Beast Taming Immortal Clan

The fourth-tier [Thunderworm Beast] doesn't have any particularly significant improvement in combat abilities. Its only advantage is that its single horn can absorb and store more heavenly lightning power, which it can then convert into lightning magic to attack enemies.

However, its earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magical technique) has been greatly enhanced, and is almost as powerful as that of the Golden Armor Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone.

Furthermore, due to the unique nature of its species, its earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of technique that can be used to escape into muddy areas) can be quite effective even in swamps.

This is another area where it surpasses the Golden Armor Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone in this respect.

Another benefit of this kind of monster is that its excrement greatly helps promote the growth of spiritual plants.

Ordinary demonic beasts, due to their overly complex diets, produce excrement containing chaotic and even overly domineering spiritual energy, which would burn most spiritual plants to death or cause them injury if they absorbed it.

However, the excrement of the Thunderworm Beast is different.

Its diet is simple, and because it likes to live in damp mud, the spiritual energy contained in its excrement is relatively pure and gentle, making it easy for spiritual plants to absorb.

After Zhou Chun discovered this, he had it defecate in a fixed location, and then every once in a while, he had people collect the excrement to cultivate those rare spiritual herbs.

This may be its only use for many years to come!

Almost six months after the Thunderworm Beast advanced to the fourth tier, Zhou Zhiying's Heavenly Wind Thunder Eagle also successfully advanced to the fourth tier with the help of "Emperor's Dew".

This time, Zhou Chun doesn't need to cover anything up for it.

The fourth-tier Heavenly Wind Thunder Eagle soared through the sky above Azure Lotus Peak, stirring up a storm of thunderclouds and displaying its powerful strength after advancing to the next level.

In terms of strength alone, although it has only recently advanced, it is already able to defeat the Fire God Jackal, which advanced many years earlier, and even Zhou Daoyi's Azure Dragon.

After all, the combination of wind and thunder attributes is simply too powerful, possessing extreme speed and extreme attack power. Even if Lei Jiao Bai Bai was at this level back then, he wouldn't dare say that he could reliably suppress it.

However, with the fifth-tier demon king Silver Dragon Lord as a precedent, the appearance of a fourth-tier demon beast could no longer stir up any discussion in the cultivation world of Jing Kingdom.

This means that some cultivators within the Zhou family were overjoyed by this, and were even more motivated to cultivate their own spirit pets.

In fact, there is currently a surge of interest in cultivating spirit pets within the Zhou family.

The Zhou family profited greatly from the beast tide war a century ago, acquiring a large number of mid-to-high-level demon beast corpses and some demon cores.

Zhou Chun himself even put a fourth-tier demon core into the family treasury for family cultivators to exchange.

The Zhou family's treasury currently contains a considerable number of spiritual items that can help demonic beasts break through the barriers of the second and third tiers.

In the past, many Foundation Establishment cultivators and Purple Mansion cultivators of the Zhou family received magical artifacts as rewards from their family elders after breaking through to a higher realm. As a result, after a few years, they would accumulate so much merit that they would have nowhere to spend it and would find it difficult to exchange it for something of great help to them in the family treasury.

But now, many people only regret that they don't have enough good deeds to exchange for the truly precious things in their family's treasury.

For example, the fourth-tier demon core and the fourth-tier high-grade thunder talisman that Zhou Chun put in are things that even the Golden Core elders of the Zhou family would find difficult to obtain.

After all, apart from a few family elders such as Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi, most of the Zhou family's Golden Core elders had only recently successfully formed their cores. Even if they had accumulated some merit points before, it was far from enough compared to the millions of merit points required to exchange for those items.

But because of these hopes, many members of the Zhou family are now diligently cultivating and completing family tasks, hoping to accumulate enough merit as soon as possible to exchange for what they desire.

This is the optimal operating state for a faction.

Only when sect disciples or family members are given a tangible prospect will they genuinely and voluntarily serve their sect or family. This is far more effective than forcing or binding them to do things with power or responsibility.

With thousands of cultivators now serving the Zhou family, top-tier cultivators like Zhou Chun can now peacefully enjoy the conveniences these people bring them.

For example, his spirit pets each have their own favorite types of food, which are now being hunted and caught by Zhou family cultivators to provide for them.

He could always retrieve suitable materials from the family treasury when he tried alchemy or weapon crafting. Even if something wasn't in the family treasury, someone would immediately go and help find it once a task was assigned.

At the same time, he didn't need to inquire about any information from the cultivation world, because the Zhou family's intelligence agency had already established a branch in the Great Zhou Kingdom, and every six months they would compile and send back to the Jing Kingdom some major events in the cultivation world near the Great Zhou Kingdom.

As for the intelligence from the Heavenly Spirit Realm, as long as it involves major events circulating in the cultivation world, such as someone forming their core in a certain place, or two Golden Core families fighting over a certain mine, this intelligence will be quickly compiled into a book and sent back to the Zhou family for Zhou Chun to read at any time.

He possesses the [Purifying Heaven and Earth Divine Jar], so he may not need to worry about the influence of the turbid evil energy. However, the convenience that a powerful force can provide him is something that a lone cultivator can hardly enjoy.

Not to mention the soon-to-be-completed [Heavenly Azure Dragon Formation].

This level of forbidden array has powerful protective capabilities, but it also requires a large number of people to be stationed and maintain its operation. It cannot be controlled by any lone cultivator on their own.

Only a cave dwelling protected by such a grand formation can truly be called impregnable. Even if you travel far from home, you don't have to worry about your cave dwelling being completely looted when you return!

When engaging in important closed-door cultivation, one need not worry about being disturbed by enemies who might suddenly appear at one's door.

Because of these many conveniences, even those rogue cultivators in the Nascent Soul stage in the cultivation world usually take in some disciples and grand-disciples to establish a small force to serve themselves and facilitate their cultivation.

On this day, after nearly three years and numerous adjustments and modifications, Zhang Liang and Master Qianmu finally set up the [Heavenly Azure Dragon Formation].

On the day the formation was completed, Zhou Chun placed the top-grade magic weapon, the Azure Profound Seal, into the center of the formation. Then, following the instructions of Master Qianmu, he consecrated the main formation flag and activated the formation by performing hand seals.

In an instant, countless green spiritual lights erupted from the ancient evergreen tree on Azure Lotus Peak, extending towards the sky and the earth, reaching tens of thousands of feet into the sky and hundreds of miles away before stopping.

Then these green and blue spiritual lights intertwined and flickered, gradually fading in color, transforming into a colorless and formless array that covered hundreds of miles around Azure Lotus Peak.

From this moment on, any cultivator entering the array will be monitored at all times and may be attacked by the array at any time.

Of course, if Zhou Chun didn't want anyone to enter this array domain, he could form a physical barrier to block people from entering, but that would consume a lot of spiritual energy from the spiritual veins.

Generally, one wouldn't do this unless faced with an extremely powerful enemy attack.

However, another advantage of such forbidden arrays is that they are very comprehensive in function.

For example, Zhou Chun can set up three functions while maintaining low energy consumption of the formation.

The first layer is the most basic surveillance function. Any cultivator or demon beast that enters the array will trigger the array's reaction and be detected by the cultivators stationed in the nearby area.

The second layer is the illusion function. Cultivators or demons who enter the array to a certain depth will automatically trigger the array's illusion restriction and fall into an illusion.

The third layer is a protective barrier. The eighty-mile area centered on the evergreen tree is protected by an invisible array barrier at all times. Even if the Zhou family cultivators inside the barrier want to go out, they can only enter and exit through fixed entrances and exits.

Only a select few with special access rights are allowed to freely enter and exit this array barrier.

Even under normal low-consumption conditions, this array barrier has the power to withstand several attacks from early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators and prevent mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators from probing with their divine sense!

Therefore, once the [Heavenly Azure Dragon Formation] is successfully set up, even in normal circumstances, it is sufficient to defend against a surprise attack from an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

If the great formation is fully activated, even without a Nascent Soul cultivator in charge, it can keep an early Nascent Soul cultivator out of the formation!

Moreover, if the grand formation is activated at full power, the power of the formation can be used to activate the top-grade magic weapon [Azure Profound Seal] to suppress powerful enemies, which is equivalent to a Nascent Soul stage cultivator activating a top-grade magic weapon to fight enemies. In addition, various formation killing moves can also be launched.

It can be said that after the [Heavenly Azure Dragon Formation] is successfully set up, as long as it does not encounter a Nascent Soul early stage cultivator who is proficient in formations, or the opponent has some special formation-breaking method, the Zhou family mountain gate is not something that a Nascent Soul early stage cultivator can take down, even without a Nascent Soul stage cultivator in charge.

Once this formation is complete, the Zhou family will have filled the last gap in the power structure.

From now on, even if Zhou Chun is not in the family's mountain gate, with this formation in place, the Zhou family will no longer have to worry about a Nascent Soul cultivator causing the family's annihilation.

"Excellent, very good! The power of this formation is indeed as exaggerated as claimed. It was well worth the resources and effort the family invested in it!"

After personally inspecting all the functions of the array, Zhou Chun concluded the inspection with great satisfaction.

Seeing that he had no objections, Master Qianmu smiled with relief and said, "This [Heavenly Azure Dragon Formation] is indeed an ancient formation of extraordinary power. What's rare is that it is extremely compatible with the terrain of the Azure Lotus Mountain Range, and the evergreen trees are also an excellent base for supporting the formation. Even the great protective formation that the Azure Lotus Temple spent hundreds of years perfecting and building is probably no more than this!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun immediately bowed respectfully to him and said, "I was able to set up this formation thanks to Fellow Daoist Qianmu's help. I will always remember your kindness."

"You're too kind, Fellow Daoist Zhou. I was merely acting out of loyalty!"

Qianmu Zhenren waved his hand repeatedly with a smile, saying politely, but inwardly he was very satisfied with Zhou Chun's attitude.

It should be noted that in the past few years, he has really spent a lot of energy to help Zhang Liang set up this great formation, and even personally taught Zhang Liang some advanced formation techniques in many places.

If Zhang Liang hadn't been lacking in cultivation and hadn't had so little lifespan left, he might have had the chance to witness the realm of a grandmaster in the future!

Zhou Chun was aware of these things, which is why she thanked him.

"Speaking of loyalty, now that the great formation is complete, it's time to hand over the reward I promised to Fellow Daoist Qianmu. Please check it yourself and see if you are satisfied."

As Zhou Chun finished speaking, he raised his hand, patted the storage bag at his waist, and took out two jade boxes, handing them to Master Qianmu.

This jade box contains two different spiritual herbs, but they are also auxiliary ingredients needed to refine the same kind of pill. They are the auxiliary ingredients needed for the [Nascent Soul Pill]!

If such a reward had not been offered, how could Zhou Chun, who had only recently returned to the Zhou family, have been able to persuade a Nascent Soul stage array master like Master Qianmu to painstakingly set up a protective array for him?

Seeing that he had delivered the reward as promised, Chiki Masato's smile grew even brighter.

After briefly examining the quality of the spiritual herbs inside the two jade boxes, he accepted them with a broad smile, nodding repeatedly to Zhou Chun and saying, "The items are correct; they are exactly as Fellow Daoist Zhou described. I will accept them without further ado!"

After exchanging pleasantries with Zhou Chun, he left behind a handwritten note detailing his routine maintenance of the [Heavenly Azure Dragon Formation], and then took his leave.

After seeing off Master Qianmu, Zhou Chun turned around and looked at Zhang Liang, the Zhou family's array master, who looked noticeably older.

In recent years, Master Qianmu has certainly put a lot of effort into setting up formations, but the one who has truly consumed the most energy is undoubtedly Zhang Liang, the Zhou family's own formation master.

His cultivation level was already low, and his mastery of formations was far inferior to that of Master Qianmu. In order to understand and master the things that Master Qianmu explained, he had to rack his brains and put in a lot of effort to think and learn.

Cultivators are also human. If they spend a long time exhausting themselves doing certain things, their lifespan will be depleted more quickly.

So although only three years had passed, Zhang Liang's lifespan had actually been reduced by far more than three years!

Zhou Chun felt as if he might pass away at any moment, but in reality, his lifespan was probably no more than three years!

Thinking this, Zhou Chun asked in a concerned and gentle tone, "Elder Zhang, how are you feeling now?"

Hearing his concerned words, Zhang Liang bowed slightly and replied respectfully, "Thank you for your concern, Clan Chief. I shouldn't die anytime soon; I should be able to live for another year or two to organize what I've learned from Senior Qianmu!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun immediately waved his hand and said, "There's no rush. Since you're free for the time being, rest for a few days and then visit Elder Luo. She's a master alchemist and should know how to help you regulate your body and extend your lifespan as much as possible."

Luo Qingni is currently busy cultivating and rarely leaves her cave, nor does she see outsiders.

But Zhou Chun will definitely give him face.

Zhou Chun also needed Zhang Liang, the master of formations, to pass on his most precious knowledge of formations to the next generation of formation masters in his family.

Zhang Liang naturally wouldn't refuse, and quickly bowed to express his gratitude: "Thank you for your kindness, clan leader. I understand."

"Alright, you should go and rest now."

Zhou Chun nodded slightly and sent him off to rest.

Over the next few months, Zhou Chun, Zhou Mingde, Zhou Daoyi, and Zhou Xinyan, four Golden Core cultivators from the Zhou family, spent their time familiarizing themselves with the control methods of the [Heavenly Azure Dragon Formation].

Once Zhou Chun had fully mastered the control of the formation, he handed the main formation flag to Zhou Mingde, allowing them to take turns familiarizing themselves with it, while he returned to his cave to meditate.

Another year passed, and the Fiery Phoenix finally completely refined the fourth-grade high-quality demon core, reaching a level sufficient to trigger a heavenly tribulation.

"Feng'er, how is your cultivation of the [Fire Spirit Avatar] secret technique progressing? Is it sufficient to cope with the Heavenly Tribulation now?"

Inside the cave, Zhou Chun looked at the Fiery Phoenix, whose aura was perfectly balanced and full of vitality. While feeling gratified and happy, he also inquired about its progress in cultivating the Tribulation Transcending Secret Technique.

The Fiery Phoenix has a rather obvious weakness in this regard: the time it has had to awaken its bloodline inheritance is too short, less than a hundred years.

Lei Jiao Bai Bai awakened his bloodline inheritance as soon as he broke through to the fourth level, so he had plenty of time to cultivate the Tribulation Transcending Secret Technique.

Sure enough, upon hearing his words, the Fiery Phoenix replied somewhat nervously, "Replying to Master, because I previously devoted too much energy to the 'Heavenly Annihilation Four Symbols Formation,' the [Fire Spirit Avatar] secret technique is still far from being fully mastered!"

It hadn't expected that Zhou Chun would be able to get it a fourth-grade high-quality fire-attribute demon core to consume and refine.

If it continues to cultivate and grow normally, it should be able to successfully cultivate the [Fire Spirit Avatar] secret technique by the time it reaches the fourth stage of perfection.

Upon hearing its reply, Zhou Chun fell silent.

After witnessing the power of the heavenly tribulation when Lei Jiao was undergoing his tribulation in vain, he no longer dared to underestimate the power of the heavenly tribulation of these top-tier demon beast races.

As a fire phoenix demon bird possessing seven true fire phoenix feathers, the power of the Heavenly Tribulation of the Fiery Phoenix should not be less than that of the Thunder Flood Dragon's tribulation.

However, its current preparations for the tribulation are clearly not as thorough as those of the Thunder Flood Dragon!

"In that case, don't rush into the tribulation. First, diligently cultivate the tribulation-crossing secret technique. I'll see if I can find a way to prepare a few more tribulation-crossing magic treasures for you!"

After a moment of silence, Zhou Chun softly offered his suggestion.

If possible, he would certainly want the Fiery Phoenix to undergo its tribulation immediately.

However, given the current state of Yan Yu Huo Feng's preparations, if she were to rashly attempt to undergo the tribulation, her success rate would likely be less than 50%.

He certainly wouldn't do something so risky.

Yan Yu Huo Feng clearly knew her own limitations and had no objection to his suggestion.

These demonic beasts take matters of tribulation very seriously.

After calming down the Fiery Phoenix, Zhou Chun couldn't help but think about helping his beloved pet overcome its tribulation.

According to his estimate, Bai Bai should be able to nurture the [Heavenly Gang Thunder-Slaying Sword] into a top-grade magic weapon in a few more years. At that time, this treasure will naturally be an essential item for the Fiery Phoenix of the Inferno to overcome its tribulation.

However, considering that the Fiery Phoenix and this treasure are not particularly compatible, and that a top-grade magic treasure was destroyed during the tribulation, it is clear that relying solely on such a top-grade magic treasure is far from enough.

Moreover, he only has one drop of the [Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk] left. Yan Yu Huo Feng won't be able to be as extravagant as Bai Bai to continuously consume this item to restore his magic power.

Therefore, in addition to the tribulation-crossing treasures, some pills to restore magic power must also be prepared for the Fiery Phoenix.

There's no need to prepare healing items, since the Fiery Phoenix possesses the [Undying Body] supernatural power, and its self-healing ability is already very strong.

Thinking about it this way, Zhou Chun couldn't help but sigh with a headache, "I used to think I had too many magical treasures and couldn't possibly use them all, but now it seems I was too optimistic!"

He and his apprentice now possess a total of twenty or thirty magical treasures.

Unfortunately, most of them are low-grade or mid-grade magic treasures, which cannot provide any help to demonic beasts in overcoming the Heavenly Tribulation.

Based on the power of the tribulation that Lei Jiao Bai Bai experienced, only high-grade magic treasures had a chance to withstand one or two tribulation lightning bolts. Mid-grade magic treasures would probably be able to weaken the power of a tribulation lightning bolt by 20-30%, which is not as powerful as them using their own supernatural abilities.

Currently, the only high-grade magic weapon that Zhou Chun possesses that can be used by the Fiery Phoenix to undergo its tribulation is a fire-attribute banner magic weapon that was given to him as compensation by True Person Ziyang. This magic weapon was also a natal magic weapon left behind by a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, so its power is somewhat diminished.

The [Dragon-Tiger Golden Ring] he had previously used was completely incompatible with the attributes of the Fiery Phoenix, making it too unwise to use it for tribulation.

"How about we find an opportunity to go to the cultivation world in the far west again?"

Thinking of the magical artifacts that resonated with the attributes of the Fiery Phoenix, Zhou Chun couldn't help but think of the cultivation world in the far west.

There are many fire-attribute cultivators over there. With his current cultivation level and wealth, he could probably exchange with a few Nascent Soul stage cultivators and, while he can't say for sure, acquire one or two high-grade magic treasures.

But after careful consideration, he decided to put the plan aside for the time being.

The Fiery Phoenix hasn't even successfully mastered the Tribulation Transcending Technique yet, so there's no need to rush into this matter. Otherwise, unless he's willing to sacrifice a top-grade magic weapon, there's little chance he can help it successfully transcend the tribulation.

He would wait until the Fiery Phoenix had successfully mastered the Tribulation Transcending Secret Technique before taking the opportunity to accomplish this task.

Two more years passed, and Zhang Liang, the Zhou family's master of formations, was nearing the end of his life.

Before he passed away, Zhou Chun, along with Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi, came to visit him after hearing the news.

This treatment is quite extraordinary even in the Zhou family today.

Inside the room, Zhou Chun looked at his elderly junior, who could no longer stand and could only lie on the bed. Recalling the scene when the two first met, he couldn't help but sigh.

Then he couldn't help but whisper, "Elder Zhang, you and I are among the earliest acquaintances in the family. Our meeting was only once, but it led to our current situation. Over the years, your contributions and achievements to the Zhou family have been witnessed by me and the entire Zhou family, and we are extremely grateful. I wonder if you have any last wishes that you would like me to help you fulfill?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liang's cloudy eyes lit up, and he looked at him with some excitement, murmuring softly, "It's kind of you, Clan Chief, to still remember what happened back then. I was fortunate enough to meet you, Clan Chief, and was saved by your kindness. I will never forget this debt of gratitude!"

He then murmured to himself, "Clan leader, you saved my life, and the Zhou family has taken me in and taught me. Although I am not of the same surname, I have long regarded the Zhou family as my home!"

"To have met the clan leader in this life is the greatest blessing of this junior. To be able to live out my days in the Zhou family, this junior has no regrets!"

"Therefore, I have no other desires now but to be buried in the same grave as my deceased wife, Xindie, and to have the descendants of the Zhou family sweep and offer sacrifices. That would be enough to satisfy me!"

His answer deeply moved Zhou Chun.

It should be noted that he and Zhou Xindie also left behind descendants, and among his descendants are a Foundation Establishment cultivator and several Qi Refining cultivators.

If he were to speak now, aside from other things, Zhou Chun could certainly guarantee that his descendants for three generations would have Foundation Establishment cultivators.

However, he did not bring it up and had no intention of taking advantage of the situation.

This is enough to show that his gratitude was not just lip service!

A person may be good at pretending in ordinary times, and may be able to pretend for a lifetime, but there is no need to continue pretending when they are about to die!

This made Zhou Chun feel a little regretful. If he had supported Zhang Liang more back then, perhaps the outcome would be different now.

But there's no going back in life, so all he could do was nod solemnly and say, "Elder Zhang, rest assured, as long as the Zhou family exists, your and Xindie's graves will never be neglected!"

"To hear these words from the clan leader, this junior, this junior, could die without regret!"

The old man on the bed grinned, and then closed his eyes forever with a smile on his face.

"Ancestor, Grand Uncle, you both heard what I just said. It is a blessing for our Zhou family to have such a talented person who will serve us faithfully for a lifetime. Therefore, I suggest that as long as there are cultivators in his lineage, the most outstanding person in each generation should be guaranteed one Foundation Establishment Pill, for ten generations!"

Looking at the old man lying on the bed, whose soul had already departed for the underworld, Zhou Chun spoke his thoughts in a low voice to the two elders beside him.

Upon hearing his suggestion, Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi exchanged a glance, and then Zhou Mingde sighed with emotion, "Alas, if we had known earlier that this boy was so loyal, we would have definitely supported him in trying to form his core back then, and we should have even done our best to help Xin Die open her Purple Mansion!"

Having said that, he nodded solemnly and said, "I have no objection to Zheng Chun's suggestion. This matter will also be announced to the entire clan to commend his loyalty and contributions to the clan!"

"That's only right!"

Zhou Daoyi nodded in agreement.