Chapter 7: Choice

Hearing Ye Qingxuan’s question, Ye Yuhong looked at him with surprise.

He hadn't expected this young lad to be so sharp-minded at such a tender age.

However, Ye Yuhong had never intended to keep things hidden, so he addressed Ye Qingxuan’s inquiry directly

“A ‘Fortune Cultivator’ possesses a lifespan ten times that of a cultivator at the same realm!”

Upon hearing this, the two people beside Ye Qingxuan shifted, their mouths slightly agape; they were on the verge of agreeing to become Fortune Cultivators right then and there.

But Ye Yuhong changed his tone

“However, becoming a Fortune Cultivator slows your cultivation speed by a hundredfold!

Furthermore, you must endure the loneliness of sitting in one place, unable to stray far from your Blessed Land. At the very least, low-level Fortune Cultivators cannot leave their Blessed Land.”

Hearing these restrictions, Ye Qingbi and Ye Qinghe, who had been ready to agree, immediately shut their mouths and retreated like turtles pulling into their shells.

For Ye Qingxuan, this point held even less appeal.

“But! After becoming a Fortune Cultivator, you can slowly increase your spiritual roots.

It is just that the process is quite slow. To increase a dual-element spiritual root alone would take over a thousand years! The more spiritual roots you have, the longer it takes!”

Hearing this final point, Ye Qingxuan’s eyes lit up instantly. However, he did not agree immediately, choosing instead to weigh the pros and cons in his mind.

After finishing the explanation of the pros and cons, Ye Yuhong looked at the three of them with a faint smile

“I have said all that needs to be said. Consider it carefully yourselves. The family will not force you. Once you become a Fortune Cultivator, there is no room for regret.”

By now, Ye Qingbi and Ye Qinghe had long since lost the desire to become Fortune Cultivators, so they shook their heads in a hurry, choosing to decline.

Seeing this, Ye Yuhong could only turn his gaze toward Ye Qingxuan.

Lost in thought, Ye Qingxuan suddenly met Ye Yuhong’s eyes. His gaze wavered, and then he asked

“Patriarch, I would like to know what realm a Fortune Cultivator must reach before they can leave the Blessed Land?”

Hearing Ye Qingxuan’s question, Ye Yuhong pondered for a moment before speaking slowly

“According to the information provided by the Xuantian Sect, a Fortune Cultivator needs to reach at least the Void Refinement Realm to leave the vicinity of their Blessed Land.

But currently, the highest-cultivation Fortune Cultivator known in the Xuantian Sect is only at the Nascent Soul Realm!”

“Void Refinement Realm?”

Ye Qingxuan murmured softly. Then, he finally made up his mind and said firmly to Ye Yuhong

“Patriarch, I am willing to become a Fortune Cultivator!”

Although he possessed an eternal lifespan, he only had a single-element spiritual root. Not only was his cultivation speed slow, but who knew if there was a cultivation ceiling for single-element spiritual roots?

Becoming a Fortune Cultivator could increase his spiritual roots; this was the only way he knew of to change his aptitude, and he could not let such an opportunity slip by.

Moreover, he had the Eternal Turtle clone in his mind. He wondered if he could use the Eternal Turtle to sign the contract with the spiritual land on his behalf, thereby bearing the restrictions of the Blessed Land.

There was also the bead in his mind that had remained silent until now; it had suddenly vibrated the first time he heard the term “Blessed Land.”

This ancestral bead had traveled through time and space with him; it was certainly no ordinary object. Since it had suddenly vibrated, perhaps this Blessed Land had some connection to the bead.

Considering all these factors, and with the Eternal Turtle clone and the mysterious bead as his trump cards, Ye Qingxuan decided to take the gamble. There was no such thing as a smooth path in cultivation; if one wanted to gain something, one naturally had to accept certain risks.

If all else failed, he didn't believe that in over three thousand years, he couldn't break through a single realm.

By then, he would find an opportunity to cultivate a clone technique, and he could simply hide away in the Xuantian Sect until the end of time.

Hearing Ye Qingxuan’s agreement, Ye Yuhong first signaled for Ye Qingbi and Ye Qinghe to leave.

Once the two had left the hall, Ye Yuhong couldn't help but speak

“Have you really thought this through? After becoming a Fortune Cultivator, the resources of the Blessed Land are not yours alone.

Fortune Cultivator disciples of the Xuantian Sect are required to complete a certain amount of planting tasks every year.

After completing the planting tasks, while the additional resources cultivated in the Blessed Land belong to you, the quota for the Fortune Cultivator was obtained through the Ancestor and the family.

Therefore, the Ancestor will take thirty percent of these extra resources, and the family will take another thirty percent. Only the remaining forty percent will be yours.

You will have to sign a contract for this.

And the loneliness of sitting in one place—have you really thought about that?”

After speaking, Ye Yuhong looked deeply at Ye Qingxuan.

He knew that many Fortune Cultivators in the Xuantian Sect did not live out their natural lifespans but died from mental collapse.

Not everyone could endure days where there was no hope in sight.

Thus, the quota for a Fortune Cultivator was precious, yet also not precious; it mainly depended on the individual.

This was the real reason why the Ye family ancestor was able to obtain a Fortune Cultivator quota with only a Nascent Soul cultivation.

A first-tier Blessed Land could not bring many resources to the family. He didn't believe Ye Qingxuan could develop the Blessed Land and upgrade it to a second-tier one.

The Ye family was not lacking in those few resources, and it wasn't worth it to let a clansman walk down a path of no return, so he hadn't been very concerned about the quota.

It wouldn't have mattered if no one was willing to become a Fortune Cultivator.

But he hadn't expected Ye Qingxuan to agree after hearing his explanation.

Facing Ye Yuhong’s confirmation, Ye Qingxuan gave him a grateful look.

He wasn't stupid; he knew this was Ye Yuhong’s advice, but the advantages of becoming a Fortune Cultivator were enough for him to take the risk. After all, he was not without support.

Furthermore, he had enough confidence to develop the Blessed Land; perhaps by then, the Blessed Land could even lend him a helping hand.

Once Ye Qingxuan had made up his mind, he already had a plan in place, so he said with a firm gaze

“Patriarch, I have decided. I am willing to become a Fortune Cultivator. But could the family provide me with some support?”

Seeing Ye Qingxuan like this, knowing he had made up his mind, Ye Yuhong stopped trying to dissuade him and asked directly

“What kind of support do you want from the family?”

Ye Qingxuan had already made his decision and didn't ask for anything excessive, saying

“I want all the medicinal herb seeds and the alchemy inheritance of the family.”

Medicinal herb seeds were not precious; the real difficulty lay in cultivating the herbs and accumulating their medicinal potency.

The alchemy inheritance was truly precious, but it wouldn't cause any substantial loss to the family.

Hearing what Ye Qingxuan wanted, Ye Yuhong looked at him deeply, pondered for a moment, and said

“It seems you really have a plan. In that case, I will not try to persuade you further.

I will take responsibility for what you want: you shall have one set of every category of medicinal herb seeds, and one copy of the family’s alchemy inheritance.

Additionally, the family will give you thirty thousand low-grade spirit stones as your starting capital at the Xuantian Sect.

Ye Qingxuan, do not let me down. I hope you can bring me surprises in the future.”

Seeing that the Patriarch had not only agreed to his conditions but also given him an extra thirty thousand low-grade spirit stones, Ye Qingxuan was overjoyed and quickly said

“Patriarch, rest assured, Qingxuan will never let you down! But before I leave, I would like to go back and see my parents.”

Ye Yuhong nodded and said

“In that case, I will give you three days. I will have Yonglun take you back. Three days later, I will personally take you to the Xuantian Sect. You may go now!”

“Yes, thank you, Patriarch!”

Having obtained the answer he wanted, Ye Qingxuan turned and left the hall. Before leaving, he whispered in his heart

“Eternal Turtle clone, and the mysterious bead that traveled with me—please don't let me down!”

On the other side, Ye Yuhong watched Ye Qingxuan’s departing back and muttered to himself

“So young, yet to sit in one place for a lifetime... I only hope you don't regret it, kid!”

Then, he shook his head with a wry smile. How could he have, even for a moment, pinned his hopes for breaking the deadlock on a clansman who hadn't even started cultivating?

The current Ye family had reached a bottleneck in its development.

The Xuantian Sect had established rules that protected many forces, allowing them to pass down their legacy for a long time.

However, this also limited the development of many forces.

After long periods of exploration and development, the resources within the Ye family’s territory had been exploited to the limit.

Under sustainable development, the resource points within the territory could only allow the Ye family to maintain its current scale; it could not continue to expand.

And the resources obtained from outside the territory were merely a drop in the bucket.

Because resources outside the territories of major forces belonged to the Xuantian Sect, the sect would not interfere with scattered collection.

But if anyone dared to stake a claim outside their territory, they would have to see if they were tough enough to back it up.

Only if the Ye family could cultivate its own Nascent Soul cultivator and advance to a Nascent Soul force would they gain the right to expand their territory.

But with resources lagging behind, the difficulty of cultivating a Nascent Soul cultivator increased significantly.

One couldn't just hold back talented clansmen and delay their future, could they?

The family needed cultivators who were loyal to the family, not those who held grudges against it.

Moreover, advancing to a Nascent Soul force naturally was better than forcing growth.

Under the rules of the Xuantian Sect, the Ye family was not yet in a crisis that would force them to burn their bridges.

In the end, unable to think of an effective solution, Ye Yuhong patted his head in frustration and left the hall as well.