Chapter 150: Chapter 149: The Hidden Core Formation Seed

The Tai Chi Bear cub perched on Bai Zichen’s shoulder, scrambled a bit, but its short little arms couldn’t hold on, and it tumbled straight to the ground.

It quickly rolled back to his leg and clambered back up, wobbling as it clung to the hem of his Daoist Robe.

"Since you’re so good at rolling, I’ll just call you Genggeng."

Bai Zichen pinched the scruff of Genggeng’s neck. It let out a soft cry like a kitten and curled itself into a little furball.

Tossing Genggeng back onto his shoulder, he noted that the little guy was a Tier One Mid-Grade Spirit Beast from birth and not nearly as fragile as it looked.

He glanced at the care manual. The instructions were surprisingly detailed; he figured the manual alone could probably sell for a hundred Spirit Stones.

The Tai Chi Bear had a varied diet, eating everything from fish and fodder to all kinds of fruit. When hungry, it would even chew and swallow ore.

Its favorite food was Spiritual Bamboo, and it consumed an average of one stalk per day.

’You’re pretty easy to raise, huh... Grow up fast, little guy. I’d better not be charging toward Core Formation while you’re still dawdling as a Tier One Spirit Beast.’

Bai Zichen poked Genggeng’s head. It broke into a goofy grin, its pink tongue licking its master’s finger.

Master Hei Feng and Ancestor Yang held their second conversation away from the juniors.

Bai Zichen didn’t know the specifics, but judging by the smiles on the two True Men’s faces and how pleasantly they were chatting, the outcome must have been good.

"Ancestor, did the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect agree to sell the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow?"

Back aboard the Taiyi Golden Scale Ship, Bai Zichen asked eagerly.

"Three drops of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow for three Top-Grade Spirit Stones. They’re already in hand... I never thought the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect would be so generous. I deliberately made an exorbitant demand, just to give them room to haggle, but they accepted it outright. It cost us two favors, but now that we have three drops of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow, the Sect won’t lack for Core Formation Spiritual Objects in the short term."

Ancestor Yang had a faint feeling that the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s agreeableness had something to do with Master Ge Cang.

"The Clear Spirit Jade Marrow can only be preserved for sixty years at most. When the two of you need to use it, you’ll have to come and ask the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect again."

Bai Zichen and Su Li had only been at Foundation Establishment for a few years. Normally, even if everything went smoothly, it would be seventy or eighty years before they had a chance to use a Core Formation Spiritual Object.

The Taiyi Golden Scale Ship flew smoothly over several provinces, and no foolhardy cultivators appeared.

’Still, this Magical Treasure is incredibly fast,’ Bai Zichen mused. ’Other than a Core Formation True Man, I’m probably the only one who could match its speed, and only if I reached Foundation Establishment Perfection, transformed into Sword Light, and pushed myself to the absolute limit.’

On the way back to Feiyue Lake through the Black Mountain Range, they were briefly surrounded by a flock of Golden-Winged Thunder Rocs, which shrieked from a distance. But the Taiyi Golden Scale Ship quickly left them behind, reducing them to mere black dots in the sky.

"Ancestor, for the next pioneering campaign, why don’t we target Celestial Thunder Cliff and wipe out this flock of big birds?"

Bai Zichen watched the noisy, arrogant flock of Golden-Winged Thunder Rocs, a sudden urge to annihilate them all rising within him.

Ancestor Yang clapped his hands, looking pleased. "It is good you have such ambition; that’s far better than the many disciples who only know how to focus on their own cultivation. Junior Brother Ge can defeat that Golden-Winged Thunder Roc Demon King, but he has no guarantee of landing a killing blow. If a Tier Three Flying Demon Beast were to escape, the consequences would be endless. I fear every Qingfeng Sect disciple would have to live in constant fear whenever they left our gates."

"If we had one more Core Formation master in our ranks, we could actually do it. We wouldn’t even need to issue a Pioneer Decree; the Sect could just organize a force and take them down."

Celestial Thunder Cliff was relatively close to the Mountain Gate. Besides the one Golden-Winged Thunder Roc Demon King, there were forty to fifty Tier Two Golden-Winged Thunder Rocs.

The main difficulties in wiping them out were that flying demon beasts are too agile and that there was no way to guarantee killing the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc Demon King.

However, Celestial Thunder Cliff didn’t have a massive swarm of demon beasts, nor were there any other Spirit Lands that needed to be captured along the way.

So, there was no need to organize a massive pioneering army; in fact, it would just be a hindrance.

Just as Ancestor Yang said, three Core Formation True Men and several dozen Foundation Establishment Elders could descend upon Celestial Thunder Cliff together.

They could leave at sunrise and return by sunset.

The Taiyi Golden Scale Ship landed on the Lake Heart Island. Just as Bai Zichen was about to take his leave of Ancestor Yang, he was surprised to find another person on the island.

"Everything was normal during your absence, Ancestor... Suqing is here to return the array’s core."

The old woman, her hair a cascade of silver, handed a miniature Array Plate back to Ancestor Yang.

Ancestor Yang nodded in satisfaction. "I am always at ease when you are in charge of things, Suqing... Come, tell me how your recent cultivation has been."

"You two youngsters, get out of here and cultivate properly... Especially you, Youngster Bai. I forgot to test you on arrays this time. Next time, I’ll test you. If you can’t lay down a Tier One Top-Grade Array, don’t even think about leaving Feiyue Lake. You can stay right here and practice your arrays."

Bai Zichen shuddered, grabbed Genggeng, and fled as if his life depended on it.

’He’d originally hoped to stay and cozy up to Ancestor Yang, maybe get another storage bag full of Spirit Stones tossed his way.’

"Was that Senior Sister Zhou Suqing just now? I’m not mistaken, am I?"

After leaving the Lake Heart Island, Bai Zichen asked Su Li.

Of the two Tier Three Mid-Grade Spiritual Lands in Feiyue Lake, he occupied one, and the other had become Zhou Suqing’s Cave Mansion.

"She is. Senior Sister Zhou is a legendary figure within the Sect."

"I can see that Ancestor Yang holds her in high regard. He even entrusted her with the control core for the Three Thousand Six Hundred Rings Water Smoke Array while he was away."

Many disciples in the sect looked down on Elder Zhou, seeing her as someone who only knew how to cultivate and was useless in combat.

Even among the Foundation Establishment Elders, Bai Zichen had heard similar remarks—that Zhou Suqing was just a mindless cultivator who would undoubtedly lose any fight, that she never went out to handle sect missions, and that she consumed vast resources while contributing nothing to the Sect.

"Of course. Senior Sister Zhou is a true cultivation genius. As they say, master one path, and all paths open to you."

When Su Li mentioned Zhou Suqing, her tone was full of admiration, unlike the others.

"Over a decade ago, at Ancestor Yang’s suggestion, she began studying arrays. Now, she’s a Tier Two Mid-Grade Array Master. Controlling an array doesn’t require direct confrontation, which allows Senior Sister Zhou to play to her strengths and mitigate her weaknesses."

"And my master said Senior Sister Zhou is already at the peak of Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment and can break through in three to five years... Actually, she should be added to the list of candidates in the sect who have a hope of reaching Core Formation."

’Late-Stage Foundation Establishment...’ "How old is Senior Sister Zhou?"

Bai Zichen was truly shocked. He never would have thought that Zhou Suqing, the elder everyone scorned and ridiculed, had actually surpassed so many of her peers.

"If I remember correctly, Senior Sister Zhou held her hundred-year banquet twenty-four years ago... But she came from a refugee background and didn’t truly start Entering the Dao until she was nearly thirty. Compared to us, she started cultivating almost twenty years later! That’s why she severed all worldly desires and deliberately suppressed the effect of her Magical Power on maintaining her appearance, which is why she looks like an old woman."

Su Li had learned about Zhou Suqing’s life from Luoo Qiuzhen and deeply admired her.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. So what if she wasn’t good at combat?

If she was guaranteed to lose a fight against someone at her level, then she would just crush them with her superior realm.

If Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment wasn’t enough, then she’d reach Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, or even Foundation Establishment Perfection.

If she reached Core Formation one day, even the weakest True Man of that realm has a lifespan of five hundred years.

By then, those who once mocked Zhou Suqing would likely have long since turned to dust.

’That’s so fast,’ Bai Zichen thought, ’it’s nearly the cultivation speed of someone with an Abnormal Spiritual Root!’

Bai Zichen did a quick calculation of Zhou Suqing’s actual time spent cultivating and was secretly astonished.

’No wonder Ancestor Yang values her so highly. In the Ancestor’s heart, Zhou Suqing’s standing is probably far more important than many of the sect’s other leaders.’

After all, she was a true Core Formation Seed!

...

Back at White Jade Tower, Bai Zichen first summoned Cai Heng to ask about recent developments in the Spirit Fields.

Upon learning that everything was progressing well and that Spirit Plant Masters were still signing up in droves, he approved Cai Heng’s plan to lease another two thousand mu of Tier One Spirit Fields.

Following Elder Tong’s recommendation, all these Tier One Spirit Fields were planted with Red Light Rice.

Feiyue Lake was humid and rich in water qi, conditions that were unsuitable for growing Blood Ginseng Rice.

On the other hand, Tier One Red Light Rice required a lot of water while growing, and planting it here could even accelerate its growth.

Compared to Blood Ginseng Rice, Red Light Rice had a tougher texture and was mainly used for brewing Spirit Wine.

"Later, have someone set up a Spirit Beast garden next to my White Jade Tower... This little guy is my Spirit Beast. Spread the word, so nobody accidentally hurts it because they don’t recognize it."

Bai Zichen gave a light kick to Genggeng, who was rolling around on the floor and getting farther and farther away, sending it tumbling back to him.

But the little creature seemed to think it was a rubber ball, as it started rolling again the moment it touched the ground.

"Also, have the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall plant a bamboo grove... Actually, never mind. I’ll send a message back home and have the family transplant some bamboo here."

The Bai Family had been continuously planting Ink Bamboo for hundreds of years, to the point where the number was now incalculable.

With every family member using the Wood God Skill to empower them, there were at least tens of thousands of Spiritual Bamboos that had developed spirituality and were in the process of transforming into Profound Ink Bamboo.

Bai Zichen planned to transplant a large grove of Ink Bamboo to Feiyue Lake. Firstly, it would create a bamboo forest for Genggeng, allowing it to forage for food on-site so it wouldn’t run out of snacks.

Secondly, he wanted to see if moving them to an environment with higher-tier Spiritual Qi would increase the chances of the Ink Bamboo transforming into Profound Ink Bamboo.

’I can also mention in the letter if any Bai Family disciples are willing to join the Qingfeng Sect... They could help me look after the bamboo forest, and with my reputation, the Cultivation Resources they’d get in the Sect would definitely be far better than what they’d get in the family.’

Bai Zichen gave Cai Heng a few more minor instructions, telling him to arrange for staff to prepare Genggeng’s daily meals, before dismissing him.

Despite being only the size of a ball, Genggeng’s appetite was already equivalent to that of three grown men.

’In the end, one’s realm is what matters most... No matter how unrivaled your combat prowess or how peerless your skills, once your lifespan is exhausted, death is inescapable.’

Bai Zichen sighed, thinking of Zhou Suqing on the Lake Heart Island.

’Why did Zhou Suqing receive such special treatment from Ancestor Yang? It was because, at her age, she was already on the verge of reaching the Late-Stage of Foundation Establishment.’

As long as she maintained this pace, even though she couldn’t reach Foundation Establishment Perfection before the so-called ’optimal age’ for Core Formation, she would still have about fifty years to make her attempt.

With the Desolate God Stealing Sun Technique, this time could be extended even further.

Alternatively, she could burn it all at once, which would be equivalent to having an additional Core Formation Spiritual Object.

The Secret Technique the Bai Family had offered all those years ago was tantamount to giving every cultivator in the Qingfeng Sect their own Core Formation Spiritual Object.

In terms of long-term value, it was even more valuable than the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s Core Formation Spiritual Object Secret Realm.

’Thinking back on it now, it was incredibly fortunate that after seeing the contents of the Desolate God Stealing Sun Technique, Wei Dao had merely made Bai Xianzhong swear a Dao Heart Oath instead of killing everyone who knew the secret.’

With any other sect, there was a ninety-nine percent chance the Bai Family would have been annihilated just so the sect could protect its secret.

"You stay here and be good, now. Don’t run off. Your master needs to go work hard..."

Bai Zichen tossed Genggeng into a makeshift nest and entered seclusion to continue his cultivation of the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture.