Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 261 Zhou Chongshan Passes Away in Meditation, Obtains Another Foundation Establishment Pill [Please Subscribe]

Just as Zhou Mingde said, the Li family, specializing in elixirs, and the You family, specializing in formations, were very interested in cooperating with the Zhou family to establish a pioneering base.

Through this war against the Hualong Sect, after making considerable sacrifices, the two families finally gained the Qinglian Temple's approval and stopped restricting them in various ways.

However, a single pioneering outpost can only influence a range of two or three hundred miles. This might be enough for a large immortal cultivation clan, but it is simply not enough for a Golden Core family like theirs.

If they could take advantage of the opportunity to cooperate with the Zhou family and obtain the right to establish another settlement, it would undoubtedly be a great benefit to them.

But both families wanted too much!

According to them, they could handle all the manpower and formations needed to establish the settlement, but they would each take a 40% share of the settlement.

How could Zhou Chun possibly agree to such harsh conditions?

Even if the Zhou family is not short of money now, he cannot agree to this kind of profit sharing.

His bottom line was that the Zhou family should own 40%, and the two major families should each own 30%.

But how could the two major families, each possessing a Golden Core cultivator, easily agree to such conditions?

So the negotiations were at a standstill for a while, with none of the three parties willing to easily concede their interests.

In order to force the Li and You families to make concessions, or rather, to prepare a contingency plan, Zhou Chun also took the opportunity to spread the news that he was looking for partners to establish a pioneering base, inviting interested families to come to the Zhou family to discuss the details with him.

At the same time, Zhou Chun also sent Lin Wan'er to the wilderness to explore suitable places to establish a pioneering base, and had the intelligence network under her charge start collecting information on various independent cultivators.

Busy with various things, half a year passed quickly.

On this day, Zhou Chun, who was working in the Zhongping Hall, suddenly heard the sound of fireworks exploding from inside the mountain gate.

He hurriedly went outside to look, only to see that the fireworks were coming from above Zhenxuan Peak.

This made him realize something immediately. After a slight change in expression, he hurriedly gave a few instructions to the secretary in the hall and then rushed towards Zhenxuan Peak.

At the same time, all the Zhou family elders who saw the firework rushed to Zhenxuan Peak just like Zhou Chun.

When Zhou Chun arrived at Zhenxuan Peak, he saw that the gate of Zhou Chongshan's usual residence was already open, and two Zhou family cultivators who followed him to learn array formations were waiting anxiously outside.

Upon seeing him and several elders approaching, the two hurriedly stepped forward to bow and explain, "Greetings, Clan Chief. Just now, our master suddenly sensed that his time was coming to an end, so he instructed us to release communication fireworks to inform you and the elders."

"Understood. You all wait outside. We'll go see the Second Elder right away."

Zhou Chun nodded and immediately entered the courtyard with the other elders.

As they walked to Zhou Chongshan's bedroom, Zhou Chun paused slightly before pushing the door open and going inside.

He went into the inner room and saw Zhou Chongshan lying on the bed, barely breathing.

Moreover, he then realized that Zhou Chongshan's late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation was visibly and rapidly diminishing.

"Cultivators who pass away naturally due to the exhaustion of their lifespan will naturally begin to dissipate their cultivation before death. When all their magical power is dissipated, that is when they breathe their last!"

Beside Zhou Chun, the Third Elder Zhou Daoquan muttered to himself, whether explaining the current situation of the Second Elder Zhou Chongshan or being reminded of his own past by the scene.

"Second Elder, is there anything else you want to say? Is there any wish you want to express?"

Zhou Chun looked at Zhou Chongshan, whose eyes were slightly closed on the bed, and asked in a low voice.

Upon hearing his question, Zhou Chongshan's wrinkled face twitched slightly. He forced his eyes open halfway and looked at him with cloudy eyes, saying in a low voice, "I've already told you what I needed to say a while ago."

"As for my wish, I only wish that in the future our family will produce a member with outstanding talent in formations, so that he can inherit my life's understanding and insights into formations, and allow my efforts to be passed down!"

He never married and had no children. He devoted his entire life to the art of array formations, which was the thing he cared about most.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun nodded emphatically and said, "I understand. Rest assured, every cultivator in the Zhou family will have the opportunity to learn about formations from now on. If a promising talent is discovered, the family will fully support him and ensure that your masterpiece is passed down!"

"Then I'm relieved. The Zhou family's future is in your hands."

A peaceful smile appeared on Zhou Chongshan's face, and he closed his eyes slightly.

He was still waiting, waiting for everyone else to arrive.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the other elders who were still cultivating and the two supreme elders also finished their cultivation and rushed over.

When Zhou Mingde saw Zhou Chongshan lying on the bed, barely alive, his eyes stung with tears. He wiped his eyes, then stepped forward, took Zhou Chongshan's wrist, and whispered, "Chongshan, go in peace. With me and Daoyi in charge, and Zhengchun and the others managing things, the family will definitely get better and better!"

"I believe it, I believe that day will come!"

Zhou Chongshan reached out and grasped Zhou Mingde's hand, muttering to himself in a low voice.

Then he forced his eyes open, his gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone in the room, before finally whispering, "Everyone, please leave. Let me quietly pass away in my last moments."

"Let's listen to Chongshan, let him leave peacefully on his own!"

As Zhou Mingde spoke, he led the way out of the room.

After waiting outside for about 15 minutes, the aura inside the room finally dissipated completely.

When everyone entered the room again, they found that Zhou Chongshan had passed away peacefully with his eyes and mouth closed.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun took the opportunity to ask Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi, "In your opinion, Elders, what kind of funeral rites should be followed for the passing of the two elders?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingde and the other man exchanged a glance and communicated telepathically. Zhou Mingde then said in a deep voice, "Recently, many people from various families have passed away. With the Second Elder's passing, there's no need to disturb others. Seven days of mourning within the family is sufficient!"

"I understand. Then I will announce it to the entire clan."

Zhou Chun nodded and immediately left Zhenxuan Peak to ring the death knell.

Boom boom boom!

Seven heavy chimes rang out from the summit of Pagoda Peak, quickly spreading throughout the entire Zhou Family Mountain Gate.

According to the Zhou family's rules, the bell tolls seven times, signifying the passing of an important member of the clan, at the level of an elder.

Therefore, upon hearing this bell, any Zhou family cultivator who is not on a mission will immediately go to the ancestral hall to visit and bid farewell to the deceased clansmen.

Not long after, dozens of Zhou family members gathered in front of the Zhou family ancestral hall, and the body of the second elder, Zhou Chongshan, had been transferred there.

Just like when Zhou Mingshan, the eldest elder of the Zhou family, passed away, dozens of Zhou family members wrapped themselves in white cloth and chanted sutras and incantations around his body for seven days.

Seven days later, Zhou Chongshan's body was buried in the clan cemetery behind Baota Peak, making him the second Zhou family elder to be buried in this cemetery.

Less than two months after Zhou Chongshan's funeral, Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi left the Zhou family with Zhou Daoquan.

Their trip was to fulfill their promise to Zhou Daoquan and help him take revenge in the Kingdom of Le, northeast of Cheng Kingdom. They also wanted to see if they could dispose of some of the magical artifacts they had acquired in the Kingdom of Le and buy some useful items.

At this time, the Zhou family was already well-known, and the cultivation world of Jingguo had just suffered heavy losses in the previous battle. All forces were busy licking their wounds, so even if the two Purple Mansion stage cultivators of the Zhou family were not in the family, there was nothing to worry about.

At this time, Zhou Chun also began to put into practice what he had said at the family meeting. He hired some of the independent cultivators who had passed the investigation and assessment to do more work for the Zhou family.

The cultivators were naturally overjoyed that the Zhou family was willing to hire independent cultivators to raise beasts and grow herbs within the family.

In Zhou Chun's eyes, these tasks were both tiring and a waste of time.

But in the eyes of independent cultivators, it is an opportunity to change their own and their descendants' fate.

It's really tough being a lone cultivator!

Many independent cultivators, apart from a cultivation manual and a few spells, have no other life skills.

This situation will not change much even when their cultivation reaches the late stage of Qi Refining.

However, every independent cultivator knows the importance of life skills.

Even just knowing the skills of raising animals and cultivating herbs could change the way they make money, transforming them from ordinary hunters who could only rely on finding spiritual herbs and hunting monsters into artisans who could earn money through their skills.

Therefore, even without the Zhou family offering spirit coins as payment, many independent cultivators would still be willing to do this job.

Of course, the Zhou family wouldn't let anyone learn the skills for nothing, only for them to learn them and then run away.

All independent cultivators who come to learn these skills must not only be screened in terms of their background, but also sign a service contract stipulating that they must serve for at least a certain number of years before they can leave the Zhou family and stop doing this job.

The service period for such service contracts is at least ten years.

With the help of these independent cultivators, many of the Zhou family's cultivators were freed and had more time to leave the family to travel the cultivation world and try to learn other cultivation techniques.

Especially for the younger generation with the character "Xin" in their names, if they have no interest in learning in the Beast Garden, this is a good opportunity for them to learn skills such as alchemy, weapon crafting, and talisman arrays.

Because of the abundance of alchemy, weapon crafting, and talisman-making materials obtained during the previous war, Zhou Chun generously allowed each Zhou family cultivator to use twenty sets of materials free of charge for practice, after careful preparation.

If they can demonstrate some talent during this practice process, they will be able to obtain more materials for further study.

Such a good thing can only happen within a family; even the three major sects wouldn't have such a thing.

Time passed slowly, and soon three months had gone by.

One morning three months later, Zhou Mingde and his two companions, who had been away from home for over a hundred days, finally returned.

"Elders, you're finally back! Why did it take you so long this time?"

On Pagoda Peak, Zhou Chun looked at the three elders who had returned and asked them the reason with a face full of questions.

The Kingdom of Le is far from the Kingdom of Jing, but at the speed of the three of them, it would take at most ten days to arrive. A journey of over a hundred days is indeed too long.

"The timing of my departure was just right. I attended an underground auction in a market town in the Kingdom of Le, which took up almost half a month. It also took some effort to wipe out those high-ranking members of the Tang family, so my return time was much later than expected."

Zhou Mingde answered Zhou Chun's question softly, then chuckled and said, "But it was all worth it. Zheng Chun, guess what we gained from this trip to the Kingdom of Le?"

"Judging from your appearance, Elder, could it be that you obtained the Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Zhou Chun's eyes flickered slightly as he tentatively guessed.

Hearing this, Zhou Mingde couldn't help but laugh at Zhou Daoyi and said, "See? I told you this kid could guess right!"

Then he smiled and nodded in agreement: "That's right. At the underground auction in Le Kingdom, we only spent 18,000 spirit coins to bid for two Foundation Establishment Pills and also bought three bottles of spirit pills suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators."

"Furthermore, when we wiped out those high-ranking members of the Tang family, we also obtained quite a few good things from them, including two high-grade third-tier magic artifacts!"

Zhou Chun was also taken aback upon hearing this.

"What?! There are actually two Foundation Establishment Pills!"

He looked at Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi with a face full of surprise, feeling both astonished and delighted.

Foundation Establishment Pills are a treasure that cultivation families can never have too many of; they are always one of the most useful treasures.

Especially in the current Jing Kingdom, due to the loss of too many Foundation Establishment cultivators in the previous war, such treasures are now completely priceless and unavailable for purchase.

Currently, all the cultivation families are waiting for the three major sects to refine the Foundation Establishment Pills. They plan to use their battle merits to exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills from the three major sects to help their clan members establish their foundations and cultivate new Foundation Establishment stage cultivators for their families.

Even if the three major sects obtain a lot of materials for refining Foundation Establishment Pills this time, and are able to refine a lot of Foundation Establishment Pills, it will probably not be enough to go around.

For at least the next two or three decades, the price of Foundation Building Pills in Jingguo will remain high, making it difficult to buy them at the previous prices.

Under these circumstances, the Zhou family has now obtained two Foundation Establishment Pills, which makes Zhou Chun overjoyed.

But then he seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, I remember the Third Elder said there was also a thousand-year-old Yin Spirit Mushroom? Didn't the Supreme Elders obtain it?"

"No, the thousand-year-old Yin Lingzhi and other valuable items in the tomb were sold by the Tang family and exchanged for talismanic treasures. It took a lot of effort from me and Dao Yi to finally kill that old man Tang!"

Zhou Mingde shook his head and explained the reason in a rather frustrated tone.

"That's such a pity!"

Zhou Chun sighed softly, also feeling quite sorry.

At this moment, Zhou Daoyi interjected, "Although it's a bit of a pity, it's good that we were able to vent Daoquan's anger. Now we just have to wait for news from the three major sects. Hopefully, they can release some spiritual objects to assist in opening the Purple Mansion this time, then there will be hope for Daoquan to open the Purple Mansion!"

"Dao Yi is right. As long as Dao Quan gets his revenge and resolves his inner conflict, everything else is secondary."

Zhou Mingde nodded repeatedly, no longer feeling depressed.

Second update today!

(End of this chapter)