Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 12 Heavenly Pillar Mountain Medicine Collectors

Just one day prior, the Zhou family—a Golden Core Family and bitter rival of the Wangs—suddenly tracked down Fragrant Swallow Valley, trapping dozens of Wang family members within its depths.

To ensure that the Wang Family was completely wiped out without a single survivor, the Zhou family mobilized a formidable force, including three Foundation Establishment experts and a specialized squad of late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.

The situation was hopeless; the Wang Family was facing certain destruction.

The message at the end of the Thousand-mile Talisman urged Zhao Sheng and his kin to flee immediately. It warned that the Zhou family might target the Zhao family next in their quest to thoroughly pull up the Wangs by their roots.

Having safely resided in Ganzhou for over sixty years, the Wang family’s sudden discovery left Zhao Sheng shaken. Why had the Zhou family chosen this specific moment to strike?

While Zhao Sheng was consumed by shock and fury, he was also deeply confused—a sentiment shared by Wang Yuqi, who was equally in the dark.

A sudden realization struck him. "Could this be linked to that Foundation Establishment Pill?" he questioned.

Over the last decade, the Wang Family’s wealth had grown considerably due to their perfume business, allowing them to set aside three to four hundred Spirit Stones annually.

With Wang Zonghai approaching ninety years of age, his time was running out unless he could successfully achieve Foundation Establishment.

Consequently, half a year ago, the Wang family decided to risk their entire fortune to provide Wang Zonghai with a chance at Foundation Establishment.

During these six months, the Wangs had liquidated ancestral assets and engaged in desperate, low-profit trades, even pulling their son-in-law, Zhao Sheng, into their financial schemes.

Finally, a month ago, the family spent over twenty thousand Spirit Stones to acquire a low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.

Zhao Sheng’s intuition was correct; the pill was the catalyst, albeit indirectly. The true spark for this massacre was the sale of a hereditary spiritual artifact: the Red Dragon Sword.

This blade had been the primary weapon of the Wang Family’s Patriarch during his own Foundation Establishment years.

When the sword resurfaced at a workshop in the Liang Kingdom, a Foundation Establishment member of the Zhou family spotted it at an auction. This discovery revealed that the remnants of the Wang Family were hiding within the Liang Kingdom's borders.

The Wangs originally hailed from the Desolate Domain of the Da Yong Dynasty. Once a prominent Golden Core Family, their ancestor had been the mortal enemy of the Zhou Family’s Golden Core Ancestor.

Following the death of the Wang Patriarch, the family’s influence crumbled. Harassed by enemies and led by the Zhou Patriarch, their Great Array was eventually shattered, leading to a near-total slaughter.

Wang Zonghai’s group represented the final survivors of that once-great lineage.

"Husband, what should we do?" Wang Yuqi asked, her voice trembling with despair.

"Don't panic! Leave everything to me."

Recognizing that the Wang family was already lost, Zhao Sheng knew his priority had to be the survival of his own household.

He was faced with a brutal choice. He had eight children, ranging from sixteen-year-old Zhao Chenggong to little Zhao Chengle, who was only a year old.

Furthermore, the Nanyang Zhao Family consisted of over a thousand members.

He suspected the Nanyang Zhao Family might be safe; as mere mortals, the Zhou family likely wouldn't bother wasting effort on them.

However, his immediate family would not be spared. In the Cultivation World, the tradition of "cutting the grass and removing the roots" was strictly followed.

"The Dayong Zhou family! This debt of a broken home and scattered kin, I, Zhao, will repay ten times over. If not in this life, then the next, or the one after that... One day, the Zhou family will pay for this in blood."

With a grim expression, Zhao Sheng reached a heart-wrenching decision.

To give them the best chance at living, he and his wife would flee only with Zhao Chengle. The other seven children would be entrusted to loyal relatives to escape in different directions.

Wasting no time, Zhao Sheng sought out the Family Head, Zhao Hexing. He broke the news of the Wang Family’s fall and explained that they had to vanish immediately.

Zhao Hexing’s face drained of color, and he stood paralyzed by the weight of the news.

Ignoring the old man's shock, Zhao Sheng urgently repeated his escape plan.

Drawing on his decades of leadership experience, Zhao Hexing regained his composure. He summoned seven of his most reliable clansmen and finalized the arrangements within fifteen minutes.

Four hours later, a grief-stricken Zhao Sheng watched the carriages carrying his children depart toward unknown lands.

For the sake of security, the final destinations were kept secret from everyone, including Zhao Sheng himself.

Each child carried a specific family heirloom to ensure they could identify one another if they ever crossed paths again.

Zhao Sheng wondered if he would ever lay eyes on his children again before he died.

"Madam, stop looking. We need to go!"

After securing "Old Eight" into a sleeping bag on his back, Zhao Sheng pulled the dazed Wang Yuqi toward their mounts. They climbed onto two Thousand-mile Divine Steeds.

"Take care!"

Zhao Sheng gave a solemn nod to Zhao Hexing, whose hair seemed to have turned white overnight from the stress.

Clip-clop!

The powerful steeds snorted and took off, galloping away like arrows launched from a bowstring.

Once Zhao Sheng’s family faded from view, Zhao Hexing finally broke down in tears.

...

Summer had arrived at Heavenly Pillar Mountain. Its peaks pierced the clouds, and the craggy cliffs were draped in a thick shroud of emerald vines and wild flora.

Standing at the precipice, Zhao Sheng gazed out. Below him lay a literal sea of clouds, while above, the mountain continued into infinity. The wind howled like a crashing tide, churning the mist and battering the stone as if trying to hurl him into the abyss.

To his left and right, the massive rock walls stretched on until they vanished from sight.

This particular ledge was but a tiny, forgotten corner of the vast Heavenly Pillar Mountain—a range spanning thousands of miles with heights so extreme that medicine collectors rarely ventured here.

"Heavenly Pillar Mountain... does it truly reach the heavens? I wonder if I will ever see the true form of this peak if the Sea of Clouds and the Heavenly Gang ever part."

It was a common daydream for any medicine collector working these slopes.

Over the years, Zhao Sheng had scaled these cliffs countless times. No matter the season or the weather, the thick blanket of clouds never seemed to lift.

In the Cultivation World, Heavenly Pillar Mountain was legendary. Known as the Axis of Heaven, it served as both the world's center and a sanctuary for loose cultivators.

Twenty-three years had passed since Zhao Sheng’s family of three fled here, living under assumed identities near the mountain's base.

To provide cultivation resources for his youngest son, Zhao Sheng joined the ranks of the mountain's many medicine collectors. He spent his days gathering spiritual herbs to trade for Spirit Stones, talismans, and other essentials.

The region was famous for its spiritual flora, most notably the Purple Qi Mushroom and the elusive Moon Dew.

Moon Dew was a rarity found only at altitudes exceeding thirty miles—heights far too dangerous for anyone who had not yet reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Thus, the primary focus for collectors was the Purple Qi Mushroom.

These mushrooms were graded by age: White, Green, Red, and finally, the legendary Purple Ganoderma.

Specimens under a century old were White; those between one and five hundred years were Green. Once they surpassed five hundred years, they turned a fiery red. At a millennium of growth, they became purple, earning the name Purple Qi Mushroom.

Their fame was well-deserved: the five-hundred-year Red Ganoderma was a vital component for Foundation Establishment Pills, while the thousand-year Purple Qi Mushroom was a key ingredient for Golden Core Formation Pills.

Because of this, Purple Qi Mushrooms were among the most coveted treasures in the entire Cultivation World.