Chapter 1717: Chapter 645: Zhou Yuanlian’s Core Formation
Otherwise, this world would have long been filled with Flood Dragons and Fire Phoenixes!
For a Beast Taming family like the Zhou Family, although they have methods through medicine and secret techniques to accelerate the reproduction of low-level Demon Beasts, their intervention for mid-level and high-level Demon Beasts is not entirely ineffective, but the effect is very weak.
Therefore, the only effective method is to ensure members of a Demon Beast species do not die unexpectedly, thereby increasing their population through expansion of their base.
Thus, after roughly two days, the results of the Foundation Establishment competition are out.
The top ten are still fully occupied by Zhou Family cultivators, and non-Zhou Family cultivators among the top twenty have further reduced to only three!
The first-place prize for the Foundation Establishment group is a Fourth Order Spirit Fruit, while the others in the top ten win Superior Third Order Spirit Fruits, and those ranked ten to twenty receive Inferior Third Order Spirit Fruits.
Compared to the numerous participants in the Qi Cultivation group and Foundation Establishment group, the number of Purple Mansion Phase cultivators participating in the martial competition of swordplay is very few, with a total of twelve including Zhou Xinyan.
Only the top five can receive Fourth Order Spirit Fruits as rewards, while the others may enjoy a Third Order inferior Spirit Fruit later.
Although the number is the least, the Purple Mansion group’s battles are the most spectacular.
Especially Zhou Zhiqian, who has cultivated to the middle stage of Purple Mansion.
With just one sword, without carrying any Spirit Pet, he fought his way up to the final round.
If Zhou Xinyan hadn’t already cultivated her mid-level Demon Beast Flaming Dragon Python into a Third Order Superior Demon Beast Flame-Horned Dragon Python, and herself being at the Late Stage Purple Mansion level, he would have been hard to defeat!
But even Zhou Xinyan does not know if it were truly a fight to the death, Zhou Zhiqian definitely has the power to drag him down together!
For Sword Cultivators, some truly powerful lethal moves are often desperate acts, either the enemy dies or oneself perishes, not suitable for use in arena competitions.
Therefore, when the competition for the top spot in the Purple Mansion group concluded, even Zhou Mingde could not help but lament, "If this lad does not fall midway in the future, his chances of successfully forming a core are the greatest among all the current Purple Mansion Phase cultivators in the family!"
Zhou Chun, hearing this, also nodded and said, "Zhiqian’s performance is indeed commendable. This time, those Fourth Order Spirit Pears, let’s allocate one more to him!"
The Fourth Order Spirit Pears he mentioned are of the same category of Spirit Fruit as the Fifth Order Spirit Apricot he consumed, able to directly enhance the mana cultivation level of a cultivator.
Consuming one can save him nearly a year of cultivation.
For a Purple Mansion Phase cultivator, consuming one equates to about twenty years of arduous practice!
Such Spirit Fruits are rare in the cultivation world. Generally, only those longstanding major factions possess them, and each Spirit Fruit is often reserved before maturation!
Moreover, the growth cycle of this type of Spirit Fruit tend to be exceptionally long, usually spanning hundreds of years!
The Fifth Order Spirit Apricot, as learned from Mu Sang’s communication with the Spirit Fruit Tree, requires close to a millennium from flowering to fruit maturity!
However, the advantage of such Spirit Fruit Trees is that even when mature, unless harvested, it can remain on the tree for a millennium!
With Zhou Chun overseeing everything, the Zhou Family’s "Fruit Appreciation Festival" concluded successfully in perfection.
After this grand event, Zhou Chun once again devoted himself wholeheartedly to secluded cultivation.
It wasn’t until five years later, when Zhou Yuanlian’s breakthrough heavenly phenomenon appeared, that he emerged from his cave.
"Excellent! From today onward, the Zhou Family gains another Golden Core Stage cultivator!"
Atop Green Lotus Peak, Zhou Chun watched the Nascent Soul Heavenly Phenomenon above Zhou Yuanlian’s retreat cave gradually fade, a genuine look of joy appearing on his face.
This news quickly spread throughout the Zhou Family, even causing some discussion within Jingguo Country.
However, given the present circumstances, a new Golden Core Stage cultivator emerging in the Zhou Family is not remarkable news with their current capacity.
This only proves one thing: the Zhou Family possesses the continuous blood-generating ability of Golden Core Stage cultivators, gradually transcending the typical confines of Golden Core Families.
Perhaps motivated by Zhou Yuanlian’s success, the now-aging Zhou Xinyan and Xu Fu, along with the Zhou Yuanlian and Zhou Yuanyuan couple, also began their closed-door core formation within a year of his success.
Their seclusion consumed a significant portion of the Nascent Soul Spirit Materials Zhou Chun brought back, leaving it difficult to assemble a complete set of Nascent Soul Spirit Materials.
Fortunately, at present, it is only these few requiring Nascent Soul Spirit Materials to impact the Golden Core Stage, so Zhou Chun does not need to rush to find more.
Meanwhile, within the third year following Zhou Yuanlian’s core formation, Zhou Chun consumed his last True Return Pill and finally reached the barrier of Golden Core Late Stage, with cultivation attaining the pinnacle of Golden Core Middle Stage.
He attempted to penetrate the Golden Core Late Stage barrier but found current accumulation alone insufficient to shake that barrier.
Without the aid of other spiritual objects, he may be stuck at this barrier for a century or perhaps a lifetime!
After all, his innate talent isn’t particularly outstanding.
Luckily, he has mentally prepared for this long ago; upon realizing his cultivation alone couldn’t swiftly breach the barrier, he promptly traveled to the Great Zhou Kingdom, seeking Luo Qingni to concoct the Four Spirits Barrier-breaking Pill.