Land of the Far West, within the Boundless Desert Sea.
Just like its name, the Boundless Desert Sea is endless and uses sand as the sea.
The environment of the Desert Sea is harsh, with very few places suitable for human habitation, only a few desert oases where humans can reside and survive.
Yuquan Lake is one of the few desert oases in the Boundless Desert Sea suitable for human habitation.
The oasis stretches over a hundred miles east to west and more than seventy miles north to south, high in the east and low in the west. To the east is a mountain called Jade Spring Peak, standing hundreds of meters tall, covered with abundant trees and shrouded in mist. Below the mountain lies the source of life for the entire oasis—Yuquan Lake.
Yuquan Lake covers an area of more than a dozen square kilometers, fed by an underground dark river, with abundant water of clear and sweet quality, suitable for direct drinking.
The clear water of Yuquan Lake supports tens of thousands of humans and countless birds and beasts across the thousand square kilometers of the oasis.
And the Yuquan Zhou Clan is the master of the Yuquan Lake Oasis.
The first one who discovered the Yuquan Lake Oasis was the ancestor of the Yuquan Zhou Clan, Zhou Yuquan. Nowadays, the tens of thousands of humans living in this oasis are all relatives and kin of the Zhou Clan.
The Yuquan Zhou Clan is a cultivation clan. Their ancestor Zhou Yuquan was trained under the cultivation sect "Yellow Sand Sect." Over two hundred years ago, he resigned from the sect and established the Yuquan Zhou Clan at the Yuquan Lake Oasis, now through seven generations.
To this day, the clan ancestor Zhou Yuquan has already passed away, yet after over two hundred years of development, the Yuquan Zhou Clan has now become a powerful cultivation clan, possessing one Foundation Establishment cultivator, dozens of Qi Cultivation cultivators, and tens of thousands of affiliated mortals.
The ordinary Zhou Clan members mainly reside in the three small towns of Yuquan Lake Oasis, either farming the land or grazing cattle and sheep, living a self-sufficient and carefree life.
Meanwhile, the cultivators of the Zhou Clan all reside on Jade Spring Peak, which is rich in spiritual energy.
Jade Spring Peak itself is a Tier Two Top-Grade natural spiritual vein, and after over two hundred years of cultivation by the Zhou Clan, it has now elevated to Tier Three Middle Grade, suitable for several Foundation Establishment cultivators and over a hundred Qi Cultivation cultivators to practice.
Zhouyang is a sixth-generation "Yuan" generation cultivator of the Yuquan Zhou Clan.
Jade Radiance, Profound Origin Communication, Blessed and Flourishing, Evergreen; these sixteen-character titled names were personally designated by the founder Zhou Yuquan of the Yuquan Zhou Clan.
Only Zhou Clan members who have been tested for spirit roots and possess the talent for cultivation can be added to the clan genealogy, and after their death, their spiritual tablet can enter the ancestral hall for descendants to offer incense.
The "Yuan" generation members of the Yuquan Zhou Clan number fifteen, with Zhouyang ranked ninth, but in terms of cultivation, he is first among them.
At this moment, Zhouyang, who is quite famous within the Zhou Clan as a "Little Genius," is sitting cross-legged with eyes tightly closed in a natural cave halfway up Jade Spring Peak, hands forming spell signs, fully committed to operating his cultivation technique and absorbing and refining the milky-white earth vein spiritual qi within the cave.
The earth vein spiritual qi is a refined vapor nurtured by the convergence of spiritual veins and earth veins; it is particularly effective for Low-Tier Cultivators in breaking through barriers.
However, the nurturing of earth vein spiritual qi is difficult, only emerging in some special places where earth veins and spiritual veins converge, and on the entire Jade Spring Peak, only the "Jade Sun Cave," where Zhouyang presently sits, can nurture it.
The earth vein spiritual qi bred within the "Jade Sun Cave" can only provide enough for one Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator to break through, once in every ten years, and it is only effective for cultivators below the seventh layer of Qi Cultivation.
Therefore, among the Zhou Clan's dozens of Qi Cultivation Stage members, only a few particularly outstanding clan members can use the earth vein spiritual qi during their Qi Cultivation Stage to break through.
Zhouyang can use the "Jade Sun Cave" for breakthrough, naturally because of his identity as the foremost member of the "Yuan" generation; otherwise, even his father being the Sixth Elder of Yuquan Zhou Clan, this once-in-ten-years-open "Jade Sun Cave," would never be available to a mere seventeen-year-old youth like him.
One must know that among those dozens of Qi Cultivation Stage clan members, many have waited for this opportunity for one or two decades!
At this moment, Zhouyang, forming spell signs, sits cross-legged, breathing evenly and rhythmically. Each inhalation draws the milky-white earth vein spiritual qi into his nostrils like two wispy spirit snakes, refining it into his magical power.
Thus, when the quantity of milky-white earth vein spiritual qi in the cave reduces to less than thirty percent, Zhouyang's tightly closed eyes suddenly fly open, his shoulder-length hair waving behind him despite no breeze, his aura nearly doubling compared to before.
He stands long and tall, joyfully mumbling to himself, "Finally broke through, sixth-layer Qi Cultivation. The earth vein spiritual qi truly lives up to its name; this will at least save me three years' time!"
At seventeen years of age, reaching the sixth-layer Qi Cultivation; such age, such cultivation, even within a sect like the Yellow Sand Sect, only a few elite disciples with Top-grade Spiritual Roots could reach this level.
And Zhouyang's spirit root talent is actually just of medium quality.
"The clan leader says I may possess some special Treasure Body, hence my cultivation speed exceeds fellows of the same talent. Unfortunately, the detection of Treasure Body is difficult; only major sects like the Yellow Sand Sect can authenticate it through secret techniques."
"Though our Zhou Clan is affiliated with the Yellow Sand Sect, it is fundamentally impossible to ask the Yellow Sand Sect to help detect my Treasure Body unless I am willing to join the Yellow Sand Sect!"
"But once you join the Yellow Sand Sect, you're bound by its rules, and suddenly you have countless senior members commanding you. How is that better than the comfort I currently enjoy within the clan?"
"Hmph, as the saying goes, 'Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.' The Yellow Sand Sect is vast and affluent, with no shortage of top-grade spiritual root geniuses in every generation. Even if I possess a Treasure Body, upon joining the Yellow Sand Sect, I would only be an elite disciple. The benefits I gain may not surpass what I currently enjoy in the Zhou Clan, where at least the elders genuinely hope for my future Foundation Establishment success and elevation of the clan's status, all wholeheartedly thinking for my benefit."
"Moreover, as long as I successfully establish the Foundation, the Treasure Body will naturally awaken, giving rise to divine techniques. By then, I'd naturally know what kind of Treasure Body I possess."
Zhouyang is no ordinary person; he is a reincarnator with a soul from the Earth, carrying memories of a previous life that span twenty to thirty years.
While most of these two to three decades worth of past-life memories are unusable in this world of immortals due to vastly different environmental contexts, the methods, experiences, and principles in dealing with people and situations can universally apply across myriad worlds.
Others only see the impressive stature of the Yellow Sand Sect, with a Golden Core Ancestor presiding inside and several desert oasis tributaries like the Yuquan Lake Oasis offering tribute, lacking nothing in terms of cultivation techniques or treasures. People are desperate to join and become part of it.
However, they don't know that, while the sect offers good welfare benefits, its rules are equally strict. Once you enter the sect, you lose your autonomy. Every year, ordinary Qi Cultivation disciples must complete the sect-mandated tasks. Failure to complete these tasks results in the cessation of benefits, and in severe cases, cultivation can be abolished, and one can be expelled from the sect!
Moreover, factionalism is severe within the sect. Low-tier disciples strive with full strength to impress the sect's upper echelons or contend for rights to use certain spiritual lands, suppressing competitors, facing fierce competition.
The founding ancestor of the Zhou Clan was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Yellow Sand Sect. Information about the Yellow Sand Sect is recorded in the clan's genealogies. Therefore, except for those whose spiritual root talents are lacking and wish to take a chance, no member of the Zhou Clan willingly becomes a disciple of the Yellow Sand Sect.
In his previous life, Zhouyang was weary of such office intrigues. Thus, having finally gained the opportunity to escape such struggles, he certainly would not allow himself to become entangled again.
He decided long ago; even if great roads of cultivation are hopeless, and eternal life is unattainable, he absolutely refuses to lead a life of constant scheming.
Innate, Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Crossing the Tribulation, Returning to Void, Harmonization Dao—these are the nine major realms of cultivation. To achieve true immortality, one must become a Harmonious Celestial Immortal who has united with the Great Dao.
However, as far as Zhouyang knows, since the inception of this world of cultivators, no one has achieved true immortality. The division of the nine major cultivation realms is also only something passed down by legendary Celestial Immortals without being verified.
Thus, for ninety-nine percent of cultivators, Golden Core Stage cultivators with lifespans of thousands of years represent the highest pursuit in their cultivation journey.
So, it is no wonder he is unwilling to compromise himself for the elusive legend of immortality by involving himself in constant scheming and plotting.
Cultivation is also about cultivating the mind. Since Zhouyang's heart is unwilling to participate in those intrigues, it is natural for him to choose to follow his heart's desires.
Having just achieved a breakthrough, Zhouyang was overly excited and caught up in his thoughts for a while. It took him some time to suppress his chaotic thoughts as he gazed at the remaining milky Earth Vein Spiritual Qi inside the cave.
"Although every time the Jade Sun Cave opens, the Earth Vein Spiritual Qi inside can be absorbed at will, now that I've broken through, absorbing more of this Earth Vein Spiritual Qi will only help stabilize my realm and won't be of much use."
"Therefore, it's better to preserve this Earth Vein Spiritual Qi, so the next opening of the Jade Sun Cave can occur a few years earlier, benefiting other clan members."
Overfishing from a dry lake is unwise; generating Earth Vein Spiritual Qi isn't easy. To use it merely to increase magical cultivation is indeed wasteful. Since Zhouyang is determined to develop within the clan, he certainly wouldn't do something as selfish as this.
Having made up his mind, he immediately opened the cave door and exited, explaining the situation to the clan elder guarding outside.
The "Jade Sun Cave" is an important location for the Zhou Family, with a clan elder always stationed there as a guardian. Currently guarding outside is the "Xuan" generation cultivator Zhou Xuanhe, who is also Zhouyang's Fourteenth Clan Uncle.
Seeing Zhouyang successfully break through and exit from within, and hearing him explain the situation inside, Zhou Xuanhe, wearing a blue robe with embroidered white cranes and auspicious clouds, was delighted, nodding repeatedly with a smile: "Not bad, not bad. Yang'Er, you truly are the most promising of our Zhou's Yuan generation. To have such a broad perspective at such a young age, both the old clan leader and your father would be very pleased to hear about this!"
By "old clan leader," he refers to the Zhou family's only Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Zhou Minghan, the last of the "Ming" generation. The "father" refers to Zhouyang's father, Zhou Xuanhao, who is the Sixth Elder among the Zhou family's eight Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation Elders and the head of the "Xuan" generation.
Among Zhou family cultivators, those of the same generation address each other as brothers, while those of different generations refer to one another as uncles, aunts, nephews, and nieces.
Facing the praise from his Fourteenth Uncle Zhou Xuanhe, Zhouyang humbly responded that it was what he should do as a member of the Zhou Clan, without any pride due to his status or cultivation.
Seeing this behavior, Zhou Xuanhe held an even higher regard for this younger generation in his heart.
To have the Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation at such a young age is already impressive. More impressive is not being arrogant or impetuous and considering the bigger picture. Perhaps the hope of the next generation of the Zhou Family indeed rests upon this young member.
Thinking of this, he recalled something and quickly said, "Since you've already achieved a breakthrough, quickly go to the mountain top cave to meet the old clan leader. He instructed earlier that if you succeed in breaking through, you should meet him."
"Is there such a matter? Then I won't disturb Fourteenth Uncle any longer. Thank you, Fourteenth Uncle, for protecting me."
Zhouyang's expression changed at once; he immediately expressed his gratitude to Zhou Xuanhe and hurriedly made his way to the old clan leader's cave at the peak of Jade Spring Mountain.