Zhou Mingde, a Purple Mansion Phase Cultivator like him, if he had a Spirit Crystal in his possession, upon meeting an equally matched opponent, it would almost certainly secure his victory.
In such a situation, deciding how to proceed is truly a difficult choice.
After what felt like a long time without knowing how much time had passed, it was Zhou Chun who first broke the silence, "Junior has a doubt, with our family’s current power and reputation, can we really not protect even a single Dharma Treasure?"
"Green Lotus Temple has received so many benefits from our family, and we have always been exceedingly respectful towards them. If a Golden Core Stage Cultivator really hears about it and comes to snatch the Dharma Treasure, don’t they have a responsibility to provide protection for our family?"
Hearing this, both Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi’s expressions changed, and they couldn’t help but glance at each other.
Then, Zhou Daoyi began to speak, "In fact, as a subordinate force recognized by Green Lotus Temple, when faced with the plunder of high-level cultivators, Green Lotus Temple indeed has the responsibility to protect us."
"But you also know, Zhengchun, that Golden Core Stage Cultivators each possess their vast Divine Skills. If they truly set their sights on our family, they naturally have many methods to conceal their identity, making it impossible for Green Lotus Temple to find out who made the move."
"If we can’t even find the perpetrator, then how can we talk about revenge!" Experience tales at freewebnovel
After speaking, Zhou Mingde also nodded, "Daoyi is right. Now, I am not worried about Master Shanyang’s suspicion towards our family; I am concerned that Ruan Hongzhuang, who escaped back then, will seek revenge against me by spreading the news of the Zhou family possessing a Dharma Treasure to the Golden Core Stage Cultivators in Qi Country!"
"Once the Golden Core Stage Cultivators from Qi Country really come to Jingguo Country to trouble us, I’m afraid Green Lotus Temple will also be too far to quench the near thirst!"
After the two of them spoke, Zhou Chun also fell silent.
Indeed, once a Cultivator reaches the Golden Core Stage, they generally gain the capital to act unrestrainedly within the Cultivation World.
As long as they don’t foolishly provoke those powers seated by Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, they often don’t need to have many scruples in their actions.
Therefore, if there truly is a Golden Core Stage Cultivator from outside Jingguo Country specifically targeting the Zhou family, it is indeed not something the Zhou family can easily resolve.
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"Then what should we do?"
Even Zhou Chun, who is usually full of strategies, was at a loss this time and could only throw the problem back to his two elders.
"As a plan for now, in order to ensure absolute safety, we must either invite a Golden Core Stage Cultivator to stay with the family for a few years or control a trump card that even a Golden Core Stage Cultivator would fear!"
Zhou Mingde pondered for a while before quietly voicing his opinion.
Hearing his words, both Zhou Daoyi and Zhou Chun couldn’t help but ponder over his suggestion.
Zhou Mingde’s method was undoubtedly helpful in solving the problem.
If Ruan Hongzhuang did manage to persuade a Golden Core Stage Cultivator to come and trouble the Zhou family, they would most likely arrive within three to five years.
If the opposing side knew that the Zhou family had the protection of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, they naturally would no longer contemplate targeting the Zhou family.
And if they could control a trump card that Golden Core Stage Cultivators would fear, then that would be even better as it could enhance the overall strength of the family substantially.
However, any one of these two points was not easy to achieve.
"Golden Core Stage Cultivators are not easy to invite, let alone having them stay with the family for a number of years. If we want to achieve this, even if we are willing to offer a Dharma Treasure, I’m afraid it won’t be an easy matter to succeed."
"As for controlling a trump card that Golden Core Stage Cultivators would fear, it’s even more difficult. We can practically say it’s impossible!"
Zhou Daoyi pondered for a moment before speaking out his own views with a serious tone.
He was right, Golden Core Stage Cultivators, other than Loose Cultivators, all have their own power affiliations. Getting them to stay with the Zhou family for some years is undoubtedly very difficult.
As for Loose Cultivator Golden Core Stage Cultivators, they are basically out of the question for the Zhou family, as it is too easy to end up inviting trouble into their midst.
Zhou Chun also thought of this and couldn’t help but frown, "If we invite a Golden Core Stage Cultivator to reside with the family, once they understand the situation, they could easily demand an exorbitant price, and a single Dharma Treasure might not be enough to satisfy them!"
The two went back and forth with their remarks. Although they did not contradict Zhou Mingde’s suggestion, they both believed that the matter was not so easily handled.
Yet, Zhou Mingde, after hearing their words, calmly said, "It’s inevitable that they will demand more. It’s just a matter of more or less!"
Having said that, he looked at the two again and added, "If you think hiring someone is a viable option, I will personally seek out someone to discuss this. After all, this matter should be handled sooner rather than later; it needs to be settled as quickly as possible."
"So, whom do you plan to ask for assistance? Is it Senior Li from the Li Family or a senior from the You Family?"
Zhou Daoyi asked with some curiosity.
"That’s hard to say, let’s first see what the seniors’ attitudes are!"
Zhou Mingde shook his head slightly, without giving a definite answer.
After resting for a day with his family, he left the family’s gates to visit several Golden Core Stage cultivators.
It was expected that Zhou Mingde’s trip would not produce results in just a day or two.
After his departure, Zhou Chun also returned to the Central Peace Hall, completed the handover with Zhou Jiarui, who had been acting in his stead, and continued to fulfill his responsibilities as the Clan Leader.
Having understood the development and changes of the family over the past half-year, his first order of business was to mobilize the family’s resources to collect materials for cultivating three Demon Insects, and he handed several alchemy recipes to the Seventh Elder, Zhou Zhengyuan.
These alchemy recipes, collected by the Thousand Spirit Sect, were designed to promote the growth of Demon Insects, akin to the Zhou Family’s "Beast Spirit Pill" and "Demon Spirit Pill."
Zhou Chun, who had reviewed these recipes, knew that crafting these elixirs was much easier than those intended for Cultivators.
In fact, the "Beast Spirit Pill" and "Demon Spirit Pill" were also the same in this regard.
After all, the elixirs meant for Cultivators could not afford the slightest negligence. The toxicity had to be reduced to a certain level; otherwise, they could severely disrupt one’s cultivation if consumed.
However, the elixirs for Demon Beasts and Demon Insects were different. With their strong bloodlines, Demon Beasts had a far better ability to detoxify than Cultivators. Unless it was a type of poison that directly harmed the flesh and bloodline, it would not affect them significantly.
Most Demon Insects have relatively short lifespans and typically are not very powerful. Even if one were to force their growth, it wouldn’t have a substantial impact.
The only requirement was that the elixirs they consumed should not damage their fertility.
Another point was that the raw materials for making elixirs for Demon Insects mostly consisted of Demon Beast flesh, organs, bones, and certain ores, with only a small part made up of vegetal Spiritual Medicines.
This meant that gathering these materials would be much easier than those required for elixirs meant for Cultivators to consume.
Regarding the Insect Expelling Technique, Zhou Chun was not stingy with its knowledge.
Apart from the Taboo Arts from the Thousand Spirit Sect that were not suitable to be known by ordinary clan members, most of the Insect Expelling Technique inheritances were made available to clan members of different statuses and rarity levels to choose and practice.
Of course, if they chose to practice the Insect Expelling Technique, they would have to find the Demon Insects themselves, as the family currently did not have suitable Demon Insects available for them to select.
The addition of another Insect Expelling Technique inheritance within the family quickly spread among the Zhou Family, indeed garnering interest from many clan members.
After all, cultivators who understand the Insect Expelling Technique are extremely rare in the Cultivation World.
The rarer a technique, the more it implied that most cultivators lack the experience to counter such a technique.
Thus, some thoughtful Zhou Family Cultivators naturally wanted to see if they could learn a bit of the Insect Expelling Technique to add an extra card to their hand.
Several Elders of the Zhou Family shared this thought.
These were outcomes that Zhou Chun was pleased to see.
Having some achievement in the art of Insect Expelling himself, he was well aware that in order to let the Insect Expelling Technique play a role in the Zhou Family, as many Zhou Family members as possible need to practice it.
Because only with a sufficient base number could a few excellent insect species be cultivated.
Once the Zhou Family could possess a dozen or so excellent insect species worthy of heritage, the Insect Expelling Technique could then truly take root in the Zhou Family, becoming a family heritage comparable to Beast Taming Technique.
For this reason, he had even begun to consider establishing an Insect Garden, planning to build it alongside the existing Beast Garden, dedicated to the cultivation of Demon Insects.