Chapter 2

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This chapter is edited by Sheepadu. Thank you for your contribution!

Chapter 2: The Magical Peach Mountain Villa

The estate where Lin Jiang lived was called the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa. Spanning about thirty miles, the entire area belonged to the villa. Despite its vast land, the villa housed only around a hundred households. It was protected not just by walls, but also by a Formation Array.

The villa boasted one hundred and twenty acres of peach orchards. These were no ordinary peach trees; they were magical plants. The peaches they produced, known as spiritual peaches, were not only exceptionally sweet but also imbued with spiritual essence.

Each year, the spiritual peaches bore fruit. Half of the harvest was reserved for the family’s consumption, while the other half was sold, fetching about seventy to eighty magic stones. In addition to the orchards, the villa had two hundred acres of spiritual land, which produced spiritual rice. This rice, also sold by the family, earned a slightly lower price than the market rate but still brought in about a hundred magic stones annually. This income constituted the villa’s total revenue.

Lin Jiang retained about half of these two hundred magic stones. Technically, the villa belonged not to Lin Jiang but to his mother, as part of her dowry.

Lin Jiang’s mother hailed from a family of independent cultivators. His grandfather, a Foundation Building Stage cultivator, had recognized the potential in Lin Batian, who was both powerful and ambitious. To secure a promising alliance, he arranged for his daughter to become Lin Batian’s concubine, providing a generous dowry in the process.

As Lin Batian’s power grew, he continually expanded his territory. Lin Jiang’s mother used her dowry to acquire the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa, aiming to ensure a stable and sustainable income for their family.

Three years ago, the previous Lin Jiang had angered Lin Batian due to his lack of progress in cultivation and was punished as a result. Unable to bear seeing this, Lin Jiang’s mother handed over the management of the villa to her son, secretly providing him with financial support. She hoped that her son would prove himself, gain prestige, and, in turn, give her some standing. After all, a son’s success would give her a chance to compete for favor in Lin Batian’s eyes.

“Master Lin.”

“Master Lin.”

“Master Lin.”

As Lin Jiang arrived at the spiritual land, the tenant farmers in the fields greeted him continuously, offering their sincere thanks to both him and the Lin family.

In this world, there was no formal government, but landlords, bullies, bandits, and even wild beasts and demons were all too common. It was no exaggeration to say that ordinary people outside lived in constant danger. However, in the Peach Garden Manor, the protection of walls and formations kept bandits, wild beasts, and demons at bay. The rent the Lin family charged was minimal—just one hundred and twenty mu of peach orchard land and all the produce from two hundred mu of spiritual land. The tenants could freely cultivate the remaining land and keep all their harvest for themselves, ensuring they never lacked for food or clothing.

Lin Jiang scanned the spiritual land, noting that the spiritual rice paddies were growing well. This year, the crop seemed to be thriving even more than last year, which meant a higher yield of spiritual rice and, consequently, more spirit stones.

During his patrol, he also encountered several guards. These were not cultivators but ordinary people trained in basic martial arts. They patrolled the estate to protect it from beasts and common bandits. In the event of demons or enemy cultivators, they would sound an alarm, and Lin Jiang would use a voice transmission symbol to summon reinforcements from the family. More powerful cultivators would then come to handle the threat.

After the patrol, Lin Jiang returned to his house and began meditating and practicing cultivation. He set a goal to practice for two hours each day. After all, he didn’t lack for time. If necessary, he could cultivate for hundreds of years to reach the Qi Refining stage.

By the time he finished his training, the housekeeper had already prepared the meal. Although the cook’s skills weren’t as good as the previous servant’s, Lin Jiang didn’t mind. After years of eating fast food boxes, this was nothing.

······

System Name: Lifespan Check-in System

Host: Lin Jiang

Lifespan: 17/180

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. One day, just after Lin Jiang checked in with the system, a guard hurriedly entered the room.

“Young Master, the family’s steward has arrived.”

“Understood. Take him to the warehouse. I’ll be there shortly.”

Lin Jiang nodded. The spiritual paddy crop had been harvested this year, and the Lin family had sent a steward to purchase it. This was an important event for the estate.

When Lin Jiang arrived at the warehouse, a middle-aged man was already waiting. Upon seeing Lin Jiang, he greeted him with a smile. He was a worker hired by Lin Batian, essentially a temporary employee for the Lin family. Though his status wasn’t high, he still treated the young master with great respect.

“Oh, it’s Steward Wu. You must be tired, sir.”

“Sixth Young Master, you’re too kind. Shall we begin?”

“Alright, let’s get started then.”

Lin Jiang nodded and gave his instructions. The servants began carrying the bags of spiritual paddy out of the warehouse and weighing them.

“Sixth Young Master, the weather hasn’t been very favorable this year, so the price of spiritual paddy in Yun State has risen a bit. Now, one spirit stone can only buy five hundred kilograms. According to tradition, would six hundred kilograms per spirit stone be acceptable?”

Steward Wu explained to Lin Jiang that when members of the Lin family sold their personal belongings to the family, they received a slightly lower price than what was available outside. The advantage, however, was that they could sell as much as they had without having to handle the process themselves.

“No problem.”

Lin Jiang waved his hand in agreement. Although he would lose a bit on the price, the convenience was worth it. In his view, this was simply how things worked within the Lin family.

Spiritual paddy was heavier than regular rice. The best spiritual land could yield around 600 kilograms per acre. Lin Jiang owned 200 acres of land with average quality, yielding over 80,000 kilograms of spiritual paddy. He kept 20,000 kilograms for himself and sold the rest to his family.

“Sixth Young Master, here is the receipt. You can go to the family’s accounting office to collect the money in a few days.”

Steward Wu handed Lin Jiang several storage bags, each packed in batches, along with the receipt. Lin Jiang could collect his payment at the accounting office.

Lin Jiang nodded and bid farewell to Steward Wu. He instructed the servants to begin milling the rice. Immortals didn’t consume regular grains but rather spirit food, which aided their cultivation. Lin Jiang planned to send some of the remaining spirit rice to his beloved mother and sister, Lin Ying. Though the family provided some rations, they weren’t enough to last the whole year, so he needed to buy additional supplies.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and it was now the end of the year. Lin Jiang gave instructions for the guards to prepare two large carts loaded with 10,000 kilograms of milled spirit rice. Due to his limited financial resources, he couldn’t afford a large enough storage bag to hold all the rice, so he decided to transport it directly to the Lin family.

The Lin family’s gate was about 800 miles away from the estate. However, the horses pulling the carts had the bloodline of mythical creatures and were incredibly strong. Traveling 500 miles a day was effortless for them, and they reached their destination in just two days.

“Oh, isn’t this my Sixth Uncle?”

As Lin Jiang arrived at the entrance, a casual voice called out. He turned around to see his nephew, Lin Ke Wen, the eldest son of his elder brother Lin Shan, who was a few years older than Lin Jiang.

“Ke Wen, you don’t even pay your respects to your Sixth Uncle? You don’t think I’ll report you later?”

“You, you…”

“What about me? Has the family forgotten its manners?”

“You’re tough. Nephew greets Sixth Uncle.”

In the end, Lin Ke Wen was intimidated. The Lin family, as an up-and-coming family, had strict rules. Lin Batian also valued filial piety. Despite Lin Jiang being somewhat of a disgrace in the eyes of the second generation, he was still Lin Ke Wen’s uncle.

“Nephew, since you’ve been so disobedient, you won’t be receiving the New Year’s money this year.”

Lin Jiang laughed and then entered through the Lin family’s main gate.

According to Lin Batian’s rules, except for important matters like secluded cultivation, the whole family gathered at the end of the year. So, within the Lin family’s main gate, members of the family could be seen everywhere.

“Greetings, Big Brother.”

“Hello, Second Elder Brother.”

“Hello, Third Sister.”

Lin Jiang bowed all the way through the crowd. As the sixth eldest brother in the Lin family’s second generation, he had to bow first to the five older siblings ahead of him, and the younger brothers and sisters behind him had to bow to him in return.

Afterward, Lin Jiang went to see his father, Lin Batian, and his formal wife, Mrs. Zheng. He had to present each of them with two thousand kilograms of spirit rice. Of course, this wasn’t a gift given without expectation. When the New Year came, they would return the favor with a larger gift in kind.

After greeting his father, Lin Jiang went to see his mother, Zhuang Rong. Zhuang Rong was naturally beautiful and ranked high among Lin Batian’s concubines. Both Lin Jiang and his sister, Lin Ying, inherited her good genes and were also good-looking.

Zhuang Rong had reached the seventh level of Qi Refining and possessed good Spiritual Root talent. However, she was somewhat overly focused on matters of the heart. Since marrying Lin Batian, she had neglected her cultivation, prioritizing instead the competition for his favor. As a result, her cultivation had stagnated for over ten years.

“My child, you have suffered…”

As soon as she saw Lin Jiang, Zhuang Rong immediately hugged him, tears streaming down her face. Though Zhuang Rong wasn’t the sharpest, she was very loving toward her children.

Lin Jiang tried to resist this outpouring of affection, but his cultivation was not as advanced as his mother’s, and he couldn’t break free. He could only look to Lin Ying for help. With a smile, Lin Ying stepped forward and offered some words of advice, easing the situation.

Zhuang Rong finally let go of Lin Jiang and tearfully began to complain to him. She told him about the mistreatment she had suffered in the sect and how a certain aunt had bullied her. Then, as was typical, she shifted the topic to her own pride, stating that a mother’s pride relied on her child’s success. She wanted Lin Jiang to improve his cultivation quickly, so she could hold her head high and feel superior. This was more or less the same every time they met.

Lin Jiang rolled his eyes. The original Lin Jiang might have believed it, but he knew from the memories of the original owner that their mother could be quite fierce. She treated others well only if they didn’t try to bully her, and anyone who crossed her could expect trouble.

“Son, why aren’t you speaking? Say something.”

“Mother, don’t get angry when your son speaks.”

“Tell me, why would mother be angry with you?”

“Mother, this is what I think. It’s better to rely on oneself than on others. Father is in the Golden Core Stage, able to live for five hundred years. The other stepmothers are in the Qi Refining Stage, with a lifespan of around a hundred years. When they reach their seventies or eighties, even the best cultivation technique can’t prevent aging. If I were you, I would definitely work hard to improve my cultivation and reach the Foundation Building Stage. That way, I could outlive the other stepmothers. If I could reach the Golden Core Stage, even the main mother’s Foundation Building Stage would pale in comparison. We could stay together for five hundred years, just like Father.”

“If both Father and Mother could advance to the Nascent Soul or Soul Formation Stage, or even ascend together, wouldn’t you be able to be together forever, as happy immortal companions?”

Lin Jiang couldn’t help but come up with the idea. Silly mother, in the cultivation world, the essence of palace intrigues lay in cultivation. No matter how beautiful you were, you couldn’t stay eighteen forever. But there were always eighteen-year-old girls each year. Even if you defeated the other stepmothers, what if Father took more concubines?

So, it all came down to cultivation. Only when your cultivation level was high was it truly useful. If you reached the Golden Core Stage, you could dance on Mrs. Zheng’s tomb after a hundred years or so.

Zhuang Rong’s eyes lit up when she heard this. It made so much sense. If she reached the Golden Core Stage, she would see who could outlast her.