Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 786 Nangong's Breakthrough, Life and Death in His Own Hands [Please Subscribe]

Kunwu Mountain.

After returning to Kunwu Mountain, Zhou Chun summoned Lu Yuanjun and asked for his opinion on the revived spiritual root.

"Mu Sang, in your opinion, what grade of spiritual tree is that? Could it be the legendary sixth-order divine tree?"

Zhou Chun looked directly at Lu Yuanjun and asked the question that had been on his mind in a serious tone.

Judging from how much the Demon King Chongxuan valued that spirit tree, it could not possibly be a fifth-order spirit tree.

For the Demon King Chongxuan, even a fifth-grade high-quality spirit wood would be of no use.

Moreover, the condition of that mountain stream resembled that it had once been struck by heavenly lightning.

Judging from the fact that not a single blade of grass grows in the mountain stream, the power of that Heavenly Tribulation was probably far greater than that of a fourth-order demon beast undergoing a Heavenly Tribulation.

However, Zhou Chun was unsure whether a Heavenly Tribulation would occur when a fifth-order spirit tree advanced to the sixth order.

Even in the ancient times of the cultivation world, sixth-order divine trees were legendary items, extremely rare and precious.

It is very likely that they were already at the sixth rank before there were human cultivators in this world.

Moreover, those few sixth-order divine trees were felled by powerful humans or alien races in ancient times to refine treasures.

Therefore, Zhou Chun has no way of knowing what grade the revived spiritual root is.

However, he knew that Lu Yuanjun, being a wood spirit, was highly authoritative in appraising the grade of spirit wood, and perhaps he could answer his question.

Unexpectedly, after hearing his question, Lu Yuanjun also showed a troubled expression and replied with difficulty, "Master, you are wise, but Mu Sang also finds it difficult to make an accurate judgment on this matter."

At this point, he further explained, "The vitality contained within that spiritual root is indeed far superior to that of a fifth-tier spiritual tree, but as for whether it belongs to a sixth-tier divine tree, Mu Sang dares not make a definitive conclusion!"

"Even you can't figure it out?"

Zhou Chun frowned, somewhat surprised by his answer.

Then he waved his hand and said, "Alright, that's all for now. Go and do your own thing!"

"Yes, Mu Sang takes his leave."

Seeing that he did not pursue the matter further, Lu Yuanjun breathed a sigh of relief and quickly withdrew.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Chun gave up the idea of ​​going to inquire about the incarnation of the Tai Geng God.

Although the spiritual root has successfully revived, it is clear that it will take more than ten or a hundred years to fully recover to its original state.

Even if it really is a sixth-order divine tree, it's not of much use to Zhou Chun right now.

Therefore, it would be better to let the Demon King Chongxuan take care of it for now, and then deal with it later.

With that in mind, Zhou Chun gave Lu Yuanjun the order to find the Nine-Blade Barbarian Saint, and then took a [Primordial Profound True Pill] to refine it.

This [Primordial Profound Truth Pill] also has an effect on mid-Nascent Soul cultivators, but the effect is not as good as it is on mid-Nascent Soul cultivators. One pill can save Zhou Chun about fifteen years of cultivation. If five pills are added together, they can save seventy or eighty years of time.

The time it takes him to refine such a spiritual pill is relatively short, only about half a year is enough.

Two years later, Zhou Chun received a message that the five mid-grade fifth-order magic talismans he had previously entrusted to Tianyi Divine Venerable to refine were complete and he could go and collect them.

After learning about this, he personally went to Tianyi Sect and received the five magic talismans from Tianxuan Zhenren.

According to Zhou Chun's personal needs, there are five mid-grade fifth-tier magic talismans, three of which are attack talismans, and the other two are defense and escape talismans respectively.

The three attack talismans were made from the skin of the Bloodflame Flood Dragon King, therefore they are all fire-attribute attack talismans.

With the power of a mid-grade fifth-order magic talisman, even a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would have to take it seriously.

If all three are used together, even a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would likely be left looking disheveled.

The defensive and escape talismans were made from the skin of a mid-grade fifth-tier Heavenly Roc Demon King.

If a Golden Core cultivator were to possess these two talismans, escaping from an early Nascent Soul cultivator or even an ordinary mid-Nascent Soul cultivator would not be a problem.

After obtaining the five magic talismans, Zhou Chun sealed them separately in the best spirit-sealing jade box.

This thing is of little use to him, but it can become the Zhou family's true trump card, and its importance is no less than that of a fifth-order puppet.

If they are sealed in the best spirit-sealing jade box, it is enough to ensure that they can retain most of their power two or three thousand years later.

By this time, Zhou Chun's previous rewards for his contributions in the war against the alien races had been fully realized.

Just as Zhou Chun retrieved the five fifth-tier magic talismans and finished refining the third [Primordial Profound True Pill], an invitation from the Purple Qi Sect of the Xia Kingdom was delivered to the Zhou family.

It turned out that the Supreme Elder of the Purple Qi Sect, Nangong Wuqing, had successfully broken through to the late Nascent Soul stage and was holding a grand celebration for cultivators, inviting Zhou Chun to attend.

Nangong Wuqing had performed exceptionally well in the previous war and had also been willing to offer some rare spiritual items. As a result, he had accumulated merits and received a Pure Yang Breakthrough Pill as a reward from Venerable Yuan Yang. Zhou Chun had known about this for a long time.

In fact, because several great cultivators perished in the war, and many of the existing late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators were nearing the end of their lifespans, when rewards were distributed after the war, talented mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators like Nangong Wuqing received preferential treatment and were given many spiritual items that would help them break through to the late-stage Nascent Soul realm.

Now that Nangong Wuqing has successfully broken through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, he has lived up to expectations.

Nangong Wuqing had done the Zhou family a great favor during the war, and since he had personally sent the invitation, Zhou Chun would definitely give him face.

Therefore, after he finished refining the [Primordial Profound True Pill] and came out of seclusion, and read the celebration time on the invitation, he temporarily stopped taking the pill and started thinking about how to give gifts.

Previously, when Zhou Zhiying successfully formed her Nascent Soul, the Purple Qi Sect, where Nangong Wuqing was located, was not stingy and sent her a very precious piece of [Heavenly Gang Wind Copper], which Zhou Zhiying then refined into her own natal magic weapon.

Now that Nangong Wuqing is holding a grand celebration for cultivators, Zhou Chun certainly can't be stingy.

He suddenly remembered the [Fire Crystal Divine Iron] ore he had obtained from the Ice and Fire Demon Ape's lair. In addition to a large amount of high-purity [Fire Crystal Divine Iron], it seemed to contain other fire-attribute spiritual ores as well.

Previously, he had only cut some ore from it, melted it into spirit gold, and handed it over to True Person Fiery Fire to refine magical artifacts.

The remaining ore was still under the control of Feng Yuanjun and used to cultivate the "Flesh Spirit Mushroom".

With that in mind, Zhou Chun went to Feng Yuanjun's lair to see if he could extract some precious fire-attribute spirit ore to give as gifts.

Speaking of which, Feng Yuanjun is living a truly wonderful life now.

Because of the existence of that "Flesh Spirit Mushroom," she has now regained her splendor as an Eight-Feathered Fire Phoenix, and her cultivation is rapidly improving.

Moreover, compared to Lord Fushan and Lord Luyuan, who were also tasked with finding the Nine-Blade Barbarian Saint, she was almost undisturbed and could focus entirely on her cultivation.

Of course, she could say that she deserved all of this, since she had indeed paid a huge price before.

Zhou Chun went to Feng Yuanjun's door and, with her help, successfully separated and refined a rare fire-attribute spiritual ore, the "Supreme Yang Fire Crystal," from the raw ore.

In terms of rarity, this [Supreme Yang Fire Crystal] is far superior to that [Heavenly Gang Wind Copper], and is a material that can be used to refine spiritual treasures.

However, the [Supreme Yang Fire Crystals] that Zhou Chun refined were all in small particle form and could only be used to melt them into magic weapons to enhance their power.

With a sufficiently high-quality gift, Zhou Chun quickly set off.

Since he was invited to attend the celebration and there was no danger, he specially brought his wife and children along.

The family traveled at a leisurely pace, leisurely exploring the Xia Kingdom along the way.

This was, in fact, the first time the family of three had traveled together to the world of cultivation since Zhou Xinyuan was born.

Although Zhou Xinyuan was already a grown man in his fifties, the experience of the three of them traveling together in the cultivation world still filled them with a sense of novelty and made them very happy, which made them cherish it all the more.

If time hadn't been a constraint, the three of them might have traveled further and for longer.

After traveling through several countries and spending more than half a year there, the family of three finally arrived in the Xia Kingdom.

Xia Kingdom itself is a large country with two long-standing forces, Zhengyang Palace and Ziqi Sect, as well as two other major forces with Nascent Soul stage cultivators in charge.

Before Nangong Wuqing rose to power, the Xia Kingdom had always revered Zhengyang Palace.

Even if Nangong Wuqing later possessed the combat power of a Great Cultivator, it wouldn't change this situation.

However, with Nangong Wuqing breaking through to the late Nascent Soul stage, this situation is likely to change soon.

After all, the late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from Zhengyang Palace is already nearing the end of his lifespan. Even though he has benefited from the life-extending spiritual items provided by several Nascent Soul stage Venerables, which have extended his lifespan by a few more years, his time to pass away is still within one or two hundred years.

Before his death, it was almost impossible for him to ensure that a second late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would appear in Zhengyang Palace in time.

Therefore, the situation in Xia Kingdom will definitely change at that time.

However, such things are common in all human countries, and it is likely that Zhengyang Palace will choose to compromise in that case.

Although Zhou Chun had been to the Xia Kingdom before, he had never been to the Ziqi Sect's mountain gate.

But Su Yuzhen and Zhou Xinyuan had both taken refuge there before, so they could give him directions now.

After flying thousands of miles within the Xia Kingdom, the three arrived near the mountain gate of the Ziqi Sect.

The Purple Qi Sect's mountain gate is located in a hot basin, and its location is in the northeast of the basin, in an even hotter mountain range.

However, despite the hot climate, the basin is lush with vegetation and very suitable for cultivation, which has attracted a large number of ordinary people to settle here.

The location of the Purple Qi Sect's mountain gate is an even more blessed land of immortals, rich in spiritual energy.

After Zhou Chun entered the basin, he sent a message to Nangong Wuqing to inform him of his arrival. Therefore, when they arrived outside the gate of the Ziqi Sect, Nangong Wuqing, a newly promoted late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, personally came out to greet them.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Zhou, your arrival from afar truly honors our humble abode! On behalf of our sect, I extend a warm welcome to Fellow Daoist Zhou!"

A purple figure flashed in the sky, and Nangong Wuqing, dressed in purple robes, appeared in the air, laughing loudly, and warmly welcomed Zhou Chun with clasped hands.

"Fellow Daoist Nangong, you flatter me greatly. I am utterly unworthy of your high regard. I am truly unworthy!"

Zhou Chun quickly returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute, repeatedly expressing his humility.

"Hehehe, Fellow Daoist Zhou is as humble as ever."

Nangong Wuqing chuckled, then personally led Zhou Chun and his family of three into the Purple Qi Sect's mountain gate.

Afterwards, Su Yuzhen and her son Zhou Xinyuan were taken by Nangong Wuqing's concubine to tour other parts of the mountain gate, while Zhou Chun went to Nangong Wuqing's cave.

"Speaking of which, it's only been forty or fifty years since we last met in the Great Zhou Kingdom. I never imagined that Fellow Daoist Zhou would break through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage so quickly. I am truly filled with admiration!"

Inside the cave, Nangong Wuqing took out his treasured spirit wine and filled Zhou Chun's cup. After the two raised their cups to drink together, Nangong Wuqing looked at Zhou Chun with a sigh.

He knew that the barrier of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm was definitely not enough to trap Zhou Chun.

However, Zhou Chun's rapid breakthrough to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm still amazed him.

Upon hearing his words, Zhou Chun smiled and said, "It should be I who say that. It's only been a few decades since we last met, and Fellow Daoist Nangong has already broken through to the late Nascent Soul stage, becoming one of the most outstanding cultivators of our human race. I am truly envious and full of respect for him!"

"Ah, if someone else said that, I might feel quite proud of myself, but in front of Fellow Daoist Zhou, I would never dare to be so arrogant!"

A bitter smile flashed across Nangong Wuqing's face as he sighed with deep emotion, "With Fellow Daoist Zhou's extraordinary talent, I'm afraid that in another three to five hundred years, you will be able to catch up with me in terms of cultivation. As for fighting and killing, I am far inferior to you!"

"Fellow Daoist Nangong overestimates me. The barrier of the late Nascent Soul stage is incredibly difficult. Countless heroes of the human race throughout history have been stuck at this hurdle, unable to make any progress, and ultimately died in despair. I dare not presume to believe that I will definitely succeed!"

Zhou Chun shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly, refusing to accept the other party's flattery.

He knew that his talent was limited, and even with the help of the Pure Yang Breakthrough Pill, he might not be able to break through to the next realm.

If we accept this praise now with arrogance and complacency, we'll be embarrassed and become a laughingstock if we fail.

To prevent Nangong Wuqing from continuing to flatter him, he turned the tables and probed, "Fellow Daoist Nangong, now that you've broken through to the late Nascent Soul stage, you truly have a promising future as a Deity Transformation cultivator!"

Hearing this, Nangong Wuqing couldn't help but smile wryly, "Fellow Daoist Zhou said I thought too highly of you, but you've truly put me on the hot seat!"

He then sighed softly, "How difficult it is to reach the Nascent Soul stage! Although I am already at the late Nascent Soul stage, I am completely clueless about the Nascent Soul stage. I'm afraid that without hundreds of years of exploration, I won't even be able to get past the threshold!"

These words were truly from the bottom of his heart.

After hearing this, Zhou Chun fell silent.

After a moment of silence, he said softly, "Fellow Daoist Nangong, there's no need to rush. With your lifespan, you can easily endure until the turbid evil energy completely dissipates. At that time, your breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage will be perfectly timed!"

"Yes, to be honest, we've caught a lucky break. Hopefully, both I and Fellow Daoist Zhou will have a chance to glimpse the path to Nascent Soul!"

Nangong Wuqing nodded slightly, quickly adjusted his mindset, and expressed his beautiful expectations for the future with a smile.

The two then discussed their cultivation experiences and talked about some great cultivators in the cultivation world, mainly analyzing who might have a chance to break through to the Nascent Soul stage and who had little time left in their lifespan.

In fact, at their level of cultivation, there are very few things in the cultivation world that they can care about or pay attention to.

If it weren't for the previous war of invasion by alien races, late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators would usually be in seclusion, making it difficult for other Nascent Soul cultivators to even see them.

Generally, they only become active when they have just broken through to a higher realm, standing up for their sect or family to gain some deserved benefits.

After spending more than half a month as a guest at the Ziqi Sect, Nangong Wuqing's grand cultivator celebration officially began.

This celebration was on a much higher level than the Nascent Soul Ceremony. Golden Core cultivators were the lowest level cultivators present, and there were no fewer than thirty Nascent Soul cultivators, most of whom were from the Xia Kingdom and neighboring countries.

The influence of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator can extend to several surrounding countries, or even further!

Therefore, Nascent Soul stage cultivators from nearby countries would definitely visit to offer congratulations and goodwill at this time, and present a generous gift.

When Zhou Chun appeared, he immediately became the focus of everyone's attention, even overshadowing Nangong Wuqing, the newly promoted late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

A person's name is like a tree's shadow.

Zhou Chun is now a household name among Nascent Soul stage cultivators of the human race; everyone knows him.

Not to mention that after he appeared today, the cultivators present realized that he was actually a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!

Back when he was in the early Nascent Soul stage, he was able to overpower a group of late Nascent Soul stage cultivators and become the number one contributor to the human race.

Now that his cultivation has broken through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, no one dares to predict how strong he will be.

In short, just try to please them!

Nangong Wuqing didn't care that Zhou Chun had stolen his thunder.

He anticipated this would happen when he invited Zhou Chun over.

Compared to the trivial matter of having his limelight stolen, he wanted to take this opportunity to send a signal to the Xia Kingdom and the surrounding countries. He and Master Chun Jun, Zhou Zhengchun, were also close friends.

Therefore, it is worth considering carefully by the cultivators and forces present which family should be the leader of the Xia Kingdom in the future.

Zhou Chun was not unaware of these inside details, but Nangong Wuqing was indeed worth his help.

Therefore, during the celebration, he took the initiative to talk about his previous experiences fighting alongside Nangong Wuqing.

This approach, seemingly a way of reminiscing about the past and showing off one's achievements to the other cultivators present, is actually a way of telling everyone that he and Nangong Wuqing have a deep friendship and are comrades-in-arms who fought side by side.

And which of the cultivators who were able to attend wasn't a shrewd and capable person?

Of course, he understood what Zhou Chun was trying to say.

Therefore, those who already had a bias in their hearts showed it even more clearly later on, almost all of them praising and flattering Zhou Chun and Nangong Wuqing, and conveying their goodwill to Nangong Wuqing.

Ultimately, the celebration achieved the best possible result that Nangong Wuqing had anticipated.

After the celebration, he sincerely bowed to Zhou Chun and said, "Thank you very much, Fellow Daoist Zhou, for coming from afar to help us. If you ever need my help in the future, please feel free to send someone to let me know, and I will certainly not refuse."

"Fellow Daoist Nangong, you are too kind. You have helped me a great deal before, and I am merely returning the favor."

Zhou Chun smiled and waved his hand, showing no intention of taking credit.

He didn't linger any longer and left the Purple Qi Sect with his wife and children.

After leaving the Purple Qi Sect, Zhou Chun wanted to continue traveling the cultivation world with his family of three.

However, after a month or two of visiting, I found that the initial fun was gone, perhaps because it was intentional!

Therefore, after discussing it with his wife, the three of them ended their trip and returned directly to their family.

But as soon as they returned to their family, they received bad news.

Su Yunniang, Su Yuzhen's aunt, has entered her final moments due to the approaching end of her life.

The three had no choice but to rush to the location of the Su family's mountain gate.

In the end, Su Yuzhen only had time to exchange a few words with Su Yunniang, who was still clinging to life, before witnessing her loved one pass away on her bedside.

This made Su Yu feel extremely sad and guilty.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun could only gently comfort her, "Your aunt died of natural causes, which is the way of Heaven. Yu Zhen, you don't need to be too sad. Please accept my condolences!"

"I'm fine, just a little sad. If we could have come back sooner, we could have spent more time with my aunt, and she wouldn't have had to work so hard!"

Su Yuzhen sobbed softly, murmuring to herself, her words filled with self-reproach and regret.

This left Zhou Chun speechless for a moment.

After all, he also had a responsibility to do some sightseeing beforehand.

Moreover, witnessing Su Yunniang's passing away at the end of her life, he couldn't help but think of his elders, Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi.

These two elders only have a little over ten years left to live. In another ten years, he will also have to say goodbye to these two closest elders!

Thinking of this, he wanted to spend more time with his two elders, so he instructed Zhou Xinyuan, who was standing beside him, "Xinyuan, you stay here and keep your mother company. Give her some advice and comfort. If anything happens, remember to contact your father immediately."

"I understand, leave this matter to me."

Zhou Xinyuan nodded sensibly and readily agreed.

So Zhou Chun left Lord Yishan at the Su family's mountain gate to watch over his wife and children, and returned to Kunwu Mountain alone.

As if sensing something, Zhou Mingde came to Zhou Chun as soon as he returned to Kunwu Mountain, nodded to him, and said, "Zheng Chun is back. Has Fellow Daoist Su already passed away? Did you get to see her one last time?"

"I did see him, but unfortunately I only had time to say a few words before he left!"

Zhou Chun sighed softly and replied in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingde smiled slightly and said, "It's good that you saw them. Before he passed away, he just wanted to see his closest descendants one last time, so that they could see him off in his final moments!"

Then, with a sigh, he said, "Dao Yi and I have also discussed it and decided to leave together when the time comes, so that you younger generations won't have to suffer twice in a few years. It's too torturous!"