55: Chapter 55: With a beautiful wife at home, he smells wonderful every day; after a night of seclusion, he directly advanced to the ninth level.

"A cloud carriage from the inner Sect?" This remark caused the hearts that had just settled in the courtyard to tighten once again.

Steward Xu Wenshan and Li Qingfeng exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes.

"So soon?" Steward Xu Wenshan frowned deeply.

According to the rules, after the Outer Sect Disciple assessment was passed, the inner Sect would only send someone for a review after the supply period had stabilized for at least three months. Now, with the assessment just concluded, someone had arrived; this was clearly illogical.

"Let's go and take a look!" Li Qingfeng made a decisive choice, handed the account book in his hand to Su Qingyue, and turned to quickly head towards the Qingyun Branch with Steward Xu Wenshan and the others.

However, when they rushed to the entrance of the branch in a hurry, they discovered that the situation was somewhat different from what they had imagined.

The cloud carriage with the inner Sect command flag was indeed parked at the entrance, but only an Outer Sect Disciple at Qi Refining Stage 6 was guarding it, looking nervous.

"Where is the person?" Steward Xu Wenshan asked in a deep voice.

"R-reporting to Steward Xu, it was sent by the inner Sect pill room to deliver urgent medicinal materials. They also stopped by to deliver the Jade Slip containing the new Sect regulations for the next three months to our branch." The Disciple, frightened by Steward Xu Wenshan's Aura, shivered and hurriedly explained, "The person left right after delivering the items, saying they still had to go to other towns."

A false alarm.

Steward Xu Wenshan breathed a sigh of relief, then felt a bit amused, and glared at the Li Family guard who had rushed over to report the news: "Next time you report news, tell the whole story first!"

Li Qingfeng was also left speechless, but the tense string in his heart finally relaxed.

It seemed that although those people in the inner Sect were keeping an eye on the Li Family, they had no intention of personally intervening for the time being.

Over the next three months, Qingshi Town ushered in a rare period of stable development.

The Li Family firmly secured its position as a candidate supplier for the Qingyun Sect, delivering high-quality Spiritual Plant on time every month without a single error. Meanwhile, the Wang Family leveraged the Li Family's supply channels to make their own escort business thrive. With the two families joining forces, they almost swallowed up all the industrial vacancies left behind after the collapse of the Zhao Family.

Li Qingfeng's branch became the veritable engine of the entire Li Family.

"Qingfeng, come take a look!" Great Elder Li Yuanheng held the freshly released Family account book, his mouth unable to close from joy. He pointed at a line of text, his hand trembling, "Just from your New Courtyard's 'supply fields' and 'cultivation fields', the net profit brought to the Family this month accounts for 30% of the total income! 30%! And that's not even counting the potential of the Spirit Beast Garden!"

Li Qingfeng just smiled.

In these three months, he had operated the "sample courtyard" model to its limit.

The output of the supply fields, under the dual blessing of spiritual fertilizer and the Seedling Spirit Pond, had increased by a full 20%. The loss in the cultivation fields had decreased again and again, now down to less than 0.5%. And those few White-Eared Spirit Rabbits were quite impressive, too; their droppings, after being processed in the fermentation pond, had become the most sought-after treasure in the cultivation fields.

The Family's income was rising visibly, and the status of Li Qingfeng's branch within the clan had become unshakable.

The biggest change was in his two sons.

The eldest son, Li Changqing, was no longer just a baby who could only babble. He could now sit steadily by the Seedling Spirit Pond, his small hands clutching the Spiritual Plant illustrated book made especially for him. Although he could not yet read, he could already accurately react differently to the Auras of the three Spiritual Plants: green leaf grass, Spirit-Returning Grass, and red stem grass.

The most respected enlightenment Elder in the Clan School now ran to the New Courtyard every few days, muttering, "Young Master Changqing's talent is something I have never seen in my entire life of teaching. Once he can speak, the first thing I must do is teach him to recognize the entire 'Hundred Herbs Illustrated Manual'!"

As for Su Qingyue, she had completely solidified her position as the "Matriarch of the New Courtyard."

Her cultivation had now firmly stepped into the latter stage of Qi Refining Stage 8, just one step away from entering the Peak. Because of the continuous feedback from the second child's "Wood Essence Spirit Gathering" talent, her water and wood Spiritual Qi was much more condensed than that of other Cultivators at the same level.

At this moment, she was wearing a decent lotus-root-colored long dress, sitting upright in the study of the New Courtyard. Because of the second pregnancy, her figure was more plump and rounded than before, and the tight dress outlined her full, perky peach-like buttocks and heavy breasts in a breathtaking way. She was no longer that delicate wife who needed to be protected behind him at all times, but a mistress who could stand on her own.

"This is a new medicinal bath recipe for the Clan School; I have adjusted it according to Changqing's Physique, making the medicinal properties 30% milder." She handed a neatly and beautifully written prescription to the female steward who came to receive orders, her voice soft but carrying unquestionable authority. "Also, tell the External Affairs Hall that the Spiritual Plant ration for the Spirit Beast Garden should be increased by another 10% this month. The child, Changsheng, is about to be born, and the wood Spiritual Qi in the courtyard needs to be sufficiently nurtured."

When Li Qingfeng walked into the room, this was the scene he saw.

His heart burned with passion. He walked over, hugged her gently from behind, rested his chin in her fragrant neck, and laughed in a low voice: "My Qingyue really has the air of a matriarch now."

Su Qingyue's body softened, her pretty face blushing. She gently patted his mischievous large hand and chided, "Stop it, I'm just saving up Family assets for you and the children."

Li Qingfeng laughed in a low voice, but he knew clearly in his heart that his own cultivation could also barely be suppressed any longer.

These three months, relying on the System's daily operational feedback, the Bloodline feedback from his wife and children, and the continuous rise of the Family's Luck, the True Yuan in his body was already overflowing, and the Bottleneck of the latter stage of Qi Refining Stage 8 was crumbling.

"Qingyue, help me prepare a portion of Meridian-Stabilizing Soup; I will go to break through the barrier tonight."

He asked the Great Elder for the most secluded closed-door cultivation chamber.

The day before the Breakthrough, Li Qingfeng wanted to meditate and adjust his breath, but who knew that the little guy, Li Changqing, seemed to sense something. He grabbed his sleeve tightly and refused to let go, his mouth pouting as if he were about to cry.

"You little brat, your father is going for a Breakthrough, it's not like I'm not coming back." Li Qingfeng was left speechless and had no choice but to hold his son and pace back and forth in the courtyard.

He lowered his voice and whispered in his son's ear: "When Daddy breaks through to Qi Refining Stage 9, I will expand this Seedling Spirit Pond by another circle for you, so you can roll around in it every day, okay?"

Whether he understood the word "Spirit Pond" or was just annoyed by his coaxing, the little guy actually slowly let go of his hand and was carried away by Su Qingyue to be coaxed to sleep.

That night, in the secret chamber.

Li Qingfeng sat cross-legged, drank the Meridian-Stabilizing Soup that Su Qingyue had personally brewed in one gulp, and felt his entire body warm up.

He cleared his mind of distracting thoughts and was just preparing to circulate the "Evergreen Spirit Transformation Art" when the System panel in his mind suddenly exploded with a brilliant golden light!

[Ding! Family Luck is growing steadily, the second pregnancy rating has met the standard, and the eldest son's cultivation value has accumulated; [Three-Line Integration Minor Settlement] has been triggered!]

[System settling...]

[Congratulations to the Host, the Family industry is on the right track; rewarded with Family Luck feedback!]

[Congratulations to the Host, the second pregnancy is in good condition; rewarded with Mother-Child Nourishment cultivation feedback!]

[Congratulations to the Host, the eldest son's daily cultivation lessons have never been interrupted; rewarded with offspring growth cultivation feedback!]

[Comprehensive reward: Cultivation infusion (Large amount)!]

"Boom!"

An unprecedented, massive torrent of True Yuan, like a bursting celestial river, suddenly poured into his Dantian Qi Sea!

If it were anyone else, being rushed by this power, their Meridians would likely have broken into several pieces on the spot.

But Li Qingfeng's Foundation was incomparably solid. He let out a low shout and exerted all his strength to circulate the "Evergreen Spirit Transformation Art", compressing and purifying that violent True Yuan over and over again, then guiding them to rush towards the solid Bottleneck!

"Crack!"

A crisp shattering sound rang out in the Qi Sea.

The barrier of the Early Stage of Qi Refining Stage 9 shattered in response!

Li Qingfeng's Aura surged violently, and the Spiritual Qi in the secret chamber was swallowed by him like a whale, forming a huge vortex.

Success!

He slowly opened his eyes, feeling the endless, surging True Yuan within his body, which was several times more robust than before, and his heart was filled with satisfaction.

However, before he could stand up, the stone door of the secret chamber was "bang-bang" pounded from the outside.

"Young Master! It's bad!" A female steward's voice came from outside, so urgent that it had changed pitch.

Li Qingfeng's heart tightened, and he pulled open the stone door abruptly: "What happened?"

He saw the midwife and two female pharmacists standing outside, covered in sweat. Seeing him come out, it was as if they had seen a savior.

"Young Master! Please hurry and take a look! Madam Qingyue... she is about to give birth! It is three full days earlier than the expected due date!"