't you reveal to them that there will definitely be Foundation Establishment Pills for them in the future? Let them start preparing for Foundation Establishment from now on."

"That's only if they believe it!"

"Why wouldn't they believe it? Just say that there is a third-grade spirit plant in the Baicao Garden that is about to mature under your catalysis.

When the time comes, we will ask Great-Grandmother Xu to come forward and exchange it for a few Foundation Establishment Pills, so everyone will have a chance to establish their foundation."

Grandfather glared at him, thought for a moment, and said: "You have plenty of devious ideas! But it seems plausible. Let's just tell them that for now as you said!"

"There's no need to worry about the divine sense either. Have you forgotten about the Earth Soul Fruit tree, Grandfather?

When it matures, we will give them a tiny bit to refine separately; it will definitely be useful."

"Alright then! Here are 10,000 spirit stones. Your own cultivation is the most important; everything else is secondary. Do you understand?"

"I know, Grandfather, don't worry. After the New Year, I will break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining; I won't be slower than my peers."

"Go then, and remember what Grandfather said."

Lin Zhangqing took the storage bag containing the spirit stones and left.

Returning home, his mother, aunt, and Second Uncle were all there.

Everyone looked joyful, and upon asking, he learned that his aunt had refined the Vermilion Fruit and had advanced to the ninth layer of Qi Refining.

Lin Zhangqing hurriedly congratulated his aunt, "Congratulations, Aunt, your cultivation has greatly advanced, and Foundation Establishment is in sight."

Then, he showered her with endless, free flattery.

Hearing this, his aunt laughed heartily and promised to look after him in the future.

The family had dinner together, and it became lively again.

His younger sister, Lin Ling, loved it when there were many people and it was lively. With her sweet mouth, she was the family's little joy and was very well-loved by everyone.

She was five years old this year. When she gets a little older, the family will start feeding her things with a hint of spiritual energy to test if she has spirit roots.

Lin Zhangqing had gone through the same thing. He only hoped she would have spirit roots, even if it were just five spirit roots, so the family wouldn't have to suffer the pain of separation.

Returning to his room, he locked the door.

With a thought, Lin Zhangqing entered the space. It was shameful to say, but he hadn't given Lin Zhangliu anything decent until now; these 10,000 spirit stones were prepared for Lin Zhangliu. He felt a faint joy in the depths of his heart.

Lin Zhangqing smiled knowingly. He poured the spirit stones into the deep pit; they disappeared immediately, and after waiting a while, there was no change.

He decided to ignore it for now and started tending to the two spirit plants; this was the key to whether he and his family could establish their foundations. He absolutely could not be careless.

He cast the Spirit Rain Technique and Catalysis Technique on the spirit plants, observed them, and only left the space after confirming there were no problems.

He still had to practice spells at night! Only through perseverance would there be rewards.

The next morning, when Lin Zhangqing woke up, he went into the space to take a look first.

He discovered that the space had finally grown larger; after 10,000 spirit stones went in, the space had grown by about one mu of land.

Very good, he would work hard to earn spirit stones in the future, and the space would definitely grow larger. He touched it; it was still the same black soil, and one look told him it was suitable for planting.

He was in a good mood and felt that today's cultivation effect was also a bit better. Could it be related to the space growing larger? Forget it, there was no proof now; he would slowly test it in the future and would eventually discover the reason.

It seemed the Demon Hunting Team would be returning soon too. He felt he hadn't seen his father for a long time and missed him a little.

According to clan rules, one had to serve in the Demon Hunting Team until the age of 60. He wondered if it would work to discuss with Grandfather and see if his father and Second Uncle could withdraw from the Demon Hunting Team.

Every time he felt this anxious, Lin Zhangqing would get heart palpitations. Although doing so was indeed a bit selfish, Lin Zhangqing just didn't want them to take risks.

He went to see Grandfather and brought up this matter.

Grandfather sternly refused. He said he couldn't set this bad precedent and lectured Lin Zhangqing.

Lin Zhangqing could only leave dejectedly and went to find his Second Uncle, and the two of them went to the Aoyun Peak spirit field.

Seeing that Lin Zhangqing was in a bad mood, his Second Uncle asked for the reason, and after hearing what Lin Zhangqing said:

He laughed heartily, "Second Uncle thanks you for your concern. But hunting demons is a responsibility, an obligation for Lin family cultivators, and even more so, a part of cultivation.

Hunting demons often requires taking risks, but the space between life and death is more conducive to the growth of cultivation and the breakthrough of bottlenecks.

Besides, your father and Second Uncle like hunting demons just as much, and if we don't hunt demons, where will the cultivation resources come from?

Your worry is completely unnecessary.

If one day Second Uncle dies and falls, that is Second Uncle's choice, and I won't regret it.

I believe your father thinks the same way."

After listening, Lin Zhangqing fell silent.

This was the conflict between the values of this cultivation world and the values of Lin Zhangqing's previous life!

Reborn as a human, Lin Zhangqing subconsciously still harbored the idea of lying low to develop. While Grandfather, father, and Second Uncle prioritized the continuation of the clan.

Lin Zhangqing prioritized his small family first, and the clan last. But Grandfather and the others prioritized the clan first, and then the small family.

Lin Zhangqing felt he couldn't do it, at least not now.

If the clan encountered an irresistible external enemy now, Lin Zhangqing would definitely use the space to take his family and run.

He would come back after he became strong in the future. Lin Zhangqing felt he couldn't do it if he were asked to die together with the enemy for the sake of the clan.

Lin Zhangqing was willing to give back to the clan within his capabilities, but he couldn't give without reservation like he did for his family!

After realizing his true heart, his mind became empty, pure, and transparent. The barrier between Lin Zhangqing and this world disappeared all at once. The world before his eyes seemed much clearer.

This state made Lin Zhangqing feel very good, and his cultivation was actually increasing rapidly. It was pressing toward the peak of the third layer of Qi Refining, as if he could break through at any time.

At this point, Lin Zhangqing couldn't care about so much.

He immediately sat cross-legged, circulated his energy, and soon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged over. With a loud "Boom" in his mind, he broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

A layer of gray filth was excreted from his whole body. Fortunately, it wasn't too smelly, better than last time.

He couldn't care about this now. Lin Zhangqing concentrated his spirit and began to circulate his energy to consolidate his cultivation.

After an hour, he had basically consolidated it. He stood up, cast a Spirit Rain Technique on himself, and only then started to clean his body.

Second Uncle had been guarding Lin Zhangqing just now. He witnessed Lin Zhangqing's sudden enlightenment and breakthrough with his own eyes.

Seeing Lin Zhangqing start to clean his body, he dared to speak, "I've always heard of sudden enlightenment, but I didn't expect to see it with my own eyes. I've learned something new!"

(End of chapter)