Clan Cultivation: Starting from Beast Taming

Zhou Chun had just finished evaluating the ores on the ground when he suddenly turned to Jiang Buping and asked, "Taoist Friend Jiang, since you make a living in this abandoned mine, you must know the value of Pure Gold Ore. How much do you think these Pure Gold Ores are worth in Spirit Coins?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Buping immediately shook his head and said, "Taoist Friend Han is wise, but I really cannot give a definite answer, because even the Pure Gold Ores from the same vein can vary in quality."

"To truly know their value in Spirit Coins, we would need to take them to a shop for a professional evaluation and price estimate, or only after refining the Pure Gold out of them can we know for sure."

Hearing his words, Zhou Chun knew he was being cautious.

So, he waved his hand dismissively and said, "Never mind, just give me a rough estimate."

"This..."

Jiang Buping glanced at his expression and after hesitating for a while, he finally said in a low voice, "Based on my past experience, the quality of the Pure Gold Ore from this vein is quite good. If all these ores meet the quality standards, they should be worth two to three hundred Spirit Coins!"

"Two to three hundred Spirit Coins? That would cover the costs!"

Zhou Chun nodded slightly, immediately collecting all the ores into his Storage Pouch, and then tossed ten Spirit Coins to the little old man Jiang Buping.

"I've always kept my word, and these Spirit Coins are your reward, Taoist Friend Jiang. Please do not decline them."

Ten Spirit Coins wasn't a lot.

But, Jiang Buping had never actually expected Zhou Chun to truly give him a reward.

In his mind, just being able to save his life and the lives of his two juniors was profit enough.

So, when he looked at the Spirit Coins on the ground, he was momentarily stunned.

It wasn't until Zhou Chun, along with his Silver Lightning Python, turned to leave that he realized his eyes weren't deceiving him.

He quickly bowed in the direction of Zhou Chun's retreating figure, saying, "Taoist Friend Han, go slowly. This little old man thanks you!"

Zhou Chun merely waved his hand in response.

Once Zhou Chun was far away, Jiang Buping started to pick up the Spirit Coins from the ground, then turned to his two juniors with a sigh of relief, "See that? I told you, there are still people in the Cultivation World who keep their word!"

Hearing this, the tall youth Luo Dong let out a cold laugh and said, "Heh, old man, do you even believe that yourself?"

Then, the short and plump youth Wu Youfu shook his head and chimed in, "Exactly, exactly. You yourself were worried just now that they might kill to silence us!"

Jiang Buping, faced with the teasing of his two juniors, didn't get angry but laughed instead, quickly showing a relieved expression, "Hehe, seeing you two talk like this, I'm relieved."

Then, with a serious tone, he admonished his two juniors, "Remember, in the Cultivation World, good people do not live long. Even if we don't become bad people, we must never act like good ones!"

Seeing the seriousness of his advice, the tall youth Luo Dong also replied earnestly, "Don't worry, old man. We have followed you for years and have seen all kinds of deception. Apart from you, we won't easily trust anyone else."

"That's right, apart from you, the kind-hearted old man, we won't trust anyone!"

The short and plump youth Wu Youfu nodded firmly, indicating his understanding.

"Very good, with your words, I'm reassured!"

Jiang Buping nodded repeatedly, his face full of joyous laughter.

Of course, Zhou Chun had no idea that after he left, the little old man Jiang Buping would use this experience as an opportunity to educate his two juniors.

Even if he knew, he would likely just smile faintly and not care.

He gave Jiang Buping the Spirit Coins not to do a good deed, but simply to not do a bad one.

What Jiang Buping thought of him was beyond his control.

In the next half month, Zhou Chun traveled through various mines collecting Golden Qi, and finally managed to refill his gourd.

Then, without stopping, he returned to his family.

Upon returning to Jiufeng Ridge, Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi naturally was concerned and inquired about Zhou Chun's long absence.

After learning the details from Zhou Chun, Zhou Daoyi was astonished to hear that he had managed to kill a Golden Armored Piercing Mountain Beast in the underground mine tunnels.

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On the spot, he asked for the Mini Thousand Hills Seal magic artifact and the corpse of the Golden Armored Piercing Mountain Beast to examine them.

After examining the magic artifact and the corpse, Zhou Daoyi suddenly looked at Zhou Chun and asked, "Do you know why this artifact is called the 'Mini Thousand Hills Seal'?"

"The junior does not know."

Zhou Chun shook his head.

Seeing this, Zhou Daoyi then explained to him, "It's because there is a Dharma Treasure called the 'Thousand Mountain Seal', which is said to possess the weight of a thousand mountains when stamped down, capable of crushing even Golden Core stage cultivators to death!"

After finishing, he shook his head again and said, "However, although the power of this artifact of yours is not insignificant, it doesn't even possess the force of a single mountain. It is likely just something a Artifact Refiner crafted in admiration after hearing about the fame of the Thousand Mountain Seal. Such imitations are not uncommon in the cultivation world."

A Dharma Treasure, huh?

Zhou Chun's eyes briefly glazed over as he finally understood why the Mini Thousand Hills Seal was so powerful.

Dharma Treasures are possessions that only Golden Core stage cultivators can have, each with the power to raze mountains and boil seas.

Even if the Mini Thousand Hills Seal is just an imitation crafted by an Artifact Refiner out of admiration, it's not surprising that its power greatly exceeds that of a common, superior-grade, first-class magic artifact.

However, such imitations have very obvious flaws, not only consuming vast amounts of mana but also having irremediable deficiencies.

Like this Mini Thousand Hills Seal of his, it not only requires a build-up of energy before attacking but is also not fast.

At that time, if not for the fact that the Golden Armored Piercing Mountain Beast had half of its body buried in the earth, avoiding the falling massive seal wouldn't have been difficult.

Therefore, this item is only suitable for targeting those that cannot move, or those with slow-moving targets, just like the Rock Earth Turtle Demon Beast!

While Zhou Chun was thinking about all this, Zhou Daoyi after a slight pondering, nodded at him and said, "Since you've lost one of your defensive magic artifacts, hand over the corpse of the Golden Armored Piercing Mountain Beast and the Pure Gold ore you acquired to me. I will see if I can find someone to help you craft a defensive Dharma Artifact."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun's heart leapt with joy, and he quickly bowed in thanks, "The junior thanks the Clan Leader for his generous love."

"Alright, since you're back now, just continue to take care of clan affairs. As for the training in secret techniques, you can take your time with it in the future."

Zhou Daoyi waved his hand and left with the items.

Half a month later, a gourd of Golden Qi, purified of its Evil Qi, returned to Zhou Chun's hands, ready for him to use in cultivating Xinjin Sword Qi.

Hiss—

Inside the quiet room, the sound of Zhou Chun inhaling sharply filled the space.

Using high-quality Golden Qi nurtured within the Pure Gold Vein to cultivate the secret technique Xinjin Sword Qi resulted in pain far greater than he had anticipated.

Zhou Chun, who had already grown accustomed to the pain of Golden Qi entering his body, now felt as though he was back to the beginning stages of learning this technique, drenched in sweat and struggling to maintain his cultivation.

But at this point, giving up was certainly not an idea Zhou Chun would entertain.

If he gave up now, wouldn't all the hardships he endured have been for nothing?

So no matter how painful it was, he had to grit his teeth and persevere.

Fortunately, with prior experience, he no longer needed to rush for success or get lost in chaotic thoughts.

If he did not succeed in a day's practice, he would take it slow, gradually adapting himself to the agony and pressure brought on by the high-quality Golden Qi, until he could successfully absorb the Golden Qi into his body for storage.

Accustoming himself to this gradual approach, after nearly half a year, Zhou Chun had finally mastered the first layer of the secret technique Xinjin Sword Qi, successfully storing and transforming enough Taibai Gold Power in his right Greater Yin Lung Meridian for one use.

This strand of Taibai Gold Power, transformed from high-quality Golden Qi, was of unknown potency once released, even to Zhou Chun himself.

However, according to Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi, it should be strong enough to pose a certain threat to Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

In other words, if Zhou Chun were to launch a surprise close-range attack, even Foundation Establishment stage cultivators might fall victim to his assault.

This greatly enhanced his sense of security.

And just as Zhou Chun was brimming with confidence, contemplating whether to continue striving and cultivate the second layer of Xinjin Sword Qi in his left Greater Yin Lung Meridian as well and store another strand of Taibai Gold Power,

an achievement in beast cultivation by the Zhou Family's third Elder, Zhou Daoquan, caused a sensation throughout the Zhou Family, drawing a throng of Zhou Family Cultivators to the Beast Garden to join in the excitement.

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