18: Chapter 18 Seventh-Grade Spiritual Root?

Senior Brother Zhuge Ming walked into the cave dwelling. His gaze first swept over his sister, whose eyes were still slightly red but whose face wore a happy smile, and then looked at the life signs that had clearly increased within the dwelling. He nodded slightly, his expression much softer than the last time.

"I just came over to see how Yueer is doing here with you."

Senior Brother Zhuge Ming said, his tone still fairly calm, but then he changed the subject to the main topic. "Also, the Zhuge Family hopes that you two can seize the time and expand the family line for the Zhuge Family sooner rather than later. It would be best if you could give birth to an offspring with a spiritual root."

Li Guidai's heart skipped a beat. It's here, it's here, the baby pressure is here!

He kept his expression calm on the surface and nodded repeatedly. "Rest assured, Senior Brother Zhuge Ming, we will certainly work hard! We will never fail the expectations of the family and Senior Brother Zhuge Ming!"

Yet internally, he was complaining wildly: 'This Zhuge Family really treats son-in-laws like stud horses! They started pushing for results on just the second day!'

Senior Brother Zhuge Ming seemed to see through Li Guidai's thoughts and added, "If you two can give birth to an offspring with excellent spiritual roots early on, with the support of my branch, it won't be difficult to enter the family's inner circle in the future to obtain more cultivation resources and receive better instruction."

These words carried a hint of encouragement and a hint of implication.

Li Guidai immediately understood and patted his chest in assurance. "Understood! Senior Brother Zhuge Ming! For the sake of Yueer, and for our future, I, Li Guidai, will certainly devote myself to the utmost... ah no, I mean I will give it my all to have a child soon!"

His posture was as if he had accepted a glorious and arduous combat mission.

Senior Brother Zhuge Ming's mouth seemed to twitch!

He was a bit speechless at Li Guidai's overly "enthusiastic" attitude, but he continued, "Of course, if... if the child born is a mortal..."

He paused, glanced at Zhuge Yue who had instantly become tense, and softened his tone. "Although according to the rules, you could handle it yourself, even if the child has no spiritual root, that is still my, Senior Brother Zhuge Ming's, own nephew. I can arrange for him to go to a mortal dynasty, ensuring him a lifetime of wealth; living as a stable, wealthy idler is not a problem."

Upon hearing this, Li Guidai felt relieved. Although this brother-in-law was serious, he still had some humanity.

He quickly said, "Senior Brother Zhuge Ming is righteous! Regardless of whether the child has a spiritual root or not, it is my, Li Guidai's, own flesh and blood, and I will certainly raise it well!"

Senior Brother Zhuge Ming nodded and gave Zhuge Yue a few more instructions about "cultivating well and listening to your husband," then stood up to leave.

Li Guidai quickly saw him off, and only when the figure of Senior Brother Zhuge Ming disappeared at the intersection did he wipe away non-existent cold sweat and let out a long sigh of relief.

Returning to the cave dwelling, Zhuge Yue immediately approached with concern. "Husband, Brother, he..."

Li Guidai pulled her into an embrace and chuckled. "It's fine, it's fine, Brother-in-law is just concerned about us! It seems our 'cultivation' task is a heavy burden and the road is long!"

He leaned into Zhuge Yue's ear, lowered his voice, and said with a mischievous smile, "In order to complete the family quota sooner, and for our future, Wife, it seems we must... work twice as hard!"

Zhuge Yue's pretty face turned beet red in a flash, and she shyly buried herself in his chest, her small hands weakly beating against his chest as she muttered, "Husband... you... you are so bad..."

Li Guidai laughed heartily, feeling the warm, fragrant, and soft body in his arms, and felt that this pressure to have children... didn't seem like such a bad thing after all!

Time flew by, and a year passed.

"You're pregnant! Yueer! You're really pregnant!" He picked up Zhuge Yue, who was equally surprised and happy with teary eyes upon confirming the pregnancy, and spun her around several times until she coquettishly beat his chest, at which point he carefully set her down.

This year, Li Guidai's cultivation speed was like riding a rocket, shooting straight up, and he had already reached the Great Perfection of the ninth level of Qi Refining!

And Zhuge Yue, under his "diligent assistance" and the tilt of resources, progressed even faster, already becoming an expert at the early stage of the third level of Foundation Establishment!

Who would believe this if it were told? A year ago, she was still a little girl at the third level of Qi Refining!

Speaking of that top-grade foundation establishment pill, half a year ago, when Li Guidai had just broken through to the Great Perfection of the ninth level of Qi Refining, he had unhesitatingly stuffed it into Zhuge Yue's hands.

At that time, Zhuge Yue adamantly refused to take it, saying he needed it more.

Li Guidai held her, resting his chin on her shoulder, and whispered in her ear with a cheeky smile, "Silly Yueer, your husband has unique talent and doesn't walk the beaten path! This pill doesn't have much effect on me; you using it is just right to break through to Foundation Establishment, and it will lay a good foundation for our baby in the future! Besides, only when you are strong can you better 'protect' your husband, right?"

Zhuge Yue was left between laughter and tears by his warped logic, and eventually, under his insistence, she took the foundation establishment pill, allowing her cultivation to stabilize and improve.

Why didn't he use it himself? Because he had already reached the Great Perfection of the ninth level of Qi Refining half a year ago, half a month earlier than Zhuge Yue's breakthrough to Foundation Establishment!

He was so proud at the time, cheekily showing off to the system, "See that? This is my cultivation speed! Do I even need a foundation establishment pill?"

As a result, the system poured a bucket of cold water on him, saying that for his Ancient Kidney Physique to reach Foundation Establishment, he needed to find a Daoist partner with a seventh-grade spiritual root to engage in deeper "communication" to have a chance to break through, or... find a way to raise his own or Zhuge Yue's spiritual root to the seventh grade.

Upon hearing this, Li Guidai didn't believe it!

How could a seventh-grade spiritual root be so easy to find?

He felt that with his own Ancient Kidney Physique and the "Yin Moon Dao Harmonization Method," could he really not stack up a seventh-grade spiritual root? Thus, he began his crazy "baby-making... ah no, I mean 'spiritual root improvement' plan!"

Improving a spiritual root was as difficult as ascending to heaven. But he insisted on trying!

Thus, from that day on, Li Guidai started the crazy "baby-making... ah no, I mean the crazy 'cultivation' mode! Adhering to the principle that "force creates miracles," he formulated a strict "cultivation plan," never stopping until he completed ten "deep communications" every day!

You have to say, this desperate effort really had an effect!

Under his "painstaking" and "devoted" efforts, he actually managed to raise his own ninth-grade lower-tier fire spiritual root and Zhuge Yue's eighth-grade middle-tier water spiritual root to the level of perfection for their respective grades!

The distance to breaking through to the eighth and seventh grades was truly just that thin layer of window paper!

But it was this last layer of paper that felt like a chasm; no matter how Li Guidai "strove to impact" it, day and night without rest, he just couldn't poke through it!

This made things miserable for Zhuge Yue.

Although her cultivation improved quickly and her spiritual root also made progress, she really couldn't handle her husband's "drive" that was comparable to a donkey on a production team!

Although cultivation improved quickly and dual cultivation was indeed beneficial, she couldn't handle her husband's "insane" cultivation intensity!

Now, when she saw Li Guidai approaching with bright eyes, her legs would subconsciously go weak and she would want to hide, feeling both love and fear in her heart.

She even privately began to secretly ponder whether she should find an excuse to return to her brother's place to "take refuge" and rest for a period of time.

If it weren't for the fact that she was finally pregnant with a baby and had a legitimate reason to "call a truce," Zhuge Yue would have planned to pack her bags, run back to her maiden home to stay for a while, and properly recuperate! Who could handle this!