Biyun Mountain's Mu Family

Misty Prefecture, Biyun Lake.

Biyun Lake was a famous lake in Misty Prefecture of Jing Kingdom. Its waters were as clear and jade-green as emerald, and its scenery was beautiful enough to appear painted. It was a favorite destination for many poets and scholars.

On the western shore of Biyun Lake stood a continuous range of mountains known as Biyun Mountain.

There was an area in the mountains that was perpetually shrouded in water mist. Travelers who accidentally wandered into it often needed several days to find their way out, and after emerging, they would all fall seriously ill.

As time passed, no one dared to enter it lightly anymore.

Naturally, those mortals did not know that the area of Biyun Mountain covered by water mist was precisely where the mountain gate of the Mu Family, a Cultivation Family in Misty Prefecture, was located.

The Mu Family of Biyun Mountain had inherited its legacy from Jing Kingdom's major sect, Green Lotus Temple. Their ancestor had been an outer disciple of Green Lotus Temple, and throughout the generations, many clansmen had successfully entered Green Lotus Temple to cultivate.

The Mu Family of today possessed not only three Foundation Establishment cultivators of its own but also two Foundation Establishment clansmen within Green Lotus Temple. One of them was even the nominal disciple of a Golden Core cultivator from Green Lotus Temple.

Thus, throughout Misty Prefecture, the Mu Family was also a fairly renowned Cultivation Family.

But the Mu Family was, after all, an emerging family with only a little over three hundred years of history. Although they had been fortunate enough to produce several Foundation Establishment cultivators in succession, when it came to accumulated foundations, they ultimately could not compare with established families that had produced high-ranked cultivators or had passed down their lineage for a thousand years.

The four great cultivation arts of Pill, Artifact, Talisman, and Formation were not a problem. With the Mu Family's connections within Green Lotus Temple, obtaining some basic inheritances was not difficult.

But when it came to Beast Taming Arts, even Green Lotus Temple did not possess much of an inheritance.

Moreover, this path was unlike the four arts of Pill, Artifact, Talisman, and Formation. One could not easily explore it by experimenting with materials.

Therefore, when the Zhou Family came knocking and proposed exchanging their friendship with the Mu Family for help in cultivating talents versed in Beast Taming Arts, the Mu Family's several Foundation Establishment cultivators needed less than half a day to consider before agreeing.

After accepting the assignment five days ago, Zhou Chun spent another five days making preparations on Precious Lingzhi Peak. Today, he was personally delivered to the Mu Family of Biyun Mountain by the Zhou Family's Third Elder, Zhou Daoquan, riding a crane.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, this is the place our Mu Family has arranged for you to cultivate. If you have any instructions or needs in the future, feel free to tell Ziying. She lives in that courtyard over there."

Outside a secluded courtyard in the scenic Biyun Mountain, Zhou Chun and two Mu Family cultivators stood before the gate, examining the place where he would live for the next three years.

By then, the Zhou Family's Third Elder, Zhou Daoquan, had already departed. Zhou Chun had also met several Foundation Establishment cultivators and some core clansmen of the Mu Family, making his presence known within the family.

The Mu Family cultivator introducing the arrangements to him was a core clansman of the Mu Family named Mu Yunshan.

Beside Mu Yunshan stood a beautiful young woman dressed in purple robes. She was the "Ziying" he had mentioned, as well as one of the Mu Family clansmen to whom Zhou Chun would teach the Beast Taming Arts.

After looking around, Zhou Chun gave Mu Yunshan a slight nod. "Thank you for your efforts, Fellow Daoist Mu. I'm very satisfied with this place."

Hearing this, Mu Yunshan smiled faintly. "I'm glad you're satisfied, Fellow Daoist Zhou. Then the two of us won't disturb your rest any longer. Farewell."

He then departed with the Mu Family female cultivator, Mu Ziying.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun immediately entered the courtyard and shut the gate. Then he slapped the Spirit Beast Pouch at his waist and released the Rock Earth Turtle sleeping inside.

"Stone, this will be your new home from now on. Remember, don't run off or leave the house. Otherwise, you'll be served spicy punishment!"

Looking at the Rock Earth Turtle, which had just arrived in an unfamiliar place and was somewhat timid and restrained, with its head lowered and not daring to reveal its whole face, Zhou Chun first gave it a stern warning.

He had no choice but to do so. Back at the Zhou Family, this fellow had once bitten through his courtyard gate and run outside to frolic.

This was not the Zhou Family. If the fellow ran out and was discovered by Mu Family cultivators, it might well be mistaken for a Demonic Beast and slain as a demon.

Sure enough, upon hearing the words "spicy punishment," the Rock Earth Turtle's head immediately shrank back, completely retracting into its shell. It had clearly been frightened.

Although it could eat anything and digest anything, that did not mean it was immune to harm from certain special foods.

A small fruit known as the Spicy Fruit was several times hotter than the spiciest chili peppers Zhou Chun had known in his previous life. Its heat made it the best thing for Zhou Chun to punish and scare the Rock Earth Turtle with.

As long as he fed the little creature a few Spicy Fruits, it would be so hot that, despite disliking getting near ponds, it would immediately burrow into the water and gulp it down.

Thus, this warning worked every time.

And so, Zhou Chun quickly settled down in the Mu Family.

Compared to his time with the Zhou Family, he was actually much freer within the Mu Family.

Aside from teaching five Mu Family cultivators, including Mu Ziying, for two hours each day, he could spend the rest of his time as he pleased. He could even request that Mu Family cultivators accompany him to stroll through the nearby mortal cities.

Unfortunately, he could not enter the Mu Family's library. Otherwise, things would have been even better.

With so much more free time, Zhou Chun simply used it to cultivate spells in addition to his daily cultivation.

There were countless spells in the Cultivation World, but most of them could not escape the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, or the three extraordinary elements of wind, lightning, and ice.

Depending on an individual's cultivation realm, spiritual root attributes, cultivation technique attributes, and comprehension, the speed at which they cultivated spells could vary greatly.

With Zhou Chun's mid Qi Refining Stage cultivation, he was currently suited only to cultivating First-grade Low-tier spells and First-grade Mid-tier spells.

At the same time, because his spiritual roots leaned toward the metal, earth, and wood elements, cultivating Metal Element Spells, Earth Element Spells, and Wood Element Spells was easier for him than cultivating spells of other attributes, and their power would also be enhanced somewhat.

Counting them all, Zhou Chun had already mastered twenty or thirty spells. However, most were First-grade Low-tier spells with very weak power.

This time, when he came to the Mu Family to serve as an assistant instructor, the clan leader, Zhou Mingde, had probably guessed that he would have a great deal of free time. Before his departure, he had specially given him a copied book titled First-Tier Spell Cultivation Insights.

It recorded methods for cultivating more than a hundred First-tier spells, as well as the Experience and Insights that senior cultivators had gained from cultivating them.

Now that Zhou Chun had time on his hands, he naturally would not disappoint the clan leader, Zhou Mingde, who had put such thought into it. He immediately selected several spells with considerable power and excellent practical applications and began cultivating them with complete concentration.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Chun had spent half a year with the Mu Family of Biyun Mountain.

On this day, Zhou Chun was cultivating a First-grade Mid-tier spell known as the Wood Armor Technique in the courtyard of his residence when the courtyard gate suddenly began pounding from outside. At the same time, the anxious cries of the Mu Family female cultivator, Mu Ziying, rang out.

His mind jolted. He hurriedly stopped cultivating, opened the gate, and let her in.

"This is bad! Something terrible has happened! Fellow Daoist Zhou, hurry and take a look! The Ink Scale Colts in the Beast Garden suddenly collapsed and won't get up. They're all spitting blood foam!"

As soon as the gate opened, Mu Ziying wore a panicked expression as she seized Zhou Chun's arm and pulled him outside.

Zhou Chun frowned slightly at this, but said nothing more. He simply followed her as she sprinted toward the Mu Family's Beast Garden.

Compared to the Zhou Family's wide variety of Spirit Beasts, the Mu Family kept very few Spirit Beasts in its Beast Garden, with only a handful of species.

The Ink Scale Colts Mu Ziying had mentioned were the most important type of Spirit Beast to the Mu Family.

The Ink Scale Colt was a mount Spirit Beast domesticated and improved from a first-tier Demonic Beast.

It had the body of a horse and the head of a donkey, but its build was larger than that of any fine horse. Its body was one zhang and six chi long, and it stood more than seven chi tall. Black scales covered its legs from the hooves upward, making it appear exceptionally tall and mighty.

The Ink Scale Colt had a fierce and alert temperament. It could eat meat as well as grass, cross mountains and ridges, and wade through rivers. It could travel a thousand li in a day, while jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards all avoided it.

If cultivated to the First-grade High-tier, it could even awaken the Wind Control talent. When galloping, wind would gather beneath its four hooves, allowing it to travel three thousand li in a day.

If a cultivator had such a Spirit Beast as a mount when venturing outside, they would not need to consume their own magical power, could travel swiftly, and would even gain a considerable measure of vigilance and protection.

The Zhou Family had originally domesticated twenty or thirty Ink Scale Colts as well. However, when the Three Absolute Sect split apart, all those Ink Scale Colts were taken away by the branch associated with the Spirit Beast Manor. As a result, when Zhou Family clansmen traveled nowadays, they still had to rely on their own legs. It was quite an irony.

By the time Zhou Chun arrived at the Beast Garden with Mu Ziying, he saw all eight of the Mu Family's Ink Scale Colts sprawled inside the enclosure. Their bodies were constantly twitching, and blood foam poured endlessly from their mouths.

Several core Mu Family clansmen who had come after hearing the news, along with the Mu Family clansmen responsible for caring for the Ink Scale Colts, were all as anxious as ants on a hot pan, their foreheads covered in sweat.

When Mu Yunshan, the Mu Family core clansman who had received Zhou Chun upon his arrival, saw Mu Ziying bring Zhou Chun over, he hurried forward, grabbed Zhou Chun by the shoulder, and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you've finally arrived. Your Zhou Family is the expert in Beast Taming Arts. Do you know what illness these Ink Scale Colts have contracted?"

"Fellow Daoist Mu, don't panic yet. Let me examine them first."

As he spoke, Zhou Chun pushed Mu Yunshan's arm away and walked into the enclosure with a solemn expression to examine the colts.