In the Spirit Realm, Thousand Pupil Sea Region, Peach Forest Island, within a certain Immortal Cave.
Qin Guiya opened his eyes, sighed, and looked at the scattered porcelain bottles on the ground.
Inside were Golden Cloud Barrier Breaking Pills, which he had exchanged from his Family at a great cost.
He had consumed them not long ago, hoping to Breakthrough to the Middle Stage of the Golden Core Stage.
Cultivation Realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Refining, Body Integration, Mahayana, Undergoing Tribulation and Ascension.
World Divisions: Small World (maximum Soul Transformation), Spirit Realm (maximum Mahayana), Immortal Realm, Divine Realm.
"I failed."
He said, feeling dejected.
He raised his hand and saw that the Meridians in his palm had turned purplish-blue.
He barely managed to stand up and casually cast a Water Mirror spell. The reflection in the mirror almost made him think he had cast the wrong spell.
How could this be a Golden Core cultivator in his prime?
It was clearly a middle-aged Loose Cultivator who had been beaten down by cultivation!
A few strands of gray were mixed in his dark long hair, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes could trap even low-level Yao Beasts.
Clearly, the consequences of this failed Breakthrough were very severe.
As a well-known "Four Spiritual Roots Trash" in the cultivation world, his ability to reach the Golden Core Stage was entirely due to his father's inheritance and his relentless perseverance.
When others were attempting to Breakthrough to Nascent Soul, or even Soul Transformation, at two hundred years old, he was racing against the Lifespan limit of the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Now, a hundred years later, the worst of his peers had already reached the Late Stage of Golden Core, while he was still stagnating in the Early Stage, earning him the title of the Qin Family's "Snail Model."
"Is this the limit of Four Spiritual Roots... Is it truly over?"
He laughed at himself mockingly.
"Thump, thump!"
A knock came from outside the stone chamber.
"Come in."
Qin Guiya quickly wiped away the bloodstain from the corner of his mouth and forced a calm expression.
The stone door opened, and a woman dressed in plain white walked in, holding a cup of tea.
This was Liu Qingchan, his nominal Dao Companion.
Ten years ago, his second uncle personally sent this collateral branch woman from the Liu Family, calling her a "maidservant" but in reality, she was meant to bear children for him, this "crooked cultivation tree."
"Husband, Second Uncle sent this Spirit Nurturing Tea."
She said, lowering her head.
"Just leave it."
Qin Guiya said coldly.
"Second Uncle sent a message, asking about husband's recent seclusion..."
Liu Qingchan didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.
The Family was waiting for news of his Breakthrough, or rather, confirmation of his failure.
Qin Guiya suddenly felt a surge of irritation:
"Tell Second Uncle, Guiya is unworthy of the Family's nurturing!"
Liu Qingchan's shoulders trembled imperceptibly, but she maintained her respectful posture:
"Husband needn't blame himself. The path of Cultivation is inherently..."
"What do you understand!"
Qin Guiya suddenly stood up, then staggered due to the severe pain in his Meridians.
Liu Qingchan instinctively reached out to help him, but he pushed her away.
The woman stumbled backward, hitting the stone wall with a dull thud.
Silence instantly filled the room.
Qin Guiya watched Liu Qingchan quickly get up, resuming her submissive demeanor, and an indescribable emotion suddenly welled up in his chest.
It was bad enough that he was doing poorly, but how had he become a tyrannical villain who oppressed female Cultivators?
He opened his mouth, but in the end, he only slumped back onto his meditation cushion:
"...You may leave."
The stone door closed, and Qin Guiya finally allowed himself to collapse.
He introspected his Sea of Consciousness, where a small tree floated.
It was a mystery that had existed since he transmigrated as a fetus.
Over three hundred years, he had tried countless methods, but this tree remained unresponsive, still just a bare trunk.
He had hinted at the tree's existence to the Family Elders, but when he spoke, the spiritual tree would interfere, turning it into an unrelated topic.
Moreover, this spiritual tree possessed the ability to obscure heavenly secrets. He had asked his second uncle to investigate his Sea of Consciousness, only to find that the tree simply didn't exist.
"Have even you given up on me?"
Qin Guiya's Divine Sense gently touched the tree trunk, but it was still like a stone sinking into the sea.
He looked at the busy woman outside the Immortal Cave and finally made a decision.
Since the great Dao was hopeless, why not... try a smaller Dao?
That night, he uncharacteristically knocked on Liu Qingchan's door.
A hint of surprise flashed in the woman's eyes when she opened the door, then quickly returned to calm.
Inside the stone chamber behind her, calming sandalwood incense was lit, and a "Compendium of Herbs" was open on the table.
It turned out she was studying the Dao of spiritual plants.
"I have thought long and hard. Since the great Dao is hopeless... it's better to spread our branches and leaves."
Qin Guiya said stiffly.
Liu Qingchan's fingers unconsciously twisted the corner of her clothes.
A fleeting, complex emotion appeared in her eyes, finally turning into a submissive bow of her head:
"This concubine... understands."
Qin Guiya suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.
He knew Liu Qingchan had no choice.
A Liu Family woman sent to the Qin Family either became a tool for procreation or was sent back to her main Family to suffer an even more tragic fate, such as becoming a Cauldron.
And he, this useless person, was now going to become one of the oppressors?
"If you are unwilling..."
"This concubine is willing."
Liu Qingchan looked up, "When this concubine first saw husband ten years ago, this concubine..."
She didn't finish, but Qin Guiya understood.
This woman, sent by her Family like an item, actually harbored genuine affection for him?
Or perhaps she was just a love-struck fool?
He stared blankly at the tear mole at the corner of Liu Qingchan's eye, suddenly realizing she was actually very beautiful.
Not a stunning beauty, but a gentle and serene beauty.
Qin Guiya's hand hovered in mid-air, his fingertips trembling slightly.
Liu Qingchan lowered her eyelids and slowly raised her hand, her fingertips gently touching his sleeve.
"Husband..."
Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, yet it made Qin Guiya's heart tremble again.
He turned his hand and grasped her cool hand, its touch soft and warm.
Liu Qingchan's fingertips curled slightly in his palm, like a startled little beast, yet with an indescribable attachment.
Qin Guiya unconsciously softened his grip, his thumb gently caressing the back of her hand.
Liu Qingchan instinctively closed her eyes, hearing her own heartbeat, astonishingly loud.
"Qingchan..."
He called her name, and gradually, his lips drew closer... (imagine for yourself)
As their breaths mingled, the ancient tree in Qin Guiya's Sea of Consciousness suddenly trembled.
Unfortunately, he was immersed in a gentleness he had never experienced before and did not notice this subtle change.
The next morning, Qin Guiya was awakened by a change in his Sea of Consciousness.
"This is...!"
He shot up, ignoring Liu Qingchan who was still sleeping soundly beside him, and immediately introspected his Sea of Consciousness.
Good heavens, that bare trunk, which had not moved an inch for three hundred years, had actually grown a side branch!
And there was a tender bud at the tip of the branch.
Even more astonishingly, a one-acre square space appeared in the center of the tree.
As soon as Qin Guiya's Divine Sense touched the tree, a surge of information flooded his mind:
"The Ancestor Tree has just awakened, granting one acre of spiritual land. One day outside equals ten days inside (for spiritual plants)."
He was too stunned to speak, and turned to look at the person beside him.
In the morning light, Liu Qingchan's sleeping face was serene and beautiful, a wisp of dark hair clinging to her cheek, gently rising and falling with her breath.
Wait... sharing a bed = the iron tree sprouting?
Qin Guiya suddenly understood — so this broken tree that hadn't moved for three hundred years wasn't aloof, but rather secretly passionate!
Liu Qingchan seemed to sense his gaze, her eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes.
Seeing Qin Guiya staring intently at her, her face immediately flushed, and she instinctively shrank further into the quilt:
"Hus... husband?"
Qin Guiya suddenly burst out laughing, his laughter tinged with a hint of madness.
He grabbed Liu Qingchan's wrist:
"Qingchan, I might have found a new Dao!"
The woman looked at him blankly, but then saw that light rekindled in her husband's eyes.
It was a yearning for the great Dao, a longing for eternal life.
For some reason, a touch of bitterness arose in Liu Qingchan's heart, but she quickly hid it and said softly:
"This concubine congratulates husband."
Qin Guiya didn't notice his Dao Companion's unusual behavior; his entire mind was immersed in introspection.
According to the information, the time flow in that space was ten times faster than the outside world!
"Heaven does not abandon me..." Qin Guiya murmured to himself.
Four Spiritual Roots Cultivate slowly?
With this time difference, one year of his Cultivation was equivalent to ten years of others' Cultivation!
Liu Qingchan quietly watched the changing expressions on her husband's face and silently got up to change her clothes.
As she tied the last sash, Qin Guiya suddenly hugged her from behind.
"Thank you, Qingchan."
His voice was somewhat choked, "If not for last night..."
Liu Qingchan's body stiffened, then relaxed.
She turned and caressed her husband's face, saying softly:
"Husband's Dao Heart has rekindled, this concubine... is very happy."
Although she knew in her heart that from now on, this man would once again devote all his energy to Cultivation, and she would return to her "transparent Dao Companion" state.
But that was enough.
For a Cauldron from the Liu Family, to receive a word of thanks from her husband was already immense fortune.