Harvest, Martial Arts Tournament

Red Peach Ridge.

By the time Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong met up again, Zhou Jiapeng had already arrived with the Zhou Family Third Elder, Zhou Daoquan.

When Zhou Jiapeng hurried back to Monkey Valley and found that Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong had vanished, while the Crimson Tail Monkey group had returned, he was also badly startled.

Fortunately, the person who had come with him this time was Third Elder Zhou Daoquan. He soon followed the traces Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong had deliberately left behind and found the two of them hiding in the mountain range.

However, compared with Zhou Chun, who had merely exhausted too much of his magical power, Zhou Zhengyong was in a much more miserable state.

He had been struck head-on by the flames spat out by the Crimson Tail Monkey King. His entire body was covered in blisters from the burns, and even his face had not escaped.

He had only managed to survive because he encountered a river and, by holding his breath and diving underwater, shook off the Crimson Tail Monkeys.

Seeing Zhou Zhengyong, covered in wounds, being brought back by Zhou Daoquan, Zhou Jiapeng was filled with remorse and self-reproach. "It was my carelessness. I should have stayed behind then and had the two of you go back to find the elder!"

Hearing this, Zhou Zhengyong, who was lying on the ground, immediately consoled him in a low voice. "Uncle Peng, you don't need to blame yourself. You going back to the lineage to find an elder was originally the best choice. No one can be blamed for this. We can only blame our bad luck. Who would have thought that those Crimson Tail Monkeys would have a Vajra Monkey backing them?"

When he mentioned that Vajra Monkey, Zhou Chun could not help looking toward the empty ground nearby.

Several Demonic Monkeys, including the Crimson Tail Monkey King and the Vajra Monkey, were lying there unconscious and snoring loudly.

After driving Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong away, the Crimson Tail Monkey group had probably held a banquet in Monkey Valley especially to thank the Vajra Monkey. They had offered it all kinds of wild fruits, along with medicinal herbs such as Polygonum multiflorum and lingzhi that they had found. They had even had two female monkeys keep it company.

As a result, when Zhou Jiapeng arrived with Zhou Daoquan, Zhou Daoquan directly captured all of them in one sweep and drugged them unconscious with a secret medicine.

"These unruly monkeys! The lineage is just preparing to rebuild the Beast Garden. When the time comes, we'll throw them all into the Monkey Garden and slowly grind away their viciousness!"

Zhou Jiapeng swept his gaze over the Demonic Monkeys on the ground and cursed angrily.

"That's enough. I've examined him. The injuries on Zhengyong's body only look serious on the surface. In truth, he'll recover after resting for one or two months. This time, you've also rendered considerable service to the lineage. The clan leader certainly won't treat you unfairly."

Zhou Daoquan waved his hand, signaling that there was no need to keep dwelling on these matters.

He first took out a Spirit Beast Pouch and put all the unconscious Demonic Monkeys inside. Then he began transplanting the Vermilion Sun Fruit Tree.

It was worth mentioning that although a Spirit Beast Pouch could contain living creatures such as Demonic Beasts and Spirit Pets, the prerequisite was that the Demonic Beast could not resist.

For Zhou Daoquan to directly store Demonic Beasts that had not been subdued through a contract, he had to ensure that they would not wake up midway.

Otherwise, as long as an awakened Demonic Beast struggled and attacked with all its might, it could easily break through the Spirit Beast Pouch from within and escape.

At this moment, Zhou Chun also watched Third Elder Zhou Daoquan transplant the Vermilion Sun Fruit Tree attentively.

He first took a flowerpot-shaped magical artifact from his Storage Bag and placed it on the ground. Then he formed hand seals and used a special spirit-gathering technique to draw in the surrounding Wood Spirit Energy, turning it into azure spirit water that sprinkled over the Vermilion Sun Fruit Tree.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, the Vermilion Sun Fruit Tree had absorbed a large amount of spirit water containing Wood Spirit Energy, and its vitality had become exceptionally vigorous.

Only then did Zhou Daoquan use the magical artifact to break open the stone wall. Under the precise control of his spiritual sense, he dug up the tree by its roots without damaging them, then placed it inside the flowerpot-shaped artifact.

At this point, Zhou Daoquan swiftly took another jade-bottle magical artifact from his Storage Bag and poured the large amount of spirit water stored inside into the flowerpot.

The spirit water in the jade bottle was somewhat like the hydroponic nutrient solution from Zhou Chun's previous life. It provided spiritual plants with nutrients for growth during transplantation and increased their chances of surviving the move. Its formula was also considered a secret of the lineage.

When the transplantation process was complete, Zhou Daoquan raised his hand and moved the flowerpot containing the Vermilion Sun Fruit Tree onto the back of his Fire Crane Spirit Pet.

Then he waved at the three of them. "I have to protect this Vermilion Sun Fruit Tree, so I won't take you back with me. Return to the lineage on your own!"

The three of them hurriedly replied, "This junior respectfully sees the elder off."

After watching Zhou Daoquan depart, Zhou Chun assumed that Zhou Jiapeng would suggest searching for the Vajra Monkey's nest to see whether they could find anything else.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Jiapeng acted as though the thought had never crossed his mind. He simply nodded at Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong. "Let's go. We'll return to the lineage as well."

At this moment, however, Zhou Zhengyong, who was usually carefree and boisterous, had actually thought of the same thing as Zhou Chun. He even looked at Zhou Jiapeng and spoke before Zhou Chun could. "Uncle Peng, aren't we going to search for that Vajra Monkey's nest? We might find something else!"

Hearing this, Zhou Jiapeng's face immediately darkened. He looked at him and scolded him irritably. "You brat, you've practically lost half your life, yet you're still thinking about these pointless things. You really forget the pain as soon as the scar heals!"

After saying that, he shook his head. "Don't keep dreaming about such good fortune. The Vajra Monkey is an aberrant species among the monkey group. It likes wandering everywhere and treats the entire world as its home. There's basically no chance of finding anything good in its temporary nest."

At this point, he looked at Zhou Zhengyong with an exasperated expression. "Besides, the urgent matter now is sending you back to the lineage to recover from your injuries. No matter how good other things are, can they be more important than your life?"

After being scolded repeatedly, Zhou Zhengyong did not dare say anything else. Seeing Zhou Jiapeng's attitude, Zhou Chun also did not dare provoke him further by bringing up the matter again.

Thus, he took the initiative to suggest making a stretcher. He and Zhou Jiapeng would carry the injured Zhou Zhengyong as they traveled.

By the time the three of them returned to the Zhou Family of Nine Peaks Ridge, three days had already passed.

After returning to the lineage, Third Elder Zhou Daoquan had already reported the relevant circumstances ahead of them. After receiving the three of them, Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi quickly handed out their rewards.

For Zhou Zhengyong, who had made the greatest contribution and paid the highest price, the reward was a Blood Spirit Pill, which was useful for low-level Demonic Beasts to purify their bloodlines and break through bottlenecks, along with one hundred family Merit Points.

As for Zhou Jiapeng and Zhou Chun, they were each rewarded with eighty and fifty Merit Points respectively.

Compared with the several rewards Zhou Chun had received before, this reward could only be described as ordinary.

But this was normal. After all, he had originally gone to help out because of a personal connection. Strictly speaking, he should not even have received a reward from the lineage.

The reason he was now given Merit Points was also because they had indirectly helped the lineage capture a rare Vajra Monkey and a group of Crimson Tail Monkeys.

Zhou Chun's greatest gains from this trip should have been Zhou Zhengyong's goodwill and the friendship of Zhou Jiapeng, this senior clansman.

That was how sects and lineages worked. When something happened, it was easier to find people willing to help, and it was also easier to make friends one could trust.

Zhou Chun had helped Zhou Zhengyong this time. The next time he asked for help, Zhou Zhengyong would certainly lend him a hand. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to remain in the lineage. All the lineage members would distance themselves from someone who only took benefits and refused to give anything in return.

By helping Zhou Zhengyong and displaying his own impressive foundation, strength, and wisdom, Zhou Chun had also earned the admiration of Zhou Jiapeng, this senior clansman.

The relationship between them had changed from a mere verbal relationship between clan uncle and clan nephew into that of close acquaintances.

Thus, if Zhou Chun needed Zhou Jiapeng's help with something in the future, the probability that Zhou Jiapeng would be willing to help was undoubtedly very high.

At the same time, if Zhou Jiapeng needed someone's help with something in the future, he would also be more likely to think of Zhou Chun.

All in all, cultivating immortality was not only about fighting and killing, nor was it only about secluded cultivation. Human relationships and worldly wisdom were also extremely important aspects for cultivators.

After returning to the lineage, Zhou Chun's life returned to its former state. The only changes were that he now went to visit Zhou Zhengyong, who was recuperating at home, and used the excuse of visiting to ask for advice on raising Spirit Pets, thereby drawing closer to Twenty-seventh Uncle Zhou Jiapeng.

Those days quickly passed for another three months. With the assistance of the Spring Sun Pill, Zhou Chun's cultivation also advanced steadily.

One day, when Zhou Chun went to visit Twenty-seventh Uncle Zhou Jiapeng again, he suddenly learned some news from him.

"A few days ago, the clan leader summoned me and said that in another six months, the Zhou Family and several local Cultivation Families in Misty Prefecture would jointly hold a Daoist martial arts competition between Qi Refining Stage cultivators. At that time, the competitors would be divided into a Youth Group and an Elite Group."

"If you can reach Level Eight Qi Refining before that Daoist martial arts competition, Zhengchun, then with the magical artifacts in your hands and that Rock Earth Turtle, you might not be unable to compete for a place in the Youth Group's top ten."

Inside Zhou Jiapeng's residence, just as Zhou Chun was preparing to take his leave, he suddenly looked at Zhou Chun and revealed this news.

This left Zhou Chun slightly stunned.

After being dazed for a moment, he looked at Zhou Jiapeng with curiosity. "Uncle Peng, could you tell me more about this?"

Hearing this, Zhou Jiapeng shook his head. "The clan leader didn't tell me the specifics either. I only know that the Wang Family of Red Medicine Valley, the Mu Family of Biyun Mountain, the Sun Family of Golden Maple Ridge, and the He Family of Green Bamboo Mountain have held this exchange event before. It takes place once every dozen years or so. It's just that our Zhou Family has been allowed to join this time."

"As for more details, I'm afraid we'll have to wait until the clan leader announces the news."

The Mu Family of Biyun Mountain was participating too?

After hearing the name of this family again after more than half a year, Zhou Chun felt somewhat emotional.

In fact, during the past six months, he had repeatedly asked the Rogue Cultivators who came to cultivate at the Zhou Family, as well as Zhou Family clansmen, about the Mu Family's situation.

But the news from Wild Wolf Ridge seemed to be tightly sealed. None of the information Zhou Chun had obtained could be guaranteed to be true. The only thing he could confirm was that the Mu Family had clashed fiercely with a Rogue Cultivator organization called the "Qi Yun Alliance," and that low-level cultivators on both sides had been killed or wounded.

Now, Wild Wolf Ridge seemed to have been occupied by the Qi Yun Alliance.

Zhou Chun did not know what the Mu Family was thinking, but this matter was clearly not something he could get involved in at present. Thus, he had not paid attention to the Mu Family's situation for some time.

After spacing out briefly, Zhou Chun soon came back to himself. He bowed to Zhou Jiapeng. "This nephew understands. Thank you for telling me, Uncle Peng."

Seeing this, Zhou Jiapeng patted him on the shoulder earnestly. "Prepare well. If you can truly achieve a good ranking at this exchange event, becoming an Elite Clansman ahead of schedule will certainly not be a problem. The clan leader and elders will surely bestow additional rewards on you as well."

"Yes, this nephew will definitely work hard and seize the opportunity."

Zhou Chun nodded firmly. He truly took the matter to heart.

A new week has begun. I'm asking for some recommendation votes. Starting today, I'll be writing the final content of the desert arc. Barring any unexpected circumstances, the desert arc should be completed this week.