Family Cultivation: My Ancestral Home Gets Infinite Upgrades

As night fell, the mansion fell silent.

As is customary, Jiang Fu'an first had an in-depth conversation with his wife.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder; the two had been separated for a full month, and this time they were especially devoted to each other.

Things are different now. We live in a spacious house, and the children each have their own room.

The thick brick wall blocked out all the sounds, and Su Wanqing stopped deliberately standing there.

Only after his wife fell into a deep sleep did Jiang Fu'an quietly get up.

I sat cross-legged by the bed, calmed my mind and breath, and began to practice the Changchun Gong.

He didn't take any Qi-Nourishing Pills tonight, wanting to test how efficient his cultivation would be, relying solely on the spiritual energy within the house.

About half an hour later, one cycle of the cosmic orbit was completed.

Jiang Fu'an opened his eyes and shook his head helplessly.

The signs of increased magical power in the dantian were negligible, almost imperceptible.

He silently estimated that at this rate, it would probably take more than twenty years of painstaking effort to reach the first level of Qi Refining.

"Sigh, it seems I have no choice but to take drugs. There's no hope of success relying solely on my own cultivation!"

He decided to stop insisting and take a break.

The fatigue from days of bumpy carriage rides finally surfaced.

His cultivation progress at the inn was astonishing.

If that speed can be maintained, it will take about three months to reach the first level of Qi Refining.

But that speed needs to be maintained by taking one Qi-Nourishing Pill every day.

He brought back only about forty pills this time, and he had to set aside some for Shi Tou.

Based on this calculation, without other opportunities, it would be difficult to hope to reach the first level of Qi Refining required for upgrading the ancestral home within ten years.

However, Jiang Fu'an was not in a hurry.

Before leaving, he had discussed it with He Miao:

She would slowly collect and purchase Qi-Nourishing Pills while away from home, and once she had accumulated enough, she would find an opportunity to send them back.

In addition, he has another advantage – “good fortune”.

Thinking of "fortune", Jiang Fu'an couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

After arriving home, he made a special trip to the ancestral hall to check on it.

More than a year has passed since the last appearance of the orb of light, yet the altar remains empty.

But he wasn't surprised; he had now roughly figured out the pattern of this "good fortune":

It will only give a hint in the form of a ball of light when there is an opportunity nearby that is both suitable for it and safe.

The absence of a light sphere at this moment indicates that there are no suitable opportunities for him in the vicinity of Ping'an County.

However, he believed that a vast and peaceful county would eventually emerge.

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That day, Jiang Fu'an and Yue'er stared intently at the two eggs that He Miao had given them on the table.

Suddenly, a soft, crisp "click" broke the silence in the room.

One of the eggshells had a thin crack on its surface.

Then, the cracks spread out as if they were alive, becoming longer and denser.

Before long, the eggshell split completely in two, and a little creature covered in pale red downy feathers shakily crawled out.

It looks a bit like a newly hatched chick. As soon as it appeared, it chirped incessantly, its voice soft and delicate.

"Dad! It really hatched!"

Yue'er gasped in surprise and reached out, carefully cradling the "chicken" in her palm.

The little guy wasn't shy at all; after being held in someone's arms, he actually stopped chirping.

She raised her little head, her black bean-like eyes gazing curiously at Yue'er.

This is the young of the Firehawk.

He Miao not only provided Jiang Fu'an with eggs, but also taught him the secrets of raising and hatching them.

He has been taking great care of it for the past month, and today he finally saw results.

Jiang Fu'an found it fascinating and reached out his finger to gently touch the soft downy hair.

But as soon as her fingers approached, the little fire eagle seemed to be startled and immediately started chirping urgently, its small body shrinking back in Yue'er's hand.

Jiang Fu'an laughed angrily:

"Hey, you little ingrate. I put in the most effort this past month to incubate you. And you don't even recognize me now that you've hatched?"

Just as he was about to try again, a shout suddenly came from outside:

"Master, are you inside? It's almost time to leave!"

It was Miao Ruolan's voice urging him to take Shitou to the county to participate in the spiritual root test.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fu'an had no choice but to give up. He turned to Yue'er and instructed her:

"Take good care of them, don't roast them and eat them!"

Stone is already seven years old and can practice the Everlasting Spring Technique.

However, Jiang Fu'an was unable to explain how he knew that the stone possessed spiritual roots, so he kept it to himself and never taught it to the stone.

He had been waiting for this annual government-mandated standardized test.

Once the test is conducted publicly, it will be natural to let him begin his cultivation.

Outside the door, Miao Ruolan, along with her two younger brothers, Miao Ruoshan and Miao Ruohai, had been waiting for a while.

Her two younger brothers are also seven years old this year and meet the testing requirements.

"Master, let's get going!"

As soon as Jiang Fu'an came out, Miao Ruolan urged him on, her eyes shining with eagerness.

Whether the Miao family can revive in the future largely depends on whether her two younger brothers have the aptitude for cultivation, so it's no wonder she's anxious.

Seeing her so eager, Jiang Fu'an didn't delay and went to the courtyard to call Shi Tou, who was practicing horse stance.

The group of several people then embarked on their journey to Ping'an County.

On the way, Miao Ruolan felt both nervous and excited, and couldn't help but ask Jiang Fu'an:

"Master, how many of my brothers, Stone and I, do you think will be able to have their spiritual roots detected this time?"

Jiang Fu'an remained calm and smiled upon hearing this:

"Spiritual roots aren't that easy to come by. If you ask me, the most likely scenario is that you don't have any of the three."

Miao Ruolan didn't like hearing this and retorted:

"That's not necessarily true. My father was a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator back then."

"I think that either Ruoshan or Ruohai should at least have a spiritual root."

However, that's often how things are: the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.

Two hours later, at the testing site in Ping'an County.

When the government announced loudly that Miao Ruoshan and Miao Ruohai "both had no spiritual roots," the color drained completely from Miao Ruolan's face.

She swayed, her legs felt weak, and she almost lost her balance.

Jiang Fu'an was right beside her. Seeing this, he immediately reached out to support her arm and gently comforted her:

"Ruolan, take it easy. Spiritual roots are one in a thousand, an extremely low probability event. There's no need to be too fixated on it."

Miao Ruolan's lips curled into a bitter smile as she whispered:

"Thank you, boss... I understand."

She understood the reasoning perfectly well, but the expectation of the family's revival had been weighing on her heart for too long, making it difficult for her to accept it at the moment.

She was trying to calm herself down when she heard the testing monk announce the next result:

"Jiang Xiangchun possesses pseudo-spiritual roots of the four elements: metal, wood, fire, and earth!"

This result was like a muffled thunderclap, leaving Miao Ruolan completely stunned.

She slowly turned her head, her gaze complex as she looked at Jiang Fu'an beside her, her eyes clearly conveying:

"Didn't you just say... the probability was very low? Then what's with this stone?"

Jiang Fu'an then noticed that Shi Tou was standing right behind her two younger brothers.

He had just finished comforting Shi Tou when the stone was found to have spiritual roots. The slap in the face came rather quickly.

Looking at Miao Ruolan's somewhat resentful expression, he didn't know how to comfort her.

Just then, a familiar voice came from outside the crowd:

"Brother Jiang! Over here!"

Jiang Fu'an turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw Ma Ping standing on the outskirts of the crowd not far away, waving at him with a big smile.

Beside Ma Ping stood a beautiful woman with an elegant demeanor.

It was Wang Zhiyue, the head of the Wang family whom Jiang Fu'an had met once before.

To Jiang Fu'an's slight surprise, this patriarch, who possessed mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation and held a prestigious position, was also wearing a gentle smile and had his gaze fixed on him.