Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Chapter 641 - 626: Donglai Truth, Golden Core 9th Layer!

The pursuit of immortality is an instinct for all creatures derived from their bloodline, and the fear of death is just the same.

Creatures like the [Corpse Demon] possess almost eternal life, but compared to other beings, they undoubtedly fear death even more.

Facing the imminent threat of death, the [Corpse Demon] in the underground cavern cast aside all dignity, desperately tempting and pleading with Zhouyang for mercy.

From initially asking for assistance to escape to merely requesting the return of the crucial [Ten Thousand Year Corpse Pearl], to ultimately just begging Zhouyang to spare its life, its bottom line kept lowering.

But none of this could shake Zhouyang’s determination to refine it.

[Donglai Immortal Island] can be forsaken, but the [Corpse Demon] must die!

This was Zhouyang’s thought.

"You will die a horrible death, I curse you, curse you to die under the [Heart Demon Tribulation], curse you to die a miserable death!"

Before dying, the [Corpse Demon] stared venomously at the seven-layer golden tower, as if its eyes could penetrate the tower to see Zhouyang’s pale and resolute face inside, uttering its curse.

A black ghostly face emerged from its body, appearing fleetingly above Zhouyang’s head, cackling eerily, attempting to dive into Zhouyang’s body.

But Zhouyang merely snorted coldly, and the golden true flame rose from his body, swiftly incinerating the black ghostly face into nothingness.

"Evil demons and heretics, this is all they can muster!"

Zhouyang stood up from his sitting position, taking just one step to appear outside the golden tower.

At this moment, the zombie body of the [Corpse Demon] had been completely refined to ashes by the [Qianyang True Flame], covered by the [Exorcism Treasure Robe] on the cyan jade bed.

"Collect!"

Zhouyang formed a spell with his hands, casting the Treasure Collection Technique towards the [Exorcism Treasure Robe], intending to take it into his possession.

But an awkward situation occurred.

The golden light flashed on the [Exorcism Treasure Robe], dispersing the Treasure Collection Technique Zhouyang cast.

"Oh!"

Zhouyang watched the scene in surprise and suspicion, falling silent.

After a moment of silence, he ceased any further attempts, opting instead to sit cross-legged on the spot, taking out a [Blood Dragon Rice] which he chewed and swallowed, followed by a spirit pill to restore essence blood and primordial qi, refining these spiritual objects to replenish the primordially depleted during the previous battle.

In the previous battle, he had repeatedly spat out his life essence blood to unleash the power of the [Qianyang Treasure Pearl], harming his primordial qi, along with expending nine tenths of his magical power in the magical combat, urgently needing meditation to recover.

After a day and night, Zhouyang finally restored all his magical power, and the loss of essence blood and primordial qi was sufficiently recovered by the [Blood Dragon Rice] and elixirs, his complexion no longer as pale and unsightly as before, with a hint of color returning.

However, Jiang Fengxian was still in seclusion, sitting in meditation and recuperating inside the golden tower.

Zhouyang observed the lady’s condition, ensuring her aura was stable and unharmed before refocusing on collecting the spoils of battle.

Recalling the abnormality of the [Exorcism Treasure Robe] from the previous days, Zhouyang’s eyes flashed with an unusual light, deciding not to touch the treasure first, instead looking at the silver chain that once bound the [Corpse Demon].

From the first time he saw such a chain, it felt familiar, and now with a calm mind to compare, he noticed its pattern and material were extremely similar to the array chains used in the Tier Seven Immortal Array [Celestial Spirit Demon Suppression Array] he had seen in the [Dome Heaven Immortal Realm].

However, the silver chain he observed now was smaller.

And the four copper pillars seemed to share the same style as the silver pillars within the [Dome Heaven Immortal Realm], only differing in size and material.

"It seems these silver chains and copper pillars must be from the Upper Realm’s demon suppressing instruments, for the [Corpse Demon] to be suppressed and sealed by such instruments, its past must have been quite extraordinary."

Zhouyang’s eyes gleamed as he marveled in silence.

He naturally did not believe the story told by the [Corpse Demon] at that time, but seeing the [Corpse Demon] frequently mention [Donglai Immortal Island], and seem to know its situation very well, its past affiliation might be inextricably linked to [Donglai Immortal Island], at least it should have visited there.

He wasn’t entirely indifferent to [Donglai Immortal Island], rather he could not trust the [Corpse Demon], and dared not follow its words to avoid falling into some trap.

Compared to the elusive [Donglai Immortal Island], he clearly valued the gains obtained from exterminating the [Corpse Demon] much more.

Now, it is time to gather the harvest.

Thinking of this, Zhouyang suddenly let out a low shout, unleashing the divine technique "Cyan Dragon Transformation," and then strode towards the Cyan Jade Bed.

Until he reached the Cyan Jade Bed, nothing abnormal happened.

But when he reached out to grab the Pixie Robe on the bed, the magical artifact suddenly wrapped itself around him.

"I’ve been waiting for you for quite some time!"

Zhouyang shouted loudly, golden True Flame surged on his dragon claws as he fiercely grasped the robe engulfed in golden flames.

As dragon claws met the robe, a chilling coldness drilled into Zhouyang’s body, but with a swirl of magical power, he dispelled and refined the invading malevolent aura.

The Pixie Robe, after all, is just a defensive spiritual artifact, possessing no attacking divine techniques. Zhouyang’s dragon claws seized hold of it, and apart from releasing a layer of red glow to resist the refining by Qianyang True Flame, it remained completely inert.

The real plot against Zhouyang was orchestrated by the residual soul of the Corpse Demon hidden within the robe.

Before its death, it split off a part of its Primordial Spirit into the Pixie Robe, temporarily gaining control over the spiritual artifact, intending to ambush Zhouyang as he claimed the robe.

Fortunately, the robe has its own spirit and was not fully controlled by it, giving Zhouyang an early warning when he cast the Treasure Collection Technique.

Now, with Zhouyang prepared and his magical power restored, the scheme of the Corpse Demon is no longer executable.

After roughly half an hour of standoff, the Pixie Robe’s power was completely exhausted by Zhouyang, and the residual soul of the Corpse Demon hidden within was obliterated by the golden True Flame, leaving no trace.

"Like a centipede that dies but is not brittle, anyone capable of cultivating to the Nascent Soul Stage should never be underestimated!"

Gazing at the Pixie Robe in his hand, Zhouyang sighed deeply: "If not for the robe’s spirit giving an early warning, even if I could survive the Corpse Demon’s ambush, considering my earlier state, I would have been left battered and severely depleted of Primordial Qi!"

Clutching the robe in his hands, he quickly sprayed a stream of Essence Blood onto the robe, beginning the refinement of this Tier Six spiritual artifact.

With his current Eighth-Layer Golden Core cultivation, without the Blood Soul Sacrificial Artifact Technique obtained from the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, he barely managed to refine this Tier Six spiritual artifact.

However, the Tier Six artifact consumes an extraordinary amount of magical power. Even if it can be refined, Zhouyang cannot use it for regular combat before Nascent Soul Formation; it can only serve as a trump card for rescue in critical moments.

The refining of the Tier Six artifact took a considerable amount of time, and Zhouyang spent more than a month to initially refine the Pixie Robe, making its use flexible.

Upon refining the Pixie Robe, he also learned about the specific grade of this spiritual artifact.

Like the Heaven-Suppressing Azure Dragon Cauldron, the Pixie Robe is a Tier Six Middle-grade Spiritual Artifact.

Moreover, after refining the Pixie Robe, Zhouyang received an inheritance message from it.

This inheritance message is related to Donglai Immortal Island, and according to the message, the Pixie Robe is the key object required to enter Donglai Immortal Island.

To enter Donglai Immortal Island, one must not only possess the Pixie Robe but also learn the divine technique "Golden Sun Demon Suppression Spell" recorded on the robe.

What shocked Zhouyang even more was that the closure of Donglai Immortal Island has nothing to do with the story told by the Corpse Demon.

It was due to the sudden disappearance of Master Donglai, leading his disciples into bitter conflict over the island’s ownership, and eventually, who knows who triggered Master Donglai’s contingency measures, causing the guardian array of the island to activate and hide itself.

As for the origins of the Corpse Demon, the inheritance message briefly mentioned.

It turns out the Corpse Demon was a disciple grandson of Master Donglai in its previous life, having spent considerable time following its master on Donglai Immortal Island, thus knowing a lot about the island.

However, after the closure of Donglai Immortal Island, this creature ambushed its injured master, seizing the Token Spiritual Artifact Pixie Robe that allowed entry to the island, hoping to enter Donglai Immortal Island in the future to gain the master’s legacy.

The transmission did not mention what led this creature to become the Corpse Demon later, only stating that unforeseen changes occurred after Donglai Immortal Island was hidden, making it impossible to enter again for thousands of years, during which the owner of the inheritance estimated not to survive.

Hence, it suppressed the Corpse Demon with the Pixie Robe, leaving it to be slain and purified by a fated individual from later generations to gain this uncertain opportunity.

"I did not expect such a convoluted and complex story behind this, it seems my judgment at the time was correct. Had I spared the Corpse Demon and followed its instructions to seek the token, I might have really fallen into its trap and been led into some absolute dead end!"

Looking at the robe in his hand, Zhouyang’s face revealed a hint of relief and fear.

Had he been greedily tempted even for a moment and compromised with the Corpse Demon, the outcome would have been entirely different from now.

"Zhou Lang, what are you thinking? Why has your expression changed so drastically?"

The crisp and melodious voice of the beauty brought Zhouyang’s consciousness back to reality. He looked up and saw that Jiang Fengxian had somehow already emerged from the Qianyang Golden Tower, along with the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast that had been guarding outside the grotto entrance, now inside this underground hall.

"Fengxian, how are you feeling? Will this injury affect your upcoming Core Formation and Nascent Soul process?"

Concern was evident on Zhouyang’s face as he looked at the beauty before him. He didn’t rush to answer her question but first inquired about her injury.

Jiang Fengxian felt a flash of emotion in her eyes at his words and softly replied, "It’s impossible to say it won’t have any effect at all, but the impact won’t be too great. Just recuperate for another ten years or so, and there will be no problem at all."

"That’s good to hear. That puts my mind at ease."

Zhouyang breathed a sigh of relief, showing a reassuring smile as he continually nodded.

If it weren’t for Jiang Fengxian appearing at the critical moment to help him collect the Ten Thousand Year Corpse Pearl from the Corpse Demon, he truly might not have been able to win.

If Jiang Fengxian’s process of forming her Nascent Soul had been affected because of this, it would have troubled him for a lifetime.

Next, Zhouyang and Jiang Fengxian searched together in the underground hall, finding over a dozen storage rings behind the corner of the Cyan Jade Bed. These belonged to Wei Tao and the other seven Golden Core Stage cultivators, all collected here by the Corpse Demon.

That Cyan Jade Bed itself was a treasure. It was placed right on the spiritual eye of this spiritual vein within the underground cave, undergoing thousands of years of tempering and nourishing by the spiritual qi of the vein. It had long become an exotic treasure, capable of gathering and purifying spiritual qi, making it an excellent aid for cultivation.

However, neither Zhouyang nor Jiang Fengxian moved the Cyan Jade Bed, leaving it in its place.

They planned to cultivate diligently here in the future, with the Cyan Jade Bed serving its purpose well.

In contrast, Zhouyang dismantled the four red-golden copper pillars and the four silver chains and stored them in the storage rings for later use.

He remembered that Lu Xuanji had once taken the entire Celestial Spirit Demon Suppression Array from the Dome Heaven Immortal Realm back to the Profound Sun Immortal Sect. Perhaps the grandmasters of array formations in the sect could make use of it. Even if he couldn’t use it himself in the future, he could exchange it with the Profound Sun Immortal Sect for what he desired.

After tidying up everything, Zhouyang let Jiang Fengxian rest within the underground cave and instructed the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast to continue pretending to be a wild demon beast to intimidate other demon beasts and cultivators.

He now knew very well that Ruan Xiong’s claim about the demon king of the Celestial Wave Outer Sea being injured was entirely fictional. Naturally, he couldn’t afford to be careless in this matter.

After setting up everything, Zhouyang made a solo trip back to the Inner Sea and brought his daughter Jiang Yufeng to the island he named Demon Slaying Island.

This round trip took about four to five months, and by the time he returned, Jiang Fengxian had already transformed the underground hall into a legitimate cave mansion.

The core area of this cave mansion was, of course, where the Cyan Jade Bed was located. This was the place Jiang Fengxian would be using for her Core Formation and Nascent Soul seclusion, and it was also given to her by Zhouyang for healing purposes.

Zhouyang and his daughter Jiang Yufeng, on the other hand, were cultivating in two separate cultivation chambers.

Jiang Yufeng had yet to begin refining her Lifebound Spiritual Artifact and was currently focused on practicing artifact refining skills to prepare for it.

Zhouyang, rather than rushing to cultivate the Golden Sun Demon Suppression Spell divine technique, first took inventory of the gains from the battle with the Corpse Demon.

In the battle with the Corpse Demon, he acquired a Tier Six Middle-grade Spiritual Artifact, the Exorcism Treasure Robe, and a Tier Six Treasure, the Ten Thousand Year Corpse Pearl. These were the biggest gains.

From Ruan Xiong and the others’ storage rings, he also found five Tier Five Top Grade Spiritual Artifacts, eight Tier Five Middle Grade Spiritual Artifacts, and seven Tier Five Lower Grade Spiritual Artifacts, including six Lifebound Spiritual Artifacts.

Among these artifacts, he only chose to refine Ruan Xiong’s used Tier Five Top Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Earth God Mountain, and gave the silver flying boat spiritual artifact that Ruan Xiong used to Jiang Fengxian, while storing the rest away for future disposal.

Being a Tier Five Refiner himself, typical Tier Five Spiritual Artifacts didn’t appeal to him. Only premium artifacts like the Earth God Mountain could catch his eye.

But these artifacts were merely transitional. Once he succeeded in Core Formation and Nascent Soul Formation in the future, these artifacts would all be set aside.

Besides artifacts, there were also many elixirs, spirit talismans, and arrays among Ruan Xiong and the others’ relics.

Although there were no items that caught Zhouyang’s Dharma Eye, if converted to Spirit Stones, they could fetch nearly a million lower-grade Spirit Stones.

Then there were spiritual materials. The storage rings of those Golden Core Stage cultivators contained many spiritual materials, most of which came from various sea demon beasts, useful as artifact refining materials, and also some well-preserved demon pills and spirit elixirs, as well as some rare mineral spiritual gold.

As long as these materials reached Tier Five, Zhouyang could essentially use them for either artifact refining or alchemy.

Among all the spiritual objects, the two most valued by Zhouyang were the Sea Soul Pearl, a remarkable sea treasure, and the thousand-year-old Blood Coral, a sea specialty.

The Sea Soul Pearl is an extremely rare treasure for nourishing the spirit, capable of recovering divine soul injuries. With it, Zhouyang could freely use the Green Blood Soul-Burning Technique in critical moments to boost his power and fight desperately against enemies.

The effect of the thousand-year-old Blood Coral is to quickly restore Essence Blood and Primordial Qi, which is slightly inferior to the lotus seeds of the Demon Blood Ancient Lotus in his possession but far superior to the Blood Dragon Rice. It could also be used to refine various healing spirit pills.

Interestingly, these two treasures were originally part of the collection of the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast. However, when it was subdued by the Corpse Demon, these items were taken.

"""

Moreover, in this search through the storage rings of many Golden Core Stage cultivators, Zhouyang found two Tier Five pill formulas, seven Tier Four pill formulas, and even a Nascent Soul Formation experience journal in Ruan Xiong’s storage ring.

This was a journal recorded by Ruan Xiong’s master after successfully forming a Nascent Soul, which he specially sought to study and comprehend.

As for other cultivation techniques and secret arts, they were naturally abundant as well. In the overseas realm, many loose cultivators carry such things with them.

Finally, there were the Spirit Stones.

This time, Zhouyang gained 132 top-grade Spirit Stones alone, and adding together the middle-grade and low-grade Spirit Stones, converted into low-grade Spirit Stones, amounted to over 3.5 million. This gain was not much less than what he once received from Dragon Taming Golden Radiance.

With this, Zhouyang’s top-grade Spirit Stones exceeded 250 pieces, marking his fortune to surpass ten million Spirit Stones for the first time!

"Truly, a person does not become wealthy without unexpected fortune, and a horse does not grow fat without night grass. No wonder the practice of killing and robbing in the overseas cultivation realm prevails; this way of gaining wealth is simply too fast!"

Zhouyang suddenly sighed with emotion, his face not showing much exhilaration.

He had been poor and rich, and he already viewed Spirit Stones, these external possessions, with indifference.

A fortune of ten million seems like a lot, but when you consider that at the Jade Capital Immortal City’s auction, a Tier Six Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact [Flame Dragon Whip] sold for eleven million low-grade Spirit Stones, it’s clear that this amount of Spirit Stones is practically insignificant in the eyes of top existences in this realm.

"Fengxian’s Core Formation and Nascent Soul will still require a long period. Next, I can try to break through to the Ninth Layer of the Golden Core Stage, then cultivate the [Golden Sun Demon Suppression Spell] divine technique to prepare for entering the [Donglai Immortal Island] in the future."

Thinking of the various spiritual objects within the [Donglai Immortal Island] mentioned by the Corpse Demon, Zhouyang couldn’t help but show a hint of fervor in his eyes.

If he truly could enter the [Donglai Immortal Island] and obtain the legacy of a True Immortal there, not only would his resources for cultivation after forming his Nascent Soul be secured, but also his Dao companion, lover, son, and daughter would no longer have to worry about cultivation resources.

Compared with those spiritual objects inside [Donglai Immortal Island], what he has now is really nothing.

While Zhouyang’s family was secluded on "Demon Slaying Island" for cultivation, the fall of Ruan Xiong, Huang Yunxing, and others truly stirred up quite a storm on Thunder Whale Island and other places.

At that time, in their group of six, apart from Zhouyang and Qian Bingyun, Liu Xingping were loose cultivators with a Dao companion, all had clan or sect backgrounds, and their respective clans and sects knew they had gone with Ruan Xiong to "Celestial Wave Outer Sea" to hunt the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast].

Now, upon discovering that the soul lamp their family’s elder left in the clan or sect had extinguished, the Wei Family, where Weitao originated, and the Eastern Extreme Gate, where Huang Yunxing came from, had Golden Core Stage cultivators personally set out for Thunder Whale Island to demand an explanation.

And when those demanding an explanation learned that Ruan Xiong’s soul lamp had also extinguished, the involved powers immediately realized the severity of the situation.

In the years that followed, several powers sent many people to the "Celestial Wave Outer Sea" to search for the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] to uncover the truth about their Golden Core Stage cultivators’ demise.

But the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] on "Demon Slaying Island" had long received Zhouyang’s instructions; apart from dealing with demon beasts dispatched by the Demon King and intimidating other demon beasts in the nearby sea, it would not easily show itself.

Occasionally, cultivators arriving outside "Demon Slaying Island" would be killed to silence by it, never transmitting any message back.

After some years passed like this, the powers related to Thunder Whale Island had no choice but to chalk up the account against the Demon Race, assuming it was the Demon King of the "Celestial Wave Outer Sea" who acted against the six Golden Core Stage cultivators.

Facing a Demon King, none of the powers were a match. Naturally, they could only hold their noses and accept it, no longer expending manpower and resources to search for the tracks of a few dead people.

And although Ruan Xiong had a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator as his master, that Nascent Soul Stage cultivator wandered outside all year long and paid little attention to his disciples.

Even knowing Ruan Xiong perished in the outer sea, he had no intention of coming over to trouble the Demon King for a mere disciple.

In this overseas cultivation realm, cultivators venturing to the seas to hunt demon beasts and demon beasts devouring cultivators were daily occurrences, everyone accustomed to it, and revenge wasn’t a common concept.

Spring came and autumn passed, and twelve years blinked by.

With twelve years of recuperation, Jiang Fengxian finally fully recovered from the injury to her Lifebound Spiritual Artifact and began closed-door training to attempt the Core Formation and Nascent Soul.

And after twelve years of cultivation, Zhouyang successfully advanced his cultivation further, reaching the Ninth Layer of the Golden Core Stage.

At this time, Zhouyang’s lifespan was still shy of six hundred years.

Reaching the Ninth Layer of the Golden Core Stage at less than six hundred years old, this cultivation speed surpassed many Spirit Body cultivators.

For example, Jiang Fengxian was already over six hundred and sixty years old when she reached this cultivation.

Having reached the Ninth Layer of the Golden Core Stage, Zhouyang next needed only to wait for the result of Jiang Fengxian’s Nascent Soul Formation to come out, and then he could also close himself off to attempt breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage.

And according to plan, during Jiang Fengxian’s confinement for Nascent Soul Formation, he, together with his daughter Jiang Yufeng, would act as a guardian, while deciphering and understanding the cultivation method of that [Golden Sun Demon Suppression Spell] divine technique, attempting to cultivate this demon suppression divine technique.