Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 678 The Crow-Headed Dragon [Please Subscribe]

The death of Zhang Liang, the only formation master in the Zhou family, did indeed cause quite a stir within the family.

The main reason is that he completed the setup of the forbidden array of the [Heavenly Azure Dragon Array] a few years ago, which made him a big name in the array master community of the entire Jing Kingdom cultivation world and earned him the respect of many Zhou family cultivators.

He was also the first person to obtain the status of elder after the Zhou family's new policies, possessing both the cultivation level of the Purple Mansion stage and the status of a formation master, and he was also a relative of the maternal family.

These two incidents alone were enough to make him the center of attention within the family.

When Zhou Mingde personally announced his decision to guarantee that his descendants would have Foundation Establishment Pills for ten generations during the funeral ceremony, his reputation was elevated to a new level.

This decision shocked many cultivators of the Zhou family clan, and also greatly surprised cultivators from the maternal relatives, such as Xu Fu.

Before this, none of these relatives could believe that the Zhou family would make such a promise because of a certain relative cultivator!

For certain reasons well-known within the Zhou family's in-law circle, although the Zhou family usually treats these in-law cultivators equally and without any mistreatment,

However, in the competition for some important strategic resources, these relatives of the Zhou family cultivators are a level below the Zhou family's own cultivators.

Unless they are truly exceptionally talented or have made outstanding contributions, they should generally not expect to obtain important resources such as Foundation Establishment Pills and spiritual items that assist in opening the Purple Mansion.

【Foundation Building Fruit】These kinds of spiritual items, which are useful for Foundation Building, are the best Foundation Building resources that most relatives of the cultivators can enjoy.

Of course, even so, it's still better than being in a small family or being a rogue cultivator.

Therefore, prior to this, the feelings of these maternal relatives towards the Zhou family were also very complicated.

They were grateful for the generous treatment and various opportunities provided by the Zhou family, and were filled with motivation.

However, he also felt dissatisfied and regretful that he could not truly enjoy the best resources of the Zhou family.

Under the influence of these complex emotions, these relatives of the emperor formed two groups.

Some people felt that since they couldn't get the same treatment as the Zhou family members anyway, they simply gave up and did nothing. Apart from fulfilling some of the obligations that the Zhou family members and their relatives had to do, they usually just enjoyed themselves. They would occasionally invite some like-minded people to a restaurant to order a table of spiritual food and have a big meal, or go to the arena to gamble a little for fun.

Others, unwilling to succumb to despair, have been striving to improve themselves by leveraging the Zhou family's platform, hoping to rise above their circumstances.

Let's not dwell on the former type of people, as it's impossible to judge whether they are good or bad. After all, they just don't want to work hard, and they haven't neglected their duties or obligations.

For the Zhou family, the latter type of person may not actually be a good thing.

After all, once these people actually make it big, they may one day vent their dissatisfaction in some way, creating a huge potential threat to the Zhou family.

Even if they did this, it might not cause the Zhou family any significant losses, but it would still be detrimental to the family.

Because of this, Zhou Mingde, Zhou Xinyan and others who were in real control of the family did not dare to give these people too many opportunities before, for fear that they would raise ungrateful people in the future!

They chose to do this, and it can't be said that they did something wrong.

After all, the Zhou family is always the Zhou family. If they insist on giving the Zhou family's own cultivators and relatives the same treatment, it would be digging up their own roots and would only shake their true and largest base.

No cultivation family would do that.

Conversely, those disgruntled relatives of the emperor who became monks cannot be said to be ungrateful.

After all, they had to put in real effort and hard work to acquire resources from the Zhou family. Yet, despite putting in even more effort, they still couldn't get the same treatment as the Zhou family's own cultivators. How could these capable people accept that?

Fortunately, the Zhou family still had Xu Fu, a Golden Core stage elder cultivated by the maternal relatives, as a golden signboard, which could appease those capable maternal relatives cultivators, give them some hope, and prevent the conflict from escalating completely.

However, without better incentives or solutions, once these relatives of the Zhou family are stuck at the late Foundation Establishment or late Purple Mansion stages for a long time, they will realize that they have no chance of advancing further, that their life's struggle can only end here, and that they can no longer obtain any returns from the Zhou family.

It's hard to say what these people might do!

In this context, Zhang Liang, who, like Xu Fu, was once a role model among the Zhou family's maternal relatives and cultivators, had all his funeral rites arranged according to the standards of the Zhou family's own Golden Core elders after his death, and even received a guarantee of ten generations of blessings personally promised by the Zhou family's ancestor.

This move undoubtedly greatly shocked those relatives of the emperor who were cultivators, allowing them to see another way to get a reward without their efforts being in vain!

Indeed, due to the scarcity of special resources, the Zhou family may never be able to provide these relatives of the Zhou family with the same treatment as the members of their own clan.

This is a fact they are unwilling to accept, yet it is inevitable.

Unless they can overthrow the Zhou family, this fact cannot be changed!

Given that they certainly cannot change this fact, they may choose to accept reality and strive in another direction.

As relatives of the Zhou family, they all have descendants, and those descendants all have the blood of the Zhou family and are all surnamed Zhou. They are Zhou family members who are listed in the Zhou family genealogy.

These descendants, as cultivators of the Zhou family clan, will receive all the same treatment as cultivators of the Zhou family clan in the future, and will not be subject to the constraints of their "surname".

In this way, the level they themselves could not reach, they might be able to have their children and grandchildren achieve for them.

Perhaps in a few years, their children and grandchildren will also become elders of the Zhou family, forming their own faction within the Zhou family!

If one can use their own strength to bring wealth and prosperity to three generations of descendants, that would be an excellent thing!

This may be a choice made out of necessity, but it is also a choice that is relatively acceptable to them.

After all, if you can't compete with certain people, then compete with your descendants. This is a thought that has been rooted in the bloodline of humankind since ancient times.

"This is a pleasant surprise."

When Zhou Daoyi told Zhou Chun about the findings of his investigation, Zhou Chun nodded slightly and gave his assessment.

Hearing his assessment, Zhou Daoyi nodded repeatedly and said, "It is indeed a pleasant surprise. Moreover, since there is a Zhang Liang, perhaps we should abandon some of our past prejudices and give more cultivators like Zhang Liang, who know how to be grateful and have real skills, a chance."

"Anyway, with Zheng Chun in charge of the family now, even if a few more Golden Core cultivators from other clans emerge, we don't need to worry about them causing trouble!"

These words, coming from his mouth, made Zhou Chun quite surprised.

Throughout history, the two people in the Zhou family who were most wary of their maternal relatives were Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi.

Now even he has come out, which shows that Zhang Liang's words before his death had a powerful effect, truly changing some of their rigid ideas.

"Could this also be Zhang Liang's intention?"

Zhou Chun's eyes flickered slightly, and he couldn't help but think too much.

However, he quickly stopped thinking about the probability of this happening, because he couldn't possibly go back to Zhang Liang to verify it.

Now we can simply be happy that Zhou Daoyi and his colleagues have changed their views.

He then said with emotion, "Uncle, I am very pleased that you think this way. A great mind embraces all things. Our Zhou family should now break free from old ways and create a new future, so that the Zhou family not only belongs to the Zhou family, but also to all those who serve the Zhou family!"

"I will remember your words, Masazumi. I hope I won't entrust this to the wrong person again!"

Zhou Daoyi nodded slightly, his words filled with emotion.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun knew that he might need some positive feedback to truly resolve his past issues, so he silently made a note of it.

After his mindset changed slightly, Zhou Daoyi's attitude towards outstanding individuals among the maternal relatives and cultivators quickly changed when he was managing the family. He also used these individuals to convey the family's upper echelons' change of opinion on the entire maternal relatives group.

This news was immediately hotly discussed among relatives of the deceased, sparking numerous speculations.

However, the ordinary Zhou family cultivators did not have any opinion on this.

The Zhou family is currently in a period of rapid growth. As long as the family cultivators are willing to work hard and have talent, they can exchange various resources from the family.

Even if the upper echelons of the family allocate some resources to the relatives of the cultivators, it won't take away their share, so of course they won't become villains.

After all, the spouses of maternal relatives are their own siblings, and those people would certainly be happy if their partners lived better lives within the family.

Some of the Zhou family's core members and elders who had a long-term vision knew that such a major event must have been approved by the clan leader, so even if they had some thoughts in their hearts, they would not reveal them for the time being.

In short, for those cultivators who are currently serving the Zhou family, this is the best of times!

With two fifth-tier beings, Chun Jun Zhenren and Yin Long Jun, presiding over the clan, the clan's treasury is filled with various rare and precious spiritual resources. As long as one cultivates diligently and completes tasks to gain merit, it is relatively easy to exchange for the items needed within the clan.

Such excellent treatment is something that cultivators from small and medium-sized forces and independent cultivators can only dream of.

……

Yunzhou, Shenyue Lake.

Yunzhou is a land with a dense network of waterways and numerous rivers and lakes, and Shenyue Lake is not particularly famous among them.

This lake is not large, only a hundred or two hundred miles in area, but its depth is extremely deep, reaching up to a thousand feet in the deepest part!

After the entire Yunzhou region was occupied by demonic beasts and transformed into a demonic domain, Shenyue Lake also became a habitat for some demonic beast groups that came from Longyuanze.

There are currently three types of monsters inhabiting Shenyue Lake: the Green-Eyed Black Toad, the Ink Cloud Crocodile, and the Black-Headed Dragon.

Among them, the Wushou Jiao clan possesses a relatively strong Jiaolong bloodline. Their offspring can advance to the second rank upon reaching adulthood, and upon breaking through to the third rank, there is a low probability that they will transform into a Mo Jiao.

Therefore, this clan became the leader of Shenyue Lake, occupying the underwater spiritual vein in the center of the lake, where a third-order black-headed dragon that failed to transform into a dragon resided and guarded the area.

The Azure-Eyed Black Toad and the Ink Cloud Crocodile clans both possess a bit of the Ink Dragon bloodline, which is why they can live side by side with the Three-Headed Black Dragon in Shenyue Lake. Although they do not have any third-tier demon beasts, they do have some second-tier demon beasts.

Of course, the vast Shenyue Lake and the surrounding expansive land are certainly not only home to these three types of demonic beasts. It's just that other demonic beasts are unable to form large groups and can only occupy small areas as nests, relying on the three races for survival.

That night, on the eastern shore of Shenyue Lake, at a shallow beach where the river and lake water meet, several human cultivators carefully hid in a grove of trees on the shore, all staring wide-eyed at the patch of water plants a hundred feet away.

As the full moon rose higher and night fell, two huge black shadows gradually emerged from the shallow water under the soft moonlight and squeezed into the grassy area where the water was less than half a meter deep.

With the help of the moonlight, the human cultivators in the forest could easily see the full appearance of the two huge black shadows.

They were none other than two black-headed dragons, each over seven zhang long!

The appearance of the Wushou Jiao is extremely ugly. Its head looks like a snakehead, with a mouth full of sharp teeth, while its body is as long and narrow as a dragon, covered with black dragon scales, and it also emits an indescribable stench.

These monsters usually prefer to rest at the bottom of deep lakes and rarely come to shallow waters near the shore, except in one specific situation.

That's the time after mating when they lay their eggs!

The black-headed dragon may indeed have the bloodline of the snakehead, as they can lay hundreds or even thousands of eggs at a time!

However, not all of these fish eggs can become Wushou Jiao (a type of dragon).

Normally, the eggs laid by the black-headed dragon will hatch quickly, and then the hatched fry will begin to kill each other, devouring other siblings, until only a few remain. Only then will the parents separate them to stop this infighting.

The reason why the Wushou Jiao (a type of dragon) comes to shallow waters during its egg-laying period is to avoid being harmed by other members of its kind.

Because the Wushou Jiao (a type of dragon) kill each other from birth, the relationship between members of this clan is not very good.

If other Wushou Jiao discovers that their kind are laying eggs nearby, they may be awakened by their primordial instincts and devour the small fish.

Therefore, when the Wushou Jiao (a type of dragon) lays its eggs, it tries to avoid the deep water areas where its kind inhabits and instead comes to the safer shallow water areas to lay its eggs.

This grassland was the place chosen by the two black-headed dragons after many attempts. Before this, they had come here many times to inspect the area and drove away and hunted down all the monsters in the surrounding waters for twenty or thirty miles.

They even inspected the land.

In this situation, after the two black-headed dragons entered the grassland, the male black-headed dragon immediately rolled around in the grassland, flattening the water plants with its body and creating a temporary nest suitable for laying eggs.

The female black-headed dragon then entered the temporary nest to lay her eggs.

While the female Wushoujiao lays eggs, the male Wushoujiao stands guard and protects her.

In just a quarter of an hour or two, the female black-headed dragon laid thousands of fish eggs the size of broad beans.

These fish eggs are translucent, and inside you can see a black embryo about the size of a tadpole.

Under the moonlight, the embryos inside these fish eggs seemed to undergo some kind of chemical reaction, visibly growing little by little.

Just over an hour later, the first young black-headed dragon began to wag its tail and swim in the water.

After swimming for only a dozen or so breaths, it suddenly launched a fierce attack on another sapling that was not yet fully grown.

The two adult black-headed dragons witnessed this scene, but they made no attempt to stop it, simply watching indifferently.

Time passed slowly, and the fry hatched from thousands of fish eggs were rapidly dwindling in the fierce battle.

By dawn, the number of seedlings in the water had dropped to single digits.

At this point, each of the seedlings already weighed five or six pounds.

At this point, the two adult black-headed dragons, who had been watching all night, finally made their move, stirring up the water to separate the bloodthirsty cubs.

At the same time, the female black-headed dragon opened her mouth and spat out a stream of black, ink-like liquid, which split into several portions and flowed towards the separated cubs.

After being enveloped in the black, ink-like liquid for a while, the cubs gradually calmed down and stopped attacking their siblings as frantically as before.

At this point, the egg-laying process of the two black-headed dragons is complete. They can then take their young back to their nest deep in Shenyue Lake and slowly raise them to adulthood.

But just as they were about to leave, several magical artifacts and spells suddenly emitted spiritual light from the trees on the shore, all converging on them.

Caught completely off guard, the two black-headed dragons could only hiss and raise a dark, misty aura to withstand the attacks in order to protect their young.

However, just as they managed to withstand the attacks despite their injuries, several human cultivators led a number of second-tier demonic beasts of similar size and charged forward.

After a fierce battle, both black-headed dragons were killed on the spot without exception.

Their cubs, which had been born less than a day ago, were caught and captured alive by several human cultivators using a fishing net.

"The commotion just now was quite loud; it's bound to alert the nearby monsters. Let's take the corpses and retreat first, and get out of this area around Chenyue Lake!"

Among the human cultivators, a tall, black-clad female cultivator seemed to be the leader, and she quickly gave instructions in a low voice.

Then the four of them put all the spirit pets into their spirit beast bags, and rolled up the corpses of the two black-headed dragons into their storage bags. They then quickly left the lakeside with the black-headed dragon cubs.

Not long after, the four reunited in a cave more than a hundred miles from Shenyue Lake and began to divide their spoils.

Inside the cave, the black-clad female cultivator glanced at her three companions—two men and one woman—and slowly said, "Let's talk about our harvest first: two corpses of black-headed dragons, both mid-grade second-tier demonic beasts, and six black-headed dragon cubs."

She paused slightly before continuing, "I discovered the location where the two black-headed dragons laid their eggs, and I've been staking out the area around Chenyue Lake for two years. I also personally killed the male black-headed dragon just now. I assembled this team single-handedly, so I'm entitled to half the loot. Do you have any objections?"

Upon hearing her words, the expressions of the other three changed, but they all seemed to have some reservations and none of them dared to refute her.

After a moment of silence, another female cultivator in green spoke up, "Sister Wang, we certainly don't deny your contribution, but isn't it a bit much that you take half the spoils all by yourself? We all sacrificed more than two months of cultivation time for this hunting mission!"

As the female cultivator in green spoke, she also gestured with her eyes to the man in blue beside her.

To her disappointment, the man in blue seemed not to have seen her signal and remained silent.

As for the other man in black, she didn't even look at him. He was the Daoist partner of the female cultivator in black, and there was no way he would speak up for her.

Seeing this, she couldn't help but feel anxious and urged the man in blue, "Brother Yuanxin, say something!"

Unexpectedly, the man in blue, Zhou Yuanxin, ignored her and instead looked at the female cultivator in black, saying, "The family has a long-standing rule that clansmen who cultivate new and valuable demonic beast species can be recognized as outstanding contributors and receive some rare resources. Sister Wang, are you perhaps considering using these young black-headed dragons to exchange for spiritual items to aid in opening your Purple Mansion?"

Upon hearing this, the female cultivator in black looked at him intently and said, "Yuanxin, you are a smart man. I never thought I could hide this from you. This is indeed what I intended."

Upon seeing this, Zhou Yuanxin immediately nodded and said, "Then how about this: my cousin Yuanqin and I can give up the six cubs of the Black-Headed Dragon, but the two corpses of the Black-Headed Dragons should belong to us. What do you think, Sister Wang?"

"this……"

The female cultivator in black's expression changed slightly, and she hesitated, her gaze subtly shifting to her Daoist partner beside her.

Upon seeing this, the man in black quickly spoke in a deep voice, "Do as Brother Yuanxin says. Your task of opening the Purple Mansion is more important, Madam!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuanxin immediately looked at the green-clad female cultivator and asked, "Sister Yuanqin, do you have any objections to this distribution method?"

"No, I'm very satisfied with your distribution method, Brother Yuanxin."

The green-clad female cultivator smiled, her previous anxiety vanished, and she readily agreed.

The corpse of a mid-grade second-tier demon beast, especially one with the impressive bloodline of a dragon, was undoubtedly a huge gain for her, who was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Seeing that the green-clad female cultivator had no objections, the black-clad female cultivator immediately bowed to Zhou Yuanxin and said, "In that case, thank you very much, Brother Yuanxin, for your kindness. I wish your Thunder Lizard Beast, with the help of the Crow-Headed Flood Dragon's corpse, will successfully advance to a mid-grade second-tier demon beast!"

"I also wish Sister Wang all the best in obtaining the spiritual item that helps you open your Purple Mansion!"

Zhou Yuanxin smiled knowingly and returned the greeting.

After reaching this distribution agreement, the four rested briefly before leaving Yunzhou and returning to the Qinglian Mountains.

Upon returning to Qinglian Peak, the black-clad female cultivator and her husband went to pay their respects to Zhou Daoyi, who was in charge of clan affairs, and presented him with the crow-headed dragon cub.

Zhou Yuanxin and Zhou Yuanqin went to Zhou Yuanxin's residence.

"Yuanqin, thanks to your cooperation this time, otherwise it would have been quite troublesome to get the corpses of the two black-headed dragons."

With only the two of them left in the room, Zhou Yuanxin smiled and took the storage bag containing the corpse of another black-headed dragon from Zhou Yuanqin, expressing her gratitude.

Zhou Yuanqin, however, changed from her previous impetuousness and said with a smile, "Brother Yuanxin, you are too kind. It is just a small matter."

After saying that, she looked at Zhou Yuanxin with anticipation and said, "Brother Yuanxin, you really didn't lie to me before? Is your Five-Colored Phoenix-Tailed Pheasant really about to lay eggs?"

"Of course it's true! How could I dare to lie about such an important matter!"

Zhou Yuanxin's expression turned serious, and he replied with a solemn face.

Upon receiving his affirmative answer, Zhou Yuanqin felt relieved and sincerely congratulated him, saying, "Then I congratulate you in advance, cousin! Don't forget to keep your promise to me!"

"Don't worry, cousin, I'll definitely save you a five-colored pheasant egg."

Zhou Yuanxin smiled gently and made the promise with a smile.

After chatting for a while longer, before Zhou Yuanqin left, Zhou Yuanxin couldn't help but advise her cousin, Chun Chun, "Although Sister Wang is not of the same surname, she has a superior spiritual root aptitude and is very capable. She is highly regarded by Elder Xu. This time, obtaining the spiritual item to help open the Purple Mansion should be a sure thing. Cousin Yuanqin, you should be more humble in front of her in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuanqin's expression changed slightly, then she smiled faintly and said, "I understand. If she really succeeds in opening her Purple Mansion, I will naturally be willing to humble myself before her in the future."

This statement clearly indicates that the speaker still harbors some resentment.

But Zhou Yuanxin could only touch on the subject and didn't say anything more. He could only shake his head slightly and watch her leave.

He then returned to his residence and looked at the two storage bags containing the corpses of the Black-headed Dragon on the table, a burning desire appearing in his eyes.

"With the corpses of the two Black-headed Dragons as nourishment, the Thunder Lizard Beast should have no problem advancing. With a mid-grade second-tier Five-Colored Phoenix-Tail Pheasant and a mid-grade second-tier Thunder Lizard Beast as my spirit pets, once my cultivation breaks through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, applying for the [Purple Dust Pill] exchange qualification should be easy to obtain."

Meanwhile, inside Zhou Chun's cave, his expression immediately turned serious after receiving the information from True Person Tianjing.

"Is it finally starting?"

Zhou Chun muttered to himself, his eyes revealing anticipation.

(End of this chapter)