Chapter 19 - Chapter 19: The Market

The three elders were seasoned cultivators—their lack of suspicion about Zhang Zhixuan stemmed from three reasons: First, Zhang Zhixuan was the clan's most promising young cultivator, with a direct bloodline connection to the Zhang Clan. Second, Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivators are extremely rare—seen only once every few hundred years—so the elders never imagined such a possibility. Third, integrating foreign cultivators into the clan had been a Zhang Clan strategy for centuries; Qingchan was young, with a clear background as a local cultivator, making her easy to integrate.The three elders took the spiritual rice and 补充 ed Zhang Zhixuan with some Spirit Stones. Part of these Spirit Stones were his annual clan benefits, and the rest were resources for nurturing high-rank spiritual herbs. Every ten days, Zhang Zhixuan had to crush a Spirit Stone to replenish spiritual energy for the dozens of high-rank spiritual herbs—costing over thirty Spirit Stones per year. The most precious of these herbs were over three hundred years old; the clan had invested over a thousand Spirit Stones in this small medicine garden alone.After the three elders left, Zhang Zhixuan returned to his busy farming life. Two months after the spiritual rice harvest, new seeds were sown. Meanwhile, more wild bees in the White Jade Bee hive evolved—three or four more White Jade Bees appeared in just a few days. The dozens of high-rank spiritual herbs remained unchanged; new Yellow Sprout Grass had sprouted, growing into one-chi-tall seedlings.Time flew by, and another three months passed. Qingchan's cultivation progressed rapidly—even without diligent practice, she had broken through several realms and reached the Eighth Layer of the Innate Realm, on the verge of breaking through to the Innate Realm and entering Qi Refining.When Zhang Zhixuan began cultivating at age six, he advanced to the Innate Realm at seven and a half and entered the mid-stage Qi Refining at eleven—creating a stir in the Zhang Clan. Qingchan, who had only been cultivating for four months, had already reached the Eighth Layer of the Innate Realm. If the clan discovered this, it would surely trigger a major crisis.Fearing this, Zhang Zhixuan did not press Qingchan to meditate and cultivate—letting her follow her whims and spend most of her days playing in the spiritual fields.In recent months, Qingchan's greatest hobby was stealing a little White Jade Bee honey—even though she had been stung three times, her face swollen each time. Undeterred, she persisted and gradually learned tricks to avoid the bees, even accumulating a small store of honey.The discovery of the White Jade Bee hive had made the clan take this place more seriously. Though the clan was short on funds, it still spent three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones to refine a Rank 2 Spirit-Converging Formation and nurture a spiritual vein. Over three months, under the formation's influence, the spiritual energy here grew increasingly abundant—reaching Low-Grade Rank 2.According to Fourth Uncle Zhang Menglong's estimate, with continued watering of the formation core (the jade gourd) using spiritual well water, the spiritual vein would advance to the next rank in another ten years.Even with the new spiritual vein, Zhang Zhixuan had already reached the late-stage Qi Refining, and Qingchan was on the verge of breaking through to Qi Refining. Once Qingchan began refining spiritual energy, the spiritual energy here would immediately become insufficient.Long-term overuse of a spiritual vein to absorb spiritual energy would cause severe damage. With the clan having invested so many resources, Zhang Zhixuan would not act so recklessly.Thanks to the daily spiritual water condensed by the Jade Spirit Gourd, Zhang Zhixuan and Qingchan no longer lacked immortal cultivation resources. Over the years, they had accumulated some spare Spirit Stones. Apart from daily cultivation, Zhang Zhixuan used the remaining spiritual water to water the formation core of the Spirit-Converging Formation. Under the spiritual water's nourishment, the jade gourd artifact had grown increasingly vibrant and green over the past few years—its effectiveness had improved significantly, cutting the time needed to nurture the spiritual vein by half. By last year, the spiritual vein had already advanced to Middle-Grade Rank 2.A Middle-Grade Rank 2 spiritual vein gathers a considerable amount of spiritual energy each day—enough to support three Sixth Layer Qi Refining cultivators. For now, only Zhang Zhixuan and Qingchan were present—one an Eighth Layer Qi Refining cultivator, the other a Sixth Layer—so the spiritual energy in the spiritual fields was temporarily sufficient. However, Qingchan's cultivation progressed so quickly that if the spiritual vein did not advance, they would face shortages again in a few years—forced to rely entirely on the spiritual water from the Jade Spirit Gourd for cultivation.The spiritual water from the Jade Spirit Gourd could be used not only for refining spiritual energy but also for assisting in pill-refining, nurturing high-rank spiritual herbs, and even gradually transforming ordinary soil into spiritual fields. Apart from its inability to be stored long-term, it was superior to Spirit Stones in almost every way. Unless absolutely necessary, Zhang Zhixuan would not use the spiritual water for cultivation—saving it for more valuable uses.In the past two or three years, Qingchan's cultivation had accelerated. Since breaking through to the mid-stage Qi Refining, Zhang Zhixuan had grown increasingly anxious each time clan cultivators visited. He was forced to hide Qingchan in Lushan County to avoid detection. The highest-ranked cultivator in Lushan County had only reached the Second Layer of Qi Refining—Qingchan could avoid meeting them easily.In recent visits, his Seventh Uncle had asked about Qingchan several times, but Zhang Zhixuan had evaded the questions. After several years of avoidance, suspicions were sure to arise.With the spiritual rice soon to ripen, Zhang Zhixuan finally made up his mind to return to the mountain gate temporarily. He planned to meet with Clan Leader Zhang Leqian, confide in him, and see if the Clan Leader had a way to hide Qingchan's secret. The fewer people who knew about Qingchan's spiritual root, the better.Qingchan's cultivation was already impressive—within three to five years, she might surpass Zhang Zhixuan. If Zhang Zhixuan could not resolve this issue, he would not tell anyone in the clan. The Clan Leader was wise and experienced—perhaps he had a solution.Since Qingchan's cultivation was now sufficient to guard the spiritual fields alone, Zhang Zhixuan had more freedom in recent years. The Jade Spirit Gourd condensed enough spiritual water daily to meet their needs; apart from daily cultivation, Zhang Zhixuan used the surplus to water the formation core of the Spirit-Converging Formation.Early one morning, Zhang Zhixuan activated the formation and returned to the mountain gate overnight. This time, he did not notify anyone and went straight to the back mountain.Lushan Tiantai Peak had three spiritual caves—one located in the back mountain. Beside this cave was a waterfall, its water plummeting from a hundred zhang high like a silver river. Below the waterfall was a lake several hundred zhang wide. Though the lake was not large, it was extremely deep—the clan had measured it carefully and found its maximum depth exceeded thirty zhang.Shielded from sunlight year-round, the lake water was bone-chillingly cold. The spiritual cave in the back mountain was located in the middle of the lake. Clan Leader Zhang Leqian had been severely injured in a battle years ago, his dantian damaged by fire-attribute mana. Thus, he could only rely on the spiritual cave in the middle of the cold lake to refine water-attribute spiritual energy and suppress his injuries.In recent years, Zhang Zhixuan's cultivation had improved significantly. After reaching the late-stage Qi Refining, his status within the clan was second only to a few elders. He often received guidance from the Clan Leader.Tiantai Peak stood three thousand zhang tall and covered hundreds of li—but apart from the clan's over a hundred cultivators and several hundred cultivator family members at the foot of the mountain, it was nearly deserted. Zhang Zhixuan navigated the mountain with ease, reaching the back mountain without alerting anyone. He quietly sent a Communication Jade Talisman and waited patiently for the Clan Leader's summons.Upon receiving Zhang Zhixuan's Communication Jade Talisman, the Clan Leader immediately ceased cultivation and activated the protective formation. Mist swirled over the cold lake, revealing a pavilion floating above the water. Zhang Zhixuan activated a Floating Talisman, lightened his body, and leaped over ten zhang using the Light Body Technique, landing safely on the pavilion.The Clan Leader appeared elderly, his face pale as if suffering from an illness. He looked at Zhang Zhixuan meaningfully and asked: "Zhixuan, you've come to see me so late at night—do you have something important to report?""I've come to discuss Qingchan, Third Great-Uncle. I don't know how to put it into words," Zhang Zhixuan replied."Qingchan? The little girl you adopted? She's already been registered in the clan genealogy. Since she's in the genealogy, she can naturally learn the clan's cultivation techniques," Zhang Leqian asked in confusion.Zhang Zhixuan smiled bitterly: "Third Great-Uncle, you don't understand. Qingchan's spiritual root is extraordinary. In just five years, she has continuously broken through the Innate Realm and reached the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining. Even a Special Spiritual Root cultivator could not progress this quickly. Based on her current pace, Qingchan is most likely a Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator. She lives with me in the spiritual fields, and it's becoming harder to hide her. If someone discovers her secret, the clan is full of gossip—once the news leaks, it will pose a great threat to us, even risking the clan's destruction."