Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

Yunli Mountain.

The sea of ​​fog forms a canvas, the wind wields a brush, and paints a hazy fairyland.

"It's so beautiful..."

Although it wasn't Jiang Feng's first time climbing Yunli Mountain, he still couldn't help but feel awe and sigh softly whenever he stood atop the mountain and looked down at the undulating clouds below.

He helped his father, who was in a daze, sit down on a smooth blue stone, while looking up at the precious tree on the cliff.

"That really is the Seven Treasures Tree."

The precious tree is not tall, but it is lush and verdant, its entire body shimmering with seven-colored light, as if it were concealing a rainbow bridge among its branches.

When the wind blows, the leaves rustle softly, and six spiritual fruits can be vaguely seen hidden among the leaves, appearing and disappearing with the changing light and shadow.

The air was filled with a delicate, ethereal fragrance, the aroma of fruit wafting on the breeze, making Jiang Feng's mouth water!

Beneath the tree, a figure slowly opened his eyes.

When Lu Zaian awoke from his meditation, the unfathomable aura around him had completely subsided, and he now appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary old man in plain clothes.

He looked at Jiang Feng with a smile, his tone calm:

"You came."

"Junior Jiang Feng greets the Mountain Lord." Jiang Feng dared not be negligent and immediately bowed deeply. "I apologize for disturbing the Mountain Lord's cultivation."

Lu Zaian nodded slightly, his gaze shifting to Jiang's father, who was sitting blankly to the side, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes.

Jiang Feng followed his gaze, his throat tightening, and his voice lowered slightly:

"My father was forcibly subjected to a soul search by the Song family, his soul sea was nearly shattered, and his mind was in a state of chaos. Ordinary elixirs and spells were no longer effective..."

"Thanks to Senior Jiuyou's guidance, I have dared to come and earnestly request the Mountain Lord's assistance. Jiang Feng will forever be grateful for this kindness and virtue!"

After speaking, he lifted his clothes, bent his knees, and was about to kowtow.

Lu Zaian gently flicked his sleeve, and a breeze arose out of thin air, steadily supporting Jiang Feng's kneeling posture.

"Nine Netherworlds have already told me."

Lu Zai'an's tone remained calm.

"Healing the wounds from the Soul Search is not easy, but it is not impossible. You have reached the Foundation Establishment stage at a young age, yet you do not forget filial piety and are willing to kneel down, which is quite commendable."

The so-called "Great Way is without emotion" is true.

On the path of cultivation, there are many heartless and ungrateful people.

The further you progress in your cultivation, the fewer friends and family members will be able to keep up with your pace...

All talk of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame, loyalty, and filial piety, is no match for a single elixir that enhances one's cultivation.

Jiang Feng possesses the Golden Eyes of Truth and has a bright future, yet he is willing to set aside his dignity for his foolish father. Lu Zaian saw this and was slightly moved.

It was this very quality that made him willing to form this positive connection.

“This Seven Treasures Tree is about to mature for the first time,” Lu Zaian pointed to the spirit tree, “one of the fruits, the ‘Soul-Gathering Fruit,’ can help your father rebuild his soul.”

The so-called Seven Treasures.

However, it only produces six different kinds of fruit.

These are: Healing, Enhancement, Strengthening the Body, Soul Condensation, Breaking Through Realms, and Extending Life.

These are also the six treasures.

There is another treasure, which is the tree trunk itself, which gathers spiritual energy and guards the spiritual vein.

Having said that, Lu Zaian lightly flicked his sleeves, and the man-made Emerald Pool in the mountain stream rose up in response.

A stream of azure spring, like a ribbon, cascaded backwards, making a "whoosh" sound, and rose straight to the mountain peak!

"go."

Lu Zaian gave a soft shout, and the spiritual spring, as if guided, precisely sprinkled onto the soil around the tree—

This is the daily watering task.

If someone is in seclusion, Xu Yan'er will take over.

Today marks the final watering of the second phase.

The spring water seeped into the soil and was quickly and greedily absorbed by the gnarled roots of the Seven Treasures Tree.

The spirit tree trembled slightly, its branches and leaves rustling, and its seven-colored light flowed even faster, like a rainbow taking root, dazzling and magnificent!

At the same time, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth on the mountain was also activated, and the underground spiritual veins gathered and poured into the treasure tree from the array eye, and were then fed back out, in an endless cycle.

"Yu~~~"

A faint, clear chirping sound emanated from the tree trunk, accompanied by an increasingly rich fragrance of fruit. Under the watchful eyes of the two, the Seven Treasures Tree grew taller and its branches expanded!

boom!

When the spiritual light dissipated, the tree had reached a height of thirty-three zhang, with a thick trunk that required five people to encircle it.

"After fifteen years of nourishment with spiritual water, I have finally reached the second stage."

A rare hint of relief appeared in Lu Zaian's eyes as he reached out and gently stroked the cracked bark of the tree, as if speaking to an old friend.

For an ordinary Seven Treasures Tree to advance from the first rank to the second rank, it would require at least seventy years of arduous work.

The tree in Fangyoucheng, belonging to the Jiang family, was planted decades ago, but has only produced one round of mid-grade first-level fruit so far.

Lu Zaian spared no expense in irrigating the plants with large amounts of spiritual water, thus significantly shortening the growth period—

This precious tree is not only the core of the Cloud Ridge Mountain's grand formation, but also crucial to the growth of the entire spiritual vein, and the very foundation upon which he stands...

The returns now are quite gratifying:

There are six spiritual fruits on the branch, with a quality between the best of the first tier and the lowest of the second tier.

Although it is not a true second-tier spiritual fruit—which takes seven hundred years to ripen—its value is no less than that of an ordinary second-tier spiritual fruit.

It is more than enough to heal Jiang's father's wounds.

Lu Zaian raised his hand and gestured, and a translucent spiritual fruit fell from the branch and flew into his palm.

The fruit refracts a rainbow of colors under the light, creating a dreamlike scene.

"Here, give this to your father. I will guide the medicine's effects."

Jiang Feng respectfully accepted the Soul-Gathering Fruit with both hands, his fingertips trembling slightly:

"Thank you, Mountain Lord, for the fruit!"

This spiritual fruit was worth as much as a Foundation Establishment Pill, yet Lu Zaian gave it to him so casually, making him even more grateful.

He carefully fed the fruit to his father. The flesh melted upon touching his lips, and a surge of pure medicinal power rushed straight into Jiang Tian's battle soul sea.

About an hour later.

Jiang Tianzhan's cloudy eyes finally regained a sliver of clarity, no longer as foolish as before, but still empty and lifeless, as if his soul had left his body.

"Father! Father! Look at me, do you still recognize Feng'er?" Jiang Feng hurriedly bent down and called out softly.

"...Who...are you? And who...am I?"

Jiang Tianzhan stared at him blankly, speaking slowly and deliberately, each word distinct.

Jiang Feng's heart tightened, and he looked up at Lu Zai'an:

"Mountain Lord, what...why is this? Could it be that the [Soul-Gathering Fruit] is not potent enough?"

"Don't be impatient."

Lu Zaian stood with his hands behind his back, a glint of light flashing in his deep eyes. A wisp of divine consciousness, like a needle, silently pierced into the depths of Jiang Tian's battle soul sea.

"Your father's soul sea has been restored, and his soul power is no different from that of an ordinary person."

However, the memories caused by the past soul-searching are fragmented and have not yet been pieced together completely, requiring external guidance.

In other words, although Jiang Tianzhan was clear-headed at this moment, his memory was in complete disarray, and he was as if he had lost his soul.

If we wait for him to sort things out and piece things together on his own, it may take several years to recover...

[With ghosts as the guide, let's unite!]

Lu Zaian used his powerful divine sense as a guide to help him sort and reassemble the scattered fragments of memory one by one.

Only in this way can Jiang Tianzhan truly wake up.

Of course, in this process, Lu Zaian will inevitably come across Jiang Tianzhan's life story.

It's nothing, he's a grown man, a Qi Refining cultivator, what secrets could he possibly have...

……However.

Just as Lu Zaian was pondering this, he suddenly froze.

On a tiny fragment of memory, as fine as a sesame seed, was a highly concealed seal.

"……Huh?!"

"This is... a soul restriction?"

Lu Zaian frowned slightly.

The restriction was small yet resilient, with a profound aura, which could not have been set up by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and might even have been the work of a Core Formation cultivator.

If Lu Zaian hadn't cultivated the "Netherworld Tribulation of the Ghostly Souls," making his soul comparable to that of a Core Formation cultivator, it would have been difficult to detect him.

“It was definitely not left by the Song family. Even the Song family wouldn’t have been able to discover this restriction during their soul search.”

"interesting……"

His gaze darkened slightly, a ripple passing through his heart.