Once the Beast Tide was mentioned, his father could go on for hours.
"Father, how have you been?" Lu Xuanji asked.
"The same as always. I'm already 130 years old. If I don't have any major fortuitous encounters, it will be very hard for me to become a Zifu disciple. As for you, you have a very bright future!" His father laughed, filled with expectations for his son.
His father had awakened his Spiritual Roots at the age of six. His aptitude was Three Spiritual Roots, which was quite average. At the age of 53, he had stepped into the peak of the Qi Refinement stage. At that time, the clan happened to have an excess of Foundation Establishment pills. His father had spent contribution points to buy them and then consumed them to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Unfortunately, he had failed to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. After that, he entered a long and bitter life of paying off his debts.
After working hard for the clan for 20 years in a row, he had finally paid off his debts.
At the age of 70, his father, unwilling to give up, once again entered closed-door cultivation to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. This time, he did not have Foundation Establishment pills, but through sheer force and willpower, he did the impossible, he transformed into a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.
After becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his father was in high spirits. He wanted to try to break through to become a Zifu disciple, but he was quickly slapped in the face by reality.
He spent 20 years to break through, but only achieved very little. Later on, he spent even more time.
At the time of his death, his father was only at the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.
Seeing that there was no hope for the Zifu stage, his father placed his hopes on the next generation.
At the age of 100, he married a female cultivator of the Ye clan. In 30 years, he gave birth to three children.
Lu Xuanji's eldest brother did not have any Spiritual Roots. When he went to the mortal world, he married three wives and four concubines and went to live a carefree life.
His second sister had Five Spiritual Roots, but her future was limited. After living in the clan for ten years, she went to the mortal world to manage the clan's estate.
He had awakened Three Spiritual Roots, which was of the upper class. It was comparable to Two Spiritual Roots and had a chance of becoming a Zifu disciple.
His father had placed some of his hopes on Lu Xuanji.
For the sake of his son's future, there were some things that needed to be planned out in advance.
"Son, do you know how much a Foundation Establishment Pill is worth?" his father asked.
"A Foundation Establishment pill is roughly 10,000 spirit stones," Lu Xuanji said.
A Foundation Establishment Pill required all sorts of materials. The price was 3,000 spirit stones, but after refining it into a pill, the price was 10,000 spirit stones. The profit margin was 230%. It could be said to be a huge profit.
"10,000 spirit stones is only the market price!" Father sighed, "The actual price is at least 15,000 spirit stones."
"According to the rules of the clan, if you want to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, you must meet three conditions. One is to enter the peak of the Qi Refinement stage before the age of 60; one is to gather 10,000 spirit stones or contribution points; the other is to make a corresponding contribution in the clan."
"Son, if you want to buy the Foundation Establishment Pill before the age of 60, you must accumulate at least 10,000 spirit stones. My annual salary is 400 spirit stones. Excluding some necessary expenses, I can save 200 spirit stones a year. If you are thrifty, coupled with the contribution points you have saved in the past, you may be able to afford it. You could also borrow money from your friends."
"Father, if you're doing this for me, do you have enough spirit stones for yourself?" Lu Xuanji was worried. "Without spirit stones, how can you cultivate?"
If his father saved spirit stones, it meant that he would have very little money to spend. The speed of his cultivation would be very slow, and he might not even be able to make any progress.
In other words, in order to save money for him to buy Foundation Establishment Pills, his father had already given up on training.
"My future is limited. Whether I reach the fifth or seventh layer of the Foundation Establishment stage, the difference isn't too great. I won't be able to reach the Zifu stage. Why don't I support you instead?" his father said. His father had a carefree look, and his tone was an indescribable calmness as he said this.
"Father, you don't have to do this. Your sacrifice is too great!" Lu Xuanji exclaimed.
"The sacrifice is great, but for you, all of this is worth it. Without the sacrifice of the predecessors, how could the younger generation rise to power! If you can become a Zifu disciple Patriarch, my sacrifice will be worth it. Our generation isn't afraid of sacrifice. What we're afraid of is that our sacrifices are worthless! I've saved up spirit stones. You must work hard to reach the peak of the Qi Refinement stage before the age of 50."
Lu Xuanji sighed. "Father, I will work hard!"
The entire family gathered together, chatting and speaking intimately.
His mother had Five Spiritual Roots, and her aptitude was not very high. She was now in her fifties, but was only at the second level of the Qi Refinement stage. Most of the time, she would plant some spirit medicines near Mount Ziyang, or refine some White Yang Pills, earning a profit. His father was stationed at a mine and led some of the cultivators in his clan to excavate the spirit mines.
The difficulty of excavating spirit mines was high, and there were all kinds of dangers. Mortals could not participate in the excavations, so the cultivators had to go and excavate the spirit mines themselves.
His father was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but he often personally went into the mines to excavate some spirit mines.
His father smiled and talked about some things that happened in the spirit mines. Not only did he have to guard against the Demon Insects that appeared in the mines, but he also had to guard against some rogue cultivators who tried to rob them.
According to his father's description, rogue cultivators were an unstable faction in the cultivation world. They would often kill people to steal treasures, rob spirit mines, rob merchants, and do other evil deeds. They had no morals, and they were extremely unscrupulous.
Lu Xuan listened attentively and also asked questions.
...
After his father's three months of vacation were up, he left the house.
His father was indispensable to the spirit mine. It needed a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator to oversee it.
Not long after, the cultivators returned and gathered at Mount Ziyang.
The cultivators who were in seclusion walked out of their cave abodes one after another.
Ding dong ding dong!
A bell rang out nine times in succession.
The cultivators of the Lu clan gathered in the square, and the Lu clan's Zifu Patriarch also appeared.
When he appeared, the Lu clan Patriarch emitted a terrifying aura, everybody felt terrifying pressure. He was like a walking nuclear bomb, possessing destructive power.
"The once-in-a-hundred-year Beast Tide is about to appear, and we cultivators must protect the mortals. Although mortals are lowly, they are the foundation of cultivators. Without a large number of mortals as the foundation, how could cultivators be born? Today, we are saving an insignificant mortal. He might be the mother of a future Nascent Soul stage True Monarch! I order you to drive your Spirit Boats to bring the mortals into Mount Ziyang."
"Lu Tianyi is in charge of bringing the mortals to Danyang County."
"Lu Tianming is in charge of bringing the mortals to Beichen County."
"Lu Xuance is in charge of bringing the mortals to Qingshui County."
"Lu Yan 'an is in charge of bringing the mortals to Xuanwu County."
"Lu Yanping is in charge of bringing the mortals to Blackrock County!"
"Lu Wanli is in charge of bringing the mortals to Tianshui County!"
The Patriarch gave the order, and more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators from the clan moved out to bring the mortals to the nearby counties.