3: Having another child

“Congratulations, Brother Chen! Another big, chubby boy. Now your Family will have two pillars of strength!”

The midwife tidied her things and came out, her face beaming with joy, congratulating Chen Xu repeatedly.

Chen Xu regained his composure, pulled out several strings of copper coins he had prepared from hisHuai, and handed them over, his voice much steadier: “Thank you for your hard work, Granny Wang.”

At this moment, his heart was surging with emotion, and he didn't pay attention to the 'boy' the midwife mentioned, thinking it was just a casual compliment.

After seeing the midwife off, Chen Xu carried the child and pushed open the door.

The room was filled with a mix of blood and herbal scents.

Bu Yifan lay on the bed, her hair soaked with sweat and clinging to her pale cheeks.

Her expression, however, held a gentle relief.

Chen Xu didn't go to the cradle first; he quickly walked to the bedside and took Bu Yifan's hand.

Her hand was still a bit cold.

“You've worked hard.”

Chen Xu's voice was a little hoarse.

Bu Yifan smiled weakly and shook her head. Her gaze went over Chen Xu's shoulder, looking at the newborn in the cradle, her eyes full of maternal radiance.

“It's not hard...”

She whispered, “Go quickly and see our daughter.”

“Daughter?”

Chen Xu was stunned and looked back at the cradle.

He walked over and carefully pulled back a corner of the swaddling clothes.

Inside the swaddling clothes, a baby even smaller than her older Brother Chen Ping when he was born was sleeping peacefully, with long eyelashes and a delicate nose. It was indeed a baby girl.

Chen Xu's heart skipped a beat.

He remembered the prompt from the voice in his mind.

“Detected that the host has given birth to a second offspring. Bloodline evaluation: Mortal.”

“Immortal Family scale expanded. Prosperity Reward issued: Host lifespan increased by fifty years, Cultivation increased by thirty years, Foundation restored!”

He remembered very clearly that when his eldest son Chen Ping was born, the System's prompt was “Bloodline evaluation: Mortal,” and he only received a fifty-year lifespan reward.

But this time, it was also “Mortal,” yet the reward was vastly different.

Could it be... this “Prosperity Reward” is a special reward only for having a second child?

Restoring his Foundation, perhaps the System determined he was ill and gave him a one-time restoration?

Chen Xu couldn't figure it out for a while, but he knew it didn't matter.

What mattered was that he was back.

The former Cultivation fanatic, Chen Xu, was back.

And in a way he had never imagined.

He looked at his gentle wife on the bed, then at his quiet daughter in the cradle. The yearning for the Grand Dao in his heart quietly blended with this warmth of Family.

“Yifan, let's give her a name.”

Chen Xu sat back by the bed and said softly.

Bu Yifan thought for a moment and said gently, “You're the head of the house; you name her.”

Chen Xu pondered for a moment, looked at his wife, then at his daughter, and a name came to mind.

“How about Chen Nianfan?”

Nianfan, remembering Yifan.

Bu Yifan's eyes immediately reddened.

How could she not hear the deep affection in this name?

From that desperate night on Qingyun Mountain to this warm little home in Ninghai Town, this man of few words always expressed his emotions in the most simple ways.

She nodded vigorously, tears streaming down the corners of her eyes, but a satisfied smile played on her lips: “Good, Nianfan it is.”

Chen Xu reached out and wiped away her tears, his heart burning with warmth.

Bu Yifan leaned against him and suddenly smiled mischievously: “For the next one, how about Chen Nianxu, remembering you, the father?”

Chen Xu was startled, then he also smiled.

He squeezed his wife's hand and nodded heavily: “Okay, whatever you say. We'll have more children, one like you, then another like me.”

Bu Yifan's cheeks flushed, and she gently punched him, chiding, “You've just given birth, and you're already being improper.”

They looked at each other and smiled, and the atmosphere in the room was warm and sweet.

Late at night, when all was quiet.

After his wife and daughter had fallen into a deep sleep, Chen Xu quietly went to the courtyard.

He sat on the familiar stone stool, looking up at the bright moon in the sky.

It was the same moonlight as when he was in the Sect, but his state of mind was vastly different.

He closed his eyes, immersed his mind in his thoughts, and began to carefully study the “Myriad Ancient Immortal Family System” that had changed his life.

He tried to communicate with the System, but it showed no response.

It was like a rigid program, only triggered when specific conditions were met.

Chen Xu was not discouraged; he began to review all the information from the two times he received rewards.

Eldest son, Chen Ping.

“Detected that the host's Bloodline has been extended, the Myriad Ancient Immortal Family System is officially activated...”

“Detected that the host has given birth to a first offspring. Bloodline evaluation: Mortal.”

“Newbie Reward issued: Host lifespan increased by fifty years!”

Second daughter, Chen Nianfan.

“Detected that the host has given birth to a second offspring. Bloodline evaluation: Mortal.”

“Immortal Family scale expanded. Prosperity Reward issued: Host lifespan increased by fifty years, Cultivation increased by thirty years, Foundation restored!”

Comparing the two rewards, Chen Xu gradually figured out some clues.

The Newbie Reward and Prosperity Reward seemed to be one-time.

The Foundation restoration was also due to his special condition of being ill.

So, the permanent rewards should only be two: lifespan and Cultivation.

But why were both evaluations “Mortal,” yet the rewards differed so much?

Chen Xu was puzzled.

He carefully extended a faint trace of Spiritual Qi into the next room.

It gently swept over his daughter Chen Nianfan in the cradle.

In the Sect, investigating others was a major taboo!

But at this moment, he was just a father caring for his child.

The Spiritual Qi brushed over his daughter's tiny body, and a faint sense of resonance came through.

This is... Chen Xu's breathing suddenly hitched!

Spiritual Root!

His daughter, Chen Nianfan, actually possessed a Spiritual Root naturally!

Although this Spiritual Root was extremely faint, in the Cultivation world, it would probably only be considered the lowest-rank Aptitude!

But having it and not having it was a world of difference!

Possessing a Spiritual Root meant she had the possibility of embarking on the Immortal Path!

Chen Xu suppressed his excitement and investigated again.

The Spiritual Root's attributes were mixed, and its quality was not high; according to the Sect's classification, it was probably at the Yellow Grade Low-Rank level.

But this was already enough to shock him.

Both he and Bu Yifan were Cultivators of mediocre Aptitude; for their child to have a Spiritual Root was a great blessing.

Wait!

A thought flashed through Chen Xu's mind.

He immediately directed his Spiritual Qi to his eldest son Chen Ping, who was sleeping soundly on another small bed.

The Spiritual Qi swept over him, but there was no reaction.

Chen Ping had no Spiritual Root.

He was a complete Mortal.

Two children, one with a Spiritual Root, one without.

Two “Mortal” evaluations, but the rewards were vastly different.

Chen Xu instantly understood the key!

The problem was not with the System, but with himself!

His Cultivation was now fully restored, but his vision and perception were still stuck in the state of a Mortal with a ruined Foundation from a year ago.

At that time, he couldn't detect any Spiritual Qi fluctuations.

So the System's evaluation, in his view, was the final result.

What he thought was Mortal might just be a general rating.

The System's true judgment standard was the quality of the offspring's Bloodline!

Chen Ping, who had no Spiritual Root, was truly Mortal, so he was only rewarded with lifespan.

And Chen Nianfan, who possessed a Yellow Grade Low-Rank Spiritual Root, although still within the “Mortal” category in the System's view, her quality was clearly higher than Chen Ping's, so she was additionally rewarded with Cultivation and Foundation restoration!

“So that's it... so that's it!”

Chen Xu suddenly saw the light, and the gloom in his chest vanished.

He finally understood the true way to walk his path.

For the Family to prosper, it's not just about quantity, but also about quality!

The higher the Spiritual Root Aptitude of his offspring, the more generous the rewards he would receive!

Then, Foundation Establishment... A sharp glint flashed in Chen Xu's eyes.

His former dream was to successfully complete Foundation Establishment, become an Inner Sect Disciple, acquire more resources, and go further on the Immortal Dao.

The first time he attempted Foundation Establishment, he prepared for decades, pouring everything he had into it, only to end up with nothing.

What he chose was also the most common and lowest-threshold “Human Path Foundation Establishment” among the Outer Sect Disciples.

Human Path Foundation Establishment was like building a wall with ordinary earth; the process was simple, the success rate was acceptable, but the Foundation was shallow, the potential limited, and reaching Core Formation in the future was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

Above this, there were also Earth Path Foundation Establishment and the legendary Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

Earth Path Foundation Establishment required Heaven And Earth Treasure as a guide, forging a Dao Foundation as stable as a rock, with several times the Spiritual Qi richness of Human Path Foundation Establishment, and a much broader future Dao path.

But its difficulty and required resources were also ten times that of Human Path Foundation Establishment!

The Chen Xu of yesteryear wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

But now, he was different.

He had the System, and a grand Dao that could continuously provide him with Cultivation and resources!

Why should he rush to repeat past failures?

He could completely wait!

Wait until he had a third, a fourth child!

Wait until he received more Cultivation infusions, honing his Foundation to be incomparably thick!

He could even find ways to improve the quality of his offspring's Spiritual Roots, thereby obtaining better rewards!

For example, using food with Spiritual Qi to nourish Bu Yifan's body, or, once he had sufficient strength, searching for some Heaven And Earth Treasure that could improve Physique.

In other words, he was no longer the Outer Sect Disciple who struggled at the bottom of the Sect, seeing no hope.

He would become the founder of an Immortal Family!

His Dao was not in the Sect, nor in the wilderness, but in the home he built with his own hands.

Having understood all this, Chen Xu felt his thoughts clear, and his state of mind improved significantly.

He stood up, returned to the house, and looked at his sleeping wife and children, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.

From today onwards, he was not just a husband, a father.

He was also a Cultivator, sowing seeds of hope in this land called “Family,” quietly waiting for them to blossom and bear fruit, and then harvesting the entire future... Time flew by, and another half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Xu still worked as an assistant in the town's pharmacy, but his life had undergone earth-shattering changes.

He no longer had to worry about making a living. Every day, besides completing his work at the pharmacy, he studied various pharmacology, trying every possible way to use the mildest medicinal herbs to regulate the bodies of Bu Yifan and the children.

Under his care, Bu Yifan's body was even better than before childbirth.

Her complexion was rosy, and her energy was abundant.

His eldest son, Chen Ping, could already run around everywhere, babbling and following his sister's cradle like a little adult.

And Chen Nianfan, though still a baby, Chen Xu could feel that her Spiritual Root within her body seemed to have grown a little stronger under the nourishment of spiritual food.

One evening, Chen Xu returned from the pharmacy. Bu Yifan was hanging clothes in the courtyard.

Seeing him return, Bu Yifan stopped what she was doing, a hint of shyness and joy on her face. She walked to his side, took his hand, and gently placed it on her lower abdomen.

“Chen Xu...” She whispered, “It seems... I'm pregnant again.”

Chen Xu's palm trembled slightly, a familiar joy and an even stronger anticipation.

instantly surged into his heart.

He lowered his head, looked at his wife's shy and timid eyes, and nodded heavily.

“Good.”

His third reward, the Foundation for his Earth Path Foundation Establishment, had arrived.