I Have An Infinite Cultivation Resource
Chapter 73: Family
Sword cultivators are especially sensitive to being watched, and Zeng Yan quickly noticed Bai Zihua tailing her.
Not wanting to waste words on him, she used her family's movement technique. Entering the lower district, she swiftly shook him off, then passed through it into the main city, arriving at a grand and imposing estate.
"Miss, you're back!"
The servants at the gate hurriedly ushered Zeng Yan inside, while others rushed to report to the main hall.
Before long, a burly man strode over aggressively, glaring fiercely at Zeng Yan. "Get in!" After speaking, he entered the main hall and dismissed all the servants.
"Now you finally know your father was right." The burly man sat heavily in the main seat. "We're family, so I sent the servants away to tell you this—your father is doing this for your own good, not out of spite to force an apology. Since you're back, rest for a few days, then I'll take you to Mount Shu."
"Zeng Kehan, I came back to make a deal with you—not to agree to your so-called oath between brothers or that ridiculous arranged marriage before birth." Zeng Yan suddenly drew out a wooden branch, using it as a sword. The tip extended unnaturally, forming a strand of sword light.
Zeng Kehan flicked his sleeve, shattering both the sword light and the branch. "You've reached Foundation Establishment? Not bad, as expected of my daughter. Look at that sword talent—already forming sword intent at Foundation Establishment. You're clearly meant for Mount Shu. What are you doing wasting time in that Verdant Cloud Sect?"
"So instead of Verdant Cloud Sect, I go to Mount Shu, call your sworn brother 'father,' and then sleep in his son's bed—is that it? Don't bring up life-saving favors. He saved your life—what does that have to do with me? If anything, you should be the one sleeping with his son."
"Bullshit! Is that how you talk to your father?" Zeng Kehan's face went pale. "Did I ever say that? I just told you to go meet him! Mount Shu sword cultivators are renowned across the world. Their Sword Lord is at the Tribulation Transcendence realm, just one step from becoming a Land Immortal. It's universally acknowledged that Mount Shu is the strongest in swordsmanship. And the chief elder there is my sworn brother—countless people would kill to call him father. Besides, his son was born with a sword heart, with no bottlenecks on the path of the sword. What's wrong with you meeting him? How is that a hardship for you?"
"If you had the strength of Mount Shu's chief elder, I'd go with you. But what is this now? You've fallen to the Golden Core realm, yet you shamelessly call a Divine Transformation realm expert your brother, and even drag along a daughter promised in marriage before birth. You may have no shame, but I do." Zeng Yan didn't even call him father, addressing him directly by name, making Zeng Kehan so angry he nearly howled.
Bang! Zeng Kehan slammed the table, cracks spreading across it. "What's wrong with Golden Core? A Golden Core cultivator lives a thousand years! And I only fell to the Golden Core realm—my lifespan is still three thousand years! Do you think I'm doing this for myself? I'm doing it for you! In that damn Verdant Cloud Sect, what level can you even reach? You'll just die before me in the end!"
As he spoke, his voice softened. "Zeng Yan, if you enter Mount Shu and gain its resources, with your talent, you can at least reach the Divine Transformation realm. I don't want to watch my loved ones die one by one anymore—I really can't bear it. If you grow old and die before me… I'll go mad."
"Longevity is hard to achieve, but dying isn't. If you can't stand watching me die first, then just figure out a way to die before me," Zeng Yan said with a shrug.
"Get out! Get out of here! Didn't you say you've reached Foundation Establishment? Then go back to Verdant Cloud Sect! Come back only when you've figured things out—I'll let you think for two hundred years!" Zeng Kehan, fuming, kicked his chair aside and prepared to leave.
"Wait. I already said that I came to make a deal." Zeng Yan took out Foundation Establishment Pills and laid them out before him. "Sixteen pills in total. Didn't you say you can't bear losing your loved ones? With these sixteen pills, you can help whoever you care about reach Foundation Establishment and gain two hundred extra years of life. In exchange, I want one drop of Spirit Liquid. Not a bad deal, right?"
"Pah! That's Spirit Liquid! If I traded it, one drop could be exchanged for a hundred Foundation Establishment Pills!"
"Then do you dare go trade it? Tsk tsk—a mere Golden Core cultivator announcing to the world that you'll exchange one drop of Spirit Liquid for a hundred Foundation Establishment Pills. Let's see which would last longer—the Spirit Liquid, the pills, or your life." Zeng Yan tilted her head, glancing sideways at Zeng Kehan, her lips curling downward in disdain. "You'd better also tell everyone you're that same Zeng Kehan from back then, with a sworn brother who's the chief elder of Mount Shu. Let's see if that works."
"Damn it, you're a girl—why aren't you refined and gentle like your mother? Why are you so much like me!" Zeng Kehan rubbed his forehead in frustration, then tossed out a storage ring. "There's one drop of Spirit Liquid in there. Take it and get lost. You should be grateful that your mother is in seclusion trying to break through to Golden Core right now, or I'd drag her out here to nag you to death. I'll tell you the truth—if I take these Foundation Establishment Pills, it's for your mother's family. My whole life has been devoted to you and your mother."
Spirit Liquid could nourish meridians, strengthen the dantian, and improve one's spiritual roots. The lower a cultivator's level, the greater the effect. For example, someone with a mixed spiritual roots could be raised to low-grade spiritual roots with just a single drop. Beyond that, Spirit Liquid was also a supreme healing treasure—it's more valuable than most heavenly materials and earthly treasures in the cultivation world.
However, Spirit Liquid could not be artificially refined. It was a product of secret realms—those sealed for tens of thousands of years, where spiritual energy was trapped and unable to circulate with the outside world, gradually condensing into drops of liquid. Major sects tightly controlled secret realms that produced Spirit Liquid, reserving it for their own talented disciples.
In essence, Spirit Liquid wasn't necessarily more valuable than rare treasures, but while such treasures might appear through chance and could be traded among cultivators, Spirit Liquid was monopolized and almost never circulated. Major sects relied on it to attract talent. After all, rare treasures were precious but not reliably supplied, whereas Spirit Liquid from secret realms could be accumulated over time, strengthening a sect.
"Don't even think about using Spirit Liquid to break through to Golden Core. I don't have that much, and besides, you're a sword cultivator," Zeng Kehan added after a moment's thought.
The reason he handed over the Spirit Liquid so readily was because he assumed Zeng Yan would use it herself. His warning, however, came from concern—his own cultivation had declined, and what he consumed now came from past reserves. One day, those would run out. He didn't want Zeng Yan to rely too heavily on resources, dulling her natural talent and losing the resilience needed to grow stronger.
"Got it. Goodbye!"
Zeng Yan stored the Spirit Liquid and left without looking back.
She understood the value of Spirit Liquid well. The reason she intended to give it to Lu You was because she also understood the value of the Foundation Establishment Pills. A mere Qi Refining cultivator, with no family backing or resources, had obtained two bottles of such pills through an unrepeatable stroke of luck, and yet had given them all to her without hesitation.
Moreover, Zeng Kehan himself needed Foundation Establishment Pills. Although he still had some Spirit Liquid, using it to extend the lives of relatives would be far too extravagant, and there wasn't enough to go around. Aside from Spirit Liquid, he had nothing of comparable value to trade for Foundation Establishment Pills. Though he spoke boldly, Zeng Yan knew the truth—their family was like a fallen noble household in the mortal world, possessing a few antiques they dared not reveal for fear of being robbed. Other than those hidden treasures, they were all façade—with no real wealth left.
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Cultivation Realm:
1, Qi Refining
2, Foundation Establishment
3, Golden Core
4, Nascent Soul
5, Divine Transformation
6, Void Refinement
7, Tribulation Transcendence
8, Land Immortal
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