Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 112 - 110: Exchange Meeting (Part 2)

The Liu Family of Chixia Mountain has a heritage of six to seven hundred years, with profound family foundations, boasting not only a Tier Three Refiner heritage but also a Tier Three Talisman Maker and a Tier Three Spirit Plant Cultivator. The items Liu Qingsong brought were primarily Magical Artifacts and Spirit Talismans.

"These items are not to be traded for other things; I only wish for fellow Loose Cultivators to exchange them for a favor. If any Taoist friend is willing to serve as a Guest Elder of my Liu Family for thirty years, helping to guard our family’s Spirit Mountain, you may freely take one Magical Artifact or two Spirit Talismans from here. In the future, my Liu Family will also annually provide each Taoist friend with Spirit Stones as an offering, not less than that given to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the same tier in the Liu Family, based on your level of cultivation."

Liu Qingsong presented the items, sweeping his gaze over the dozen or so Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivators attending the exchange meeting, and spoke his request in a low tone.

"This old fox is indeed cunning!"

The cultivators from various cultivation clans, including Zhou Minghan, were taken aback by Liu Qingsong’s words and inwardly cursed his cunning.

Now, with the demon cultivators invading the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, each cultivation clan was anxious, fearing the extinction of their family legacy in this catastrophe.

Especially, now, all the clans’ Foundation Establishment Cultivators must heed the Yellow Sand Sect’s orders to gather and garrison at nearby large oases; without Foundation Establishment Cultivators guarding the family’s Spirit Mountain, its safety would be significantly compromised.

Liu Qingsong recruiting Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivators to help guard his family’s Spirit Mountain now was truly a strategic move!

According to the unwritten rules of the Cultivation Realm, Guest Elders are not considered part of a family’s regular combat force. Even if a Loose Cultivator serves as a Guest Elder for a cultivation family, they are not subject to the Yellow Sand Sect’s summons.

Of course, ordinary Guest Elders also have no obligation to help guard a particular family’s Spirit Mountain.

This role of "Guest Elder" was created by various cultivation clans and sects to win over certain cultivators outside their families, essentially a position that only receives offerings without duties.

Generally speaking, without any special requirements like those set by Liu Qingsong, whether a Guest Elder is willing to help the family or sect that provides for them depends on their mood, and no one can force them to do so.

For this reason, the various cultivation families were previously very cautious about recruiting Foundation Establishment Cultivators as family Guest Elders.

Without a special reason, no one would want to use the family’s hard-earned Spirit Stones to support an outsider who does not obey family commands.

Now, with Liu Qingsong tempting them with treasures and Spirit Stones, and only setting a thirty-year guard period, it was an irresistible temptation for some Loose Foundation Establishment Cultivators who hadn’t been cultivating for long and had few treasures or wealth.

In fact, these Loose Cultivators are also struggling now. The invasion of the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm by demon cultivators meant that although affiliated families like Zhouyang’s are required to heed the Yellow Sand Sect’s call to fight demon cultivators head-on, they also receive protection and assistance from the Yellow Sand Sect.

As for these Loose Cultivators, although they are free and not constrained by any particular force, they are equally unprotected by anyone, easily becoming prey for demon cultivators, or cannon fodder in the battles between the two forces.

To join a cultivation clan like the Liu Family, with a deep heritage and a Spirit Mountain protected by a Tier Three Array, would mean indirectly gaining the Yellow Sand Sect’s protection.

Therefore, as soon as Liu Qingsong spoke, Zhouyang immediately saw quite a few Loose Cultivators showing signs of interest, moving their lips to communicate with Liu Qingsong through voice transmission.

Seeing this, Zhouyang couldn’t help but secretly transmit a message to Zhou Minghan, asking, "Great-grandfather, isn’t the Liu Family afraid that these Loose Cultivators will go back on their word after taking the benefits?"

"Xiao Jiu, you don’t know, about three or four hundred years ago, the Liu Family did something of great merit for the Yellow Sand Sect and obtained the method to create the ’Nether Blood Contract.’ Those Loose Cultivators wanting to take advantage of the Liu Family’s benefits will definitely have to sign a ’Nether Blood Contract’ with them. Once bound by this blood contract, unless they become Purple Mansion Cultivators, they cannot survive after violating it!"

Zhou Minghan glanced at Liu Qingsong over there, secretly revealing the Liu Family’s reliance.

Zhouyang felt a chill in his heart, looking at Liu Qingsong again, his gaze filled with apprehension.

He had heard about the "Nether Blood Contract," which was something even more sinister than ordinary Demon Dao Secret Techniques. It was said that to make this contract, one must perform a sacrificial ritual, where a cultivator voluntarily sacrifices half of their Divine Soul, trading it with the will of the mythical "Netherworld" for a Certificate of Blood Contract.

Once a Foundation Establishment Cultivator uses the "Certificate of Blood Contract" obtained through sacrifice to sign a contract, they cannot violate any of the stipulated terms, or they will incur the backlash of the "Netherworld" will.

This kind of backlash is something that Foundation Establishment Cultivators cannot withstand, and even Purple Mansion Cultivators, if they encounter such backlash, will either be severely injured if not dead, and their path will likely be forever severed.

Therefore, when the major powers in the Cultivation Realm sign certain contracts, to prevent the other party from going back on their word, they will have the top-tier existences of both sides sign with the "Nether Blood Contract" to ensure both parties adhere to the agreement.

Since the Blood Contract Certificate of the "Nether Blood Contract" must be willingly sacrificed by the cultivator, it is generally high-tier cultivators from various sects and clans, who are near their final days, that would choose to make such a thing.

According to records Zhouyang read from some ancient books, if a Purple Mansion Cultivator from a major power like the Yellow Sand Sect is willing to sacrifice themselves at the end of their life to create a "Nether Blood Contract," their descendants within three generations will be afforded the same protection as the descendants of Golden Core Stage cultivators of the sect, enjoying high priority when exchanging for treasures like Foundation Establishment Pills and opening a Purple Mansion.

At the same time, if a loose Purple Mansion Cultivator is willing to request the Yellow Sand Sect to create a "Nether Blood Contract" as they near the end of their life, the Yellow Sand Sect will also directly sell a Foundation Establishment Pill to their designated descendants, offering them lifelong protection.

It was precisely because Zhouyang had heard many legends about the "Nether Blood Contract" that he was extremely surprised and wary of the Liu Family mastering the method to make such a thing.

Because, as far as he knew, even the Chen Family did not have the method to make such a thing; they could only obtain ready-made Blood Contract Certificates by purchasing them at a high price through connections with the Chen Family Ancestor from the Yellow Sand Sect.

However, even if the Liu Family mastered the method of making them, the Yellow Sand Sect certainly would not allow them to distribute the made Blood Contract Certificates externally. Moreover, given the size of the Liu Family, even if all the Foundation Establishment cultivators who passed away over hundreds of years were willing to sacrifice themselves for Blood Contract Certificates, it is estimated that the amount retained within the clan would not exceed ten documents.

Thus, after a moment of surprise, Zhouyang quieted down, observing the tempted loose cultivators step forward to select the treasures offered by Liu Qingsong.

When three loose cultivators consecutively stepped forward to select treasures, no other loose cultivators came forward. Apparently, in the end, only these three agreed to Liu Family’s conditions.

After the Liu Family from Chixia Mountain was the Yang Family from Golden Spring Valley. The current patriarch of the Yang Family, Yang Xingyan, possessed a Top-grade Spiritual Root. At just over 130 years old, he already has a Foundation Establishment seventh-layer cultivation, with great hope of advancing to the Purple Mansion in the future.

The Yang Family excels in the Hundred Skills of Cultivation, notably in alchemy and spirit planting. In their family’s Golden Spring Valley, there is a mystical Spiritual Spring; adding a bit of this Spiritual Spring Water during alchemy can slightly increase the chance of forming a pill. Therefore, alchemists of the Yang Family generally have a higher success rate than those of the same tier.

The treasures brought out by Yang Xingyan were also two kinds of Tier Three Spirit Pills: the "Nourishing Essence Pill" that can enhance the magical cultivation of an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and a Tier Three Middle Grade Spirit Pill "Red Sun Pill" that exclusively benefits Fire Element cultivators’ refinement of cultivation.

"Yang is willing to exchange these spirit pills for magical artifacts or spirit talismans, with the requirement that the artifacts be as refined as possible and the talismans be of the highest level possible. If it’s a special talisman like a Thunder Talisman effective against demon cultivators, it can be exchanged at the higher value for talismans!"

Yang Xingyan spread his hands, placing five bottles of spirit pills in front of him, and declared his exchange conditions solemnly.

At first glance, his exchange conditions seemed much more generous than those offered by the Chen Family Ancestor, yet, in reality, they were not.

The Chen Family Ancestor only required Tier Four or Tier Three Spirit Elixirs to exchange for spirit pills, and since many people couldn’t utilize these elixirs anyhow, there was no hesitation when they could be exchanged for spirit pills.

But the magical artifacts and spirit talismans demanded by Yang Xingyan are useful to everyone, especially during this peculiar period of demon cultivator invasion; these items are undoubtedly more useful than spirit pills that enhance cultivation.

After all, while the spirit pills are good, one cannot take too many. Even if consuming spirit pills increases one layer of cultivation, unless it allows a breakthrough from the third layer to the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment, the increase in combat effectiveness would not be especially noticeable, definitely not as effective as a high-grade talisman in combat.

Therefore, few were willing to exchange with him when Yang Xingyan announced his terms.

Observing this scenario, Zhouyang immediately transmitted his voice to negotiate without any hesitation.

After a short while, the two reached a consensus, and Zhouyang tossed over a storage bag containing magical artifacts for Yang Xingyan’s inspection. After selecting, Yang Xingyan returned the storage bag and communicated his choices via sound transmission.

After speaking, with a wave of his sleeve, he stored all the spirit pills he had taken out and smiled slightly as he looked at Zhouyang and said, "Yang too is now good with Yang Family, now it’s time for the Zhou Family’s three friends to display the treasures they wish to exchange."

Upon hearing this, Zhouyang exchanged a glance with his great-grandfather, and together they placed several Tier Three Spiritual Artifacts into a pile.

"Our Zhou Family’s exchange conditions are quite broad. Besides having a preference for spirit pills, any fellow Daoist who feels that they have something of value comparable to Tier Three Spiritual Artifacts is welcome to negotiate with me through voice transmission. I will decide who to exchange with based on the actual situation," Zhouyang said with a slight smile, announcing his and Zhou Family’s exchange terms.

The exchange terms of the Zhou Family were certainly not restrictive, thus after Zhouyang revealed the terms, many interested cultivators began to communicate with him through voice transmission.

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