Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 798 - 781: The True Monarch’s "Gift" and Zhouyang’s Attitude
The matter of contacting and sending off True Monarch Donglai's consciousness went smoothly.
After teaching Zhouyang a secret technique that could assist in achieving the Tribulation Crossing Stage, and leaving him a Jade Scroll, True Monarch Donglai's consciousness was transmitted back to the Upper Realm along with the Innate Five Elements Jade.
Before leaving, Zhouyang had asked True Monarch Donglai if they could contact each other in the future.
Unfortunately, the answer was no.
True Monarch Donglai did not explain why it was not possible, and Zhouyang did not press further.
After all, crossing-realm communication was entirely at True Monarch Donglai's expense and discretion, and if he was unwilling, Zhouyang couldn't make him do it.
"Alas, I should focus on cultivation. Perhaps one day when I reach the Upper Realm, there may be a chance to meet again!"
Zhouyang sighed slightly, then quickly gathered his spirits and began examining the Jade Scroll left by True Monarch Donglai.
There was quite a lot of information within the Jade Scroll, mainly experiences and insights on achieving the Tribulation Crossing Stage. It included not only True Monarch Donglai's own insights but also those he gathered from other cultivators of the Tribulation Crossing Stage in the Upper Realm.
Additionally, at the end of this information, True Monarch Donglai left a "gift" for Zhouyang.
This "gift" was worthless to Zhouyang at the moment.
But if he had the fortune to become a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal in the future, it would be invaluable.
Because this "gift" was actually a path leading to the True Immortal Realm!
Even though Zhouyang didn't know that no one in the Spirit Realm could reach the True Immortal Realm anymore, it didn't stop him from realizing the preciousness of the "gift."
After all, even ten thousand years ago, it was extremely difficult for a strong individual like True Monarch Donglai to reach the True Immortal Realm.
He solemnly put away the Jade Scroll, then dismantled the unnecessary arrangements outside the True Monarch Temple and summoned Zhou Liangyu, the Zhou Family Patriarch, to give instructions.
"Now that the object hindering the revival of vitality in the Boundless Desert Sea has been removed by your ancestor, the process of vitality revival in the desert will be unstoppable. However, the exact time it will take to transform the desert into grasslands and forests is beyond my prediction."
"Next, I will go to a secret place for closed-door cultivation. If you encounter issues that cannot be resolved normally, you may seek the Cyan Flood Dragon in the lake for assistance. If even the Cyan Flood Dragon cannot solve them, use the token I bestowed on you to contact me."
"And during the time I am in closed-door cultivation, the Zhou Family must closely monitor and record the vitality revival in the oases across the desert, to estimate the approximate time required for the desert to become grasslands and forests based on these observations."
Zhouyang gave instructions to Zhou Liangyu one by one, and after finishing, he did not linger on Lingxi Peak, quickly heading to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.
Before Lan Daoist succeeded, he needed to return the Vermilion Bird Fan to Zhu Zizhen and bring his son Zhou Guangcheng back to the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm to share the rich origin spiritual energy within the Secret Realm Space.
With Zhouyang's full-speed flight, he completed these tasks within half a year.
When he returned with his son, Zhou Guangcheng, to the bottom of the Celestial Pit, Lan Daoist had finally stabilized the Secret Realm Space, allowing their group to re-enter for cultivation.
Everything in the Secret Realm Space was as usual, except the Five-Colored Giant Stone, which used to nurture the Innate Five Elements Jade, had become the vessel for Lan Daoist.
Lan Daoist, using some kind of secret technique, had sealed himself completely inside the Five-Colored Giant Stone, functioning as the cornerstone for stabilizing the Secret Realm Space. He was in a semi-dormant state, requiring Zhouyang to use a special method to awaken and communicate with him.
This was evidently a unique cultivation method, and seeing this, Zhouyang did not disturb him easily. He, along with his family, Qin Yue'Er, and Lu Xuewei, each occupied a spot in the Secret Realm Space, focusing entirely on diligent cultivation.
While the Zhou family resided in the Secret Realm Space for closed-door cultivation, with the loss of the Innate Five Elements Jade's attraction and suppression, the power of the world origin in the Spirit Realm finally flowed normally into the Boundless Desert Sea, nourishing the land that had been barren for tens of thousands of years.
The nourishment, though invisible, gradually manifested its effects over time.
About ten years after Zhouyang's family went into closed-door cultivation, at places in the desert with underground water sources, the water would gush out during small, sudden earthquakes. Combined with seeds of desert plants carried by the wind, birds, and insects, it would create natural oasis grasslands.
Moreover, the frequency of sandstorm weather in the desert reduced year by year, allowing many oases affected by sandstorms to flourish and expand annually.
Thirty years later, merely the new oases recorded by the Zhou Family had already numbered over 3,300, surpassing the oasis development results of the Zhou Family over hundreds of years.
While most of these new oases were small and over 90% had not formed any Spirit Veins, they were the strongest evidence of the revival of vitality in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm.
By this time, the news of the vitality revival in the desert had spread throughout the entire Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm.
Upon observing the desert's changes, Zhou Liangyu decisively publicly detailed the vitality revival and called upon all cultivators in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm to step out of their current realm's boundaries to explore and expand into new worlds.
Hearing how Master Qianyang, Zhouyang had slain the evil beast plaguing the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm for millennia, reviving the desert's vitality, cultivators and mortals throughout the realm were filled with gratitude for his achievements.
Though some questioned the authenticity of the news, faced with the Zhou Family's century-long efforts in oasis development, such doubts were ineffective.
Had the Zhou Family not anticipated this situation, they would have been mad to expend so many resources on an endeavor where the costs seemed disproportionate to the gains.
In fact, over the past century, many cultivators both earned Spirit Stones from the Zhou Family and privately mocked their leadership for taking such seemingly unwise actions.
Even many Zhou Family cultivators harbored significant resentment towards the family's leadership, cursing them countless times in private.
If it weren't understood by the high-ranking cultivators of the Zhou Family that this decision was made by Zhouyang, the family ancestor, this initiative couldn't have continued for a hundred years.
Now, with Zhou Liangyu revealing the truth, those who had mocked the Zhou Family and complained about their leadership were deeply ashamed and dared not show themselves.
In this favorable wind, the impact of Zhou Liangyu's economic control plan was significantly reduced, facing much less resistance.
At this time, in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, the most popular topic is to explore new worlds, to become the discoverer and owner of a new oasis.
Those cultivators who have never been to the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm simply cannot understand the deep emotions and dedication the cultivators here have towards an oasis.
Even though, due to the Zhou Family, obtaining Foundation Establishment Pills by loose cultivators and small clan cultivators in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm is no longer an unattainable task.
Yet occupying an oasis of one's own and establishing one's small clan remains a belief and goal pursued by many cultivators.
Now that life is reviving in the desert sea, and numerous ownerless new oases are emerging, this is an excellent opportunity for these cultivators to achieve their goals.
Therefore, as soon as the Zhou Family's call to action was issued, many cultivators called upon friends and set off from various oases to search for new ones.
In the eightieth year of Zhouyang's seclusion, the revival of the Boundless Sea of Sand was already being discovered by the Westernmost Cultivation Realm, and the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm had begun to spread the news.
Once such a significant event is discovered and spread, it is hard not to attract the attention of those major powers.
After all, powerful sects like the Great Brightness Immortal Palace and the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, which have been around for a long time, know how this Boundless Desert Sea was formed and that the now-renowned Master Qianyang of the entire "Spirit Realm" originated from this desert sea.
Now that such a great change has occurred in the Boundless Desert Sea, the first idea of those major powers is to send people to ask the Zhou Family about the situation.
Among them, the Great Brightness Immortal Palace acted fastest and directly sent a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator to visit.
"I apologize, but my father is currently at a crucial point in his cultivation and cannot personally receive Fellow Daoist Wang."
"However, with Zhou here, whatever Fellow Daoist Wang wishes to ask or know, please feel free to say, and as long as Zhou can answer, he will certainly tell you straightforwardly."
On Lingxi Peak, Zhou Guangcheng, who hurriedly emerged from seclusion upon receiving a message from Zhou Liangyu, met with the envoy from the Great Brightness Immortal Palace on behalf of his father, Zhouyang.
At this moment, Zhou Guangcheng's cultivation had surprisingly already advanced to the Third-Layer Nascent Soul!
In just under a hundred years, he directly advanced from a newly-promoted Nascent Soul Stage cultivator to this level, showcasing the considerable benefits gained from cultivating within that Secret Realm Space!
Fortunately, the visiting cultivator from the Great Brightness Immortal Palace did not know that Zhou Guangcheng had only formed his Nascent Soul less than a century ago.
Though shocked at the cultivation level of Zhouyang's son, he did not forget his purpose and immediately looked at Zhou Guangcheng with a serious expression and said, "I apologize, Fellow Daoist Wang. I was sent by the Palace Master to visit your esteemed father, Master Zhou, to inquire whether the revival of the Boundless Sea of Sand is related to him, and what plans Master Zhou and the Zhou Family have regarding this matter?"
Zhou Guangcheng seemed to have anticipated such questions, and with a calm demeanor and confidence, he replied, "Regarding the reason for the revival of the Boundless Sea of Sand, I reckon that since Fellow Daoist Wang has come to the Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, you have already heard the rumors. While there is a slight discrepancy in the details with the rumors, it is indeed my father who single-handedly facilitated this matter, without a doubt!"
"As for what plans my father and the Zhou Family have regarding this matter, do we need to say? As the current de facto rulers of the Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, the Zhou Family will naturally seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to forge ahead, expand the entire cultivation realm's territory, and completely open the communication path with the Westernmost Cultivation Realm, to achieve mutual communication between the two major cultivation realms as soon as possible!"
Two major cultivation realms?
The cultivator surnamed Wang keenly perceived the crux of Zhou Guangcheng's words.
Only to see his face change slightly, he looked at Zhou Guangcheng with a stern expression and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou means that the Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm in the future wants to become a major cultivation realm on its own, completely separating from our Westernmost Cultivation Realm?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Guangcheng also assumed a stern demeanor, waved his hand, and said, "No, no, no, Fellow Daoist Wang misunderstood. This is not Zhou's intention, nor is it solely my father's intention; it is the intention of the five Nascent Soul Stage cultivators of the Zhou Family, two Tier Six Demon Kings, and countless cultivators of the entire Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm!"
Five Nascent Soul Stage cultivators and two Tier Six Demon Kings?
With a face full of astonishment, the cultivator surnamed Wang looked at Zhou Guangcheng, almost doubting if he had heard it wrong.
The Zhou Family, a cultivation clan born in the Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, how could they possibly have so many Nascent Soul Stage cultivators!
His first reaction was that it was absurd.
But looking at Zhou Guangcheng, equally serious on the other side, this young cultivator whose cultivation was the same Third-Layer Nascent Soul as his own, he hesitated.
Rationality told him that Zhou Guangcheng had no need to lie about such matters, nor could he hope to scare someone with lies.
"Actually, Fellow Daoist Wang need not be surprised. Before I came here, my father specifically instructed me to say that not long after he initially formed his Nascent Soul, he had received a promise from the current Palace Master of the Immortal Palace, promising that the Sea of Sand region east of the Sea of Death would belong to the Zhou Family's rule. Fellow Daoist Wang can seek confirmation from Palace Master Yin upon your return."
"Additionally, Zhou offers Fellow Daoist Wang an important piece of information for free, which is that the Thunder Feather Demon King of the Broken Cloud Mountain Range successfully crossed the tribulation a hundred years ago with my father's help and smoothly advanced to become the Tier Seven Thunder Roc True Spirit. The Zhou Family thus gained recognition from the demon race of the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, allowing safe and free passage through it to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm!"
Zhou Guangcheng delivered two more explosive pieces of news that stunned the cultivator surnamed Wang, leaving him speechless with his eyes wide open.
Disregarding whether Yin Hanguang had indeed promised to give half the desert to the Zhou Family as their territory.
Just what Zhou Guangcheng said later about the Thunder Feather Demon King's advancement to Tier Seven True Spirit would be like a clap of thunder in a drought-land for the cultivator surnamed Wang, blasting his mind into a fog.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou, are you sure you're not joking? In the demon race of the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, has a Demon King really successfully crossed the tribulation?"
He looked at Zhou Guangcheng with a face full of shock and repeatedly questioned, without even realizing that his voice carried a tremor.
Zhou Guangcheng seemed quite satisfied with his change in expression, allowing a slight smile and said, "How dare Zhou speak casually about such matters? If Fellow Daoist Wang does not believe it, you can also seek confirmation from Palace Master Yin upon your return. Back then, Palace Master Yin even helped my father with that Thunder Feather True Spirit to slay a formidable enemy!"
Upon hearing this, the cultivator surnamed Wang, in his heart, was already somewhat convinced.
But if this matter were true, the impact would be huge!
At this point, the cultivator surnamed Wang even paid no mind to the Zhou Family's intention to solely occupy half the desert; his mind was entirely occupied with thoughts about the impact of the appearance of the Thunder Feather True Spirit, this Tier Seven True Spirit, on the Cultivation Realm.
He quickly took leave of Zhou Guangcheng in haste and hurried back to the Great Brightness Immortal Palace to report the outcome of his visit to Yin Hanguang.
