Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Chapter 53 Zhao's Secret Department

In the mountains, without a calendar, the end of the cold season does not reveal the year.

Since the cold tide sealed off the mountain, the temperature on Heavenly Pillar Mountain has been dropping day by day.

The Yin Side Mist Sea often has ice crystals falling from the sky, which the cold wind blows onto the cliff faces. Over time, Heavenly Pillar Mountain has become covered in white snow.

Inside the Earth Dragon Cave, Zhao Sheng, sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes, filled with frustration.

He fiercely pounded the Mountain Dragon Remains behind him several times and then abruptly stood up from the ground.

What does it feel like to leave a treasure mountain empty-handed?

He truly knew that feeling now!

Although the Spiritual Energy in the Mountain Dragon Cave was extremely rich, why...

"Ah, why is it all Earth Element Spiritual Energy?" Zhao Sheng yelled, somewhat frantically.

Being alone for too long inevitably leads to losing control of one's emotions.

Zhao Sheng, so angry he was almost rampaging, took out the Dragon Serpent Claw Knife from his Storage Bag and started to hack wildly at the Mountain Dragon Remains.

After venting his emotions, Zhao Sheng sheathed the claw knife and took a step forward. He bent down and gathered the chopped remains into a pile, then carried it to a stone jar not far away.

Years later, today, the remnants of this Mountain Dragon have turned to dust and stone, losing most of their spiritual essence.

But to Zhao Sheng's surprise, he found that these "dust and stones" could actually be used as Medicine Soil. Although it was inferior to Medicinal Mud, it was comparable to Spirit Soil.

Therefore, after repeated failures in cultivation, Zhao Sheng took up a side job as a medicine farmer, spending a considerable amount of time each day in the Medicine Field.

Loosening the soil, watering, spreading Medicine Soil, relocating Spirit Worms... he did all the work he could think of.

What else could he do?

With the mountain sealed by the cold tide and cultivation not an option, he had to find something to do.

Talisman painting?

He would have liked to, but his Spiritual Power did not allow it.

As for the few Spirit Origin Pills he had saved up before entering the mountain, they were all consumed a month ago.

However, these hard days were about to end.

Counting the days, the thaw and the reopening of the mountain were not far off.

Half a month later,

on the edge of a sloped ground, Zhao Sheng stood on a protruding rock, watching the last bit of ice crystals silently dissolve in the fog, finally wearing a smile on his face.

After sealing the cave entrance on the mountain wall with broken stones, Zhao Sheng immediately set out on his journey down the mountain.

Twenty days later, when he reappeared, he was already at the gates of Pocket World City.

At that time, Zhao Sheng was dressed in a deep blue Daoist robe, without a single wrinkle on his clothes.

He seemed like a fledgling cultivator fresh from seclusion, with no sign that he had just come down from Heavenly Pillar Mountain.

Safety first, always.

Zhao Sheng had no desire to let the sharp-eyed old hands of Pocket World City spot any flaw due to his attire or appearance.

After paying the entrance tax, Zhao Sheng smoothly entered Pocket World City.

As soon as he passed the city gate and was considering finding a temporary place to stay, an unkempt figure suddenly rushed up to him and grabbed his arm.

"Uncle, you're finally back. I was so scared. Thank the Ancestors for their blessing!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng immediately dispersed the spell in his palm and looked closely. To his surprise, the person was Zhao Yongwu.

"Yongwu, it was just a short trip I took. How did you end up like this?" Zhao Sheng asked curiously.

Zhao Yongwu responded with a bitter smile on his face, looked around, and quickly whispered, "Uncle, it's not convenient to talk here. Let's go home and discuss."

Yes,

Zhao Sheng nodded and followed Zhao Yongwu toward the direction of the Cave Heaven Outer City.

...

Seven days later, in a rented courtyard in the Cave Heaven Outer City. Inside the quiet room, Zhao Sheng opened his eyes and exhaled a long pillar of white breath, and the Spirit Power Vortex within him expanded another notch.

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He had just advanced to the Qi Refining Fourth Level.

Zhao Sheng felt it unexpected, as he hadn't thought that the life-and-death ordeal at Heavenly Pillar Mountain would actually enable him to break through the barrier between the Qi Refining Third Level and the Fourth.

Although such a barrier was merely a minor hurdle within the Qi Refinement Realm, one that cultivators could generally overcome in just a few years.

But don't forget, Zhao Sheng possessed inferior aptitude with the Four Spirit Roots, and his cultivation speed was much slower than those with Three Spirit Roots.

This breakthrough saved him at least three years of time.

The breakthrough in his realm made Zhao Sheng extremely pleased, temporarily putting aside his worries about the family.

Seven days ago, he learned from Zhao Yongwu that ever since they sold off their assets in Pocket World City, the relationship between the two branches of the Zhao family, which had been gradually easing, suddenly became tense.

In particular, the second branch, believing it had the support of someone within the Purple Sun Sect, disregarded the opposition from the main branch and began to pillage the family's wealth even more aggressively.

The actions of the second branch, ostensibly for the renewal of the lease for Dragon Carp Lake, had hidden motives that no one knew about.

As a conflict seemed inevitable, both branches of the Zhao family realized that Zhao Sheng, the nominal "Family Head," had suddenly become important.

And yet, at this critical moment, Zhao Sheng was not at home.

This situation gravely worried the people from the main branch.

Without Zhao Sheng's return, how could they use the name of the Family Head to stop the foolish actions of the second branch?

However, the elders of the main branch never considered whether Zhao Sheng would obey their commands—or even if he would return.

Zhao Sheng already had his answer in his heart: he would not return, nor would he intervene in the strife between the two branches.

Because he knew that even if he went back, he couldn't solve the fundamental problem.

A great man once said, to resolve matters one must distinguish between primary and secondary contradictions.

Zhao Sheng understood very well that the root causes of all conflicts within the Zhao family were twofold: first, the family lacked a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to take charge, and second, the matter of renewing the lease for Dragon Carp Lake.

As long as those two issues were resolved, everything else would fall into place.

With these thoughts, Zhao Sheng got up and walked out of the room, looking up toward the exterior of the cave.

It was already getting dark.

He muttered to himself, "Judging by the time, they should be arriving soon!"

The next morning, while Zhao Sheng was painting talismans, Zhao Yongwu walked into the room with an excited expression, bringing good news.

Elder Zhao Jinding had personally arrived.

A short while later, Zhao Sheng strode into the living room, and the first person he saw was Zhao Jinding with a pale face, sitting atop the chair to the left.

At his side sat a gaunt old man with a face somewhat resembling Zhao Jinding.

Zhao Sheng's eyes turned to this person, secretly thinking, "Could it be that he is the leader of Zhao's Secret Department of this generation?"

Years ago, Zhao Sheng, learning from the downfall of Fragrant Swallow Valley, knew that one should not put all eggs in one basket, so two years before his death, he personally established Zhao's Secret Department.

After entering the living room, Zhao Sheng greeted Zhao Jinding, who quickly introduced the old man's identity to Zhao Sheng.

As expected, the old man was indeed the leader of the Zhao family's current generation's secret department, his real name was Zhao Jijian, a cultivator at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

Once the three were seated again, Zhao Jinding's expression became serious, and he asked with a grave tone, "Chonghe, now can you tell us? Why did you insist on summoning Jijian to Grotto Heaven City? Don't you know how special his identity is?"

The reason Zhao Jinding said this was because Zhao Sheng had once established a rule that once a clansman became a part of the dark department, they would be independent from the family, absolutely not allowed to intervene in family affairs, and not touch power.

Zhao Sheng smiled and did not offer an explanation; instead, he took out a jade box from his storage bag, pushing it in front of Zhao Jinding, signaling him to open it.

In the meantime, Zhao Jijian, sitting silently beside, was closely observing Zhao Sheng.

For the most special and youngest family head of the Zhao family in three hundred years, to say he wasn't interested would be a lie.

After dozens of years wandering the Cultivation World, Zhao Jijian considered himself to have met innumerable people, but he had never seen someone as unique as the person before him.

He was clearly only about twenty years old, yet his demeanor was exceptionally mature and steady. He didn't look like a young man at all; instead, he resembled an old monster who had lived for centuries.

Strange, truly strange!

Could it be that he had been body-snatched?

While Zhao Jijian was lost in thought, he suddenly heard Zhao Jinding exclaim in surprise.

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