Chapter 122: Gene Lottery, Opening the Cave Abode

Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Gene Lottery, Opening the Cave Abode

The next morning, Bai Qing left Immortal Peach Mountain and returned to his small courtyard.

He immediately saw a girl standing at the courtyard gate, cautiously peeking outside. When she saw Bai Qing return, the little girl quickly opened the gate and timidly called out, "Brother."

Seeing her like this, Bai Qing felt a headache coming on, but couldn’t help but feel his heart soften. He walked to the gate and patted her head. "Did you wait for me all night?"

The little girl nodded, then quickly shook her head. "Not all night. I cultivated until midnight yesterday. I was going to keep going, but I started thinking about Mother and the others at home, so I couldn’t continue."

Bai Qing patted her head again before stepping into the courtyard and closing the gate.

This little girl was, in fact, his half-sister. She was only sixteen this year and possessed a mere five Spirit Roots.

Before the new year, she had suddenly appeared in Immortal City and found her way to Bai Qing.

Only after questioning her did Bai Qing learn that ever since Bai Mingyu’s death, their branch of the family, now without a Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator to watch over it, had seen its standing within the clan plummet.

And his sister had been sent by the elders to ask Bai Qing to return to the clan and take up that role.

Of course, Bai Qing refused.

But while his sister was timid by nature, she was also stubbornly single-minded. Since Bai Qing wouldn’t agree to return to the family, she refused to leave Immortal City and go back.

If it had been anyone else, Bai Qing might have just driven them away.

But he couldn’t bring himself to get angry with his own sister, so he could only let her be.

He had, however, made up his mind. He would not be returning to the family now.

’Even if I do return to the family one day, it will be as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.’

’I’ll go back to be a revered ancestor, high and mighty, not some beast of burden to be worked to the bone!’

...

Not long after the new year, Bai Lin also returned from Gaoji Mountain.

Seeing her beaming with joy, Li Ping couldn’t help but ask what had happened.

Bai Lin then excitedly told him that not long ago, one of her younger brothers had been tested by the family Elders and was found to possess a Dual Spirit Root. He had already set foot on the path of cultivation.

"Oh?" Hearing this, Li Ping was also a little surprised.

Although both were considered True Spiritual Roots, a Cultivator with a Dual Spirit Root not only cultivated significantly faster than one with Three Spirit Roots, but they also found it easier to break through bottlenecks.

With the help of a Foundation Establishment Pill, a Cultivator with a Dual Spirit Root had a success rate of over fifty percent for reaching Foundation Establishment.

With such odds, as long as one wasn’t exceptionally unlucky, achieving Foundation Establishment was practically a sure thing.

No wonder Bai Lin was grinning from ear to ear; her own brother was such a genius.

’It’s a genetic lottery!’ Li Ping couldn’t help but think.

’Bai Lin’s brother is just a Dual Spirit Root Cultivator. If a Cultivation Clan got really lucky and a descendant with a Celestial Spiritual Root was born, that’s when the whole clan would truly ascend.’

’Actually, if I didn’t have my own cheat...’

’After I reach Foundation Establishment, I’d probably also choose to marry a bunch of wives and gamble on winning the genetic lottery rather than go out adventuring.’

’After all, if I got lucky and one of my descendants turned out to be a Cultivator with a Celestial or Abnormal Spiritual Root, that would be far better than any top-tier fortuitous encounter.’

’Besides, establishing a Cultivation Clan is a low-risk, high-feasibility venture.’

’You can just lie back, coast through life, and wait for a prodigious child to be born and carry their ancestor to greatness.’

’Most importantly, by enjoying life this way, even if you never hit the jackpot, you wouldn’t have any regrets.’

’Isn’t that much better than risking your neck adventuring everywhere in search of opportunities?’

’Never mind the possibility of dying an early death by accident; even if you were lucky enough to live out your full lifespan, what if your luck was average and you never found any major opportunities?’

’When you’re old, you’d look at others surrounded by children and grandchildren, living a carefree and peaceful life.’

’You’d be filled with regret then, too.’

Of course, this cultivation method of lying back and waiting for a windfall required not only a strong pair of kidneys but also immense luck.

The probability of a Cultivator with a Celestial or Abnormal Spiritual Root being born was far too low.

Most Cultivators within Cultivation Clans were predominantly those with Pseudo-Spiritual Roots; even Dual and Three Spirit Roots were rare.

...

Shortly after the new year, something happened that made Li Ping extremely happy.

After five consecutive years of unpaid rent and no word whatsoever, the Meng family was finally preparing to open Master Hu’s cave-dwelling to see what had happened.

Early one morning, a Qi Refining Cultivator from the Meng family came to pay his respects to Li Ping. Puzzled, Li Ping received him.

The moment the Meng family’s Qi Refining Cultivator saw Li Ping, he said respectfully, "Greetings, Senior."

Li Ping gave a faint nod. "Why have you come to see me?"

"It’s like this," the Meng cultivator said respectfully. "Senior Hu, who lives in the cave-dwelling next to yours, Senior, has not been heard from in five years, nor has he paid his rent during this time. Our ancestor is worried that something may have gone wrong with his cultivation, so he wishes to open the Array of Senior Hu’s cave-dwelling to investigate."

While secretly delighted, Li Ping’s face remained impassive. He nodded for the man to continue.

The Meng cultivator quickly explained, "However, the Meng family holds great respect for all the seniors living on the mountain, and we also respect everyone’s privacy. Opening Senior Hu’s Array this time is a last resort. To avoid any damage to Senior Hu’s belongings, our ancestor would like to invite the other seniors on the mountain to act as witnesses."

’So that’s how it is...’ Li Ping now understood his purpose in coming.

He immediately nodded in agreement. "As a good friend of Fellow Daoist Hu, I am also very worried about his recent situation. I have no problem being a witness. Take me there now."

His task completed successfully, the Meng cultivator was overjoyed and nodded. "Thank you for your understanding, Senior."

Led by the Meng cultivator, Li Ping soon arrived at the plaza in front of Hu Feng’s cave-dwelling.

At this moment, the Meng family’s ancestor was already waiting in the plaza. Besides him, several other figures were chatting idly to the side.

Li Ping recognized them as the artisans who lived on Immortal Peach Mountain. The Artifact Refiner Wu Feng, with whom Li Ping was familiar, was among them.

Seeing Li Ping arrive, the Meng family’s ancestor smiled. "Fellow Daoist Li, thank you for making the trip. Please wait a moment, a few other fellow daoists have yet to arrive."

"Alright." Li Ping nodded with a smile.

He then walked over to the other Cultivators and greeted them.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you’re good friends with Fellow Daoist Hu Feng. Do you also not know his whereabouts?" Wu Feng asked curiously upon seeing Li Ping.

Hearing this, Li Ping just shook his head with a wry smile. "I haven’t seen him in several years either. I’ve come to visit a few times, but always left disappointed."

Hearing this, the others just exchanged smiles, not thinking much of it.

They all guessed that Hu Feng had probably already left Immortal City.

As for not notifying the Meng family to terminate the lease... perhaps Hu Feng just couldn’t be bothered.

It was quite normal for a Tier Two Upper Grade Alchemy Master to have a few eccentricities.

Li Ping also chuckled in agreement with everyone’s speculation.

After a short wait, two more people arrived at the plaza.

At this point, most of the artisans from Immortal Peach Mountain had arrived.

Those who hadn’t come were either away from Immortal Peach Mountain on business or were too busy to get away.

Seeing that everyone was present, the Meng family’s ancestor didn’t wait any longer. He walked before the crowd, cupped his hands with a chuckle, and said, "Fellow Daoists, for you to take time out of your busy schedules to come here, this old man thanks you all."

Li Ping and the others quickly returned the courtesy, calling out that they were unworthy of such thanks.

The Meng family’s ancestor was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and the head of a powerful Cultivation Clan like the Meng family. He was being polite by calling them "Fellow Daoists"; how could Li Ping and the others dare to act presumptuously?

"I’m sure you all know why this old man has invited you here," the Meng family’s ancestor said, shaking his head as he explained. "Fellow Daoist Hu Feng has been unheard from for five years. This old man is very worried that he may have been careless in his cultivation and encountered some mishap."

"Therefore, I will open his cave-dwelling to check today, and I ask you all to bear witness for this old man."

The Meng family was in the right regarding opening the cave-dwelling, and the Meng ancestor’s words were eloquent, giving Li Ping and the others plenty of respect. Naturally, they wouldn’t raise any objections and all readily agreed.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, you speak too seriously. It is as it should be."

"This is only right and proper. There is no need for more words, Fellow Daoist Meng."

...

With the artisans’ approval, the Meng family’s ancestor smiled and gestured for one of his Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivators to open the cave-dwelling.

Upon receiving the ancestor’s command, this Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator quickly took out a Jade Token from his Storage Bag and got to work at the edge of the cave-dwelling’s Array.

A short while later—

BUZZ~

Following a buzzing sound, the Array Shield enveloping Hu Feng’s cave-dwelling dissipated, revealing the cave-dwelling beneath, as well as dozens of Sound Transmission Talismans hovering in the air.

A good number of those dozens of Sound Transmission Talismans were from Li Ping.

But even more were from the Meng family.

Once the Array was gone, Li Ping and the others, at the invitation of the Meng family’s ancestor, entered Hu Feng’s courtyard together.

They waited in the courtyard while the Meng family’s Qi Refining Cultivators fanned out, entering the various buildings to search.

Wu Feng and the others looked at the neat and empty state of Hu Feng’s cave-dwelling and exchanged knowing smiles.

Indeed, their guess had been correct. Hu Feng had clearly left Immortal City long ago; he might be tens of thousands of miles away by now.

Li Ping also stood to the side, smiling without a word.

The Meng family’s ancestor had also long guessed what had happened and wasn’t surprised by the current situation. He just watched with a chuckle as his Qi Refining Cultivators conducted their search.

One by one, the Meng cultivators finished their checks and returned to the courtyard, having found nothing.

Originally, the Meng family’s ancestor had thought today’s event would be a mere formality. After the search was complete, he was planning to leave.

But what he didn’t expect was that at this very moment—

A Middle-stage Qi Refining Female Cultivator walked out of Hu Feng’s training room, holding a Jade Scroll. She walked respectfully before the ancestor, presented the Jade Scroll, and said, "Ancestor, I found this on the table in the training room."

Seeing this, the crowd burst into laughter.

Wu Feng shook his head and said, "Fellow Daoist Meng, it looks like Fellow Daoist Hu Feng left on his own. See? He even left you a letter."

The Meng family’s ancestor nodded with a smile, clearly thinking the same as everyone else.

But he was a man who cared about appearances, and his words were exceptionally diplomatic. He smiled and said, "This old man was originally worried that Fellow Daoist Hu had run into trouble with his cultivation. Since he is alright, this old man can finally rest easy."

As he spoke, he sent a wisp of his Divine Sense into the Jade Scroll in his hand and began to read its contents.