Chapter 17

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Zhou Minghan was a Grade-3 Advanced-Tier Artifact Refiner personally refining Grade-2 Advanced-Tier magical artifacts. There would be no possibility of failure.

Moreover, he was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who could convert his mana into Foundation Establishment True Fire. Although the temperature of this type of True Fire was slightly lower than that of the Earth Fire, it was much higher than the white flame formed by the burning of Flaming Sun Wood charcoals. Plus, True Fire was easier to control than Earth Fire since it was gathered and dispersed from the heart of the Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Zhou Minghan deliberately refined at a slower pace to make it easier for Zhou Yang to observe carefully. The former would also use his Divine Sense to split his attention at some critical moments to explain things to Zhou Yang. Such a treatment was only for chosen disciples.

It was clear from Zhou Minghan’s behaviour that Zhou Yang was the chosen one to be his successor.

Zhou Yang knew that opportunities to interact with the clan leader such as this was rare and priceless. Regardless of whether he understood the clan leader’s explanation, he diligently memorized everything he heard and saw. He would transfer everything into his notes later to properly digest the information eventually.

Although Immortal Cultivators were able to remember things by sight, remembering too many things could also make them forget some of their memories. Therefore, it was still necessary to make notes for some important matters.

Only Nascent Soul Cultivators and beyond would be able to attain an ability called Memory Recovery, allowing Immortal Cultivators to recall at will any and all memories as early as when they were in their mother’s womb. By then, Immortal Cultivators would no longer have to take notes.

After about four hours, the clan leader had finally finished refining the artifacts – the Black Gold Armor, a defensive inner armor made from the rat’s skin, and a set of four Armor Breaker Daggers made from four of the rat’s front teeth.

Zhou Minghan had also used two drops of Zhou Yang’s Blood Essence as a sacrificial tool during the refining process, allowing one to use the magical artifacts immediately.

Zhou Yang wasted no time the moment the magical artifacts were ready. He immediately took off his outer robe and put on the Black Gold Armor. Then, he put the set of Amor Breaker Daggers that were about seven inches long into the leather sheath and tied them to his waist to used at any time.

Zhou Minghan watched as Zhou Yang equipped the magical artifacts eagerly. “Your cultivation should be able to break through to Qi Refinement Level 7 soon, right? Once you have, equipping the Black Gold Armor, Armor Breaker Dagger, and Silver Shield that I gave you last time would allow you to fight against a Rogue Cultivator at Qi Refinement Level 9!”

The cultivation base of a cultivator determined the number and grade of the magical artifacts he could use. With Zhou Yang’s current cultivation base of at Qi Refinement Level 6, it would be somewhat difficult for him to use two Grade-2 Advanced-Tier magical artifacts at the same time. If he could break through to Qi Refinement Level 7, thus improving his mana and Divine Sense, he would be able to truly unleash the power of the three Grade-2 Advanced-Tier magical artifacts he possessed.

As for the more powerful Grade-3 magical artifacts, even if he were to refine them, he would not be able to unleash half of the power of contained within them with his current level of mana and Divine Sense. It would be more useful if he used a Grade-2 Advanced-Tier magical artifact instead.

Therefore, Zhou Minghan would not give the surplus Grade-3 magical artifact resources to Zhou Yang to refine, not yet. It would be a waste of resources and could also risk Zhou Yang’s life.

After all, many Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivators still used Grade-2 Advanced-Tier magical artifacts. If they knew Zhou Yang, a Qi Refinement Cultivator, had a Grade-3 magical artifact, they might just want to kill him.

Zhou Yang knew all this and that if Zhou Minghan truly valued him, the latter would not encourage him to have anything remotely to do with Grade-3 artifact refinement or magical artifacts yet.

Zhou Yang immediately turned serious and respectfully said, “Actually, I would also like to report something to you. Recently, I have felt the barrier of the Qi Refinement Advanced Stage and I am planning to use the abundant spiritual Qi here in this cave to make a breakthrough. I hope Clan Leader will allow me.”

“Very well, then you can the cave opposite mine for Closed Door Cultivation and make a breakthrough. This is the array token of that cave. Remember to return it to me after you have used it,” said the clan leader as he handed a token Zhou Yang.

“Thank you, Clan Leader. I will take my leave now.”

Zhou Yang took the token and impatiently bade farewell to the clan leader, Zhou Minghan, before moving into opposite cave.

Of the three caves at the top of Yuquan Peak, only one had been claimed – Zhou Minghan’s. If anyone in the clan wanted to use the abundant spiritual Qi of any of the caves to break through, they had to put in a formal request to the clan leader for temporary Closed Door Cultivation.

However, there were not many Advanced-Stage Qi Refinement Cultivators in the Zhou clan. In addition, it often took more than ten years for an Advanced-Stage Qi Refinement Cultivator to raise their cultivation level. Therefore, these two caves on the top were often vacant.

Dust Removal Arrays were set up around each cave. As such, even if no one had lived in them for many years, the caves were still as clean as new. Zhou Yang entered one of the caves using the token in his hand. After checking out the decorations and furnishings around the cave, he headed straight for the Closed Door Cultivation room in the deepest part of the cave.

The Closed Door Cultivation room at the mountain top was directly connected to the Spiritual Eye of Yuquan Peak’s spiritual vein. It was the place with the densest spiritual Qi in the entire Yuquan Peak. Furthermore, each Closed Door Cultivation room had a Cold Jade Bed carved out of the Grade-2 spiritual item, Cold Jade.

The cold air emitted from the Cold Jade bed was helpful for cultivators to clear and focus their minds, preventing them from going crazy. It was a common item found in wealthy Foundation Establishment Cultivators’ caves.

Wealthy Foundation Establishment Cultivators would also have other treasures such as the Heart-Clearing Praying Mat and the Mind Concentrating Incense to help with their cultivation.

Zhou Yang sat cross-legged on the Cold Jade Bed and immediately felt cold air seep into his body before rushing straight to his head.

He instantly felt more energetic and he was able to meditate twice as quickly.

For the next few months, Zhou Yang did not take a single step out of his cave at the top of the mountain as he went into Closed Door Cultivation in peace. When he was hungry, he would cook a bowl of Golden Pearl Rice. When he was thirsty, he would use a spell to condense clean water to drink. He did not take a single step out of the cave until he had reached Qi Refinement Level 7.

Three months later, the door of the Closed Door Cultivation room opened with a creak. Zhou Yang walked out with a face full of fatigue after meditating for days without rest. But he had finally broken through the barrier between Qi Refinement Intermediate Stage and Qi Refinement Advanced Stage. Alas, he had reached Qi Refinement Level 7 with one final breath.

Now that the barrier had been broken, he could not hold up any longer. He slowly walked into the bedroom next door and fell into a deep sleep on the Warm Jade Bed.

He slept for three days and three nights before he woke up feeling indescribably comfortable. He had never slept so well in his entire life.

But that was to be expected. It wasn’t simply because he had not slept so sufficiently between his current and past lives, but also because he had slept on a Warm Jade Bed, another treasure like the Cold Jade Bed that was a luxury for cultivators to rest on.

The Warm Jade was also a Grade-2 spiritual item that emitted warm air that helped a cultivator relax his mind, greatly improving his quality of his sleep.

“No wonder everyone wants to become a high-level cultivator. Low-level cultivators not only have a lower lifespan but also a lower amount and quality of mana as well as resources from the clan like clothing, food, shelter, and transportation! It’s like the difference between nobles and commoners!”

Zhou Yang looked at the smooth and warm jade bed beneath him and could not help but sigh.

Wine and meat rotted behind the rich man’s gate while the poor froze to death on the roadside.

Unequal resource distribution in the immortal cultivation world was even more severe than in Zhou Yang’s previous world.

Low-level Rogue Cultivators were willing to fight to the death for a Lower-Tier spiritual stone while high-level cultivators merely need to struggle a little to be able to afford a jade bed.

“Fortunately, I’m the one sleeping on the bed now!”

He decided not to ponder on such thoughts for too long. Zhou Yang stood up from his bed and took his first step out of the cave after many months.

Zhou Yang wanted to pay a visit to the clan leader to tell him the good news.

But he didn’t expect to see Zhou Yun’s usual sitting spot under the Dragon Scale Tree now empty with only a white cloth hanging over it the moment he stepped out. 

Zhou Yang’s facial expression suddenly changed. Hanging a white cloth on the Dragon Scale Tree was something done only when an elder had passed away.

“Which elder passed away?”

His heart sank. The joy of breaking through to Qi Refinement Level 7 was instantly depleted by the ominous sight.

There were only eight elders in the Zhou clan. The sudden loss of one wasn’t as simple as the loss of a disciple. It was the loss of a high-level powerhouse and definitely not a loss a recent Level-7 Qi Refinement Cultivator could make up for.

Zhou Yang immediately changed his route and rushed to the clan’s ancestral hall at the foot of the mountain.

When he arrived, he discovered that all the clan cultivators in Yuquan Lake Oasis, including the clan leader, Zhou Minghan, were present to take care of the funeral arrangements for the deceased elder.

Only then did he know that the deceased elder was the Zhou clan’s great elder, Zhou Qian, the one who had once taken the Foundation Establishment Pill but failed to break through and instead became a Great Circle of Qi Refinement Cultivator.

Zhou Qian was the leader of the Light generation with an Intermediate-Tier spiritual root. He was also a rare Grade-2 Advanced-Tier Array Formation Master.

It was precisely because Zhou Qian was extremely talented in array formations and had a good aptitude in his spiritual root that the Zhou clan was willing to invest in the Foundation Establishment Pill for him.

If he could successfully reach Foundation Establishment, then not only would the Zhou clan have one more Foundation Establishment Cultivator, but they would also have one more rare Grade-3 Array Formation Master. The strength of the entire Zhou clan would double.

It was a pity that he had failed!

His failure not only caused the Zhou clan to waste an incomparably precious Foundation Establishment Pill, but also caused his Dao Heart to be covered in dust. From then on, he no longer had the chance to break through to become a Grade-3 Array Formation Master. Moreover, he spent the remaining half of his life working hard to repay his debt to the clan. He did not even leave behind a descendant.

Zhou Yang had just came out of the ancestral hall after paying his respect to Zhou Qian when he saw Zhou Quan with bloodshot eyes, regretfully saying, “Zhou Qian was only three years older than me. With his cultivation at the Great Circle of Qi Refinement, he should have been able to endure for a few more years. Unfortunately, after he found out that the clan was preparing to build the Red Flame Iron mine, he resolutely gambled the rest of his lifespan to forcefully break through to Grade-3 Array Formation. He wanted to form a Grade-3 array for his clan!”

Zhou Yang did not know Zhou Qian well because he seldom made an appearance to juniors like him, unlike Zhou Quan and other elders.

In fact, Zhou Yang had seen Zhou Qian less than five times in total. And every time he saw him, it was at some important clan gathering. When Zhou Yang did interact with him, it was only to greet Zhou Qian.

Thus, when he heard Zhou Quan mention the reason for Zhou Qian’s death, Zhou Yang suddenly grew a deep admiration for the elder who had dedicated his entire life to the clan behind the scenes.

Then, Zhou Yang comforted Zhou Quan by saying, “Third Grandfather, I’m sorry for your loss. Although Great Elder has passed away, his contributions to the clan will always be remembered in the hearts of those he has left behind!”

Zhou Yang did not bother asking if Zhou Qian had succeeded in his break through or not, because it wasn’t important at the moment.

Many were only focused on the results, but they do not realize that there were moments when the process was more important than the results.

If Zhou Qian had not made up his mind to break through to Grade-3 array formation, would there be any results to expect in the first place?

What was important was having the heart to achieve the goal!