129: Chapter 129 Leaving Home and Ten Years

An extremely faint trace of red light, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, quietly escaped from the wound between his eyebrows.

That light was as weak as a candle in the wind, yet it carried an aura he was incomparably familiar with.

That was a wispy remnant soul of Wang Chongyang that had not completely dissipated yet.

That remnant soul was weak to the extreme, lightly jumping on the fingertip as if bidding a final farewell, and then slowly dissipating into the morning light.

Wang Shouren withdrew his finger, not letting anyone see the flash of white light on his fingertip that vanished in a flash.

He meticulously tidied up Sixth Grandpa's lapels and smoothed out every single wrinkle on that washed-out gray cloth Daoist robe.

Sixth Grandpa loved cleanliness the most, and he could not be sloppy when leaving.

He knelt in front of the corpse and heavily kowtowed three loud times, his forehead pressed against the cold bluestone slab, and he never raised it again.

Ten years later.

The morning mist had not dispersed.

In front of the mountain gate of Lotus Pier, Wang Shouren stood under that old pine tree.

At his feet was an Iron-Winged Bird Puppet beast.

He was still dressed in white, but compared to ten years ago, his stature had grown a bit taller, his shoulders and back were broader, and the youthful sharpness between his brows had been polished into composure by the years.

After ten years of Qi Refining Perfection, the spiritual power in his Dantian was already like a lake under a full moon, calm and waveless, yet unfathomable.

"Father, leave this foundation establishment pill for the Family."

Wang Shouren stuffed the foundation establishment pill back into Wang Yaozu's hand, his tone as flat as if he were talking about the nice weather today, except for a trace of imperceptible guilt deep in his eyes.

"Shouyi is also about to Cultivate to Qi Refining Perfection. He should need this more than me. I said, this time I am just going out for experiential training to seek the opportunity for a Breakthrough, and I don't necessarily have to rely on a Medicinal Pill."

Wang Yaozu took the foundation establishment pill and remained silent for a long time, ultimately not trying to persuade him any further.

He reached out to adjust his son's lapels. That hand was no longer as rough as it used to be, with a few new calluses between the knuckles.

He looked at the son in front of him who was half a head taller than himself, and in a daze, he recalled the young man who had set out three teacups in the side hall ten years ago.

He suddenly let out a chuckle, the smile filled with gratification, reluctance to part, and even more, a sense of relief in letting go.

"Fine, you have had your own ideas since you were a child. Go ahead, be safe, Lotus Pier will always have a room for you."

These ten years were a decade of upheaval in the Three Counties.

They were also a decade when the Wang Family transformed from a small Family in Baishan County into the top Family of the Three Counties.

The fire marrow crystal vein obtained when Master Chongyang led the extermination of the fire rock python back then had been more than half mined in the past ten years, and the annual output had never been lower than thirty thousand Spirit Stones.

Coupled with the spiritual fields, mineral veins, and market storefronts received from the Ning Family, as well as several properties successively acquired from the Yan Family, the Wang Family's Spirit Stone income had multiplied several times over.

As for that string of numbers in the treasury account books, let alone ordinary Foundation Establishment families, even those top-ranking millennial aristocratic families under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Sword Sect might not have such confidence.

Solely regarding resource reserves, the Wang Family at this moment was enough to support ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators cultivating simultaneously, plus more than four hundred Qi Refinement Stage clansmen of the whole Family, and it was still more than enough.

It was just that Foundation Establishment Cultivators were not that easy to produce after all.

In these ten years, Wang Yaozu remained the only Foundation Establishment Immortal Master of the Wang Family.

Wang Yaowen failed to impact Foundation Establishment, and his Foundation was half-ruined; Wang Yaowu was still polishing his Foundation, and no one else among the older generation could cross that threshold.

However, the Foundation of the Qi Refinement Stage was completely incomparable to before.

There were one hundred and sixteen people in the Qi Refining Late Stage, which was nearly three times that of ten years ago.

The remaining three hundred clansmen were half in the Qi Refining Middle Stage and half in the Qi Refining Early Stage.

This did not even count the one hundred Family retainers.

The analogy of a cup of water proposed by Wang Shouren in the side hall back then had been executed to the extreme by the Wang Family in these ten years.

Distributing resources to every clansman willing to work hard, not putting all eggs in one basket, not forcing growth by pulling up seedlings, and letting every cup be filled with water.

Now, solely discussing the combat strength of the Qi Refining Stage, looking across the Three Counties, no one could rival the Wang Family.

The pattern of the Three Counties had also changed drastically long ago.

Over in Funiu County, although the Yan Family was removed from the roster by the Spirit Sword Sect, there were still a few local small families entrenched in Funiu County, and the Spirit Sword Sect would not sit idly by and watch any single Family dominate in this remote place far from the emperor.

The Wang Family could not muscle in for a moment either, and only acquired a few storefronts in the market to do some Puppet business.

Mount Xiao and Wanshan Counties were another scenery altogether.

After the destruction of the Ning Family, the spiritual fields and mineral veins of Xiaoshan County all belonged to the Wang Family.

The magistrate of Wanshan County had also changed two terms. The current magistrate's surname was Sun, with a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation, and he got along extremely harmoniously with the Wang Family.

The Wang Family paid taxes on time, and offered heavy gifts during festivals. Occasionally, if the county office had some business that required Spirit Stone turnover, Wang Yaozu would agree without a second word, neither showing off nor claiming credit.

Magistrate Sun was happy to be leisurely.

He still had several years left in his term. With the support of the Wang Family, he never had to worry about taxes, his political achievements were rated excellent every year, and after completing his term, he could return to the Spirit Sword Sect to report on his duties and get promoted.

Both families took what they needed and got along harmoniously.

Of course, what the Cultivators of the Three Counties talked about most eagerly was still the Wang Family's once-every-three-years preaching grand event.

Following Wang Chongyang, Wang Yaozu personally opened the altar to lecture on the Dao once every three years, specially teaching Cultivation insights to Loose Cultivators.

What Wang Chongyang lectured on back then was the Qi Refining Foundation, while what Wang Yaozu lectured on was the art of actual combat.

The experience he gained from fighting others in his life was far more than his Cultivation insights, and when it came to actual combat, he was more adept at it than talking about cultivation base.

Every time he lectured, the stone terrace on the southern foot of Wogui Mountain was packed with Loose Cultivators who rushed over from all parts of the Three Counties, and sometimes there were even those who came with admiration from other counties under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Sword Sect.

After a long time, it actually formed a strange spectacle in the Three Counties.

The Three Counties were clearly located in the borderlands of the Yue State, far from the center of Spiritual Veins, yet the passing Loose Cultivators were more numerous than those in the inland county towns.

Originally, when Loose Cultivators entered the Monster Mountain Range to hunt Yao Beasts and gather herbs, most of them took a straight line into the mountains from other places, thinking that making a detour to the Three Counties would waste time.

Now, on the contrary, quite a few Loose Cultivators were willing to make a detour, coming to the Wang Family's market first to rest their feet. The Wang Family's market was famously low-priced with guaranteed authenticity, and they were all willing to come over to do some business before heading to the Monster Mountain Range.

The market tax revenue of the Three Counties climbed step by step; the Wang Family gained profits, the Loose Cultivators gained convenience, and everyone was happy.

The Wang Family's Puppets had long since jumped out of the Three Counties, sold to other cities under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Sword Sect, and even a batch of Puppet birds was sold all the way to the territory of the Baihua Sect by Wanbao Pavilion.

This income now accounted for one-third of the Wang Family's annual income, making it a well-deserved pillar industry.

Building on the assembly line, Wang Qingcheng further standardized the Puppet parts, expanding from the original five basic Puppets to more than a dozen types.

From cargo-dragging Puppet donkeys to poison-spouting Puppet snakes, the categories were complete and the prices were fair.

However, the grade of the Puppets always hovered around the First Grade High Grade, but low failure rate and convenient maintenance were the advantages of the Wang Family's Puppets.

In the markets of the Three Counties, whenever the four characters "Wang Family Puppets" were mentioned, there was no Loose Cultivator who would not give a thumbs up.

She was now a well-deserved chief Puppet master of the Wang Family, managing over thirty Puppet artisans under her, busy every day without a moment to rest.

She was no longer that little girl who acted spoiled chasing behind her eldest brother.

Wang Shouren withdrew his gaze, hoisted his pack onto his shoulder, and turned to walk outside the mountain gate.

Morning light passed through the branches and leaves of the ancient pine, casting mottled light and shadows on his white clothes.

He did not look back, only raising his hand to wave behind him, as if saying — I'll be right back.

Wang Yaozu stood under the old pine, gazing at that figure walking further and further away, until the white clothes merged into the morning mist at the end of the mountain path, before slowly withdrawing his gaze.

He lowered his head to look at the foundation establishment pill that was stuffed back into his hand, shook his head with a smile, and turned to walk inside the mountain gate.

The mountain breeze brushed past, and the branches and leaves of the old pine rustled.

It was as if bidding farewell to a youth for this mountain estate, and also as if waiting for his return.