Cultivation Begins From The Desert

FD, see you again at three-thirty)

"The Earth Element Spirit Milk is indeed a necessary auxiliary ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, but it has another function, which is to restore the vitality of a Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation cultivator below the age of a hundred to the state before sixty years old, giving them a precious chance to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage!"

Clan Leader Zhou Minghan ignored the drastic changes on Zhou Xuanhao's face and spoke in a low voice, stating the words Zhou Xuanhao had deliberately ignored before.

"Clan Leader, you..."

Zhou Xuanhao opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but it was as if he had some unspeakable difficulties, unable to say it, his face looking quite unsightly.

Unexpectedly, Clan Leader did not let him go and instead looked at him and admonished: "Xuanhao, I know what you want to say, but let me tell you, once you've embarked on the path of cultivation, you can only move forward relentlessly!"

"If your cultivation is only to live twenty or thirty years longer than ordinary mortals, just to possess this little ability you have now, then it would've been better to live a peaceful ordinary life back then!"

Zhou Xuanhao was shocked throughout his body, and a strong sense of struggle suddenly emerged in his eyes.

At this moment, Elder Zhou Quan also spoke up: "Xuanhao, you yourself know that your spiritual root talent was not inferior to Xuan Yu's. Had it not been for the clan lacking an alchemist, making you spend much time on alchemy, you wouldn't have just advanced to Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation at sixty-three years old!"

After Zhou Quan's words, the Third Elder, Elder Zhou Dan, hurriedly chimed in: "Indeed, Xuanhao, Clan Leader and Third Brother are correct. You delayed your chance to break through to Foundation Establishment for the clan, and now with the chance coming up, why not make up your mind to try once? Let me speak bluntly, even if you fail, you still have Xiao Jiu as your outstanding successor, and your life would not have been lived in vain!"

Hearing this, the struggle in Zhou Xuanhao's eyes became even more intense. He looked complexedly at Zhouyang beside him, his throat moving as if he had something to say.

"Alright, don't say anymore, this batch of Earth Element Spirit Milk seems it will take eight to ten years to form, Xuanhao, you still have plenty of time to consider. When you have made up your mind, come tell me, as long as you want it, this first batch will surely be saved for you!"

Clan Leader Zhou Minghan waved his hand, stopping the other elders from continuing to persuade, which made Zhou Xuanhao restrain the words that came up to his mouth, suppressing them back.

He held back what he wished to say, heavily nodded in response: "Xuanhao understands, Clan Leader and all seniors, I will seriously consider your words."

Zhouyang remained silent throughout, as he didn't understand what kind of riddle Clan Leader and others were talking about.

But having listened to this point, if he still didn't figure out what they were discussing, then his years of living would have been in vain.

"So the Clan Leader and others want father to consume the Earth Element Spirit Milk to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. No wonder Father, who has always respected the elders, is so troubled this time!"

Upon realizing this, Zhouyang's heart suddenly grew heavy.

Zhou Xuanhao is already eighty-seven years old this year, plus he's lost his Primordial Yang, even if he consumes the Earth Element Spirit Milk to restore his vitality to the state before sixty, the probability of successful foundation establishment doesn't exceed five percent!

With such low probability for foundation establishment, no wonder Zhou Xuanhao cannot make up his mind.

After all, he is no longer alone; he has a wife and son, all of which are his attachments.

But on the other hand, as Elder Zhou Dan pointed out, having lived nearly a hundred years with a wife and child, to have one more chance at foundation establishment even in the face of potential failure might mean no regrets in life.

"Will father agree? If it were me, how would I choose?"

Zhouyang quietly glanced at his father, whose face was heavy with thought, feeling a myriad of words but unable to say anything.

As a son, if he persuades his father to agree and his father fails and falls in the breakthrough, it would be unfilial.

Whereas as a cultivator, if he persuades his father to disagree, it's akin to cutting off his father's path to advancement, which is equally unfilial.

At this moment, the only choice is to play dumb!

Fortunately, at this moment other Zhou Family elders entered the stone chamber to inform the Clan Leader about the cave exploration intelligence, relieving the awkwardness.

"Clan Leader, in the investigation of the dark river area, no other demon beasts were hiding, nor were there any traces of spiritual objects found; it seems to be just a branch of the ordinary underground dark river passing through here."

The speaker was Zhou Xuan Yan, the eighth-ranked female cultivator among the Zhou Family's "Xuan" generation. She is relatively rare in the Boundless Desert Sea as a water element cultivator, so after entering the cave, she took on the task of investigating the underground dark river.

The underground dark river is a peculiar place, and even in dry inland areas like the Boundless Desert Sea, water-element demonic beasts might appear in the dark river. These demonic beasts live in the dark river, virtually devoid of any natural enemies, sometimes leading to the emergence of Tier Three or even Tier Four great demons.

Hence, when cultivators discover underground dark rivers, they carefully investigate the area before deciding whether to establish a settlement nearby.

"This matter cannot be taken lightly. I recall that Qian once repaired a Water Attribute Tier Two Top-Grade Array and placed it in the clan's treasure vault. I will have Xuantai bring it and set it up in the dark river, Xuan Yan, you assist him."

The old clan leader, Zhou Minghan, pondered briefly and decided it's better to be cautious.

Though the Tier Two Top-Grade Array cannot defend against the attacks of Tier Three or Four Demon Beasts, at least it can serve as an alert, giving the clan cultivators stationed at the stone chamber time to react.

However, thinking about the late Grand Elder Zhou Qian of the Zhou Family, Zhou Minghan's mood inexplicably became heavy.

He glanced at the Zhou Family cultivators in the stone chamber, waved his sleeve, and a metallic disc with ten pale yellow small banners suddenly appeared in his hand.

"This set of the Earth and Metal Spear Array is Qian's last work left in this world. Although it is only Tier Three Lower Grade, it highly complements the spiritual vein in this area. You all should now assist Xuantai in setting it up!"

Sighing as he spoke about the origin of the metallic disc, Zhou Minghan gently tossed it, and the array plate fell into the hands of Elder Zhou Quan beside him.

As everyone began to leave upon his command, he suddenly seemed to recall something and said, "Right, Xiao Jiu, stay behind."

"Xiao Jiu, since you discovered this spiritual vein, have you thought of a name for it?"

Zhouyang, who was named to stay, was initially puzzled about what the old clan leader wanted to say, but suddenly received such a question.

His face froze for a moment, and only after a while did he reply, "Great-grandfather, since you are asking me this, I will take the liberty to suggest, how about Haoyang Cave?"

"Haoyang Cave, Haoyang Cave, very well, from now on, this place will be called Haoyang Cave!"

The old clan leader repeated the name "Haoyang Cave" a couple of times, waved his sleeve, and a sword light flew out swiftly, carving the three large characters "Haoyang Cave" on the stone chamber wall.

After doing this, the old clan leader retrieved his flying sword and looked seriously at Zhouyang, asking, "Xiao Jiu, this Haoyang Cave is a Tier Three Lower Grade Natural Spiritual Vein, with an underground dark river connection, it has great potential for future development. I am thinking that once you reach Foundation Establishment, you can move here to oversee it. What do you think?"

Why is he asking about things after Foundation Establishment now?

Zhouyang showed a flash of confusion on his face, then suddenly had a thought and blurted out, "Does Great-grandfather mean for me to train in seclusion here for the coming time?"

"This child can be taught!"

Zhou Minghan nodded approvingly at Zhouyang and then revealed his plan.

"Haoyang Cave is a Tier Three Natural Spiritual Vein, adjacent to the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein. In terms of actual value, it is no less than the Yuquan Lake Oasis. Before we have a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator to guard it, I will not allow the clan's low-tier cultivators to come here, lest the information leaks and is known by outsiders."

"Once the Earth and Metal Spear Array is set up, I will return home with Xuan Hao and others. At that time, this place will be left to Quan'Er, Dan'Er, Xuan Yan, and you, Xiao Jiu. With the four of you late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators guarding this place, leveraging the array, you can hold against a Tier Three Demon Beast attack until I arrive for rescue. Safety is not a concern!"

"Of course, the most important aspect is that this environment is more conducive to your training than Jade Spring Peak. Training here greatly increases your chances of advancing to the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation in a decade or so."

Although Zhouyang understood the reasoning, he was still deeply reluctant at the thought of parting from his parents so soon after reuniting with them.

In fact, he wanted to suggest to the old clan leader that his father, Zhou Xuanhao, also stay with him.

But he also knew that his father, being the family's only Tier Two Top-Grade Alchemist, could only serve his purpose by overseeing the marketplace shop.

Moreover, if his father Zhou Xuanhao resolved to push for the Foundation Establishment Stage, in the coming decade or so, he would certainly have to choose an heir among the younger "Yuan" generation to pass on his Alchemy skills to, in case of failure and the family's alchemist lineage breaks.

"Grandson understands."

He suppressed the heartache and responded faintly.

"Ah! It's hard on you and your father!"

Zhou Minghan sighed deeply, gently patting Zhouyang's shoulder, indicating his complete understanding.

Given a choice, Zhou Minghan would not choose to do so, but the predicament the Zhou Family faces now forces such measures.

For a clan to grow and thrive, someone must make sacrifices.

As a family cultivator, one cannot simply enjoy the benefits of the clan without contributing. The more benefit one enjoys, the more one must give in return.

Back then, it was the same for Zhou Qian, the same for Zhou Xuan Yu, and now, how could it be different for the father and son Zhou Xuanhao and Zhou Yang?

In cultivation, years pass without notice, seasons come and go without being counted.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Yang had already been stationed at the spiritual vein of "Haoyang Cave" for eight years.

After eight years of arduous cultivation, his cultivation level successfully advanced another layer, reaching the Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation, just one step away from the Ninth-Layer.

Eight years may not be exceptionally long nor short for a Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator.

For Zhou Yang, these eight years merely advanced his cultivation from the Seventh-Layer to the Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation, but for the entire Zhou family, these eight years brought about significant changes.

Firstly, Elder Zhou Quan and Elder Zhou Dan, who were stationed together with Zhou Yang in Haoyang Cave's spiritual vein, passed away one after another. The lifespan of these two elders was already near the limit for Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators, and they both sustained internal injuries in the battle with the Poison Fire Scorpion King, leading to their demise shortly after.

Because they were cultivating in the same spiritual land, Zhou Yang witnessed firsthand the gradual end of these two elders' lives.

At that time, as he watched the magic power of these elders dissipate overnight, their once rosy and healthy faces became wrinkled and their hair and teeth all fell out, his heart was greatly shaken.

He originally thought that having lived two lives, he would be more indifferent about life and death, but when he saw with his own eyes these powerful elders, who were joking and laughing with him the day before, succumbed to old age overnight, he became afraid!

A cultivator's great power ultimately relies on oneself, a Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation cultivator can easily slaughter tens of thousands of mortal armies even with empty hands.

But once the lifespan reaches its limit, they are no different from ordinary mortals, ultimately unable to resist the power called "Time."

Without achieving Foundation Establishment, the lifespan limit of a Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator is merely one hundred and twenty years; without achieving immortality, even a Golden Core Ancestor with a millennium lifespan will eventually sit down in meditation!

Eternal life!

Eternal life!

Eternal life!

It was after witnessing the life exhaustion and sitting meditation of the two family elders that Zhou Yang developed an unprecedented longing for the two words "eternal life" in his heart.

He wanted to live forever, he did not want to one day end up like these two family elders, having his hard-earned cultivation dissipate in a day, dying helplessly amidst endless regret and unwillingness.

He knew what the two elders regretted at the end.

Both Elder Zhou Quan and Elder Zhou Dan once had the opportunity to challenge the Foundation Establishment stage, but they feared the high risk of failure and death, and no one dared to take that step themselves, thus cutting off their path to eternal life.

Perhaps before their demise, the two elders did not feel their previous choice was wrong, after all, compared to those countless cultivators who died at the Foundation Establishment stage at the mere age of fifty or sixty, they at least lived nearly twice as long.

But at the moment of life exhaustion and sitting meditation, the two elders must have remorse; their final looks of unwillingness and regret told Zhou Yang that they regretted it!

Zhou Yang does not want to regret!

He does not want to one day die amidst endless regret and unwillingness like the two elders.

So he made up his mind back then; as long as there is an opportunity in this life to advance in cultivation, regardless of how difficult or dangerous the path ahead may be, he will never give up this opportunity.

It was precisely this unwavering and forward-thinking determination that allowed him to progress smoothly from the Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation to the Eighth-Layer, breaking through in less than five years, and then reaching the pinnacle of the Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation after another three years, just one step away from the Ninth-Layer.

Of course, the rapid improvement of Zhou Yang's cultivation was not only due to his own efforts and the special compatibility of Haoyang Cave's spiritual vein with him but also related to the elixirs his father Zhou Xuanhao gave him before he left.

At that time, Zhou Xuanhao specifically called Zhou Yang aside before leaving and gave him three different Tier Two Top-Grade Spirit Pills, each of which, after consumption, equaled half a year of his own meditation cultivation, and he consumed twelve pills within eight years.

To say the least, this was Zhou Yang's first time frequently consuming elixirs to improve his cultivation.

Before this, he had always followed the advice of his father and the old clan leader, never relying on the power of elixirs to enhance his cultivation until the final stage of breaking through realms.

Because although elixirs can greatly boost a cultivator's magic and cultivation, they also leave behind "erysipelas" in the cultivator's body. If these accumulate over time without being resolved, they would not only fill the cultivator's magical power with impurities, affecting future realm breakthroughs but also damage the cultivator's body and reduce lifespan.

And for Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators, the harm of "erysipelas" is especially significant; if too many spirit pills are consumed before Foundation Establishment and "erysipelas" cannot be resolved in time, even the success rate of using a Foundation Establishment Pill to break through will be significantly reduced.

In the cultivation realm, those senior members of cultivation sects or family clans with a heritage, would explain the dangers of 'dan poison' to the younger generation early on, and strictly control the distribution of elixirs, to prevent anyone from succumbing to the temptation of rapid cultivation improvement and taking risks.

Only those loose cultivators who happen to get lucky without any guidance from their teachers would joyfully purchase and consume large quantities of spiritual pills to enhance their cultivation, unaware of the dangers of 'dan poison,' thinking that this would help them catch up in cultivation progress with those cultivation geniuses who have better talent than themselves.

Yet unbeknownst to them, when they step out onto this path, they have already completely lost hope of catching up with others.

Zhouyang previously took very few spiritual pills, and the little bit of 'dan poison' in his body had long been refined away through years of arduous cultivation, which is why Zhou Xuanhao dared to give him spiritual pills without worry.

Unfortunately, even so, he accumulated quite a bit of 'dan poison' due to repeatedly taking elixirs over the past eight years, leading to a cultivation barrier that makes it impossible for him to break through to Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation in the short term.

However, according to Zhouyang's own estimation, this bit of 'dan poison' shouldn't affect his future cultivation path. As long as he refrains from consuming such cultivation-enhancing spiritual pills in the next ten to eight years, the residual 'dan poison' in his body will naturally be cleansed away by the infusion of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy after his Foundation Establishment.

"Eight years have passed, and this [Earth Element Spirit Milk] is almost ready to condense. I wonder what father is planning!"

Inside 'Haoyang Cave,' Zhouyang looked with a complex expression at the milky yellow stalactite pillar in the stone chamber, feeling quite conflicted.

The milky yellow stalactite pillar was like top-grade beautiful jade, warm and glossy, emitting a faint glow. Zhouyang, who stayed here day and night, could clearly sense a familiar energy gathering and intensifying within the pillar, an energy he was no stranger to, which was precisely the Earth Vein spiritual qi he had previously absorbed.

According to the records Zhou Xuanhao showed him in the [Record of Wondrous Treasures of Heaven and Earth] over the years, once the Earth Vein spiritual qi within the stalactite pillar gathered and intensified to a certain point, the [Earth Element Spirit Milk] would begin to flow from the surface of the stalactite pillar.

Aside from the effects the former clan leader mentioned, this [Earth Element Spirit Milk] is also a rare spiritual object for enhancing cultivation for demon beasts. That [Poison Fire Scorpion King] likely became a Tier Three demon beast largely due to swallowing large quantities of [Earth Element Spirit Milk].

Zhouyang previously hesitated whether to advise his father Zhou Xuanhao to consume [Earth Element Spirit Milk] to attack Foundation Establishment, but now, having witnessed the passing of the two elderly members of the Zhou family due to their end of lifespan, he hopes that his father will dare to take the risk.

Of course, as a son, even though he has this thought, he would never voice it. He can only hope inwardly that his father will come to understand.

"I wonder how my second uncle's construction of the oasis is going. Anyway, since my cultivation can't break through now, I might as well practice artifact refining while helping them build the oasis!"

Putting aside the concerns about his father Zhou Xuanhao's Foundation Establishment, Zhouyang's mind stirred, feeling a desire to take action.

In these years, although the Zhou family has successively lost Elders Zhou Qian, Zhou Quan, and Zhou Dan from the 'Light' generation.

They have also seen cultivators Zhou Xuantai, Zhou Xuanbin, Zhou Xuanlin, Zhou Xuanyan from the 'Xuan' generation break through to Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, replacing the positions of the deceased elders from the 'Light' generation, increasing the number of elders in the Zhou family rather than decreasing, bringing the total to nine.

During Zhouyang's secluded cultivation period, the elders of Zhou family also investigated the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein's reserves near the 'Haoyang Cave' spirit vein, discovering that this vein is unusually a large vein!

This discovery made the Zhou family cultivators privy to this information immensely joyful. If not for the Zhou family's current lack of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators to oversee the 'Haoyang Cave' spirit vein, the former clan leader would likely have immediately organized a large workforce to develop the ore vein.

Even so, after deliberation among the Zhou elders, the clan sequentially relocated thousands of mortals from Yuquan Lake Oasis to the area near the 'Haoyang Cave' spirit vein, and built a large earth city on the surface for these mortals to reside.

Of course, the outward explanation is that these people were relocated to Qingping Mountain Oasis because the Zhou family aims to increase the mining of refined iron ore.

With the arrival of these thousands of mortals, 'Haoyang Cave' spirit vein finally gained some vitality, and subsequently, with assistance from newly-appointed elders Zhou Xuantai and Zhou Xuanyan, Zhou family mortals and cultivators united to redirect water from the underground dark river to a sunken part of the desert, artificially creating a desert lake spanning several hundred square meters.

Once the lake was established, Zhou Xuantai and others began organizing Zhou family mortals to carry and fetch water to irrigate sandy soil and plant drought-resistant vegetation, then applied accelerating magic to induce the growth of these ordinary plants.

Worth mentioning is that plants accelerated by cultivation magic cannot survive long-term. The fruits and grains produced by such magic-accelerated plants are also unfit for mortal consumption.

However, when these accelerated plants wither and die, they can be used to enrich the soil.

Over years of experimentation and summary, cultivators in the Boundless Desert Sea have long developed a complete oasis construction plan, and as long as the geographical conditions are appropriate and there is a willingness to invest manpower and resources, turning desert into oasis is not just wishful thinking.

Zhouyang, feeling a desire to act, promptly exited his secluded stone chamber, walked outside, only to see the empty underground cavern where only his fifth uncle Zhou Xuanbin was sitting cross-legged with closed eyes, guarding him.

Among the four Zhou family cultivators stationed at 'Haoyang Cave,' aside from Zhouyang, the other three all possessed Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, incapable of further increasing their magical power.

Thus, in daily practices to avoid disturbing Zhouyang's cultivation, they all cultivate in the exterior cavern, and every day one would take turns to guard Zhouyang while he was secluded.

This treatment is unmatched in the entire Zhou family other than Zhouyang.

Zhouyang feels a heavy pressure because of this, knowing that only by successfully establishing his Foundation can he be worthy of the efforts of these clan elders.