Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 41: The Storm is Coming

With Zhouyang's assurance, Zhou Xuanjing and Zhou Xuan Kun were finally relieved to bring the Chen Family Ancestor's invitation back to the clan.

Although Zhou Xuanjing and Zhou Xuan Kun left, several other Zhou Family cultivators who had traveled with them to the Yellow Sand Sect stayed in the marketplace to rest, planning to remain for one or two months before returning to the clan.

Among these Zhou Family cultivators were Zhoubao and Zhou Qi, who had visited Qingping Mountain Oasis when Zhouyang was stationed there.

Due to Elder Zhou Quan's past care and instructions, Zhouyang went to visit his second brother Zhoubao in the backyard after Eleventh Uncle Zhou Xuan Kun departed.

"Second brother, I heard from Eleventh Uncle that you plan to start a branch of the family after going home this time?"

In the yard, Zhouyang looked at his second brother Zhoubao, whom he hadn't seen for nearly ten years. After a decade, this second brother seemed even older, with white hair appearing on his head.

"Yes, I'm not young anymore, and it's time to start a branch for the Zhou Family. Grandfather's words were right; my temperament doesn't suit the rough and tumble of the cultivation realm. It's more suitable for me to farm back home."

Perhaps it was due to age, Zhoubao was now much more comfortable facing Zhouyang, the most dazzling of his peers. He wouldn't flinch from eye contact like before.

However, Zhouyang felt a hint of nostalgia for the reserved and introverted second brother of the past.

The reason Zhoubao dared to meet his gaze now was that he had completely abandoned the pursuit of improving his cultivation and lost the heart to strive.

But since this was Zhoubao's choice, Zhouyang couldn't say much more. He could only nod and say, "Since you've decided, apply with the clan to go to Haoyang Cave. I'll explain the situation to the old clan leader, so you can become the city lord of the mortal city there. You won't have to leave the clan to execute tasks anymore."

Elder Zhou Quan had asked Zhouyang multiple times to take care of this second brother. He originally planned, after achieving Foundation Establishment and gaining authority, to find an opportunity to arrange a light and safe job for Zhoubao, such as working long-term at Jade Spring Tower or being an instructor for the next generation of cultivators.

However, since Zhoubao decided to give up on cultivation, he could only let him become a city lord in the mortal city.

"Thank you, Ninth Brother, thank you!"

Zhoubao also knew this was the most assistance Zhouyang could offer within his ability. After all, the clan was a family for all Zhou Family members, not any single person. It couldn't be that Zhouyang's word alone would allow him to be idle and cared for without doing any work—how would other family members perceive that?

He had merely given up the pursuit of cultivation improvement, not truly forsaking his identity as a cultivator or the right to receive the clan's offerings.

"Ah! Second Brother, have a good rest then. I won't disturb you any longer, Little Brother will take leave."

Zhouyang sighed deeply, shook his head, and without anything more to say, he stood up and left the courtyard.

Upon returning to the third floor of Jade Spring Tower, and picking up the half-read Marvels Collection, his mind was still recalling what Elder Zhou Quan had said the day before he passed away.

At the time, Elder Zhou Quan had foreseen his own impending limit and specifically called Zhouyang to his side, advising: "Xiao Jiu, my greatest regret in this lifetime is not striving hard enough in my youth, not having the courage to reach for Foundation Establishment!"

"I am finished, and the future of the Zhou clan will depend on you, the younger generation. Even if you achieve Foundation Establishment, you must never become negligent in your cultivation!"

"If I may speak selfishly, we cultivators establish sects and families not for ourselves but to gather collective strength to facilitate our own cultivation! Xiao Jiu, you have extraordinary talent, and if you dedicate yourself to cultivation, there might be hope to surpass all our Zhou ancestors. You must not be like me, regretting at an old age having not lived up to one's potential and merely leaving regret!"

"I am leaving, so I entrust your second brother to your care. I don't expect him to achieve anything in cultivation; I only hope he can end his days peacefully like I will."

Recalling Elder Zhou Quan's formidable past, killing the Tier Two High-Grade demon beast, Gold-Eating Rat, and contrasting it with his feeble state before passing, Zhouyang couldn't help but sigh again.

Ah!

He was now at the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, and in terms of strength, he was perhaps a notch more powerful than Elder Zhou Quan once was. Moreover, barring unforeseen circumstances, he would be able to consume the Foundation Establishment Pill soon to try for Foundation Establishment.

But achieving Foundation Establishment, then what?

Even though Foundation Establishment cultivators live twice as long as Qi Cultivation stage cultivators, without opening the Purple Mansion, lifespans still end at two hundred plus years.

Even for Purple Mansion stage cultivators like Chen Family Ancestor Chen Yaohui, life could be extended a further hundred years, but without reaching the Golden Core, in five hundred years, one still ends as a pile of dirt.

And even if one luckily achieves the Golden Core, borrowing five hundred more years to extend life to a millennium, what then?

The Nascent Soul Stage?

In the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, there hasn't been a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage for nearly two thousand years!

"Without achieving immortality, one remains an ant!"

These eight characters suddenly surged in Zhouyang's mind, revealing the true essence of why cultivators pursue cultivation.

"Ant? Even if I am an ant, I must be a bigger and stronger ant, for an ant can defy the heavens too!"

He murmured to himself, then suddenly laughed, showing an extremely joyful smile.

In that instant, Zhouyang felt his mental cultivation had significantly improved.

Mental cultivation is different from magical cultivation. After reaching the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, a Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator will not make any progress in magical power without advancing to Foundation Establishment. However, mental cultivation is not bound by this restriction.

Mental cultivation is a very vague concept. It refers to a cultivator's understanding and comprehension of their path and the Dao, without levels like Qi Cultivation or Foundation Establishment.

Yet, according to the summarization of predecessors, the higher a cultivator's mental cultivation, the lower the risk of encountering inner demons during cultivation, and they are less likely to face bottlenecks compared to those with lower mental cultivation.

Those with low mental cultivation may not necessarily be unable to achieve Foundation Establishment or form a Golden Core.

However, under the same conditions, those with high mental cultivation have a higher success rate in Foundation Establishment and Core Formation than those with lower mental cultivation.

Only the cultivator themselves knows if their mental cultivation has improved. No outsider, regardless of cultivation level, can perceive this, and the improvement of mental cultivation is solely dependent on the cultivator's own comprehension and opportunity, with external influence being almost negligible.

Thus, although everyone knows the benefits of improving mental cultivation, no one deliberately pursues it, nor can it be forced.

After all, no matter how high mental cultivation is, it cannot directly increase a cultivator's chances of successful Foundation Establishment like a Foundation Establishment Pill does. For Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators, instead of spending time pondering how to improve their mental cultivation, they might as well spend time earning Spirit Stones.

Not particularly concerned with the improvement of his mental cultivation, after laughing, Zhouyang picked up that Marvels Collection again.

The black mineral he received from that burly middle-aged man, Zhong Quan, always seemed extraordinary to Zhouyang. Therefore, he spent his time browsing various texts, hoping to find records about this unknown marvel.

Unfortunately, even after searching through all available market texts, he hasn't found any recorded information.

Knowledge is the most valuable wealth in any world, and Zhouyang knows that he hasn't found the information not because the cultivation realm lacks records of that black mineral, but because the texts documenting the origin of the black mineral are precious, only preserved in some long-established powerful sects, and not widely circulated like the Record of Wondrous Treasures of Heaven and Earth he possesses.

Just like the Foundation Establishment Stage techniques his family, Zhou Family, possesses, and the Tier Four Refiner legacy that the old clan leader Zhou Minghan received, Zhou Family cultivators cannot access this high-level knowledge until they reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

Perhaps having received some news, over the next several months, the number of cultivators in Jinsha Marketplace began to noticeably increase. Even the normally rare sight of Foundation Establishment cultivators could be seen in the marketplace.

The increased number of cultivators was certainly a good thing for the shops in the marketplace, and each shop seized the opportunity to introduce various discounts to attract customers.

However, this did not include the "Jade Spring Tower." Thanks to the popularity brought by Zhouyang's previous Great Artifact Refining, a majority of spiritual objects accumulated in "Jade Spring Tower" were sold out, and without time for replenishment, Zhouyang had no capital to join in the excitement.

In this brewing storm, Zhouyang finally received support from the clan after Sixth Uncle Zhou Xuanjing and Eleventh Uncle Zhou Xuan Kun left for three to four months.

The Zhou Family has been preparing for this "Foundation Establishment Conference" for dozens of years. When Zhou Xuanjing returned to the clan with Chen Family Ancestor's invitation and the good news of Zhouyang's advancement to the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, the old clan leader Zhou Minghan immediately gathered personnel and set out according to plan.

To secure the Foundation Establishment Pill successfully at this "Foundation Establishment Conference," besides the old clan leader Zhou Minghan personally taking action, the Zhou Family also sent five Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation Elders, including Zhou Yun, Zhou Qi, Zhou Xuantai, Zhou Xuanjing, and Zhou Xuanbin, to join the battle.

Additionally, Zhou Xuan Yu, the Household Affairs Elder of Zhou Family, also arrived at the marketplace, ready to take over the management of "Jade Spring Tower" and "Drunken Immortal Tower" from Zhouyang once the "Foundation Establishment Conference" concluded.

Their team had a minimum cultivation level of Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, with the experienced old clan leader Zhou Minghan leading the way, reducing the time taken to reach Baisha River Oasis compared to Zhouyang's initial journey.

Upon reaching Baisha River Oasis, the old clan leader Zhou Minghan directly went to Baituo Ridge Chen Family to meet Chen Family Ancestor for details of the "Foundation Establishment Conference," while the others awaited news in the marketplace, simultaneously replenishing "Jade Spring Tower's" counters with spiritual objects from the clan's treasure vault.