Presenting a Treasure, the Patriarch's Wisdom—Please Follow

I struck it rich!!

In the mountains, Zhou Chun looked at Feng Zhen's Miscellaneous Talks in his hand, which recorded the cultivation method for the Forest Hidden Cicada Breath Art, his face brimming with excitement.

In the Cultivation World, the most precious things for any faction had never been external objects like magic tools, pills, and talismans, but rather secret arts with special uses. Magic tools, pills, and talismans could benefit only one person, whereas any cultivator who met the cultivation requirements could practice a secret art.

Secret arts were also a broad term, encompassing secret medicinal formulas, inherited refining methods, Alchemy Skill, and more—all of which counted as secret art inheritances.

Therefore, the more secret art inheritances a faction possessed, the deeper its foundation became.

For instance, major sects such as the Moon Wheel Sect, Blazing Sun Sect, and Green Lotus Temple, which had Nascent Soul stage cultivators overseeing them, held secret arts as numerous as the hairs on an ox.

Thus, even if cultivators who had inherited those sects' legacies lacked an advantage in magic tools, they were still not comparable to cultivators from small outside families and minor sects.

The Forest Hidden Cicada Breath Art Zhou Chun had obtained was not some killing secret art that could directly increase combat power, nor was it an Alchemy Skill or refining art that could endlessly produce resources for the Lineage.

But its requirements were simple. Almost anyone could cultivate it, and every Qi Refining cultivator could make use of it.

That universality would greatly increase its value to a Cultivation Family.

Therefore, Zhou Chun was eighty percent certain that as long as he presented this secret art, he would not only be promoted directly to an Elite Clansman, but might also receive a large amount of Merit Points from the Lineage.

How could that not make him happy?

With that delight in his heart, Zhou Chun summoned the Bamboo Leaf Flying Magic Tool with a broad smile, soared into the sky, and hurried impatiently back to the Lineage.

Yet once he truly returned to the Lineage, his excited emotions had instead calmed. He did not immediately go to Pagoda Peak to present his treasure to Patriarch Zhou Daoyi. Instead, he first returned to his residence on Precious Lingzhi Peak and meditated to restore his spiritual power.

Zhou Chun did not yet want anyone to know about the Stone Jar that could produce Purifying Spirit Water.

Therefore, whenever he returned to the Lineage, regardless of whether he had expended much spiritual power, he would first use it up until only ten or twenty percent remained.

That way, no one would suspect that he had already meditated outside to restore his spiritual power.

Moreover, he needed some time to "polish and create" this experience.

For example, where had the Spirit Coins for purchasing the First-grade High-tier magic tool, the Moon Blade Meteor Wheel, come from?

For example, after his bitter battle with enemies outside, he had not swiftly flown back to the Lineage on a flying magic tool. Instead, with his spiritual power greatly depleted, he had spent over three days walking back!

These details were extremely important. He had to keep them in mind at all times.

Otherwise, even if no one spotted any flaws once or twice, nobody was a fool. After enough times, they would certainly notice something abnormal.

After meditating on Precious Lingzhi Peak for several hours and restoring himself to peak condition, Zhou Chun finally went to Pagoda Peak to pay respects to Patriarch Zhou Daoyi.

"Zheng Chun, you finally decided to come back. You were gone for quite some time. If you had returned any later, I'm afraid you would not even have had a chance to participate in the Family Selection Competition."

Inside Zhongping Hall, after receiving Zhou Chun, Zhou Daoyi gazed deeply at him and spoke in a meaningful tone.

Zhou Daoyi still had a rather deep impression of Zhou Chun, this young junior of the clan.

Mainly because of the things Zhou Chun had done before, as well as the several suggestions he had made, all of which had benefited the Lineage considerably. As the patriarch, Zhou Daoyi naturally could not forget someone who had rendered such service.

However, although he thought highly of Zhou Chun, as patriarch, he had to keep the bowl of water level. He could not casually give anyone special treatment or special rewards.

Thus, aside from giving Zhou Chun a little care in certain matters, he would not directly reward him with anything without reason.

Upon hearing Zhou Daoyi's deeply suggestive words, Zhou Chun hurriedly replied, "Patriarch, your judgment is wise. The reason this junior took so long to return this time was indeed because of unforeseen circumstances."

Normally, when Zhou Family cultivators made a trip to Red Cliff Market, even going slowly both ways, seven or eight days was entirely sufficient.

After all, they were only going there to buy and sell goods, not to settle there permanently for cultivation.

Yet he had been gone for more than ten days, taking one or two times longer than others. In effect, that meant he had done far fewer things for the Lineage.

If anyone used that to gossip and wag their tongues, Zhou Daoyi, as patriarch, might truly have to punish him to satisfy the public.

But though he said there had been unforeseen circumstances, Zhou Chun did not rush to explain the reason. Instead, he immediately began presenting his treasure.

"Patriarch, your judgment is wise. Although this junior encountered a perilous situation where I narrowly escaped death during this outing, I also gained immensely and obtained a secret art inheritance that is extremely useful to the Lineage."

As he spoke, Zhou Chun directly took out Feng Zhen's Miscellaneous Talks, the booklet recording the Forest Hidden Cicada Breath Art, and handed it toward Zhou Daoyi.

"Is that so?"

Zhou Daoyi's expression shifted. He immediately accepted the booklet and looked at the page Zhou Chun had deliberately opened to.

After holding the booklet and reading the cultivation method and description of the Forest Hidden Cicada Breath Art recorded on it, joy appeared on his face as he nodded repeatedly. "It truly is a practical and excellent secret art. Zheng Chun, you have rendered great merit to the Lineage this time!"

Only after speaking did his brows stir as he recalled Zhou Chun's earlier words about narrowly escaping death. He immediately asked with concern, "You said you encountered a life-threatening danger. Did you run into rogue cultivators?"

"Patriarch, your judgment is wise. That was indeed the case."

Zhou Chun lightly flattered him, then recounted his experience of encountering that pair of rogue cultivator husband and wife. He described even the battle in great detail, without concealing anything.

After hearing Zhou Chun's account, Zhou Daoyi was greatly startled.

Looking at Zhou Chun before him, he truly could not tell that this young junior, not yet twenty-five years old, had fought one against two and even slain rogue cultivators despite being at a lower cultivation level.

Even as he marveled at Zhou Chun's strength, he repeatedly shook his head and warned him, "That was far too risky! Zheng Chun, if you encounter such matters in the future, it is best to leave directly if you can. What we cultivators seek is the immortal path of longevity. There is no need to fight over a moment of hot-blooded pride!"

As though afraid Zhou Chun had not taken it to heart, he added earnestly, "I am not telling you to hide whenever something happens. I am telling you that there is no need for meaningless conflict. Those rogue cultivators are homeless wild dogs, with worthless lives. There is no need for us to risk our lives against them when we are not certain of victory!"

Zhou Chun knew that Zhou Daoyi meant well, so he did not explain anything. He merely straightened his posture and answered, "This junior understands. This junior will certainly take heed in the future."

"Good child. It is best that you understand."

Zhou Daoyi nodded approvingly, greatly satisfied with his attitude.

Zhou Chun then took the opportunity to say, "This junior has another matter on which I would like to seek the patriarch's guidance. While clearing out that rogue cultivator's Storage Bag, this junior discovered a bottle of pills and a piece of ore that I do not recognize. I would like to ask the patriarch to help identify them."

Hearing this, Zhou Daoyi softly said, "Oh? Take them out and let me see."

Zhou Chun immediately took out the bottle of pills and the earthen-yellow ore.

Seeing this, Zhou Daoyi first opened the jade bottle, poured out a pill, and examined it. He soon nodded. "This pill is the Ginseng Yellow Pill, a medicine that can improve the spiritual power of late Qi Refining stage cultivators. Its effect is somewhat better than the Lineage's Spring Sun Pill, but its medicinal properties are more overbearing. It cannot be taken too often, and it is best to leave an interval of over two months between doses."

After returning the jade bottle to Zhou Chun, he looked at the earthen-yellow ore and said, "This piece of ore is quite a good thing. It is called Tianhuang Stone and contains pure Earth Element spiritual power. It can be used as a refining material, and it is also food favored by certain earth-element demonic beasts."

At this point, he took the opportunity to instruct Zhou Chun, "Once your Rock Earth Turtle has been raised to First-grade High-tier, you may feed this to it. Even if it cannot evolve its bloodline into that of a Mid-grade Demonic Beast, it can still strengthen its bloodline and build up a foundation for its future advancement."

Zhou Chun nodded repeatedly and thanked him. "This junior understands. Many thanks to the patriarch for clearing up this junior's doubts."

After Zhou Chun put away both items, Zhou Daoyi looked at him and said, "All right. If there is nothing else, you may return for now. As for how your merit for presenting this secret art should be rewarded, I will discuss it with the elders and summon you again to announce it."

Zhou Chun immediately replied respectfully, "This junior obeys. This junior shall take his leave."

After speaking, he withdrew from the hall and returned to Precious Lingzhi Peak to await news with peace of mind.

After Zhou Chun left, Zhou Daoyi looked at Feng Zhen's Miscellaneous Talks in his hand and suddenly remembered that he seemed to have forgotten to ask Zhou Chun where the Spirit Coins for purchasing the First-grade High-tier magic tool had come from.

"Forget it. We cultivators roam the four corners of the world—who does not have a few fortuitous encounters and little secrets of their own? So long as he did not damage public interests for private gain or steal the Lineage's property, why should I dig to the root and question him so thoroughly?"

Shaking his head lightly, Zhou Daoyi quickly suppressed the urge to investigate further and decided not to ask about the matter again.

He was indeed the patriarch of the Zhou Family, but he was not the parent of every Zhou Family cultivator. Besides, even parents could not leave their children without a shred of privacy.

If he wished to dig to the root of every little secret held by every Zhou Family cultivator, the final result would likely be that the clansmen grew alienated from him and even left the Lineage.

Therefore, if Zhou Daoyi wished to be a qualified patriarch, he had to understand clearly what should be asked and what should not.