250: Chapter 250 The Fourth Grandson's Birthday

Three months later.

Matters like recruiting Retainers, deploying sentries, and maintaining trade routes were complex. The entire Ye Family was working around the clock, and Ye Xuan was especially busy traveling every day, rarely able to rest properly at the main residence for even a single day.

The vast Family business had just gotten on track, and countless trivial matters were demanding attention. Even Ye Jing, the Foundation Establishment Family Head, rarely had a quiet moment to close his eyes and regulate his breathing.

On his desk, a thick stack of Sect letters, mine accounts, and Guest Elder evaluations piled up, the scent of ink often clinging to his hands.

But even amidst his busy schedule, Ye Jing never forgot a personal matter: the birthday of his fourth grandson, Ye Tianyao.

Ye Tianyao was still young and had not yet officially stepped onto the Great Dao of cultivation. On ordinary days, he was sent to a martial arts hall in the county seat to practice spear techniques.

Firstly, to avoid suspicion, and secondly, to keep him away from the Family's current power struggles and intrigues so he could live peacefully.

Ye Jing focused on stabilizing the overall situation. Now that the situation had settled slightly, he immediately set aside half of his important duties and personally prepared a carriage to bring Ye Tianyao back to the main residence.

This time, the carriage drove into the Ye Family residence in Liu Village instead of Lingyun Valley.

Because many Retainers had been recruited, Lingyun Valley was undergoing expansion, and the Retainers were temporarily living there.

At this time, many people from the village were also helping to manage the golden spirit rice fields and raise meat-producing spirit livestock like Mountain Delicacy Chickens within the Ye Family residence.

Liu Village was no longer the dilapidated rural mountain village it used to be.

The crooked wooden archway at the village entrance had long since been renovated. A main road paved with bluestone led straight to the Ye Family mansion.

The previously neglected ridges on both sides had been completely refurbished. Continuous stretches of golden spirit rice grew vigorously, swaying in golden waves whenever a breeze passed by, with a faint Spiritual Qi lingering among the ears of grain.

Even the Ye Family guards standing watch on the field ridges wore polished fine iron Command Tokens at their waists. Their eyes were sharp, revealing the spirit and energy of trained martial artists.

Many villagers along the way bowed in respect when they saw the Ye Family carriage, their eyes filled with awe and gratitude.

Since the rise of the Ye Family, they had not only found work for the villagers to manage spirit fields and raise spirit livestock, paying them in spirit grain and silver bits monthly, but they had also hired a Martial Master to teach the young and strong in the village how to strengthen their bodies.

Even the dry well at the village entrance had been supplied with living water by the Ye Family drawing from a Spiritual Vein. Now, the well water was clear and sweet, nourishing the village's vegetation to be more lush than elsewhere.

The once remote and impoverished small village was now faintly taking on the prototype of a cultivation vassal village.

The carriage stopped in front of the vermillion-painted mansion, and the youth on the carriage couldn't wait to jump down.

The youth was only twelve or thirteen years old, dressed in a neat martial arts hall outfit. His eyes held the liveliness of a child, and he carried a semi-old silver spear over his shoulder. Though the tip was blunt, it had been polished to a shine.

“Grandfather!” Ye Tianyao grabbed Ye Jing's sleeve, his small face full of excitement. His gaze swept over the grand courtyard and the completely transformed surroundings, and he couldn't help but exclaim, “Our home has become so grand! It's even more spacious than the martial arts hall in the county seat!”

Ye Jing patted his head. “Alright, Tianyao, come inside with Grandfather. Today is your birthday.”

With that, he led Ye Tianyao into the courtyard. The courtyard was already prepared; fresh spirit fruits and pastries were laid out on an Eight Immortals table, and a rich aroma of Mountain Delicacy Chicken stewed with spirit mushrooms wafted from the kitchen—a feast specially prepared for the youth's birthday.

The room was piled with various spiritual weapons, treasures, and the like, all gifts for Ye Tianyao from the Family members.

Because everyone in the Family was busy and didn't have time to come, they sent these items on their behalf.

Ye Tianyao was sensible; he naturally knew this and wasn't disappointed. Instead, he was extremely excited.

“Grandfather! Can I start cultivating today?!”

Seeing his grandson's excited expression, Ye Jing stroked his beard and chuckled. “Yes, Tianyao. This is also your coming-of-age ceremony. Come with Grandfather.”

With that, he took Ye Tianyao to a secret chamber in the residence. The secret chamber was covered with Spirit Stones emitting a fluorescent blue glow. As Ye Tianyao walked in, he immediately felt refreshed.

The fatigue from the long carriage ride was instantly relieved.

Ye Jing pulled a long spear from his Storage Pouch. Before the spear's full appearance was even revealed, a flash of lightning suddenly appeared.

“This... this is...” Ye Tianyao's eyes widened instantly.

The spear was covered in bright white lightning. The shaft was forged from rare thunder-patterned profound iron, fused with the thunder mirror of that Ganglei Sect Disciple.

It was a Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact that Wu Guiyun had spent three months continuously tempering and forging.

The patterns on the Spiritual Artifact meandered like living snakes, climbing up the shaft to the tip. Every pattern breathed out tiny sparks of electricity, and a light crackling sound echoed in the secret chamber.

Even the halo of the fluorescent blue Spirit Stones on the floor was dimmed slightly by this overbearing thunderous Qi.

Dark gold metal was wrapped around the handle, feeling warm to the touch. At the end hung a small thunder jade pendant, engraved with the ancient character “Yao” ( Yao).

It happened to correspond with the youth's name.

Ye Tianyao froze in place, his small hands tightly clutching the corner of his clothes. His originally lively eyes went wide, and he even softened his breathing, for fear of disturbing this precious spear that exuded supreme Spiritual Qi.

He had touched countless iron spears in the county seat's martial arts hall, but none had ever been like the one before him.

Just the aura it emitted made his blood boil, and his Dantian felt a faint heat, as if something was about to burst out of his body.

“This is the shocking thunder spear, a Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact.

My Ye Family possesses a secret technique called the True Scripture of Fate-Defying Root Transformation. It allows those without a Spiritual Root to use a contracted Yao Beast, Spiritual Artifact, or Spirit Medicine as a Foundation to step onto the path of cultivation. If you wish to become stronger, you must evolve alongside your contracted spiritual object. Are you willing?”

Ye Jing's voice fell amidst the crackling of the lightning.

Inside the secret chamber, the roaring lightning and the fluorescent blue halo of the Spirit Stones intertwined into a magnificent scene.

Ye Tianyao's youthful face was illuminated intermittently by the lightning. Hearing Ye Jing's words, his large eyes were first filled with shock, then filled with an indescribable feverish excitement.

He stumbled back half a step, staring intently at the long spear breathing out thunderous light. His small fists clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white from the effort.

“One can cultivate even without a Spiritual Root?!” Ye Tianyao's voice trembled slightly, yet it couldn't hide his excitement. “Grandfather, I... I am what they call a body without a Spiritual Root!”

He had known since his time at the martial arts hall that his Spiritual Veins were blocked; he was a natural Trash who could not perform Drawing Qi into the body.

If not for the Ye Family's deep Foundation promising him a stable future, he might not even have had the qualification to stay at the martial arts hall.

Hearing now that this True Scripture of Fate-Defying Root Transformation could actually defy heaven and change his fate, that moment of wild joy was like a withered tree meeting spring or a sudden rain falling on parched fields.

Seeing him like this, Ye Jing's eyes were full of affection and solemnity.

He took a step forward and placed his hand on top of Ye Tianyao's head, a warm spiritual power emanating from his palm. “Tianyao, you are a descendant of the Ye Family. Unyielding character is hidden within your Bloodline.

Others think having no Spiritual Root is a dead end, but in the Ye Family, it is just the starting point of another path.”

As he spoke, Ye Jing condensed spiritual power and slowly infused it into the shocking thunder spear.

The restless lightning on the spear's body instantly retracted, and the patterns on the shaft seemed to come alive, emitting a low hum.

“Tianyao, you must remember that using the True Scripture of Fate-Defying Root Transformation to contract a Spiritual Artifact will involve immense pain. If you endure it, you and this Spiritual Artifact will become a symbiotic entity.

It will help you nourish your Spiritual Veins and resist dangers. Every time your cultivation Breakthrough occurs, it will also need to evolve and become more powerful. Otherwise, your cultivation will stagnate!”

“Yes! I understand, Grandfather!”

Ye Tianyao agreed. After understanding the entirety of the True Scripture of Fate-Defying Root Transformation, he took a deep breath under Ye Jing's guidance without any hesitation.

He took out a small silver dagger he carried with him, a birthday gift from his teacher at the martial arts hall.

With a flick of his small hand, he cut a shallow wound on his fingertip, and blood dripped onto the spear.

In an instant, an unprecedented, intense pain swept through his entire body.