Chapter 638 -328: Four Treasures, The Chaos Begins [Subscribe Requested]_2
“I believe for the sake of his own path and life, as long as the conditions aren’t too harsh, he should be able to accept them!”
Facing Zhou Mingde’s gaze, Zhou Chun spoke confidently about his point of view.
“But what if he pretends to agree at first, and then goes back on his word once he has the item in hand?”
Zhou Mingde did not rush to state his position, but instead expressed another concern.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun said with certainty, “That won’t happen. By taking Spirit Beast Manor to seek refuge with Tianjing Sect, he has already offended Green Lotus Temple. If he dares to move against our Zhou Family again, he would be handing Green Lotus Temple the knife to make an example out of him!”
His argument was sound and Zhou Mingde was quickly convinced.
...
Thus, although he still felt somewhat unwilling and angry, for the sake of the family, he reluctantly sighed and said, “Alright then, let’s do as you say, Zhengchun!”
As it turned out, Zhou Mingde’s prediction was spot on.
On the third day after the Zhou Family learned that Spirit Beast Manor had sought refuge with Tianjing Sect, Yu Jinghua infiltrated Jiufeng Ridge alone and went straight to the front of Zhou Mingde’s cave dwelling.
“It has been many years, Mingde. I trust you have been well?”
When Zhou Mingde emerged from his dwelling, he saw Yu Jinghua waiting with a smile and taking the initiative to greet him.
“Thanks to you, I and the Zhou Family have indeed been well!”
Zhou Mingde replied icily, then turned and walked into his dwelling.
Seeing this, Yu Jinghua was not angered. Instead, his smile grew even wider as he followed inside.
From Zhou Mingde’s attitude, he knew that achieving his purpose today would probably not be difficult.
To be honest, he was also afraid that Zhou Mingde, in a moment of impulsiveness, might hand over the Magic Artifact to Green Lotus Temple.
Therefore, he had been keeping watch around Jiufeng Ridge these past few days.
The Magic Artifact had a thread of his Primordial Spirit essence fused into it, which gave him the tightest connection to it, allowing him to easily sense its location.
If Zhou Mingde really acted on impulse and took the item out of Zhou Family Mountain, Yu Jinghua would have no choice but to reveal himself and forcibly intercept.
Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.
Fortunately, the situation he feared most did not arise.
After that, inside Zhou Mingde’s dwelling, Yu Jinghua and Zhou Mingde engaged in fierce bargaining.
In the end, the two reached an agreement on terms. Yu Jinghua would give up several treasures that he had initially coveted from the Zhou Family in exchange for the thread of his Primordial Spirit essence.
“See for yourselves, this is the result of my bargaining with him!”
Inside the cave dwelling atop the mountain, facing Zhou Daoyi and Zhou Chun whom he had summoned, Zhou Mingde got straight to the point without much ado and presented the spoils from the negotiation.
With a flick of his hand, he took out four treasures and set them on the table.
One of the treasures was a milk-white jade ornament the size of two fingers. As soon as it was taken out, it automatically began gathering the surrounding nature’s spiritual energy. The dense spiritual energy flowed around it, manifesting a white aura, and it indeed looked extraordinarily mystical.
The second treasure was a Talisman around a foot in length, with Spirit Patterns so intricate they were unlike anything Zhou Chun had ever seen. Just staring at the densely drawn patterns for a few moments made Zhou Chun feel a bit dizzy.
Even without being activated, the Talisman slightly gathered spiritual energy, emanating a dazzling, fiery red halo.
The third treasure was a damaged, pale-yellow Banner. Most of the banner’s fabric seemed to be missing, and the remaining part was branded with numerous tiny runes, appearing extremely mysterious and profound.
The fourth treasure was a Talisman Treasure with a pattern of a green spear on it, an offensive Talisman.
After allowing Zhou Chun and the other to examine the four treasures on the table for a while, Zhou Mingde began to allocate them.
He waved his hand and the milk-white jade ornament floated towards Zhou Chun.
“From now on, Zhengchun, you will wear and use this Spirit Gathering Jade. This object is a rare item obtained by an Ancestor of Zhou Family. It is said to be made from a Spirit Eye Stone and wearing it can significantly enhance the efficiency of cultivation, as it has a powerful effect in gathering spiritual energy,” he explained.
“However, this item is precious and is only useful for cultivation, so if you ever leave the family, it is best to leave it in your residence.”
Hearing it was an object that could enhance cultivation efficiency, Zhou Chun didn’t hesitate, as he indeed needed such an item to assist him.
He took it immediately, storing it in a jade box, and did not forget to thank him, “I thank the Supreme Elder for his generous affection. In that case, I shall keep this object on behalf of the family for now!”
Objects like the Spirit Gathering Jade are often non-privatized communal property within a family, to be allocated according to need, given to the individual who needs and can make the best use of them.
So, Zhou Chun was only temporarily holding onto it, with no right to dispose of it.
Zhou Mingde then lifted his hand and waved, drawing the talisman into his own grasp.
“As for this Fourth Rank Talisman, let the old man keep it for now,” he said.
A Fourth Rank Talisman was also a very precious item, but even cultivators like Zhou Daoyi, who were in the early stages of the Purple Mansion, found it somewhat challenging to use such treasures.
Only Zhou Mingde, who had reached the middle stage of his cultivation at the Purple Mansion, could properly activate and use an item at this level.
Therefore, it was most suitable for him to keep it.
Zhou Mingde’s gaze then turned to the damaged banner, and he slowly said, “Although this Commanding Spirit Banner is a remnant, it is the origin of our family’s Beast Taming tradition. It represents the most orthodox lineage of the family. Let’s enshrine it in the ancestral hall to honor our ancestors.”
The Zhou Family’s Beast Taming tradition originated from an ancient cultivator cave acquired by the Ancestor of Zhou Family.
The damaged banner before Zhou Chun and the others was precisely what the Ancestor of Zhou Family had brought out from the ancient cultivator cave.
It was said to be a powerful Dharma Treasure, but because it was too damaged, it could no longer be consecrated or driven.
Now it served only as a symbol, representing the legitimacy of the Zhou Family.
Enshrining such an item in the ancestral hall was, of course, the best way to deal with it.
Finally, Zhou Mingde’s eyes fell on the Talisman Treasure.
After contemplating the object for a while, he eventually said, “As for this Talisman Treasure, let’s give it to Daoquan. He needs such an item for his protection while he’s alone overseeing Longxing Valley!”
Having said that, he looked to Zhou Daoyi and asked him, “What do you think, Daoyi?”
“The junior has no objections. Compared to me, Brother Daoquan indeed needs it more!”
Zhou Daoyi gave a slight nod, fully agreeing with his disposal suggestion.
“Then it’s settled. You will personally deliver this item into Daoquan’s hands,” he said.
Zhou Mingde said this and then took the Talisman Treasure and passed it to Zhou Daoyi.
With the distribution of treasures complete, he let them both leave.
Upon returning to his residence, Zhou Chun immediately took out the Spirit Gathering Jade to test it.
He wore the jade on his chest as usual and began to meditate and cultivate.
No sooner had he started than the rich nature’s spiritual energy gathered by the Spirit Gathering Jade was completely absorbed into his body.
After the meditation, Zhou Chun was pleasantly surprised to discover that the effect of this session was at least half better than before he had obtained the Spirit Gathering Jade.
That is to say, with the Spirit Gathering Jade equipped for cultivation, his cultivation speed would improve by fifty percent from before.
This significant increase was indeed delightful.
“This is wonderful. Perhaps in less than ten years, I’ll be able to break through to the later stage of Foundation Establishment!” he said, clenching his fist with a joyous expression on his face.
However, Zhou Chun had not been happy for long when an incident occurred, immediately causing him to furrow his brows deeply.
“The Jingyang Sect has teamed up with Zhengyang Palace to declare war on the Corpse Demon Sect?” he exclaimed, his surprise evident as he opened his mouth wide.
Reviewing the hawk message from Yunzhou brought by the Intelligence Hall, Zhou Chun couldn’t hide his astonishment.
Although his experience in Fengguo had given him the feeling that it was likely to become chaotic again, he had not anticipated the turmoil to come so soon and in such a manner.
In his mind, he tried to recall information about Zhengyang Palace but found that he hadn’t heard much about it; it was likely not a power from any of the nearby countries.
But daring to assist the Jingyang Sect against the Corpse Demon Sect meant it was no ordinary force; it must be a faction like the Moon Wheel Sect in stature to act in such a way!
“This is really quite the mess!” Zhou Chun said, massaging his head, with no choice but to take the news and make another trip to the mountaintop cave abode.