Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improving Spiritual Root Aptitude

Angkor!

Even from a distance, Niu Dazhuang shouted towards Wu Fan's residence.

Upon hearing the sound, Wu Fan went out of the house and saw Niu Dazhuang carrying loads of food and gift boxes in both hands, hurrying over here in high spirits.

"You've come all this way, and with so much stuff? Is there some good news?"

Wu Fan joked with a smile, but when his gaze swept over Niu Dazhuang, he suddenly noticed a change in his aura, and his eyes widened instantly.

He patted Niu Dazhuang hard on the shoulder: "Good lad, you actually broke through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining! When did that happen?"

"It's been a month or two!"

Niu Dazhuang quickly went inside, put down his things, and responded with a grin.

"You little rascal, you're a father now, and you're still so impulsive."

Wu Fan looked at him and made another joke.

The two sat down in the hall and chatted over the food that Niu Dazhuang had brought.

Yunxi Mountain has strict controls over people from outside the clan, and they have to report every time they go out, which is already troublesome.

In addition, Niu Dazhuang's child was born a few months ago. He was so busy taking care of the child and cultivating that he hadn't been able to come and have a drink with Wu Fan for several months.

It was during these busy and fulfilling days that Niu Dazhuang's Qi Refining Level 3 cultivation power quietly reached perfection. One night, while meditating, he naturally broke through the bottleneck without even feeling it.

Upon hearing this, Wu Fan first remarked, "What great luck!" and then realized what he meant.

Niu Dazhuang practiced a cultivation technique that was fast-paced and easy to advance in. In addition, he was the first son-in-law of the Bai family to have a child, so the Bai family gave him a higher monthly allowance than the other sons-in-law. Considering his own savings, it was actually reasonable for him to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining in just over a year.

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

After sharing his experience of breaking through, Niu Dazhuang changed the subject and talked about the major events that had recently happened to the Bai family.

"Angkor, did you know? The Bai family's caravan has recently been robbed again, and dozens of spirit farmers from the herb garden who went out to do odd jobs during the off-season have also been intercepted and killed!"

"What?"

Wu Fan's heart sank, he gasped, and pressed for an answer, "Is that really true?"

"It's absolutely true! It happened just a few days ago, and the Bai family is going crazy over it. I estimate it will be all over the market in a couple of days."

Niu Dazhuang nodded, his tone becoming more serious. "Moreover, all the spirit farmers' storage bags were looted, which looks like the cultivators had been lying in wait all along."

At this point, he couldn't help but frown.

Wu Fan pondered for a moment and said, "Didn't the Bai family send anyone to investigate?"

"They've been dispatched; the clan has already sent several elders to lead teams to investigate."

Niu Dazhuang said, "Many people in the clan say it was the Deng family who did it. After all, where in the vicinity of Yunxi Mountain Range are there rogue cultivators with such a big appetite to rob a group of dozens of spirit farmers? Only a cultivation family like the Deng family has the ability to swallow them all in one go."

After listening, Wu Fan fell into deep thought.

Niu Dazhuang is right. The force capable of accomplishing this is most likely a cultivation family-level power.

But he always felt something was off. If the Deng family wanted to target the Bai family, it would make sense for them to disguise themselves as bandits and rob caravans, but those spirit farmers were just rogue cultivators employed by the Bai family and had no affiliation with the Bai family.

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Even if they wanted to affect the Bai family's spiritual medicine profits next year, there were plenty of ways to do so; there was no need to kill so many rogue cultivators directly.

Doing this will undoubtedly provoke public outrage.

Aren't the Deng family afraid that they will never be able to hire independent cultivators again, and that the Bai family will seize on this as leverage to suppress them severely?

This whole thing seems suspicious no matter how you look at it.

Over the past two years, all the changes and clues that have occurred in the Bai family have been pointing towards the Deng family, as if someone is stirring things up behind the scenes, hoping that the Deng family and the Bai family will go to war.

As a Foundation Establishment clan in Qingxi County, if a full-scale war were to break out, who knows how many people would be lost.

At that time, even if the Bai and Deng families do not fall out of the ranks of Foundation Establishment families, they will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

If that happens, the peaceful days in Yunxi Market will probably not last much longer.

Wu Fan pondered to himself: The methods used by the forces behind this are not particularly sophisticated, but they are exceptionally effective.

Most people are foolish and quick to call for war and killing, but they do not realize that once the sword is drawn, it will cause the nest to be overturned and no egg to remain intact.

It seems I need to quickly improve my cultivation and alchemy skills so that even after leaving Yunxi Market, I can still use this craft to continuously support my cultivation.

However, as long as Yunxi Market remains stable, I can stay here for another ten years or so without any problem.

After all, the cultivation environment at Baidan Hall was relatively stable, but he couldn't stay there for long.

Although few people know their own spiritual aptitude, they are not entirely nonexistent.

If one cultivates too quickly with inferior spiritual roots, it will inevitably attract attention. Therefore, it is time to leave when one reaches the late stage of Qi Refining.

Time flew by and the sun set, bringing our small gathering with Niu Dazhuang to an end.

Before parting, Niu Dazhuang said that the end of the year was approaching and he had to stay at the Bai family home to take care of his wife and children, so he wouldn't be able to spend the New Year with Wu Fan this year.

Although Wu Fan felt somewhat dejected after hearing this, he fully understood.

Since he came to Baidantang as an alchemy apprentice, Niu Dazhuang has been his companion for the New Year every year for the past eleven years.

Even when Niu Dazhuang got married last year, he stayed at his place until the first day of the Lunar New Year before going back home.

Now that the other person has a family and children, they should prioritize their family.

Life is a solitary journey.

Whether it's friends, parents, or even a lifelong partner, they can only accompany you for a part of the journey.

They will leave a mark on your life, whether deep or shallow, but in the end they are just passersby who come and go in a hurry.

This long journey of life must ultimately be walked alone, step by step.

Wu Fan watched Niu Dazhuang's departing figure, then turned and went back into the house, taking out the letter sent by his second uncle from his pocket.

The letter asked him if he would be returning to his family for the Lunar New Year this year.

For the first two years after Wu Fan came to Baidantang, his second uncle would come to pick him up and take him home for the New Year.

Starting from the third year, Wu Fan politely declined his second uncle's invitations. Although his second uncle no longer came in person, he would still send letters to inquire, and Wu Fan's reply was always a polite refusal.

After all, his parents had already passed away, and apart from his second uncle, no one else in the family liked him. His eldest uncle, in particular, seemed to harbor deep resentment towards his deceased father and had always disliked him, even openly showing his disdain. Going back would only be asking for trouble.

Coupled with his inferior spiritual root, he was looked down upon by his clansmen. Although his second uncle genuinely cared about him, he probably also felt that he was unlikely to amount to much.

This is understandable. Even if someone with an inferior spiritual root possesses nine strands of spiritual essence and is infinitely close to having a low-grade spiritual root, they are still ultimately an inferior spiritual root, and their future cultivation limit is almost visible to the naked eye.

In the world of cultivation, achieving the Great Dao requires both spiritual root aptitude and family support. Currently, I lack advantages in both, and in the eyes of outsiders, it is indeed difficult for me to achieve anything significant.

After reading the letter, Wu Fan sighed softly, picked up the pen and ink on the table, and wrote a reply, ending with:

A few words cannot express my feelings.

I only hope that my second uncle is healthy and strong, makes progress in his cultivation, has no worries year after year, and that everything goes smoothly.

Wu Fan bowed.