Zhou Zhengyong's Request

After handing the mysterious snake egg over to Third Elder Zhou Daoquan, the Zhou Family's foremost expert in the Beast Taming Arts, for study, Zhou Chun stopped paying much attention to the matter.

It would naturally be best if Zhou Daoquan could figure out a way to hatch the egg.

Even if he couldn't, and the mysterious snake egg was damaged, Zhou Chun could still receive compensation of up to five hundred Spirit Coins.

Either way, he wouldn't lose out.

Over the next six months, Zhou Chun's life returned to the routine he had followed before going to the Mu Family.

However, as more and more Rogue Cultivators came to Nine Peaks Ridge to cultivate, the amount of time these Zhou Family cultivators spent guarding the Spirit Cleansing Pavilion decreased accordingly.

For many Rogue Cultivators with low cultivation and weak combat abilities, the safest way to earn Spirit Coins was to guard the Spirit Cleansing Pavilions operated by various immortal cultivation sects, families, and marketplaces.

Compared with venturing outside to battle Demonic Beasts for spiritual resources, guarding the Spirit Cleansing Pavilion was more arduous and yielded less, but its advantage lay in its safety and stability.

And safe, stable work was bound to be sought after by most people in any world.

If it weren't necessary to have someone supervise these Rogue Cultivators, and if it weren't also a way to save some Spirit Coins, the Zhou Family could simply outsource the entire task of guarding the Spirit Cleansing Pavilion to Rogue Cultivators.

It was precisely because these Rogue Cultivators took part in this arduous task that Zhou Family disciples like Zhou Chun had more time to meditate and cultivate and study other immortal cultivation arts.

During these six months, Zhou Chun took one Spring Sun Pill roughly every fifty days. During the fifty days after taking each pill, he could open one acupoint.

It was basically certain that once he had taken all eight Spring Sun Pills, his cultivation would definitely advance to Level Eight Qi Refining.

At the same time, after continuously taking Beast Spirit Pills, his spirit pet, the Rock Earth Turtle, was also rapidly improving. In another year or two, it might even catch up to its master.

One day, Zhou Chun was returning from reading in the Book Repository on Flying Stone Peak when he saw his clan brother, Zhou Zhengyong, waiting outside his courtyard.

When Zhou Zhengyong saw him return, he immediately rose with delight and said, "Thirteenth Brother, you've finally come back."

"Brother Yong, did you need something from me?"

Zhou Chun looked at Zhou Zhengyong in slight surprise, a trace of puzzlement flashing through his eyes.

Judging by Zhou Zhengyong's appearance, he was most likely not here on family business.

"It's like this. Yesterday, while I was on duty, I happened to chat with a Rogue Cultivator. He mentioned that he had once seen a whole troop of Crimson Tail Monkeys in a certain place."

"Thirteenth Brother, you also focus on the Beast Taming Arts. You should know that wherever a troop of Crimson Tail Monkeys appears, there's a high probability that something exists there which can purify their bloodlines and raise their cultivation."

"My Crimson Tail Monkey has been stuck at the First-grade Mid-tier for several years. It has eaten quite a few Beast Spirit Pills without breaking through, so the reason is probably that its bloodline isn't pure enough."

"So this time, I wanted to ask you for a favor, Thirteenth Brother. Come with me to that place and see whether we can find a spiritual item to help our spirit pets break through!"

After saying this, Zhou Zhengyong looked at Zhou Chun expectantly.

So he came for a personal matter after all.

Zhou Chun understood, then faced Zhou Zhengyong's expectant gaze and pondered briefly before nodding. "Since you've come to me, Brother Yong, and given our relationship, I naturally have no reason not to help."

After agreeing to the matter, before Zhou Zhengyong could happily thank him, he continued, "However, Brother Yong, you only heard this from someone else and haven't seen it with your own eyes. In my opinion, we should first investigate the situation, learn the details about that troop of Crimson Tail Monkeys, and then take action. It won't be too late."

When he finished, the delight on Zhou Zhengyong's face faded slightly, and embarrassment and shame appeared in his eyes.

Whoosh!

Zhou Zhengyong drew a deep breath, quickly adjusted his mindset, and calmed himself. Then he looked at Zhou Chun seriously and nodded. "Thirteenth Brother, you're right. I came to find you as soon as I received the news. I was indeed too eager."

Then he said solemnly, "I'll come ask for your help again after I've investigated everything."

Hearing this, Zhou Chun sincerely reminded him, "Be careful too, Brother Yong. It's entirely possible that some of the Rogue Cultivators who come to cultivate with the family have cultivated here before!"

"Thank you for the reminder, Thirteenth Brother. I'll be careful."

Zhou Zhengyong nodded and left immediately.

Watching Zhou Zhengyong's departing back, Zhou Chun couldn't help thinking of his own Rock Earth Turtle.

In terms of potential, the Rock Earth Turtle was clearly stronger and more outstanding than Zhou Zhengyong's Crimson Tail Monkey.

As long as it was properly nurtured and he was willing to invest enough resources, it wasn't impossible for it to advance to a First-grade High-tier Demonic Beast within five years.

But by then, the Rock Earth Turtle's bloodline potential would have reached its limit.

If he wanted the Rock Earth Turtle to advance to the Second Rank in the future, he would inevitably have to do as Zhou Zhengyong did and find ways to investigate and seek out spiritual items capable of purifying or mutating its bloodline.

However, that was something he should only consider after he had reached Foundation Establishment. For now, there was no need to think too much about it.

Zhou Zhengyong was undoubtedly a man of action. The next day, Zhou Chun heard that he had requested leave and left the family.

Then, seven days later, Zhou Zhengyong, who had returned from outside less than a day earlier, came to Zhou Chun's residence again.

"Thirteenth Brother, I personally went there to scout and observe the area. I've confirmed that there's a troop of Crimson Tail Monkeys there, numbering roughly twelve or thirteen. The monkey king is a First-grade High-tier Demonic Beast, while the rest are First-grade Mid-tier and First-grade low-tier Demonic Beasts."

"Moreover, I saw clearly that there are indeed Exotic Fruits growing in the valley where the troop lives. If I'm not mistaken, they should be Vermillion Sun Fruits."

Inside the reception room, after Zhou Chun ushered Zhou Zhengyong in, Zhou Zhengyong had barely settled into his seat before hurriedly recounting what he had discovered during his trip, without even having time to drink tea.

His impatient nature left Zhou Chun somewhat speechless.

But after thinking about it carefully, it seemed perfectly normal.

Generally speaking, cultivators who focused on the Beast Taming Arts tended to have personalities somewhat similar to those of their spirit pets.

Since Zhou Zhengyong had chosen the impatient Crimson Tail Monkey as his spirit pet, his own personality was most likely similar to it as well.

As for Zhou Chun, both his former spirit pet, the Wind Shadow Leopard, and his current spirit pet, the Rock Earth Turtle, seemed to suit his cautious and steady temperament.

Suppressing the words of advice he wanted to offer, Zhou Chun followed Zhou Zhengyong's line of thought and said, "According to what you're saying, Brother Yong, the two of us probably won't be enough to deal with so many Crimson Tail Monkeys. We'll likely need to ask a powerful elder to accompany us and hold the line!"

Hearing this, Zhou Zhengyong also furrowed his brows and let out a soft sigh. "Yes, we'll need to invite an elder at the late Qi Refining Stage to accompany us and hold the line before we can ensure our safety!"

"But which elder should we invite?"

He knitted his brows and began considering the Zhou Family elders with whom he had decent relations.

When asking someone to help with a personal matter like this, they could only invite someone with whom they had a good relationship.

That way, not only would the matter of payment be easier to discuss, but conflicts would also be less likely to arise during the operation.

Thus, after lowering his head and pondering for a full half an hour, Zhou Zhengyong finally looked up at Zhou Chun, who had been quietly waiting, and said, "How about Twenty-seventh Uncle Zhou Jiapeng? His spirit pet is a flying Demonic Beast, an Iron Feather Eagle, which he's already raised to First-grade High-tier. It can carry one person in flight. With him holding the line, this trip will surely be completely safe."

Hearing this, Zhou Chun immediately nodded. "If it's Twenty-seventh Uncle, then naturally there's no problem."

Twenty-seventh Uncle Zhou Jiapeng was considered a fairly renowned figure among the cultivators of the "Jia" generation.

His own cultivation wasn't particularly outstanding. He was currently only at Layer 10 Qi Refining. However, the Iron Feather Eagle he had raised was a rare flying spirit pet capable of carrying people in flight, and its combat strength was also quite impressive.

With this Iron Feather Eagle spirit pet at his side, unless he was ambushed, there were practically no Qi Refining cultivators capable of keeping him there.

After all, even with a flying artifact in hand, the magical power and flight speed of a Qi Refining cultivator piloting it were far inferior to those of a flying Demonic Beast like the Iron Feather Eagle.

The fact that Zhou Zhengyong had actually managed to ask this clan uncle for help surprised Zhou Chun somewhat.

But when he remembered Zhou Zhengyong's background, he seemed to understand the reason.

Unlike Zhou Chun, whose ancestors for several generations had all been mortals, Zhou Zhengyong's father had also been a Zhou Family cultivator, though he had died unexpectedly while carrying out a mission outside.

If his father were still alive, he would also have been a cultivator of the "Jia" generation. Perhaps he had known Twenty-seventh Uncle Zhou Jiapeng back then.

Of course, there was no need for Zhou Chun to investigate the matter to its roots.

After making these arrangements, Zhou Zhengyong immediately went to find Twenty-seventh Uncle Zhou Jiapeng, while Zhou Chun began preparing the supplies he would need for the trip.