Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 662 - 646: Consecutive Slaying of Nascent Souls! [Super Long - , Requesting Monthly Tickets]
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The distance from the Yuquan Lake Oasis to the Baisha River Oasis is more than six thousand miles. If Zhouyang were traveling alone on his flying sword, he could reach it within a day, considering the time needed for rest and to replenish his magical power.
However, the journey time almost doubled when traveling with his mother, Lin Yuting, by sword flight, and it took them over two days to reach their destination.
Upon arriving at the Baisha River Oasis, Zhouyang did not immediately contact Chen Pingzhi. Instead, he first took his mother, Lin Yuting, to the newly established "Ping'an Marketplace" to reunite with his father, Zhou Xuanhao. Then, he proceeded to the Zhou Family's branch located at "Cyan Ox Mountain" in the Baisha River Oasis.
Cyan Ox Mountain was originally a spirit mountain of a small Qi Cultivation family in the Baisha River Oasis. The spirit vein level on the mountain was only of Tier Two Lower Grade. This small family had been established for less than a hundred years, and including the family head, there were only eight cultivators.
During the last sand bandit attack on the oasis, this small family was wiped out, with only some mortal family members surviving.
For a small clan where the entire clan has been wiped out like this, even if the Chen Family wanted to assist them, they would have no way to start. They couldn't let a group of mortals occupy the spirit mountain and slowly wait for a baby with spiritual roots to be born in their family to rebuild the clan, right?
This is simply not a realistic endeavor and represents a massive waste of resources.
Thus, when the Liu, Yang, and Zhou families proposed to establish family branches in the Baisha River Oasis, the Chen Family Ancestor made a sweeping decision and allocated the Cyan Ox Mountain and the surrounding area of dozens of miles in radius to the Zhou Family as a family branch location.
Five years ago, after Zhou Xuanhao led thousands of Zhou family mortals to the Baisha River Oasis, they settled in Cyan Ox Mountain. The mortals of the Zhou family then built a small town at the foot of the mountain, gradually expanding in number, while the cultivators of the Zhou family established palaces and pavilions on the mountain to accommodate visiting cultivators, with the "Fengyue Tower" also set up on the mountain.
After arriving at Cyan Ox Mountain, Zhouyang first conducted a secret investigation in the area where the Zhou family mortals resided.
In the years since the initial migration of the thousands of Zhou family mortals, most have multiplied and given birth to offspring. Including the infants in swaddling clothes, the population of the town has now exceeded five thousand.
The land of the Baisha River Oasis is very fertile, with high grain yields. If the land allocated to the Zhou family by the Chen Family is fully developed and utilized, it can sustain one or two thousand people.
Moreover, humans are not livestock kept in pens; they are able to move. When the number of Zhou family mortals at Cyan Ox Mountain exceeds the land's carrying capacity, they can migrate to other places to settle.
However, those mortals who leave Zhou family's territory will no longer enjoy the protection of Zhou family cultivators and will have to rely on themselves to sustain their livelihoods.
Future generations' troubles are not felt by their predecessors.
The Zhou family mortals in the town below Cyan Ox Mountain are at least living quite comfortably at present.
To allow them to flourish and proliferate peacefully here, the Zhou family went to the extent of providing wives for free to men and assisting women in finding husbands. They used visible benefits to gather numerous handsome men and beautiful women from the mortal remnants of wiped-out small clans, pairing them up and allowing them to live much better lives than their relatives at the Yuquan Lake Oasis.
After observing for a while and confirming that these mortals had little complaint about being relocated here by their family, Zhouyang left the area with reassurance.
As the clan leader of the Zhou family, both for the cultivation clan and the secular mortals of the Zhou family, Zhouyang needed to pay significant attention to the thoughts of these secular mortals. At the very least, he couldn't let them gnash their teeth in hatred whenever they mentioned him as the clan leader.
Leaving the mortal settlement, Zhouyang then went to Cyan Ox Mountain, the spirit mountain.
With Zhou Xuanhao presiding over "Ping'an Marketplace," Cyan Ox Mountain was now under the stewardship of the Zhou family's foreign relative cultivator, Chen Ting, who was the husband of Zhouyang's eighth aunt, Zhou Xuanyan. With an Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation level, Chen Ting was well-suited to oversee Cyan Ox Mountain, while the shopkeeper of "Fengyue Tower" was a Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation female loose cultivator, "Lady Jin Hua," hired by the Zhou family.
After reaching Cyan Ox Mountain, Zhouyang did not meet with the two. Instead, he first went to the rest area outside "Fengyue Tower," subdued a mortal woman, and used "Enchanting Skill" to bewitch her mind to query about "Fengyue Tower's" situation.
Under the effect of "Enchanting Skill," the woman answered all questions. From her responses, Zhouyang quickly gained a clear understanding of the operation of "Fengyue Tower."
It could be said that the outcome left him satisfied.
When "Fengyue Tower" was established, Zhouyang had set several strict regulations prohibiting managers from using authority to coerce the girls in the tower to accompany guests unwillingly, preventing visiting loose cultivators from harming the girls, forbidding embezzlement of rewards meant for the girls, and absolutely disallowing any reason to prevent the girls from leaving.
As it seems now, the Zhou family's managers here have taken his decrees seriously. At least in recent years, none of the prohibited incidents have occurred within "Fengyue Tower."
The mortal women there have successively retired after receiving rewards for childbearing, and some have married and formed families by bringing in husbands in the town below.
Upon gaining a clear understanding of the situation, Zhouyang lifted the "Enchanting Skill's" effect, placed the unconscious woman back in bed, and then left Cyan Ox Mountain without any intention of meeting the two cultivators on the mountain.
He was well aware that as long as he did not show up or explicitly communicate his presence there, the Zhou family cultivators responsible for the area would not dare to be negligent or disregard his instructions.
After circling around Cyan Ox Mountain, Zhouyang returned to "Ping'an Marketplace" before asking the Chen family cultivators there to send a message to Chen Pingzhi, informing them of his arrival.
"Hahaha, Zhou Xiaoyou indeed keeps his word. Chen has been waiting for you for quite some time."
Chen Pingzhi was quite anxious. Zhouyang had just rested for an hour in the newly opened "Jade Spring Tower" when he received the message and rushed over.
"I have just taken over the clan, and there are always some matters to attend to before leaving. It did take some time, sorry to have kept Elder Chen waiting." Zhouyang cupped his hands, showing just the right amount of apology on his face.
Chen Pingzhi's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam, and he couldn't help but laugh heartily, "Hahaha, young friend, you overstate it. We Foundation Establishment Cultivators have a lifespan of over two hundred years. What does a few days' wait matter? If you still have matters to attend to, you can certainly finish them first. Chen can afford to wait a bit!"
"No need, Elder, I have settled all my affairs. If it is convenient for you, please tell me what you would like this junior to do now." Zhouyang shook his head, directly getting to the point and asking about Chen Pingzhi's purpose for this meeting.
Seeing his straightforwardness, a genuine smile finally appeared on Chen Pingzhi's face.
He looked at Zhouyang with a smile and said, "This matter is a long story, but Chen will keep it brief."
"This time, inviting Zhou Xiaoyou to help is to have you accompany this old man to explore a cave mansion left by a predecessor cultivator. The original owner of that mansion should not have had a cultivation level beyond Foundation Establishment, so it shouldn't pose much danger to us. The reason for seeking your help is to have someone to rely on in case of unexpected situations."
As expected!
Zhouyang thought to himself after hearing Chen Pingzhi's words.
Since Chen Pingzhi's request matched his prior speculations, he could respond according to the plan he had prepared.
Looking at Chen Pingzhi's smiling face, Zhouyang asked solemnly, "Elder Chen is so forthright, please forgive this junior for being presumptuous. I would like to ask, if there are any gains from this exploration, will there be a share for me?"
He could help out as a favor, but not for free.
When Chen Pingzhi lent the cave mansion for his Foundation Establishment, he collected quite a few benefits from the old clan leader Zhou Minghan. Now that he's coming to help, it's only appropriate to receive some compensation.
Chen Pingzhi understood this logic well, so he wasn't angry at the question. He just gathered a serious expression and replied, "If young friend doesn't make a move, Chen will provide a travel expense of one hundred Spirit Stones. If you do make a move, Chen will give you ten to twenty percent of the gains, depending on your contribution. How does that sound?"
Ten to twenty percent is far less than the normal earnings among cultivators teaming up for an exploration, but considering the favor obligation, this distribution ratio isn't unacceptable.
Zhouyang thought for a moment and finally nodded, saying, "Let's go with Elder Chen's arrangement."
"Then let's set off now." Chen Pingzhi seemed truly urgent and was about to leave immediately.
Since Zhouyang agreed to help, he could only follow in his footsteps. After they left the marketplace, they released their flying swords and headed towards the Boundless Desert Sea outside the Baisha River Oasis.
During sword flight, to ensure Zhouyang could keep up, Chen Pingzhi, who was now at the Sixth-Layer of Foundation Establishment, deliberately slowed down quite a bit. Meanwhile, he also explained his reasons for leaving in such a hurry to Zhouyang.
"Just so you know, the Yellow Sand Sect has agreed to the patriarch's request for assistance. They'll soon send a Purple Mansion Cultivator and ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators to Baisha River Oasis to help investigate the sand bandits' whereabouts. By then, we Foundation Establishment Cultivators will have to assist as well, likely unable to extricate ourselves for the next ten or eight years, which is why Chen is so eager to set off."
What?
Zhouyang was truly taken aback by this news.
He wasn't surprised that the Yellow Sand Sect would send people since the sand bandits had robbed even the Yellow Sand Sect's shops during their raid on Baisha River Oasis.
But the fact that they would send a Purple Mansion Cultivator to assist the Chen Family in tracking down the sand bandits for an extended period was indeed thought-provoking.
It's known that Purple Mansion Cultivators are critical figures usually overseeing important domains.
If the Chen Family had found traces of the sand bandits and requested high-tier cultivator assistance from the Yellow Sand Sect, it would be normal for them to send a Purple Mansion Cultivator to help.
However, the Chen Family didn't even know where the sand bandits were located, yet they managed to have a high-ranking Purple Mansion Cultivator with ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators stationed at Baisha River Oasis for the long term. This was shocking.
As the clan leader of the Zhou Family, Zhouyang had to be deeply concerned about such matters. Despite knowing it's somewhat inappropriate, he couldn't help but ask Chen Pingzhi, "Forgive this junior for being blunt, Elder Chen. Do you know why the Yellow Sand Sect would do this? And who will be the Purple Mansion elder coming from the Yellow Sand Sect?"
"Young friend, you've stumped Chen. The dealings with the Yellow Sand Sect were all personally handled by the patriarch. Chen doesn't know how the patriarch persuaded them. Even this information was secretly told to me by my elder brother!"
Chen Pingzhi either truly didn't know or was unwilling to say more. Either way, Zhouyang was unable to extract any more useful information from him.
This cast a shadow over his heart.
He was well aware that the unusual actions of the Yellow Sand Sect must have their reasons, and that the vassal clans under the Yellow Sand Sect would certainly become involved.
Unconsciously, Zhouyang couldn't help but think of his previous guesses about the origins of the sand bandits. Could it be that he had really guessed correctly?
The vast desert sea, even for Foundation Establishment cultivators capable of soaring through the sky, one could easily lose their way upon leaving the oasis and venturing deep into the desert sea.
Zhouyang followed Chen Pingzhi as they set out from the Baisha River Oasis, flying intermittently for nearly a day before stopping over a stretch of sand dunes.
At this moment, after several direction changes during their flight, even with his remarkable memory, it would be difficult for him to return the way they came. Without Chen Pingzhi's guidance, returning to the Baisha River Oasis on his own would certainly require some effort.
He also noticed that Chen Pingzhi was able to accurately lead him to this area of sand dunes not just because of the map he held, but also due to another round disc spiritual artifact.
The round disc spiritual artifact was called the "Fixed Star Disc," a Tier Three Lower Grade spiritual artifact. Its refinement methods were quite mysterious, with only the Yellow Sand Sect and a few large family refiners capable of refining it.
Cultivators holding the "Fixed Star Disc" could determine their location based on the stars above, as long as they weren't underground or within an array where daylight didn't reach.
Distinguishing direction by stars, does it not seem quite simple at first glance?
In fact, it is not.
This world does not have the North Star or constellations. The stars in this world's sky are few, and very few stars shine at night.
Without the aid of the "Fixed Star Disc," only those cultivators who have studied celestial phenomena in great depth could determine directions using the stars; most cultivators cannot.
It is said that the "Fixed Star Disc" originally came from the cultivation realms overseas, where it was an essential artifact for cultivators navigating the endless sea.
Later, after elder cultivators from the boundless desert sea cultivation realm traveled overseas, they brought back the refining methods of this artifact and passed it on to disciples and descendants, gradually spreading it among major forces like the Yellow Sand Sect.
The Zhou Family also possessed a "Fixed Star Disc," which was originally brought out from the Yellow Sand Sect by the Zhou Family Ancestor Zhou Yuquan and handed down, now held by the old clan leader Zhou Minghan.
Upon learning that Zhouyang was going out adventuring, Zhou Minghan, concerned about him losing his way in the desert sea, specifically bestowed that "Fixed Star Disc" upon him, now stored within his storage bag.
"It's right here; the cave mansion is beneath that sand dune."
In the moonlight, after repeatedly comparing the map, Chen Pingzhi pointed towards a particular sand dune among the undulating dunes below and said to Zhouyang.
Hearing this, Zhouyang couldn't help but look in the direction he pointed, furrowing his brow and muttering, "Are you sure, elder? I can't discern any difference between these dunes and others, nor do I sense any indication of a spirit vein here."
"The spirit veins in the desert sea mostly lie deep underground, so it's normal not to see anything from the surface. Besides, the cave mansion's exterior is obscured by an array that masks the spiritual qi fluctuations," Chen Pingzhi explained dismissively, waving his sleeve to release a flying sword towards the sand dune.
Bang!
The flying sword plunged into the dune as though it struck something solid, causing a loud booming sound.
Simultaneously, a powerful surge of spiritual qi briefly flared up and then vanished from within the dune.
"There truly is something within!"
Zhouyang's spirit was lifted, his eyes bright as he watched Chen Pingzhi employ his technique to break the array.
He hadn't come here just to watch. However, since Chen Pingzhi had not asked for his assistance, he did not make the first move, respecting their agreement.
Clearly prepared, once Chen Pingzhi confirmed the presence of a guardian array inside the dune, he immediately retrieved his flying sword, releasing a green banner spiritual artifact instead.
With a powerful shake of the green banner in his hand, several fierce whirlwinds swept towards the dune. Under the onslaught of the whirlwinds, sand and stones flew, and vast quantities of yellow sand were carried away from the dune.
A moment or two later, the billions of yellow sands covering the dune were completely stripped away, revealing a rocky mountain beneath.
From Zhouyang's vantage point, he could see a man-made cave entrance on the rocky mountain, which rose less than a hundred meters above the ground.
The cave entrance was shrouded in a dim yellow light, veiled by an array's force, obscuring the view inside. Zhouyang recalled the direction of Chen Pingzhi's earlier flying sword attack and quickly determined that the booming explosion originated from the cave entrance.
As he extended his divine sense to examine the array at the cave entrance, Chen Pingzhi had already put away the green banner spiritual artifact, gleefully exclaiming at the entrance, "Indeed, it's the 'Earth-covering Yellow Sand Array.' It seems the haul this time will be significant!"
"Oh, does Elder Chen recognize this array? Could you tell me about its origin?"
With a flash of surprise on his face, he looked at Chen Pingzhi curiously and asked about the situation.
"It's normal for you not to know the 'Earth-covering Yellow Sand Array' since you've just recently established your Foundation, Xiaoyou. This array was created more than a thousand years ago by a certain Tier Four Array Master of the Yellow Sand Sect. Although it is a Tier Three Lower Grade array, it has numerous functions; it can conceal spiritual energy fluctuations, possesses decent defensive capabilities, and also absorbs yellow sand to hide its presence."
"Look at that yellow sand—if Chen hadn't used magical artifact divine techniques to sweep them away, the natural wind in the desert alone would never have blown them out of the 'Earth-covering Yellow Sand Array's influence range."
"Even so, as long as the 'Earth-covering Yellow Sand Array' is not broken, in just a few days, this stone mountain will again be covered with yellow sand, restoring its dune-like appearance."
Chen Pingzhi didn't withhold information and immediately told Zhouyang what he knew.
Then he looked at Zhouyang with a smile and said, "Since it's just an 'Earth-covering Yellow Sand Array,' give Chen a day or two to break it. It seems Zhou Xiaoyou is in for a wasted trip this time."
Upon hearing this, Zhouyang couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, though he masked it well, maintaining a calm demeanor as he replied with a smile, "Being able to come out with Elder Chen and gain some insight, this disciple has not returned empty-handed. Since Elder has confidence, please go ahead. I will take charge of protecting us."
"Then I'll trouble you, Xiaoyou."
Chen Pingzhi said, then once again released his flying sword, slashing towards the entrance of the cave on the stone mountain.
Breaking the array by force is the most common method used by cultivators when they encounter an array.
After all, becoming an Array Master is far more challenging than other Hundred Skills of Cultivation, with entry requirements even more difficult than those for artifact refiners or alchemists.
For a cultivator to become an Array Master, they need not only to have the talent of an Array Master but also to be willing to spend significant time on deep research. Training an Array Master costs ten times more than training an artifact refiner or alchemist.
Moreover, in the Cultivation Realm, the status of an Array Master is exceptionally high. A Tier Three Array Master, even when facing a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, can interact on equal terms, treated with great respect.
The Chen Family, such a large family, currently has no Tier Three Array Master, which shows the difficulty of becoming an Array Master.
However, although the Chen Family currently does not have a Tier Three Array Master, they did produce one in the past, leaving behind array analyses that Chen Pingzhi, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, naturally has the right to review. Therefore, even when breaking the array by force, he knows where to apply force, not recklessly attacking.
Zhouyang, protecting the law alongside him, learned quite a bit, so it wasn't entirely fruitless.
He observed Chen Pingzhi's array-breaking process, initially using the flying sword to wear down the array's defensive strength, probing for weak points, then later, multiple magical artifacts were deployed, frenziedly bombarding the array's weak spots, causing the entire stone mountain to shake violently, with an astonishing momentum.
Fortunately, they were now thousands of miles deep into the desert sea, or such a commotion would have alarmed other cultivators within hundreds of miles.
After a full day and night of such vigorous attacks, the yellowish protective shield guarding the cave entrance finally dissipated, revealing the portal to the cave mansion inside.
Zhouyang looked out and saw that the two doors of the cave mansion were entirely carved from the Tier Two Spiritual Object, "Yellow Rock Jade," with a plaque of the same material hanging above, inscribed with the words "Thousand Machines Grotto Heaven" in cinnabar.
"Thousand Machines Grotto Heaven? Such grandiose words!"
Chen Pingzhi also saw the name of the cave mansion, and upon seeing the words "Thousand Machines Grotto Heaven," he could not help but sneer.
"A 'Grotto Heaven' is said to be the dwelling of Celestial Immortals. Even those renowned Tribulation Crossing True Immortals wouldn't dare call their abodes 'Grotto Heaven.' For a mere Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator to name their abode such is truly arrogant."
Zhouyang also frowned, displeased with the arrogance of the "Thousand Machines Grotto Heaven's" master.
While it's true that cultivators should have the ambition to seek the Dao and aspire to become Harmonious Celestial Immortals, such aspirations should not be constantly spoken aloud, nor expressed through such presumptuous actions.
Frowning slightly, he persuaded, "Elder, why take offense at a mere dead man's bravado? Since the cave mansion's array is broken, we should enter to have a look. This disciple is also curious to see what kind of magnificence resides in such a presumptuous person's abode."
"Xiaoyou is right. Let's see how Chen opens the door."
Chen Pingzhi nodded slightly, waved his hand to release his flying sword, and forcefully shattered the cave mansion's doors on the spot.
Zhouyang, seeing this, twitched his eyelids slightly, secretly feeling sorry for those two "Yellow Rock Jade" doors.
In the Haoyang Cave, his cave mansion's door was made of ordinary stone, but those "Yellow Rock Jade" doors would have been perfect to adorn his residence if they could be taken back. Yet with one sword, Chen Pingzhi destroyed them.
For this, he could only curse "extravagant wastrel" in his heart as he quietly followed Chen Pingzhi into the cave mansion.
However, just as he hadn't yet set foot inside the cave mansion door, he suddenly heard Chen Pingzhi's shocked and angry shout from within.
This startled him, and he hurriedly waved his sleeve to release a defensive spiritual artifact to block in front of him. Then feeling it wasn't enough, a layer of defensive golden light rose from his body as he unleashed the defense divine technique "Qianyang Golden Light."
Inside the "Thousand Machines Grotto Heaven," after Zhouyang completed his protection and entered, he saw Chen Pingzhi, who had gone ahead, retreating repeatedly under the attack of two puppet beasts, appearing quite embarrassed.
The two puppet beasts were a lion and a tiger. The lion was refined from a certain spirit wood, roughly the size of a natural wild lion, but with crimson eyes that could emit a flame beam spell to attack enemies and also spew crimson fireballs from its mouth.
The puppet tiger beast was also about the size of a normal tiger, but its body was mostly made of metal.
Compared to the long-range attacking lion, the tiger was clearly more adept at close combat. Its four claws were made of tier three spiritual gold, which could release claw light several feet long to firmly withstand Chen Pingzhi's flying sword attacks. It could also spew silver sword qi spells for ranged attacks, and its body defense was even stronger than ordinary tier three lower-grade demon beasts.
Whether it was the lion or the tiger beast, the aura they emitted was much stronger than Zhouyang, a first-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator, and though not as strong as Chen Pingzhi at the sixth-layer Foundation Establishment, Zhouyang estimated they were at least equivalent to third-layer to fourth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Originally, with Chen Pingzhi's sixth-layer Foundation Establishment strength, even though these two puppet beasts were formidable, he wouldn't be as embarrassed as he was now.
Unfortunately, earlier when attacking the guardian array of the cave mansion, he had already spent a large amount of magical power and was unprepared for the sudden ambush by the two puppet beasts, leaving him unable to exert even seventy percent of his full strength.
If he hadn't come from a large clan like the Chen family, where his cultivation techniques, divine techniques, and treasures were not weak, he wouldn't just be embarrassed but possibly injured or even fallen.
Seeing this situation upon entering, Zhouyang couldn't help but loudly ask, "Elder Chen, do you need this junior's help?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Pingzhi's expression changed and he hesitated.
From his perspective, he naturally didn't want Zhouyang to intervene. After all, once Zhouyang intervened, no matter how little effort he exerted, Chen Pingzhi would have to give at least ten percent of the gains to Zhouyang.
But given his current situation, if he insisted on not letting Zhouyang join, not only would he offend Zhouyang greatly, but he himself might not be able to handle these two puppet beasts.
Finally, after pondering for a good while, he reluctantly nodded and said, "Xiaoyou, you can act, but be careful not to damage the bodies of these two puppet beasts. We'll just drain their spiritual stones and spiritual power slowly."
Zhouyang understood Chen Pingzhi's meaning: as long as the puppet beasts' bodies weren't damaged, by draining them of spiritual power, they might still become valuable treasures.
But if they were damaged, there weren't many in the cultivation realm skilled at refining and repairing such puppet beasts, making it difficult to find someone for repairs.
Therefore, even though he knew the puppet beasts wouldn't be his, Zhouyang still smiled and said, "Don't worry, Elder, this junior knows what to do."
Even though he wouldn't have a share in the intact puppet beasts, their value far exceeded the broken ones. If he got a share afterward, even just ten percent, it would be worth the trip.
With Zhouyang joining, Chen Pingzhi's situation improved significantly. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Though Zhouyang didn't exert his full strength, he helped block most of the lion beast's attacks for Chen Pingzhi. With only the tiger beast's close-range attacks left, it posed little threat to a sixth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator like him.
After two to three quarters of an hour, the spiritual power from the spiritual stones within the two puppet beasts was drained, causing them to stop.
"Phew, finally stopped!"
Seeing the two puppet beasts cease their attacks, Chen Pingzhi, already sweating, breathed a sigh of relief. He waved his sleeve to wipe his brow, turning to Zhouyang with a bitter smile, "If it weren't for bringing you along this time, Chen would have really suffered in the hands of these two puppet dead creatures!"
"Elder overpraises. With the elder's skills, even if you couldn't defeat these two puppet beasts, you would certainly be able to retreat safely." Zhouyang also put away his artifacts, smiling and shaking his head, denying taking credit.
Seeing this, Chen Pingzhi nodded slightly and refrained from any more polite exchanges.
What Zhouyang said was indeed true. If he hadn't feared damaging the puppet beasts, he would have already used his trump card to end the battle, without needing Zhouyang's help.
With a wave of his large sleeve, he collected the now lifeless puppet beasts into his storage bag and then said, "I'll keep these two puppet beasts with me for now. Once our exploration ends, we'll settle your share of the gains."
"Everything according to Elder Chen's words." Zhouyang's eyes flashed with envy but showed no objections.
Although the old clan leader Zhou Minghan had once described Chen Pingzhi as greedy and arrogant, Zhouyang didn't believe he would default on this account.
It's not unheard of for the cultivation realm to have cases of default, but the price for such actions isn't something everyone can bear.
High-tier cultivators who default on low-tier cultivators may at most ruin their reputation and be despised, but if they dare default among peers, they must be prepared for the other's retaliation.
If one cultivator genuinely set out to plot against another, life would certainly become very difficult for the targeted person, especially for clan cultivators like Chen Pingzhi, who have family and personal estates. They wouldn't easily offend peers to death.
Otherwise, Chen Pingzhi would have high cultivation and not fear retaliation, but can't people secretly kill the low-tier cultivators of the Chen Family in revenge?
By then, even if the Chen Family Ancestor steps in to kill that person, the outcome for Chen Pingzhi won't be good either.
Zhouyang doesn't believe that Chen Pingzhi would be unaware of this logic.
And seeing that Zhouyang didn't object, Chen Pingzhi also felt relieved, and his perception of Zhouyang improved considerably.
It must be understood that when cultivators team up for exploration, sometimes the greatest danger doesn't come from the arrays, restrictions, and demon beast enemies within the secret realms, but from the team itself.
Throughout history, countless expedition teams have opened up the cave mansions of predecessors to discover treasures, only to immediately fall into internal conflict over the treasures, clashing swords and making life-or-death struggles before stopping.
Zhouyang isn't afraid of Chen Pingzhi reneging, and Chen Pingzhi invited Zhouyang over, also not afraid of Zhouyang daring to make a move against him.
The adventure they embarked on together was something Chen Pingzhi had explained to his brother Chen Ping'an.
If Chen Pingzhi couldn't safely return to the clan, yet Zhouyang did, then Chen Ping'an would surely urge the Chen Family Ancestor to have Zhouyang go to the Chen Family for investigation, and with the means of the Chen Family Ancestor, he would ensure that Zhouyang reveals every detail of what happened along the way without missing a word.
At that time, if it is found that Zhouyang acted unlawfully, the Chen Family would completely uproot his and the Zhou Family's fate.
The two continued deep into the cave mansion, with Chen Pingzhi leading the way and Zhouyang following behind; whenever anything was found, Zhouyang would merely watch as Chen Pingzhi collected it, at most asking a few questions where he didn't understand.
Inside this cave mansion, the space was not small; after Zhouyang followed Chen Pingzhi through the hall guarded by puppet beasts, they visited a total of seven or eight stone chambers. Each stone chamber offered some gains, and they even obtained a Tier Three Lower Grade artifact cauldron in a chamber used for artifact refining.
Finally, they arrived at the deepest part of the cave mansion—the seclusion chamber.
Before the seclusion chamber, the two exchanged glances, and then Chen Pingzhi spoke first: "We didn't find the remains of the cave mansion's owner in the bedroom earlier, so either this person perished outside or they passed away in this seclusion chamber."
"Elder Chen, I think so too," Zhouyang nodded, agreeing with his guess.
For such cave mansions left by predecessor cultivators, if they're undisturbed or inherited, some insight into the person's background and personality during their lifetime can be discerned.
Generally, only those solitary loose cultivators who like to be free from constraints would conceal their cave mansions so well, that even after death, no one knows their location, and no one comes to excavate the treasures they left behind.
Of course, there's another scenario, which is certain experts creating temporary cave mansions or courtyard retreats outside. For those experts, these temporary cave mansions or courtyard retreats aren't very important, so even if abandoned, it's not heart-wrenching, and naturally, they're unknown to others.
However, based on the experiences from the previous few stone chambers, Zhouyang and Chen Pingzhi had already determined that the cave mansion's owner during their lifetime didn't have cultivation beyond the Foundation Establishment Stage, and with the financial ability of Foundation Establishment cultivators, it's clearly impossible to establish such a courtyard cave mansion outside the main cave mansion.
"I'll break the door."
As the leader of this expedition, Chen Pingzhi naturally wanted to firmly grasp the initiative. He looked at the door of the seclusion chamber, still shining with magical power guarded by a separate small array, and with a wave of his sleeve, he again released his flying sword to attack.
The purpose of such a separate small array guarding a seclusion chamber is generally to alert and prevent disturbance to the person in seclusion, and its defensive power for Foundation Establishment cultivators is almost negligible.
After Chen Pingzhi released his flying sword, the array was broken in a few strikes, and with a "boom," the entire door of the seclusion chamber shattered.
With the door shattered and scattered across the ground, the inside of the seclusion chamber became fully visible.
Zhouyang looked intently, and saw that inside the not-so-large seclusion chamber, like most Foundation Establishment cultivators' seclusion chambers, there lay a Cold Jade Bed, upon which a skeleton-thin corpse slumped with its head towards the door. From the hollow eyes, Zhouyang seemed to sense the resentment and unfulfilled wishes of the corpse's owner during their lifetime.
"Sure enough, here it is. Judging by this guy's appearance, he should have failed in creating a Purple Mansion, causing his Sea of Consciousness to explode and perish on the spot!"
Chen Pingzhi's face lit up with joy as he spoke his conjecture, immediately stepping into the seclusion chamber, his target being the storage bags hanging at the waist of the skeleton on the Cold Jade Bed.
Seeing this, Zhouyang couldn't help but frown. Chen Pingzhi was indeed too impatient.
Zhouyang had reason to be concerned.
When Chen Pingzhi was about to reach out to seize the storage bags at the waist of the skeleton corpse, the original slumped head of the skeleton corpse suddenly creaked and lifted to look at him.
Then, nothing more happened...
Chen Pingzhi casually waved his hand, and the skeleton's head was immediately knocked off, then the storage bags on its body, along with the earth-yellow magical artifact Daoist robe it wore, became his possessions.
He weighed the two storage bags in his hand, noticed that Zhouyang's expression at the door was somewhat off, and with a quick thought, understood the reason, so he couldn't help but smile and say:
"Young friend, no need to be startled. Those legends about cultivators leaving behind means to harm others after passing are simply impossible to exist among cultivators below the Golden Core Stage. This skeleton just now could move, but it was merely a mouthful of residual resentment acting out from its previous life, enough to scare those common mortals. Any Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator could effortlessly reduce it to dust!"
"It is my ignorance at fault, making a fool of myself before you, Elder." Zhouyang gave a self-deprecating smile, realizing he had been overthinking.
As the old saying goes: it's better to have no books than to believe everything in them.
He had read too many wild tales of the cultivation world, leading him to automatically imagine this simple cave exploration as akin to those predecessors exploring some Golden Core Demon or Nascent Soul Great Power's demon nests or immortal mansions, seeing potential danger in every corner.
But in reality, the greatest resistance and source of danger in a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator's cave are typically just the guardian arrays.
It's already quite rare for a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, like the owner of this "Thousand Machines Grotto Heaven," to guard his cave with two Tier Three Puppet Beasts. Even cave mansions left by Purple Mansion Stage cultivators might not achieve this.
"Hahaha, young friend, having such thoughts on your first time participating in such an activity is perfectly normal. Wasn't I, Chen, just the same back then?" Chen Pingzhi laughed heartily, quite understanding of Zhouyang's mindset and not minding it much.
With a thought, he left his spiritual mark in the storage bag that had lost its owner for so many years, then retrieved everything from the two storage bags.
Not knowing how many years had passed, many items in the storage bags had lost their spiritual essence due to a lack of spiritual nourishment for a long time, including a few Tier Three Lower Grade Spiritual Artifacts of lower quality.
However, combined, the two storage bags still contained many valuable items that remained usable.
The most valuable among them were three gleaming Tier Three Spiritual Artifacts: a crimson flying sword, an earthy yellow great seal, and a bronze small bell. The flying sword and great seal were both Tier Three Top Grade Spiritual Artifacts, while the bronze small bell was an excellent piece among Tier Three Middle-grade Spiritual Artifacts.
If we add the two Tier Three Puppet Beasts and a Tier Three Lower Grade Artifact Cauldron obtained earlier, Chen Pingzhi's harvest this time was truly lavish.
No wonder he preferred to ask Zhouyang, an outsider, to join in by spending favors rather than moving with Chen Family's Foundation Establishment cultivators.
If he had come here with the family's Foundation Establishment cultivators, at least three to four times the spoils must have been divided with others, which is worth tens of thousands of spirit stones.
"Young friend Zhou, how do you think these should be divided?"
While Zhouyang stared with wide eyes, full of envy at the three artifacts on the ground, Chen Pingzhi had already returned to his senses and looked intently at him, raising the question of how to divide them.
This is a very sensitive issue; a misstep could lead to severe consequences. Even though he had the backing of the Chen Family and his cultivation level was far superior to Zhouyang, he still had to ask Zhouyang's opinion.
Yet Zhouyang was stunned when he heard this.
How should he answer?
Despite their previous agreement that Chen Pingzhi might give him one to two portions of the harvest based on his contribution, how to gauge this contribution was a matter of much discussion.
From Chen Pingzhi's perspective, even without Zhouyang stepping in earlier, he wouldn't have faced any life-threatening danger, so naturally, he didn't want to give him more than a share.
But from Zhouyang's perspective, without his intervention, Chen Pingzhi might have at least missed out on two valuable Tier Three Puppet Beasts while also consuming his trump card; such losses exceed more than a share of the harvest.
Hence, at that moment, Zhouyang truly didn't know how to answer Chen Pingzhi's question.
He was inwardly cursing Chen Pingzhi for being cunning by deliberately letting him choose, knowing that whatever answer he gave, Chen Pingzhi could easily find a reason to oppose it next.
Time slowly passed as Chen Pingzhi quietly watched Zhouyang ponder without urging, but this kind of observation was, in fact, a form of pressure.
After recollecting the journey's events in his mind several times and thinking it over, Zhouyang finally made a decision.
Calmly lifting his gaze to meet Chen Pingzhi's eyes, he slowly spoke, "Since Elder Chen asked how this junior thinks they should be divided, I will boldly share my thoughts."
"Elder Chen gained two Tier Three Puppet Beasts, four Tier Three Spiritual Artifacts, and the many spirit stones, miscellaneous items, and jade scroll inheritances on the ground. Even if this junior takes just one share, it should be worth one Tier Three Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact, right?"
"This junior is not greedy; if Elder could grant the previous Tier Three Artifact Cauldron to this junior and allow me to copy the jade scroll here for my clan's collection, I would be content!"
The distribution he proposed was after much consideration the optimal choice.
The Tier Three Artifact Cauldron, though valuable, is arguably less valuable than other items; considering its value, the Chen Family's Artifact Refiner already has a better artifact cauldron.
And asking for the jade scroll, given it's a normal requirement within the rights of a Cultivator, is hardly unreasonable.
"""
"Alright," Chen Pingzhi thought for a moment and finally nodded in agreement with Zhouyang's allocation choice.
He, though somewhat greedy by nature, wasn't the kind to be completely stingy. After all, Zhouyang contributed as well. If none of the six magical artifacts were left for him, they might end up becoming enemies.
Were it an ordinary family's Foundation Establishment cultivator, an enmity wouldn't matter much. Chen Pingzhi's reliance on the Chen Family wasn't such that he'd fear retribution over a minor issue against their Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators.
But Zhouyang was different. Unless something unexpected happened, Zhouyang was certain to become a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator, with prospects for advancing to open the Purple Mansion not unlikely.
Faced with someone of such great potential, how foolish would Chen Pingzhi have to be to make an enemy over a magical artifact he couldn't even use?
Having accepted Zhouyang's choice, Chen Pingzhi immediately raised his hand and took out the four-legged purple cauldron he had earlier stowed away, tossing it to Zhouyang: "Keep this 'Phoenix Pattern Purple Gold Cauldron' well. As for those jade scrolls, feel free to copy them."
Once he finished speaking, he waved his sleeve and gathered all the scattered magical artifacts and miscellaneous items back into his storage bag, leaving only twenty to thirty jade scrolls for Zhouyang to replicate.
Expecting that Zhouyang would take considerable time to copy these jade scrolls, Chen Pingzhi simply began meditating on the Cold Jade Bed, recovering the magical power he had previously depleted.
Seeing this, Zhouyang first fiddled with the Tier Three Artifact Cauldron happily, then began copying the information from the jade scrolls onto blank jade scrolls.
Due to the cave mansion owner's identity as an Artifact Refiner, seven or eight of these twenty to thirty jade scrolls indeed concerned artifact refining knowledge, a great gain for Zhouyang.
Furthermore, as a wealthy Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator, the cave mansion owner's cultivation techniques and secret techniques collection were extraordinary. Among them, one technique could be cultivated to the Golden Core Stage, three to the Purple Mansion Stage, along with a rare divine sense secret technique.
Yet the thing that excited Zhouyang most was a jade scroll detailing the refining method for puppet beasts, containing twelve different types of puppet beast refining methods, including the Tier Three puppet beasts like the Liger obtained by Chen Pingzhi.
Zhouyang looked at the puppet beast jade scroll in his hand, then at Chen Pingzhi meditating with closed eyes on the Cold Jade Bed, feeling secretly fortunate that he hadn't carefully examined the jade scrolls.
Had Chen Pingzhi discovered that there was a rare puppet beast refining method among the jade scrolls, given his greedy nature, he certainly wouldn't have allowed Zhouyang to copy them.
Before Zhouyang obtained this jade scroll, no family in the Baisha River Oasis cultivation realm possessed any puppet master heritage.
Instead, due to Yellow Sand Sect's early eradication of another sect skilled in puppetry, they had acquired several puppet-making legacies, and some Artifact Refiners had also practiced these skills, producing many low-tier puppets for sale to various vassal clans.
It was said that the Chen Family had once purchased several Tier Three puppets from Yellow Sand Sect for their clan's wealth collection. Presumably, this is why Chen Pingzhi didn't give much thought upon seeing the puppet beasts in the cave mansion.
After all, since the cave mansion's former owner could obtain a Tier Three array "Earth-covering Yellow Sand Array" from a Yellow Sand Sect array master, acquiring two Tier Three puppet beasts to guard the cave wasn't too difficult a task.
Chen Pingzhi, a scion of the Purple Mansion Clan, never imagined that a mere Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator would possess a puppet master heritage absent in the Chen Family.
This time, his pride ensured that Zhouyang and the Zhou Family scored a significant advantage.
Suppressing his excitement, Zhouyang ignored the spiritual sense depletion, and first prioritized copying the puppetry and artifact refining heritages into his storage bag before moving to the cultivation techniques and secret techniques.
Once he copied all the content from the jade scrolls, even though his spiritual sense was on par with a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, he felt a splitting headache, forcing him to sit down and rest with closed eyes.
An hour or so later, the splitting headache due to excessive spiritual sense depletion finally eased significantly.
Though his spiritual sense hadn't fully recovered, it was sufficient for normal sword flight.
At this time, Chen Pingzhi, who had been closing his eyes to restore his magical power, had already opened his eyes and recovered.
Seeing Zhouyang awake, he looked at him complexly and spoke with a low tone, "Awake, little friend? If so, we can return now."
It was clear that he had checked the jade scrolls' condition upon waking, realizing how much of a fortune Zhouyang had gotten due to his momentary carelessness.
Yet now that events had unfolded, regardless of his thoughts, it was impossible to make Zhouyang hand over the copied jade scrolls.
And as Chen Pingzhi didn't mention it, Zhouyang certainly wasn't foolish enough to bring it up, only nodding repeatedly and said, "I shall follow Elder Chen's lead. I have no opinions whatsoever."
He originally intended to ask Chen Pingzhi how to deal with this cave mansion, given that it housed a Tier Three middle-grade spirit vein, which could adequately supply several Foundation Establishment cultivators and hundreds of Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators if fully developed.
But seeing Chen Pingzhi's current expression, he felt it best not to further discuss issues involving interest allocation.
After all, his Zhou Family didn't lack spirit veins, and this location was far from the Yuquan Lake Oasis. Even if Chen Pingzhi offered the spirit vein to his Zhou Family, they couldn't send people to develop such an isolated site.
