Chapter 13 Digging Up a Tree, Bones Remaining Beneath It

The moment Chen Li saw the chiyang spirit fruit tree, his first thought was how many fruits there were.

Chen Li pushed aside the leaves and began to count: one, two, three... Huh? Only eight?

It bears nine fruits at a time, blooming for a hundred years and fruiting for another hundred. Could one have been eaten by this snake?

Then why didn't it leave? Or eat them all?

Wait, when Chen Li's Divine Sense probed half a meter underground, he indeed discovered eight snake eggs. Chen Li was surprised!

He speculated that the snake must have swallowed a Crimson Sun Spirit Fruit about a hundred years ago, developed an Immortal Root, and then left. After a hundred years of Cultivation to become a Third-level Demon Beast, it had returned to lay eggs.

Third-level Demon Beasts generally take eighty to a hundred years to Cultivate, so these Crimson Sun Spirit Fruits must have ripened about eighty years ago.

Chen Li put the eight snake eggs into his Storage Pouch and began picking and sealing the fruits. Since learning Alchemy, his herb preservation techniques had reached the essence. He had prepared nine boxes, but eight was also very satisfying.

Then, Chen Li spent ten minutes picking them one by one, placing them into herb boxes, and sealing them.

Seeing the eight boxes of Crimson Sun Spirit Fruits stored in a separate Storage Pouch, Chen Li was content.

After picking the fruits, Chen Li began to observe the chiyang spirit fruit tree. The leaves looked no different from those of an ordinary fruit tree.

Wait, that's not right? Upon closer inspection, there were faint patterns on the leaves like those of a Formation, which were hard to see without looking carefully.

Chen Li probed toward the roots.

Skeletal remains!

He saw human skeletal remains; the tree's main root was growing right out of the skull.

Chen Li was shocked. This fruit tree certainly hadn't grown randomly. Chen Li rummaged through the remains. Huh?

What is this?

Chen Li pulled out a medallion with the words "Shangyang Immortal Domain" written on it.

Chen Li searched again but found nothing else, only this single medallion.

Chen Li turned it over and over but couldn't find any information from this medallion. He had never even heard of this "Shangyang Immortal Domain."

Could it be a Cultivator from ten thousand years ago? Or perhaps an extraterritorial Cultivator?

Chen Li thought for a while before letting it go. He first put the medallion into his Storage Pouch. Then he began digging up the tree. This tree appeared unremarkable; without a close look, it was no different from a regular fruit tree. It was planted on Black Magpie Mountain, surrounded by a bunch of other fruit trees for camouflage.

This tree likely grew by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through its leaves, as the soil beneath was not a spirit field, and there was no special spiritual energy field nearby.

Chen Li took out a shovel and performed a shovel digging technique, excavating the grass and soil within a three-meter radius of the tree. He sealed the roots with spiritual energy and put it into a separate Storage Pouch.

After some thought, Chen Li left the "Shangyang Immortal Domain" medallion and the skeletal remains where they were.

After all, this medallion was of unknown age yet showed no signs of decay; it was definitely no ordinary object. But as it was an identification medallion, there might be a way to track it. He didn't want to provoke any terrifying existences right now!

After finishing everything, he applied an invisibility talisman and a swift travel talisman, then began to return along the path he came.

On the thousand-kilometer journey back, perhaps because the Yao Beasts along the way had already been cleared out once, he encountered no Demon Beasts of the third level or higher, aside from a few first and second-level ones.

It took only eight days to return from a thousand kilometers away to the edge of the Boundless Forest, and then he returned to Yuanwu Prefecture by way of the Beast Hunting Sect.

...

At Black Magpie Mountain, the green ox was still practicing the Weeding Art. At the Zizai Pavilion, Chen Li took a sip of tea to relax.

This trip had taken nearly a month, and his mind had been highly focused the entire way.

However, with eight Crimson Sun Spirit Fruits, the first and second generations of the Family's Cultivators were now guaranteed.

A day later, Chen Li informed Zhu Lingyue of his return. Next came the wedding preparations.

Two places needed to be built on Black Magpie Mountain: a main hall and a wedding chamber. He couldn't very well hold the wedding and the wedding night in a cave Immortal Cave all the time.

But before that, he first planted the chiyang spirit fruit tree. Then he went out and bought a bunch of spirit fruit saplings of various kinds. Some bloomed and fruited in five years, while others fruited once a year.

Thus, it would seem normal for this chiyang spirit fruit tree planted among them not to bloom or fruit.

However, who knew when the chiyang spirit fruit tree would bloom and fruit again; it might be two hundred years later.

He had no experience in large-scale construction. Something like a small mountain pavilion was fine, but a professional large-scale building would be very time-consuming, and the wedding was only two months away.

After planting the spirit fruit trees, Chen Li began to buy timber. The An Family of Liangxi County primarily grew spirit wood and was also responsible for construction.

At this time, the An Family Head led his people to measure the land on Black Magpie Mountain.

After measuring, the An Family Head said, "Fellow Daoist Chen, we have finished measuring the land. We need 10 logs of thirty-year-old Gold Silk Spirit Wood for the main beams of the hall and wedding chamber, 150 logs of twenty-year-old Green Cedar Spirit Wood for construction timber, and 20 logs of thirty-year-old Spirit Cypress Wood for crafting the new bed, desks, tea tables, and other furniture."

Chen Li nodded after listening. "That's fine. Brother An, please make the arrangements. I trust the An Family's century of experience in spirit wood cultivation and large-scale construction."

Chen Li asked, "I wonder when it will be completed?"

The An Family Head smiled and said, "Please rest assured, Brother Chen. It will be finished within a month, so it won't delay your wedding feast."

Chen Li nodded with a smile and asked again, "Brother An, what is the price?"

The An Family Head said, "Brother Chen should be able to find this out easily. We sell thirty-year-old Gold Silk Spirit Wood for 6 Spirit Stones each, twenty-year-old Green Cedar Spirit Wood at 3 logs per Spirit Stone, and thirty-year-old Spirit Cypress Wood at 3 Spirit Stones each. The total is about 180 Spirit Stones. Plus, the labor for our Cultivators for a month is 70 Spirit Stones, totaling 250 Spirit Stones."

After quoting the price, before Chen Li could respond, the An Family Head smiled again and said, "But since it's Brother Chen, 200 Spirit Stones will suffice."

Chen Li quickly declined, but the An Family Head said, "Brother Chen, after your life-saving grace in the Thousand Leaf Forest, what do these few Spirit Stones matter?"

Chen Li demurred again, but after being given the same reason, he stopped insisting.

"I wonder what name Brother Chen will give this hall and this wedding chamber?" the An Family Head asked.

"The hall will be called Morning Sun Hall, and the wedding chamber will be called Concentric Heart Hall," Chen Li thought for a moment.

...

Once settled, the An Family's construction workers arrived the next day. Nine Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators plus three thousand Mortals worked tirelessly day and night on Black Magpie Mountain.

The Cultivators handled most of the productivity, while the three thousand Mortals only provided some assistance.

The two halls were built on two separate small peaks of Black Magpie Mountain. A month later, Morning Sun Hall and Concentric Heart Hall rose from the peaks. Chen Li spent that month guarding the spirit rice fields and the reclaimed spirit fields, fearing others might enter by mistake.

However, his worries were unnecessary. The An Family Cultivators were extremely strict with the Mortals; they were not allowed to wander freely within the Cultivators' territory and could only operate in fixed areas.

Upon completion, Chen Li paid two hundred Spirit Stones. The An Family people quickly left Black Magpie Mountain. Morning Sun Hall and Concentric Heart Hall were built; they were indeed professionals!