Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Chapter 650 - 634: Huge Harvest!

FD,半小时后再看）

结束了.

When Zhou Minghan unleashed the ultimate move he’d prepared for half an hour, the outcome was already decided.

Just about a quarter of an hour after the thunderous sound reached them, Zhouyang and the other Zhou Family cultivators saw the Tier Three Poison Fire Scorpion King corpse brought back by the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan.

This dark red giant scorpion, originally as large as a calf, was now shattered into dozens of pieces, with only the two hardest scorpion claws and a scorpion tail barely intact.

"The scorpion shell of the Tier Three Poison Fire Scorpion King has a defense stronger than a typical Tier Three Lower-Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifact. What kind of powerful divine technique did the old Clan Leader use to shatter such a hard scorpion shell into so many pieces?"

Zhouyang looked at the body of the Tier Three demon beast thrown out by the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, feeling both shocked and regretful.

As an Artifact Refiner, there’s probably nothing more disheartening than seeing good artifact refining materials get destroyed right in front of you.

Given the Poison Fire Scorpion King’s size, its scorpion shell, if intact, would have had at least a more than fifty percent chance of being refined by the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan into a set of Tier Three Lower-Grade Defensive Armor.

Note, a set, not a single piece!

A set of Tier Three Lower-Grade Defensive Armor includes multiple defensive spiritual artifacts like chest armor, helmet, arm guards, and leg guards, each of which individually has the defense capability of a Tier Three Lower-Grade. When worn together, their defense is even better than a single Tier Three High-Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifact.

An Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator wearing such a set of defensive armor could easily cross a small realm to contend against a Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Compared to such a real set of magical artifacts, Zhouyang’s set of four Armor-Piercing Daggers is merely child’s play and not in the same league.

Actually, how could the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan’s heart not ache? But to ensure the foolproof elimination of the Poison Fire Scorpion King, he simply had no choice.

Regardless of how depressed Zhouyang and the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan felt, the other members of the Zhou Family all breathed a sigh of relief and smiled broadly upon seeing the body of the Tier Three demon beast, the Poison Fire Scorpion King.

With the death of the Tier Three demon beast, Poison Fire Scorpion King, their Zhou Family’s operation to expand the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein was now perfectly concluded, and now it was time for the harvest.

In this battle, they killed one Tier Three demon beast, dozens of Tier Two demon beasts, and hundreds of Tier One demon beasts, making it an unquestionably bountiful harvest.

For cultivators, the entire body of a demon beast is a treasure, and aside from a few blood and flesh of demon beasts that contain deadly poison, the meat of most demon beasts is edible and far more beneficial than Golden Pearl Rice.

The blood of the demon beasts is the main ingredient in the Blood Ink used by talisman makers, and their hides can be used for refining artifacts or made into blank talisman paper.

Even the excrement of demon beasts can be used to fertilize some Spirit Wood and Spirit Elixirs!

Because they killed so many demon beasts in this battle, the storage bags of the Zhou Family cultivators were full, leaving more than half uncollected, so they had to gather them together for future transport back to the clan.

After tidying up the battlefield, everyone gathered and looked towards the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan with excitement.

Zhou Minghan naturally understood what these people wanted. While the bodies of hundreds of demon beasts are a considerable gain, it depends on what you compare it to.

Compared to a Tier Three Natural Spiritual Vein and a Red Flame Iron Ore Vein, this gain is indeed nothing.

"Let’s go, let’s first take a look at the spiritual vein."

He nodded slightly, leading the way with a flying sword towards the Poisonous Fire Scorpion Swarm’s lair.

Inside the lair of the Poisonous Fire Scorpion Swarm, some were still left behind, mostly pregnant female scorpions and a few guardian male scorpions, completely unaware of what happened outside.

Upon entering the scorpion nest from outside, Zhou Minghan, with a flick of his flying sword, mercilessly massacred them.

When Zhouyang and others arrived later, what they saw was a ground full of headless Poisonous Fire Scorpion corpses.

Without paying even a second glance to the Poisonous Fire Scorpion corpses they had grown tired of seeing, Zhouyang, like the other Zhou Family cultivators, immediately applied the Celestial Eye Technique to inspect the expansive underground cave, carefully sensing the abundant spiritual energy within the cave.

"Such pure Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi! Just the spiritual qi at the cave’s periphery is no less pure than that at the midsection of Jade Spring Peak. It truly lives up to being a Tier Three Lower-Grade Natural Spiritual Vein; even if one rank lower, the spiritual qi is no worse than a Tier Three Middle-Grade Spiritual Vein cultivated artificially!"

While examining the cave’s environment, Zhouyang heard his Fourteenth Uncle, Zhou Xuanhe, exclaim excitedly beside him.

Upon hearing this, he couldn’t help but silently circulate his cultivation technique to absorb a wisp of spiritual qi into his body for refinement, then his face also showed a look of shock.

"How is it? You felt it, right? Not only is the spiritual qi here abundant, but its attributes lean more towards the fire and earth elements. Cultivating here, for cultivators like you and me whose spirit root techniques lean towards the fire attribute, is even more effective than on the balanced five elements of Jade Spring Peak!"

Zhou Xuanhao was right beside Zhouyang and naturally noticed his small actions. Seeing the expression on his face, he couldn’t help but smile slightly, explaining his doubts.

A cultivator’s spiritual root has attribute inclinations, and naturally, so does a spiritual vein. Natural spiritual veins will have some attribute inclinations according to their environment.

For example, in the ocean or by large rivers and lakes where water vapor is dense, the spiritual qi of a vein inclines towards the water attribute, making it more suitable for cultivators who practice water element techniques.

And in volcanic hot areas, the spiritual qi attributes incline towards the fire attribute, making it suitable for cultivators who practice fire element techniques.

The natural spiritual veins in the Boundless Desert Sea mostly have spiritual qi attributes that are predominantly fire, earth, and metal, with very few showing a bias towards water and wood attributes.

Generally speaking, after a cultivator occupies a spiritual vein, unless it is some sect or loose cultivators where all disciples practice the same attribute techniques, they would transform the spiritual vein using spirit gathering arrays and spirit stones to make the spiritual qi attributes tend towards a balanced state of the five elements for the future generation of cultivators.

The Jade Spring Peak occupied by the Zhou Family was initially a Tier Two Top Grade natural spiritual vein with spiritual qi attributes biased towards earth and wood elements. Later, with the Zhou Family investing a large amount of spirit stones for transformation, it gradually became a Tier Three Middle Grade spiritual vein with balanced five elements.

Zhouyang recalled this knowledge he had read about spiritual veins and suddenly had a flash of insight, remembering something else related to natural spiritual veins.

Scanning his gaze around, he asked curiously, "Father, I read in the records that a natural spiritual vein usually grows some special celestial and earthly spiritual objects above it, like the Dragon Scale Tree on our Jade Spring Peak. I wonder if there is something like that here too?"

"Well, that’s a question I don’t have an answer for."

Zhou Xuanhao flashed a look of embarrassment on his face, unable to answer Zhouyang’s question. To avoid Zhouyang asking similar unanswerable questions again, he simply flicked his sleeve and said, "Let’s go. Didn’t the old clan leader already go in? Let’s follow him in and take a look."

This underground cavern is quite deep, with the poisonous fire scorpion swarm nest mainly located in the spacious cave hall on the periphery. The surrounding cave walls of the hall have countless interconnected underground passages.

Some of those underground passages are naturally formed, but most are dead ends dug out by the poisonous fire scorpion swarm.

There are two relatively spacious passages. One was naturally formed, and even without entering it, Zhouyang could feel the cold water vapor emanating from deep within the passage. Needless to say, this passage must lead to that underground dark river.

The other passage is two to three meters wide, capable of accommodating several people side by side. This passage was forcibly chiseled out of the stone wall by a powerful external force. The dense spiritual qi in the cavern is emanating from this passage, likely leading to the spiritual eye of the vein.

Zhouyang and Zhou Xuanhao entered this passage.

After the father and son traversed several hundred meters through the passage, they arrived at a stone chamber large enough to accommodate dozens of people for seated cultivation. The old clan leader Zhou Minghan and several elders of the Zhou Family with the prefix "Light" were also in the stone chamber, examining something.

"Old Clan Leader, have you discovered a treasure?"

Zhou Xuanhao, bringing Zhouyang along, moved closer while craning his neck to look at the object surrounded by the old clan leader Zhou Minghan and the others, casually asking a question.

Stretching his neck to get a better look, Zhouyang saw the object surrounded by the old clan leader and others was a stalactite pillar protruding approximately three feet above the ground, in a milky-yellow color.

"Oh, this is, could it be..."

Suddenly, Zhou Xuanhao’s eyes widened, filled with surprise and delight as he looked at the stalactite pillar and glanced towards the old clan leader Zhou Minghan, afraid he had seen it wrong.

"That’s right, this is the extremely rare Tier Three spiritual object, Earth Element Spirit Milk!"

The old clan leader slightly nodded, lowering his voice as he spoke the name Zhou Xuanhao wanted to say.

Hiss—

Zhou Xuanhao couldn’t help but take a sharp breath, his body trembling slightly.

Seeing his father like this, Zhouyang was also shocked. Since he was young, this was the first time he had seen his father so out of character.

"Father, what is Earth Element Spirit Milk?"

He asked, with a surprised look in his eyes, while looking at the milky-yellow stalactite pillar full of confusion.

"Earth Element Spirit Milk is an extremely rare Tier Three spiritual object, a celestial and earthly spiritual object nurtured by the earth vein spiritual qi through a millennia-old stalactite. Not only can this serve as a substitute main ingredient for various Tier Three spirit pills, but it’s also a crucial auxiliary spirit elixir for refining many Tier Four and even Tier Five spirit pills. You know the Foundation Establishment Pill, right? The Earth Element Spirit Milk is an essential auxiliary ingredient used in refining the Foundation Establishment Pill!"

Knowing that Zhouyang was young and spent most of his time cultivating, and might not be familiar with some of the rare spiritual objects in the cultivation realm, Zhou Xuanhao hurriedly explained the functions of the Earth Element Spirit Milk to him.

After speaking, he patted his waist storage bag, took out a jade scroll used by cultivators to record important knowledge, and handed it to Zhouyang, saying: "This ’Record of Wondrous Treasures of Heaven and Earth’ documents over three thousand rare celestial and earthly treasures, ranging from Tier One to Tier Seven. Yang’Er, take some time to study it, so that you don’t return empty-handed from a treasure mountain and become a laughingstock."

As he did these things, the old clan leader Zhou Minghan looked at him with deep meaning and said: "You overlooked one function of the Earth Element Spirit Milk, Xuan Hao!"

In an instant, Zhou Xuanhao’s expression changed.

"The Earth Element Spirit Milk is indeed a necessary auxiliary medicine for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, but it has another function. It allows a Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation cultivator under a hundred years old to restore their vitality to the state it was before sixty and gives them a precious opportunity to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage!"

Ignoring Zhou Xuanhao’s rapidly changing expression, the old clan leader Zhou Minghan lowered his voice and said what Zhou Xuanhao had deliberately ignored earlier.

"Old clan leader, you..."

Zhou Xuanhao opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but seemed to have a difficult-to-express issue, so he couldn’t speak, looking very displeased.

Unexpectedly, the old clan leader did not let him off easily, instead looked at him and said sternly: "Xuan Hao, I know what you want to say, but let me tell you, once you’ve embarked on the path of cultivation, you can only move forward relentlessly!"

"If you cultivate just to outlive mortals by a mere thirty years, or to have just this bit of meager ability, you might as well have chosen to live as an ordinary person and passed a peaceful life!"

Zhou Xuanhao trembled all over, a strong sense of struggle suddenly appearing in his eyes.

At this moment, Elder Zhou Quan also spoke: "Xuan Hao, you know yourself that your spiritual root talent is in no way inferior to Xuan Yu. If not for the family lacking alchemists, which forced you to spend a lot of cultivation time on alchemy, you would have reached the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation much earlier, not at sixty-three!"

After Elder Zhou Quan spoke, Third Elder Zhou Dan promptly added: "Yes, Xuan Hao, the old clan leader and third brother are right. You delayed your chance to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage for the family, and now there’s an opportunity to try again, why can’t you resolve to attempt it? I’ll be frank, even if you fail, you still have Xiao Jiu as an exceptional successor to carry on your legacy, so you can live without regrets!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuanhao’s sense of struggle intensified, looking at Zhouyang who was somewhat bewildered, his throat moved as if he wanted to speak.

"Alright, you all stop talking now. The Earth Element Spirit Milk still needs some eight to ten years to condense a batch; Xuan Hao, you have ample time to consider it. Once you’ve made up your mind, come and talk to me. If you want it, the first batch will surely be saved for you!"

The old clan leader Zhou Minghan waved his hand, stopping the elder members from persuading further, which also pushed back the words that Zhou Xuanhao wanted to say.

He swallowed his words back, nodded heavily, and replied: "I understand, old clan leader and elders. I will surely consider your advice seriously."

Zhouyang had remained silent, not knowing what was being hinted at by the clan leader and others earlier.

But hearing it now, if he still didn’t understand what the clan leader and others were discussing, then all the years lived would be in vain.

"So the clan leader and others want father to use the Earth Element Spirit Milk to attempt breaking into the Foundation Establishment Stage. No wonder my father, who usually respects elders, is having such difficulty!"

Realizing this matter, Zhouyang’s heart suddenly felt incredibly heavy.

Zhou Xuanhao is already eighty-seven years old this year and also lost his Primordial Yang. Even if he uses the Earth Element Spirit Milk to restore his vitality to the state it was before sixty, the chance of successfully reaching Foundation Establishment wouldn’t exceed five percent!

Such a low probability of success explains why Zhou Xuanhao couldn’t make a decision.

After all, he is not alone now; he has a wife and a son, who are his concerns.

But as Elder Zhou Dan said, having a wife and son and living nearly a hundred years now affords a chance to try breaking into Foundation Establishment one more time. Although failing would mean living without regrets.

"Will father agree? If it were me, what would I choose?"

Zhouyang cast a secret glance at his father, whose expression was heavy, but couldn’t express any of his numerous thoughts.

As a son, if he persuaded his father to agree, and his father failed and fell during breakthrough, he would be deemed unfilial.

But as a cultivator, persuading his father not to agree meant cutting off his father’s cultivation path, which was similarly unfilial.

At this point, he could only feign ignorance!

Fortunately, at this time, other elders of the Zhou Family entered the stone chamber to report the cave exploration information, relieving him from this awkward situation.

"Reporting to the old clan leader, I explored the area near the dark river and found no hidden demon beasts, nor any traces of spiritual objects. It seems to be just a tributary of an ordinary underground dark river passing through."

Speaking was the eighth-ranked female cultivator of the Zhou Family in the "Xuan" generation, Zhou Xuanyan. She was a relatively rare water element cultivator in the Boundless Desert Sea; therefore, upon entering the cave, she volunteered to take on the task of investigating the underground dark river.

The underground dark river is a unique place. Even in an inland desert like the Boundless Desert Sea, one might encounter the presence of Water Demonic Beasts within the dark river. These beasts reside in the underground river, virtually without any natural enemies, and sometimes even Tier Three or Four Great Demons may appear.

Therefore, once a cultivator discovers an underground dark river, they would cautiously investigate the situation before deciding whether to establish a settlement nearby.

"This matter cannot be taken lightly. I remember Quan’Er once repaired a Water Attribute Tier Two High-Grade Array, which is stored in the clan treasure vault. Later, I’ll have Xuantai retrieve it to set up inside the dark river. At that time, Xuanyan, you should lend him a hand."

The old clan leader Zhou Minghan pondered briefly and decided it’s best to be cautious.

Although a Tier Two High-Grade Array cannot defend against the attacks of Tier Three or Four Demon Beasts, it can at least serve as a warning, giving clan cultivators stationed in the stone chamber some reaction time.

However, recalling the departed elder Zhou Qian of the Zhou Family made Zhou Minghan’s mood heavy.

He glanced at the Zhou Family cultivators inside the stone chamber, and with a wave of his sleeve, a metal disc with over a dozen light yellow flags suddenly appeared in his hand.

"This set of ’Earth and Metal Spear Array’ is the last creation left by Quan’Er in this world. Despite being only Tier Three Lower Grade, it closely matches the attribute of this spirit vein. You all should now assist Xuantai in setting up this array!"

With a sigh, he explained the origin of the metal disc and gently tossed it, allowing the array plate to land in Elder Zhou Quan’s hand.

As the others began to leave one by one, he suddenly remembered something and said, "Right, Xiao Jiu, stay."

"Xiao Jiu, strictly speaking, this spirit vein was discovered by you. Have you thought of how to name it?"

Zhouyang, who was asked to stay, was wondering why the old clan leader wanted to speak to him. He was suddenly faced with this question.

He was taken aback for a moment before responding, "Since Great-Grandfather is asking me this, may I be bold? How about calling it Haoyang Cave?"

"Haoyang Cave, Haoyang Cave, very well, from now on, this place shall be named Haoyang Cave!"

The old clan leader repeated the name "Haoyang Cave" twice and then, with a wave of his sleeve, a sword light swiftly flew out and inscribed the words "Haoyang Cave" on the stone chamber wall.

After completing these actions, the old clan leader retracted his flying sword and asked Zhouyang sternly, "Xiao Jiu, this Haoyang Cave is a Tier Three Lower-Grade Natural Spiritual Vein, with underground dark river connections. Its potential for future development is immense. I was thinking that once you establish your foundation, you should move here to oversee it. What do you think?"

Why ask me about matters after Foundation Establishment now?

Zhouyang briefly flashed a look of confusion, but then he had a sudden realization and blurted out, "Could Great-Grandfather be suggesting that I spend the coming time here in seclusion for cultivation?"

"A teachable child!"

Zhou Minghan nodded approvingly at Zhouyang and then shared his plan.

"Haoyang Cave is a Tier Three Natural Spiritual Vein and is adjacent to the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein. In terms of practical value, it’s no less significant than the Yuquan Lake Oasis. Until we have a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to oversee it, I won’t let the clan’s low-tier cultivators come here, lest the news leaks to outsiders."

"Once the ’Earth and Metal Spear Array’ is set up, I’ll return home with Xuanhao and the others, after which this place will be entrusted to Quan’Er, Dan’Er, Xuanyan, and Xiao Jiu to guard. With you four late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators defending this place, and with the power of the array, even if Tier Three Demon Beasts attack, you’ll be able to hold out until I arrive for reinforcement, so there’s no need to worry about safety!"

"The most important thing is that the environment here is more suitable for your cultivation compared to Jade Spring Peak. Cultivating here increases your likelihood of advancing to Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation within a decade."

Though Zhouyang understood the reasoning, he felt incredibly reluctant at the thought of having to separate from his parents again so soon after reuniting.

He truly wished to ask the old clan leader to allow his father Zhou Xuanhao to stay with him.

But he also knew that his father, as the clan’s only Tier Two High-grade Alchemist, would be most effective stationed at the marketplace shop.

Moreover, if his father Zhou Xuanhao decided to attempt breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, he would likely need to select an heir among the younger generation to impart his alchemy skills over the next ten or eight years, to ensure that the clan’s line of alchemists is not lost in case of failure.

"I understand, Great-Grandfather."

He suppressed his feelings of discomfort and replied softly.

"Ah! Both you and your father bear a great burden!"

Zhou Minghan sighed deeply, gently patting Zhouyang’s shoulder to show his understanding.

If he had a choice, Zhou Minghan wouldn’t opt for this path. Yet the Zhou Family’s current predicament left him no alternative.