Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improving Spiritual Root Aptitude

When they arrived at Niu Dazhuang's courtyard, the gate was already packed with guests. Niu Dazhuang was busy greeting everyone. Seeing Wu Fan approaching, he immediately pulled his son aside and urged him with a smile:

"Ben'er, quickly greet Uncle Wu."

Bai Ben was a head taller than other children his age, with dark skin and a face that resembled a miniature version of Niu Dazhuang, but his eyes revealed a shrewdness beyond his years.

He strode up to Wu Fan and bowed respectfully.

"Nephew greets Uncle."

"Congratulations on discovering your spiritual root. With diligent cultivation, you will surely have a bright future."

Wu Fan smiled and praised him, then took out a low-grade flying sword from his storage bag and handed it to Bai Ben. "This is a congratulatory gift from your uncle. After you draw the Qi into your body, refine it well and use it for self-defense and cultivation."

Bai Ben's eyes lit up, but he didn't immediately take the sword. Instead, he turned to look at Niu Dazhuang. Seeing his father nod in approval, he happily took the sword, held it in his hand, and waved it around a few times with great affection. Although his movements were clumsy, they revealed the spirit of a young man.

Niu Dazhuang smiled and dismissed Bai Ben, then pulled Wu Fan to a secluded spot. His face was somewhat awkward as he rubbed his hands, hesitant to speak: "Brother Wu, there's something I'd like to ask you for advice on, it's just... a little embarrassing."

"Look at you, stammering like that. Just say what you have to say."

Wu Fan patted him on the shoulder and joked.

"The elders in the clan talked to me, saying they wanted me to take on more responsibilities and contribute more to the clan, and to marry another woman from the Bai family named Bai Shao, who is said to also have spiritual roots."

Niu Dazhuang lowered his voice, his face full of struggle, "But I'm afraid Tao'er will feel uncomfortable if she finds out. She's pregnant now, and I really don't know how to tell her."

Upon hearing this, Wu Fan chuckled inwardly; Niu Dazhuang was certainly quite lucky with women.

He had seen the woman named Bai Shao before. She was eighteen years old, with a plump and round face, a slender and graceful figure, and skin that was as white as if it had been soaked in spring water, smooth and translucent.

Her eyes, with their captivating charm, were so alluring that even an ordinary man would likely lose his composure and be unable to control himself.

He stopped smiling, his expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Dazhuang, let me ask you something. Is this something you truly willing to do from the bottom of your heart?"

"I...I'm willing, of course, but I just can't get past Tao'er."

Niu Dazhuang scratched his head, his tone becoming increasingly hesitant.

"Since it's your own wish and it's the idea of ​​the clan's higher-ups, there's no need to hesitate any longer."

Wu Fan interrupted him, analyzing, "Having another branch of the family in marriage will greatly benefit your status in the Bai family and your future cultivation resources, so just go with the flow. As for Tao'er, you need to find a suitable time to be honest with her face to face. Between husband and wife, it's better to explain the pros and cons clearly than to hide things and make her suspicious. She's a reasonable person and will definitely understand. However, she's pregnant right now, so her emotions are important. You need to spend more time comforting her and make sure she doesn't upset the baby."

Upon hearing this, Niu Dazhuang's troubled expression gradually faded, and he nodded repeatedly: "Brother Wu is right! I'll talk to Tao'er about it later. Thank you for your guidance."

As he spoke, he pulled Wu Fan to his seat.

......

Within half a month, Niu Dazhuang indeed married Bai Shao, a woman from the Bai family. Wu Fan naturally attended another wedding banquet and ate at the feast.

After marrying a second wife, Wu Fan hadn't seen Niu Dazhuang for several days. A week later, Niu Dazhuang, looking slightly haggard, took the initiative to come and handed him a letter.

"Brother Wu, Li Buhui invited us to a small gathering at Falling Star Valley Market in two months. He asked if we're free."

"Yes, I received the letter too, and I'm planning to go. What about you?"

Wu Fan asked.

"If Angkor Wat is going, then naturally I will go too."

Niu Dazhuang immediately agreed.

"You won't see your little wife for over a month, are you sure you'll be willing?"

Wu Fan joked.

Niu Dazhuang's face flushed, somewhat embarrassed: "Brother Wu, what are you saying?"

"Haha, that's only human nature. Just don't get too caught up in it and neglect your cultivation."

Wu Fan changed his tone and offered gentle advice.

"I know Angkor Wat, don't worry."

Niu Dazhuang nodded solemnly.

The two then moved to Wu Fan's courtyard, where two pots of wine and several dishes of exquisite snacks were placed on a stone table. They sat and chatted in the cool evening breeze.

Once they started talking, the conversation went on and on, from the growth of the spiritual herbs in Yunxi Mountain to the local anecdotes in Qingxi County, from the bottlenecks and confusions on the path of cultivation to the foolish past of their youth.

After a few rounds of drinks, both of them had a hint of drunkenness on their faces.

These leisurely days passed in the blink of an eye, and more than a month had gone by.

On this day, just as dawn was breaking, the two of them set off on the mountain path, leading the fine steed they had borrowed from the Bai family.

The steed was pure white, with a mane as smooth as silk, and its four hooves trotted the ground silently, clearly a fine horse capable of traveling a thousand miles a day.

They sped along, and by the time the sun was high in the sky, the rolling mountains behind them were receding into the distance, and the two had long since left the territory of Qingxi County.

Wu Fan suddenly pulled on the reins, dismounted, and looked back at the undulating mountains.

"Twenty years."

He sighed softly, his tone carrying a hint of inexplicable melancholy.

Twenty years ago, he awakened his memories and plunged headlong into this cruel world of cultivation.

A breeze blew by, ruffling the stray hairs on his forehead.

Wu Fan raised his hand and rubbed his temples, suddenly realizing that he was already twenty-nine years old.

In the mundane world, most men of this age have already started their own families and careers, with children around them, and are approaching the age of thirty.

He gazed into the distance, feeling a sense of disorientation at the passage of time, as if he were still the young man who had just entered the world of cultivation yesterday.

Even now, he still looks like a young man; time has not left any marks on his face.

In contrast, Niu Dazhuang, who was already mature and married, looked like an older generation standing next to Wu Fan.

Wu Fan had also been curious about this matter before.

He wasn't practicing a wood-attribute cultivation technique that would prolong life or nourish his appearance; after thinking it over, he figured it was just a hidden effect of the Five Elements Bead.

"Angkor, what's wrong?"

Seeing that he was lost in thought, Niu Dazhuang called out to him.

Wu Fan snapped out of his reverie, gave a wry smile, and shook his head: "It's nothing, it just suddenly struck me that twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. Time flies by too fast."

"you do not say."

Niu Dazhuang gazed towards the Bai family's direction, his eyes distant. "I'm almost a father of four now. Who knows, maybe I'll add another one when I go back, hahaha!"

Wu Fan joked, "Then I wish you all your dreams come true."

Niu Dazhuang laughed loudly: "Thank you for Angkor's auspicious words!"

Wu Fan suppressed his smile and looked ahead, saying, "These past twenty years have only been the beginning. Qingxi County is too small; the world outside is far more vast than this."

Having said that, he turned and mounted his horse, patted the steed's neck, and called out loudly, "Let's go, Dazhuang!"

With a tug on the reins, the spirited steed let out a clear neigh.

As Wu Fan gazed at the road ahead, the melancholy in his heart gradually dissipated, replaced by a surge of passion.

Two figures and two spirited steeds galloped away into the distance, facing the blinding sunlight, leaving the mountains behind them completely behind.