Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 708 - 692: Origin of the Strange Flower, Avatar Great Success

"Elder Zhu, you are well-versed and knowledgeable. I wonder if you have ever seen this item?"

In the underground magma sea, after Zhouyang finished discussing the matters concerning the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation with Zhu Zizhen, he pondered briefly and then took out the purple flower he acquired to show her, inquiring about its origins.

His intentions in doing so were well-considered.

From a safety perspective, since Zhu Zizhen could resist the temptation of the Vermilion Bird Fan—a Tier Seven Immortal Artifact—she certainly would not develop any ulterior motives due to this item.

Besides, as a descendant of the Vermilion Bird, Zhu Zizhen must be knowledgeable about various fire attribute spiritual treasures and might possibly help solve this mystery.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, this is..."

Zhu Zizhen did not look at the purple flower but instead gazed at Zhouyang with some uncertainty about his intent.

"I forgot to mention to Elder before, this item is the spiritual object guarded by the Fire Charm, which Zhou suspects might have caused the formation of the Fire Charm."

As Zhouyang spoke, he detailed the entire process of acquiring the purple flower, including how the Fire Charm used the power of this item to entrap the Vermilion Bird Firebird, without concealing anything.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zizhen's expression became serious.

She looked at the purple flower placed inside the jade box by Zhouyang and softly asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, may I touch this item?"

"Of course, Elder, feel free."

Zhouyang agreed without hesitation. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

With his permission, Zhu Zizhen immediately waved her hand to call the purple flower to hover in front of her and then reached out to carefully sense it on the petals.

A moment later, a flash of astonishment crossed her eyes, and she retracted her hand, gazing at the purple flower in contemplative silence, as if she had discovered something.

Zhuangyang saw this and felt a slight joy, realizing he might have asked the right person this time.

Judging by Zhu Zizhen's demeanor, she seems to know something.

Considering this, he refrained from urging her to speak and patiently waited.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, Zhu Zizhen seemed to have come to a realization and turned to him, saying, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, are you aware of Innate Spiritual Objects?"

Zhouyang was taken aback, surprised to hear this answer.

Of course, he knew of "Innate Spiritual Objects." He even knew where one such object was located.

"Elder, are you suggesting this might be the legendary Innate Spiritual Object?"

He looked at the purple flower with disbelief in his eyes, mixed with joy and doubt, feeling quite complex.

Seeing his concern and hesitation, Zhu Zizhen seemed to empathize and lightly shook her head, saying, "Whether it is an Innate Spiritual Object, I can't be sure. However, there does exist Innate Origin Qi within this item, which hints that even if it isn't an actual Innate Spiritual Object, it certainly has a connection to them."

Zhouyang nodded slightly upon hearing this.

The so-called Innate Origin Qi is birthed from the Power of the World Origin and can generally only be found within Innate Spiritual Objects.

In fact, Zhouyang had encountered Innate Origin Qi before.

When he was in the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm, he had absorbed and refined Innate Fire Essence Qi with a Three-eyed Fire Fox Demon Beast on the central island of the secret realm, a type of Innate Origin Qi produced when the secret realm was established.

However, the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm is merely a secret realm world, and the Innate Origin Qi produced upon its establishment is simply nominal and cannot compare with the Innate Origin Qi contained within Innate Spiritual Objects.

Even so, it is still considered a treasured resource by Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators.

Zhouyang suspects that Zhu Zizhen was able to elevate to a Tier Six High-grade Demon King on the island by absorbing and refining a lot of the Innate Fire Essence Qi, which aligns with what she said later.

Since the Innate Fire Essence Qi is essential for maintaining the operation of the secret realm world, extensive absorption and refinement by a person would inevitably lead to the rapid collapse of the secret realm world.

Thus, Zhu Zizhen discovering the Innate Origin Qi within the purple flower does not seem surprising.

But soon, Zhouyang remembered something else and exclaimed, "Wait! If this item is indeed the legendary Innate Spiritual Object, why didn't the cultivator who brought it here use it back then? Moreover, Innate Spiritual Objects reportedly bring about various phenomena once they appear due to the Innate Origin Qi they contain, yet this item is now devoid of any phenomena!"

Innate Origin Qi has limitless uses, be it for personal cultivation or in alchemy and artifact refining, and any cultivator lucky enough to obtain it would certainly use it.

And upon hearing his words, Zhu Zizhen nodded in agreement, saying, "Fellow Daoist Zhou is right; these points also crossed my mind, which is why I can't confirm this item is an Innate Spiritual Object."

"However, I once heard a rumor that states some plant-formed Innate Spiritual Objects may, under certain special circumstances, bear fruit and seeds, and spiritual plants cultivated from their seeds not only possess unique medicinal effects but may gradually nurture Innate Origin Qi."

"If that rumor is true, the purple flower Fellow Daoist Zhou acquired is likely such a spiritual object."

"This also explains why it could be in Fellow Daoist Zhou's possession, for such spiritual objects require thousands or even tens of thousands of years to mature."

This explanation was new to Zhouyang.

Yet, he agreed with Zhu Zizhen's interpretation.

Genuine Innate Spiritual Objects have long vanished from this realm; if anyone possessed such objects, they would have utilized them already, leaving none for future generations.

Only special spiritual objects, like the purple flower requiring a lengthy maturation period, might preserve until now to be acquired by the current cultivators.

He couldn't help but gently nod, showing understanding as he cupped his hands toward Zhu Zizhen, saying, "Zhou understands now; thank you, Elder, for clarifying."

"Although this item is not the actual Innate Spiritual Object, it might be a boon for Fellow Daoist Zhou, as the true Innate Spiritual Objects would be difficult for someone of our cultivation level to utilize."

"Based on Fellow Daoist Zhou's earlier statement, this item might possess the ability for soul lodging and soul nourishment; if one could refine it into an External Incarnation, its foundation would allow the incarnation to achieve boundless accomplishments in the future!"

Zhu Zizhen lightly waved her hand and softly shared her insight.

This suggestion was, indeed, exceptional. If the purple flower is formed from the seed of an Innate Spiritual Root, refining it into an External Incarnation might even allow advancement to Tier Seven.

However, she was unaware that Zhouyang already possessed an External Incarnation, whose foundation was not weaker than that of this purple flower.

Although a cultivator might not be limited to refining only one external incarnation, Zhouyang didn't plan to refine a second one.

In his heart, he actually had another plan regarding the use of the mystical purple flower.

However, there was no need to explain this in detail to Zhu Zizhen.

Thus, after replying vaguely, he put away the purple flower.

After securing his items, Zhouyang glanced at Zhu Zizhen, and suddenly an idea struck him.

He suddenly asked, "I wonder what the elder thinks of this place?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zizhen was taken aback, somewhat puzzled, and asked back, "What do you mean by this, Fellow Daoist Zhou?"

"To be honest, elder, I intend to designate this place as a secondary abode, making it convenient for future secluded cultivation here."

"However, since this place wasn't discovered by me alone, if I'm away, it might be overtaken by cultivators from the Divine Fire Palace."

"If the elder is willing, this place could be offered for your cultivation, and upon my return, I will inform the cultivators of the Divine Fire Palace, and they should likely abandon any claim to this place!"

Zhouyang candidly laid out his plan without any concealment.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zizhen also started contemplating.

In fact, for Zhu Zizhen, she could cultivate anywhere around the underground magma sea; the Ge Sha poison fire didn't significantly affect her.

However, without the invasion of Ge Sha poison fire, it would naturally be better.

Moreover, the ancient cultivator who established the cave mansion here had a reason for doing so.

Compared to other nearby places, the concentration of fire attribute spiritual qi was denser here, and the giant rock beneath Zhouyang's feet itself had the effect of gathering spirit.

After some contemplation, Zhu Zizhen nodded lightly and said, "I understand Fellow Daoist Zhou's intention; I can cultivate here for a period of time."

Zhouyang was pleased, quickly clasped his hands and bowed, "In that case, I thank the elder here and now."

Afterward, he exchanged some insights on cultivation with Zhu Zizhen, then bade farewell and embarked on his journey back.

Since he had deliberately left marks on his way in, he easily found the entrance to the magma river leading to the underground magma sea, then followed the original route upstream, emerging back to the surface through the magma lake in the Wilderness Jungle.

Afterwards, everything was straightforward; with the strong memory of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, Zhouyang accurately retraced his way back to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.

Upon returning, he went straight to the Divine Fire Palace's mountain gate and sent a message to Zhao Yuanpu, who had previously fled back to the mountain gate to recuperate, inviting him for a meeting.

Zhao Yuanpu was utterly astonished that Zhouyang managed to return safely.

Upon receiving Zhouyang's message, he hesitated for half a day before replying, agreeing to meet and discuss in detail.

Upon meeting, Zhao Yuanpu naturally asked about the "Fire Charm," and Zhouyang smoothly mentioned Zhu Zizhen, saying that he managed to slay the "Fire Charm" with her assistance, also informing Zhao Yuanpu that Zhu Zizhen had occupied the cave mansion for cultivation.

Hearing that Zhu Zizhen, a Tier Six High-grade Demon King, helped slay the "Fire Charm," Zhao Yuanpu couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

This made much more sense!

If Zhouyang had claimed to defeat the "Fire Charm" single-handedly, it would have been utterly shocking.

Zhao Yuanpu, being a clever person, realized through the meeting that Zhouyang did not intend to pursue the matter of his desertion too harshly.

Therefore, upon knowing that the "Fire Charm" was dead, he immediately lowered his stance and apologized to Zhouyang, steadfastly avoiding any mention of the purple mystical flower or the treasures left by Master Fire Dragon.

Though Zhouyang felt contempt and anger towards Zhao Yuanpu's desertion, he did not intend to get entangled over this matter.

After accepting Zhao Yuanpu's apology, upon his request, he returned the relics of Chu Zhennan, which he had previously suppressed in the Qianyang Golden Tower, to him.

He had already examined the relics and found no treasures left on them, so returning them could also gain him some favor.

Of course, he didn't forget his true purpose for meeting Zhao Yuanpu, so he immediately mentioned having given the cave mansion to Zhu Zizhen.

As expected, although Zhao Yuanpu's eyes flashed with resentment upon hearing this, he eventually accepted the resolution.

After all, the cave mansion was already occupied by Zhu Zizhen. Even if the Divine Fire Palace was unwilling, in the underground magma sea environment, they couldn't possibly deal with Zhu Zizhen, a Tier Six High-grade Demon King.

Moreover, Zhouyang was clearly siding with Zhu Zizhen.

After settling the matter of the cave mansion, Zhouyang didn't want to see Zhao Yuanpu's face any longer and immediately returned to the Fire Birch Mountain Cave Mansion.

Upon returning to Fire Birch Mountain, he learned that Xiao Ying had just gone on a journey under the protection of the demon servant Bi'Er.

So, he sent a message to inform his Dao companion of his return and then calmly entered the secret chamber to heal.

Seven years later, a powerful Nascent Soul Stage cultivator's magical power fluctuation suddenly rose from Fire Birch Mountain, alarming many cultivators on the mountain. However, since the fluctuation came from Zhouyang's cave mansion, the cultivators of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect dared not inquire further.

These people naturally didn't know that the powerful Nascent Soul Stage cultivator's magical power fluctuation was due to Zhouyang's external incarnation advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage, losing control and causing an overflow of power.

This external incarnation had already reached the peak of the Ninth-Layer Golden Core before Zhouyang ventured into the Wilderness Jungle. With seven more years of cultivation, its cultivation smoothly advanced and caught up with the main body.

Since this incarnation had already refined the Tier Six Middle-grade Spiritual Artifact, the Wood Thunder Element Token, obtained from Master Fire Dragon, along with previously refined Tier Six Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Golden Bamboo Sword, its strength was formidable even though just reaching the Nascent Soul stage.

Zhouyang privately sparred his incarnation with Bi'Er, who had also just recently advanced to Tier Six Demon King and wielded the Tier Six Middle-grade Spiritual Artifact, the Profound Spirit True Water Banner, resulting in a draw each time.

But Zhouyang knew this was only temporary; the true potential of this incarnation was far from being fully realized.

Previously, with a lower cultivation level, he had the incarnation focus solely on improving its magical cultivation. Now, since the incarnation's cultivation matched his own, with his main body's cultivation yet to advance to the mid-stage Nascent Soul, the incarnation's magical cultivation would remain at the early-stage Nascent Soul.

Thus, in the future, the incarnation could devote all efforts to practicing divine techniques.

Once this incarnation mastered a few great divine techniques, it would become nearly impossible for Bi'Er to fight it to a draw.