Chapter 059: Another Step into the Realm of Transformation

“Big brother, not many people in our fortress know about the alliance with Nanli Village. Be careful not to let it slip outside,” Fang Xian reminded him, emphasizing that the matter was still being kept from the others, especially the Huang father and son.

“I know, I know. We’re only talking behind closed doors now; I wouldn’t dare say a word outside,” Zhou Tianming replied quickly.

“How is your cultivation going lately, Second Uncle? Is the Body Forging Pill still effective?” Fang Xian asked Zhou Boxiong.

“After taking a few of the pills, I feel my physique has reached its limit. The last one was barely absorbed. I think I’ve hit a bottleneck, but I don’t have any confidence in breaking through to become a Grandmaster. So I haven’t tried,” Zhou Boxiong said, a little frustrated.

“No need to rush, Second Uncle. While I was away, I developed a new pill that might help break through the Grandmaster bottleneck. No one has tried it yet, and it could be risky,” Fang Xian said to him.

“Really? Don’t worry about the risks, nephew. Cultivation is always dangerous. I’m already fifty-two—if I don’t break through now, I’ll never have another chance. I’m willing to try, no matter the risk,” Zhou Boxiong exclaimed, jumping to his feet with excitement.

“Xian, can you really make a pill that helps break through to Grandmaster? If word gets out, it could cause chaos in the martial world,” Zhou Tianming sobered instantly, standing up to face Fang Xian.

“I know. So far, I’ve only told Hongxiu, my father, and you two. No one else knows. Second Uncle, take care of your health for now. When you’re in the best condition, we’ll go to the back mountain and try it. We’ll bring my father along, so he can help if anything goes wrong,” Fang Xian nodded. In fact, the pill from the system was perfectly safe, but he couldn’t say that. He needed Zhou Boxiong to understand how difficult it was to break through, so he’d appreciate it.

Three days later, Fang Xian, Ye Qingyun, and Zhou Boxiong went deep into the back mountain, found a secluded spot, and gave Zhou Boxiong the barrier-breaking pill, standing guard as he took it.

Zhou Boxiong quietly absorbed and refined the pill. After half a day, the accumulated energy surged, battering at the bottleneck and barrier. The process was agonizing, but Zhou Boxiong gritted his teeth and endured.

An hour later, Zhou Boxiong was drenched in sweat, blood seeping from his pores, but his body suddenly shuddered and a vast aura exploded out, which he quickly controlled.

“It worked!” Ye Qingyun said joyfully. Fang Xian’s face also lit up. Though he knew it would succeed, the actual breakthrough brought him great delight. Another Grandmaster in Qingyun Fortress was a tremendous boon.

Moreover, the system now allowed him to exchange for barrier-breaking pills, though each cost 5,000 fame points. But as long as Fang Xian accumulated enough fame, he could steadily cultivate a whole batch of Grandmasters.

“Yes, it worked. Now Qingyun Fortress has real confidence,” Fang Xian said sincerely, knowing that his close relationship with the Zhou family would only deepen now that he’d helped Zhou Boxiong break through.

Another hour passed. Zhou Boxiong stabilized his realm and aura, then rose and bowed deeply to Fang Xian. “Fang Xian, I can’t thank you enough. From now on, whatever you need, just ask Second Uncle—even if it costs my life, I’ll help you.”

“You’re too formal, Second Uncle. We’re family—let’s not talk about favors. Good days, we’ll share together; hard days, we’ll face together,” Fang Xian replied, stepping aside to bow in return.

“Xian is right. Old Zhou, we’re all family—no need to be so distant. Today, there’s something else I want to discuss with you. It’s Xian’s dream, and it will be ours as well.” Ye Qingyun smiled, then explained in detail the plans Fang Xian had for the fortress’s future. Zhou Boxiong listened, stunned.

“Big brother, hearing this, I realize we’re getting old. The future belongs to the young. We’ve muddled through these years, always lost, unsure what life would become. But today, listening to this, my eyes have been opened. Now I know what kind of days we must strive for,” Zhou Boxiong said.

“Yes, and it’s not just you. Me too—I only realized after listening to Xian that we can’t live our lives in vain. We need a goal, something to work towards for our descendants. Of course, for now, let’s keep this between us. We haven’t told the others yet, and there’s no need to. We can start acting, and later, gradually share it with everyone,” Ye Qingyun nodded.

“Good, good. If you need these old bones, if there’s a need to charge into battle, just let me know. My wishes are mostly fulfilled now—I have grandchildren, I’ve broken through. From now on, I’ll give everything for a new life,” Zhou Boxiong said happily.

When they returned to the fortress, Zhou Boxiong didn’t boast about his breakthrough. After discussing with Ye Qingyun and Fang Xian, they decided he should keep it secret, as a hidden trump card for the fortress to be used in critical moments.

Meanwhile, in the Daba Mountains, dozens of villages began to pledge themselves to larger, more reliable strongholds, or others they trusted.

Most chose to side with Feifeng Ridge or Nanli Village, some even flocked to Qingyun Fortress, while a few joined Taoshan Village or Leiling Village.

Although Lei Bupo had declared his intent to merge with Taoshan Village, he and Tang Zhi were rivals and wouldn’t listen to each other, so merging was impossible—at most, a temporary alliance.

Eight villages came to pledge themselves to Qingyun Fortress, three of which were relatively large. Each had a first-rate expert named Shen Jiahong, Lin Zhendong, and Cheng Hecan, with about a thousand people in each.

The other five were small, led by chiefs at the peak of second-rate strength—Lin Jiawei, Ke Xianyi, Zhang Chao, He Yiliang, and Li Shenghui—bringing groups ranging from three to seven hundred people.

Qingyun Fortress had already reached its limit. Recently, Fang Xian and Ye Hongxiu had mapped the area, making a new development plan for the fortress. They pushed the gate forward by ten miles, within which a dozen peaks could be made into settlements, enough for a population of ten thousand.

Qingyun Fortress organized manpower to build the new gate, roads, and housing. Though this would take time, it marked a new chapter for the fortress.

Originally, Qingyun Fortress had two to three thousand soldiers. With nearly three thousand more joining, most were martial artists. Though many were unranked, each had a hundred pounds of strength, making them excellent workers.

Whether building gates or roads, the pace was swift. When it came to housing, the elders joined in, so within half a month, enough housing for five thousand people was completed.

Once everyone was settled, it was late September and the weather was turning cold. Fang Xian organized the harvesting of sweet potatoes—if not harvested now, they’d rot in the ground.

“With the increase in population, many worry food will run short. I suggest we organize the villagers to take turns digging up sweet potatoes, so they can see the yields for themselves and put their minds at ease.

Next year, we must expand the planting area, open up outlying mountains and forests—grow rice wherever possible, and other crops where it’s not. Sweet potatoes should be planted on a large scale,” Fang Xian advised Ye Qingyun.

Over the next few days, the fortress organized thousands to dig sweet potatoes. When they saw each hill yielded several pounds and the harvest was three to four thousand pounds per acre, everyone was ecstatic.

“Old Chief, one acre of sweet potatoes plus other grains is enough for five or six people for a year. We’ve planted over three thousand acres, so just these sweet potatoes can support fifteen or sixteen thousand people,” they reported cheerfully to Ye Qingyun after calculating the yield.