Chapter 165 (Patreon)

‘Finally. I broke through!’

Tianyi opened her eyes, a bright smile spreading across her face. She finally managed to reach the 8th stage of Qi Refining.

‘Progress is really slow now, though, even with my improved spirit roots.’

She wasn’t too worried, though. She was only 39 years old. That might have been cutting it a bit close if she didn’t have her body cultivation, but as a Foundation cultivator with a lifespan of 250 years, she had all the time in the world to prepare for her advancement to the spiritual qi Foundation stage.

‘I wonder how strong Dad is now?’

‘Probably at the 9th stage of Qi-Refining.’

She had never really been able to sense her father’s strength. She didn’t even know what grade his spirit roots were. But she had the feeling that he was stronger than she was.

But he shouldn’t have built his Foundation in spiritual qi yet.

‘Not even he could hide something like that.’

Tianyi stabilized her cultivation for a while, then rose to her feet, ready to tell her mother and father the good news.

She still lived in the same courtyard as them, as the rule about unmarried children living with their parents still applied, even to a Foundation cultivator like her.

Tianyi complained about it from time to time. It was a bit ridiculous, considering her strength, age, and contribution in formation over the years. But she actually wasn’t that adamant about moving out. She had her own wing to live in, so it was basically as if she lived on her own, just very close to her parents' house.

‘Looks like he’s cultivating.’

Tianyi stepped into the backyard, and saw her father meditating by the pond. Her mother was in a chair close by, in the shadow of a tree. It looked like she was sleeping.

‘Guess I’ll tell them later.’ Tianyi thought to herself, and walked away.

Her mother seldom left their small courtyard these days, and her father spent most of his time by her side, so she could basically find them there whenever.

‘Mom is really getting old, isn’t she?’

It had become more and more obvious lately. Especially if you watched her father’s behaviour. He used to run around quite a lot. He would drink tea with acquaintances, go look after the Shu Sword Hall, and even travel to Bian Immortal City from time to time.

But now, he never left the Estate.

Her mother had gotten really sick about half a year ago. It wasn’t anything too serious, not with the resources their family had. They called in a doctor skilled in medicine who took care of it with ease.

But just two months later, some other ailment started acting up.

That, too, was cured, and her mother recovered.

But the cause of these illnesses, her age, couldn’t be cured. 

Everyone knew it. It was just a matter of time now before she passed away. Tianyi’s father cancelled every single one of his planned trips; even the excursions to the Heaven-Reaching Forest had been put on hold.

Tianyi and her siblings also stopped traveling much, only doing what was needed in the Hall, and spending the rest of their time at home. 

Most nights, they would gather at their parents’ house and eat together. Enjoying each other's company as a family for what could be the last time.

Tianhu had even stopped taking trips to the Sword Sect to see his children, instead insisting that the kids come back home to visit their grandmother while they still could.

So far, though, they hadn’t been able to get away.

It was said that they would be freer to travel around once they reached the Foundation stage, which Xinmo had succeeded in five years ago, and the twins just a few months ago. 

And while they indeed were more free than earlier, not having to ask for permission from anyone to leave for Bian Immortal City, or travel to Jingli Immortal City for a week or two, they now had many responsibilities within the sect that tied them down. It was easy enough to go take a day off in case the family came over to them, but it was a lot harder to get a whole week free.

‘Seems like a pain. I’m glad I didn’t end up joining a sect. Sister Hongchi is constantly busy as well.’

‘I guess they are a lot stronger than I am thanks to that, though.’

“Xiaorong! Are you here?” Tianyi called out as she arrived in the small glade where the small fox spent most of her time.

“Here,” Xiaorong answered. Tianyi snapped her head up and spotted her on a tree branch above her.

‘She just slips right past my divine sense. It’s so weird.’

Tianyi obviously knew the reason. Xiaorong was a Shadow Fox, and her speciality was hiding. Not to mention that she was at the high Foundation stage now. It would have been even stranger if someone like Tianyi could detect her presence.

“I advanced to the 8th stage of Qi Refining,” Tianyi reported with a bright smile.

“Good,” Xiaorong answered simply.

“That’s all you have to say?” Tianyi muttered. “Anyway, I want to practice. How about a fight?”

“Alright,” Xiaorong answered. And not even a second later, she was gone from her branch, and Tianyi went flying from something hitting her in the back.

‘Seriously?’

Tianyi activated her Bloodline Ability, trying to pierce through the veil that hid Xiaorong from her.

She had been instructed by her father ever since she advanced to the Foundation stage, learning the same Bloodline Ability that he had developed for himself, called Piercing Gaze.

Tianyi now finally knew one of her father’s many secrets, and could understand how he did some of the things that were previously inexplicable. 

While Tianyi’s ability still couldn’t compare to her father’s, she was getting there. She would come to fight with Xiaorong quite often, trying to hone her ability as well as her fighting techniques.

Tianyi jumped off the ground with a gust of wind, pulling out her sword. Xiaorong was so much stronger than her that she didn’t need to worry about harming her, even using her full strength.

‘There!’ Tianyi spotted a shadow and slashed out with her sword. 

Unfortunately, the attack missed.

‘So slippery.’

The worst of all was that Tianyi knew Xiaorong was letting her spot her. If Xiaorong was hiding to her full abilities, there was no way Tianyi could see her even using her Bloodline Ability.

The two of them kept fighting until Tianyi ran out of power. It hadn’t been long, but Tianyi was completely exhausted, lying on the ground panting.

“You are too fierce, Xiaorong. I admit defeat.” Tianyi said.

Xiaorong appeared beside her, walking lightly on the ground. “You have stagnated.”

Tianyi frowned. “I have?”

‘How can I have stagnated? I just advanced!’

“Yes,” Xiaorong answered.

“What should I do then?” Tianyi asked.

“Use more methods. You’re too easy to see through. Your spiritual qi is more tempered and versatile than your father’s, but he has many more ways to fight than you. You should go to the Heaven-Reaching Forest and fight. It did you good in the past.”

‘How talkative.’

“The excursions have stopped for now. I'll definitely go once Dad starts them again. As for tricks…It’s not so easy. Not everyone can comprehend two intents like Dad,” Tianyi said.

“It’s not just intent. He experiments with his abilities. Mixing them. You just do as you're taught. There’s no innovation. It’s boring,” Xiaorong said in a light tone, despite the crushing content.

“Well,” Tianyi said hesitantly. “I’ll work on it.”

‘Mix my abilities? How? In what way?’

‘Maybe I can use formations somehow?’

‘I’ll just ask Dad about it, I guess.’

Xiaorong’s head suddenly snapped, looking off into the distance.

“What?” Tianyi asked, jumping to her feet.

“Someone is advancing. The Foundation stage,” Xiaorong answered.

“In our Estate?” Tianyi asked.

“Yes,” Xiaorong said, nodding. “A Foundation of spiritual qi.”

‘Did he do it?’

There was only one person it could be. Aunt Jiangxi’s son, Yeshen. 

He had been in seclusion for weeks now, preparing to build his Foundation. He had been training in the past few years, even taken away by her father to be personally trained in the Heaven-Reaching Forest to make sure his spiritual qi was tempered.

He had also been given plenty of resources, including a Foundation Pill.

Tianyi really didn’t know how he could possibly fail given all that.

“I’ll go take a look,” Tianyi said, waving to Xiaorong and starting to run off. “Thanks for today, Xiaorong.”

Tianyi could also feel the spiritual qi in the surroundings moving now, it was gathering in the direction of Aunt Jiangxi’s courtyard, just like she had thought.

“Aunt Jiangxi,” Tianyi called out, spotting her benefactor looking into the air above her courtyard.

“Tianyi. Can you feel it?” Jiangxi turned to Tianyi and asked.

“The spiritual qi, yeah,” Tianyi said, nodding.

Jiangxi smiled nervously. “It seems Yeshen has reached the final step. Do you think he’ll be alright?”

“Definitely,” Tianyi said, patting Jiangxi on the shoulder. “He has the talent for it. Not to mention the resources Dad has stuffed him with.”

“I hope so,” Jiangxi said, still looking toward the building her son was in with worry.

“Don’t forget that he’s a body cultivator too. He’ll be fine no matter what,” Tianyi comforted.

“I told him to wait until he built a Foundation in body cultivation. But he wouldn’t listen,” Jiangxi said, shaking her head. 

Yeshen had inherited Jiangxi’s talent for body cultivation, but he hadn’t progressed at the same speed as his spiritual qi cultivation. 

“It’s not certain that would have been safer. Building a Foundation is never easy, you know,” Tianyi said. It was a common thought among the people in their estate that body cultivation was a lot safer than spiritual cultivation. At least when it was time to break through to the Foundation stage. There were just too many examples of success within the family.

But Tianyi didn’t really think so. While she hadn’t exactly been in danger when she advanced, she had struggled quite a bit. It was far from easy.

‘Then again, I guess I don’t know how it feels to build a Foundation using spiritual qi yet. It might be even harder.’

The minutes slipped by, and more and more people gathered to watch the sensation.

While Qing Yeshen didn’t carry the last name Shu, he had been living with the family since he was a kid. And it was well-known that Jiangxi was a great benefactor to the Shu Family. Even Tianyi’s Dad respected her greatly, so obviously no one would dare to slight her.

Besides, everyone had seen how much effort her father put into Yeshen’s cultivation. All to try and repay the debt he owed Jiangxi.

So it wasn’t strange that so many people gathered, all hoping to see the signs of a successful advancement.

“This…This is it, right?” Jiangxi asked in a shaky voice.

Tianyi took a deep breath; she could feel a divine sense spreading out from the building in front of her, as well as the unmistakable aura of a Foundation cultivator.

“Congratulations, Aunt. Your son is a Foundation cultivator!” Tianyi said, hugging Jiangxi tightly in excitement.

‘Thank you, Dad. Finally, I don’t have to feel so much guilt anymore.’