Bloodline Tree

“What are the odds she will succeed?” Tianhu asked nervously.

“I have no idea. But I would say it’s unlikely she will fail,” Shu Yang answered. “Back when I advanced, the only thing that held me back was the resources; the process itself wasn’t that complicated. At least it shouldn’t be for someone with Xiaoshi’s talent. And don’t forget that she’s been at the bottleneck to the Foundation stage for over ten years; she is certainly not rushing into anything.”

“Right,” Tianhu said, gripping his sword tightly out of nervousness.

Shu Yang was actually a bit nervous himself. He had even wanted Xiaoshi to wait with her advancement until they got to the Sword Sect, just in case. But after being pressed for answers, he admitted that he didn’t think there should be anything to worry about.

Xiaoshi had held back from advancing for a long time now, and she couldn’t hold herself back any longer, so she decided to break through straight away. With Shu Yang’s detailed explanation, as well as the resources he brought back, she was more confident than ever.

‘I guess I wouldn’t have felt much more confident even in the Sword Sect. Advancing will always carry risks.’

Shu Yang really was pretty certain that Xiaoshi would succeed, but he had been confident about his own success as well, and that ended up nearly killing him.

“Has she started?” Shen Ye walked over and asked, looking worriedly in Xiaoshi’s direction.

“Just now, yes,” Shu Yang answered.

“I’ll go round the place again; call for me if anything happens,” Shen Ye said, reluctantly pulling his gaze away from his daughter and walking off again. They were in Tianhu’s and Xiaoshi’s courtyard, and Shen Ye was making sure no one came over and distributed them.

Time passed slowly, one minute reluctantly making way for the next. Both Shu Yang and Tianhu fell quiet, nervously watching Xiaoshi in the distance.

‘It’s happening!’

Suddenly, Shu Yang felt something change; an unmistakable aura was spreading from Xiaoshi. Her face also went from relaxed to one of deep struggle.

“Go feed her the Taihou fruit,” Shu Yang instructed his son in a low voice.

Tianhu hesitated slightly, perhaps afraid of disturbing Xiaoshi at this delicate moment. She had the fruit and some other resources in front of her already, and was supposed to take them when they were needed.

“Go,” Shu Yang urged. He knew how wrapped up you could become in fortifying your heart; it required a lot of focus. It was better for Shu Yang to make the call when she needed something to boost her qi, and for Tianhu to feed it to her.

Tianhu took a few quick steps to his wife and gently pressed the Taihou fruit to her lips, and Xiaoshi immediately took a few quick bites.

The Taihou fruit hadn’t been one of the spiritual medicines he had received in the inheritance; he had traded for it with an alchemist in Chenqi Immortal City.

One of the spiritual medicines he had gotten, a Summer Thunder Flower, was quite useless to Shu Yang, at least for the moment. It was the main ingredient in a pill used to break through to the late Foundation stage. So he traded it away.

Shu Yang wasn’t worried about that bottleneck; he was more interested in something that helped body cultivators reach the Foundation stage. And the Taihou fruit was one of the spiritual medicines he had found that should have that effect. It was apparently grown on a 2nd-stage Taihou Tree that one of the Elders in the Green River Sect had planted on his mountain.

Shu Yang had gotten three of the fruits, and he had tried one himself last night to see its effect and make sure it wouldn’t be too much for Xiaoshi to handle.

It had certainly been powerful, but the fruit had a nourishing effect and wasn’t so harsh on the body as some other resources were. Shu Yang felt Xiaoshi should be able to handle it.

And from what he was seeing, he had been correct. Xiaoshi looked a lot more relaxed once she had eaten the fruit.

‘She should be able to make it now, right?’

Shu Yang still stepped forward and placed one of the bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills that were there into Tianhu’s hand. They might not be necessary, but they certainly wouldn’t do any harm.

Tianhu gave Shu Yang a nod and started feeding Xiaoshi the pills one by one.

After about twenty more minutes, a large boom sounded, and a few startled birds flew into the sky as a heavy gust of wind blew across Shu Yang’s face.

‘Success!’

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Shu Yang could feel that Xiaoshi now had the strength of a Foundation expert, and her aura was very stable.

“This…feels amazing!” Xiaoshi exclaimed, opening her eyes and smiling widely.

“It’s finished? You succeeded? Tianhu asked.

“Yes, I’m…I’m a Saint,” Xiaoshi said, taking a deep breath and clenching her fists. “I’m actually a Saint.”

Shen Ye came rushing over, probably having felt the change in his daughter’s aura. “Xiaoshi! Are you alright?”

“I’m better than alright. I can’t describe it. I feel invincible,” Xiaoshi said.

“You’re definitely a lot stronger, but if you’re going to the Sword Sect, you will soon realize that you’re still very weak,” Shu Yang said.

“Seriously? Not giving me a minute to enjoy it?” Xiaoshi asked with a self-deprecating smile.

Shu Yang coughed awkwardly. “I just don’t want you to grow arrogant and end up in danger. The world of cultivators is very different from this place.”

“Maybe we should take the opportunity to look for that Lishen Emperor,” Xiaoshi said, taking charge and jumping into the sky. She reached at least a hundred feet before falling to the ground again. “I bet we can beat him if we go together. I still have a debt to settle with him after sending those Grandmasters after me and Tianhu.”

“I would also like to see things settled before we go,” Tianhu said, gripping his sword.

“Alright, calm down,” Shu Yang said. “There is no need to rush into anything.”

Shu Yang would also like to deal with the Lishen Emperor and King of Wen, but he knew that the consequences of taking them out would be huge. They needed a thorough plan if they were to make a move.

‘Perhaps it’s best to talk things out and reach some kind of agreement. I really don’t want things to get complicated now. I just want to get my family settled.’

‘If I ask Bian Fenglin, he might be willing to give them a warning and make them stay out of the Black Beast Mountains in the future.’

‘The ones who want to stay behind could then live here in peace, and I could handle everything once I return.’

Shu Yang left Xiaoshi and Tianhu to spend some time alone and walked back to his own house.

‘I guess there is still plenty of time to think about it.’

“How did it go?” Tianyi asked as soon as she saw him walking over. She had been staying with him and Qianyue since getting back.

“Success,” Shu Yang replied with a smile. “We should prepare a feast for tonight.”

“That’s great!” Tianyi said, “I can’t believe we have two Foundation experts in the family now. That’s impressive even in Yuanchi Immortal Land.”

“Too bad we’re moving to the Sword Sect’s territory, then,” Shu Yang said. “I’m afraid it won’t be as impressive over there.”

“It’s still impressive,” Tianyi said, hands on hips. “And with your sword intent, who would dare look down on us? I bet Tianhu will soon reach your level too, not to mention the twins.”

‘I hope so.’

Shu Yang didn’t know how to improve his son’s sword intent, really. It hadn’t improved for over ten years now.

But then again, they had lived quite a peaceful life during that time, and Tianhu never had an opponent to practice with. Now, he and Shu Yang would spar for a while every day, and Tianhu was finally able to go all out against an opponent.

Shu Yang didn’t really have any advice to give, as he had been able to comprehend his sword intent through his Sword Bone. He could only hope Tianhu would eventually grasp it on his own.

“Besides, it’s only a matter of time before I reach the Foundation stage too,” Tianyi said.

“A matter of time, yes, but quite a long time,” Shu Yang said with a smile. Tianyi was talented, but young, so she was still only an Innate warrior.

“It will be sooner than you think,” Tianyi said. “Xiaoshi didn’t use up two of those fruits, did she?”

“Don’t worry, there is still one left for you,” Shu Yang answered.

“Great! Then there is nothing to worry about,” Tianyi said, clenching her fist and posing heroically.

Shu Yang rolled his eyes. He had somehow ended up promising Tianyi one of the fruits. He just couldn’t refuse her.

It would probably go to her either way; she was the most talented of his children. The only question was whether Tianhu would be able to get there before her by comprehending a more advanced sword intent.

‘I need to make a plan for how to distribute the rest of the resources in a fair way. They have no use lying there.’

Shu Yang’s idea at the moment was to make some sort of competition, or perhaps establish a merit system for his family to use. He would give resources to the ones who made the most effort, not just the ones with the talent.

He had brought back a lot of books and jade slips covering all sorts of topics, and planned on opening up the knowledge to his children and grandchildren. It would be a nice way to pass the time until they left for the Sword Sect. He could give resources to those who showed promise in a particular path.

‘It would be great if someone had a curiosity for alchemy, talisman making, smithing, or anything like that. It would be a great addition to the family.’

“Did you finish writing down the cultivation method the Song Family gave you?” Shu Yang asked his daughter.

“Yeah,” Tianyi said, nodding, “But it’s only a method that can take you to the 4th stage of Qi Refining. I’m not sure how useful it will be.”

“Every bit helps,” Shu Yang said. He had bought a lot of cultivation methods in Chenqi Immortal City as well, and was planning on working out a new cultivation method for the Shu Family.

“Here you go,” Tianyi said, handing him a few pieces of paper.

Shu Yang glanced through them as he walked to his backyard.

‘I guess it’s time to get to work.’