Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Before one knew it, a month had passed.

On this day, under the perfect sky, around Dragon Carp Lake, before Yan Yue Island, people from all over—old and young, couples young and strong with their families in tow—gathered from every direction.

When the sun was high above, over ten thousand Zhao Clan Members had all arrived, forming a vast sea of people.

The Shattered Star Sea was an unknown territory many miles away, and their future was uncertain, thus faces of the Zhao Clan Members were etched with the sorrow of departure, with cries occasionally echoing through the crowd.

Unlike the worried and gloomy expressions of ordinary family members, Zhao Jingang, Zhao Keqin, and others from the second house were brimming with confidence, excitedly fantasizing about making their mark and establishing great achievements in the Shattered Star Sea.

The Zhao family's first house, led by Zhao Jijian, had also arrived in full to bid farewell to the people of the second house.

Seeing that the moment of parting was imminent, they would soon be scattered to the winds.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

It seemed natural that the centuries of accumulated conflicts between the two houses suddenly dissipated at the moment of farewell.

All that remained was the deep-seated kinship flowing in their blood.

Just as the two houses of the Zhao family were about to set aside their grudges with a smile, Zhao Jinpeng was in deep despair.

He circled around Zhao Jijian, his face a picture of misery as he pleaded, "Cousin, you are my blood cousin! Please, beg Zhao Chonghe for mercy on my behalf. Don't send me to the Shattered Star Sea. I... I want to go to the Southern Border with you all!"

"Cousin, as long as you speak up, Zhao Chonghe wouldn't dare to defy you. Our fathers are brothers; you can't ignore me! This is him seeking personal revenge, you... say something!"

Zhao Jijian, annoyed by his persistence, replied irritably, "Weren't you shouting about going to the Shattered Star Sea all this time? Now that you've had your wish, you're having second thoughts. The world doesn't work like that.

Moreover, the Family Head and I have discussed this. The first and second houses of the Zhao Family are branches of the same tree; it wouldn't do for the first house to send no one to the Shattered Star Sea. Besides, isn't there a group from the second house that's being sent to the Southern Border! You must understand the family's predicament."

"But... but!" stammered Zhao Jinpeng.

"But what! You're at least in the Qi Refining Late Stage. With the second house's weaker strength, it's difficult to gain a foothold in the Shattered Star Sea. Your presence there would be a significant help!"

"...But my age has advanced, and my strength is not what it used to be," Zhao Jinpeng finally managed to find an excuse after thinking for a while.

"Hmph! Didn't you just take a young concubine half a month ago? I see you've still got the vigor of a dragon and the fierceness of a tiger," Zhao Jijian directly rebuked.

While the two brothers were in the middle of their dispute, a Cloud Boat, seemingly slow but actually fast, flew towards Dragon Carp Lake from the distant sky.

Moments later, the Mountain Shifting Cloud Boat silently descended to the ground.

Its colossal body, comparable to a mountain, dwarfed the crowd below, making them look as small as ants.

It has to be said, the Purple Sun Sect, no, the Sky Sun Sword Sect's resources were frighteningly extensive.

The Vast Sect in total had only ten Mountain Shifting Cloud Boats. Yet for the purpose of relocating people to the Shattered Star Sea, the Sky Sun Sword Sect actually spent a staggering price to rent one.

Zhao Sheng inwardly marveled, knowing that just the rental fee for this one trip would start at a minimum of a million Spirit Stones.

Soon, a ten-zhang wide wooden ramp extended from the deck of the Mountain Shifting Cloud Boat, reaching out more than three hundred zhang before it slanted down to the ground.

Since all necessary preparations had been made in advance, there was no need for Zhao Sheng to direct anything, as the ten thousand members of the Zhao family began to board the ship in an orderly manner.

Zhao Jinpeng, too, was restrained and forcibly taken aboard.

At that moment, Chen Zichuan suddenly flew down from the Cloud Boat, elegantly landing in front of Zhao Sheng.

"Senior Chen, what can I do for you?" Zhao Sheng asked, smiling.

Chen Zichuan's expression was serene as he spoke in a grave tone, "Grandmaster Yue asked when you are going to the Purple Sun Sect?"

Caught off guard by the question, Zhao Sheng's smile faded as he pondered for a long while, ultimately unable to give a definitive time.

An hour later, the Mountain Shifting Cloud Boat gently lifted off the ground, ascending into the air. In the blink of an eye, it shrank to a speck and then vanished into the distant horizon.

"Let's go! Now it's our turn to set off."

Zhao Sheng turned and nodded to Zhao Jinding, Zhao Jijian, and others with various expressions, then took the lead towards Unity Hall.

The Zhao Family didn't have the vast wealth and influence of the Sky Sun Sword Sect.

Among the remaining population of over forty thousand Zhao Clan Members, the main branch alone had more than three thousand direct relatives within five generations.

How to safely relocate these nearly three thousand relatives to Southern Border Taifu Mountain became the greatest challenge facing the main branch of the Zhao Family.

Inspired by the Sky Sun Sword Sect, Zhao Sheng, Zhao Jijian, and Zhao Jinding, after several discussions, decided to take a substantial portion of the proceeds from selling their family assets and lease a Heavenly Eagle Cloud Boat from the Vast Sect.

Just this rental expense exceeded one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

It was only thanks to the Zhao Family's prudent management over three hundred years and their considerable wealth that they could barely afford this cost.

There's no need for further details.

Two months later, at Unity Hall on Yanyue Island

After paying homage to their ancestors and collecting the ancestral tablets into a Storage Bag, Zhao Sheng and the others boarded the Heavenly Eagle Cloud Boat docked at Yanyue Island.

A moment later, a silver-white giant boat over a hundred zhang long and ten zhang high, roared into the sky, swiftly heading south.

...

Time flies, the years pass like a shuttle! In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.

Halfway up Taifu Mountain, Nameless Small Building.

In the quiet room, Zhao Sheng sat cross-legged, eyes tightly closed, each hand clutching a fist-sized blue Crystal Stone.

Against the dim background, the blue Crystal Stone emitted strands of Blue Light, which were then gradually absorbed into Zhao Sheng's body and ultimately merged into his Core Energy Sea.

It was unknown how much time passed until with a few soft crackles,

The blue Crystal Stones in Zhao Sheng's hands suddenly shattered into a pile of Crystal Grains.

A few breaths later, Zhao Sheng slowly opened his eyes, and a flash of blue light quickly disappeared from his pupils.

After ceasing cultivation, a smile of uncontrollable delight suddenly appeared on Zhao Sheng's face.

The Lanshui Stone, being a Mid-grade Spirit Stone, exceeded his expectations.

With only two pieces, he had successfully advanced to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

Stepping out of the quiet room, Zhao Sheng slowly walked through the front courtyard of the small building.

Upon leaving the courtyard, the first thing that caught his eye was a deep and tranquil green pond nearby.

At that moment, a gurgling stream wound down from the mountain, feeding into the green pond.

The overflowing spring water then followed a stone channel through the mountains, eventually joining the Jade Water at the foot of the mountain.

Jade Water was a small river, three zhang wide, flowing downstream from between the northwestern mountains, curving around Taifu Mountain to create three river bends, and finally winding its way to the Biluo River a hundred miles away.

Zhao Sheng strolled to the edge of the mountainside, looking down at the landscape below.

From afar, the winding Jade Water dissected the plains and valleys at the foot of Taifu Mountain into two distinct areas, large and small.

On one side of the mountain, the land was flat and neatly divided into hundreds of acres of spirit fields, laden with spirit grain, Golden Pistil, Three-colored Flowers, Spirit Ginseng, and other spirit grains and Medicinal Herbs.

On the side near Taifu Mountain, from the foot to the summit covered in greenery, lush peach forests stretched across the mountains, with clusters of light red, pink, and light purple peach blossoms interspersed among the trees.

The mountain breeze wafted gently, carrying rich floral scents that continuously poured into Zhao Sheng's nostrils, making him feel refreshed and cheerful in that moment.

As the poem attests:

April's enchantment wanes in the world of men, yet Taifu's peach blossoms are just beginning to thrive.

Forever lamenting the unattainable spiritual realm, not realizing I had already entered its embrace.