From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 210 Zhou Dacheng's Fortuitous Encounter
As for Zhou Dacheng, he didn't cause any major upheavals in his entire life.

He lost his father at a young age and his mother in his youth. He was illiterate and did not get married until he was nearly thirty.

Then they would have children and spend their lives working in the fields and around the stove.

The only noteworthy thing is that he had a large number of offspring, with three sons and one daughter, and each of his children had their own descendants, making a large family of twenty or thirty people.

Now he is nearing seventy, with yellow earth covering his neck, and he should have no more aspirations in this life.

But fate always seems to play tricks on people.

Because in recent years, many children with special talents have appeared in the villages in this area, so immortal masters from all over the country regularly come to the village to test their talents.

By sheer chance, Zhou Dacheng was discovered by a celestial master to possess the aptitude of a [plant and tree spirit body].

Unfortunately, he is almost seventy years old, and the innate energy he was born with has long been depleted, so no matter how much he cultivates, it will be of no use.

However, the immortal master discovered that Zhou Dacheng's direct descendants all possessed the aptitude of [plant spirit body] to varying degrees.

Aside from Zhou Dacheng's children being too old, nearly ten of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren are also capable of embarking on the path to immortality.

Some descendants are unable to reach the cultivation threshold because their bloodline power as [plant spirits] is relatively weak.

When the cultivator learned of this, he was greatly shocked. Although people with good aptitude are likely to have descendants with good aptitude as well, it is extremely rare for an entire family to inherit special talents like Zhou Dacheng.

In this situation, Zhou Dacheng was also given special treatment. The cultivator contacted the sect behind him and invited Zhou Dacheng to serve as a hands-off manager in a nearby market. He even taught him some basic cultivation methods.

Their original intention was to see if Zhou Dacheng could extend his lifespan a little, and it would be even better if he could have another child.

After all, the closer the bloodline of a descendant is to Zhou Dacheng, the higher their aptitude seems to be.

Unfortunately, Zhou Dacheng was too old. After more than two years of cultivation, his body showed no reaction whatsoever.

The other cultivators gave up and paid him no further attention.

But at this moment, You Ming was examining the character card of [Zhou Dacheng].

However, they discovered that the other party had not only achieved the [Qi Induction] technique, but had also completely stabilized the first level of the [Bright Qi] realm.

This means that the other person is over a hundred years old, looks very old and frail, but still has thirty years left to live.

"Interesting. He actually obtained a fragment of a technique called 'The Rejuvenation of Withered Trees.' Although it's only a 'technique' level technique and incomplete, it's perfectly suited to his physique, forcibly squeezing out a trace of life force from his withered body."

"Like an old tree blossoming in spring, it bursts forth with new life."

His vitality was hidden within his decaying shell, which is why ordinary cultivators could not discern his true cultivation level.

Zhou Dacheng was also a shrewd and experienced man; even though he had broken through in cultivation, he did not reveal a single detail to the outside world.

However, those cultivators couldn't see through his background, but at this moment, all of Zhou Dacheng's data was displayed on the card, so You Ming could see through his background completely.

"Since it can appear in the [card pool], it means it is close to Yuanling Mountain, so we can go with the flow."

You Ming casually put the card away, choosing not to recruit Zhou Dacheng directly.

Currently, Zhou Dacheng is only at the [Bright Qi] level, and probably couldn't even defeat one of his random slaves, so recruiting him wouldn't be very meaningful.

Zhou Dacheng sat cross-legged in the deserted garden behind the old house. The wind blew, the branches swayed, and everything seemed so quiet.

He sat upright with his eyes closed, his face wrinkled like dried tree bark, his hands gently resting on his knees, his breathing barely perceptible.

He seemed to have aged considerably compared to two years ago.

However, if a cultivator were to probe his body with their divine sense, they would discover that the old man's vitality was vigorous, no less than that of a normal young person.

With each breath, the vitality within his body grew stronger.

From the outside, there was neither intense spiritual light nor thunder and howling wind around him; only a very subtle green aura slowly permeated from within his body.

As his practice continued, Zhou Dacheng's forehead broke out in a fine sweat, his breathing became heavy, and he gradually found it difficult.

After breaking through to the [Bright Qi] level, he found an excuse to leave the Immortal Cultivation Market.

He was worried that the cultivators would see through his scheme. Although they didn't show any malice towards him, Zhou Dacheng secretly sensed that they might want to cultivate him into a breeder, like a boar.

Although the old man had so many descendants, he didn't want to lose all sense of shame in his old age.

However, after leaving the cultivation market, the spiritual energy outside was too scarce, making his cultivation increasingly difficult.

Trying to break through to the "enlightenment" stage within thirty years would be as difficult as climbing to heaven.

Zhou Dacheng silently circulated the faint magical power within his body, painstakingly and slowly clearing the meridians. Every inch of magical power that flowed was awakening the plant-like nature within his body.

However, just as his magic power was about to complete a full cycle, his body finally reached its limit, and his supply of spiritual energy became insufficient.

A bitter feeling welled up in Zhou Dacheng's heart. No wonder those cultivators were reluctant to interact with the mortal world. The concentration of spiritual energy in the outside world was too low. He was already struggling to even reach the first stage of cultivation, let alone anything else.

He has tried many times in recent days, but each time he can't even complete a full cycle.

He sighed and was about to finish his practice when suddenly, a small tree beside him began to emit rays of emerald green light.

A rich and pure spiritual energy was released from it. Zhou Dacheng was currently circulating his internal energy, and in an instant, he absorbed the spiritual energy into his body.

This spiritual energy was much more concentrated than that of the outside world, and it even seemed to contain a hint of the vitality of plants and trees.

In an instant, it merged with his magic power, successfully breaking through the last obstacle and completing a full cycle.

His magical power instantly increased by one-third.

Then, the spiritual energy released from the small tree continued to flow, and he continued to absorb the spiritual energy and circulate his magic power. This continued for twelve cycles until his practice was complete. Only then did he let out a long breath, which condensed into a wisp of green smoke in the air and slowly transformed into vines that wrapped around his body, like spring vines encircling an old trunk, endlessly entwining.

His eyes were filled with surprise as he turned to look at the small tree behind him.

At this moment, the sapling had grown several times thicker. Although it looked no different from an ordinary tree at first glance, Zhou Dacheng possessed the [Plant Spirit Body] and was naturally able to get close to trees. He sensed a vast and great power from the sapling.

If he were to immerse himself in it, he could see a divine tree that reached the heavens and the earth, its branches swaying in the void.

(End of this chapter)