CHAPTER 264: CHAPTER 251: THE WILL

Red Fox Ridge.

When Zhouyang and Zhou Guangxiang returned here, white cloth banners were still hung in front of each door and on the trees above the Spirit Mountain.

The passing of the old clan leader Zhou Minghan was an event of great sadness and mourning for all Zhou Clan members.

For the Zhou Clan, he was not just a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment Cultivator, or a Tier Three High-grade Refiner, but an elder admired and revered by everyone.

The passing of such an elder, the entire Zhou Clan wearing mourning garments is entirely appropriate.

"Yang’Er, this is the old clan leader’s will for you, this will was found along with his storage bag after his passing, he had long harbored the intent to pass, long hidden his Magical Artifacts and savings in the family Spiritual Objects!"

At Red Fox Ridge, when Zhouyang placed Zhou Minghan’s ashes, formed after cremating his skull, into the ancestral shrine, Zhou Xuanhao, who accompanied him in the rites, patted his storage bag to take out a jade scroll for him.

Zhou Minghan wrote several wills, each close relative had one, now only Zhouyang’s and Zhou Xuan Yu’s remain unopened.

"Is there still no news from foster mother and foster sister?"

Zhouyang, heavy-heartedly holding the jade scroll, did not open it immediately, but instead asked about foster mother Zhou Xuan Yu.

Since Zhou Xuan Yu took Zhou Yuanyao out for training seven or eight years ago, there has been no news from them, and if not for her soul token within the family showing no issues, the high-ranking members of the Zhou Clan would have suspected she had met with an accident.

Zhouyang knew, though Zhou Minghan never mentioned it, given his lifespan nearing its end, he surely hoped his only granddaughter could be by his side when he passed away.

Now with Zhou Minghan’s passing, it’s not about being there for the end, Zhouyang could guess that this old clan leader’s will addressed to him would surely mention Zhou Xuan Yu.

"No, her last message sent through Yao’Er was five years ago, she only mentioned all was normal and did not bring up anything else."

Zhou Xuanhao shook his head, answering Zhouyang’s question softly.

"Understood, father."

Zhouyang nodded after a silence, then returned to his bedroom in Purple Cloud Cave to read Zhou Minghan’s will addressed to him.

"Xiao Jiu, when you read this will, I will surely no longer be in this world."

"You are the pride of our Zhou family, I am pleased with everything you’ve done since becoming clan leader, except for your tendency to always push yourself too hard, seeking a clear conscience without considering the consequences of failure!"

"You are the clan leader of Zhou family, the hope of the entire Zhou clan, have you not considered what state our family would be in if anything happens to you?"

"I’m not reprimanding you, just offering a last warning, you’ve chosen to be the clan leader, you must change your way of acting in the future!"

"The attitude of disregarding others, only seeking a clear conscience, is only suitable for those solitary loose cultivators!"

"As the Zhou Clan Leader, while personal affairs can be set aside, when it involves the family, you must learn to prioritize the big picture, refrain from making decisions based too heavily on personal feelings, and should make decisions by surveying the overall situation."

"A gecko tail can regrow, but a snake without a head surely dies!"

"Zhou family thrives because of you, Xiao Jiu, and if anything happens to you, our Zhou family will surely collapse!"

"I know you are naturally wise, have your own ideas, others’ advice, however reasonable, you may not necessarily heed, so this time I did not argue with you over who should go to provide support to the Chen family, using my own broken body to give you this final lesson, hoping that when facing similar situations in the future, you prioritize the big picture over personal emotions!"

...

Zhouyang read Zhou Minghan’s will, his eyes involuntarily moist with tears.

"It’s my fault, I’ve hurt great-grandfather!"

He recalled his discussions with the old clan leader Zhou Minghan, remembered Zhou Minghan’s hesitant manner at that time, his face suddenly filled with remorse.

If not for knowing Zhou Minghan had only a few years left, wanting him to remain within the clan to peacefully wait for the end, Zhou Minghan wouldn’t have resolutely used his own life to give this final lesson!

Now thinking back, having Zhou Minghan go to White Camel Peak, with the protection of the Mountain Protection Array, given his cultivation, surviving until Cao Wenjin’s arrival wouldn’t have been a problem.

Sadly, there’s no remedy for regret, and he hadn’t anticipated that his good intentions led to a mistake!

In a sense, Zhou Minghan’s goal was achieved, using his life to give Zhouyang this final lesson, making a profound impact that Zhouyang would never forget.

Just like that, Zhouyang locked himself in his bedroom for seven days before finally stepping out to handle family affairs.

The Zhou Family Cultivators migrated to Red Fox Ridge, naturally bringing great pressure to the Spirit Mountain here, given the presence of over a hundred Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivators and several Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

But given the unclear situation, Zhouyang didn’t dare to hastily relocate everyone back to Yuquan Lake Oasis.

So after some deep thought, he decided to first let a portion of the low-tier cultivators return to Jade Spring Peak and Haoyang Mountain to cultivate the spirit fields, preventing them from going to wasteland. At the same time, it would also show the Zhou Family mortals there that the Zhou Family cultivators had not truly abandoned them.

As for the remaining cultivators, they would continue their focused cultivation at Red Fox Ridge for the time being.

To solve the issue of spiritual Qi consumption for these people’s cultivation, Zhouyang specially took thirty thousand spirit stones from the family’s reserves, raising the rank of the spirit vein at Red Fox Ridge to Tier Three Middle Grade.

He then let his father Zhou Xuanhao take over the position of the old clan leader Zhou Minghan, acting as the clan leader to handle family affairs during his seclusion and absence.

After managing all the urgent matters that required his attention, Zhouyang bid farewell to his father and Dao companion, entering a death-seclusion in the Purple Cloud Cave.

During this seclusion, he vowed not to emerge unless he advanced to the Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment!

...

Zhouyang’s seclusion did not impact the operations of the Zhou Family, nor did it influence the situation in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm.

After more than six months of his seclusion, Jiang Yuyan successfully practiced the "Outer Dao Golden Core" and emerged.

Upon her emergence, Cao Wenjin, who was left with little lifespan, immediately joined her in leading dozens of family Foundation Establishment cultivators to attack the Spirit Mountain guarded by Guo Shuyun.

Initially, Guo Shuyun had a defense and offense alliance agreement with Luo Yunqing, which stipulated that whenever either party faced an attack, the other must provide support.

However, faced with Jiang Yuyan, who had cultivated the "Outer Dao Golden Core," and the unknown real strength of Cao Wenjin, Luo Yunqing did not have the courage to leave the array and go out to fight.

Thus, Guo Shuyun, isolated and without aid, had to abandon Spirit Mountain and used the "Blood Escape Technique" to escape the encirclement alone, eventually joining Luo Yunqing at Luofeng Mountain.

After breaching Spirit Mountain occupied by Guo Shuyun, Jiang Yuyan and Cao Wenjin immediately executed all the rebellious cultivators following Guo Shuyun on Spirit Mountain. They then mobilized the army to surround Luofeng Mountain, completely severing all connections between Luofeng Mountain and the outside world.

However, they could only surround Luofeng Mountain. Faced with Luofeng Mountain guarded by two Purple Mansion Stage cultivators, Luo Yunqing and Guo Shuyun, as well as dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators, unless they could gather a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators and two to three thousand Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators for a fierce attack lasting a year or two, they couldn’t hope to break Luofeng Mountain’s Mountain Protection Array.

Yellow Sand Sect could achieve that, but doing so first required completely pacifying the rebel cultivator families outside Luofeng Mountain, so they could unleash the full strength of the sect without worries.

The Zhou Family cultivators did not participate in the Luofeng Mountain battle directly, but Zhou Guangxiang, Zhou Guangxiang’s sibling, and a dozen Late-Stage Qi Cultivation cultivators were dispatched to assist the Yellow Sand Sect in pacifying various rebellious families.

This rebellion pacification was both a training opportunity and a chance to gain benefits for these individuals.

However, this favorable situation was not long-lived. A year after surrounding Luofeng Mountain, Cao Wenjin finally could not endure further and entered the final stages of life among the front-line troops.

His demise was not only a loss of a top battle force for Yellow Sand Sect but also a major blow to morale.

Without his assistance and despite Jiang Yuyan’s ability to overwhelm Luo Yunqing and Guo Shuyun in terms of battle power, she could no longer fully lock down Luofeng Mountain, preventing cultivators from entering or leaving.

Moreover, when the news of Cao Wenjin’s passing spread, the forces and loose cultivators previously quiet and afraid to act began stirring again.

The cultivators on Luo Yunqing’s side, who were still fighting guerrilla warfare with Yellow Sand Sect in the desert sea, returned with high morale to their family spirit mountain, raising the rebel flag again, preparing to unite to relieve the siege on Luofeng Mountain.

In an instant, the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, which had only recently stabilized, was once again filled with flames of war and chaos.

All these changes, naturally, went unnoticed by Zhouyang, who was sitting in a death-seclusion in the Purple Cloud Cave.

During his seclusion, the wildflowers on Red Fox Ridge bloomed and wilted, wilted and bloomed again.

After experiencing nine cycles of blooming and wilting, the tightly closed door of the seclusion chamber was finally opened from the inside.

Nine years!

After nine years of seclusion, Zhouyang finally emerged.

There was no doubt that upon emerging, he officially became a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator, and unless he opened up a Purple Mansion, his magical power wouldn’t grow further.

Nine years taken to advance from Eighth-Layer to Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment; this speed would be unbelievable among ordinary cultivators. Even cultivators like Xiao Ying with Upper-Grade Spiritual Roots find it difficult to achieve this.

However, within the Zhou Family, it’s no surprise or strange occurrence when it comes to Zhouyang.

The Zhou Family people have already become accustomed to his cultivation progress rate.

Compared to his previous cultivation speed, some low-tier Qi Cultivation cultivators, who don’t understand the difficulty within, even see spending nine years upgrading one cultivation level as slow.

Zhouyang himself wasn’t quite satisfied with this speed.

One must realize that in these nine years of seclusion, he not only used up the "Jade Flower Vermilion Dew Pill" exchanged from Yellow Sand Sect and the spirit pills obtained on the Rhino Horn Continent but also consumed the remaining "Fire Flood Dragon Pill" left by the old clan leader Zhou Minghan.

"Initially, I thought I could reach the Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment before the age of one hundred, but unexpectedly, it was delayed until I reached one hundred and three. The path of cultivation indeed becomes increasingly arduous as one progresses further!"