Rapid Progress

After leaving the storeroom, Zhou Minghu did not rush to deal with the maidservant. Instead, he made his way to the Golden Vine Pool at the mountaintop.

Over the span of a year, the small grove had grown lush and vibrant. New saplings continuously pierced the earth, swaying gracefully in the breeze. The core trees stood tall and towering, reaching several zhang in height. Their thick canopies blotted out the sky, casting the forest interior in a cool, deep shade.

At the center lay a pool one zhang wide, where several colorful carp drifted and surged, wagging their tails toward a little girl on the shore. That girl was Zhou Qianling.

Beside her, the ink-black vine had already grown half as tall as a person, sprouting an abundance of tender, pale-red leaf buds.

Zhou Qianling reached her hand into the pool to play, letting out crisp, bell-like giggles. A tiny trace of a red leaf clung to the corner of her mouth.

"Qianling, sneaking bites of the vine leaves again, aren't you?" Zhou Minghu stepped forward with a stern face.

Zhou Qianling's little body trembled. She turned her head and mumbled softly, "Third Uncle, it's just too delicious. Ling'er couldn't help it..."

Zhou Minghu looked at the Purple Gold Vine. One entire side had been stripped almost bare. He couldn't help but feel a spike of frustration-if she plucked so much, what if it hindered the Purple Gold Vine's growth?

Just as he was about to scold her, someone approached from the side.

"Brother, let her eat if she wants. The leaves will grow back anyway; it is no grave matter."

"Besides, the Purple Gold Vine leaves are beneficial for Qianling's cultivation. This is a good thing."

The newcomer was Zhou Xuanya. In his arms, he cradled an infant-his first child, named Zhou Chengming.

Since becoming a father, Zhou Xuanya had changed a great deal. He was no longer as taciturn as before. As he spoke, he gently teased Zhou Chengming, drawing out bright, bubbling giggles.

Seeing Zhou Xuanya arrive, Zhou Qianling shrank slightly behind him.

In her heart, her Eldest Uncle was rigid and imposing, and her Third Uncle was overly strict. Her Fourth Uncle she couldn't quite remember. Only her Fifth and Sixth Uncles were the best-one protected her, and the other took her out to play.

She had been timid and afraid of strangers since she was born, leaving her extremely sensitive to their varying temperaments.

Zhou Xuanya smiled and patted Zhou Qianling's head, then gently placed Zhou Chengming into her arms.

Though Zhou Qianling appeared frail, her physical strength far exceeded that of a mortal child due to her cultivation. She held Zhou Chengming steadily and securely.

Zhou Qianling gazed down in curiosity, her eyes sparkling with vibrant life. "Little brother is so small."

She had no blood siblings of her own, and by the time she met her fellow clan cousins, they were already old enough to run and tumble on the ground. This was her first time holding such a young infant.

Nearby, Zhou Xuanya and his brother quietly watched Zhou Qianling amuse the baby.

"Brother, do you know what level of cultivation Qianling has reached now?" Zhou Xuanya asked.

Zhou Minghu paused. "Four strands? Or five?"

Zhou Xuanya shook his head and whispered, "Six strands."

Those words left Zhou Minghu stunned. His gaze shifted as he looked at Zhou Qianling in a new light.

Even though her anomalies over the past few years had led them to guess she harbored secrets, Zhou Ping had strictly forbidden them from prying. Yet, learning of such explosive progress still gave him a heavy shock.

"When we were Qianling's age, I think we had only condensed two or three strands," Zhou Minghu said with a wry but gratified smile. Looking back at the half-bare Purple Gold Vine, he suddenly felt that this outcome was quite acceptable.

"On the other hand, Chengyuan has been slacking off. Even now, he is only at six strands," Zhou Xuanya teased.

Zhou Minghu's expression shifted slightly, a hint of embarrassment crossing his face. "When I get back, I will discipline him properly."

"Haha, better not. Qianling has the Purple Gold Vine leaves to eat, which is why her cultivation is so swift," Zhou Xuanya hurriedly waved his hand. "The Jade Rock Green Origin Pill has yet to be successfully refined; it is only normal for Chengyuan's progress to be slow."

Hearing this, Zhou Minghu let out a long sigh. Pills were truly difficult to refine.

Even though the Jade Rock Green Origin Pill did not require an alchemist's direct manipulation-only the continuous tempering of earth fire-the slightest variation in the proportion of ingredients, or fluctuations in the earth fire and surrounding environment, would drastically affect the pill's formation.

As a result, up until this very day, Zhou Ping had not succeeded a single time.

The terrifying consumption of materials over the past year of alchemy had nearly hollowed out the Zhou clan's reserves. If this continued, both brothers were seriously considering whether they should intervene and stop their father from further refinement.

In the distance, a stone door suddenly ground open. Chen Fusheng walked out, his face deathly pale and his steps unsteady.

"Minghu, Xuanya, I failed again."

Zhou Minghu hurried forward to steady him. "Little Uncle, sit down first and take a healing pill."

Although Chen Fusheng did not share the Zhou surname, he was treated no differently. The two families were practically one.

To prevent any rift from forming in Chen Fusheng's heart, Zhou Ping had quietly disclosed a fraction of the truth regarding the Purple Gold Vine.

Of course, the primary reason was that the Purple Gold Vine had firmly taken root. Even if someone wanted to uproot it, it would require a massive amount of effort, and the resulting commotion would instantly trigger Zhou Ping's formation senses, leaving him with little to worry about.

Swallowing the pill, Chen Fusheng's complexion gradually regained some color. He spoke with deep sorrow.

"If I could just break through, Brother-in-law wouldn't have to exhaust himself so much. I am simply useless."

His spiritual root aptitude was two inches and two-tenths, and he had currently cultivated to fourteen strands of Spiritual Qi. Yet, even with the aid of pills, he had attempted to break through twice in a row, with both attempts ending in failure.

"Even if it did not work this time, Little Uncle will definitely succeed the next," Zhou Xuanya comforted him.

Chen Fusheng's mood lifted slightly. He finally noticed Zhou Qianling standing to the side and called out softly, "Qianling, come here, come here."

Zhou Qianling shuffled forward timidly. "Great-Uncle."

Chen Fusheng was Zhou Chengyuan's great-uncle. As Chengyuan's younger cousin, she naturally addressed him with the same title.

"Oh, Qianling's cultivation is progressing so quickly."

Although Chen Fusheng was not even twenty years old, he deeply enjoyed hearing the younger generation call him 'Great-Uncle.' It was one of his minor joys in life.

He sighed in admiration. "Qianling has only been cultivating for two years and is already this formidable. Truly remarkable."

The Zhou brothers remained silent. Chen Fusheng was unaware that Zhou Qianling had dispersed her previous cultivation to start anew, so he genuinely believed she had been cultivating for a full two years.

If he were to find out that it had merely been a single year, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.

Zhou Qianling smiled but offered no reply. Zhou Ping and her two uncles had sternly warned her that, no matter who asked, she must never reveal how long she had been cultivating, nor allow any outsider to probe her body.

After a few more words of pleasantry, Chen Fusheng stood up. "Enough talk for now. I will head back to rest and recuperate."

Zhou Minghu fell into step beside him, and the two walked toward the dwellings on the mountainside.

Zhou Xuanya and Zhou Qianling exchanged a glance, and Xuanya lifted Zhou Chengming back into his arms. "Qianling, continue your cultivation here. Uncle will take your little brother back first."

"Mm-hmm."

Once they had all departed, Zhou Qianling sat back down by the edge of the pool. Her small hand touched the surface of the water, drawing the koi to swirl around her fingertips.

So long as she remained within the tranquil woods, her mind felt exceptionally ethereal and empty of earthly burdens. A deep joy would swell within her, as if she had always belonged to the mountains and forests.

If a cultivator were to sweep the area with their spiritual sense to probe the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, they would discover a faint, hazy aura gathering around Zhou Qianling. Thread by thread, it slowly seeped into her body, rendering her presence increasingly pure and detached from the mortal coil.

Meanwhile, nestled between Qing Peak and Chi Peak, there lay a small cave.

Zhou Ping's eyes were entirely bloodshot, his sockets sunken deep into his skull. He stared dead ahead at the pill furnace in the distance. Directly beneath the furnace was an earthly fissure, from which orange-yellow flames surged, casting a macabre, flickering glow across the cave walls.

"Top-grade jadeite, ten liang; bluestone ground into granules; the Green Origin Fruit must remain completely intact; from the Dragon Blood Tree, take only the root hairs; the Blood Marrow Stone must be pulverized into fine powder..."

"It requires the peak heat of the Heavenly Stems..."

Zhou Ping muttered to himself in a trance, overwhelmed by the conviction that this time, he would undoubtedly succeed.

Scattered across the floor behind him were hundreds of yellow papers scrawled with dense text. All of them recorded the ingredients for the Jade Rock Green Origin Pill, yet every single sheet held a slightly different ratio and refinement method.

Four feet away from the searing furnace, a small figure sat cross-legged, bare-chested. His eyes were tightly shut in deep cultivation.

As the earth fire continuously raged, a heavy aura of metal, stone, and earth continuously vented from the pill furnace, filling the cavern with a sharp, biting pressure. A portion of this metallic and earthen essence was drawn in by Zhou Chengyuan sitting nearby, fortifying his aura fraction by fraction...

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