Chapter 30 Ten Years in a Flash

A few days later, Chen Li took Brother Ox to Qingfeng Mountain and then detoured to Feiyan Mountain.

He met with the Mortal representatives of the two mountains. Seeing that they had also suffered heavy losses and had no immediate use for them, he told them to just go about their business!

Chen Li raised the age for testing Spiritual Roots to ten years old and informed the Mortals that those wishing to be tested should simply wait by the spirit jujube tree in front of the Black Magpie Mountain gate.

He also set up a Second-Tier Defensive Array on both mountains and began planting herbs.

As usual, it was Brother Ox's specialty; both mountains were fully planted with herbs across twelve acres of land, supplemented with Spirit Gathering Formations and Spirit Rain Formations to help them grow better.

However, the Wang Family had already constructed many buildings on these two mountains, so there was no need to build more; they only needed to manage the spirit fields well.

Soon after, Teleportation Arrays were set up on these two mountains, connecting directly to Black Magpie Mountain. Once Brother Ox learned to use the Teleportation Arrays, he was frequently seen shuttling between these mountains.

...

Since the Beast Hunting Sect, from top to bottom, began to recuperate, the entire Yuanwu Prefecture had been developing steadily.

Within Black Magpie Mountain, Chen Li's daily routine consisted of selling Formations, buying herbs with the proceeds, refining pills, and performing his Cultivation.

The little ones were changing every day. Zhu Lingyue also spent her days selling Formations, looking after the children, and performing her Cultivation.

As spring turned to autumn and time flew by, the spirit rice in Black Magpie Mountain was harvested ten more times; ten years passed in a flash.

The first year: Through Cultivating with the qi overflowing pills, Brother Ox achieved a Breakthrough to the Third Level of Qi Refining.

The second year: Zhu Lingyue also relied on qi overflowing pills and Spirit Stones for her Cultivation, reaching the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

The third year: The eldest, Chen Songli, was tested for Spiritual Roots but none were found, so she consumed a Crimson Sun Spirit Fruit; the second, Chen Songyan, also had no Spiritual Roots and consumed a Crimson Sun Spirit Fruit.

The fourth year: The eldest was found to have Four Spiritual Roots, while the second had Three Spiritual Roots, much to Zhu Lingyue's delight.

The fifth year: They began giving the eldest and second their first lesson in immortal cultivation, the Qi Guiding Art.

The sixth year: They began testing the third child's Spiritual Roots and found Four Spiritual Roots, so no Crimson Sun Spirit Fruit was needed. The fourth child was found to have no Spiritual Roots and consumed a Crimson Sun Spirit Fruit.

The seventh year: The fourth child developed Four Spiritual Roots. Chen Li had been selling Formations for seven years, having sold fifty sets of Third-Rank Formations at about eight hundred Spirit Stones each, totaling nearly forty thousand Spirit Stones.

He then disguised himself as ten different old men to visit the Beast Hunting Sect's market ten times, spending thirty thousand Spirit Stones to buy over two hundred boxes of century-old qi overflowing grass, which he used to refine over three hundred bottles of qi overflowing pills.

Chen Li kept two hundred bottles for himself, gave fifty to Zhu Lingyue, thirty to Brother Ox, and saved the remaining twenty for the four little ones.

The eighth year: Zhu Lingyue became pregnant. The second child, Chen Songyan, was the first to succeed in guiding Qi, entering the Qi Refining First Layer, followed closely by Chen Songli, who also entered the Qi Refining First Layer.

The ninth year: Zhu Lingyue gave birth to a daughter named Chen Songmei. The tag [Family Marrying and Having Children, Children and Grandchildren >= 5] was achieved, unlocking a new color of the Luck bar, though the Opportunity site had not yet begun to evolve.

The tenth year: The third and fourth children succeeded in guiding Qi, both reaching the Qi Refining First Layer. This year, Chen Li went into seclusion for ten months. Using two hundred bottles of qi overflowing pills and several thousand Spirit Stones, he reached the Eighth Level of Qi Refining at the age of thirty-three, with hopes of reaching Foundation Establishment before forty.

...

Immortal Learning Tower, second floor.

Chen Songli pinched Chen Songyan's ear and said, "Father said he learned the Fire Control Technique in just one day, and I learned it in two. You haven't learned it even after ten days, you dummy!"

"Ouch! Sis, Sis, let go, let go! Uncle Niu took more than half a year to learn it!" Chen Songyan quickly explained.

"You're comparing yourself to Uncle Niu? He walks on four legs, you walk on two!"

"Hmph, I don't care. You think everyone is like you and Father? Look at Third Brother and Fourth Brother, they've been learning for many days too."

"You're the older brother, yet Third and Fourth Brother have already learned it while you haven't!"

...

Chen Li stood at the door, watching the two of them bicker. The eldest perhaps truly inherited some of his talent; she learned things very quickly and had a great talent for Formations!

But the second one, well... Although his Spiritual Root Aptitude was good, he was slow to learn and easily a victim of Divided Soul, clamoring to go out and play every time he finished a lesson.

"Ahem!" Chen Li made a sound.

Chen Songli was overjoyed to see her father. "Father, you've come out of seclusion! Congratulations on your Breakthrough!"

Chen Songyan, seeing Chen Li like a mouse seeing a cat, also called out, "Congratulations on your Breakthrough, Father!"

"Mm. Songli, I heard you've comprehended a first-tier Formation. Not bad at all; to be able to comprehend one at the Qi Refining First Layer, you have your father's flair from back then!"

Chen Li patted his eldest daughter's head and praised her.

Chen Songli said with a smile, "It's all thanks to Father's good teaching!"

"Songyan, your Spiritual Root Aptitude isn't bad. Focus on making a Breakthrough in your cultivation first, and I will naturally take you out!"

"Yes, Father!"

Chen Li asked, "Where are Third and Fourth Brother?"

Chen Songli replied, "They're with Uncle Niu! After they succeeded in guiding Qi, they wanted Uncle Niu to teach them the Harvesting Technique!"

"Haha, your Uncle Niu is a little expert at farming. Most of the spirit rice you eat was grown by him."

...

By the spirit rice fields, Third Brother Chen Songxuan and Fourth Brother Chen Songxiao were watching a bull perform the Harvesting Technique.

Brother Ox used body language to communicate seamlessly with the two little ones.

Third Brother Chen Songxuan asked, "Fourth Brother, have you learned it?"

Fourth Brother Chen Songxiao replied, "I understand a little bit. Look, isn't it like this?"

"Fourth Brother, you're so smart, much smarter than Big Sister!"

"Third Brother, I can't compare to Big Sister! Once we learn this, we can harvest together with Uncle Niu during the autumn harvest. We also need to learn the Sowing Technique so we can plant the fields together next year."

"Yeah, farming is much simpler. Not like those Formations—that stuff is just too hard!"

"Third Brother, but Father said that Formations must be learned!"

"It's enough if Father, Mother, and Big Sister learn them. I don't really want to; I don't have much Comprehension Ability for Formations."

"Father said when fighting outside, learning an extra Formation means having an extra ultimate move. There's no harm in listening to Father."

"Oh, Fourth Brother, you really are... I still feel like I'm not suited for learning Formations. When Father comes out of seclusion, I'll explain the situation to him."

"Third Brother, Father will scold you, won't he? I don't want to get scolded by Father!"

"I'll say it even if I get scolded!"

...

Inside Concentric Heart Hall, the fifth child, Chen Songmei, was sleeping after having her fill. Zhu Lingyue looked out from the windowsill and found it amusing to see the third and fourth children learning the Harvesting Technique from a bull.

A moment later, Chen Li arrived at Concentric Heart Hall. Seeing Zhu Lingyue, he said, "Wife, you should go into seclusion. I'll take care of little Fifth."

Zhu Lingyue was at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer; with plenty of qi overflowing pills, it would be enough for her to Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.

Zhu Lingyue nodded. "Alright, Husband. I'll leave these troublesome little ones to you then, haha!"