Joy Mixed with Worry Over Lack of Resources

With the jade-stone Qi being exceptionally abundant, Zhou Ping's cultivation progressed at a rapid pace. In just two or three days, the jade-stone Qi within his body reached over sixty strands. If not for the fact that the heaven and earth Qi inside the small bottle had been completely exhausted, he might have been able to condense a full Qi Origin in a single breath.

Staring at the empty bottle, he felt somewhat unsatisfied, yet he knew he could not be too greedy. His heart filled with myriad emotions.

"Cultivating without restraint... the consumption is truly terrifying."

Although the jade-stone Qi in his small bottle was meager, it was the result of Zhou Chengyuan spending several months and extracting it from hundreds of thousands of jin of jade stone. Even that jade vein had been nearly tapped dry.

"In the future, I must use the Jade Rock Green Origin Pill for my cultivation. Otherwise, I simply cannot sustain such an expenditure."

His spiritual apertures were now far denser than before. If he had an abundance of cultivation materials, he could even push straight to the third or fourth level of Qi Condensation in one go. After that, he would have to rely on slow, grinding effort.

Among the many cultivation materials for the Qi Condensation realm, the finest and most optimal were the various types of heaven and earth Qi.

However, heaven and earth Qi were not like mountain rocks, trees, or grass. Though they possessed a source, they were formless. Even when drawn out with specialized gathering arts, the amount that could be collected was pitifully scarce.

It was precisely because of this that the trade of heaven and earth Qi remained enduringly prosperous in the cultivation world.

For instance, the Zhou family, backed by Darong Mountain and surrounded by dense, sprawling forests, could only gather about a dozen strands of Mountain Clear Qi each year. If Zhou Ping had not gathered and drawn in the heaven and earth Qi himself, it would likely have been insufficient to support even him alone.

Various factions would occupy different territories and materials based on the cultivation arts they practiced, reserving them for the cultivation of their own Qi Condensation cultivators.

Aside from heaven and earth Qi, there were Pills and treasures. Although their effects on Qi Condensation cultivators were minimal, they could still provide some measure of improvement. However, the Huang family could only refine a limited variety of Pills. As a result, the most widely circulated Pill in the four southern counties was the Qi-Enhancing Pill, which was utterly useless for actual Qi Condensation cultivators. Most bought it merely to use on the mortal juniors of their clans.

As for treasures, they were even rarer.

Zhou Ping could not help but wonder: perhaps it was because jade-stone Qi was so difficult to collect that the Seniors of the Jade Rock Spirit Origin Art had been forced to develop specialized supplementary Pills.

After all, considering just him and Zhou Chengyuan alone, if they solely cultivated using jade-stone Qi, their annual consumption of jade stone would reach hundreds of thousands of jin. No matter how massive a jade vein was, it could not withstand such a drain. They would inevitably be forced to constantly seek out new jade veins.

Moreover, the number of cultivators in their clan would only increase in the future, making this consumption number even more terrifying. Just thinking about it made Zhou Ping's scalp tingle.

He took out a Jade Rock Green Origin Pill and swallowed it into his stomach. Soon after, an extremely faint surge of jade-stone Qi stirred, melting into his spiritual apertures.

"Three pills barely increase one strand. A single Qi Origin requires three hundred pills. Truly terrifying."

Zhou Ping gasped in surprise, though he knew perfectly well that the further one progressed in cultivation, the more enormous the required materials became. To cultivate to the peak of Qi Condensation, the consumption of Jade Rock Green Origin Pills would far exceed three thousand.

Nevertheless, the Jade Rock Green Origin Pill was still somewhat useful. Although the cultivation speed was vastly inferior to absorbing pure jade-stone Qi, at least it spared them from the massive commotion of mining jade stone.

Soon after, Zhou Ping stood up and walked out of the stone chamber. Having not seen the morning sun for a long time, he could not help but narrow his eyes. When his vision cleared, he spotted Zhou Qianling sitting cross-legged beside the Purple Gold Vine, with numerous empty small bottles scattered around her.

"Qianling... has broken through to Qi Condensation?"

Although he could sense the faint, lingering aura emanating from Zhou Qianling's body, Zhou Ping was still quite astonished. He stepped to Zhou Xuanya's side and asked in a low voice.

Zhou Xuanya replied respectfully, "Father, not long after you entered Secluded Cultivation, Qianling broke through."

"I retrieved all the Mountain Clear Qi from the storehouse to supply Qianling's cultivation."

"Well done." Zhou Ping nodded. That Mountain Clear Qi had always been prepared for Zhou Qianling. Handing it over for her to refine after her breakthrough would help stabilize her foundation.

"However, how did Qianling break through so suddenly? Was she not still at fourteen strands just a few days ago?"

Zhou Xuanya smiled bitterly. "Qianling kept it hidden. She actually reached fifteen strands two months ago."

Hearing that Zhou Qianling had not acted rashly out of eagerness for quick success, Zhou Ping breathed a slight sigh of relief. He also roughly guessed that it had something to do with her Demon Beast bloodline.

Before long, Zhou Qianling finished refining all the Mountain Clear Qi. She happily dashed over to Zhou Ping. "Grand-uncle, I reached Qi Condensation!"

Zhou Ping patted her head and said with a gratified smile, "Qianling is truly diligent. Much better than a certain brat."

Now that their clan had three Qi Condensation cultivators, they no longer needed to be as timid and restrained as before.

When the time came to dispatch Zhou Chengyuan to the Baishan Sect, it would not only add a layer of protection for the clan but also allow them to seek out some low-grade cultivation arts and techniques to fill the gaps in the Zhou family's foundation.

Most importantly, they could leverage the Baishan Sect's channels to broaden the clan's future path, ensuring they were no longer confined to these tiny four southern counties where they could not even purchase a decent Pill or Magical Artifact.

Even Zhou Ping's refusal to leave Baixi Mountain was due to a lack of proper guards for the family. He simply could not put his mind at ease.

After all, a cultivation clan's estate was exceptionally enticing to Rogue Cultivators. There were always wicked scoundrels or Demonic Cultivators bold enough to covet their wealth, along with enemies holding grudges. In just the past ten years alone, Baixi Mountain had suffered two mountain-siege assaults. If Zhou Ping had not been stationed there with formidable strength, whether the members of the Zhou family would still be alive today was a serious question.

Inexplicably singled out, Zhou Chengyuan retorted indignantly, "Grandfather, I was the one who broke through to Qi Condensation first, alright?"

"Hahaha, you are impressive too." Seeing his grandson's puffed-up expression, Zhou Ping laughed endlessly. He then placed a hand on Zhou Chengyuan's shoulder. "Come, let us head down the mountain."

Afterward, the four of them walked down the mountain together.

As he walked, Zhou Ping gazed into the distance, his heart filled with both joy and worry.

Now that the family possessed three Qi Condensation cultivators, their safety was guaranteed, but the cultivation materials to support them had fallen into a severe shortage. They could not have the entire family scraping by in their cultivation, could they?

Furthermore, many of the resources in the four counties were currently occupied by the Huang family. If the Zhou family wished to develop and its cultivators intended to advance further, conflict with them was inevitable.

"Living in this world... one cannot survive without fighting."

Zhou Ping sighed softly, drawing sideways glances from Zhou Chengyuan and the others.

"Grandfather, why must we fight?" Zhou Chengyuan asked curiously.

"For our survival. For the future."

Zhou Chengyuan turned his head back in naive confusion, not quite understanding his grandfather's meaning. But he silently engraved those words into his heart.

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