Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 114 - 112: Poaching (Seeking Subscription)

Blood Nether fell dead in the blink of an eye, leaving the other two Purple Mansion cultivators from the Blood Slaughter Demon Sect utterly terrified.

They were considered well-informed individuals, hailing from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, and believed their knowledge far exceeded that of those "country bumpkins" from the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm.

However, the "Soul Capturing Treasure Pearl," capable of directly disturbing the soul of a Golden Core Stage cultivator, is a rare and seldom-seen treasure even within the highly advanced cultivation civilization of the Liuyun Continent. Whenever it appears, cultivators from various demonic sects go to great lengths to destroy it.

For practitioners of the demonic path, escape secret techniques like the "Blood Escape Technique" are crucial guarantees for survival in the cultivation world when they are numerically outmatched. Hence, any treasure that restrains such escape techniques is something they must destroy.

Otherwise, Blood Nether’s experience today serves as a vivid example!

Having eliminated Blood Nether, a Golden Core Stage Demon Cultivator, the remaining two Purple Mansion Demon Cultivators couldn’t make any waves. Zhu Guang didn’t even need "Golden Light Ascendant" to act again. Cao Wenjin, now free to take action, gave them no time to use the "Blood Escape Technique," severely damaging their souls with a spiritual sense attack secret technique, capturing them alive just like the previous incident at Blood Demon Cliff.

Without the aid of the Tier Five Spirit Talisman "God-Banning Talisman," Cao Wenjin’s application of the "Soul Searching Technique" yielded very limited results. It became impossible to learn the whereabouts of Blood Nether, the current sect leader of the Blood Slaughter Demon Sect, who had hidden away to heal.

As long as the Ninth-Layer Golden Core Blood Nether remains at large, the demon chaos in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm cannot be quelled. Moreover, apart from this notorious demon being missing, the Blood Mo Luo and another Purple Mansion cultivator from the Blood Slaughter Demon Sect, severely injured in a battle at the Demon Cave, also pose significant risks.

These two Purple Mansion cultivators might not be able to breach a Tier Four Spirit Mountain like Blood Nether did, but dealing with Tier Three Spirit Mountains guarded only by Tier Three Arrays is exceedingly easy.

If they target those Tier Three Spirit Mountains, it will be more challenging for the Yellow Sand Sect compared to Blood Nether’s attacks on the Tier Four Spirit Mountains because the sheer number of Tier Three Spirit Mountains means that, when attacked, it’s generally impossible for the Yellow Sand Sect’s reinforcements to arrive in time before they’re breached.

Therefore, after eliminating the rabid Golden Core Stage Demon Cultivator Blood Nether, the Yellow Sand Sect, while no longer forcibly requiring Foundation Establishment cultivators from various clans to await orders at large oases, didn’t abandon its plan to establish communication arrays on the spiritual mountains of each clan.

About half a year after eliminating Blood Nether, a Tier Three Array Master from the Yellow Sand Sect, escorted by the Purple Mansion cultivator Zhang Yunpeng, arrived at Baisha River Oasis.

Due to the need to host the arriving Yellow Sand Sect Tier Three Array Master to help set up communication arrays on the clan’s Spirit Mountain, Zhouyang, who had increased his cultivation to the Second-Layer Foundation Establishment over the past year by continuously consuming three "Nourishing Essence Pills," had to exit seclusion to escort the Array Master to the Yuquan Lake Oasis.

Meanwhile, Zhou Minghan, the elderly clan leader still in seclusion, striving to reach the Eighth-Layer Foundation Establishment, and Zhou Xuanhao, who had agreed to guard the Baisha River Oasis for fifty years as part of a deal with the Chen Family to establish a branch family there, were to remain in the marketplace at Baisha River Oasis.

The Tier Three Array Master sent by the Yellow Sand Sect to Baisha River Oasis was surnamed He, and his cultivation was only at the Sixth-Layer Foundation Establishment. Zhang Yunpeng, pressed for time, immediately manifested a flying ship artifact to transport himself and Zhouyang based on Zhouyang’s guidance to the Yuquan Lake Oasis.

On the way, after conversing with the Array Master He, Zhouyang found him to be quite approachable and couldn’t help but ask, "Master He, our Zhou Family currently lacks the Seven-Star Spirit Measuring Array. I wonder what materials would be needed and what compensation should be offered if we requested your help in setting it up?"

Upon hearing this, the Array Master He immediately replied, "The Seven-Star Spirit Measuring Array isn’t difficult to set up. Normally, if the Zhou family wishes to request my assistance to set up this array, you would simply need to pay ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, and I would prepare the materials myself. However, the current situation is different, and I don’t have time for such tasks at the moment, so I ask for your understanding."

"I understand, I understand. I was just asking. Since Master He is not available now, perhaps I can visit you another time when it’s convenient?"

Zhouyang seized the opportunity and immediately suggested visiting later.

"Well, if the sect eradicates those demonic cultivators, I wouldn’t mind earning some extra money!" Array Master He glanced at Zhang Yunpeng, who was focused on controlling the artifact and seemed uninterested in their conversation. After a brief hesitation, he nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Master. We’ve settled on that then." Zhouyang hurriedly wrapped things up when he saw the chance.

Upon arriving at Yuquan Lake Oasis, Zhou Xuan Yu, who had long been informed, had already left and hidden away. Zhouyang opened the "Array of Ten Thousand Trees Holding Up the Heavens" on Jade Spring Peak, allowing Array Master He to choose a location on the mountain to set up the communication array. He also summoned Zhou Xuantai, the Zhou family’s array master, to assist, hoping to glean some techniques.

"The Zhou family’s Spirit Mountain is quite impressive. No wonder Junior Brother Yuquan had the courage to resign from the sect and ventured here from afar to establish a family."

The Array Master with the surname He was busy setting up the array. Zhang Yunpeng, meanwhile, accompanied by Zhouyang, started visiting Jade Spring Peak and even went to the Zhou Family Ancestral Shrine to offer incense to the spiritual tablet of Zhou Yuquan, a Zhou Family ancestor who had passed away many years ago.

After wandering around Spirit Peak and returning to the summit, he nodded slightly and took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Although Ancestor Yuquan has passed away for many years, the spirit he left behind still inspires every generation of our Zhou Family cultivators. We, as descendants, should inherit his will, strive to cultivate, and strengthen the family, making the Zhou Family flourish."

Zhouyang, with a solemn expression, picked up the conversation, though inwardly wondering about Zhang Yunpeng’s intentions.

Although Zhou Yuquan and Zhang Yunpeng were cultivators of the same era, Zhou Yuquan did not have much acquaintance with Zhang Yunpeng. The Yellow Sand Sect had two to three hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators at most or one to two hundred at least at any given time. Not all Foundation Establishment cultivators could be as close as the current trio of Zhou Family Foundation Establishment cultivators.

For Zhang Yunpeng, a Purple Mansion cultivator, to pay tribute and offer incense to Zhou Yuquan, who passed away many years ago, was already giving face. To further converse with him made Zhouyang feel somewhat honored.

Upon hearing his words, Zhang Yunpeng looked at him with a half-smiling expression and asked, "Flourish? Your Zhou Family currently has three Foundation Establishment cultivators, and there’s another newly-established Foundation Establishment cultivator, Zhou Yuanchen, in the sect. Isn’t this considered flourishing? Or do you wish to develop the Zhou Family into a Purple Mansion Clan?"

"Why not? The junior has already achieved Foundation Establishment, and the future goal is naturally to open up the Purple Mansion. Once the junior opens up the Purple Mansion and advances to the Purple Mansion stage, the Zhou Family can naturally become a Purple Mansion Clan!" Zhouyang held his head high, looking at Zhang Yunpeng, unafraid to reveal his aspirations.

"You’re quite confident, but opening up the Purple Mansion isn’t as easy as you think. In my Yellow Sand Sect, of the hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators, only one or two succeed every hundred years, barely reaching a success rate of one percent. You wish to open up the Purple Mansion, ha..."

Zhang Yunpeng shook his head, not very optimistic about Zhouyang’s bold ambitions.

Just as only a Foundation Establishment cultivator understands the difficulty of overcoming the Three Foundation Establishment Gates, so too only a Purple Mansion stage cultivator truly comprehends the challenges of opening up the Purple Mansion.

He had the talent of a Top-grade Spiritual Root and was assisted by the sect’s Tier Five Spiritual Object "Purple Heart Jade Marrow" and other aids for opening the Purple Mansion, only then did he successfully succeed.

Without these treasures, his chance of success in opening the Purple Mansion might not even reach ten percent.

"You know Chen Ping’an from the Chen Family, right? He also has Top-grade Spiritual Root talent and was fully nurtured by the Chen Family, yet failed in his first attempt to open the Purple Mansion. It’s not to discourage you, but given the Zhou Family’s current foundation, attempting to open up the Purple Mansion in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm is almost impossible. Treasures like the ’Purple Heart Jade Marrow,’ for instance, are not something you can obtain!"

Zhang Yunpeng looked at Zhouyang with sympathetic eyes. This young man is indeed promising, having reached Second-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivation and already slain multiple demonic cultivators of the same tier, an achievement that he himself probably couldn’t match at the same stage.

But combat prowess does not equate to cultivation talent. Through the ages, countless cultivators have dominated their peers in combat prowess, yet ultimately could not break through to a higher realm before their lifespan ended.

Meanwhile, some of their peers, overshadowed by the former’s invincible glory, managed to break through to higher realms through superior cultivation talent and a bit of luck, greatly extending their lifespan and effortlessly overpowering lower-realm cultivators.

For this, Zhouyang had no reply.

Zhang Yunpeng was right; the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm was too scarce, scarce enough that even acquiring a single Foundation Establishment Pill required Foundation Establishment cultivators to risk their lives. Let alone obtaining treasures that could aid in opening the Purple Mansion.

Being the largest force in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, the Yellow Sand Sect essentially monopolized all the treasures that could assist cultivators in opening the Purple Mansion. Those in the sect are already insufficiently supplied, so it’s impossible for such treasures to be made available to outsiders.

For Foundation Establishment clan cultivators like the Zhou Family wanting to open the Purple Mansion, unless they miraculously find such treasures in ancient ruins, they must rely entirely on luck to bet on the less-than-one percent success rate.

"For telling you these things, it’s not to discourage you; rather, I want you to understand the difficulty of opening the Purple Mansion. If your Zhou Family truly desires to advance to a Purple Mansion Clan, in my view, there’s only one path: send a Top-grade Spiritual Root clansman into the Yellow Sand Sect and concentrate the entire clan’s resources to support their cultivation. This strategy offers a much higher success rate than your attempt to open the Purple Mansion."

Having chatted for half a day, Zhang Yunpeng finally revealed his true intention behind initiating the conversation.

It turned out that during his earlier tour of Jade Spring Peak, through the Spiritual Eye Secret Technique of cultivation, he had discerned that Zhou Guangxiang, studying in the Zhou Family’s academy, possessed Top-grade Spiritual Root. Thus, he cleverly led Zhouyang to spontaneously discuss the topic of opening the Purple Mansion in hopes of covertly recruiting this talented Zhou Family Junior.

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