Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

After the lesson, Zhao Sheng kept Zhao Xuanjing and Zhao Xuan'an behind, while the others dispersed.

In the back hall, Zhao Sheng sat behind the talisman table, ignoring both of them and leisurely painted one first-order talisman after another.

In front of the talisman table, Zhao Xuanjing stood trembling, not daring to raise his head to look at his seventh uncle's face, while Zhao Xuan'an stared intently at the entire process of Zhao Sheng painting talismans, his eyes sparkling with delight.

This quiet atmosphere lasted for a full hour.

Just as Zhao Xuanjing was sweating nervously, Zhao Xuan'an suddenly spoke up.

"Seventh Uncle, I understand! This is a test for the two of us."

When Zhao Sheng heard this, he inwardly sighed and stopped his hand movements.

"Indeed, An'er indeed possesses insight. Take these two items with you!"

After praising him, Zhao Sheng took out a book and a scroll and handed them to Zhao Xuan'an.

With joy written all over his face, Zhao Xuan'an excitedly exclaimed as he received them, "The 'Annotations of Taiyi Spiritual Texts,' and what is this? Could it be that what is recorded here is the Stacking Talisman Technique?"

Zhao Sheng nodded and said, "Correct, the white silk indeed records the Stacking Talisman Technique. This secret method of the Talisman Tao has been passed down from the Taiyi Spirit Realm. It's extremely precious! Keep it safe and don't let others learn it."

With that said, Zhao Sheng glanced over at Zhao Xuanjing standing beside him and noticed his look of envy, devoid of any jealousy.

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng secretly nodded to himself, having made a decision in his heart.

"Alright, you may leave now! If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me for guidance."

However, Zhao Xuan'an didn't leave; instead, he put on a cheeky smile and cajoled, "Seventh Uncle, as a master of the Talisman Tao, could you give me a few protective talismans? Hehe, something like the Illusion Shadow Escape Talisman would be nice. An'er wouldn't mind at all. Three or four will do."

"Scram, a few? Do you think second-order true talismans are that easy to make? Only one, no more."

Zhao Sheng laughed and cursed a few words, then threw a dull grey square talisman towards Zhao Xuan'an with a wave of his hand.

"Ah, thank you, Seventh Uncle!"

Zhao Xuan'an grabbed the Illusion Shadow Escape Talisman and left with a playful bow, turning around and dashing off with fluid movement.

Just as Zhao Xuanjing was about to sneak out behind him, Zhao Sheng called him to a halt.

"Xuanjing, stay!"

"Seventh Uncle, do you... do you need something?" Zhao Xuanjing turned back with a pained expression, cautiously asking.

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng shook his head secretly and asked, "What level of Qi Refinement are you at now?"

"Seventh Uncle, I just broke through to the third layer of Qi Refinement a few days ago."

"Oh!"

Zhao Sheng was quite surprised upon hearing this; Zhao Xuanjing was progressing not slowly at all.

To have broken through to the third layer of Qi Refinement at sixteen, even with three spirit roots, was considered an excellent performance.

Zhao Sheng stood up and walked around from behind the table, gesturing for Zhao Xuanjing to follow him as he walked out.

Feeling puzzled, Zhao Xuanjing wondered, "Has Seventh Uncle changed his ways? Why isn't he scolding me this time?"

Though he thought this, he didn't dare to hesitate and immediately followed in Zhao Sheng's footsteps.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The two left the school and headed towards the peak of Taifu Mountain.

Along the way, family members occasionally met the two and came up to greet them.

Zhao Sheng nodded to each in acknowledgment, while Zhao Xuanjing bowed to everyone he met.

It couldn't be helped, given that he was the youngest in terms of seniority!

After walking for about fifteen minutes, they reached the peak of the three-hundred-foot-high Taifu Mountain.

Upon arriving at the mountaintop, what first caught their eyes was a millennia-old peach tree with lush branches and leaves, robust and twisted, standing nine feet tall.

This nearly third-tier ancient spiritual peach tree, with a canopy as expansive as an umbrella covering three to four acres, completely shaded the entire mountaintop.

Below the ancient peach tree's shade, a two-acre green stone courtyard had been built to envelop its trunk.

This was where Zhao Jijian, the Zhao Family's only Foundation Establishment Cultivator, resided.

Like the others in the Cultivation Clan of the Zhao Family, Zhao Jijian lived here both to guard the Spiritual Peach Tree and to take advantage of the rich environment of spiritual energy for cultivation.

Why are there less than a hundred spiritual peach trees in the hundreds of acres of Taifu Mountain's peach orchards?

The reason is simple: the other peach trees do not grow atop the node of a Spirit Vein.

Upon entering the courtyard, Zhao Sheng immediately spotted Zhao Jijian in red clothes and silver hair, standing under the ancient peach tree, gazing up at the canopy.

Following the line of sight, Zhao Sheng looked up and saw in between the lush foliage, fuzzy peaches the size of apricots that were somewhat green and unripe.

Upon seeing Zhao Jijian, Zhao Xuanjing hurriedly went forward and bowed respectfully, greeting him, "Jing'er pays respects to the Fourth Ancestor!"

Zhao Sheng also walked over to his side.

Zhao Jijian ignored the two of them.

He looked up at the spiritual peaches and sighed softly, "Alas, what a pity! Is it worth it?"

Zhao Xuanjing was confused, but Zhao Sheng nodded and said, "It is worth it!"

Only then did Zhao Jijian turn his head to look at Zhao Sheng, and gave Zhao Xuanjing a quick glance, abruptly asking, "Have you decided it's going to be him?"

Zhao Sheng nodded, "I observed the two of them for a full ten years. Xuan'an is exceptionally intelligent and has great comprehension, but he is too shrewd and can't endure solitude. Jing'er is not as good as him in any respect, but he can persevere, and more importantly, he has a simple heart."

Zhao Xuanjing, not fully understanding, felt that something significant involving him was being discussed.

"Seventh Uncle, what are you talking about? Jing'er doesn't understand."

"Do not worry, in a few days, you will understand."

Zhao Sheng reassured him, then turned to Zhao Jijian with a serious expression, "Sorry to trouble you, we can start now!"

Zhao Jijian nodded seriously as well.

The next second, light surged around him, and his body began to float off the ground, quickly ascending to the summit of the ancient peach tree.

Zhao Sheng looked towards the treetop and saw flashes of blue light there, and wafts of a rich fragrance emanated from the top of the tree.

Zhao Xuanjing twitched his nose, smelling the fragrance scattering in the air, feeling his spirit relaxed and the Spiritual Power within his body becoming more vibrant and lively.

A moment later, Zhao Jijian descended gently back to the ground, holding a branch as tall as a man and as thick as an arm.

The peach tree branch was strikingly green and the leaves gleamed with clarity as flecks of blue light played across the surface of the branches, which contained a highly concentrated, almost Condensed life force.

"Here you go!"

Zhao Sheng took the peach tree branch, carefully placing it into a specially made Spirit Plant Bag.

Thump, thump, thump!

Just then, three unripe peaches unexpectedly fell from the canopy without any warning, thudding and rolling to the feet of the three people.

Zhao Jijian's face was full of distress as he quickly picked up the peaches, lamenting, "There were only eighteen in total to begin with, now, there are only fifteen left."

Zhao Sheng consoled him, "Fourth Master, do not be distressed, when we reach that place, I promise you will not be disappointed."

"Chonghe, you said it!"

Zhao Jijian looked seriously at Zhao Sheng. He'd been very curious a few years back as to why the latter could come up with so many rare Spiritual Medicines.

But he had restrained himself from asking until recently when the latter took the initiative to give him a hint.

Hence, today's actions took place.

Zhao Sheng looked up at the sky and said, "It's getting late, we should set off now!"

"Don't you need to say goodbye to Ke Ru? After all, Xuanjing is his son."

"No need, I've already informed him. Besides, Xuanjing can always come back in the future."

Hearing the conversation between his Seventh Uncle and the Fourth Ancestor, Zhao Xuanjing became even more confused.

Not being a person of quick wit to begin with, his mind was even more muddled at this moment, vaguely realizing that he appeared to be leaving Taifu Mountain for another place and that it would be a long time before he could return.

"Let's go! The Mountain Shifting Cloud Boat will be here soon. Any later and we'll miss it."

Having said that, Zhao Sheng released the wooden kite.

A moment later, the wooden kite carried two figures and soared into the sky, quickly leaving Taifu Mountain behind. A streak of Sword Light followed closely, heading towards the horizon.