Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension-Chapter 643 - 395 Qi Fortune and Involution

Chapter 643 -395 Qi Fortune and Involution

In life, there are some things that are displeasing to the eye, and one can choose to stay far away from them, finding peace in the adage ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ This is how Zhao Jingyuan managed it.

But the world is full of turmoil, and where interests exist, so too do disputes. Not to mention the struggle for the throne among one of the Central Continent’s seven dynasties.

Even though Zhao Sheng had attained a transcendent position as a Nascent Soul Ancestor, he couldn’t escape or avoid it.

Now, under the pretext of secluding himself to consolidate his realm, he hid away in Zhao’s Secret Mansion, yet there were still “relatives” who took the initiative to visit him.

After a thousand years, the spiritual realm of the secret mansion had undergone earth-shattering changes. A great amount of earth and stone was excavated and removed, drastically increasing the area of the mansion, which had now been developed into a Spirit Medicine Garden spanning over thirty miles.

What did not change was the Ancient Peach Tree, which grew increasingly colossal and increasingly mystical and exquisite.

This Ancient Spirit Peach Tree stood at the center of the secret mansion. Its lush and enormous canopy shaded the sky and covered more than thirty miles, resembling a towering mountain that stood through the ages, vast and ancient.

Crowds of spirit clouds flowed and drifted underneath the tree’s canopy, the misty water vapor hazy and twisting throughout the garden, nourishing countless rare herbs and precious medicines growing below far more vigorously than those in the outside world.

After Zhao Xuanjing ascended to Divinity Transformation, he once commanded a Mountain Dragon to rearrange the Earth Veins beneath the secret mansion and to connect with the surrounding Spirit Vein branches. After many years of hard work, the mansion’s Spirit Vein had successfully advanced to a Third-rank Spirit Vein, becoming an indispensable grand spiritual realm for the Zhao Family.

Moreover, housed within the secret mansion was the world’s only Ancient Spiritual Root, and the Longevity Peach that matured once every hundred years was of immeasurable preciousness.

After all, a divine object that could extend life by sixty years was without equal in the world, so one can imagine the extent of desire that the Nascent Soul Ancestors, and even the Divinity Transformation True Monarchs, had for such an item.

This was also why there was always a Nascent Soul of Zhao Sheng stationed in Zhao’s Secret Mansion year-round, and why the Mountain Dragon often appeared there as well, using the Peach Tree’s trunk to shed its old skin.

Together with the Guardian Ancestors of Heavenly Pillar Mountain’s summit, one could say that Zhao’s Secret Mansion was one of the safest Forbidden Lands in the Tianzhu Realm, with hardly any petty thieves daring to cast their eyes upon this place.

However, while the secret mansion could keep out outsiders, it was unable to stop “one’s own people.”

The Ancient Peach Tree soared high into the clouds, its massive trunk wrapped in Dragon Scale-like spirit clouds and entwined with spirit mist. The thick and twisted roots protruded from the ground like wandering dragons traversing the soil at will, radiating an explosive Life Force.

At that moment, suspended a hundred feet above the ground at the waist of the tree, floated an exceptionally elegant and ancient wooden pavilion. On the pavilion’s terrace, there stood a Jade Couch on which Zhao Sheng sat upright, holding an Ancient Scroll in his right hand, absorbed in reading the book as if mesmerized.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a handsome young man in a green robe suddenly flew up from below, landing noiselessly next to the Jade Couch.

“What matter brings you here again?” Zhao Sheng looked up from the book, a flash of annoyance crossing his eyes and brows.

The green-robed young man bowed his head low and said softly, “Ancestor, it is the Qingshan Ancestor from our lineage who has come with others to pay a visit.”

Zhao Sheng sighed inwardly, put down the Ancient Scroll, and stood up, gesturing, “Since it is an Ancestor from our own lineage, I cannot avoid meeting him. Let’s go and welcome them.”

As he spoke, he rose into the air, floating down from the terrace with the green-robed young man hurriedly following behind.

Before long, Zhao Sheng returned to the terrace with a warm smile, leading two people, and then invited them to sit down.

The two visitors were a pair, one old and one young. The elder had a square face with large ears, towering over others at a height of more than ten feet, his strong build like that of a tower, his eyes flashing with brilliance when they opened and closed – he was none other than Qingshan Ancestor, one of the three Nascent Souls of the Shen Character Lineage.

The younger was a youth who appeared to be about twenty, with a handsome face and a noble, heroic air. Although his cultivation was modest, having just reached Foundation Establishment, he radiated an inherently imposing aristocratic presence.

“Ha! Before coming here, Changdu Ancestor repeatedly mentioned that you, Qiong Tian, are a natural-born cultivation prodigy. Though less than a hundred years old, you are already on par with us old folks. Seeing you today, I understand that seeing is believing! Our Shen Character Lineage has finally produced another great talent! Congratulations indeed!”

“Qingshan Ancestor flatters me. I am nothing more than a wanderer from another realm, an orphan who yearns for the clan. Any fortune I had to reach today’s heights is all thanks to the life-saving grace of Changdu Ancestor. Without him, Qiong Tian would have long perished under the Heavenly Dao Sect’s pursuit.”

Qingshan Ancestor waved his hand dismissively, “Oh, Qiong Tian, you are too modest. If you count as fortunate, then does that not make the rest of the high and mighty young ones in our clan a bunch of good-for-nothings? Besides, you carry the Zhao Family bloodline; it was only right for Changdu Ancestor to save you. Remember this favor in your heart, but don’t take it too seriously.”

Zhao Sheng smiled slightly and suddenly turned his head to the young man, asking with a smile, “Ancestor, you have yet to introduce this young and promising man.”

“Ah, look at my memory. Xinfu, come forward and pay your respects to Ancestor Qiong Tian immediately.”

“As a junior of the Xinfu generation, Zhao Xinfu pays respect to Ancestor Tian.”

As the heroic young man stood up and respectfully bowed his head to Zhao Sheng, Zhao Sheng’s eyes flashed, and with a sweep of his sleeve, he sent out a mana to stop Zhao Xinfu from kneeling.

But at that moment, Qingshan Ancestor deflected Zhao Sheng’s mana with an invisible force, allowing Zhao Xinfu to complete his kneel in homage.

Zhao Sheng smiled helplessly as he witnessed the scene, accepting the young man’s full kowtow salute.

On the side, Qingshan Ancestor explained, “Qiong Tian, you don’t know. Since ancient times, ceremonies should not be discarded! With billions in the family, without rules, there can be no standards. It’s only proper for Xinfu, who is meeting an Ancestor for the first time, to perform the kowtow. Of course, in future encounters, a simple bow and curtsy will suffice. Other than on grand ancestral ceremonies, there’s no need for kneeling on ordinary days.”