Haoyang Cave

"[Earth Origin Spirit Milk] is indeed a necessary auxiliary ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, but it has another effect: it can allow a Qi Refining Layer Nine cultivator under the age of one hundred to restore their vitality to the state they were in before the age of sixty, giving them a precious opportunity to attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage!"

Ignoring Zhou Xuanhao's rapidly changing expression, Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan spoke in a low voice about what Zhou Xuanhao had deliberately overlooked.

"Old Clan Leader, you…"

Zhou Xuanhao's mouth opened, wanting to say something, but as if he had some unspeakable secret, he couldn't utter it, his face looking very grim.

Unexpectedly, the Old Clan Leader didn't let him off the hook. Instead, he looked at him and said sternly, "Xuanhao, I know what you want to say, but I'm telling you, since you've embarked on the path of cultivation, you can only move forward with unwavering determination!"

"If your cultivation is only for living a few decades longer than mortals, only to possess this little bit of weak ability you have now, then you might as well have been an ordinary person and lived a peaceful, ordinary life!"

Zhou Xuanhao's body trembled, and a look of intense struggle suddenly appeared in his eyes.

Just then, Elder Zhou Quan also chimed in, "Xuanhao, you yourself know that your Spiritual Root aptitude is actually no worse than Xuan Yu's. If it weren't for the family's lack of alchemists back then, forcing you to spend a lot of your cultivation time on alchemy, you wouldn't have advanced to Qi Refining Layer Nine at the age of sixty-three!"

After Elder Zhou Quan finished speaking, Zhou Family's Third Elder, Old Man Zhou Dan, quickly added, "Yes, Xuanhao, what the Old Clan Leader and Third Brother said is correct. You delayed your opportunity to break through to Foundation Establishment for the sake of the family. Now that you have a chance to start over, why can't you make up your mind to try? To put it bluntly, even if you fail, you still have Little Nine, this outstanding junior, to inherit your legacy, and you won't have any regrets in this life!"

Hearing this, the struggle in Zhou Xuanhao's eyes intensified. He looked at Zhou Yang, who was somewhat bewildered beside him, with a complex gaze. His throat moved as if he had something to say.

"Alright, don't say any more. It looks like this [Earth Origin Spirit Milk] will take about another eight or ten years to condense one portion. Xuanhao, you still have plenty of time to consider. If you've made up your mind by then, come and tell me. As long as you want it, this first portion will definitely be reserved for you!"

Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan waved his hand, stopping the other "Guang" generation elders from trying to persuade further, and also caused the words that had welled up in Zhou Xuanhao's throat to be swallowed back down.

He swallowed back the words he wanted to say and nodded heavily, replying, "Xuanhao understands. I will definitely consider what the Old Clan Leader and all the elders have said seriously."

Zhou Yang had remained silent because he hadn't known what the Old Clan Leader and the others were hinting at earlier.

However, by now, if he still couldn't figure out what the Old Clan Leader and the others were talking about, then he would have lived all these years in vain.

So, the Old Clan Leader and the others want Father to take the [Earth Origin Spirit Milk] to attempt Foundation Establishment. No wonder Father, who has always respected his elders, is so conflicted this time!

Zhou Yang's heart suddenly felt incredibly heavy as he understood the situation.

Zhou Xuanhao was already eighty-seven years old this year, and he had also lost his primal yang. Even if he took the [Earth Origin Spirit Milk] to restore his vitality to the state before the age of sixty, his success rate in achieving Foundation Establishment would not exceed five percent!

With such a low probability of success, it was no wonder Zhou Xuanhao couldn't make up his mind.

After all, he was no longer alone. He already had a wife and a son, and these were his concerns.

However, on the other hand, as Elder Zhou Dan had said, after having a wife and son, and having lived for nearly a hundred years, having another chance to attempt Foundation Establishment at this point, even if he failed, his life would be without regret.

Will Father agree? If it were me, how would I choose?

Zhou Yang secretly glanced at his father, whose face was heavy with worry. Though he had a thousand words in his heart, he couldn't utter a single one.

As a son, if he were to persuade his father to agree, and his father were to fail in his attempt at Foundation Establishment and perish, it would be unfilial.

But as a cultivator, if he were to persuade his father not to agree, it would be equivalent to cutting off his father's cultivation path with his own hands, which was also a form of unfilial conduct.

At this moment, he could only pretend to be ignorant!

Fortunately, at this time, other Zhou family elders entered the stone chamber to report cave exploration intelligence to the Old Clan Leader, which helped him out of this awkward situation.

"Reporting to the Old Clan Leader, I have explored the underground river. I did not find any other hidden demonic beasts, nor did I find any trace of spiritual items. It seems to be just an ordinary underground river tributary passing through."

The speaker was Zhou Xuanyan, the eighth-ranked female cultivator of the "Xuan" generation in the Zhou family. She was a cultivator with water element cultivation methods, which were rare in the Boundless Sea of Sand. Therefore, after entering the cave, she voluntarily took on the task of investigating the underground river.

Underground rivers were peculiar places. Even in arid inland regions like the Boundless Sea of Sand, water element demonic beasts could sometimes be found in underground rivers. These water element demonic beasts lived in underground rivers with almost no natural predators, and sometimes, third-rank or even fourth-rank great demons would appear.

Therefore, cultivators would cautiously investigate the situation after discovering an underground river before deciding whether or not to establish a settlement nearby.

"This matter cannot be taken lightly. I remember that Qian had repaired a Tier 2 High-grade water-attribute formation and placed it in the family treasury. I will have Xuan Tai retrieve it and set it up in the underground river. Xuan Yan, you can assist him then."

Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan pondered for a moment, deciding to be cautious.

Although a Tier 2 High-grade formation could not defend against the attacks of third-rank or fourth-rank demonic beasts, it could at least serve as a warning, giving the family cultivators stationed here in the future time to react.

However, upon thinking of the deceased Zhou family Great Elder Zhou Qian, Zhou Minghan's mood inexplicably became heavy again.

He scanned the Zhou family cultivators in the stone chamber, and with a wave of his sleeve, a metal disk with more than a dozen pale yellow flags suddenly appeared in his hand.

"This set of [Shutu Jinge Formation] is Qian's last surviving work. Although it is only Tier 3 Low-grade, it perfectly matches the attributes of the Spirit Vein here. You will all go and assist Xuan Tai in setting up this formation now!"

Sighing as he revealed the origin of the metal disk, Zhou Minghan gently tossed it, and the formation disk landed in the hands of Elder Zhou Quan beside him.

As everyone received the order and began to leave one by one, he suddenly said, as if he had thought of something, "Oh right, Little Nine, stay behind."

"Little Nine, this Spirit Vein was strictly speaking discovered by you. Have you thought of a name for it?"

Zhou Yang, who had been singled out to stay, was still wondering what the Old Clan Leader wanted to say when he was met with such a question.

His expression immediately froze. After a moment, he replied, "Since Grandfather is asking his grandson this, then his grandson will be bold. What do you think of Haoyang Cave?"

"Haoyang Cave, Haoyang Cave. Good, from now on, this place will be called Haoyang Cave!"

Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan muttered the name "Haoyang Cave" a couple of times. With a wave of his sleeve, a stream of flowing, shining sword light rapidly flew out, carving the three large characters "Haoyang Cave" onto the stone chamber wall.

After doing this, the Old Clan Leader retracted his flying sword and looked at Zhou Yang with a serious expression, asking, "Little Nine, this Haoyang Cave is a Tier 3 Low-grade natural Spirit Vein, and it is connected to an underground river. Its future development potential is immense. I am thinking that after you achieve Foundation Establishment, you will move here to take charge. What do you think?"

Why was he asking about matters after achieving Foundation Establishment now?

A flicker of confusion crossed Zhou Yang's face, then his heart stirred, and he blurted out, "Grandfather means… are you asking me to go into seclusion and cultivate here for the time being?"

"A teachable child!"

Zhou Minghan nodded at Zhou Yang with appreciative eyes and then revealed his plan.

"Haoyang Cave is a Tier 3 natural Spirit Vein, and it is adjacent to the Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein. In terms of actual value, it is not much inferior to the Jade Spring Lake Oasis. Before there is a Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding it, I will not allow the family's low-level cultivators to come here, to prevent the news from leaking and being known by outsiders."

"Once the Shutu Jinge Formation is set up, I will bring Xuanhao and the others back to the family. Then, this place will be left to Quan'er, Dan'er, Xuan Yan, and you, Little Nine, to guard. With the four of you cultivators at the late Qi Refining stage guarding this place, and with the formation's power, even if a Third-Rank Demonic Beast attacks, we can hold them off until I arrive to rescue you. You don't need to worry about safety at all!"

"Of course, the most important thing is that the environment here is more suitable for your cultivation than Jade Spring Peak. By cultivating here, you have a greater chance of advancing to Qi Refining Layer Nine within a decade or two."

Zhou Yang understood the reasoning, but the thought of being separated from his parents again so soon after reuniting with them made him incredibly reluctant.

He really wanted to ask the Old Clan Leader to let his father, Zhou Xuanhao, stay and accompany him.

However, he knew even better that his father, as the family's only Tier 2 High-grade Alchemist, could only fulfill his role by being present at the market town shop.

Furthermore, if his father, Zhou Xuanhao, decided to make a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage, he would have to select an heir from the "Yuan" generation of juniors within the next eight to ten years to pass on his alchemy skills, ensuring the family's alchemy lineage wouldn't be broken in case of failure.

"Your grandson understands."

He suppressed the discomfort in his heart and responded in a low voice.

"Alas! I've put you and your son through so much!"

Zhou Minghan sighed deeply and couldn't help but reach out and gently pat Zhou Yang's shoulder, signaling that he understood everything.

If he had a choice, Zhou Minghan wouldn't do this, but the predicament the Zhou Family was currently in forced him to.

For a family to develop and grow strong, someone always had to make sacrifices.

As a cultivator of the family, one couldn't simply enjoy the family's benefits without contributing. The greater the benefits enjoyed, the greater the price one naturally had to pay compared to others.

Zhou Qian was like that back then, Zhou Xuanyu was like that, and how could the father and son pair of Zhou Xuanhao and Zhou Yang be any exception now?

The update was late yesterday morning, and your recommendation votes were a bit sluggish. I'll stay up until midnight to update today. Please vote with recommendation tickets, please vote with recommendation tickets, and please join the new book investment group!