Family Cultivation: My Ancestral Home Gets Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 122 Supreme Cultivation Techniques and the Divine Flame Ranking

As night deepened, a bright moon climbed above the treetops, its clear light filtering through layers of leaves and falling upon the green wood array.

When Jiang Fu'an re-entered the formation carrying the medicine pot, he immediately noticed that Zhao Lintang's condition had worsened.

The dark blue patches on her forearms, which were exposed outside her sleeves, had spread a bit more.

Strangely, she didn't close her eyes this time; they were wide open, staring blankly straight ahead.

Hearing footsteps, her eyes slowly turned to Jiang Fu'an, her gaze unfocused, as if looking at him through a layer of mist.

Her lips moved, her voice soft and hoarse: "No need—to brew any more medicine."

"The cold poison has entered the heart meridian—there's no hope."

Jiang Fu'an didn't reply, but instead placed the medicine pot on the ground and opened the lid.

"Dietary therapy" can even clear up years of erysipelas, so how could it not deal with mere cold toxins?

He crouched down sideways, extended his right hand, and cupped Zhao Lintang's chin in his palm.

With a little force, I pried open her tightly clenched jaw a crack.

With his left hand, he scooped up a spoonful of dark brown medicine and steadily brought it to her lips.

"Since Jiang has promised to save you, he won't give up halfway."

As he fed her the medicine, he said, "Fairy, don't give up on yourself."

The medicine slowly flowed into my mouth.

Her throat moved, and she managed to swallow, but a trickle of medicine spilled from the corner of her mouth, flowing down her chin to the side of her neck.

Jiang Fu'an wiped it away for her with his sleeve.

One spoonful after another.

When he was feeding her the medicine, he was close enough to smell a faint, almost imperceptible, rotten odor emanating from her.

Her skin was taut all over, like a corpse that hadn't yet decomposed.

Suddenly, two lines of tears rolled down without warning and landed on Jiang Fu'an's hand.

His hand paused, and he quickly released his fingers from her chin: "But I was too rough, did I hurt you?"

Zhao Lintang stared blankly at him, tears streaming down her face, but she didn't respond at all.

Seeing that the other person was only crying and not speaking, he took out a small paper packet from his storage bag.

Inside were more than a dozen candied fruits that hadn't been finished last time.

He picked one up and carefully put it into her mouth.

Zhao Lintang's tongue moved slightly, but he was too weak to chew.

The candied fruit melts in your mouth, slowly releasing its sweetness.

Jiang Fu watched quietly until her tears gradually stopped, then picked out the softened candied fruit with his fingers and scooped up a spoonful of medicine.

In fact, Zhao Lintang himself couldn't explain why he shed tears.

Perhaps they are crying because of a hopeless future.

In fact, the moment the cold poison entered her heart meridian, she already had the will to die.

Even if one manages to clear the cold poison, the heart meridian will most likely suffer irreparable damage, and the Great Dao will be severed from then on.

Rather than lingering on as a useless person, it's better to be decisive.

The other person's actions of feeding her the medicine, along with their calm yet persistent words, unexpectedly pierced through her defenses.

She was born into a family of cultivators, and her parents had many children. Even though she had outstanding spiritual roots, the attention she received from childhood was nothing more than resource allocation and strict supervision.

When she was a child, she was sick in bed, and her mother would only send a maid to bring her medicine; she never fed her by hand.

In that instant, she suddenly thought of:

Even if the parents were here, they probably wouldn't have the patience to feed the medicine spoonful by spoonful themselves.

Jiang Fu'an was naturally unaware of her thoughts, but at this moment he was regretting it: "If I had known it would be this troublesome, I would have chosen to kill and rob the treasure in the first place."

"I just hope she's grateful and will remember my hard work in the future."

After feeding him the last dose of medicine, he saw that Zhao Lintang still looked dejected, so he decided not to leave.

He sat cross-legged beside her, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate his inner energy.

The spiritual energy at the foot of the mountain is thin, far inferior to that in his cultivation room, which is bound to the "foundation".

But it only lasted one night, so the impact was minimal.

Moonlight filtered through the green wood array, quietly enveloping the two people sitting and lying within it.

Zhao Lintang's gaze had somehow returned from its reverie to Jiang Fu'an's calm profile.

She just watched quietly, her eyes filled with a complex and unfathomable expression, lost in thought.

From that night on, Jiang Fu'an, just as he had said, never gave up.

He would arrive at the Green Wood Formation three times a day, morning, noon, and evening, without fail, carrying his medicine pot.

Feeding medicine, wiping, and occasionally stuffing a candied fruit into the mouth became the fixed routine.

Zhao Lintang's body remained stiff and cold.

Two whole weeks passed before the changes began to appear little by little.

The most obvious sign was the lividity on her forearm, where the bluish-black color began to fade.

Later on, when Jiang Fu'an handed her the medicine spoon, she was even able to raise her hand, take it herself, and bring it to her mouth.

That evening, Jiang Fu'an delivered medicine and candied fruit as usual.

Zhao Lintang held the medicine bowl himself and drank it in small sips.

With his other hand, he held a piece of candied fruit, took a few sips of medicine, and then bit off a piece of candied fruit and put it in his mouth.

Although his face was pale, his eyes regained their light.

Seeing that she was in a good mood, Jiang Fu'an decided to ask for some more consultation fees: "Fairy Zhao, there is something I need to discuss with you."

"The medicinal materials used in the past half month have all been of extraordinary quality, and the consumption has been enormous."

"Of the thousand spirit stones you borrowed in advance, seven or eight tenths have already been used up."

"I wonder if the fairy has any resources left?"

Zhao Lintang was indeed in a good mood at the moment.

Although this herbal decoction has a weak effect, its strength lies in its continuous effect.

Each time I take it, I can feel a trace of the lingering, bone-chilling coldness in my meridians being dispelled.

To her even greater surprise, as the cold poison subsided, the eroded meridians did not suffer irreparable damage.

Her initial skepticism about Jiang Fu'an's medical skills had long since turned into admiration.

Upon hearing that the medicine supplies were running low, she immediately reached into the storage bag tied to her waist and began to count the spirit stones inside.

A moment later, a hint of embarrassment flashed across her face, and she somewhat awkwardly pulled out a small pile of stones, which she then suspended in the air.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, I am truly sorry. I only have these four hundred and twenty-three low-grade spirit stones left on me."

"If the amount is insufficient to cover subsequent medication costs, can other items be used to offset the consultation fee?"

"Of course!"

Jiang Fu'an readily agreed and waved his hand to collect all the spirit stones in the air into his storage bag.

He had long been interested in the treasures Zhao Lintang possessed, and now that the other party had brought them up, it suited his needs perfectly.

"Does Fairy Zhao possess any high-grade or mid-grade cultivation techniques?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lintang did not answer immediately, but instead placed his hand on the storage bag again and began to search carefully.

A moment later, a flash of light appeared in her palm, revealing three booklets bound in deep purple satin, with intricate cloud patterns embroidered along the edges in silver thread, making them look quite exquisite.

"These are the only three high-grade cultivation techniques I carry with me."

She held the booklet in her palm and began to introduce it one by one.

"This first book is called 'Gengjin Xuan Gong,' which is my main cultivation method."

"Upon successful mastery of this technique, one will experience significant gains in controlling metal-based spells and wielding metal-based magical artifacts."

"However, the family rules are strict, and this skill must not be passed on to outsiders."

"If Fellow Daoist Jiang chooses it, you must not sell it on the market. It is best to limit it to yourself or your close relatives for secret practice."

Jiang Fu'an's expression turned solemn, and he nodded in response, "Rest assured, Fairy Zhao. The cultivation method I seek is solely for my own and my family's younger members' practice; I have absolutely no intention of selling it for profit."

"The younger generation in your family? Fellow Daoist Jiang already has children?"

Zhao Lintang was slightly taken aback, a look of surprise flashing across his face.

She looked Jiang Fu'an up and down. He looked to be no more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. She had always thought he was at most a few years older than her, but she never expected him to be a father.

Jiang Fu'an smiled and said frankly, "That's right. I only look younger because of my cultivation technique."

"In fact, even my grandson can run around already."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lintang's eyes flickered slightly, as if a complex emotion had passed through them before disappearing.

She lowered her eyelids and picked up the second booklet.

"This second book is called the Heart Sutra of Thick Earth."

"This technique is not good for offensive combat and does not enhance the power of spells, but it has one advantage."

"The magical power he cultivated was more than twice as powerful as that of ordinary cultivation techniques of the same level."

Mana is twice that of others of the same rank?

Jiang Fu'an's heart skipped a beat.

These characteristics are practically tailor-made for cultivators who possess the "Five Elements Body".

Unfortunately, Xuan'er has dual spiritual roots of water and fire, and is not suited for this earth-elemental cultivation method.

His primary goal this time was still to find a suitable cultivation method for Xuan'er.

After weighing his options, he did not immediately express his opinion.

Seeing that he made no comment, Zhao Lintang picked up the last book.

"This third book, 'The Purple Flame Technique,' should actually be classified as a top-grade cultivation technique."

"This technique allows for extremely rapid progress and also enhances the power of fire-based spells."

"But the key lies in a secret technique recorded within it."

"If one can cultivate the Spirit Fire Purple Extreme Flame according to the formula," then it will be a truly top-grade cultivation technique.

"It is precisely because this Violet Extreme Flame is extremely difficult to cultivate—perhaps only one in a thousand succeeds—that it has been removed from the list of top-grade items and temporarily relegated to the ranks of superior-grade."

Top-tier martial arts technique!

Jiang Fu'an was deeply moved upon hearing this.

It is said that such techniques are usually the sect's signature techniques or the family secrets of large cultivation families.

When he asked earlier, he hadn't dared to think about it at all.

Xuan'er possesses dual spiritual roots of water and fire, making her perfectly suited to cultivate this technique.

However, the phrase "extremely difficult to master" made him have to be cautious.

He carefully considered his words before speaking: "Fairy Zhao, I wonder how powerful this Purple Extreme Flame is?"

"What exactly makes it difficult to complete?"

Zhao Lintang picked up a candied fruit and popped it into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out slightly, and his voice was a little muffled: "As for its power—it ranks twenty-fifth on the Divine Flame List, so it is naturally quite remarkable."

"Once mastered, few cultivators of the same level can directly confront its sharp edge."

"As for the difficulty, only those with a talent for fire magic have a slim chance of succeeding in mastering it."

As she spoke, she took out a thin booklet with a bright red cover from her storage bag and casually tossed it to Jiang Fu'an.

"Here, this is for you. It's not worth a few spirit stones."

Jiang Fu'an caught it; the booklet's cover had three characters in black ink: "The Divine Flame List".

He turned to the title page, and a few lines of bold handwriting came into view: "The spiritual fires of heaven and earth are generally divided into five categories: heavenly fire, earthly fire, human fire, demon fire, and ghost fire."

"Heavenly Fire is born in accordance with the Way of Heaven; it is violent and unruly, and its power is unparalleled."

"Earth Fire is born from the earth's veins, profound and powerful, and those with great opportunities can take it into their own bodies."

"Humans, demons, and will-o'-the-wisps are formed through secret techniques of magic cultivation, demon cultivation, and ghost cultivation, respectively, and their power is usually inferior to the former two —"

"So spiritual fire can be classified in this way!"

Jiang Fu'an was engrossed in watching, feeling as if his horizons had been broadened.

He turned to the second page, which was a list listing the names and categories of various flames from top to bottom:

First place: Soul Devouring Heavenly Fire (Heavenly Fire);

Second place: Nanming Li Huo (Heavenly Fire);

Third place: Ziwei Tianhuo (Tianhuo);

Fourth place: Crimson Sun Heavenly Fire (Heavenly Fire);

Fifth place: Solar Essence Fire (Earth Fire);

Sixth place: Taiyin True Fire (Earth Fire);

The seventh is the Six Ding Divine Fire (Earth Fire);

Eighth place: Red Lotus Karmic Fire (Earth Fire);

Ninth place: Golden Crow True Fire (Demon Fire);

Rank 25: Violet Extreme Flame (Human Fire);

Just as they were engrossed in reading it, Zhao Lintang's voice came: "Take a look at this list, but don't believe everything you see."

"In my opinion, the compiler probably didn't even see half of the spiritual fire in person."

"Moreover, during a battle, the power of a spiritual fire is ultimately closely related to the wielder's own cultivation level and the purity and depth of their magical power, and cannot be determined by ranking."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fu'an nodded in deep agreement, closed the booklet, and prepared to read it carefully later.

At that moment, he had already made up his mind.

Choose "Purple Flame Extreme Technique".

Fire is one of the five elements, and Xuan'er possesses the "Five Elements Body," so her talent for fire magic is naturally exceptional.

The fact that this technique allows for rapid cultivation is also extremely attractive to him.

Once one's cultivation reaches the late stage of Qi Refining, if a more suitable cultivation method cannot be found, switching to this technique to achieve faster foundation building is certainly a viable option.

As for the "Heart Sutra of Thick Earth," I had no choice but to give it up.

Rather than having profound magical power, he hoped to cultivate faster.

"Fairy Zhao, how much does this cultivation technique cost?"

A hint of surprise flashed across Zhao Lintang's face: "Fellow Daoist Jiang has a talent for fire magic?"

Jiang Fu'an shook his head and chuckled: "I am of mediocre talent, where would I get such talent? I just saw that it cultivated quite quickly."

The reason was reasonable, and Zhao Lintang did not doubt it.

She had indeed seen quite a few cultivators with poor aptitude choose this type of cultivation method.

She pondered for a moment and then announced a number: "The price of this technique in Qiankun Pavilion is usually five thousand low-grade spirit stones."

"Since this is to offset the cost of medicine for Fellow Daoist Jiang, let's say it's four thousand five hundred spirit stones."

Jiang Fu'an was not entirely unaware of the market price of Qigong techniques.

He had visited Moon Spirit Market many times and had noticed the prices of various books.

Low-grade cultivation techniques are the least valuable, usually priced between a few and tens of spirit stones.

The original "Eternal Spring Technique" he practiced could be bought for three spirit stones.

A mid-grade cultivation technique costs between tens and hundreds of spirit stones;

High-grade cultivation techniques often cost thousands.

This "Purple Flame Extreme Technique" has the potential to reach the threshold of top-grade, so it is reasonable that its price is higher than that of ordinary high-grade cultivation techniques.

The price of 5,000 spirit stones was not inflated.

Considering that the cold poison in her body has not yet been eradicated and that subsequent treatment will require "expensive medicinal materials," the 4,500 spirit stones may not ultimately be enough to cover the entire consultation fee.

He stopped haggling and readily agreed: "Alright, as the fairy says, four thousand five hundred spirit stones. I'll take this manual for now."

"Once the cold poison in your body is completely gone, we can settle all the fees, with refunds for overpayments and additional charges for underpayments, shall we?"

Zhao Lintang still needed his help to treat her injuries, so naturally she wouldn't refuse.

He nodded slightly and pushed the book "Purple Luo Extreme Flame Technique" in front of him: "I will do as Fellow Daoist Jiang says."