Chapter 374: Paying Respects

During this period.

Almost every few days, someone would break through to Foundation Establishment.

Sometimes, several people would even break through on the exact same day.

A few days later.

Xu Chuan summoned Xu Mingshu.

"Father," Xu Mingshu greeted, cupping her hands.

"Sit."

Xu Mingshu sat down as instructed.

"After your Soul Transformation, have you gained any insights over the past few days?" Xu Chuan asked with a faint smile.

Furthermore, controlling my spirit insects has become much more effortless."

"That is well enough. However, after Core Formation, you must focus on comprehending divine abilities. Beast Taming is ultimately reliance on external objects; your cultivation realm is your true foundation."

"Yes, Father."

Xu Chuan waved his sleeve robe. Three porcelain bottles—azure, white, and purple—appeared on the tea table beside Xu Mingshu.

"Are you clear on the Core Formation process?"

"I have studied it diligently and know it by heart," she replied.

Xu Chuan gave a slight nod. "The azure porcelain bottle contains the Spirit-Purifying Pill. Take it first to eliminate any hidden injuries in your body and lingering impurities from previous pills.

Next, consume the Heavenly Spirit Pill in the white porcelain bottle to accelerate your spiritual power crystallization.

Given the current spiritual qi density of the Jade Cold Pool, you should be able to complete this step in just over half a month.

The purple porcelain bottle holds the Core Formation Pill. It will help you break through the Golden Core bottleneck."

"Father, these pills..." Xu Mingshu stared at the three porcelain bottles, hesitating to speak.

"They are all high-grade, of course," Xu Chuan said, seeing through her thoughts with a chuckle. "Naturally, my daughter will only use the best."

"Thank you, Father!"

Xu Mingshu guided the three porcelain bottles into her storage pouch with a flick of her fingers. She stood up and cupped her hands. "Father, I will go into secluded cultivation now."

"Wait."

Xu Chuan stopped her. He flicked his sleeve, sending a streak of gray light shooting out to hover right in front of her.

"A storage pouch?"

"A high-grade storage pouch. Since you are about to reach the Golden Core realm, it is only natural to upgrade your belongings. Swap your items into it shortly, and hand your old one over to the clan.

It will be bestowed upon another clan member."

"Understood, Father. I shall take my leave."

After Xu Mingshu left, Xu Chuan began concocting pills.

With a thought, over a dozen streaks of light suddenly flew out from the storage ring on his hand.

Each streak represented a rare and precious spirit medicine.

These had been handed to him not long ago by Xu Mingqing. They were the materials the Lei Family had requested them to use to refine a Core Formation Pill a few years prior.

'With my current divine sense and my familiarity with the Core Formation Pill, I should be able to utilize these materials perfectly,' he thought.

He swept his sleeve robe.

The bamboo door closed, and the restriction activated.

When Xu Chuan first refined the Core Formation Pill, it had taken him several days.

As he grew more familiar with the process and broke through to the Golden Core realm, he gradually compressed the time down to a single day.

Now, his attainment in alchemy was deepening by the day, and his divine sense had also broken through to the Nascent Soul level.

Whether it was refining or maintaining control, he had reached an incredibly high standard.

This time, it took him little more than two hours.

A cauldron of highly difficult third-tier elixirs was successfully concocted.

Nine pills formed, and every pill was high-grade.

This was absolutely the standard of a grandmaster!

This was not something just any alchemist could accomplish.

Even a third-tier alchemist refining first-tier pills would not necessarily be able to achieve the feat of forming nine pills, all of them high-grade.

Flawless control over the refinement process could guarantee nine pills.

However, only by pushing every aspect to the absolute limit—the medicinal properties of all the spirit medicines, the purification, the timing of the fusion—could one ensure every single pill turned out to be high-grade.

Xu Chuan could bestow talents upon his clan members, and he could also gather all those innate talents onto himself.

Yet, he chose not to do so.

Because he knew that even if he possessed thousands of innate talents, talent was ultimately just potential. Every gift required development, rigorous study, and deep exploration.

Take Xu Chongjian, for example. He possessed an innate sword bone and was gifted the "Sword Heart Illumination".

But what if he refused to focus on practicing the sword?

Could one really expect him to become a powerful sword Dao practitioner overnight?

Or instantly master a sword art divine ability with just a single glance?

It was precisely because Xu Chuan understood this that he only augmented himself with one immortal art, absolutely refusing to dabble in too much.

The same logic applied to the others.

"Not bad at all,"

Xu Chuan murmured with a faint smile. He took out a porcelain bottle and tapped his finger. The nine high-grade Core Formation Pills flew into the container like nine stars in a row.

He then formed hand seals and applied a restriction to prevent the spiritual qi from leaking.

As an immortal cultivator, he naturally had to know some basic restrictions, though achieving Xu Mingxian's vast expertise would be quite difficult.

It would require dedicated time for deep study.

At this moment, Xu Mingxian was also comprehending the "Nine Marvelous Spiritual Restrictions" he had obtained from Daoist Cangxuan.

Just the first half of this manual was enough for him to study for centuries, remaining useful even upon reaching the Soul Formation stage.

After finishing his alchemy, Xu Chuan went to silently meditate under the Withered Glory Tree outside his bamboo hut, practicing his divine sense secret method.

A bluestone had been specifically placed there for him to meditate on.

Armed with Nascent Soul-tier divine sense, divine sense secret methods had naturally become his greatest trump card.

Practicing the "Profound Heaven Divine Refining Art" wouldn't yield significant progress in the short term, but divine sense secret methods were a different story.

In just a short month or two.

The divine sense he had split using the "Thousand Spirits Art" had grown from thirty-two strands to thirty-six, and it was still rapidly advancing.

At his current cultivation speed, his early-stage Nascent Soul divine sense should be capable of reaching forty-nine strands.

Any further, and it would return to how it was in the past: every additional split would become exceptionally difficult, requiring a long time before seeing progress.

As for the "Divine Sense Materialization" secret art, he also prepared to learn a major killing move specifically targeting the Nascent Soul level. It was called the "God-Slaying Sword".

It was a sword of divine sense, designed exclusively to execute the divine soul!

As long as he reached the entry-level and managed to form its preliminary shape, he could use it to injure a Nascent Soul cultivator's divine soul.

Moreover, with his current soul power, he could unleash such an attack nine times.

If all nine strikes were focused on a single person, it could even result in the complete soul annihilation of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Of course, at a mere entry-level proficiency, using it would undoubtedly take some time, and it could not be cast consecutively. Killing a Nascent Soul cultivator outright would still be very difficult.

In all likelihood, the opponent would simply flee far away after suffering a single attack.

After all, the older they got, the shrewder they became, and the more they feared death!

At the Xu Family Manor.

"Yue'er, it's been a while since we returned, but I haven't gone to visit my mother yet. Would you be willing to accompany me?"

Xu Deyue nodded. "Of course I should. I once entered the Wuhua Secret Realm for a trial with Fairy Xuehua, and we fought side by side.

Her disposition, comprehension, and innate talent would be ranked top-tier even within our Xu family.

It's a pity our Xu family had not yet risen to power back then. We were far from being a match for the Cao clan. Even though we accepted the Zhou family as our vassal, we could only rely on the combined momentum of the Foundation Establishment clans from various commanderies to pressure the Cao family.

If our Xu family hadn't possessed a trump card, we likely would have fallen victim to the Cao clan's vicious schemes as well."

Ye Fan remained silent. At the mention of the Cao clan, his fists clenched a bit tighter.

Xu Deyue grasped his hand. "Call Fei'er and Yulian along. Let your mother meet her grandson and granddaughter-in-law."

"Mhm."

Xu Deyue immediately sent a message to the two of them.

They quickly finished their cultivation and hurried over to the courtyard to meet up.

"Mother, what did you need us for?" Xu Chongfei asked.

"You're coming with your father and me to pay respects to your grandmother."

"Isn't Grandmother still alive?"

Xu Chongfei asked curiously.

"It's your father's mother," Xu Deyue explained.

"I see." Xu Chongfei nodded, but quickly asked another question. "What about my grandfather? Is he still alive?"

"You have no grandfather!" Ye Fan suddenly barked coldly. Veins bulged on his forehead, making him look somewhat ferocious.

Both Xu Chongfei and Chen Yulian jumped in fright.

"Father, you're scaring us."

"It's a long story. We'll talk as we walk."

The group took to the sky, flying out of Dongxi and heading straight for the Zhou Clan Estate.

Ye Fan flew off to one side by himself, his expression solemn as his thoughts drifted back to his childhood.

Xu Deyue didn't disturb him, instead explaining the situation to Xu Chongfei and Chen Yulian from the side.

"Your father wasn't originally surnamed Ye. Ye is your grandmother's surname. Her name was Ye Xuehua, and she was once a proud daughter of heaven.

At that time, the only person in our Xu family whose innate talent and comprehension could rival hers was Chongjian's father, Xiaoyao.

We once entered the Wuhua Secret Realm together to attempt a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

Back then, reaching Foundation Establishment was more than five or six times harder than it is now.

But later..."

Xu Deyue recounted the entire story of Ye Xuehua's tragic fate, including Ye Fan's harrowing experiences, and everything Xu Chuan had done afterward.

After hearing the full tale, both of their faces were etched with fury.

"That Cao clan truly deserves to die!"

"Great-grandfather riding a flood dragon, stamping down on the Imperial City, and sundering half of Great Wei's territory—that is so satisfying!"

"Grandmother taking great pains with good intentions to set up that seal... it's truly admirable."

"It's just a shame that Father had to suffer so much unnecessary hardship."

He let out a soft sigh.

Then, he heard Ye Fan's laughing scold from the side. "You brat, your father isn't pathetic enough to need your pity."

"Father, you're not moping anymore."

Seeing Ye Fan flying closer, Xu Chongfei chuckled.

"Moping my foot! Spout any more nonsense, and see if I don't thrash you!"

"With my mother here, I bet you wouldn't dare."

The corners of Xu Deyue's lips curled up. She firmly grabbed Xu Chongfei's arm and smiled. "This child is becoming more unruly by the day. Husband, I'll hold him down for you so you can properly vent your frustrations."

"Thank you, Madam!"

"Oh, Mother! Wife, save me!"

Chen Yulian covered her mouth and giggled nearby. "Husband, your concubine is powerless to help. Why don't you just endure it? After all, who hasn't grown up getting thrashed every now and then?"

Xu Chongfei received a sound beating, which left Ye Fan feeling refreshed and invigorated.

"Mother, your husband is happy now, but your son's life is a tragedy."

"They are merely superficial wounds. Circulate your mana a few times, and they'll fade," Xu Deyue said with a faint smile. "Alright, the Zhou Clan Estate is just ahead. Hurry up and heal them; don't let the Zhou family see you make a fool of yourself!"

Xu Chongfei still valued his pride quite a bit.

Under the circulation of his mana.

He returned to normal in mere moments.

The four of them descended, landing outside the clan protection grand array of the Zhou Clan Estate.

At the entrance of the grand array.

Seeing unfamiliar cultivators flying straight toward them, the defending Zhou family disciples immediately stepped forward, cupping their hands to block the way. One asked warily, "The Zhou Clan Estate lies ahead. May I ask where you have come from and what business you have here?"

Ye Fan stepped forward with a mild demeanor. "Please pass on a message. Ye Fan of the Xu family has come to pay a visit to Martial Grandfather Zhou Qingfang."

"Ancestor?!"

Hearing Zhou Qingfang's name, the disciple was momentarily startled.

Then, he suddenly remembered who Ye Fan was.

"So it is Senior Ye. Please, come in quickly. I will immediately have someone notify the Ancestor."

Ye Fan and the other three entered the Zhou family grounds and were led by the guards to the main hall, where they took their seats.

A short while later.

Zhou Qingfang strolled into the main hall.

"Ye Fan, you've come. And Elder Deyue is here as well. These two are..."

Zhou Qingfang looked at the young couple, recalling that he had seen them among the ranks of Xu family disciples who had welcomed Xu Chuan out of seclusion.

"Elder Zhou," Xu Deyue greeted with a brief nod.

"Martial Grandfather, Yue'er and I have now become Dao companions. This is my foolish son, Xu Chongfei, and his wife, Chen Yulian."

"Chongfei and Yulian pay our respects to Martial Grandfather."

Xu Chongfei and Chen Yulian stood up and bowed respectfully to Zhou Qingfang.

"Good, good! Wonderful!" Zhou Qingfang stroked his beard in delight, repeatedly praising them.

His divine sense swept over the couple, and he discovered that both of them were actually at the Foundation Establishment cultivation stage. In particular, Xu Chongfei had already reached mid Foundation Establishment, which was truly somewhat unbelievable.

After chatting briefly.

Ye Fan retrieved three jade bottles from his storage ring and presented them with both hands. "Martial Grandfather, these two bottles contain high-grade Origin-Gathering Pills. They will be quite helpful for advancing your mana in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

This other jade bottle contains a high-grade Void Rushing Pill.

It's just a small token of my gratitude. I hope you won't decline."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfang hurriedly waved his hands. "I cannot accept this! I am already overjoyed that you came to visit this old man; how could I possibly accept such a heavy gift!

A high-grade Void Rushing Pill is incredibly precious.

And this old man has never even heard of an Origin-Gathering Pill, which means its value must be staggering.

I simply cannot accept them!"

Ye Fan wore a sincere expression as he insisted, "The immense kindness you showed my mother could never be repaid with just a few bottles of pills.

This is merely a bit of filial piety from this junior. Please, Martial Grandfather, you must accept them.

Otherwise, my heart will never know peace!"

Seeing Ye Fan's resolute attitude and earnest words.

Zhou Qingfang realized he couldn't refuse. He finally let out a sigh and accepted them with an emotional look on his face. "Very well... this old man will shamelessly accept your gifts."

As the pills were put away, Ye Fan's expression grew slightly solemn as he brought up the other major reason for this trip. "Martial Grandfather, I would like to pay my respects at my mother's grave first."

"It is only right. I will take you there." Zhou Qingfang stood up.

The group made their way to a tranquil mausoleum in the mountains behind the Zhou family estate.

They stopped in front of a meticulously cleaned grave. The tombstone was engraved with the words: "Tomb of Ye Xuehua".

Ye Fan stared at his mother's tombstone.

He was the first to kneel, followed closely by Xu Chongfei and Chen Yulian, who knelt respectfully behind him.

Xu Deyue stood to the side, bowing deeply in respect.

Ye Fan gazed intently at the tombstone and slowly spoke. "Mother, your son has brought your daughter-in-law to see you.

She... you should know her. It's Xu Deyue.

Your son has long since fulfilled your wish. I have entered the tutelage of my Honored Master and am now a member of the Xu family."

He paused and turned his head slightly to glance at Xu Chongfei behind him. "Your son now has a child of his own. His name is Xu Chongfei, and he has already grown into a fine adult.

However, unlike me, who grew up enduring countless hardships, he was raised with every bit of doting affection, so his personality has turned out rather hyperactive.

Even so, Chongfei is a very good boy.

If you were still alive, I'm sure you would have loved him.

He's even taken a wife, though I don't know when they'll finally bless me with a grandson."

Hearing this, Xu Chongfei's expression instantly stiffened, revealing a trace of helpless exasperation.

Beside him, Chen Yulian couldn't help but blush faintly.

After another pause, Ye Fan continued, "Mother, your son has grown incredibly strong now.

Strong enough to completely trample the Cao clan underfoot.

I think you would very much like to see that."

Facing the tombstone, he spoke every word with absolute conviction, as if making a solemn vow. "Your son promises you... that day will not be far off."

Standing off to the side, Zhou Qingfang felt his heart violently jolt when he heard Ye Fan's final words, particularly the phrase "trample the Cao clan underfoot"!

Earlier, he had faintly sensed that he couldn't clearly gauge the specific cultivation realms of Ye Fan and Xu Deyue.

He had originally assumed they were simply concealing their auras.

After all, the Xu family had been famous for doing exactly that in their early years.

Back in the Wuhua Secret Realm, if their true power hadn't been exposed by a Golden Core cultivator, they probably would have kept a low profile for much longer.

But at this moment, another astonishing possibility surfaced in his mind.

Could it be that the cultivation levels of this husband and wife... had already surpassed the limits of his probing abilities?!

'But... he is only in his fifties!'

Stormy seas of shock raged within Zhou Qingfang's heart; he almost couldn't bring himself to believe his own deduction.