Innate Immortal Seed

"Ah, Steward Lang. You may rise..."

Bai Zichen recognized the man. They had dealt with each other a few times back at the Market.

As he paused, a round, clumsy-looking black and white Bear Beast clambered up the Cloud Ladder. Its limbs were short and stubby, and as it crossed the steps, its front legs tripped, and it tumbled right onto the Moon Land.

It lost its balance, its four limbs flailing toward the sky as it rolled all the way to its master’s heels before stopping.

It struggled for a while before managing to right itself.

"Greetings, Elder Bai."

"Elder Bai, it’s been many years since we last saw each other at Feiyue Lake! You’ve been breaking through realms one after another. Soon, we’ll have to address you as a venerable senior..."

"My name is Liu Hui. My elder brother is an old acquaintance of yours."

The other Cultivators present came to their senses. Though not as sycophantic or exaggerated as Lang Zhongping, they all came forward enthusiastically to offer their greetings.

Bai Zichen gave a slight nod and walked directly to his uncle. He looked at the relative who had guided him onto the path of cultivation and cared for him as he grew, noticing the distinct wrinkles that had formed at the corners of his eyes.

"Uncle, you’ve gotten old..."

Bai Jiu’an’s eyes reddened as he grabbed Bai Zichen’s arm. "Chenn’er, you’ve done so well... Everyone says you could become a Core Formation True Man. If my, Bai Jiu’an’s, nephew becomes a Core Formation True Man, I could die happy!"

In a daze, he was transported back to that afternoon on Hanxiu Peak.

His uncle had earnestly warned him not to be blinded by the unexpected spoils from killing the Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators.

He was to cultivate diligently, and in the future, the two of them would accumulate clan contribution points to exchange for a strand of Pure Yang Gang Sha for Bai Zichen to break through to Foundation Establishment.

’In the blink of an eye, forty years have passed...’

Bai Zichen declined Bai Xianzhong’s request for him to take the seat of honor, sitting down directly beside Bai Jiu’an.

He tossed the restless Genggeng, who kept trying to squirm around, behind him and threw it a couple of Spirit Fruits, letting it go off and play by itself.

Bai Xianzhong, sitting at the head of the hall, seemed on edge. After a moment, he simply stood up and went to toast the visiting Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Bai Zichen found it amusing. ’As if I would care about such trivial matters.’

In fact, wherever he sat became the seat of honor, and everyone in the room would revolve around him.

"Chenn’er, you haven’t been home in so long. I’ll bring your little brother and sister to meet you later... The two of them have Spiritual Roots. I don’t expect them to be as brilliant as you; as long as they can grow up safely with their Four Spiritual Roots aptitude, I’ll be happy."

Seeing his long-lost nephew, Bai Jiu’an was in high spirits, his face wreathed in smiles.

"That’s wonderful... Any sibling of mine, Bai Zichen, certainly won’t be lacking."

Bai Zichen was also happy for his uncle, hearing that his children now included descendants with Spiritual Roots.

Even if both parents were Cultivators, there was no guarantee their offspring would possess Spiritual Roots; it only greatly increased the probability.

"Allow me to toast Elder Bai."

Bai Ling, with her graceful figure, raised a wine goblet and drained it in one go.

Thinking back on it now, she found it almost funny. She had actually harbored competitive feelings toward Bai Zichen, wanting to see who was the true number one genius of the Bai Family.

But in just a few years, Bai Zichen had revealed a talent that far surpassed his peers. After joining the Qingfeng Sect, his rise was meteoric.

At first, when Bai Ling heard news about Bai Zichen within the clan, she was a little disbelieving, wondering if there might be some exaggeration involved.

Gradually, she just grew numb to it.

She came to truly understand that the gap between people could be just that vast.

She had cultivated step-by-step to Qi Refining Great Perfection. With no better candidate in the clan, she was the one who consumed the Foundation Establishment Pill and barely managed to succeed in her breakthrough.

Meanwhile, he had already reached Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation.

He had become a major figure of great importance in all of Black Mountain County.

"We are both members of the Bai Clan; there’s no need to be so distant... If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come find me at Feiyue Lake."

Bai Zichen took a light sip in response.

His status had risen so suddenly, and he had spent limited time in the clan since childhood. It was no wonder that Bai Xianzhong and Bai Ling didn’t know how to act around him.

But even if only for his uncle’s sake, he could never neglect the Bai Family.

...

The Foundation Establishment celebration banquet concluded, and most of the guests departed. A few Cultivators who were close to the Bai Family remained, planning to stay for a few days to socialize.

The Foundation Establishment Cultivators would also trade amongst themselves, exchanging Spiritual Objects they no longer needed.

In the newly rebuilt clan hall, a circle of clan members was standing. Among them were many talented youths of the Bai Family, deliberately chosen by Bai Xianzhong in the hopes that Bai Zichen might take a liking to a few.

Unfortunately, all his attention was on the two children Bai Jiu’an had led over.

They were both six or seven years old. The boy was sturdy and robust, while the girl was as exquisitely carved as pink jade—utterly adorable.

"What are your names?"

Bai Zichen took an immediate liking to them and pulled them forward.

"Cousin, my name is Bai Ziying, and my younger brother is Bai Ziyu."

The little girl was bolder, batting her big, dark eyes as she stared at the cousin she was meeting for the first time.

Bai Jiu’an already had more than ten children, but only this pair of siblings had tested positive for Spiritual Roots.

"Good. This is a welcome gift from your cousin. Go on, take them."

Bai Zichen swiped his hand over his storage bag and pressed two Peach Wood Swords into the children’s hands.

These were the very same Ghost-Slaying Peach Wood Sword and Demon Suppression Peach Wood Sword he had used back in the day. The pair of Wood Element Flying Swords had accompanied him for a long time, but they had been sitting idle in his storage bag since he reached Foundation Establishment.

"Thank you, Cousin."

Bai Ziying said in a child-like voice, holding the Demon Suppression Peach Wood Sword that was almost as tall as her.

"Brother Chenn, isn’t this a bit too valuable...?"

Although these Peach Wood Swords had poor attributes and were even cheaper than the Bai Family’s Ink Bamboo Sword, they were still Flying Swords, equivalent to a Top-Grade Magical Artifact.

Never mind two children, even among the Bai Family’s Late-Stage Qi Refining members, many didn’t even have a Top-Grade Magical Artifact.

"They’re just trinkets for my little cousins to play with. It’s nothing."

Bai Zichen, of course, understood Bai Xianzhong’s intention in arranging for so many of the younger generation to be present. But in terms of blood relation, Bai Ziying and Bai Ziyu were his close blood relatives, within three degrees of kinship.

As for the other clan members in the hall, although they all shared a common Ancestor, their blood ties were actually quite distant, well beyond the fifth degree of kinship.

In terms of gratitude, Bai Jiu’an was the one who had guided him onto the path of cultivation. No repayment for such a debt would ever be too much.

After a moment’s thought, he handed a Golden Flying Sword and the Red Cover Treasure Pearl Umbrella to Bai Jiu’an. "Uncle, this is a Tier One Golden Sparrow Sword and a Top-Grade Defensive Magical Artifact, the Red Cover Treasure Pearl Umbrella. One for offense, one for defense... When I enter seclusion in the future, it might be for years at a time. With these Magical Artifacts, you’ll have more ways to deal with enemies."

Bai Jiu’an only had a Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivation; he wouldn’t be able to use any Treasures more powerful than this.

The Red Cover Treasure Pearl Umbrella was a fine item even among Top-Grade Magical Artifacts. It had turned the tide of battle several times and was the perfect Treasure for a Qi Refining Cultivator.

At the same time, he turned to Bai Ling and said, "This is your Foundation Establishment celebration. I came in a hurry, so I went to Celestial Thunder Cliff and killed two Golden-Winged Thunder Rocs as a congratulatory gift... It should be enough Spiritual Materials for you to refine a Spiritual Artifact."

Bai Ling dazedly accepted a storage bag. When she opened it, she found the complete corpses of two Golden-Winged Thunder Rocs inside, with no visible wounds on their bodies.

The Cultivators in the hall felt a chill run down their spines as they listened to Bai Zichen speak in the most casual of tones, his attitude suggesting that the Golden-Winged Thunder Rocs were nothing more than lambs to the slaughter.

These were Tier Two Demon Beasts, Golden-Winged Thunder Rocs! They were Flying Demon Beasts that gave even Foundation Establishment Cultivators a huge headache.

But they quickly realized it made perfect sense. Without such strength, how could he have made the heads of the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Demon Cultivators roll during the war between the two sects?

"Later, you can have all the young disciples of the clan come over. I’ll diagnose the state of their cultivation..."

Bai Zichen was planning to use the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror to inspect the younger generation of the clan.

"When Ziying, Ziyu, and the other juniors are a few years older, if they wish to join the Qingfeng Sect, they can send a message to Feiyue Lake."

"I’ll go arrange it right away."

Bai Xianzhong nodded excitedly. He didn’t care what Bai Zichen left behind, as long as the clan remained in his thoughts.

Bai Zichen’s gaze swept over the people in the hall, and he spotted a somewhat familiar face. "Chongwu?"

"Replying to Elder Bai, it is indeed Chongwu..."

The once tall and handsome Bai Chongwu was now weather-beaten and stooped, looking as though he had just recovered from a serious illness.

"Are you injured? And what about Bai Ying? Why don’t I see him?"

Bai Zichen found it strange. The Clan Leader had summoned Bai Chongwu, so there was no reason he wouldn’t know that Bai Ying had been the closest to him back then, and thus would have omitted him.

"Injured by those Demon Pups from the Ghost Spirit Sect. It’s much better now... Brother Yingg... Brother Yingg is dead."

Bai Chongwu forced a pained expression that was half-smile, half-sob, tears welling in his eyes.

"The day we retreated from Hanxiu Peak, Bai Ying and I were together, and we ran right into a squad of Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators... He actually had a Seed of Thunder Deity hidden on him. He told us to go on ahead, then drew away the Demon Cultivators before detonating it, blowing himself and all the Demon Cultivators to dust."

"I should have known. Brother Yingg hasn’t been happy at all these past few years. Several times, he woke up startled from a dream, saying he wanted to find his mother."

Bai Zichen was stunned for a moment. That chubby, lazy fellow, the one who always said that with his Discarded Spiritual Root aptitude it didn’t matter whether he cultivated or not, whose greatest dream was to become an outstanding traveling merchant and earn enough Spirit Stones to open a shop... Bai Ying was actually dead.

And he had taken the Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators down with him. Judging by the fact that he was carrying a Seed of Thunder Deity, he must have been planning it for a long time.

The Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators who had attacked Clear Wind Cliff back then, and his mother dying right before his eyes, had left an extremely deep shadow on Bai Ying.

Perhaps from that day on, the thought of revenge had been planted in his heart.

"Chubby, if you had just waited a few more years, you would have seen me avenge Aunt Song... But rest assured, not a single person from the Ghost Spirit Sect, top to bottom, will escape."

Bai Zichen let out a long breath and turned his head. "Clan Leader, did Bai Ying have any descendants?"

"Only one son, but unfortunately, he has no Spiritual Root. He’s just a mortal."

Bai Xianzhong shook his head. If he had a Spiritual Root, how could he not have summoned Bai Ying’s only son?

To Cultivators, children without Spiritual Roots were not even considered part of their lineage.

"Go bring Lang Zhongping here. He should still be waiting outside."

Bai Zichen gave the order to Bai Chongwu, then closed his eyes and sat there without another word.

A quarter of an hour later, an anxious Lang Zhongping followed someone into the hall. He bowed respectfully and awaited his orders.

"Steward Lang, are there any vacant shops in the Market... I’m referring to a prime location, not one of the newly developed peripheral shops."

"Replying to Elder Bai, once someone gets their hands on a shop on these streets, no one gives them up. The Sect spent years of effort to change most of the shops’ permanent ownership rights to hundred-year leases. Even if a shop owner runs into cash flow problems, they’d rather borrow Spirit Stones from someone than sell their shop."

Lang Zhongping’s voice grew softer and softer under Bai Zichen’s icy gaze, a chill spreading in his heart.

"However, I do remember there’s a shop in the core area that has been operating irregularly. It’s scheduled to be expelled from the Market at the end of the year. But it’s rather small, only half a storefront wide..."

’Before Elder Bai, I can only do the Xuu Family a disservice,’ Lang Zhongping thought. ’Although that young maiden the Xuu Family just sent over is indeed fresh and tender.’

Lang Zhongping reported the shop he had gone to great lengths to free up, which was originally intended for the Xuu Family.

On one side was the Sect’s future Core Formation True Man; on the other, the families of several of his concubines.

The choice was not difficult.