Cultivation of Immortality: Start by Improving Spiritual Root Qualifications

Chapter 934 Victory Celebration Banquet, Rewards for Merit!

Xisha Island, Council Hall.

Inside the magnificent hall, dozens of glazed palace lanterns hung high, illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime.

Dozens of sandalwood tables were placed in the hall, each laden with delicacies, fruits, and fine wines.

The most eye-catching thing is the 'Nine Twin Spirit Fish' in the center, which emits a shimmering light. Its body is crystal clear, and the spiritual light flowing within can be faintly seen.

Que Tianming sat high in the main seat, his dark gold robe gleaming under the lamplight.

His face was dignified yet kind, and a faint smile played on his lips as his gaze swept over the people in the hall.

Zhou Xun sat in the first row below, with Nascent Soul cultivators such as Que Lie beside him, and Nascent Soul cultivators sitting in neat rows behind him.

Before each monk knelt a beautiful maidservant dressed in light gauze, her slender hands holding a wine pot and pouring wine with elegant and graceful movements.

"Fellow Daoists," Que Tianming raised his jade cup, his voice clear and resonant, "this great victory is entirely due to your valiant efforts in fighting the enemy. I hereby offer you all a toast."

Everyone in the hall quickly stood up and responded in unison, "It's all thanks to the divine power of our Ancestor!"

Zhou Xun noticed that the eyes of Que Lie and the other Nascent Soul cultivators were gleaming with excitement.

This is understandable, as the raid on Shuangyu Island not only killed three Nascent Soul cultivators of the Lu clan in one fell swoop, but also seized a large amount of precious resources.

"The merits of this battle have been tallied by my men. Next, we will reward those who have contributed!" Que Tianming put down his wine cup and took out a jade scroll from his sleeve.
"The greatest credit belongs to Que Lie, who killed one Nascent Soul cultivator and one late-stage Core Formation cultivator from the Lu clan, earning him 1,550 contribution points, plus a 300-point bonus for first merit, for a total of 1,850 points."

A chorus of praise immediately filled the hall. Que Lie rose, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and couldn't hide his pride: "It's all thanks to the Ancestor's guidance!"

"The next merit belongs to Fellow Daoist Xun Yunyue," Que Tianming continued.
"Killing one mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from the Lu clan will earn you 1,500 contribution points, plus a secondary merit reward of 100 points."

A female cultivator dressed in a plain white robe gracefully rose to her feet. She was none other than Xun Yunyue, a guest elder in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Her face was aloof, and she simply nodded slightly before sitting down again.

Zhou Xun secretly noted this person down. To be able to accurately kill a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator in the midst of a chaotic battle, their strength was not to be underestimated.

"As for Lu Feiyun, another Nascent Soul cultivator from the Lu clan, I personally killed him, so he won't be included in the contribution list." Que Tianming said, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Xun and the others.
"Finally, every participating cultivator will receive a basic reward." Que Tianming closed the jade book, his voice rising slightly.

"Each Nascent Soul cultivator receives five contribution points, and each Deity Transformation cultivator receives fifty contribution points!"

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted in the hall. The Nascent Soul cultivators were especially excited.
Keep in mind that killing someone in the early Nascent Soul stage only yields five contribution points!

Moreover, for them, five contribution points are enough to exchange for a lot of valuable resources.

"Start the banquet!" With Que Tianming's order, the musicians who had been prepared began to play melodious music.

The maids filed in and served each monk a carefully prepared spiritual meal.

The "Nine-Symbol Fish" in front of Zhou Xun was skillfully sliced ​​into thin slices as thin as cicada wings by the maid.

He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. He immediately felt a cool spiritual energy melt in his mouth. The fish was exceptionally delicious and had an indescribable Daoist charm.

"As expected of a specialty of Twin Fish Island," Que Lie exclaimed from the side. "This spirit fish is not only delicious, but long-term consumption can also cleanse the meridians and greatly benefit cultivation."

Zhou Xun nodded in agreement and took another sip of the spirit wine poured by the maid. As the wine entered his throat, it transformed into a warm current that flowed through his entire body, even making the magical power in his dantian more active.

During the banquet, the cultivators toasted each other, chatting and laughing.

Some recounted the thrilling moments of the battle, while others discussed the next course of action; the atmosphere was lively and harmonious.

Two hours later, the banquet came to an end.

Que Tianming rose from his seat, and everyone bowed respectfully to see him off. Just as Zhou Xun was about to leave, he saw a guard walking quickly towards him.

"Senior Zhou, the Ancestor invites you."

Zhou Xun was slightly surprised, but he still followed the guards to the rear hall.
After passing through several corridors, he was led into an elegant quiet room. The room was simply furnished with only a tea table and a few cushions.

To his surprise, someone was already waiting in the quiet room. It was a gaunt old man in a gray robe, who was resting with his eyes closed. Sensing someone enter, the old man opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as lightning.

“Fellow Daoist Liu Tian?” Zhou Xun recognized him; he was another fifth-tier array master among the guest elders.

Liu Tian nodded slightly: "Fellow Daoist Zhou has also arrived."

Just then, the door to the quiet room opened again, and Que Tianming slowly walked in.

Unlike his imposing presence in the main hall, he now exuded a restrained aura, appearing more like an ordinary elder.

"Please have a seat, fellow Daoists." Que Tianming sat down at the tea table and personally took out a tea set. The teapot was entirely emerald green with flowing cloud patterns on its surface, clearly not an ordinary item.

"This is 'Cloud Sea Dew,' produced from a fifth-grade superior spiritual tea tree in Zhongzhou, which can only be harvested once every hundred years," Que Tianming introduced while warming the cup. "I specially brought it here today to share with you two."

Zhou Xun noticed that when hot water was poured into the teapot, a strange phenomenon of swirling mist appeared on its surface, along with a faint Taoist aura. The tea soup was amber in color, with a delicate aroma that was refreshing just by smelling it.

"Please." Que Tianming poured a cup for each of them.

Zhou Xun carefully took the tea and sipped it. The moment the tea touched his lips, he seemed to see a sea of ​​clouds churning, and a stream of extremely pure spiritual energy flowed down his throat into his limbs and bones.

"Excellent tea!" Liu Tian couldn't help but exclaim. "This cup is worth more than ten years of arduous training."

Que Tianming smiled slightly: "I'm glad you two like it." He put down his teacup, his expression gradually becoming serious.
"I have invited you two here today because I have important matters to discuss."

Zhou Xun and Liu Tian exchanged a glance, waiting for what was to come.

"Although we have now captured Twin Fish Island, the island's defensive array was severely damaged in the battle," Que Tianming sighed softly.
"Next, we plan to use this island as a bridgehead to continue our military campaign against the Lu family. The most urgent task is to repair the great formation on the island."

Zhou Xun understood. He had witnessed the power of the Five Elements Profound Water Array firsthand, and if it could be repaired, it would indeed be a great help.

"Both of you are fifth-tier array masters. I hope you can join forces to repair this array." Que Tianming's gaze shifted between the two.
"Upon completion, each person will receive 200 contribution points. In addition, you may take any repair materials you require, as long as the great formation can be restored to its original state."

Two hundred contribution points!
Zhou Xun was surprised. It seemed that the Que family was indeed generous. This reward, equivalent to killing four late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, was indeed substantial.

Liu Tian pondered for a moment before speaking, "Ancestor's kindness is appreciated, and I will do my best. However, the Five Elements Profound Water Array is no small matter, and we need to inspect the extent of the damage on-site before we can determine whether it can be repaired."

Que Tianming nodded: "Of course. I have already ordered someone to bring the array diagram of the great formation. You two can study it first."

As he spoke, he took out a jade slip that glowed with blue light from his storage ring.

Upon seeing this, both of them were extremely pleased. If they had the array diagram, the repair work would be much easier.

Zhou Xun took the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense.

Instantly, an extremely complex array diagram unfolded in his mind. Tens of thousands of array patterns intertwined and crisscrossed, and the five core array eyes shone like stars, forming an incomparably profound whole.

"What an exquisite formation!" Zhou Xun couldn't help but exclaim. The complexity of this Five Elements Profound Water Formation far exceeded his expectations, and the water-based laws contained within it were even more profound and unfathomable.

"How is it?" Que Tianming observed the expressions of the two men. "Are you confident?" Zhou Xun closed the jade slip and said cautiously, "Just as Fellow Daoist Liu said, we need to check it out in person before we can be sure."

Que Tianming nodded: "Then I'll leave it to you two. Please feel free to ask if you need anything during this time."

"Rest assured, Ancestor, we will do our utmost," Zhou Xun and Liu Tian replied in unison.

After leaving the council hall, Zhou Xun and Liu Tian walked side by side along the corridor.

A cool night breeze, carrying the scent of the sea, brushed against my cheeks. In the distance, the sound of waves crashing against the shore mingled with the footsteps of the monks patrolling the island.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, what do you think of this matter?" Liu Tian stroked his beard, his brows slightly furrowed.
“That Five Elements Profound Water Grand Array is a fifth-order high-grade, while the two of us are only fifth-order low-grade. It may not be so easy to repair it.”

Zhou Xun gazed at the hazy moonlight in the distance and pondered:
"Fellow Daoist Liu, there is no need to worry too much. This formation only needs to be repaired, not rearranged. Even though we are only at the fifth-order low-grade level, we are not completely clueless. Besides, Senior Que did not say that it needs to be completely repaired. We can just do our best."

Upon hearing this, Liu Tian's expression softened slightly: "Fellow Daoist is absolutely right. In that case, shall we go and check on the great formation first thing tomorrow morning?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Zhou Xun nodded in agreement.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the two arrived at the core of the magic array in the center of the island.

With hands forming hand seals, the battle flags appeared and disappeared, like sleeping soldiers.

"Let's begin the inspection." Liu Tian took out a compass-shaped magical artifact and began to check the status of each array flag.

Zhou Xun then followed another route, carefully examining each array pattern.

A faint spiritual light emanated from his fingertips, and when he touched certain key points, one could clearly feel the stagnation and disorder of spiritual energy within them.

As the sun rose higher, the two finally completed all the examinations.

"Of the 1,600 flags, only one-fifth were damaged." Liu Tian wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's much better than expected."

Zhou Xun nodded, but his gaze lingered on a complex restriction in the core area: "Fellow Daoist Liu, look here."

Liu Tian took a closer look and his expression changed slightly: "This is the restriction that activates the five water dragons, and it's so badly damaged that it needs to be redrawn to repair it!"

"But with our combined mastery of array formations, we'd be doing an extraordinary job just to reactivate a water dragon!"

Zhou Xun took out the array diagram and compared it carefully. Suddenly, he exclaimed softly, "The structure of this restriction is actually somewhat similar to the 'Demon Spirit Transformation' in my array inheritance."

"Really?" Liu Tian asked in surprise.

"If that's the case, then we'll have no choice but to rely on Fellow Daoist Zhou."

“Of course, we’ll work together to repair this formation, so naturally we’ll cooperate fully!” Zhou Xun said with a smile.

"Thank you very much, Brother Zhou!"

The two decided to divide the work, with Liu Tian taking charge of most of the eighty-odd damaged battle flags.
As for Zhou Xun, he was only responsible for a small part.
His main focus was still on the water dragon restriction.

In the days that followed, the two were almost inseparable. They worked diligently within the formation during the day and gathered together at night to study the formation diagrams. Zhou Xun's temporary cave dwelling was often illuminated by spiritual light throughout the night.

“Fellow Daoist Zhou, look at this node.” One late night, Liu Tian pointed to a pattern on the array diagram. “If we channel water-based spiritual energy through this point, we might be able to activate some of its functions.”

Zhou Xun pondered for a moment, then took out a blank jade slip and began to deduce the new array pattern. His fingertips traced patterns on the jade slip, leaving behind glowing trails.

Outside the window, the sea breeze howled, whipping up layers of waves that crashed against the rocks.

Inside the cave, only the voices of the two discussing could be heard.

While Zhou Xun was focused on repairing the formation, the outside world was undergoing dramatic changes.

Inside a completely black palace in the Lu clan's territory, Lu Xinghe and Lu Xinghai sat facing each other. The flickering candlelight cast long shadows of the two men.

"With the fall of Shuangyu Island and the death of Fei Yun, this matter must not be left unresolved!" Lu Xinghe slammed his hand on the table, shattering the teacup in the process.

Lu Xinghai's face was grim: "It was a great regret that we failed to kill Que Tianya last time. And what about that Xuan Tian Jade Liquid?"

“It’s too late to say all this now,” Lu Xinghe said coldly. “The most urgent task is to deal with the Que family’s counterattack. Especially since Que Tianming is personally taking action, we must be prepared.”

"What do you mean, brother?"

"I'll invite a few of my friends who have reached the Void Refinement stage to help us." Lu Xinghe's eyes flashed with a cold light. "Even if it comes at a price, we must take advantage of Que Tianya's serious injuries to deliver a fatal blow to the Que Clan!"

at the same time,

On Twin Fish Island, Zhou Xun clearly sensed a change in the atmosphere.

Within just two days, the island gained seven or eight Nascent Soul cultivators and hundreds more Core Formation cultivators, with a steady stream of rare materials arriving.

They were determined to use Shuangyu Island as a bridgehead for the entire attack on Lu's family.

The air is thick with the scent of war!

However, Zhou Xun and his companion remained engrossed in repairing the magic array.

Half a month later, the two finally completed the repair of the battle flags.

However, the water dragon restriction became a problem, especially for Liu Tian, ​​as the changes involved were too mysterious.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, this part is entrusted to you." Liu Tian shook his head with a wry smile.

"I am truly unable to do so."

Zhou Xun did not refuse and devoted himself wholeheartedly to repairing the restriction. Inspired by the "Demon Spirit Transformation," he gradually figured out some tricks of the trade.

Seven days later, the barrier had been 70% repaired, but the remaining part could not be continued no matter what.

"This is the best we can do," Zhou Xun said helplessly, putting away his tools.

When they reported to Que Tianming, the Void Refinement Ancestor seemed quite satisfied:
"The extent to which it has been repaired has exceeded my expectations. You two have worked very hard."

As Que Tianming personally activated the grand formation, the entire island was enveloped in a layer of light blue light.

Although only three water dragons could be unleashed, their power was still astonishing. The three hundred-zhang-long water dragons coiled in the air, emitting deafening roars.

"very good!"

Que Tianming nodded in satisfaction and then fulfilled his promise, allocating 200 contribution points to each of them.

(End of this chapter)