Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improving Spiritual Root Aptitude

Wu Fan opened the first letter in his hand; it was from Niu Dazhuang.

The letter contained nothing more than routine greetings and rambling about recent trivial matters in my life:

His second and third children had their spiritual roots tested some time ago, but ultimately failed to be found to possess them, so they could only be content to live as ordinary people.

However, his wife Bai Shao is pregnant again, and the family is welcoming another member, which makes him very happy, as this is their seventh child.

Finally, he mentioned the recent small gathering of the four of them.

"That Dazhuang... he's really something in that area..."

Wu Fan couldn't help but chuckle and gave an evaluation, while a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

Then they opened the second and third letters, written by Li Buhui and Jiang Ling respectively.

The two letters were very similar, both arranging a time and place for a small gathering and containing some caring greetings.

But when he turned to the fourth letter, he was slightly taken aback, which was somewhat unexpected.

The handwriting on the envelope was delicate and graceful, and the signature was that of his cousin, "Wu Xiaowan".

He had rarely spent time with this cousin since childhood, and their relationship was distant and far from harmonious.

When I left Qingxi County for Falling Star Valley last time, I visited my second uncle's house, and our relationship improved slightly. How could I suddenly receive a letter from her today?!

After a moment's thought, he figured out the reason. He figured it must have been something the second brother had specifically asked Wu Xiaowan to write, otherwise there really was no other explanation.

The letter didn't contain anything important; it was mostly just everyday concern.

The main question was whether his cultivation in the sect was going smoothly.

After reading it, Wu Fan gently folded the letter and put it away.

His second uncle had always treated him kindly. Although he wasn't close to this cousin emotionally, he wouldn't be too indifferent. He should reply to her letter, both out of courtesy and reason.

He raised his hand and waved it, and a set of writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone instantly appeared on the table.

Wu Fan picked up his pen and first replied to Niu Dazhuang, agreeing to the invitation for a small gathering.

Then he replied to Li Buhui and Jiang Ling, and arranged a time to meet.

Finally, he replied to Wu Xiaowan in a gentle tone, informing her that he was doing well in the sect and that she and her second uncle could rest assured. He said he would return to the family to visit when he had time.

After writing four replies, Wu Fan blew the ink dry, carefully folded them, and put them into the envelopes.

......

Half a month later, Wu Fan returned from Xiaoju and went back to his residence.

The four people from back then have each gone their own way and have undergone changes.

Niu Dazhuang, surrounded by his children, enjoyed a peaceful family life, yet he never slacked off in his cultivation, diligently practicing every day without ceasing.

The Bai family was already at its zenith in Qingxi County. He had fought for the Bai family, shed blood on the battlefield, and added to the family's lineage. Among all the sons-in-law who married into the family, he lived the most comfortable life and received the best treatment from the clan.

These were just things he said in jest at the party, but he revealed his inner troubles when he chatted with Wu Fan in private.

It turns out that the Bai family has recently added a new batch of sons-in-law who have married into the family. One of them is named Sun Ergou, whose personality and behavior are quite similar to his father's back then. Now, his wife is pregnant with their second child, which makes Niu Dazhuang feel that his position is in jeopardy. He has been thinking about whether he should take another woman from the Bai family as a concubine to solidify his position among the sons-in-law.

Wu Fan could only smile and let him make his own decision, since he really didn't have any advice to offer on this matter.

Jiang Ling admitted at the gathering that after this small get-together, she probably wouldn't be able to participate in any more gatherings of the four of them for the next few years.

Although she was born with a spiritual body, her spiritual root aptitude was not outstanding. Even now that she has obtained the Foundation Establishment Pill, she still has no complete confidence in achieving Foundation Establishment.

Therefore, she plans to travel around to find some spiritual objects that can help her achieve Foundation Establishment, in order to increase her chances of success as much as possible. She will not stay in Falling Star Valley for the next few years.

After hearing this, Wu Fan and the other two understood and naturally had no objections.

In Wu Fan's view, Li Buhui's behavior at the gathering was somewhat abnormal.

He used to be the most talkative and lively person at parties, but this time he seemed rather uninterested and in low spirits, and he didn't look as energetic as he usually did.

What's even more surprising is that his cultivation level has also reached the seventh level of Qi Refining, and his cultivation speed is comparable to that of himself.

Jiang Ling was fine, as she possessed a special spiritual body and it was only natural for her cultivation to progress. However, Li Buhui's progress made Wu Fan wonder if his previous efforts to improve his spiritual root aptitude had been in vain.

It should be noted that Wu Fan's cultivation journey has been aided by a considerable amount of high-quality pills from beginning to end.

Those pills were rare and had very pure medicinal properties. Even so, he was always worried about the problem of his magic power being weak. He would often stop taking pills and calm down to refine his dantian and stabilize his foundation. He even practiced body refining techniques.

Moreover, as an alchemist himself, he was very familiar with the signs of unstable magical power. Upon closer inspection of Li Buhui, he could tell that Li Buhui's aura was slightly unstable. His condition was very much like that of someone who had taken a pill that could quickly improve their cultivation level.

However, since this was a gathering, Li Buhui didn't bring it up herself, and Wu Fan naturally wouldn't ask about it either, even though the four of them were close.

In the world of cultivation, everyone has their own secrets. It is ultimately inappropriate to rashly pry into the secrets of others' cultivation, and it may even arouse their hostility.

Ultimately, all four of them are steadily improving their cultivation levels, and at present, they all seem to have a promising future.

As Wu Fan's thoughts gradually returned to the table, he was about to take out the "Five Elements Array Dao Basic Explanation" to begin studying the array Dao when a message suddenly came from his sect token at his waist. A pleasant, slightly coquettish voice entered his ears:

"Junior brother~~~ Zhaofu is so cute! How about letting it stay here tonight? I've prepared some monster jerky for it!"

Wu Fan picked up the token and shook his head helplessly.

His junior sister Wen Qiyue was naturally lively and innocent. She used to always pester him with questions, but after discovering Zhaofu, she started coming over every day under various pretexts and became a regular visitor to Zhaofu.

Zhao Fu genuinely liked this junior sister from the bottom of his heart.

After all, its owner spent his days either buried in cultivation, alchemy, reading, or studying array formations, rarely leaving the house. Over time, Zhaofu inevitably found it boring.

But Wen Qiyue was different. She was lively and loved to travel around. Every time she came to find Wu Fan, she would take Zhao Fu to the valley to relax, either picking spirit fruits or teasing spirit butterflies, making Zhao Fu obedient.

Over time, Zhao Fu grew to like this enthusiastic junior sister more and more.

Wu Fan was happy to see this happen.

Otherwise, with a person and a beast constantly hovering around him, he would rarely have a moment of peace.

Before Wu Fan could even pick up the "Five Elements Array Dao Foundation Explanation" on the table, the restrictions of the cave suddenly fluctuated.

Wu Fan was slightly taken aback, then got up and opened the stone door and the cave's protective barrier.

The next moment, a hearty male voice came from the talisman:

"Junior Brother Wu Fan, I've long admired your name. I am Lu Chuan from the inner sect, introduced by Junior Sister Jiang. I've heard that your alchemy skills are superb and your pills are reasonably priced. I would like to ask you to help me refine a batch of pills. I wonder if you are available at this time?"