Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 528 Treasure, Attacked [Please Subscribe]

Zhou Chun was quite interested in the fact that a tattered treasure map he had collected for many years had been completed.

Not only him, but I believe any cultivator would be interested in this kind of thing.

After all, there are just too many legends about various treasures in the cultivation world.

Every cultivator, whether they are a rogue cultivator, a family cultivator, or a sect cultivator, has fantasized about becoming one of the lucky ones in stories and legends.

The key point is that these legends are not all fabrications, but rather there are many factual examples.

Leaving aside distant examples, let's just talk about the two most well-known cases that Zhou Chun knew of and was involved in.

One is the Heavenly Mirror True Man. When he was young, he accidentally obtained the inheritance of the mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator "Mysterious Mirror True Man". He inherited the legacy left by this Nascent Soul True Man and eventually succeeded in transforming his core and forming his Nascent Soul!

Another example is the secret island that Luo Qingni and others discovered based on the treasure map. Zhou Chun was also personally involved in this matter and benefited greatly from it.

With these successful examples before us, how could Zhou Chun not be interested in the treasure recorded on the treasure map now that the Zhou family has completed and found a treasure map of considerable quality!

However, despite his interest, Zhou Chun did not immediately set off to search for the treasure.

After pondering for a moment, he said to Zhou Mingde, "That treasure map is only written on third-tier animal hide. The treasures hidden inside may not be very valuable to us. Why don't we have a few family elders take some people to test it out first? If they succeed, it will be a good opportunity for them!"

It wasn't that Zhou Chun looked down on the treasure on the treasure map when he said this; it was just that he knew in his heart that the family couldn't rely on him and Zhou Mingde, both Golden Core cultivators, to shoulder everything.

Sometimes, we also need to find things for Foundation Establishment cultivators and Purple Mansion cultivators to do.

An exploration like this, where the location of a treasure has already been identified, is undoubtedly a great opportunity.

If the family elders and core members sent can solve the problem and bring back the treasure, that would naturally be a good thing.

If they can't solve the problem, it's not too late to take matters into my own hands.

Zhou Mingde naturally understood the meaning behind Zhou Chun's words. After a moment's thought, he smiled and nodded, replying, "That's a good approach. It's time to find some things for the younger generation to do, lest they develop the bad habit of relying on the family for everything!"

After reaching an agreement, the two discussed it briefly and decided to have Zhou Xinlan and Zhang Liang, both Purple Mansion stage cultivators, lead Zhou Sihan, Zhou Xinyan, and six other Foundation Establishment stage cultivators to search for the treasure.

Just in case, Zhou Chun also gave the Golden Armored Mountain Tortoise Stone to Zhou Xinlan to wear for protection.

After Zhou Xinlan and the others set off, Zhou Chun and Zhou Mingde patiently waited at home for news.

On the other side, after Zhou Xinlan and Zhang Liang led their team away from the family's mountain gate, they headed to the final location of the treasure on the treasure map, led by Zhou Sihan.

After several days of travel, the group soon arrived at the location of the treasure.

"The mountain range ahead is called 'Wutou Ridge' by the local cultivators. A large number of poisonous black lacquer trees grow in the mountains. Once these black lacquer trees are damaged, whether they are burned or cut down, they will release highly poisonous smoke and odors that can kill Qi Refining stage cultivators."

"Moreover, the mountains and forests are also home to many kinds of poisonous monsters, such as the aconite snake, the black crow bird, and the black jade centipede!"

"The treasure trove is located deep within 'Wutou Ridge,' in a mountain peak filled with poisonous miasma, protected by a powerful array. The mountain is also home to a large number of black crows, including five second-tier black crows, and the bird king is a high-grade second-tier demonic bird!"

Just outside a dark forest, Zhou Sihan, who had been here before and was now leading the way, pointed to the vast dark forest ahead and solemnly described the situation inside.

He had come here alone in search of treasure, but he underestimated the poisonous insects and monsters inside and almost suffered a terrible fate.

The flock of black crows completely extinguished his idea of ​​obtaining the treasure using his own strength, and upon returning, he could only obediently hand over the other half of the treasure map he had obtained.

Upon hearing his words, Zhou Xinlan waved her hand dismissively and said, "With my niece Xiaolian here, it's fine if those poisonous insects and demonic beasts don't come; if they dare to come and die, it'll be a good opportunity for her to nourish herself!"

After speaking, he turned his gaze to Zhou Yuanlian, who had been specially recruited into the team.

"I will certainly do my best."

Zhou Yuanlian replied coldly, her words devoid of any emotion.

Zhou Xinlan and the other Zhou family cultivators seemed unfazed by this, and no one assumed that she was dissatisfied with anyone because of her expression and tone.

Anyone who knows Zhou Yuanlian knows that because of her cultivation technique, she treats everyone with the same cold attitude, and it is said that she doesn't change even in front of the clan leader Zhou Zhengchun!

At this moment, led by Zhou Xinlan, the group immediately strode into the forest.

The reason for walking instead of flying is naturally to conserve mana and avoid being exposed.

"Wutou Ridge" is the territory of demonic beasts. Although I have never heard of any third-tier demonic beasts appearing there, there are quite a few second-tier and first-tier demonic beasts.

If you fly directly over it, you'll easily be attacked by the monsters inside.

Especially those black crows, which have a very strong sense of territory in the air, will absolutely not allow the Zhou family to fly freely in the sky.

Moreover, there are often some low- to mid-level cultivators adventuring here all year round. If such a large group of people from the Zhou family were to fly by, it would definitely attract a lot of attention.

If local Foundation Establishment or Purple Mansion stage cultivators are attracted, the location of the treasure will be impossible to keep secret!

Given the strength of the Zhou family's group, the scattered monsters and poisonous insects within "Wutou Ridge" posed no threat to them.

They traveled through the mountains and forests for less than half a day before reaching their destination.

Under the blue sky and white clouds, large swaths of dark blue miasma hung in the air above the mountains and forests, unyielding to the wind and sun.

Deep within this dark blue miasma were several towering mountain peaks, each hundreds of feet high, from which strange, piercing screams could be heard from time to time.

As the group stopped outside the miasma area, they saw Zhou Yuanlian step forward and enter, where she stayed for a while.

He then retreated outside, patted his storage bag at his waist, and took out several talismans made from the shells of unknown insects, handing them to Zhou Xinlan and the others. "Wear these talismans; they should keep the miasma from affecting this place for three hours."

It's called a talisman, but it should really be called a talisman artifact.

The "True Scripture of Ten Thousand Poisons" records many methods for crafting poison-repelling magical artifacts and talismans. Zhou Yuanlian, with his current cultivation level at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, still finds it difficult to craft those powerful poison-repelling magical artifacts.

However, some talismans that do not require very high crafting skills have already been skillfully made.

These talismans are generally made primarily of the shells of poisonous insects, but some also use spirit wood, animal hides, animal bones, and scales. Furthermore, the process requires the magical power cultivated from the "Ten Thousand Poisons True Scripture" as a guide.

This can be considered Zhou Yuanlian's unique skill.

At this moment, following Zhou Yuanlian's instructions, everyone hung the poison-repelling talismans around their necks and stepped into the miasma.

Instantly, an invisible force pushed the miasma around everyone several feet away, preventing it from touching them.

With the protection of the poison-repelling talisman, the group no longer needed to expend their magic power to resist the miasma, saving them a lot of their magic power.

But as they ventured deeper into this miasma-ridden region, they soon attracted the attention of the area's inhabitants, who attacked them.

A series of muffled flapping sounds came from the depths of the miasma, and soon, jet-black arrows pierced through the miasma and shot towards the group.

However, Zhou Xinlan and Zhang Liang, both cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage, had given a warning in advance. In the end, these dark black arrows were either dodged by the crowd or blocked by them with spells and magical artifacts.

Then the figures of the enemies who attacked them appeared in the air.

What they saw were plump, black birds. They looked somewhat like crows, but their bodies were as fat as balls, and their eyes were a deep, almost purple black.

This is the Black Crow Bird, a kind of monstrous bird whose blood is even highly poisonous!

At this time, there were about fifty black crows attacking the Zhou family cultivators' group, led by a second-tier low-grade black crow.

Ordinary Tier 1 Black Crows can basically only spit venomous arrows, while some Tier 1 High-Quality Black Crows can use the "Poison Rain Technique".

In a one-on-one fight, they would be no match for cultivators of the same level.

Unfortunately, these demonic birds are rarely alone; they always emerge in groups.

Dozens of first-tier black crows simultaneously spewed venomous arrows at the enemy, forcing even early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators to avoid their attacks to prevent being contaminated by their deadly poison.

Previously, when Zhou Sihan came alone, he was chased all the way by three second-tier black crows and hundreds of first-tier black crows. In the end, he only managed to escape with his life by sacrificing a third-tier low-grade magic talisman!

But this time, those black birds really messed up.

When they appeared, Zhou Xinyan, Zhou Sihan, and the other six Foundation Establishment cultivators immediately took action. Various magical artifacts and spells shone and competed in the sky, and in the blink of an eye, they wiped out most of the flock of birds.

Even the second-tier low-grade black crow didn't have time to escape before Zhou Xinyan, who was already at the late Foundation Establishment stage, unleashed a "Jiamu Xuanguang Sword" and slashed it down from the sky.

"My nineteenth brother's 'Jia Wood Profound Light' divine ability is indeed extraordinary; it truly lives up to its reputation as a top-tier cultivation technique with an accompanying divine ability!"

Seeing that the others had dealt with the enemy without her having to lift a finger, Zhou Xinlan praised Zhou Xinyan and the others without reservation.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Xinyan calmly shook his head after hearing this and said, "No matter how extraordinary it is, it's still just a Foundation Establishment technique. If a cultivator like you, Fourth Brother, were to make a move, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to withstand even a single strike!"

These words left Zhou Xinlan speechless.

He knew in his heart that Zhou Xinyan, as the first cultivator with superior spiritual root aptitude born after the Zhou family settled in Jiufeng Ridge, and being of the same generation as him, had always been quite proud.

As a result, after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, because he lacked the support and assistance of his direct elders, and because he had chosen the difficult and top-level cultivation technique "Jia Mu Xuan Gong" out of his arrogance, his cultivation speed was actually surpassed by his cousins, including Zhou Xinlan.

Finally, with the help of her father Zhou Zhengyong, Zhou Xinlan obtained a spiritual object that aided in opening her Purple Mansion, successfully opening her Purple Mansion ahead of all her peers and leaving them a whole realm behind.

How could Zhou Xinyan, who was always proud, possibly accept this!

Therefore, in recent years, anyone familiar with Zhou Xinyan has noticed that he has gone out on adventures more often than before, but he has been communicating less with fellow cultivators, as if he is holding his breath.

This time, Zhou Chun arranged for Zhou Xinlan to lead the team to collect the treasure, and also included Zhou Xinyan in the team. This will definitely be another big or small stimulus for Zhou Xinyan.

Under such stimulation, Zhou Xinlan's praise might sound harsh to him.

Upon realizing this, Zhou Xinlan could only shake her head helplessly and didn't respond to Zhou Xinyan's words. She simply instructed everyone to tidy up the fallen black bird corpses on the ground and continue heading towards the mountain where the treasure was located.

But perhaps because the black crows that had just escaped went back to report, Zhou Xinlan and Zhang Liang's divine senses detected a large number of black crows flying towards them as soon as they finished cleaning up the battlefield.

"Quickly, everyone get ready! Those black crows have swarmed out!"

Zhou Xinlan shouted a warning while preparing to use her magical artifact.

Not long after the words were spoken, hundreds of black crows appeared in everyone's sight.

The enormous figure of the second-tier superior black crow was particularly eye-catching.

"I'll handle the Bird King; the rest of the Black Crows are yours. Brother Zhang, you'll cover for us!"

Zhou Xinlan gave a deep command, directing everyone to fight the enemy. With a surge of her divine sense, a long sword magic weapon transformed into a streak of fire and slashed towards the second-tier high-grade black crow.

With his cultivation at the Purple Mansion stage, dealing with a second-tier high-grade demon beast was naturally a piece of cake.

However, it is worth mentioning that this black crow is indeed worthy of being the king of the flock. Even though it only has the cultivation of a second-tier high-grade cultivator, it dared to take the initiative to attack Zhou Xinlan, a cultivator in the Purple Mansion stage.

It seemed to be able to subtly manipulate the poisonous miasma; with a flap of its wings, it could condense and compress the miasma into a sky full of poisonous arrows that shot towards Zhou Xinlan.

Unfortunately, this attack, which was extremely threatening to Foundation Establishment cultivators, did not cause the slightest ripple when it landed on the protective shield of the [Mysterious Gang Pearl] activated by Zhou Xinlan.

However, Zhou Xinlan's long sword magic weapon severed a wing with the first strike and cut off its head with the second!

After killing the Black Crow King with two strikes, Zhou Xinlan did not interfere in the battles of others, but was prepared to intervene and save people at any time.

But he was actually overthinking it. Apart from Zhou Yuanlian, the Foundation Establishment cultivators who came with him this time were all veteran Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been in the Foundation Establishment stage for many years. Each of them had several second-tier magic artifacts in hand, so there was no way they could possibly fail in dealing with the remaining three second-tier black crows and the other first-tier black crows.

In less than a quarter of an hour, most of the hundreds of black crows that attacked were killed, with only a few dozen scattering and escaping with their lives.

No one cared about the escaped black crows; the group, having reaped a considerable harvest, were busy collecting the corpses of the demonic birds on the ground.

The feathers and venom sacs inside the Black Crow are both materials for refining weapons, and even better materials for Zhou Yuanlian to cultivate poison skills.

Zhou Xinlan took the initiative on the spot and handed over all the corpses of the second-tier black crows, except for the feathers, to Zhou Yuanlian for disposal.

No one objected to this.

Putting aside the ambiguous relationship between Zhou Yuanlian and the clan leader Zhou Zhengchun, Zhou Yuanlian's contributions in providing detoxification and antidote items for everyone along the way are enough to qualify her for these things.

Besides, they also wanted to take this opportunity to befriend this clansman, so that it would be easier to ask him for help in detoxification or to purchase poisons and talismans in the future.

The battle was resolved in less than 15 minutes, but cleaning up the battlefield took nearly 45 minutes.

After the battlefield was cleaned up, the group set off again.

Now that the black crow flock had been dealt with, the group encountered no further resistance on their journey and soon arrived at the mountain where the treasure was located, which was also the black crow flock's nest.

At this time, apart from some fledgling black crows that could not yet fly, there were no other demonic beasts on the mountain peak.

"It's a pity that for the Black Crow, this kind of demonic bird, to advance to the second tier, it needs to form a large flock. Otherwise, we could take some eggs and chicks back to our family to raise!"

Another female cultivator in the group, Zhou Siyu, looked at the chicks and eggs in the nests and couldn't help but sigh with regret.

The second-tier Black Crow is quite powerful, and its poison-attribute spells are unpredictable and difficult to defend against, making it a decent spirit pet.

But as Zhou Siyu said, for a gregarious monster like the Black Crow Bird to produce a second-tier monster, it needs to form a flock of birds.

The Zhou family couldn't possibly raise one or two hundred black crows to cultivate second-tier black crows; the cost would be too high, simply not worthwhile.

Just then, Zhou Yuanlian suddenly said, "Many of the poisonous herbs on this mountain are beneficial to my cultivation. I'll go and pick them first. Just call me when you find the treasure."

"Since this concerns your cultivation, my niece Xiaolian, you may go."

Zhou Xinlan nodded slightly and readily agreed.

He then took out the rubbings of the map with Zhou Sihan and others and began to search for the specific location of the treasure.

Following the map, after searching separately on the mountain for about half an hour, the group found the location of the treasure as recorded on the map.

"This is it! The treasure is inside this stone wall!"

Below a cliff face, Zhou Xinlan and the others held the treasure map and compared it repeatedly. They finally agreed that the location marked on it was the cliff face in front of them.

Then, after a moment's thought, Zhou Xinlan directly summoned the long sword magic weapon and slashed at the stone wall.

However, the long sword magic weapon broke through the stone wall to a depth of about ten feet before being blocked, unable to advance even an inch further.

"There's definitely more to it than meets the eye!"

A flash of joy appeared in Zhou Xinlan's eyes, and she immediately sheathed her long sword and turned her gaze to Zhang Liang.

Zhou Chun sent Zhang Liang to be his partner because he knew that the treasure trove must be protected by an array, and Zhang Liang's current array skills were not much worse than some array masters.

"Zhang should give it a try first."

Zhang Liang nodded slightly and immediately stepped forward to test the formation inside using the methods of a formation master.

After working for about half an hour, he shook his head slightly at Zhou Xinlan and said, "I can't discern the exact origin of this formation, but its arrangement is quite ingenious. It's already connected to the spiritual veins of this place and also serves to conceal our presence. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to break this formation by force!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xinlan couldn't help but sigh softly, then nodded and said, "Then let's try attacking first. If it really doesn't work, we'll go back to the family and report to the clan leader."

After saying that, he called on everyone to attack the mountain wall in front of them.

Under their combined attack, the outer layer of the mountain wall was quickly shattered and fell away, revealing a dark brown array shield inside.

This array's protective shield is extremely powerful. Even with Zhou Xinlan's full-force attack, it could only cause it to shimmer and flicker slightly.

After trying to attack for half an hour without any success, Zhou Xinlan gave up completely.

He immediately ordered everyone to stop their attack, then looked at Zhang Liang and said, "Brother Zhang, you set up a formation to cover this place first. I'll have my nineteenth brother go back to the clan to report the situation to the clan leader."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Zhou Xinyan and said, "Nineteenth Brother, you have two second-tier spirit pets, and your speed is no worse than mine. I'll trouble you to go back to the clan and report the situation here!"

"I understand. Then, Fourth Brother, please take good care of yourselves."

Zhou Xinyan nodded, showing no temper when it came to such important matters, and quickly bid farewell to everyone and returned to Jingguo.

With the help of his two second-tier spirit pets, Blue Feather Fire Kite and Blazing Flame Dragon Python, Zhou Xinyan returned to the Tu Yunling Mountain Gate in just two days.

After learning about the location of the treasure from Zhou Xinyan, Zhou Chun and Zhou Mingde discussed it and decided to go to Cheng Kingdom to retrieve the treasure themselves.

He didn't let Zhou Xinyan lead the way, but told her to rest first, and then he took the original treasure map and went to Cheng Kingdom alone.

Fearing complications, Zhou Chun didn't use the Golden-Winged Tiger or Thunder Dragon for transportation, but instead used the [Taibai Dragon-Slaying Sword], a magical artifact, to travel.

Only a few hours later, they had already appeared on the border between Jing and Cheng.

But at that moment, the Moon Toad Pearl within Zhou Chun's body suddenly issued a frantic warning, conveying a horrifying message to him.

This was the first time Zhou Chun had encountered such a situation since he began refining this treasure.

After a slight pause, he hurriedly activated the treasure to unleash the "Taiyin Protective Immortal Robe" divine power, protecting himself.

The instant the silver-white fairy robe appeared, a cold snort suddenly rang in Zhou Chun's mind, indicating that he had been attacked by divine sense.

The person who made the move clearly did not expect that Zhou Chun's spiritual sense was not only stronger than that of an ordinary mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, but also protected by the third layer of the "Heart Lotus Orthodox Method". This time, the spiritual attack only made him lose his focus for a moment before he quickly recovered.

At this moment, Zhou Chun's silver-white fairy robes were also shaking violently, and a white transparent longsword suddenly appeared in front of his chest.

The power emanating from this sword far surpasses that of the [Taibai Dragon-Slaying Sword], so even if it's not a top-grade magic weapon, it's probably not far off.

As the magical artifact materialized, Zhou Chun's wildly expanding divine sense also located the attacker's position.

In his divine sense, a blurry figure was vaguely hidden in a cloud formation a dozen miles away!

(End of this chapter)