Chapter 1655: Chapter 629: Passing the Torch
As he spoke, he retrieved the Sword Grinding Stone from the Treasure Vault within the cave and presented it to Zhou Zhiqian.
Seeing that he had indeed fulfilled his promise to gift him this Sword Grinding Stone after he had established his Purple Mansion, Zhou Zhiqian was overjoyed.
He hurriedly held the stone with both hands, as if cradling a Holy Object, raised it above his head, and bowed deeply to Zhou Chun, saying, "Thank you, Clan Leader, for your great kindness and for bestowing this treasure upon me!"
"Work hard, and if you can truly walk this path of the Sword Cultivator and succeed in Core Formation, then our Zhou Family will have another legacy. You will be the founder of a lineage and will always be remembered and praised by future generations of the Zhou Family!"
Zhou Chun took the opportunity to encourage this junior, painted him a grand vision, and then dismissed him.
For him now, who had set his sights on Transforming Elixir and Forming Infant, a junior in the Purple Mansion Phase was worthy of only a few words of praise and little attention.
Two more years passed, and while Zhou Chun was engaging in his daily cultivation, he suddenly sensed a connection with a few faint consciousnesses.
When he followed this slight mental connection and found the source, he was so astonished that his mouth gaped open.
At the Spirit Eye Spring, he saw four tiny white, transparent insects crawling on the stump of the "Pure Spirit Tree."
Each of these four little insects was less than a finger’s length, approximately as thick as a chopstick, resembling silkworms that had yet to spin silk.
Their bodies were wholly white and transparent, with not even a hint of black at their eyes. Had it not been for the color contrast with the stump, Zhou Chun might not have seen them with the naked eye.
However, upon closer inspection, one would sense a faint aura of mana emanating from them.
"Are these truly Hexapterous Ice Silkworms? Where are their wings?"
Looking at the four white silkworms on the stump, Zhou Chun’s face was filled with a mixture of doubt and amazement.
It turned out these four small white insects had hatched from the suspected "Hexapterous Ice Silkworm" eggs.
The cocoon that enveloped these eggs was still resting on a tree root segment, and the original nine eggs were now all gone!
As for why only four insects hatched from nine eggs, it was easy to understand.
Many oviparous species have the habit of consuming their siblings upon birth.
Perhaps more than four insects initially hatched, or perhaps these four consumed the other unhatched eggs.
In any case, only these four little insects had survived.
However, whether these four small insects were the legendary Hexapterous Ice Silkworms was something Zhou Chun dared not confirm at this time.
After all, he hadn’t seen any wings on them.
But it was certain that the origin of these white insects was extraordinary.
So after observing them with curiosity, Zhou Chun began trying to feed them with various foods.
Through a series of experiments, Zhou Chun found that these white insects didn’t seem picky; whether Spirit Wood leaves imbued with Spiritual Power or the food and meat of Demon Beasts, they would eat, though not in large quantities.
Moreover, they particularly liked staying on the stump, becoming agitated when placed elsewhere, even on a piece of Millennium Cold Jade that Zhou Chun had intentionally prepared.
This surprised him greatly.
His only explanation was that the four insects "recognized their bed," currently seeing the stump as a safe place due to their weak consciousness.
He merely continued to quietly observe and record their growth and changes, wondering what they might eventually become.
Six months after the four insects emerged from their cocoons, the Zhou Family made an important breakthrough in beast taming.
After receiving several drops of Phoenix Fire Essence Blood from Zhou Chun, a descendant named Zhou Gaoping successfully bred a second-level Phoenix Blood Monster Beast, the Five-Colored Phoenix-tailed Pheasant!
The emergence of this Five-Colored Phoenix-tailed Pheasant marked a new direction for the Zhou Family’s development alongside their Dragon Blood Demon Beasts, with the addition of Phoenix Blood Monster Beasts.