8: Chapter 8 Children Have Spiritual Roots

In other words, Chen Fan's first child was the same as his father, possessing a five-attribute pseudo-Spiritual Root with low Aptitude.

Great Elder Qin Yuanshan stared blankly for a long time, a strange expression appearing on his face.

Several Family Cultivators behind him were suppressing mischievous smiles, but because the Clan Chief was present, they could only hold them back.

Great Elder Qin Yuanshan stroked his gray beard and laughed, "Very good. There is a reward: twenty Spirit Stones and thirty catties of Spirit Rice."

Regardless, having a Spiritual Root was better than having none.

The reason for such a high reward was entirely to show the other Matrilocal sons-in-law; if they wanted to receive rewards, they had better hurry up and have children.

Soon after, the news that Chen Fan had given birth to a child with a Spiritual Root spread quickly, making the group of Matrilocal sons-in-law quite nervous, with some showing expressions of envy on their faces.

...

"Hmph, it's just a pseudo-Spiritual Root, isn't it? Why send out invitations?" Sun Xuan looked at the invitation, his face turning green.

"So what if it's a pseudo-Spiritual Root? That is still a great contribution to the Qin Family. Do you have one? You're busy Cultivating all day, just waiting for everyone to laugh at you!"

"Living on chaff and vegetables with you every day is truly bad luck. The Family rewarded him with twenty Spirit Stones at once; that is not a small amount."

The more Qin Shuangshuang spoke, the angrier she became. She stomped her foot and left the room in a rage, as if that sum of Spirit Stones should have been hers.

"You..."

Sun Xuan was furious with shame. Just as he was about to smash the tea set on the ground, he slowly put it down.

He was merely a Matrilocal son-in-law, enjoying a large amount of Family Cultivation resources for nothing, yet he was only at the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining—he was nothing.

"Good for you, Chen Fan. I will definitely not let you off in the future." Sun Xuan's resentment grew even stronger in his heart.

...

Having lived two lives, Chen Fan understood the principle of accepting gifts to make money; it would be a waste not to hold a banquet for the birth of his child.

Anyway, he didn't know many people, so he basically invited the Matrilocal sons-in-law who had arrived at the Qin Family on the same day.

At the banquet, he could clearly feel a pair of passionate eyes staring at him; it was Sun Xuan's wife, Qin Shuangshuang.

"It seems I really misjudged him back then. Who said pseudo-Spiritual Roots are useless?" Qin Shuangshuang felt a wave of regret in her heart. She discovered that the other party was so handsome and young, and his body was much stronger than before.

"Congratulations, Brother Chen." The Cultivators he could get along with on a daily basis took out a Spirit Stone from their Storage Pouch, their faces full of flattery.

"Congratulations, congratulations." Seeing this, the other Cultivators did the same.

However, they felt a pang of heartache. In their view, if he held a banquet for every child, wouldn't he earn a lot of Spirit Stones in the future?

After one birth banquet, he had nearly fifteen Spirit Stones in his hand. After all, they were all Matrilocal sons-in-law who had entered the Qin Family together, so they couldn't be considered very wealthy.

However, before the Spirit Stones in his hand were even warm, Qin Chuan came knocking again, but this time, the other party was even more excessive.

"Borrow Spirit Stones?" Chen Fan frowned slightly, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Currently, he was only at the 1st Layer of Qi Refining, while the other party was at Qi Refining Level 4. With such great strength, he simply could not afford to offend him.

"Brother Chen, I am on the verge of a Breakthrough and currently lack some Cultivation resources. If the resources are sufficient, it won't be long before I can enter Qi Refining Level 5. At that time, you will have a backer in the Family, and no one will dare to bully you."

After hearing this, Chen Fan sneered in his heart, but his face remained kind, showing no sign of displeasure.

"Then I will congratulate you in advance, Brother."

"Haha, you're too kind. The Spirit Stones I'm borrowing this time aren't much. Seeing that it's not easy for you to support a whole Family, I'll just borrow twenty Spirit Stones."

Qin Chuan was nonchalant, drinking tea while speaking in an understated manner.

"Twenty?" Chen Fan felt a surge of anger. It seemed the other party was completely targeting the reward the Family had just given.

"Brother, I have recently been performing Alchemy and need to purchase quite a few Spiritual Plants. Do you think it could be a little less?"

As he spoke, Chen Fan slowly took out the two-stripe Medicinal Pill he refined daily.

The meaning was clear: he was telling the other party not to go too far, as he had a high probability of becoming an Alchemist in the future.

Sure enough, Qin Chuan was taken aback: "Ah! You are already able to perform Alchemy?"

After a burst of exclamation, his expression became complex, and finally, he said quite displeased, "Then fifteen Spirit Stones, no less."

"Fine."

Chen Fan smiled faintly, but his heart was filled with monstrous killing intent. Based on his experience from two lifetimes, the other party would definitely push for more in the future.

In the following days, he no longer hesitated and prepared for a Breakthrough.

Most of this batch of Matrilocal sons-in-law had already entered the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining. Now, he was only at the 1st Layer of Qi Refining, which was truly not presentable.

In fact, his Cultivation during these days had been extremely harsh, but unfortunately, his Aptitude was too poor, and he had remained stagnant.

Furthermore, the quality of the Medicinal Pills given by the Family was truly too poor; not only did they not provide any improvement, but they also accumulated quite a bit of pill poison.

As for the Spirit Stones in his hand, they were barely enough to support his Family, let alone use for Cultivation.

However, the Medicinal Pill currently rewarded by the System was a Medium Grade pill with five stripes, which was much better than the Qin Family's.

Thinking that the Alchemy Hall assessment was approaching, if his strength was insufficient and affected his ability to perform Alchemy, all his efforts would be wasted.

Thinking of this, he did not hesitate at all, swallowed the Medicinal Pill, and began to refine it bitterly.

Three days passed. As a large amount of filth was expelled from his body, that layer of shackles was finally broken, and he easily entered the 2nd Layer of Qi Refining.

It seemed that because his Spiritual Root was too poor, he had to take two spirit-gathering pills to barely make the Breakthrough.

The current situation was extremely awkward; he could not yet refine higher-quality Medicinal Pills, while those of too low quality seemed to be of no help to his Cultivation.

A month later, with a "wa" sound echoing in the courtyard, Qin Yue successfully gave birth to a daughter.

After testing, she had no Spiritual Root, so naturally, the System gave no reward.

"Husband, I am incompetent." Qin Yue found it hard to accept, but there was nothing she could do.

Chen Fan comforted her well and did not pay too much attention to it; he now understood that only giving birth to offspring with a Spiritual Root would trigger System rewards.

...

When the news that the second child had no Spiritual Root reached Sun Xuan, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He gloated to Qin Shuangshuang, who was applying powder and rouge, "I told you pseudo-Spiritual Roots wouldn't work, and it's true."

"Don't get cocky yet; there are still Qin Shu and Qin Lan."

"I know about those two; they are just Mortals, so they definitely won't succeed."

After hearing this, Qin Shuangshuang became thoughtful.

However, a few months after the two discussed this matter, Qin Shu and Qin Lan successfully gave birth to offspring, two big, chubby boys. Among them, the one born to Qin Lan actually had a Spiritual Root, which, unsurprisingly, was a five-attribute pseudo-Spiritual Root.

[Ding, detected that the Host has given birth to a child with a Spiritual Root. Reward: First-Order Medicinal Pill Alchemy Experience (Experience Points 9%).]

[Ding, new side quest: Advance to Qi Refining Level 4 as soon as possible and give birth to five offspring with Spiritual Roots.]

"The experience points increased?" After Chen Fan noticed the subtle changes on the panel, he also guessed that offspring with pseudo-Spiritual Roots increased experience points extremely slowly.

"As expected. It seems that if I want to improve my Alchemy experience, it is best to take a wife with a Spiritual Root. Perhaps I might be able to give birth to children with better Spiritual Roots."

After figuring out the rules of the System, Chen Fan decided not to marry Mortal women casually; if he were to marry, he must marry those with Spiritual Roots.

Offspring without Spiritual Roots were also a form of irresponsibility toward the children. After all, who would want to watch their own child be just a Mortal, becoming a pile of yellow earth after a hurried hundred years?

This time, the Family did not give many rewards, only sending a Low Grade Flying Sword that could be used for sword flight, plus ten Spirit Stones.