Volume One, Chapter Ten: Does This Count as Betrayal?

Page 1/3

It was still the same man who had spoken earlier.
The head of the Zheng family wore a worried expression, yet his gaze was resolute.
“It’s nothing—I will persuade my Dao partner myself!”
...
Qiu Yutong, 503 years old, mid-stage Golden Core, Zheng Feng’s second consort.
She bore the mature visage of a woman, her most striking feature being an aura of fortune and prosperity she brought to her husband.
“What did you say? You want me to serve another man? And a mortal at that?”
She was furious, almost wishing to strike the Dao partner she had shared over 300 years with.
Zheng Feng said, “It’s not as sordid as you imagine. This is for the future of the family. Imagine having a child with an Immortal Spiritual Root—an Immortal Spiritual Root! Don’t you want that?”
At this, Qiu Yutong’s heart wavered. An Immortal Spiritual Root, a peerless gift unseen for millions of years—who wouldn’t desire it?
To be the mother of a child with such a root! The very thought stirred her blood.
“But... but won’t you be jealous?”
“For the family’s future, such a sacrifice is trivial. Besides, we have no children now. When the child is born, it will be ours,” Zheng Feng assured.
Qiu Yutong muttered in her heart, “You are truly magnanimous, pushing your own wife out...”
Since he didn’t care, why should she? Hmph.
Nie family.
Ye Bufan was carving a bamboo tube, preparing to craft a flute.
Zheng Feng and Qiu Yutong arrived.
“Elder Zheng, this lady is...”
Ye Bufan caught a glimpse of the woman’s unique charm and couldn’t help but glance twice.
“Never mind that. I brought her here for a child today.”
Ye Bufan immediately understood.
With a light chuckle, he said, “Very well, please come inside. I have prepared a separate room.”
Zheng Feng grunted, “You’ve prepared well.”
The door creaked shut.
Zheng Feng stayed outside.
Inside, the room was dimly lit, casting a hazy, beautiful light on the pair.
Qiu Yutong sat on the edge of the bed. “You may begin.”
“Oh, alright!”
The candle flickered.
Sounds filled the air.
Half an hour later.
Zheng Feng muttered, “Why is this taking so long?”
Another fifteen minutes passed.
Ye Bufan’s satisfied expression showed he was nearly finished.
[Notification: System detected recipient has dual Spiritual Roots.
Option 1: Consume twenty years of lifespan to strengthen offspring. Minimum Yellow-grade root, maximum Yellow root.
Option 2: Consume two hundred years of lifespan to strengthen offspring. Minimum Yellow-grade root, maximum Profound root.
Option 3: Consume two thousand years of lifespan to strengthen offspring. Minimum Yellow-grade root, maximum Earth root.
Option 4: Consume twenty thousand years of lifespan to strengthen offspring. Minimum Yellow-grade root, maximum Heavenly root.
Option 5: Consume two hundred thousand years of lifespan to strengthen offspring. Minimum Yellow-grade root, maximum Immortal Spiritual root.
Current enhancement success rate: 90%.]
“What? Click, click, click.”
Ye Bufan quickly paused, fearing the system might auto-select an option.
He only had 545 years of lifespan left, including the 400 Spiritual Stones added later.
Who would have guessed that old Zheng would bring someone with dual Spiritual Roots!
If the system chose the optimal option automatically, he’d be doomed.
He hurriedly paused.
Stepping outside, he tightened his belt.
Zheng Feng watched, though inwardly trying to bolster his courage and set expectations, still felt uneasy.
He wondered whether to end Ye Bufan immediately after this.
“Are you done?”
“Not yet.”
“What!?”
Ye Bufan hurriedly explained,
“Why didn’t you tell me you brought someone with dual Spiritual Roots? I need 400,000 Spiritual Stones for this.”
“You almost got me killed. Sigh.”
Zheng Feng’s anger cooled quickly, replaced by calm. Indeed, he had not thought things through.
There’s no such cheap deal—400 Spiritual Stones for an Immortal Spiritual Root? Even 400,000 was very, very cheap.
But he didn’t have that much. Zheng Feng could probably gather that for the family, but couldn’t spend it all here.
Reluctantly, he bit the bullet.
“Can it be forty thousand Spiritual Stones if the root grade is a bit lower?”
“Sure, forty thousand works. A slightly lower grade is fine.”
“How long will it take to absorb the Spiritual Stones?”
Zheng Feng took out forty thousand Spiritual Stones and placed a large pile in the courtyard.
Seeing such wealth for the first time, Ye Bufan happily swallowed.
He thought of the twenty thousand he would earn from this deal... pure profit.
“About two hours.”
He didn’t want to promise too much.
The Spiritual Stones quickly flew toward him. Zheng Feng used his spiritual sense to inspect; the stones were not being absorbed or refined in his dantian, sighing at fate’s cruelty.
Ye Bufan returned to the room.
One hour passed.
“Clang, dry weather, beware of fire.”
The night watchman was about to finish, and dawn was near.
The door creaked open.
Qiu Yutong stepped out.
She felt completely relaxed and warm throughout.
Seeing Zheng Feng, she suddenly felt a bit guilty.
Old Zheng had stood guard outside all night!
Seasons passed.
Six years after the two daughters became disciples.

Page 2/3

The youngest, Nie Feiyu, had reached the age to participate in the disciple acceptance ceremony. This time, Ye Bufan sent her directly without waiting six more years.
Liuyun Sect.
“What? Another Yellow-grade single Spiritual Root!”
“Did Ye Bufan save the Immortal Realm in his past life? Why is the Heavenly Dao so kind to him?”
Forbidden grounds of the sect.
Xiao Wanying: “Another supreme Spiritual Root!”
“Feifei, Yan’er, come out and meet your third sister.”
She began to suspect that Ye Bufan was hiding some secret.
She intended to investigate further.
Zheng family.
Zheng Feng was furious.
“Why?”
“Why is it a mortal?”
His Dao partner, Qiu Yutong, had given birth to Ye Bufan’s child.
He had hoped for a rare Heavenly Spiritual Root but got a mortal instead!
“That Ye Bufan, he infuriates me!”
He had played with his Dao partner and deceived him of his Spiritual Stones.
Choking in anger, clutching his chest and coughing, unable to contain his fury, he mounted his flying sword and headed toward the Nie family.
Meanwhile, Ye Bufan was playing with his children—he now had six.
Fourth child, Nie Feixuan (enhancement failed, no Spiritual Root)
Fifth child, Ye Feiyao (Profound-grade Water Spiritual Root)
Sixth child, Nie Tianba (Yellow-grade Earth Spiritual Root—finally a boy!)
The child born to Nie Yushan bore the Nie surname, while the child born to Zheng Xiuying bore the Ye surname.
“Ye Bufan, come out here!”
Old Zheng shouted furiously.
“Elder Zheng, what’s wrong? Who upset you?”
“Hmph, why? Why is the child mortal and not Heavenly Spiritual Root?”
Xiao Wanying, the Liuyun Sect patriarch who had just arrived, overheard this and prepared to eavesdrop.
Zheng Feng, only a Golden Core cultivator, could not detect her.
“Ah, well, Elder Zheng, as I said, there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance, not a hundred percent guarantee. Just have another try.”
Ye Bufan spoke plaintively.
“Another try?”
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
“Your previous children all had Spiritual Roots.”
“Maybe the last person you brought had too high a root grade, so the odds were slightly lower this time. Just bad luck.”
Zheng Feng sighed angrily, “Looks like my Dao partner, um, Dao friend Qiu, must try again!”
Hiding nearby, Xiao Wanying covered her mouth in astonishment.
“What... did I just hear?”

Page 3/3