My ancestors were spiritual plant growers, so it's not surprising that I hunt demons every day,

The three of them ate the meal with different thoughts in mind, and it ended on a sour note.

After leaving the Xue family, Cui Ying went straight home to find Wang Rong.

"Oh, Sanya, why are you back so soon?"

Wang Rong, who was busy at work, saw her and quickly came out to ask, "How are you? Has the Xue family made things difficult for you?"

"No."

Cui Ying shook her head and directly picked up the bowl and scooped a bowl of rice from the steamer.

Wang Rong wanted to ask what had happened, but seeing her daughter's gloomy appearance, she quickly brought her two dishes.

“I didn’t know you were coming back halfway. This is all leftovers from home. Eat some first, and if it’s not enough, Mom will make some more.”

"Yes, Mother, you go ahead and do your work."

Cui Ying smiled and nodded, then sat down in her kitchen and ate her meal alone.

Just then, a cheerful middle-aged man's voice suddenly rang out from outside the courtyard:

"Is Cui Ying's niece inside?"

"Uncle Gu!?"

Upon hearing the voice, Cui Ying was slightly taken aback. She quickly put down her chopsticks and went into the courtyard after agreeing to the answer.

She immediately spotted Gu Qinghong and his wife, who were being welcomed in by her mother, and the young man in blue, "Gu Shiyin," standing beside them.

When Liu saw Cui Ying come out, her gaze held a complex expression.

"Uncle Gu, Aunt Gu, Brother Shi Yin, what brings you here?"

Cui Ying walked to the boy's side and asked with a slight smile.

"I heard from your mother that you were mistreated at the banquet at the Xue family's house? Tell your uncle what happened. Oh, niece Cui Ying, you've advanced to the seventh level of Qi Refining!"

Gu Qinghong stroked his beard and first asked with a smile. But after looking at Cui Ying more closely, his expression suddenly changed and he asked...

At this moment, Cui Ying forgot to conceal her Qi Refining Level 7 aura, which was immediately noticed by Gu Qinghong, who was at the same level.

"Uncle Gu is indeed very perceptive; I have indeed broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining."

At this point, Cui Ying made no attempt to hide anything and openly admitted it.

Upon hearing this, even the usually composed Gu Qinghong couldn't help but show an expression of disbelief.

As for Madam Liu standing nearby, upon hearing these words, her beautiful eyes widened in astonishment.

"Little Ying, you're amazing!"

It was Gu Shiyin, who was standing next to her, who was the first to react and looked at Cui Ying with admiration.

"Haha~ I never expected that my niece Cui Ying would be such a cultivation prodigy. She broke through to the late stage of Qi Refining in just three months. Her cultivation speed is probably no less than that of our Yao'er!"

It took Gu Qinghong a while to suppress the surprise on his face before he began to praise her highly.

"I'm hardly a cultivation prodigy. I only managed to advance to the seventh level of Qi Refining so quickly by relying on some external forces."

Cui Ying spoke the truth and replied calmly.

“Niece Cui Ying is too modest. Even if you have taken some pills that can increase your mana, the Qi Refining stage and the Foundation Establishment stage are completely different. In the Qi Refining stage, as long as your mana is perfected, anyone can easily break through to a minor realm. However, to establish the Foundation, you need to encounter a bottleneck. As far as I know, many cultivators are stuck in the late Qi Refining stage and cannot make any progress for many years. But niece Cui Ying is now relying on the power of pills to increase her mana, which is not a wise move. Mana should be cultivated little by little by yourself to be pure and refined, which will make it easier to establish the Foundation later.”

After hearing Cui Ying's words, Gu Qinghong immediately showed a hint of realization. But after nodding slightly, he offered a meaningful piece of advice.

Upon hearing this, Madam Liu, who was standing nearby, immediately showed an "I see" expression on her face. However, her eyes flickered, and she ultimately refrained from saying anything more unpleasant.

"In any case, Sister Ying's current level has already surpassed that of many cultivators."

Although Gu Shiyin couldn't cultivate, he had heard about this through his surroundings. Upon hearing this, he immediately took Cui Ying's hand and asked gently:

"By the way, Sister Ying, what happened when you had lunch at the Xue family's house today? When I came in, Auntie said you didn't look well."

"Nothing's wrong."

Cui Ying smiled indifferently, and saw that Wang Rong had already brewed spiritual tea and prepared snacks in the main room, inviting the Gu family to sit down, and said with a smile:

"What do you mean nothing's wrong? You didn't see the murderous look in your eyes. Your Uncle Gu and Aunt Gu aren't strangers anymore, so just talk to them about what's going on! Just treat it as a chat!"

“What my sister-in-law says is absolutely right.”

Gu Qinghong smiled and nodded after hearing this.

“You are Shi Yin’s wife, and also a member of my Gu family. If there’s anything you need to say, just tell me. Putting aside everything else, Uncle Gu still has a lot of influence in Shuangling Village.”

"Ok."

Cui Ying nodded and recounted everything that had happened at the Xue family's house that noon. As soon as Cui Ying finished speaking, Wang Rong, Gu Shiyin, and the others all frowned.

"I knew this was a trap. If you hadn't broken through to the next realm beforehand, those old bastards would have succeeded!"

Wang Rong's face was full of anger, and she was still holding a teacup in her hand.

Gu Qinghong, who had already taken his seat, also looked rather grim. He exchanged a glance with Liu Shi beside him and said:

"These people are overreaching. Instead of making progress themselves, they have the audacity to covet other people's heritage."

After saying that, he looked at Cui Ying and instructed her:

“Niece Cui Ying, if anyone in the village dares to ask you these kinds of nonsense questions again, just tell them to come find me!”

"Thank you, Uncle Gu."

Cui Ying nodded, then smiled and said, "By the way, Uncle Gu, you didn't come to see me just because of this, did you?"

“Sister Cui Ying, it’s like this. Actually, we came to see you this time because my mother wants me to go back to my maternal grandparents’ house to get something.”

After hearing Cui Ying's question, Gu Shiyin, who was standing next to her, slowly began to explain.

It turns out that Gu Shiyin's mother, Liu, also came from a famous Qi-refining family in the vicinity. However, Gu Shiyin's maternal grandfather died early, which led to the decline of the family.

Before his death, Gu Shiyin's maternal grandfather was also a late-stage Qi Refining expert. He once explored a dangerous area and discovered a fruit tree full of unknown spiritual fruits.

However, these spiritual fruits had only just begun to grow and were still a long way from ripening.

So he left a magic array here to seal off the aura, and planned to come back later to pick the spiritual fruit.

"Aunt Gu, if that's all there is to it, why don't you let Second Brother Gu go?"

After thinking for a moment, Cui Ying finally asked what was on her mind.

“I knew I couldn’t keep this from you. Speaking of which, the place where this spiritual fruit grows is not far from Jinsha City. You know that it’s been very chaotic there lately. Shi Yin’s older sister isn’t home, and Shi Sheng’s cultivation is not as good as yours. If you go there, you might not be able to pick the spiritual fruit, but you might lose your life instead.”

"According to the notes, it will probably be another twenty days or so before those spiritual fruits ripen. It just so happens that you and Shi Yin will be engaged around that time. When you pick the spiritual fruits, you can go to Yangliu Village nearby to pay respects to my Liu family's ancestors."

Liu sighed and explained it this way.