Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 858 - 3: Apprenticing Under Chi Xiao
(Anti-theft chapter, you can read it again after six o'clock tomorrow morning) In the Land of the Far West, within the Boundless Desert Sea.
The Boundless Desert Sea, true to its name, is an ocean of sand, vast and endless.
The desert environment is harsh, with very few places suitable for human habitation. Only a few desert oases can sustain human life.
Jade Spring Lake is one of the few desert oases within the Boundless Desert Sea that can support human life.
The oasis stretches over a hundred miles from east to west, and over seventy miles from north to south, with higher terrain in the east and lower in the west. In the east, there is a mountain called Jade Spring Peak, a few hundred meters high, with dense forests and mist curling around it. At the foot of the mountain lies the source of life for the entire oasis—the Jade Spring Lake.
Jade Spring Lake covers an area of over ten square kilometers, its water sourced from an underground dark river, abundant in quantity, crystal clear, and sweet enough for direct drinking.
The tens of thousands of humans and countless birds and beasts living on the land of the Jade Spring Lake oasis, covering thousands of square kilometers, all depend on this lake for sustenance.
The Yuquan Zhou Clan is the master of the Jade Spring Lake oasis.
The first person to discover the Jade Spring Lake oasis was the ancestor of the Yuquan Zhou Clan, Zhou Yuquan. Nowadays, the tens of thousands of people living on this oasis are all related to the Zhou Clan.
The Yuquan Zhou Clan is a cultivation clan; its ancestor, Zhou Yuquan, learned from the cultivation sect "Yellow Sand Sect" and left the sect over two hundred years ago to establish the Yuquan Zhou Clan in the Jade Spring Lake oasis, now in its seventh generation.
Today, the clan's ancestor, Zhou Yuquan, has long since passed away. However, after over two hundred years of development, the Yuquan Zhou Clan is now a powerful cultivation clan with one Foundation Establishment Cultivator, dozens of Qi Cultivation Cultivators, and over ten thousand affiliated mortals.
Ordinary clan members of the Zhou Clan primarily live in three small towns on the Jade Spring Lake oasis, either farming the land or herding cattle and sheep, leading self-sufficient and carefree lives.
The cultivation members of the Zhou Clan live collectively on Jade Spring Peak, where the spiritual qi is abundant.
Jade Spring Peak itself is originally a Tier Two Upper-Grade natural spiritual vein, which has been nurtured by the Zhou Clan for over two hundred years and has now ascended to Tier Three Middle Grade, capable of supporting several Foundation Establishment Cultivators and over a hundred Qi Cultivation Cultivators in their practices.
Zhouyang is a sixth-generation member of the "Yuan" generation in the Yuquan Zhou Clan.
The sixteen character generation names—Jade Radiance, Profound Origin Communication, Blessed and Flourishing, Evergreen—were personally devised by the founder of the Yuquan Zhou Clan, Zhou Yuquan.
Only Zhou Clan members, upon detecting spiritual roots and possessing cultivation potential, are included in the clan's genealogy. Upon death, their spiritual tablets are placed in the ancestral hall to receive the incense offerings of future generations.
The "Yuan" generation of the Zhou Clan has a total of fifteen members, with Zhouyang ranking ninth. However, in terms of cultivation, he is the foremost among the fifteen.
At this moment, this "Little Genius" well-known within the Zhou Clan is sitting cross-legged with eyes closed in a natural cave halfway up Jade Spring Peak, focusing intently on continuing his cultivation, absorbing and refining the milky white Earth Vein Spiritual Qi steaming within the cave.
Earth Vein Spiritual Qi is an essence formed by the fusion of spirit veins and earth veins, extremely effective for Low-Tier Cultivators to break through levels.
However, Earth Vein Spiritual Qi is difficult to nurture, only forming in special places where earth veins and spirit veins converge, and throughout the entire Jade Spring Peak, Zhouyang's current location, "Jade Sun Cave," is the only place where it forms.
Moreover, the Earth Vein Spiritual Qi nurtured within "Jade Sun Cave" produces an amount every ten years sufficient for one Qi Cultivation stage cultivator to make a breakthrough, and it is only effective for cultivators below the seventh layer of Qi Cultivation.
Therefore, among the dozens of Qi Cultivation stage members of the Zhou Clan, only a select few exceptionally talented members can use Earth Vein Spiritual Qi during the Qi Cultivation stage for breakthroughs.
Zhouyang's ability to use the "Jade Sun Cave" for a breakthrough is naturally associated with his status as the leading figure of the "Yuan" generation. Otherwise, even with his father being the Sixth Elder of the Yuquan Zhou Clan, this rare opportunity occurring once every ten years would certainly not be available to him, a mere seventeen-year-old.
It's worth noting that many of the dozens of Qi Cultivation stage members have been waiting for this opportunity for ten to twenty years!
At this moment, Zhouyang sits cross-legged with a hand forming a spell, breathing evenly. With each inhalation, two misty spirit snakes formed of milky white Earth Vein Spiritual Qi enter his nostrils, being refined into his own magical power.
When the amount of milky white Earth Vein Spiritual Qi within the cave decreases to less than thirty percent, Zhouyang suddenly opens his tightly closed eyes. His shoulder-length hair moves in the air without wind, his aura nearly doubling compared to before.
He stands up with a pleased expression, murmuring to himself, "Finally, I've broken through, reaching the sixth layer of Qi Cultivation. The reputation of Earth Vein Spiritual Qi is well-deserved. This alone has saved me at least three years of time!"
Seventeen years old, sixth layer of Qi Cultivation, such an age and cultivation level are rare even in a cultivation sect like Yellow Sand Sect, where only a few elite disciples with top-grade spiritual roots could achieve this.
However, Zhouyang's spirit root aptitude is actually only of medium quality.
"The Clan Leader says I might possess some special Treasure Body, which is why my cultivation speed far surpasses others of similar aptitude. Unfortunately, detecting a Treasure Body is difficult, and only a large sect like Yellow Sand Sect can identify it through secret techniques."
"Although our Zhou Clan is affiliated with Yellow Sand Sect, requesting them to identify my Treasure Body would be impossible unless I'm willing to join the Yellow Sand Sect!"
"But once I join Yellow Sand Sect, I would be bound by their rules, with numerous senior members having authority over me. How could this be more comfortable than my current life in the clan?"
"Hmph, as the saying goes, better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix. Yellow Sand Sect has a vast foundation, never lacking geniuses with top-grade spiritual roots in each generation. Even if I have a Treasure Body, joining Yellow Sand Sect would only make me an elite disciple, and who knows if the benefits I receive would be as good as those in the Zhou Clan? At least here, all the elders are wishing for my success in Foundation Establishment, wholeheartedly thinking of my future."
"Besides, once I successfully establish foundation, my Treasure Body will naturally awaken and manifest its divine techniques. Then I will naturally know what kind of Treasure Body I have."
Zhouyang is no ordinary person; he is a reincarnator whose soul comes from the world of Earth, with a pre-life memory spanning twenty to thirty years more than ordinary people.
While much of this pre-life memory is unusable in this Immortal World due to the vastly different environments, certain methods, experiences, and principles regarding human interactions are universally applicable across worlds.
Others only see the prestige of Yellow Sand Sect, with a Golden Core Ancestor within and numerous desert oases like Jade Spring Lake Oasis offering tributes without, lacking no cultivation techniques or treasures, and thus are eager to join and become one of them.
But little do they know, while sect welfare is good, the rules are equally stringent. Once you join a sect, you'll lose your independence. Ordinary disciples of Qi Cultivation stage must complete compulsory tasks assigned by the sect each year. Failure to complete them means suspension of benefits at best, or loss of cultivation and expulsion from the sect at worst!
Furthermore, factionalism is rampant within the sect. Low-tier disciples are competing fiercely, sometimes oppressing competitors to secure favor from the sect's upper echelon or to obtain resource benefits.
The clan's ancestor was once a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator of Yellow Sand Sect, and intelligence about Yellow Sand Sect is recorded within the clan's classics. Therefore, unless they are those who do not possess good spirit root talent and want to take a risk, no Zhou Clan member wishes to become a Yellow Sand Sect disciple.
Zhouyang, in his previous life, was very tired of office politics, and this lifetime, having finally found an opportunity to escape from such grudges, would certainly not plunge back in.
Hence, he decided long ago that in this life, even if the great Dao is hopeless and eternal life is beyond reach, he would never return to that life of intrigue and scheming.
The nine great realms of cultivation are Innate, Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Crossing the Tribulation, Returning to Void, and Harmonization Dao. To truly achieve immortality, one must become a Harmonious Celestial Immortal that embodies the Dao.
However, as far as Zhouyang knows, since the existence of cultivators in this world, no one has ever been heard to achieve true immortality. The division of the nine great cultivation realms is merely a legend passed down by Celestial Immortals, never verified.
Therefore, for ninety-nine percent of cultivators, having the lifespan of a thousand years as a Golden Core stage cultivator is their ultimate pursuit in cultivation.
Therefore, no wonder he is unwilling to compromise himself to partake in those intrigues for the elusive legend of immortality.
Cultivation is also about nurturing the heart. Since his true heart is unwilling to engage in those intrigues, Zhouyang certainly chooses to follow his heart.
Just after breaking through the realm, Zhouyang's mind was overly excited and wandered into many thoughts. It took him a while to suppress his chaotic thoughts and look at the remaining milky-white earth vein spiritual qi in the cave.
"Although every time the Jade Sun Cave opens, the earth vein spiritual qi inside can be absorbed freely, now that I have successfully broken through, further absorbing this spiritual qi would only stabilize my realm slightly and is not very effective."
"In that case, it's better to preserve the earth vein spiritual qi, allowing the next opening of Jade Sun Cave to occur a few years earlier, benefiting other clan members."
Draining the pond to catch fish is not advisable. Earth vein spiritual qi is hard to come by, and using it solely for enhancing magical cultivation is too wasteful. Since Zhouyang is determined to stay and develop within the clan, he certainly would not engage in such acts of benefiting oneself at the expense of others.
With a decision in his heart, he immediately opened the cave door and walked out, explaining the situation to the clan elder guarding outside.
The "Jade Sun Cave" is a critical place for the Zhou Family, consistently guarded by clan elders. The one currently guarding outside is Zhou Xuanhe, a "Xuan" generation cultivator, and the fourteenth uncle of Zhouyang.
Seeing Zhouyang successfully break through and emerge from inside, and after hearing his account of the situation, Zhou Xuanhe, wearing a cyan Daoist robe embroidered with white cranes and auspicious clouds, nodded repeatedly and smiled with satisfaction: "Not bad, not bad, Yang'Er, you're indeed the most promising individual among the Yuan generation of the Zhou Clan. To possess such a broad vision at a young age is commendable. The old clan leader and elder brother would surely be gratified to hear of this!"
The "old clan leader" he speaks of is the only Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Zhou Clan, Zhou Minghan, the last remaining member of the "Ming" generation. The elder brother refers to Zhouyang's father, Zhou Xuanhao, the sixth elder among the eight Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation elders of the clan and the oldest of the "Xuan" generation.
Among Zhou Clan cultivators, peers address each other as brothers, while those of different generations use uncle, nephew, and similar titles.
Facing the praise from Fourteenth Uncle Zhou Xuanhe, Zhouyang humbly expressed that this is just something he should do as a member of the Zhou Clan and didn't show any pride because of his identity and cultivation.
This demeanor led Zhou Xuanhe to regard this junior with even more respect.
To achieve Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation at such a young age is already rare, even rarer is to remain humble and considerate of the bigger picture. Perhaps the hope of the next generation of the Zhou Clan truly rests upon this child.
Thinking of this, Zhou Xuanhe recalled something and quickly said, "Since you have successfully broken through, you should go to the cave mansion at the mountain peak to meet the old clan leader. He had instructed earlier that if you managed to break through, you should go see him."
"Is that so? Then I won't disturb Fourteenth Uncle. Thank you for guarding me, Fourteenth Uncle."
Zhouyang's expression shifted slightly, immediately thanking Zhou Xuanhe and quickly heading toward the old clan leader's cave mansion at the top of Jade Spring Peak.
The several hundred meters high Jade Spring Peak sees its spiritual qi concentration increase with altitude. Generally, Qi Cultivation-stage Zhou Clan members find cultivating at the mountainside sufficient, where comfortable palatial residences offer living and dining amenities attended to by secular clan members.
Only Foundation Establishment cultivators reside in the cave mansions atop Jade Spring Peak to utilize the dense spiritual qi for cultivation.
The entire Jade Spring Peak is covered by a Tier Three Middle Grade array, the "Array of Ten Thousand Trees Holding Up the Heavens." Since this array can draw on the spiritual qi of the vegetation within to enhance its power, Jade Spring Peak is densely populated with towering trees from foot to summit, excluding the developed spirit fields and spirit medicine gardens. Many trees are centuries to over a thousand years old.
The tree crowns form a continuous canopy, shading sunlight, dropping the mountain's temperature by several degrees, with cool mountain breezes weaving through the trees, providing a pleasant coolness as one travels through.
Zhouyang, in white attire and utilizing the Light Body Technique, ascended swiftly along the stone steps paved without the woods, soon reaching the summit.
The Jade Spring Peak's summit, artificially terraced, is very flat. The several acres wide mountain top, due to its concentrated spiritual qi, has three places developed into cultivator's cave mansions, with other areas cultivated as spirit medicine fields planted with various grades of spiritual medicines.
Upon arrival, a mix of fragrances from various spiritual medicines greeted him, just a whiff invigorating Zhouyang, accelerating his magical power circulation.
One can imagine if one could cultivate here long-term, the cultivation rate would certainly surpass that at the mountainside considerably.
But that is simply impossible.
The spirit medicine garden is a crucial area for the Zhou Clan, with many spiritual medicines cultivated for one to two centuries. Losing any one plant would cause the old clan leader, Zhou Minghan, heartache for decades.
Hence, besides the two Tier Two Spirit Plant Cultivators within the clan, even favored genius disciples like Zhouyang are strictly forbidden from setting foot atop the mountain without summons from the clan leader.
Also, the summit is not an area anyone can tread upon at will. It is the core region of the "Array of Ten Thousand Trees Holding Up the Heavens," protected by formidable array power. Without permission from the guardian, even Foundation Establishment cultivators must try to break through forcibly as their only option.
"Junior member Zhouyang, summoned to visit the old clan leader, requests passage from the elders."
He stood outside the mountain top array, respectfully saluting the white mist-covered area ahead as he said.
"So it's Xiao Jiu, the clan leader has ordered your entry earlier, come in."
An elder voice emerged from the mist, then the dense white mist before Zhouyang churned, opening a safe passage for one.
Seeing this, Zhouyang quickly bowed in thanks, "Thank you, Grandpa Qi."
He followed the path all the way inward, eventually arriving at the side of an elder with white hair seated under a tree tens of meters tall.
The white-haired elder, seated under the tree, was named Zhou Yun, possessing Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, serving as the Zhou Clan's Fourth Elder. Ranking seventh among the "Guang" generation, he was one of the clan's only two Tier Two Spirit Plant Cultivators.
The "Guang" generation of Zhou Clan cultivators were all over eighty years old, with Fourth Elder Zhou Yun nearing a hundred, approaching the one-hundred-twenty-year lifespan limit for Qi Cultivation cultivators. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Though a cultivator's combat ability doesn't diminish much with age, typically, elder Qi Cultivation cultivators nearing a century old across major cultivation clans retire to their clan's ancestral lands for peaceful retirement, disturbed only by existential threats to the clan.
Moreover, Zhou Yun, being a Tier Two Spirit Plant Cultivator, was ideally suited for residing here to tend to the spirit medicines across the dozens of acres of medicine garden.
Upon seeing Zhouyang approach, the elder waved his large sleeve, conjuring a tea table, a set of tea utensils, and a meditation mat before gesturing to the empty mat, "The clan leader is completing his session, Xiao Jiu, sit with this old man for a cup of tea and some chatter."
For typical clan juniors, visiting the mountain top is rare, and with a higher-ranking clan leader often in secluded cultivation, the elder often found himself without anyone to converse with, left bored.
Thus, seeing Zhouyang, one of the most outstanding members of the clan's younger generation, brought the elder great joy.
Younger people generally may not understand the psychology of elders, but Zhouyang, having lived two lives, understood well and was willing to converse with these elders when it didn't interfere with important matters, listening to tales of oddities and happenings in the cultivation realm.
"It's not easy to get a taste of Grandpa Qi's homemade medicinal tea usually, today I'll have to drink my fill."
Smiling, he sat on the mat, took the tea set, and began making tea.
Cultivators brew tea differently from mortals, transforming magical power into flame. The tea water boils within moments, devoid of smoke or fire taste.
Once the pot of tea was brewed, Zhouyang poured the tea for the two of them, eagerly raising his own cup filled with fragrant hot tea and drinking it all in one gulp.
For mortals to drink tea this way, scalding hot tea would likely burn their throats, but for cultivators whose bodies have been tempered with magical power, this temperature is no different from drinking warm water, it's nothing at all.
The elder, seeing him gulp down his tea like this, not only showed no dissatisfaction but instead smiled brightly and asked, "How is it? Is this new medicinal tea brewed by this old man to your satisfaction?"
Before Zhouyang could respond, the elder himself took a gentle sip from his cup, then closed his eyes in an expression of enjoyment, and said proudly, "This is a new tea brewed from the fallen leaves of the Tier Two Spirit Elixir, Immortal Cloud Grass, combined with twenty-year-old White Jade Ginseng whiskers, and five other kinds of Spirit Elixirs including Tier One Fragrant Leaf Chrysanthemum. A total of only about three liang was prepared, and even the water used to brew the tea was morning-gathered Spirit Dew from the Spiritual Elixirs in the Medicinal Garden."
"It is indeed good tea. Seventh Grandpa, this medicinal tea is no worse in taste or effect than the other Spirit Teas your niece's grandson has had before. If it could be mass-produced, it could generate additional income for our Zhou Clan!"
Zhouyang put down the cup, quietly feeling the changes in magical power within him, and sniffed the lingering medicinal fragrance between his lips, his face full of admiration.
The elder, hearing Zhouyang's praise, first smiled in delight, then shook his head with frustration and helplessness, saying, "I have thought of this as well, but alas, the Immortal Cloud Grass is a primary ingredient in the refinement of the Tier Two Spirit Elixir Immortal Cloud Pill. We can't waste such a Spirit Elixir just for making tea, can we? If only using naturally withered leaves, there wouldn't even be enough for the old man himself to drink!"
"About this..."
Zhouyang bowed his head awkwardly, deciding not to continue the conversation with the elder.
In the family, there is only one Tier Two Alchemist, and that is his father Zhou Xuanhao. Once the Immortal Cloud Grass matures, it is all reserved for his father's alchemical needs. If he dared to suggest using the Spirit Grass for tea, his father would probably slap him to death.
"Heh heh, you cunning little rascal, don't worry. How could this old man not consider the bigger picture? I was only speaking casually just now!"
The elder chuckled knowingly, understanding what Zhouyang was thinking, first calming him with a few comforting words, and then sharing some amusing stories from his younger days to ease the earlier awkwardness.
As the two of them chatted, about a quarter of an hour later, the door to the Cultivation Chamber of the clan leader's cave mansion on the mountain peak suddenly opened on its own. From within came the deep, resonant voice of the old clan leader: "Is that Xiao Jiu? Come in."
Upon hearing this voice, the two who were in conversation paused, and Zhouyang immediately stood up, saluted Zhou Yun, and said, "Seventh Grandpa, I shall go pay my respects to the old clan leader first."
"Go, go, don't keep the old clan leader waiting."
Bidding farewell to Zhou Yun, Zhouyang proceeded directly through the open doorway of the cave mansion, quickly finding himself in the cultivation chamber deep within, face to face with the current clan leader of the Zhou Clan, the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, Zhou Minghan.
Zhou Minghan, although over a hundred and fifty years old, looked younger than Zhou Yun on the outside, his hair not entirely white yet, his complexion as rosy as a baby's.
This was to be expected, as Foundation Establishment stage cultivators live over two hundred years. Barring unforeseen events, Zhou Minghan likely has at least forty or fifty years of life left, and due to his advanced cultivation, it's natural he appears younger than Zhou Yun.
When Zhouyang saw Zhou Minghan, the clan leader of the Zhou Clan was sitting cross-legged on a Cold Jade Bed, meditating, and Zhouyang dared not look too closely. Upon entering, he immediately bowed deeply in a grand salute and respectfully said, "Grandson pays respects to Great-Grandfather."
Zhou Minghan, as the only remaining "Ming" generation cultivator in the Zhou family and possessing Foundation Establishment stage cultivation, naturally serves as the great-grandfather to all of the "Yuan" generation cultivators.
"Xuan He has informed me of your performance in the Jade Sun Cave, Xiao Jiu. You handled matters very well. Even when I was your age, I was far inferior to you in terms of perspective!"
Sitting on the Cold Jade Bed, Zhou Minghan opened his eyes slightly, and the look he cast upon Zhouyang was one of undisguised appreciation. His delight was apparent as he lavished Zhouyang with praise.
Zhouyang was very pleased to hear this. Being the first "Yuan" generation descendant to receive such commendation from the old clan leader Zhou Minghan, it was false to say he wasn't happy. If these words were to spread, his status in the eyes of the elders and seniors of the Zhou Clan would surely rise another notch.
Yet, despite his happiness, Zhouyang did not let it go to his head and hastily responded humbly, "Great-Grandfather, you praise me too highly. Grandson has only done what was necessary and is unworthy of such commendation from you."
"Well said, doing what is necessary! If every child of the Zhou family had your sensibility, Xiao Jiu, how could the Zhou family not prosper?"
Zhou Minghan's face displayed an unstoppable smile, clearly immensely satisfied with Zhouyang's response.
Laughing, he lifted his hand, and an invisible force straightened Zhouyang's bowing body.
"Come, stand upright, let this old man have a good look at the Qilin of our Zhou family!"
This joyful exclamation from the old clan leader, calling him the "Qilin," spoke volumes about his affection and regard for this junior, Zhouyang.
Zhou Minghan had great expectations for Zhouyang.
The Yuquan Zhou Clan, since its founding by Zhou Yuquan, had always had a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator presiding over it, enabling its growth to its present size over just two hundred years.
However, having developed to this point, the Zhou Clan seems to have exhausted its luck. After Zhou Minghan, there had been no new Foundation Establishment stage cultivators for over a century.
This posed a danger.
The biggest fear for a cultivation clan is the unexpected discontinuation of high-tier cultivators.
Without the protection of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, let alone continuing to expand, the Zhou Clan may struggle to hold onto its ancestral lands at Yuquan Lake Oasis and Jade Spring Peak.
Thus, under Zhou Minghan's discreet guidance, the Zhou Clan had already halted its development to prevent attracting unwanted attention and potential catastrophe following his eventual passing.
But this was not a long-term solution. The best way was for the clan to produce a new Foundation Establishment stage cultivator before his passing.
As long as there is a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator to oversee, with the Tier Three Middle Grade Array of Ten Thousand Trees Holding Up the Heavens on Jade Spring Peak and the aid of dozens of Qi Cultivation stage family members, even an attack by multiple Foundation Establishment stage cultivators would not threaten the clan's foundations.
Previously, Zhou Minghan had placed his hope in the "Xuan" generation. He had even decided that if no one advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage before his passing, he would rather offer Yuquan Lake Oasis and most of the clan's yields to the Yellow Sand Sect for protection than allow the clan to face annihilation due to envy over its accumulated prosperity.
However, Zhou Minghan now realized perhaps he should change his mind.
With the potential Zhouyang, a "Yuan" generation junior, is currently exhibiting, given another twenty to thirty years, his prospects of achieving Foundation Establishment seem significantly greater than those of the "Xuan" generation.
As he scrutinized the young man standing before him, he didn't focus on the youth's handsome, elegant appearance. What mattered was his confident, yet humble composure, even when he knew he was being observed, remaining steady.
After his evaluation, there was only one thought in his mind.
This young man is of substantial potential!
Of course, as an elder, no matter how pleased and happy he was internally, he wouldn't overtly display it, to avoid fostering arrogance in the young.
Therefore, though his heart brimmed with joy, his expression again became serene as he looked at Zhouyang and asked blandly, "Do you know why this old man summoned you?"
"Grandson doesn't know," Zhouyang answered honestly.
"According to the clan's rules, young cultivators in the clan must descend the mountain and serve the clan for a period after turning twenty before they can return to the mountain for quiet cultivation."
"However, your situation is special. Although you're only seventeen, you already have reached the Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation. In the past hundred years of the clan, no one has had such cultivation when descending the mountain at twenty."
"Since you just broke through with the help of the Earth Vein Spiritual Qi, you'll need at least five years to temper your magical power. If you stay on the mountain, wouldn't that be a waste of manpower?"
"Therefore, I have decided to make a special exception, allowing you to descend the mountain early to serve the clan. This is also a form of training that will greatly benefit your future cultivation."
Zhou Minghan looked at Zhouyang, who listened intently, and slightly curved his mouth, solemnly stating his arrangement.
As expected, after hearing his words, Zhouyang's face changed; clearly, he hadn't anticipated being summoned for such a matter.
However, Zhouyang didn't know whether he was happy or frustrated, for his expression calmed immediately after a brief change, then respectfully bowed and said, "Grandson understands and is willing to follow the clan's arrangement."
Seeing this, he asked curiously, "Don't you want to know where I'm planning to send you?"
"Grandson believes that no matter how great-grandfather arranges, it is ultimately for grandson's good."
Zhouyang smiled inwardly, casually responding with a sentence that left Zhou Minghan speechless for a moment.
After a long pause, he laughed angrily, scolding, "Indeed a little cunning sly one, how did Xuan Hao's honest parents give birth to such a cunning child like you!"
Before Zhouyang could protest, he voluntarily revealed his plans.
"Your Spiritual Root attributes lean towards both metal and fire attributes. You're cultivating the 'Golden Sun Fiery Flame Technique,' a vigorous and domineering technique. Apart from lacking combat experience, your magical combat abilities honestly aren't weaker than any cultivator of the same level."
"Currently, the clan's cultivator stationed at Cyan Ping Mountain's guardian post has reached their term limit. You'll replace them for five years. After that, I'll send someone to relieve you."
"Additionally, I hope you can take this opportunity to learn Artifact Refining from the Hundred Skills of Cultivation. The clan presently has no promising talent to take over my artifact refining. Achieving some accomplishments in this field would be greatly beneficial for the entire clan."
Having stated his arrangements, Zhou Minghan waved his hand, tossing a gray storage bag and a small silver shield into Zhouyang's hands.
"Inside the storage bag are some low-tier artifact refining materials, along with some of my insights on Artifact Refining, and a copy of the family's 'Artifact Refining Truth.' You must keep these well and never let them be transmitted outside."
"As for this 'Silver Gang Shield,' it's one of the finest Tier Two artifacts crafted by me, consider it compensation for your premature descent from the mountain."
"Now, if you have no other matters, you may leave. It's best to finish the journey to Cyan Ping Mountain within a month."
Zhou Minghan's series of dialogues and actions left Zhouyang somewhat bewildered; at the end, he instinctively grasped his belongings tighter and said, "Then grandson will take leave first."
It wasn't until he stepped out of the cave and heard the door close that he trembled all over, coming to his senses regarding what had transpired.
Recalling Elder Zhou Minghan's explained arrangements inside the cave, Zhouyang muttered with perplexity in his eyes, "What happened just now? How did I become so absent-minded without any reaction at all? This isn't like my character!"
His heart suddenly jumped at the moment, unwillingly surfacing a bold guess.
"Could the old clan leader have cast some magic on me?"
The next moment, he immediately curbed this dangerous thought.
Even if the old clan leader cast some spell, it would definitely just be a joke, no need to overthink it. Ruminating unnecessarily will only harm oneself.
Thinking this, he glanced at the storage bag and magical artifact in his hands, carefully putting them away, then asking Grandpa Qi under the tree for assistance in opening the array to send him down the mountain.
Before exiting the array, Zhouyang looked back over the peak once more, only to see Grandpa Qi smiling under the tree, sending him off.
"This kid might have realized something; it seems inappropriate to use such small tricks on him again to avoid causing a misunderstanding."
Inside the mountain top cave, Zhou Minghan, observing Zhouyang's expression change upon leaving via Divine Sense, awkwardly grabbed his beard, a trace of regret flashing across his face.
In reality, he had indeed discreetly applied a Soul Capturing Technique he discovered long ago while speaking, influencing Zhouyang's mind.
It wasn't out of fear that Zhouyang would resist his arrangements, but simply couldn't stand Zhouyang's mature-for-his-age demeanor and wanted to tease him a bit.
Just like mortals, when adults deliberately make children drink some liquor to see those pretending to be mature's reaction of having their nose and eyes water, laughing heartily.
Such pranks, while satisfying in the moment, bring later regret when elders realize their pranks cause resentment from the juniors.
Zhou Minghan was in just such a situation now.
Fortunately, Zhouyang's maturity was genuine and not feigned. Thus, he harbored no actual resentment against the elder wholeheartedly devoted to the clan because of the playful jest.
Once descended from the top, Zhouyang quickly returned to his pavilion situated mid-mountain, closing the door to organize the day's gains.
First, regarding the storage bag the old clan leader handed to him, made from Demon Beast 'Spirit Void Mouse' leather—a piece of storage magic—as all cultivators possess, even the poorest of loose cultivators wouldn't spare any effort to acquire one.
Of course, there are storage bags of varying grades; typically, those used by a Qi Cultivation Stage loose cultivator have spatial capacity three feet square, barely enough to accommodate several changes of clothing and some miscellaneous items.
The Yuquan Zhou Clan, a cultivation family, provides each higher cultivation level member with a five-foot-square storage bag free of charge when attaining Qi Cultivation Stage. Due to having a good father, Zhouyang's everyday bag is even a ten-foot-square one.
However, his storage bag has now leveled up.
The seemingly dull and gray storage bag given by the old clan leader surprisingly contains a three-foot-square space, and aside from an Artifact Cauldron and a few Artifact Refining Classics, it's also filled with low-tier refining materials such as Profound Iron, Red Copper, and Centennial Iron Wood.
Zhouyang roughly calculated; if merely refining artifacts like knives and swords, which require minimal materials, these materials could suffice him hundreds of refining attempts.
"When ordinary clan members study Artifact Refining, though the family supplies free materials for practice, it tops off at around a hundred attempts. The old clan leader gave me so many materials, with such abundance, even the slowest person should manage to succeed a few times!"
Looking at the storage bag packed with materials, Zhouyang couldn't help feeling moved, and wasn't fooling himself otherwise.
He knew that the old clan leader had always been impartial, and even if he was exceptionally talented, he would not make exceptions for him.
The only reason he could now practice with so many materials was that the old clan leader had used his private savings to exchange these materials from the clan's treasury.
"It seems the old clan leader truly wants me to inherit his artifact refining skills. As the only Tier Three Refiner in the clan, he must have seen something. Perhaps I do have a good talent for artifact refining."
Zhouyang thought of the cultivation technique he practiced, "Golden Sun Fiery Flame Technique," and suddenly had an epiphany, a knowing smile appearing on his face.
Then he carefully stored away the storage bag and turned his attention to another item given by the old clan leader, a Tier Two Spiritual Artifact, the Silver Gang Shield.
The Silver Gang Shield, a Tier Two Spiritual Artifact, is primarily crafted from the scales of the Dragon Scale Tree, combined with the Silver Gang Stone, a Tier Two Spiritual Object.
In cultivation, there are nine great realms, and the magical artifacts, elixirs, arrays, and talismans used by cultivators are thus divided into nine grades, from Tier One to Tier Nine. A Tier Two Spiritual Artifact corresponds to Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators.
Similarly, Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts are divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. The Silver Gang Shield, carefully refined by Zhou Minghan, this Tier Three Refiner, is naturally of the highest upper grade.
This artifact, before refining, appears only palm-sized. However, once Zhouyang refines it, during battle, it can expand to the size of a door shield, protecting his entire body and can be adjusted according to his will.
Moreover, due to the incorporation of the Silver Gang Stone during refinement, this artifact can not only easily block the same tier's flying swords and knives, but also has remarkable effects against magical attacks from cultivators or demon beasts, greatly reducing damage from spells below the third tier.
"My Zhou family has a single Dragon Scale Tree, which can yield a few mature scales every ten years, considered self-produced. However, the Silver Gang Stone, this breaking spiritual object, is not common, and even a fist-sized piece costs at least over five hundred low-grade spirit stones. This gift from the old clan leader is indeed substantial!"
In the room, as Zhouyang looked at the palm-sized silver shield in his hand, he suddenly felt the artifact become much heavier.
As a cultivation clan, every Zhou clan member, upon reaching the Qi Cultivation Stage, can annually receive a spirit stone stipend from the clan until they exceed sixty years in age.
According to current clan rules, a Zhou clan member at the first layer of Qi Cultivation can receive 10 low-grade spirit stones a year. At the second layer, it's 20 low-grade spirit stones, continuing sequentially until there is a change at the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation.
Because typically, the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation is the limit for ordinary Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators, the Zhou clan's current rules state that clan cultivators, upon advancing to the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation, are promoted to clan elders. Each elder can annually receive a stipend of 150 low-grade spirit stones, regardless of age, until they either pass away or no longer require them.
Zhouyang had been stuck at the fifth layer of Qi Cultivation for two years, receiving only 50 low-grade spirit stones annually. By these calculations, even if he saved all his spirit stones without spending any, it would take ten years of stipends to exchange for a fist-sized Silver Gang Stone.
In reality, because he started Qi Cultivation at the age of seven, after ten years, without counting treasures given by his parents as rewards, his entire wealth amounted to just over three hundred low-grade spirit stones.
This shows what a generous gift the Silver Gang Shield is as a reward for him being allowed to leave the mountain earlier, given by the old clan leader Zhou Minghan!
"Since the old clan leader holds me in such high regard, I must not disappoint him. Whether it's learning artifact refining skills or guarding Qingping Mountain, I must do exceedingly well!"
Warmth filled Zhouyang's heart as he clenched the artifact in his hand, resolving to repay the elder's trust by doing his best.
In the days that followed, Zhouyang shut himself away, focused solely on refining the recently acquired Silver Gang Shield artifact, not emerging until he had fully refined and mastered it, thereby preparing for his descent from the mountain.
He first went to another area, the Scripture Cave of the Zhou family, where he studied the sixth-layer technique of the "Golden Sun Fiery Flame Technique." He also selected five spells from the numerous stored in the Scripture Cave for battle.
These five spells included the Tier Two attack spells, "Golden Saber Technique" and "Fire Snake Technique," the Tier Two defense spell, "Golden Light Body-Protecting Technique," and two Tier Two auxiliary spells, "Celestial Eye Technique" and "Earth Escape Technique."
The Zhou family's Scripture Cave allows clan members to freely peruse Qi Cultivation techniques and spells, though they cannot remove them from the cave or privately teach them to outsiders.
Previously, Zhouyang had followed his parents' and elders' teachings, focusing on enhancing his cultivation rather than dispersing his efforts in learning combat spells. However, since he was now tasked with guarding an area, he might inevitably face battles. Without knowing combat spells, relying solely on his few magical artifacts would result in a lack of versatility and vulnerability to being countered.
Spells are easy to learn but hard to master, and initially learning to use them did not take long. With Zhouyang's cultivation at the sixth layer of Qi Cultivation, it took him about half a month to learn all five spells.
By this time, the month given by the old clan leader was nearly up. He wrote a letter explaining the situation and entrusted a clan elder with delivering it to his parents stationed thousands of miles away in a cultivator marketplace, and then bid farewell to familiar elders and peers on the mountain, descending alone.
After descending the mountain, Zhouyang collected a camel necessary for desert travel from the clan members at the foot of the mountain and ventured directly into the Boundless Desert Sea.
This was his first time leaving the Yuquan Lake Oasis in seventeen years, and his first time stepping into a desert in both lifetimes.
The desert is vast and boundless, making it easy for people to lose their way.
If one loses their direction in the desert, even if a cultivator carries a large amount of water and food in a storage bag, they would starve or die of thirst if they cannot reach an oasis before supplies run out.
Cultivators are far stronger than mortals, but unless they reach the Golden Core Stage, they cannot sustain themselves without food. Even Purple Mansion Stage cultivators need to regularly consume food made from spirit grain or spiritual flesh from demon beasts to maintain bodily needs.
In fact, even Golden Core Stage cultivators who can fast won't dare to fly indiscriminately in the Boundless Desert Sea.
Golden Core Stage cultivators might not fear losing direction, but the desert has catastrophic storms and powerful demon beasts that even they cannot overcome.
For instance, the famed "Black Sand Storm," if a Golden Core Stage cultivator gets caught in it, they will be cut off from their divine sense and five senses due to the strange power within, eventually being worn down to death by its endless power.
Another example includes the most famous Tier Five demon beast in the desert, the Sand Worm, which can reach thousands of feet long and possesses terrifying teeth. With its immense force, it can crush Tier Five Defense Spiritual Artifacts. A Golden Core Stage cultivator caught off guard could lose their life.
Given these risks, unless they have an unavoidable reason, Golden Core Stage cultivators would never easily venture deep into the desert.
Fortunately, terrifying "Black Sand Storms" and Tier Five demon beasts like the Sand Worm, which dwells in subterranean spiritual veins, do not appear near oases, or Zhouyang wouldn't dare set foot in the desert alone.
Alone with a camel, he meticulously followed the clan-issued map, traveling through the desert for about five days before smoothly reaching his destination—Qingping Mountain.
Qingping Mountain is also an oasis, albeit an artificial one.
This oasis is very small, covering only a little over ten square kilometers. Its formation is solely due to the Zhou family investing over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones to artificially create a Tier Two Low-Grade Spirit Vein.
The Zhou family spent immense resources to create an oasis here because, more than fifty years ago, a Zhou clan member lost in the desert discovered a medium-sized refined iron ore vein here.
Refined Iron Ore contains a trace of spiritual energy. Through processing, it can yield Tier One Spiritual Object Refined Iron and Tier Two Spiritual Object Profound Iron. These two spiritual objects are the main materials for building important structures like ancestral halls, scripture pavilions, and treasure vaults in cultivation clans or sects, as well as primary materials for Refiners crafting most Tier One and Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts, having high market demand.
To mine the refined iron ore vein, the Zhou family had to build an oasis here for miners to reside while also dispatching cultivators to guard against attacks from low-tier demon beasts in the desert.
To build an oasis and allow stationed cultivators to continue their cultivation, the Zhou family had to artificially create spirit veins here.
Of course, all this investment is worthwhile.
Just this one medium refined iron ore vein, the refined iron ores processed and sold every year can bring the Zhou Family a net profit of more than five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones. After more than fifty years, the initial investment has long earned back several times.
Moreover, according to the reserves of the refined iron ore vein, it can be mined for at least another fifty years.
The area of Qingping Mountain Oasis is very small, most regions have turned into residential areas for miners, with only a hundred-meter high small hill at the center of the Spirit Vein set aside as the residence for stationed cultivators and the warehouse for finished materials.
It can be said that the small hill is the real Qingping Mountain.
The current Grand Elder of the Zhou Family is a Tier Two Array Master, which is why a Tier Two Array, the "Cloud Sea Light Splitting Array," was set up on the Spirit Vein of Qingping Mountain. The array's power causes the small hill to be shrouded in fog all year round, making it difficult for people to see the arrangements inside.
Zhouyang arrived outside the array, used his magical power to shout once, and the fog in front then surged, opening up a passage for him to go up the mountain and enter.
Following the channel through the array, he soon saw the stationed cultivator inside, a middle-aged scholar with a lean face, ranked sixteenth among the Zhou Clan "Xuan" generation cultivators, named Zhou Xuanjin.
"Eh, how come it's Yang'Er who's here to replace me? You're not yet twenty, right?"
Zhou Xuanjin, dressed as a scholar, saw Zhouyang come in and couldn't help but exclaim lightly, asking questions before Zhouyang even greeted and saluted.
"To answer Sixteenth Uncle's question, this is arranged by the old Clan Leader. His old man said my cultivation has reached the standard for leaving the mountain and exceptionally let me start training prematurely." Zhouyang answered honestly.
Zhou Xuanjin's face stilled, muttering quietly with an expression of confusion, "Cultivation reached the standard for leaving the mountain? When did our Zhou Family have this standard?"
After speaking, he had a sudden thought, as if recalling something, quickly cast a "Celestial Eye Technique" on himself. With eyes glowing, he sized up Zhouyang from top to bottom.
What he saw stunned him, causing him to exclaim out loud: "Aiya! You've broken through to the Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation!"
"After closing my doors for cultivation at the [Jade Sun Cave] last month, I managed to break through by luck."
Zhouyang smiled lightly, nodding with an indifferent acknowledgment.
In the Cultivation Realm, directly using "Celestial Eye Technique" to observe someone else's cultivation is indeed taboo and often leads to disputes among cultivators.
But Zhou Xuanjin was a family elder, so Zhouyang didn't mind this trivial matter.
"Tsk tsk tsk, remarkable, remarkable, how old are you anyway!"
"I'm an uncle who's painstakingly cultivated for forty to fifty years to reach the current Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation, and here you are, at seventeen, already at the Sixth-Layer. In another ten, eight years, your cultivation might surpass mine!"
"Ah, I'm getting old, not comparing to young people anymore. We're both with medium-grade spiritual root talent, why is there such a difference!"
Zhou Xuanjin put away the spell, looking with complex emotion at this outstanding junior, unsure whether to be delighted for the family having such a genius or to feel ashamed and lost at his cultivation likely being surpassed by a junior decades younger.
Zhouyang was not encountering this situation for the first time. Since breaking through to the Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation, among peers and elders on Jade Spring Peak, they've expressed similar feelings of loss and melancholy while marveling and rejoicing at his speed of cultivation.
For this, Zhouyang could only respond with silence, without saying more.
He truly had nothing more to add.
The more Zhouyang's cultivation grew, and the more the gap widened between him and his contemporaries, the more he felt the importance of talent for low-tier cultivators.
Among mortals, one in ten thousand might be born as Spiritual Root cultivators. Offspring of cultivators have higher chances of having Spiritual Roots, but that chance is only a few percentages.
Among those with Spiritual Roots, most are low-grade roots, with one out of ten possibly being a Middle-grade Spiritual Root cultivator, and as for top-grade roots, they are scarcer, with one in a hundred cultivators possibly having one.
There are over a hundred thousand Zhou Clan members at Yuquan Lake Oasis, yet the Zhou Clan only has under a hundred Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators altogether, including seven or eight external surnamed cultivators related by marriage.
Of these dozens of cultivators, not a single one possesses an upper-grade spiritual root, even the late-stage Foundation Establishment elder clan leader Zhou Minghan only has a medium-grade spiritual root.
And how great an impact does spiritual root quality have on a cultivator?
For the same First-Layer Qi Cultivation, practicing the same cultivation technique sitting in the same place, a low-grade spiritual root cultivator, sitting and practicing for ten days, will hardly achieve the same effect as a medium-grade spiritual root cultivator in one day.
And for a medium-grade spiritual root cultivator sitting and practicing for more than ten days, the effect still may not match that of an upper-grade spiritual root cultivator practicing in one day.
Upper-grade spiritual root cultivators not only cultivate faster, but when facing the first cultivation barrier, the "Foundation Establishment," they have a much higher breakthrough probability compared to middle and low-grade spiritual root cultivators. Even without taking rare spirit pills like the "Foundation Establishment Pill" that significantly boost Foundation Establishment success, they have a thirty percent chance to breakthrough.
It's said above upper-grade spiritual roots there are Spirit Body cultivators and Dao Body cultivators.
Any Spirit Body cultivator will assuredly become a Golden Core Stage Ancestor as long as they don't die prematurely, without encountering any bottleneck.
As for Dao Body cultivators, they are legendary existences. Since the dawn of cultivators in this realm, fewer than a handful of Dao Body cultivators have appeared, each a superpower dominating an era.
Other than Spirit Body and Dao Body, the cultivation world also has a special physique called "Treasure Body."
"Treasure Body" is an extremely rare physique, any spiritual root cultivator might possess it, and those who do, if they practice a cultivation technique that complements the Treasure Body, can cultivate faster than those of the same spiritual root quality, and as their cultivation increases, they gain unique Treasure Body Divine Techniques.
For example, Zhouyang might possess a Treasure Body with a yang attribute, hence although he has medium-grade spiritual root talent, after cultivating the aggressive yang cultivation technique "Golden Sun Fiery Flame Technique," his cultivation speed matches that of upper-grade spiritual root cultivators.
If nothing unexpected happens, Zhouyang will surely elevate his cultivation to the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation before forty.
A regular medium-grade spiritual root cultivator like Zhou Xuanjin might have to wait until the age of sixty or seventy to reach the Ninth-Layer.
And if it's a typical low-grade spiritual root cultivator, even reaching the lifespan limit of Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators, they might not even achieve Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation!
And the cruel reality is, the older a Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator gets, the harder it is to succeed in Foundation Establishment. The success rate for cultivators over sixty in the Ninth-Layer is less than half that of those below sixty. For cultivators over eighty in the Qi Cultivation Stage, the rate drops even more. Zhouyang has never heard of an extraordinary individual achieving Foundation Establishment at over a hundred years old in the Qi Cultivation Stage.
Given Zhouyang's age and cultivation speed, he indeed has a much higher probability of success in Foundation Establishment compared to others, which is why the elder clan leader Zhou Minghan particularly values him.
Unfortunately, Treasure Body does not increase the probability of success in Foundation Establishment; otherwise, after cultivating to the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, Zhouyang could attempt Foundation Establishment.
Both of them understood these circumstances, so upon seeing Zhouyang fall silent, Zhou Xuanjin quickly adjusted his mindset and began to hand over the work to him.
"Guarding Qingping Mountain involves three main responsibilities: First, upon receiving an alarm from the family-assigned steward at the mine, you must go into the mine to help the miners eliminate any occasional Tier One or Tier Two demon beasts that intrude; Secondly, protect the outer camp of the miners, and timely gather the refined materials from the camp to store them in the mountain warehouse, waiting for the family to send someone to collect them; Lastly, ensure you take care of these dozen acres of spirit fields on the mountain, as this relates to whether you can feed yourself adequately."
"Additionally, if strong demon beasts or human cultivators that you cannot handle come to attack, never leave the array range lightly. The best strategy is to hold fast to the array and use your essence blood to activate this Tier Three communication talisman to await family rescue."
"Lastly, here is the control array banner and the method to operate the Qingping Mountain array. After you refine the array banner and get familiar with using the array, I can leave."
As Zhou Xuanjin spoke, he handed over all the items needed by the guarding cultivator to Zhouyang and taught him how to use them, hand in hand.
And so, four to five days passed. Only after Zhouyang completely mastered the Tier Two 'Cloud Sea Light Splitting Array', did Zhou Xuanjin leave with nearly a year's output from the Qingping Mountain ore vein and return to the family.
After Zhou Xuanjin left, Zhouyang became the highest-ranking member of the Zhou Family on the Qingping Mountain side.
He first convened with several stewards in charge of managing the mining and refining operations of the ore vein in the Zhou Family to initially understand the operation process and handed them several sound transmission talismans imbued with his aura, facilitating timely notifications in case of issues.
Those who could act as the Zhou Family's stewards were innate realm martial arts cultivators, but these people did not possess spiritual roots. Thus, they could never cultivate magical power to become Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators and would stay in the innate realm for life.
Of course, for mortals, the strength held by innate realm cultivators is something they can only look up to.
Mortal humans who reach the innate realm can refine innate true qi from their bodies to attain horse-like speed, strength to lift heavy items, and easily defeat dozens by themselves, along with significant resistance to various diseases.
But mortals are mortals; without spiritual roots, they cannot perform even the most basic Tier One magic, even if they manage to refine innate true qi.
True cultivators with spiritual roots do not acknowledge these mortals as cultivators and disdain any interaction with them.
Zhouyang did not discriminate against these mortal cultivators. However, due to long-standing discrimination by true cultivators, these individuals had deeply ingrained notions of hierarchy and inferiority. Even when Zhouyang actively sought out conversations with them, none dared to genuinely engage as equals within the clan, leaving him only to dismiss them without true engagement.
The following days were straightforward for Zhouyang.
Every morning, he would meditate and practice breathwork facing the rising sun for three hours, then practice five magic spells learned from the Scripture Pavilion for another three hours. By evening, he would allocate half an hour to weed and remove pests from the thriving spirit grain in the mountain's spirit field.
The spiritual vein of Qingping Mountain was only a Tier Two Low-Grade and was an artificially created spiritual vein. After supplying the daily cultivation needs of a late-stage Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator, only twenty to thirty percent residual spiritual qi remained daily.
Thus, only about fifteen acres of spirit fields were developed here, planting spirit grain specifically for consumption by the guarding cultivator without being necessary to remit to the clan.
The spirit grain planted in these spirit fields is named 'Golden Pearl Rice'. Its appearance resembles cotton trees from the other world Zhouyang once knew, ripening once annually, with each plant bearing dozens of fruits. Upon maturity, peeling open the fruit reveals numerous golden, pearl-like grains, thus named 'Golden Pearl Rice'.
This 'Golden Pearl Rice', due to its growth in spirit fields, requires the absorption of spiritual qi to survive and mature; hence the rice grains are not only rich in nutrition and exquisite in taste but also contain trace amounts of spiritual qi, greatly favorable for cultivators' absorption.
Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators consuming 'Golden Pearl Rice' regularly need only a small bowl to satisfy two or three days' worth of nutritional needs while slightly improving their cultivation.
Even Foundation Establishment Stage and Purple Mansion Stage cultivators frequently consume meals made from this 'Golden Pearl Rice'.
Zhouyang began cultivating at the age of four, achieving the ninth layer of the innate realm after three years. Besides having decent talent, this achievement was significantly aided by his parents frequently giving him special meals, allowing him to consume 'Golden Pearl Rice' daily along with some low-tier demon beast meat.
Not being a spirit plant cultivator, Zhouyang was ignorant of certain magic spells needed by spirit plant cultivators to enhance the yield of spirit fields. He could only tend to the spirit field like an ordinary farmer, watering, weeding, pest-catching, ensuring no agricultural failure occurred.
As long as there's no agricultural failure, the yield from these dozen acres of spirit fields would be entirely sufficient for his daily consumption needs and would even provide considerable surplus.
Zhouyang understood that this surplus was a welfare benefit provided by the clan for guarding cultivators, as completing clan tasks down the mountain was the duty of all adult clan members, without any additional clan reward awarded for it.
After allocating half an hour daily to tending to the mountain's spirit field, Zhouyang spent the following half of the evening learning artifact refining techniques.
He did not immediately start refining artifacts but meticulously studied the artifact refining classics and notes provided by the old clan leader while practicing basic material tempering using ore extracted from the Refined Iron mine.
Such simple and fulfilling days passed until three years went by.
After three years, having thoroughly understood the knowledge recorded in those artifact refining classics and mastered the material tempering skills, Zhouyang finally took out the materials given to him by the old clan leader and officially began artifact refining.
To conserve materials, he chose to refine the simplest Tier One sword-type spiritual artifact 'Cyan Blade'.
The primary material for the Tier One spiritual artifact 'Cyan Blade' is Refined Iron, the sword hilt made from Centennial Iron Wood and other spirit woods. When innate realm cultivators hold the spiritual artifact and inject innate true qi, sword lights ranging from three inches to one foot can be activated depending on the cultivator's strength to injure foes.
Refining this spiritual artifact is straightforward: firstly, temper the Refined Iron with spiritual fire to forge the sword embryo, then maintain a fire temperature keeping the sword embryo in a heated state while using a cultivator's magical power and divine sense guidance to arrange a 'Sharpness' restriction within the sword embryo.
The moment the restriction is completed is the time for quenching the sword; a successful quenched sword exhibiting the unique spiritual glow of artifacts indicates successful refining; otherwise, it results only in a relatively sharp mortal weapon.
All this sounds simple, but executing it isn't simple at all. Despite Zhouyang having planned numerous refining scenarios in his heart beforehand and practicing the crafting process of the 'Sharpness' restriction countless times, his very first artifact refining inevitably ended in failure.
With a 'bang' exploding sound from within the artifact cauldron, his first trial of artifact refining concluded, failing to even reach the quenching phase.
The failure of his first artifact refinement did not dampen Zhouyang's enthusiasm since he never imagined succeeding on his first try.
If refining techniques were easy to master, the profession of artifact refiner wouldn't be the most sought after in the Cultivation Realm.
Every artifact refiner, even the most talented ones, could not succeed on their first try at refining.
Most artifact refiners possess a bit of refining talent, relying on countless materials to accumulate their refinement skills.
Hence, in the Cultivation Realm, among those loose cultivators without sects or clans, rarely any artifact or alchemy masters appear because they simply cannot afford the cost of materials wasted in learning these two skills.
Even a clan like the Zhou Family, with Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, finds it challenging to nurture a truly profitable Tier Two artifact refiner, requiring selecting talented members and making significant investments.
Before Zhouyang, many 'Xuan' generation cultivators from the Zhou Family learned artifact refining techniques. However, only his Seventh Uncle, Zhou Xuanlin, barely advanced to Tier Two artifact refiner, aided by direct guidance from Zhou Minghan, a Tier Three artifact refiner, and after investing materials worth thousands of spirit stones.
Nonetheless, the limit for Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators leads them only to Tier Two artifact refiner, while wishing to advance to Tier Three requires first reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Thus, when Zhou Minghan expressed his hope for Zhouyang to inherit his refining skills, the underlying wish indeed was for Zhouyang to successfully reach the Foundation Establishment.
As long as Zhouyang achieves Foundation Establishment, and displays a touch of refining talent, even if Zhou Minghan needs to use spirit stones, he's confident in nurturing Zhouyang into a Tier Three artifact refiner!
Zhouyang, of course, knew nothing about this. He only felt that artifact refining materials were hard to come by and wasting them was a pity. Therefore, after failing, he did not rush to try again but carefully collected the waste in the artifact cauldron and began summarizing his experiences and lessons.
Only when he felt a bit more confident did he start a new attempt.
Failing again and summarizing, failing again and summarizing…
After seventeen failures, Zhouyang finally succeeded in refining a complete [Cyan Blade], officially becoming a Tier One Refiner.
With the first successful experience under his belt, Zhouyang's success rate in refining increased significantly in subsequent attempts, roughly succeeding once in every ten tries.
After refining over a hundred times and raising the success rate to two out of ten, he stopped refining the [Cyan Blade] and began refining another Tier One Spiritual Artifact, the [Flaming Saber].
The Tier One Spiritual Artifact [Flaming Saber] also used refined iron as the main material but required an additional mix of twenty percent fire-attributed spirit gold red copper. Once the artifact was refined, an Innate Realm cultivator could infuse innate true qi into it, engulfing the blade in flames to scorch enemies and deal with ghosts that were immune to physical attacks.
The refining process for the [Flaming Saber] was essentially the same as for the [Cyan Blade], with the difference being that the restriction in the blade was not [Sharpness] but the [Fiery Flame] restriction.
Despite having the successful experience of refining the [Cyan Blade], Zhouyang failed on his first attempt to refine the [Flaming Saber].
However, after summarizing his failure, he managed to succeed on his second attempt as if by luck. Then, after dozens more refining attempts, he succeeded in maintaining a success rate above twenty percent for the [Flaming Saber] as well.
During this time, he still had a considerable amount of basic refining materials left that the old clan leader had given him, but he did not continue refining. Instead, he handed over the finished artifacts he refined, along with his refining insights and letters to his parents, to his peer clan cultivator Zhou Qi, who came to collect the refined iron ore, to take back to the clan leader and have it passed on to his parents who were far away.
Zhou Qi ranked third among the "Yuan" generation in the Zhou family. Both his parents were ordinary mortals. At thirty-two, due to his low-grade spiritual root, his cultivation was only at the third-layer of Qi Cultivation, leaving him with no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment in this life.
When he heard about Zhouyang becoming a Tier One Refiner, he was initially surprised but then overjoyed. He took the items and letters with a strong nod, saying, "Ninth Brother, don't worry. I will surely bring these things and letters to the old clan leader and uncle and aunt."
After speaking, he paused and earnestly advised with a sincere expression, "But you must also continue cultivating diligently, not concentrating all your energy on artifact refining. You are the hope of the entire Zhou family, and the elders and we, your siblings, are all counting on you to succeed in establishing a foundation and leading the Zhou family onward!"
"Third Brother is right. I will practice diligently and not let the elders down!" Zhouyang nodded, responding with a serious expression.
"As long as you know what you're doing, I'll take my leave."
Watching his cousin Zhou Qi leave, Zhouyang activated the array to restore it to its original state and began reading the long letter his parents entrusted to his cousin.
Zhouyang's father, Zhou Xuanhao, focused on cultivation in his early years. It wasn't until he was over sixty and realized his hope of reaching Foundation Establishment was gone that he followed the elder's advice to marry and have children.
At that time, his mother, Lin Yuting, was being pursued by enemies. She fled to the vicinity of Yuquan Lake Oasis, where Zhou Xuanhao saved her, leading to their union as husband and wife. A few years later, Zhouyang was born.
Because both were cultivators, their first child fortunately had a medium-quality spiritual root, making Zhouyang the apple of their eyes. They cherished him like a treasure.
The endless love and care from his parents allowed Zhouyang, who retained memories from a previous life, to gradually let go of his former life and wholeheartedly accept and acknowledge his parents and the entire Zhou family in this life.
To ensure their son could walk further in cultivation than they did, Zhou Xuanhao and Lin Yuting chose not to have more children, focusing all their efforts on earning spirit stones and caring for Zhouyang.
Upon discovering Zhouyang's exceptional talent, they entrusted him to the elders' care and ran a shop in the cultivator's marketplace, using their knowledge of alchemy and brewing to earn spirit stones for the family and their son.
As someone who has been through it all, Zhouyang fully understands Zhou Xuanhao and Lin Yuting's intentions.
Just like his parents in his previous life had worked hard in the city to support his education, Zhou Xuanhao and Lin Yuting's sacrifices were to help him achieve Foundation Establishment and progress further on the path of cultivation.
Thus, he never resented not seeing them often, instead, he wrote to them frequently, sharing tales of his everyday experiences, knowing that these trivial details were precisely what his parents most wanted to know.
"Yang'Er, Cyan Ping Mountain is far from home. Always think carefully before acting and prioritize your safety…"
"Son, our business at the restaurant is booming thanks to your brilliant idea from last time. My son truly is a genius and will definitely become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, no, a Golden Core Ancestor!"
As Zhouyang read every word from his parents, his face was full of genuine smiles. A simple letter from them was far more motivating than a thousand words from anyone else.
Once he finished reading, he carefully tucked the letter away and mused to himself, "Two more years. Once I complete these last two years of my watch duty, I'll return home to prepare for a breakthrough to the seventh layer of Qi Cultivation. Once reaching the late stage of Qi Cultivation, I'll apply to the clan leader to be stationed at the marketplace so our family can reunite!"
On the other side, when Zhou Qi returned to the clan with Zhouyang's artifacts and insights and handed them to the old clan leader, it immediately caught Zhou Minghan's attention.
He personally inspected each artifact Zhouyang refined, pointing out their imperfections and suggesting improvements. He also addressed the queries in Zhouyang's refining insights and sent a "Guang" generation elder from the clan to deliver higher-tier refining materials and insights to Zhouyang.
"Hahaha, Xiao Jiu, you truly bring honor to us. In my one hundred years, this is the first time I've seen the old clan leader so cheerful and attentive to a younger generation. Now, your name as the Zhou family's Qilin'Er has spread throughout the clan, and even those in the secular world are talking about your deeds!"
The elder responsible for delivering items to Zhouyang was named Elder Zhou Quan, ranked third among his peers and the Second Elder among the eight elders of the Zhou family.
At one hundred and twelve, he was nearing the life limit of a Qi Cultivation cultivator. If not for Zhou Minghan personally ordering him by name, no one would have dared disturb this elderly ready to sit for his end.
"I'm sorry to trouble you, Grandpa Qi, with this trip. I truly am!"
As he looked at the elder, Zhouyang was touched but couldn't help but feel deep regret.
He knew that the old clan leader would never have sent Elder Zhou Quan if all the late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators in the clan weren't otherwise occupied with their tasks.
Elder Zhou Quan's journey, besides showing the old clan leader and clan's acknowledgment of him, also revealed the shortage of available manpower.
"Hehehe, I am old; it doesn't matter if I were to sit for my end tomorrow. Being able to see such an outstanding junior before my end would let me die contented!"
Elder Zhou Quan chuckled, patting Zhouyang's shoulder kindly, showing he had long since accepted fate.
Yet, in the next moment, despite his words, he couldn't help but reveal a look of regret, sighing, "It's a pity; what a pity I won't live to see you reach Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, I'd have faced Yuquan Ancestor in the afterlife with pride!"
Zhouyang fell silent, his heart heavy.
For over a hundred years, successive generations of Zhou family cultivators were stuck at the threshold of Foundation Establishment. Thus, elders like Zhou Quan had developed fixations—the one fixation of witnessing another successful Foundation Establishment in the Zhou family before their end, to succeed the old clan leader in safeguarding the clan.
His father Zhou Xuanhao shared this desire, striving to earn spirit stones for Zhouyang's future Foundation Establishment.
Just as Zhouyang considered how to break this heavy atmosphere, a flame suddenly cut through the clouds outside Cyan Ping Mountain, landing before him. From it came the urgent voice of the Zhou family steward at the refined iron mine: "Lord Immortal Master, help! A fearsome demon beast has appeared…
