Mengshan Lake, Uncle Xia the Third's courtyard.
"Jingxing, wake up!" Chen Manyu, Xia Jingxing's mother, panicked as she felt her son's Life Qi gradually weaken.
Tears streamed down her face.
"It's all your fault! Our son didn't want to cultivate, but you forced him. Now look! He's almost gone!"
His father, Xia Qingfeng, stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the pale-faced Xia Jingxing, and sighed deeply, a hint of self-reproach in his voice.
"Brother! Wuwu..."
"Cough, cough..."
Just as everyone was crying inconsolably, Xia Jingxing coughed a few times. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw three unfamiliar faces.
As a flood of memories surged, the three faces became familiar.
"Father, Mother, Little Sister! I'm fine!"
Xia Jingxing hadn't expected to be Reborn.
In his previous life, he lived in an apocalypse overrun by zombies and was engulfed by a sudden zombie tide. He never thought he would be Reborn into the body of a prodigal son in the Cultivation world.
The original owner was also named Xia Jingxing, the eldest son of Uncle Xia the Third, a branch Family of the Foundation Establishment Xia Family.
His father, Xia Qingfeng, harbored a dream of Foundation Establishment, but with a Five Spiritual Root Aptitude, he was now nearly fifty years old at Qi Training Stage 5. Foundation Establishment was impossible for him.
Thus, he placed his hopes on his son, Xia Jingxing, who possessed a Three Spiritual Root Aptitude, hoping his son could achieve Foundation Establishment and lead their lineage to rise.
However, Xia Jingxing was not a compliant person. Accustomed to his father's strictness, he gradually became dissolute and lazy under immense pressure, neglecting his duties daily, frequently visiting the Flower Moon House in Qingyue Market, and living a life of drunken dreams.
He never cared about what cultivation was. Recently, he was mistakenly thought by the Second Elder to have flirted with the Family Genius, Xia Ranran, and was punished to guard the abandoned Spiritual Field on Banzhu Mountain.
Unexpectedly, on his way to Banzhu Mountain, the original owner was accidentally injured by Li Biao, a Family retainer who was hunting a Yao Beast.
By the time Li Biao brought him back to the Xia Family, Xia Jingxing was on his last breath. If not for a Heart Meridian Pill that kept him alive, he likely would have died on the way.
"Father! Don't force Big Brother anymore. If he doesn't want to cultivate, then so be it. Let me lead our Family to rise!" His younger sister, Xia Xiao Chang, said to Xia Qingfeng, her eyes filled with tears.
"Alright!" Xia Qingfeng glanced at his sensible daughter, then at the nearly dead Xia Jingxing, and nodded helplessly.
"Is Uncle Xia the Third in?"
"I am Li Biao!"
The voice from outside the courtyard made their expressions change.
"Manyu, go and invite him in," Xia Qingfeng said to Chen Manyu.
"His father. This Li Biao is a Family retainer, already at the Peak of Qi Training, with many supporters. Don't say anything wrong later."
"I know!"
Soon after, Li Biao was invited into the living room by Chen Manyu.
"The matter with your son was indeed my mistake. I've brought compensation today!" Li Biao first bowed to Xia Qingfeng, who was seated in the grand armchair, expressing his apology, then sat down.
That day, he was chasing a Qi Training Stage 8 leopard that had intruded into the Xia Family Estate, but he struck too hard, accidentally injuring Xia Jingxing, who was traveling nearby.
"How is your son?" Li Biao frowned slightly, looking at the worried faces of Xia Qingfeng and his wife.
"Jingxing has already woken up. However, his injuries are too severe; it might affect his future cultivation!"
Xia Qingfeng's pupils constricted, his face grim. If the other party wasn't at the Peak of Qi Training and a Xia Family retainer, and he couldn't defeat him, he would have directly attacked.
"This is a small token of my compensation! Inside are Spirit Pills to repair the Dantian. I hope you, fellow Daoist, won't hold it against me! I am willing to protect Jingxing for three years and act on his behalf a few times!"
Li Biao looked at Xia Qingfeng's twisted and complex expression without anger. He casually presented the Storage Pouch with the compensation and calmly began to drink his tea.
In the Cultivation world, Karma is the most feared. He had been planning for Foundation Establishment for years, and the Xia Family recently had an allocation of Foundation Establishment Pills.
If he hadn't feared that the Xia Family might not allocate him a Foundation Establishment Pill because of this incident, he wouldn't have wasted time coming here.
To him, Xia Jingxing was nothing more than a Qi Training ant.
Xia Qingfeng was stunned for a few moments, his eyes showing a hint of resentment.
His son had nearly died, and the other party actually thought a small compensation would settle it. But alas, the other party's cultivation was high, and now he could only endure it.
"At least five years! I want you to swear on your Dao Heart!" Xia Qingfeng was about to explode but was held back by Chen Manyu. He stared intently at Li Biao, his heart also filled with fear.
The other party was at the Peak of Qi Training. If he were angered, their entire Family might suffer because of it.
Even if the main Xia Family investigated, would they offend a Peak Qi Training retainer for his prodigal son?
Xia Qingfeng sighed countless times in his heart, his palms sweating profusely.
Although Li Biao had an excellent reputation in the Family and never committed evil casually, one couldn't truly understand a person based solely on their external reputation.
"Five years it is! I, Li Biao, swear to protect Xia Jingxing for five years and act on his behalf a few times. If I violate this..." Li Biao sighed upon hearing this and immediately swore.
Five years was but a flick of a finger to him.
If this could offset the Karma he had created, the outcome would be good. He only hoped the other party wouldn't be too excessive.
After Li Biao left, Xia Qingfeng went to the room where Xia Jingxing was resting.
"Jingxing, do you feel better?"
"Much better!" Xia Jingxing's face was still pale, but his expression showed a bit more Life Qi.
A fatal injury caused by Dantian damage was not so easily recovered from.
"This is the compensation Li Biao gave you! I didn't check how much was inside. Since it's compensation for you, keep it safe. Also, Li Biao promised to protect you for five years."
"For these five years, I won't interfere with whatever you want to do, Father won't control you anymore. As long as you are well." After experiencing the shock of his son nearly dying, Xia Qingfeng finally let go of his expectations for Xia Jingxing.
After this incident, he finally understood that after half a lifetime of cultivation, simply being alive was the greatest blessing.
"Thank you, Father!" Xia Jingxing said after taking the Storage Pouch.
He opened the Storage Pouch and saw a thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, five bottles each of various Medicinal Pills, one Pulse Restoration Pill for repairing the Dantian, and various Talismans and Spiritual Plants.
The total value was three thousand Spirit Stones, especially the Pulse Restoration Pill, which probably sold for nearly a thousand in the market.
Three thousand Spirit Stones in compensation, plus five years of protection, made it seem like the other party was genuinely compensating.
However, three thousand Spirit Stones were a small amount for a Peak Qi Training Cultivator; it could be accumulated in a year or two.
The grudge of nearly dying would not be so easily forgotten.
His eyes flickered with a dark glint!
"I will have the Second Elder remove the punishment for that abandoned Spiritual Field on Banzhu Mountain. Just be well-behaved from now on.
Whether you stay in the Family or the market, it's fine. I won't interfere with you too much." Xia Qingfeng sighed slightly.
"Thank you, Father!"
"Thank me for what? You wouldn't have been so polite in the past." Xia Qingfeng paused for a moment. Xia Jingxing's attitude towards him was indeed much more respectful now.
Xia Jingxing didn't explain much. This body now housed a different Soul; the more he explained, the more suspicious it would become.
"Hurry and take the Pulse Restoration Pill to repair your Dantian. Otherwise, it might affect your Foundation."
"I understand."
After his father left, Xia Jingxing took out the Pulse Restoration Pill, which was stored in a separate Medicinal Pill bottle from the Storage Pouch. It was a greenish-yellow pill with a unique fragrance.
"With Fire, Wood, and Earth Three Spiritual Roots, and with the help of the Pulse Restoration Pill, I should be able to recover within half a month. I might even be able to Breakthrough the Qi Training Stage 4 Bottleneck."
Relying on the memories in his mind, he skillfully circulated his Cultivation Technique. The Qi vortex in his Dantian began to rotate counter-clockwise. With each rotation, the medicinal power in his abdomen slowly repaired his shattered Dantian... At midnight.
Xia Jingxing, who had finished his cultivation and emerged from his room, heard the mountain wind rustling the bronze bells on the eaves, producing a clear, tinkling sound.
He couldn't help but recall his previous life in the apocalypse, where every day was filled with fear and dread.
"I wonder if my ability is still there?"
He walked to a rose bush in the corner of the wall, and as he extended his green spiritual energy, the rose's voice appeared in his ear.
"What is this human going to do? They're not going to pick me, are they? So scary!"
"The nutrients are getting scarcer and scarcer. I might not be able to bloom smoothly next time!"
"That girl yesterday splashed water on me, and she hid something under the third brick below."
Hearing the rose's thoughts, Xia Jingxing was momentarily stunned. The ability to hear plant thoughts was still there, but it seemed a bit different. Why did these thoughts sound like intelligence reports?
