Mysterious mirror hanging high

Jing Yu held Zhao Yuanxi and played with her for a while, taught her to recognize a few talismans, and then saw Mu Shan, Zhao Mingyu and Zhao Chengyan returning to the yard one after another.

When Mu Shan saw Jing Yu, he felt the faint spiritual pressure of the fifth level of Qi training on him. He was slightly stunned, and said with surprise and admiration: "Uncle, congratulations on your great progress in cultivation!"

"Didn't you also break through to the eighth level of Qi training?" Jing Yu said with a smile, "There's hope for the foundation-building path, Old Mu."

"Harmful!"

Mu Shan said bitterly, "After all, my talent is mediocre. I wasted eight years and barely reached the eighth level of Qi training. Now I am sixty-seven years old! In another thirteen years, I will reach the critical point of Qi and blood decline and meridians drying up. I don't know if I can complete the ninth level of Qi training by then."

"Relax," Jing Yu consoled him. "As long as you've reached the ninth level of Qi training, you can attempt to establish your foundation. It's just a bit more difficult than reaching perfection at the ninth level. Besides, there aren't any bottlenecks between the eighth and ninth levels. I've made great progress in alchemy over the past two years, and I can now try to refine a [Qi Condensation Pill]. I'll sell it to you at a higher price so you can improve your cultivation first."

Mu Shan nodded, and Jing Yu turned to Zhao Mingyu, who had just stepped into the threshold: "Third sister!"

Zhao Mingyu is now seventy years old and looks much older than she was six years ago. Her hair, which was originally mixed with gray and white, has now turned completely white. She has a solemn expression and a dim gaze. Jing Yu looks at her and feels that she is even more eerie and terrifying than before.

"Sixth brother, Yuan Chen and Yuan Xi will have their spiritual roots tested tomorrow. The two of us will be enough to accompany them." Zhao Mingyu said in a deep voice.

Zhao Chengyan, who was standing behind her, was stunned and said quickly, "Mother, shouldn't I go?"

"You, Pei'er, and Cheng Huan all stay at home. Don't go out for the next ten days."

Zhao Mingyu lowered his head, his expression somewhat gloomy. "The Wushan Market's once-in-a-decade grand auction is about to take place. Many outsiders have come to the market. I heard that there are also Foundation Establishment masters from Xiaoyao Immortal City..."

"The market has been in chaos recently. The monks from the law enforcement team have already dealt with quite a few disputes. It's said that several mortal body cultivators were accidentally killed by the monks. We'd better keep a low profile."

After saying this, Zhao Mingyu returned to his room on crutches.

"Mother has been quite uneasy lately." Zhao Chengyan murmured.

Mu Pei stepped forward, took her husband's hand, and whispered, "Perhaps it's because Yuan Chen and Yuan Xi's spiritual roots are about to be tested. You know that mother... has always hoped that a cultivator would emerge from our family. It's only natural that she's feeling uneasy now."

"Maybe he's worried about our family," Zhao Chengyan said sadly. "Life is getting increasingly difficult for mortal body cultivators in the market these days. It's hard to find even a day or two of work these days. If things continue like this, I'll have no choice but to find a job somewhere near the Wushan Mountains."

Mu Pei's expression changed, and she tightened her grip on Zhao Chengyan's hand. "Husband, why don't I go out and find something to do? With you alone supporting the family, it's bound to be a bit tight! If we both go out to work, life will be easier... The Wushan Mountains are infested with monsters and cultivators everywhere. It's not a place you can go!"

Zhao Chengyan frowned and said, "The two children are still young, how can they leave you? Oh! This matter needs to be considered carefully."

"You're only at the third level of Body Refining, yet you dare boast about going to the Wushan Mountains to explore the world? Don't you even consider whether your tiny body is strong enough for a high-level monster to chew on!"

A gentle voice rang out beside Zhao Chengyan's ears, but the words were rather harsh. Zhao Chengyan looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was his uncle who had spoken. They had just walked to a corner to talk about some private matters between husband and wife, not wanting others to know. He had never expected that his uncle was an eavesdropper and had heard all about his family's predicament. He could not help but say in shame, "Uncle..."

Jing Yu scolded, "Third sister is already old, and you are her only son. Yuan Chen and Yuan Xi are still young and need a father too. How can this family withstand any misfortune?"

"The Wushan Mountains are not a place for you to go. Stay in the market town!"

"But..." Zhao Chengyan wanted to argue a few more times.

"Your family is in such a state, why didn't you tell me..."

Zhao Chengyan felt his face burning. "It's just that our family is a little tight, but we're not completely broke yet... What's there to say... My brother-in-law even waived the rent earlier, so we have more than enough to survive in this market."

"If one of Yuan Chen and Yuan Xi's spiritual roots is detected, what can you, a bunch of idiots, do? Are you going to stubbornly delay the child's promising path? Or are you shamelessly going to Third Sister to steal her meager savings?"

Zhao Chengyan hesitated and said, "My husband and I are both mortals. Giving birth to a spiritual root child in one generation is not something we can even dream of..."

Jing Yu shook his head, flipped his hand, and two spirit stones appeared in his palm. He tossed them to Zhao Chengyan: "After the large-scale auction is over and most of the foreign cultivators have left, you can help me buy the spiritual herbs and medicines needed for alchemy on a regular basis. It's not a good idea to sit idle at home all day..."

Zhao Chengyan was born into the royal family of Zhao State when he was young. When he was in the mortal world, he was also a noble figure of the level of a prince. Later, he traveled hundreds of thousands of miles north with his mother and sister to search for immortals, and settled down in the Wushan market. Although his life could no longer be compared with that in the mortal world, after all, it was a place where immortals lived, and he couldn't help feeling a sense of pride in his heart.

Moreover, among the mortal body cultivators, there are some low-level mortals who don't even have the talent for body cultivation and can only serve as servants and maids for the monks to order around and entertain. They were originally very proud of themselves, but now the improved strongman puppets are popular, and the living space of a large number of body cultivators in Wushan Market has been squeezed again and again. After tightly grasping the two spirit stones thrown by Jing Yu, the handsome Prince Chengyan finally showed an embarrassment that was difficult to describe in words.

Zhao Chengyan, who originally wanted to save some face and was thinking about how to politely reject Jing Yu's kindness, lowered his eyebrows and looked at the two spirit stones tightly grasped in his hands. He didn't know how to start for a moment.

Jing Yu patted Zhao Chengyan's shoulder, glanced in the direction of Zhao Mingyu's room, and said, "I'll come early tomorrow and take Third Sister and the two children to have their spiritual roots tested."

After that, he turned around and left.

Zhao Chengyan looked at Jing Yu's back and remembered his uncle's relaxed expression when he took out two spirit stones just now. He once again clearly felt the huge gap between cultivators and mortals. For the first time, he felt as if there was a tragically thick barrier between him and his uncle. Even when he was a child in the imperial capital of Zhao State, he did not have such a feeling when he heard that this man could kill the innates with a single hammer.

Two spirit stones!

Even when the years were good, my annual income was only this much!

Thinking of this, Zhao Chengyan seemed a little sad.

I don’t know when a person with spiritual roots will appear among the descendants of the Zhao family in my lineage!