After the rain in the empty mountains, the earth was moist, and the peach forest regained its vitality, with lush green leaves swaying joyfully. The rain bestowed by the immortal was no ordinary rain but celestial water infused with spiritual energy, capable not only of dispelling heat toxins but also enhancing people's constitution and nourishing the fruit trees within a certain range.

Li Ping'an held Li Pingcan's small hand as they walked through their family's peach forest, observing the thriving peach trees. "Look at the young peach saplings Father planted this spring. After this rain, they've grown so robust. Such incredible immortal magic!" His eyes sparkled with excitement, admiration, and a hint of hidden regret.

Without spiritual roots, his path to immortality was cut off, forever separating mortals from immortals. Yet the sorrow of his childhood had now transformed into purer motivation. "Even if I can't become a celestial official, I'll study hard to become a celestial clerk through imperial examinations, protecting my family and benefiting the people."

Li Ping'an clearly remembered the complex expression on the village chief's wrinkled face when the heavy rain poured—both joyful and sorrowful. It was a helpless compromise with reality. The gray-clad clerk had brought sweet dew but also taken away most of each family's harvest in advance, leaving only twenty to thirty percent to barely keep the villagers alive. If he were the celestial clerk, he would never treat the people so harshly!

...

"This will surely be a bountiful year." Anticipation shone on countless villagers' faces.

When autumn harvest arrived, just as the farmers had predicted, the yield was abundant. Families carried baskets up the mountain, faces glowing with exertion and excitement. Li Pingfu stopped his martial arts training, Li Ping'an put aside his books, and Li Pingcan ran up the mountain like a busy little bee, diligently transporting crisp peaches tinged with red.

After harvesting, basket after basket of crisp peaches were carried down the mountain until the family's arms ached from exhaustion. Yet this hard labor brought little reward. Because of the sweet dew, the entire Peach Blossom Mountain had a bumper harvest. Except for the premium juicy flat peaches, most crisp peaches sold at low prices. Only Li Dahu's family in the village cultivated flat peach trees, earning enormous profits.

"Father, what a loss!" Li Pingfu complained hoarsely. The yield had doubled compared to last year, yet their four acres of mature peach trees only earned twenty taels. After deducting the fifteen-tael "sweet dew fee," they barely broke even. He wasn't jealous of Li Dahu's profits but heartbroken that his father's year of toil brought such meager returns. Cheap peaches hurt farmers!

Li Ping'an theorized conspiratorially, "Isn't Li Dahu's cousin a county clerk? Maybe he knew about the drought and sweet dew in advance, which is why he planted flat peaches." 

'Second Brother, that speculation is a bit far-fetched,' Li Pingcan thought to himself. The main issue was that flat peach saplings were too expensive and difficult to cultivate, with high maintenance costs making them unprofitable for ordinary farmers. Li Dahu grew flat peaches to give gifts for his cousin.

Looking at the peach forest, Li Pingcan tried to see the bright side—at least the trees were still alive and would bear fruit next year. Without the sweet dew, they would have withered, causing even greater losses.

Autumn was a busy season. After finishing with the peach trees, they had to harvest rice. While Father and his brothers cut with sickles, Li Pingcan followed behind, gathering fallen rice stalks and sometimes peeling husks to feed grains to Little Black.

"Pingfu, want to compete to see who can harvest rice faster?" Li Rongzhou, shirtless and indifferent to the rough rice stalks scratching his skin, challenged his eldest son to a contest.

"Compete," Li Pingfu replied tersely as usual. Li Ping'an served as referee. At his signal, sickles flew, rice waves rustled, and grain heads scattered everywhere. Li Pingcan stopped gathering rice to watch, chin propped in his hands.

"After taking Purple Centipede Paste for over half a year, Father and Eldest Brother have improved tremendously, especially Eldest Brother." His stamina flowed endlessly like river waves, and when his muscles tensed, even sharp blades struggled to penetrate. In three to five years at most, Eldest Brother would likely advance to the "Tendon Realm," starting from a much higher level than Father.

As for the competition's outcome, there was no suspense—Eldest Brother still couldn't defeat Father yet. Seeing no other farmers nearby, Li Pingcan secretly used Thorn Whip like a conveyor belt, automatically transporting bundled rice home for threshing. Why work hard when you could save effort?

When Li Rongzhou and Li Pingfu finished their competition, the once mountain-like pile of rice had vanished. The three exchanged glances while Li Pingcan put on an innocent expression—an unspoken understanding between them.

...

Extra food at night. After heavy labor and empty stomachs, the family devoured their meal, eating meat without restraint. They couldn't afford to exhaust themselves now, with threshing still ahead—another laborious task.

After dinner, Li Rongzhou announced regretfully, "We've finished panning the gold dust from the stream. From now on, we'll have to rely solely on ourselves." The exposed streambed's gold deposits had always been meager—otherwise they would have been discovered earlier. Without this supplemental income, future prosperity would require diligent sweat.

The family nodded in understanding.

"Brother Li, are you home? I'm coming in!" Suddenly, Li Fang's honest voice called from outside, brimming with unconcealed joy. "I have fantastic news!"

"What good news?" Li Rongzhou smiled. After months of interaction, he recognized Li Fang as a somewhat stubborn but fundamentally honest man.

Li Fang explained, "The village is selecting 'Blessed Children' to worship the Ancestral Tree!" This was an old tradition in Peach Blossom Village. On Peach Blossom Mountain grew a thousand-year-old peach tree that villagers worshipped. Six selected "Blessed Children" would receive the Ancestral Tree's blessings!

"The millennial Ancestral Tree has spirits that have protected our Peach Blossom Mountain through countless storms. If recognized by it, your children might have a better chance of awakening spiritual roots!" Li Fang said excitedly.

Li Pingcan immediately grew interested. A thousand-year-old peach tree might have developed spiritual consciousness. As a Druid, even without plant communication skills, could he converse with it and gain some "immortal opportunity," glimpsing this mysterious corner of the cultivation world? But it depended on Father's decision, so he looked to Li Rongzhou.

Noticing his youngest son's gaze, Li Rongzhou asked casually, "How does the village select Blessed Children?"

"First by consulting the Peach Deity, then ancestors, and finally through villagers' approval." Li Fang said earnestly, "Brother Li, I'll never forget how you saved my life. If you want this spot, I'll convince our branch to nominate your child."

Li Rongzhou pondered deeply. Refusing would mean nothing changed, but with blessings, it was better to believe than not. Moreover, as an outside descendant of the Li family, having a "Blessed Child" would mean returning to their roots!

"Then I'll trouble Brother Li Fang," Li Rongzhou decided.

...

After Li Fang left, Li Rongzhou faced a dilemma with his three children. They were all dear to him, but only one could be the "Blessed Child"! Personally, he wanted to choose the most promising youngest son for the family's benefit, but feared hurting his elder sons' feelings and creating rifts. Balancing this was incredibly difficult.

"If all else fails, we can draw lots," he thought—at least that would be fair.

"Father, don't worry. Give this opportunity to Little Brother," Li Ping'an said seriously, sensing his father's conflict. "Little Brother hasn't been tested for spiritual roots yet and has the best chance of becoming an immortal. When he succeeds, would he ever look down on his elder brothers?" His smile held no reluctance as he patted Li Pingcan's shoulder. "I voluntarily give up my chance."

Li Pingfu nodded gruffly, "Same here!"