2: The system is here.

Ninghai Town.

A small town in the south of the Great Feng Dynasty, backed by green mountains and facing clear waters.

It could not be considered wealthy; the cobblestone streets were somewhat uneven.

However, the townsfolk passing by all wore expressions of contentment.

By the time Chen Xu and Bu Yifan arrived here, it was already the twentieth day after descending the mountain.

After eating in the wind and sleeping in the dew the entire way, the little silver they had brought from the Sect was almost gone.

The two settled down in the only relatively clean small inn in town.

The moment Bu Yifan touched the bed board, she did not want to move again.

The exhausting travel over this period was more tiring than working in the Sect's medicine garden for an entire year.

Chen Xu poured her a cup of hot water, while he stood by the window, watching the scene on the street downstairs.

The hawkers calling out as they carried their loads through the streets and alleys, the laughter of children chasing and playing, the loud chatter between neighbors... these sounds, filled with the Qi of the mortal world, were never heard during those fifty years on the mountain.

“Will we live here from now on?”

Bu Yifan recovered her strength, drank some water, sat up, and asked.

“Yes, I inquired when I arrived. The land prices and rent here are not expensive, and there are jobs in town, enough for us to settle down.”

Chen Xu nodded, withdrawing his gaze from outside the window.

For the next period of time, they stayed in the south of Ninghai Town.

Using the last bit of money they had, they rented an old house with a small courtyard.

The house was not large: two main rooms and one kitchen.

Unidentified vines covered the courtyard walls.

But the two of them spent several days tidying up, pulling out weeds, wiping the doors and windows clean, and the room became bright and spotless, finally looking like a home.

Chen Xu went to the only blacksmith shop in town, sold the chipped iron sword he had used for fifty years for three qian of silver, added some money, and purchased the simplest pots, bowls, ladles, and a new bed.

He took off the coarse cloth clothing he had worn for decades and changed into the common short coarse cloth attire of the town, rolling up his sleeves and trouser legs. He looked no different from the local farmers.

The pressure of life was real.

They were no longer Cultivators who subsisted on wind and dew; three meals a day, firewood, rice, oil, and salt—everything required money.

In the past, Chen Xu had either Cultivated or worked in the medicine garden while at the Sect; he was completely ignorant of mortal ways of making a living.

Fortunately, his physical Foundation was still there. Having Cultivated for many years, his strength was far greater than that of ordinary people.

So, he went to the dock on the east side of town to work as a laborer.

When Chen Xu returned from work on the first day, his shoulders were raw and bloody from the rough hemp ropes, his arms were too exhausted to lift, and he himself looked like a puddle of mud.

When Bu Yifan saw the wounds on his shoulder, her eyes immediately turned red.

She said nothing, brought hot water, and carefully wiped his wounds with a towel!

But tears kept dropping down, splash, splash.

“This is too hard. We... let us think of another way. I do not believe we cannot survive.”

She choked out, her voice filled with heartache.

Chen Xu laughed. He reached out his uninjured hand and grasped Bu Yifan's hand, which had become rough from washing clothes.

He shook his head, “It is not hard. On the mountain, day after day with no hope, that was suffering. Like this now, my heart feels steady.”

Yes, steady.

Every day, he was so tired he fell asleep instantly. When he woke up the next day, there was someone beside him, hot porridge in the kitchen, and every single coin spent was earned by his own sweat.

This feeling was ten thousand times better than being in that cold stone chamber, feeling his vitality and cultivation drain away together.

Bu Yifan did not try to persuade him further. The very next day, she went to the embroidery shop in town and took home some mending work to do.

When she was at the Sect, she always mended her own Dao robes when they tore, so her needlework was quite good.

Although she did not earn much—only a few copper coins a day.

But it helped supplement the household expenses and allowed them to have an extra plate of greens on the dinner table.

Life passed day by day in this kind of ordinary yet arduous busy-ness.

Chen Xu gradually grew accustomed to the dock foreman's shouting and the salty taste of sweat, and Bu Yifan also got to know Aunt Zhang from the neighboring courtyard and learned how to buy the freshest vegetables with the least amount of money.

They no longer discussed Spiritual Qi or Cultivation Techniques, but rather whether the price of rice had risen today and if it would rain tomorrow.

One evening half a year later, Chen Xu returned home, burdened with fatigue. He pushed open the creaking courtyard gate, only to see Bu Yifan sitting on the stone stool in the courtyard, not busy in the kitchen as usual.

“What is wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Chen Xu put down the smooth carrying pole on his shoulder, walked over, and asked with concern.

Bu Yifan's cheeks were slightly flushed. She lowered her head, twisting the corner of her clothes with her hands, not daring to look into Chen Xu's eyes. Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's buzz: “Chen Xu, I... let us get married.”

Chen Xu was completely stunned.

Although they lived under the same roof and referred to each other as husband and wife in front of outsiders, they had never had a formal title.

Chen Xu always felt that he was a useless person whose Dao path was severed, destined to be ordinary in this life, unable to give Bu Yifan anything.

That was why he had never brought it up; he felt he was wronging her.

He did not expect her to bring it up herself.

“Yifan, I...”

“I know what you want to say.”

Bu Yifan suddenly looked up, interrupting him, a hint of shyness in her eyes: “I do not care about anything else. From the moment I decided to descend the mountain with you, I stopped caring. I just want... to be with you legitimately, as your wife.”

Chen Xu looked at her, looked at this woman who was willing to accompany him from the celestial gate in the clouds down into the mud of the mortal world.

At this moment, she was using all her courage to ask him for the simplest promise.

What reason did he have left to hesitate?

He nodded heavily, his throat feeling dry: “Alright, we will get married!”

The wedding was very simple.

There were no traditional betrothal gifts or crowded halls of guests.

Chen Xu only invited a few workmates from the dock whom he got along well with.

Bu Yifan invited Aunt Zhang's Family from next door, and they set up one table of food and drink in their small courtyard. The dishes were personally cooked by Bu Yifan, and the wine was the cheapest rice wine in town.

That day, Bu Yifan wore a red wedding dress that she had stayed up several nights sewing by hand.

The fabric was plain cotton, and the style was simple!

But in Chen Xu's eyes, she was more beautiful than the high and mighty Fairies in the Sect who wore magnificent Dharma robes.

In front of everyone, he solemnly placed a silver hairpin, which he had bought from the town's silversmith with two months' worth of saved wages, into Bu Yifan's hair.

“Yifan, from now on, I, Chen Xu, will definitely not fail you.”

There were no flowery words, only a promise so simple it was rustic.

Bu Yifan's tears immediately streamed down.

Yet, she smiled happier than ever before.

Life after marriage seemed to hold a little more sweetness.

Another half year passed. One morning, Chen Xu was preparing to leave for work as usual. Just as he reached the courtyard gate, Bu Yifan suddenly rushed out of the house and held onto the door frame, dry heaving.

Chen Xu's heart jumped. He ran back in quick strides to support her: “What is wrong? Did you eat something bad?”

Bu Yifan's face turned pale then red. She leaned into Chen Xu's sturdy embrace, recovered after a long moment, and shyly buried her face in his chest, whispering: “No... I... I think I am pregnant.”

“Pregnant?”

Chen Xu did not react immediately.

“Mhm...”

Bu Yifan's voice held unconcealed joy. “My period did not come last month. Aunt Zhang next door said I am probably expecting.”

Chen Xu's mind went “buzz” and instantly blanked.

He was going to be a father?

He, this useless man who was over fifty years old and once thought he would die alone in a cold stone room, now not only had a wife but was also going to have his own child?

In an instant, ecstasy surged into Chen Xu's heart.

He scooped up Bu Yifan, and amidst her startled cry, spun around the courtyard several times, excited like a young boy.

“This is wonderful! This is wonderful! I am going to be a father!”

From that day on, the dock lost a porter named Chen Xu.

He quit his job at the dock and, relying on the little rudimentary pharmaceutical knowledge he had learned in the Sect's medicine garden, found a job as an assistant in a town pharmacy.

Although the wages were less, the work was easier, and he could look after his home at any time!

Most importantly, he could learn many recipes for fetal protection and nourishment from the resident old doctor.

During Bu Yifan's pregnancy, Chen Xu took meticulous care of her.

He did not let her touch cold water or do any more needlework.

Every day, he cooked different dishes for her. When he heard the old doctor at the pharmacy say that crucian carp soup was nourishing, he ran to every fish stall in town and bought the fattest one.

In the evenings, he would clumsily massage Bu Yifan's lower legs, which were slightly swollen due to the pregnancy!

He would press his ear against her belly, which grew larger day by day.

Listening to the faint movements inside, a silly smile would appear on his face.

Bu Yifan watched his figure bustling about for her, her heart feeling as sweet as if it had been filled with honey.

She knew she had not chosen the wrong person.

This man might not be able to give her the Dao of eternal life.

But he had given her the most stable happiness a woman could hope for.

Ten months of pregnancy, followed by labor.

On a clear and crisp autumn afternoon, Bu Yifan went into labor.

Chen Xu had long ago hired the most experienced midwife in town, but at this moment, he was pacing anxiously outside the door, more nervous than he had been when he attempted to reach Foundation Establishment years ago.

Bu Yifan's suppressed cries of pain intermittently came from inside the room, each sound whipping at his heart like a lash.

He could do nothing, only rub his hands repeatedly, his forehead slick with sweat.

Time passed minute by minute, feeling as long as a century.

“Wah—”

Suddenly, a loud cry of an infant came from inside the room!

Chen Xu trembled all over, freezing in place.

Immediately after, the door opened, and the beaming midwife came out holding a swaddled baby: “Congratulations! It is a big, healthy boy, mother and son are safe!”

Chen Xu's gaze was instantly drawn to the small bundle.

He carefully leaned closer, looking at the wrinkled, red little face, and his heart was instantly filled.

This was his child, his and Yifan's child.

The moment his finger gently touched the baby's cheek, an anomaly suddenly occurred!

A cold voice sounded in his mind.

[Detecting Host Bloodline continuation. Eternal Immortal Family System officially activated...]

[Detecting Host has given birth to the first descendant. Bloodline rating: Mortal Grade.]

[Issuing Novice Reward: Host lifespan increased by fifty years!]

Chen Xu was suddenly startled, thinking he was hallucinating due to excessive excitement.

But the next moment, a warm and majestic life force appeared out of thin air and surged into his limbs and bones.

He could clearly feel that his body, which had begun to decline due to being over fifty years old, was being revitalized.

His previously somewhat blurry eyes became clear.

His slightly graying temples seemed to regain their color!

Even the aches and pains in his back, left by years of heavy labor, were significantly reduced.

This was not an illusion!

He truly had gained fifty years of lifespan!

Chen Xu held his son, tumultuous waves rising in his heart.

Eternal Immortal Family System?

As long as he had descendants, he could obtain rewards?

He lowered his head to look at the sleeping child in his arms, then glanced through the crack in the door at Bu Yifan, who was lying in bed, pale-faced but wearing a happy smile. His heart was filled with complex emotions.

He had thought his Dao path was completely severed the moment he failed Foundation Establishment.

He did not expect that when Heaven closed one door, it opened a window for him.

A Dao path he had never conceived of—one that relied on the continuation of the Family Bloodline to gain power—

was laid out before him.

One year later.

In the courtyard, a little fellow who had just learned to walk was wobbling after a butterfly, babbling excitedly. He was Chen Xu and Bu Yifan's son, Chen Ping.

Chen Xu sat on the stone stool, watching his son, his face full of smiles.

This past year, his life had been incredibly fulfilling.

During the day, he worked as an assistant at the pharmacy, and in the evening, he returned home to accompany his wife and son. Life was as plain as a cup of water, yet he found it sweet.

Bu Yifan walked over holding a bowl of mung bean soup, handed it to Chen Xu, and sat down beside him. Looking at their son playing in the courtyard, she softly said, “Chen Xu, do you think Ping'er is a little lonely playing by himself?”

Chen Xu paused his action of drinking the soup and looked at her.

Bu Yifan's face flushed slightly, but she continued: “I want... to give him a little brother or sister.”

Chen Xu's heart leaped fiercely.

He looked at his wife's gentle profile. For the past year, he had never mentioned the System, only quietly enjoying this hard-won happiness.

He had planned to wait a few years, until Bu Yifan's body had fully recovered, before discussing it, but he did not expect her to bring it up herself.

He put down the bowl, held Bu Yifan's hand, and nodded heavily: “Alright.”

After a few more months, Bu Yifan went into labor again.

This time, Chen Xu had experience. Although he was still nervous, he was no longer as flustered as he had been last time.

He waited quietly outside the door.

Half an hour later, the familiar cry of an infant sounded again.

[Detecting Host has given birth to the second descendant. Bloodline rating: Mortal Grade.]

[Immortal Family scale expanded. Issuing Prosperity Reward: Host lifespan increased by fifty years, Cultivation increased by thirty years, Foundation repaired!]

As soon as the voice fell, a warm current, even more powerful than the life force from last time, surged into his body!

This warm current was not just life force.

It also contained a stream of extremely pure Spiritual Qi!

He could clearly feel that the Spiritual Qi, like the gentlest sweet spring, flowed through every inch of his dried and broken Meridians.

The cracks that had once caused him unbearable pain.

Under the cleansing of this power, they were being repaired and mended at a visible speed, even becoming tougher than before!

And his Dantian, which was covered in cracks like a leaky wooden bucket.

was now completely enveloped by this power.

The cracks were disappearing, and the Dantian was being reshaped!

A moment later, the warm current dissipated.

Chen Xu inspected his internal self and was completely dumbfounded.

His Foundation was fully restored!

His shattered Dao Foundation was actually as good as new!

Not only that, but he could feel that the Spiritual Qi within his Dantian was much more abundant than when he was at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation. The infusion of twenty years of Cultivation meant his Realm faintly showed signs of attempting the tenth layer of Qi Condensation again!

It was solved... just like that?