CHAPTER 272: CHAPTER 259: WEALTH RIVALING CLANS

Zhouyang had witnessed the power of the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle twice.

The lightning-fast speed and talent divine techniques that allowed it to freely control lightning were far beyond those of ordinary demon beasts.

Owning such a demon beast as a pet or mount would indeed be an excellent thing.

Therefore, when Zhouyang saw the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle egg, he immediately decided to hatch it as his new mount.

As his cultivation reached the Purple Mansion Stage and continuously advanced, the Eagle Lion Beast would inevitably be rendered obsolete by him.

With the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle’s talents, even when he formed his Golden Core in the future, it could completely keep pace with his cultivation progress.

However, due to the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle egg being sealed for a long time, it missed the optimal hatching period. Although it still had vitality now, whether it could eventually hatch remained unknown.

"What a great harvest, such a great harvest!"

In the Purple Cloud Cave, after tallying the treasures in the two storage rings, Zhouyang’s face was full of excitement as he laughed heartily.

Despite having envisioned the treasures within these storage rings countless times, actually seeing the treasures revealed that he had underestimated the wealth of a Golden Core Stage cultivator.

A Golden Core Stage cultivator is indeed different, and even a loose cultivator like the "Golden Light Ascendant" possessed wealth that was richer than an ordinary Purple Mansion Clan.

Among mortals, there’s a saying "rich enough to rival a nation," but in the Cultivation Realm, a single Golden Core Stage cultivator can do "rich enough to rival a clan."

The wealth one person possesses can exceed that of an entire cultivation clan!

Originally, as a newly emerged Purple Mansion Clan, the Zhou Family’s foundation was far inferior to established clans like the Chen Family.

But now, Zhouyang could confidently say that apart from the number of cultivators, the Zhou Family’s foundation in every aspect was undoubtedly the foremost in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm.

Of course, due to some items obtained being "stolen goods," he couldn’t use them openly, at least not until he possessed the strength to sweep through the entire Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm.

Yet even so, he and the Zhou Family would soar to unprecedented heights due to this harvest.

"Hmm, to be safe, let me hold on to these things first and discreetly distribute useful items to family members based on their needs, lest releasing too many valuable items at once draws suspicion!"

His eyes flashed with wisdom; he wasn’t blinded by the enormous harvest but remained clear-headed, making the most beneficial decision.

The saying "one cannot become fat with a single bite" was something Zhouyang understood well.

Even though they now possessed immense wealth, he and the Zhou Family couldn’t immediately convert these items into their own power.

In the following long period, they needed to gradually absorb these gains, and only when the Zhou Family had the strength to fear no threats from any forces could they truly reveal their wealth to intimidate others.

In the next two years, besides secretly passing on array formation insights to Zhou Guangxiang, who was advancing to a Tier Three Array Master, Zhouyang only shared a few Tier Three Pill Formulas with his Dao Companion Xiao Ying and father Zhou Xuanhao.

Meanwhile, during these two years, he dedicated himself to refining newly acquired magical artifacts and practicing new magical techniques, maintaining a notably low profile.

However, unlike Zhouyang’s low-key preparation, the Zhou Family was quite high-profile during these years.

Due to Zhouyang’s advancement to the Purple Mansion, the Zhou Family cultivators at Red Fox Ridge started returning to Jade Spring Peak and Haoyang Mountain over these years.

At the same time, the news that the Red Tiger Mountain Oasis would become the new foundation of the Zhou Family spread, and everyone from Foundation Establishment cultivators to ordinary mortals within the Zhou Family began preparations for the relocation.

The "Misty Jade" mine, which Zhouyang discovered but didn’t dare to develop initially, was quickly put into operation once he returned to the clan after advancing to the Purple Mansion.

More than two years later, Zhouyang, who had been quietly cultivating and preparing in his cave dwelling, finally issued a clan leader’s summons, calling all Zhou Family cultivators to gather at the ancestral land of Jade Spring Peak.

"Today, gathering all clan members here has but one purpose, which is to avenge the former Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, who passed away fourteen years ago!"

"The old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan was not only the third-generation clan leader of our Zhou Family but also the most respected elder of all our cultivators."

"But fourteen years ago, this most respected elder fell to enemies to protect the Zhou Family’s foundation, and didn’t even have a complete body left!"

"We cannot rest under the same sky with the enemy who killed our kin. As members of the Zhou Family, we must seek justice for the fallen old clan leader and avenge him!"

"And it won’t stop with old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan; in the future, for every Zhou Family cultivator unjustly harmed, I, Zhouyang, will lead our people to seek justice for those who died and avenge them!"

On Jade Spring Peak, in front of the Zhou Family’s cemetery.

Zhouyang stood with his back against the tombstone of the old clan leader Zhou Minghan, gazing at the over one hundred Zhou Family cultivators facing him. His voice was bright and resonant, full of penetrating power, inflaming the listeners’ blood with fervor.

"Avenge and seek justice!"

Zhou Family Supreme Elder Zhou Guangxiang, standing at the foremost row, was the first to raise his arm, his face flushed, and let out a roar.

In an instant, the other Zhou Family cultivators followed suit, raising their arms and roaring loudly.

"Avenge the blood feud!"

The roar quickly echoed throughout Jade Spring Peak, and reverberated across the entire Yuquan Lake Oasis.

Avenging the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan was not only Zhouyang’s long-standing wish, but also a thought many Zhou Clan members had held in their hearts.

Blood kin revenge is a principle advocated by cultivation clans, and one that prevails throughout the cultivation realm.

Any cultivator can initiate blood kin revenge against an enemy if a close relative falls, as long as he desires to do so.

Moreover, the clan provides every possible convenience and support to the cultivator who initiates blood kin revenge.

Zhou Minghan was once the clan leader of the Zhou Family; he fell at the hands of an enemy. Not only can his descendants initiate blood kin revenge, but his successor can also rally the entire clan to avenge him together.

Half a day later, Zhouyang, who had led the oath swearing, personally led Zhou Family’s army of revenge towards Baisha River Oasis.

This time, to avenge the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, the Zhou Family not only had him, the Purple Mansion stage clan leader, personally take the field; other than Xiao Ying sitting at Red Fox Ridge guarding the spirit vein, all other Foundation Establishment cultivators joined the team of revenge.

At the same time, Zhou Family also dispatched thirty-three Qi Cultivation stage cultivators to participate in revenge, each one at the late-stage Qi cultivation.

And to ensure these Qi Cultivation stage cultivators kept up with the speed of the troop, ten Flying Fire Bats raised by the Zhou Family were all sent out.

In other words, this expedition not only aims to avenge the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, but Zhouyang also intends to display Zhou Family’s strength to all cultivation clans in the Boundless Sea of Sand cultivation realm through this war.

This troop flew intermittently along the way, and after several days of flying, they quickly reached Baisha River Oasis.

At that moment, in Baisha River Oasis, Chen Ping’an from the Chen Family, was also waiting with over sixty Chen Family cultivators.

Last time Luo Yunqing led a group to attack Baisha River Oasis, while the Zhou Family indeed lost the important figure Zhou Minghan, the old clan leader, the Chen Family suffered the most losses.

So this time, in the expedition to Luofeng Mountain, not only will Zhou Family participate, but Chen Family also will not pass up this chance for revenge.

"One Purple Mansion, four Foundation Establishment, plus a Tier Three High-Grade Spirit Beast, Zhou Family’s power grows quickly indeed!"

At Baisha River Oasis, upon seeing Zhou Family’s troop of cultivators, although Chen Ping’an knew well the numbers of Zhou Family’s higher-ups, he still secretly sighed.

He knew this was not Zhou Family’s entire strength; if adding Zhouyang’s Dao companion Xiao Ying and Zhou Yuanchen inside Yellow Sand Sect, the number of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators Zhou Family could deploy would not be less than Chen Family either.

Regardless of his thoughts, his face showed a smile as he greeted Zhouyang: "Hahaha, Fellow Daoist Zhou finally arrives; Fellow Chen has long been waiting."

"My apologies for making Fellow Daoist Chen and the Chen Family friends wait here; Zhou represents Zhou Family in extending sincere apologies to everyone."

Zhouyang cupped his hands and laughed in response to Chen Ping’an’s greeting.

"No problem, no problem, as long as Fellow Daoist Zhou arrives."

Chen Ping’an waived his hand repeatedly, indicating he was just joking, then quietly said, "So that Fellow Daoist Zhou knows, after receiving your message a month ago, Fellow Chen informed Sect Leader Zhang, and now Sect Leader Zhang has gathered forces from every direction to rush to Luofeng Mountain frontline, waiting for our families to arrive for a final assault!"

Gathering all forces to launch a total assault on Luofeng Mountain was a plan Zhouyang confirmed with Zhang Yunpeng after he opened the Purple Mansion.

After opening the Purple Mansion, Yellow Sand Sect’s side could mobilize Purple Mansion stage cultivators totaling five, among them Jiang Yuyan who practiced the Outer Dao Golden Core technique.

Such power, along with the aid of other middle-to-low tier cultivators, was enough to crush Luo Yunqing’s side at Luofeng Mountain.

"Since Sect Leader Zhang is all prepared, then let us set off immediately!"

A flash of light sparkled in Zhouyang’s eyes, impatiently urging Chen Ping’an to depart.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou is absolutely right; let’s set off then."

Chen Ping’an’s expression became serious, then lightly waved his hand, signaling Chen Family cultivators behind him to mount their rides.

Although Chen Family lacked Flying Fire Bats for Qi cultivation stage cultivators to ride, they had bred a type of Tier Two Middle-Grade Camel Beast unique to Chen Family, "White-haired Flying Camel."

The "White-haired Flying Camel" was even smaller in size than the Tier One Top Grade Shatuo Beast, but its speed running across the desert sea was nearly double that of the Shatuo Beast, alongside decent combat abilities.

Chen Family cultivators now rode atop "White-haired Flying Camel" two by two, chasing quickly the flying Flying Fire Bats ahead.