Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 716 The Secret Exposed [Please Subscribe]

Zhou Yuanlian's spirit tablet is shattered!

When Zhou Chun arrived at the ancestral hall, he immediately saw the soul tablets shattered into more than a dozen pieces.

This essentially declares the death of Zhou Yuanlian, a Golden Core cultivator.

If this is true, Zhou Yuanlian would be the first Golden Core cultivator to fall in the Zhou family in the last thousand years.

Considering that she went to the Yuanmo Territory, a foreign land, even if the Zhou family knew that she had perished, they might not be able to avenge her!

Therefore, Zhou Chun, Zhou Mingde, Zhou Daoyi, and several other important figures of the Zhou family remained silent for a long time as they looked at the fragments of the soul tablets on the offering table.

"Xiao Lian has been in the Yuanmo Realm for quite some time now. Since nothing has happened to her before, it means she is very cautious. Now that her soul tablet has suddenly shattered, could it be that she encountered fatal danger while searching for the inheritance of the 'Ten Thousand Poisons True Scripture'?"

After a long silence, Zhou Mingde spoke first, sharing his guess.

Zhou Chun shook his head slightly and said, "There's no point in guessing now. Tell me, should I make a trip to the Yuanmo Territory to investigate this matter?"

"This is inappropriate!"

Zhou Mingde immediately expressed his opposition, looking at him solemnly and saying, "Although the Yuanmo Realm is also part of our human race's territory, the demonic cultivators there treat us cultivators no better than those of other races, and may even be worse. If you go there, Zheng Chun, and your whereabouts are exposed, you will easily be surrounded and attacked!"

"Besides, none of us know where Xiaolian had the accident. The Yuanmo territory is vast, and even if you, Zhengchun, were to investigate, it wouldn't be possible to get results in ten days or half a month. If it's delayed too long and something happens to the family, we'd be losing more than we gain!"

At this point, he also gave Zhou Daoyi a wink.

Seeing this, Zhou Daoyi quickly nodded and said, "Uncle is right. Since the Little Lotus Soul Tablet is already broken, there is no point in investigating the cause now. There is no need to let Zhengchun risk his life."

"Furthermore, wasn't there a junior who cultivated the 'Ten Thousand Poisons True Scripture' who went to the Yuanmo Realm with Xiaolian? We can send someone to inquire with that junior's family to see if her soul tablet is still intact. If it is, we can ask for details after she returns!"

Seeing that both elders opposed his personal investigation, Zhou Chun frowned slightly and fell silent.

After pondering for a while, he let out a soft sigh and nodded, saying, "Alright then, let's send someone to ask about the situation at Wu Xiaoyou's family first."

This answer allowed Zhou Mingde and his companion to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Next, at Zhou Chun's command, Xu Fu, the Golden Core Elder of the Zhou family, personally went to Wu Yuzhu's family with his handwritten letter to inquire about the situation.

Less than two months later, Zhou Chun received an answer that left him unsure whether to be happy or disappointed.

According to information provided by the Wu family, there was no problem with Wu Yuzhu's spirit tablet.

This means that she is at least safe for now.

Whether it was because she and Zhou Yuanlian chose to act separately, or because she had already been captured alive, remains unknown.

Unable to risk venturing into the Yuanmo territory himself, Zhou Chun could only continue to wait.

Now Wu Yuzhu must know about Zhou Yuanlian's death. If she hadn't been captured alive, she would probably have tried to return to the Tianling Realm to report the situation to the Zhou family.

Then Zhou Chun will know how Zhou Yuanlian died and who the murderer is.

The Zhou family did not make any public announcement regarding Zhou Yuanlian's death.

Firstly, for the Zhou family, which is currently on the rise, making this matter public would definitely be harmful rather than beneficial.

Secondly, it was also for the sake of the family's overall interests. The existence of a Golden Core stage poison cultivator like Zhou Yuanlian actually had a considerable deterrent effect on external forces.

Therefore, it's best to keep this matter hidden as much as possible if it can be concealed.

It may be that what is lost in one place is gained in another.

Less than two years after Zhou Yuanlian's accident, Zhou Zhiqian, who had failed in the competition for the Core Formation Spiritual Treasure within the family, returned as a Golden Core cultivator.

This matter caused quite a stir in the Zhou family, and even Zhou Chun came out of seclusion to meet this junior.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent! I knew I hadn't misjudged you. To be able to form your core without the support of your family, Zhiqian, you are truly the first among all the Golden Core cultivators in my Zhou family. You are indeed ambitious!!"

Inside the cave, Zhou Chun looked at the imposing middle-aged man in black before him and smiled with satisfaction, praising him repeatedly.

He wasn't initially very optimistic about this younger colleague, because the path he had chosen was inherently difficult and arduous.

But now it seems that sometimes, some people need a rough road to spur them on.

As the saying goes, jade that is not carved cannot become a useful object.

Zhou Zhigan's current success is a testament to this.

Faced with Zhou Chun's praise, Zhou Zhigan bowed slightly, neither servile nor arrogant, and said, "I owe my achievements today to the guidance and assistance of the clan leader. I will never forget the clan leader's kindness in my lifetime!"

"Hey, we're all family, what's with all this talk of gratitude? Your achievements today are the best way to repay me!"

Zhou Chun waved his hand and said in an encouraging tone, his affection for her overflowing.

He used to be skeptical of Zhou Zhigan because he felt that the path Zhou had chosen was full of obstacles, which might waste his talents and make it difficult for him to achieve great things.

But things are different now.

Zhou Zhiqian has now successfully formed his core, which means he has fully realized his talent and potential. In the future, he will become a powerful general in the Zhou family with the sword in his hand.

As the clan leader, Zhou Chun naturally had to win over and befriend such outstanding juniors.

The key point is that, given his status and cultivation, doing this wouldn't seem snobbish; it would only make the younger generation happy, feeling that their hard work and struggle had been worthwhile and recognized.

For example, Zhou Zhigan, upon hearing Zhou Chun's affectionate words as an elder, could not hide his excitement and joy. He quickly replied respectfully, "The clan leader is right. I was too polite. I will certainly keep the clan leader's teachings in mind from now on."

"That's right, we're all family, there's no need to be so formal!"

Zhou Chun nodded slightly, then raised his hand and a stream of dark purple light flew out from the treasure room deep in the cave and landed in his hand, manifesting as a dark purple flying sword.

"This [Mysterious Ink Sword] is a spoil of war I obtained previously. Although it is only a mid-grade magic weapon, the materials used are extraordinary. It is made of [Ink Radiance Stone] mixed with [Purple Star Copper], and it should be very suitable for you."

He explained the origin of the flying sword in his hand, then gently tossed it to the junior before him: "Consider this my gift to you as a Core Formation cultivator. I hope that in the future you will use this sword to bravely fight for the clan and bring glory to our people!"

Zhou Zhiqian's gaze had been fixed on the [Mysterious Ink Sword] ever since he took out his flying sword.

Seeing him throw the flying sword over, he immediately reached out and caught it as a reflex.

After he finished speaking, the man held the flying sword with both hands, bowed deeply, and said, "Thank you for bestowing this sword upon me, Clan Chief. I will certainly live up to your expectations and wield this three-foot sword to slay all invading enemies!"

After using words to win him over and bestowing upon him a magical flying sword, Zhou Chun clearly demonstrated his high regard for him and then politely asked the junior to step down.

Zhou Daoyi, knowing his intentions, specially organized a grand Golden Core celebration for Zhou Zhigan to show his importance and as compensation for his previous failure in the competition for a Golden Core material.

At the same time, Zhou Zhigan's success is undoubtedly an inspiration to other younger cultivators of the Zhou family.

Even if they fail to compete for Core Formation materials within the family in the future, they may not necessarily give up their plans to form their Core. They may follow the example of their predecessors and go out to seek other opportunities.

More importantly, after Zhou Zhiqian achieved Core Formation, some cultivators in the Zhou family who liked swordsmanship but had doubts and concerns about this path could finally make up their minds and choose their future path according to their inner preferences.

He thus fulfilled Zhou Chun's initial expectations of him, carving out a unique path within the existing Zhou family tradition and pioneering the Zhou family's swordsmanship heritage.

Three years after Zhou Zhiqian successfully completed his Core Formation and returned home, Nangong Wuqing also visited the Zhou family.

After years of searching, he failed to find the [Gengjin] spiritual item sufficient to exchange for the [Longevity Grass], but he did find a crucial auxiliary ingredient that Zhou Chun needed to refine the [Purple Flower Crimson Pearl Pill], which was exactly the last missing ingredient.

Even after he added another thousand-year-old precious herb, Zhou Chun, considering their friendship, still exchanged the remaining [Longevity Grass] in his hand, which was over three thousand years old, for him.

In this way, Zhou Chun only had two [Longevity Grasses] with an age of over five thousand years left to refine the [Jiazi Longevity Pill].

However, after gathering all the ingredients for the [Purple Flower Crimson Pearl Pill], he clearly had higher expectations.

Unfortunately, the [Purple Flower Crimson Pearl Pill] is even more difficult to refine than the [Jiazi Longevity Pill]. With only one set of materials available, Luo Qingni dared not attempt to refine it for the time being.

Therefore, Zhou Chun may have to wait many years before he has the opportunity to try the effects of the [Purple Flower Crimson Pearl Pill].

……

Moon Wheel Sect Mountain Gate.

On this day, Master Baiyue arrived at Master Yinyue's cave with a joyful expression, carrying a newly acquired intelligence report.

"Elder, look, this is the result of Elder Guo's personal investigation. It can now be confirmed that the Zhou family does indeed control a secret waterway leading directly to Dragon Abyss Swamp, and they have been operating deep in the wilderness for many years, establishing multiple strongholds!"

"In this way, all the intelligence we previously obtained can be confirmed as true, and the reason for the Zhou family's rapid development over the years has also been revealed!"

"Furthermore, according to Elder Guo's investigation, the cooperation between the Zhou family and the Scaled Frog race has likely never ceased. Currently, most of the Scaled Frogs along the Dragon Abyss Marsh have become vassals of the Zhou family, collecting rare aquatic treasures for them!"

Inside the cave, Master Baiyue waved the intelligence jade slip in his hand vigorously, speaking its contents with great excitement.

These words moved Silver Moon Master deeply, and a terrifying glint appeared in his eyes.

He immediately clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Good, very good!"

"I knew it! How could a small family like the Zhou family, with such shallow foundations, maintain such high welfare and encourage births within the clan for so many years, even though they occupy the Qinglian Mountains? So this is the reason they became rich!"

"The Zhou family is something else, and Zhou Zhengchun is something else! They've kept this a secret for a long time!"

Seeing this, Master Yinyue said at the opportune moment, "Judging from the intelligence, the Zhou family should have discovered that underground waterway a long time ago. The reason they were able to know about the beast tide several times in advance was probably because the people they had planted there reported it in advance."

"Furthermore, based on the intelligence we've uncovered, we can confirm one thing: the Zhou family did indeed secretly capture many rogue cultivators and exile them to the wilderness to mine for them. And over the years, they've been collecting mortals with spiritual root aptitude and sending them there to train as servants and assassins to help them reclaim the wilderness!"

"Even many of the cultivators in those desolate lands now are descendants of those people!"

Upon hearing his words, Master Yinyue's eyes flashed with a strange light.

But after a moment, Master Yinyue shook his head slightly and said, "If you want to bring down the Zhou family from this angle, it's not very possible. They are too powerful to control now, and a long time has passed since what happened back then. Even if those involved haven't all died, they've risen to high positions in the Zhou family and won't come forward to testify!"

"And even if this is confirmed, apart from causing some damage to the Zhou family's reputation, it won't actually harm them at all."

Upon hearing this, Master Baiyue frowned slightly, then continued, "How about starting with the Scaled Frog alien race? Colluding with alien races is a major taboo and a grave crime. If this matter is exposed, it should be enough to severely damage the Zhou family, if not destroy them!"

"No, the Scaled Frog alien race doesn't even have a single fourth-tier being. This kind of minor alien race is simply not worth the attention of our human factions. If we announce this news, the Zhou family can refute it by saying that they enslaved this minor alien race, which will only bolster their own power!"

Silver Moon Immortal shook his head again, denying the statement made by Moon Worship Immortal.

Then, his expression turned serious, and he looked at Master Baiyue with a solemn expression, saying, "Here's what we'll do: take my token and contact the leaders of the sect's branch sects outside the sect. Have them travel through that underground waterway to the wilderness, wipe out the Zhou family's strongholds there, and bring back as many of the Zhou family's trained assassins and servants as possible. Have these people spread rumors and publicize the Zhou family's atrocities!"

At this point, he whispered a warning: "Remember one thing: regardless of whether this operation succeeds or fails, you must not reveal the existence of our sect!"

"Yes, junior knows what to do!"

Master Baiyue felt a chill run down his spine and immediately agreed solemnly.

(End of this chapter)