Chapter 3

"Really is a ginseng fruit!"

After opening the yellow wooden box, Tang Chuyang couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. In the middle of a spread-out red cloth, there sat a naked infant in a cross-legged position, extremely similar in appearance. Perhaps due to its poor quality or lack of maturity, the infant's features were somewhat blurry, with only faint traces of a nose and eyes. However, even so, it was incredibly lifelike.

"Of course it's a ginseng fruit. This is a genuine first-grade spirit fruit. I don't know where you picked up this habit, but you actually eat spirit fruits as snacks. For this ginseng fruit, I spent all my private savings and even sacrificed my appearance to have that old pervert at the Treasure Pavilion stare at me for a long time before he finally sold it to me! If you don't treat your elder sister well in the future, I'll definitely knock some sense into you!"

As Tang Chulan spoke, she made a threatening gesture toward Tang Chuyang's head, as if to say, "I really will hit you." Tang Chuyang found it amusing, but at the same time, he felt a warm sense of gratitude.

Is this what family feels like? It's a pretty good feeling.

"Second Sister, don't do this again. From now on, I won't like ginseng fruits anymore!"

If it were the old Tang Chuyang, he would have been overjoyed at the sight of the ginseng fruit. But the current Tang Chuyang was different. Having rarely experienced family affection and care, he valued his second sister's concern and love more. As for the ginseng fruit, although it was precious, for the Tang Chuyang who was just beginning to taste the sweetness of family, his family was the most important thing.

"Huh? Something's not right. Little Brother, did Lin Qingyun hit you too hard and knock some sense into you?"

Tang Chulan looked at Tang Chuyang with a surprised and charming face. Normally, when she brought him a ginseng fruit, he would have been overjoyed and run off to enjoy it. But today, he completely ignored his favorite ginseng fruit and instead showed concern for his second sister, which had never happened before.

Carefully lifting her delicate hand, Tang Chulan gently touched her little brother's forehead. Tang Chuyang smiled bitterly, thinking that no one would have guessed that his soul had been replaced by someone else.

Perhaps the old Tang Chuyang was too carefree, and now even his free-spirited and straightforward second sister was surprised by his slight show of concern.

"Second Sister, I'm fine. After being injured by Lin Qingyun, I suddenly had a great awakening and understood many things. The old me was too much of a troublemaker..."

This excuse was rather poor, but it was the only reasonable explanation Tang Chuyang could think of. Otherwise, how would he explain his completely different personality in the future?

In this magical world, where gods and Buddhas exist, the reason of a great awakening would be acceptable to his family. After all, Tang Chuyang believed he would only get better in the future and would no longer be as carefree as before.

"You... Little Brother has grown up and knows how to care for his second sister."

Tang Chulan's eyes instantly welled up with tears, making her large, beautiful eyes even brighter. Little Brother was a spoiled rich kid, pampered by all the women in the family. Because the men in the family had mysteriously disappeared or died, as the only surviving male of the Tang family, it was hard for the widows not to spoil him.

This had made Tang Chuyang carefree and indifferent to the women in the family, except for the old matriarch, who could make him behave.

A few days ago, Little Brother took money to the Treasure Pavilion to buy a ginseng fruit, coincidentally encountering Lin Qingyun, the second son of the Lin family, who was also there to buy a ginseng fruit. The Tang, Lin, and Zhang families were well-known clans in Jingyun County, always competing and suppressing each other. Little Brother, spoiled from a young age, was not only physically weak but also lazy in cultivation, with almost no notable achievements.

The men of the Tang family had mysteriously disappeared or died, causing the once-strongest family in Jingyun County to rapidly decline. Now, the family consisted of widows and underage girls, with Tang Chuyang being the only male. Although there were many men among the servants, they had already scattered due to the family's decline, and only a few remained.

Such a fragile and nearly collapsing Tang family naturally attracted the attention of their rivals, the Lin and Zhang families. If not for the strong women in the family, the Lin and Zhang families would have already divided the Tang family. Even so, the Lin and Zhang families had become increasingly arrogant, doing everything possible to undermine the Tang family.

A ginseng fruit, a first-grade spirit fruit, was the best medicinal herb in a small place like Jingyun County. Lin Qingyun, seeing such a good opportunity, naturally wouldn't miss the chance to torment Tang Chuyang, the only direct male descendant of the Tang family.

Lin Qingyun's few taunting words were enough to make the spoiled Tang Chuyang, ignoring the strength gap, charge at him with red eyes. If not for the timely arrival of his cautious second aunt, Tang Yunting, Tang Chuyang might have been killed without any recourse.

Tang Chuyang, who had inherited the memories of his predecessor, knew all this. Such foolish actions were typical of a spoiled rich kid. If it were the current Tang Chuyang, he would have endured and worked hard to cultivate, or used other schemes to avenge himself. After all, a gentleman's revenge is never too late.

Seeing the misty eyes of Tang Chulan, Tang Chuyang, worried that she might cry out loud, quickly changed the subject:

"Second Sister, I've been negligent in cultivation, and now I'm almost sixteen but have no defensive abilities. Why don't you tell me about cultivation? Among our generation, it seems you have the highest cultivation, except for Cousin Wenqing..."

Liao Wenqing was the daughter of Tang Chuyang's second aunt and the most accomplished cultivator among their generation. Tang Chuyang remembered her well because his predecessor was often scolded by this cold-tempered cousin.

"Cultivation? What's there to talk about? There are so many books about 'summoning deities' in the family's back hall. You can go there and read them..."

Tang Chulan waved her hand impatiently. Although she was the second-highest cultivator in the family, she wasn't particularly enthusiastic about cultivation. If not for the pressure from the Zhang and Lin families, she might have been as unwilling as Tang Chuyang to waste time on cultivation, which she found too tedious.

However, seeing the eager and inquisitive look in her little brother's eyes, Tang Chulan reluctantly flopped onto his bed, rolled around in frustration, and then continued:

"Since you want to cultivate, I'll guide you. But you've never cultivated before, so you're probably still at the Qi Induction stage of the One Yuan Realm, right?"

Tang Chuyang nodded sheepishly. The One Yuan Realm was the most basic stage of cultivation.

"The One Yuan Realm is divided into three minor stages: Qi Induction, Qi Condensation, and Spirit Nourishment. After breaking through the Spirit Nourishment stage and reaching the Essence Cultivation stage, you enter the Two Yi Realm."

Tang Chulan didn't notice her little brother's embarrassment and began to impart all the cultivation knowledge she knew. The only male of the Tang family wanting to cultivate was a significant event.

"The Two Yi Realm focuses on the separation of Yin and Yang. The first minor stage, Essence Cultivation, is about nurturing the primordial spirit until it's large enough to separate into Yin and Yang. The next two minor stages are Essence Opening and Spirit Conception. After breaking through the Spirit Conception stage, you enter the third major realm, the Three Talents Realm. I'm currently at the initial stage of the Three Talents Realm, the Human Essence stage, still far from the Earth Essence stage."

"However, you're only at the Qi Induction stage of the One Yuan Realm. After you pass the 'Qi Induction and Body Strengthening' and 'Qi Condensation and Spirit Connection' stages, reaching the 'Spirit Nourishment and Primordial Spirit Roaming' stage, you can communicate with the Heavenly Armored Soldiers, Demon Soldiers, or the Mustard Soldiers of the Western Paradise. Reaching too high too soon will only lead to your primordial spirit being insufficient, causing your three souls and seven spirits to wither and die!"

"The One Yuan Realm isn't too difficult. I only took three years to reach the full One Yuan Realm. You have better aptitude than me, so if you work hard, you should be able to summon a Heavenly Armored Soldier in about a year..."

"Summon Heavenly Armored Soldiers?! How do you summon them? Do you just call their names to bring them down?"

Tang Chuyang was completely captivated by his second sister's words. One Yuan Realm? Two Yi Realm? Three Talents Realm? What about the Four Phases, Five Elements, and Six Directions of ancient Chinese array culture? For Tang Chuyang, a descendant of the Ma Yi Sect who had read classics like the *I Ching*, *Tao Te Ching*, and *Daoist Alchemy*, these things were not difficult at all.

"Go to hell! It's not that easy. To summon Heavenly Armored Soldiers, you must reach the Spirit Nourishment stage, where your primordial spirit can roam the upper four realms and communicate with Heavenly Armored Soldiers, Demon Soldiers, and Mustard Soldiers, who are less bound by the laws of the upper realms."

"However, the upper four realms are vast, and finding Heavenly Armored Soldiers or Demon Soldiers depends on the cultivator's luck and aptitude. With good luck, you might find a suitable Heavenly Armored Soldier or Demon Soldier in a month or two. With bad luck, it might take three to five years to form a contract, which isn't unusual!"

Seeing Tang Chuyang's innocent and naive expression, Tang Chulan sat up helplessly, pulled her little brother to her side, and continued:

"However, for those with exceptional aptitude and powerful primordial spirits, there's no need to search for Heavenly Armored Soldiers or Mustard Soldiers. While mortals seek upper realm Heavenly Armored Soldiers, the Heavenly Armored Soldiers also seek mortals who can provide them with sufficient primordial spirit. If your primordial spirit is powerful enough, you might attract the attention of Heavenly Armored Soldiers or Demon Soldiers as soon as you enter the upper four realms. Therefore, those with extraordinary talent have no trouble forming contracts with Heavenly Armored Soldiers or Demon Soldiers."

At this point, Tang Chulan poked Tang Chuyang's forehead with her delicate finger and warned him sternly:

"As for Heavenly Generals, don't even think about it. They can only be summoned at the Four Phases Realm. I'm currently at the Three Talents Realm and only have the qualifications to form a contract with Golden Armored Soldiers."

"You, just focus on improving your own strength first. The stronger you are, the more primordial spirit essence you can provide, and the more primordial spirit essence you provide, the more likely you are to attract higher-level guardians from the upper four realms. If you want powerful Heavenly Armored Soldiers, Generals, or even higher-level Star Lords to protect you, you need to improve your own strength first!"