Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 538 Exchanging Demon Cores, an Advancement Opportunity [Please Subscribe]

It was actually a fourth-tier demon core!

At the exchange meeting, Zhou Chun looked at the fiery red demon core inside the jade box, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

Fourth-tier demon cores are treasures, and extremely difficult to obtain.

Even if a fourth-tier demon beast is no match for a cultivator, it will usually know to run away.

Even if they can't escape, they usually choose to self-destruct their demon cores, preventing human cultivators from obtaining their most precious possessions.

Therefore, while third-tier demon cores can still be seen occasionally in the cultivation world, fourth-tier demon cores are extremely rare.

Furthermore, fourth-order demon cores have a much wider range of applications than third-order demon cores. Whether used as the main material for refining rare spiritual pills, for crafting magic weapons, or for raising fourth-order demon beasts, they are all very useful.

Even Nascent Soul stage cultivators wouldn't mind exchanging such treasures.

The fact that Xu Bin was able to produce a fourth-tier demon core basically proves that his words were true; he was indeed extremely lucky to have encountered a fourth-tier demon beast that had just broken through and was in a weak and severely injured state.

As mentioned earlier, for a demon beast whose bloodline is insufficient to directly advance to the fourth rank, it needs some kind of heaven-defying opportunity to break through the bloodline shackles and advance to the fourth rank.

In many cases, even if a monster manages to break through to the fourth rank by consuming certain rare and precious herbs, it will still be in a weakened and severely injured state.

At this point, they will be extremely weak and unable to control the surge of power from the demon core within their bodies.

With Xu Bin's cultivation level approaching the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, killing a fourth-tier demon beast like this would naturally be very easy, and he would be able to leave behind its demon core.

To be honest, if this weren't a fire-attribute demon core, but a metal-attribute, earth-attribute, or even a wood-attribute or wind-attribute demon core, Zhou Chun would probably have switched it immediately.

Because of the existence of such a fourth-order demon core, any one of his three spirit pets could break through to the fourth order after refining the demon core, or at the very least, it could be given to Zhou Daoyi's Azure Dragon.

But it just so happens to be a fire-attribute demon core!

None of his spirit pets were compatible with this demon core; if he forcibly swallowed it, at least 60% of its power would be wasted.

This put Zhou Chun in a dilemma.

The opportunity to encounter a fourth-tier demon core is rare, and it would be a pity to miss it.

However, once he obtained the demon core, he couldn't immediately convert it into cash.

It's not right to replace it, but it's not right not to replace it either.

While struggling with his dilemma, Zhou Chun looked at the other cultivators and found that although they also coveted the demon core, none of them seemed to be interested in exchanging it.

Only Zhang Shiyao from the Chen Kingdom Fire Spirit Sect spoke up, expressing his willingness to exchange his earth-attribute staff magic weapon, but Xu Bin refused.

He only wanted to exchange for a defensive magic item; he didn't lack offensive magic items.

The matter naturally came to nothing, and Xu Bin's exchange ultimately failed.

When it was Zhou Chun's turn, he displayed some magical treasures, spiritual materials, and rare spiritual herbs, in exchange for the spiritual herbs that could be used to refine two kinds of spiritual pills: the Ancient Dust Pill and the Jade Dew Golden Glow Pill.

Just as he wasn't interested in the things his acquaintances brought out, his acquaintances simply looked at the things he showed them.

If those people really had what he needed, they would have traded with him long ago!

However, Wang Jun and Zhang Shiyao both contributed one or two spiritual herbs to Zhou Chun this time, one of which was an auxiliary ingredient for refining the [Jade Dew Golden Glow Pill], so his trip was not in vain.

After the exchange meeting, as is customary, everyone began to share their experiences and insights on cultivation.

Zhou Chun quite liked these exchange meetings, because many cultivators would share the difficulties they encountered in cultivating certain supernatural abilities and seek answers.

Such answers are not free. If the other party answers your questions, you must also express your gratitude, either by giving them elixirs and spirit coins, or by sharing some of your own insights with them.

Zhou Chun had previously sought advice from others regarding the difficulties in cultivating the "Golden Escape Technique" and the "Geng Metal Rending Thunder," thus resolving some of his doubts.

This is when you see the importance of the teacher/commander.

If Zhou Chun had an elder who cultivated the same supernatural power as him, and that elder was far more advanced in cultivating that power, then Zhou Chun would be able to avoid many detours in his cultivation and progress much faster.

If a Nascent Soul stage cultivator who is proficient in the "Golden Escape Technique" were willing to wholeheartedly guide him in cultivating this divine ability, his progress in cultivating this divine ability would definitely be several times or even ten times faster than his current haphazard attempts!

Therefore, those Golden Core stage cultivators from those long-established sects have a significant advantage in cultivating supernatural abilities.

As long as they cultivate the supernatural powers that their predecessors have cultivated, and use the insights and experiences left behind by their predecessors as a reference for their practice, their progress in the early stages will be very obvious.

This is something that truly requires predecessors to pave the way for successors!

After the exchange meeting ended, all the Golden Core cultivators took their leave.

At this moment, Zhou Chun finally made up his mind and secretly sent a telepathic message to invite Xu Bin to his cave for a talk.

Not long after, Xu Bin arrived at Zhou Chun's cave as promised to visit.

Since the two weren't old acquaintances, after the initial pleasantries, Xu Bin directly looked at Zhou Chun and asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, was what you said earlier true? Do you really have a defensive magic weapon you'd like to exchange with me?"

"Of course, it's not just a defensive magic item, it's a mid-grade defensive magic item!"

As Zhou Chun spoke, he raised his hand and patted his storage bag, taking out the white shield magic weapon he had obtained from the assassin of the Ice Prison Gate.

This magical artifact was stolen property; he himself would never dare to refine or use it, nor would he dare to give it to any Zhou family cultivators.

However, exchanging them with a Golden Core cultivator like Xu Bin would be fine.

"This magical artifact..."

Xu Bin looked at the magic weapon in Zhou Chun's hand with a look of surprise and suspicion. Instead of joy, his eyes revealed a hint of vigilance.

He looked at Zhou Chun cautiously and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, I'm afraid there's something wrong with the origin of this magic weapon."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun couldn't help but smile faintly and said, "Fellow Daoist Xu is joking. Among us Golden Core cultivators exchanging magical treasures, how many of them are truly crafted by ourselves or inherited from our predecessors?"

"What I, Zhang, can assure Fellow Daoist Xu is that the original owner of this item was neither a cultivator from the Great Zhou Kingdom nor the Rong Kingdom!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Bin's expression immediately relaxed considerably.

As long as it doesn't belong to a Golden Core cultivator from a sect or family within the Great Zhou Kingdom, the risk of this treasure being contaminated is much lower.

But even though that's the case, he couldn't possibly let go of the opportunity to haggle.

He immediately said, "Even so, holding such an item of unknown origin would pose a considerable risk to me, and this ice-attribute magic weapon is incompatible with my own attributes..."

Zhou Chun knew perfectly well what he meant, and immediately rolled his eyes, saying, "Fellow Daoist Xu simply wants me to lower the price. That's easy to discuss. I'll offer you 70% of the normal value of a mid-grade magic weapon, that should be acceptable, right?"

Unexpectedly, Xu Bin was even more greedy than he had imagined, and he immediately shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Seventy percent is too high. I can only accept this item at the value of a normal low-grade defensive magic treasure."

These words immediately made Zhou Chun laugh in anger. He picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and said in a cold tone, "If that's how Fellow Daoist Xu puts it, then please forgive me for not seeing you off!"

But Xu Bin's original intention was just to bargain, so he wasn't going to leave.

Seeing his reaction, the man gritted his teeth and said again, "Fifty percent! If Fellow Daoist Zhang offers a 50% discount, I, Xu, will switch!"

"I'll say it's 70% true. If Fellow Daoist Xu doesn't want it, I'll simply send it to an auction; they don't care about the item's origin!"

Zhou Chun glanced at him and gave him a firm ultimatum.

In the end, the Ice Prison Sect was just a large sect with a Nascent Soul stage cultivator in charge. Even if they knew that this magic treasure was being auctioned in the Great Zhou Kingdom, they would not come to target the auction house or the cultivator from the large sect who won the auction.

Therefore, Zhou Chun is not afraid of having nowhere to sell the stolen goods.

He simply didn't want the Ice Prison Sect to learn through this magical artifact that Zhang Liang and Zhou Zhengchun were the same person, and he didn't want to waste Zhang Liang's identity.

At this moment, Xu Bin seemed to see Zhou Chun's determination, and his expression immediately became hesitant.

He actually made a considerable profit by exchanging it for 70% of the original price.

As for the incompatibility of attributes, he could simply exchange it with other cultivators who practiced ice-based techniques for magic weapons that matched his own attributes.

Putting aside everything else, the Snow Soul Palace in the neighboring Yang Kingdom is a major sect that cultivates ice-based techniques, and they would definitely be willing to pay a high price to exchange this magic treasure with them.

Thinking of the Snow Soul Palace of Yang Kingdom, Xu Bin's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at Zhou Chun with a wary expression, asking, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, this item has nothing to do with the cultivators of the Snow Soul Palace of Yang Kingdom, does it?"

"It's irrelevant. The original owner of this item was a cultivator from a remote country. As long as you, Fellow Daoist Xu, don't go around bragging about having this treasure, you'll be fine!"

As Zhou Chun spoke, he waved his hand and said, "Alright, Fellow Daoist Xu, you can change if you want, or leave if you don't!"

Seeing that he was being asked to leave again, Xu Bin knew there was no room for negotiation, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Then let's change it. How does Fellow Daoist Zhang want to change it?"

Previously, all he had asked for was a low-grade defensive magic weapon, but his demon core and the corpse of the demon beast were enough to qualify.

But now, even if he were greedy, he knew that relying solely on demon cores and demon beast corpses wouldn't be enough for a mid-grade defensive magic weapon.

After all, although his monster corpse was said to be a fourth-tier monster, it was still quite inferior to a monster that had truly stabilized its fourth-tier realm.

Fortunately, Zhou Chun's next words surprised him.

Zhou Chun didn't need him to give up any thousand-year-old precious medicine; he only needed to use other thousand-year-old spiritual medicines, magic treasures, spiritual materials, or even spiritual coins to make up the price difference.

After this round of negotiation, both of them were satisfied with the exchange.

"So it was just a Fire-Scaled Lion demon core that managed to break through to the fourth rank by sheer luck. This is perfect for the Fire God Jackal to take a gamble!"

Inside the cave, Zhou Chun looked at the fiery red demon core in the jade box in front of him, a knowing look flashing in his eyes.

The Fire-Scaled Lion and the Fire God Jackal are both high-level demonic beasts, and the difficulty for them to break through to the fourth rank should actually be about the same.

This Fire-Scaled Lion was able to break through to the fourth rank by chance, which must have been because it had consumed some rare and precious natural treasures that suited it.

Given that he was killed shortly after breaking through to the fourth rank, there might still be some of the power of those rare and precious materials remaining in his demon core.

Even without any residue, compared to other fourth-tier demon beast cores of noble bloodlines, this fourth-tier Fire Scale Lion's demon core is actually more suitable for a third-tier high-grade demon beast to use in its attempt to break through to the fourth tier.

That's right, Zhou Chun exchanged this fourth-tier demon core for the Fire God Jackal.

As Zhou Mingde's spirit pet, the Fire God Jackal is now only a little time away from breaking through to the third-tier high-grade demon beast.

Once it breaks through to the third-tier high-grade demon beast realm, its potential will be almost exhausted. To break through to the fourth tier, it will need the help of a benefactor.

A fourth-grade low-level fire-attribute demon core that perfectly matches its attributes would be an excellent spiritual item for breaking through realms, equivalent to a core-forming spiritual item used by cultivators to form their core.

When Zhou Chun was young and weak, the Fire God Jackal saved his life several times, helping him escape danger.

This exchange for a fourth-tier demon core is Zhou Chun's way of repaying the life-saving grace it received years ago.

In the eighth year since arriving in Tianyuan Immortal City, Zhou Zhengyong, an elder of the Zhou family, and Lin Wan'er came to the Great Zhou Kingdom to report several important matters to Zhou Chun.

"Two years ago, Qinglian Temple gained a new Golden Core cultivator. Subsequently, Qinglian Temple expelled its clan members from Lanzhou and Lianzhou markets, closed its shops, and forbade the 'Zhou Tong Tian Xia' trading company from operating in Lanzhou and Lianzhou!"

"Furthermore, the family's business with other vassal families of Qinglian Temple has been greatly affected. Many families have received bans strictly prohibiting them from engaging in trade cooperation with the family!"

"More importantly, rumors fabricated by the Qinglian Temple are now circulating throughout the cultivation world of Jingguo, claiming that our Zhou family are actually spies planted by the Hualong Sect, and that the number of family cultivators who have gone missing or perished has increased by several times compared to the past!"

"The Supreme Elder has now ordered that no clansman should go out alone anymore, and has begun to impose certain restrictions on clansmen's outings. However, this method only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to maintain in the long run!"

Inside the cave, Zhou Chun frowned as he listened to the family news brought by Zhou Zhengyong.

He had considered that Qinglian Temple might target the Zhou family through business, but the rumor that the Zhou family were spies of Hualong Sect was truly unexpected.

After all, the Zhou family had indirectly killed a late-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Dragon Transformation Sect, and the Zhou family's higher-ups had the blood of Dragon Transformation Sect cultivators on their hands.

"What's the Moon Wheel Cult's statement regarding that rumor?"

After pondering for a while, Zhou Chun looked at Zhou Zhengyong and asked about the relevant situation.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengyong immediately shook his head slightly and said, "Because it's just a rumor circulating in private, the Moon Wheel Sect has not made any statement."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun immediately said, "Then, Brother Yong, after you go back, take a copy of my letter to Elder Su at the Moon Wheel Sect and ask her to deliver it to True Person Baiyue!"

He then continued, "As for the increasing number of clan cultivators disappearing or dying while traveling, simply retreating and giving in isn't the solution. We can have the clan elders and core members secretly follow and protect them to see who is targeting the Zhou family. If we can capture them alive and prove it's a certain force, we can make an example of them to warn others!"

Zhou Chun didn't believe that Qinglian Temple would dare to send its own people to assassinate Zhou family cultivators who were away from home. If they were caught, they would have no way to defend themselves.

Therefore, those who attacked and killed the Zhou family cultivators must have been independent cultivators or cultivators from other cultivation families who were hired and instructed by others.

In this way, as long as they capture the culprit alive and leave evidence, the Zhou family can make an example of him to warn others and let those independent cultivators and family forces know how serious the consequences are for getting involved in the struggles between large families and major sects!

This might not completely eliminate such incidents, but it will certainly deter many people and increase the cost of hiring servants at Qinglian Temple.

Upon hearing her words, Zhou Zhengyong immediately nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand. I will definitely convey the message to the Supreme Elder."

Then, looking at him again, he asked, "There's one more thing. Because of the rumors, the Supreme Elder is worried that Qinglian Temple might have discovered something. He specifically asked me to ask you, Thirteenth Brother, if it's possible to temporarily suspend the family's normal exchanges with the Wilderness Land, and only allow the family elders to go there every six months to check on the situation?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun pondered for a moment before nodding and saying, "Alright, then let Uncle Daoquan take the Bloodflame Dragon Python to the wilderness to oversee the situation there!"

After recounting some important matters, Zhou Zhengyong then talked about other events that had occurred within the family in recent years.

For example, a cultivator with superior spiritual roots in both metal and water attributes emerged from the "Zhi" generation. His name is Zhou Zhiqian. His father is Zhou Yuanliang, a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Zhou family, while his mother is a Qi Refining stage female cultivator trained by the Zhou family in the wilderness. She was originally a concubine of Zhou Yuanliang there.

In the past, Zhou Chun would have been overjoyed if a cultivator with superior spiritual root aptitude appeared in his family.

But when he heard about it, he only asked a few casual questions and then didn't care anymore.

Given the current size of the Zhou family's cultivators, the emergence of a child with superior spiritual root aptitude is not a rare occurrence.

Another point is that Zhou Chun's horizons have broadened. Now, almost 80% of the Golden Core cultivators he interacts with are cultivators with superior spiritual roots. He has seen so many that they are no longer surprising.

Unless one day a legendary cultivator with exceptional spiritual root aptitude appears in the Zhou family, he will not be allowed to guard it like a treasure.

Such a genius is guaranteed to be at least a Golden Core cultivator.

However, something Zhou Zhengyong mentioned later caught Zhou Chun's attention.

According to him, Xu Fu, whom he had sent to guard the wilderness, is now with Zhou Yuanyuan, a Foundation Establishment female cultivator from the Zhou family. Although they have not officially announced their marriage, they seem to have already engaged in dual cultivation!

Upon hearing this news, Zhou Chun was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but ask, "Yuan Yuan also possesses top-grade spiritual root aptitude, so opening her Purple Mansion shouldn't be a problem for her in the future. Why then is she with Xu Fu?"

"It seems that Yuan Yuan went to the wilderness to gather spiritual herbs in order to compete for the [Mysterious Heart Purple Rejuvenation Pill]. However, she was chased by a third-tier demonic beast because she coveted a thousand-year-old spiritual herb. Fortunately, Xu Fu arrived in time to save her, and somehow the two of them fell in love!"

At this point, Zhou Zhengyong looked at Zhou Chun tentatively and asked, "Thirteenth Brother, do you perhaps disapprove of the two of them being together?"

"No, that's not it. It's just strange that Xu Fu didn't become a Daoist partner with any female cultivators in his family before, so why has he changed his mind now?"

Zhou Chun shook his head and explained the reason.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengyong immediately guessed, "Perhaps it's because he saw how his family treated Zhang Liang so differently from him that he had a new idea, or perhaps he's too proud to look down on female cultivators from ordinary families!"

"Yes, Brother Yong, you're right. Let's just let things develop naturally. If the two of them can really get together, it would be a wonderful story!"

Zhou Chun nodded, not dwelling on the matter.

He has never interfered much in the marriages of his younger clansmen, which is different from the patriarchs of many cultivation families.

Many patriarchs of cultivation families truly consider themselves the heads of their clans. They like to express their opinions and even forcibly interfere in the marriages of some clan members, especially important ones.

But Zhou Chun never did that, nor did he encourage the elder cultivators of the Zhou family to do so.

He always believed that family monks should have the right to choose their own spouses, and that no one other than their parents should interfere with this right.

Therefore, even if a Foundation Establishment female cultivator from the Zhou family were to find a Qi Refining stage cultivator as her Dao partner, he would not stop her.

This open-minded attitude also earned him a very high status in the hearts of the female cultivators in the family.

Because in many cultivation families, female cultivators often cannot make their own decisions about marriage!

Zhou Zhengyong did not stay in Tianyuan Immortal City for long. He only stayed for three months, and after witnessing the prosperity of the place, he was in a hurry to return to the Zhou family.

Lin Wan'er stayed behind to accompany Lin Hongyu, preparing to return after Zhou Daoyi's Core Formation results were announced.

Therefore, Zhou Chun also had Zhou Zhengyong carry the fourth-tier puppet he had exchanged with him, in case they encountered any danger on the way.

Time passed slowly, and two years quickly went by.

After enjoying a batch of seven Ancient Dust Pills all to himself, Lei Jiao Bai Bai had completed one-third of his journey to the fourth rank.

However, Zhou Chun's extensive acquisitions over the years have nearly depleted the market of all the spiritual herbs that can be used to refine the Ancient Dust Pill.

It's not that the mighty Great Zhou Kingdom only has these kinds of spiritual herbs, but rather that many other forces that cultivate spiritual herbs in their herb gardens, or cultivators who possess spiritual herbs, are unwilling to sell these herbs because they don't value the purchase price offered by Zhou Chun.

This made him want to leave and travel to other countries in search of rare herbs.

However, just before Zhou Chun was about to set off, he suddenly received a message from the "Tianyuan Palace" that someone had accepted a mission he had issued.

After reading the message, he was overjoyed and immediately flew towards the location of the "Tianyuan Palace".

"Do you know where I can find information on a Tier 3 High-Grade Lightning-Attribute Monster? Are you sure it's a Tier 3 High-Grade Monster?"

Inside the "Tianyuan Palace", Zhou Chun frowned and looked at the old man in front of him who only had the cultivation level of the late Foundation Establishment stage. His face was full of suspicion.

It wasn't that he underestimated people, but it was indeed not easy for someone with late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation to distinguish between a mid-grade third-tier demonic beast and a high-grade third-tier demonic beast.

Faced with his doubts, the old man confidently replied, "Yes, I am certain. I swear on my own life, it is absolutely a Silver Lightning Leopard with the cultivation of a third-tier superior!"

(End of this chapter)