Chapter 7: Descending the Mountain, Overview of the Fang Family

Fang Yun specifically took two days to rest, allowing his body, fatigued from two months of labor, to recover. This was the consequence of being unable to use his spiritual powers; otherwise, as a cultivator, even with just the first level of Qi Refining, he wouldn't be so exhausted.

After resting, he went to the spiritual rice field to carefully observe the spiritual rice, checking for any adverse emotions or unusual conditions. In fact, even while he had been busy with the canyon, he hadn't forgotten to come and observe the rice and pull out weeds daily. So, there were basically no issues.

The spiritual rice had grown vigorously for over four months and was now over ten centimeters tall, sprouting seven or eight tender green leaves. Thanks to the continuous effect of the spirit stones in the rice field, there were no signs of a lack of spiritual energy in the rice.

Fang Yun picked up the spirit stones from the field and was pleasantly surprised to find that less than ten percent of their spiritual energy had been consumed. At this rate, the six spirit stones would be more than enough to support the spiritual rice until maturity. This was undoubtedly exciting news for Fang Yun, who was short on funds.

After fully recovering from his two-day rest, Fang Yun headed toward the foot of the mountain, hoping that the elders at the base could assist him in finding some seeds. He did not intend to use all the hundreds of acres of land in the canyon solely for planting rice.

On one hand, not all the land in the canyon was suitable for rice cultivation. On the other hand, as an experimental field, solely planting one crop wouldn't significantly benefit his research on his golden finger.

Following the winding mountain path down, Fang Yun soon spotted a courtyard at the foot of the mountain. Just as he was about to step forward, he saw the gate wide open, with two elderly men hurriedly welcoming him along with a large group of people.

Fang Yun was puzzled as to how they knew he was coming down when he hadn't notified them. However, upon glancing back at the mountain, he realized that from this vantage point, he could clearly see some activity on the mountain path. It seemed that someone in the courtyard had been observing the mountain trail for a long time. This enabled them to greet him promptly as he descended.

From this perspective, it was clear that the two elders had been quite attentive in this regard.

"Why have you come down in person, Patriarch? If you need anything, just give the word, and I'll deliver it myself!" One of the old men quickly approached Fang Yun and said with great respect.

Fang Yun remembered from the original Fang Yun's memories that this elder was named Fang Lin, while the other was named Fang Zhou. They both resided in this courtyard at the foot of the mountain, serving him as elders of the family. However, Fang Yun found their flattery quite absurd.

He was the only one living on the mountain, and there were no telephones in this world; if he needed anything, wouldn't he have to come down to inform them? Nevertheless, Fang Yun didn't dwell on the logical flaw in Fang Lin's words. Instead, he politely replied, "Elder, there's no need for such formality. The walk down isn't far; it's just a stroll!

I've come down this time urgently needing some seeds. I wonder what kinds of seeds are currently available in the family?"

Fang Zhou frowned in thought for a moment and replied, "Does the Patriarch need seeds for spiritual plants? Unfortunately, we don't have any at the moment. If we did, they would be in the collections of past cultivators, not with us!"

Upon hearing Fang Yun's request, they instinctively thought he wanted seeds for spiritual plants, as a cultivator would have little use for ordinary seeds.

At this moment, Fang Yun shook his head, "No, I only need some seeds of ordinary crops!"

Upon hearing that Fang Yun only required ordinary seeds, the two elders breathed a sigh of relief. Fang Lin immediately said, "Ordinary seeds? Patriarch, we have plenty of those. I'll have someone bring them over right away.

Please come inside and rest for a moment. Since you've gone up the mountain, you haven't come down at all. There are many matters within the family that I'd like to discuss with you!" With that, he led the way ahead.

Fang Yun contemplated briefly and then followed him inside.

Then, Fang Zhou began to arrange for the people nearby, hastily sending them out of the courtyard. Knowing they were going to find the items he needed, Fang Yun followed Fang Lin into the hall within the courtyard.

After sipping the tea respectfully presented by a servant and sitting for a while, Fang Lin hurriedly emerged from behind the hall's screen, holding a few booklets. He sat down beside Fang Yun, placed the booklets on the table, and said, "Patriarch, ever since you ascended the mountain for cultivation a year ago, you haven't come down. I haven't had the opportunity to explain the specific situation of our Fang family to you.

This is our family roster, and here is our financial account book. Perhaps you could take some time to read through them!"

Fang Yun glanced at Fang Lin, then at the booklets in his hands, and shook his head, "Elder, I'm currently in a crucial stage of cultivation and really don't have the time to delve into these details.

Since I have a little free time now, why don't you pick out some important information to discuss with me? I'll look into the specifics when I have more time later!"

Fang Lin pondered for a moment, nodded, and set the booklets aside, saying, "Then I'll briefly explain it to you! Our Fang family has been on Spirit Water Island for several hundred years now.

Initially, the ancestors of the Fang family were wandering cultivators from the Wind Spirit Sea region. By chance, they discovered this spiritual spring on Spirit Water Island. Since then, they have branched out and established the Fang family on this island.

Over the centuries, our family has faced many crises but has persevered strongly. Moreover, the number of family members has steadily increased, reaching tens of thousands, with rice fields covering hundreds of thousands of acres.

The only unfortunate thing is that the spiritual energy in the spring is too scarce to support more than one cultivator. Thus, despite our Fang family's prosperity, there remains a risk of extinction. From this perspective, we feel somewhat guilty towards our ancestors!"

At this point, Fang Lin looked up at Fang Yun and said, "Patriarch, I must add, I hope you can work hard to cultivate and rise to a higher realm, nurturing more cultivators for our Fang family, so we can continue to prosper and endure for generations!"

Hearing these words, Fang Yun nodded solemnly. Even if Fang Lin hadn't said this, he was determined to strive for his cultivation. After all, who wouldn't want to reach a higher realm on the path of cultivation?