Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 630 Passing on the Torch [Please Subscribe]

For Zhou Chun now, rescuing Gongsun Yuanzhi was an extremely easy task.

He only sent Gongsun Yuanji with a handwritten letter, and the Wei family of Cangzhou released the man.

This is the influence the Zhou family currently wields in Jingguo.

Apart from the Moon Wheel Sect and the Flame Sun Sect, no other force dared to disrespect the Zhou family.

As long as it doesn't involve fundamental interests or bottom lines, they would definitely be very willing to give Zhou Chun face.

After bringing Gongsun Yuanzhi out, Gongsun Yuanji didn't dare to just leave. He obediently returned to the Qinglian Mountains to report to Zhou Chun.

The array materials that Zhou Chun paid for on their behalf, if converted into wages, would require them to serve the Zhou family for at least ten years before the debt could be settled.

"From now on, the two of you will be under Zhang Liang's command. If there are any formation tasks, you can go with him to carry them out."

When the Gongsun siblings came over to express their gratitude, Zhou Chun simply waved them away, showing no particular regard for them.

In fact, for Zhou Chun, there is really no need to treat them differently now.

After all, once the [Yi Wood Coiling Dragon Formation] was successfully set up, the Zhou family no longer needed their help in setting up formations.

Even if a stronger protective formation needs to be set up in the future, one can directly seek out the Supreme Elder of the Gongsun family, or other formation masters.

Gongsun Yuanzhi said that Zhou Chun coveted their array formation inheritance, which completely underestimated Zhou Chun.

In Zhou Chun's eyes, let alone the array formation inheritance that the two of them possessed, there was nothing about the array formation inheritance of the entire Gongsun family that he should pay special attention to.

Because the art of formations is always difficult to learn and master, and it requires a lot of talent.

The Zhou family's existing array formation inheritance is not yet fully understood by any of the array formation masters they have trained. Giving them more advanced array formation inheritance would be of no use at all.

This can be seen from Gongsun Yuanji. Although he is also a member of the Gongsun family, his skill in formations is only average.

Furthermore, in Zhou Chun's view, the Zhou family will definitely not lack the inheritance of high-end formation techniques in the future, because the owner of that secret island must also be a powerful being who is proficient in formation techniques.

At least that [Heaven and Earth Reversal Array] is the strongest forbidden array Zhou Chun has ever encountered so far. In terms of its profoundness alone, it is estimated that even the Moon Wheel Sect's mountain-protecting array cannot compare!

Zhou Chun simply couldn't believe that the master of that secret island hadn't reached the level of a grandmaster in array formations, given that such a forbidden array could be set up to protect the cave and dojo.

So why should he go to such lengths to acquire the limited knowledge of formations possessed by two juniors?

After this incident, Zhou Chun resumed his normal cultivation life. He usually devoted himself to cultivation, practicing supernatural powers and secret techniques, or dealing with some family affairs. Occasionally, when he had free time, he would play with his spirit pets to deepen their relationship.

During this period, many cultivators from other regions who had heard about the outbreak of the beast tide traveled to Jing Kingdom, hoping to exchange high-level demon cores and demon beast materials with Jing Kingdom cultivators.

Over the years, Zhou Chun also met with several Golden Core cultivators and used some precious spiritual materials from fourth-tier demon beasts to exchange for a piece of [Fire Element Crystal Jade] and some other useful spiritual herbs from a Golden Core cultivator.

Among them, the [Fire Element Crystal Jade] is a rare fire-attribute spiritual material, which meets Zhou Chun's requirements for fire-attribute spiritual objects when cultivating the third level of the "Minor Five Elements Breaking Restriction Profound Light".

With this item, he only needs to find metal-attribute spiritual materials and earth-attribute spiritual materials to cultivate the third level of this secret technique.

Zhou Chun already had an idea as to where to obtain these two types of spiritual materials, but it would be better if they could be obtained through other means.

Besides high-level cultivators from other places flocking to Jing Kingdom to seek their fortune, some low-level rogue cultivators who felt they couldn't make it in other countries or were struggling to survive also came to Jing Kingdom after hearing the news that the number of cultivators in Jing Kingdom had decreased significantly. They traveled thousands of miles across mountains and rivers, braving all dangers.

For Jingguo, which was in the process of reconstruction, the arrival of these low-level cultivators undoubtedly solved the problem of "labor shortage" and the reconstruction speed was visibly improved.

In this way, the lower-level cultivators received rewards equivalent to several times that they would have received domestically, and the reconstruction speed of various forces in Jingguo also accelerated considerably. It can be said that both sides got what they wanted.

If you were to ask which force in Jingguo absorbed the most low-level cultivators during this process, it wouldn't be the Moon Wheel Sect or the Flame Sun Sect.

These large sects, whose main gates have not been breached and who possess a large number of mid- to low-level disciples, do not face a significant shortage of manpower.

The force that truly absorbed the most of these low-level cultivators was undoubtedly the Zhou family, who had just taken over the Azure Lotus Mountain Range!

The Zhou family not only offered generous employment terms, but also offered lifetime employment contracts to some of the well-behaved individuals, employing them as retainers of the Zhou family.

This is an incredible weapon against those independent cultivators!

From having no fixed abode and struggling to find a place to cultivate, to being able to join the Zhou family, a powerful force, and become a retainer who eats the Zhou family's food and takes the Zhou family's money, thus securing a stable life for the rest of his life.

It can be said that one step is enough to reach the sky!

Therefore, even though they all knew that this step would not be easy to take and that they would have to go through countless trials, those independent cultivators were still willing to fight tooth and nail for this opportunity.

Thanks to the addition of these independent cultivators, many members of the Zhou family were finally liberated. They no longer had to work overtime to the point that their cultivation time was squeezed and reduced by more than half, as they had before.

In fact, the Zhou family members who survived the beast tide are now all quite wealthy, having reaped considerable rewards during the beast tide.

They need time to convert their gains into actual cultivation growth and resources into their own cultivation strength.

Just as Zhou Chun has always believed, wars in the cultivation world have always been a mix of danger and opportunity.

After a war, unless one suffers a crushing defeat like the Qinglian Temple, one can generally expect to reap a decent reward.

The Zhou family's achievements today are largely due to their ability to profit from wars, allowing them to surpass those local Golden Core families that have been developing peacefully for hundreds or thousands of years!

Time passed, and before we knew it, ten years had passed since the beast tide ended.

After ten years of continuous construction by the Zhou family, the Qinglian Mountains have finally recovered some of their original appearance and have taken on the look of a blessed land of immortals.

The new generation of Zhou family members were also born here.

This generation of clansmen is already of the "Bai" generation.

After the Zhou family settled in Jiufengling, Zhou Mingde, Zhou Chongshan, Zhou Daoyi and other elders of the Zhou family discussed and finalized the sixteen generation names: "Heaven and Earth are clear and bright, uphold the Tao and guard the family, rectify the mind and think of the source, and aspire to high ideals." They stipulated that a new generation would be replaced every fifty years.

Now, with the Zhou family's "Yuan" generation cultivators also starting to have offspring, these sixteen generations are no longer enough.

Fortunately, Zhou Mingde noticed this in his early years and made relevant preparations in advance. He added another sixteen generations on top of the original sixteen.

The newly established generational names begin with the character "百" (bai), and are: "百福荣庆，玉乐玄光，文长武盛，泽传万古" (Bai Fu Rong Qing, Yu Le Xuan Guang, Wen Chang Wu Sheng, Ze Chuan Wan Gu).

Based on a generation spanning fifty years, these sixteen generations would last for another eight hundred years!

On this day, accompanied by a long, drawn-out dragon roar, a silver dragon suddenly rose from a pool on the mountain and soared into the sky, joyfully roaming and dancing in the air.

However, after consuming the mid-grade fourth-rank three-legged thunder gull demon core, the thunder dragon Bai Bai finally broke through to the mid-grade fourth rank, becoming Zhou Chun's fourth mid-grade fourth-rank spirit pet.

It was originally the second spirit pet under Zhou Chun's command to break through to the fourth rank. It also awakened its bloodline inheritance and mastered the breathing cultivation method. Logically speaking, its cultivation speed should be much faster than that of other demonic beasts.

It's just that he had been bleeding and having his scales plucked for a long time, which delayed his cultivation. Unlike the Fiery Phoenix and the Golden-Armored Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone, he had many fortuitous encounters and his cultivation level increased rapidly like a rocket.

It wasn't until Zhou Chun killed two fourth-tier lightning-attribute demonic beasts in the previous beast tide, obtaining two fourth-tier demonic cores for it, that it finally had the opportunity to break through.

Before it, Mu Mei and Mu Sang also managed to break through to the middle-grade fourth rank thanks to the opportunity they had in Mi Xian Ling and a small opportunity they had in the wilderness a couple of years ago.

Of Zhou Chun's five spirit pets, only the Golden-Winged Tiger had not yet broken through.

But actually, the Golden-Winged Tiger was the least flustered of them all.

Because it possesses both metal and wind attributes, it is the most compatible among the demon cores in Zhou Chun's possession.

It only needs to refine the demon core and cultivate step by step, and it will not be long before it breaks through to the fourth-order mid-grade demon beast realm.

Even if Zhou Chun preserves that fourth-grade high-quality golden unicorn demon core for it, its breakthrough to the fourth-grade high-quality demon beast realm will be very smooth in the future.

At this moment, Lei Jiao roamed freely in the sky for a while, venting his inner joy, before quickly flying down from the clouds and landing in Zhou Chun's cave.

Zhou Chun and Su Yuzhen had already been alerted by the commotion it caused, and they both came out of the cultivation room.

Seeing it land, Zhou Chun clapped his hands with a big smile and said, "Not bad, not bad, Bai Bai, you've finally succeeded in breaking through."

"Congratulations, my husband, you've gained another powerful ally."

Su Yuzhen also congratulated Zhou Chun with a smile.

She now practically lives at the Zhou family's place, not only because the cultivation environment here is better, but also because the Su family patriarch is no longer as afraid of her staying at the Zhou family's place for a long time as before, which has caused her to become estranged from the younger generation of the Su family.

As Zhou Chun's Daoist partner, she was naturally happy and delighted with the improvement in Zhou Chun's cultivation and strength.

Next, Zhou Mingde, who was also in the Qinglian Mountains, came to offer his congratulations, and was equally delighted about the matter.

A few years ago, Zhou Daoyi's Azure Dragon Qingqing successfully broke through to the fourth level and was sent back to the Azure Lotus Mountain Range by Lin Hongyu. Now it is placed in a water vein lake in the Azure Lotus Mountain Range and is fed and cared for by special people.

Now that Lei Jiao Bai Bai has broken through to the fourth-tier mid-grade demon beast level, the Zhou family, relying on these two fourth-tier dragons, is fully capable of creating a production line for dragon blood spiritual items and dragon blood demon beasts.

This has a significant impact on enhancing the overall strength of the family.

After congratulating Zhou Chun, Zhou Mingde then said, "By the way, Zheng Chun, recently a member of the clan proposed an idea: they want to apply to you for a few drops of Fire Phoenix essence blood to cultivate a new breed of demonic beast. Do you think we should provide support and encouragement?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun's expression shifted, and he couldn't help but ask, "Oh, what's your plan?"

"Do you remember the Five-Colored Pheasant, a low-level demonic beast in our family? It's the kind of demonic bird we obtained from the Jiang family's mountain gate after we wiped them out in Lingzhou!"

Zhou Mingde said in a low voice.

"I seem to remember it somewhat." Zhou Chun nodded slightly, indicating that he remembered.

Seeing this, Zhou Mingde continued, "Five years ago, a member of the clan discovered that a rooster in a free-range flock of five-colored pheasants had died. They also found a second-tier feather in the chicken coop, suspected to be a feather from a second-tier demonic beast, the Red-feathered Fire Pheasant. Subsequently, they also found several eggs that were different from the others!"

"When those unusual eggs hatched, they gave birth to a five-colored fire pheasant that could breathe demonic fire. Not only was it larger than the ordinary five-colored pheasant, but it also possessed much stronger flight capabilities, making it far more powerful in combat than the common five-colored pheasant!"

"Therefore, some members of the clan have speculated that the faint phoenix bloodline within the Five-Colored Pheasant may have been stimulated and affected by the bloodline of the Red-Feathered Fire Pheasant, causing some obvious mutations. Perhaps feeding it the essence of the Fire Phoenix could promote its evolution, allowing it to evolve into a mid-level demon beast with the Fire Phoenix bloodline!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Chun understood.

Then he readily agreed, saying, "In that case, this is certainly no problem for me. Whenever that junior needs it, as long as I'm within the clan, I can provide the blood!"

"There's no rush. Those five-colored fire pheasants haven't grown to the first-grade superior level yet, and they haven't left any offspring. I'll come to find you again when the time is right."

Zhou Mingde waved his hand, indicating that there was no rush.

The two then discussed some family matters before Zhou Mingde left.

Nowadays, Zhou Mingde personally oversees and handles all the affairs of the Zhou family, while Zhou Chun, like before, has become a hands-off manager.

All of this was so that Zhou Chun could concentrate on his cultivation and break through to the late stage of the Golden Core realm as soon as possible.

Generally, Zhou Mingde would only come to Zhou Chun to discuss matters he considered important and ask for his opinion.

Zhou Chun herself doesn't usually pay attention to family affairs.

He is currently under considerable pressure and must break through to the late stage of the Golden Core realm as soon as possible, and transform his core and form his nascent soul.

Because he was very clear that if he could not achieve the Core Formation and Nascent Soul stage as soon as possible, the Qinglian Mountain Range, which the Zhou family had invested a lot of money and manpower in building, would likely end up benefiting others!

Time flies, and seven years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Chun and his five spirit pets have been cultivating in seclusion, rarely leaving the family's mountain gate.

Occasionally, Golden Core cultivators from the Jing Kingdom or Golden Core cultivators who travel to the Jing Kingdom would come to visit him. He would only discuss and exchange ideas with them, but he would basically not travel far.

Even when a late-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Moon Wheel Sect invited him to an exchange meeting, he declined.

This approach serves two purposes: firstly, to avoid further distractions, and secondly, to deliberately maintain a low profile.

On this day, Zhou Chun received a clansman he hadn't seen in a long time in his cave, a junior who had left the family to travel far away for decades.

"Junior Zhou Zhigan greets the clan chief."

Inside the cave, a middle-aged man in a silver robe with a long beard bowed respectfully to Zhou Chunshen to express his respect.

The man was none other than Zhou Zhiqian, a member of the Zhou family with superior spiritual root aptitude who had embarked on the path of sword cultivation.

When this person insisted on pursuing the path of sword cultivation, Zhou Chun allowed him to leave his family and travel to various countries to hone his swordsmanship.

Now, decades later, this person has successfully opened his Purple Mansion, and his aura is sharp and fierce, clearly showing that he has made considerable achievements in the path of sword cultivation.

At this moment, after carefully examining this junior, Zhou Chun couldn't help but nod with satisfaction and said, "Not bad. To be able to successfully open up your Purple Mansion on your own without the help of your family, it seems that your decades of travel have not been wasted, and you have successfully found your own path!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhigan quickly replied respectfully, "My achievements are entirely due to your guidance and care, Clan Chief. Without the life-saving items you bestowed upon me back then, I would have perished long ago!"

After speaking, he lowered his voice with a look of guilt and said, "It's a pity that when the beast tide broke out a few years ago, I was in a faraway place and was in seclusion breaking through a major realm, so I was unable to return to the clan to contribute to the clan. I am truly ashamed of the cultivation you, the clan leader, and the clan have given me!"

"You don't need to feel guilty about this. In that situation, one more person wouldn't have made a difference, and one less person wouldn't have made a difference either. Even if you had come back in time, it wouldn't have changed the overall situation."

Zhou Chun shook his head slightly, showing no intention of blaming this junior.

Then he smiled slightly at him and said, "On the contrary, your ability to return to the family now that you have opened your Purple Mansion, and to come back when the family needs you, proves your loyalty to the family!"

"Yes, this junior will certainly serve the clan well from now on and live up to the clan leader's cultivation and high expectations!"

Zhou Zhigan responded solemnly in a deep voice.

Hearing his firm and powerful words, Zhou Chun admired this junior even more.

He quickly nodded and said, "Now that you have successfully opened your Purple Mansion, according to the family rules you should be promoted to a family elder. This whetstone is a gift from me, and it will belong to you from now on."

As he spoke, he took the whetstone from the treasure room inside the cave and gave it to Zhou Zhigan.

When he saw that Zhou Zhiqian had indeed kept his promise and given him the whetstone after he opened his Purple Mansion, he was overjoyed.

He hurriedly held the stone in both hands, as if it were a sacred object, and raised it above his head, bowing to Zhou Chunshen, saying, "This junior thanks the clan leader for his kindness and for bestowing this treasure upon me!"

"Work hard! If you can truly master this path of sword cultivation and successfully form your core, then my Zhou family will have another lineage to carry on. At that time, you will be the ancestor of that lineage, forever remembered and praised by future generations of my Zhou family!"

Zhou Chun took the opportunity to encourage the younger man, made a grand promise, and then dismissed him.

For him, who has now set his sights on reaching the Nascent Soul stage, a junior at the Purple Mansion stage is at most someone to praise a few times, but he won't pay too much attention to him.

Two more years passed. When Zhou Chun was practicing his daily cultivation, he suddenly felt a stirring in his mind and vaguely connected with several faint consciousnesses.

When he found his target by following this faint mental connection, he was so surprised that his mouth dropped open.

On the stump of the "Pure Spirit Osmanthus" tree next to the Spirit Eye Spring, four small, white, transparent insects were crawling.

These four small insects are each less than a finger's length and about the thickness of a chopstick, and they look like silkworms that have not yet spun their silk.

Their entire bodies were translucent white, with not a trace of black even around their eyes. If it weren't for the difference in color between the tree stumps beneath them and the stumps, Zhou Chun might not have been able to see them with the naked eye.

However, upon closer inspection, one can detect a faint aura of magical power emanating from them.

"Are these really six-winged ice silkworms? And where are their wings?"

Zhou Chun stared at the four white silkworms on the tree stump, his face filled with surprise and uncertainty.

It turns out that these four small white worms hatched from the eggs of what appeared to be "six-winged ice silkworms".

At this moment, the cocoon containing these insect eggs is still on a section of tree root. Of the original nine insect eggs inside, not a single one remains!

As for why only four larvae hatched from nine eggs, that's easy to understand.

Many oviparous creatures have the habit of cannibalizing their siblings after they are born.

Perhaps more than four worms hatched at first, or perhaps these four hatched worms ate the other unhatched eggs.

In short, only these four worms have survived.

However, Zhou Chun was not sure whether these four small insects were the legendary six-winged ice silkworms.

After all, he didn't see any wings on them.

But one thing is certain: the origin of these small white insects is definitely extraordinary.

Therefore, after looking at them with surprise, Zhou Chun began to try feeding them various foods.

After some experimentation, Zhou Chun discovered that these small white insects didn't seem to be picky eaters. They would eat everything, from the leaves of spirit trees that contained spiritual energy to the food and meat of demonic beasts, but they didn't eat much of it.

Furthermore, they particularly like to stay on that tree stump. Once they are placed elsewhere, even on the [Millennial Cold Jade] that Zhou Chun deliberately took out, they become somewhat restless.

This surprised him greatly.

He could only explain that the four small insects were "sickly" because they were currently in a weak state and only saw the tree stump as a safe place.

He simply observed and recorded their growth and changes in silence, to see what they would eventually become.

That is, half a year after the four little insects emerged from their cocoons, the Zhou family achieved another important breakthrough in the art of beast taming.

After receiving a few drops of fire phoenix essence blood from Zhou Chun, a descendant of the Zhou family named Zhou Gaoping successfully raised a second-tier phoenix blood demon beast, the Five-Colored Phoenix-Tailed Pheasant!

The appearance of this five-colored phoenix-tailed pheasant signifies that the Zhou family has added phoenix-blooded beasts to its existing portfolio of beasts, in addition to dragon-blooded beasts.

(End of this chapter)