Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 543 The Thunder Dragon King's Backup Plan [Please Subscribe]

"The arrival of the esteemed Master is an honor to our humble abode. We regret that we are too poor to offer any delicacies to our guests, but we have our own honey tea to serve you. We apologize for any shortcomings in our hospitality!"

Inside the Zhou family's guest hall, Zhou Chun respectfully offered the seat of honor to Tianjing Zhenren and personally brewed the Zhou family's finest royal jelly tea to present to him.

However, Master Tianjing was very accommodating today, actually picking up the teacup and taking a sip.

Then he put down his teacup and said calmly, "Young friend Zhou, there's no need to be so formal. I've come today with goodwill, not to interrogate you."

Hearing these words only made Zhou Chun more wary.

There was no other way; Zhou Chun's experiences over the years had repeatedly reminded him that none of the Nascent Soul stage cultivators in this country were any good.

As for the Nascent Soul stage cultivators from abroad, Zhou Chun has not yet come into contact with them, so he cannot say much for the time being, but they are probably just like him!

Master Tianjing's attitude towards the Zhou family had not been good before, but now he suddenly said that he came with good intentions. Zhou Chun felt that this was sarcasm.

Of course, he wouldn't show it on his face, but simply nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, this junior will heed your teachings, Master!"

This seemingly submissive demeanor caused Master Tianjing to frown slightly.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator who had lived for a thousand years, how could True Person Tianjing not see through his outwardly respectful but inwardly wary nature?

But actions speak louder than words, and even though he saw through this, he couldn't say much.

He could only suppress his displeasure and calmly asked, "What are your thoughts on the appearance of this fifth-tier Thunder Flood Dragon, young friend Zhou?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun immediately exclaimed with indignation, "The demon race has gone too far in bullying our human race! It is thanks to the intervention of you senior masters that my family and I have been spared from disaster. We will never forget your great kindness!"

After speaking, he bowed deeply to Master Tianjing to express his gratitude.

Seeing this, Master Tianjing looked at him with a half-smile, and then slowly said, "Is that so? Do you really think so?"

"Of course! What I just said came from the bottom of my heart, without the slightest falsehood!"

Zhou Chun replied firmly.

"Then let me tell you, Fellow Daoist Zhou, that I, True Immortal Yin Yue, and the others have been waiting near the Zhou family for quite some time. What are your thoughts, Fellow Daoist Zhou?"

Master Tianjing took another sip of tea, then looked at Zhou Chun with a half-smile, waiting for his reply.

What exactly does he want to do?

Zhou Chun lowered his head slightly, various thoughts flashing through his mind, somewhat unsure of what Master Tianjing was thinking.

Ultimately, to be on the safe side, he replied calmly, "This junior naturally thanks all the seniors for their heartfelt care and for appearing at the crucial moment to save the Zhou family from dire straits!"

Upon hearing his answer, Master Tianjing seemed to have gotten the answer he wanted, and immediately chuckled, "Hehehe, since that's the case, I'll assume that Fellow Daoist Zhou truly thinks so!"

After speaking, he suddenly raised his hand and waved, handing a fist-sized, silvery-white crystal to Zhou Chun. "This Mirror Reflection Talisman was carefully crafted by me. It can return a single-target divine attack to the opponent. Consider it a gift to establish a good relationship between us!"

Then, without waiting for Zhou Chun's consent, he got up and left.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Chun was slightly taken aback, but quickly grabbed the silvery-white crystal and repeatedly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you for bestowing this treasure upon you, Master. This junior respectfully sees you off!"

He then personally saw the other person off outside the mountain gate, and only returned inside the mountain gate after watching them leave.

"So? What exactly is Master Tianjing's intention?"

When Zhou Chun returned to the mountain gate, Zhou Mingde came over and asked him with a worried expression about the purpose of Master Tianjing's visit.

"It's still unclear what their intentions are, but they don't seem to have any ill will towards us!"

Zhou Chun shook his head slightly and then recounted his conversation with Master Tianjing.

After hearing his account, Zhou Mingde also said with surprise, "Judging from his words alone, it seems like he's trying to sow discord. But what good would it do him to sow discord between our Zhou family and the Moon Wheel Sect? Does he think our Zhou family would dare to betray the Moon Wheel Sect and side with him?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's just trying to plant a seed first, even if it's not a sure thing!"

Zhou Chun spoke her opinion in a low voice, then said calmly, "But no matter what he's really thinking, we just need to stay true to our beliefs and not let him control us!"

This statement immediately won Zhou Mingde's agreement: "Yes, no matter what he thinks, we'll just stay out of it. This kind of struggle between Nascent Soul cultivators is not something we can get involved in!"

Having reached a consensus, the two did not discuss the matter further.

Zhou Chun quickly asked, "Have the casualties in the family been tallied?"

"The statistics are in. Affected by the roar of that fifth-tier thunder dragon, seventeen members of the clan at the Qi Refining stage perished. Most of them were elderly, frail, or disabled. The rest, below the Purple Mansion stage, suffered varying degrees of internal and external injuries!"

At this point, Zhou Mingde looked at Zhou Chun with a face full of relief and said, "Fortunately, Zheng Chun, you had the foresight to transfer all the clansmen in the clan's academy to Jiufeng Ridge. Most of the clansmen there have undergone the trials of Bai Bai's Dragon Might, otherwise the number of clansmen who perished this time would probably be several times higher!"

Upon hearing his answer, Zhou Chun's expression darkened slightly.

Then he quickly added, "Those fallen clansmen, since they died because of their juniors, let's give their families double compensation in their name!"

"No problem, I'll have Xin Yi handle it."

Zhou Mingde readily agreed.

Then, with a concerned expression, he asked, "How are Bai Bai's injuries? Is there anything the family can do for it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun immediately replied, "Although the injuries are somewhat severe, they shouldn't be too serious. After all, they were caused by forces of the same origin, so they shouldn't be too difficult to heal!"

After saying that, he said with a solemn expression, "Let's not talk about this for now. The death of the fifth-tier Thunder Flood Dragon here may very well enrage the Flood Dragon Clan, causing them to launch another beast tide to attack Jing Kingdom. The family must prepare a contingency plan in advance!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingde's expression immediately turned serious, and he nodded, saying, "Yes, Zheng Chun, you are right. This matter is indeed the most important thing to pay attention to right now. It seems we must immediately send someone to the Great Zhou Kingdom to summon Fellow Daoist Lin back."

The two then held an emergency consultation on how to deal with the possible beast tide.

In the following days, several elders of the Zhou family set off from Tuyunling, heading to different destinations.

Some Foundation Establishment cultivators were also assigned tasks to go to various markets and shops to purchase supplies in large quantities.

Some cultivators from the Zhou family who possessed skills in alchemy, artifact crafting, talisman making, and array formations were suddenly given family missions to produce related talismans, pills, magical artifacts, and array formations.

Meanwhile, the Zhou family cultivators who had ventured to the battlefield to collect the remains of the fifth-tier Thunder Dragon began to return to their family one after another with their spoils.

At that time, the fifth-order Thunder Flood Dragon's body was shattered by the self-explosion of its own demon core, and the remaining fragments of bone, scales, and blood were scattered across the land for hundreds of miles.

Some of the larger and easier-to-find animals were taken by several Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

The remaining tiny fragments and hard-to-find items provide a chance for low- to mid-level cultivators to also have a taste of the soup.

Some of the returning Zhou family cultivators found palm-sized fragments of scales, some found fingernail-sized fragments of bone, and others brought back stones, soil, and wood stained with dragon blood.

These items are too advanced for low- to mid-level cultivators to utilize, so after bringing them back to their families, they all chose to hand them over to the families in exchange for merit points.

Although Zhou Chun had his family acquire these things, he didn't take them too seriously.

He knew that the Zhou family would have little use for these things, and because they were too broken, they were not worth exchanging with other Golden Core cultivators.

Now that we've collected them, we can only wait and see if anyone is willing to buy them up in large quantities and resell them.

On this day, Zhou Chun, who was cultivating in his cave, suddenly received a message from Zhou Xinfu, a core member of his clan, saying that he had a treasure obtained from the battlefield that he wanted to offer to him.

This made him frown slightly, and he immediately released his divine sense to scan the outside of the cave.

Outside his cave, a thin young man in a blue robe was pacing back and forth, his face filled with apprehension, yet his eyes revealed a hint of anticipation.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun hesitated for a moment, then got up and left the cave, going to the valley outside.

Then, with a casual wave of his hand, the array outside the valley opened a gap, letting the person in.

"Junior Zhou Xinfu pays respects to the clan chief."

After entering the valley, the thin young man only glanced at Zhou Chun briefly before hurriedly bowing deeply.

"Speak! What incredible treasure have you acquired that you dare to come see me in private!"

Zhou Chun casually beckoned a chair over and sat down, then looked directly at the junior in front of him and asked about the important matter.

Normally, based on his usual style of doing things, he wouldn't meet with the younger generation of the clan in public like this.

However, since bringing back the Spirit Eye Spring, Zhou Chun has rarely received cultivators from his clan in his cave. Even the clan elders find it difficult to enter his cave anymore.

However, as a junior, Zhou Xinfu naturally dared not question how his elders did things.

Upon hearing Zhou Chun's question, he hurriedly raised his palm and patted the storage bag at his waist, taking out a shiny silver dragon tooth from it and offering it to Zhou Chun with clasped hands.

He respectfully said, "Clan Chief, please look. This dragon tooth is a treasure I found in a pool. A dragon tooth in such perfect condition is definitely a rare and precious magical material. I dare not keep it to myself, so I have come here to present it to you!"

Ok?

Zhou Chun's gaze sharpened, and he looked at the silver dragon tooth in Zhou Xinfu's hand with a face full of surprise.

Just as the man said, the silver dragon tooth was in remarkably good condition.

It was about five feet long, and at its widest point it was slightly larger than a human calf. There was no visible gap on its surface, just as if it had been pulled out of the dragon's mouth.

Such a complete dragon tooth, if it falls into the hands of a master craftsman, can at least be used to forge a high-grade magic weapon. It is definitely the top-grade monster material that Zhou Chun has ever seen!

However, it was precisely because this dragon tooth was so precious and in such perfect condition that Zhou Chun couldn't help but feel doubtful.

Suspicion 1: The fifth-order Thunder Flood Dragon's core exploded, shattering its dragon body into pieces. How could it still retain such a complete dragon tooth?

The second point of doubt is: how did such a complete dragon tooth escape the subsequent search by the Nascent Soul stage cultivators?

With some doubt in his heart, Zhou Chun did not immediately reach out to take the dragon tooth, but nodded slightly to Zhou Xinfu and said, "You are thoughtful. Such a treasure is indeed beyond your level of cultivation."

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Come, sit down first, and tell me properly how you obtained this item!"

While saying this, Zhou Chun's mind was mostly focused on Zhou Xinfu, not missing a thing about him or his reaction.

Zhou Xinfu was visibly taken aback upon hearing his words. He looked at the dragon tooth in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then placed it on the ground. He then respectfully replied, "Yes, junior obeys."

Then he began to recount how he obtained the dragon tooth.

Basically, he initially searched the battlefield like everyone else, thoroughly looking for materials from any possible dragons. He found some scattered dragon scales and bones, but his gains were not particularly outstanding.

Later, while searching by a mountain pool, they suddenly noticed a silvery light shimmering in the water, and then discovered the dragon's tooth that had sunk to the bottom of the pool.

From his account of the events, there is nothing particularly suspicious about it.

It was just pure luck!

However, Zhou Chun did not rush to conclusions. Instead, he suddenly looked at Zhou Xinfu and asked, "I said before that any spiritual materials found by clansmen can be offered to the clan in exchange for merit. Why didn't you hand over this dragon tooth to Xinyi, but instead came to me privately?"

"this……"

Zhou Xinfu's expression changed slightly, and he suddenly hesitated, not answering immediately.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Chun's tone immediately turned serious, and he pressed in a deep voice, "What? Is there anything you can't say in front of me?"

"This junior wouldn't dare!"

Zhou Xinfu hurriedly denied it, then lowered his head and said, "Clan leader, please forgive me. I came here privately to present this treasure with ulterior motives, hoping to gain your favor and a reward!"

"Is that all?"

Zhou Chun gazed at the junior before him, his tone devoid of sorrow or joy.

"Yes, that's all."

Zhou Xinfu nodded repeatedly, his tone very firm.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun's eyes flickered slightly, and he immediately waved his hand and said, "Alright, since that's the case, I'll let it go for the sake of your filial piety. As for the specific reward, go back and wait for my notification."

"Thank you for your kindness, clan chief. I will take my leave now."

Zhou Xinfu's expression relaxed, and after thanking him profusely, he hurriedly turned and left.

After the man left, Zhou Chun looked at the dragon tooth that he had placed on the ground and couldn't help but show a look of surprise and doubt.

Am I just being paranoid?

After thinking about it, he decided it was better to be cautious.

So he immediately raised his hand and patted the storage bag at his waist, took out the largest jade box, and then picked up the dragon tooth and put it into the jade box, intending to seal it away first and study it slowly later when he had time.

Just as he closed the jade box and was about to affix the sealing talisman, the jade box suddenly exploded, and a beam of silver light shot towards him instantly!

Something's definitely up!

A flash of silvery-white lightning appeared, and Zhou Chun's figure instantly appeared in another place dozens of feet away.

However, after realizing something was wrong, he immediately activated the "Lightning Flash" divine power attached to his magic robe and teleported away from the spot.

Having dodged this dangerous attack, his body was immediately enveloped in flashes of golden and silver light as he unleashed both the [Qian Yuan Golden Glow] and [Taiyin Protective Immortal Robe] divine abilities in one go.

Unexpectedly, the silver dragon tooth that had failed to ambush him in mid-air did not continue to attack him. Instead, it changed direction and shot towards his cave in an instant!

This is... bad!!

As if he had just realized something, Zhou Chun's expression changed, and he hurriedly warned Lei Jiao Bai Bai, who was still recuperating in the cave, while quickly activating the formation in the cave to intercept the silver dragon tooth.

However, in the face of the sharpness unleashed by the silver dragon tooth, these formations were practically made of paper, and the hard stone inside his cave was easily pierced as well.

Fortunately, this was ultimately his cave dwelling, his home turf.

Just as the silver dragon tooth was about to reach the secret chamber where Lei Jiao Bai Bai was recuperating, a yellow light suddenly enveloped Lei Jiao Bai Bai and carried it underground.

However, the Golden Armored Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone, who was also sleeping and cultivating below the cave, promptly used the Earth Escape Technique after receiving instructions from its master, and took the Thunder Flood Dragon Bai Bai underground.

Even so, the silver dragon tooth did not give up.

It seemed to have some way of locking onto the Thunder Dragon Bai Bai, which had fled underground, and then turned downwards, easily piercing through the mountain below like a sharp sword, and biting down on the fleeing Thunder Dragon Bai Bai and the Golden Armor Mountain-Bearing Turtle Stone.

After learning of this through the telepathic connection with his spirit pet, Zhou Chun first took a deep breath, then opened his mouth and spat out the [Moon Toad Pearl], allowing the Golden Armored Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone to bring the Thunder Dragon to him in vain.

A moment later, a surge of yellow light appeared on the ground, and the Golden Armored Mountain Tortoise Stone, carrying the injured Thunder Dragon Bai Bai, appeared a dozen feet away from Zhou Chun.

Zhou Chun quickly patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist and put both of them inside.

Just as Zhou Chun finished doing all this, a bolt of silver lightning burst from the ground and shot straight toward his cave.

I've been waiting for you!

Zhou Chun, without changing his expression, activated the white pearl above his head, and a beam of white cold light collided with the silver lightning several feet in front of him.

However, this time the "Taiyin Extinction Divine Light" finally met its match.

As the white, cold light collided with the silver lightning, the lightning scattered in all directions, revealing the true form of the silver dragon fangs within.

Just as the silver dragon tooth was about to be frozen, a silver thunder dragon several feet long suddenly emerged from the dragon tooth, instantly shattering the white cold light!

However, this attack also seemed to have greatly depleted the silver thunder dragon, causing its size to visibly shrink.

Then, it moved instantly, breaking free from the silver dragon tooth, and pounced on Zhou Chun.

This scene made Zhou Chun's scalp tingle, and he hurriedly activated the [Myriad Transformations Golden Cauldron] to unleash a thick golden beam of light that slammed into the silver thunder dragon.

To his surprise, the silver thunder dragon easily dodged the golden beam of light with a mere flick of its body and continued to pounce on him with the same target.

At this point, he had no time to use any other means and could only activate the [Qian Yuan Golden Glow] protective divine power with all his might, hoping to block the silver thunder dragon with the help of the inner and outer defenses.

However, considering the identity of this silver thunder dragon, he had absolutely no confidence in it!

At that moment, something happened that greatly surprised Zhou Chun.

But then a white light flashed from the [Moon Toad Pearl] above his head, and without his control or activation, a white toad suddenly flew out.

The white toad wasn't very big either, less than seven feet long.

After emerging from the white orb, it immediately lunged at the silver thunder dragon.

Then, a toad and a dragon were seen fighting fiercely in mid-air. Their speed was so fast that their afterimages filled the sky. Even Zhou Chun, a Golden Core cultivator, had difficulty seeing the details of their battle.

It doesn't matter if you can't see clearly, as long as you know what happened.

After a brief moment of surprise, Zhou Chun quickly regained his senses and retreated dozens of feet, then poured all his magical power into the [Moon Toad Pearl].

He didn't know if this would work, but it was perhaps the only thing he could do to help the white toad at that moment.

Perhaps it was Zhou Chun's actions that had an effect. After several dozen breaths of fierce fighting, the white toad suddenly let out a roar that sounded like both a bull's bellow and a frog's croak. A "Taiyin Extinction Divine Light" that was much stronger than what Zhou Chun himself had activated suddenly burst out from the [Moon Toad Pearl] and struck the silver thunder dragon directly.

This time, the silver lightning dragon not only failed to defeat the white cold light, but instead let out a miserable howl and was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture.

After freezing the silver thunder dragon, the white toad quickly returned to the [Moon Toad Pearl] without interacting with Zhou Chun.

It seems that what it just did was merely a procedural action of Lingbao protecting its master.

But Zhou Chun couldn't think about any of that at the moment.

He briefly sensed the Moon Toad Pearl and, finding nothing unusual, retrieved it back into his body.

Then, looking at the silver lightning dragon frozen in ice, he hesitated and pondered.

It is obvious that this silver thunder dragon is the fifth-order thunder dragon demon soul and primordial spirit that exploded its demon core earlier.

The opponent somehow managed to deceive those Nascent Soul stage cultivators, having already separated their demon soul and primordial spirit when they self-destructed their demon core, hiding it inside a specially refined dragon tooth.

Then, taking advantage of the opportunity when the dragon's body was blown up, he secretly manipulated the dragon teeth to evade the search by the Nascent Soul stage cultivators. Only after discovering the figure of Zhou Xinfu, a cultivator from the Zhou family, did he deliberately reveal the strange phenomenon so that he could pick it up.

The reason why Zhou Xinfu did not hand over the dragon tooth to Zhou Xinyi as per the rules, but instead presented it directly to Zhou Chun, was clearly the result of his consciousness being deliberately guided by the Thunder Dragon Demon Soul.

The reason why the Thunder Dragon Demon Soul did this is now clear: after losing its physical body and demon core, its only option to continue living is to possess another body and be reborn.

It just so happens that the Zhou family has a fourth-order thunder dragon whose bloodline and aptitude are perfectly matched to the other party's, and it just so happens that the other party has severely injured it!

(End of this chapter)