Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 699 Ziyang's Conditions [Please Subscribe]

Qinglian Peak.

After Zhou Chun brought Zhou Mingde back to the family's mountain gate, Zhou Daoyi, who had been anxiously waiting for news, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Because of the gravity of the matter, he has not dared to easily reveal the news to others these past few days, and can only suffer the anxiety and torment alone.

Now that he saw that Zhou Mingde was alright, he finally felt relieved.

Naturally, they immediately offered words of comfort and inquired about the specific situation.

After learning the details of what had happened from Zhou Mingde and Zhou Chun, he exclaimed with relief, "This is truly a stroke of luck amidst misfortune! Fortunately, Zheng Chun, you arrived in time and had the right medicine with you; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

"Yes, I was able to escape with my life this time, thanks truly to Masazumi!"

Zhou Mingde also sighed in deep agreement, his words filled with gratitude towards Zhou Chun.

Although he is a seasoned veteran who has experienced many ups and downs, he has not experienced many life-threatening situations like this, and each time he has experienced one, he is filled with countless emotions.

Moreover, this experience made him determined not to travel alone again in the future, so as to avoid the possibility of something like this happening again and causing worry to the younger generation of his clan.

He didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble for the younger generation of his family because of himself.

"You two elders are too kind. These are merely the duties that a junior should fulfill."

Zhou Chun didn't mind the trouble Zhou Mingde had caused this time, because he himself had caused a lot of trouble when he traveled before, and he knew that these were unavoidable risks when traveling in the cultivation world.

Since his elders didn't scold him when he caused trouble back then, how could he possibly blame them now?

After this exchange, Zhou Chun told Zhou Mingde, who was seriously injured, to go back to his cave to recuperate, and then he himself went back to his cave to take stock of the gains and losses of the trip.

Zhou Chun suffered considerable losses in this rescue operation in Wuyang Kingdom.

His avatar suffered a great loss of cultivation in the Void Secret Realm, and it is unknown how long it will take to recover his cultivation.

At the same time, both Golden-Winged Tiger and Silver Dragon Lord suffered some minor injuries and need to rest for a period of time to recover.

However, although his losses were significant, his gains were equally substantial.

He raised his hand and patted the storage bag at his waist, and a dozen or so earth-yellow crystals appeared in his hand.

These are fragments from the shattered energy core of that rock giant.

The energy core that was not broken at that time was somewhat similar in nature to the Snow Demon Core that Zhou Chun possessed in his incarnation. It seemed to have been made from the core of a monster such as a stone monster or a mountain spirit.

However, the rock giant's strength is as high as the fifth rank. If it was really made from the core of a monster, wouldn't that mean that the people of the Jin Yue Sect killed a fifth-rank monster demon king back then?

Zhou Chun felt it shouldn't be that exaggerated.

It's highly likely that the energy core was also refined using the core of a fourth-order superior-grade spirit monster. It may have been infused with some other spiritual object, which caused it to undergo a qualitative change and become a fifth-order spirit core!

Undoubtedly, as a fifth-order puppet creation, the rock giant is clearly superior to all the fifth-order puppets Zhou Chun has seen before in terms of skill and strength.

It possesses a powerful energy core that allows it to absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth to restore its magical power and repair its physical damage, making it almost equivalent to a true fifth-tier demon king!

This was the first time Zhou Chun had ever seen or heard of such a unique puppet creation.

Unfortunately, he destroyed it himself, and it will probably never be seen again.

After examining the crystal fragments in his hand, Zhou Chun summoned the Golden Armored Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone and asked it to see if it could make use of these things.

After hearing Zhou Chun's words, the Golden-Armored Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone didn't waste any time. It opened its mouth and swallowed a crystal fragment, using the simplest and most direct method to verify whether the thing was useful to it.

After a while, its eyes lit up, and it nodded repeatedly at Zhou Chun, expressing its desire through telepathic communication with great joy.

Judging from its meaning, the effect of the crystal fragments is somewhat similar to that of a demon core; it can completely digest and transform them into its own cultivation.

Moreover, the quality of the crystal fragments is quite high, and their digestion and absorption are very effective.

This was roughly the same as Zhou Chun's initial prediction.

After all, even if the Golden Armor Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone eats some high-grade earth-attribute ores, it can still digest them and improve its own cultivation.

"Since these things are useful to you, you can take them and digest them properly."

Zhou Chun smiled slightly and immediately gave all the crystal fragments to the Golden Armored Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone, letting it return to its nest to digest them slowly on its own.

If things go well, the Golden Armored Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone might even trigger a Heavenly Tribulation after it has digested all these crystal fragments.

After processing the crystal fragments obtained from the rock giant, Zhou Chun took out the storage bag he had obtained from Pang Zhenyue and examined and inventoried it.

As a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, Pang Zhenyue spent several days in the Void Secret Realm, and naturally gained a great deal from it.

Zhou Chun opened his storage bag and, after taking stock, discovered that, in addition to the [Longevity Grass] that Zhou Mingde had found, his storage bag also contained a variety of rare and ancient spiritual herbs, as well as a considerable number of various spiritual fruits and fourth-order spiritual wood.

There are a total of sixteen "Longevity Grasses". Among them, three are over five thousand years old, eight are over three thousand years old, and the remaining five are between five hundred and three thousand years old.

Pang Zhenyue might also want to try to plant these spiritual herbs. Several young medicinal herbs were placed in the jade box along with the soil.

Upon discovering this, Zhou Chun immediately handed over these medicinal herbs, which were less than three thousand years old, to Mu Mei Mu Sang, asking her to deliver them to Luo Qingni to see if there was any chance of them surviving.

As for the remaining [Longevity Grass], we'll see if there's a chance to refine it into longevity pills in the future, or exchange it with other Nascent Soul cultivators for useful treasures.

However, the recipe is also a problem when it comes to refining elixirs.

None of the pill formulas currently possessed by the Zhou family can utilize the [Longevity Grass].

Even in the cultivation world ten thousand years ago, this kind of spiritual medicine was a rare treasure, and the pill formulas that could utilize it were all closely guarded secrets of certain powerful forces.

But that doesn't matter, because now the elixirs are far more sought after than the prescriptions.

As long as Zhou Chun dares to spread the news, there will naturally be people willing to exchange the pill formula with him.

So after dealing with the [Longevity Grass], he began to take inventory of the other spiritual items.

After taking stock, Zhou Chun smiled with satisfaction.

From Pang Zhenyue, he obtained two high-grade magic treasures, two mid-grade magic treasures, and, not counting the [Longevity Grass], two spiritual herbs over five thousand years old, fifteen spiritual herbs over three thousand years old, and over a hundred spiritual herbs over a thousand years old.

There were also quite a few other miscellaneous items, which would certainly be a very satisfying gain for a Golden Core cultivator.

However, in Zhou Chun's eyes, it could only be used to reward the younger generation and enrich the family treasury.

Professional tasks should be left to professionals.

After obtaining a large batch of high-quality spiritual herbs, Zhou Chun quickly went to visit Luo Qingni's cave.

Then, without holding anything back, he took out all the various spiritual herbs he had harvested for inspection, in order to hear his opinions on how to handle them.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou is indeed a person of great fortune. Not only did he manage to obtain so many of these rare spiritual herbs, such as the Longevity Grass, which are almost extinct in the outside world, but he also obtained so many different kinds of thousand-year-old precious herbs. It's impossible not to be envious!"

Inside the cave, after examining the various spiritual herbs Zhou Chun had brought out, Luo Qingni looked at him with a face full of joy and admiration, and sighed in admiration.

She couldn't remember how many times she had said similar things.

But whenever she encountered this situation, this was the only way she could express her amazement.

Because she knew very well that even for a Nascent Soul cultivator, it would be extremely difficult to produce so many rare spiritual herbs at once.

Only those who come from a long-established and powerful family, and who are the only ones who have the final say within that family, could possibly achieve this.

If a faction has two Nascent Soul stage cultivators, then the rare spiritual herbs cultivated and preserved by the sect's predecessors within that faction cannot be used by just anyone.

These are all public and ancestral properties of the entire sect and family. To use them, one must have a very legitimate reason and obtain the support and approval of most of the sect's senior members.

The spiritual herbs that Zhou Chun is now taking out all belong to him; they are all his spoils of war, and he has complete control over them.

"Qingni, you are a master alchemist and have seen the various rare and precious medicinal herbs on that secret island. In your opinion, how should these herbs be used to their full potential?"

Zhou Chun ignored Luo Qingni's envious sighs and simply looked at her calmly as she expressed her own thoughts.

Upon hearing his words, Luo Qingni was slightly taken aback, and then said, "Qingni needs to think carefully before giving an answer."

"It's alright, there's no rush. Qingni, take your time to think about it."

Zhou Chun waved his hand, looking indifferent.

Zhou Chun wasn't in a hurry to leave. He drank the spiritual tea while waiting for Luo Qingni's reply.

After waiting for about an hour, Luo Qingni looked up at him and said, "I've kept Fellow Daoist Zhou waiting. Based on the various pill formulas available, I have some ideas about Fellow Daoist Zhou's spiritual herbs."

"In Qingni's opinion, with these spiritual herbs from Fellow Daoist Zhou, combined with some spiritual herbs from that secret island, and the pills that could previously be refined to help improve the cultivation of early and mid-stage Golden Core cultivators, we can refine one batch of high-grade spiritual pills to restore essence, blood, and vital energy, and two batches of high-grade spiritual pills to heal internal injuries!"

"Furthermore, if we can find two other rare spiritual herbs, we could even try to refine a batch of top-grade spiritual pills that will also improve your cultivation, Fellow Daoist Zhou!"

At this point, she added, "Of course, if we can obtain the right formula for those [Longevity Herbs], with Qingni's current skills, it shouldn't be difficult to refine some longevity pills!"

"Oh, Qingni, what kind of top-tier elixir are you talking about?"

Zhou Chun's expression shifted, and he looked at her with some surprise, asking her in detail.

"It is the [Purple Flower Crimson Pearl Pill]. The refining of this pill requires one [Crimson Pearl Grass] with a medicinal age of over five thousand years, one [Purple Yuan Immortal Mushroom] with a medicinal age of over five thousand years, and three other auxiliary medicines with a medicinal age of over five thousand years, totaling sixteen kinds of thousand-year-old precious medicines."

"Now, Fellow Daoist Zhou already possesses the most precious [Crimson Pearl Grass] and [Purple Yuan Immortal Mushroom], as well as another auxiliary ingredient and most of the varieties of thousand-year-old precious herbs. He only needs to find the remaining two auxiliary ingredients and several more thousand-year-old precious herbs to complete all the refining materials for the [Purple Flower Crimson Pearl Pill]!"

Luo Qingni recounted the relevant details in great detail, as if she knew them by heart.

As she successfully formed her nascent soul and it became clear that she would never be able to leave the Zhou family again, all the spiritual medicines that the Zhou family possessed were made available to her.

Apart from a very few rare spiritual herbs, such as the [Taiqing Immortal Herb], which she couldn't easily know about, she knew almost all the information about spiritual herbs that Zhou Chun and the Zhou family could control and mobilize.

That's why Zhou Chun came to her to ask about the uses of these medicinal herbs.

Upon hearing her words, Zhou Chun's expression brightened, and he immediately said, "In that case, I will pay special attention to the spiritual herbs you mentioned, Qingni, and strive to gather them as soon as possible!"

Drug use is highly addictive, and this is the current reality for Zhou Chun.

Before he reached the Nascent Soul stage, his cultivation level was able to advance by leaps and bounds, and the elixirs played a huge role in that.

Having grown accustomed to relying on the power of elixirs to rapidly advance his cultivation, and having been in the Nascent Soul stage for decades, he now often misses the speed of his previous cultivation.

Although his cultivation speed is not slow compared to other Nascent Soul cultivators, if he only cultivates step by step, it will be impossible for him to reach the barrier of the mid-Nascent Soul stage in less than six or seven hundred years.

For someone who has only lived for six or seven hundred years, this is undoubtedly something very unfamiliar and somewhat difficult to accept.

Therefore, if he could continue taking the pills and greatly shorten this time through the power of the elixirs, he would naturally be extremely happy.

After discussing the disposal plan for those spiritual herbs with Luo Qingni, Zhou Chun returned to his cave first.

Following Zhou Chun's instructions, Zhou Zhiying left Jingguo again and went to the Duolan Grassland to pick the spiritual herbs that Luo Qingni needed for alchemy on that secret island.

The main beneficiary of the pills that Luo Qingni is about to refine will be her.

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

That day, after completing his daily meditation practice, Zhou Chun received a message from Zhou Daoyi, informing him of something regrettable.

Zhou Zhixiong, who had previously obtained a complete set of Core Formation spiritual items, ultimately failed to form his core and died suddenly in his secluded cultivation chamber!

The monks guarding the spirit tablets in the Zhou family ancestral hall only learned of the matter after discovering that his spirit tablet was completely broken, and immediately reported it to Zhou Daoyi.

Zhou Chun also felt it was quite a pity about this result.

He had always hoped that the Zhou family could produce a master-level figure in some important skill, and Zhou Zhixiong seemed to be the closest to that goal.

But now it seems he'll have to wait a few more years.

Fortunately, he is currently in the prime of his life and can afford to wait.

Furthermore, with Luo Qingni, a true alchemy master, now in charge of the family, their alchemy skills are no longer inferior to those established powerful forces.

Now, under Luo Qingni's guidance, the alchemists of the Zhou family have visibly improved their skills, making the pill business in Zhoujiafang's shops much more prosperous.

Over the past few years, Luo Qingni has also refined pills several times, producing all the high-level spiritual pills she had mentioned before.

After obtaining those pills that could enhance one's magical power, Zhou Zhiying also devoted herself to seclusion and cultivation.

She possesses exceptional spiritual talent and cultivates at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people. Now, with the aid of elixirs, she is expected to break through to the Nascent Soul stage within a hundred years!

If she really manages to do it, then the age at which she achieves the Core Formation and Nascent Soul Formation will be decades earlier than Zhou Chun's, breaking the record previously held by Zhou Chun!

Zhou Chun was also looking forward to it.

On this day, Zhou Chun suddenly received an invitation, and the inviter turned out to be Master Ziyang.

The invitation letter earnestly invited him to Tianyuan Immortal City in the Great Zhou Kingdom for a chat.

"What is that old scoundrel Ziyang up to now?"

Zhou Chun looked at the invitation in his hand and pondered for a moment.

Over the years, he has devoted himself to cultivation, avoiding trouble and causing problems. The Moon Wheel Sect and the Flame Sun Sect, intimidated by his strength, have never dared to take the initiative to attack the Zhou family.

At most, they will only restrict and suppress the Zhou family in some commercial aspects.

"Let's see what tricks he's up to this time!"

After pondering for a long time, Zhou Chun decided to go and meet the other party.

After making arrangements for the family's situation, he took Feng Yuanjun to Tianyuan Immortal City, leaving Luo Qingni and Yinlongjun to guard the family's mountain gate.

Since the meeting place was in Tianyuan Immortal City, Zhou Chun first reported to the Nascent Soul stage cultivator stationed there before he was allowed to enter.

Later, in a cave within the Immortal City, Zhou Chun met with Master Ziyang, whom he hadn't seen for many years.

At this moment, Master Ziyang, having destroyed his physical body, had possessed the body of a young cultivator and appeared unusually young.

Although his body had changed, his aura and eyes were still those of the person Zhou Chun knew.

After sizing up the other person, he went straight to the point, coldly looking at him and saying, "Speak, what trick are you trying to play by suddenly inviting me here?"

Faced with his cold attitude, Master Ziyang acted as if he hadn't seen him at all, and replied in an unusually gentle tone: "Fellow Daoist Zhou, why are you in such a hurry? Why don't you sit down and have a cup of tea first?"

There's always a reason behind unusual events.

Seeing that Master Ziyang was so gentle and polite to someone like him who had a blood feud with him, Zhou Chun became increasingly wary.

But with a cold expression, he waved his hand and said, "I, Zhou, have never had the habit of drinking tea with enemies. If you don't want to talk, I won't keep you company!"

Upon hearing his cold and resolute words, Master Ziyang's expression froze, and then he gave him a bitter smile, saying, "Becoming Fellow Daoist Zhou's enemy is truly the most regrettable thing I've ever done in my life!"

After saying that, he sighed softly with a self-pitying expression, "However, given Fellow Daoist Zhou's extraordinary abilities, I'm afraid I'm simply not worthy to be your enemy!"

But Zhou Chun wasn't buying it at all, and said in a deep voice, "Get to the point. If you're hoping to gain my sympathy by feigning madness and playing the victim, you've miscalculated!"

There was already a hint of impatience in his words.

Seeing this, Master Ziyang sighed inwardly and could only nod, saying, "In that case, Fellow Daoist Zhou, please hear my price!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his expression turned solemn, and he looked at Zhou Chun with a serious face, saying, "I suppose Fellow Daoist Zhou already knows that the two-headed black dragon that caused such a stir in the Great Zhou Kingdom back then was actually the transformed spirit pet of a certain vice leader of the Dragon Transformation Sect after its first destruction. The most important inherited spiritual treasure of the Dragon Transformation Sect, the True Dragon Seal, was also in his hands!"

"After destroying the physical body of the Mad Thunder True Man, this two-headed black dragon was also chased by the fellow Daoists of the Great Zhou Kingdom for tens of thousands of miles, and fled all the way to the Tianman Plain."

"Over the years, I have used various means to investigate the Tianman Plain, and even risked great danger to go there myself to confirm. I have found the exact location of that two-headed black dragon."

At this point, he said to Zhou Chun with a sincere expression, "If Fellow Daoist Zhou is willing to return our sect's inherited spiritual treasure, the [Blazing Sun Treasure Mirror], I am willing to personally lead you to the Heavenly Barbarian Plains to hunt down that two-headed black dragon and help you obtain the top-tier spiritual treasure, the [True Dragon Seal]!"

After hearing his words, Zhou Chun was slightly stunned.

Zhou Chun had no idea that Master Ziyang would resort to this method in order to retrieve the sect's inherited spiritual treasure.

It was exactly what he had thought back then!

However, after a brief moment of stunned silence, he quickly sneered, "You old thief Ziyang, you're still so cunning. Leaving aside why I, Zhou, would exchange a spiritual treasure I already possess for another that doesn't even exist, do you think that two-headed black dragon is an easy target? Especially in the territory of a foreign race like Tianman Plain!"

He then added sharply, "How could I possibly know that you weren't deliberately using this as bait to lure me to Tianman Plain, and then collude with the alien races to ambush and kill me!"

Master Ziyang seemed to have anticipated his words, and immediately shook his head in rebuttal, saying, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you are mistaken! Our sect's inherited spiritual treasures cannot unleash their full power in your hands. The [True Dragon Seal], however, is far more powerful than our sect's inherited spiritual treasures, and it is perfectly suited to you. Whether used by you or by that Silver Dragon Lord, it can unleash unparalleled power!"

"As for your concerns, Fellow Daoist Zhou, they are unfounded. Even if I were confused, I would know that colluding with other races to ambush and kill our own Nascent Soul stage cultivators is an unforgivable crime that would implicate the entire sect and family. I would never risk such a great deal to harm you, Fellow Daoist Zhou!"

At this point, he looked at Zhou Chun with a firm expression and said, "If you still don't trust me on this matter, Fellow Daoist Zhou, I can go with you to seek justice from Fellow Daoist Xuanzhen or Fellow Daoist Kunxu, and we might even sign a Primordial Spirit Contract together!"

He spoke so earnestly and sincerely that Zhou Chun couldn't immediately tell whether he was telling the truth or not.

Even if he couldn't determine the truth, Zhou Chun knew how to calculate the gains and losses. Therefore, after a moment of silence, he refused again, saying, "Even so, exchanging a spiritual treasure I already possess for a spiritual treasure that I may not even be able to obtain is a huge loss for me. I cannot agree to this!"

"What if we add the condition of appointing the Zhou family as the head of Jingguo? As long as Fellow Daoist Zhou agrees to the exchange, regardless of the outcome, I will represent the Yan Yang Sect to propose that the Zhou family replace the Yue Lun Sect as the head of Jingguo and obtain the right to issue Jingguo's spirit currency. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Zhou?"

Master Ziyang gritted his teeth and added another condition that seemed extremely difficult to refuse!

(End of this chapter)