Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 785 The True Lineage of the Azure Lotus Resides in the Zhou Family; The Birth of an Acquired Spiritual Root

Inside the cave, Zhou Chun watched as Yi Shan Jun's figure disappeared from the spot and did not reappear for a long time, which made him anxious.

The spiritual connection between him and his spirit pet had become extremely weak, as if they were separated by thousands of miles.

I've encountered this situation before, back when I transformed into a spirit pet and entered the Void Secret Realm of Wuyang Kingdom.

From this perspective, Lord Yishan should have successfully entered the Void Realm.

"A void secret realm capable of accommodating a fifth-tier demon king is quite rare. Is it because Lord Yishan possesses spatial attributes that he can receive special treatment?"

Zhou Chun was secretly amazed and harbored a sense of anticipation in his heart.

Time passed slowly, and after waiting for about two hours, the situation changed.

Suddenly, the spot where the void portal had disappeared inside the cave was filled with a bright silver light, revealing the existence of the void portal again.

Then the portal was suddenly forced open by a pair of tiger claws, revealing the figure of Lord Yishan.

Judging from its appearance, if it weren't his own spirit pet, Zhou Chun would have thought that some unparalleled demon that had been sealed away had broken free and emerged into the world!

After opening the void portal, Lord Yishan roared and charged out from within.

After he emerged, the void portal quickly vanished without a trace.

"How is it? What's the situation inside?"

Zhou Chun looked at her beloved pet as it came out and asked curiously for details.

"Master, you are wise. Inside is a broken void realm. Judging from the situation, it may have originally been created by some powerful being, but it began to collapse due to lack of maintenance."

"Aside from discovering some treasures and resources stored by Qinglian Temple inside, Feihu didn't find anything else."

As Yishanjun answered Zhou Chun's question, he shook his wings and flung out the things hidden in his body space.

Qinglian Temple has been passed down for many years, and Qingxiao Zhenren is a person with good fortune who has obtained some inheritances from ancient cultivation caves.

The items he left behind in the Void Realm didn't seem numerous, but they were all of high quality.

Among them were not only the defensive spiritual treasure [Azure Lotus Calamity Armor] that Zhou Chun had longed for, but also four excellent fourth-grade puppets, thirty-six spirit crystals, one top-grade magic treasure [Panlong Staff], three high-grade magic treasures, seven mid-grade magic treasures, dozens of fourth-grade magic talismans, and various magic treasure materials.

In addition, there are rubbings of all the cultivation manuals and secret techniques passed down by Qinglian Temple, totaling several thousand books.

It can be said that all the inheritance of Qinglian Temple has now fallen into Zhou Chun's hands.

Zhou Chun even found Qingxiao Zhenren's own cultivation notes and sword comprehension notes inside!

He looked at the items, and then laughed out loud. "Not bad, not bad at all! There are more and better things than I expected. Master Qingxiao is truly a great person, giving me a chance to make up for my regrets!"

Zhou Chun regretted not being able to obtain the complete inheritance of Qinglian Temple from the branch of Qinglian Temple in Tongmu Ridge back then, because Qingweizi destroyed her storage magic artifact and thus failed to obtain the secrets of Qinglian Temple from her.

Now, that regret from back then has finally been made up for.

He quickly packed up all the items, then took the spirit pet and Zhou Zhigan, who hadn't been of any use, and returned to the Yu Kingdom.

After returning to Kunwu Mountain, Zhou Chun began to slowly digest and organize the gains he had made this time.

First and foremost is the defensive spiritual treasure, the Azure Lotus Calamity Armor. As a very rare armor-type spiritual treasure, its value far surpasses that of other spiritual treasures.

Since it was left for future generations, Master Qingxiao naturally wouldn't tamper with it. Zhou Chun easily obtained the "Spirit Communication Treasure Technique" and successfully refined the treasure.

After refining this treasure, he discovered that, in terms of pure defense, it was inferior to the Nine Luminaries Dragon Scale Shield in his possession, but it also had unique features that the Nine Luminaries Dragon Scale Shield lacked.

For example, after this treasure is refined, it can be worn on the body for an extra layer of protection.

In the event of a sudden attack, even if there is no time to react, this treasure can automatically protect its owner.

In addition, this treasure does not consume as much mana as the [Nine Luminaries Dragon Scale Shield], making it more suitable for early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators to use for protection.

Zhou Chun already possessed three spiritual treasures: the Nine-Nine Profound Heaven Sword Gourd, the Nine Luminaries Dragon Scale Shield, and the Myriad Transformations Golden Cauldron. Therefore, the Azure Lotus Calamity Armor was somewhat superfluous for him.

After all, activating spiritual treasures consumes a great deal of magical power, while the [Nine Luminaries Dragon Scale Shield] and the [Myriad Transformations Golden Cauldron] can both be used for defense.

As for the automatic protection function of the [Azure Lotus Calamity Armor], the [Undying Golden Centipede Armor] crafted by Tai Geng Divine Venerable has a similar function and can be used as a complete substitute.

So after thinking for a while, Zhou Chun decided to lend the [Azure Lotus Calamity Armor] to Luo Qingni for refinement, since she was planning to travel alone to the cultivation world.

Although Nascent Soul stage cultivators are unlikely to encounter any danger when traveling in the cultivation world, Luo Qingni is not good at fighting, and her spiritual treasure, the Hundred Rivers Gathering Wind Banner, was taken back by Zhou Chun and given to Lord Yishan. She does need such a protective treasure.

As for that top-grade magic weapon, the [Panlong Staff], it's quite suitable for both Luo Qingni and Lu Yuanjun.

Considering Lu Yuanjun's great contributions, Zhou Chun naturally couldn't let down the meritorious official, so he presented this treasure to Lu Yuanjun.

Other magical artifacts, talismans, puppets, and the like are naturally used to enrich oneself and one's family's treasure trove.

In addition, Zhou Chun also specifically looked through the core techniques and secret arts of the Qinglian Temple.

The core inheritance of Qinglian Temple is also known as the "Lotus Birth Secret Scripture," which contains similar spell inheritances from the first to the fifth level.

For example, the "Azure Lotus Protection Technique" has the same name in both the first and fifth tiers, but its power is vastly different.

Moreover, once you've mastered the first level of the "Azure Lotus Body Protection Technique," mastering the second level will be much easier, and the same applies to subsequent levels!

This set of "Lotus Life Secrets" contains five spells similar to "Azure Lotus Protection Technique," which include attack, defense, and trapping of enemies.

Furthermore, these spells can be transformed into talismans, allowing talisman makers to create corresponding talismans after mastering these spells.

Such unique and highly practical secret techniques are indispensable to any faction.

For example, the Zhou family's unique inherited secret techniques include the "Mystic Beast Armor" and "Ancestral Revival," as well as several rare and unique demonic beasts and spirit pets that are rarely sold to outsiders.

Compared to identity tokens that are easily misused, these secret techniques are much harder to impersonate.

If you claim to be a cultivator from the Zhou family, and someone asks you to use the Zhou family's renowned beast-taming techniques, but you can't use any of them, people will definitely doubt your authenticity!

Now that the Qinglian Temple has perished, its legacy has fallen into the hands of the Zhou family. From now on, the five spells in the iconic "Lotus Birth Secret Manual" will become a major label for the Zhou family, which will greatly help to solidify the family's foundation.

At the same time, Zhou Chun also discovered that Qingxiao Zhenren's cultivation method and sword control technique were quite unique.

Its technique is called "Nine Heavens Wind Origin Scripture," a top-tier wind-attribute technique that is not much inferior to Zhou Zhiying's technique "Nine Heavens Wind Profound Scripture." It is extremely mysterious and also extremely dangerous.

The conditions for cultivating this technique are also very demanding. It is best to have a top-grade wind-attribute spiritual root aptitude, and after cultivating into the Dao, one will be accompanied by dangerous tribulations.

However, the benefits of cultivating this technique are also very obvious. The mana is pure and abundant, exceeding that of many top-level cultivators by one or two-tenths. Furthermore, the mana is domineering and fierce, making it very suitable for sword control and the use of wind-attribute supernatural abilities.

Therefore, although he did not follow the orthodox path of sword cultivation, after advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, Master Qingxiao was just as evenly matched with orthodox sword cultivators in sword duels.

The sword control technique he primarily cultivates is a profound sword control technique called "Azure Spirit Sword Canon".

This manual on sword control was mastered to its fullest extent by Master Qingxiao, leaving behind invaluable cultivation experience.

After taking a quick look, Zhou Chun decided to give it to his apprentice Zhou Zhiying, thinking it would be of great help to him and perhaps even help him comprehend the essence of swordsmanship.

After all, the [Mysterious Heart Sword Stone] that the Nine Yuan Sword Sect gave away was a good thing that helped to comprehend sword intent. It was a treasure that powerful sword cultivators placed in their caves and often imbued with their own sword intent.

After taking stock of his spoils, Zhou Chun took the Azure Lotus Calamity Armor and went to visit Xuan Dan Peak.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, what brings you to Qingni's place today? Is there something you wish to discuss?"

In a pavilion on Xuandan Peak, Luo Qingni brewed tea with her delicate hands. After pouring a pot of tea for Zhou Chun, she looked at him with a smile and asked him why he had come.

Upon hearing her words, Zhou Chun immediately put down his tea and repeatedly protested, "Qing Ni, your words are rather disparaging. Do you mean I only visit you when I need something from you?"

These teasing words made Luo Qingni a little embarrassed. She blushed slightly and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "Qingni didn't mean that. Fellow Daoist Zhou, please don't tease Qingni."

"That's not what I meant. Then, Qingni, what do you mean?"

Zhou Chun, however, was somewhat persistent, staring at her pretty face and continuing to tease her.

This made her feel both ashamed and annoyed. She sighed helplessly at Zhou Chun, saying, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you're asking a question you already know the answer to. Qingni was just joking with you, why are you making such a fuss about it!"

Seeing that she seemed genuinely annoyed, Zhou Chun had no choice but to stop, and immediately said with a smile, "Qingni, you're joking. I was just joking too. We're even now!"

After speaking, his expression turned serious, and he said solemnly, "I've come to see you today, Qingni, to ask when you plan to depart for the cultivation world?"

Upon hearing his words, Luo Qingni immediately looked enlightened and nodded, saying, "So Fellow Daoist Zhou came for this matter. If nothing unexpected happens, Qingni should be setting off within the next few months."

"Is that so? Then I've really come to the right place."

Zhou Chun nodded slightly, and while speaking, he took out the [Azure Lotus Calamity Armor] with a wave of his hand.

"This treasure is something I recently acquired. It was the treasured heirloom of the Qinglian Temple in the past. However, I already have a defensive treasure, so it would be a waste to refine this one."

"Since Qingni plans to travel the cultivation world, for your safety, I'll give you this treasure for protection!"

What?

Upon hearing Zhou Chun's words, Luo Qingni was also stunned. She stared wide-eyed in shock at the blue armor that Zhou Chun had taken out.

Having lived in the Qinglian Mountains for over two hundred years, she naturally understood which power originally controlled that place.

Now, Zhou Chun had casually taken out the Azure Lotus Calamity Armor, a treasure passed down from a major sect, and was offering it to her for self-defense. How could she not be extremely shocked?

The reason she was temporarily allowed to refine the [Hundred Rivers Gathering Wind Banner] could be attributed to the needs of the war.

But to give her this defensive spiritual treasure, which is far more precious than the [Hundred Rivers Gathering Wind Banner], for self-defense is giving her far too much credit!

Therefore, after the initial shock, she quickly shook her head and politely declined, saying, "I appreciate Fellow Daoist Zhou's kindness, but such a precious treasure is too much for me to accept, as I have not yet accomplished anything. Please take it back, Fellow Daoist Zhou!"

That's just her personality; she always values ​​fair trade and doesn't want to owe anyone anything.

Having known each other for hundreds of years, Zhou Chun was well aware of her personality, and he was not surprised by her answer.

He just looked at her and smiled, "Qingni, don't worry. I'm not so generous as to give away such a precious treasure. I'm just lending it to you for protection. You'll have to return it to me when you return from your travels."

At this point, he went on to say, "Once my son successfully forms his core, I will give him this treasure for self-defense."

Upon hearing his words, Luo Qingni's expression shifted, revealing a look of hesitation and contemplation.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun immediately spoke again, "Alright, we've known each other for so many years, Qingni, don't be so formal with me. You can keep this treasure for now!"

As he spoke, he pushed the cyan battle armor into Luo Qingni's hands.

Seeing this, Luo Qingni opened her mouth, then nodded with a wry smile and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you're right. Qingni is indeed being a bit pretentious!"

"Since that's the case, Qingni will shamelessly accept this treasure for now, and return it to Fellow Daoist Zhou after she returns from her travels."

After saying that, he put away his cyan battle armor.

The two then chatted for a while, and Zhou Chun gave her a copy of the various pill formulas and alchemy manuals he had obtained from the Qinglian Temple's inherited classics.

Several months later, Luo Qingni, having successfully refined the Azure Lotus Calamity Armor, left Kunwu Mountain alone and embarked on a journey to travel the human cultivation world.

Meanwhile, Zhou Chun took Lu Yuanjun to Mixian Ridge to fulfill his previous agreement with the Chongxuan Demon King.

Although he sensed that the Demon King Chongxuan might have ill intentions, he would still keep his promise until the other party truly revealed his true colors.

This concerns his own moral compass, and he cannot afford to leave any flaws in such matters.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou is indeed a trustworthy person. I truly did not misjudge you."

Inside the Misty Immortal Ridge, the Demon King Chongxuan greeted Zhou Chun, who had returned to visit, with a barrage of praise, seemingly having a very good impression of him.

Zhou Chun replied calmly, his expression unchanged, "Fellow Daoist Chongxuan, you are too kind. I always keep my word. Since I promised you, I certainly won't keep you waiting."

"That's right, that's right! Fellow Daoist Zhou is a man of his word, truly a gentleman of the human race!"

The Demon King Chongxuan continued to speak kind words, and then led Master Zhou Chun and his servant to a certain place in the mountains.

Led by the Demon King Chongxuan, Zhou Chun and his servants soon arrived at a dilapidated and ravaged mountain stream.

This mountain stream looks like it once witnessed a great battle; the surrounding mountain walls and ground are broken and charred, as if they had been burned.

But upon closer inspection, Zhou Chun discovered that the marks did not resemble those from a fire, but rather those from being struck by lightning.

Deep within the mountain stream, there grows a withered and decaying tree.

The exposed part of the dead tree trunk was only a section of the main trunk less than two zhang high and three branches. The bark had been completely peeled off and disappeared, and cracks had appeared all over the charred trunk.

Only then did Zhou Chun realize that, apart from that withered tree, there wasn't a single weed in the entire ravine!

Seeing this, his eyes flickered slightly, and then he took the initiative to ask, "Is that withered tree the spiritual root that you mentioned you wanted to revive, Fellow Daoist Chongxuan? But isn't it already dead?"

Upon hearing this, the Demon King Chongxuan did not rush to answer him, but instead turned his gaze to Lu Yuanjun and asked, "What do you think, young friend Musang?"

"This junior can sense a faint trace of life within that withered tree, but such a faint trace is probably insufficient to bring it back to life!"

Lu Yuanjun raised his hand and scratched the antlers on his head, speaking with some lack of confidence.

"What if we add this bottle of [Earth Mother's Elixir] that I have carefully prepared?"

As Chongxuan Demon King spoke, a yellowish-brown jade bottle suddenly appeared in his hand, which he then tossed to Lu Yuanjun.

But then Lu Yuanjun raised her hand and took the jade bottle. After uncorking it and taking a sniff, she exclaimed in amazement, "Such a rich source of life force from the earth!"

Then he nodded slightly and said, "With the help of this bottle of [Earth Mother's Elixir], we should have a 20-30% chance of success."

Upon hearing this, the Demon King Chongxuan immediately said solemnly, "Then please, young friend Musang, do your utmost. If you can successfully revive this spiritual root, I will certainly reward you handsomely!"

Listening to their back-and-forth conversation, Zhou Chun couldn't help but twitch her lips slightly, feeling rather ignored.

But he's not a child, and he won't throw a tantrum over something like this.

For now, they could only listen and watch silently, wanting to see what the Demon King Chongxuan was planning to do.

Fortunately, Lu Yuanjun came to her senses at this time and realized that she still had a master beside her.

So he quickly looked at Zhou Chun and asked for his opinion, "What do you think, Master?"

"It's alright, just go ahead and do whatever you want."

Zhou Chun waved his hand and said calmly.

With his approval, Lu Yuanjun was relieved and immediately took the bottle of [Earth Mother's Elixir] to the withered tree.

He first raised his hand and touched the dead wood, carefully sensing the faint trace of life hidden deep within it.

He then used his [Heavenly Dew] supernatural power to nourish the withered tree with sweet rain.

However, the [Heavenly Dew] supernatural power only works on living plants and does not have the ability to truly bring dead trees back to life.

Therefore, under the nourishment of the emerald green rain and dew, the surface of the dead wood did not change at all, and even the trunk was not wet because the rain and dew were not real rain.

However, Lu Yuanjun could sense that, under the influence of the sweet rain and dew, the faint life force that had been dormant deep within the withered wood had become much more active.

That situation was like a fish that had been buried in the mud for many years and had not yet died of thirst, suddenly sensing the rain falling, and was filled with a strong will to survive.

In this situation, Lu Yuanjun then used the [Life and Death Mystic Light] divine power to accurately direct the emerald green light of life towards the location of that faint trace of life.

Nourished by the light of life, that faint aura of life indeed grew stronger.

Upon realizing this, Lu Yuanjun disregarded the depletion of her own vital energy and unleashed the [Life and Death Profound Light] divine power four more times!

After being nourished by the light of life five times, that originally extremely weak aura of life suddenly grew several times stronger.

Even Zhou Chun could sense the presence of life within the withered wood at this moment.

At this moment, Lu Yuanjun suddenly spat out a mouthful of emerald green essence blood, dispersing it into pure life force and injecting it into the withered wood.

Then she directly drew out the Earth Mother's Spirit Elixir from the jade bottle in her hand, and poured the earth-yellow spirit elixir, which contained a rich life force of the earth, onto the place where the life force was located.

Suddenly, a miraculous scene unfolded.

Suddenly, a vibrant green light appeared on the completely withered tree trunk, and a tiny bud sprouted.

Then, under the watchful eyes of Zhou Chun and the others, the tender sprout gradually grew into a branch about a foot long, with three small leaves growing on it.

Both the branch and the three leaves, each only two fingers wide, were imprinted with mysterious and intricate dark green spiritual patterns and emitted a dark green halo, making it clear at a glance that they were not ordinary objects.

"Excellent! As I suspected, Fellow Daoist Mu Sang has indeed successfully revived this item!"

The Demon King Chongxuan stared intently at that branch, his eyes filled with joy, and he couldn't help but clap his hands and cheer.

The fact that a mere branch and three leaves could make this powerful figure, who was practically invincible below the sixth rank, so happy made Zhou Chun even more curious about the origin of the withered tree's roots.

However, Zhou Chun also knew in his heart that since the Demon King Chongxuan had never revealed this matter, he would definitely not get an answer if he asked again.

He simply gazed intently at the branch and a few leaves, memorizing their shapes and forms, before speaking, "Now that this spiritual root has fully recovered, I, Zhou, have fulfilled my promise to Fellow Daoist Chongxuan. From now on, we are even!"

"Fellow Daoist Zhou is right, I have no objection."

The Demon King Chongxuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he immediately suppressed his joy, nodding in approval.

Seeing this, Zhou Dao immediately said, "Then I, Zhou, will not linger here any longer. Farewell, and may we meet again someday."

"Well, since Fellow Daoist Zhou is in such a hurry to leave, I won't keep you any longer. Consider this remaining half bottle of [Earth Mother's Elixir] as my reward to Fellow Daoist Mu Sang!"

As Chongxuan Demon King spoke, he took out another earth-yellow jade bottle and tossed it to Lu Yuanjun.

"Thank you for bestowing this treasure upon me, Senior Chongxuan."

Lu Yuanjun thanked him and happily put away the jade bottle.

Zhou Chun didn't linger and immediately took him away from Mixianling.

At the same time, just as the withered tree sprouted new branches, in Changchun Valley, some distance away from Mixian Ridge, the Immortal Pine suddenly began to move without wind, its branches trembling and dancing wildly, as if in celebration.

The Venerable Changchun, who was meditating under the tree, was startled by the rapid changes in the [Eternal Pine] and exclaimed in surprise, "Eh, what happened that made you so excited, Venerable Pine!"

Then, they communicated with the consciousness of the [Eternal Pine] using secret techniques.

After this exchange, his expression changed slightly, and he muttered to himself, "Another acquired spiritual root has been born. This is truly astonishing!"

Before this, all he knew was that the only acquired spiritual root left in the world was the [Immortal Pine].

However, today, the [Immortal Pine] sensed the presence of another acquired spiritual root.

This left even a Nascent Soul cultivator like him somewhat bewildered.

Logically speaking, given the drastic changes in the environment, it should be impossible for acquired spiritual roots to appear.

"It's a pity that Elder Song couldn't sense the location of that acquired spiritual root either, otherwise he could have gone over and seen who was so lucky to obtain an acquired spiritual root in this era!"

Venerable Changchun muttered to himself, and his Dao heart, which was originally unmoved by anything external, was now stirred by some waves.

(End of this chapter)