Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Time flowed like water, and two years had swiftly passed.

On the sloping terrain, under the Spiritual Peach Tree, Zhao Sheng was seated cross-legged on a wooden stump, cultivating with his eyes closed, surrounded by a lingering cloud mist around him.

Behind him, the Spiritual Peach Tree had grown to over six meters tall, radiating spirit light all over. The thick branches, as wide as arms, were covered with fine scale-patterns and the leaves, like jade, emitted specks of white light.

Over these two years, as the mystical peach tree gradually revived and grew, it had brought quite a few surprises to Zhao Sheng.

A year ago, the concentration of spiritual energy in the cave slowly returned to normal, and that was when Zhao Sheng suddenly discovered that this grafted Spiritual Peach Tree naturally gathered Wood Element and Water Element Spiritual Energy.

At first, there was only a slight increase in the concentration of spiritual energy.

But recently, Zhao Sheng was delighted to discover that within a ten-meter radius of the Spiritual Peach Tree, the concentration of spiritual energy was now no less than that of a First-rank Spirit Vein.

Especially since the Spiritual Peach Tree primarily absorbed Wood Element Spiritual Qi, leaving most of the Water Element Spiritual Qi to benefit Zhao Sheng.

Furthermore, his Cloud Dispersion Robe also contributed part of the effect of a Spirit Gathering Array.

When combined, Zhao Sheng's cultivation progress was even faster than in Taifu Mountain.

An hour later, Zhao Sheng slowly ended his cultivation session, and as if on cue, Zhao Xuanjing appeared under the Spiritual Peach Tree.

Zhao Sheng opened his eyes and looked at Zhao Xuanjing, asking, "Have you finished your lessons?"

Zhao Xuanjing frowned miserably and said softly, "Not... yet! I... I failed again."

Hearing this, Zhao Sheng furrowed his brows and chastised, "Three months, and you've wasted over a hundred sheets of talisman paper without succeeding in a single one. What am I to say about you?"

"Uncle Seven, that Magma Talisman is too difficult to draw. It's better not to learn it at all," Zhao Xuanjing resisted, a rarity for him.

"If you don't learn talisman painting, what can you do? You're not good at artifact refining, and alchemy, which requires precision, is even more out of the question. Do you want to end up like those spiritual craftsmen who only do tedious work building mansions?"

Zhao Xuanjing brightened up, nodding repeatedly, "Uncle Seven, I really like developing cave mansions. Our family's secret mansion was also excavated by me. Plus, I think being a Spiritual Craftsman isn't too bad either!"

Zhao Sheng jumped up fiercely, and slapped his lower back, scolding, "Nonsense! I've put so much effort into this for you to establish your foundation, not for you to become a craftsman. Besides, how many spiritual craftsmen can establish their foundation?"

Zhao Xuanjing, who was thick-skinned, didn't feel the slap on his body at all.

At eighteen, he stood nearly three meters tall, towering like an iron tower, appearing as a giant.

It was hard to say whether this was due to his natural constitution or the cultivation of the Infinite Earth Technique.

In fact, by this time, Zhao Sheng himself was almost ready to give up.

Apart from his decent cultivation speed and some knowledge of Earth Element Magic, Zhao Xuanjing was a mess in everything else.

To call him simple-minded would be a compliment; he was utterly blockheaded.

"Forget it, since you can't learn it, you don't have to focus on talisman painting anymore. There are two Body Refinement Techniques in the Scripture Pavilion, one of which is a fragment of the 'Profound Yellow Battle Body.' Learn that one; it'd be a shame to waste your unusual talent," Zhao Sheng finally suggested.

"Uncle Seven, I've actually already learned it."

Zhao Xuanjing said, and his body swelled up a bit, his exposed skin instantly gained a layer of gray-white rock armor, and his body burst into a yellow halo, making him appear like the Immortal of Colossal Spirit.

"You sneaky boy, now you've learned to keep it from me," Zhao Sheng said with a mix of laughter and scolding.

"I was afraid you would scold me," Zhao Xuanjing, rubbing his head, said sheepishly.

"Scolding you would be the least of it. If you learned the body refinement techniques so quickly, why didn't you tell me sooner? You could have saved me a few bouts of frustration."

"Uncle Seven, I know my mistake."

"You're not at fault, I am!" Zhao Sheng patted Zhao Xuanjing's arm, finally sighing in conclusion.

...

From then on, besides paying attention to Zhao Xuanjing's cultivation, Zhao Sheng refrained from interfering with his other actions.

As for Uncle Qi's hands-off approach, Zhao Xuanjing was almost crazily joyful and thus the sloping land underwent its third round of massive cave mansion renovations.

Day by day, a large number of new stone rooms, stone tables, stone stools, and even stone figures were carved and shaped by Zhao Xuanjing.

In the end, Zhao Sheng looked at the hundreds of empty stone rooms with a helpless expression.

Another month passed, and suddenly there was a fluctuation in the illusion array on the periphery of the slope, followed by two figures breaking in.

Under the Spirit Tree, Zhao Sheng suddenly opened his eyes and looked downward, his face instantly showing a joyous smile.

The visitors were none other than Zhao Jijian and Zhao Keru.

Zhao Sheng floated down in front of them, looking at the much younger Zhao Keru, excitedly asked, "Uncle Ru, you've advanced to Foundation Establishment?"

Zhao Keru couldn't help but nod with a smile, "Yes! All thanks to that Red Fire Ganoderma of yours."

"That's wonderful! Now our family has two Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Finally, we don't have to worry about the risk of decline."

Zhao Sheng had barely finished speaking when an astonished shout came from Zhao Xuanjing at the cave entrance, "Dad, how did you get here?!"

"You little rascal, seeing your old man, are you not happy?"

"Not at all!"

Zhao Xuanjing hurried over, bending down as much as he could, trying to please his own father.

Zhao Keru patted his head and exclaimed, "I haven't seen you for more than two years, and you've grown so tall."

"Dad, I've reached the Qi Refining Fourth Level." Zhao Xuanjing said somewhat boastfully.

"Haha, Qi Refining Fourth Level means nothing. Your dad has already reached Foundation Establishment," Zhao Keru joked.

"Really?!" Upon hearing this, Zhao Xuanjing's eyes lit up like light bulbs.

...

One day later, in the sloping medicine field.

"Ah, who planted this? How could Earth Fat be planted together with Vitality Herb? Don't they know they influence each other?"

"Ah, the Red Fire Ganoderma is planted so densely, it's totally amateurish. Dragonbane Fruit loves water; look how wilted it is. It's only because this spirit land is special that most of the Spiritual Medicine hasn't already died."

Zhao Sheng sat under the Spiritual Peach Tree pretending to cultivate. He listened to Zhao Keru's constant chattering below, his face slightly red.

In the past, he knew nothing about pharmacology and had planted those Spiritual Medicines at random.

Over the years, as the Spiritual Medicines had been growing well, he hadn't managed them attentively.

However, this wasn't a big mistake, just a minor oversight.

Now, with a professional Alchemist and Pharmacist, not only was the Sloping Spiritual Medicine Garden newly planned, but even the Mountain Dragon Cave was turned into a medicine garden by Zhao Keru, planted with Earth Fat, Ghost Mushrooms, Longevity Grass, and Six Mysterious Pearls that favor shade over sunlight.

After ten days, seeing Zhao Keru thoroughly enjoying himself, Zhao Sheng left the secret mansion at ease and followed Zhao Jijian back to Taifu Mountain.

Having not been home for more than two years, Zhao Sheng heard that the juniors at the Cultivation Academy were getting out of control, and the learning atmosphere was worsening by the day.

This time going back, he must quickly quash this trend; otherwise, it would be too late to correct if it turned into a customary practice.

Seven days later, when Zhao Sheng stepped onto the lecture platform again, the sixteen juniors of the Xuan generation below were stunned, their bodies instantly froze on the spot as if petrified.

"Class begins!"