Chapter 150 – Improved spirit roots

“Did you activate it?” Shu Yang asked.

“I did,” Tianhu said, opening his eyes. “It’s really hard to control, just like you said.”

“You’ll get used to it. Just keep practicing,” Shu Yang said, “At least you didn’t cut down the house.”

They had just returned home from their journey to Bian Immortal City, and Shu Yang was watching over Tianhu as he tried to activate his Bloodline Ability for the first time. 

He had been a bit scared that Tianhu would accidentally channel the new power through his sword intent, so he had been ready to intercept any attacks.

But unexpectedly, nothing had happened. Shu Yang didn’t even notice when Tianhu activated his Bloodline Ability.

“I don’t think that will be an issue,” Tianhu said, “I’m not planning on directing my Bloodline Ability in that direction. I already have my sword intent, after all.”

“Do you have any other ideas?” Shu Yang asked.

“I suppose,” Tianhu said with a nod, “We’ll see if it works.”

“You’re not going to share?” Shu Yang asked.

“You’ll find out once I manage to get it to work,” Tianhu answered with a serious expression, but his face twitched slightly, holding back a smile.

‘Hah! Is he giving me a taste of my own medicine?’

“Fair enough,” Shu Yang said, shaking his head. “Anyway, I’ll look after you a few more times. Just because nothing went wrong this time, it doesn't mean that will be the case in the future. Better to be safe.”

“Alright,” Tianhu said, nodding.

“Your Bloodline Ability should recover within a week or so, come get me when you feel ready to give it another try,” Shu Yang said, and then turned around to leave.

‘Time to take care of the Five Elements Origin Pill.’

Shu Yang still carried it with him. He hadn’t given it away, despite being pretty certain who he would give it to as soon as Hanzhu gave it to him.

He just wanted to wait until they returned home before dealing with it. He felt it wasn’t something to be done casually while they were traveling. 

Besides, it was an extremely important decision. Even if he had an immediate idea of who to give it to, it didn’t hurt to think things over for a few more days.

Shu Yang walked over to the Art Hall, took a quick glance inside the alchemy area, and then went up the stairs. 

“So diligent?” Shu Yang asked as walked into the room where Tianyi was looking through formation schematics. 

“I actually have a serious student now. I can’t let her think I’m incompetent,” Tainyi answered.

“How is Xinxiang doing?” Shu Yang asked.

“Good. Still young. But she is very clever. I think her talent for formations might be better than mine,” Tianyi answered. 

“Then you should teach her well,” Shu Yang said, nodding.

“Do I need you to tell me that?” Tianyi questioned.

“Alright, I know you’re doing very well,” Shu Yang said, patting her on the head. 

He looked toward the door, thinking about moving someplace a bit more private.

“Why are you here? Do you need something?” Tianyi asked.

‘I guess this is fine. There shouldn't be any commotion.’

“I have a gift for you,” Shu Yang said, smiling.

Tianyi narrowed her eyes, “A good gift?”

Shu Yang laughed. “Of course it’s a good gift.”

“Give it,” Tianyi said, smiling brightly and stretching out her hand.

Shu Yang rolled his eyes. 

‘I guess there is no need for any special ceremony.’

He pulled the pill bottle he had received from Hanzhu and placed it in Tianyi's hand.

“A pill? What does it do?” Tianyi asked, holding the bottle close to her eyes.

“I received it from…that Chen Xiao, remember?” Shu Yang asked.

“Why would he give you a pill? Is it poisoned?" Tianyi asked.

“Of course not,” Shu Yang said. He had obviously tested the pill for poison when he got it. Although he didn’t think Hanzhu would take such an elaborate route to poison him, Shu Yang wanted to be safe.

“It's…well, just take it, you’ll see,” Shu Yang said.

“Now?” Tianyi asked.

“Might as well,” Shu Yang answered.

“If you say so,” Tianyi said with a shrug. She opened the bottle, poured out the pill into her hand, and then put the pill in her mouth.

After swallowing, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to feel its effect.

“This! What’s…” Tianyi couldn’t concentrate, opening her eyes and looking up at Shu Yang in shock.

He didn’t need Tianyi to explain what was happening; he could feel the feedback himself. 

Shu Yang would probably have given the pill to Tianyi even without taking feedback into consideration. She was his only child with at least Trash-grade spirit roots. While the pill wouldn’t be as effective on her as on someone with a 9th-grade spirit root, according to Hanzhu, Shu Yang was partial. His own daughter was much more important to him than any grandchild.

Still, receiving feedback was a fact, and Shu Yang thoroughly enjoyed the sensation.

Half an hour passed, and the sensation gradually disappeared.

“Dad,” Tianyi said, her voice shaky. “Did my spirit roots just…improve?”

“They should have,” Shu Yang said, unable to hold back his smile. 

Hanzhu’s warning had lowered Shu Yang’s expectations a lot. So he was very happy with the results.

“What…what grade?” Tianyi asked.

“7th-grade,” Shu Yang said. He could tell easily from his connection to the Bloodline Tree.

‘Incredible. I was expecting 9th grade, and hoping for 8th grade. Did Hanzhu make a mistake? This doesn’t feel wasted at all.’

Shu Yang’s own spirit roots had also advanced to the 7th-grade from the feedback. They were a lot closer to the 6th-grade than Tianyi’s though, as he had already had 9th-grade spirit roots before, close to the 8th-grade already.

‘A couple more great-grand kids with spirit roots, and it should advance again.’

“How?” Tianyi asked, mouth dropping open, “There are pills that advance the grade of spirit roots?”

“Obviously,” Shu Yang said, chuckling.

“But..but,” Tianyi stammered, looking confused. “How? I’ve never heard of it before. Is it rare? Can we get more?”

“I’ve been looking for one ever since we got here, but they are hard to get a hold of even for Golden Core cultivators,” Shu Yang said, quickly explaining what he knew about these types of resources.

“Why would that man just give it to you?” Tianyi asked. “What did you give in return?”

“Nothing,” Shu Yang said, shaking his head. “I really don’t know why he would give it. I’ll probably have to repay the favor in the future, though.”

That’s what he said, but he actually had a pretty good guess. Hanzhu had felt it when the aura of his Bloodline Tree somehow extinguished the wisp of True Person Jiami. 

Hanzhu probably wanted to make friends because he thought there was something special about Shu Yang.

‘I don’t understand why he just left, though. Why not stay and question me about it?’

‘And what exactly is his background?’

“That…doesn’t make sense,” Tianyi said.

“Indeed,” Shu Yang said, “But you don’t need to worry about it. You just need to cultivate well from now on. It’s about time our family had a spiritual qi Foundation cultivator, right?”

“You think I can do it? I can, can’t I? I can actually cultivate spiritual qi now,” Tianyi said, looking a bit dazed.

“You’ll have to work hard,” Shu Yang said, stroking his daughter’s head tenderly.

‘If Hanzhu wanted to make me indebted to him, I guess it worked.’

“What about the others? Was there only one pill?” Tianyi suddenly realized, looking up at Shu Yang with a worried look.

“Just one,” Shu Yang said with a nod. “Even if I had several, your siblings wouldn't be able to make use of one.”

“But…If we sold it, we could buy a bunch of things they could use, right?” Tianyi asked, seeming a bit guilty.

“That would be a tremendous waste,” Shu Yang said. “Don’t worry, your siblings will definitely understand. Your blessing isn’t their curse. We have never looked at things that way in the family, have we? If you feel that it’s unfair, you just have to work hard and advance to the Foundation stage as quickly as possible. If you manage to become a respected Formation Master at the 2nd stage, you will be able to earn a vast amount of wealth to help your siblings.”

“Right. Yeah. You’re right, Dad,” Tianyi said, nodding. She then paused and looked at Shu Yang again. “Wait. What about you? You have spirit roots. Why didn’t you take the pill?”

“Since when has your father had to rely on resources to grow stronger?” Shu Yang asked with a grin, tousling her hair. 

Tianyi slapped his hands away. “Alright, alright. You’re just bragging.”

She smiled and hugged Shu Yang tightly. “Thank you, Dad.”

“It’s what I should do,” Shu Yang said, stroking her back.

After a few seconds, Tianyi pulled away from the hug, full of life. “I’m going to cultivate. I need to see what it feels like now!”

She then paused in her steps. “No. I’m too full of energy. I can’t sit still. I need to write to sister Hongchi and tell her that I’m going to catch up to her.”

She then ran toward her desk, pulling out a pen and paper. “No. I should say I’m confused, hitting a bottleneck. I need her to guide me. That way, she will come over here, and when she sees me, I’ll give her a huge surprise!”

Shu Yang walked up to her and flicked her forehead. “Don’t trick her. She is part of the Green River Sect. If you make her feel guilty, and she leaves when she has something important to do, will you be able to stand the guilt?”

“Alright, alright,” Tianyi said, “I’ll write later. I need to calm down. Maybe I can try and see if I can make a few formations I’ve been struggling with work.”

Shu Yang shook his head as he watched his daughter get to work.

‘Well. At least, she’s happy.’

Shu Yang left his daughter on her own again and walked back to his own courtyard. 

Just because Tianyi was too excited to cultivate didn’t mean Shu Yang was. He really looked forward to seeing what it was like to cultivate with his improved spirit roots.