Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Chapter 657 641: Who Does Heaven Spare! [Request Subscription]

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Jingming Peak is a small mountain peak several hundred meters high on White Camel Ridge, situated less than fifty miles away from the main peak of White Camel Ridge. Originally, there was a Tier Two Middle Grade Natural Spiritual Vein on the mountain, which the Chen Family has cultivated to Tier Three Lower Grade, capable of accommodating two or three Foundation Establishment Cultivators and over a hundred Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivators for cultivation.

However, the number of cultivators like Zhouyang, who were thrown down from the tower ship by the Chen Family Ancestor, far exceeded the capacity of this Spirit Peak. Over ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators and dozens of Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivators crowded onto this tiny peak, and the Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Vein was simply not enough to be distributed.

After all, Jingming Peak is the Chen Family's Spirit Peak, and these small clan cultivators like Zhouyang dared not incur the wrath of the Chen Family by bearing the blame for damaging the Spirit Peak.

Thus, Zhou Minghan and the other ten or so Foundation Establishment Cultivators discussed a plan, deciding to temporarily refrain from cultivating themselves and instead use the Spiritual Qi of the mountain peak's Spirit Vein to support their respective Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators. If they truly needed to cultivate, they would refine Spirit Stones for cultivation.

For Zhouyang, whose cultivation at the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation could no longer improve, the demand for Spiritual Qi was not high, not to mention he had no inclination to cultivate at the moment.

After the Zhou Family settled down on Jingming Peak, the old clan leader Zhou Minghan summoned him to a quiet chamber for a talk.

"Let's not talk about what happened at Golden Dawn Mountain. Let's talk about the matter of me going demon hunting with the Chen Family Ancestor this time."

In the quiet chamber, as soon as Zhouyang sat down, the old clan leader used his Divine Sense to set up a sound insulation barrier in the room to prevent eavesdropping.

Setting up a sound insulation barrier with Divine Sense is something only the powerful Divine Sense of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator can achieve. As long as the barrier is set, outsiders, even if their Divine Sense exceeds that of the caster by ten times, would find it difficult to eavesdrop on the conversation without alerting the caster.

"As you saw, the demon hunting trip was quite successful. Not only did we successfully slay a Tier Four Demon Beast, but we also killed eight Tier Three Demon Beasts and over a hundred Tier Two Demon Beasts. All participating cultivators gained significantly."

"However, you also saw that your Grandpa Qi, Grandpa Ninth, and Sixth Uncle did not return; they perished in battle with the demon beasts. Even Xuantai lost an arm!"

"Fortunately, their sacrifices were not in vain. With their efforts, and my significant contribution in dealing with the Tier Four Demon Beast, the Chen Family Ancestor promised on the way back that if we can bring out twenty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones after refining a Foundation Establishment Pill, he will ensure we get one!"

Zhouyang listened silently, not showing any joy even when hearing the old clan leader's assurance of obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill.

What is there to rejoice about?

For this Foundation Establishment Pill, not only did Zhou Yun, Zhou Dan, and Zhou Xuanjing, the three elders of the Zhou Family, sacrifice their lives, but even his foster mother, Zhou Xuan Yu, ended up missing and presumed dead.

Originally, the Zhou Family was already weak in high-level combat power above the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, and now, losing four elders at once means losing nearly half of its top-tier combat power. How then could Zhouyang find it in himself to smile?

The old clan leader Zhou Minghan, however, seemed oblivious to Zhouyang's grim expression and continued, "You need not worry about the Spirit Stones. The family's finances have gradually improved over the years. You recently helped the family earn a substantial amount of Spirit Stones. Combined with the five to six thousand Spirit Stones your parents have saved privately and my own savings, our family can still come up with twenty thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Moreover, from this demon hunting trip, although the Chen Family took the largest share, our families also got a share of the soup, each gaining a fair amount of demon beast materials and spiritual objects, enough to replenish part of the family's foundation consumed in acquiring the Foundation Establishment Pill."

After saying this, Zhou Minghan gazed deeply at Zhouyang and suddenly asked, "Do you know why I am telling you all this? Do you know why I have to tell you this?"

"Grandson knows!"

Zhouyang nodded heavily, murmuring in a low voice, "Grandson has always known that the old clan leader and all of you hope that I can reach Foundation Establishment, hope that after I establish myself, I can lead the family to prosperity, ensuring that the blood of the clan's predecessors does not flow in vain and that future family cultivators can have a better environment and more resources for cultivation!"

"Exactly! Why do our clan cultivators live better than loose cultivators? It's because we have the family as our support, with family seniors willing to sacrifice themselves for the future of the younger generation. We share the same bloodline, and we all hope our descendants will not be trapped in the Qi Cultivation Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage like us. We are a group of people with goals, ideals, and aspirations!"

"In the past, it was me; now, it's you. We were chosen by our elders to realize their goals, ideals, and aspirations. To achieve these, they are willing to pave the way for us with their own Dao journey and lives, turning their skeletons into paths that help us to walk further and higher on the path of cultivation!"

"I am telling you all of this not to burden you with great righteousness and family ties, but to let you know that if you fail in Foundation Establishment, not only will your Dao journey have no future, but you yourself will also become like those family predecessors who sacrificed to establish the foundation for you, a stepping stone for the family's future. Whether you choose to be the family's guide or a paving stone is up to you!"

To be the family's guide or to become a paving stone!

Zhouyang's heart trembled, and a series of familiar faces flashed in his mind: Elder Zhou Quan, Elder Zhou Dan, Elder Zhou Yun, his foster mother Zhou Xuan Yu, Sixth Uncle Zhou Xuanjing, and finally lingered on a very unfamiliar face.

That unfamiliar face turned out to be the Zhou Family's former Grand Elder, Elder Zhou Qian.

Elder Zhou Dan had once been the fortunate one in the entire Zhou Family, like him, gaining the precious opportunity to consume the Foundation Establishment Pill, yet he had failed at Foundation Establishment.

And the life Elder Zhou Dan led after his failed Foundation Establishment, he had seen it and understood it.

Would he like such a life? Would he be willing to live such a life in the future?

"No, absolutely not, I will never fail!"

He looked at the old clan leader Zhou Minghan with bright eyes, full of determination and decisiveness.

Seeing this, the old clan leader finally showed a look of relief and praised, "Good, just maintain this spiritual state, for now, don't worry about anything else, just prepare well for Foundation Establishment here. Your foster mother and those missing clan members, I will ask the Chen Family for help in finding them, you just wait for the Foundation Establishment Pill to be in your hands peacefully!"

"Great-grandfather, don't worry, grandson understands everything, and additionally, grandson has something to hand over to you, as well as some matters previously inconvenient to mention that need to be told to you."

Zhouyang said, handing over the jade scroll documenting the Blood Demon Secret Technique he obtained from the sand bandits to the old clan leader, while also expressing his own speculations regarding the sand bandits' attack on the oasis.

It could be seen that when the old clan leader heard the jade scroll recorded demonic secret techniques, his complexion changed dramatically, almost scolding him.

But upon hearing the explanation of the details of the demonic secrets within the jade scroll, his drastically changed expression gradually eased, then with a movement of his divine sense, he directly sent his consciousness into it to study.

About half an hour later, the old clan leader retracted his divine sense from the jade scroll, his expression returning completely to its original state.

"You did well on this. Although these three secret techniques are demonic traditions, they can also be employed by Immortal Dao cultivators, thus can be passed down as family heritage. However, as they are demonic secret techniques, to avoid being accused, it's best not to use them before others lightly."

After finishing, the old clan leader flipped his hand to store the jade scroll into his storage bag.

Then he looked at Zhouyang seriously, saying solemnly, "Remember this, Xiao Jiu, demonic cultivators are selfish, ruthless, devoid of humanity, and are deadly enemies of us cultivators. Later, if you acquire demonic cultivation techniques, magical artifacts, or elixirs, no matter how good they are, remember to never cultivate or use them. Once obtained, it's best to destroy them immediately, if unable to destroy them yourself, then have them destroyed by higher-tier cultivators in the family."

"Grandson understands." Zhouyang nodded earnestly.

Having studied the Blood Demon Secret Techniques, he was already aware of the dangers posed by demonic cultivators, even without the old clan leader's words, he wouldn't cultivate demon techniques or use demon artifacts.

"Alright, now let's discuss your speculations, in my opinion..."

Zhou Minghan and Zhouyang, the grandfather and grandson pair concluded their secret discussion in the quiet chamber after half a day, then Zhouyang settled down peacefully in the residence arranged by the Chen Family.

His daily activities were either reading books and accounts written by predecessors, or guiding and sharing his cultivation experiences with Zhou Yuanchun and other peer clan members, living quite leisurely.

Whereas Zhou Minghan, Zhou Xuanbin, and Zhou Xuantai, the three Zhou family upper echelon members, were relatively busy. Zhou Minghan had to visit various ally clans' Foundation Establishment cultivators, exchanging lists of each family's missing persons, and mutually assisting in their search.

Zhou Xuanbin and Zhou Xuantai, on the other hand, were actual executors of this agreement, having to traverse the Baisha River oasis along with other families' demon-hunting Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators in search of those missing cultivators.

Meanwhile, Elder Chen of the Chen family, after understanding the situation from the Foundation Establishment cultivators left behind, both broadcasted a reward offering a Foundation Establishment Pill for information on the sand bandits' origins and hiding places, and sent people to the Yellow Sand Sect headquarters, requesting assistance in investigating the origins of those Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion Stage cultivators among the sand bandits.

He himself, however, adjusted his state to enter the Earth Fire Chamber on White Camel Peak, ready to open the furnace and refine the Foundation Establishment Pill.

The news of Elder Chen opening the furnace to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill quickly spread throughout Jingming Peak under the Chen family's deliberate promotion, and upon learning this news, Zhouyang couldn't help but feel thrilled.

However, when he heard that all three Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed on Golden Dawn Mountain fell, his excitement instantly cooled.

Losing three Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators at once, even for the Chen family, a Purple Mansion clan with a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators, it amounted to a significant blow.

Therefore, once Elder Chen completes the refinement of the Foundation Establishment Pill, will he truly, as before, allocate half of them to the other families?

Though the Foundation Establishment Pill is a Tier Three Lower Grade Spirit Pill, its refining process is immensely challenging, Elder Chen's Tier Four Middle Grade alchemy skill needs caution, taking nine days to complete.

After nine days had passed, when the spirit pills were finally completed, Zhou Minghan and other Foundation Establishment cultivators, who had been waiting outside White Camel Peak, immediately received the invitation from the Chen Family Ancestor to enter the Chen Family Ancestor's cave abode atop White Camel Peak.

"Welcome, fellow Daoists. This time, in the pill creation attempt, I, old man, am fortunate to have succeeded, producing six pills!"

In the cave abode's reception room, once Zhou Minghan and others were all present, the Chen Family Ancestor wasted no time before addressing the most pressing concern on everyone's minds.

It was evident that, upon hearing the words "six pills were produced" from the Chen Family Ancestor, all the attending dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators displayed extreme joy on their faces.

Everyone knew the difficulty of refining Foundation Establishment Pills. Previously, the Chen Family Ancestor's attempts at refining them resulted in four to five pills at most. Producing six pills this time was truly a reason for great celebration.

"Congratulations to the Ancestor on the significant advancement of your alchemy skills! To produce six pills at once is something only a Tier Four Top Grade Alchemist could achieve. Even in the Yellow Sand Sect, there is only one alchemist of this level. Ancestor, you are indeed an extraordinary talent, with the stature of a celestial being!"

Zhou Minghan's face was briefly alit with joy. He was the first to regain his composure and quickly expressed congratulations to the Chen Family Ancestor on the advancement of his alchemy skills.

Upon hearing Zhou Minghan's words, the others also snapped out of their joy, secretly cursing Zhou Minghan's cleverness, and quickly followed suit, offering their congratulations.

"Hehehe, Minghan, you over-praise me. Although I have some confidence in my alchemy skills, I don't think I rightfully deserve such praise from you, Minghan. Moreover, if it weren't for your use of an exotic treasure to successfully ambush and weaken that Tier Four demon beast, perhaps some of our fellow Daoists might have perished from the beast's dying counterattack!"

The Chen Family Ancestor laughed gently, speaking modestly, yet his face showed satisfaction, indicating that Zhou Minghan's compliments had hit just the right spot.

Just as Zhou Minghan mentioned, even within the Yellow Sand Sect, there's only one Tier Four Top Grade Alchemist. In this Boundless Desert Sea, the status of such an alchemist is already on par with ordinary Golden Core Stage cultivators.

The Ancestor's pleasure led him to repay the favor by deliberately acknowledging Zhou Minghan's contributions, hinting that he had not forgotten the previously promised agreement.

Indeed, upon hearing the Chen Family Ancestor's words, Zhou Minghan naturally showed a relaxed smile, while other Foundation Establishment cultivators frowned, secretly cursing Zhou Minghan's luck, feeling both envious and jealous.

"Alright, let's not waste words. According to the previous agreement, my Chen Family will take half of the six Foundation Establishment Pills. For the remaining three pills, the Zhou Family only needs to pay twenty thousand spirit stones for one pill. The final two pills, if you want them, you can submit your bid by transmission talisman as usual. The highest bid wins according to old rules."

The Chen Family Ancestor's gaze swept across the variously colored expressions of the many Foundation Establishment cultivators, and he straightforwardly announced the allocation method.

With six pills produced, three pills would go to the Chen Family. With luck, this could replenish the positions of the three fallen Foundation Establishment cultivators on Golden Dawn Mountain. After careful consideration, the Ancestor decided to abide by the agreement and allocate as per the established terms.

"Great gratitude for the Ancestor's generosity. The Zhou Family is infinitely grateful. Here are twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones; please verify them, Ancestor."

Zhou Minghan had been waiting for this moment, and just as the Chen Family Ancestor's voice fell, he eagerly took out a storage bag full of spirit stones to hand over, containing the already prepared twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones.

Under normal circumstances, a Foundation Establishment Pill costs around ten thousand spirit stones. However, in the Boundless Desert Sea, the situation is unique, and only a few can refine Foundation Establishment Pills, causing the price to often double.

The Zhou Family only needed to pay twenty thousand spirit stones for a Foundation Establishment Pill this time—this was a substantial gain!

"Alright, since you were prepared, this Foundation Establishment Pill is yours."

The Chen Family Ancestor scanned Zhou Minghan's storage bag with divine sense, confirming the quantity of spirit stones was correct. With a wave of his sleeve, a jade bottle containing a Foundation Establishment Pill flew into Zhou Minghan's hand.

"Thank you, Ancestor. This junior's wish is fulfilled; I must take my leave now."

Zhou Minghan accepted the jade bottle with both hands and, without even checking it, stored it in his storage bag. He then bade farewell and hurriedly left the cave abode under the envious gaze of other Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After leaving the Chen Family Ancestor's cave abode, Zhou Minghan immediately sent out a transmission talisman to summon Zhouyang to White Camel Peak. He then went to find a friendly Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Chen Family to arrange for Zhouyang to undergo secluded cultivation in the Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivator's cave abode.

Zhouyang also knew the significance of today's event, so upon receiving the communication talisman from the old clan leader Zhou Minghan, he promptly set out for White Camel Peak.

When he arrived at the foot of White Camel Peak, he saw the old clan leader Zhou Minghan waiting with an unfamiliar Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Junior Brother Pingzhi, let me introduce you to Zhouyang, the junior from our Zhou Family who will consume the Foundation Establishment Pill this time. Though he has middle-grade spiritual root talent, he has considerable aptitude for cultivation, breaking through to the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation Stage at just over thirty years old, and is also a Tier Two Top Grade Artifact Refiner. I will rely on him to succeed my artifact refining skills in the future."

Seeing Zhouyang arrive, the elderly clan leader Zhou Minghan smiled and introduced his family's junior to the friend dressed in a green Daoist robe beside him while saying to Zhouyang, "Xiao Jiu, come over here and pay your respects to Junior Brother Pingzhi. My friendship with Junior Brother Pingzhi has lasted over seventy years, so you must treat him with the same respect as you would treat me."

"Junior Zhouyang, greetings to Elder Chen. In the future, I hope Elder can provide much guidance."

Zhouyang respectfully bowed to the middle-aged Daoist in green robes named Chen Pingzhi, performing the proper etiquette.

Chen Pingzhi, seeing this, waved his sleeve, and a gentle force lifted Zhouyang up. With a chuckle, he said, "Heh heh heh, I have been friends with Brother Ming Han for nearly seventy years but rarely have I seen him praise a junior so highly, which shows how fond he is of you!"

After speaking, he raised an eyebrow with a hint of surprise and continued, "Yet, for someone like you to reach the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation Stage at just over thirty and elevate Artifact Refining to Tier Two Top Grade, even within my Chen Family, there's no one of your age who can compare. No wonder Brother Ming Han went out of his way to seek my assistance for your Foundation Establishment."

Zhou Minghan, hearing these words, couldn't help but speak up, "I'll have to trouble Brother Pingzhi with this matter."

"Rest assured, Brother Ming Han. With our friendship lasting over seventy years, I am obliged to aid you. Come, let's head to my cave abode on the mountain."

Recalling the benefits Zhou Minghan promised him, Chen Pingzhi felt a warmth in his heart and immediately agreed with a smile.

Friendships require cultivation too. Although he and Zhou Minghan have been friends for seventy years and have fought side by side several times, as the saying goes, even close brothers settle accounts clearly!

If it weren't for Zhou Minghan promising him some benefits, he would indeed not necessarily wish to lend his cave abode to a Zhou Family junior for secluded cultivation since, in a sense, having another Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Zhou Family could pose a future threat to the Chen Family.

As a Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the Chen Family, Chen Pingzhi's cave abode at White Camel Peak naturally holds a prime location, with such a concentration of Spiritual Qi that it has resulted in a slight Spiritual Qi mist.

This area suffused with Spiritual Qi is no longer suitable for Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivators to practice because the Spiritual Qi is overly dense, and Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivators can easily damage their meridians by absorbing excess Spiritual Qi if they meditate here.

However, for cultivators like Zhouyang, whose cultivation has remained at the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation Stage without progress, he doesn't need to absorb and refine the Qi, so there is no worry of harming himself.

"The Tier Four Spiritual Vein is indeed extraordinary. Xiao Jiu, having the opportunity to establish your foundation here is quite a stroke of fortune. When you succeed and undergo Spiritual Energy Infusion, the abundant Spiritual Qi here will at least save you a year of hard work!"

Zhou Minghan, though visiting Chen Pingzhi's cave abode not for the first time, couldn't help but marvel at the cultivation environment upon returning.

If he could long-term cultivate on such a dense Tier Four Spiritual Vein, he would undoubtedly have already broken through to the Eighth or Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment, thereby having yet another chance at reaching the Purple Mansion Stage in his lifetime.

Unfortunately, Tier Four Spiritual Veins are scarce, and without the cultivation of the Purple Mansion Stage, even possessing one would mean he couldn't maintain such spiritual land, so he can only envy.

Upon hearing his old friend's words, Chen Pingzhi couldn't help but reveal a touch of pride. In fact, not to mention the Foundation Establishment Cultivators from small clans like the Zhou Family, even those from major sects like the Yellow Sand Sect don't necessarily have the privilege of establishing cave abodes on the Spiritual Qi nodes of Tier Four Spiritual Veins.

After all, even though the Yellow Sand Sect possesses many Spirit Veins, every Tier Four Spiritual Vein is occupied by a Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator. For those holding Spirit Veins, unless the person is their disciple or a close friend, they would surely not allow other Foundation Establishment Cultivators to establish cave abodes at the Spirit Vein nodes—this holds true even within the same sect.

Only cultivation families like the Chen Family, where everyone shares the same bloodline, do Purple Mansion Stage cultivators willingly share Tier Four Spirit Veins with all clan Foundation Establishment Cultivators, freely aiding their clan juniors.

Yet one must not forget proper caution despite feeling content; what needs to be addressed must still be spoken.

Chen Pingzhi quickly restrained the look of pride on his face and formally said to the Zhou Family grandfather and grandson, "Brother Minghan, Friend Zhouyang, I must say in advance: this cave abode's seclusion chamber can temporarily be lent to you for Foundation Establishment seclusion, but I have laid Array Restrictions elsewhere. Kindly avoid trespassing, or do not blame me for failing to forewarn the two of you."

"Rest assured, Elder Chen, I shall only practice in the seclusion chamber and go nowhere else."

Zhouyang, understanding the gravity of the matter, solemnly expressed his adherence.

Zhou Minghan also nodded, saying, "Rest assured, Brother Pingzhi. I can vouch for Xiao Jiu on this matter."

"Since both of you understand, I shall now open the seclusion chamber,"

Chen Pingzhi said as he formed a spell with his hand. After a rumbling sound, the stone door to the seclusion chamber deep within the cave abode opened.