Leaving the Clan Affairs Hall, Chen Changsheng's mood was heavy.
Over the years, he had witnessed the Family's struggles, and even Chen Chenshui and Chen Chenren had stopped receiving their stipends two years prior.
Now, forty percent of the Family's income was being used to Cultivate him; he wanted to refuse, but Seventh Uncle Chen Tongzhen stopped him.
Chen Chenshui and Chen Chenren opened their mouths, but ultimately said nothing, accepting the outcome.
This gesture deeply moved him.
At the same time, the pressure was immense; this was tantamount to entrusting the Family's future entirely to him. Although he possessed a dual Spiritual Root of metal and wood Aptitude.
He was not a Heavenly Spiritual Root or a favored child of heaven with some kind of treasure body. He worried that he would disappoint the Clan Elders' expectations.
“From now on, I must Cultivate even harder, striving not to fail this heavy trust!”
Thinking this, Chen Changsheng walked down Yuquan Peak.
With his status, he was qualified to reside at the most concentrated Spiritual Qi source on Yuquan Peak, and Seventh Uncle Chen Tongzhen had even suggested it.
However, he had refused; compared to Yuquan Peak, he preferred his Immortal Cave at the foot of the mountain.
Of course, there were other reasons for this.
As he thought of this, Chen Changsheng quickened his pace, but he hadn't walked far when a young man approached him from a distance.
The young man, dressed in green, hurried forward upon seeing him, and somewhat reservedly said, “Brother Changsheng.”
Chen Changsheng smiled and said, “Changxing, have you had a Breakthrough to Qi Refining third layer?”
“Yes, Brother Changsheng, after half a year of Cultivation, I finally had a Breakthrough.” The young man named Chen Changxing lowered his head, feeling a bit ashamed.
He and Chen Changsheng were both of the 'Chang' generation, only three months younger than Chen Changsheng, possessed a four-Spiritual Root, and were currently studying Alchemy under Fourth Uncle Chen Chenren.
The young man's gaze towards Chen Changsheng revealed envy, and a hint of complexity. As fellow Family disciples.
His treatment, compared to Chen Changsheng's, was vastly different. Not only were their Cultivation resources on different levels, but he also had to learn Alchemy, one of the four arts of Cultivation.
He even had to undertake some Family tasks.
Chen Changsheng, however, not only didn't need to spend time learning these things, nor did he need to do any tasks; he only needed to focus on Cultivation.
In the heart of a young man his age, it would be false to say he wasn't jealous, but he also knew that the difference in their talents was too great.
The Family's situation was not optimistic, and they could only focus on Cultivating one person. Therefore, although he was envious, he could only be envious.
After all, barring any accidents, Chen Changsheng would be the Clan Chief of the Family in the future, an existence he would look up to.
Chen Changsheng, having lived two lives, guessed some of the young man's thoughts, and he didn't know what to say.
“Changxing, congratulations! Cultivate well, and you will surely achieve something in the future.” Chen Changsheng didn't know how to comfort him.
But these words, in the young man's eyes, were even more disheartening: “Yes, Brother Changsheng, I still need to go and learn Alchemy with Fourth Uncle, so I'll be going now.”
“Go on.”
Chen Changsheng shook his head, feeling as if he shouldn't have said those words.
...
Back in his Immortal Cave.
Chen Changsheng did not immediately Cultivate; instead, he walked to a stone wall.
After activating an ingenious mechanism, a hidden stone door opened on the seemingly ordinary stone wall.
Passing through the stone door, a different world unfolded inside.
It was as if he had entered the mountain body of Yuquan Peak. A row of stone steps lay before him, and following the steps downwards, he entered the bottom of Jade Spring Lake.
However, it was not submerged by lake water; the air was just a little damp, suggesting it was even further below the lakebed.
The space was not large. In its center, there was a pool of water, with a withered gourd vine growing in it, now only bearing a few dry leaves.
But upon closer inspection, a green gourd hung from the vine, heavy and pendulous like a full-term fetus.
It was about the size of a bowl's mouth, with the upper part slightly pointed like a cone and the lower part round and bulging like a full moon.
What was strange was that despite the entire gourd vine being withered, like a hemp rope, this gourd was incredibly vibrant, emitting a faint, hazy purple Qi, making it somewhat difficult to see clearly.
This place was discovered by Chen Changsheng by chance.
It was strange to say, this space had no sunlight, yet a gourd vine could grow there, and he didn't even know how long it had existed.
Since its discovery, this gourd vine had been withered, and it had been nearly ten years, with almost no significant change.
Previously, he had intended to pluck this gourd.
But to his surprise, even using all his strength, and even employing a Magical Artifact, he couldn't budge it an inch, not even a withered leaf could be plucked.
“Could it be, this is the legendary Heavenly Spiritual Root?”
Chen Changsheng was somewhat doubtful. He had found records of such things in the Family's ancient texts, but he wasn't certain.
But there was no doubt that this gourd was absolutely extraordinary, especially since he had tried to probe this space with his Divine Sense before, and it couldn't penetrate.
It seemed to obscure all heavenly secrets.
The water in the pool beneath the gourd vine was also somewhat unusual. Although it looked no different from ordinary lake water.
Just smelling it made him feel refreshed and clear-headed, as if his life force had increased slightly.
Clearly, this water was not simple.
However, Chen Changsheng did not presumptuously use this pool of water. He could sense that it should be the nourishment for the gourd vine.
He wanted to see what wondrous uses this gourd would have once it matured, and he estimated it wouldn't be much longer.
After all, this gourd vine had completely withered, and although the gourd was still green, he could feel that it was not far from being fully mature.
“Could the dropping water level of Jade Spring Lake also be related to this gourd?”
Looking at the gourd vine, Chen Changsheng pondered inwardly again.
It wasn't that he was being suspicious, but rather that during this period, as this gourd gradually matured, the water level of Jade Spring Lake had dropped even more drastically.
And under normal circumstances, this should not be happening.
One must know, Jade Spring Lake covered an area of over ten kilometers and had an underground river, so its water volume was actually very abundant, unless something unexpected happened.
It was impossible for it to drop so quickly.
He had also asked Fifth Uncle, and learned that Jade Spring Lake, hundreds of years ago, was even more than ten times wider than it is now.
But over time, it had been shrinking, just not as quickly as in recent years. Although he didn't know how long this gourd vine had existed.
But judging from its growth over the nearly ten years since its discovery, it was estimated to be at least a hundred years old, or even several hundred years, and possibly even more ancient.
If that were the case, the dropping water level of Jade Spring Lake would make sense.
Of course, he was only suspicious, with no concrete evidence.
Now, looking at this gourd, he felt as if he possessed a treasure mountain but had no way to access it.
He was very frustrated.
After a few more glances, he simply closed his eyes, preparing to enter meditation and Cultivate.
At this moment, he heard an extremely faint “plop” sound beside his ear.
He immediately opened his eyes.
And saw.
This jade-green gourd, which had been growing for an unknown number of years, fell from the vine as if a melon had ripened and detached itself.