Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 709 - 693: 1,000-Year Dharma Assembly, Journey to Beiting

Fire Birch Mountain Cave Mansion.

In the secret chamber, Zhouyang sat cross-legged with both knees, forming spell hand seals, and occasionally spewed out a mouthful of pure magical power, which landed on the purple strange flower floating in front of him. He used a secret technique to refine this object.

It had been thirty years since he returned from the Wilderness Jungle.

In these thirty years, except for the first few years during which he was recuperating and did not do so, he spent half an hour every day performing this task after his cultivation sessions in the subsequent twenty-plus years.

Back then, in the underground magma sea, Zhu Zizhen had suggested he cultivate this purple flower into an external incarnation, but he did not adopt the suggestion because he had a better plan.

When Master Donglai transmitted cross-realm, there was a marvelous artifact refining secret technique included, and now he was using this method to refine the purple flower.

Now, after more than twenty years of his consistent efforts, this treasure was almost refined.

Zhouyang was full of anticipation for this.

One should know that for refining this treasure, in these twenty-some years, he had rarely left the seclusion chamber, not to mention that almost all the cultivation he had painstakingly gained had been devoted to this treasure.

Every breath of magical power he exhaled during the refinement was infused with a trace of life essence Qi, with each breath worth a day of hard cultivation for him.

If he hadn't frequently refined the fiery red crystal stone he obtained from the Poison Fire Crocodile Shark during his cultivation over the years, his cultivation level would not only have failed to advance but might have regressed by dozens of years!

But all of this was worth it!

Once he successfully completed the refinement of this treasure, the gains obtained would fully compensate for these losses, and in the future, it would provide countless assistance for his cultivation and magical combat.

So, about half a year later, one day, after Zhouyang finished refining the purple flower as usual, he suddenly had a reaction, as if he had discovered something.

He noticed that outside his seclusion chamber, in the cave mansion, his external incarnation, which accompanied his Dao companion Xiao Ying and handled some minor affairs during his seclusion, was holding a Spirit Jade invitation in silence.

This invitation was from the Liuyun Commerce Alliance, and its content was an invitation for Zhouyang to attend the "Thousand-Year Dharma Assembly" to be held thirty years later in Liuyun Immortal City.

The so-called "Thousand-Year Dharma Assembly" is, as the name suggests, a grand discussion on Dao held every thousand years.

This could be described as the highest standard event in the entire Spirit Realm.

The "Thousand-Year Dharma Assembly" is held once every thousand years, each time in a different cultivation realm. The last "Thousand-Year Dharma Assembly" was held in the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm, and this time it was the turn of the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.

And whenever the "Thousand-Year Dharma Assembly" is held, Nascent Soul Stage cultivators from each cultivation realm can go to the venue with other Nascent Soul Stage cultivators to sit and discuss Dao, exchanging their insights on cultivation.

Naturally, with so many Nascent Soul Stage cultivators gathered together after considerable effort, they would not only exchange cultivation insights, but also engage in the exchange of various treasures and spiritual objects.

For a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator looking for treasures, exchanging with other Nascent Soul Stage cultivators at the "Thousand-Year Dharma Assembly" can be said to be the fastest and most efficient way.

But according to what Zhouyang knew, in the recent thousands of years, the number of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators participating in this "Thousand-Year Dharma Assembly" had been decreasing.

This is not only due to the fewer numbers of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators in the current cultivation realm compared to before, but also because the internal unrest and instability in each cultivation realm have caused many Nascent Soul cultivators to fear being schemed against by enemies after leaving their native cultivation realms.

Even so, the number of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators gathered for the "Thousand-Year Dharma Assembly" still reaches over a hundred.

This time, the "Thousand-Year Dharma Assembly" is held in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, and Nascent Soul cultivators from this local cultivation realm, like Zhouyang, would customarily receive invitations.

Since it's held in the local cultivation realm, whether to uphold the reputation of their native cultivation realm or to exchange cultivation insights and treasures with other Nascent Soul cultivators at the assembly, the vast majority of Nascent Soul cultivators who receive invitations usually attend the event.

Of course, Zhouyang would not miss this grand event.

However, there were still thirty years until the "Thousand-Year Dharma Assembly" was held, so he need not rush to prepare for it.

Thus, after fiddling with the invitation for a while, his incarnation put it away and then took out a Wood Spirit Pearl, starting to absorb the wood essence Qi inside to practice a certain wood element divine technique.

Zhouyang now possessed ample spirit stones, and he was having items like the Wood Spirit Pearl custom-made with spirit stones.

A Golden Core Stage cultivator practicing advanced wood element techniques would take approximately three to five years to collect wood spirit Qi from places with dense concentrations of wood spirit Qi, such as the Wilderness Jungle, to condense a single Wood Spirit Pearl.

The Wood Spirit Pearls used by Zhouyang's incarnation for divine technique cultivation were acquired by ordering from such Golden Core Stage cultivators, with each pearl priced at two hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones, equivalent to a portion of Purple Heart Jade Marrow, and he had ordered as many as twenty seeds.

From the perspective of an ordinary cultivator, such actions would obviously seem not worthwhile.

But for a Nascent Soul cultivator like Zhouyang, as long as it saved his time, spending some spirit stones didn't count for much.

He possessed a giant spirit stone ore!

Another two years passed, and the purple flower, obtained from the underground magma sea, was finally fully refined by Zhouyang.

"Retrieve!"

In the secret chamber, Zhouyang rapidly formed seals with his hands, and with a shout, the purple flower that he had refined for nearly thirty years transformed into a purple light, merging into his body and appearing directly in his Purple Mansion.

Within the Purple Mansion, the small Nascent Soul, over three inches tall, seemed to have been prepared. As soon as the purple flower arrived, it gestured with both hands, causing the purple flower to land beneath its feet and transform into a pedestal, on which it sat cross-legged.

Boom!

Once the Nascent Soul sat on the flower pedestal transformed by the purple flower, a surge of incomparably pure purple mist immediately emanated from within the flower pedestal, enveloping the entire Nascent Soul.

Comfortable! Inexpressibly comfortable!

The sensation from the Nascent Soul's body made Zhouyang feel immensely invigorated, like jumping into a hot spring on a snowy day, feeling comfort from the inside out.

To complete the final refinement of the purple flower today, he had disregarded the loss of Primordial Qi, continuously exhaling over a dozen mouthfuls of magical power containing substantial life essence Qi, making him uncomfortable just earlier.

But now, as the wisps of purple mist were absorbed and refined by the Nascent Soul, not only did the depleted life essence Qi rapidly recover, but his cultivation level visibly surged.

Zhouyang had long awaited this moment!

For thirty years, to refine this treasure, his cultivation could be described as having made no progress.

Now, the time for harvesting has finally arrived.

He lingered in that pleasant state for just a moment, then focused entirely on operating his cultivation technique to refine those purple mists.

In just one year, Zhouyang's cultivation has soared like a rocket to the pinnacle of the Second-Layer Nascent Soul, just a step away from advancing to the Third-Layer Nascent Soul.

Conservatively estimated, the results of his cultivation in this year are equivalent to two to three hundred years of normal cultivation!

All of this is solely because he refined the Innate Origin Qi dispersing from that purple strange flower.

Honestly, considering the preciousness of the Innate Origin Qi, Zhouyang's act of purely using it to boost his cultivation is tantamount to squandering heavenly treasures.

However, he himself does not see it that way.

Firstly, if he hadn't refined this Innate Origin Qi, reaching the Third-Layer Nascent Soul would have required him to endure hardships for at least a hundred more years.

Moreover, even if he cultivated to the Third-Layer Nascent Soul, refining the Innate Origin Qi would still be considered a form of squandering heavenly treasures.

If he continued not to use this item, wouldn't he be just like those miserly hoarders?

Besides, what he truly values now is not the Innate Origin Qi, but that purple strange flower he has finished refining.

After being refined with the secret technique, this item has become a special Primordial Spirit Spiritual Artifact, not only guarding his Primordial Spirit against external forces, but also constantly nourishing the Primordial Spirit.

With this item in hand, coupled with his powerful Spiritual Sense, unless a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal intervenes, it would be difficult for anyone to injure him with Spiritual Sense Attack Divine Techniques.

Moreover, with this item in hand, regardless of whether he uses Spiritual Sense Attack Divine Techniques to attack others or performs life-risking secret techniques like the "Green Blood Soul-Burning Technique," he can rely on this item to nourish and recover after his Primordial Spirit is damaged, without needing to consume any Spirit Pills or use any Spiritual Objects.

Finally, this item possesses a very strong effect in gathering Spiritual Qi. With it on him, the Spiritual Qi gathered during his cultivation can increase by several folds, greatly enhancing the cultivation effect.

Once his cultivation is a step away from reaching the Third-Layer Nascent Soul, Zhouyang originally intended to push into the Third-Layer Nascent Soul in one effort before coming out of seclusion.

Unfortunately, a sudden message forced him to come out early to deal with the matter.

"Elder Cyan Yang urgently summoned me here, may I ask what important matter this concerns?"

On Profound Sun Peak, receiving the message hurriedly, Zhouyang arrived and looked at Master Cyan Yang with a face full of doubt.

Master Cyan Yang knows of his seclusion, and unless it is of great importance, it wouldn't make sense to summon him out.

"Apologies for disturbing Fellow Daoist Zhou's seclusion," Master Cyan Yang offered, bowing. "But this matter is urgent and requires Fellow Daoist Zhou to personally handle!"

Master Cyan Yang bowed formally, first offering an apology to Zhouyang.

Then he solemnly said, "Half a month ago, our sect received an urgent rescue message from the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm, stating that beneath the Extreme North Icefield, the Ice Sea Demon Abyss suddenly erupted three years ago, letting uncontrolled Demonic Qi gush forth, causing all living beings within tens of thousands of miles around to turn into demons, with many unknown Demon Cultivators appearing, driving demons to hunt cultivators everywhere."

"In just the last three years, seven Nascent Soul peers in the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm have died at the hands of demon cultivators, and the rest who perished at the hands of demon cultivators and demons number no less than a hundred thousand, with over ten million mortals cruelly sacrificed and slaughtered by demon cultivators."

"Now the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm has sent widespread rescue messages to all major Cultivation Realms, requesting them to send Nascent Soul cultivators skilled in demon-suppressing divine techniques to exterminate the demons as soon as possible."

"Fellow Daoist Zhou's 'Qianyang True Flame' is the nemesis of demon cultivators; this matter probably requires both you and me to make a trip to the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm!"

Zhouyang's face immediately became solemn.

The message revealed by Master Cyan Yang's words is truly shocking.

In three years, seven Nascent Soul cultivators have fallen; in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, only the demon calamity caused back when the 'Heaven-Sundering True Demon' broke free can be compared to this.

His face serious, he asked Master Cyan Yang, "Demon Extermination and Dao Protection is naturally my responsibility, but does Elder Cyan Yang know the cause of the demon chaos in the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm this time? Is there perhaps a manipulative hand behind the sudden outbreak at the Ice Sea Demon Abyss?"

"I understand Fellow Daoist Zhou's concerns. The presence of the Ice Sea Demon Abyss is indeed related to the True Demon Realm invasion in ancient times. But the Demon Realm Passage there was destroyed long ago during ancient times, and the reason for the lingering Demonic Qi is due to the presence of spatial rifts similar to those in the Boundless Desert Sea; the creatures of the True Demon Realm cannot enter this realm through those unstable spatial rifts."

"Furthermore, although several fellow cultivators from the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm have fallen, they all fell at the hands of this realm's demon cultivators, and no trace of True Demon Realm creatures has been discovered."

"Of course, the Demonic Qi in the Ice Sea Demon Abyss would not erupt without cause; the specific reason is unclear, and the fellow cultivators of the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm are currently powerless to investigate this. Only after we assist in suppressing the demon chaos can we investigate clearly."

While speaking, Master Cyan Yang handed a Jade Scroll to Zhouyang, which recorded the origins of the Ice Sea Demon Abyss.

Taking the Jade Scroll, Zhouyang read through its contents in detail. After a while, he asked, "I understand now, this matter I will accept, but may I ask, elder, when do you plan to depart?"

Seeing Zhouyang agree, Master Cyan Yang let out a sigh of relief and replied, "Our sect is not the only one to receive the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm's rescue message; now other sects are probably discussing this matter too. I estimate there should be a resolution within a month, and Fellow Daoist Zhou will have a month to prepare."

"A month? That should be enough!"

With a slight nod, Zhouyang then bid farewell to Master Cyan Yang and left the Profound Sun Immortal Sect.

Going to the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm to exterminate demons is a significant matter; Zhouyang naturally needed to inform his Dao Companion Xiao Ying and the multitude of cultivators from the Zhou Family.

He was not worried about his safety, as with his abilities, even if he encountered those Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul 'Half-Step True Immortal' demon cultivators, he could preserve his life.

However, this demon chaos has made the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm beg for help from other Cultivation Realms without saving face, indicating its enormous scale, making it unlikely to be quelled in a short time.

Zhouyang estimated he might need to stay there for quite some time, and the "Thousand-Year Dharma Assembly" scheduled for more than forty years later might be postponed due to this.

Thus, he naturally needed to secure things on the home front, so no trouble arises during his extended absence.

A month later, Master Cyan Yang indeed sent the message as planned, instructing Zhouyang to meet him at Liuyun Immortal City to take the cross-cultivation realm teleportation array together to the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm.

Upon receiving the message, Zhouyang immediately took his Dao Companion Xiao Ying and demon servant Bi'Er to Liuyun Immortal City.

Bringing along Dao Companion Xiao Ying is not only to fulfill his promise at the time but also because in such large-scale cultivation realm warfare, Xiao Ying's healing divine techniques can play a significant role, saving many cultivators injured by demon cultivators.

Actually, not only him, Master Cyan Yang and some other Nascent Soul cultivators planning to go support the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm will also bring fellow Golden Core cultivators from their sects who are adept at dealing with demon cultivators.

As for those cultivators with lower cultivation, there's no need to bring them along, since the teleportation slots in the cross-cultivation realm teleportation array are limited and cannot be wasted on them.