Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 670 - 654: Luring the Snake Out of the Hole!
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Having dealt with Zhou Bao's family's issues, Zhouyang returned to Haoyang Cave and immediately sent a communication flying sword to notify Elder Clan Leader Zhou Minghan.
Flying sword communication is a more advanced method than sound transmission talisman, as the communication flying sword not only flies quickly but also covers great distances, with less chance of being intercepted than using a sound transmission talisman.
However, using flying sword communication requires at least Foundation Establishment stage cultivation; not only must the user have Foundation Establishment cultivation, but the recipient must also possess it.
Moreover, each use of the communication flying sword wears down the sword body, requiring an artifact refiner skilled in refining communication flying swords to regularly maintain and repair it.
Zhouyang used a communication flying sword of Tier Three Lower Grade, which has an effective communication distance of up to two thousand miles. He sent the flying sword from Haoyang Cave and received a return flying sword communication from Elder Clan Leader Zhou Minghan in less than half an hour.
Zhou Minghan's reply was simple, directly granting Zhou Bao's family permission to move back to Jade Spring Peak immediately and exempting Zhou Bao from any future clan missions.
"With this news spreading, I fear those in the clan who are already married and have concubines will be more enthusiastic about having children!"
Zhouyang could almost anticipate the expressions on the elders and clan brothers upon hearing the news.
Since even someone as unremarkable in the clan as Zhou Bao managed to have outstanding offspring, would those who consider themselves better within the clan cultivators accept it?
Unable to surpass Zhouyang, the clan's acknowledged genius, in cultivation, would they also lose to Zhou Bao, a cultivation waste, in having children?
Impossible!
They might console themselves with inferior spiritual root talent in terms of cultivation, but when it comes to fathering children, isn't everyone a man?
Zhouyang absolutely did not foresee that, stimulated by Zhou Bao having dragon and phoenix twins, those clan cultivators who were already married and had concubines expanded the number of their concubines greatly, causing Zhou family newborns in the next ten years to surpass the total of the previous century!
Of course, that's a tale for later.
Zhou Bao's family return to Jade Spring Lake Oasis was arranged by Zhou Minghan, so Zhouyang didn't have to worry about it. Returning to Haoyang Cave, he resumed helping Twelfth Uncle Zhou Xuanchen organize the medicinal garden.
After about half a year, a spirit medicine garden, established deep underground, was finally completed.
This spirit medicine garden is divided into eight areas, with a total of thirty acres, where thirty-seven types of spirit elixirs suitable to grow on Haoyang Cave's spirit veins are planted. After complete maturity, each spirit elixir's grade will be Tier Three and above.
To ensure adequate lighting for these spirit medicine gardens, Zhouyang refined several sets of glass lenses to reflect and diffuse sunlight, utilizing flying swords to excavate stone and sand covering the medicinal garden, replacing the commonly used illumination item, "sunlight stone," among cultivators with natural light.
Once the medicinal garden was setup, Zhouyang entrusted the caretaking of the garden to Eleventh Brother Zhou Chang.
Since the clan lost Tier Two Spirit Plant Cultivator Elder Zhou Yun and Tier One Spirit Plant Cultivator Zhou Yuanxia sequentially, the clan's dedicated spirit plant cultivator was left with only Twelfth Uncle Zhou Xuanchen. Hence, Zhouyang decided to let Zhou Chang, his Eleventh Brother, specialize as a spirit plant cultivator in cultivation skills.
Any cultivator can learn and master the spirit plant cultivator skills, but cultivators of water and wood cultivation techniques find it easier to achieve accomplishments in this skill area. Every renowned high-tier spirit plant cultivator generally has spirit root attributes and cultivation techniques of water-wood attributes.
Although Zhou Chang cultivates the Earth Element Technique "Thick Earth Technique," his spirit root actually encompasses earth, wood, and metal attributes, but he opted to specialize in earth element techniques due to a higher affinity for Earth Spiritual Power.
Honestly, if possible, Zhouyang wishes every Zhou family cultivator mastered a cultivation skill as having a skill, even at the lowest Tier One, always yields significant benefits.
Unfortunately, this idea remains unachievable at present.
The Hundred Skills of Cultivation each have specific talent requirements, and entering each often involves consuming resources to amass experience.
Even the seemingly simplest spirit plant cultivator needs to transfer and likely kill dozens of Tier One spirit grasses or spirit woods to truly begin.
Thus, even a large and prosperous Purple Mansion Clan like the Chen Family finds it unrealistic to have every clan cultivator master a skill.
Having completed the medicinal garden setup, Zhouyang then began advancing spirit beast breeding. The Spirit Beast Chamber in Haoyang Cave was long-ready, only needing spirit beasts released for captive breeding.
The spirit beast the Zhou family had long bred, Tier One Middle Grade Demon Beast "Phoenix Crowned Fire Chicken," is a fire demonic beast with mature breeding techniques.
He immediately flew back to the clan by sword, capturing a dozen chicklings and a mature pair from the clan's Spirit Beast Garden, placing them in a Spirit Beast Chamber to begin trial breeding, planning to observe for a year or so to decide on full-scale introduction.
Breeding demonic beasts is both simple and challenging; simple as they thrive easily with regular feeding, immune to illnesses.
The challenge lies in demonic beasts naturally being combative, likely causing deaths or injuries without caution, posing injury risks, with large appetites primarily meat-based, implying high feeding costs and long maturity durations.
Haoyang Cave now hosts nearly twenty thousand mortals, with food supplied entirely by camel teams and Zhou family cultivators transporting from Jade Spring Lake Oasis using storage bags, making extensive demonic beast breeding currently impractical.
Were it not for "Phoenix Crowned Fire Chicken" being small-sized among demonic beasts and omnivorous, Zhouyang wouldn't contemplate captive breeding now.
This busy period with garden setup, spirit beast breeding, and regular mining at the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein often demanding him to open mining tunnels with flying swords left Zhouyang's regular cultivation almost completely paused, let alone having time to delve into artifact refining.
However, having chosen to assume the clan leader position, he has no complaints, solely doing his utmost to fulfill leadership responsibilities by contributing his efforts towards clan development.
Finally, as five tunnels of the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein began producing ore, he found time to focus on his cultivation.
Normally, middle-grade spiritual root cultivators after Foundation Establishment, without elixir aid, require fifteen to twenty years to raise their cultivation by one layer, with time intensifying as progress is made.
Take Zhou family's Elder Clan Leader Zhou Minghan; his cultivation has halted at Seventh Layer Foundation Establishment for over twenty years, showing no breakthrough indications.
Yet, comparing his Qi Cultivation Stage speed and cultivation of the "Qianyang Immortal Scripture" most suited to his physique, Zhouyang estimates attaining Second Layer Foundation Establishment in ten years without elixir aid should be feasible.
Although his ten-year span for one layer doesn't match superior spiritual root cultivators' seven-eight-year interval, within middle-grade spiritual root cultivators, his pace is exceptional, and Zhouyang feels no dissatisfaction.
He is still young, with time on his side; future steady cultivation ensures eventual advancement to Ninth Layer Foundation Establishment.
Time flies.
In a blink, Zhouyang has resided in Haoyang Cave for three years.
In those three years, he rarely left Haoyang Cave, usually dedicating his time to regular cultivation, studying artifact refining heritage from Elder Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, or accompanying his mother Lin Yu Ting to experience mortal life in a mortal city.
Lin Yu Ting is only a few years younger than Zhou Xuanhao, and after Zhou Xuanhao attained Foundation Establishment, they couldn't grow old together. Thus, in her final twenty-ish years, she chose to accompany her only son Zhouyang rather than residing with her husband by Baisha River Oasis.
Zhouyang fully understands his mother Lin Yu Ting's sentiments; besides wanting to make up for the two or three decades of mother-son separation, she likely wished her mid-aged husband doesn't witness her aging daily.
He once fantasized aiding his mother Lin Yu Ting to also enter the Foundation Establishment Stage, but such fantasies continuously crumble against harsh realities.
Not only is Lin Yu Ting near a hundred years old, having a cultivation of Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation, her gentle frail willpower likely can't surpass the "Divine Sense Barrier" obstacle.
If it were his foster mother Zhou Xuan Yu, Zhouyang wouldn't worry about this concern at all.
To change a person's will is not impossible, but Lin Yuting's current situation clearly doesn't leave any time for that, let alone can Zhouyang get a second Foundation Establishment Pill now.
So what he can do, in the next ten or twenty years, is to spend more time with his mother, accompany her through the last moments of her life, and ensure she leaves without any regrets.
That day, Zhouyang was helping his mother Lin Yuting and his Eighth Aunt Zhou Xuanyan create an oasis. Suddenly, he received a distress Sound Transmission Talisman from the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein.
After reading the talisman, his face first sank but then quickly regained its composure.
He smiled slightly, nodded gently to his mother Lin Yuting and Eighth Aunt Zhou Xuanyan, who were looking at him, and said, "It's nothing serious, just some reckless demon beasts breaking into the mine and hurting people. I'll handle it and be right back."
Of course, the truth wasn't as simple as he put it.
If it were just ordinary demon beasts breaking into the mine and hurting people, it would have been dealt with by the Thirteenth Aunt Zhou Xuanying, who was stationed there.
With the exploitation of the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein, the net income from this vein has reached 700 Spirit Stones annually for the Zhou family, and this number is still growing. It is expected to stabilize at an annual income of 1,500 Spirit Stones without any issue.
Seeing such obvious benefits from this vein, Zhouyang sent the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer Thirteenth Aunt Zhou Xuanying to protect the miners near the mine, even though he sits at Haoyang Cave's Spirit Vein.
Now, even the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer Zhou Xuanying needed to send a Sound Transmission Talisman for help. It showed that the demon beast appearing in the mine must equal the Tier Two Top Grade demon beast "Gold-Eating Rat" he had encountered at the Refined Iron Ore Vein.
"It's a Tier Two Top Grade demon beast, the [Flame-devouring Spider], and there are at least five of them. During mining, the workers accidentally dug near the nest, resulting in twenty or thirty miners being dragged away by their web. I've temporarily sealed the mine, just waiting for you, Clan Leader, to handle it."
Seeing Zhouyang land on a Flying Sword, Zhou Xuanying rushed over to report the situation.
Zhouyang's eyebrows rose upon hearing "Flame-devouring Spider," and a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.
Just as its name suggests, the "Flame-devouring Spider" likes to devour flames and Fire Attribute Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects, often appearing in hot volcanic areas. Therefore, it's no surprise to find them beneath the Red Flame Iron vein, which is a Fire Attribute Spiritual Object.
Spiders are skilled at hiding; even with his Foundation Establishment Cultivator level Divine Sense scanning, Zhouyang finds it hard to detect them when they are slumbering and concealing their auras deep below.
He nodded with realization, his face serious, "I understand the situation. You did well, Thirteenth Aunt. Now continue calming and evacuating the frightened miners. I'll investigate further and decide the next steps."
With that, he broke open the mine entrance sealed with Dragon-breaking Stone by Zhou Xuanying using a Flying Sword, and his figure swiftly moved into the mine.
With his powerful Divine Sense, and the Red Flame Iron Mine only being excavated for a few years, the tunnels were still shallow. Upon entering, Zhouyang's Divine Sense immediately pinpointed where the "Flame-devouring Spiders" captured the miners.
However, his blatant Divine Sense fluctuation alarmed the concealed "Flame-devouring Spiders," these underground predators sensed his powerful Divine Sense and immediately burst out with overwhelming auras to warn him.
There are eight "Flame-devouring Spiders," each as big as a calf, with vivid crimson shells, glaring at him with their eight fist-sized eyes full of ferocious and tyrannical intent. Even sensing Zhouyang's Foundation Establishment aura, they showed no fear, instead emitting strong hostility as a warning. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"Scram!"
Zhouyang shouted, his Divine Sense pressed fiercely, instantly shattering the ferocious and tyrannical will of the spiders into pieces.
Screech——
A sharp, angry cry came from the mine's depths, and the "Flame-devouring Spiders," provoked by Zhouyang's demeanor, emerged from their nests into the mine tunnel.
"Hmph, it's always said that insect-type demon beasts have the lowest spiritual wisdom. It's true today; even a mere Tier Two Top Grade demon beast dares to attack a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. They really don't know their limits!"
Zhouyang snorted disdainfully at the "Flame-devouring Spiders" foolish act.
He cast a Sword Technique, guiding his Divine Sense as the Tier Three Lower Grade Flying Sword "Red Profound Golden Light Sword" cleaved towards the exposed spiders with dazzling Sword Light.
Faced with the incoming Sword Light, the "Flame-devouring Spiders" naturally wouldn't wait to be slaughtered. They opened their mouths, shooting webs at the Sword Light, trying to intercept it.
The webs of the "Flame-devouring Spiders" are crimson, harder and more tenacious than Refined Iron. Any Tier Two Flying Sword ensnared by this web would soon be wholly wrapped and lose the cultivator's control.
Moreover, because the "Flame-devouring Spiders" consume fire and Fire Attribute spiritual objects, their webs are not afraid of fire like other spiders or silkworm silk, even dulling the power of Fire Magic.
In the Cultivation Realm, a robe woven from "Flame-devouring Spider" webs is priced higher than an ordinary Tier Two Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact and is highly sought after.
However, these "Flame-devouring Spiders" miscalculated today.
Under Zhouyang's golden, sun-like Crimson Sword Light, the webs they shot were obliterated like snow in the mountains, instantly reduced to dust by the radiant Sword Light.
The Sword Light wound around several "Flame-devouring Spiders," sparing their lives yet cutting off half their legs, causing them to lose mobility temporarily.
The remaining spiders, witnessing this, were startled and enraged, their underbelly fist-sized eyes full of fear and anger, screamed incessantly at Zhouyang, retreating instinctively towards the direction they came from.
No matter how low their intelligence, they realized that the bipedal creature was beyond their capacity to contend against.
Instinct told them that staying away from the bipedal creature was the only way to save their own lives.
"Only now do you think of running? Isn't it a bit too late?"
Zhouyang smiled coldly, not intending to spare the remaining "Flame-devouring Spiders."
He guided the "Red Profound Golden Light Sword" with his Sword Technique, turning it into a crimson gold Sword Light to pursue the remaining spiders.
The "Flame-devouring Spiders" moved swiftly in the tunnels, sliding several meters with ease, far outpacing human speed.
But no matter how fast they ran, they couldn't outpace Zhouyang's Flying Sword.
Controlled by Zhouyang's Divine Sense, the Sword Light flickered, and all the fleeing spiders shared their companions' fate, with half their legs cut off and left paralyzed in the mine.
"You dared to devour members of the Zhou family; you deserve to be slaughtered. But merely killing you would be too easy. I'll leave you alive for now to work off your debts by spinning webs for the Zhou family!"
In the mine, Zhouyang retracted his Flying Sword, his eyes coldly sweeping over the struggling, raging "Flame-devouring Spiders."
Just as he said, if not for the value of their webs, he would not have hesitated to kill them all for eating humans.
These "Flame-devouring Spiders" are all adult demon beasts, impossible to tame and raise now. Zhouyang spares their lives to extract any remaining value, letting them live until they can no longer produce webs, when their lives will end.
It just so happens that he has two unused Spirit Beast Chambers in Haoyang Cave. These eight spiders can be split into two groups to be held and bred there. With the Tier Three Lower Grade Array "Earth and Metal Spear Array" suppressing them, he isn't worried about these creatures causing trouble even if he has to leave Haoyang Cave one day.
Spider-type demon beasts possess strong life force, often capable of regenerating lost limbs. Zhouyang wasn't concerned about a few "Flame-devouring Spiders" dying from leg injuries. He intended to punish these man-eating beasts and didn't immediately render them unconscious for treatment. Instead, he used "Earth Escape Technique" to bypass these creatures and headed straight to their nest.
Just as Zhouyang expected, apart from leftover bones from previous meals, the "Flame-devouring Spiders'" nest contained the corpses of the Zhou family's miners they recently captured. Most bodies were wrapped in webs and hung on the cave walls, while only four or five were eaten to the bone, with mere clothes scattered on the ground.
